Chapter 625 - First Story: Exterminating Engrio's Ants ③
We left the hilly area and headed east to the very edge, then ate lunch. This is because we received information from the Engrio side that the ants refrain from marching in broad daylight. It's probably because light easily enters the forest when the sun is high. Besides, we have no idea where the vanguard is anyway. It's better to head west from the edge of the forest.
"Hey, why are nomads moving?"
As usual, while eating a pot lunch, Lyudmila asked Eleanor-sama. For Lyudmila, who is working hard to till farmland gathered in one place, she probably doesn't understand the reason for abandoning a place once settled... although it might just be moving.
"For people living in extremely vast grasslands unsuitable for farming, it's probably more convenient, if anything, to move from place to place where grass for livestock grows, or to change their whereabouts depending on winter or summer."
"Because the grass in the grazing land runs out?"
"Yes. I think you could say that."
It's tough when you think about it, but they are people living in land vast enough to move to another place and live. Come to think of it, on our farm too, we rotate between grazing land where clover grows and farmland where wheat is planted. If they move because the scale is large, it might just be that the size is different. In any case, it's impossible for island dwellers who have limits to flat land.
"Then, are the ants in that Demon Realm also moving in search of food?"
Eleanor-sama, after staring at Lyudmila for a moment, nodded greatly with a smile.
"That's probably it. They must be hunting while moving through the Demon Realm."
I see. So that's how it is.
"Then, if we set this pot and lure out a bear, won't the ants come aiming for the bear?"
"I think they will."
"Are we going to use it for a decoy operation?"
"That's a good method. However, our goal this time is to annihilate the swarm, but above all, it's to take down the Queen. So, that alone would be difficult. I think another trick is needed."
In the end, priority is given to the Queen's subjugation. If they are the nomadic type, they probably won't flee underground. First is pinpointing their location.
Eleanor-sama said that since there should be winged ants further ahead of the vanguard group, we should just look for them. In short, reconnaissance is being carried out by light cavalry. I don't know if they are really that military-style, but it's better to deal with them cautiously.
As a result of setting out on Eleanor-sama's medium-sized bowl, they were indeed there. Just like the ones we found at the tail, they were hidden in the tree canopy. We moved to the east and split into Wilson-san's small bowls to enter the forest. The participants are the Class of 175.
"Well then, shall we go around setting bait?"
Lyudmila's proposal was adopted in a different form and implemented immediately. However, we set a large amount. Three pots for bears, four chicken carcasses for foxes and wolves in four locations, and for some reason, three magic circles for slugs' worms were set. Ten in total. We hand-prepared the bait after eating lunch. As for the chickens and pots, we even flew to the nearest village to buy them. For the pots, we confirmed they were sufficiently boiled and then put out the fire. Since we made the fire strong, they might be overcooked and the taste might be mediocre, but since we put in a lot of dried meat, a bear will come if there is one.
The bait for the decoy was set in a semicircle at equal distances from where the scout winged ants were discovered. Since we cut several tree branches in the canopy so they'd be easy to see from above, the traps themselves should be visible if magnified with Sight from above. Of course, we also attached red cloth markers. We monitored in a patrolling manner from above, split into one medium-sized bowl and one small bowl.
We estimated the ants' movement speed... a guess... and the time until a magical beast is caught by the bait to be about an hour. Thinking it was finally that time, we were all working hard on scouting, and finally, a bear was caught in one of the pots. We immediately descended, moved right above it, and killed it by releasing an Over Flow with a reflector. There were winged ants in the canopy, but we ignored them.
We evacuated to the sky and monitored for another half hour, and reddish-black things began to swarm the bear's carcass.
They're here! The ants are caught!
We sent word to the main body through the magic circle for sending letters and dived. We defeated the winged ants with basic Holy and simultaneously defeated several ants on the ground. Beatrix also released Freeze and defeated several. Of course, more ants are coming one after another. Defeating ten or twenty is meaningless, but I don't want the bear to be eaten in an instant, so it's better to resist until more gather.
In the meantime, a large quantity of reddish-black things gathered, so we evacuated to the sky.
We returned to patrolling other locations.
Since four wolves were caught, we defeated them with Beatrix's Wind Cutter, Will and Bonnie's silver arrows, and my Holy Lance. Eventually, ants should swarm these guys too. Especially the one targeted by Wind Cutter had its head severed and sprayed blood grandly. The ants will also react sensitively.
