They would protect their home through their own strength.
Ash didn't pay much attention to this and continued studying magic and reading books.
But that very night, while Ash was lying idly on the soft belly of the Sacred Beast, the enormous dog, with a book in his hands, leisurely flipping through its pages, a commotion suddenly arose below.
Eris was having a wonderful time playing with the cat-eared girl, Minitona. But Minitona suddenly wrinkled her little nose, a trace of confusion and unease appearing on her face.
"How strange... I think there's a weird smell in the air. Ah! Could there be a fire?"
"A fire?"
Roxy, who had been pouring tea, jerked her hand, spilling tea all over the table.
Ash, however, remained completely composed, merely turning the page of his book as he casually replied, "No. Those criminal groups haven't given up yet. They're still lighting fires in various places, and there are more of them than ever before. There are 328 people in total, including quite a few hired adventurers and some soldiers from the port city. They're probably planning to risk everything out of desperation to make a living. As for the port city, they're planning to use the ships I sank earlier as an excuse to attack us and make a big profit in the process."
"M-Mr. Ash!"
Nona, who had been studying magic with Roxy nearby, immediately grew nervous at his words. Her ears shot straight up, and her body darted toward Ash like a bolt of lightning. She clutched his clothes tightly with both hands, her eyes full of fear and helplessness.
She seemed to have remembered what had happened to her a few days ago. The sight was heartbreaking, leaving Ash rather helpless. He reached out and gently rubbed her head.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. I told you before, didn't I? I'll protect you."
"...Why do you know all that so clearly?"
Eris seemed to have a hint of jealousy in her voice. She sat down right next to Ash, looking thoroughly displeased.
"I caught a scout while out for a walk yesterday... And, by the way, there were several scouts a few nights ago too. They've been keeping this area under surveillance."
"Why didn't you deal with them beforehand?"
"Preventing them from coming back is more important than stopping them in advance, isn't it? We don't know how long we'll be staying here, after all, so we need to give them a proper warning."
With one hand fiddling with the fox ears and the other stroking Nona's little chin, Ash gave this chilling answer without even lifting his head.
"You're being so attentive and gentle toward someone you've only known for a few days. Your teacher is very pleased, you know?", Roxy said with a complicated smile, though a hint of worry could be seen in her eyes.
"...Your expression doesn't really match what you're saying."
"Because the things you're doing with your hands are genuinely worrying me..."
"Then, as a substitute, how about letting me pet you, Roxy?"
"There are jokes you can make and jokes you can't! Honestly... kids these days, really!"
Perhaps she'd grown used to Ash teasing her during this period. This time, Roxy merely puffed out her cheeks slightly and pretended to be stern as she lectured him.
However, when she finally turned her head away and bashfully fiddled with the hair over her forehead, a faint blush appeared on her pretty face, as if to suggest... that if he asked seriously, there might actually be a chance?
Just as he was thinking that, he noticed all the girls around him glaring at him intently, leaving him no choice but to hold himself back...
'Once we're alone, maybe I should find another chance to ask Roxy sincerely?'
After secretly making up his mind, he silently stood up.
"I'll be right back. Just wait here for a little while."
———
Dense gray smoke drifted through the forest air. From high above, the entire forest seemed to be burning.
In reality, however, the fire had only just started. The fuel that had been splashed around everywhere, along with the excessive amount of oil, had caused a sudden flash fire, creating the impression that it could burn down the entire surrounding forest.
The remaining members of the warrior corps had reacted immediately. However, the thick smoke severely reduced their combat effectiveness, as their overly sensitive sense of smell made them especially vulnerable to it.
Taking advantage of this, groups of human warriors charged in from all directions. Some moved to restrain the beastfolk warriors, while others grabbed the hair of children playing outside at night and the women accompanying them, forcibly dragging them toward the outskirts.
Worse still, some had already climbed onto the walkways and, like bandits breaking down doors, barged into the homes of beastfolk residents, attempting to abduct the children and women inside.
For a while, large numbers of beastfolk residents fled in every direction like headless flies. Their mouths filled with miserable cries and terrified screams, the sounds echoing through the forest and making anyone who heard them feel a chill.
"Let's finish this in one go."
At this chaotic moment, Ash's voice cut through the noisy battlefield like a cold command.
