In general, most monsters in this world will not attack humans unless they enter their territory.
In particular, monsters that have mutated from animals, although they have become more aggressive, still retain the habits of their original animals and live in groups within their own territories.
Of course, there are cases where a stray male that has been expelled from the herd goes out to establish a new territory and attacks any village settlements it finds, and in such cases, monster exterminators, also known as adventurers, come into play.
Horned rabbits are also monsters that live in groups, but the strong males, the leaders, monopolize the females, leaving the weaker males to wander alone without mates. Those were the ones that the slum kids and I hunted. All worlds are harsh on weak men...
Apparently, in this world, I didn't encounter characters like a demon king who leads monsters and plans to conquer the world, or a hero who travels to defeat him. When I asked the question, "Where is the demon king?", Wes was stunned.
So there are no hordes of monsters led by demonic commanders attacking human cities. If such a world existed, fighting monsters would be the job of defenders, not exterminators like adventurers. Just like in medieval Earth, the greatest enemies of humans in this world are other humans or the plague.
Monsters that have mutated from animals are simply ferocious and formidable creatures, and as long as you don't carelessly intrude on their territory, they pose no threat.
However, there are exceptions to this rule.
This phenomenon occurs frequently: a stampede of monsters becomes abnormally excited and loses all sense of reason, running in a continuous, endless line, destroying everything in its path.
The reason for this is unclear, and many theories have been proposed, such as that the monsters no longer fit in the dungeons and are seeking new fertile lands, or that when a group reaches a certain size, it often heads for the sea to attempt suicide in order to control its population. It is possible that there are simply various causes.
The only thing that can be said is that monsters in a state of stampede are the embodiment of destructive desires that ravage without regard for their own lives, and these monsters will attack in groups of dozens at a time.
And now, more than 30 large-horned rabbits were about to hit our carriage, kicking up dusty mud.
I was once told that if I ever encountered a stampede, I should hide in the shadows or climb a large tree, pray to God, and hope that, by a stroke of luck, it would pass me by. If God hears me, he might save me.
Running away is unthinkable; humans have no way of escaping wild animals whose vital functions have been unleashed and are out of control. The only way to deal with this is to hide. Even if it's a horned rabbit, the level of danger in a stampede is multiplied several times over.
But in this case...
Everyone, listen up! We're going to face the rabbits now!
"Understood!!"
Deabolica pointed her right hand at the herd of giant rabbits and gave an order, and the adventurers nodded in unison.
The swordsman and scout will split into two groups and provoke them! The mage will hide in the carriage and begin to resist! Once they separate, we will defeat them one by one with attack magic. If we hide in the carriage, it will be more difficult for them to detect our reaction.
•|Magic a beam of light in the middle
I will raise a barrier toward the center to prevent them from advancing in a straight line and help split them to the left and right! The decoy forces will not insist on maintaining the front line, but will retreat if the situation becomes dangerous. Does anyone have any questions? All right, let's get started!
"Let's go!"
Following Deabolica's orders, the adventurers began to move quickly.
Irene and the other three jumped out of the carriage and headed for the left wing, while Ursuna and the other three jumped to the right wing. The two mages, including the leader, crouched inside the carriage and began to recite spells.
Although it was an improvised team formed by two parties, they worked very well together.
Deabolica's expression was more determined than ever, truly worthy of being called the leader of adventurers. It was hard to believe that this was the same scoundrel who used to swindle the Count with a malicious smile.
Who the hell are you now?
As Deabolica chanted with her wand in hand, a magic circle appeared at her feet, emitting rays of light. Its deployment speed was much faster than that of the magicians trying to cast offensive spells.
"Appear, Earth Titan! Titan Wall!!"
As Deabolica shouted, she struck the center of the magic circle with her wand, and with a thunderous roar, the ground in front of the rabbits rose with incredible force, and a huge rock appeared, almost hitting the sky. It was about three meters high, and several rabbits that were unable to dodge it were thrown into the sky.
The herd of horned rabbits advanced with the intention of crashing their horns into the carriage, a perfect target for destruction, but they were forced to swerve when they encountered a huge rock. The unexpected obstacle seemed to confuse them for a moment, but the rabbits continued on their way, splitting into two groups on either side of the rock.
"Come on, ! Come on!"
"Go!"
Waiting for the rabbits was a force formed by Ursuna and Irene.
