Chapter 213 - To The Lindwurm's Nest
The training for the Demon Lord subjugation force had only two sessions remaining.
Fortunately, perhaps because the previous iceberg drop had been effective, the monsters' movements had become entirely passive, and the advance of the Eastern Plains Corps toward the first river was finally in sight. The river had a fair amount of width and depth; even for monsters, crossing it in a swarm was quite a feat. That said, it was also impossible for the humans to achieve complete occupation. There were no proper roads, nor any forts. They had to solidify the new positions currently guarded by the Jaeger units, connect them to other positions via roads, and gradually turn the river into the national border with the monsters while repeating monster hunts up to the river alongside the Eastern Plains Corps' forts. Of course, there would be many magical beasts. It was far from safe. However, as the Jaegers had said before, if they could subjugate the Demon Lord and build a wall along the river, making this side of the river a human domain was not a dream.
"The current situation is as I explained just now. Thanks to everyone's efforts, the likelihood of achieving our initial goals has increased."
Eleanor-sama's explanation for this training session began.
It seemed the Eastern Plains Jaegers were also working hard on constructing the new positions. At this point, couldn't we just leave it to Roberts-sama?
"After that, if we wipe out the flying-type monsters, we will no longer suffer surprise attacks."
The Wyverns were almost completely wiped out. She had said they wouldn't be coming for a while.
Surely, she isn't telling us to go on the offensive across the river...
"There is a Wyrm nest to the north. I do not know how many inhabit it, but let us exterminate them all."
Wait a minute, the opponent is C-rank. We did defeat one, but it took eleven of us. Moreover, even the Headmistress's simple barrier was broken.
If they come swarming out, I feel like no matter how many lives we have, it won't be enough...
"The Headmistress is coming with us, right?"
"Of course, I will accompany you, but in the Wyrm nest, there may be those that have gained mana and become Lindwurms. They are B-rank, so negligence is forbidden."
Eleanor-sama really loves delivering the finishing blow.
The four vanguards and Priest Williams returned. As a bonus, Henry-sama and Wilson-san, who was supposed to be in the Royal Capital, also came.
"I hear you're going to face a Lindwurm. It sounded interesting, so I shall participate as well."
Does the fact that he came all this way mean they're stronger than the ones the Eastern Plains Corps is dealing with?
"If they're there, that is. If they aren't, it'll be fine."
If she says it's fine if they aren't there, that's the same as saying we won't get away unscathed if they are...
The Headmistress laughed, saying, "That's true, isn't it?"
"Isn't it fine? If we face a strong opponent and win, we'll get stronger, right? It's a good shortcut."
"Umu. It is better to win once here than to encounter a B-rank for the first time during the real thing."
Why are they so optimistic?
"It is as Matilda and Will say. If we grow stronger now, our hardships during the real thing will be lessened. Let us do our best."
Uh, isn't this already the real thing for suppressing the Northeastern Forest?
"Now, let us go immediately."
I was completely ignored...
Since Wilson-san came, we decided to go in the medium-sized bowl that had been made ultra-fast. It was the one we used to go to the Primordia fortress. At that time, there were people scattering things everywhere, but since they aren't here today, I can feel relieved on that point.
"Wilson-san, haven't you participated in the training until now?"
When Beatrix asked, it seemed it was his first time.
"I'm treated as a secret weapon, so to speak. Publicly, I'm a bowl-user doing agricultural research, so I can't do anything too flashy."
There are foreigners participating in the Eastern Plains Corps as well. It was probably better that he didn't go. I wish he had participated on this side sooner.
"I hear a Lindwurm is appearing. Isn't that essentially a dragon without limbs? Eleanor-sama said she would have you all exterminate it. I've been waiting until now."
"Eh! Is that so?"
"What, you didn't know? The conquest of this side of the first river that the Eastern Plains Corps is doing now is meaningless unless the Lindwurm nest is crushed. Even if we build a road to the Royal Capital region, it would be a problem if we were attacked from the flank. However, for a nest located halfway up a cliff like that, unless we use the ultra-fast bowl, we'd be noticed if we approached slowly, and it would be impossible. So, from the beginning, it was decided that I would participate and take it on once you all had been trained to a certain extent."
Even if they completely crush the nest, they won't announce it. Instead, they plan to secretly construct a road connecting the eastern Royal Capital region and the Eastern Plains.
Distancing the Cait Sith unit... even Wilson-san didn't know about that. Even if it was a coincidence, distancing the monsters from that location was apparently significant. On top of that, if they can exterminate the Lindwurm, the prospects for the road extending north and south will be set.
