Chapter 570 - Chapter 11: The Crater of the Extinct Volcano II
The saucer continues to descend.
Or so I thought, but it ascended. And then, it descended again.
(There was a reaction.)
Fumu. In other words, it only reacts when coming down.
It ascended again and descended. When it descended, the Priestess captured a reaction. For some reason, Eleanor-sama kept repeating the ascent and descent indefinitely.
(What are you doing?)
The Priestess, who was made to sense it every time we descended, was getting impatient.
(There's no need to go all the way to the bottom. if we keep triggering the Alarm like this, whoever set it will surely come up to check.)
No matter how you look at it, it's harassment. Whoever it is must surely be angry.
(You're quite something.)
(You're welcome.)
These two are quite something too.
(Something's flying this way!)
The Priestess, who was looking down, found it.
See? Just as I thought. No matter how you look at it, they got angry and attacked.
Screeching and squawking could be heard from below. Apparently, they're Wyverns. There are five of them.
(Wilson, deactivate Camouflage; Harrison, deactivate Magic Reflection. Jeanne, please make the wall of Light shine as brightly as possible.)
Eleanor-sama gave those instructions and then increased the descent speed all at once.
I see. So that's it.
As a countermeasure for the darkness, this saucer has walls of Light attached to its lower half. Until now, since Camouflage was active, the light with its output turned down should have been hidden. To the Wyverns flying from below, nothing should have been visible. They must have been flying blindly. Then, suddenly, an object emitting light that's bad for the body came plunging down. It's a surprise attack if I ever saw one.
As expected, the five Wyverns, trying to avoid the suddenly appearing light, clung to the walls. There must be a reason they can't descend even if they wanted to.
Eleanor-sama is gradually slowing down. The Wyverns illuminated by the Light are screeching and turning their faces away.
Harrison-san fires log-sized Holies, and Henry-sama and Harold-sama fire rapid successions of silver arrows. The Wyverns that took fatal wounds fell one by one to the bottom.
(Now, the real thing starts from here.)
Well, I suppose that's true. There's no way a demon called a Vice-Demon Lord would be finished with five D-rank creatures. If there were a Subordination user, they could even be made into allies.
(You noticed well. That's exactly right. With this, the opponent knows we can't use Subordination. In other words, there's a possibility they'll push with numbers to the very end. You'd better be prepared.)
(Heh, that's more like it! This is getting interesting.)
Honestly, what a battle maniac.
It was just as Eleanor-sama said. Bees came flying one after another. Red Bees. Normally they're only in deep forests, so like centipedes, they're unranked, but like Red Ants, they're D-rank at best individually, and C-rank as a swarm. There are too many of them for even Sense Living to grasp the whole. No matter how you look at it, it seems they've sent an entire nest's worth of them flying.
(I'll draw them in more. You must not interfere. I'm going to use my trump card.)
The battle maniac, standing with her arms and legs spread wide, was making a fuss. I recall the Priestess is supposed to be on par with a high-level mage. A high-level spell that can wipe out this many at once would be Tornado Wind. Or is there a grand technique that only ghosts can use?
The Priestess asked Eleanor-sama to move the saucer near the wall. With this, bees would no longer fly from behind. There were five directions: front, up, down, left, and right. I wonder what on earth she's planning to do.
「Favorable Wind!」
Um, that's a mid-level wind spell.
What the Priestess released wasn't exactly magic. Because she's a ghost. However, she apparently doesn't feel in the mood unless she vocalizes like when casting magic. It's not like Fiona's "O Wind!" or anything.
The swarm of bees flying from below is having its ascent blocked by the wind the Priestess created. Not only that, the bees are increasingly gathering in one place. Apparently, she's manipulating the wind all around the bees to gather them in one spot. This in itself is quite amazing.
(Splendid! I have never seen such a way of using wind magic.)
Even that Eleanor-sama is surprised.
(It's a technique, not magic. Well, the only difference is whether you use spiritual power or magic power; the principle is the same.)
(Just how are you doing it? It seems you are releasing five Favorable Winds simultaneously.)
Five simultaneously... both hands, both feet... and then, from her mouth.
Actually, I have my mouth wide open. I've suddenly started to feel a sense of kinship.
(I set the activation points for the magic in five places and sent wind from there.)
