Chapter 196 - Chapter 1: Northeastern Forest
Bonnie, leading the way, raised her left hand.
Everyone immediately crouched down.
Bonnie pressed her right index finger to her nose. Her left hand was spread wide. After that, she placed both index fingers on her forehead, then held up one finger.
Five Orcs and one Ogre. The numbers were correct.
Beowulf, clad in jet-black armor, stood facing away, holding up four fingers on her right hand and two on her left, then spread both hands wide to the sides. Beowulf was the leader this time.
"She intends to finish them all at once. She's confident."
Beatrix, at the front, said this as the four of us moved stealthily.
"Will it be alright?"
"It'll be fine. Beowulf, who specializes in defense, must have judged it possible. Let's take them down in one go."
We continued walking forward and hid behind a tree.
"Hey, hey. I hit them with water magic, and then Bonnie's arrow pierces them, and then everyone attacks, right?"
Mary, the third in line, tugged at my sleeve.
"That's right. Once the vanguards distract them, we launch a simultaneous magic attack."
"Okay. Got it."
Lyudmila, at the rear, caught up, and it was time to begin.
"Here we go. Water!"
From Mary's right hand, a mass of water, from her long-desired Ice Cube spell which she used to create a new ice storage in the brothel, shot forth towards an Orc resting against the roots of a large tree stump.
It flew in an elliptical arc and hit it squarely in the gut.
"Fuguh!"
It seemed to have been knocked unconscious. It fell flat. It was a basic spell, but its power had increased dramatically.
Next, a holy water arrow pierced the forehead of another Orc.
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
At the same time, Beowulf from the front, and Will and Matilda from the front-right, stood up shouting and charged. Both of them were clad in the same jet-black armor as Beowulf.
The Orcs all stood up and readied their shields and spears.
"Now!"
At Beatrix's signal, everyone simultaneously unleashed their magic. The shields were pointed towards the vanguards. This side was wide open.
"Wind Cutter!"
Beatrix cast wind magic, decapitating one Orc.
Lyudmila used earth magic to send stones flying at their feet, stopping their movement.
I targeted one of them with an Amplified Holy spell and took it down.
The Orcs, distracted by Beowulf in front, were momentarily bewildered by the magic hitting them from the flank.
In that instant, Mary launched another mass of water, hitting the lead Orc behind the knee.
As the Orc's knee buckled and its stance broke, its neck was pierced by the charging Beowulf.
Will and Matilda attacked the Orcs, whose stances were broken by magic, from their unshielded right sides.
An Ogre launched fire at Matilda, but it was reflected.
I crushed the surprised Ogre's head with a hammer. As it collapsed, a second blow struck. An Orc in front of it twisted its body, and Will's silver spear pierced through it. Blood spurted from both flanks, and it collapsed to the ground, spitting bloody foam.
Beowulf then cut off the head of the Orc that Mary had initially knocked unconscious.
"An Ogre and five Orcs, and five basic spells. Well, that's a pass."
"Really? That's good."
Beatrix smiled at the bandit who approached, pushing aside the grass.
It took eleven of us, but an E-rank Orc and Ogre each yielded two silver coins as reward. Six monsters would be twelve coins.
The quota set by Eleanor-sama was three gold coins, which meant thirty Ogres.
"Um, that makes thirty-two silver coins, right?"
"That's right. We're past halfway. But this is our fourth battle. Shouldn't we aim for a Fenrir soon? If we defeat three of them, we'll meet the quota."
Beatrix deliberately looked away, but her gaze was fixed on the Headmistress, carrying Flora's basket, accompanied by Priest Williams. Fiona, with a tiny Flora tucked into her chest, also floated in the air.
"The other group has already met their quota and is pulling out, apparently. You all need to work harder."
Headmistress. You say that, but the other group consists only of advanced-level mages or higher...
Marcelo-san, Paul-san, Angelica-san, plus Harris-sama and Wilson-san, and for some reason, Jennifer-sensei.
I didn't know much about Jennifer-sensei's magical abilities, but the fact that she was consecrating holy water meant she could use advanced holy magic.
If this was for D-rank or lower, and Robinson-san, who could usually control most monsters including Fenrir with high magic defense, were present, it wouldn't even be training. But Robinson-san's existence was top secret, so he was apparently on a different menu with the Goblin Scout Team.
"You have Priest Williams, Flora, and Fiona. Since you know what kind of monsters are where and can launch a surprise attack unilaterally, you won't lose."
"You say that, but the offensive power is just so different, I mean..."
Before I knew it, Beatrix had already fled...
"The three vanguards are clad in Limax Armor and your defensive magic. If the three of them act as decoys, you won't lose to something like a Fenrir."
