50 - The 19th "Maze Rages"

"Oh shit!　It's a bad story, you son of a b*tc*!"

The skinhead man swore and swung a dagger in his right hand.

The dagger plunged into the belly of the enemy, a jackal-like beast called Ugal, but the blade did not reach its heart. The man who was pushed down hit the jaw of Ugaru, who still tried to bite him, and when he was frightened, he pulled out a dagger and slit his throat. Blood spurts out, staining the man's face.

The man, frowning at the stench of blood, kicks Ugaru away with his thick legs. Ugal, with a large amount of fresh blood spraying from his neck, scratched his head for a while, but then he ran out of strength, stuck out his tongue, and stopped moving.

"Hey, leader, are you alive?

"Hate it!　d*mn it, it's been a long time since I've been on vacation, why do I have to go through all this?

That was a bad one," the skinhead replies, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

He is not a scout and is fighting with a dagger because he was on leave and unarmed. The only weapon he has now is the dagger he wears for self-defense. If he had used his usual long sword, he would have been killed with a single blow, but who would have thought that he would be attacked by a magical beast inside the border city, let alone in the wilderness?

"Just when I thought the boundary area had finally calmed down, there's a labyrinthine stampede, what a joke!

--Labyrinth Runaway 《Dungeon Stampede》.

It is a phenomenon in which monsters and beasts in a labyrinth overflow into the outside world at the same time.

According to the records of the kingdom, the last time this happened was more than five years ago, and it is said that many people were killed until the labyrinth was stabilized.

Fortunately, there was no record of such an outbreak in the labyrinths of the bordering cities, but in case of an emergency, the labyrinth district that hosts the labyrinths was separated from the surrounding urban districts and a strong wall was built.

This is like an embankment, so to speak. The wall is supposed to dam the waves of monsters that overflow, and the knights are supposed to be dispatched while buying time with "minimal sacrifices. Training for this purpose was held regularly several times a year. However,

"Are the Knights moving?"

"We are currently deploying to the outer perimeter of the labyrinthine area and forming a rescue team on a temporary basis!　The fastest they can get there is 15 minutes!"

"...... So that means we'll have to hang on for a while longer."

My partner complained in a dismal tone.

As a matter of fact, they could escape if they wanted to, if they were alone.

As adventurers, not knights, they are not obligated to fight here and now. Since they are not on a quest to defend themselves, they are free to leave the rest to the knights.

Also, the fact that the knights are already deployed around the perimeter of the labyrinth area means that the demonic beasts will not go outside the labyrinth area. The damage will be limited to the inside of the labyrinth district. At the very least, the boundary city itself will not be shaken by this one incident.

But even so, the reason why they are fighting against the monsters here is because they wish to reduce the "minimum sacrifice" as much as possible.

Neither the partner nor the man was born in this city, but after nearly five years of activities as a base of operations, one can feel a sense of attachment. Although most of the residents of the labyrinthine district had already evacuated, probably as a result of their training, there were more than a dozen people around who had failed to escape, and fortunately or unfortunately, they had the strength to fight.

The man continues to wield his dagger against the backs of the helpless people, regretting with all his heart that he should have stayed in the inn to sleep if it had come to this.

"...... is finally in trouble."

"What's up, leader? I'm hoping for some good news soon."

I'm afraid I have bad news. A party near the labyrinth sent a psychic alert. Second wave approaching. Soon there will be a horde of Ugalufs in this plaza.

"...... seriously. That sucks."

It is a higher species than Ugaru. They are large, and their viciousness is incomparable when they are in a pack.

I used the communication magic I had spent seven years mastering to check on the situation with the other parties, but all the information I heard only told of the worsening war situation.

Fortunately, there were no casualties at the moment, but it was only a matter of time. The knights on duty in the labyrinthine area and adventurers who were present at the scene were dealing with the monsters, but there were not enough of them. They are fighting individually without a chain of command due to the sudden situation.

A temporary chain of command will be established when the rescue team of the Knights arrives, but the question is whether they will be able to hold their own until then. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the figure of Ugaruf approaching the square across the street.

