The Spearmaster and the Black Cat Chapter 50

Fiftieth Episode~ Pleasure of Cooperation

“Again! Everyone, get ready!” “”Roger!”” All of crimson tiger responds to Sarah’s commanding voice. Everyone attacks the drake together. Their movements are unified as well as their words. As expected of the B rank clan, 【Tempest of Crimson Tiger】 Rollo and I watch their cooperative movements and act carefully. We contribute attacks that do not interfere. After defeating the drakes for several hours, the sun has already set. As you would expect, all the members of crimson tiger are beginning to show signs of fatigue. However, there is another magic essence reaction there. Moreover, there are multiple. “Again?” Sarah’s forehead creases and she has a loathing expression. “It looks like it.” In the direction Lushell points, a swarm of long-armed ants appear. Moreover, small two headed dragons appear soon after. “Ants and dragons? It can’t be helped. Everyone, go all out.” “Butch, you’re tired so take a pill.” “I’m fine. As for the captain, if you’re tired why don’t you drink a stamina restoration potion?” “Haha, you’re saying that? I’m all right.” She who has been fighting for a long time does not disrupt her confident behavior. It seems they will be okay for a while longer. While I admire them, I turn my attention to the main monster. I look at an ant with long arms. This is my first time seeing the small dragon. The two heads of the dragon are extending from slim necks. Its scales are pale. When I observe it, the small dragon and the swarm of ants begin to fight. They are like cats and dogs, the fight between the monsters is strange. For a long time…I follow the fight between the dragons and ants. The ants and dragons that wander away from the war target us. There are five ants and two small dragons. “Here they come. There are five long armed ants, and two small sonic bang dragons.” Sarah points her long curved swords in the direction of the monsters. The name of the two-headed dragon seems to be sonic bang. “Well then, I will-“ Belize raises her bow, nocks an arrow, and fires. The arrow whistles through the air, piercing the ant’s eyes one after another, and striking the thin neck of the dragons. Amazing…she is more than a pair of tits. I can tell that the Elf Belize’s archery is at a considerable level. However, melon-san’s big breasts seem obstructive when using a bow and arrow. [ED: Holy… Author you need to get laid or something….] The breasts behind the red leather armor… “Still, there is still a distance, then it is our turn.” Lushell talks casually. As an example of her composure, Belize winks while she fires her bow and arrow. Lushell being a magic user holds out a long staff in front of her chest. She raises the big staff in one hand and closes one eye. Her other hands move to grasp the large staff as support. I confirm with magic observing eye. Lushell is manipulating mana. I can see mana is being transmitted into the staff from both of her arms. She does not seem to be using an aria. When the blue jewel at the end of the staff starts to shine, the wooden claw like branches shrink back so the blue jewel may be grasped. Countless blue particles come from the jewel and expand, the particle gather right above and form a big pointed icicle. “Be smashed by ice.” The pointed icicles are produced continuously and they fly at the ants. One by one, the glistening icicles, wider than five centimeters, pierce through the abdomens of the ants. The ants pierced by the sharp icicles stop moving. The ants which continue receiving the ice magic become frozen white ice statues in no time. The icicles also hit the other two ants, dulling their movements. The heads of the slowed ants are pierced through by arrows and they stop moving. It is finished with a magic staff and a bow. The long armed ants are wiped out by Lushell’s magic and Belize’s bow. However, the small dragons are still there. “The dragons seem to be resistant.” Like Lushell said, the icicles hit the small two headed dragons but are being deflected by their pale scales. The ice system does not seem to work on those blue scales. On the other hand, a lot of arrows are stuck in them. “Let’s kill each dragon.” Sarah declares her instruction with those few words. She is already running towards the sonic bangs with a bent forward posture and her two swords. (TL: So, like that one kid on the playground who watched too much Naruto and thought running like that would be cool.) “Roger!” The members of Tempest of Crimson Tiger all obey Sarah’s command. Butch follows up on Sarah’s attack and delivers a blow to the body of the sonic bang. Belize fires arrows from her bow as well. Lushell also releases sharp icicles from her