Vol 5 Chapter 2.3 (1/2)

Vol. 5 Chapter 2 Part 3

The fist fighter, Hibineko, engaged the enemy shortly after s.h.i.+n.

The usually casual Hibinekos eyes had changed into those of a hunters, with the prey already determined.

Without losing momentum or speed, he took a step and accelerated even more. He glided through the air with a jump kick.

Emerald green light was emitted from the greaves equipped on his legs, which were enhanced by s.h.i.+n. Hibineko used the barehanded-wind technique combination skill Autobahn Kick and plowed through, crus.h.i.+ng the monsters he collided with.

It was a convenient skill for hitting a large group of monsters, with a cannonball-like kick, and also for movement. Hibineko had used the skill on the frontlines of the monster hordes.

Although Hibineko was short for a man, the aftermath of his kick, which was clad in the wind technique and received the blessings of the enhancement skill via his equipment, destroyed even the monsters that were outside its effective range.

Hibineko challenged the hordes head-on as they were scattered around by that kicks power.

If s.h.i.+n, who had access to the map function, looked at the map, he would see a clear line cut straight through a sea of red enemy markers.

I cant fall behind s.h.i.+n and the others!

Hibineko who dove into the crowd using the barehanded and flame technique combination skill Echo Blast, mightily flung his right leg against the ground. The crack on the ground where Hibineko stamped spread like a spiderweb, and after a few moments, bluish-white flames burst from those cracks.

The tremors that spread from Hibineko, who was at the epicenter of the skill, monsters nearby lose their balance while flames erupted from the ground and roasted them. Though it was a skill that dealt damage regardless of friend or foe, it wasnt a problem since he was only surrounded by enemies.

Due to the synergy between the reinforced weapon and the support magic cast on it, its skill and range of effect had risen tremendously and could not be compared to its previous state. When the skill ended and the flames died down, Hibineko was left in a bubble devoid of monsters with a radius of 100 mels.

More monsters then approached him in order to reoccupy the empty s.p.a.ce.

As for Hibineko, he wore the smile of a carnivorous animal. He kept on attacking the monster hordes.

Across from s.h.i.+n on the other side of Hibineko, Shadow was silently carrying out a ma.s.sacre.

A black shadowy figure ran, slicing through the monsters leaving only cut lines lingering in the air. For a short time, the monsters seemed unaffected.

Then, when the they moved a little, they fell apart along the slice lines.

As expected, a weapon made by s.h.i.+n is on another level.

Shadow muttered unintentionally, admiring the dagger he held in his right hand.

The dagger was lighter compared to before s.h.i.+n had reinforced it, and yet it drew a stronger killing blow. As if being buffed by the weapons newfound power, he felt even his body control had increased.

As a matter of fact, his physical strength had went up too. If one had to say, the way it had risen up was different; there were no stats that had been improved. It had been adjusted for the owner from the beginning. It was the case for Hibineko and Shadow. So, it was natural that the state of reinforcement was varied as well. It became smoother and closer to the ideal image in their minds. With his body moving as he imagined, Shadow felt happier while being on the battlefield.

*Sigh* I dont remember feeling this in the game.

As Shadow ran, his excitement was charged into his weapon.

It was totally different from s.h.i.+n and Hibinekos fighting style; there was only long and silent movements.

Only the screams or roars of the monsters, and the sounds made by monsters equipment could be heard. There were no explosions or shock waves, but the number of the monsters decreased steadily.

*Swish*!

A voice like a sigh leaked out. During that short pause, 8 to 10 slice lines were made. However, no less than 10 monsters had fallen.

Using the fencing and water technique combination skill Blade Stream the cutting lines were exerted in the air every time the dagger was wielded. The blade of water generated by the water technique shone under the light of the sun. Though there was something called waterjet cutter that could even cut through steel in the real world, the power of this skill greatly exceeded that.

Water based magic could be prolonged by making the water thin and long, like hairs. The monsters called goblin knights, which had the skin harder than iron, and ogres, which had muscles like bundled steel, didnt stand a chance.

The blades of water that extended from the dagger were almost as sharp as the dagger itself due to the skill. In other words, be it the muscle ma.s.s or the skin, there was no other result than to be cut down in one stroke.

