All hands! Spread out!"
At Therese's command, the Temple Knights jumped back.
I sidestepped towards the Temple Knights as they were trying to take distance, and started generating rock bullets with both hands.
Speed and hardness so-so.
Only to the degree that they might die if I hit them in the vitals.
Firing.
You're up first, Dust Box!
"Support!"
"Goodbye!"
The two rock bullets I fired towards Dust were deflected by the Temple Knights at his sides.
In their hands were something like translucent shields.
Elementary ranked barrier magic, [Magic Shield].
... Is that really elementary ranked? I was stopped by an elementary ranked spell?
"Dust, Grave, Skull right flank!
Trash, Coffin, Burial take the left!
Cortege and I will act as a mobile unit!"
Three people on each side fired magic off in unison.
Fire, water, and earth.
Three different attributes, not that it matters.
"[Absorption]"
While dissolving the magic with my gauntlet, I fired rock bullets to counter.
But, they were repelled.
The guy casting the barrier magic seems to be defending from behind.
"--With your blessing the small ember becomes a searing flame! [Flamethrower]!"
"--Bring down your majestic sword of ice, and strike! [Icicle Break]!"
At the same time magic was fired off from the other side.
Fire and water.
That's not it! The third one had his hands on the ground.
An Earth Lance!
"[Absorption]!"
I dissolved the fire and water magic simultaneously.
At the same time I countered the Earth Lance by creating a quagmire to disable it.
Oops, I was too slow.
I can't fire a counter.
But my legs still work.
I instantly back-stepped to avoid the magic flying at me from the other side.
Only one spell.
Only a fire spell. It looked like a normal [Fire Ball]?
Only one?
There are three enemies on that side, why not three?
I don't have time to think about that.
I aimed my hands at both their left and right flanks.
"[Stone Cannon]!"
Because I had gained some distance stepping back, I saw it well.
The Temple Knights' formation had three people on each side.
Among them, two people had translucent shields, and jumped to defend from my rock bullets.
Well played.
Though I'd increased the speed and mass of the rock bullets from earlier, they easily deflected them.
That style looks familiar.
The Water God Style.
I see, it can even be used in conjunction with barrier magic. That's amazing.
"Spirits of the earth! Answer my call and rise fourth to pierce the heavens! [Earth Lance]!"
"Magnificent spirits of the water, I appeal to the Emperor of Thunder! Bring down your majestic sword of ice, and strike! [Icicle Break]!"
In that moment, two of the Knights without the shields fired off spells.
Naturally, I dissolved them... Now, what to do.
The enemy has separated into a left flank and a right flank with three people each.
Among those three people, two use barriers to deflect my magic.
Because I've only been firing two bullets at a time, their two barrier strategy has been serving them well.
The third person counters by firing off an attack spell.
Then the flank that I didn't attack momentarily drops their shields.
And, when I'm defenseless, they fire off three spells.
They were able to fire off spells with three different attributes because they didn't leave two on defense.
I guess they're a bit short on information about me, since they're unaware that my magic absorption stone can simultaneously negate all magic.
At first they were only able to use magic to attack me from one side, probably because of the distance.
At that distance I was able to break into the core of their formation.
It should be possible to get an attack in while they're chanting...
They should be particularly vulnerable while their shields are down...
But, it won't work unless I break into their formation.
... That might not be a good idea.
Well, let's see how you like this?
"[Fireball]!"
While deliberately shouting loudly, I started packing mana into the spell.
Enough to generate a fire ball about two meters in diameter.
It had the size and heat of an advanced ranked spell.
But compared to the rock bullet's speed, it's slow.
Gently, I threw it like a slowball.
Aiming for both flanks.
"Support!"
Two knights stepped forward with barriers to block.
But, the magic barrier has a weakness.
"Ran Ma [Disturb Magic]!"
"!?"
I dissolved their barriers with [Ran Ma].
Both of the barriers protecting the left flank fell simultaneously.
Barrier magic, like most spells, continues to consume mana as you use it.
It's the same even for elementary ranked barrier magic.
In other words, even if they aren't chanting, I can negate it with [Ran Ma].
The right flank will still be protected, but, this is their loss.
"...Tsu!"
And the moment I thought that, something came flying at me from behind.
While looking back, I brought my right arm up to defend.
With a loud [Ga~an], something broke into pieces and shattered.
A brown rock, flying towards my face, was reduced to debris.
I received some of the impact around my elbow.
It was a rock bullet.
This was the first time my opponents have used that spell.
"Rudeus can use magic with both hands!
Two people are on defense, if an attack comes switch.
There's no room for mistakes!"
Therese and another person had snuck up behind me.
Now, I have to defend from the rear as well.
"...."
Before I noticed it, I had been surrounded.
I'm beginning to fall behind, that was a blunder.
No, I wonder what kind of countermeasures they have for close-combat.
The knights who received the fireball earlier are alive and well, with the exception of some smoke coming off their armor.
"Rudeus-kun. We are the strongest in the Temple Knights. You have no chance of winning."
"Really?"
"In the past ten days we have investigated your fighting style.
Thanks to your fame, we were able to arrange countermeasures."
Fumu.
Then, why haven't you drawn your swords?
I only use magic.
No, in the current situation, they may not be able to avoid my magic in close-combat.
Of course, I still have some tricks up my sleeves.
They might be weary of that, and avoiding close-quarters combat as a precaution.
Given my present situation, their strategy could be called effective.
But, if this becomes a fight of attrition, then I will have the upper hand.
They might have more countermeasures...
Then, it's about time I made my next move.
"Rudeus-kun, please surrender! You may have been able to use your magic tool to escape our barrier, but this is your loss, give up!"
"Hou?"
"The entrance to the garden is blocked by barrier magic! Help will not come!"
Is that right.
If you say it like that, then it's perfect.
They must have carefully devised this strategy to capture me.
I can't win with half-assed tactics.
I have to be thorough.
I might have to experiment in order to break through.
But, if I lose as a result, that would be disastrous.
"...[Quagmire]."
It's time to get serious.