108 - - Southbound Route No. 4

With wings covered in dark green feathers, the wind beast soars high into the sky.

Glaring down at the ground from a height barely reached by arrows, the monster let out a broken cry.

It seemed to laugh loudly at the poor creature that could not fly.

"You're really getting on my nerves, aren't you? You think there's nothing you can do."

"...... Mm."

"...... agree."

"In fact, we're not even close."

The conventional pattern of using a shield to stop the beast from moving and then attacking it when it stops moving does not work at all against a beast that flies around at high speed in the air.

The only bow and arrow that can inflict damage from a distance is unable to reach the main body due to the wind pressure released by the monster.

It is even more hopeless with a thin sword that can only be used at close range.

Godan, on the other hand, who is taking the brunt of the overwhelming weight of the body hit alone, already has dents all over his armor and is nearing the limit of his strength.

The twins' clothes are also stained with blood from the spiky feathers that fly past them every time they pass by.

Tapa stared at the wind beast, which kept screaming deafeningly, with a reproachful look on his face, and fired a series of arrows filled with his fighting spirit right above it.

The monster, which had avoided these arrows with ease, once again took a dive posture.

"Well, I guess it's time to start the attack..."

"Well, can you stop it?"

Let's give it a try. After that, I'll ask you to do it for me."

"...... then."

"...... we'll give you a hand."

Inhaling as hard as he could, Godin finally released the fighting spirit that had been threatening to overflow from his entire body.

Taking a large step forward, he thrust the pointed tip of the lower part of his rhombus shield into the ground.

He held it low with his shoulders back and his weight on it, his legs spread out in front and behind him.

.

Immediately, the raised ground gathers around the feet of the brown-horned steward and his shield, which is stuck into the earth, and covers them tightly.

This is a higher rank than the wedge of the ground that holds the body in place, and is Godan's most skilled mid-branch technique.

A beast several times the size of a shield presses down on a shieldman who has the earth on his side.

The beast of the wind rushed at him with tremendous force and slammed its huge beak into the shield without mercy.

The Godan, which was of vastly inferior size, would have rolled like a pebble.

But what echoed across the valley floor was a heavy thud, as if something had smashed into a block of rock.

At the same time, a wind beast, its beak bent at a strange angle, emitted a muffled cry.

After the dust had settled, the monster appeared, its shield unshakable and its movements completely stopped.

Godan, who had met the beast of the wind head-on, was unable to withstand the impact, which was too much for his shin pads and leg armor to withstand, and they burst off.

The monster is pulled down to the ground by the unexpected result, but it immediately flaps its wings, throaty with rage.

But the twins are not so good-natured as to miss the void.

"...... a little more to the right. Mm, that's good."

Before we knew it, there were several daggers stuck in the mud walls on either side of us.

They were secretly prepared by Tali, who pretended to have released them in order to drop the thorn feathers.

Small bells attached to the hilts of the daggers made a clear sound as the wind blew.

By listening to the different tones, the wind wielder was able to detect the gaps in the wind pressure created by the wind beasts.

In the center of the whirling wind, there is a hole called an eye.

Following his brother's precise pointing to the hole, the elder brother controls the arrow he had just shot into the sky.

--

The two arrows, aiming at the ground in a circular motion, are pulled by the ground, increasing their power to the maximum.

The arrows, cutting through the gaps in the wind armor, pierced the bases of the beast's wings.

The monster lets out a high-pitched yelp in unexpected pain.

The mane around its neck stands up in a single jerk, as it leans back and stares madly at the diminutive creatures.

A single release of spiny feathers from this distance could easily wipe them out.

O great sustainer of the earth, grant us. Give a heavy anchor to those who wander in the sky..."

This time Garudo almost jumped out of his skin, but his eyes widened when he heard the prayer chanted by the steward.

"--!

As soon as the chanting ends, a brown mass of earth suddenly appears in the space diagonally above Godan.　

The thorny feathers shot out from the decoys created by the magic power change their trajectory and are sucked in one after another.

The clumps of earth with feathers growing thickly on their surfaces crumble and fall apart, having completed their task.

As Garudo remains stunned and motionless, the brothers of the Suiba clan begin to put the finishing touches on the project.

"...... Okay, the wind has loosened up near your neck. Three fingers to the left. One finger upward. There. Go."

Tapa, who had been drawing his bow to its fullest, followed his brother's lead and let go of his finger.

