Chapter 677 - Second Story: The Demon Realm of Former Septanaquila ②
Under a cloudy sky, we depart in three medium-sized bowls.
The first group is the main force. It's the Medioland Royal Army scout team's bowl, carrying the five heroes and the Medioland Royal Army's stalwarts. They are all people who participated as diversions or rearguards during the Demon Lord's army subjugation battle, and up-and-coming young elites. This unit will be the center of this operation.
The second group is the flank attack unit. It's the monster extermination team led by Price-sama. They will attack the monsters on the outer edges from the air while riding in the scout team's bowl.
The third group is the aerial support unit for the main force. It's the self-proclaimed private Henry Party. In other words, we will ride in it.
Before departure, we were forced to illuminate all participants in what was called a victory ritual. I wondered if it was okay to illuminate even the church priests, but since Price-sama and the other priests were performing the Chant of Exorcism, it shouldn't be a problem.
We departed the fortress while hidden by support magic. We set out at ultra-high speed and reached the skies above the Trident Mountains in no time. The diversionary unit should have already gone to the northern shore of the lake and be fighting flashily. The main force is supposed to descend to the northern end of the long, narrow depression between the first and second rows of the Trident Mountains, which are lined up in an east-west direction, and begin activities near the ground. We are to ride in Eleanor-sama's bowl and attack monsters as soon as we find them.
"A message came from the main force. They are starting activities."
Will read the letter sent from the main force. Looking down, flames erupted from nowhere and began to melt the surrounding snow. They are acting suspiciously to disturb the magic beasts' territory. The main force intends to become the decoy themselves.
Wilson-san deactivated the lid of the high-speed movement bowl, and several attack holes were created in the edge of Eleanor-sama's bowl. It's a combat stance.
We watched the surroundings for a while.
"Southeast direction! It's Wyrms. Five of them!"
Harold-sama's voice echoed. He's sharp-eyed. They appeared quickly.
Looking, five dots can be seen. I'm impressed he can identify them as Wyrms from that.
"Wyrms? Charles, do you know them?"
Miana didn't seem to get it.
"I know them to some extent. They are monsters that look like lizards with wings that fly in the sky like that."
"Oh, lizards. I know lizards."
Judging by her "ufufu" laugh, she definitely doesn't understand.
"By any chance, do they breathe fire?"
She must be imagining a Salamander.
"You know them well. That's right. Bishop Jeanne has cast double Resist, so I think it'll be fine, but otherwise they are powerful enough to turn you to charcoal."
At this point, Miana's complexion changed. The opponent was stronger than she imagined. Surely, Eleanor-sama or Magdalena-sama told her there were somewhat strong monsters. I mean, Prince Charles knows a lot.
"The rank is C-rank. In other words, it's a chance to learn magic all at once. Our allies are powerful. Let's manage to hit them with magic too."
"I-I see. Let's do our best."
Prince Charles is doing quite well. With one word, Miana became positive.
"We'll launch a preemptive attack with magic. After that, with bows and arrows. However, Wilson, be prepared for high-speed movement."
Eleanor-sama's instructions were given. Starting from aerial combat.
"Grandfather, Grandmother. How should I move?"
While Bonnie shot up a fire arrow to inform the allies of the enemy attack and we were ascending rapidly toward the direction the Wyrms were flying from, Prince Charles spoke up. He himself can use basic Holy. However, it's insufficient in power for Wyrms. And being a single-use type, he can only use it about six times at most. He can increase the number of uses with Hand Over, but it's too inefficient. In other words, he doesn't seem to be of much use here right now. He probably asked because he understands that much. It's good that he came to the front line with enthusiasm, but the opponent was too strong.
"How do you think you should move? You are royalty. Depending on the time and place, you are in a position where you must receive and answer the same question from your subordinates. I instructed a preemptive attack with magic. There are six people here who can use magic, excluding Wilson and me, who must manipulate Flight Magic."
Eleanor-sama is merciless. Henry-sama glared at the Wyrms with an unconcerned face, and Harold-sama was grinning. They're mean.
"W-Wind magic or lightning magic is said to be effective against monsters that fly in the sky like Wyrms. Since they are C-rank, we should attack using advanced level or higher, like Tornado Wind, Tempest, or Thunder Bolt, and then finish them off with bows and arrows and Holy."
Isn't he excellent! He's studied properly. Moreover, they are all spells the current members can use.
"Then, what is your role?"
"W-Would it be delivering the finishing blow? However, I wonder if basic Holy will be effective..."
"I don't think it's bad."
"T-Thank you very much!"
"Then, Beatrix. What would you do?"
Oh dear, she's being strict.
Beatrix seemed surprised by the sudden nomination, but she still answered properly.