"--I would like to ask you a few questions. Are you willing to take command of this group?"

Just as I was about to make up my mind that it was time to make a decision, I heard a voice saying, "Who are you?

I turned to the owner of the voice, expecting to see reinforcements, but instead I found a medium-sized man of medium height and good build standing there, wearing a hood over his eyes.

I quickly ran my eyes over his entire body, but the young man who wandered into view was not a fighter by any means. His hands were clean, not the kind of palms that would hold a sword. His body was not that of a well-trained warrior, nor was there any sign of a sorcerer. To the man's eyes at least, he was just an ordinary man.

"Who are you?　Are you a member of the Order, or perhaps a hand of the Count of Sacred Swords?"

"...... No, I am a traveling merchant. I'm a traveling merchant. I've been a nuisance in this town for some time now.

And if you ask him with a ray of hope, he says he is just a peddler.

He is out of place, no matter how you look at it.

On the contrary, he is a weak man who should be the first to flee from this place.

The man's head instantly boils over at the appearance of this new stumbling block, and he shouts in frustration.

"What do you want, merchant?　Can't you see what's going on, you f*cking idiot!　Get the hell out of here!!!!!!!"

"......Yes, as much as I'd like to get out of here. However, for whatever reason, I'm here to help."

"...... Oh?　Help?"

The man was taken aback by the unintelligible words uttered by the young man.

The young man, who was looking at the man, steps out of the group as if he were taking a walk, and walks toward the center of the plaza where the magical beast is closing in on him.

The action was so natural and sudden that there was no time to stop him. By the time the man comes to himself, the young man is already too late.

"You idiot!　What the hell do you think you're doing?

The man reaches out his hand as quickly as he can.

But he is too late.

As if slipping through his outstretched hand, the young man reveals himself to Ugarufu, the giant black dog that has just burst into the plaza.

The weak man walks up to him recklessly and alone. There is no way that Ugaluf, a magical beast, will let him escape.

A hexenbiest is a beast belonging to the demon family that turns its fangs against people, and harming people is an instinct for hexenbiests. Ugarufu jumped at the young man who came out of nowhere, as if he were jubilant.

The two are already within a stone's throw of each other.

The sharp, vicious claws run for the young man's throat.

The tragedy that would ensue a moment later.

The man sees a future in which the young man's body will be cruelly torn apart.

The young man looks at the claws of death that are falling on him and snaps his fingers ---- carelessly.

"----"

The sound of a bullet echoes around you.

The next moment, three events occurred almost simultaneously.

First, a woman appeared like the wind and struck a magical beast as tall as she was with her fist.

Second, lightning struck the horde of frightened monsters and stopped all of their movements.

Three, a ridiculously huge axe was swung by the big man and turned the horde of monsters into a mass of flesh!

"What about ........................?"

What happened?

No, I am sure I saw it with my own eyes, the man replies.

But his brain could not take in the scene.

The events that took place in front of his eyes lacked such a sense of reality.

There were three figures around the young man, and he wondered how long he had been there.

A silver-haired woman with a straight back.

A girl with brown skin and a hard look in the sunlight.

And a large man with a body as strong as a rock.

None of these faces is familiar.

However, all three of them wear the air of an uncommonly strong man.

They were not ordinary men, that much was certain.

"----

One short word.

The silver woman and the big man moved as if they had been shot by a bullet, just as the young man lifted his chin.

The two split to the left and right, running off to the east and west of the labyrinthine area, respectively.

The remaining brown beauty steps forward to protect the young man and waits for his instructions.

Tactical Window: Open. Select: Map. Mode: Alliance Battle.

The young man's mouth spins a smooth sentence. It can't be a meaningless string of words here. Perhaps he was chanting in order to use some kind of magic formula.

However, the chant spun from the young man's mouth was something that even a man who has been active as an adventurer for more than ten years had never heard before.

Summoning magic, contract magic, spirit magic, law magic. When I checked them against my own knowledge, I could not find any similarities, let alone any of them. I wonder if it is called "original chanting (origin spell)" or not.

"......".... So this is the limit of the accuracy.

One click of the tongue.

