Equipment Printing School Mage

Seeing the destructive steel growing rapidly in front of his eyes, the unlucky guy who happened to be standing in the middle of the route couldn't help but tremble and subconsciously tried to dodge to the side.

However, the overcrowded battle circle did not allow him to move so freely. His left and right sides were already filled with other shapeshifters. Where was the space for him to move?

And his compatriots obviously have no intention of giving him a place.

So, the shapeshifter simply gave up any attempt to hinder it, and pounced forward neatly, completely giving up its position.

However, the pain of the paladin's iron boots stepping on his body still made him scream involuntarily.

In any case, from this moment on, there was no obstruction between the Holy Knight and Lorian's guards.

The heavy rain had stopped for a while, and the bright moonlight shone on the paladin's sword and reflected into the shapeshifter's eyes without any hindrance.

The gangsters who originally tried to kidnap hostages instantly became prey.

This obviously caught the shapeshifter by surprise, and its sneaky movements instantly turned into a desperate escape.

The shapeshifter screamed and ran madly towards the castle - but even this step could not be achieved.

Mars galloped forward and began to chant spells in a low voice for the first time. Wisps of white mist began to emerge from his body*.

The shapeshifter rushed up the stairs to the main entrance of the castle in panic. Just as the shapeshifter was about to leave the stairs, thick white fog swept past him like a storm and gathered in front of him.

Finally, it turned into a sturdy figure covered in metal.

The shapeshifter was caught off guard and collided headfirst with the solid armor. He felt dizzy and saw stars. But this was not the end of his misfortune.

The paladin punched him hard in the face, then grabbed him by the neck. He strode down the stairs, carrying the unfortunate shapeshifter. Arriving in front of the group, he sneered, "Although I had no expectations of shapeshifter prowess, you're so timid and so reliant on hostages, despite having dozens of times the number of people, that I was truly surprised."

"Do you have to call your friends and gather a hundred people before you can crush an ant?"

The spell called Phantom Step helped the paladin rush to the front of the shapeshifter in an instant, and also helped him create distance and escape from the shapeshifter's encirclement.

As the paladins were chasing, the shapeshifters had already changed their formation and gathered together.

The place where they gathered was the only exit of the armory at the moment, near the mage's shield.

Amidst the crowd of shapeshifters, the group slowly dispersed. When they separated again, a person who should have been there was already standing next to Lorian.

In other words, it was a person who was seriously injured and covered in grime and blood.

His appearance was almost identical to Lorian's, except that he was standing weakly. It would be more accurate to say that he was being supported rather than standing - or rather, being carried.

His red hair was now completely soaked by the rain, and fell limply in front of his forehead, obscuring his expression.

Lorian shook her head: "It seems that you are too happy too early, Your Excellency the Holy Knight."

The paladin's face was completely hidden by his helmet, so his voice was still muffled but loud, tinged with disbelief: "...What?"

Lorian still spoke in Emilia's usual calm voice, "It's simple—Leon, who has been traveling with you for a while, is our compatriot. From the beginning, you were the only one imprisoned in that dungeon."

"We simply wanted to pry open your mouth, so we sent one of our compatriots to lurk beside you while you slept. Of course, even then, you remained tight-lipped, which was beyond our expectations."

"However, this arrangement has had an unexpected effect—the shield seems impossible to break from the outside, but it's difficult to defend against sudden attacks from nearby."

"And a mage without preparedness is always extremely vulnerable."

"So, this mage is ours now."

Lorien suddenly raised her voice, "Surrender! This mage didn't flee on his own, but instead went deep into danger and saved your life. Are you going to leave him to die now?"

The paladin was silent for a moment, then asked, "Before that, I have a question."

"How can I confirm that he is really Emiya?"

The shapeshifter leader raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a rare smile that didn't suit his appearance. "Then just shout into the shield. If the wizard is safe and sound, he'll surely be able to answer you, right?"

The paladin hesitated, then shouted into the shield, "Emmya, are you in there? Are you okay?"

Even the noise of the shapeshifter was deliberately reduced for this moment.

In the silent mud, only the holy warrior's roar echoed.

The only answer he got was dead silence.

Lorien could no longer maintain her disguise, and the smile on her face grew even brighter. "What do you think? Become our captive, or sacrifice your benefactor for the sake of the secret you've kept—"

"Of course, unfortunately, both of these futures will force you to break your oath, turning you into a pathetic oath breaker. But that's none of our business."

