340 The Crow Tengu Attack

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Rosemary Village.

April, x785.

A few more days had passed since Alfonzo and Erza arrived in Rosemary Village. And since then, not much has happened. Apart from training in the mornings, Erza spent her time refamiliarizing herself with the village while Alfonzo reinforced all the houses in the village with sigils that would only react to outside force over a certain threshold. Simon, on the other hand, aside from performing his duties as the village chief, spent all his free time learning [Magic Power Detection].

Unfortunately, the peaceful atmosphere in the village was about to end. And the reason for that was obvious. Alfonzo and Erza had detected a group of magic power signatures approaching the village from the sky.

"They're here." Alfonzo muttered as his spar with Erza came to an abrupt end.

"Indeed." Erza replied as she sheathed her [Soul Armament]. "So, how should we handle this situation?"

"That's a good question..." Alfonzo said as he fell into a state of contemplation. "I'll go and intercept the crows coming to the village. Meanwhile, you go and let Simon know what's going on."

Understood." Erza replied with a nod. "Then, once I've done that, I'll come and join you."

"No." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head.

Hearing that, Erza was slightly confused. However, Alfonzo continued before she could put her thoughts into words.

"Instead of coming to me, you should go to the mountain where these Crow Tengu reside and take out the other one of the two leaders." Alfonzo clarified. "Because I'm almost certain that if I kill the one coming here, the other one will come, too. And I'd rather keep as many of them away from the village as possible."

'It's not like I can let Erza fight too close to the village.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'She still doesn't know the meaning of restraint, after all.'

"Okay." Erza replied. "I'll handle the ones on the mountain.

With that, Alfonzo and Erza split up and made their way to their respective destinations.

["If you were so concerned with damaging the village, why didn't you go and attack them preemptively?"] Bedlam asked curiously.

["Hmph! Isn't that obvious?"] Riot asked in a disdainful tone. ["It's because he's too soft-hearted."]

Shaking his head in response, Alfonzo picked up the pace to intercept the incoming Crow Tengu.

'It's because I wanted to let Erza have more time in the village.' Alfonzo replied mentally. 'The last of the materials for Mermaid Heel's training rooms will be arriving in Magnolia in the next few days, remember? And I need to be there to make sure there are no problems with the shipment. So, we can't stay any longer after the quest is complete.'

["I still don't understand why you didn't just use us to create all the necessary materials."] Riot said with a scoff. ["With the power of our releases, you could have made them all for free. Then, you could have really fleeced those chicks."]

["Although taking advantage of a group of women is beneath me, I'm curious why you didn't use us to make the materials, too."] Bedlam added.

'It's like Bedlam said, I didn't want to take advantage of them after we already had an initial agreement.' Alfonzo replied.

["Hmph!"] Riot snorted. ["Like I said, just a soft-hearted fool."]

"We can talk about that later." Alfonzo said as he came to a stop a distance outside the village. "There they are."

As he spoke, Alfonzo looked up into the sky where dozens of humanoid magical beasts with black feathered wings, the heads of crows, and carrying all manner of bladed weapons approached from the nearby mountain. However, the one leading this group had a much more human appearance.

The one leading the group of Crow Tengu was a large, muscular man standing nearly 7' tall with long black hair, a bushy black beard, red eyes, and two pairs of black feathered wings, with one pair growing from his shoulder blades and one pair growing from his lower back.

Also, this large man wore crudely crafted armor reminiscent of Chinese armor and carried a long staff that was taller than he was with weighted ends.

This man, though he noticed Alfonzo, paid him little mind as he led his flock towards Rosemary Village.

"That mother fucker is ignoring me, isn't he?" Alfonzo asked as he saw that the Crow Tengu were not slowing down.

Just after his words fell, Alfonzo began levitating into the air., which caused the Crow Tengu to focus on him. A moment later, when he was floating at the same level as the leading Crow Tengu, Alfonzo used his [Metal Magic] to create a gigantic chain-link fence behind him, cutting off the Crow Tengu's path to the village.

