CH 281

“Just like we discussed, Mr. Big Shot.”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to a Clan-based operation.”

–On the day of the mission, we, the emissaries of Reflexion Kingdom and Birdie’s Clan, met up at the exit of the town. After this, we were going to be deployed to the forest.

The meeting was the day after the mission was decided, and several representatives from each talked about what the Clan had planned.　

The key location would be the forest east of the town’s exit, and a mixed party of the Clan and the knights would proceed through the forest.

“Deadly bears, Viking wolves, and Treants are the main monsters, and there’s a bunch of others. I don’t know why they’re all here, but I think that its cause is in the center. Do you have any questions?”

“Are there any monsters fighting each other?”

“Ahhh, I’m not sure why they’re wandering around together, but they don’t seem to be fighting each other. It’s as if they’re being controlled by something ……”

Is it the same as Oriola territory’s Treants?

However, it seems that its influence has spread to other monsters, so there is a high possibility that it will be more troublesome than that time. In addition, it is assumed that the “Gospel’s Descent” is involved, so I told the knights of the castle and Himmel-san’s men to treat everyone except us as enemies.

And so the march began, with Birdie and the rest of the Clan in the vanguard and us in the rear, and I approached Himmel-san and spoke to him in a whisper.

“Are your men all right?”

“Yes. My men are …… but rather than that, the people who work in the castle are trained to a certain extent and have self-defense methods, so it’s basically not difficult to subdue the lord’s family itself. I’ve even left my knights behind.”

“That’s a relief. Is Basleigh-sensei going to be okay over here? Actually, I don’t think she can fight very well ……”

“Hahaha, it’s safer and more secure here with Larskun and Makina-chan! And now, while we’re talking about that, it looks like our first opponent is here.”

“!!”

When I heard Basleigh-sensei’s words, I looked over and saw a moving tree, making a rustling sound as it attacked me. Sephiro in the cage is flailing about.

“Is that a Qliphoth?”

“Yes!”

Sephiro nodded his head and confirmed it. If I look at it closely, I can see that the color is different, but it’s hard to tell at a glance.

“Birdie! You can cut them down if you want!”

“Ohhhh!? What the hell is that!? Well, If they attack, there’s no other way but to take them down! Do it, boys!”

” ” “Uooohhhhhhhhhhhh!” ” “

Birdie and the others started attacking the Qliphoth in the front with weapons in their hands. Just as I was about to head to back them up, Makina looked to the side and shouted.

“Lars, over here too!”

“We’re surrounded, It’s quite troublesome that they have no presence on them ……! Sephiro, they’re okay too, right!”

“!!”

“Okay, !”

The fireball from my hand hits the Qliphoth, explodes loudly, and then burning the branches. Right after that, Fath-san’s kick snaps a branch, and I use my Aqua Bullet to dissipate it. 

“As expected of my Master ……!”

“Makina, behind you! Try to defeat it with Lightning and [Kaiser Knuckle]!”

“Yes! Ha!”

Boom! Just as I thought I heard an electric noise, the trunk of the tree was charred and the Qliphoth was smashed against another tree with tremendous force and torn apart.

“YEAH! That’s amazing, Makina-chan! Come on, come on, you knights, do your best!”

“You sure have It easy ……!?”

“He’s not going anywhere, is he? !”

The knights also complained about Basleigh-sensei, who only cheered them on, but they worked together to make sure the Qliphoth was killed. The knights burn the threatening branches, and the wizards burn the thick trunks.

“We’re done over here!”

Birdie and the others had killed three of the Qliphoth’s, and we had killed four, when silence fell. As we burned the corpses of all the Qliphoths, Birdie said to us.

“As expected, you’re so strong. With this, we’ll be able to go deeper than we alone could.”

“Hmm? Did you get halfway there?”

“Yeah. It’s gonna get a lot more intense from here, so be careful.”

“……”

Birdie says with a serious face and turns his back on us. Is this concern real or fake ……? As I followed with this in mind, the monsters soon came attacking us. 

“Viking Wolves! Don’t show your back, make a circle and intercept!”

At Birdie’s signal, the humans of the clan formed a circle and took up a position to intercept the approaching Viking Wolves. However, unlike normal wolves, these guys seem to be able to move in a multitude of ways, with some units attacking from the feet up and others kicking trees to attack from above.

“Makina, you take the bottom, I’ll take the top!”

“Okay!”

“It’ll probably work against beasts …… !”

“!”

In pairs, we protect each other’s backs while we flexibly deal with attacks from above and on the ground. The knights continue to struggle while protecting Himmel-san and Basleigh-sensei.

“Damn, I’m bit!? Get off me!”

“Grrrrr ……!”

“Uraaaaaa!”

“Kyahin!?”

“Yeah! Whoa!?”

“There’s so many of them, and they don’t even retreat when one of their own is killed ……! !”

“! Tah! That’s five of them! Next! …… What!?”

“What’s the matter, Makina? What the hell!? Oh no, everyone, avoid it!”

Fath-san made an unusually impatient voice, so when I looked beyond the line of sight of Makina and Fath-san, a deadly bear was running from that direction with tremendous momentum! In addition to running as fast as a car, the bear’s huge body is capable of delivering powerful blows that could damage the inside of your armor if you were hit by it head on.

“I think this will work if it’s from the front! .”

“Guuoooooohhhh!”

“Lars!?”

With auto-protection, it won’t break unless it takes a lot of damage. If I can slow them down with this, and they attack all at once, it should be fine. I braced my feet and prepared for the impact.

But right after that–

“Guoh ……!”

“What!?”

“Ehhhhhhhhhh!?”

Deadly Bear jumped to the side just before hitting me, and flew right past me! Does this guy even know what he’s doing!?

“AH!? Basleigh-sensei!”

“What!?”

I turned around to stop it, but it didn’t let up on its dash and hit Basleigh-sensei and ran off with her on its back.

“Damn it! What the hell are you doing? We have to go after her ……!”

But the Deadly Bear’s appearance had disrupted our coordination, and we were surrounded by a horde of Viking Wolves. Qliphoth’s had also appeared among them.

“Birdie and the others are ……! They’re not here!”

“Bingo. We’ve been set up, even though we agreed to it.”

“No matter. We’ll just make them scatter and go after her.”

“Lars can go first …… that’s ……?”

“What is it, Machina?”

“Isn’t there something running over there?”

As Makina pointed, I saw a small black mass moving towards our way.

“Kuon …… Kuon …… “

“I’ve seen that before in the class competitions!”

“It’s the Deadly Bear’s kid! Is it the kid of the one just now!?”

The child bear runs frantically, moving its short, shapely legs. A couple of Viking Wolves stood in front of it, as if they saw it as an enemy.

“We can’t just abandon them, can we ……! Sephiro, you help too! Makina, Fath-san, after we save the baby bear, I’ll go straight to Basleigh-sensei and leave you in charge here.”

“Yeah!”

“Leave it to us.”

I nodded and started to move!

Has he finally revealed himself?

Will it be Basleigh-sensei’s turn next time?

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“A Moment of Tension ……!”

Now, what’s going to happen with this move ……!