Manowa Chapter 261

「Alright, let's go back!!」

Kazane said forcefully.

That wasn't a joke. Kazane had decided to run away.

This time alone, the danger was too great. Fighting monster opponents from an area intended for players over level 100 without preparation was too dangerous. And Jinrai agreed. Personally, Jinrai wanted to fight them, but their opponents were Odan.o.bunagas, which were monsters with high intelligence that gathered in swarms. Jinrai couldn't protect everyone in the party. He thought there was a high possibility of members dying if the vanguard were broken through.

And after immediately deciding to turn back, Kazane and the others mounted Hippomaru-kun and Hippo-kuns High and Clear and instantly fled. No, tried to flee.

「GyaGyaAAAAAA!!!」

However, the group of Eliminator Monkeys attacked Kazane's party when they tried to gallop to the highway. Among the monsters that lived in the Dark Forest, they were a weak type, but that was purely in comparison to the other monsters in the Dark Forest.

「They're monsters as fast as monkeys with strength comparable to Ogres. If you're grabbed, you'll be torn apart.」

Lyle and the others were frightened by Kazane's words, but they were true. Eliminator Monkeys had such high physical strength that it was almost certain they would be torn apart if they were grabbed.

「NUUUuRYaAA!!」

The Cat Knight was leaping around the area and knocking down Eliminator Monkeys one after the other, but he couldn't deal finishing blows to almost any of them. Monsters with levels around as high as dragons were generally tough.

Jinrai's spears were powerful, so they weren't undefeatable, but he couldn't bring them down with a single blow, since dealing with the numbers was more important than killing them. And there were two other active members. They were Yumika's summoned beast, the Demon Wolf Kuromaru, and Tiara's summoned Flame Power. Both had excellent speed, so they were strong enough to battle while keeping up with them.

It was Kuromaru's first battle, and he in particular shook off many of the surrounding monkeys by frequently using Black Bullets and the rushing attack he used in the final showdown against Yumika.

The Flame Power was continually firing flame feathers to support the wolf and Cat Knight. Also, Tatsuo's Mega Beam and Emily's dragon fang steel arrows were piercing through any monsters that approached.

「We'll be out soon.」

Kazane riding the lead Hippomaru-kun said. Yumika behind Kazane seemed worried as she watched Jinrai and the others. But she asked Kazane a question to make sure it was safe now.

「Wouldn't it be better for me to use my G.o.d Wolf Transformation and partic.i.p.ate as well?」

If she used her G.o.d Wolf Transformation, Yumika could keep pace and battle like Jinrai and the others. But Kazane shook her head. If things stayed as they were now, they could probably last until the highway, but

(We're probably already out of time)

She muttered in her mind. As might be expected, Kazane also didn't have any leeway. She was at a disadvantage in the forest, since the Eliminator Monkeys had such a large amount of cover, so she wanted to be out in an open place anyway.

As Kazane was thinking, she heard Yumika's voice resound.

「Kazane, ahead!?」

「Aah, dammit!!」

Kazane sent the Eliminator Monkey approaching from the front flying with Material Shield. There was no need to kill it. Once it fell to the ground, it couldn't catch up with the speed of the horses.

「I can see it!!」

Lyle shouted. Exactly as stated, they could now see the light reaching the ground ahead of them in a place that was different from the forest. Naoki, Emily, Tiara, and Chloe smiled, but Kazane's expression was grim. She had already noticed from their scent. Then Yumika also grit her teeth and strongly squeezed her spear.

「Yumika, it's OK to use your G.o.d Wolf Transformation.」

「So that's how it is? Kuromaru, follow me!!」

Silver light wrapped around Yumika as she jumped off Hippomaru-kun's back. As he responded to the call of his master by following her, Kuromaru's hair was also dyed silver. Then her two subordinate silver wolves also appeared and lined up beside him. Kuromaru was two sizes larger than the silver wolves, so they looked like a parent with his children when they lined up with each other. It seemed that when Yumika used her G.o.d Wolf Transformation, the Demon Wolf transformed into the boss of the pack thanks to his Leadership Skill.

