The battle began quickly.
There were no agreed-upon rules, no referees, not even someone to announce the start. Every member of the Brigade was well aware that there was no place for those on the battlefield, only victory and defeat.
The initiator of the challenge, Pentacle Four, made the first move.
His lips moved, uttering several indistinct syllables at an astonishing speed.
In the next second, he vanished from his original position.
Following him, the three teammates of Pentacle Four launched their attacks.
Pentacle One appeared to be an ordinary-looking male, slightly older than Pentacle Four. Armed with two pistols, he fired a series of magical bullets. Judging from the dispersing magical fluctuations, the magical levels imbued in the bullets were not low. Any magus below a certain level would be severely injured by a single hit.
Pentacle Two was of average height, resembling a high school girl with a doll-like face. However, her fighting style was far from innocent. She was a rare black magus, utilizing ocular or visceral catalysts to complement her magecraft. Though she had slightly weaker endurance, this macabre style might be enough to frighten someone into unconsciousness.
But this macabre style was only the beginning. The specialty of black magus was curses—draining life force, causing weakness, and depriving senses were just the basics. Qualified black magus were capable of afflicting victims with incurable illnesses, turning them into puppets or the living dead.
Pentacle Two was currently employing a secret and inherited curse of disease. Those cursed by her would experience unbearable itching all over their bodies as if they wanted to tear their skin apart.
On the other hand, Pentacle Three had a matching appearance and combat style, possessing a physique comparable to a bodybuilding coach. With various body-enhancing magecraft and under the cover of teammates, he charged directly towards Shinji for close combat.
The tactics of the entire Pentacle Squad were straightforward: one provided heavy firepower suppression, one served as an auxiliary weakening force, one engaged in close combat, and the last lurked in the shadows, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment. Each member of the squad possessed an extraordinary casting speed, turning this simple tactic into a formidable challenge, living up to the reputation of a rapid-response team.
Shinji dodged and took cover amidst the rain of bullets, silently assessing the strength of the Pentacle Squad.
"Hey, hey, Captain, why are you always hiding? What happened to your arrogance earlier?" taunted Pentacle Three, who had been unsuccessful in capturing Shinji.
"I just didn't want you to lose too embarrassingly, giving you some time to shine," Shinji replied, coming to a halt. He used his left hand to deflect several magic bullets with a protective rune, while his right hand wielded the Harpe, with the blade facing down and the bottom facing up.
"Since you don't appreciate it, don't blame me for being impolite," Shinji stated.
"Who wants your politeness!" Pentacle Three roared, crashing down with both hands clad in metallic gauntlets as if intending to shatter Shinji's bones.
The sickle's handle swung down, colliding head-on with Pentacle Three's palm, which was protected by a base cone made of the same material as the sickle blade.
With a heavy and dull sound, the ground beneath Shinji's feet shattered, while Pentacle Three's body was pushed back as if by some invisible force, retreating seven or eight steps in a row.
"Not good—Two!"
Pentacle One, who had been suppressing with firepower, changed his expression. The firing rate of the magical bullets doubled, and he, aided by accelerated magecraft, charged forward.
Pentacle Two, alerted by her teammate, quickly pulled out a pulsating purple heart from a bag of materials and hurled it toward Shinji.
The support of the two teammates did not change the fate of Pentacle Three. The barrage of magical bullets couldn't break through the protection of "EIHWAZ," and the purple heart was deflected by the turbulent airflow caused by Shinji's "Hagalaz" rune.
Before Pentacle Three could steady himself, Shinji had already appeared in front of him, delivering a kick to his stomach and sending him tumbling to the ground.
Using the force of the kick, Shinji propelled himself into a backflip, evading a direct attack from behind—Pentacle Four, who had disappeared since the beginning of the battle, suddenly appeared behind Shinji. If Shinji had reacted even slightly slower, Pentacle Four would have succeeded in the ambush.
And this slight difference determined the fate of Pentacle Four. The assassin, deprived of the shelter of shadows, could only meet a tragic end unless he was a "Creed"-level assassin who had received the true legacy of King Hassan.
Unfortunately, neither King Hassan nor any of the subsequent Hassans received his true legacy. The only "Creed" level assassin, Master Connor, also did not leave behind an inheritance. So Pentacle Four could not evade Shinji's aerial strike and fell to the ground along with Pentacle Three.
Pentacle One, who arrived halfway through, saw the unfavorable situation and was preparing to retreat, but it was already too late.
Taking down two enemies at once, Shinji's momentum was unstoppable. Relying on his C-rank anti-magic and rune magic protection, he charged toward Pentacle One, pressing the sickle blade against the latter's throat.
The remaining Pentacle Two, the only woman in the four-person team, knew that the tide had turned and raised her hands obediently.
"I surrender, we admit defeat."
Only then did Shinji move the sickle blade away and beckon to the captain of the Chalice squad, the "Pope," who was standing in the distance.
"Bring some healers. The two on the ground, one has internal organ rupture, and the other has a fractured scapula."
Pope nodded and waved his hand, and two of his subordinates ran forward in pairs.
"Oh, what a complete defeat," said the captain of the Pentacle Squad, "Hermit," as he approached. "Although I'm a bit unwilling."
"That's because you, as the captain, were absent. Pentacle Four was just a decoy. You are the true sharp blade, the core of the team. Am I right?" Shinji analyzed.
Upon hearing Shinji's analysis, "Hermit" burst into laughter. "I surrender, I surrender. Acting captain, you're truly formidable. I didn't believe it when 'Chariot' said you could rival Miss Lorelei, but now I find it ridiculous."
This statement caused an uproar, and the members of Pentacle Squad immediately became agitated, including the two who were receiving treatment.
"Captain, you deceived us."
"I've never heard you say that before."
"Yeah, if we had known, we wouldn't have followed Four to our deaths."
"I wouldn't dare challenge the captain either."
Hermit ignored the protests of the squad members and said to Shinji, "Captain, I would like to ask you to point out their shortcomings. Miss Lorelei used to do the same."
"I see," Shinji pondered for a moment and replied, "Pentacle One, your magic bullets focus too much on quantity, lacking individual power. If you could mix in some high-powered bullets among the barrage, I'm afraid I wouldn't have had such an easy time."
"Pentacle Two, your curse magecraft is fine, but your adaptability is slightly lacking. If I were you, when Pentacle Three was in crisis, I would have used at least three different projectiles."
"Pentacle Three, you have the biggest issue. As a melee magus, your footwork is lacking. Footwork is the foundation of all physical techniques. If your footwork is unstable, no matter how many techniques you have, they won't be effective. Starting today, spend half an hour every day practicing the horse stance, and if that's not enough, increase it."
"Pentacle Four, you need to pay attention to eliminating traces of magic. Can you consider it hidden if your concealed magic leaves traces? On this aspect, you should learn more from your squad captain."
"That's all."
"Thank you, Captain, for your guidance." Hermit bowed on behalf of his subordinates.
"Then—" Shinji took a deep breath and exclaimed, "—Is There Anyone Who Still Refuses To Submit?"
No one responded.
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