large staff. However, the ice magic does not work on the blue scales. Lushell stops attacking with her large staff. I participate as well, undaunted. I aim for the small legs. Timing to cooperate with Sarah and Butch, I extend the black spear and drill into the spot already injured by the sword and ax. Once one leg is cut off, the sonic bang loses its balance. At that moment, Rollo sticks her bone sword into it’s small neck. Piercing through the head, one of the necks hangs loose, unmoving. However, the sonic bang dragon has a second head which raises a sound similar to a scream. It can make an awfully high-pitched sound despite it being small. The roaring reverberates as Rollo retracts her feeler and sneaks around the back of the sonic bang, preparing for the next attack. However, despite having its leg destroyed and losing its balance, the small dragon seems fine. Turning its remaining head around, it turns its body around quickly. The sonic bang opens its mouth towards Rollo and roars, a shock wave is thrown out. Rollo receives the shock wave and rolls back once. She collapses with her stomach exposed. “Rollo!” I shout her name, but she is okay. Rollo extended her feels as she fell to absorb the shock. The sonic bang opens its mouth again. “Show me your back will you, good-bye-“ The moment Sarah says good-bye. Mana circulates in her arm- the long swords warp and red hair grows out from her arms. The muscles of her arms swell and they become gigantic. Her hair is bushy too. Using both arms the “Attack skill” called “Quadruped Strike” is delivered, blowing away the small dragon’s skull. [ED: @TL Changed text and raw removed.] It is amazing no matter how many times I see it. Seeing it up-close, her arms and long-swords become larger. Is the sword special too? Everything has already returned to their original size. Her gigantic arms were covered in red hair and her agility seemed to increase as well. So much so that her arms became blurred. The four-sword slash of the curved long swords. The wound is terrible because it is caused by four simultaneous sword slashes. The slashing attack that blew away the drake's head seems to be a technique from a similar skill system. On the other hand, Butch attacks the remaining sonic bang on his own. The simultaneous attacks of the two heads are deflected by the large ax, the broadax is used like a shield to defend against the shockwaves from the sonic bang’s mouths. As though responding there, Belize hits the eyes of the small dragon with arrows. There are two heads, so a total of four arrows find their marks. Her bow skills are amazing. The dragon can no longer pick a target so it releases shock waves and roars in random directions. Then, a magic that looks like thunder magic smashes into the small dragon. Two thin yellow flashes of light, three, they all land direct hits on the sonic bang- The sonic bang seems to have become weakened, trembling, but still alive. However, its movements are noticeably slowed. Butch makes use of his strength and delivers an attack with his broadax, easily cutting through the pale scales into the flesh beneath. His movements are like a baseball player striking a home run. Seeing the attack with the broadax, I am reminded of Raguren. Still, I never heard an aria but Lushell made lightning fall from the sky. Even if I think such a thing it started with Sarah’s three-stranded slashing attack. Butch’s attacks continue to happen. Butch jumps- swinging his broadax from the sky. A helm splitting type skill. The thin wings are completely shattered and twisted by the fierce blow of the ax skill, the thin wings of the dragon seem to be torn off. Following up on Butch’s broadax skill, Lushell continues dropping down lightning magic. The scales are blown off and its flesh roasted, causing a smell to rise. The small dragon’s entire body is trembling, seeming to be caused by the numbness. I see. That lightning magic was a scroll. There is a sheet of paper attached to a belt over Lushell’s head. The paper is thick, it looks like a bound book and there is a lot of paper. A piece of paper is torn from the magic book, thrown, and the paper changes into a thunderbolt. Then an arrow fired by Belize from a tightly-strung bow pierces through the scales to the flesh, to the two sections of burning flesh. The sonicban that survived until now… It looks pitiful under everyone’s concentrated attacks. The blind sonicban is full of openings. Late to the party, Rollo also attacks the small dragon and extends a feeler bone sword. The bone sword splits the stuck arrow shaft, splitting it in half and driving the head even deeper. I attack as well. My foot firmly on the ground, power flows through my twisting waist, and