Chapter 171 Why We Fight 5
Geo, who still danced with multiple Antlions analyzed the situation. [Master Tactician] could be considered the [Tactics] on steroids. It granted a dedicated "Brain" to fight against you. Basically any and all ideas you made, it would develop counter-arguments.
This led to a worst-case scenario style of tactics that had extreme resiliency. After all good intentions cannot stop arrows. People wear armor not because they think positively, they do so because they think negatively.
"I won't be able to evade, so in order to not die let's increase our defense". Similar to this line of thinking [Master Tactician] would mercilessly cut your plans apart. Thus if you still have a viable plan afterward you know that the plan is good.
'I need a way to get their attention. Maybe I should use a flashy spell.'
- You lack the mana for a large spell, anything you do will be like a firecracker in a storm. -
'How about if I contain them?'
- You do not have enough mana to execute anything of that magnitude. -
'Can I use Aura to power the spell instead of mana?'
- Negative: Aura and Mana as well as Spirit are not compatible and reject one another. -
'Hmm, we cannot, contain them, stop them, or call their attention. Then killing them as fast as possible is the best way.'
- Affirmative. -
'Can I use [Flash explosion] to eliminate them?'
- You lack the mana, a [Flash Explosion] would kill 20 Antlions in its radius, to eliminate 3000 you would need to execute the skill more than 120 times. -
Geo then suddenly had an Antlion body lunch at him. "Woah, there! too close for comfort. What the hell was that?" The man then noticed the Antlions surrounding him and charge in groups of three.
While he could cut them apart the son of Renacida noticed the monsters were aiming for his right hand. "Shit, they are going to go for my sword arm!"
Like a dance, the man evaded, parried, and slashed the coming Hercules Antlions in too. When groups of three failed, they started to come in groups of five. If that was not enough two five-tailed terror scorpions approached. The large monsters shot their stings out like guns and their tails fell like rain to impale Geo to the ground.
This would normally not be an issue but if you add the tens of Antlions also running to get a piece of him, it turned chaotic. Getting inspired by the synergy of the monsters Geo asked [Master Tactician]
'If Aura can Mana repel if I force them enough can I cause an explosion?'
- Yes, Calibers if forced into the same object normally break the container. -
'Doesn't Master's swords allow all three?'
- Yes, the Caliber limit expressed by Hiroto Musashi is the absolute limit for the weapon not to break. It can only do so because of reinforcements along the weapon. The lower the class of the object the lower the limit. -
'Then what if I use my own body?'
- Yes, if Fulgeo Renacida coats his body with Aura and then injects Mana into it the chain reaction will cause an explosion. However, doing so will grant significant injuries to Fulgeo Renacida. -
'Will I survive it?'
- Yes, the explosions will detonate your skin and bones, your organs with the buffs from Hiroto Musashi are resilient enough to survive. Is used in tandem with [Butcher] It would be possible to cause the explosion repeatedly -
'Then what is the blast radius if I turned myself into a caliber bomb?'
- The blast radius would be 300 meters wide, projected number of times needed to annihilate the monster group is 12 repetitions -
'Good, then we can use this plan.'
- Negative, this plan should not be used. -
'Why? It's a feasible plan And can add to my tactics!'
At that point, a scorpion tail grazed Geo who made his move one second slower, an Antlion in waiting capitalized on the situation and managed to bite off his hand. Another rammed him in the gut ripping apart his abdomen while throwing him back.
- The amount of pain you will endure would be ten times what a man experiences before he goes insane. -
Multiple stingers then hunted for the red-haired magic swordsman as he pathetically rolled to the side. Due to the blood being spilled more five-tailed terror scorpions joined the fray. No matter how he dogged a stinger slammed on his thigh while one impaled him in the gut.
"What do you want me to do then?! I am going to die here if I don't do anything."
- Run. This is a fight you cannot win. You will die if you try to overcome it. Heal and run. Your life is the most important. -
Run, Kohei always ran. He ran from the expectations of his parents. He ran from the loneliness. Instead of trying to get better he feared change and ran. In this life since he died. He hid. Afraid of being found. Terrified that he would die again. In Sanita's arms, he stayed safe.
Yet, unlike him no matter how Sanita cried at night; she smiled the next morning. Unlike him, despite being bullied she never stood down. She always told Geo whenever he asked her to just stop attending noble events altogether.
(I cannot baby, despite my past I am now a Renacida. I will not run, If I do, I fail your father and Aspida. I cannot fight on the battlefield. However, I will never bow down to anyone for those I love. They can mock me all they want. But they will never make me stay down and die.)
The woman who didn't have a drop of calibers in her body had a tenacity greater than even he. Despite her body's weakness, her heart was far stronger than both of his lives.
Geo covered his remaining hand with Aura and sliced the stingers on him. He quickly got into a crouch and avoided the attacks, while on the run he ate monster meat and drank monster blood.
"I can't do that If I don't win here I will be left behind! I am the son of Sanita Renacida!"
- If you die, your mother will die from grief. Return to her and enjoy your life in bliss. Pride is a step away from foolishness -
Antlions charged for him, but without his sword, he opted to cover his fists with Aura. Like a boxer, Fulgeo smashed the monster's heads while avoiding the ones attempting to cut his limbs with their mandibles. When the scorpion stingers came the son of Renacida picked up ants and used them as shields.
"I KNOW THAT! WHY DO YOU THINK I AM HERE BITCH! UNLESS I GET STRONGER SHE WILL BE FOREVER A STAIN ON THE RENACIDA! IT IS ONLY BY BECOMING THE STRONGEST WILL SHE BECOME VALUED!"
- You do not have the will to overcome this. If you continue you will die. -
Due to being preoccupied Geo got covered in green antlion blood but continued to brawl with the monsters. A wayward stinger stabbed him in the back. As the monster appendages pumped him with venom, the redhead magic swordsman raised his body temperature to burn the poison.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIVING IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE DEAD? I LED TWO LIVES AND NEVER HAVE I FELT MORE ALIVE THAN I DO NOW! I CAN AND WILL GET STRONGER!"
Geo then pulled the stinger closer and ripped the stinger off the appendage. The scorpion in a bout of pain screamed and pulled back his wounded stinger. The Son of Renacida rode the returning limb like a surfboard as Aura engulfed his entire frame.
"I AM A SON OF THE RENACIDA! I WILL NEVER RUN! COME AT ME YOU FUCKERS! I WILL BURN YOU ALL!"