Ch. 161: The Stampede and the Wizard!
A Dungeon Flooding event - a Stampede - is a phenomenon where a large number of Monsters come flooding out of an underground dungeon labyrinth.
There are numerous theories as to the cause of the phenomenon, and people have claimed that it is caused by the death of the Dungeon Boss Monster or as a result of a trap getting triggered.
But no matter the cause, the local region, government, and nation will have to respond to the Stampede as their top priority.
An underground dungeon labyrinth is basically a large crucible swarming with various kinds of Monsters inside.
“Mr. Igni, please keep this news confidential. The Knight’s Order will now proceed to engage the oncoming Stampede.”
Igni: “Will you be okay?”
Concern welled up from inside Igni for every member of the Knight’s Order.
Only the elite of the elite can enter the Knight’s Order. But on the other hand, it means that only a handful of people are qualified. Hence, the total number of Knights in the Order is significantly small. It was hard for Igni to imagine such a small group of people repelling a Stampede….
“Yes, we have all trained for this day.”
The young Knight spoke quietly but firmly as he began stepping away from the carriage.
Igni: (They’re going to remove the security in order to deal with it.)
Igni watched as the Knights assigned to protect the Imperial Family began heading outside of the city one by one.
Iris: “Sir Igni, has something happened?”
In the midst of the deafening cheers from the crowd, Iris discretely asked Igni.
Igni answered her quickly.
Igni: “A Stampede has occurred. The Knights’ Order has moved to deal with this.”
Iris: “Will they be okay?”
Igni: “We’ll just have to trust that they can. Our job is to protect Alicia.”
If Igni’s theory is correct, there should be another group targeting Alicia that is on the move.
Iris: “Y-Yes, you’re absolutely right, Sir Igni!”
As soon as Iris finished speaking, Igni looked straight up into the sky.
It was his sixth sense. His instinct that he trained over and over in the [Demon King’s Realm] sensed something there.
Igni: “.....!!! They’re already here!!”
There a bird-type monster with a human face arrived.
A Harpy. They worked in groups mostly, and each individual creature was not that strong, but it’s a different story when they gather up with great numbers.
And they were all heading straight for the Imperial Capital.
After a moment of delay, countless Spells were sent up into the sky. The southern sky was dyed in red, blue, and various Spell colors. The Area Attack Spell struck and sent the Harpies to the ground, but it was impossible to take down all the Harpies.
Iris: “WhーWhat should we do?”
Igni: “The Knights should be able to take care of that.”
Igni’s analysis was spot on, as the remaining Harpies were taken out right as they were about to enter the Imperial City area. At that moment, Igni noticed the carriage making a change in direction. Now, it was on route to return to the castle.
Igni: “Iris, stay alert.”
Igni had no intention of attributing the timing of the Stampede to pure coincidence. If Celia’s prediction was correct, they were dealing with [Transgressors]. Igni was certain that they used some method in causing the Stampede.
That means that before the Imperial Family can return to the castle, they were going to trying to pull something.
Igni: “If I sense somethingーー”
ーーKIIIIIーーーーーN!!!!!
Igni’s words were cut off as <something split the sky> in that moment.
Igni: (Wait, no….)
Something crossed the sky so fast that it looked to Igni that way for a split second.
The sound carried over the deafening cheers of the crowd, and the people began looking up into the sky.
There, they saw 5 Monsters.
Igni: “The Harpies were a distraction. This must have been their goal.”
A Monster who had stripped themselves of unnecessary flesh. A Monster who only sought to be the lightest for the sake of speed alone.
Omnivorous and violent, the Monster was also able to use simple Spells. The fastest creature known in this world ー Wyverns.
Iris: “WhーWhat should we do?!”
Igni: “Don’t worry. Trust the Knights to take care of it…….!”
Though they are the fastest species, they cannot move at the speed of light.
And within the Knights Order, they have those Mages ー Wizards who can use [Light] Type Spells.
Hence, that will be the killer blow to the Wyverns in the sky.
The Knights who were in the sniper positions fired their [Light] Type Spells towards the Wyverns.
The beam of light suddenly bent and shifted away right before they struck the Wyverns and disappeared into the horizon.
Iris: “Interference Spell?! Sir Igni! What is that Monster?!?!”
Igni: “..........they are one grade above regular Wyverns ー they’re Great Wyverns.”
A typical Wyvern is just fast.
They would not be able to use a difficult Spell like Interference Magic.
Igni had hunted and slain many Wyverns in the [Demon King’s Realm] and was well aware of that fact.
Iris: “Will the Knights really be able to handle those?!”
Igni: “You can take them down if you fire a Spell that overpowers the Interference Spell.”
Igni was evidence as that’s how he defeated the Great Wyverns in the past.
From the Knights’ Order’s point of view, it was not easy, but it was not an impossible request.
Igni: “But before that, it’s more problematic that those Great Wyverns were able to get past the Knights’ defensive lines.”
The citizens saw the Knights failing to take down the Wyverns, and a trickle of panic and confusion began spreading.
Iris: “ThーThat’s true. Maybe they don’t have enough people?” Igni: “That is true, but more than that, there’s just too many Monsters. Normally, the Knights’ Order will recruit Adventurers to handle Stampedes.”
Iris: “And…….I guess it’s too late to gather the Adventurers.”
Igni: “Yup.”
Alicia: “Igni.” As Igni spoke with Iris, he heard Alicia’s voice from above him.
Alicia: “Can you take out those things?”
Igni: “Yeah, I can, but should I do it?” Alicia pointed at the Great Wyverns as she asked Igni.
Igni nodded without hesitation that he could but wondered if he should.
It was the Knights’ Order’s duty to protect the Imperial Capital.
If Igni took out the Wyverns with his Spell, he would have robbed them of their job.
Alicia: “That’s okay. If we want to calm the people, we’re going to need your Spell, igni.” Igni: “.......understood. I’ll do it.”
The Great Wyverns made wide circles around the city and around them, a Spell began to form.
…….an Air Bombing Spell.
They probably planned to burn the Imperial Capital to the ground by raining fire from above.
Igni: “[Equip Flame] {Ignition} : [Molecular] {Minima}”
The molecule-sized {Fireball} was fired backwards behind Igni.
It began circulating through the light accelerator Igni created with a Spell and quickly accelerated to the speed of light.
Igni: “[Launch] {Fire}”
And Igni fired it off.
With a flash and momentary delay, the light pierced the Great Wyvern.
Being killed with that single shot, the Great Wyvern fell to the earth.
Igni quickly fired continuously at the remaining Great Wyverns.
As soon as the last Great Wyvern was shot, Alicia stood up.
Alicia: “Everyone! Please calm down!”
She was probably using her [Wind] Type Spell.
Her voice carried over the crowd with crystal clarity and suppressed the growing seed of fear.
Alicia: “That Monster just now was slain <by my Knight>, Igni.”
Igni: (.........hm??)
Though Igni was caught off-guard by the words, he remained silent.
Alicia: “Please enjoy the Birthday Festival as planned.”
And with Alicia’s voice, the cheers began growing back to deafening levels.
Iris: “Sir Igni, when did you become Alicia’s Knight?”
Igni: “........just now, I think.”
Iris could not hide her outrage at Alicia’s words and poked Igni accusingly.
Igni: (But she probably didn’t have any other way to calm the people.)
Just then, the Magecraft Artifact the Knights nearby the carriage carried began ringing an alarm.
Igni: “.......what now?”
The young Knight turned to Igni as blood drained from his face.
“Apparently, the Lord of the Labyrinth appeared.”
