The exclamations of the Adventurers rose and fell in succession.
Ash narrowed his eyes, watching the green torrent.
The cabbages had small eyes like black beans, their leaves spread out like wings as they flew through the air.
They looked no different from ordinary cabbages, but each one was as large as a watermelon, with leaf edges as sharp as blades.
“Megumin!” Ash shouted.
“Wait until they reach the city gate before you cast!
It’s too far right now!” “I know!” Megumin gripped her staff, her crimson eyes locked onto the sky.
The swarm of cabbages drew closer and closer.
The wind pressure was already palpable, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of grass.
“Five, four, three, two, one—” Megumin raised her staff, the brim of her black hat lifted by the wind, her crimson eyes gleaming in the sunlight.
“Darker than black, darker than twilight—” The incantation began.
This was not the first time Megumin had chanted in front of Ash, but this time, her voice was exceptionally loud and excited.
She knew that this time, Ash would not swallow her magic.
This time, she would be able to witness the explosion with her own eyes!
“Oh, abyss of Darkness flowing in the sea of chaos—” The swarm of cabbages had already reached the city gate, less than two hundred meters away.
“In the name of the Crimson Demon Clan, I release your shackles!” At the tip of Megumin’s staff, a purple-black orb of magic swelled wildly.
“EXPLOSION!” A purple-black beam of light shot into the sky, slamming directly into the rear of the swarm of cabbages.
“BOOM!” An explosion!
A real explosion!
Flames and shockwaves erupted in the air, forming a massive fireball.
The swarm of cabbages was overturned by the blast, with countless leaves flying through the air.
Megumin held her casting pose, staff pointed toward the sky, her crimson eyes reflecting the massive fireball.
“Explosion…
I finally saw the explosion…” Her voice trembled, and tears seemed to well up in her eyes.
“This is…
this is the meaning of Explosion Magic…” Then, she collapsed.
However, Ash was prepared; he reached out to catch her and hoisted her onto his back.
“I…
am satisfied…” Megumin lay on Ash’s back, a happy smile gracing her lips.
“Don’t be satisfied too soon; we haven’t finished catching the cabbages yet.” The swarm of cabbages had been scattered by the Explosion Magic.
The green torrent, which had originally been gathered together, was now shattered, flying in all directions.
However, the majority were still surging toward the city gate.
Because of the explosion behind them and the open space ahead, instinct drove them to rush forward.
“Here they come!” Darkness spread her arms, welcoming the swarm of rushing cabbages.
The first cabbage slammed into her chest.
“Bang!” Darkness didn’t budge an inch.
The second one slammed into her shoulder.
The third one slammed into her stomach.
The fourth one slammed into her face.
“Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!” Darkness was hit repeatedly, her body swaying slightly, but she didn’t take a single step back.
Her face was flushed deep red, and a smile that no normal person could understand graced her lips.
“This…
this feeling of being continuously impacted…
my armor is vibrating…
my body is enduring it…” “Stop enjoying it!” Ash shouted from behind.
“Stop them!
Don’t let them fly past!” “Yes!” Darkness took a deep breath and threw her arms wide, standing like a wall before the swarm of cabbages.
Another dozen cabbages slammed into her; some were blocked by her chest, some were intercepted by her arms, and others she caught directly with her face.
The Adventurers watched in astonishment.
“That blonde female knight…
she’s so fierce…” “She’s been hit by the cabbages so many times, and she hasn’t even taken a single step back!” “Too strong!
Now that is a true knight!” “She is truly a Crusader of Axel!” Darkness heard these praises, and the flush on her face deepened.
It wasn’t because she was shy from being praised.
It was because she was enjoying the impacts so much, and being watched by so many people—the feeling of being publicly humiliated like this made her tremble all over.
Ash listened to the exclamations around him and expressionlessly looked away.
He couldn’t say anything, nor did he want to; he could only pretend he hadn’t seen a thing.
He slashed his right hand through the air, and golden ripples unfolded behind him.
Not just one, but dozens.
Dozens of ripples opened simultaneously, and silver Enkidu shot out from them, interweaving in the air to form a massive net.
Link by link, the chains interlocked, creating gaps just large enough to catch the cabbages without damaging their leaves.
“Aqua!” Ash shouted.
“Drive the cabbages on the edges toward the center!
Use the net!
Don’t use your hands!” “Got it!” Aqua raised her massive net and lunged at a cabbage fluttering wildly along the edge.
“Don’t you run!
You round little vegetable!” The cabbage’s black bean eyes glanced at her, then it suddenly accelerated, slamming toward her face.
“Waaah!” Aqua instinctively closed her eyes and swung the net wildly.
“Whack!” The cabbage was caught in the net.
It struggled desperately inside the net, its leaves flapping, but it couldn’t break free.
“I-I caught it?!” Aqua opened her eyes, stared at the bright green cabbage in the net, blinked in surprise, and then burst into joy.
“This Goddess caught it!” “Don’t celebrate too soon!” Ash shouted.
“Toss the cabbage into the Enkidu net!
Once you throw it, keep catching!” “Oh, right!” Aqua swung the net, and the cabbage flew out, landing precisely into the massive net woven by Enkidu.
The chains automatically tightened, trapping the cabbage so it couldn’t move.
“Great!
Next!” Aqua, full of energy, raised her net and rushed toward the next cabbage.
Meanwhile, Ash controlled Enkidu, constantly adjusting the position and shape of the massive net.
He didn’t need to do the catching himself.
His task was to weave the net of chains to trap the cabbages, then wait for Aqua and Darkness to drive them in.
The other Adventurers were also frantically catching cabbages, but they were stunned as they watched Ash’s techniques.
“Wh-what is that?” “Chains?
He’s controlling that many chains?” “What kind of class is that?
Summoner?
Puppeteer?” “I don’t know…
but he’s so strong…” Ash ignored the surrounding chatter and continued to manipulate the chains to catch the cabbages.
Some used lassos to catch cabbages, some used nets to trap them, and others grabbed them with their bare hands, only to be carried off into the sky by the cabbages.
“Help!
This vegetable is so strong!” “Let me go!
I’m not catching you anymore!
Let go!” “Aaaah—I’m being carried away—!” Screams, cheers, and curses mingled together, turning the city gate into total chaos.
But on Ash’s side, everything was orderly.
“That should be enough…” Ash glanced at the massive net, then looked up at the now-sparse swarm of cabbages in the sky.
“Wrap it up!” …
The guild’s settlement hall.
Luna stood behind the counter, with a green “small mountain” piled up in front of her.
“Mr.
Ash!
The total is 15.7 million eris.” Luna wrote down a string of numbers in the ledger, then looked up and smiled at Ash.
“Mr.
Ash, shall I settle this payment directly to you, or should it be split among your teammates?”
Maybe it’s not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”