Entering a Company From Another World! – Chapter 733

I initially thought the sight of a black wave approaching the giant floating fortress was quite villainous. They advanced with their splendid castle.

Considering we were challenging a dungeon, it made me feel like the protagonist of a story. On our side, everyone, myself included, sported villainous faces. If we were to conduct a street poll asking objectively which side seemed righteous, most people, unless they were particularly twisted, would declare the other side as such.

“However, that righteousness was also vanquished.”

“What are you suddenly saying? Did you think they were the righteous ones?”

“No, I just felt that we, as a group, seemed like villains, the kind a bard might sing about.”

The black wave eroded the opponent’s barrier and broke through it. Once it accomplished that, the black wave was finished with its role. Like mist clearing, the black haze dissolved into the air. The barrier was released. For a moment, the enemy felt relief, thinking that was the extent of the magic’s purpose. But they quickly noticed the abnormality and got into formation.

“Hmm, as expected, compared to the opponents we’ve fought so far, these angels have actual combat experience.”

I don’t know how they produce such veteran soldiers, but their reaction speed is incomparable to the soldiers we’ve fought before. The entity controlling the fortress seemed to be experiencing the same thing. As if anticipating that my attack wouldn’t end with just the black wave, they used their barrier to defend while simultaneously moving the fortress to evade the attack. Furthermore, they reacted to my hidden trump card.

“Well, the basic principle is still to make sure it hits.”

The moment the black wave disappeared, a magic circle deployed, and from it, icy blades suddenly appeared. These were ice-attribute blades that I had hidden using spatial magic within the black wave. While I had other options for physical damage, I chose this one considering it was an aerial fortress. This was also one of the spells Instructor Fushio taught me, so naturally, it wasn’t just a simple physical ice blade. The effect of these ice blades was to…

“To achieve that, ingenuity is also important. If you defend against that attack normally, things will get serious.”

…freeze anything it touched. At first glance, it appeared to be an ice blade about five meters long. The sheer mass of ice and its mirror-like, sharply honed edge seemed capable of slicing through the fortress with a physical attack. The effect of the cold air was also imaginable. Therefore, the angels guarding the fortress attempted to defend with their barrier once more. However, the spatial magic I used to fix the blades in place hadn’t just sealed the magical existence of the blades but also the speed at which I swung them down.

With the added force of my swing, the ice blade descended with tremendous speed. Could a single barrier possibly stop it? While the power was reduced, my concept of “cutting” remained. A barrier cast by a mere few angels had virtually no difference in strength compared to a piece of paper. The barrier was smoothly sliced through, and the ice blade, maintaining its momentum, froze and then cut through the angels, fulfilling its purpose. With little of its momentum lost, the attack continued towards the fortress and plunged into its castle wall. Freezing the surroundings, it embedded itself deeply into the wall, creating a moment of silence.

I couldn’t imbue it with much of the “cutting” concept, but as long as it firmly embedded itself into the castle wall, I was satisfied.

“Freeze.”

The enemy might think they avoided the worst by taking the hit on their castle wall. But that won’t fly. I wouldn’t use an ice spell just to have it stop at embedding itself. Even from a considerable distance, if I can see it, I can release the spell. With a mere whispered keyword, the ice blade instantly exploded, scattering magic-infused cold air.

“Hey Jiro, it’s not falling.”

“It’s quite tenacious, isn’t it?”

A momentary mist appeared, but when you’re high up in the sky, such mist is quickly blown away. Revealed from where the mist was blown away was the fortress, frozen about two-thirds of the way.

“That’s strange. That magic should be able to freeze the magic power itself, and therefore freeze the floating magic. I thought the fortress would plummet straight down.”

“The angels around it are falling in a rather amusing way, though.”

“They probably won’t let me target the crucial floating mechanism so easily. Did I need to strike deeper?”

The result was a scenic change, with the white castle adorned with blue ice, making it even more fantastical. Was it ineffective? I don’t think so. At least the cannons on the front are frozen and will likely be unusable for a while, and the angels who were guarding it are now plummeting to the ground like bugs sprayed with insecticide. Given how well they’re frozen, they’ll likely shatter upon impact from that height.

“As for our results, I think it’s sufficient that we can concentrate on our battle for a while.”

“Huh? You can’t shoot it down?”

“I have the magic power… but my partner is…”

“Insufficient training, pathetic.”

I wanted to press the attack here, but deploying multiple large-scale magic spells put too much strain on the Ore Tree. Having continued to unleash powerful magic, the flow of magic power has started to become unstable. It won’t break easily, and I can even fight instructors at full power. However, doing so might lead to a breakdown of my partner that could never be healed.

“Tch, just push through it with sheer will.”

“It’ll return to normal in a few minutes, so please take that into consideration. There’s no point in attacking recklessly and inefficiently.”

“That’s true.”

“Yes, from what I can see, the only troublesome opponents right now are the angels. The fortress, as you can see, is frozen, so we can leave it alone for now.”

This is a few minutes’ interval to avoid that. The ice magic I just unleashed should reduce attacks against us for a while, so it’s a brief respite.

“Therefore, from now on, we will intercept the angels.”