"It seems they were caught in the south too. They seem to be swarming the bear we killed."
Over there, four holy mages are on board. Since Carla is there too, they must be working quite hard.
"Shall we start searching for the enemy's main body soon?"
We let the worker ants and soldier ants bite the bait and disperse them. We launch a surprise attack on the thinned-out enemy main body. That was the operation Eleanor-sama had built.
We once separated and remade the bowls. A covered one with a wall of Light.
We plunged in again and proceeded through the forest following the ant swarm. The width of the swarm gradually widened.
"The winged ants are amazing."
Since we aren't attacking for now, they are swarming us. However, even though the output is reduced, it must be painful, as they fly away as if jumping the moment they try to perch on the wall of Light. They spit saliva, but since it's not the one with holes, it's not a problem. They seem to have given up and finally stopped spitting. However, whether they are on guard, they gathered more and more.
"What's that?"
As we proceeded while driving away the winged ants by doing things like raising the output of Beatrix and Lyudmila's Favorable Wind or the Light, Beatrix involuntarily raised her voice at a strange object.
No, it's not an object. A reddish-black clump is moving restlessly. A clump of ants.
Ants are piled up in a hemispherical shape. The height is about half that of a tall tree. It's three or four paces long and two or three paces wide. It's just like a tower. When passing between trees, it became a bit thinner. It seems the shape changes freely depending on the terrain, or rather, the presence of obstacles. Moreover, the ones at the top are stretching their legs to the tree trunks and branches, acting like struts.
"That must be the center army. The Queen is likely inside. Wilhelmina, please transmit that to the main body. We'll start the attack after ascending once."
"Understood."
Are the worker ants protecting the Queen with their own bodies? It must be like a moving fortress.
Will immediately used the magic circle for sending letters.
We approached very close to the clump of ants. We left the forest as if Lyudmila was cutting away tree branches with Wind Cutter and Beatrix was blowing them away with Favorable Wind, and ascended all at once to a height where winged ants wouldn't come.
"Jeanne, signal the main body after ascending."
"Yes!"
Since I roughly know the direction of the main body, I blink the wall of Light towards the direction where the main body should be. Since I made it curved, I can send signals over a wide range. It's arranged so that once the main body notices, they'll approach while using lantern signals.
After confirming that the winged ants had retreated into the forest, once we increased our altitude, it was time to start the attack.
"Alright, let's go, Lyudmila!"
"Yeah. Wait until I finish chanting."
In response to Beatrix's call, Lyudmila began chanting.
Once Lyudmila's chanting was finished, we started the operation Eleanor-sama, Wilson-san, and Beatrix had thought up.
First, Will throws up the water produced in a bucket with Water towards the upper diagonal of the bowl. Based on that, Beatrix makes an iceberg with Glaciate. Since it falls on its own, we track it with the bowl. Since it's at full power, it's quite huge. If we dropped it as ice from a higher place, as Eleanor-sama did in the Demon Lord subjugation training, we could probably crush the clump of ants along with the surrounding trees. But if we do that, it'll be forest destruction. Since it would cause a fire, fire magic is also prohibited. As expected, we can't use that.
Then what do we do? From here is Beatrix's idea, as she has been interested in the applied use of magic for a long time.
Once the falling iceberg has grown to a sufficient size, we immediately cancel it. We can't control the movement, but the amount itself is quite a lot.
In addition, Lyudmila released Tornado Wind towards the falling mass of water.
As the roaring tornado in the air sucks up the water from below, a long vertical vortex swirls in the air. Tornado Wind can be controlled. It falls straight towards the place where we were just now while scattering water over a wide area.
At the same time it hit the ground, the surrounding trees bent as if in the middle of a gale. Since the mass of water was large, Lyudmila didn't release a thin Tornado Wind with high rotation speed, but a wide one with reduced rotation speed, so the water spread over a wide area, and the attack range also became wide accordingly. It felt like someone had stirred water in a bucket to make a vortex and then threw it onto the grassland. The surroundings probably became waterlogged as if after a heavy rain, and the ants must be in great confusion. A considerable number might have been crushed by the pressure. I hope so.
"It's a hit. It went right near the marker."
Bonnie is the one watching the situation. Of course, since she has Sight cast, she can pinpoint the place where we splashed it.