The three silver wolves followed the order of their master Yumika and ran to hunt down their enemy. Then,

『DeCeIVeD, AkEcHi!!!』

Ahead of them were the fastest Odan.o.bunaga type, Odan.o.bunaga Ashigaru.

Kazane moaned when she saw the three Ashigarus, but while they were fast, they were the weakest type of Odan.o.bunaga.

(They were likely told to go ahead to restrain us. The main force is probably following after.)

They had already been trapped. Escaping would be difficult.

Kazane made Hippomaru-kun charge at full speed towards one of the Odan.o.bunaga Ashigarus.

「This ram is made from the Black Rock Dragon's horns!」

The Odan.o.bunaga Ashigaru instantly recognized it as a threat and jumped to evade. An Ashigaru's weapon was its leg strength. But Kazane had already seen through that, so she used the Pa.s.sive Skill『Boost』she acquired not long ago. Compressed air launched Kazane's body, and she instantly closed in on the Ashigaru. The Ashigaru's claws moved towards Kazane, but Kazane repelled them with Material Shield and decided to kick the Ashigal's abdomen with her Dragon Eating Ogre King's Greaves.

『SuPpORt!?』

The Ashigaru screamed in anguish, but it didn't end there. The Fire Boost equipped Draghorn Tonfa was covered in flames as it crashed into the Ashigaru's right claw, pulverizing it. Then using Air Jump, she used her momentum to kick its flank without falling to the ground. And it didn't end there. She continually attacked with kicks, knee strikes, and her tonfas, continually piercing the Ashigaru with her blows. Each time she hit, the power of her blows increased, destroying the Ashigaru's sh.e.l.l. The powered up combo strikes from her Unique Skill『Kick Devil』a.s.saulted the Ashigaru. Every attack from Kazane was covered with a fiery red aura, and the Ashigaru was already trying to retreat from the power of the greaves and tonfas, but it had already lost its vigor and couldn't run away.

And Kazane used Fire Boost and Air Jump together to dance in the air and continue the combo without ever setting foot on the ground.

「Skill! Killing Leegg!!」

Without pause, she used her Active Skill『Killing Leg』to empower the axe kick with her greave's released heel dragon claw for the decider. The Ashigaru's head was instantly pulverized, and the blow created a crater as it sank into the ground.

The maximum attack power increase of『Kick Devil』was reached at 10 attacks. Even though it was close range, that full strength attack rivaled Kazane Neobazooka in power.

One was crushed. Killing one right at the start after they had fallen into a trap was important. But their enemy wasn't a single Ashigaru. They were primarily scouting Odan.o.bunaga. They were unmistakably weaklings sent ahead to prevent them from fleeing.

Then the other members gathered by Kazane as they slipped out of the forest one after the other.

「What? That was an easy win, wasn't it?」

Lyle said as he headed for Kazane, but on the way she moaned.

「... It hurrrrrrrrrts!」

The auto-recovery of Regenerate was insufficient, so Kazane used the superior healing spell High Heal on herself.

「Aneki, what happened?」

Naoki's voice filled with a mix of surprise and anger reached Kazane.

「It aimed for the pauses of my combo rush and sliced me. Ohーit hurrrrts!」

The『Dragon Eating Ogre King's Greaves』that were now practically synonymous with her and the dragon scale equipment she was attired in had higher defense than their appearance suggested. But Kazane relied on that defense instead of her own defensive power to forcibly continue the combo. As a result, she was wounded many times during it.

「Close combat is still difficult. Since I'm not used to it, I absolutely can't be negligent with my defense.」

While saying so, Kazane finally finished healing, and she smelled the horde of monkeys approaching from the forest.

(Even if I do a sweep with Mega Beam, there are elevation differences due to them jumping from tree to tree, so hitting them will be difficult. In that case, waiting for Jinrai-san as is...)

Even if they tried to run away, the monsters might keep chasing them to Jinrai's village, or at least show up in a place where humans lived. In that case, running away was already a bad option. Kazane thought (is there no choice but to do it?) and resolved herself.

