192 - - muddy deposit

The leader of the Arashibo Alliance said confidently, but it was three of his fellow Chakaku men who stepped forward.

The men in full body armor stood side by side with their large long shields at the ready, quickly forming a solid wall.

Chiru's arrows, fired with a light pull of the bowstring, flew in a parabolic trajectory and pierced the mud pillars, the evil spirits of the mud.

Immediately, an alter ego is born from its body, and it glides through the mud, making the mud ripple.

The shieldmen catch the mud pillars squarely in front of them, as if they were going to be blown away by even a big man if they collided with them properly.

At the moment of impact, the mud that supports their heels rises violently.

However, the three shieldmen, with their shields in place, do not lose their positions, but firmly catch the evil spirit's attack.

The mud pillars, crushed by their momentum, snapped in mid-stride, and the mud splashed down on the silvery armor.

However, the mud slides down to the feet of the shieldmen without producing any white smoke, even though they must have been exposed to the dissolved poison from their heads.

Once again, arrows flew, and evil spirits shot mud pillars in return.

They hit the shields and are returned to the swamp.　

It was a spectacular battle, but it lasted only for the first minute or so.

"Hey, Thor. When is it going to be over?"

"Hmm, I guess it's going to take a little longer."

The shieldsmen were successfully catching the mud pillars, but in fact they had not taken a single step forward from their initial position.

The chill arrows that were being shot without hesitation did not seem to be aimed at the spirit nucleus at all, and the number of arrows was gradually decreasing.

The only change was the occasional fire of deceptive fire that intervened and was shot down, as if attracted by the animation.

It was strange to see the photoballs hit by Chiru's arrows disappear without exploding.

"Hey, don't slack off, keep up the good work!

Moo, completely bored, hung on Thor's arm, cheering lamely.

He must have known that the mud underneath would not hurt him if he fell.

He was playing as much as he wanted, for example, by twisting his muddy legs around Thor's arms and turning him upside down.

Yuril's lips were parted at the sight of this.

"Hmmm, it makes me nostalgic to see you cheering for me, Mumu-san."

"Ah, I thought that looked familiar... the bloody river bridge building!"

Thor and his friends had once helped build a stone pile that crossed the stream of the Bloody River.

Sola noticed that the way the three brothers had fought in the past was very similar to the way Chiru and the others were fighting now.

"Yeah, I guess they probably have similar goals."

Thor was right, and the battle, which lasted about five minutes, ended easily as Chiru and the others retreated.

It seemed that the evil spirit of the demon mud hardly moved from where it was standing.

The men, who had easily escaped from the range of the mud pillars, came back to Thor and the others and continued walking without slowing down.　

"Sorry to keep you waiting, this way. Follow me."

Led by Chiru and the three shieldmen, the group headed for a swamp a short distance away.

Although they must have been heavily armed, the men in armor moved along the rough road with a gait no different from that of Thor and the others.

The place they arrived at in less than five minutes was quite different from the swamp landscape they had become accustomed to.

The ground was covered with mud as usual, but the ground was hollowed out like a plate.

The diameter of the depression seemed to be more than fifty paces.

The edges of the dish were covered with soil, which prevented the soft muddy water from flowing into the dish.

The men climbed over the bank, went to the bottom of the depression, and readjusted their shields.

--

The clay-like mud was heroically lifted up by the outpouring of the stored fighting spirit.

"Ah, I knew it!

"You're getting all lushy, To-chan!　Oh, Moe, I've got an idea!

"Hmm, what do you think?　Isn't that a nice dig?"

"So, what's that thing collecting?"

Thor, who had been watching from the edge of the depression, asks Chiru, who proudly crosses his arms.

The shieldmen were digging their hands into the rising mud and picking something out with great effort.

Their leader nods grandly and, perhaps already prepared, turns over a small leather bag and heaves the contents into the palm of his hand.

Sola's big eyes sparkled at the pile of silver flecked stones that caught her attention.

Wow, it's beautiful! I didn't know you could get something like this.

"This is a pure silver ore, isn't it?"

"Oh, you know your stuff. Not only are you skilled in magic, but you also have insight. This is called mud silver ore.