I see. It's the same as me flying Fireflies and varying the output and direction of the irradiation. She did it with wind. However, around the allies caught in the wind, those that somehow escaped are watching the situation.
(But then, a Tornado Wind would have sufficed with just one cast. Of course, there would be some left over, but if the numbers were significantly reduced, it would be easier afterward.)
True. With five mid-level shots versus one high-level shot, the magic control power—or rather, spiritual power control, I suppose—itself would be about the same. And the destructive power of the high-level one is superior. In other words, it's inefficient.
(Well, just watch.)
As I was told to watch, the clump of bees grew larger and larger. It was already a giant, wriggling dumpling of bees.
With this, it would be a clean sweep if Wilson-san fired a single Prominence.
「Alright! From here! Undead! Undead! Undead! Undead! And lastly, one more, Undead!」
Eh?
Once the Priestess deactivated the wind technique, she then fired five Undead... dark techniques. A black mist enveloped the bee dumpling.
「And then, Necromancy! First, line up!」
When the black mist thinned, the bees that had been a dumpling were lined up in an orderly fashion.
「Attack the enemies coming at us!」
They're attacking those that managed not to become part of the dumpling. The numbers are fundamentally different. It was an overwhelming victory.
(How's that? With this, these guys are our allies.)
Lining up the bee Revenants in front of the saucer again, the Priestess triumphed.
It's an incredible power. In an instant, the fundamental difference in individual numbers was reversed.
(Is this effective even when the opponent is human?)
I understand why Eleanor-sama asked immediately. Wouldn't it be destructive if used in war?
(Um, in the case of humans, it wouldn't go quite so easily. Red Bees have low defense and magic defense, right? Their bodies are small for monsters, and they're stupid. That's why I could turn this many into Revenants all at once. If the opponent were a dazed human, it would be about the same as when casting Purification on a Revenant that was originally a corpse. Since I can use several high-level spells, it's about twenty people with one shot.)
With five shots, that's a hundred people. In the case of ants or bees, if we assume a thousand attacked this time, it's roughly a little less than ten times that.
(In the middle of an actual battle, you can't really use Undead against humans. There are people with strong magic control, and they're armored. If they're wearing equipment that raises magic defense, it's at most on the scale of a few people.)
Well, otherwise, probably all the soldiers on both sides would become Revenants and they'd end up destroying each other.
After that, we continued to trigger the Alarm for about another half hour, and swarms of flying bugs like moths, cockroaches, and dragonflies came in order, which the Priestess intercepted with the bee Revenants. The opponents thought they were allies. Everything was like a surprise attack. On top of that, the bugs turned into Revenants are stronger than regular bugs. Moreover, the bee Revenants have a powerful poison. Furthermore, Red Bees are originally good at collective action. Receiving instructions from the Priestess, they formed ranks in an orderly fashion and intercepted. It seems the numbers decreased by about ten percent, but many still remain.
Anyway, regarding the trash mob cleanup, the bee Revenants controlled by the Priestess were a huge success, and the others became complete spectators. Harold-sama even made a saucer and we switched once in the middle.
Perhaps they ran out of tricks, as finally nothing came for half an hour. It's already been over three hours since we began the intrusion at the entrance. Is it about time?
What the Priestess did next was create clones. After making several mini-Priestesses about the height of my knees, she called the bee Revenants, had one mini-Priestess cling to each bee, and sent them back to the swarm. What the clones see and hear is the same as what the Priestess sees and hears. They're perfect as scouts.
(Well, I'm going to send these guys ahead, so shall we descend? If the distance gets too far, the connection will be cut off.)
(That sounds interesting. I'll make a saucer one more time, so once the transfer is finished, let's go.)
Eleanor-sama also got into the spirit, and we decided to move forward.
As we descended, there was a side hole on the way. It seems a saucer could pass through it easily. Immediately, we sent one scout. It was unexpectedly long, so we left a scout at the entrance of the hole and the saucer entered.
(I can see light. Is it outside?)
Unfortunately, Sight can't be cast on the clones, so it can't be magnified.
(What do you think, Priestess?)
(Let's take a chance and go!)
(Then, let's do that.)
Don't these two agree with each other a bit too quickly?
(Let's place our allies behind us as we proceed.)