"Um, the ground team is doing the decoy, right? Then we have to defeat them quietly, so it's Holy or wind magic. Um, I'll make it so we can pass each other and attack from behind. Then, ultra-high-level is a waste, so one with my Tornado Wind, one with Jeanne's Holy Lance, and one by freezing its wings with Miana's Ice Cube—that's three shot down with magic. After that, manage somehow with bows and arrows. The ones knocked down to the ground will be finished off with Holy. Let's have Prince Charles do his best there. Something like this?"
She has been told the magic used by everyone just in case. Even so, the reason she answered so smoothly is probably due to her experience. As proof, Prince Charles is stunned. No wonder. He just became an adult recently. It's different from the fox hunts done in the forest reserved for royalty.
As if to say "exactly what I wanted," Eleanor-sama immediately adopted Beatrix's opinion and accelerated the bowl.
"Ice Cube! Ice Cube!"
"Tornado Wind!"
"Holy Lance!"
The Wyrms are flying in a line of five from the front right to the back left. When we sneaked up behind and above the third one, Miana aimed and fired ice magic toward the one in front. Two shots with full power. The Wyrm, whose left wing root was frozen with pinpoint accuracy, fell while screaming.
The same went for the fourth one caught in the Tornado Wind Beatrix fired almost simultaneously. That one was caught in a tornado from its head, its body carved by blades of wind, and fell while spraying pitch-black blood. I defeated the second one all at once by firing four volleys from the tip of my staff.
The remaining two, which scattered left and right as if with a "ba-thump" sound, were easily pursued because Wilson-san restored the high-speed movement lid. We flew parallel to the Wyverns, which couldn't find the enemies in the air, and shot them down one by one with silver arrows. (T/N: The text says Wyverns here, but they were Wyrms earlier; likely an author's slip.)
After that, it was easy. We found them in the forest where they had fallen and become immobile, and went around delivering finishing blows one by one. Prince Charles was given the mission to attack the one whose wings Miana had frozen, which was the most violent.
The opponent had knocked down many trees when it crashed into the forest from above. Its wings were broken, and it was flapping around, unable to fly. I fired one Holy Lance at its head to stop its movement. I brought the bowl as close as possible.
"Charles. Aim for the heart accurately."
"Y-Yes!"
He took a deep breath, incanted, and fired at point-blank range. When it hit the chest of the twitching creature, it finally stopped moving.
"Splendid!"
Will said a word and, saying just to be sure, offered a silver spear, which he took and thrust into its neck. Perfect.
"Prince Charles. Your achievement in your first battle is a matter of great joy."
As expected of a great noble and former Military Minister. Harold-sama immediately sent congratulations while kneeling on one knee. Before I knew it, Wilson-san, Will, and Bonnie were doing the same. Stephens-san was sending applause while standing. Surprised, I looked at Henry-sama, and he said Beatrix and I were fine. For now, the two of us just clapped.
"T-Thank you very much. So this is what monster extermination is like."
The person in question is excited by the sudden C-rank subjugation. Well, that's natural. The impact is different. For me, rat extermination was my first battle.
"We've successfully finished it off, but it's not over yet. The real thing starts now."
"Yes!"
Miana must have had a similar experience. She went to his side and hugged her brother while saying congratulations. In her case, she was already a mid-level double-user when I met her. I wonder what she was forced to do. Being royalty is tough.
Of course, there were ground battles too. After that, various things came out. Cerberus, Orthrus, Griffon, Wyvern, Chat-Palu, Fenrir... We left the enemies on the ground basically to the heroes. If we fired magic from above in a melee, we would hit our allies. Even though Holy has no effect on humans, the light when fired might stop the allies' movements for a moment. We only fired when there was clearly enough distance. When a pack of over ten Barghests appeared all at once, I fired a barrage of reflector-equipped Overflows. By then, or rather, long ago, Prince Charles's mana had run out, and he himself requested ground combat but was not allowed. Instead, he was given homework by Eleanor-sama.
"Charles, find out roughly where the monsters are coming from. The operation will pause in an hour and a half to return to the fortress, so do it by then."
It's probably impossible. The first discovery reports were mostly from Harold-sama, but the directions they came from were all over the place. They even came from the north, where it was thought they wouldn't come.
The morning operation ended, and we returned to the fortress. After eating lunch, we had a simple strategy meeting with just the support group.
"Charles, did you find out?"
"Yes. In my opinion, D-rank monsters like Fenrirs came from the north. C-rank monsters like Cerberus came from directions other than the north. Flying monsters like Wyrms came from the southern mountain zone."
Ho ho. He's distinguishing them well.
"Then, what can be understood from that?"
