Chapter 34

Slash!

Ethan drew his sword and swung it at the charging magical beast.

With the sound of cutting, the body of the giant beetle that had sprouted bronze-colored crystals was cleanly severed.

Fssss...

The beetle's corpse turned into dark gray ash the moment it touched the ground and disappeared cleanly.

What remained on the ground was only a yellow crystal.

Ethan glanced at the traces, then swung his sword again. The target of the following strike that slashed horizontally was a mutated hyena.

Clang! Clang!

While repeatedly striking and taking down magical beasts.

Ethan swept his gaze over the dark battlefield and clicked his tongue with a displeased expression.

'They're endless.'

Though he'd taken down at least five or six magical beasts in one breath, the massive mountain range acted like an absolute ruler mocking the challengers.

As if finding this situation merely amusing, it kept vomiting out magical beasts from its pitch-black maw.

Starting with child-sized beetles, then foxes and boars that had lost their reason, to wild dogs...

"......"

Ethan bit his lips and readjusted his grip on his extended sword.

His mind, having surveyed the battlefield to grasp the current situation, began spinning rapidly to find the optimal strategy.

'If this becomes a simple war of attrition, we'll be the ones to collapse. ...But we can't just run away either.'

They hadn't even properly grasped the enemy's scale, let alone their full strength.

In a situation full of variables that could turn into unfavorable conditions in an instant, moving recklessly would only be foolish.

Slash!

Ethan cut down one more charging magical beast and continued his interrupted thoughts.

'...Contraction and defense. Would maintaining a purely defensive stance while conserving strength until reinforcements arrive be an effective strategy?'

Ethan rolled his eyes and quickly swept over the battle situation.

Sharp blades and magical beasts repeatedly crossed paths, and attacks targeting vital points poured in at the blink of an eye.

It was a situation of striking and receiving without even a moment to catch their breath.

'But when exactly will reinforcements arrive...'

At that moment, at the killing intent that suddenly drew near and sharply pricked his cheek, Ethan whipped his gaze upward.

...This time they're flying in from above?

Ethan gripped his sword hilt tightly and prepared for the enemy's assault.

Whoosh.

But the expected attack didn't come.

With the sound of wind being cut, the air flashed, and bronze-colored fragments fell pattering from above where he'd been looking.

"......"

Ethan turned his eyes to the right, following the continuing trajectory. A nimble figure landed lightly beside him.

"Things got pretty troublesome, huh?"

Despite the urgent situation, a voice that hadn't lost its composure flowed from the person standing beside him.

Ethan glanced at the wheat-colored hair flowing gently under the night view and opened his mouth.

"Lloyd, do you have something to report?"

"Ah, well. I think there was something~."

Slash!

...It was almost simultaneous.

With a sharp cutting sound, sword strikes burst out from Ethan's left and Lloyd's right.

Two wild dogs that had been flying in suddenly were sent tumbling.

"...They said to hold out for an hour."

At Lloyd's reply, Ethan nodded. Their blades swung once more.

A deer with bronze-colored crystals sprouting as horns and a boar with sharpened tusks fell helplessly.

Crack! Thud!

Each time the sword paths crossed through the air, magical beasts fell away like practice wooden dummies.

Shattered crystals became debris and rolled across the road surface.

After cutting down beasts for a while, a brief lull arrived. Lloyd shook off the bodily fluids on his blade and smirked.

"An hour like this. What, it's not even diffi—"

But at that moment.

A sharp roar shook the air.

Grooooar—!

Ethan and Lloyd simultaneously widened their eyes and gripped their sword hilts.

Pressure and killing intent of a different dimension spread pervasively. Their five senses sharpened and warned of danger.

Grrr— Grrrrrr—.

A deep cry of a different dimension from before spread widely over the battlefield.

The presumed epicenter was somewhere close to them.

In the particularly dense bushes at the front, a bit away.

"......"

Ethan and Lloyd swallowed dry saliva while looking ahead.

The hostile presence cut through the air thick with tension and approached rapidly.

Thud!

With footsteps that shook the ground, a bear with a mouth stained bright red appeared, pushing through the bushes.

---

Gurrgle.

Mikhail watched the fist toad that flew away making a strange sound.

The toad was knocked down the instant the egg-sized mana sphere touched it.

As expected, the magical beasts coming to the extreme rear of the convoy were creatures that didn't even deserve to be called magical beasts.

'On the other hand, the front is.'

Mikhail turned his head toward the front of the convoy.

Shouts and metallic sounds were entangled together in a complete pandemonium.

"......"

Mikhail fixed his eyes on the particularly dense bushes on the right.

As soon as he did, a pitch-black silhouette appeared, and a weak tremor was transmitted through the ground.

'The boss of this battle... Karhoo, Tyrant of the Deep Green.'

A violent monster bear that tracked down and killed any opponent it recognized as an enemy to the very end.

While its danger had spread through rumors in the area...

The setting was that since it didn't cause particular harm as long as one didn't invade its territory, no subjugation had been carried out.

'But after becoming a magical beast, the story's different. It lost its reason and wandered around trying to kill anything. ...Plus, if there's one more troublesome point.'