The arrow, filled with a quiet fighting spirit, flew away without a sound.

--

The arrow, covered by the wind, blends not only its sound but also its appearance into the air.

The next thing you know, the silent, shadowless arrow has pierced the right eyeball of the wind beast.

A breath later, the eagle-headed monster lets out a deafening roar.

Then Bettina, who had been whispering a prayer in a whisper, loosely pointed her thin sword at him.

From the torch of my own body, unleash the sparks of fire. Come and pierce the boundless darkness..."

Her crimson hair stood on end as if on fire, and her magical power took form as it spurted from the tip of her sword.

A streak of flame shot straight up into the air toward the arrow that had become a landmark.

The red line of fire easily passes through the hole that Tapa has made in the area where the wind pressure has weakened.

As soon as it reached the monster's face, it burst into flames and engulfed it.

In no time at all, its head was consumed by the raging fire, and the beast, unable to breathe, shook its head violently.

But the winds it creates accelerate the flames even more.

The monster slams into a wall and struggles to put out the flames, but the flames steadily outpace its rate of regeneration and consume it.

At last, without letting out a cry of desperation, the wind beast topples over on its side.

Its head was already carbonized, indicating the severity of the flames that had been unleashed.

"...... You've burned too much. What a waste."

"......, if the skin burns, it's ruined."

Bettina looked at the twins with dismay as they hurriedly began to put out the remaining fire by pouring dirt on them.

Garudo approached from behind them and spoke to them, trying to squeeze some words out of them.

"I didn't expect ...... you to have twin trees. And both of you?"

"You wanted to see if we were good enough to delay the warning, are you satisfied?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize for that.

A tree-holder, as the name implies, is a person who has two skill trees.

Normally, only one skill tree grows, but in rare cases, a new tree may appear when a person is in a near-death state.　

However, the flame tree is in the same family as the flame tree, and there are no confirmed cases of receiving a new tree from a different god.　

The tree is well-known for its strength, as it can use both martial and magical skills, but it takes a long time to grow, so it cannot be said that the tree is wonderful in general.

However, its adaptability to any situation is unparalleled, and there are many Soujyu-holders among the heroes.

I see, no wonder they have so few skills. I've heard that you can freely choose which tree to show, but I guess it's true.

"Yes, it's too much trouble to explain every time."

Garudo narrowed his eyes just a little at Bettina's playful tone.

The mid-branch skill of the Flame Spirit Tree, the , is a magical technique to manipulate a whip with a bundle of high-temperature flames at will.

The firepower with which he killed the Wind Beast with a single blow, he must have trained himself quite well.

In other words, if he had shown that much ability from the beginning, he could have started at a higher rank.

There are many other suspicious points, such as using expensive chemicals without hesitation, and not being very attached to the prey he has killed.

Garudo, who sensed the scent of something amiss, gave a vague smile, refusing to pursue the matter any further.

Godan, who had been watching them from a distance, quietly shakes his head and walks over to the carcass of the monster he has just defeated.

"......Thanks for your hard work, steward."

"...... Now that you've got him down, how are you going to carry him?"

The monster probably weighs more than the five of us combined.

It is not something that can be dragged along by any means.

Even if we wanted to dismantle it, it would take too much space.

We can't work slowly because we don't know when and if new monsters will appear at the bottom of this valley.

"They already know, so leave it to me. Bearers of the great earth tree, gather here to help me. Reveal yourselves--.

At the end of the chanting, soil began to rise from under Godan's feet, one after another, in the shape of a human being.

From the ground emerged four dolls made of clay.

The faces of the four dolls were flat and their height was limited to the level of the summoner's navel.

But thanks to their thick arms and legs and torsos, the clay figures slipped under the monster and easily lifted up the carcass without a word.

"Shall we go now, my lady?"

Bettina let out a small breath at the butler's words as he readied his shield.

Her red armor, which had been taking a lot of head-on fire, was dented askew, and the armor around her legs was shredded to pieces, rendering it useless.

After comparing Godin's usual soft smile several times with Garudo's completely dismayed expression, the red-haired woman suddenly opened her mouth.

"Before we do that, there is something I want to confirm with you two."

"What is it, sir?"

"Yeah, what's more?"

Bettina glances up at the sky to see the position of the sun, and then questions it with a cute frown on her face.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?　I feel like we've been going in a southerly direction all along. ......"