Chapter 70 - The Trap of the Field Position
For the first time in my life, I left the Nakanohara district.
Before my eyes, the scenery of Higashinohara spread out.
The place I'm standing now is the top of the pass that serves as the border with Higashinohara. Even though it's called a pass, it's just a name; we climbed up a beast trail.
"Four months since aspiring to exterminate monsters. Having received a request from His Highness the King's Brother, we have advanced far to the Northeastern Forest where the Demon Lord's army is entrenched. Commonly known as the Forest of Magic..."
Yes, we are heading for the Forest of Magic... wait, no, no.
"Um, Paul-san. Please don't add narrations on your own."
"Haha, sorry, sorry. You were looking at the forest with such a deeply moved expression, you see."
He's laughing, saying it's a standard routine.
Well, it's true that arriving at the pass on the border of Nakanohara and Higashinohara was quite moving...
I looked back at the scenery of Nakanohara.
The same kind of mountain scenery spread out.
"It doesn't look much different."
"Of course. It's just people arbitrarily saying 'Middle' or 'East'; the mountain scenery isn't going to change the moment you cross a pass."
The old man who doesn't understand a maiden's heart full of dreams says something cold and blunt.
"However, look beyond that river."
Paul-san is pointing at the forest across the river flowing a little past the foot of the pass.
"It's black."
"Yes. It's the forest where monsters dwell."
What lies ahead is the forest that occupies the entire northeastern part of the Sertorian Peninsula, an unexploited forest untouched by human hands. Since ancient times, for some reason, powerful monsters have been spawning there, and it's said to be inaccessible. Even from a distance, it's clearly black in color and not normal.
The north and east of the forest face the sea. It's a harsh coast with a series of sheer cliffs, and landing from the sea is impossible. Moreover, those cliffs are pure white. Apparently, that's why this island is called the White Island.
"Our job is to build a field position to block the monsters coming from that Black Forest toward this pass."
"They're definitely going to attack, aren't they?"
"Well, yeah. The battle will be at night. Angelica and the mages dug some trenches and built earthworks during the day, but if those guys come to crush us, it'll likely be at night."
"Will we be okay?"
"The first battle will be the key. If we discourage them at the start, I think we can buy some time for a while."
A ridge spreads out from the current pass toward the east. In the middle of it, there's a cliff showing a cross-section as if it had been scraped away. To go down below the cliff, you descend stairs made as if carved into it, but you can also go down by detouring around the left or right of the cliff.
A gentle forest spread out at the foot of the cliff. Paul-san cut down trees with wind magic, and the Jaeger mages led by Angelica-san dug up the ground to create a temporary position.
Both sides of the position are steep valleys. If they attack in large numbers, it will be from the front, meaning along the ridge from the east.
"If you go west from here, it's the monster path where we made the spring. If we block this pass, we should be able to reduce the number of monsters coming to Nakanohara."
"Did the monsters climb up this cliff?"
"Look at the left and right of the cliff. They're gentle slopes, aren't they? The cliff is only part of the ridge. That's why it was difficult to block it here. We'll build a position in front of the cliff to prevent them from climbing this ridge. To the south of this pass is the mountain fortress of the Eastern Plains Jaeger Corps. Lord Roberts intends to put pressure on the monsters in two places: here and that mountain fortress."
"That's grand."
"Umu. As expected of Lord Roberts. It's an honor to be able to participate."
"For saying that, everyone seemed quite nonchalant when receiving the request..."
I was the only one who raised my voice upon hearing it was a nomination from Lord Roberts.
"It's a matter of appearances. Accepting the request casually and performing the job casually. In reality, my legs were shaking, though."
"Why put on appearances?"
"Actually, I don't really know either. I just think that's how it is. Even Marcelo's legs were shaking. The only one who's fine is probably Beatrix."
"I don't really get it."
Just then, Marcelo-san and the mage with nerves of steel arrived.
"How is it, are the preparations over there done?"
"Yeah. We managed to finish."
"Now we just wait for night."
She says it as if it's nothing.
Even though we might be attacked by the Demon Lord's army, she's remarkably calm.
Beatrix is paired with Marcelo-san this time as well.
The difference is that everyone except Angelica-san is on night watch.
Everyone is staying over, but the duty hours are from sunset until the next morning. It's based on the prediction that they won't attack during the day, but of course, the Jaegers are taking turns at their posts.
Angelica-san is mainly doing civil engineering work this time. She travels every day via Teleportation Circles from the Eastern Plains Jaeger hideout to the Nakanohara mountain fortress, and from there further into Nakanohara. Since she also does the sewage treatment plant work twice a week and rat extermination with Lyudmila while commuting, she's quite tough.
"You should rest soon."
Marcelo-san kindly suggested. After all, we have to be awake from before sunset onwards. Taking him up on his offer, I decided to rest at the break area.
Last night, anticipating that tonight would be an all-nighter, I was cleaning the Ghost Mansion until late. I'm a bit sleepy today. I think I'll sleep with a sheet over my head.
I woke up before the sun went down. Beatrix was next to me with her mouth wide open, drooling.
Shaking her didn't change anything. It can't be helped.
"Awake!"
Bikun! Beatrix's body shuddered for a moment, and her eyes snapped open.
"You, you used magic again, didn't you?"
She glared at me, but it couldn't be helped. It's her fault for not waking up before combat preparations.
It's the beginner holy recovery magic, Awake, which I newly learned.
If used when an enemy uses sleep magic or curses, it demonstrates enough power to instantly wake even a deep-sleeping Beatrix and save allies.
The Goddess must have been considerate of me, who fainted upon seeing a knocked-out goblin. Though, at that time, I thought it was dead.
Currently, there's no use for it other than waking Beatrix.