Naturally, this caused the group of Crow Tengu to stop their advance.

"Sorry, but that village…" Alfonzo said while pointing at Rosemary Village from over his shoulder with his thumb. "It's under my protection. So, you can either relocate your whole murder. Or you will die here. Either way is fine with me."

Though most of the Crow Tengu could not speak the human tongue, they could tell that Alfonzo was threatening them based on his tone. Meanwhile, the large man leading the Crow Tengu glared at Alfonzo angrily.

"Stand aside, human." The Crow Tengu ordered in a deep, booming voice.

Surprised, Alfonzo looked at the leading Tengu with interest.

"I wasn't expecting you to speak our language." Alfonzo said.

"Destroy the obstruction." The Crow Tengu ordered his flock, completely ignoring Alfonzo's words.

In response, the crows began to caw excitedly before flying towards the fence at high speed.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Alfonzo muttered as he simply watched the crows approach.

A moment later, a Crow Tengu wielding a large, two-handed sword reached the fence. Then, with a powerful swing, the Cro Tengu attempted to cleave through the fence.

*Zap!*

Unfortunately, as soon as his weapon came in contact with the metallic fence, an arc of electricity ran up its weapon, electrocuting it in an instant. Then, with the scent of burning feathers and flesh, the Crow Tengu fell from the sky.

Though all the Crow Tengu saw the outcome of the first of their kind's attempt to break through the metallic obstruction, not all of them were able to stop their attacks in time. As a result, several more Crow Tengu lost their lives via electrocution while the rest backed away, gathering behind their leader.

Naturally, this outcome both terrified and enraged the Crow Tengu in equal measure. And the angry caws that echoed through the area were the perfect indicator.

"A wizard." The Crow Tengu's leader muttered while narrowing his eyes at Alfonzo. "Kill him. If he dies, the obstruction will vanish. And if we feast on his flesh, we shall grow in power."

Once again, the Crow Tengu cawed excitedly.

"You all really should just go home." Alfonzo said.

However, he was once again ignored as the Crow Tengu raised their weapons and charged at Alfonzo as a group.

"*Sigh* They never listen." Alfonzo said in a tone of lament.

In the next instant, a number of small metallic balls materialized in the air around Alfonzo. At the same time, he pulled Riot and Bedlam from the strap on his lower back. Then, with lightning sparking on the two [Soul Armaments], he began striking the metal balls, sending them flying at the incoming Crow Tengu.

*Caw!*

*Caw!*

*Caw!*

Instantly, the pain-filled, angry caws of the Crow Tengu began to ring out, as pieces of flesh were torn away every time a metallic ball sailed past them. While many of the Crow Tengu tied on the spot, there were just as many who were permanently disabled as they had lost limbs and wings.

"Enough!" The leading Crow Tengu shouted as he rushed forward.

Then, with surprising mastery over his weapon of choice, the leading Crow Tengu swatted the electrified metal balls out of the air with his staff, saving many of his brethren.

'That staff isn't made of metal… Interesting.' Alfonzo thought to himself after realizing he could not take control of the human-looking Crow Tengu's weapon. 'On top of that, he's really fast with equally quick reflexes. Although these attacks aren't on the level of my [railgun], they're still moving faster than the speed of sound.'

["Why aren't you using the [Railgun], anyway?"] Bedlam asked curiously.

'Because if they hit the mountain behind these crows, it could cause an avalanche.' Alfonzo replied. 'And I don't know if that would affect the village.'

While Alfonzo was answering Bedlam's question, the leading Crow Tengu managed to defend the remaining Crow Tengu. And based on the fact that he was neither sweating nor breathing heavily, Alfonzo concluded that it took little effort for him to do so.

"There are more of you still alive than I expected." Alfonzo said while surveying the surviving Crow Tengu. "Either way, I'm not letting you get close to the village."

