kscans

Chapter 68 - The Second Half

Hayato watched Ash and the others from the top of the fortress.

Ash was in the center, with Lunaria to his left and Mist to his right. A little behind them was Relic, and further back were Diite, Esha, and Ren.

There was no movement from the enemy side. They had defeated two front-liners and one mid-guard, so the enemy had seven people. Their side had eight, since Maris and Lancelot were defeated, but since Hayato couldn't fight, their numbers were even.

Ash's group entered the enemy's territory. But still, no one from the enemy side came out. Then Esha's group also entered the enemy's territory.

Hayato heard voices through the voice chat.

"Then I shall take my position here. From this spot, the entire field is within my attack range."

"In that case, I shall also remain here and guard Esha. If anything happens to Diite-sama or Ren-sama, I will use Shukuchi to protect them."

Esha and Relic took up their positions just inside the enemy's territory. From their spot in the center of the field, they could attack in all directions.

Suddenly, Ash stopped walking and looked toward Esha.

"Esha, how long until you can fire Destroy?"

"It will be impossible for another fifteen minutes."

"If you get the chance, take out the barbarian or the one in black robes. It's impossible to whittle those two down."

"Understood. If you can hold them in place, I will fire."

Ash nodded at Esha's words and then continued walking toward the enemy fortress.

Immediately, the barbarian and the black-robed person emerged from the fortress. They instantly used Shukuchi and appeared in front of Esha and Relic. The barbarian was in front of Esha, the black-robed person in front of Relic.

Esha immediately leaped to her left, rolling across the ground. As she regained her footing, she knelt on one knee and fired her Beelzebub at the barbarian. And it was rapid fire.

Using a giant axe called a labrys like a shield, the barbarian blocked the attack.

Esha continued to fire relentlessly.

Since Beelzebub was a magic gun, it didn't need to be reloaded, but it consumed magic power to fire. While attacking, Esha held a bottle of Melon Juice in her left hand, removed the cork with her mouth, spat it out, and immediately began to drink.

Relic was fighting the man in black robes, so it seemed difficult for him to protect Esha, but Esha herself seemed to be managing somehow.

"Change of plans! Lunaria, protect Esha's group! Mist and I will go for the Clan Stone! The rest of you, target the one in black robes!"

As Ash shouted, he and Mist ran toward the enemy fortress. On the way, Mist alone transformed into a giant bat and flew into the sky. She was heading directly for the fortress roof.

Esha's rapid fire stopped. She had been firing while recovering magic power, but the consumption was greater, and her MP had hit bottom. Seeing this, the barbarian moved toward Esha at high speed. And he raised his axe.

"I won't let you."

Lunaria appeared in front of Esha. She held Arondight horizontally and received the barbarian's axe. There was a fierce sound of metal clashing, but there was no damage.

"Esha-chan, run."

Esha nodded and, while drinking Melon Juice, put distance between herself and the barbarian.

Immediately after, Lunaria swung the black-bladed Arondight at high speed. It wasn't just one attack. A high-speed flurry of blows assaulted the barbarian.

Once again, the barbarian was forced to defend.

But the barbarian quickly created distance. And at a considerable speed, he headed for Hayato's fortress.

Relic prepared to use Shukuchi to pursue him, but the black-robed person threw a Low Kick and stopped him.

Esha also attacked the barbarian, but she couldn't fix her aim on his high-speed movement, and her attacks missed.

In the blink of an eye, the barbarian was closing in on the fortress.

(This is bad. I'm the only one in the fortress.)

In a few more seconds, the barbarian would arrive at this fortress. He was undoubtedly aiming for the Clan Stone. If he destroyed it, they would win, no matter the situation. If Hayato tried to interfere with the destruction, he would be defeated in one blow. Even if he could buy time, it would only be for a few seconds.

"Esha-san, please aim at me! Hayato-san, prepare the tomato juice!"

He understood from Mist's voice chat. Hayato prepared the tomato juice and moved closer to the coffin.

Esha threw away yet another bottle of Melon Juice and took aim at Mist, who was returning from the enemy fortress. Then she fired three consecutive Critical Shots into Mist.

With that attack, Mist vanished into particles of light, but ashes appeared in the coffin in the fortress.

Hayato quickly poured tomato juice onto the ashes.

Just as the barbarian arrived on the roof, Mist was resurrected.

"I didn't know vampires had a trick like that. Does that mean if I destroy the coffin, you can't resurrect?"

"I will not allow such a thing. Bedding of this quality is a rare find, you see."

Mist drank Dragon Blood. Its main use was as a medium for special magic, but when a vampire drinks it, their stats are greatly enhanced. Furthermore, it was now night. Mist was at her strongest.

Mist gracefully drew her rapier and pointed its tip at the barbarian. She usually fought bare-handed or by ramming opponents in her bat form, but now she held the rapier with an elegant demeanor.

And in the next moment, the sound of metal clashing rang out three times almost simultaneously. It was the rapier's weapon skill, Triple Strike. A high-speed three-stage thrust, but the opponent blocked all of it.

"Impressive."

"You as well."

And so, the battle between Mist and the barbarian began.

(I'll just have to try not to get in the way.)

Hayato thought this and moved away from the two of them. He stayed near the Clan Stone just in case, but he probably wouldn't be of any use.

And on the field, the situation was changing in various ways.

Ash had entered the enemy's fortress.

Hayato couldn't see the situation, but he knew that some kind of battle had begun.

And on the field, the black-robed person and Relic were fighting.

In a one-on-one fight, Relic couldn't win, but now Lunaria, Ren, and Diite were nearby. And there was also Esha's supporting fire. With their support, Relic had no chance of losing.

Furthermore, Ren's curse magic was now eating away at the black-robed person. It was depleting his HP at a considerable rate. The man in black robes drank a high-quality Elixir, but his recovery couldn't keep up.

Even if he tried to escape with Shukuchi, everyone was nearby, leaving him nowhere to run. The man in black robes simply turned into particles of light and disappeared.

"Should you not be returning to defend your base? The one in black robes has been defeated, you know?"

"I didn't think you'd take him down too. Now, what to do..."

They were both moving so fast that it seemed they wouldn't have the luxury to talk, but Mist and the barbarian were conversing as they fought.

Esha and the others began to head toward the fortress. With no enemies left on the field, Hayato figured they would enter the fortress and aim for the Clan Stone.

Remaining in the fortress were two mid-guard and three rear-guard members. They were attacking with bows from the top of the fortress, but they were not much of a threat. They should be able to enter the fortress without any problems.

His thinking was not wrong, and everyone except Esha entered the opponent's fortress.

For some reason, Esha was outside drinking Melon Juice. And when she finished, she knelt on one knee near the entrance of the enemy fortress, facing east, where there was nothing but the north side of the fortress, and aimed her Beelzebub.