The radius of the Shadows attack was about 20 mels. While normally the dagger was considered a short-ranged weapon, Shadows range of attack was like a different weapon altogether.

Even if it was not as flashy, the speed with which Shadow exterminated monsters wasnt inferior to s.h.i.+n or Hibinekos.

Holly was observing the enemys movement while focusing on the fight in front of her.

Even though s.h.i.+n and the others were separated from each other by some distance so that they didnt get caught up in each others attacks, to the monsters, it was no different than if they were fighting together. The shocks and the sounds s.h.i.+n and the others made gradually started to draw the entire crowd toward them.

(The crowd on the front right has begun to flow to this side. The feint operation seems to be going well.)

The three acknowledged Hollys Mind Chat with a few words and increased their extermination speed.

If it ended early, they wouldnt have to worry about a surprise attack.

Schnee and Guile attacked the hordes that were not heading straight for s.h.i.+n and the others with long-ranged magic. Though large-scale magic for anti-guild war was not useable yet, normal magic skills could be used without a problem. Due to Schnees specialty, lighting and water techniques, and the flame technique from Guile, they killed more monsters than s.h.i.+n and his party combined.

Now, I need to do my work too.

Holly said as a great number of flame bullets appeared in midair.

She targeted behind s.h.i.+n and the others. Even if the three used skills that attacked on all directions and extend its ranges, they could still face unexpected defeat. As the monster hordes numbered several thousands, it was impossible to keep fighting without running out of energy under the present conditions. Therefore, Holly shut down the possibilities of unexpected defeat.

Please go.

Under Hollys command, the flame bullets which remained in midair started to move. The flame bullets scattered in the ratio of 2:4:4 toward the directions of s.h.i.+n, Hibineko, and Shadow. They flew to the monster hordes which were relatively large, moved to close the gap of their attack, and hit the center of the group.

With an explosion, the weapons that the monsters carried and parts of their bodies were scattered in all directions.

Im not done yet!

After she finished firing the flame bullets, Holly raised her stick above her head.

Come fall!

The skies above the monster hordes changed as she spoke.

A portion of the sky warped as if it had been covered by a giant gla.s.s lens. Then, it fell little by little toward the monsters on the ground within the spells range of effect.

The monster hordes this time were mostly composed of humanoid monsters but naturally, there were many other monsters too.

What Holly had aimed at were the flying-type monsters which would become troublesome if left unattended, even though there were only a few of them. What could be seen were Head Eagles which looked just like enlarged eagles, and small pterosaur Airnodons which had membranous wings like the Pteranodon.

Both were about level 180, and their physical strengths were low but their hit & run strategy of swooping down and flying away was a bad match for knights who couldnt use magic skills. Though some of the knights could shoot them down with throwing spears or kill them when they were swooping down, it would take at least half of the soldiers to achieve that.

Because Holly had knocked them down to the ground, the knights were able to deliver the decisive blows. While its true that high-level monsters didnt weaken at all when they were dropped onto the ground, the knights easily dealt with the flight-type monsters that Holly had cast down because the monsters were low-level and an easy target after they had fallen.

Still, theres a lot as expected.

Holly grumbled unintentionally, while she fired additional flame bullets at a speed that would shock a mage similar to Guile if seen. It was not Hollys first time dealing with the Flood, but even Holly would get tired by the sheer number of monsters in this Large Flood. Even with the a.s.sistance of the strengthened equipment by s.h.i.+n, she couldnt cover all the three vanguards leftovers.

Naturally, Holly didnt think she could deal with all the monsters which were moving independently too. The individual monsters who pa.s.sed through the three vanguards and Hollys attacks were dealt with by the first and the second war groups of Balmels defense knight squadrons.

Berett had said that the experience in war against the monsters was low, but that had only been based on Rokutens standards in the game era. Compared to other soldiers in other cities, Balmels knights were rather capable. The levels of the soldiers surpa.s.sed 150 on average. Their captains levels were in the 180 range. Elgins, the leader of the knights, level exceeded 200.

Since soldiers were not Chosen Ones, when they were up against mutant monsters with levels close to 300, they normally would take damage to some degree. However, with their skills and cooperation, Elgin and his corps could defeat mutated monsters without making any sacrifices. In the game era, these kinds of courageous warriors were known as cheats in a different sense of the word from s.h.i.+n and the others.

