First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 114
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
This is the Snow Sage’s side.
————–
(Third person POV)
One hour before Otachi and his comrades commenced fighting.
In the innermost part of the “Silver Snow Forest”.
“As you have presumed, Snow Sage-sama, adversaries have arisen not only from the east but from the north as well. Judging from the enemy’s formation, it would appear that the monsters to the east are from the ‘Crawling Octopus King of Chaos’ and the monsters to the north are from the ‘Immovable North Pole Emperor’.”
Yuu knelt down on one knee and relayed the scout’s report to the Snow Sage.
The “Immovable North Pole Emperor” was the name of the Demon King who ruled the Arctic Ocean not only underwater but above the surface as well, and was regarded as one of the top-class Demon Kings, including the “King of the Devouring Black Mist” in terms of sheer strength alone.
“Oh. As expected, the northern side is aiming to play both ends against the middle. Well, I knew it would come to that.”
The Snow Sage responded to Yuu’s report with a smile spreading across his cheeks. His expression revealed no signs of fear or impatience.
“Now, the evacuation of the residents has already been completed on both sides, right?”
“Yes, everything is fine.”
At Yuu’s answer, the Snow Sage’s smile deepened.
“Then proceed as planned.”
“Copy that.”
And so, Yuu set out from the “Silver Snow Forest” to the battlefield.
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The Hanryojin, who was the commander of the Octopus King’s force invading the Snow Sage’s domain, was in a quandary.
“What exactly is happening on… Why aren’t there any humans around…?”
After all, he had been ordered to massacre all the humans on sight, and he had gone ashore in high spirits, only to be greeted by no human resistance. To be more accurate, no humans can be glimpsed at all.
[[Kishashasha!]]
Despite this, the rest of the monsters, with the exception of him, did not deem the situation peculiar and continued to ravage the city, assuming that the humans were hidden somewhere.
This area will be a vacant plot of land in the next several hours should things continue at this pace.
“Gyagyagya!”
One of the monsters who had been demolishing the city spotted some figures in the distance.
[[Gyagagu!!]]
“W-Wait, you guys!”
The group of monsters, who had been dissatisfied only with wrecking the buildings, reacted all in one accord, pursuing the figures before the commander can even afford to stop them.
Then, the commander inevitably chased after them.
————–
After some time had passed since the monsters of the Octopus King had initiated the pursuit of their prey, before they knew it, the group they had been hunting was on the verge of joining up with another group coming from ahead.
“Gubababa!!”
However, they interpreted this as an incentive to prey on more targets, thus attempting to swoop down on the group. The moment one of the lead animals swung its claws at the group, the group they had been chasing vanished.
“What’s going on?”
They eventually located a group of roughly the same size as themselves as they shrugged their shoulders and searched for their missing prey.
“An ambush… They’re underestimating us!”
Even if they were equal in number, there was no chance that they, who were under the command of the Octopus King, will be brutalized by a bunch of humans. That was what the commander of the group reckoned, and under his leadership, they assailed the group as if they were vindicating their previous resentment.
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(Yuu POV)
“Here they come.”
Looking through the telescope, I confirmed the cloud of dust and the figure of the Yukijin fleeing with their horse ahead of the enemies, and after notifying my companions concealed around me with a motion of my hand, I myself hid once more.
The sound of horses neighing and galloping in place can eventually be heard from two directions.
In succession, shouts of rage, war cries, explosions, and the noise of something enormous moving filled the background.
From these sounds, I realized that the Snow Sage’s strategy had worked and I raised myself up to assess the situation, taking caution not to be discovered by the foe.
“This is… terrific.”
Below me, two armies were engaged in combat.
On one side were the monsters of the “Crawling Octopus King of Chaos,” consisting of Hanryojin, flying fish, and giant octopuses. On the other side were the monsters of the “Immovable North Pole Emperor,” constituted of polar bears, narwhals, ice golems, etc.
Perhaps out of their previous frustration, the momentum of their endeavors was tremendous, leading both parties to exert deadly tension against each other.
Yes, the Snow Sage-sama’s plan is to induce monsters of different dungeon affiliations to exhaust each other.
To assure the plan’s success, the Snow Sage sent all humans in the area of operation to evacuate in advance, and those who were assigned to actually guide the hostiles had to be well-trained and meticulously prepared.
“Well, I had this scenario in mind when we were being pursued, but I absolutely don’t want to go head-to-head with these contenders.”
“Mm-hmm.”
My companions who had been leading the enemies to this stage emerged from behind me.
Although all of them were exhausted, their faces were radiant, possibly reflecting the fact that they had done their part.
“You guys did a great job. It’s our task from here on out. Please stay here and watch.”
Saying this, I called my beloved horse by beckoning him to me.
Right. A clash between two armies is not the culmination of the Snow Sage’s strategy. Otherwise, we would only benefit from the large amount of material that would be left behind, which would not be worth it.
Therefore, this was the second phase of the plan.
“Everyone, ready for battle!”
As the combat beneath us began to wane, I announced my instructions to my companions who had been hiding, and had them and myself clad in ?Frozen Silver Armor?.
After confirming that all of my companions had assumed combat readiness somewhat late, I issued a single command.
“Chargeeeeeee!”
Following my command, my companions struck from the side of the monsters struggling below us.
[[??????]]
Startled by the unexpected intruders, both sides of the monsters briefly halted their actions. Needless to say, we did not overlook the opportunity and raid them.
The Snow Bears and Snow Horses, equipped with ?Frozen Silver Armor? on various parts of their bodies, took advantage of the opportunity to lunge forward and sweep down their enemies, while the monsters who cannot use ?Frozen Silver Armor? leveraged their own strength and subdued their prey in rapid succession.
————–
“Phew. Guess this is the last of it.”
“Ga… gii…”
The monster at my feet, a half-fisherman-like creature, was crushed by my horse’s hooves, and I swept my gazes across the surroundings.
The only moving figures in the area were my companions, while the surroundings were enveloped in silence.
“Then, let’s collect what we can and depart.”
“Yes.”
After treating the wounded, we stripped the corpses of the monsters lying nearby of their materials, and returned to the “Silver Snow Forest” to report the results of the battle to the Snow Sage.