Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 262 High-Speed ​​Spellcasting Combat

The figure of the 'Sentinel' flashed across the battlefield like the Grim Reaper.

The last line of defense in front of Morin was completely wiped out in just a few seconds.

For the last time, his figure appeared out of thin air behind Morin.

He could even see the Saxon officer's exposed, defenseless nape as he turned around in time.

Victory is already in the bag.

A cruel smile appeared on the 'Sentinel's' face. Using the momentum from his mid-air dash, the military knife in his hand drew a cold arc and slashed down fiercely towards Morin's neck!
However, just before the blade touched his skin, the sensation of cutting through flesh that he had anticipated did not come.

He missed.

The target right in front of him, the Saxon officer, vanished into thin air just a moment before he was about to succeed!

How can this be? !
The 'Sentinel' knew very well how fast its [Steel Wind Slash] was; from its appearance to its attack, there was almost no time difference.

unless
Unless the opponent has a faster reaction speed than you and also possesses some kind of spatial teleportation magic!
In that instant of his daze, an extremely dangerous feeling came from his side and behind!
"call"

In the strange space where only black and white remained, Morin let out a long sigh of relief.

This is the 'Etheric Dimension'.

Just moments ago, the moment the 'Sentinel' disappeared behind his fourth target, Morin unhesitatingly activated the third third-circle spell he had prepared for the day—[Blink].

At the critical moment, he successfully dodged the fatal blow and entered the so-called 'ethereal plane'.

At this moment, he could clearly hear and see everything happening in the original plane.

But everything turned into a grayscale image, and the sound became distant and blurry, as if through a thick layer of frosted glass.

The 'sentinel' who almost killed him had just finished his strike, but the afterimage of the blade passed through Morin's body, and the 'sentinel' also staggered slightly, losing his balance.

Morin knew that the duration of Blink was short, and he also knew about the 'minor flaw' of this third-circle spell.

After learning and testing the [Teleport] spell, he discovered that he could only move a maximum distance of about three meters in this 'ethereal plane'.

This distance prevented him from easily circling behind the enemy to launch a fatal blow, unlike his opponent; at most, he could only move to the side of the enemy.

But now, I can't care about that anymore!
There was no time for him to think of a more perfect tactic. In fact, from the moment his opponent used [Steel Wind Slash] to the moment he used [Flash] to dodge, and then to the moment he prepared to counterattack, everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Almost at the same moment the opponent's sword missed, Morin moved to the maximum distance in the 'Ethereal Dimension', arriving just to the side of the 'Sentinel'.

Then he deactivated the [Flash] spell, and his figure reappeared in the original plane.

Almost at the same moment he appeared, he raised the MP14 submachine gun in his hand, which had already been enhanced by the [Enchanted Weapon].

He yanked the trigger hard at the side of the 'sentinel' who was right in front of him!

"Ta-ta ...

The gun spewed deadly blue flames, and a magazine full of 9mm bullets was emptied in a short time.

The 'sentinel' had an incredibly strong fighting instinct.

Almost the instant Morin appeared and pointed his gun at him, he realized the danger was imminent.

His reaction was faster than any mage Morin had ever encountered before, even faster than those world-renowned 'experienced' Brittany Highland mages.

When Morin's gunshot rang out, and the first bullet struck his [Mage Armor], he didn't even try to dodge or block.

He knew that at such close range, any dodge would be futile when facing enemy firearms.

Therefore, he made the most correct, and only, choice that might save his life.

[Four-Ring Spell - Anywhere Door]

Without hesitation, the 'Sentinel' began casting the fourth-circle spell, attempting to teleport himself to safety before the bullets tore through his armor.

Normally, the [Anywhere Door] only requires one casting time, which is enough for him to escape from this death trap!
However, he was fast, but Morin was even faster!
Or rather, it was as if Morin had anticipated all of his moves.

At the same moment that magic began to gather around the 'sentinel', Morin also began to cast another spell he had prepared.

[Three-Ring Protection Spell - Spell Counter]

An invisible wave of magical energy emanated from Morin and precisely struck the spell model that the 'Sentinel' was constructing.

This is a gamble.

[Anywhere Door] is a fourth-level spell, while Morin's [Spell Counter] is only a third-level spell.

There is a level of suppression in spell levels.

Based on the experience accumulated by the mages of this world in magical combat, the success rate of using low-level spells to counter high-level spells is not high.

Not only does it require the caster to have extremely strong control over magic, but it also requires a bit of luck.

Fortunately, this time fortune smiled on Morin's side.

"puff--"

A soft sound, like a bubble bursting, rang out.

