kscans

Chapter 384 - Familiar Faces

The battle began in the wetlands surrounding the Necropolis.

The former Demon Lord's army had fifteen airships. In contrast, the New Demon Lord's Army had only five.

It was impressive that they had managed to procure more ships even after we had shot down so many yesterday. Still, it wasn't enough to overcome a situation where they were outnumbered three to one by a simple calculation.

The New Demon Lord's forces had more people, but the number of passengers an airship could carry was limited. In the wetlands, the primary fight would be against monsters, so just reaching the enemy's Area Stone would be considerably draining.

Even if they could avoid the monsters, many players disliked the idea of walking through a realistically rendered swamp. This was true for the former Demon Lord's army as well.

As a result, no fighting had occurred outside of the airships. Both sides were on standby near their own Area Stones. The ground there was normal. It was a battlefield that was easy to defend and difficult to attack for both armies.

The airship battles were fought mainly with cannons, as well as with magic and bows capable of long range attacks.

Though they were called long range attacks, they weren't like the far reaching attacks of Esha's Beelzebub, so the exchanges would only begin at very close quarters. That battle had already started for several of the airships.

Hayato was on the same airship as Esha and the others, but their ship alone was at the rear, not participating in the fight.

Esha was monitoring the battle situation through the scope of her Beelzebub. When she pulled her eye away from the scope, she frowned slightly.

"The enemy is fighting a retreating battle."

"Retreating?"

"They're making it look like they're fighting, but they are fundamentally fleeing. It might be better to say they are moving to keep us from approaching their Area Stone, staying just close enough but never engaging fully."

"What does that mean tactically?"

This region was once occupied by the New Demon Lord's Army. If the battle ended in a draw, it would remain their territory. However, it was difficult to say whether aiming for a draw against the current momentum of the former Demon Lord's army was possible.

Since they had time on their side, the former Demon Lord's forces had no need to rush. They could slowly corner their opponents, so none of the airships were being reckless. They fought cautiously to avoid being isolated or surrounded.

"It might be better for us to return to the Area Stone."

"Huh? Why?"

"There's no way they can win with a battle like this. Even if they are aiming for a draw, they can't possibly keep this up for the entire day. I think it's better to assume they have some sort of strategy. If it were me, I'd use a unit to aim directly for the Area Stone."

"So the airships are a decoy?"

"Probably. Besides, this swamp is perfect for hiding. They have people who have mastered thief type skills like Relic and the others, right? I wouldn't say the defense of the Area Stone is weak, but I think it would be better if at least we went back. We're not being of any use here anyway."

Hayato thought for a moment, then nodded.

Now that he heard it, he was convinced it might be true, so he decided to follow her advice.

He contacted Randa to tell her they were returning, and she agreed, saying, "I think so too, ssu!"

Immediately after, the airship carrying Hayato and the others broke away from the front lines and returned to the vicinity of their Area Stone.

With Gil and the Maid Chief present, their defensive power was high. However, that was purely in terms of combat strength. It wasn't like the decay attacks from before, but if the enemy used some sort of nasty tactic, it wasn't a guarantee that Gil and the others could win.

Hayato decided to remain on the airship and wait in the sky above the Area Stone. He then relayed his thoughts to Gil and the Maid Chief.

Both of them understood and began to increase their vigilance of the surroundings.

Hayato and the others also began to monitor the ground from the airship.

This situation continued for about an hour, but nothing changed.

The airship battle remained a quiet affair, with both sides maneuvering skillfully. Given the number of ships, the former Demon Lord's army was undoubtedly pushing forward, but the battle had become a chaotic free for all, with flying tamers and vampires joining the fray.

The area around the Area Stone was peaceful, aside from a few monsters that had attacked.

The enemy wasn't using rare monsters for MPK this time either. In fact, no players could be seen heading in their direction.

(Diite-chan is probably fighting Hypnos, but I have no idea where. I think it's somewhere on the battlefield, but... hm?)

As Hayato scanned the ground from the airship, he saw a suspicious movement.

He hadn't paid it much mind before, as the native monsters had been moving around, but when he looked closely, a patch of water plants seemed to be moving despite there being no wind.

"Esha, could you do me a favor and take a look at that area through your scope?"

"I can't tell what you mean by just 'that area'. Is there anything distinctive?"

"Um, that pond, or maybe swamp over there. The crescent shaped one. Could you look at the water plants at the left end of it? I think I saw them move unnaturally."

"The left end? Please wait a moment."

Esha said this and looked through her scope.