Even so, the only magic effective against a Fenrir is my Amplified Holy spell...
"Headmistress, can we please stop calling it 'Slug Armor'? It's, like, something I can't talk about to people."
Matilda, who was hot-blooded, came to my aid, raising her face guard. Her face was flushed and sweaty.
The Slug Armor was an exquisite piece of equipment, made by boiling slug slime with black dye and then coating steel armor with it to dry. It exhibited tremendous magic defense. It looked cool, but the naming was terrible. And besides, it was supposed to be a military secret, but it was completely obvious.
"Then what should we call it?"
"How about Jet-Black Armor?"
"That's cliché."
"Hmm, then how about Magic Defense Armor?"
"That would give it away to the enemy!"
Isn't it better than revealing the slug material?
"Then how about Limax Armor?"
The intellectual Will suggested. Will knew difficult words.
It was probably a word from some ancient continental language.
"Limax... I like that. The sound of it is cool."
Matilda seemed to like it too. She looked at the armor she was wearing, muttering, "Limax, huh?"
"Then it's decided. Limax Armor."
The Headmistress readily approved with a smirk.
Wait a minute. Limax, I'm sure it means...
"By the way, what does 'Limax' mean?"
"It's the continental word for slug."
"Y-you've gotta be kidding me! I'll punch you!"
The Headmistress laughed, seeing Matilda, who was about to grab Will by the collar in anger.
Everyone gathered and confirmed the situation.
We were told to check injuries, the number of spells used, and remaining supplies after each battle.
Of course, Bonnie, Flora, and Fiona were scouting the surroundings.
We were suddenly dropped into the forest on a Paratroop Jaeger's bowl.
Eleanor-sama said that even though it was called the Northeastern Forest, it was further north than the forward base where we once fought with the Eastern Plains Jaegers, so there weren't really any strong monsters, just human-level reconnaissance. We were told not to return until we had defeated monsters worth three gold coins in reward. Six accompanying Paratroop Jaegers and the Headmistress were with us, and apparently, they had three days' worth of emergency rations.
I hadn't thought they were that serious.
"One came from the sky! Towards the cliff on the right. It's quite fast. It's big!"
Flora cried out.
The cliff was quite a distance away. It might be a strong one.
"Alert! Enemy attack from the eastern sky! Bonnie! Nock an arrow! Will, Matilda. I'm counting on you for the vanguard. Mages, behind me! Fiona, continue aerial surveillance!"
Beowulf shouted instructions and readied her shield.
I hastily hid behind Beowulf, and the Headmistress, riding in a Jaeger's bowl, leisurely called out.
"Earlier, I found a hole on the eastern cliff that looked like it had a Wyrm, so I cast a few Holy spells. It must have gotten angry and come out. A Wyrm is C-rank, so it's two gold coins. Good luck!"
"Eeeeeeeh?!"
What was she thinking? It's stronger than a Wyvern! I've never fought one before!
The bandit next to me muttered, "I told them not to," in a low voice.
"Oh, right, Wyrms breathe fire, so cast Amplified Resist on everyone. Otherwise, you'll be burnt to a crisp!"
She must have used Camouflage; I couldn't see her anymore. Only her voice was audible.
She probably intended to watch from a distance.
Everyone gathered with pale faces, so I hastily began chanting. I had cast Defend, but there were no fire-breathing Orcs. I had been unprepared.
"For flying opponents, the basic strategy is to make them unable to fly. Think of a way."
Indeed, that made sense.
But this isn't the time to be impressed!
I cast Amplified Resist twice on everyone who had gathered.
Meanwhile, Beowulf and Will were discussing Wyrm countermeasures.
"Will. Do you remember the Wyrm's characteristics?"
"Eleanor-sama said it's a flying snake that breathes fire. Its basic attack is a frontal assault. When it spots an enemy, it first charges from the sky at incredible speed to bite. If it misses, it flies past, then turns around and breathes fire. Then it descends and attacks with fire and fangs. It has potent venom, so don't get bitten. It doesn't use magic. However, its scales are harder than a Wyvern's, so our weapons are less effective, and only intermediate-level magic or higher, besides holy magic, will work. That's what I remember."
Training included lectures. Eleanor-sama had said that monsters have preferred attack patterns, and we should exploit those to defeat them.
We had Will. Her memory was accurate, and she recalled things quickly. Lyudmila, Mary, and Matilda had left it all to her and were sleeping.
"So, the first attack is like a feint, then. If we dodge it appropriately, we should be fine, right?"
Matilda usually faced opponents head-on, dodged their attacks, and delivered a single blow. Just like with magical beasts.
"Alright. The vanguards will be decoys. The rear guard, just aim for one of its wings and bring it down."
