Kuvie arrived at a chaotic, three-way battlefield.

Her Sonarium squad captain, Nievelt, looked a bit disheveled but otherwise uninjured.

"Sir!"

Kuvie and the three others in her squad blocked a large burst of force moving through the water. The whole group had finally arrived...

"We’re outnumbered. Stay close together and don’t lose sight of that adventurer! He knows where the target is."

Kuvie nodded grimly, throwing out a bunch of seeds to temporarily control her surroundings.

[Wild Growth]!

With the sound of morphing organic matter, a kelp forest grew around the <Angel’s Bane> squad. Using the kelp as a buffer against the many water-based shockwaves, the group took a step back from the three-dimensional urban battle.

With all of the implicated civilians across three streets, the chaos was at a momentary peak.

Kuvie could barely catch sight of the adventurer they needed to keep track of. He had found allies in the Silo Family’s agents, and they seemed to be moving constantly in a certain direction.

Perhaps her captain saw this too, opting for a wait-and-see approach.

In stark contrast, the Ralle Family’s agents were engaged in a relentless pursuit, bombarding the group with whatever magic they could muster. The Ralle Family only wanted the baby drakon dead.

If that was not possible, then they just needed to stop the Silo Family from retrieving the drakon before the exams Cilliade had to take.

—Boom!

Water and Nature Magic bloomed alongside the assault of tridents and spears.

Other elements and weapons were difficult to use in this environment, thus creating a battle of affinity and attrition.

Kuvie’s eyes flashed with admiration as she watched the adventurer’s every move.

His movements were small, but the water around him always obeyed him over anyone else.

Every one of his strikes and blocks had an eerie timing to it, making him look deceptively weak.

Multiple times, he was targeted because of it, but he always came out without a scratch.

But Kuvie saw what the Ralle Family could not:

There was some kind of wind-up between every action he took. A gap between attack and defense.

It was subtle, but...

"That’s probably why he needs to keep track of timing."

Otherwise, his position would immediately crumble.

The Ralle Family’s assault came in waves, and so did the adventurer’s attacks. It was a fierce back-and-forth with no progress.

"Tsk,"

Nievelt clicked his tongue.

"Both sides are aware of us and are holding back. The four from the Silo Family are surprisingly proficient at urban battles... I honestly thought that, being from the wide-open Golden Seas, they would lack control."

If enough damage was incurred to the city and its citizens, the empire’s guards would come. If that happened, all sides were sure to incur losses.

But the Ralle Family seemed ready to make that sacrifice, forcing the Silo Family’s side to stop them from doing so.

Whenever they blocked, they had to guarantee that the moving buildings were not implicated as they moved from one street to another.

—Swish!

The water suddenly churned.

Kuvie was growing frustrated as he manipulated her kelp forest to creep closer to the battlefield.

However, Nievelt waved his hand.

"Let’s change tactics. Everyone! Eliminate the Ralle Family first. They are the most detrimental to this battle, having little care for their surroundings. No civilians have been injured because these slum-dwellers are all wary bastards."

"Yes, Sir!" Kuvie and the others all gave their salutes.

—BOOM!

Nievelt was the first to strike, rushing forward with his body coated in a dense layer of water. His muscles swelled as his heart pumped blood rapidly through his body.

[Natural Enhancement].

Instantly, Nievelt found a target.

The sound of pierced flesh and a shattered magic barrier sent a chill through the battlefield.

A Merman was pierced through by the Sonarium’s trident.

"That’s one—!"

A thick crimson haze tainted the waters. First blood had been spilled.

And Nievelt was out for more.

With a clang, he swung his trident in an arc, sending water rippling around him as it heeded his command.

"Water! Form and strike true!"

Where his trident had slashed, numerous spiralling water arrows formed in an instant.

"Pierce and brutalize!"

Nievelt added another spell, and the water arrows suddenly bulked up.

The Ralle Family’s agents paled as a few stepped up with a roar.

[Water Barrier]!

[Whirling Water Missile]!

—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A huge volley tore through the water as force met force. Any stray objects were immediately crushed by all that force transmitted through.

Organs would burst, and any air pockets would implode.

A wave of immense water pressure spread out across the battlefield, forcing every combatant to defend themselves.

But Nievelt was not done.

"—Break!"

A terrifying ring terrorized the waters as a gleaming golden trident flew out like a missile.

—Vwhoom!

It tore through the weakened Water Barrier like it was nonexistent before finding the hearts of two more Ralle Family agents.

"You damned meddler!" A voice roared in hatred. "Everyone—retreat!"

Three deaths weren’t a part of their plan. <Angel’s Bane> was an unexpected variable.

The Ralle Family fled faster than they pursued.

Nievelt thus turned to the still-fleeing group from the Silo Family.

"They made good use of the window I gave them, huh."

Slightly winded from the fading effects of <Natural Enhancement>, Nievelt gauged his current state.

’I have enough for another all-out assault... I’ll start with a negotiation first.’

Suddenly, tendrils of a deep, menacing green sprouted in the distance, chasing after the Silo Family’s agents.

Nievelt’s squad had moved separately from him. With his peak C-Rank abilities, he was enough to deter the group from Ralle.

Of course, on the premise that he struck with all his might.

"Haaaaah,"

It’s a good thing that his underlings were competent.

He swiftly went after them.

***

Aventine watched as the dark-green tentacles rapidly approached him and his newfound allies. His expression was grim, but inwardly, he was waiting for Kuvie to move closer.

’This is an opportunity to get acquainted.’ He thought.

Although Kuvie was wearing a disguise, Aventine was not. Thus, when he approached Clementine and her friends as himself later, Kuvie would certainly recognize him.

Once she did, the strings of <Fate> that bound her would be easier to unravel.

’And it would be in a very natural way too...’

Aventine inwardly chuckled as he flicked his wrist.

—VWHOOM!

A massive whirlpool surged around him and his allies, isolating them from their enemies.

"Miss Roa! The drakon is in this shop!"

Finally.

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