The Paladin hesitated, then first struck the captured shapeshifter in the face with a powerful blow, knocking it unconscious and throwing it to the ground, before grabbing his sword.

"...You must first prove that he is still alive." The paladin said coldly.

"Heh." Lorian shook her head and patted Emilia's face. "Hey, wake up and say something."

Emilia's bloody eyes slowly opened, and she staggered to grasp the sword at her waist.

"...Hypnotic pattern."

The next second, a rotating colorful pattern suddenly appeared in front of the group of deformed monsters.

What was most shocking about this scene was the group of deformed monsters themselves.

They had not anticipated this scene at all, and at this moment their eyes were all fixed in the direction of the Holy Knight.

All the shapeshifters, therefore, had the perfect space to unleash a spell that could charm anyone who looked at it.

So, they could no longer make any moves.

They all stayed where they were, staring at the pattern with an extremely obsessed look, without any motivation to take any other action.

The pattern undulated slightly in the air, and their eyes followed it, no longer able to see anything else.

Emilia slowly pushed Lorian's hand away and waved it in front of his eyes.

But Lorian just shook her neck like an eel, dodged his hand, and continued to stare at the pattern obsessively.

This is the power of a wizard - no matter what the previous power gap is, once the spell takes effect, one side can only be slaughtered.

After confirming that Lorian had no reaction, Emiya felt in the pocket of the shapeshifter and finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that it was still bulging.

Losing his sword was already a big deal, but if his spellbook was also gone, then he was probably bankrupt and heavily in debt.

Emilia took her spellbook from Lorian's pocket, put it in her robe, and patted her pocket - the spellbook and the brain are the real foundation of a wizard.

Then, he clapped his hands calmly, and the scars on his body disappeared in an instant.

After confirming that everything was as she wished, Emiya finally sighed from the bottom of her heart.

"After so many twists and turns, tonight is finally over."

"...Wait, wait, wait." The paladin had not yet fully caught up with the pace of what had just happened. He tapped his helmet in distress, trying to sort out what had just happened.

"Hypnotic Pattern... is a third-level spell, so you must be real..." The Paladin couldn't help but pat his head: "But, can you explain to me what just happened?"

"These shapeshifters understand spellcasters. They shouldn't have just sat there and watched you cast a spell. They should have anticipated what just happened and even taken precautions!"

"But why did they look more surprised than me just now?"

Emilia shook her head: "--Let's not talk about this for now. There are long ropes for the capstan stored in the tower. We have to tie them up first."

The shapeshifters in this state seem to have no ability to resist, but it is still a long way from the spell that completely paralyzes the enemy. If you really swing a weapon at them, they are still likely to wake up.

The paladin blew a long whistle, then turned and said, "I have asked my warhorse to pull the rope. It is smart and strong, and it can handle this task without any problem."

"So, what happened just now?"

Emiya said calmly, "Actually, what just happened isn't that complicated—the Leon I rescued was indeed a shapeshifter. He did try to attack me."

"And what just happened was actually very simple."

"Shapeshifters naturally don't like direct combat, so they'll most likely choose the simplest and most convenient option of using human shields."

"They have two choices. The first one is of course the Friendly Arms that they had previously captured."

"And the second one, unfortunately, is me, who seems safe."

"From the perspective of the shapeshifters, Emiya, who was captured and held hostage by Lorian, is actually the shapeshifter Leon."

"Their plan was this—[Leon] attacked the mage, then transformed into the attacked Emiya. Then, he transformed into Emiya's appearance again, stepped out of the shield, and used him as leverage to get you to lay down your weapon."

"This way, you're forced to abandon your weapons, and another shapeshifter has sneaked in with you. This will make it much easier to knock you down on the spot and to continue the interrogation."

"You're asking a mage to speak with his breath. This is of course a very dangerous thing. Under normal circumstances, they would never agree to it. Even any suspicious actions on my part would be immediately restricted."

"But just now, in their eyes, the one moving and speaking was just a shapeshifter, one of their own. So my actions didn't need to be viewed with such vigilance—thus, I had room to maneuver."

"And what I did wasn't that complicated. I guessed from the clues that Leon's identity was questionable. Then I used a positive tone to bluff these guesses. Then the shapeshifter couldn't hold back and attacked me, and I subdued it."

"Of course, even if he hadn't been tricked, I wouldn't have let my guard down against him, so he didn't really have a choice."

"So, I have the upper hand and can freely choose how to take the next step."

