124 - - a decisive battle in the wilderness

The sun, which was directly overhead, was pouring down strong rays of sunlight without mercy.

The dry air did not block it, but rather accentuated the heat.

The child who had been sitting down yawned in boredom and then lifted the leather bag with his small hands.

He puts his lips on the suction cup and tries hard to drink the water inside, moving his throat.

However, he seems to be unable to suck in the water as if there is not much left in the bag.

The child, looking a little grumpy, clears his throat and holds out the leather bag to the man next to him.

The man accepts the bag with a grim look on his face and turns it upside down.

The child drips water into the cup made with the palms of his hands, as if squeezing it.

The child immediately puts his lips to the palms of his hands, which fill up quickly.

Slowly his throat rises and falls, and a look of satisfaction spreads across his young face.

After finishing his drink, the child lifted the corners of his mouth wide, soaking not only his face but also his collar.

Sensing that the wind with grains of sand has died down a little, the man puts the empty leather bag on the ground and stands up.

He silently scratches the bottom of his chin, fluttering the cloth that protects him from the sand.

He then calls out to his companions, who are waiting patiently for the next step.

"Let's go."

"...... yeah."

As he replies, the man in white armor around his body lowers the cheeks of his helmet.

He lifts his long shield and runs toward the bottom of the hollow.

As he runs down the slope, the man in armor lets out a yell.

His voice was filled with various strong emotions.

The battle has begun.

Mu was told by Thor to do three things.

The first is to keep up with and as much as possible.

This is the usual rule.

The second is a little more important: never leave Sora or Yuril behind.

If you go anywhere without permission, you are told to skip lunch.　

Well, they are children, so it is inevitable that they go somewhere.

The third is to let Garudo, his new protégé, see himself all the time.

Thor has told me that since he is the father of Rudel's henchman, he is like a henchman as well, so I have no choice.

Moe gazed intently at the top of the helmet as it moved around in the dust.

He can also see Thor, who is attached to the back of the helmet, but only briefly.

Suddenly Yuril, standing next to him, lifts his staff and whispers his usual words.

"Bloom with your enemies.

"Midare-yo, so-and-sojin."

Chanting only the last part together, Moe lets Thor share his vision.

At this time, it is necessary for Thor to see it as well.

He also looks at Yuril's outstretched finger for a moment.

This is the fourth argument.

The child twitched a little, but kept his eyes fixed on the spot, trying his best to do what he was told.

A solemn song of praise to the gods bursts from the throat of Saralisa, who stands behind Moe and the others.

The echoing voice soothes the hearts of the listeners and restores the lost magic.　

Since this is a song, only those with a certain level of singing skill are allowed to sing it.

Of course, Saralisa did not have that qualification.

--Until this morning.

In fact, the branch of singing skill itself had existed in Saralisa's skill tree from the beginning.

For some personal reasons, she had dared to stop its growth.

But this time, Thor convinced her that the song was necessary, and she agreed.

Saralisa could not strongly reject the words of the man who had silently comforted her in her misery, when all she could do was shed tears.

The lyre that she played herself, the musician's beautiful voice echoed in the wilderness.　

Looking at the backs of the three listeners, Saralisa lightened her voice a little, remembering this morning's exchange.

"Now the skill points should be back in the water bottle. Now we just need to reassign them to the singing skill branch..."

"You're really a great guy, Thor, even for this ......, aren't you? Well, it's been a while since I've sung, so I hope you don't mind if I practice a little?"

"Oh, I didn't know you had such a clear voice, Saralisa. I never noticed it before.

"Do you sing?　Can Moe sing with me?"

You have a really beautiful voice. But you, Mr. Toll, are very good at recognizing it.

"I guess you're right. I was always whispering. ....... Hey, Thor, how did you know?"

"I'm curious too. I remember that you can't see the details of the technical tree without touching the body. When did you and Saralisa become such friends?

"Tor, what's wrong? Itchy chin again?　All right, Moo will scratch you!"

The sight of the four of them conversing happily with each other brought back memories of a bygone era in the hearts of the Sourin women.

With her shoulders completely relaxed in front of the terrifying monster, Saralisa was beginning to perform at her best.

Garud was in the dust.

The sandstorm raging all around him covered his ears with the sound of the roaring wind.

The only other thing he can hear is the impact of the pebbles flying at a tremendous speed and hitting his shield.

Through the narrow gap in the cheek of his helmet, he cannot see the wall of sand.

--It was supposed to be.

Strangely enough, Garudo could now see his own back clearly.

He could see a man in a suit of armor, stepping through the sand, as if he were looking down at him from a distance.

It was as if he was one of the pieces on the board of the depression.

Garudo marveled when he was told that this strange sight was a characteristic of the purple-eyed child, which he had thought at first glance was not very useful.

It took some getting used to, but it was far better than not being able to see anything at all.

The guide muttered in his helmet about the unexpected strategy of the dust.

"...... I see... No wonder they claim it's the key."

The current situation is that a huge piece is positioned in the center, and looming over it is a piece with a shield and a piece with a sword closely behind it.

Suddenly, the view moves slightly, and we are informed that a new move has been made from outside the board.

Yuril has set up a nearby.

Immediately, the Titan of Storm Sand reacts to the person who has released a huge amount of magical power and begins to move.

At this rate, the rear guard on the edge of the depression will surely be swallowed up by the sandstorm.

