Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu C439

Defense Specialization and Pursuit Battle 3

Despite having contributed in various places, the efforts of the [Maple Tree] still wasn't enough. The scale of the preliminary preparations that Lily and Marx prepared was huge. If they were to take a look at the entire map, they could see that many places were on the verge of defeat.

In the main battlefield, a fierce battle was ensuing.

Most of Marx's pillars had already been destroyed, and the overflowing wave of monsters trampled the soldiers and players alike with their enormous bodies. Just then, a wave of flames and bullets eliminated the monsters. In the next moment, the angry masses of soldiers surged toward Payne and others like waves.

“[Poltergeist]!”

As her [Machine God] fired various laser beams in mid-air, Maple seized them and swung them around as if they were swords in frenzy.

It didn't only spell the end for those soldiers, but also the start of the monster avalanche.

“It seems that everyone is doing well!”

“…Alright, let's go!”

Upon hearing the battle report of the Maple Tree from Sally, Payne decided to advance further into the enemy camp.

If they were to tread on, it'd be impossible to avoid any casualties. At the same time, it'd take more effort and time to withdraw. It'd be nice if they could win, but considering that others were under heavy attack, there was a reason to accept the risk.

The news that the [Maple Tree] defense was going well was exactly what they'd been waiting for.

“[Blue Flame]!”

“[Sweeping Fire]”

Behind the infinite surge of soldiers, Lily summoned an army of armed robots with scattering bullets, while Mii's flame scorched the area.

As the flames and barrages subsided, Maple and the others went to the offensive.

“Frederica!”

“Yes, yes! Look, Sally! This is my special skill—[Mana Ocean]!”

A glittering effect danced around Frederica. But when Sally thought that was the extent of it, Frederica pointed her wand forward and activated her spell—

—Soon, the reason why she was saving it became apparent.

“[Super Multi-Fire Bullet]! Knots [Singing Round]!”

A multitude of red magic circles was deployed behind her. Following that, countless fire bullets rained down on the enemy camp, making Maple's [Machine God] seem like a ripoff of [Multi-Fire Bullet].

“[Super Multi-Water Bullet] [Super Multi-Wind Blade]”

“Eh, wait, what's wrong with your MP…?”

When paired with Knots' skill, it was as if Frederica was unleashing a single magic, yet the damage output was simply ridiculous.

…Even so, Frederica didn't seem to be running out of MP. Soon, Sally understood that it was due to her aforementioned skill, [Mana Ocean].

“So, you have to use it sparingly?”

“That's right. Hence why I decided to unleash it here.”

After all, if the skill was readily available, then Frederica would've used it from the start. Apparently, it was a trump card that had to be used with utmost consideration.

“Everyone! Gather!”

Every time she casted a skill, Frederica immediately made quick work of the enemy's soldiers. Matching her powerful attack, Maple summoned the remaining monsters and narrowed her focus to [Night Castle].

“[Awakening]!”

“[Path of Water]!”

Avoiding the enemy-riddled ground, Payne rode on Ray, while Sally swum in the path made of water.

They were within the enemy's attack range. Nevertheless, it wouldn't be a problem to a player with high [AGI].

“Ray—[Meteor], [Full Magic Release], [Light Torrent]!”

With the shining Ray, Payne went straight for the [Night Castle]. Aware that the castle also served as a trap, he intended to destroy the castle with his ultimate blow.

“[Holy Dragon's Blade of Light]!”

“[Puppet Wall]!”

The endless wave of soldiers became light, and were rebuilt to stand as a wall in front of the castle.

However, with the help of Ray, Payne's blow went through, destroying the Night Castle while also throwing Misery and Marx outside.

“…As if I'll let you—! Ignis! Wait—!?”

To intercept, Mii chased after Payne, but Sally emerged from the water, wielding a similarly luminous sword.

“—One more try, here I come!”

“What did you say—!?”

Both Mii and Lily widened their eyes in shock. At the same time, Sally's sword grew even brighter—

“[Holy Dragon's Blade of Light]!”

“[Angel's Protection]!”

A torrent of brilliance. Seeing exactly the same skill as Payne, Misery used a skill that'd nullify the damage within range. As powerful as it was, the skill also had strict restrictions, making it an ace up her sleeve.

…Regardless, the light didn't disappear, but kept going.

“No way!”

“W-why…?”

“Ignis!”

Ignis violently grabbed the bewildered Marx and Misery with its legs, before retreating into the sky while trying to shield them using its body. Sally's blow hit Ignis, but it soared safely into the sky.

“It did no damage to Ignis… Is it an illusion!?”

Like Mii, Lily and Wilbert saw no damage and reached a certain conclusion.

After all, looking back at Sally's skills, there were several such skills.

“Marx, Misery, time to counterattack!”

In order to descend to the ground safely, Mii first checked if Payne was going after her.

“I leave it to you, Maple.”

Coincidentally, the moment Sally uttered those words, Mii noticed its existence.

At the front.

Above the giant turtle floating in the sky, Maple had leaned forward and extended her hand—

—a gigantic black cylinder emitting blue sparks floated around the [Machine God] laser weapon as if to reinforce it.

Not only that, it was facing this way.

It didn't take long for Mii to realize that it was a gun.

“[Ancient Weapon]! [Commence Attack]!”

Along with Maple's declaration, the blue and red spark shone brilliantly, before being unleashed all at once.

From the previous match, Mii already knew that not just Ignis, but everyone would be swallowed by it.

“—Kuh!”

“They distracted us…”

After calmly assessing the situation, Misery made a decision before the worst could happen.