Chiru smiled happily at Yuril, who easily guessed his true identity.

True silver is the metal that gave the current Thor and his class their name, and is a mineral with properties different from those of ordinary silver.

It has a high degree of toughness and a hardness not found in ordinary silver, and can be used to make weapons that are sharp and easy to handle, as well as armor that is resistant to shocks and difficult to break.

It is also light enough to allow shieldmen in armor to move around on muddy ground with ease.

Not only that, but silver has another great feature.

It is also resistant to miasma.

Thor suddenly thought of this and checked it, remembering the battle just now.

"Perhaps it was a silver arrowhead that bewitched you and scattered your fire?"

"Yes, that's right, Hero of the Mud Hunt. Touch the silver, and you'll be gone before you can even fire the dazzler."

That's handy.

"Mm. This silver is very useful, but there is a problem.

"Hey, Mr. Chill, do something!

Then, interrupting our conversation, we heard a call for help from a shieldman who was digging at the bottom of a depression.

I turned my eyes and saw the young men of the Chacoan tribe waving their hands as if they were in trouble.

Sitting in front of them was a purple-eyed girl astride a sled.

"Quick, get me a harpoon!　Moo, bam, you're sliding down the slope."

"No, it's not safe."

"You're going to get hurt, girl."

It seems that they have come up with a new game after seeing the heaping mud piles.

Chiru stopped moving at the sight of the fearless child, but then began to laugh out loud as if he understood the reason for blocking the mining operation.

"What a bunch of big shots you are! I like you very much, hero.

"Hey, Moo-chan!　Oh, God."

As Sora hurriedly ran down the slope, Moe tapped his sled to hurry him along.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!

The shieldmen, looking at each other at the corners, nodded and lifted their shields as if in unison.

--

In no time at all, a pile of mud with a child and a sled on it rose high into the sky.

The mud pushes Mu up into the air with great force, but he maneuvers the sled expertly and lands on the side of the mountain.

He slides down the muddy mountain with the wind in his face.

Then, bouncing off the mud, he runs up the slope of the depression.

He tilts the sled to the right by blowing the wind while putting his weight on the sled.

The sound of excited children's voices echoed from the top of the sled that was safely on the circular track of the slope of the depression.

However, a girl standing with her hands on her hips was waiting for them at the end of the circle.

Mu hurriedly tried to change the direction of the sled, but Sola's hand grabbed the child by the neck one step earlier.

"You can't interfere with my work!"

"Mmmm!　I was just getting ready to go..."

"So, what's the problem?"

"Uh, yeah. ......"

Thor spoke to him as if nothing had happened, and Chiru shook his head feathers in surprise.

As he descended into the hollow, he lifted a grain of silvered mud in his hand.

"The problem is that we can only get about three times this much in a day."

"That's not very much, is it?

"Stonecutter, then let Moo take care of it!"

Again, the child, who had been clinging to Thor's arm for some time, shouts happily.

Moo, after Sora had taken the Ohanamaru away from him, rolled down the slope and plunged his hand into the muddy pile.

"I got it, Tor-chan!"

The child was pulled out and a large stone was placed in his hand.

A man from the Chacoan tribe peeked in and let out a startled voice.

"Oh, this is a big one! That's great, girl!"

I can get more.

"What?

The men surround Mu, who digs up one stone after another, as if in a state of shock.

"What's going on?

"I guess it's not ......, by chance."

"Oh, man."

Behind the shieldmen, who were staring at Mu, Chil let out an impressed voice.

"I thought you were a maggot for finding the geocrystal stone so easily, but you seem to have a great talent ......."

That day we spent the rest of the evening going back and forth between the monster swamp and the depression where the mud and silver ore was buried, and Moe seemed to enjoy the sledding and rock-picking to the fullest.

As a result, he harvested five large bags of silversmith's ore.

When the group returns to the camp, hungry to the max, they are greeted by the smell of delicious food.

And an unexpected person also welcomed Thor and his group.

"Hello everyone, how have you been?

The man in an apron preparing dinner was Chita, a skilled rider who manipulates a flying dragon.