The magic that had just gathered around the 'sentinel' instantly became chaotic and then abruptly dissipated into the air.

His attempt to use the "Anywhere Door" was forcibly interrupted!

The backlash from the failed spell caused his body to stiffen and his mind to go blank for a moment.

That brief moment of pause determined his life or death. The last few bullets in Morin's submachine gun magazine finally tore through the crumbling [Mage Armor] and pierced deep into his flesh.

"Puff puff!"

Several blood blossoms suddenly bloomed on the side of the 'sentinel'.

The immense kinetic energy carried him, causing him to fall to the side.

"Uh"

The 'sentinel' let out a painful groan and fell heavily to the ground.

He looked down incredulously at the bullet holes in his waist that were still bleeding, his eyes behind the metal mask filled with resentment and confusion.

He couldn't understand why he had lost.

They lost to a seemingly unknown Saxon officer, and to a Saxon mage who didn't even exist in the intelligence.

Even after emptying his magazine, Morin did not relax for a moment.

He quickly pulled a new magazine from the ammunition pouch on his chest, ready to change it.

However, just as he was about to reload, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that the fallen 'sentinel' was struggling to pull out a small bottle resembling a syringe from a pouch at his waist, seemingly preparing to inject it into his thigh.

"Trying to turn things around with drugs?!"

Morin was startled. Although he didn't know what was in the bottle, he knew even with his toes that it couldn't be anything good.

Even if it's Coca-Cola, he can't let the other party get in.

There was no time to reload, so Morin made a quick decision and gave up on changing the magazine.

He lunged forward two steps and then kicked the 'sentinel's' wrist hard.

"Snapped!"

He kicked the glass bottle containing the unknown medicine away; it flew through the air in an arc before crashing into the muddy ground some distance away.

"you"

The 'sentinel' seemed to want to say something, but Morin didn't give him a chance to speak.

After kicking away the opponent's potion, Morin casually drew the bayonet of his Gew.98 rifle from his waist.

He clenched his fists tightly, and then, using the momentum of his forward thrust, he stabbed down hard from top to bottom!
"Pfft——!"

The sharp bayonet pierced through the neck fabric of the 'Sentinel's' specially made combat uniform without any resistance, and went deep inside.

"Eh ho ho"

The 'sentinel' shuddered violently, and a series of unintelligible hoarse sounds came from his throat.

He reached out, as if to grab Morin's arm, but in the end just let it fall limply to his side.

Beneath the metal mask, a pair of eyes peeking through the gaps stared intently at Morin, filled with resentment and bitterness.

But in the end, all the brilliance quickly vanished, turning into a deathly silence.

Morin remained in the stabbing position, panting heavily, his heart pounding in his chest.

He won.
However, to those around them, the battle seemed far less exciting than experiencing it firsthand.

The soldiers of the surrounding training assault battalion and assault troops could only watch as the 'sentinel' appeared out of thin air behind Morin.

Then Morin suddenly disappeared, causing the 'Sentinel's' attack to miss. At the same time, Morin mysteriously reappeared on the side of the enemy and fired, knocking down the 'Sentinel'.

This duel, which featured virtually no special effects, gave onlookers the illusion that they could do the same.
On the other hand, the 'Sentinel' is also more 'fragile' than Morin had imagined.

He originally thought that these units, similar to 'enhanced soldiers,' might have thicker 'health bars' than ordinary people.

However, it seems that the 'Sentinels' are still similar to the Britannian Highland Mages, with significant shortcomings in terms of survival.

But then again...
Since we are all carbon-based beings, when facing automatic firearms, our survival abilities are roughly the same, regardless of whether you are a mage or not.

After all, humans have an exceptional talent for figuring out how to deal with the problem of their own kind killing each other.

At the same time, Morin also saw a bunch of notifications and red dots appear in the system's [Information] and [Intelligence] tabs.

The entry for 'Status of the Spellcaster System in the Republic of Gaul' has been unlocked.

The 'Sentinel' entry has been unlocked.

[Intelligence for 'Project Sentinel' has been unlocked]

Information on the 'Fire Stealers Project' has been unlocked.

However, Morin didn't have time to check right now. After confirming that the 'sentinel' in front of him was dead, he dragged the body to a shell crater nearby.

At the same time, she also picked up the glass bottle that she had kicked away—after the glass bottle was kicked away, Maureen had already memorized where it landed, making it easier to 'pick it up'.

Since the 'sentinel' was thinking about taking this thing before he died, it must have been some kind of important item.

The system also updated the information about the glass bottle with the built-in needle.

The entry related to 'PF-214 Laurent's Legacy' has been unlocked.

(End of this chapter)