The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason - Chapter 79



Imperial Expedition (13)

The air was heavy.

My whole body felt crushed.

It was as if I were a prey standing before a predator, my body frozen in fear.

The moment MacGuff arrived here, he unleashed his power without reservation.

To be honest, it was astonishing.

No matter how much of a level difference there was, I never expected to feel such overwhelming pressure. When he was an enemy, it was so uncomfortable, but now that he was an ally, I felt so secure.

The face of the puppet master, who had been consistently relaxed, gradually hardened.

As he drew his sword, he said,

“I’ll deal with that slippery little guy. You all clean up the surroundings.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Haah, thanks to you, I’m still alive.”

I let out a sigh of relief. It seemed I could finally relax a bit.

After giving a simple command, MacGuff charged straight at the puppet master. With the great sword positioned at his waist, he prepared to unleash a powerful strike.

Unlike the puppet master, who didn’t need to read signals, it was a straightforward blow. But whether I could evade it was a different matter altogether.

Whoosh!

The moment I thought that, his sword swung down.

The air pressure surged violently where the sword had passed.

It was as if a gravitational pull was generated in the space where the sword had been swung like a whirlwind. It was so strong that even my body, far away, felt a momentary tug.

This was one of his signature abilities.

Swinging a great sword, he was inevitably slower than an opponent of equal rank. No matter how strong his attack was, he knew well that if the opponent dodged, it would all be for nothing.

Thus, he sought a way to restrict the opponent’s movements. He created air pressure to limit movement and generated a pull to draw the opponent toward his sword.

If one only focused on dodging, the opponent would inevitably lose their rhythm.

‘That was quite bothersome in the game too.’

Since he was an ally, there weren’t many instances of hostility.

Therefore, most of the battles with him were friendly sparring sessions.

It was quite annoying when, after dodging for a while, one would suddenly find themselves groggy.

Of course, the opponent was not to be underestimated.

Whoosh!

“Hmm?”

“Ha, you are indeed difficult to manipulate.”

If MacGuff’s ability was to draw the opponent into his attack, then the puppet master redirected that attack to unintended places.

There was no need to control the whole body. Just an arm, a leg, or even a wrist would suffice.

By making minute adjustments to another’s body, the point of impact of the attack could vary greatly. Because of this, MacGuff’s attacks often couldn’t even reach the vicinity of the puppet master.

“What a bothersome trickster.”

Of course, MacGuff swung his sword without concern.

I frowned.

‘It’s ambiguous.’

While MacGuff had a slight advantage, it wasn’t overwhelming.

Even though there was a one-level difference, the actual skill gap didn’t seem to be that significant.

It was a rare case. A fully developed low-level character and a high-level character who had just leveled up. The skill difference might not be that great.

It was disappointing, but I had to be satisfied. After all, it was true that I could breathe a little easier because of it.

We just needed to quickly tidy up the surroundings and regroup.

Thinking this, I asked Yuliss.

“How long will it take to purify everything?”

“It might take a little while… I’m starting to get tired…”

It seemed the battle had indeed been intense. Seeing her, who usually doesn’t exhaust her magical power, complaining of fatigue was telling.

“First, we just need to gather the puppets and tie them up. We can deal with them rationally after the battle.”

I feel a bit sorry for the civilians, but there’s no time.

The puppet master must realize he’s cornered. I needed to apply some pressure before he could escape.

“Ugh… I wanted to play a bit longer, but it seems that’s not possible. More and more people are gathering, after all.”

At that moment, the puppet master bound my hands behind my back. He had a rolled-up scroll tucked into his back pocket.

It was highly likely to be a scroll. A teleportation spell, no less.

I shouted urgently.

“Stop McGuff! He’s trying to escape!”

“Shut up! I know that too!”

His tone was a bit harsh, but my wish was conveyed.

Whoosh!

He swung his sword wide, intercepting the creature’s arm.

The puppet master hastily withdrew his body, trying to pull out the scroll.

His expression twisted in frustration.

“This is rather annoying.”

I felt sorry for him, but I planned to keep him from using it.

Of course, he could cast the scroll with just a flick of his hand, so eventually, he would use it…

[The scroll ‘Slowpoke’s Reading Method’ is being cast!]

[The casting time of the spell is increased!]

There is a grand sorcerer here who knows how to use fascinating debuffs.

Ah, but it wasn’t Lily.

That spell was of a rather high grade, one she couldn’t use yet.

It was used by Jess Cuban, who had retired from the previous fight.

“Ugh, heh heh…”

I could still see him grinning while lying flat on the ground. It seemed that spell was conjured by squeezing out all his strength.

The puppet master spat out curses.

“You pathetic little worm, dying…”

By that time, the binding of the puppets was nearly complete.

Though their brainwashing hadn’t been undone, they were tied up tightly enough that they couldn’t thrash about.

“I’ll support you.”

Thus, we began to assist MacGuffin.

Not directly, of course. We didn’t have the confidence to engage in that fierce battle.

However, we could sneak in support here and there when the opportunity arose.

For instance, we could unleash minor skills just when the puppet master managed to catch a breath. Or distract him with an attack.

That alone was enough to apply pressure on him.

[The puppet master uses a return scroll!]

[Preparing to cast······.]

Of course, we couldn’t completely block his hands, so the scroll was indeed cast.

From now on, a time attack was in effect. The goal was to inflict as much damage as possible before he returned.

