Clang-
A clear peal of bells echoed in their ears.
The clear sky suddenly turned crimson, even the drifting clouds stained red. Golden light enveloped the three of them, and the next instant, they vanished from the Capital's square.
"This is..."
The three appeared before a cliff, surrounded by overlapping green mountains and lush forests.
All three looked up at the blood-red sky. Twisted rifts split the heavens, spewing countless ferocious monsters that swarmed out, prowling around and attacking every living thing nearby.
Naofumi Iwatani's expression grew grim. "Those are... the Waves of Catastrophe!"
His black eyes turned blood-red, bearing Three Tomoe. As Ye Uchiha watched the monsters pouring out of the rifts in the sky, surprise flickered across his face.
Some power had twisted and torn space apart, much like Space-Time Ninjutsu-Obito Uchiha's Kamui-combined with a large-scale summoning technique.
So these were the so-called Waves of Catastrophe?
Although these monsters were weak, their sheer numbers made up for it. They were practically endless. Unless the root of the problem was addressed, no matter how many were killed, their numbers would keep growing until everyone here was worn down and killed. Only by defeating the strongest monster in this Wave-the area's boss-could they put an end to it.
Hurried footsteps rang out. Motoyasu Kitamura, Ren Amaki, and Itsuki Kawasumi led the charge toward the twisted rift, closely followed by their companions and some knights from the Capital's Knight Order.
"Ye, Raphtalia, get ready to move."
Seeing the other three take action, Naofumi Iwatani called out to the two of them.
Raphtalia suddenly looked anxious and pointed at the small village in the distance. "Master Naofumi, that's Lute Village!"
The village stood among the distant mountains, with scattered flickers of fire visible within it. Clearly, the villagers had yet to evacuate.
There were no adventurers or knights stationed in Lute Village, only ordinary villagers who had no way to withstand the Waves of Catastrophe.
"Damn it, they probably haven't finished evacuating yet..."
Naofumi Iwatani's expression darkened. He recalled that when the Waves of Catastrophe arrived, only the heroes and their parties were transported. That meant the Knight Order wasn't here, and no one was going to support or protect Lute Village.
Though the city wasn't far away, it would still take the knights quite some time to arrive. If they simply left the village to its fate...
Bang-
A glowing object resembling a flashbang shot into the sky above Lute Village.
"A signal flare?"
"Tch, so they're just marking its location for the knights and washing their hands of it?"
Those three idiot heroes!
Naofumi Iwatani's face was stormy as he began cursing those three fools inwardly. They must have been thinking only about defeating the strongest monster, without sparing a thought for civilian lives.
"Ye, Raphtalia and I will go help Lute Village. You go help stem the tide of monsters."
Quickly making up his mind, Naofumi Iwatani addressed Ye Uchiha.
"I'll leave the village to you, then. Oh, these three ghosts are my familiars. You can command them however you like."
Ye Uchiha cast Undead's Eulogy, summoning three ghosts as cannon fodder and handing command of the LV15 ghosts to Naofumi Iwatani.
"Undead?!" Naofumi Iwatani stared blankly at the white ghosts floating in the air.
"I'll head out first, then."
Ignoring Naofumi Iwatani's stunned expression, Ye Uchiha leaped onto a large tree. Using the branches as footholds, he bounded several yards at a time, pursuing Motoyasu Kitamura and the others.
"Let's leave that side to Ye. Raphtalia, we're going to Lute Village!"
Watching Ye Uchiha disappear into the distance, Naofumi Iwatani gritted his teeth and sprinted toward Lute Village with Raphtalia, while the three ghosts silently followed behind him.
A massive chimera with three heads-a goat's, a lion's, and a crocodile's-and a python's head for a tail let out a swaggering roar. Standing at a distance, it commanded the surrounding monsters to attack Motoyasu Kitamura and the others.
"Tch, so we have to clear out these monsters before we can get near the boss? What a pain."