By the way, Beatrix also learned a new spell. It's a beginner water attribute spell called Water. It can generate a mass of water about the size of a bucket. It's probably an influence from the water-splashing festival.
I ate the dinner everyone prepared and got ready.
Relying on the moonlight of a half-moon, I went down the dark mountain path with Paul-san and Hanna-san after the sun set. Near the side of the cliff, McBurn-san's squad of guards was lurking in a hollow.
"How is it?"
"No movement so far. If they come, it'll probably be when the night gets a bit deeper."
In front of us was the makeshift field position Paul-san and Angelica-san had built.
If they come, it'll be before the position is completed. If they come, everyone expects them to come with considerable force. We wait like that for the monster raid until dawn.
Perhaps because the moon had gotten low in the western sky, even the moonlight vanished and it became pitch black.
"They might not come tonight since it's a half-moon."
After lurking for a long time, someone muttered.
Only the bonfires of the position flickered and illuminated the surroundings.
Monsters' magic power increases during a full moon. That's what the legends say.
Suddenly, a roar loud enough to make the ground shake was heard.
The attack of the Demon Lord's army remnants has finally begun.
They must not have been able to wait until the full moon. If they did something so leisurely, Angelica-san would finish the position.
"Guests are here."
McBurn-san notched an arrow to his bow and drew it tight.
"Jeanne. It's your turn. Send up the Fireflies."
"Yes!"
I placed two small lights with suppressed output on each of my hands.
Commonly known as Fireflies. It's a trump card for night battles.
"Favorable Wind!"
Tonight, a mage belonging to the Jaegers is providing support for me.
It's to use Paul-san's high-level magic against the monsters.
Because he's unaccustomed, it's unstable, but even so, the four small lights drifted slowly into the darkness of the night.
"Now!"
The guards, including Hanna-san and Beowulf, notched arrows to their bows.
When I increased the light intensity to illuminate the direction where the monsters should be, I saw a swarm of monsters crowding the empty field position.
There are many... a hundred, no, over two hundred...
I heard Lord Roberts had hunted quite a few, but did they swarm out from the depths of the forest after the ten-day hunt ended...
The things that occasionally glittered must be because they were clad in armor and helmets.
The large ones must be trolls. I saw three.
Even though they are remnants, they are still the Demon Lord's army. They won't be easy to deal with.
All our allies fired arrows at once.
The field position used as a decoy was built at the foot of the cliff. It can be sniped from above and from the sides of the cliff. We launched an attack from one side of the cliff. The squad with Marcelo-san and Beatrix is shooting arrows from the opposite side.
The monsters seemed to realize they had been lured into a trap. They were raising shouts toward us, but they backed off once and changed direction to try and come toward us by rounding the slope.
"Now! Fire!"
When the Eastern Plains Jaeger Captain shouted, dozens of pale yellow lights surfaced at the monsters' feet.
The monsters stopped, wondering what was happening.
At that moment, magic erupted from the ground all at once. Fire, ice, lightning, wind, earth, and Holy.
A single white light pierces a monster's body from its feet. It must be Marcelo-san's Holy Lance. The monsters were too defenseless against attacks from below that couldn't be protected by armor or shields.
There are surely ogres mixed in as well, but magic defense is something spread across the front and sides. it hasn't reached their feet.
We lured the monsters to about the middle of the flat ground where the position was being built. There, Marcelo-san's magic circles drawn on the surface of square stones embedded in the ground were located. They all activated at once with the release keyword.
Not just us, but including the Jaeger mages, we had set up everything from beginner to high-level spells, thinking that if we fired enough, some would hit. Some missed their targets and were launched spectacularly into the air, but they were sufficient to dampen the monsters' morale.
The monsters, who were attacked from directions they probably never imagined, were clearly shaken and began to flee in the direction they came from.
However, three tornadoes blew up and blocked their path. The Tornado Winds Paul-san had set up were already activating.
"Good! Surround them!"
A second command was given. This was also a keyword.
When two mountains of ice rose from the ground in front of the tornadoes, they swallowed several monsters nearby in an instant and completely blocked the escape route.
This time it was the ice magic Angelica-san had set up, Glaciate.
How great must be the fear of the monsters whose retreat was closed off by the ice that swallowed their allies before their eyes?
The monsters, unable to flee even if they wanted to, ran toward the foot of the cliff while raising wailing voices.
There was a rock ledge in the middle of the cliff, where the Jaegers were waiting with hand spears whose silver tips gleamed.
They threw their hand spears all at once. Some monsters dodged by holding up shields, but others were skewered.
Ropes were tied to the hand spears, and they were pulled up after each throw and driven in again and again.
There were monsters that tried to grab the ropes and pull them down, but it had no effect. There's no need to have a contest of strength against monsters. They simply let go of those hand spears and used new ones.
During that time, arrows were still being fired. The monsters who had lost their escape route could barely manage to block the attacks from above by holding up their shields.
"A little extra. Crush them!"
A third command was issued.
Numerous stones about the size of a human head, which had been left on top of the cliff, floated into the air.
This wasn't a magic circle. It was the Clump Stone magic of Paul-san and the Jaeger mages on top of the cliff. After moving them slowly over the monsters' heads, they fell toward the monsters all at once.
The chainmail the monsters wore was weak against blunt impact. The striking force, adding the falling speed to the weight of the stones, crushed heads, shoulders, and arms along with the shields they held.
After it was repeated several times, there were almost no monsters left standing properly.
"All-out attack. Charge!"
The command to charge was given.
Various magic spells were fired from the hollow on the opposite side where we were. Was that fire orb from Beatrix?
Under the cover of magic, the Jaegers carrying hand spears descended the cliff one after another using the ropes they had dropped. As soon as they landed on the ground, they leveled their spears and charged at the monsters who were no longer even able to stand up.