throw out my arm in a . The twisting black spear drills into the small dragon, penetrating deep. Again, everyone continues to attack. The small dragon is unable to run away, and it cannot even scream. In an instant, it becomes scraps of flesh. Complete overkill. And, the dragons and ants fighting seem to have stopped and there are no signs of dragons or ants in the immediate area. First team game. This is considerably easy. The surroundings are open as well, cooperation is fun. Rollo’s cooperation is interesting too, still a different kind of fun. “Yosh. I don’t see any more enemies in the area. Were all the ants and dragons springing up around here cleared up… Strip them of their materials but leave them here, we can collect them later.” “That’s right. Like the captain said, there are no more “signs” coming from the left side. There seem to still be wyverns in the sky though…” Lushell seems to have a presence detection skill, or can use search magic. “As one would expect, if it’s that distance, I don’t know if even my bow could reach…” “Anywhere is fine as long as I can swing my ax around, I trust the captain’s judgement.” “Yeah…” Then, waiting for my opinion, Sarah turns her eyes to me. Making eye contact, I nod lightly. It is true, I can only feel magic essence signs from the sky. Same for pheromone touch. Everyone’s faces are weary with fatigue. So, should we take a break? I try to suggest it. “…seeing everyone’s faces, how about you take a break?” “Yeah. Let’s take a break for a little. Lushell, takes mana restoration potion with a high concentration. Everyone including me, let’s take stamina restoration pills and potions.” Everyone nods to Sarah’s words, and medicine is removed from each person’s waist belt, brought to their mouths and drank. I do not take a potion, but I eat jerky since I feel hungry. I give Rollo some too. “Now, there are no monsters in this area, so we can take a quick break here before returning to the metastasis formation. The day has also become dark. I am worried about the battle between the wyverns and imperial guard ants. They are both ‘powerful enemies.'” “”Roger.”” I reply as well. “Understood.” “Nya.” “Fufu, Rollo-chan is too cute. Are you answering me?” “N, Nyaa.” After calling out to say 『Let’s gyo back fast, nya』 Rollo jumps to my shoulder and claps my shoulder with a *pap* “Maa, surprising. You come to a ‘serious decision’ despite being so cute. This child has a good head.” “Surely that’s…my familiar is well-informed, but this is my first time seeing a superior and cute ‘familiar’ like Rollo.” “Rollo-chan wants to hurry too. Let’s go.” Like this, we return to the metastasis formation together. I can see the bright metastasis formation. There are magic lights floating in many places and the ground is lit up by the magic formation carved into it. It is slightly dazzling. It shows the state of the adventurers fighting the long-armed ants in such dazzling light. Oh, the fight seems to be over. However, the center of the protective wall is gone. It seems to have been caught up in the war between the wyverns and imperial ants, crushed and broken without leaving a trace. The center is almost completely empty without a place to hide. Then, the adventurers that have finished fighting the longed armed ants return. “Tempest of Crimson Tiger. You’re returning?” “As one would expect, they seem to have finished dealing with the drakes.” The adventurers have expressions of admirations as they whisper to one another. Then, the commander woman with the large staff on her back approaches. “You killed those drakes? As expected, you all should be the next called A rank. Tempest of Crimson Tiger-san…n? With are you together with that D rank…” While the commander woman is in the middle of talking, she notices I am with the Tempest of Crimson Tiger and acts doubtful. “N? It was precisely because of Shuya’s help that we were able to wipe out the drakes, sonicbans, and ants so quickly?” Sarah speaks out in my defense. “Really? Why are you asking with that face? Shuya is an expert.” Belize-san’s eyes sharpen and she becomes angry. “Surely. His physical ability was greater than most beastmen. What was most surprising, without communicating with us, he was able to join our cooperation flawlessly. Without ranking or confirming tactics. Something like that isn’t so easy to do.” Butch-san raises his voice and praises me. It is nice to be recognized as an adventurer. “Eeh, that’s right. Eris has a bad habit of judging people by their ranks. 