That's when it happened. Karhoo's roar rang out like a trumpeter's advance signal.

Grooooaar!

Along with it, magical beasts much larger and more powerful than before began revealing themselves.

Packs of dire wolves and forest leopards.

Countless individuals slowly walked out from behind as if following Karhoo's lead and surrounded all directions.

Mikhail turned his eyes from the battle situation to look straight ahead.

'But they won't come here.'

Mikhail extended his hand and shot a mana sphere. The charging beetle magical beast tumbled over.

'Currently, Ethan and Lloyd's stats should be sufficient to take down Karhoo. The two of them will handle it on their own.'

Besides the fact that as academy students, they'd performed the training procedures exactly as in the original story.

For Ethan, what happened at the Firefly Cavern, and for Lloyd, obtaining a special item at the tavern, would have acted as their own additional growth factors.

"......"

While everything around was chaotic, only the spot where Mikhail himself stood was as quiet as the eye of a storm.

Mikhail withdrew the hand he'd extended forward.

He was about to return to the carriage where the passengers were, when suddenly, he became absorbed in thoughts creeping up from deep inside.

'But is that really all?'

A chilling wind brushed past the back of his neck again. Mikhail exhaled a finely trembling breath and gripped the reins tightly.

...His heart was pounding violently, as if screaming.

---

Ethan and Lloyd saw the magical beast that appeared right before them.

The giant bear's body had a size and height that easily surpassed the carriage standing behind them.

Grrrrrr!

As soon as a vicious cry rose from the bear's muzzle, voices filled with terror burst out like bamboo shoots after rain.

"That's, could that be... the m-man-eating bear of the Gilteur Mountains?"

"What? Man-eating? Then that guy's the monster Karhoo! ...Haha. I, I can't! I can't do this! Escort or whatever, I'm going to save myself first!"

At the movements of several escorts trying to find an escape route and flee, the formation was instantly engulfed in chaos.

"...Tsk."

Ethan clicked his tongue irritably and stepped back.

As if adding insult to injury, a pack of dire wolves had newly appeared and were surrounding the area.

Each one was an individual with a larger body than average.

'This isn't good.'

Ethan swallowed dry saliva and widened the distance again.

A sound of stepping back one pace also came from the side. The increasingly clear disadvantage pressed heavily on their shoulders.

Tap!

That moment.

Someone from over there shot forward like lightning and rang out a resounding voice.

"Everyone steel your resolve!"

Rose-colored hair whirled like wind.

Ann, who'd rushed to the front, cut down a dire wolf charging recklessly toward the convoy.

Slash!

"This isn't the time to hesitate! Just think about holding your position! We absolutely can't show ourselves crumbling!"

Ann shouted loudly and swung her sword. She quickly cut down another one that had been moving rashly.

...But the irregularity appeared next.

The sword path accurately aimed for the dire wolf's vital point, but the blade was blocked by a bronze-colored crystal that suddenly sprouted and bounced away.

Clang!

At the heavy recoil, Ann's arm bent back sharply and her weak body was exposed defenseless.

The opposing dire wolf didn't miss this golden opportunity.

As if it had been waiting, it opened its mouth wide to reveal sharp fangs and charged toward the prey before its eyes.

"Kugh!"

In the critical situation, Ann desperately twisted her body.

Even if injury was certain, she at least had to avoid a fatal wound.

Clang!

But the situation Ann had prepared for didn't follow.

Crack.

Joan, who'd rushed in instantly, blocked Ann's front and thrust her sword straight forward.

The extended blade sharply stabbed between the dire wolf's teeth.

Grrrrr!

The dire wolf that had taken Joan's sword strike head-on leaped back and retreated.

Red blood dripped along with saliva from its mouth.

"You okay?"

Joan glanced back at Ann behind her and asked.

Ann blinked with a bewildered expression but soon smiled while curving the corners of her mouth.

Ann nodded toward Joan and raised her fallen body.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Ethan withdrew his gaze that had been watching the two and looked ahead.

Just as Ann had shouted, now wasn't the time to think complicatedly or weigh conditions.

Doing so would only break their morale as they fell into a sense of defeat.

Right now, a mindset focused solely on blocking the magical beasts before their eyes was sufficient.

Grooooar!

A sharp roar shook the night sky.

The magical beasts, having finished their probing phase, began charging toward the convoy without hesitation.

Groooowl.

The giant bear standing close by also drew out a vicious cry long, then approached dragging its heavy body.

Bronze-colored crystals jutted out jaggedly over its drooping arms. Its forepaws swung around as if they were maces.

"...M-mom. I'm scared."

"Oh God, please have mercy..."

Trembling voices leaked from the carriage behind them.

Listening to the small voices devoured by fear, Ethan bit his lips hard and gathered his resolve.

Ethan whipped his head to the side.

Lloyd seemed absorbed in gauging the magical beast pack's strength, still narrowing his eyes while sweeping over the battle situation.

"Lloyd!"

Ethan called out loudly.

When Lloyd snapped to attention and met his eyes, Ethan spoke in a resolute voice.

"Let's hold out. Somehow."