It is the shieldmen's duty to stop them.

.

The fighting spirit released instantly turns Garudo's body as hard as iron to the marrow.

Furthermore, the true nature of this technique is that it causes a great deal of hostility towards the monster.

The sound of the wind rises and the giant stops dead in its tracks.

Then he lifted his arms high in the violent whirl of the wind.

Garudo releases his remaining fighting spirit as he observes this action through Moe's vision.

--

The earth masses called up from the earth immediately rise up to form a wall.

The position of the wall is behind Garudo and his men, however.

The shieldmen grit their teeth hard against the oncoming storm.

Sola looked at the raised monster arm without blinking.

It is unbelievably large, even closer than it was yesterday.

A huge pillar reaching toward the sky.

The sky itself seemed to be distorted by the fluctuation of the gathered air.

In Sola's field of vision, the mass of sand and wind bends greatly.

The next moment, it begins to move rapidly toward the ground.

Just in time.

Hold on until the very last second.

The girl, who has discerned that limited moment, believes in herself and lets her magical power surge forth.

--

The tornado's fist suddenly changes direction as if twisted.

The deflected arm slams into the ground a short distance away from Thor and the others.

A freezing trap was waiting for them at that spot.

An ear-piercing sound echoes through the hollow.

At the same time, a huge pillar of ice rises up, pushing aside the white plume of sand.

In a flash, the monster, frozen halfway up its arms, lets out a high-pitched squeaking sound.

The air of the depression, which was pushed out without time, turned into a gust of wind and rushed up the slope.

The wall of dust tried relentlessly to engulf Sora and the others, but it suddenly stopped midway.

The girl nodded her head in satisfaction at the sight of the winds of sand that had been in place.

Then she hurriedly shifted her gaze to the bottom of the depression.

There, she saw Thor and the others, who had safely passed the gusts of wind with their backs against the earthen wall they had built behind them.

As Thor exhales in relief, the monster moves with impunity.

The giant extends its curled up torso, paying no attention to the frozen tips of its arms.

Immediately a new wind gathers and the right arm regains its original length.

However, the arm is clearly thinner than before.

"The air becomes less bulky when it gets cold," he said.

The words of Yuril, who had told me in a casual manner with his usual smiling face, floated in my mind.

Trusting in the strategy of Thor and the others, the girl concentrated all her energy on the opponent in front of her.

Yuril exhaled deeply as she finished chanting for the eighth time.

Even though he was proud of his considerable amount of magical power, it was tough to chant so many times in a row.

If it had not been for the that restored his magical power, he would have given up his consciousness long ago.

However, the results of their efforts were steadily appearing.

The giant's height has already shrunk to nearly half of its original height.

In return, the whole area was completely enveloped by the cold air.

Thanks to this, Moe and the others are hugging Yuril's thighs tightly.

The tips of the ash-eared woman's ears danced happily at the nostalgic feeling of the freezing air.

The plan that Thor and I had worked out seemed to be exactly what we had envisioned.

Garudo uses all his martial arts to nail the giant to the center of the hollow.

Moe's is used to deal with the nasty dust that obstructs the view.

The shieldmen attract the monsters so that Yuril can unleash his magic without hesitation.

Sola is in charge of swinging her arms down, and she even guides the monsters to the .

And Saralisa makes up for the magic power that seems to be depleted in no time.

Yuril felt his lower stomach heat up after a long time, thanks to Thor's sense of how to perfectly draw out and use the abilities of all the members.

The words he had exchanged with his guide before the mission suddenly came back to his mind.

It's a shame, isn't it? If he learns the piece board, he will definitely go to a good place.

"Yes, it's really a waste."

Why don't you recommend him?　It's fun to play with good people."

Thank you for the compliment. Well, I'll invite him next time. Would you like to join us, Mr. Garudo?　You seemed a little down the other day."

"Oh, that's nice. I'd like to point again, but ....... No, let's not make promises. I don't think I can keep it any longer."

"Well, I'm very sorry."

Yuril lifted his priestly staff in order to cast for the ninth time.

The number of times this ice spell can be used is limited to five times in an hour.

Then, why is he able to cast it more than five times?　

The trick is simple.

The number of times a magic trick can be used is counted from the moment the magic trick is used for the first time.

If the remaining number of usages are used up within an hour, a limit is placed on the number of usages.

In other words, after one hour has passed since the first use, the number of usable times will be restored under any circumstances.

So, first of all, use only once in an appropriate place.

All you have to do is to be still and wait for the time to pass.

Then, when the time limit is almost up, you start the battle.

Then, even if you use the remaining four times, the limit will be lifted soon and you can use them consecutively.

This method was often used in dungeon labyrinth battles where there was no time limit.

Yuril, who was aware of his victory, heard a loud tremor in his ears.

It is because he senses a tremor in the air echoing above his head.

There is a reason why Garud avoided the evening and postponed the battle to the next day.

The winds can be very rough at that time of the day.

Especially in this location, he had to be careful.

However, no matter how much we try to avoid the dangerous time, the possibility of occurrence is not zero.

The sky distorts violently, and the winds that have increased in weight gather rapidly.

And when it reaches its limit, it breaks through the heavens and crashes to the ground.

Right in front of Yuril's wide-eyed eyes, the wind suddenly breaks and hits the weakened body of the giant.