Chapter 175: Barrier ; Dream ; Shutdown (1/2)
”There is a barrier around the town,” I state in a solemn tone.
”A barrier?” Krul inquires.
”Yeah. I'm not sure what kind of barrier it is, but for it to be able to block my sight, it can't be a simple one,” I explain.
And the fact that such a barrier exists around a town near the outer region of the kingdom is worrying.
Has the enemy been preparing for this assault for a long time, or did they set it up recently by predicting where we will strike next?
If it's the latter, then there are three possibilities.
The first possibility would be that there are numerous magicians inside with decent experience in setting up barriers.
Second, there is an artifact that is capable of such a thing.
And finally, the most troublesome one - Someone is capable of setting it up all by themselves.
For the third possibility, the individual must hold a high amount of power and status.
”Stay cautious,” I say after considering our options, ”There is a high chance of a powerful foe awaiting our arrival.”
Jeanette and Sheffield who have been disguised by my Reform both look toward the front with intrigue apparent on their faces.
As I continue to examine the barrier by Clairvoyance, I notice that a part of the army has already marched inside, and from the looks of it, nothing has happened to them. If there was something wrong, the soldiers behind them would've reacted in one way or another.
Setting that aside, it seems like the barrier is not a physical one.
{WARNING: Code waves detected.}
{Identification failed.}
As I suspected, the barrier has been set up by an irregular individual. Even so, I didn't expect it to be done by a Code.
{Only a Code's Effects can properly counter the Effects of another Code.}
Oh? That's some good news that I would've preferred to hear some time other than now.
Anyway, now that the enemy has marched inside, there is no point in stopping them and acting like a coward, or, so I'd like to say, but,
”Yvonne go and order Godeffroy to stop the march.”
”Yes, Your Highness,” she respectfully responds before getting off the carriage and swiftly, yet gracefully head to where Godeffroy is.
”Let's get off,” I suggest before jumping off while carrying Irene.
The other girls, including Jeanette and Sheffield, follow suit and follow me as I walk toward the town under the curious eyes of the soldiers.
Soon, I notice that the soldiers have stopped marching. It seems like Yvonne has relayed the order already.
A short while later, I find myself right in front of the barrier while the girls are standing behind me with a curious expression on their faces.
”I'm sensing something,” Krul says, ”It's like there is a giant wall in front of us.”
”That's the barrier,” I explain, ”And it's most likely one that was created by a Code.”
”A Code?!” Saturnus exclaims in an excited tone.
Right, she knows about them.
”That's correct, Saturnus,” I reply, ”Do you think you're capable of fighting against Codes?”
”That depends on the Code,” she replies without any hesitation, ”After all, this is what the Creator created me for.”
Throughout our short conversation, everyone apart from Irene and Krul gets more and more lost.
”What are the Codes that you're confident in fighting against?”
”Anything that specifically targets natural creatures,” she replies.
Natural creatures, huh.
”Well then,” I say before coating myself in Destruction, ”Here goes nothing.”
I slowly walk forward and reach my arm out to 'touch' the barrier.
Unexpectedly, the Destructive energy reacts to the barrier in the worst possible way I could imagine.
My energy constantly gets sucked out as the barrier becomes visible to the naked eye of the soldiers and the girls.
Soon, multiple cracks form on the barrier before it completely shatters.
Damn it. How much energy did that drain?
{Energy left: 58%}
Ugh. At least, the barrier is gone now.
My relief doesn't last for long, as multiple roars resound all over the place, as numerous flying figures seem to appear out of nowhere.
That's not the end of it, as the ground beneath begins to shake, destabilizing so much that some of them begin to fall onto the ground.
A few seconds later, my confusion is washed away as five gigantic metallic golems emerge from the ground.
What makes matters worse is that there are different patterns of colorful gems embroidered onto the golems, which I highly doubt are for decoration.
Just as I'm about to give orders to the soldiers, dozens of houses in the town explode as a dozen or so magicians that seem to be in a 'dead' state float into the air while holding eerie-looking wands.
”Brace for impact!” I exclaim while using Elemental Magic to form a wall of earth in front of us.
The next moment, several energy rays escape from the wands and directly strike the earth wall with enough to force to easily destroy it and pass through.
One energy ray is approaching me at an extremely ridiculous speed that I'm unable to dodge my body in time.
I decide to use Time-Stop, however, before I can do so, the world in front of me suddenly 'shatters' as every sense of dread I had gets washed away.
My vision which seemed to have gone hazy for some reason clears up.
Confused, I rub my eyes a little before looking around.
All of a sudden, I am overwhelmed with extreme pain from my stomach, forcing me to look down, only to find the tip of a familiar weapon protruding from my chest.