【Crimson Tiger’s Tempest】 establishes claim on Shuya-san first, no, we give our approval that he is an extremely talented individual. The black cat is cute too.” “Lushell…is that so. I was impolite.” In response to the unexpected support from each member of crimson tiger, Eris has a surprised look, and lowers her head meekly. “What do you say, Shuya-san? I am Eris Fafunade. B ranked Mage. Leader of the adventurer clan 【Eight Maidens】. I work as staff in the adventurer’s guild with my father’s connections. I apologize for earlier. I am sorry.” The strong-willed pony-tail woman is named Eris. She is an acquaintance of Lushell. Our eyes meet. I am not particularly angry, so I will be polite. “…Yes. Eris-san. Everything is fine. I am Shuya Kagari. Either Shuya of Kagari, however you want to call me is fine.” “…Good. All of 【Crimson Tiger’s Tempest】 recognizes you, Shuya-san must be a remarkable spearman.” Eris looks at the black spear in my hand and says so. (TL: I’m not sure if author meant to write Lushell here.) [ED: Makes more sense as Eris, Changed.] “No, I’m just confident in my spear ability.” “If that’s the case, thank you for fighting in the future. The remainder of the middle-!?” The shuffling footsteps of ants comes from inside. There are multiple magic essence reactions too- Eris looks back to the right, surprised by this sound. Everyone notices belatedly. “Ants again.” There is a swarm of soldier ants and armored commander ants coming from the right side. “Soldiers and commanders, everyone, prepare to intercept-“ “Oou!” “Let’s do this shit!” “Here it goes!” Eris shouts out instructions to the adventurers. -As expected her commands are fast. The adventurers who receive instructions are to vanguard, middle guard, rear guard, each respective clan groups together and confronts the swarm of soldier ants and armored commander ants. Their movements let you feel their agility. The adventurers seem to be clans with experience as well. “Eris-san, the crimson tigers will act as a mobile unit.” “Yeah, there is no protective wall, crush them as you please.” Lushell runs to Eris’s side. “Eris, work hard.” “Lushell too.” Lushell and Eris remove the large staffs from their back, slap them together in encouragement before walking away. The members of crimson tiger confront the ants with Sarah in the lead. Immediately, they aim for the soldier ants in the area and attack. Now then, this situation- Even if I work together with crimson tiger, it can’t be helped. The place with the lowest rate of extermination… What is the weakest point? While thinking so, I look around the battlefield- Over there it seems there needs to be some reinforcements. There are two armored commander ants going on a rampage. The commander ants are utilizing their large shells and rushing the adventurers like a bulldozer, throwing them around. I signal Rollo with my eyes. When we make eye contact and nod, we start running. Rollo limbs expand and she takes on her panther form. The adventurers are split in half because of the armored commander ants, so I aim for the one breaking through on the left. The armored commander ant starts to turn. Recalling the other day, I aim for its weak points. I thrust the black spear into the bundle of muscle in its joins, cutting a hole through the muscle. Several long legs fly into the air. The armored commander ant is knocked to the ground, unable to withstand the sudden impact, and exposes the lower part of its neck. Maintaining my momentum to the exposed neck. Waiting for this moment, Rollo repeatedly stabs her bone sword into the neck joint of the armored commander ant. The neck is stabbed through so many times that it nearly breaks off. And, when dark red liquid spurts out of the necks with a tearing sound, the head of the armored commander ant explodes off like a cannon directly into the shell of the other commander ant. The armored commander ant notices the impact and quickly turns this way with it’s red haired legs moving fast. Glaring at us, it raises a shout in our direction. Rollo extends her feelers into the distance and quickly retracts them, pulling her entire body. She avoids the charge of the armored commander ant. I activate . -With my increased speed, I move to the side of the charging commander ant. Aiming for the legs at this point, I aim for the same soft spots as before and send several severed legs flying. I harvest the armored commander ant’s legs until timer runs out. The armored commander ant cannot support itself with all the legs on one side of its body gone. It crashes to the ground, rolling over soldier ants before coming to a stop on its back. It receives a concentrated attack from the surrounding adventurers. The overturned armored ant looks like a turtle. It is a little cute, but I will leave finishing it off to those people. Once more, I turn my eyes to look over the battlefield. The crimson tiger group is fighting different