"I chose to disguise myself as a Doppelganger, blending in with the Doppelgangers and letting them down their guard. The scar on my face? That's the effect of the Disguise spell. Doppelgangers aren't the only ones who can transform. As for the rest... I don't even need to pretend."

"Perfect! Because they were so confident in this plan, the scattered shapeshifters have now gathered together. And because they are relaxed, they are also mentally relaxed, so my spell can catch them all in one fell swoop."

Emiya said this, glanced at the group of shapeshifters next to her, and shrugged: "We all planned it well, but their plan had a small deviation, so I won a small victory in the end."

"If you're always pretending to be someone else, there's always the risk of getting yourself confused."

"As for how I know so much? It's simple. To avoid leaks, they chose to communicate in Purgatory, and I understand Purgatory."

The paladin took off his helmet, his eyes filled with confusion. His mouth opened and closed, and he finally let out a long sigh: "...What a mess of intrigue. Is this a wizard?"

"I think this is a desperate measure. I don't like this kind of plan."

Not far away, a strong warhorse walked out of the city wall, holding a long hemp rope in its mouth.

When Emiya took the long rope from the warhorse's mouth, he was almost bitten by the warhorse. He shook his head and threw the rope end to the paladin: "Help, it's a bit difficult to tie up dozens of shapeshifters at once."

Emiya breathed a sigh of relief: "--Next, the positions will be reversed. It will be our turn to interrogate them."

Author's Note: *: This book is loosely based on the fifth edition rules of a best-selling TRPG. As mentioned before, the Paladin's Vow is a quest oath created by the author, and Phantom Step is one of the holy oath spells of this oath.

**: Similarly, if you feel a statement doesn't make sense, or differs from what you already know, the author should first share a little-known fact: the TRPG game doesn't only have version 3.5 rules. While the author can't guarantee 100% accuracy in this book, he does read, and not just 3R books. So, just because the setting described in the book differs from your understanding doesn't necessarily mean the author is making up stories.

Maybe it’s just because the content comes from the 5th edition, the 2nd edition, or even the 4th edition.

Eighteen Surrenders

"...?"

When the gorgeous pattern finally disappeared from the shapeshifters' sight, they finally regained their focus with a confused look on their faces and began to pay attention to the changes happening to themselves in confusion.

They still stood there, no problem.

They still stuck close to their companions, no problem - although a little too close.

Their disguises were not removed and they still maintained the appearance of hotel employees, no problem.

Even like the employees, he was tied up tightly with ropes all over his body and couldn't move! What a perfect disguise, without asking -

This is a big problem!!!!

**************

Emiya watched the shapeshifters wake up one by one as if from a dream, from confusion to surprise, and finally panic, and couldn't help shaking her head.

He and Mars hesitated for a while, and finally gave up the tempting idea of ​​tying up more than 30 shapeshifters together - putting aside other things, this simple restraint would probably have no effect on the shapeshifters.

Doppelgangers aren't limited to humans. Humanoids of all shapes and sizes are common—including dwarves and halflings who barely reach a human's waist.

No matter how tight the ropes are tied now, they will be useless after more than 30 humans collectively transform into the thinnest and smallest dwarfs.

Therefore, if they really wanted to make them surrender, they had to rely on psychological warfare. The only way left was to cut the long ropes, split them into several small groups, and tie them as tightly as possible to prevent these shapeshifters from attacking immediately.

But this is only a temporary measure after all. There is only one way to truly eliminate the risk, and that is to win over the hearts and minds of the people.

For this reason, the shapeshifter leader named Lorian was specially picked out, tied up tightly, and placed under the sole care of Emiya.

And he, the shapeshifter, was almost awake now.

At that moment, they were all standing in the open space between the inn and the city wall, Emya watching over the large pile of shapeshifters, while the paladin Mars went to check on the druids.

Emilia patted Lorian's cheek. "Hey? There's no point in pretending to be asleep. All the shapeshifters present might be able to escape, but you alone can't."

However, Lorian was still using Emiya's appearance at this moment - which made the scene look extremely weird.

Lorien reluctantly opened her eyes, took a look at the situation around her, and understood the reality.

That's how it is when you're battling a wizard—you might have the upper hand a split second beforehand, but once the spell is cast, you're at the mercy of the wizard.

He couldn't help but close his eyes and let out a long breath.

Obviously, there was no point in him continuing to pretend, and he gave up imitating Emilia's behavior.