Chapter 206 - Surprise Attack
=== CHAPTER 206 ===
It's still the middle of March.
Cutting through the wind in the high-speed bowl is quite cold.
I can see fires rising at the target position. The wooden Anti-Air Ballistas and catapults must have been targeted by the Wyverns.
"Fiona. Can you see?"
The Headmistress's voice rang out. Only Fiona has night vision.
"Yes. Um, fires have broken out. In four places. Several people have fallen. Two Wyverns are in the middle of the position, is it a barrier? They are gathered around a mass of light. In the sky, um, five, no, one more. So there are eight. They are flying slowly in circles. I can see two corpses on the ground. Five Fenrirs inside the position. About twenty Orcs. The rest are clustered outside the position. There's a huge number. There might be three hundred."
Damage had already been done.
There are too many Wyverns. They aren't opponents whose forms you can see by bonfire light.
In contrast to us deliberately launching an offensive during the new moon, they launched a decoy offensive on the central position and threw their main force here.
Even with the Headmistress here, we were getting carried away after winning against less than half the strength...
"Jeanne. That's right, not everything goes perfectly. For now, calm down and think only about the battle in front of you."
The Headmistress gave me a pat on the shoulder.
That's certainly true. From her position, the Headmistress must be far more frustrated.
Let's pay them back in full.
Occasionally, I can see flames being breathed.
It seems they worked hard to take down two Wyverns, but the Fenrirs must have entered the position and deployed magic defense. If you have [Teleport] or the bowl, that's one thing, but if both the sky and the land are suppressed, there's no way to counter.
"Fiona, thank you. Now, get inside the crystal. Don't come out until Jeanne calls you."
By the time Fiona entered the crystal, the neighboring position was already close.
We flew straight toward the position.
In the meantime, I cast [Resist] and [Defend] in double layers, and the Headmistress cast [Increase Defense]. Furthermore, she cast [Magic Reflection].
With this, even the Fenrir's lightning isn't scary.
The Headmistress also said that the Wyvern's fire would be fine as long as we didn't take a direct hit from point-blank range.
I also cast [Defend].
We can charge in anytime.
A streak of white light flashed above the position.
"Look! That's surely a bowl. They're fighting back!"
Beatrix clapped her hands.
Another flash. It was fired from a completely different place.
A short while later, a Wyvern crashed beside the burning flames.
They downed it!
"They're good. They're moving while flying so as not to be found, taking their time to fight carefully. Watch closely. That is the Sertorian way of fighting."
Sertoria... the hunters' way of fighting.
"Are we going to fight like that too?"
"No. We're going to launch a surprise attack. Sertoria's other way of fighting. It's Henry's specialty."
When I asked the Headmistress, she laughed, "Fufufu."
As we got closer, the situation became clearer.
Four fires were rising within the position. Probably the catapults and Anti-Air Ballistas.
Getting even closer, a pale yellow light, like a large overturned bowl, came into view near the center of the position. It must be the Headmistress's simple barrier magic circle. Everyone should be taking refuge there.
Two Wyverns were flapping their wings while scratching at the barrier with their claws. They were also flying overhead. The ones prowling around the position, illuminated by the flames, must be Fenrirs. Perhaps they are being cautious, as they aren't trying to get close to the barrier.
Orcs are surrounding the position.
"Charge in without slowing down. The rest is as I said earlier. Jeanne, can you illuminate the entire surroundings with [Light]?"
"Yes. I can do that."
"Then, illuminate when I give the signal."
"Understood."
The position is right there.
It seems they haven't noticed us at all, as no monsters are looking our way.
The Headmistress suddenly blasted two mid-level [Holy] spells. They were nearly twice as thick as my amplified [Holy]. She should have chanted [Holy Lance], but I can't tell if it's a spear or a log anymore.
The two Wyverns that were swarming the simple barrier were blown away.
It seems she finished them. They stopped moving.
Deep within the light, I can see people jumping for joy.
They noticed the reinforcements.
"Jeanne! Illuminate!"
"Ah, yes! [Light]!"
I held both hands high and created a round ball of light. I illuminated the entire surroundings at once with the amplified version.
The bowl continued its rapid ascent.
It ascended rapidly from directly above the magic circle.
The Fenrirs howling on the ground suddenly grew distant. Several bolts of lightning fell behind the bowl as it rose diagonally upward.
