kscans

Chapter 12 - The Conclusion

From the fortress roof, Hayato watched the battle of Ash and his team unfold.

He couldn't tell what exactly was happening in the fight, but even Hayato could understand that Ash was strong. To put it simply, Ash had single-handedly stopped the opponent's charge.

When the opponent first charged, there was no one around Ash, and he had to face them alone. Even the mercenary closest to Ash was in a position where he wouldn't make it in time.

Even if their strategy was solely to destroy the Clan Stone, there was no reason not to defeat the one enemy standing right in front of them. What's more, it was nine against one. The entire enemy clan tried to attack Ash at once.

But Ash thwarted their opening move with a Weapon Skill called "Wild Swing."

Wild Swing was a skill usable with a two-handed sword. Though its damage was low, it was an area-of-effect attack that could target multiple opponents and had a knockback effect that pushed them back slightly. And that knockback had another property, it canceled the opponent's attack.

Even though the opponent had charged as a group of nine, it was just three rows of three. The game's mechanics were such that if the three people in the front were hit with a knockback effect, the three people behind them would also be knocked back. This created a chain reaction, and all nine of them were knocked back, their attacks canceled.

In other words, Ash had stopped the enemy's charge with a single blow. In that time, the mercenaries who had been deployed in a horizontal line had successfully rushed to Ash's side.

Esha explained this to him, and Hayato was impressed.

"That's amazing."

"I'm sorry to say this, but that's just common sense. You seemed so overly impressed that for a moment, I thought you were making fun of me. Let me remind you that my finger is still on the trigger of my gun."

"Could you not say scary things? I'm not making fun of you. I watched everyone fight in my old clan, but I don't know the fine details. I think one of my old members said that if you can properly use an attack that induces knockback, the battle is as good as won."

"That's not wrong. Being able to crush an opponent's big move before it activates is undoubtedly effective."

"I see. Come to think of it, there was a time when everyone was saying they wanted knockback immunity armor, so I made it for all of them. So that wasn't because they didn't want to be pushed back, but because they didn't want their skills to be canceled."

"I'm a little taken aback by a master who doesn't even know that. Or rather, you made knockback immunity armor, an effect that can only be made through a random roll, for everyone? I'm not just a little taken aback, I'm extremely taken aback. That's on the level of an ant winning a one-on-one fight against an elephant."

While having this conversation, Hayato and the others turned their attention back to the battle.

It was clear that Ash's side had the upper hand. One by one, the opponent's members were vanishing into particles of light. And not a single person on their side had fallen.

"The mercenary group led by Ash is strong. No one's been defeated."

"From my perspective, it seems to be due to the performance of the armor you made, Master."

"No, I don't think so. The opponent has good gear too. That person who looks like the leader is equipped with Orichalcum gear. It's inferior to Adamantite, but it can be called pretty good equipment. The ones I prepared, while high in quality, are just iron-made. In terms of equipment, the opponent's is clearly superior."

"Then the opponent's equipment must be one-star quality. They are making up for the difference in materials with quality. Besides, it seems that some of the equipment you prepared, though not all, has useful effects. That is likely a factor as well."

"One-star quality? It's true that low-quality equipment is weak even if the materials are good, but would they really participate in a Clan War with one-star equipment?"

"It seems they did. Look closely, the members of the mercenary group seem to have taken little damage. They're getting by just by drinking low-recovery potions. As for Ash-sama, he's not even drinking potions. By the way, my MP is at full, but may I drink a Melon Juice? A Melon Juice is exceptional, even when it's not after a job well done."

Ignoring the part about the Melon Juice, Hayato began to think about various things.

(Ash's Dragon Eater has the Blood Weapon effect, so his HP recovers. So he didn't even need potions. But now I understand. Ash and the others, or rather, the NPCs, can fight properly. More so than players, even. At this rate, we might be able to aim for the top of the rankings. Not counting this one, there are five more Clan Wars. From now on, instead of Random Match, I'll choose a matching that lets us fight high-ranking clans. If we can win, we should be able to raise our rank in one go.)

"However, it seems Ash-sama is holding back quite a bit. Against an opponent of that level, Ash-sama alone should be more than enough, I think."

"That's an exaggeration. There's no way he could take on nine at once... oh, right, I asked him to avoid using the Physical Immunity set bonus from his armor as much as possible. I want him to save that for when we fight higher-ranked clans."

"There was that, wasn't there. But that's not what I was talking about... Oh, it seems the enemy has started to flee."

Reacting to Esha's words, Hayato looked at the field again.

He could see five people retreating towards the enemy territory. He judged that they had realized they were at a disadvantage after losing four members and were retreating to their fortress.

But there was something that concerned Hayato. The mercenaries were leaving Ash where he was and had begun to fall back.

"What kind of tactic is that? I thought they were going to pursue, but they're coming back. Is this also common sense?"

"It is. They'll get caught up in it if they stay there."

"Caught up? In what?"

Hayato looked at Esha and asked his question. In response, Esha pointed with the index finger of her left hand towards where Ash was and answered, "In that."

When Hayato turned his gaze that way, for some reason, there was a golden, shining dragon there. A bipedal dragon with thick hind legs and small forelegs.

That dragon spread its wings wide, then placed its forelegs on the ground, taking on a four-legged posture as it opened its mouth wide. Then, an effect like some kind of energy becoming visible and gathering between its upper and lower jaw began to appear.

"What is that? Um, what? Some kind of summoned beast? Was Ash a summoner? I don't think he had a skill like that."

A summoner was a general term for those who summoned monsters, spirits, or demons to fight for them. Hayato had thought that Ash had summoned that dragon. But when she heard that, Esha gave him a look that seemed to say, "What are you talking about?"

"Um, I don't know why you're making that face, but I wasn't watching closely. How was that summoned? Some kind of item?"

"I can't believe it, but do you really not know about Ash-sama, Master?"

"Huh? No, I know him. He's the leader of the mercenary group called Crescent Moon Beast, right?"

"This Esha Crown is at peak levels of being taken aback today. On the level of the sun rising from the west."

"What do you mean?"

"That dragon is Ash-sama. The Dragon-Slaying Dragon, Death Dragon Ash Brandle. They say that when you mention the Brandle Siblings, dragons run away with their tails between their legs. That's how famous they are."

"Excuse me?"

The screams from the players who had fled to the enemy territory reached Hayato's ears. It was a dragon about ten meters long. If something like that suddenly appeared, they would certainly scream. Moreover, it was clearly in an attack stance. It was an attack motion that made you think the match would be over in an instant if you didn't escape to the fortress.

And just before the enemy players reached the fortress, something like a giant laser was fired from the dragon. Not on the level of the ball of light Esha had fired, but a thick, long beam of light that swept from left to right in a fan shape.

Before the enemy players could reach the fortress, they were mowed down by that light and vanished into particles of light.

Along with a fanfare, confetti proving their victory in the Clan War danced in the air. And behind Hayato, fireworks went off.

"Congratulations. As expected of my master."

Esha's words didn't reach Hayato's ears. Hayato's thoughts had come to a halt.

No matter how many times Esha waved her hand in front of his eyes, he did not return to his senses. In the end, Hayato remained standing there, stock-still, until he was transferred from the fortress back to the log house.