In an instant, a strange sound of freezing rang through the air, as if time itself had stopped.
Immediately afterward, countless ice pillars appeared across the entire sky. They stood like forest of spears, gleaming with cold light and carrying an overwhelming force. Their sheer number was astonishing.
The spectacular sight of the ice pillars seemingly covering the entire night sky, sending a wave of cold sweeping across the land, left both sides of the battle stunned. Everyone froze in place, their movements coming to a halt. Even Eris and the others were left gaping at the sudden sight.
"Th-This... could it be God-tier magic?"
Roxy, a Water King-tier magician herself, was so shocked that she couldn't even close her mouth.
Ash simply waved his hand.
"Go."
At his command, the countless ice pillars transformed into a rain of silver arrows, carrying a fierce, icy wind as they surged downward.
The pillars tore through the air with piercing whistles, hurtling toward the invaders at astonishing speed and power, striking them with pinpoint accuracy.
In an instant, the merciless ice pillars pierced one invader after another, impaling them on the pillars like pieces of meat threaded onto skewers.
Blood gushed from their wounds like fountains, instantly blooming into clusters of horrific red flowers on the ice pillars before freezing rapidly, creating a bizarre and terrifying sight.
The humans who tried to resist or dodge appeared so tiny and helpless before the overwhelming storm of ice pillars.
They widened their eyes and stared in terror as death approached, unable to mount any effective defense.
The countless ice pillars not only pierced the criminals who were assaulting people and forcibly abducting children and women, but also froze the surrounding ground into an icy plain. The cold rapidly spread, and the raging flames gradually lost their ferocity.
Wherever the ice pillars struck, the flames were quickly extinguished. White steam rose into the air, mingling with the gray smoke that had already filled the surroundings.
In this clash between ice and fire, the excessively dense ice pillars gained the upper hand in the blink of an eye. The fire was extinguished almost immediately, and the entire battlefield fell silent.
The situation, which should have been on the verge of collapse, was completely resolved in an instant by this overwhelming display of violence, leaving behind only a scene of utter devastation steeped in bitter cold.
Everything had ended far too quickly. The beastfolk, who had been terrified and helplessly watching their homes being invaded and their people abducted and harmed, couldn't immediately process what had happened.
Yet every one of them stopped fleeing. They simply stared blankly at the scene before them. The panic in their eyes gradually gave way to reverence, and some elderly beastfolk slowly knelt, expressing their respect for Ash in the most devout way they knew.
The younger beastfolk began cheering excitedly. They raised their weapons high and shouted Ash's name.
But at that very moment, almost no one noticed the middle-aged man with a scarred face who had pushed his own companions forward to take the attacks. He suddenly rushed out from behind a tree and grabbed a little boy by the hair. At the child's cry of pain, everyone instinctively lowered their heads and looked over.
"Let me leave, and I'll give the child back to you!"
The scar-faced man pressed a curved blade against the boy's neck. He glanced at the crowd instinctively gathering around him and grinned.
"Let me tell you in advance! I'm Gallus, the 'Cleanup Expert' of the Northern Saint rank. Don't even think about rescuing the kid... With a hostage in my hands, even a Sword King couldn't easily save someone from me."
"...You bastard!"
The warrior chief of the Dedoldia tribe, the father of the fox-eared and cat-eared girls, whose muscles were as overdeveloped as Ghislaine's, the huge muscleman Gyes shouted angrily.
"If you've got the guts, let the child go and fight me!"
"I'm not an idiot! What if you don't keep your promise?"
As Gallus spoke, he continued backing away, keeping a wary eye on Ash, who had just demonstrated such astonishing magic.
But Ash had no intention of using magic again. He silently walked over to the railing and, before anyone could react, leaped into the air amid a chorus of shocked cries, plunging straight down from a height of more than thirty meters.
With a loud BOOM! and a dull impact, he landed steadily amid the billowing dust like a falling meteorite, completely unharmed. He then walked toward them as casually as if he were strolling through a garden, paying no mind to the astonishment of those who couldn't believe that a magician could also possess such an extraordinarily powerful physique.
"Hey! Come any closer, and I'll kill this brat!"
Gallus didn't understand why he'd jumped down, but he remained on guard, slowly pressing the blade into the child's neck in an attempt to intimidate Ash.
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