Hayato thought that perhaps someone from the clan "Raven" was heading their way.

He figured that if they had mastered thief and treasure hunter skills, they might have skills that let them mimic the ground or plants.

Just as he thought about taking another look, a voice chat from Randa came in.

"Hayato-san, you got a minute, ssu?"

"What's up?"

"Got a call from Parsha-san, ssu. Apparently she's fighting Ronios-san and his group at the entrance to the Dark Cave, ssu."

"What? Why? I mean, how did they fight?"

"I'm not sure, but she said Ronios-san and the others are being treated as NPCs, ssu. So they can fight players even outside the battlefield."

"...They must be getting desperate if they're intervening with the system like that. But the Dark Cave? Why would they be there...?"

"Who knows? Maybe scouting the battlefield, ssu? The only areas left are the Demon Capital Zardogia and the area around the Dark Cave. Since Ronios-san and his group can't participate in the battle as part of the New Demon Lord's Army, maybe they're trying to get things done before the fight, ssu."

Hayato wondered why, if they were making system changes to be treated as NPCs, they didn't just change the rules to allow them on the battlefield. However, Diite had previously said that making unrestricted changes to the system wasn't possible.

Apparently, Infinity itself wouldn't accept such unreasonable commands. Hayato had thought it was quite an inconvenient system, but in this case, he was grateful for it.

That aside, if they had defeated Ronios, it meant they had thwarted some kind of plan.

"Alright, roger that. If there are no other problems..."

"There is a problem, ssu."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Parsha-san said that while they were fighting Ronios-san and the others, some players entered the Dark Cave, ssu. The fight was probably a diversion, and that was the main objective. She said they're heading deeper now to chase those players. But..."

Randa paused there.

Hayato prompted her to continue, sensing there was more.

"But what?"

"Parsha-san didn't see it herself, but people who did said it was a person from Raven named Loana, ssu. If it's a fight inside a dungeon, they have the advantage, so I'm a little worried, ssu. And it's frustrating not knowing what they're up to, ssu!"

"Wait, so there are members of Raven in that dungeon?"

"That's what I heard, ssu."

"Huh? Then was I mistaken about this side? I thought only Raven could cross a swamp like this."

Depending on the spot, you could be submerged up to your waist in the swamp. Worse, you could be fully submerged and drown. There was no pain or inability to breathe, but many people disliked the sensation of water getting inside their clothes, and many players wouldn't enter the water with their equipment on even in a virtual reality.

It was just Hayato's impression, but he had assumed that the members of Raven would be fine with it since they were roleplaying as thieves and treasure hunters. But that meant he had been wrong.

Thinking he must have been mistaken, Hayato looked over at Esha.

"Esha, maybe I was just seeing things..."

Esha had such a deep frown on her face that it was visible even while she was looking through the scope.

"Unfortunately, someone much worse has come. It's a good thing you noticed. I'd say you're quite lucky, Master."

"What do you mean?"

"It means an AI feels nothing, whether it's soaked in water or covered in mud."

"An AI?"

"Some familiar faces from long ago have come, along with the Demonfolk."

Hayato then realized.

The members of Esha's old clan, "Blackjack", had crossed the swamp.

He immediately contacted Gil and the others.

When he told them that members of Blackjack were approaching, the area around the Area Stone suddenly fell into a panic.

Previous battles had revealed that the Demonfolk were formidable enemies. It was only natural to panic when told that those Demonfolk and enemies of similar strength were approaching.

However, Mist, who had fought the Demonfolk before, had said they weren't that strong. It was a situation where they were either using new AI, or they were still in the learning phase and not accustomed to fighting.

Unlike the Demonfolk, the members of Blackjack had a system in place where, if defeated, they would regain their consciousness and become allies, just like Ivan.

That was why he had speculated that they would let the Demonfolk AI learn as much as possible and save the deployment of Blackjack for last, but they had appeared before that.

If that was the case, they might not be that much of a threat, Hayato thought, feeling a little relieved as he assessed the situation.

But that hope was quickly betrayed.

Even though they knew they were coming, the members who started fighting began to be defeated.

Esha, who had been watching through her scope, must have understood the situation immediately. She spoke while looking at the battlefield through her scope.

"This is surprising. It's not just AI, there are players mixed in. And they're fighting with coordinated tactics."

Lutz was among the players. Besides him, there was a woman in silver armor with a giant sword and a rather flippant looking man. They were giving orders to the Demonfolk and the members of Blackjack as they fought.

