Chapter 64: Mounted Battle - Part 2
As we closed in on him, Spellviard angrily shouted at us.
"Do not dare to interfere with my love journey! Attack, my comrades!"
In response to Spellviard's command, about fifteen Camelbird units moved, triply surrounding us from the front and both sides.
Even with Nerotheora's prowess, it seemed impossible to break through these triple barriers with sheer speed. She slowed down a bit and tried to evade to the rear, planning to circumvent and break through from the side.
However, the Camelbird unit seemed highly skilled, skillfully blocking our path and attempting to slow down our advance. Furthermore, Spellviard, on the other side, was gradually getting further away.
"Brururururu..."
Frustrated by the prey slipping away, Nerotheora let out an annoyed cry. Then, she turned her gaze towards me, as if asking, "Do something."
"If I had mastered the technique of imparting divine magic to a horse, we could easily catch up," I said, contemplating.
Nerotheora's speed when ridden by Famiris was unmatched. She could even scale sheer cliffs with the horse's legs. This was powered by a technique called "The Sacred Art of the Unity of Man and Horse" that Famiris used.
At this point, I didn't have my own horse, and Famiris had prioritized teaching me combat skills over this particular technique, so I didn't know how to use "The Sacred Art of the Unity of Man and Horse."
Therefore, I needed to come up with a different approach to break through.
However, at this moment, Nerotheora let out a neigh.
"Hee-hee, brururururu..."
I looked at her, and she had been watching us intently while weaving left and right to avoid being surrounded by the enemy.
Her eyes seemed to say, "Try it." Despite my disbelief, I decided to increase the power of divine magic as a test.
"Learning it on the fly, huh? You demand even more than Famiris," I chuckled and closed my eyes, focusing.
First, I unlocked the power of divine magic within every cell of my body—power that enabled the use of the Sacred Art.
"Brurururu..."
While hearing Nerotheora's encouraging neighs, I pondered what to do next. I attempted to envelop Nerotheora with the overflowing divine magic from my body, just as I had practiced with wooden swords during combat training with Famiris.
"Brurururururu..."
I received a comment about my technique being off, so I tried a different approach. This time, I attempted to infuse Nerotheora's body with the power of divine magic from my location where I touched her.
As I tried this, there was some resistance at first, but gradually, I felt the divine magic from me seeping into Nerotheora, and her running movements seemed to gain a bit more strength.
"Brurururu..."
Encouraged by this seemingly successful approach, I continued to experiment. While doing so, I also contemplated the theoretical principles behind the Sacred Art of the Unity of Man and Horse.
The amount of divine magic I could infuse into Nerotheora was minuscule. Even if I tried to enhance myself with this power, it wouldn't make much difference.
Nevertheless, the newfound strength in Nerotheora's movements felt greater than the amount of power I had infused. From this, it seemed more natural to assume that Nerotheora herself was manifesting her own divine magic power.
If this assumption was correct, then the theoretical principle of the Sacred Art of the Unity of Man and Horse should involve "calling upon the rider's divine magic power to stimulate the horse's innate divine magic power."
With this hypothesis, the theory of the Sacred Art of the Unity of Man and Horse began to take shape. Now, it was time to test it.
"I pour, Nerotheora."
My own sacred art's power is meager compared to Famiris. Therefore, I need to make a slight adjustment.
First, maximize the sacred art applied directly to the lower body touching Nerotheora. Then, strengthen the other parts just enough not to be shaken off. In this state, the excess power flowing from the upper body allows for prolonged use of sacred art.
And from the overflowing power in the lower body, there is a sensation steadily seeping into Nerotheora.
"Alright, as planned. But—"
Even if I assume that the power seeping into Nerotheora acts as a catalyst, I can't imagine how much is needed to release a sacred art encompassing both me and the horse.
Maybe, with my current abilities, using a sacred art combining a human and a horse is impossible after all.
As I began to give up, my sacred art's power passed through Nerotheora's skin, touching the internal organs.
In that moment, I felt an immense surge of sacred art power from Nerotheora.
To the sudden occurrence and the newfound strength emanating from Nerotheora, I couldn't help but open my eyes in astonishment.
"Could it be that I succeeded?"
"Neigh!"
Nerotheora let out a triumphant neigh, her body enveloped in sacred art, charging toward the Camel Cavalry.
While I didn't fully grasp the current situation, I assumed that, fortunately, the sacred art combining human and horse had been activated, so I continued to channel power into Nerotheora.
Facing the oncoming Nerotheora, the Camel Cavalry shouted confidently.
"With those legs and that massive horse body, you won't force your way through!"
"Charge!"
Spears protruded from the front line of the Camel Cavalry.
I judged that I should avoid them, but Nerotheora seemed to think differently and charged headlong into the spears.
"Neigh!"
Nerotheora emitted a loud neigh upon colliding with the spears.
However, it wasn't a scream of pain from being wounded. Rather, it sounded triumphant, as if saying, "I did it!"
In reality, every single spearhead that should have hit was deflected by Nerotheora's jet-black body, and some were even shattered due to the mass of her charging body.
"What!?"
"Wow..."
I was shocked by the spectacle of the Camel Cavalry's disbelief and Nerotheora's incredible defensive power enabled by the sacred art.
And, as if disregarding such feelings, Nerotheora began to scatter the Camel Cavalry.
With a single toss of her head, riders were sent flying, and a mere touch of her body caused camels to tumble. A strike from her front legs shattered the bones of her chosen targets, while a kick from her hind legs caused her prey to explode as if hit by a cannon.
With this destructive force, Nerotheora broke free from the encircling Camel Cavalry.
When I looked back, the scene resembled a rampage of a tyrant, with blood and chunks of flesh strewn about. Some survived, but the Camel Cavalry seemed terrified of Nerotheora's power and were fleeing without heeding their riders' commands.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of pity, but—regardless, there was no need to worry about pursuit from the rear anymore.
"Nerotheora, just a little more!"
"Blurr!"
Taking aim at the Spellbeard that needed to be captured, Nerotheora dashed forward. With her strengthened body thanks to sacred art, she charged ahead with enough force to tear up the road.
Perhaps her thunderous footsteps and pressure were too terrifying, for Spellbeard's expression was now one of fear.
"What are you doing! Why are you trying to stop me from going to marry Princess Solerina? What reason do you have!"
At this point, I marveled at the fact that he could still utter such lines. But what reason did I have to stop him?
At this moment, I recalled the sight of Solerina in the central capital of Locha, gently caressing her pregnant belly with a look of happiness. The joy of a woman who could marry the one she loved and the happiness of a mother with her beloved one's child growing inside her, all condensed into that loving smile.
Then, the image of that smile being trampled upon by the idiot who started a national war for his own selfish reasons flashed before me, and an indescribable anger welled up.
"Let me teach you a good word—"
I grasped the reins and urged Nerotheora forward with my spurs, giving her instructions.
Whether she understood the content of those instructions or not, Nerotheora neighed joyfully.
"Neigh!"
Nerotheora's trajectory, guided by my intentions, turned into a collision course with Spellbeard.
Perhaps sensing our intentions, Spellbeard's face contorted further in fear as he continued to speak.
"Wait, wait, wait! I surrender! I'll apologize for invading your territory and provide compensation! So—"
"Idiots who interfere with others' love shall die under a horse's hoof!"
Ignoring his pleas for mercy, I had Nerotheora crush Spellbeard, who had become an obstacle to Solerina, the woman I cherished as a second mother.