Although they were divided into two groups, the horned rabbits were still the size of wild boars. Facing 15 on each side seemed reckless for three humans. The horned rabbits themselves must have thought the same, as they increased their speed, shouting with excitement, in an attempt to run through the adventurers.
"Rabbit!"
"Don't underestimate me, Bunny!"
At Ursuna's shout, the rabbit running on the right wing fell back, its horns shattered. She unleashed a high kick that hit the tip of the horned animal's nose squarely.
The second rabbit, seeking to impale her, paused to seize the opportunity. In the next instant, the warrior swung her warhammer to the side and drove it into the giant rabbit's forehead. The beast was struck so hard by the momentum of its own charge that its eyes popped out of their sockets, killing it instantly.
The other swordsman had raised a large metal shield, leaning his body to slow the rabbits' charges. He clenched his teeth as if they were about to break, but managed to resist. Ursuna took advantage of the opening to circle the herd of horned creatures and, with agile steps, prevailed by diverting their target and relieving the pressure on the tank.
"Crushing tornado!!"
On the left, Irene unleashed her sword technique: a violent whirlwind that sent two rabbits flying through the air. Taking advantage of their vulnerability, her partner pierced them with his spear, preventing them from getting back up.
Our team also had a shield tank, albeit a medium-sized one, unable to withstand so much direct punishment. However, it was more technical than the one on the right wing. It raised the shield from below, synchronizing the movement with the rabbits' charge; this way, it managed to deflect the momentum of their horns. An evasive style, designed not to resist, but to deflect!
Another rabbit approached while the tank had stopped, but Irene didn't want to let that happen, creating a tornado to stop it in its tracks, and the spear user swung his spear wildly to make it hesitate to charge forward.
The adventurers from both wings worked together brilliantly, successfully containing the large-horned rabbits.
I feel like I'm basically acting as a commentator now, but even so, I can't help but be amazed by the way they fight.
What is it about Irene's sword technique that creates a tornado? Is it a magic sword? Ursuna's acrobatics, dodging a charge with a light step and counterattacking with a kick, are superhuman, but Irene's sword technique is completely impossible for a human without magical powers.
I've never felt so envious of being reincarnated without magical powers. They were showing me such an exciting battle, but I couldn't do anything.
Well, it's not that I can't do anything really...
I timidly called out to Deabolica, who was watching the battle with a stern expression from inside the carriage.
"Deabolica, can I have a moment?"
"What? If you have a question, be brief; you're interrupting the order."
Without even turning to look at me, her gaze was fixed on the decoy troops on both sides.
Wow, she has the face of a competent commander. And judging by the speed of her chanting, she may be a complete incompetent as a politician, but an excellent commander on the battlefield...
Hmm?
"Well, why didn't you run away?"
"I thought Deabolica would be too scared and try to run away at full speed... but I didn't say it out loud."
She snorted softly.
"At the speed of the carriage, we won't be able to escape the stampede, so we have a better chance of surviving if we fight back. Besides, according to the map of the surrounding area, there's a village right behind us. If we run away, the village will be sacrificed. As an adventurers' guild, we can't choose that option.
No way...?! Would Deabolica say something so sensible?
Could it be that she's been replaced by a double...?
Deabolica continued speaking, ignoring my surprise.
It's not that I feel sorry for the villagers or anything like that. According to the Adventurers' Guild agreement, if a stampede occurs when a certain number of people move, they must be wiped out. It's just that if they flee now, they will cause problems later on.
Ah, okay. Deabólica is Diabólica.
But anyway, I appreciate you trying to fulfill your obligations.
Okay, let's get to the main topic.
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"Umm, is there anything I can help with..."
"There's nothing you can do. Just sit down and tremble."
"...Yes."
After being dismissed, I returned to my seat in embarrassment.
I want to help everyone too, but... it seems like they don't have time to listen to what I have to say right now. I'll probably get in trouble if I do something on my own, so I'll just support them. This is a dangerous situation where lives are at stake, so I won't act on my own, as expected.
Good luck, everyone! Ursuna, Irene, you look great!
When I raised my voice, the adventurers looked at me. But it was only for a moment, and they quickly turned their gaze back to the enemy in front of them. It was as if they didn't think I was worth looking at.
...Ah, how pathetic of me. I can only cheer them on verbally.
I wonder if they're disappointed in me.
"Woooooooooo! Come on, guys!"
Ahhhh!!!
The men are watching us! The men are watching us! Right now, I'm in my prime!