「They're coming, Kazaneeee!!」

Jinrai riding on Yuuko-nee shouted while glaring behind him as they jumped out of the forest. Then more than 50 Eliminator Monkeys rushed out. They were spread out across the plain as they approached, and Kazane judged it was a good opportunity when she saw that.

「Yuuko-nee, jump!」

After Kazane spoke, Yuuko-nee jumped. Then Kazane's Mega Beam flashed horizontally.

The Eliminator Monkeys had already descended to the plains, so they were all standing at the same height. Therefore, they were all burned away in one go. The monkeys were attacked by abnormally high heat that stole away many of their lives.

However, even that only dealt with around 30. Some survivors were hidden behind their companions, so they had received non-lethal wounds, and some perceptive monkeys had jumped to avoid. However, the result wasn't bad, considering there were only about 10 uninjured and about 20 injured.

Many trees in the forest behind the monkeys were also sliced and were loudly collapsing, but they didn't have the leeway to worry about that. Jinrai was also already heading to a.s.sist Yumika and the silver wolves, who were dealing with the other two Ashigarus.

Then Kazane discovered the huge pressure that was approaching from the depths of the forest. Information had surely already been transmitted to the Odan.o.bunagas behind by the Toyotomized Eliminator Monkeys. Toyotomized monkeys had a Skill similar to Kazane's Information Link.

「Leave the Ashigarus to Yumika's group. We will exterminate the monkeys before the main force comes!」

Kazane's companions shouted their agreement to her instructions. They had ways to deal with the Eliminator Monkeys alone. Kazane created a Stone Minotaur equipped with full body Black Flame armor and a Black Flame two-handed sword, which she nicknamed『Black Metal Minos』, and she also resummoned the Berserk Ogre.

Tatsuyoshi-kuns Normal and Dragoon also partic.i.p.ated, supporting Lyle and Naoki. Tiara lowered the output of her Flame Power and summoned nine Flame Knights.

A single blow from an Eliminator Monkey hitting a rear guard member was unacceptable. Right now, defensive power took priority over offensive power.

Then, each member entered battle and quickly exterminated the enemies before them.

There's no need to say the result of Yumika and Jinrai's battle against the Ashigarus. Naoki had already mastered the Crystal Dragon horn sword, so he played a considerably active role. He wielded one 2 meter magical sword of fire, which he had shown during the Demon Wolf subjugation, but that was now accompanied by a similar 2 meter magical sword of rainbow-colored light. His weapons had a long reach, and since half of the 2-meter blade was magical, it wasn't heavy, so handling the swords wasn't difficult. In addition, he had become accustomed to the two sword style, and he displayed his ability to subjugate even the high ranking Eliminator Monkey monsters.

However, the threat had already imminently approached. That dreadful blow was fired at the conspicuously active Naoki.

「Naoki, avoid!!!」

Kazane perceived it through『Intuition』and spoke, but Naoki couldn't react. At the same time Naoki sliced and killed the last monkey, he received the sudden blow and flew through the air.

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Summoning Fighter

t.i.tle: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Draghorn Tonfa x2, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Sylphyn Skirt, Plasma Pants, Dragon Eating Ogre King's Greaves, Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, Magic Acc.u.mulator, White Magic Acc.u.mulator, Rainbow Necklace, Rainbow Dragon Ring

Level : 34

Health: 138

Magic Power: 275+420

Strength: 60+20

Agility: 61+14

Endurance: 34

Wisdom : 67

Dexterity : 43

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』『Golden Dusk「Dragon Exclusive」』『Mirror Shield』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Warrior's Memory: Lv2』『Night Vision』『Crushing Blow』『Dog's Sense of Smell: Lv2』『Golem Maker: Lv3』『Rush』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield: Lv2』『Information Link: Lv2』『Optical Camouflage』『High Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Hand Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『St.u.r.dier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Fabricated Coercion』『Stone Minotaur: Lv2』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『s.p.a.ce Expansion』『Pseudo-Silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』『Arms Creation: Black Flame』『Ingredient Connoisseur』『Dragon Pheromone「Dragon」』『Boost』『Monkey's Strong Arm』

Yumika:「People blast off so easily, don't they.」

Kazane:「Uwaaaaaa! Naokiiii!」