“Bell, [Awakening]! [Last Prayer]!”

She summoned a tamed monster. Before the event, Bell, who only had passive skills, learned a certain skill for the first time. A skill where Misery and Bell would sacrifice themselves to grant wide area invincibility and recovery.

It was literally the last prayer.

Misery wished that she could've used it more effectively, but as it was, she had no other choice.

“Misery!”

“W-wait, but…”

She'd already casted the skill. There was no other choice. Although the laser swallowed the three, it did no damage. Mii used that chance to escape, while Misery began to vanish.

“Mii, Marx, please do your best.”

With the defeat of Misery, the enemy had lost a powerful healer, but Maple also lost all her summons. Overall, the enemy still had the advantage due to Lily's summoned soldiers.

“The next—”

Mii, who tried to consult with Lily, saw Sally riding on Ray's back while pointing a huge cannon that looked similar to [Machine God]. Moreover, it was also emitting blue sparks. Upon seeing that, Mii widened her eyes—after all, it looked exactly the same as Maple's canon.

“Frederica!”

“[Multi-Total Teleport]”

A bizarre number of buffs began to converge on Sally's body as she called out—boosting the attack's power and range by dozens of times.

“If you think this is an illusion, why don't you give it a try!?”

“Lily!”

Wilbert called out to Lily, perhaps to convey a hidden message.

“If I can do that, then I won't be having a hard time! My bad, Mii—[Formation Change]!”

“[Ancient Weapon]! [Commence Attack]!”

Unlike Maple's, which was fired mid-air, the blue light filled the ground before diffusing. It was an illusion. After “blowing up” in the empty enemy camp, it eventually disappeared.

“Let's switch to defense! We can't give them any opportunity!”

With that as a signal, Payne commanded everyone to withdraw. After all, by pursuing the enemy, they'd only be putting their own base in unnecessary danger.

For the time being, the head-on clash that caused equally massive deaths on both sides and the entire battlefield had come to an impasse. The field, where only the remnants of the battle remained, became the silent witness to the intensity of the battle.

[Formation Change]—it had a similar effect to Maple's Ark, in which it'd move the position of the buffed players within the range. Thus, Lily had shifted many players to the back.

“Lily, thanks for your help.”

“Huh? Ah, it's nothing, I'm sorry for making the call to withdraw on my own.”

“We didn't know whether or not it was an illusion. Therefore, it'd be safer to just avoid it.”

“It'd be nice if Will and I could find a way to ascertain reality before the next full-fledged fight. Sure, it'd mean having to rely on Will's sight, but it's much better than making a gamble.”

By ascertaining it themselves, it'd also mean risking death. Therefore, Wilbert was certainly the right person to analyze the illusion and avoid the worst-case scenario.

“Soon, there'll be no more soldiers. The same goes for Marx's traps.”

“That's right. Well, I guess I could re-install some traps where it's necessary…”

Compared to the start of the battle, the number of players had dwindled. From now on, not only large-scale battles, there'd also be a surge in small-scale battles that involved ambushes and surprise attacks.

“Night is about to fall. Let's try to reduce their number.”

“Let's do that. We'll need Will's Night Vision.”

“Since Mii stands out too much, she should defend…”

“…You have a point.”

At night, they'd only draw attention to themselves by using flame skill. Even if that wasn't the case, Mii's fighting style was also conspicuous. The same could be said about her tamed monster—Ignis, making the two unsuitable for covert operation.

“Although, it seems like the other side isn't pursuing us. Did the king's attack also stop?”

Looking at the magic circle that was deployed in the sky and the tremendous amount of magic cascading from it at a distance, Lily exhaled—

—apparently, they made the right call by not pursuing them.

“Are you tired?”

“Well, yeah…”

“We've endured too much damage.”

“That's right. A single mistake could prove to be fatal.”

She could've done a bit better. She had many regrets regarding the previous battle. Still, considering that a vast array of skills was available in this skill, it was only natural for everyone to have an ace up their sleeve. To be able to foresaw each and every single one of them would be impossible.

“We have to make sure to not fall for the same trick twice. Oh, did those two come back?”

In the magical sky, Velvet descended with a flash of thunder. However, she didn't plummet into the ground, since Hinata was there to slow her fall and ensure her landing.

“How was it—!?”

“Misery has been defeated. While we've defeated a lot of players, the [Congregation of Holy Sword] and [Maple Tree] remain undefeated.”

“Ugh, is that so?”

“I'm sorry, Velvet. Even though you wanted to participate in the battle…”

“No, no, it can't be helped! As a guild member, one can't be too selfish!?”

“Well, after that, a lot happened. At that time, I regretted not letting you stay.”

“Eh!? Did something interesting happen while I was gone!?”

“Interesting, huh…? I guess that's one way to see it.”

Hinata smiled wryly at Marx, who overlooked the battle with a bitter look on his face.

“I'm sure it'll be interesting… For Velvet, anyway.”

“I agree.”

While talking, the six returned to the royal castle.

“Oh, that's right. How was the strategy?”

“It's perfect! And while I'm at it, I defeat the enemies along the way!”

“That's great. Then, our struggle was worthwhile…”

The situation might've changed if Velvet and Hinata were present at the battlefield. Nevertheless, the two left because carrying out the strategy was their main priority.

…Now that the seeds had been sown, all they needed to do was wait for the right timing.

“Let's take a break for a while.”

“Yes, let's prepare for the ambush.”

Still, staying on the battlefield for too long was exhausting. Adequate rest was also necessary to maintain performance.

Thus, the six decided to relax in the castle. Away from the battlefield, the six began to relax…

Chapter end