Every time the form of a Wyvern illuminated by the [Light] passed by, the Headmistress chanted [Holy].
Even Wyverns are monsters. They must be bad with [Light]. They don't come from the front. If they come, it's from below. As expected, flames rose from below, but the bowl protected us. Conversely, the Headmistress, who was able to pinpoint their position, fired a single [Holy Lance].
"That's enough. Turn it off for now."
By the time it was getting quite warm under our feet from being breathed on by flames so many times, I turned off the [Light] and we changed direction.
The monsters must have lost sight of our position, as they stopped chasing us.
"We downed four Wyverns. Next are the Fenrirs."
There are three Wyverns left.
As expected of Hero Catherine. This will work!
The bowl moved in a large circle, and once it moved away from the position, it then aimed for the front of the position.
It was all the Headmistress's instructions.
She's telling us not to slow down.
The position, illuminated by the burning Anti-Air Ballistas, drew closer and closer.
There must be a swarm of Orcs below, but I can't see them well. They are only emerging as shadows near the position.
"Beatrix, now!"
Beatrix, who had finished her incantation, chanted [Fire Wall], and a wall of fire spread in front of the position. The Headmistress fired one [Holy] toward the flames. The [Holy] pierced through the flames and flew above the position. It was a random shot. It probably won't hit.
"Charge straight into the flames. Jeanne, prepare the [Light]. Facing backward."
Thinking whatever happens, happens, I leaned against the back side of the bowl as it charged into the flames, gripping both sides, and thrust out both hands while looking back.
At the same time as the Fenrir's howl was heard, the flames vanished, and just as we passed the area where the flames had been, I shone the [Light].
We broke through the magic defense. Our speed slowed for a moment in the middle, but as we continued above the position, the Fenrirs inside the position became clearly visible.
The Headmistress fired mid-level [Holy] spells in succession, stopping the movements of three Fenrirs.
I turned off the [Light] and headed upward once, and after drawing a large arc to the right, we landed inside the position, near the rear wall.
We got off the deactivated bowl, and while Beatrix was firing [Fire Ball] and I was firing amplified [Holy] wildly into the darkness, it seems the Headmistress's barrier was completed.
When we took refuge inside the barrier, Wyverns gathered above and Fenrirs gathered in front of us.
They must have thought they had almost occupied it, only to have more than half of their main force crushed by something that flew in from the side. They seemed quite agitated, as the Fenrirs' fur was standing on end.
Just as planned.
When I fired single amplified [Holy] spells, they approached while dodging. The Wyverns also began to descend.
When the Wyverns hovering to breathe fire opened their mouths wide, and the Fenrirs braced their four limbs to fire magic, light burst from the tip of the mace held by the Headmistress.
While Beatrix and I were finishing off the Wyverns that fell to the ground with thuds and the Fenrirs that had collapsed, it seems Team Two arrived. They began attacking the Orc swarm.
Nearly three hundred were clustered together. If they fire magic in the direction Flora points, it will hit.
The one firing [Fire Ball] wildly like a light source must be Lyudmila.
Mary must also be pummeling Orcs with masses of water. Bonnie is one shot, one kill with her Silver Arrows.
By then, the Jaegers who had been holed up in the barrier also came out and began firing arrows at the Orcs, who had lost their heavy hitters and were losing heart.
A man who seemed to be the squad leader was thanking the Headmistress.
"No need for thanks. More importantly, can you guide me to the wounded?"
I tried to follow, but was stopped.
"This part is fine. Jeanne. Beatrix. Go."
Told by the Headmistress, who was pointing toward the front of the position, we boarded a new bowl.
Three hundred Orcs still remain.
"Fiona. Come out."
Fiona, who came out of the crystal, was holding two scrolls.
"[Glacio]?"
"Yes, they're Angelica-san's handmade ones. A matching set with Flora's."
I'm sure they won't miss.
"Alright. Let's blow them away!"
When Beatrix said that, the bowl soared into the sky.
"We're off!"
"Oh! We're counting on you!"
"Be careful!"
When Beatrix called out to the Jaegers below, they all shouted words of encouragement.
"Now, what shall we do? This is your training."
It was suddenly thrown to me. Since I had been doing exactly as the Headmistress said until now, I hadn't thought of anything.
"Um, w-well. Let's fill the vertical trenches with [Glacio] and drive them into the forest. Wouldn't our damage be less if we let them escape to some extent?"