Be careful of your surroundings so as to not obstruct others! Dont slack off until you make sure its dead!

Elgins voice resounded as he took command. It reached the knights without being drowned out by the explosions and roars of the monsters.

Even if their opponents were low-level monsters like goblins, they fought seriously. At the rear, there was Schnee and her party, and the third and the fourth war groups were also standing by. They didnt overlook details in the defense arrangements.

Up to now, much of the burden had been borne by the ladies. Because this was a blot on the knight squadrons chivalry, the first and the second war group of knights were roused to a new high. Although they were inferior in individual ability, their teamwork more than compensated for this, allowing the number of monsters to be reduced quickly and reliably.

While the number of monsters shrank at an increasing rate, a change was felt in the monster hordes which were heading toward s.h.i.+n and the others.

Its covered with Worker Ants. The ones jumping, are Little Hoppers, huh?

Theyre mainly insect-types?

Fumu, this will be a little troublesome.

While the three were physically separated, their words were delivered as if they were right next to each other.

s.h.i.+n who confirmed the name of the monsters with Far Sight, Shadow who looking at the battle field as a whole and saw the monster mix change from humanoid type to insect type, and Hibineko who was concerned because the insect types were hard to kill, had said respectively.

The main group of humanoid monsters, mainly goblins and orcs, spread out and created a path 200 mels wide. Into this path came the insect type monsters. Just as their names suggested, the Worker Ants and the Little Hoppers which s.h.i.+n spoke a while ago were monsters who were giant versions of ants and gra.s.shoppers. They were about 1 mel high. They were low-level monsters who didnt have prominent abilities. On the other hand, they had the abilities that the smaller versions of these insects had. The Worker Ants had powerful mandibles, and the little hoppers had the jump ability of the gra.s.shoppers.

A majority of the monsters were Worker Ants. The Little Hoppers and other insect type monsters jumped up and down to close the few gaps.

(Schnee, can you check the monster hordes from over there?)

(No, I still cannot see far enough into the inner groups of monsters yet. Did something happen?)

(The mix of the monsters has changed. Worker Ants have become the main attackers and other insect type monster are heading this way.)

(Its just the way the records doc.u.ment, right? Got it, Ill contact the person commanding at the rear here.)

s.h.i.+n and his party were closer to Elgin who commanded all the knight squadrons. Schnee was closer to the adjutant who was commanding the third and the fourth war groups which were waiting at the rear so, it was decided she would notify him.

(Holly-san, can you contact Elgin-san?)

(I am close. Leave it to me.)

After asking Holly to pa.s.s the message to Elgin, s.h.i.+n plunged into the group of monsters again.

s.h.i.+n was 300 mels in a straight line from the first group of Worker Ants. Because there were about 100 mels s.p.a.ce between the groups, if the monsters were defeated, there would be about 200 mels distance before he contacted the third wave.

In order to keep misses to a minimum, s.h.i.+n used a skill that increased the range of his weapon. s.h.i.+n let the aura that had enveloped and extended from the tip of Kakura to lengthen to just under 10 mels. A single sideways blow sent ma.s.ses of goblins flying. The orcs who tried to engage with swords were turned into minced meat including their armors.

Among the monsters, several Ogre Commanders were seen. These were monsters of mutation cla.s.s that were also described in the doc.u.ments of the guild. However, they were only high-leveled in relation to rest of the horde of monsters. With levels of at best 300, they were no different than a regular goblin to s.h.i.+n and his party.

An Ogre Commander swung down a large 3 mel long sword, which it probably acquired when evolving, with all its might. It attempted to bisect s.h.i.+n along with its allies. s.h.i.+n counterattacked, and struck against the swords side with Kakura. The sound of metals clas.h.i.+ng reverberated with a Gin!, Two thirds of the big sword that had approached s.h.i.+n flew into the air.

The large sword was actually larger than Kakura; on the other hand, for ma.s.s and quality, Kakura was overwhelmingly superior. Since s.h.i.+n struck with his physical strength at the side of the sword which was also its weak point, it was inevitable for the sword to either break or bend.

Gi?

The Ogre Commander who saw his sword snapped to nearly size, cried out in a stupid voice. In its mind, it had been certain that s.h.i.+n had been cut in half.