The young man staring into the void with a very serious expression on his face said to the man

"I'll check again. Can I assume that you are the commander of this battle area, or someone in a similar position?

"...... Oh, yeah. I'm Biegel, the leader of the clan . I happened to be in the labyrinth district, so I took temporary command.

Then we'll get to the point. Hurry up to coordinates B-3, X7Y8....... I don't get it. I need you to send a force to Mireille's store on East Shopping Street. Three leopard-shaped monsters are heading straight for Chuo Ward. They will break through at this rate.

How do you know that?

Before he could ask that question, the man made a quick decision and connected his mind to an adventurer in the vicinity of the area. Fortunately, it was a party of combat adventurers whom he knew. They begin to move to establish a line of defense.

"Contact the group at the coordinates D-2...... or the group on the east street of Fifth Avenue. A two-horned herd will appear in about two minutes from now. Tell them to lead the herd to the park to the west, instead of taking them head-on. There's no need to take them down. There is a big man carrying an axe there. Tell him he can handle the enemy.

"And the F-12-- no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Anyway, there's a lone adventurer at the west end of line 3. Send him south now. There is a group of four adventurers about 300 meters ahead on the street around the bend, but they are in need of help. If we can recruit one more, the battle should stabilize.

"Next. Adventurer running near Yazulka workshop ...... No, a knight?　I don't know which one it is, but tell them to check inside the workshop. There must be some people in the building, but the coordinates have not moved at all since a few minutes ago. They are probably artisans who have failed to escape. Collect them and move them to the rear. The hole will be filled by our handiwork.

The instructions were given quickly and smoothly.

There was no hint of impatience, and he maneuvered the forces of each region with the calmness of a pawn in a game of pawn-taking.

The heart-to-heart messages that had been coming from the war's worsening situation were met with strong words of thanks for the support and the next instructions, as well as the fact that the defensive line had been established.

The new monsters that appeared in the plaza are slaughtered in no time by the brown-skinned woman standing by the young man's side. No new injuries are inflicted. The surplus forces that are to be sent to the various locations have been found.

--Maybe they will all be saved.

The man is aware that this thought naturally comes to him as he looks at the immobile young man's back.

+ + +

"--How did this happen?

Staring at the maps floating in his field of vision, Helian was filled with the desire to exclaim.

He did not want to intervene in this case.

This expedition is just a preliminary step to a full-scale investigation. This expedition was just a prelude to a full-scale investigation, a kind of preparation to establish a base of operations, and for Herian personally, it was a negotiation exercise.

For the time being, therefore, he did not intend to establish any connections with the authorities or to attract public attention.

--But Helian had seen it.

He saw a man running towards the central district with a warning, followed by a crowd of people screaming and running away.

I remember a mother holding her child in her arms as quickly as she could after the child stumbled and fell, and enduring being kicked in the back by the people who followed.

And the image of a small child who was about to cry from the pain of her fallen and scraped knees, but who ignored the pain in her back and smiled at her mother's face, her lips twisted as she endured the pain.

And the mother and the child, holding each other's hands tightly, running away together after the crowd had broken off, though they were slower than before.

Such a scene was shown to me in full view.

And, unfortunately, this intervention also has its advantages as an alkimaira.

This place is a planned base of operations for the start of a full-scale research campaign in the human domain. And the border city of Shields is one of the important bases in the human realm, so it is not an abnormal thought to want to avoid disturbing the local situation by a trivial disaster.

It is also more than possible to reinforce the theory of intervention, such as aiming to gain [dominance] by contributing and showing their activities to the local residents. Even if his subordinates question the reason for his intervention, he will have enough material to persuade them.

Then, there is only one important issue left.

That is the complete collapse of Helian's personal plan to keep a low profile and proceed at a reasonable pace.

（Oh, shit!)

He stifled his invective inwardly and stared at the with bloodshot eyes.

[The actions that he has repeated so many times in Tactics Chronicle are ingrained in his body. Even if his mind is in turmoil from frustration, his eyes are able to read information in the shortest and fastest time. Herian seizes control of the battlefield through the many virtual windows that float before his eyes.