I have to ask about various things. It seems we're being used quite skillfully.
When I nudged Beatrix, she nodded. Apparently, we're thinking the same thing.
"In other words, the Lindwurm is definitely there?"
"So I've heard."
"And you intended to make us do it from the start?"
"If we let the Eastern Plains Corps do it, the foreigners would tag along, and we wouldn't be able to keep it a secret."
"And it's an opponent we can't win against unless the three heroes, Wilson-san, Angelica-san, and Priest Williams are all gathered?"
"I'm not sure about that, but it is B-rank. Above it are only the Demon Lord's executives, dragons, and the Demon Lord. it completely exceeds the realm of general monster extermination. It wouldn't hurt to be prepared."
As expected of Eleanor the Tactician. It seems we've been plotted against. Before I knew it, she had vanished somewhere along with the Headmistress.
"That aside, it seems none of you have become advanced mages yet. If you exterminate the Lindwurm, you might be able to become advanced mages. Unlike the dragon where I was the only one attacking, you must deal solid damage with magic."
Beatrix's eyebrow twitched.
"We... we might not have the talent."
She was completely taken in. It seems even Beatrix is no match for someone over a hundred years old.
"If that's the case, then you might be able to learn many mid-level spells. You know that if you learn four, your magic control itself isn't much different from someone who uses one advanced spell, right? Exterminating rats is important, but if you're aiming to be a mage a step above, isn't it about time you faced a truly strong monster?"
"W-well, I suppose so. I see, then it can't be helped. I'll refrain from complaining this time."
"Let's go," she said, pulling my sleeve.
Lyudmila and Mary shrugged their shoulders.
Those heading out were the three heroes, plus Wilson-san, Priest Williams, Angelica-san, the Class of 175, and Flora and Fiona from the Associate Class of 175.
Just in case, support magic was cast on everyone except Fiona. I cast Defend, Shield, and Resist, double-layering them. The finishing touch was the Headmistress's Increase Defense, Increase Agility, and for the vanguards, Increase Offense. And for the rearguard, Magic Reflection.
Henry-sama and the three vanguards were clad in Eleanor's jet-black armor and helmets.
The weapons held by the vanguards were made of silver. Henry-sama had a spear and a sword. Beowulf had a shield and a sword. Will had Emily-sensei's spear and silver throwing knives in the cloth wrapped around her wrist. Matilda held a silver mace with five wings that looked like a rhombus cut in half at the tip of the staff given to her by Eleanor-sama. Of course, Bonnie's arrows had silver arrowheads.
The rearguard, except for the Headmistress and Priest Williams who wore priest robes, were all in Green Marble. The only weapon was the Headmistress's silver shakujo.
Seen off by the Jaeger unit, we hid our presence with Camouflage and Magic Reflection from the mountain pass position in the Eastern Plains, silenced our sound with Mute, and advanced all at once at ultra-high speed.
Our goal was northeast of the Eastern Plains Jaeger mountain pass position. A corner of the mountainous area surrounding a flat forest region where the first river flows down toward the northern sea. It was a group of caves opening up on the cliff halfway up the southern slope.
The Wyrm holes were reportedly not that complex. The Lindwurm hole apparently drops sharply downward once you enter and go deep inside, and it builds its nest at the bottom. If there's a hole that goes downward after entering, a Lindwurm is likely there. They move independently without coordinating with the Demon Lord's army, but they seem to dislike humans; if a unit approaches their dwelling, they attack, and in the worst case, they might fly directly to human settlements and attack villages.
I don't know how many hundreds of years ago it was, but at some point, Wyrms settled there. It seemed a Lindwurm boss had also emerged, as there were sighting reports from the Jaeger unit.
"There are five holes in total. We do not know which one is the Lindwurm's, so we will enter and explore them in order, and defeat whatever we find, be it a Wyrm or anything else. In the worst case, we might be attacked by a Lindwurm from behind, so please be very careful."
She says terrifying things. If we're attacked from behind by an opponent that even the Headmistress's simple magic circle can't block, we won't stand a chance.
The holes didn't seem to have any particular pattern and were scattered about. Roughly divided, there were two on top and three on the bottom. In such cases, the boss is probably at the very top.
They were generally circular in shape, about the size of a wide shack, and smaller than I expected. Since those creatures have no limbs, they apparently crawl to the entrance like snakes, spring out, and then spread their wings.
First, to establish an infiltration base, we aimed for the leftmost hole on the bottom.