Ahhh! I always wanted to fight in such an intense situation like this, even if it was just once. I'm glad I'm an adventurer!
"Look at me, Eugene! I'll show you what I'm capable of!"
I will definitely not lose to Ursuna! I will hunt down as many as I can!
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Let me explain!
This is an image of super excited male adventurers being cheered on by a beautiful saint who has no fighting powers!
The work of a female adventurer is basically manual labor for a neglected female family, and there is no masculinity in normal combat!
For these women, fighting with a weak member of the opposite sex behind them and receiving their support is an ideal situation that really stimulates their heroism. The weaker and more beautiful the man they protect is, the more motivated they will be!
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As she continued to cheer them on, Deabolica finally turned her gaze to me and gave me a small smile.
"Wow... what support. Don't worry, even if there are dozens of those horned rabbits, they're no match for us. Even though we're a guild from a provincial town, the adventurers I've evaluated are the best. If they want to defeat us, they'll need to bring a dragon."
At that moment, the two mages stopped chanting.
Chant complete! Can be activated at any time!
Good! Hey, everyone! A wide-area spell is about to be cast, everyone back up!
The decoy troops on the front line responded to Deabolica's loud command.
The swordsman and scout swung their weapons to intimidate the rabbits, and while they were distracted, the tank raised his shield and stepped forward, taking up a large space at the front.
The rabbits let out angry squeaks and tried to give chase, but they did not do so in unison. Both flanks had wounded them, though without dealing a fatal blow. This caused a difference in speed between the uninjured and the wounded, successfully disrupting the cohesion of the herd and slowing down the pursuit.
"I finally got tired of waiting! I thought it was going to destroy my body!"
"Hehe, you want Eugene to pierce you with his horn for the first time, right?"
"Shut up, idiot!"
The warrior with the war hammer taunted Ursuna, who yelled at him.
No way? It seems like that guy is just playing around...
I'll pretend I didn't hear that.
Next to me, Deabolica clenched her hands vigorously.
"Now, activate it!"
"Red Dragon Flame, destroy everything! Dragon Sword!"
"Rise from the ice prison, wind of annihilation! Cocytus Freeze!"
The result was breathtaking.
The laser fired by Ursuna's partner through the carriage window swept across the herd with a horizontal cut, charring the giant rabbits that touched the beam one after another. Wherever it struck, the flesh turned red-hot before turning completely black, as if they had been severed by a blade of fire.
At the same time, the leader cast a freezing spell that pinned the rabbits' legs to the ground. The creatures squealed and struggled, but the ice crept inexorably from their legs up to their bodies. In a matter of seconds, they became macabre ice statues, their expressions frozen in pure terror.
"Break!"
When the leader touched the center of the magic circle with his wand, the ice sculpture shattered spectacularly, and the frozen blood danced in the sunlight, sparkling like rubies.
The stampede of large rabbits was wiped out in an instant by the wide-area attack magic.
What do you think of our elite adventurers? They're impressive, right?
With a bold smile on her face, Deabolica asks for his opinion.
Yes, how should I put this?
"The leader's way of killing, isn't it cruel...?"
"Oops?!"
"Wait a minute. We're not sadistic murderers! Isn't this magic beautiful? It was brilliant, wasn't it?"
As if to interrupt Deabolica's retort, the leader, who until then had been looking smug, spoke in a panicked voice.
Well, Ursuna's fellow magician also creates many brutally murdered corpses, but since the scars are burned, it doesn't feel like there's so much splatter.
Leader, that's dangerous. It's certainly beautiful to see the frozen blood shine like red jewels, but once the ice melts, all that's left are bloody, pulverized pieces of flesh... And it's also very scary to freeze them gradually and make them feel desperate...
No, they won't stay long enough to melt, so what we see will be clean, right? The wildlife will clean up the corpses anyway, so it's pretty clean.
Excuses like this are a little scary...
He has a different kind of psychological feeling than me, who has gone crazy because of [Mental Resistance].
"Look, Leader, that magic is really scary. Euge, you should say more. If it caught me, my blood would run cold."
Irene, who had returned to the carriage, nodded in agreement with what I said.
I think from now on I'll start looking at leaders differently...
But I wonder why a stampede occurred. A group of more than 30 animals is certainly large, but...
Deabolica tilts her head as she looks at the corpse of the large-horned rabbit.
"Maybe it just ate all the grass and then, while looking for a new place to feed, somehow gained momentum and couldn't stop?"