Motoyasu Kitamura speared a lunging zombie to death, then looked impatiently at the chimera boss keeping its distance from their group.
Wave after wave of monsters surrounded them, numbering at least several hundred. Though these low-level monsters were easy to kill, they became a nuisance when they swarmed together. Every batch they killed was replaced by an even larger swarm. It simply never ended.
"Crimson Lotus Sword!"
Scorching flames erupted from the longsword in Ren Amaki's hand as he slashed at the clustered monsters. The searing heat burned them straight into charcoal.
"Itsuki, can your bow kill the boss from this far away?"
"No, the damage isn't enough. Besides, at this distance, it has plenty of time to react and dodge."
Itsuki Kawasumi kept drawing his bowstring, firing arrows formed from magical energy. Each shot pierced a monster's skull, killing it instantly.
The mages behind them chanted spells. Magic circles lit up in the air, forming fireballs, ice spikes, and wind blades that rained wildly down upon the monsters.
The adventurers and knights fought their own battles, keeping the rear line safe.
"Finally found it. Is that the final boss of this Wave?" Ye Uchiha, who had arrived late, spoke slowly, having appeared among them before anyone noticed.
Berserk Chimera LV35
That was the monster boss's name and level. Its level was considerably higher than those of Motoyasu Kitamura, Ren Amaki, and Itsuki Kawasumi, but to Ye Uchiha, it was nothing worth mentioning.
"Ye, when did you get here?"
The three stared at Ye Uchiha behind them in alarm. None of them had sensed him approaching. Did that mean he could easily assassinate them?
"I just arrived. Leave the rest to me." Looking at the distant chimera, Ye Uchiha strode forward, ignoring the monsters eyeing him hungrily from all sides.
"Hey, watch out!" Itsuki Kawasumi shouted as a zombie wielding a giant sword charged at Ye Uchiha.
Shing-
A cold gleam flashed, and an ink-black blade cleaved it in two. Ye Uchiha did not spare it a glance, his eyes fixed on the Berserk Chimera.
Ren Amaki's pupils suddenly contracted. "So fast!" he murmured.
He had not even seen the blade being drawn. The entire slash had been completed in an instant. Was that speed really something a human could achieve?
Ye's swordsmanship is actually this good? I'm supposed to be the Sword Hero, aren't I? Why does watching this make me feel like a fake?
"Let's clear out the trash first."
Watching the endless stream of charging monsters, Ye Uchiha rapidly formed Hand Seals. His cheeks puffed slightly as he drew a sharp breath through his nose, then exhaled forcefully.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
A fan of scorching flames poured from his mouth, incinerating the army of monsters blocking his path. Not even their bones remained; everything burned to ash, leaving a vast stretch of blackened earth.
Blistering waves of heat rolled in every direction, distorting the surrounding air. Everyone present felt their mouths go dry. Wiping beads of sweat from their faces, they stared in shock at the ground before Ye Uchiha, where the monsters had been burned away without so much as a bone left behind.
"Hey, hey, hey! Breathing fire straight out of his mouth-what kind of skill or magic is that?" Motoyasu Kitamura was so stunned by Ye Uchiha's actions that his jaw dropped. He poked Itsuki Kawasumi beside him and blurted out the question.
Power on this scale was practically cheating!
Itsuki Kawasumi, whose eyes were likewise wide with shock, thought for a moment before answering uncertainly, "This should be the Ninjutsu Ye mentioned last time, right?"
I never imagined it would be so destructive. If I took a hit from that, I'd either die or lose half my life!
At the back of the group, Myne's pale green eyes flickered. Her gaze stayed fixed on Ye Uchiha as he displayed his overwhelming power, and she licked her soft pink lips as though she had discovered an interesting new prey. Her attention, previously devoted entirely to Motoyasu Kitamura, began to wander.
Someone this powerful is nothing like the stupid, lecherous Spear Hero beside me. If I can bring him under my command, then the position of heir to the kingdom... will be mine for certain!
Before you continue