Instead of replying, the leading Crow Tengu, with rage burning in his eyes, charged forward. Meanwhile, all the other Crow Tengu spread out, surrounding Alfonzo and their leader in the process.

"*Sigh* I tried to give you a way out…" Alfonzo muttered as he took his fighting stance.

Meanwhile, Erza, who had just left the village after informing Simon about the Crow Tengu's attack, was dashing alongside the fence Alfonzo created and heading towards the mountain where the rest of the Crow Tengu lived.

"That one leading the group is quite strong." Erza muttered as she glanced up at the battle between Alfonzo and the attacking Crow Tengu.

["Indeed."] Erza's [Armament Spirit] replied from her inner world. ["But Alfonzo will be able to handle them."]

"Agreed." Erza replied. "This should be no problem for him."

As she spoke, Erza smiled with confidence. However, as she reached the foot of the mountain, she finally felt the magic power of the Crow Tengu who stayed behind.

"The one at the top of the mountain is more than likely the true leader of this murder of Crow Tengu." Erza said while looking up at where the strongest of the Crow Tengu was located. "Still, I will stop them from terrorizing this village. [Requip: Black Wing Armor]."

In the next instant, Erza was covered in the light of her magic. Then, as the light faded, she shot up towards the mountain peak, now clad in her [Black Wing Armor].

*Caw~~~~~!*

As she ascended the mountain, Erza heard a loud caw that echoed around. Then, a number of Crow Tengu flew up from various points on the mountain, quickly surrounding her.

"Leave this mountain and I promise that none shall be harmed." Erza said while wielding her [Soul Armament] in both hands. "But if you decide to attack, I will show no mercy."

Like the ones facing Alfonzo, all the Crow Tengu confronting Erza were wielding all sorts of bladed weapons. And after hearing Erza's warning, they readied their weapons before charging forward to deal with the intruder.

"I see you've made your decision." Erza said while narrowing her eyes.

In the next instant, Erza leaned her head back to avoid a slash from a curved sword. Then, in one swift motion, Erza thrust her sword forward, impaling the attacking Cro Tengu through the throat. Before grabbing it by the shoulder and swinging it in the path of a swinging axe.

A moment later, after dislodging her sword from the dead Crow Tengu's throat, she made a half turn to avoid the thrust from a spear and while using the momentum from her turn, slashed another across the chest.

Like that, with precise movements and swift swordsman ship, Erza evaded all the Crow Tengu's incoming attacks while dispatching them one by one.

"This is Tedious." Erza muttered as she bent her back to avoid a slash from another spear. "[Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor]."

Once again, Erza was covered in the light of her magic. At the same time, two dozen long swords were summoned around her.

"[Heaven's Wheel: Circle Sword]." Erza chanted once the light of her [Requip Magic] faded.

In the next instant, the swords floating around Erza began to rotate around her at high speed. Then, they were sent flying outwards, impaling one Crow Tengu each. Meanwhile, the Crow Tengu who were not targeted by the spell backed away before regrouping.

"I warned you." Erza said as her swords returned to float around her. "Now, if you value your lives, leave this mountain. This is my last warning."

*Caw~~~~~!*

At that moment, another loud caw echoed around the mountain. Then, after a few moments, the powerful magic power signature Erza felt before she started ascending the mountain started to move.

["Be careful."] Erza's [Armament Spirit] cautioned. ["They're coming."]

"I know." Erza replied while focusing on the direction of the new arrival.

A few moments later, the Crow Tengu began to separate, making a path for their leader to deal with the intruder. And when the powerful presence arrived in her line of sight, Erza was surprised at what she saw.

Instead of another burly man, a slim, curvaceous, fair skinned woman with short black hair, red eyes, a beautiful human face, large breasts, and a pair of black feathered wings growing from her lower back wearing a revealing, armored leotard, hair ornaments in the shape of black wings, thigh high black socks, and straw sandals wielding a long spear with a large, intricately crafted spearhead approached through the path opened by the Crow Tengu.