“They’re all just weaklings.”

With the long-range exchange concluded, we will now focus on intercepting the angels who have closed in. The angels, wielding spears and charging, are intercepted by the Oni King’s forces with arrows. Pulled with immense strength, their bows do not fire in an arc; instead, they aim to pierce the angels’ bodies in a straight line. Even with magical defenses to block the arrows, they advance but are eventually pierced and shot down after several volleys. Attempting to attack from above with magic, they find themselves at a disadvantage as their range is the same as the anti-air fire.

“That’s not entirely true. There’s a commander further in the back.”

As the battle between the Oni and angels began on the front lines, I couldn’t help but offer a wry smile at the scene that seemed to embody a battle between heaven and hell, with angels in the sky and Oni on the ground. However, the quality of the angels attacking us is at a level that my subordinates can handle. Having gathered the Oni King’s elites, they are intercepting the angels with coordination, so there’s no need for us generals to step in. Although the instructor seems dissatisfied with this, I spot one angel among them who seems to be directing the overall battle, much like us.

“Enjoying the show from a high vantage point, are we?”

“They don’t seem to be Seraphim; they have fewer wings.”

“You can’t just create Seraphim easily. That one might offer a decent challenge, but it’s still disappointing.”

An angel with two pairs of wings surveyed the battlefield, accompanied by angels with more elaborate armament than the others, and fixed its gaze on us.

“Since they’re not attacking, they’re probably waiting for us to make a move, aren’t they?”

“Who knows? Either way, we’ll bring them down.”

Are they unable to intervene because they understand the difference in our strength, or do they have some other plan?

“I recommend acting sooner rather than later. Understanding that the fortress is unusable, the enemy seems to have opted for a strategy of overwhelming us with numbers.”

“They’re dispatching additional forces, then.”

One of their strategies is this legion dispatched from the fortress. I thought the frozen fortress would remain silent, but it became a device for creating angels by deploying another magic circle in the sky. These angels are of higher quality, but their numbers are inferior. Currently, we are slaughtering angels unilaterally, but once our stamina runs out, damage will begin to occur. The Oni, confident in their endurance, could likely fight for two to three days without issue, let alone an hour.

“They’re trying to lure us into moving.”

“A trap?”

“What’s possible is some kind of sealing magic. While installing it in our base might be difficult, they could likely use a sealing spell mediated by the angels. A few seconds of immobilization, leaving us defenseless, followed by a kamikaze attack – that’s the realistic strategy for defeating us.”

Their remarkable toughness is functioning calmly because the reality of my and the instructor’s presence is keeping them in check. If either of us falls, their advantage will begin to fade. Therefore, we must maneuver in a way that prevents our generals from falling.

“Whether we break through by force or calmly eliminate them, waiting will be troublesome.”

“I don’t like roundabout methods. What would you do?”

“It’s troublesome, so I’ll just slice through the sealing spell itself. Even if it activates, I’ll cut down the enveloping seal with a preemptive strike. Instructor, what about you? Perhaps exploding the space itself? I imagine hitting the wall of air and blowing away the entire area would leave no room for seals or anything else.”

The instructor, acting on intuition, seemed tired of my convoluted explanations and urged me to hurry. I nodded, presenting the most immediate and feasible solution. My approach, and the instructor’s method, are both quite brainless tactics. By normal standards, they would be laughed off as impossible, but that’s what generals can do.

“I see. That’s easy to understand.”

I rolled my shoulders and began to walk. The angels started to become wary. But their reaction is insufficient. If they choose to fight against this Oni, they must always take the initiative and maintain their own pace. Otherwise…

“Here I come! Hah!”

A gentleman who can create a storm with a single fist cannot be fought head-on. There is only air, necessary for breathing, and physically speaking, matter certainly exists. However, there should be no substance that makes a sound like an explosion when you swing your fist. Much less one that generates a shockwave and blows away angels like a wave of destruction.

“Gahaha! That felt a little better.”

That wave of destruction engulfs the angels, breaking their wings and slamming them to the ground, where they are then beaten by the nearby Oni.

“There are more following up, so Instructor, please continue the anti-air interception. I’m going to bring down that fortress.”

“You got it!”

Even indirect shockwaves, without direct contact, possess this much power. The instructor, in a good mood, continues to swing his fists, raining down a barrage of attacks and knocking angels out of the sky. Unlike arrows, as long as the instructor has the stamina, he can endlessly shoot down angels – an anti-air bombardment has been born. In reality, it would be faster for the instructor to fly up and attack while kicking off the air, but with the base needing defense behind us, we cannot carelessly move. I accept this as a reasonable judgment.

“Partner, are you ready yet?”

“Affirmative!”

After continuously sending magic power, my partner has recovered, and we are preparing for another barrage of large-scale magic. Now, it’s time to surpass the enemy’s expectations. They are formidable opponents; I won’t be careless or complacent. Let’s crush them with everything we’ve got.

Today’s word: Decision-making is difficult, but it should be done sooner rather than later.

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I am also currently serializing another work: Pandora Pandemic Panic. The Pandora’s Box has been opened again, but we’re fighting back with various activities in hidden bases and more!! Please check that out as well!!