kscans

Chapter 470 - Interest in Strength

The battle with the clan "Cretaceous" began.

Cretaceous, which prided itself on being the strongest tamer clan, must not have expected a raid on their base, because their initial counterattack failed.

They seemed to have prepared countermeasures for the likely rival clan "Highway Star", but they appeared to have none for the clan "Cats are God".

According to Orion, it wasn't that they didn't know "Cats are God" was here, but that they knew and simply didn't prepare. "Cats are God" was considered the weakest clan on Cat Island in terms of combat power. Orion's guess was that they had been complacent, thinking they wouldn't be attacked.

But they were still a major clan with the strongest pets, dinosaurs. Even if their initial defense failed, they gradually regained their footing and turned the tables.

They seemed to have set a fair number of traps on the ground as a countermeasure against Highway Star, but the overgrown treetops and the sky were open for movement. The same was true for "Cats are God", but under the same conditions, Cretaceous had the upper hand in terms of strength.

When they deployed a large number of flying Pteranodons, agile Deinonychus moving through the treetops, and historically accurate, massive Triceratops, the tide of battle quickly turned against them.

The "Cats are God" players launched magic attacks, the dinosaurs' weakness, through their pets, but it wasn't enough to stop them, and they gradually began to retreat.

However, they had expected this. They knew they couldn't win in a straightforward battle.

The clan "Cats are God" had fortified their base to be strong on defense, so the plan was to fight there. And as a contingency in case their base fell, they had also arranged to store the catnip at Parfait's group's base.

The plan seemed to have worked perfectly, as the Cretaceous players pursued the retreating "Cats are God" members, intent on finishing them off.

This was where Parfait's group came in.

They would raid the now-weakened Cretaceous base. There would still be players defending it, but with the main force headed towards the "Cats are God" base, they calculated that Parfait's group alone was strong enough to win.

"Alright, once Chris-chan and the others get back, we'll put the plan into action."

Orion said with a smile, and Parfait's group nodded.

Currently, Chris and Trachiyo, camouflaged to their surroundings, were scouting the base. The battle would begin as soon as they returned.

Less than ten seconds later, Chris returned. She was camouflaged so well that it seemed like she appeared out of nowhere, startling everyone. What's more, Trachiyo also had some camouflage-like leaves on her, and even Parfait didn't notice until she was right next to her.

"They're spread thin now. I've disarmed the traps on the way and unbarred the entrance. No lookouts, either. We can get in and wreak havoc right away."

"...Isn't that more infiltration than scouting?"

"You could say that. I would have preferred a bit more of a challenge... but it seems things end too easily when I do as my father taught me."

(What in the world is Gil-san teaching Chris-chan...?)

Parfait wondered, but decided it was fine and stopped thinking about it. She quickly shifted gears and entered combat mode.

"Alright, let's go. I'm bringing out my secret weapon, Bastet-chan, to run wild this time...!"

Bastet, the pet cat named after a god, which they had seen during the battle with the Elder Griffon Lancelot. It was a pet even rarer than Snow White, a rare cat that only Orion was said to have successfully tamed. It seemed he had decided to deploy her now.

According to Orion, "A trump card isn't a trump card if you keep it hidden forever." It was a trump card meant to be used, and so it was time for the debut of the pet he had carefully raised in secret from other clans.

Parfait was secretly fired up, determined not to let such a debut end in defeat. Trachiyo was in a similar situation, and she was brimming with motivation to make their two pets' PvP debut a victorious one.

Parfait's group headed to the Cretaceous base, and just as Chris had said, there was a door at what looked like a back entrance. The bar was removed, and it opened easily.

Just as the information from Rick had indicated, the base was surrounded by a wooden wall enclosing a lake. They had skillfully used the jungle trees to create a huge wooden wall, making it a natural fortress to prevent enemy intrusion. Of course, it had several entrances and exits.

In the initial raid, they had attacked from the front, but Parfait's group would attack from what seemed to be the back entrance.

According to Rick, he had also bought the information about the back entrance from the clan "Raven". Parfait silently retorted, just how much information do they have?

They infiltrated the base from the back, but the Cretaceous players still hadn't noticed them, even though they were nearby.

"Alright then—"

Just as Orion was about to say, "Let's run wild," Chris had somehow already gotten behind an enemy player and taken them down with a chokehold. Hand-to-hand combat skills certainly had such moves, but the fluid assassination, like something out of a movie, made everyone recoil.

"Perhaps because this is virtual reality, they can't sense my presence?"

Chris said, as she silently dragged the fallen player and hid them behind some cover.

"...Are Chris-chan's parents assassins or something? Or maybe special ops agents who infiltrate enemy hideouts alone and wipe them out?"