armored commander ants. Its movements are restricted with magic, and each ant is killed. -It is all right there. I turn my eyes to the adventurer group around Eris next. I can see Eris gathering the attention of the armored commander ants and running away. A member of Eris’s clan is easily wiping out dozens of soldier ants, she is using herself as a decoy. Doing it like that may be dangerous for Eris. Should I kill the armored commander ants chasing her? She is a beautiful woman, I guess I will help her. (TL&ED: God damnit.) Eris is throwing fireballs at the armored commander ants, but they do not seem to be enough. The red hair on their legs are burnt. The armored commander ant that has its hair burned raises a battle cry and changes course. Its legs rustle and it turns its heavy looking body. A chance. I approach the armored commander ant while it is turning with fighting moji enhanced legs and cut off a leg with the black spear. The armored commander ant stumbles, defenseless. As usual, I release at the armored commander ant’s neck. The black spear penetrates deep into the neck. That moment, the disconnected head is sent flying by the pressure of its blood like a ping-pong ball. The flying head soars to the soldier ants fighting the adventurers crushing one’s chest. Hou, it’s good the head did not hit an adventurer. When the armored commander ants that were giving them a hard time decrease, the situation tilts in favor of the adventurers. With the advantage, the adventurers kill the remaining soldier ants. The soldier ants are quickly wiped out. The sudden swarm of ants has been immediately wiped out. “Oooh!” “OOOOooooh!” “Huzzah!” The adventurers that wiped out the ants. They all raise their voices together. “We were able to defeat them really fast, we beat the ants.” “-Yahoo!” “”-OOOooh!”” The adventurers raise their victory cries from various places. The black cat seems surprised by the sudden shouting and quickly returns to my shoulder. “-Everyone, it is too early to celebrate! Collect the dead’s belongings, and then would the wounded each get a potion. A portion will report those who died to their respective leaders. Magic users with the water attribute and who can use healing magic, those with light attribute and priests please use healing magic on those who cannot take a potion. I can use light healing too, so recover. Afterwards we can all celebrate!” As expected, Eris seems to be a commander. An aura of recovery magic hangs over those who were injured earlier, healing them. Everyone, the adventurers here seem to have a lot of experience, there are only two dead. Most people only need to swallow a potion and healing magic is only needed for three severely injured. Once treatment is finished, Eris talks. “Shuya-san. Thank you for earlier. You defeated the officer we were facing.” Her pony tail has slipped because of the intense movements and becomes something strange, but it might be rude to point it out so I do not mention it. “No, no, it is because Eris-san attracted the attention of the armored commander ant that I was able to aim so easily.” “Is that so? You’re a person who doesn’t bring attention to themselves.  Fufu, a-“ Then, Eris seems to notice that their red pony tail has slipped. The uses both her hands to fix it. Eris’s bashful face is good, now, the smile she showed for a moment is good too. The expression created a gap with her usual unyielding and intellectual behavior. “Yo, Shuya seems to have killed several commanders as well.” Butch-san voice appears there. The crimson tiger group is approaching. “Aah, their charging is difficult.” When I saw so, Belize reacts. “Shuya-kun, you appear young but you are unexpectedly collected. I thought you would fight the ants and commander ants with us…” “As Belize says. You were able to understand the movements in the chaotic fight, able to act in the weakest links.” Sarah says such a thing as well. For some reason, I feel uneasy when I am praised. “…It was a coincidence. It was obvious things would become easy if the commanders were killed.” “…Shuya-san is modest-san.” With big shining eyes, Lushell says such a thing too. “Haha, we’ll keep praising you to death. Besides, I might still kill you?” Saying so, I look to the middle. “It’s just like that. Defeating those wyvern and imperial guard ants won’t be such an easy task. It will be a fierce battle if it comes to that. So, we will hold a strategy meeting. I will gather the leaders of the clans here, so wait a minute.” “Roger.” “Understood.” Eris is going to gather everyone and is running out to the scattered adventurers. Sarah mutters while watching Eris summon everyone. “Strategy, it’s already night, can’t it wait till morning?”

Chapter end