Until now, the Demonfolk had fought alone, relying solely on individual strength. But now, by adding a player commander, they had become a unit that could perform quite sophisticated coordinated attacks.

Individually, the AI seemed to have been significantly enhanced as well. Esha said they were switching weapons and using skills effectively.

(It seems like before they would just fire off skills as soon as the cool down was over, but they're not doing that anymore. I guess they could learn that much pretty quickly, but can they really learn to fight like that in such a short time...?)

He hadn't seen them at the Ruined City Clear last time, but on the battlefields before that, around Abaddon and the Great Forest of the Undead, the AI hadn't learned that much. They were treated more like strong monsters that just steamrolled with good equipment and stats.

Now, they were fighting like normal humans.

"Master!"

"Huh?"

Hayato had been leaning over the airship's railing to watch the battle, but Esha suddenly tackled him, sending them both rolling across the deck.

An instant later, something trailing a tail like a shooting star shot up from the ground, passing through the spot where Hayato had been standing. If he had stayed there, he would have been hit without a doubt.

The two of them rolled forcefully across the deck, and as soon as they stopped, Esha spoke.

"You're not hurt, are you!? Are you alive!?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine, but could you get off me first?"

Hayato was on his back with Esha on top of him. Being stared at by everyone on the airship was making him blush considerably.

Esha quickly stood up, let out a huge sigh, and looked at Hayato with an exasperated expression.

"I'm glad that tackle didn't bring your HP to zero. Having one HP all the time is just ridiculous. I can't even give you a scolding punch."

"Even if I didn't have one HP, please don't give me a scolding punch."

Hayato got up as he spoke.

"So what was that? Did it come from the ground?"

"Yes. Besides me, there's one other person in Blackjack who excels at long range attacks. Her name is Grinee Wells. She's so good with a bow you could call her the best in the world. I can't believe she was aiming for us... I let my guard down."

The previous attack was the bow weapon skill "Sunrise Shot". It was said to be the fastest bow attack, one that would pierce you the moment it was fired. However, it had a long activation time.

Normally, it wasn't an attack that could reach an airship, but the bow Grinee was equipped with, "Amaterasu", had an ability that greatly extended its range. Furthermore, her armor and accessories also had range extending properties, which was why it could reach this far.

"Blackjack must have had a pretty unusual composition with two long range attackers."

"Back then, my skill composition was that of a sorcerer, so our roles within the clan didn't overlap."

"Oh, I see."

The Beelzebub 666 EC Custom that Esha wielded used to be a staff with a skull on it. She said it was a gun now because that was her preference.

"Unlike me, she said she did archery in the real world, so I think she's better than me when it comes to long distance sniping. Well, I don't know to what extent the AI can replicate that."

"For now, I'll stop looking down. By the way, where did the attack come from? I couldn't see at all."

"She's hiding in the swamp grass. Though I imagine she's already moved."

"If you know where she is, can you hit her with Destroy?"

"I can if I know where she is, but if I look down, I'll be shot. The odds are against me..."

Just as Esha was about to finish, the airship shook with a loud noise. The sound came from the bottom of the ship.

"Are they planning to shoot down the airship with a bow?"

"It won't be in one hit like Destroy, but if we take enough shots, we will go down. It seems we have to do it, even if the odds are against us."

They could try to escape, but due to battlefield restrictions, they couldn't ascend any higher. If the attacks could reach them wherever they went, their only choice was to defeat the attacker.

Esha was lost in thought, but she quickly looked around.

"Cecil, Noat. Come here."

Cecil looked happy to be called, but Noat had a look of annoyance on her face.

"So Grinee's trying to shoot down an airship with a bow, huh. She's the same as ever, even when she's brainwashed."

"I can't sleep, so let's get this over with quickly."

"Both of you, lean out from the airship and find where Grinee is. I'll hit that spot with Destroy."

"You want us to search from here? My eyesight isn't that great, you know?"

"That doesn't matter."

"...Esha-chan is always so cruel."

"It's the most reliable way. I'll give you donuts later, and I'll do it too, so come on, quickly now."

Cecil was quite eager, but Noat reluctantly leaned her upper body over the airship's railing.

A few seconds later, Esha leaned out while holding her Beelzebub.

Immediately after, Cecil was pierced by an attack from the ground.

"Destroy."

Esha fired Destroy at the spot where the arrow had come from.

The intense sound and shockwave from Destroy's blast caused the airship to tremble slightly.

(So she used Cecil or Noat-san as bait to confirm the location...)

It was a morally gray act, but Hayato decided it was acceptable since this was a virtual reality.

