Vol. 3 Chapter 44 - Stampede Part 4

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“Visual confirmation of the horde of monsters!”

 

The Holy Knights and adventurers were trembling at the sight of the approaching horde of monsters.

 

They had known beforehand that a considerable number of monsters were coming, but when they actually saw them, they were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.

 

“Alright? For now, focus on reducing their numbers! There’s also a plan to defeat the commanding individuals, but be aware that they might be affected by Monster Attraction Perfume! Don’t assume that this stampede will end just because you’ve defeated the commanding individuals!”

 

It was while Mueller was giving the final instructions to the knights and adventurers before the monsters made contact.

 

“W-What is this!?”

 

“A-A corpse?”

 

“Ah!”

 

Suddenly, corpses appeared among the people who were forming their formations.

 

“Calm down! We’ll figure out why they appeared later! For now, let’s quickly get rid of them!”

 

While reassuring the panicked knights and adventurers and attempting to remove the corpses, the corpses exploded without warning.

 

“Ahh!”

 

“Gah!”

 

The humans holding the corpses were thrown back by the recoil, but there were no serious injuries, and they were trying to figure out what had happened.

 

“T-This is…”

 

“This smell… Monster Attraction Perfume!”

 

“W-What!?”

 

(What on earth… The person who orchestrated this must have a seriously twisted personality. If this continues, even if we escape, the monsters will keep chasing us.)

 

Mueller frowned at the maliciousness of it all.

 

She had considered resorting to a siege defense if they couldn’t intercept them all.

 

However, if they were marked with this scent, the monsters would likely try to force their way through the gate even if they entered the city.

 

(Ant’s presence is troublesome. Even if the gate isn’t broken, they might dig holes and infiltrate from underground.)

 

Mueller gave up on the idea of a siege defense halfway through and chose to end everything here, even though it would be a tough fight.

 

Leto had only thought of it as mere harassment, but it turned out to be an unexpected brilliant play.

 

“Everyone, brace yourselves! It’s going to be a long battle!”

 

“Yes!”

 

“The one who set this up is quite cunning and clever! Anticipate that there may be other traps and be cautious!”

 

(It’s probably not the Demon Lord, but rather the work of humans. I didn’t think monsters would get their hands on Monster Attraction Perfume. In that case, who drew up this plan? I heard that this city, while having conflicts among merchants, is free from power struggles.)

 

Mueller tried to identify the culprit while fighting, but since they weren’t from this city, there was little detailed information.

 

Provisionally, he ruled out the possibility of the Demon Lord and considered it a human act.

 

Although there had been humanoid monsters throughout history, there had never been ones that looked completely human.

 

If they had known that monsters that could easily enter human cities existed, things might have been different.

 

But I doubt the Demon Lord watching this battle would allow that.

 

“Damn it! How many of them are there! This is ridiculous!”

 

“If you have time to talk, just keep slashing! Reduce their numbers even a little!”

 

“Yeah! Yeah! I got it!”

 

Two hours had passed since the battle began.

 

There were already casualties, and although they had reduced their numbers considerably, the situation was gradually turning against them.

 

“Kuh! Fireball!”

 

Mueller used magic in between sword strikes.

 

She had been conserving his magic power, anticipating a long battle, but the situation was becoming too dire to continue doing so.

 

“Those who are injured, step back for now! Receive healing magic from my subordinates!”

 

Among magic spells, healing magic was quite rare.

 

Nevertheless, since the Schwerpenia Holy Kingdom was an old and large nation, several knights had been assigned to it.

 

Leto thought it wasn’t unusual since Kitsune had learned it early on, but in reality, having three people in a city was a decent level.

 

(I want to somehow break through this situation… But there are still too many of them to make a move.)

 

The Orcs and Ogres were rampaging at the forefront with their massive bodies, while the Ants, coordinated by the Queen, attacked in unison.

 

Every time an Ogre swung its arm, people were sent flying, and then the ants swarmed in.

 

Initially, the Ogre had crushed the ants in retaliation for having its prey taken away, but now it was ignoring them.

 

(I want to go and restrain the Ogre, but if I do that, the monsters’ extermination power will decrease. What should I do?)

 

An endless battle leads to a decrease in motivation.

 

While the Holy Knights managed to endure it, the adventurers were reaching their limit.

 

“Damn it! He’s done for! Fall back behind!”

 

“We don’t have time for that!”

 

They had to be prepared to make considerable sacrifices.

 

Mueller was about to make a ruthless decision.