Chapter 108: Battle Erupts
"Yui, are there any guys spying on us nearby?"
"Doesn't look like it, Daddy."
"I see. Then we really don't need to worry about being chased midway."
"Then let's move ahead without any hesitation."
"Alright, let's go meet up with Yukino and the others. Let's go, you two."
Hachiman said this to the two, but Leafa remained still, tilting her head while operating her window.
"Hmm? Leafa, what's wrong?"
"Well... I tried messaging Recon a few times for new intel, but he hasn't replied at all."
"Maybe he logged off to rest?"
"Ugh... his status still shows he's in the game..."
"That is a bit concerning, but we'll just have to wait for Recon to contact us."
"You're right... oh well, let's get going."
"Yeah."
The three gave up trying to contact Recon and entered the Lugrue Corridor.
"Hachiman, you handle rear surveillance. Leafa, since you're our guide, you take the lead."
"If monsters appear, let's try to one-shot them."
"Leafa, Kirito—I'll leave that part to you."
"Got it."
"Anyway, the monsters around here aren't that strong."
According to Leafa's intel, the monsters in the area should be easy to deal with, but Hachiman still wanted to avoid combat as much as possible, so he asked Yui about nearby enemy presence.
"Yui, are there many monsters around us?"
"Nope, Daddy. Looks like almost all of them have already been hunted."
"You can sense enemies even through walls?"
"Yep, no problem at all."
"Could it have been Yukino and her team that cleared them? Leafa, how many monsters are normally around here?"
"Hmm... definitely not a number that just four parties could wipe out."
"...What?"
Hearing that, Hachiman felt an ominous premonition.
"Something bothering you?"
"Leafa, with your experience, how many players would it take to reduce the enemy population this much?"
"Yui-chan, you said there are zero enemies around us right now? What's your range?"
"Yep... my sensing range is about 100 meters."
"A hundred meters in this kind of terrain with no enemies... feels like it'd take more than ten parties to achieve that... Ah!"
Leafa suddenly realized what Hachiman meant.
"Exactly. The Fire Sprites' large-scale force is on the move. If your sense is correct, it's an army of over ten parties."
"But would they really mobilize that many just to deal with seven of us?"
"No matter how scary Yukino is, this is definitely overkill."
"Something's off. If there are no monsters, we don't need to be cautious. Let's speed up and meet with Yukino quickly."
The three picked up the pace and started running. After a bit, Leafa said they were close to the lake, and at the same time, Yui sensed Yukino and the others. Following Yui's guidance, they successfully reunited with the group of four, who were hiding using magic.
"Sorry, did we keep you waiting?"
"No, actually, you're a lot earlier than expected."
"Because we didn't run into any monsters."
"What?"
"Yukino, didn't you encounter any monsters?"
"We did a few times. After scouting the bridge, we've been hiding here. Maybe reinforcements passed through or something... sorry, I should've observed more carefully."
"How many enemies are on the bridge?"
"About thirty people when I last checked."
"Leafa suspects there might be more than ten squads involved."
"+..."
Yukino was unusually at a loss for words, showing a flustered expression.
"If that's true, it could exceed a hundred people in total."
"But it's unlikely they're all lying in ambush. It's clearly excessive force."
"True. Even though we don't know why they're deploying such a large-scale force, let's focus on the enemies in front of us."
Hachiman nodded and began confirming the situation with Yukino.
"Can we launch a surprise attack?"
"Not possible. The terrain only allows a frontal breakthrough."
"I see... Kirito, Leafa, you tired from the journey?"
"I'm fine, Hachiman."
"Me too. Ready to fight anytime."
"Got it. Then let's head out now."
"Yeah!"
"Hachiman, do your best!"
"Yui-chan, in the game you should call him Hachiman. You need to get used to that."
"Uh-huh!"
"Big bro, hurry up!"
"Senpai, keep up!"
"O-Okay, you guys have really become battle-hungry..."
"Everyone's growing up."
"Even if the direction's a little off... whatever, let's move!"
The seven walked proudly toward the bridge. Their formation: frontline center was Yui, left and right flanks were Kirito and Leafa; middle line had Yukino and Iroha; with Hachiman and Komachi protecting the wings.
Soon, the thirty-man Fire Sprite unit appeared on the bridge.
"Yukino, should we probe first or go straight to attacking?"
"Better to gather intel. I'll go talk since I'm the famous one."
"If someone like me, a no-name, spoke, it wouldn't have any weight. Say whatever you want."
"Got it. I'll make good use of my title this time."
"Are you okay with that? Don't you hate that title?"
"Having an effective tool and not using it because of feelings is just stupid."
"Haha, that's so you. Go get 'em."
Yukino stepped forward confidently and declared her name:
"Nice to meet you, Fire Sprites. I'm Yukino, known as 'Absolute Zero.'"
"What an honor. I'm Kagezong, one of the Fire Sprite commanders."
"I thought you'd just ambush us. So this was an ambush?"
"Yes, unfortunately, that's the case."
"Trying to make a name for yourself by beating 'Absolute Zero'? But bringing this many people will just lower your reputation, no?"
"For fame, a fair fight would be better, that's true."
"Don't you feel ashamed surrounding a group of women?"
"Though I can't argue with that, we have our reasons."
'He's calmer than expected... 'reasons,' huh? Let's probe a bit more.'
"As you know, I'm just a weak healer. I don't have the power to turn the tide like General Eugene. Blocking my path doesn't benefit you, does it?"
"I'm just following orders. I don't know the details."
Kagezong clearly refused to be drawn into Yukino's line of questioning.
"I see. No time to play along with your delay tactics. Looks like this doesn't bode well for you guys."
"So you saw through our stalling from the start... then we won't hold back.
Even though your team plus Leafa is tough, we've prepared countermeasures.
Those two unknown men are no threat. Even if we can't kill you, we'll buy time."
"How ignorant... you'll regret underestimating them after you die and respawn."
Kagezong silently raised his right hand and swung it down.
Behind him, fully armored, dual-shield-wielding Fire Sprites appeared.
"A full defense unit to buy time? I'm even more curious now why you're trying so hard to stop us. Everyone, let's bring the hammer down on these fools!"
At Yukino's words, the Hachiman squad responded with a resounding "Yeah!"
and got into formation.
Thus began the Battle on the Lake Bridge in the Lugrue Corridor, a nightmare to some.