I Already Know That My Magic Power Is Ridiculously High! Now I Just Need To Get A Lovely Bride - Chapter 14

“Wha–what… what the hell is this?!”

Balbat screamed as he stared at the unbelievable sight before him. The common soldiers—ordinary stardust troops enhanced by the “Maten-maten” spell—had been so powerfully slammed into the ground when they fell that many of them died instantly. Those who survived lost consciousness one after another, making it impossible to tell them apart from dead bodies. Even the tougher, more magically resistant satellite Satera-class soldiers, who possess bodies far stronger than ordinary stardust, lay frozen and unconscious on the ground.

“Ah—guh… Your Highness, are you alright?!”

Neftis, who was lying on the ground, called out to Balbat.

“Tch! What in the world happened?! Explain it, Neftis!”

Seeing his pathetic subordinate, Balbat could no longer contain his anger and bellowed at Neftis while unleashing his magical power.

“It appears… we were hit by a Hoshistera-class ‘Intimidation’ attack!”

Neftis, his body rigid and his face showing clear pain, answered haltingly. His stuttering only fueled Balbat’s frustration even more.

“Huh?! This is what you call ‘Intimidation’?!”

“…Yes, I believe this rigidity is definitely due to ‘Intimidation.'”

In truth, the results looked very much like what happens when a noble uses the “Intimidation” technique. Neftis was convinced that an enemy noble’s intimidation had taken effect, but Balbat stubbornly refused to believe it.

“No way! I was definitely using my ‘magic detection’! I didn’t see any noble shadow anywhere! And I even cast Maten-maten on the troops! There’s no way a mere ‘Intimidation’ attack could strip away my Maten!”

Balbat shouted in a crazed voice, unable to believe what was happening before his eyes.
(Note: “Maten” is a spell that enhances physical strength, mental resilience, and magical resistance in others.)
From Balbat’s point of view, what Neftis was saying was like claiming you can win rock-paper-scissors with scissors beating rock.

“But—however, in reality, it seems that the ‘Maten’ has been cancelled. Since we cannot even determine the enemy’s position right now, staying here is, without a doubt, the worst possible idea.”

Neftis advised the frenzied Balbat, and then began to gather his magic in an effort to quickly counteract the numbness caused by the Intimidation. When one’s body feels numb from a noble’s Intimidation, the proper remedy is to channel enough magic to cancel out that effect. However, the intense Intimidation had left Neftis feeling as if the “door”—the organ in his body that generates magic—had been locked, and he struggled to gather his magic properly, leaving him confused.

“Then what are we going to do in this situation?!”

With Balbat’s deranged shout, Neftis, who had unintentionally been hit by some of the Intimidation magic himself, felt like begging for mercy.

“Ugh, we have no choice. We must retreat to Bangwall Fortress with those who can still move!”

“You! Do you even know what you’re doing, Neftis?! There’s no way we can turn back now! If I don’t take Urgool’s head, I’m finished!”

Enraged by Neftis’s hesitant proposal, Balbat grabbed Neftis by the hair with his right hand and hoisted him into the air.

“Hah… Guuuh…!”

“But our army has already taken catastrophic damage! The one responsible for this disaster might still be hiding somewhere! We must retreat!”

Despite the pain from being roughly dragged and the agony from having his hair yanked, Neftis pleaded for a retreat.

“No, Neftis! Now, immediately issue orders to the entire unit! Within half an hour, we must march to Lonshant Fortress! If you do not get up, I swear, I’ll abandon everyone here!”

“Guh…!”

Balbat then pressed his right hand against Neftis’s stomach and forcibly channeled his magic into him. Neftis felt the numbness in his body begin to fade; it seemed that by channeling the Hoshistera-class magic, the lock on his “door” was released. Balbat released Neftis’s hair and walked off in an irritable manner.

“Hah… Tch, I couldn’t convince him.”

Freed from Balbat’s grip, Neftis looked at his own hair, which was falling out in clumps, and sighed. Balbat, now in his current state, wouldn’t listen to anyone no matter what they said. At this point, we had no choice but to reorganize the unit and march to Lonshant Fortress within half an hour. Yet, a few things still didn’t add up.

“Why isn’t the enemy pursuing us? Could it be they fled? Are they afraid of Your Highness? No, that can’t be…”

Even though we had rendered 10,000 enemy soldiers immobile, nothing had happened afterward—it was far too strange. I couldn’t help but remain wary of the enemy, who were likely still hiding nearby.

“Who are they exactly? What is their purpose?… No, there isn’t time to think about that. For now, we must secure as many comrades as we can who can still move!”

Neftis quickly cut short his spiraling thoughts and began to channel his magic into each conscious officer. In Neftis’s mind, it was inconceivable that the enemy could be a guardian barely twelve years old, capable of sniping from over 50 kilometers away.