Thus, we had to mitigate our losses as much as we could.

“Haah, ha… how bothersome.”

Before long, several bio-signatures had appeared on the creature’s body.

With pressure coming from all sides, even he couldn’t dodge everything.

Yet, despite the circumstances, there were no fatal wounds, leaving both him and us equally frustrated.

Whoosh!

At that moment, MacGuffin swung his sword once more.

A menacing sound echoed as the blade surged toward the creature.

But once again, he evaded the strike. Even though this attack was quite sharp, it still missed.

MacGuffin clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, slippery little thing…”

I clicked my tongue inwardly as well.

From the start, our compatibility was off. It was true that MacGuffin was stronger and his attacks were powerful. But what good was that if they never landed?

The stronger the attack, the more pronounced the signals it emitted. Naturally, the creature would be doing everything it could to dodge.

In this state, we couldn’t inflict a fatal blow on him.

Damn it, does that mean we have to let him go like this?

‘No.’

We just needed to create a situation. A situation where he had no choice but to take a hit.

From noble mtl dot com

Even as I pondered this, time was diligently passing. With each fleeting moment, the words on the scroll were evaporating.

The puppet master chuckled at that. It seemed he had regained some of the composure he had lost.

“It seems it’s about time to wrap things up. Honestly, I’m not that satisfied, but it was still fun.”

—

I hope this captures the essence and atmosphere of the original text!

He points to his torn scroll and says,

“Then let’s give you a gift before you go.”

Crackle! Crackle!

Electricity surged from his hands. He was about to use magic again. Since he would be returning soon anyway, there was no need to conserve his strength.

Soon, the magic unfolded.

“Thunderstorm”

Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Like raindrops falling, countless lightning bolts struck the ground.

“Uaaah!”

“Damn, did he still have this kind of power left?”

Of course. He was a proper grand sorcerer.

If he didn’t hold back his mana, it was entirely possible to unleash natural disasters around him. The casting speed was indeed astonishing.

“Ugh…!”

The sudden attack momentarily disrupted our formation.

However, since he cast it in a hurry, the attack itself wasn’t that strong.

But the relentless downpour of lightning paralyzed both sight and hearing. This meant he had time to prepare his next move.

I could feel it.

Amidst the rain of lightning, a type of mana was condensing in one spot. The lightning pouring down now was fake. That was the real deal.

Fortunately, it seemed I wasn’t the only one to sense this.

I could vaguely see each of us deploying our defenses in our own ways.

Good, with this, I could somewhat feel reassured…

Just as I thought that, the condensed lightning shot out. Straight towards an unguarded Jess Cuban.

“Cuban!!”

Boom!

With a loud roar, debris scattered.

Seeing that, the puppet master chuckled and said,

“If everyone sends such defensive signals, I have no choice but to attack something else.”

I frowned.

Damn it. He’s already read the signals. This was the consequence of our failure to come up with alternative strategies in a desperate situation.

As I was thinking this, a circular magic circle rose above the ground. Naturally, it was a teleportation magic circle.

The end of this battle was palpable before my eyes.

“I won’t miss!”

MacGuff charged forward swiftly. His eyes were filled with rage as he swung his great sword. There was a determination in him that suggested he would land a hit no matter what, even if the foe managed to escape.

But it would be futile.

As I mentioned earlier, his attacks were powerful but slow.

Against a puppet with near precognitive evasion abilities, he was bound to be at a disadvantage.

Even if he got close enough to swing his sword, it was clear the creature would evade. And it would return leisurely.

Did it know that? Its face was still adorned with a grin.

But things wouldn’t go as it thought. That’s why I was here.

“······.”

I looked at the ground. Blood was scattered everywhere.

It was the blood I had diligently spread during the fight.

At first glance, it might seem chaotic, but upon closer inspection, it formed a connected pool of blood.

If I sent blood directly to it through blood flow manipulation, it would surely notice something was off.

Though it was somewhat cumbersome, I needed to prepare the ground so that it would naturally step into the blood. And finally, the fruits of that labor were visible before me.

Without hesitation, I cast a spell.

[Using ‘Blood Power Exchange’!]

[Combining with ‘Electrocution’!]

[Electricity flows through your blood!]

Surely, this would send a signal to it.

But it couldn’t escape. The electricity coursing through its blood would paralyze it faster than it could move.

“Ugh?!”

Its expression momentarily twisted in confusion.

The damage wouldn’t be severe. Electrocution was a basic spell, and my proficiency was low. It would likely be briefly paralyzed before quickly recovering.

But that brief paralysis was exactly what I needed. That fleeting moment was more crucial than anything else right now.

Swish!

Soon after, MacGuff’s great sword swung down.

This time, the creature couldn’t evade. It was paralyzed from the unexpected attack. It had to take the blow of the great sword that sliced through its flesh.

Blood spurted like a fountain. The sound of flesh and bone being crushed echoed softly. MacGuff’s strike had cleaved through half of the creature’s upper body.

It was a fatal blow, unmistakably. If it had been just a bit deeper, its upper body would have been severed entirely.

“Keuhuk!”

Blood burst forth from the creature’s neck.

But we could not continue the attack beyond that.

McGuff’s swing of the great sword was outpaced by the creature’s teleportation.

Pat!

With a very small sound effect, the creature’s body vanished.

“······.”

“······.”

All that remained was a silence formed from confusion.

Thus, with half a victory and half a defeat, the battle came to an end.