We repeat ascending and descending, shifting the position and splashing a second and third shot. We stop the movement of the enemy main body by waterlogging the front and back. It's a water attack modeled after the frogs' operation. The winged ants also seem to be fed up with the masses of water and aren't flying at us.
"Wilson-dono, I've confirmed the approach of the main body."
Around the time we fired the fourth shot, Will found the approaching allies. Without Sight, they'd just be dots. I finally distinguished the lantern signals by magnifying.
"Understood. Wilhelmina, signal. We are charging."
"Understood."
Alright, the real thing starts here.
We dive towards the waterlogged forest. Since we're using holy magic, there's no lid. We aren't hiding ourselves either. We plunged in just like that.
"A little to the right, right, ah, bring it back down... yes! That's it. Just like that."
The bowl changes direction according to Bonnie's course corrections. Winged ants fly at us, but Beatrix and Lyudmila repelled them with a range attack of Freeze. Their wings froze and they fell off. No matter where they fall, they won't be able to fly because their wings are broken. The ones that broke through are being fended off by Will swinging her sword. It's a silver sword. If it hits, it'll deal great damage.
"Jeanne! Here we go!"
"Yeah. I'm ready!"
I gripped my staff. It's an eight-shot volley.
"Front! Lower diagonal! Do it!"
"Holy Over Flow."
It's with a reflector. White light flashes before my eyes. For a moment, what I saw was that reddish-black restless thing, but its shape had changed. Whether it was disrupted by being waterlogged, its height was half and it had become flat. Since reddish-black things were gathering from the surroundings, it might have been under repair. I blew that away all at once. Or so I thought.
At the same time I fired, the bowl ascended and cleared the tree canopy. It's a countermeasure against saliva. When I crouched and checked the results, nothing had changed at all...
"It's Camouflage. We were tricked."
Wilson-san clicked his tongue. To think we were outwitted by a monster... and an insect at that.
Suddenly, a sensation like my back was being scratched ran through me. I involuntarily arched my back.
"Kyaa!"
Lyudmila screams. She ended up crouching on the spot. She must have been bewildered by the first-time sensation. It's okay, it's okay, I say while rubbing her back.
"J-Jeanne. This is bad..."
Lyudmila grabs my shoulders with both hands. She's opening her mouth wide and baring her teeth. She's about to bite into my neck like a fox or a wolf.
Oh no, I forgot because I usually treated her as a girl. Lyudmila is a cross-dresser. Her heart is a woman, but Charm didn't distinguish by such things.
"Light!"
I release magic from my mouth. Lyudmila's body twitches.
"S-Sorry, Jeanne."
She looks like she's about to cry, so I cast Magic Reflection on her.
"Sorry. I should have cast it on you beforehand."
"No. Sorry. I couldn't suppress it..."
She bites her lip regretfully.
It's probably impossible even if she tried to suppress it. The opponent is B-rank.
"Jeanne, sorry for being busy, but we're pursuing. Beatrix, to the right. About ten paces to the right of that fake. On top of the low cliff, between the two trees. I sensed a reaction of Charm from around there. Please release Favorable Wind towards that direction. A strong wind."
"Okay!"
"Ah, yes."
I gave Lyudmila's shoulder a pat and stood up. First is the enemy in front of us.
In the direction Wilson-san instructed, there was a slightly elevated place, and it had become a bit of a cliff. Did they climb up to avoid the waterlogging?
The wind raised by Beatrix blew hard. Branches swayed, and winged ants were blown away.
"Jeanne, can you tell?"
The flying leaves and winged ants disappeared midway. It's there.
"Holy Over Flow!"
I fire the one with the reflector once more. I held back on the eight-shot volley.
Whether it hit this time, reddish-black things fell to the bottom of the cliff. However, the number seems small...
"They are defending with something. Holy is no good. Beatrix, try crumbling that cliff. Clump Sand."
"Okay! Then, Clump Sand! Wait, eh? It's not crumbling."
"Jeanne!"
"Yes! Holy Over Flow!"
When I fired towards the cliff, reddish-black things tumbled down from where the cliff should have been.
They were camouflaging themselves as a cliff...
"This is not going to be easy. We're withdrawing for now."
If we stay long, we'll be met with an all-out saliva attack. Unfortunately, the surprise attack failed. It's frustrating to be outdone by ants, but it can't be helped. After firing one more Over Flow at the cliff, the bowl ascended all at once and retreated to the safety zone.