"Esha-chan, look out."

Noat, who had been leaning out, pulled the gun-wielding Esha down to the deck. An instant later, an attack from the ground grazed the airship. If she had stayed there, the attack would have hit Esha.

Esha stood up and sighed.

"They got me."

"They're not stupid either. This has become a hassle."

Esha and Noat were sighing, but Hayato didn't understand the situation.

The previous attack was probably Grinee's. She must have missed with Destroy, but Hayato could hardly remember a time when Esha's attack had missed.

"Did you miss with Destroy?"

"No, there was someone else nearby. I did think it was strange that he wasn't there, but I never imagined they'd be working together."

"Someone else?"

"Orland. He was the tank in our clan, but he used a unique skill called 'Fortress' to nullify Destroy. As long as he's there, my Destroy attacks won't work."

Hayato had heard a little about him before.

Orland Jeevas. A member of Blackjack, currently a general in the Empire, and also Cecil's superior.

Fortress was a skill that completely nullified a single attack. It had a cool down time, so it couldn't be used repeatedly, but its cool down was shorter than Destroy's. If they focused solely on blocking Destroy, they could defend against it completely.

"Whoa, that surprised me!"

Cecil, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly shot up.

He had been pierced by an arrow, but his defense was apparently not so low as to be defeated in one hit. He still had about thirty percent of his HP left.

Cecil chugged a potion to restore his HP, then confronted Esha.

"Hey, Esha! You used me as bait!"

"I figured you could take it, Cecil. More importantly, Orland is there, and Destroy didn't work. He's your superior, so do something about it."

"You're treating the fact that I got attacked as 'more importantly'? And my superior is there, huh. I'd love to pay him back for all the crap he gives me, but he's brainwashed... Alright, this time you two be the bait. I'll smash them with a Shooting Star."

Shooting Star was also the name of Ronios's clan, but it was also the name of a spear type weapon skill. He had once thrown it like a javelin at the place where Ronios and his group were in the Eastern Country, dealing massive damage.

It was clear that Cecil could hit his target. However, he needed a running start to throw it far, and the enemy wouldn't stay in the same confirmed location, so that plan was rejected.

While they were talking, the airship was still under attack. They could call for another airship that was fighting elsewhere, but there was a chance their own ship would be shot down while they were calling for backup.

This airship was made from the rare "World Tree Lumber", and its defense was higher than that of ordinary wood. However, to repair the airship, they needed to use the same material. Since it was a rare material, they couldn't repair it much, which was a drawback.

"I'll provide support, so the two of you get down to the ground and defeat Grinee and the others."

"Esha-chan always says the most unreasonable things."

"If we don't do something unreasonable, we can't beat those two. I'll support you from here, so please jump from here."

"That's beyond unreasonable, you're telling us to die."

"It's fine. Apparently, if you hit the ground with a wind type magic spell just before you land, the air pressure will nullify the fall damage, so you won't die."

"The crucial wind magic is missing. Cecil-chan probably can't use it either, so that plan is rejected."

"I know you can use it. Your skills are a cherry picked composition, aren't they, Noat?"

It was generally said that it was best to have a specialized skill composition. It was so well known that people would say "a jack of all trades is a master of none", and the mainstream composition was to have ten skills at level 100.

However, Noat's skill composition, while having her song type skills at 100, had the remaining points distributed among various other skills. She had hand to hand combat skills, and even had 20 or 30 points in spirit magic type skills.

If Ivan were here, Noat wouldn't have to jump from the airship, but Ivan was on the airship with Lunaria and the others. Since he couldn't fight Amanda yesterday, he said he would search for her on the front lines again today.

The argument between Esha and Noat continued.

In the meantime, the airship was still under attack, so Hayato thought about proposing another plan, but before he could, Cecil stepped between the two of them.

"I got a Phoenix Feather from Ivan, so it's okay if we fall and die!"

Cecil said with a bright smile, and Esha nodded.

"Jump in five seconds. I'll provide support."

"Alright, leave it to me!"

Just as Cecil said that, Noat tried to run away. It was unclear where she planned to escape to on this airship, but her efforts were in vain as Cecil caught her.

Cecil then tucked Noat under his arm. The light had already faded from Noat's eyes, and she was muttering to herself.

Paying her no mind, Cecil ran towards the railing.

Feeling sorry for her, Hayato shouted to Noat to cheer her up.

"I'll make you a Donut Castle today, with extra strawberry flavor!"

"I'll settle for a Donut Big Bang..."

With those parting words, Cecil and Noat jumped from the airship.