My Glasses Will Be Able to Conquer the Whole World, I Suppose

Chapter 220 – Second Competition After Being Scolded by the Instructors – Part 4

Eil changed his glasses to goggle-type glasses and moved through the sandstorm.

Visibility was so poor that even the nearest could not be seen, but thanks to the goggle-type glasses protecting his eyes, he could secure at least minimal visibility.

Everything was going according to plan.

Although there were some last-minute changes, they were accommodated.

He climbed the tower shrouded in the sandstorm and, holding onto the finger near the rooftop, waited in a clinging posture.

The last-minute change in the strategy was regarding the long-range throwing of the Harriatan.

Just before the start of training, after confirming the fourth operation, he asked this to Eil.

“Do you know my gift?”

Until then, it was unclear whether it was a skill acquired through effort or a gift.

The question made it clear.

Harriatan has a gift for throwing.

During the initiation ritual, he showed off skills specialized in throwing, such as hitting a distant target with a stone, hitting the same spot continuously, and hitting a stone thrown upwards with another stone.

Knowing this, Eil assigned him the role of throwing and carrying the smoke signals.

However, it was only at the very end that it became clear that this was due to his gift.

That’s why the plan was changed.

Initially, Harriatan were only told to throw near the tower.

Then Eil, as the retrieval role, would gather the thrown smoke signals, while Florentine would protect the smoke signal balls from the Hydra.

If maintaining the sandstorm became difficult, Belge would also join, and by then Chace would have returned, and the two were supposed to protect Florentine and the smoke signals. Well, according to the plan, they should have submitted it to the instructor before their return.

But since Harriatan’s gift was known, it was changed at the last minute.

“If it’s a gift, you should be able to aim more accurately.”

Rather than vaguely saying aim near the tower, I instructed him to throw with the intention of hitting the top of the tower.

And Eil climbed the tower to directly catch the smoke signals flying near the top of the tower.

In this sandstorm, rather than gathering the smoke signals flying around the tower, it was safer and faster to directly catch the flying smoke signals.

Even though the sandstorm was blinding, it would take some time to search and gather things flying vaguely around this area.

If there were delays, then Hydra might return, and there was a possibility that ambushers might intrude near Lisse and Marion, who would sense that something is going on.

If intruders came, and if they searched for the smoke signals rolling on the ground, there was a high chance of encountering them. That’s why Florentine, the keeper, was prepared.

Well, Eil intended to make use of several gifts in the sandstorm and gather them all at once.

At a speed that could not be caught up with.

This sand smoke was heavily intended to blind for Eil to use his gifts.

However, here.

This sandstorm completely concealed the tower, and Eil clinging to it.

If one wasn’t looking at the moment Eil climbed the tower, nobody would know that Eil was here, catching the smoke signals before they rolled on the ground.

Depending on Harriatan’s accuracy, if he could retrieve at least five smoke signals here, all he needed to do was descend.

He was confident that the early-stage strategy would be stable and successful.

There was hardly anyone who could match Chace’s speed.

However, after that, with the Hydra’s understanding of being on the defensive and their judgment and decisiveness, the difficulty level would change significantly.

As for that, we can only leave it to the scene for now.

The current issue at hand is the control of the Harriatan’s long-range throws.

Will they be able to throw accurately to the tower, especially near the top?

Because of this sandstorm, the smoke signal balls might be slightly off course or drift due to the wind.

I think it should be fine since they have a certain weight…

If there’s a reasonable deviation, Eil can move along the tower’s wall to catch it, but it’s difficult to retrieve the smoke signals that have drifted away from hitting the tower—

“There it is.”

While pondering anxiously, occasionally observing the blue sky visible beyond the sand and the forest below, something red flew out from below to above.

It’s a smoke signal.

It flew powerfully, in a straight line, up to the vicinity of the top of the tower where Eil was clinging and waiting.

“Got it.”

Moving slightly, Eil caught the flying smoke signal with one hand. —Impressive force, but they managed to catch it neatly.