Beowulf said, and the strategy was decided.
"It's coming!"
Fiona, floating in the trees, yelled. We had no choice but to do it.
"Vanguards! Forward! Rear guard, counterattack from behind the trees!"
We scattered simultaneously.
The three vanguards stood conspicuously around the tree stump where the Orc corpses lay. The rear guard scattered into the forest behind the vanguards' right flank, hiding behind trees, to concentrate their attack on one wing.
The last time I saw fire breathed was from a dragon. Paul-san had blocked it with a Wind Barrier then, but now there was no one who could use advanced offensive magic. It was daytime, and it was diving in, so Light wouldn't be very effective.
Um, how did we defeat it that time...?
"Beatrix, Mary. Come here for a moment."
I told them what I had thought of.
"Can that defeat it?"
"I don't know, but I think it can create an opening."
Beatrix asked, but I wasn't confident.
"Alright. Let's try it."
Mary agreed, and we decided to give it a shot.
"It's here!"
Beowulf shouted.
From the front, a winged snake, not as large as a dragon but with prominent gills, charged straight at us.
Its length was about half of the snake we fought before, but its face was sharp, and its eyes were keen.
They said its scales were hard. Would our weapons even work?
"Guwaaaaaaaah!"
It opened its huge mouth and charged, roaring. It looked like it could bite a bear in half.
"Evacuate!"
The vanguards split left and right and dove headfirst to the ground. They rolled around. This would buy us some time.
The Wyrm, having missed biting the vanguards, passed just above the ground. Thick branches bent, and leaves flew as if a gust of wind had erupted.
Following it with my eyes, it was surprisingly close. It seemed to have stopped abruptly and turned back towards us.
It remained suspended in the air, opening its mouth and taking a deep breath.
It was about to breathe fire.
"Now!"
At my signal, Beatrix and Mary activated the spells they had finished chanting.
"Ice Cube! Ice Cube!"
They used both hands, giving it their all. They cast them in rapid succession.
Without missing, blocks of ice formed inside its mouth with cracking sounds. It was enough to freeze an entire wild boar, four times over.
Not only could it not breathe fire, but its fangs would likely get caught, preventing it from closing its mouth.
It thrashed around in the air, but eventually, perhaps due to the weight in its head, it crashed to the ground with a thud.
Two or three trees snapped, and dust billowed up.
"Alright! Attack!"
With Matilda, hammer raised, leading the charge, the three vanguards rushed in.
However, that's where the real trouble began.
It seemed it could still breathe. It was thrashing around violently, making it impossible to approach. In fact, we were running around to avoid being crushed.
Bonnie shot arrows, but they all bounced off its scales.
Intermediate attribute magic also had little effect, and it was thrashing too much to hit.
In the end, we had Lyudmila dig a pit to trap it, hit it with ten Amplified Holy spells to weaken it, then buried its body with earth. The three vanguards jumped in to attack, and finally, Will pierced its brow with the silver spear she borrowed from Katherine-sensei, and only then did we finally defeat it.
"You did it, didn't you? Good work."
The Headmistress called out casually. We were exhausted. Especially the three vanguards, who were panting in the pit.
"Everyone is safe. That's good. Of course, it's a pass. You all did really well."
The number of spells and arrows used, which were supposed to be part of the evaluation, were ignored.
If this had been a failure, Matilda would have pounced.
"Blocking its mouth with ice magic the moment it was about to breathe fire was a good idea. Accurately aiming arrows at its eyes is also commendable. After that, digging a pit to stop its movement and defeating it together. For an impromptu plan, it was effective and good teamwork. It wasn't obvious, but Priest Williams' use of Wind Curtain was decisive. That made the Wyrm unable to catch the wind and it panicked. You all did well."
The Headmistress praised us. We all exchanged grins. Priest Williams was quite capable, though. As expected of a former hunter.
"I heard that wind magic is effective against flying opponents, so I tried it."
Priest Williams smiled contentedly.
"Next is weapons. After all, to contend with C-rank, we really need to equip ourselves with silver."
If you knew that, don't provoke us!
The holy water arrows bounced off its scales. Bonnie, frustrated, climbed a tree and fired wildly, managing to blind one of its eyes, which allowed us to exploit its blind spot and somehow drop it into the pit. But just blinding it wasn't a fatal wound.
However.
"But Headmistress. Was there an instruction to defeat a C-rank monster?"
Her movement stopped for a moment.
"Now, now, everyone must be hungry, right? Let's rejoin Eleanor and the others for dinner. Wyrm fangs and scales sell for a high price, so it'll surely be a feast!"
She then got into the bowl.
"She definitely ran away, didn't she?"
When Beatrix said that, the Jaegers chuckled.