Episode 14

“This area was the ambush site! High chance monsters are lurking nearby. Fortify your guard and advance with caution!”

Simon issued orders to the soldiers. He split the detachment in two, checking all directions as they moved bit by bit.

Breeze Weasels were basically docile monsters, but their territorial instincts were extremely strong. If their territory was threatened, they bared their fangs without hesitation.

It was possible the villagers had been attacked not only because of food, but because human and monster ranges overlapped.

“Enough—ready positions, everyone!”

If territorial instincts were strong, they would deliberately use that. Rather than risk taking a hit, they would strike first.

“Sound round, fire!”

A shrill tone rang out over the Nordan Plains. They revealed their position and took a hostile action. If anything was lurking nearby, it should respond.

“…Huh? Whoa!”

Something slammed into a soldier’s raised shield. It caused no damage, but it was unmistakably an attack with intent.

“Front, ten o’clock! Breeze Weasel sighted!”

Reacting to the sound round, a Breeze Weasel appeared and, by way of greeting, launched a small wind spell attack, Sonic Shot.

“Hold the line! Don’t get careless. Make them cast, and locate their position!”

The ground was covered in grasses and brush, giving the monsters perfect camouflage. Rather than attack rashly and get hit, they would stick to defense and wait for their chance. Once they fixed the location, they would annihilate the pack at once.

Spells flew in from every angle—front, flanks, rear. As expected, the monsters coordinated their magic attacks.

(The power is low. Given time, they’ll be the ones to wear down.)

There was no need to rush. They would make the enemy waste mana and read their attack patterns. Protected by other soldiers, Simon carried out his analysis methodically.

(Second squad looks fine too. This might work.)

“…Captain? I’m seeing a couple of Breeze Weasels glowing over there.”

Behind the individuals that kept casting, two Breeze Weasels were shrouded in a rainbow aura.

“Glowing? …Don’t tell me—Unison Link⁉︎”

A particularly strong flash flared—then a spell fired the next instant. A wind bullet stronger than Sonic Shot—Air Bullet—blew a soldier off his feet, shield and all.

“Ryan! Damn…! Mars, cover him—don’t let a gap open!”

“—! Captain, here it comes again!”

A different pair fell into coordination, and another Air Bullet blasted a different soldier away.

“Monsters using a Unison Link⁉︎ …Impossible. What is going on?”

Unison Link was one of the tactics in the game’s battle system.

By combining techniques and spells, you could unleash more powerful attacks, even elevating lower-tier magic into higher-tier forms. There were even special moves usable only via Unison Link, so many players had experimented to discover new combos.

(Even if it is a Unison Link, why are they still casting? Mana should be finite.)

He had built the plan assuming a pack of around ten. However they disrupted the formation, no creature could cast forever; mana had limits.

Yet there was no sign of their attacks slackening. If anything, they were more intense than at the start.

“The other squad can’t hold formation at this rate!”

(At some point, we got surrounded. Are they actually running operations…?)

“…No helping it. Temporary retreat.”

He decided to pull back, but they could not fall back as intended. They had to protect the wounded while dealing with spells from every direction, and the varying tempo of attacks gradually outpaced their responses.

(This is bad. At this rate—)

As Simon fretted and searched for options, an arrogant voice cut in.

“What is this nonsense? What is this disgrace?”

Before they knew it, all the soldiers were encircled by walls of ice.

“This is magic? From Zeke-sama…?”

“Are your eyes just for show? Or has your brain gone soft?”

Even in the middle of a battlefield, Zeke’s attitude was as imperious as ever, and the soldiers were wrong-footed by it. Some sagged in relief, legs giving way.

“It’s dangerous! Please fall back!”

“Is that a new form of self-deprecation? Try looking properly at your own situation.”

Pinned down by the monsters’ fierce barrage, Simon and the others could only close their mouths.

“Vermin shouldn’t swarm. It’s irritating.”

Zeke (Hiroto) began constructing a spell.

Hiroto had been watching from a distance. He had not hung back out of concern for his own safety. He had used the soldiers as bait to broadly pinpoint the monsters’ hiding places.

“I’ll drag you cowards into the open. Keep your mouths shut and watch. —Frozen Geyser.”

Across a wide area, pillars of ice erupted from the earth. A mid-tier ice spell evoked a field of icy blowholes.

The launched monsters were thrown into the air and fell. On the ground lay a considerable number of wounded Breeze Weasels.

“…What ‘pack,’ my ass. This is a colony.”

Nearly thirty Breeze Weasels sprawled across the field. The detachment gasped—the number was more than double their initial estimate. It seemed the reason the spells had never run out was sheer numbers.

“…! Hey, look at that.”

“What the hell…?”

Beyond the area Zeke (Hiroto) had struck, more Breeze Weasels appeared—easily more than fifty.

The bill had come due for years of neglecting maintenance.

For a while the Breeze Weasels did not move, and then a change passed through them: every individual became wrapped in rainbow light.

“Hey, hey, hey… You’ve got to be kidding!”

“The others are still down. Are they going to blow their own comrades away⁉︎”

“This is bad! Everyone, get clear!”

—Delta Storm.

A baleful, shadow-tinged tempest swallowed the entire area.