First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 45
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
(Ryo POV)
“They really do spring up one after another. ?Mist Slap?!”
The white-furred, large-dog-like demon Snowdog was substantially blasted away with a single strike from me.
“I told you that, didn’t I! Tsk! ?Small Shield Barrier?!”
Tachikabe was the first to detect the long-range attack of the ice spirit and intercepted the attack with a small barrier generated on the back of his left hand.
“Well, let’s just regard it as a delectable treat since there are plenty of them. ?Mistbolt? x2.”
Aria’s ?Mistbolt? then struck the Snowdog, who managed to evade it but has lost its stance, subsequently hitting the ice spirit, and sending it to its demise.
“Bauggh!”
“Tsk!” “Kuk!”
The Snowdog then slipped through the gap between me and Tachikabe and made its approach to Aria, presumably assessing she was the one who posed the greatest threat.
“Hmm. Chirito-kun, stop its movement, and Houki-san, put an end to it.”
“I understand.” “Y-Yes!”
Despite this, Houki and Chirito blocked its path, with Chirito using the dagger and small shield he possessed to halt the Snowdog’s advance, followed by Houki thrusting a dagger into its neck with all her strength.
“Thanks for your efforts! You guys can take over while you have the chance!”
The substitute personnel appeared to have arrived at this point, so the five of us momentarily fell back and rest.
By this stage of the day, we have destroyed roughly 30 demons of four different kinds, and yet, no one’s level has been elevated. Since we were outside the dungeon, this was inevitable.
Moreover, the eyes of the people around us seemed to be somewhat cold, but I supposed that was to be expected considering this was our first day.
In addition, the carcasses will be transferred to the people at the Northern Liberation Frontier Base to be processed into food and equipment. Apparently, there were individuals with skills such as ?Weapon Creation? and ?Food Conversion? at the rear of the base. Come to think of it, Tachikabe once commented that this situation reminded him of an RPG-type video game.
At any rate, this was our present state of affairs and this was the way we were battling on the Northern Liberation Front. And the goal now was to advance everyone’s level one by one.
Nevertheless…
“I never imagined that it would be so challenging to contend with the demons…”
That thought flowed to me from the depths of my heart, and I ended up uttering it out loud. How could Ichiko even compete with humans and goblins when it was this arduous even against a dog?
I wondered if anyone heard my mutterings.
“Argh… I agree with you too, Miss.”
“Yeah, that’s true…”
“Well, it must be tough for someone who has been protected until now.”
“But this is only the initial stage, and their threat level is still minimal, so I suggest you familiarize yourself with the situation while you still have the opportunity.”
Each of them had a distinct reaction. Among them, I could only nod my head in agreement with Aria’s and Tachikabe’s words as they reflected the truth.
“But, you know, this is still better than a couple of weeks ago.”
“Is that so?”
I involuntarily inquired back. The circumstances were severe as they were now, but was it possible to get any worse than that?
“Yeah. After all, the opposition was vastly outnumbered, and the majority of the troops were unaccustomed to the fact that reinforcements would continue to emerge no matter how many times they were defeated. Furthermore, due to the incessant combat day and night, supplies and food were rapidly diminishing. Everyone is jittery.”
“It is amazing that the front line did not collapse under such a dilemma.”
“Well, that’s owing to the efforts of Otachi-san. Without his ?Command? and successful negotiations with the residents of the towns and villages in the rear, the situation wouldn’t be where it is presently.”
“I see.”
Incidentally, I have been informed in detail that Otachi has been involved in recruiting volunteer soldiers in the area and organizing patrol teams for discovering and defeating demons that have slipped through the front lines, even though these practices were apparently prohibited under military law. Accordingly, these activities were ostensibly proposed and carried out by someone higher up in the chain of command.
Hence, it appeared that Otachi Mamoru was someone who would rather be able to protect the residents than hold a position of honor or status. I can see why he was so likable.
By the way, we were taking a brief break right now, but we were still on the front lines, and our rest may be forced to end if something major arose. So for instance…
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!
When an alarm was triggered to warn of an emergency situation like this, our break will be forcibly terminated.
“Tsk, you guys! Let’s hurry up and go!”
“Yes!”
————–
(Chirito POV)
Upon returning to the front line, the sight on display for me was that of a few silver-armored humanoid entities confronting a group of military personnel. When I looked at the scene, I pondered how to deal with this situation.
“A new species of demon!”
Tachikabe, who was standing next to me, raised his voice. If he has never encountered such a thing before, then it was up to me to find out what that demon was.
“I’ll examine it right now! ?Personal Analyze?! This is…”
My mind was taken aback when I discovered who the opponent was. Because my ?Personal Analyze? indicated the following:
————–
Name: Kushiro Shifuma
Class: Heavy Warrior
Race: Yukijin
————–
“What’s wrong!”
“The enemy is a kin and a Yukijin! I can even detect that they are equipped with an occupation!”
As I delivered my report, tension prevailed among everyone at once.
“Tsk, so that silver armor is like your ?Mist Cloak??”
“It is likely. However, I can’t be so certain since my skill does not enable me to check the skills possessed by them.”
But I had no doubt about it. It was unrealistic to assume that there would be so many people in modern times who would like to don such armor, especially considering that the armor they were sporting seems to be exceptionally solid and bulletproof. Plus, I can see them utilizing other skills that were different from one individual to another, which was a definite sign of it.
“I don’t give a damn! All that matters now is saving my people. We’re all going!”
“Aye!” “Yes!”
With that, Ryo proclaimed, and Tachikabe and Houki rushed to the scene. And I followed suit.
?
Check out other Outer World Story series in order: Outer World Story: The Black Mist that Devours (First series), Outer World Story: Pumpkin Sorcerer (Third series), Outer World Story: Basilisk of Ice Sculpture (Fourth series)