“…Impressive control.”

It truly flew to the instructed location.

Perhaps Harriatan’s gift is quite excellent.

And the fact that the smoke signals are flying means that the operation is progressing smoothly.

Looks like it’s going well—while thinking so, Eil placed the smoke signal in the leather pouch on his waist and waited for the next one.

First, second, third.

Even with some margin of error, they flew to places where they could be retrieved, so Eil smoothly retrieved the fourth smoke signal—

“…”

The next one isn’t coming.

“Something happened, perhaps.”

The faster Hydra’s judgment and decisiveness, the more it disrupts their plans over there.

In other words—Hydra is already heading towards the tower, and something might have gone wrong with the Harriatan and Trawllul.

—But once it’s come to this, all we can do is trust and wait.

The sandstorm won’t last long.

Once it’s over, Eil will definitely be found.

Before that, ideally, they’d want to descend and hide, but that might be difficult too.

If the Hydra is heading towards them, they might arrive before Eil can descend.

—Still, all they can do is trust and wait.

If Eil descends now, the chances of winning are slim.

As the planner of the shadow operation, all they can do is believe in their own strategy until the end.

And there are comrades who are acting based on that strategy.

They can’t betray them first and foremost.

—At least they’ll wait until the last moment.

Eil decides so and waits for the flying object with a red tail.

“It doesn’t seem like buying time will be easy.”

—As soon as Chace met Hydra, she was left behind and couldn’t fulfill her role as a decoy to buy time.

When she hurriedly ran past Hydra and was about to head towards the tower as planned, she saw them stop and look up at the sky.

Immediately after that, Eorazel started to act separately— and Chace hesitated for a moment.

Should she return to the tower as planned?

Or should she follow Eorazel?

The plan is clear.

Where Eorazel headed, there is Harriatan tasked with throwing smoke signals to reach the tower.

As someone who has trained with him regularly, Chace knows Eorazel’s abilities, princely demeanor notwithstanding, quite well.

His character is terribly perverted, but he has a gentle demeanor and is skilled at teaching in combat training.

For Chace, there’s no better training partner. Despite his considerable flaws.

Can he handle Trawllul alone?

That, he doesn’t know.

After all, if Eorazel gets serious, Chace would easily be defeated. He knows there’s that much of a gap in strength.

—In that case.

Whether he heads towards the tower or not, he only has one smoke signal.

The outcome won’t change much.

What’s more important is whether the eight smoke signals that should be carried to the tower will be properly thrown. Whether they will fly towards the tower.

That’s far more crucial.

With that in mind, Chace changed his plans and headed towards Harriatan.

And now.

“—No other choice.”

Eorazel stretched his right arm forward— and clenched nothingness.

Then, in his hand where there should have been nothing, there was a single sword.

“Gift: Holy Sword Creation Magic.”

It’s a gift of heroes possessed by the world’s strongest swordsman once known as the “Sword Saint,” in simple terms, it’s a physical summoning magic that freely creates swords.

“I’ll hold back, but be prepared for some injuries. Don’t worry, I won’t aim for that cute face of yours.”

While saying something rather difficult to respond to, Eorazel’s figure swayed—

“—Gah!?”

Before she realized it, Eorazel slipped through the distance between Chace’s spear and entered the range of his own sword.

The fact that he managed to withstand the initial strike with a practice iron rod was thanks to Chace’s gift.

It was only her eyes that kept up with Eorazel’s abnormal speed of movement.

Her body moved reflexively.

She didn’t defend by thinking. She was just lucky.

“You should take a fall too.”

“Gah—”

Eorazel, who had been pushing with strength since the initial strike, suddenly pulled back his body along with the sword.

The balance of power shifted, causing Chace to lean slightly forward— just that slight opening could be fatal depending on the opponent.

Eorazel wasn’t one to overlook such an opening.

The second strike to knock Chace off the boulder was unleashed—

“—Nyahaha!”