As a result of scouting with Sense Living while approaching the entrance, we found there were two. They might be a pair.
Since there was no movement, they were likely sleeping. It was decided to attack them while they slept and deliver a preemptive strike.
We entered while still riding the bowl. If a Wyrm came out, the Headmistress and I would blast it with Holy, so we had Fiona enter the crystal.
As it was, Wilson-san, who operated the bowl, and Flora slowly advanced while scouting ahead.
We turned left midway, and the back was pitch black, making it impossible to see anything. It smelled like rotting meat. I reflexively took out a handkerchief and covered my nose.
"They're here. Two Wyrms straight ahead. They're sleeping."
I could tell they were sleeping by the sound. A rumbling, throat-vibrating snore could be heard.
"Then, let us begin."
After canceling Magic Reflection, what Eleanor-sama cast was Sleep.
When Eleanor-sama floated several Fire Balls in the air, the forms of the two Wyrms could be confirmed.
Coiled and sleeping inside the hole, they looked like nothing but snakes if not for the large, gill-like wings.
Black, dung-like objects were scattered here and there; the source of the smell was surely this.
Wyrm scales have high magic defense, but that has no relation to resistance against magic that acts on the mind, like Sleep. Wyrms probably succumb easily because they can't use magic, and on top of that, they were sleeping.
Having them sleep soundly, the four rearguards aimed for the head and heart simultaneously with magic, and both were successfully exterminated.
"We will make this our base. Jeanne. Until light can be secured, illuminate the area with Light. Williams, please be on guard. Wilson, Angelica, Flora, and Fiona, please come with me. Katherine, prepare the simple barrier. For the simple barrier, Jeanne, apply double-layered amplified Defend and amplified Shield. Henry, you know what to do. I leave this place to you."
Eleanor-sama gave crisp instructions, took Flora's basket, and left with Wilson-san and Angelica-san.
For now, I illuminated the nest hole with Light as told.
The inside of the hole was cleaner than I expected, with nothing but corpses and dung. Wondering how they dug it without limbs, I looked around the hole and saw what looked like a vertical shaft in the ceiling. Apparently, they dug down from the top of the mountain to here.
"Did they come in from there?"
When I asked the Headmistress, who had finished setting up the simple barrier reinforced with support magic in a corner deep in the hole and creating a refuge with Magic Reflection, she replied that it was likely so.
"I hear that when they're hungry, they just stick their heads out of the hole to catch prey. They can't use magic, but since their wings are small, they use mana to float their bodies to fly, which is exhausting, so what they usually do seems not much different from a snake."
The Headmistress's simple barrier, given its size, could probably block the hole completely. There was also a vertical shaft, so ventilation was possible.
While I was listening to the Headmistress, Henry-sama and the others were butchering the Wyrms.
When Henry-sama, holding his sword in a high stance, swung it down with a grunt, the head fell off with a clean slice. The blood that sprayed out flowed into the hole Lyudmila had dug. A bloody stench that made me want to vomit filled the hole.
They would probably send the wings, head, and sliced torso via Teleport. It seemed a lot of money was involved this time, so they were going to collect everything properly.
When Beowulf, who uses a sword, tried it, even with a silver sword, the blade stopped after sinking in. As she was, she struck many times and finally cut it off. She was panting.
As she continued the work while being taught various things by Henry-sama, each cut gradually became deeper, and she cut off the last part in four strokes.
Eleanor-sama and the others returned.
"Now, using this as our base, we will exterminate the Wyrms in the other holes. I will explain the strategy now."
According to Eleanor-sama, they would first wipe out the Wyrms. Just now, together with Angelica-san, she had apparently blocked the other four holes with Glacio.
"First, we will have Fiona check the situation inside; if it is a Wyrm, we will cancel Glacio, enter the hole, and exterminate it. If it is a Lindwurm, we will lure it here and exterminate it."
"Even if we lure it here, the simple barrier won't be effective, right?"
"That's right. The power is different, so no matter how much we reinforce it, it won't hold. Besides, a Lindwurm breathes fire and uses lightning magic. The fire is quite powerful; if you take it at close range, it's dangerous even with support magic. The magic is the same as Fenrir's lightning, but the output is different, so an advanced or higher Magic Reflection is necessary. If it becomes an aerial battle, Magic Break won't work."
The Headmistress said terrifying things in her usual tone.
How could they ever think of taking us along to defeat such a monster?
"We will turn this nest itself into a trap. It will surely be caught."
I didn't know if it would be okay, but there was no point in an amateur speaking up. I decided to leave it to Eleanor the Tactician.