Chapter 1196: Transformation

「My name is “Bladehawk”, one of the legion commanders serving the East Conquest Duke!」

Bladehawk loudly declared his name with a voice resembling that of a high-pitched rooster crowing. We managed to get his name and affiliation pretty easily. Perhaps he’s the type that doesn’t think too hard before acting.

（Bladehawk?）

『My appraisal also displays his name as “Bladehawk”.』

It seems this was his actual name, rather than some kind of pseudonym. His name must have changed for some reason, just like Fran when she lost her name before I met her.

The open-back armor he wore was clearly a magic item, but it didn’t seem to have any anti-appraisal enchantments.

「Well? I’ve named myself, so who are you!」

『I am the righteous knight Gray! I learned that the village I stumbled upon was in peril, so I rose up to protect it!』

Fran struck a pose in sync with my declaration. It seems she’s been brainstorming different poses for a while now. That one was remarkably similar to Rider #1’s transformation pose.

Bladehawk was momentarily taken aback, before twisting his avian face into a snarl and shouting back with detest. He apparently thought we were mocking him.

「Such insolence! How long can keep up that attitude? All who oppose Raydoss shall be shown no mercy!」

『That village is a part of Raydoss too!』

「Indeed it is! Which is why they have a duty to sacrifice themselves for their nation! For the further prosperity of Raydoss!」

『Prosperity!? Is treating your soldiers like puppets for the good of Raydoss too?!』

「Precisely! The East Conquest Duke acts for the great nation of Raydoss! Small sacrifices are trifling matters compared to the greater good! Any loyal citizen of Raydoss should offer up their lives with glee! Yet every village attempts to defy us, those traitors! They should be grateful that I offer up their lives for them!」

You’re calling tens of thousands of lives a trifling matter? And should they be grateful for becoming sacrifices? Seriously?

Fran moved into action before I even had the time to lose my temper, swinging down on Bladehawk with murderous intent. His choice of words must have pushed her over the edge.

While she didn’t speak, I could sense the anger boiling furiously within.

『A nation exists to protect its people!』

「Wrong, the people live to serve the nation!」

Bladehawk blocked Fran’s strike with his arm. My appearance might be disguised, but my sharpness was by no means dulled. The power behind that slash was, of course, exactly the same as usual.

And yet, he managed to block it with his bare arm? Even if I dug halfway into his bone, how hard can his body be!?

『Fran! You need to calm down! This guy is pretty strong!』

（…Sorry.）

No doubt Fran flew into a rage upon hearing that Mimi and her friends would be offered as sacrifices. However, she regained her composure with a deep breath.

『Urushi, make sure the soldiers don’t reach the village.』

（Woof!）

『We’ll take this guy down.』

（Nn!）

Bladehawk simply watched as Urushi flew down to the army matching below us. I was hoping he might show some sort of panic, but I guess it won’t be that easy.

『Not going to chase?』

「…Kuhahaha!」

『What’s so funny?』

Bladehawk continued his sinister laughter, as if he had already claimed victory.

「You want to save the village that badly, huh?」

『…I just don’t want to see innocent people die.』

「In that case, I’ll crush them right before your eyes! Awaken, you failures!」

Is that his whistle?

Bladehawk reached into his chest pocket and grabbed a 10 cm sized metal whistle, which radiated powerful mana.

That must be the tool for ordering his soldiers. I created a new layer of wind wards to block whatever he was trying to do.

However, Bladehawk didn’t even attempt to bring the whistle to his mouth. He simply crushed it in his hand.

The silvery whistle shattered into countless shards, only making a small, short squeak.

「!」

『Such mana!』

A violent torrent of mana overflowed from the broken whistle, shattering our wind wards, and transmitting the shrill sound of a bell throughout the battlefield.

Immediately afterward, the soldiers underwent a startling transformation. Their movements came to a halt, and the bodies of each swelled up. At first, it was only their muscles bulging out, but soon their silhouettes began changing into grotesque shapes.

No two were the same.

Some sprouted bat-like wings from their backs, while others grew a lion-like head from the sides of their necks.

Others had their skin turned green, or enormous arms sprouting from their backs.

One’s lower body turned into a beetle, transforming them into an insect-like centaur. Their eyes turned into compound eyes.

They all had one thing in common: each had gained the characteristics of a monster.

「There’s no stopping them anymore! My legion has become a living engine of annihilation that exists to slaughter everyone else in their sight!」

As we listened to Bladehawk, I noticed a significant change in the soldiers’ movements. They no longer had any semblance of control; each was now acting purely on instinct.

Many of them were now capable of flight, and some headed our way.

『Did he remove their limiters or something?! Their strength is on a whole different level from before!』

「Nn!」

That said, I also saw how fast their life force was dwindling. They must be temporarily supercharged by exhausting every last bit of their being. Even without our intervention, I bet they have less than an hour to live.

But that’s more than enough time to wipe out a village.

（Master!）

『Got it!』

We teleported away from Bladehawk, swiftly cutting down one of the flying superhumans headed towards the village.

『This one’s pretty tough!』

（It’s still alive!）

『A normal slash won’t be enough to kill!』

My first hit cut straight through the heart, yet the monstrosity kept going. I severed off its head in a second strike, but it still refused to die.

『For crying out loud, die!』

I infused flame magic into the tip of my blade, pouring it directly into the creature’s flesh, and blew it up from the inside. Finally, it stopped regenerating.

『Bladehawk… He’s just watching us! He must be waiting for us to exhaust ourselves!』

（But we have to save the village!）

『Yeah, I know. We should deal with the rampaging soldiers first! Prioritize the flying ones!』

「Nn!」