At the moment he attempted to strike, Trawllul’s flying kick, returning for the third time, landed squarely on Eorazel’s side, catching him off guard for the first time and showing his genuine surprised expression— and the “sword” slipped from his hand and fell off the boulder.

“…Huh!?”

Eorazel, who always had a princely smile, showed a surprised expression for the first time as he unexpectedly took a surprise attack— and the “sword” fell from his hand and plummeted off the boulder.

“…Seriously? You’re amazing…”

Dealing a blow to Eorazel.

Chace hadn’t even managed that yet, and the cat beastman in front of her had done it. It was surprising, even for a surprise attack.

“Nyahaha! This is the strength of a cat beastman!”

“—Don’t let your guard down!”

As he grabbed the seventh smoke signal, Harriatan, who had been throwing smoke signals without looking at them, spoke.

“Eor will ‘jump’ to wherever the ‘sword’ is!”

At first, the meaning of the words didn’t register.

But soon, it became clear.

“—So that’s it.”

Eorazel, who was supposed to have fallen, was suddenly standing in front of her, holding the “sword” that he had dropped here.

“I was surprised, little kitten. That mischievous side of yours is cute too.”

“…Nya…”

Trawllul restrained the power of her kick since she couldn’t bring herself to kill him, but it wasn’t gentle enough to leave him unscathed.

Maintaining a certain level of power was necessary to achieve the speed she needed.

However, the composed and unaffected perverted prince-like figure in front of her seemed to have taken no damage at all.

“—But, I think this is it.”

And with that, Eorazel dispelled the “sword.”

At the same time, without paying any attention to what was happening behind him, the eighth smoke signal was released from Harriatan’s hand.

“—This makes it the eighth.”

Though the eighth smoke signal was slightly delayed in flying towards her, Eil succeeded in retrieving all eight smoke signals as planned.

“Huh?”

The task was done.

Now all that was left was to submit them to the instructor.

As he was about to descend, the ninth smoke signal came flying towards him.

“…”

He received it and stored it in her leather bag.

There were supposed to be only eight smoke signals flying towards him.

Assuming that the delay was due to trouble on their end, the reason for the last one could be attributed to the one that Chace should have had when he acted as the decoy—

“…Maybe they took more than just spare change.”

They prioritized Harriatan’s eight over his own one.

Chace surely ignored the plan and went to support Harriatan who was in trouble. And he succeeded. The ninth smoke signal must have been for that reason.

Of course, it’s uncertain whether this assumption is correct.

If he really wanted to know, he could always check later.

Regardless, the mission was successful, and Eil managed to retrieve more than half of the smoke signals as planned.

After putting on the finishing touches, Eil descended from the tower.

The sandstorm was slightly weakening.

“…”

“…”

And when he descended to the bottom of the tower, a young East Asian boy with his mouth covered by a black cloth was waiting for Eil.

He was Shuren, one of the members of the assassination team.

“You vanished as soon as you entered the forest, didn’t you? I was cautious of you just in case.”

Whether it was a double mark placed on Eil or an ambush set near the tower, it wasn’t clear. But judging from his demeanor, Shuren must have seen Eil climb the tower and waited for him, guessing what he was up to.

“…”

“…”

Eil was surprised.

Shuren certainly drew the short sword at his hip right in front of her.

But he couldn’t see his draw.

Not only that, despite being completely on guard, the cold blade of the short sword was already touching Eil’s neck.

Fast.

So fast that even watching it, Eil couldn’t follow with him eyes.

“…”

In silence, Shuren pointed to Eil’s waist with his free left hand—a signal to hand over the package.

Shuren showed no hostility, no emotion visible in his black eyes.

—But he would kill.

Eil thought Shuren was serious about killing him.

—Because they were alike.

—When he targeted prey, his presence and breathing would become extremely faint too.

Eil removed the leather bag from his waist and handed it to Shuren.

And then Shuren stepped back, checked the contents, and submitted it to Evanesque.