Eleanor-sama's curiosity was ignited. We headed deeper into the hole, bringing the bees along.
I can certainly see light. Magnifying with Sight, I saw clouds. Apparently, it's outside.
(The bugs that have attacked us so far aren't the type to live at the bottom of a hole. They must have flown from ahead. Please prepare for battle.)
(Good, good. Let's do this. Alright! Forward!)
No sooner had the Priestess spoken than the bee Revenants overtook the saucer all at once.
(Ah! Not you guys. Watch the rear.)
She placed two bees holding mini-Priestesses at the rear.
(Harrison, Magic Reflection. Let's make a shield at the front. Harold, reinforce it with Wind Barrier.)
As usual, Harold-sama's Wind Barrier has a hole in the middle.
That means it's time for the eight-shot volley. I gripped my staff.
(Everyone, here we go!)
The bee Revenants accelerated, and the saucer accelerated too.
The distant light grew closer and closer.
The entire wall surface ahead is white.
(I wonder what that is?)
(It's spider webs. There are spiders.)
(Enemies! Alright, you guys, go get 'em!)
The bee Revenants increased their speed all at once. Among them were those holding mini-Priestesses.
The spiders are several times the size of the bee Revenants. They also seemed to have sensed the enemies approaching and fled deeper inside, but they turned around partway and raised their four front legs high, perhaps to intimidate.
But after that, it was over in an instant. They tried their best to brush off some of the bee Revenants with their legs, but they were outnumbered. In an instant, they were swarmed, and as they were stung one after another by the poison stingers on the bees' abdomens, they stopped moving. After that, they were just food.
Leaving the dining scene aside, we flew right over the scattered leftover legs.
We came near the exit. The mini-Priestesses can see the sky, but in front of us are our allies.
A new grand army of bugs is waiting outside, and the bee Revenants that were ahead are fighting in a dense mass near the exit. The exit is narrow at the top and bottom, perhaps for camouflage, so they can't all go out at once. The enemies are truly numerous this time. Moreover, they've even mobilized Red Ants, which are reaching up from below to attack.
The battle situation is being transmitted from the mini-Priestesses stationed at the front line, but anyway, because the numbers are so great, they're in a state of treading water. At the front line, they're trying to get out of the narrow cave, but the enemies are swarming as if they've been capped. With this, the mobility that is the weapon of the bee Revenants can't be utilized at all. Since they can't move satisfactorily, they can't use the poison stingers on their abdomens either. They're doing their best to defeat them by biting, but the enemies are pushing with numbers. Our allies, who should be strong, are being taken down one by one. Those that are taken down and tumble out of the cave are probably just food for the Red Ants.
(Priestess! Have our allies advance and clear the upper space. We'll intercept with magic from above.)
(Even if you say advance, the exit is surrounded by enemies.)
It can't be helped. It's pitiful, but unavoidable. I make the wall of Light attached to the Wind Barrier in front of the saucer shine. If the opponent is a monster, it doesn't do much damage, but for a Revenant, it should be quite painful.
Attacking from behind... though I say that, the output is turned down so it's like they're being slowly roasted? ...our vanguard, perhaps having fallen into a semi-panic, desperately tried to run forward. Finally, the rearmost overtook the allies in front, and the one who became the new rearmost overtook again, and they just fled frantically. It could hardly be called an orderly battle.
(W-Wait a minute! What are you doing, Jeanne!)
(Hey, let them escape outside for a bit. Once I blow away the enemy vanguard with Holy, gather them again. Otherwise, our allies will take damage from my Light.)
「Geez! You're so forceful!」
She got a bit angry, but it can't be helped. It's better than our allies being whittled away like this.
Harold-sama, unable to watch, made the Wind Barrier into a semi-circle. He's only making the top half. Of course, there was contact via Thought Communication, so I made the wall of Light the same shape. The Priestess, gathering the bee Revenants who were obsessed with fleeing into the safe lower area, began to draw them closer and closer to this side... behind the wall. Since only the upper part was clearing up, we advanced the wall just like that. It seems we've come to the very front line. I can see the sky.
(Priestess, have our allies retreat. We're switching.)
Pushing out the semi-circular Wind Barrier, we were able to cap it well. Naturally, the wall of Light is also semi-circular. When I increased the output and made it shine, the bugs swarming near the exit fled and scattered.