"What...?! Who is that guy?! Were there others like him besides Hugo Clay and Ryuga Renjou?!"
"He introduced himself earlier, didn't he? Marcos Borg—make sure you burn that name into that feeble mind of yours."
Watching the clash between his samurai and Marcos, Masanaga stood frozen in disbelief.
Ryuga spoke with calm indifference as he watched the other man’s shock. Masanaga couldn't hide his astonishment that a man he had completely dismissed—someone he viewed as a mere footnote to Hugo and Ryuga—was now single-handedly dismantling a small army of samurai.
Masanaga bristled at the mocking tone, but he remained silent, unable to retort while he had yet to land a single effective blow and the tide of battle turned against him. Ryuga continued with a faint, cold smile.
"Your strategy of targeting the weakest link isn't a bad one. And you're right that Marcos is the weakest among us. However, your fundamental premise is flawed. To begin with, Marcos isn't an opponent you could defeat even if you all banded together."
"What...?!"
Masanaga’s eyes widened in shock.
As if to test Ryuga's claim, the samurai finally abandoned any pretense of dueling and swarmed Marcos as a group. Lunging in unison, they launched a coordinated assault from the front, sides, and rear.
Marcos met the four-way attack with practiced ease.
"Hmph! I thought you might try that! Take this! Golden Reflection!!"
"What?! Gaaaah!!"
This time, Marcos unleashed the technique he had previously performed alongside Ryuga all by himself. By striking his spear against the magic power accumulated within the Giga Scissors during the fight, he released a concussive blast that sent the charging samurai flying.
Marcos charged into the staggered ranks, swinging his spear and mowing down his enemies one after another. Midway through the melee, he glanced at the slender weapon in his hand, clicked his tongue, and grumbled to himself.
"Tch... It really is too thin. Nothing like the one Lord Carlos showed me."
Ever since Carlos had promised to entrust that spear to him, Marcos had been secretly studying spear techniques. He had searched for a fighting style that utilized both shield and spear, and while a proper form had finally begun to take shape, these Yamato spears were different from what he had envisioned.
Lord Carlos’s spear was heavy and imposing, whereas the Yamato spears were thin and long, likely designed for two-handed use. While the lightness was an advantage, they lacked weight in their strikes and felt clumsy when wielded one-handed. Even so, he continued his relentless advance, carving through the ranks while Masanaga watched in horror.
"This can't be happening...! Those are elite samurai of the House of Jiko, bolstered by Enji's magic items! I could understand Hugo Clay doing this, but a complete nobody?! It's impossible!!"
"Don't sell him short," Ryuga said. "He is a man Hugo and I trust enough to watch our backs."
Marcos was no mere accessory; he was a warrior with enough strength to stand as their equal. Masanaga, who had looked down on him until this very moment, grimaced and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Archers! What are you doing?! Support your comrades, now—! ...Wait, what?!"
If he let Marcos run wild, their casualties would only mount. Masanaga attempted to order the archery unit to provide cover fire as they had before, but only one man stood where the bowmen had been stationed moments ago.
"Heh... Tough luck. I already took care of the guys you were trying to call."
"Instantly defeated...?! There was a samurai guard with them! He took them all out in an instant?!"
Hugo, having already decimated the archery unit, was leisurely observing Marcos’s progress. Realizing that cover fire would never come, Masanaga turned pale and turned his rage toward Katsuyori, who was also merely watching the fight.
"Katsuyori! What the hell are you doing?! Why did you let Hugo Clay move so freely?!"
"And just who was it that said you didn't need my help?" Katsuyori replied coolly. "I did exactly what you asked—I stayed out of it."
"Wh-What...?!"
Masanaga wanted to scream that Katsuyori should have intercepted Hugo before he reached the archers, but he fell silent as his own arrogant words were thrown back at him. As he stood speechless, sensing the total collapse of their position, Ryuga spoke again.
"The 'Absolute Invincible Formation,' the 'Formation of Gale and Thunder'... your abilities and tactics are certainly compatible. But that's where it ends. You lack the one thing that matters most: the heart to trust and support your comrades. That’s why you don't scare me at all."
"Grr...!!"
The Yamato trio did not trust one another, nor did they coordinate their efforts out of loyalty. They were simply combining abilities that happened to be compatible. While Masanaga stood paralyzed by Ryuga's blunt assessment, the battle continued to rage around them.