"Yes. According to Crown Prince James's story, monsters disperse in search of prey during the winter. Considering that, wouldn't relatively weak monsters—Fenrirs in the range we fought this time—be pushed to the north? Therefore, the monsters' home base is the southern mountain zone... presumably the northern half. I think the flying types with a wide range of action fly directly, and the ground-walking Cerberus and others attacked after heading north along the Trident Mountains from there."
Eh? Is this really his first battle? Or is this what the lineage of a war leader is like?
When I looked at Beatrix, she was looking at me too. As expected, she's surprised. When I looked at Will, she had a face that seemed to say "exactly," nodding. By any chance, does the Henry Party usually talk about monster extermination with Prince Charles?
"Then, what is our future operation?"
"I think we should continue the morning operation while strengthening the reconnaissance of the southern mountain zone."
"If we are to scout, we need a search target. What will you set as the search target?"
"The presence or absence of a base made by the Demon Race, which is the greatest goal of this operation, would be the target of the search."
"What method will you take?"
"First, we will identify the nesting sites of the flying types. It might reveal early detection of attacks and blind spots in the enemy's alert network. Presumably, the enemy's base would be in a place somewhat distant from there... for example, if they are concentrated in the east, then in the west; if concentrated in the west, then in the east; if concentrated in the center, then at either end. However, I think the flying nests are concentrated at both ends, and the base is in the center."
"What is the basis for thinking that?"
"It's so-called common sense. After all, the center, where invasion from the ground is difficult, is the basic place to put a base."
"Very well. Then, I will now go and suggest to James-sama to proceed with the afternoon exploration according to that policy."
"Yes. Thank you very much."
I'm surprised. When I looked at Beatrix, she was looking at me too. As expected, she's surprised. When I looked at Will, she had a face that seemed to say "exactly," nodding. I feel like something similar happened somewhere before.
Prince Charles's opinion was easily adopted... accurately, it seems it was almost the same as the operation James-sama had planned, but that in itself must have given Prince Charles confidence. The difference is the attack procedure. The ground team will apparently find a lead and advance to the central part first. And if flying types come out, they'll defeat them. After scouting the central part, if there's nothing, they'll explore the surrounding areas.
By the way, the role of Prince Charles, whose mana is almost exhausted, is reconnaissance. It's the role of crouching right next to Harold-sama and scouting together. Sertoria advocates the battle of hunters. It will be a good experience.
The main force showed actions truly befitting heroes. They suddenly descended onto a ridge overlooking a narrow pass in the central part of the southern mountain zone. And while remaining visible, they began construction work. It's the construction of a temporary field fortification. All materials are to be procured locally. They melt snow with fire magic, cut down trees with wind magic, and dig up soil with earth magic to make earthworks. There are three ultra-high-level attribute mages, including James-sama. There are also two advanced wind mages. The one scout, two warriors, and one priest are all heroes. Even though we in the aerial support unit are hidden and keeping watch, it's extremely bold.
By the time the snow was melted and trees began to be cut down, as expected, six Wyrms appeared. Appearing, Beatrix shot up one lightning magic. It's a signal to inform the surroundings. Simultaneously, it also has the meaning of buying time so the Wyrms don't go directly to the main force. As expected, the Wyrms, which were prepared for aerial combat, scattered even though they had been flying in a V-formation. We also proceeded with interception preparations. We lowered our altitude as much as possible, taking attacks from below into account. The opponent breathes fire. In other words, it's a frontal attack. We attack with magic and bows and arrows while entering the opponent's blind spot. It became a melee.
The opponents are nimble. Sharp turns and sudden stops are their specialty. We can do that too. Or rather, we can do it more. However, if we do that in a medium-sized bowl, the people riding in it will be blown back and forth, left and right, and die. Naturally, if we fight an aerial battle against an opponent with the same speed and greater numbers, we'll lose. However, monster exterminators are not for show. Besides, Eleanor-sama and Wilson-san are even more amazing.
Whether it's a Wyvern or a Wyrm, they open their large mouths just before breathing fire. They don't fly with them wide open. And they lift their necks. We purposely let them chase us, and at the moment the opponent is about to breathe fire, we decelerate sharply and descend just a little. This time's bowl has several holes in the lid. When the opponent overtakes us and passes overhead, we accelerate sharply. While they've lost sight of us and are looking around, we attack their defenseless belly from behind and below with bows and arrows and magic. I also incorporated a pattern where I thrust my right hand out of a hole, blinded them with Light, and pursued and attacked the opponent who had lost their sight. Otherwise, the opponent would read us and counterattack. In that way, we defeated them one by one at low altitude. Of course, there were also magic attacks from the main force. They defeated two for us.
"The flank attack unit raided the Wyrms' nest and successfully subjugated the remaining three," Will reported when we had finished defeating all six.