"OK! Then, once the trenches are filled, Jeanne, keep the light on. I'm going to use [Flame]."
I see. If we surround them with [Glacio], the fire won't spread either.
We immediately put it into practice.
We moved the bowl and filled the vertical trenches to the left and right of the front of the position with mountains of ice.
The one occasionally firing [Fire Ball] from the air to create a light source must be Lyudmila.
Seeing her moving around busily, it seems she's aiming for the Ogres.
Continuing like that, we moved to the front of the position and illuminated from above, and the Jaeger unit began firing arrows.
"Here I go. [Flame]! One more, [Flame]!"
Flames burst from both of Beatrix's hands. She was releasing them from both hands as separate spells with a time lag. Moving her hands to slam bands of fire into the Orcs so they spread diagonally forward from the bowl, several of them turned into balls of fire and rolled around, and seeing that, the other Orcs fled all at once.
As we advanced while illuminating directly below and in front as if chasing them, we saw a bowl.
It's Team Two.
It must be because the targets became clearly visible by being illuminated. Mary was freezing the Orcs' heads with [Ice Cube].
I had Fiona beckon them to come over here.
Flora is over there. I'm sure it was conveyed.
We lined up the two bowls and advanced while chasing the fleeing Orcs, stopping before the forest.
When Flora released the [Glacio] scroll, a large mountain of ice was created, swallowing the trees of the forest.
The left and right sides are wide open, but that's not a problem.
The bowl that had been fighting a lonely battle against the Wyverns also joined in, and it became a free-for-all.
The Orcs, who had fallen into a state of collective panic, were wailing and screaming, rushing into the gaps in the ice mountain to try and flee deep into the forest, causing a traffic jam. We unilaterally attacked the Orcs who had lost their way out from the two bowls.
This is no longer a battle...
"Hey, Beatrix. Don't you think it's better to just let them escape without doing anything more than fighting further?"
"Really? Well, if you say so. That's fine. We've used quite a lot of magic too, so shall we head back to the Headmistress?"
The Jaegers also agreed, so we immediately pulled up to Team Two's bowl.
"Hey, Flora. Call for their surrender. Tell them we'll let them go if they throw away their weapons. Tell them our victory is overwhelming, so they should just go back quietly."
"I understand. Thank you, Jeanne."
She thanked me. She must have confidence that she can negotiate.
Leaving it to Flora, we went toward the position and had them stop the attack for a moment.
It should be fine as long as we remain vigilant and ready to attack anytime.
When we shone the [Light] as if to intimidate the Orc swarm, we saw the Orcs who had thrown away their weapons fleeing one by one from behind the ice mountain.
There must still be easily over two hundred of them. In terms of numbers alone, they should have been able to overwhelm us, yet they fled quietly.
I don't really understand, but perhaps that's just how war is.
After seeing off the last Orc as it disappeared into the forest, we were met with thunderous applause when we returned to the position.
"If we had kept fighting like that, they might have become desperate and charged the position. If they were humans, we would have given a surrender recommendation. It was good timing. I'm glad an Alraune was here."
The squad leader said something that made me happy.
I thought I might get scolded for acting on my own, but that wasn't the case.
Everyone gathered around, saying "Good, good."
The Headmistress stroked my head.
"As expected. Jeanne. That's right. If you're going to fight, it has to be a stronger opponent."
Eh?
"Did you hear that? As expected of the Dragon Killer. It seems Orcs aren't enough for her."
Squad leader? What on earth are you...
"It's quite something. With this, she's updated her undefeated record again."
No, um, we won because the Headmistress was here.
"Keeping her all to yourselves in Nakanohara isn't good. Why don't we have her concurrently serve as the Honorary Captain of the Higashinohara Jaegers?"
"Oh, that's good. Squad leader, please tell the captain to apply to the Royal Capital by all means."
Um, excuse me, what are you talking about...
"I'm glad no more damage was done. It's thanks to you all. The appointment as Honorary Captain is in place of a reward. Oops, you don't have to answer. We don't care if it's self-recommendation or recommendation by others."
Saying whatever he wanted, he just left. What on earth was that?
"Jeanne. It went well."
It's Flora. Her face is flushed with excitement.
"Good work, Flora. The squad leader praised you. I hope this increases the perceived value of Alraunes."
"Yeah."
She pressed her forehead against my chest. When I stroked her head, she said "Thank you."