kscans

Chapter 130 - The Battle Inside the World Tree

Given the possibility that they might destroy the World Tree from within, we had to stop Agres and the man who seemed to be the Thunder Dragon.

But Hayato was a production class and couldn't fight, and Esha was unable to battle during a Stampede due to her home country's affiliation. The Elf and Dwarf NPCs trying to block their path to the upper floor couldn't stop them completely, and Agres and his companion were gradually approaching the stairs.

The best option was to call Ash and the others, who could stop them, but they were outside fighting the Illusion Dragon. It wasn't realistic for them to come all the way here, defeat these two, and then go back outside.

The Stampede lasts for one hour. The boss, the Illusion Dragon, appears in the second half. If this was a battle where even Ash's group, with their status effect immunity, would be cutting it close, then there was no time to summon them here.

Hayato decided the only thing he could do was support the Elves and Dwarves.

From what he could see, they weren't very strong, but there were many of them. And if they could resurrect within the World Tree after being defeated, they could launch a zombie attack, just like Mist the vampire.

However, the poor quality of their weapons and armor was concerning.

(In just about every work of fiction, it's a given that Dwarves are skilled blacksmiths, right? Is there some reason they can't do it?)

Hayato considered this and then spoke.

"Esha, let's support the Elves and Dwarves here. As a combat expert, do you see what we should do?"

"Are you passing that off to me? I really wouldn't know what to tell you. I am just a maiden who only thinks about crushing things with overwhelming power."

"There's no maiden like that."

He had thought Esha might come up with a good idea, but apparently not. Hayato judged that while she demonstrated incredible strength when fighting herself, she was likely not very good at telling others how to fight.

In that case, Hayato decided to watch Agres's group fight intently to assess the situation.

(Agres and his partner aren't that strong in their human forms. But they're overwhelming the Elves. They aren't drinking potions, and maybe their attacks aren't even working? Come to think of it, Diite-chan mentioned it. Agres is weak to physical attacks, but attribute attacks don't work on him.)

Hayato recalled Diite's words.

He wasn't sure if he could apply the traits of the dragon form directly to the human form, but he determined there was a high probability.

The Elves were attacking Agres with ranged magic, but it was having almost no effect.

And then there was the man who seemed to be the Thunder Dragon. He appeared to be cloaked in lightning and was firing off a series of lightning-based spells. The Dwarves were charging at him, but they didn't seem to be taking much damage.

(Could it be that, opposite of Agres, physical attacks don't work on him? It might be the same principle as the Fire Dragon's Flame Form.)

When the Fire Dragon Eddy Owl's HP dropped below one third, its body entered a state of flame. In that state, physical attacks were ineffective, and only attribute attacks worked. That was why he had Cecil finish it off in a single blow while its HP was still above one third.

However, the Thunder Dragon was already in what could be called a lightning state. That strategy wouldn't work. They would just have to defeat him steadily with attribute attacks.

Hayato had a general idea of their weaknesses. He concluded that they could manage if they told the Elves and Dwarves what to do and upgraded their equipment.

"Esha, sorry to ask, but could you make a way for me to get to the floor above?"

"Why is that?"

"I want to support the Elves and Dwarves, but I can't do it from here. There's probably someone important on the upper floor, so I'll try to negotiate about upgrading their equipment. So, could you somehow draw those two's attention? I'll go to the upper floor in the meantime."

"Well, I suppose I can try something. Though all I can really do is attack them. It's questionable whether I can draw their attention when my attacks do no damage."

Esha immediately went up the stairs and walked to the center of the floor. She took out her Beelzebub and fired a normal attack at Agres and the Thunder Dragon. Then she drank some Melon Juice.

Agres and the Thunder Dragon, having been attacked, looked at Esha with puzzlement.

Agres had a look on his face that said, "What is this person doing?"

"Esha Crown, is it? It's a Stampede right now. Your attacks won't work."

"Yes, you don't need to mind me. Oh, that's right. It seems you were captured by Ashley-sama's group last time. Though I hear you were saved in a hostage exchange for my master."

"Huh?"

"Hey, Agres! Don't fall for the taunt! Our priority right now is to get to the upper floors! We don't have time!"

"Tch!"

"And I hear it was two of you exchanged for my one master. Does that mean Agres-sama is only worth half of my master?"

"What did you say!?"

(It's fine to provoke him, but could you not bring me into this? I feel like I'm going to be resented for this later.)

"Besides, losing to Ashley-sama alone is just unbelievable, isn't it? You've just proven that you're weaker than Ashley-sama, despite being a fellow Genesis Dragon."

"That's not it! That was because that old man Pat chased after them, leaving those two women behind! If it were one on one with Ash, I wouldn't lose!"

(Two women...? Oh, Ney and Rosalie-san. Pat-san must not have defeated them, but ran away.)

Pat had caught up to Hayato's carriage very quickly. He hadn't pursued them after defeating Ney's group, he had simply fled. That left Agres and Randa to deal with the two who remained.

However, that had nothing to do with Esha.

"Making excuses is so unmanly."

"You're dead, you wench!"

Agres lunged toward Esha. Even if it was a cheap taunt, there must have been a line he couldn't let her cross. But Esha, as if she had been waiting for it, aimed her gun at Agres.

"Destroy."

Esha fired Destroy.

Of course, the Destroy attack had no effect on Agres. But she had learned something at Mist's mansion. She had fired Destroy then as well, and it had knocked back the surrounding vampires, with Esha at the center.

In other words, while it dealt no damage, it could cause a knockback. That was her aim.

It was a gamble whether it would work on Agres, but it did. The laser-like attack was completely ineffective, but she succeeded in knocking him back.

Agres was sent flying and rolled across the floor.

During that time, Esha sent a glance to Hayato, who was hiding behind the stairs.

Hayato saw it and bolted. The fear from his leg pain was still there, but he steeled himself, knowing he couldn't fall here, and ran toward the stairs that the Elves and Dwarves were protecting.

The Elves and Dwarves didn't quite understand the situation, but they perceived Hayato as another enemy trying to reach the upper floor.

"Physical attacks won't work on that lightning man! Counter him with attribute attacks! The man on the ground is the opposite! Only physical attacks will work on him!"

Hayato shouted as he ran.

At his words, both the Elves and Dwarves had a moment of realization. And then, they easily recognized Hayato as an ally.

Esha had also been knocked back by Destroy, but she moved faster than Agres and aimed for the stairs leading to the upper floor.

Esha ran straight toward the Thunder Dragon. There were probably other ways to handle this, but for some reason, that's what Esha did.

"You've done it now...!"

The Thunder Dragon tried to intercept Esha, but she suddenly aimed the muzzle of her Beelzebub at him.

She was out of MP, so it wouldn't fire, and it was a Stampede, so it would do no damage. Even so, the Thunder Dragon was human on the inside, not an AI. When a gun barrel is pointed at you, you take some sort of defensive posture.

It must have been a reflex. It's unclear if it had any meaning, but with the gun pointed at his face, the Thunder Dragon guarded his face with his hands and turned away.

In that time, Esha slipped past the Thunder Dragon and ran for the stairs. She then joined up with Hayato.

"I really wanted to slide between his legs, you know. But it was no good since he's wearing a robe."

"What action movie is that from? Well, whatever. They seem to think we're allies now, so let's go up and lend a hand with the defense here. If there are any materials, I can make anything with my production skills."

As the Elves and Dwarves shouted, "We thank you for the information!" "Leave this to us!" and "We welcome you!" Hayato and Esha ascended the stairs.