"It's a possibility. One option would be to investigate the cause..."
"Should we try heading in the direction the rabbit came from?"
When the driver employed by the Adventurers' Guild asked her, Deabolica shook her head.
"No, there's no need to go that far. We managed to stop the stampede, so that's enough. More importantly, I want to deliver the jewel to Mother Ami Leaves as soon as possible."
Saying this, Deabolica hugged the cloth bag containing the jewel and smiled.
Well, I guess that's typical of Diabolica.
That's when it happened.
Suddenly, the air crackled as if it had been broken, and something so strong that it seemed to shake the ground exploded...
"Wh-what!?"
"Everyone on alert!"
The adventurers frantically jumped out of the carriage, and I hurriedly followed them.
And then we saw it!
I saw it!! It can't be true.
Its imposing silhouette looms in the sky, its wings spread like a cloak that almost eclipses the sun.
Its presence radiates an insolence worthy of hell.
Its claws, sharper than those of a hawk, glisten with a lethal gleam; its appearance, more terrifying than that of any lizard; and its roar, more overwhelming than that of a lion.
It is the absolute ruler of the most fearsome monsters, the one mentioned with trembling voices in the ancient legends of the island of Vrishabu.
A dragon...! And not just any dragon, but one of the supreme species: the red dragon, also known as the very embodiment of the island of Vrishabu.
Deabolica clenched her jaw and looked up at the majestic figure.
It looked small due to the distance, but it was probably about 10 meters long. Its body gave off an overall sinister impression, with several jagged protrusions on its face and a body seemingly covered in sharp spikes.
But the most terrifying thing was that its eyes were fixed directly on the carriage.
Blue flames flickered at the corners of its mouth, creating a haze of heat, and it clearly looked angry.
"W-what are we going to do, are we going to fight?"
We can't fight! How could a human stand up to such a monster?
Deabolica shouted in response to the leader's question.
Even a capable master like her had her morale crushed before the battle had even begun.
"Is it really that strong?"
All this is just a fuss about being strong!
No... Very few people in history have fought and defeated a dragon! If I manage to recover even one scale, I will be a hero; if I triumph, my name will live on forever as a dragon slayer... Ah!
Then, Deabolica put her hand to her mouth, threw down her magic wand, and began to bow deeply.
"N-no, that's not true. It's impossible for a humble human like me to dare to challenge Lord Dragon... I-I would even throw down my weapons..."
Apparently, she was uncomfortable even hinting that she could defeat a dragon. Her humility before those she considers invincible is absolute.
Well, I don't even have to think about whether I can win this.
Ten meters is like a small building. Apparently, the total length of a tyrannosaurus is 13 meters, but that's the length from head to tail, so when it's standing up, it's about ten meters tall, almost the same as this dragon.
It's about the size of a three-story building, and it looks like it can fly through the air and spit flames of several thousand degrees from its mouth. It's no longer a monster, it's a kaiju.
I've played many action games where you fight giant monsters, but when you see one in front of you, it's hard to imagine that a human could win. Do you think a human could take on a being the size of a building in hand-to-hand combat? It's crazy to even think about challenging it.
Then, looking down from the air at the trembling humans, the dragon took a deep breath and once again let out a roar that created a shockwave.
I clung to my seat instantly, but if I hadn't, the impact would have knocked me to the floor. I saw the horses pulling the carriage and the coachman foaming at the mouth and collapsing unconscious. Deabolica was shaking violently and even crying in fear.
...Did that voice just now have the effect of instilling fear?
Ursuna and the leader desperately tried to resist, their legs almost giving way, and kept their weapons ready as they tried to hold on. Only the inexperienced Irene collapsed to the ground, but it would be unfair to blame her for that.
Ursuna swallowed hard and turned a sharp gaze toward the red dragon.
It's a monster, just like the rumors say... They say that just hearing its roar, filled with magical power, would make any living creature tremble with fear... It seems to be true.
"Roar?"
Did its eardrum burst? That thing just said something: "Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"
Is that what Ursuna and the others heard?
It sounded different to me.
Ah, I took another breath.
Ursuna clicked her tongue and gave a motivational speech to her companions.
"Girls, be strong! Until the end!"
Ah, I understand now. But I wonder if anyone else heard it.
They got in my way! I will never forgive them! Now, bow your heads! Apologize from the bottom of your hearts right now!
Who is this guy?