"No, I don't think so... Oh, maybe it's a technique from the Assassin Guild, since she's a member?"

"I doubt they'd teach real techniques... Oh well. Let's run wild!"

As Orion said that, he immediately sent Bastet charging into the center of the base. Then he fired a bullet from his gun that left a trail of red smoke. This was an attack command for Bastet, but it also had a smokescreen effect.

Someone from Cretaceous noticed and yelled, "Enemy attack!" but they were too confused to mount a proper defense. The pets, being AI, automatically counterattacked, but the players had to fight with their own volition and seemed to be panicking from the sudden assault.

This part feels real even though it's virtual reality, Parfait thought leisurely as she closed in at high speed and cut down a player with her Beelzebub.

What she was doing was exactly like a bandit, but this was a game, so she showed no mercy. Her mentor Benitsuru's teaching was that once you decide to do something, you should cut without hesitation.

Normally, she wouldn't be able to defeat players from a major clan so easily, but tamers had the weakness of being personally weak even if their pets were strong. There were types like Parfait who only had the minimum taming skills and also fought, but the majority of tamers were weak themselves. That's why even Parfait, who was new to AFO and didn't have maxed skills, could win.

Parfait understood this well and targeted the players, not their dinosaur pets. Wilnel, who was also said to be quite strong in real life, was targeting the players as well. As for Chris, it went without saying.

Natsu, Ginny, and Abel were fighting the dinosaurs with necromancy, spirit magic, and curse magic. Rick was acting as a tank, protecting the three of them so they wouldn't draw aggro.

They fought under these conditions, and although the players were on defense, some of them also had production roles and were quite weak. There were some players who could fight in coordination with their pets, but they still weren't a threat, and Parfait's group defeated them with overwhelming strength.

Normally, players could resurrect at their base, but there was a system where players defeated within their base couldn't resurrect for a certain period, so the number of players gradually dwindled.

Just as Parfait thought this would be an easy win, her body moved on its own.

A high-pitched sound, so sharp it surprised even Parfait, rang out.

The moment she wondered what happened, she understood the situation. She had parried an attack that had come suddenly from the air, from behind, with a quick-draw slash.

(That was close! It was the kind of attack my master would do, so my body just reacted...)

In her training with Benitsuru, attacks would always come suddenly from a state of no presence. Parfait was skilled enough to defend against even that, but this time was almost a fluke. That's how fast it had been.

Parfait took a slow breath and looked up at the sky. Then she fixed her gaze on her attacker.

A Tyrannosaurus riding a pterosaur—or rather, a player in a Tyrannosaurus costume. It was Deeger, the leader of Cretaceous, whom Orion had told her about.

However, the surreal sight made Parfait feel completely unmotivated. It was indeed a realistic Tyrannosaurus costume, but just like the real thing, its front legs were short, so he was just holding the lance. It would be difficult to swing it, and with that, he could only charge.

"I thought something was fishy since Orion wasn't here, but to think you'd use such a cowardly trick...! If you're a man, face me head-on!"

Deeger said, pointing the tip of his lance at Orion.

"Are you picking a fight with me!? I'm a woman!"

"Mmm, right you are, my apologies... Even if you're a woman, face me head-on!"

So passionate, despite being in a costume. Those weren't the words of someone who had just attacked Parfait from behind, but his strength was real. Parfait understood that better than anyone.

A fighting style that seemed to completely discard everything else in favor of a high-speed lance charge. Parfait guessed he was either a passionate person or a single-minded type.

Orion and Deeger were still engaged in a war of words. Parfait thought for a moment, then turned her Beelzebub into a gun and fired at Deeger.

It was a straightforward attack, so Deeger easily dodged it by turning. He was in the middle of a conversation with Orion, but he stopped and turned to face Parfait.

"A girl in a habit swinging a sword and firing a gun... You're Parfait, ranked one hundredth, aren't you?"

"I'm not sure what to think of you remembering me like that, but yes, I'm Parfait. That last attack was amazing, so would you mind fighting me one-on-one? You can stay on your mount, of course."

"...Interesting! This isn't a battle for ranks, but I approve of your spirit in wanting to decide who is stronger! I accept your challenge!"

Parfait didn't particularly want to decide who was stronger. She just wanted to fight. She always had the desire to use the swordsmanship she had learned to its fullest.

And that last attack had been on the same level as her master, Benitsuru. She was curious to see just how strong an opponent who could deliver such an attack was.

"Alright everyone, stay out of this."

Parfait said to the others, then turned her right side to her opponent, holding the scabbard of her Beelzebub 666 Replica P-Custom with her left hand.