First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 107
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
(Kurokiri POV)
[Then, 3, 2, 1, let the sham battle commence!]
At Yuu’s signal, the sound of gongs and war cries rippled throughout the battlefield.
“Start the assault…!”
In the midst of it all, spearheading the battle were Izumi and the three Cuélebre carrying Minotamist on their backs, followed by the Pawns of the melee force.
The three Cuélebre sent up a voluminous plume of smoke, gouging out the leveled ground and forcing it to transform into a wasteland as they surged towards the Fox Princess’ army.
[The first one to make a move was the Mist King’s camp? It is evident that they are aiming to gain the upper hand. However…]
Ichiko’s commentary can be heard as well.
But…
“Bumooooooo!”
“The enemies aren’t that naive.”
From the enemy’s position, the bellowing of cows was audible.
I was hoping that the Cuélebre would advance to the enemy position and seize the initiative in this sham battle, but it appeared that the opposing side had the same notion.
[The Fox Princess after all recognizes the significance of taking the initiative too, right?]
Emerging out of the opposing side are six giant, horned stone oxen.
Their momentum was not inferior to our assault.
The distance between us and them was progressively drawing closer and closer. Then there went the reverberating sound of the battleground all over the area.
[What a horrific rumble.]
[Both sides are heavyweights division of their own dungeon after all]
The outcome of the assault was a loss: the assault was successfully stopped by two large oxen per Cuélebre.
However, by capitalizing on the recoil of the halt, Izumi and the Minotamist descended from the back of Cuélebre and proceeded to assail the nearest enemy, while Cuélebre itself also aimed for the neck of one of the large oxen and bit it.
Both vanguards of the army then clashed and a tumultuous confrontation ensued.
For an ordinary human being who had never encountered such a monster, this spectacle would probably give the impression that it was the end of the world.
After all, whenever Minotamist’s axe is swung, it sent up a fountain of red liquid from the nearest monster, and each time the panther slashed its claws at the foe, the damaged Minotamist’s body dissipated slightly.
The Mud Soldiers put an end to them as the Mud Puppets violently restrained the dog-shaped monsters while the alpacas leaped with a leaping power that was out of sync with their appearance and trampled the head of the Thin Mist Wolves.
However, the one who displayed the most terrific performance was Izumi.
“Hmmm…!”
[Izumi is formidable after all. She has been on the front line for the past ten years.]
In both of her hands, she had produced a bone axe created by ?Bio Weapon Creation?Axe? and was mowing down the hostile camp as though it were a hurricane. Furthermore, upon regenerating the weapon, she hurled the axe as a tomahawk at the closest opponent, causing an increasing amount of damage with each passing second.
Even so, Ichiko had grown accustomed to Izumi’s ability to vocalize. She was initially rather taken aback.
The moment Izumi recognized the Kitsunejin man, who was a fellow Knight and attempted to strike the marker on top of his head after repelling his weapon, a vortex of flames engulfed Izumi and the Kitsunejin man, compelling them both to leave the stage.
[Oh, my! This is!?]
[This is Mugi’s ?Fire Swirl?.]
Yes. Simultaneously with the onset of the turbulence, the rearguard had begun to mobilize as well.
As soon as it appeared that the momentum of the adversary was diminished by the release of Mud Magicians and Mystic’s arrow skills supported by Tabane’s ?Magic Bundle of Bolt?, the enemy’s rearguard led by Mugi and another Kitsunejin man, delivered a flurry of ?Flame Plosion?, ?Fire Swirl? and ?Fireball? that moderately embroiled their allies.
In parallel with this, aerial battles also unfolded.
[The aerial battle is a hectic one, right?]
[Movements are more dynamic in mid-air since each hit is more likely to be devastating.]
Once a Disarray Devil’s Darning Needle tried to support its allies on the ground through its buzzing wings, the opposing flying squirrel launched a suicide attack, bringing the buzzing to a halt, and when Mystic detached the flying squirrel, the bats swiftly slashed at Mystic. However, the Disarray Devil’s Darning Needle that had regained its posture bit the bat’s head off, instantaneously wiping it out.
If the battle on the ground was progressing more or less in favor of the Fox Princess, the aerial battle seemed to be developing to my side’s advantage. This may be attributed to the variation in each Pawn’s specialized attack methods.
Now, since we were being pushed back in the vital battle on the ground, the enemy’s front line was steadily advancing closer to my main camp.
“It’s about time. Go! Chirito!”
But, once the front line approached a certain distance, I issued Chirito a command.
[Oh, this is where the ambushers are!]
[That’s the basis of a battle, isn’t it?]
Chirito then directed the Pawns to the enemy rearguard, where Mugi was not present, charging in from right beside them.
[[!?]]
The sudden presence of Chirito and his Pawns unilaterally overran the enemy rearguard, which had been hindered rather than augmented its firepower by being densely packed.
Notwithstanding, Mugi’s ?Fire Swirl? got activated in the center of Chirito and his army just as they were ready to storm the platform under Mugi’s leadership after destroying the rearguard on one side. Roughly ten monsters were annihilated all at once.
“If that’s the case!”
But at this juncture, Chirito sent out a single command.
[T-This is!]
Following his instruction, all the Swamp Flying Fish flew out in unison from within the Mud Puppet’s body and shot at Mugi’s marker.
[A planted weapon is a very Kurokiri-like offense, right?]
“Ugh!?”
After evading the first Swamp Flying Fish, Mugi moved to dodge the second and subsequent ones. When Mugi had avoided ten of them, the wave of attacks ceased, prompting her to unintentionally remain motionless. But just as she paused, the Mist Mosquitoes dived down from above her head and destroy her marker.
“Alright… ah!”
Yet no sooner than Chirito was rejoicing at his success, his marker was hit by a ?Firebolt? and was destroyed.
[However, even if the strategy succeeds, one must maintain constant vigilance.]
[In the meantime, I hope Chirito-san would explode.]
The MC and the commentary continued their words apathetically.
But I can say that the victory was already secured. After all…
“This is the final blow!”
During the process of Chirito’s battle with the enemy rearguard, Tabane had integrated several dozen arrows of Mystic’s ?Mistbolt? and Mud Magician’s ?Mud Bundle of Bolt? into an enormous arrow with a distinctive white and brown marbled pattern.
[T-This is tremendous.]
[I would say this is quite a trump card. How amazing.]
Like a ballista’s arrow used in a siege, it was fired at the Fox Princess’ main camp and impacted it. As it exploded, a vast amount of mist and mud was dispersed into the surrounding area.
[The King of the Fox Princess camp is confirmed to have been defeated! The winner goes to the Mist King’s camp!]
Yuu’s remarks resounded through the sham battlefield when the smoke cleared.