The war situation was somehow stabilizing. Perhaps it was the "stage direction" of his appearance that worked, as the warriors around him lent an ear to the words of a young man who had just arrived on the scene.

Yes, Yazulka's craftsmen have been rescued safely!　I've asked the knights who responded to the call to stand down and join the line of defense!　Now, what's next, who do I tell and what do I tell them?

Among them, it was fortuitous that the man we expected to be the commander (a skinhead) had mastered mind language.

He seemed to have a good reputation as an adventurer, and almost all of the people I sent him to intervene followed his instructions.

Judging from his popularity, he might be a well-known adventurer.

"Slowly retreat the adventurers in the second line. The pressure of the monsters is increasing. Tell them to join up with the group near the Baroque Trading Company and lower the line of defense while destroying them individually.

In [Tactics Chronicle], if you put the coordinates on the , your subordinates would be able to understand it, but in this real world, it is not so easy if you want to command even units other than your own. While struggling with the difference between the virtual (game) and the real (real) world, we managed to communicate the coordinates by assigning the names of buildings and streets near the coordinates.

Thanks to Rieve, who was entrusted with the search of the labyrinthine area, I was able to find out the names of the streets and the names of the main facilities and stores. If we had not been informed of the geographical information of the labyrinthine area in advance, we would not have been able to give such smooth instructions.

<

<

If the search is perfect, it would be possible to launch a ranged attack that would swallow up the damage in the surrounding area.

However, with only three friendly units and the current search accuracy, there is no guarantee that there will be no undetected people who have not escaped. It is out of the question to launch a ranged attack into such a situation. That's exactly why they abandoned their own plan to intervene in the situation.

"...... Oh!

A voice came from close by.

The next moment, an ice spear is released from Celes' outstretched palm, piercing the house behind it, along with the demonic beast in front of it. The giant, flame-breathing jackal-like beast, named "Ugaluf" or something like that, is obliterated, and at the same time, several large holes are punched through the building behind it. The fact that the enemy is obliterated rather than skewered is clearly an overkill.

"I'm sorry, young master. I'm not quite sure how to go easy on you. ......"

"Is it still tough to handle the fully humanized form?"

"...... Yes. I think I can handle it if I do it calmly, but it is difficult to make fine adjustments if I use magic reflexively.

Celes is a corps commander who excels in offensive magic. The role he is expected to play on the battlefield is to destroy a wide area with extreme power. He is not good at making fine adjustments so as not to cause damage to the surrounding area, even if it is in the direction of increasing the power.

Furthermore, Helian's immediate escort is Celes alone, and failure to deliver the coup de grace could put the Lord's life in danger. This pressure may also be a factor. He has already slaughtered more than fifty monsters, and about 20% of them showed signs of excessive force. Under these adverse conditions, it is unreasonable to expect them to take perfect control of their unaccustomed fully humanized forms.

"...... There are no residents who failed to escape in the building within the range visible from here?"

"Yes. We can search only the buildings around the square. There is no one left.

"Then we'll take it as easy as we can. Human life is our priority. If you can afford it, try to use pinpoint magic such as ice pillar stakes.

"Yes, sir. ......, sir, and ......."

I know. I know. It's somewhere around coordinates E-7, right?　...... won't last five minutes at this rate."

The map Helian was looking at clearly showed a group of people being overwhelmed by a red light spot (Enemy). They have already sent an extra force from this plaza, but given their speed of movement, there is a possibility that they will break through the defensive line before they arrive.

In this case, we have no choice but to send RIVET directly toward them, knowing that it would be a bad idea. There is a strong possibility that the front line will collapse by moving the position of Liewe, but if the rear collapses, this defensive battle will end in failure. There is no time to hesitate in making a decision.

Helian gritted his teeth as he marked the map and was about to send an "order" to Levee, when a large number of light dots appeared on the second map, which was fixed on a miniature map of the entire labyrinth area. I saw it.

The color of the light spot is light blue. The color indicates a friendly neutral unit. The light spots, showing controlled movements, join the defensive battles in various areas and participate in the clearing of the monsters.

Then one of them breaks away from the group. It's a great speed. It is coming toward the main battlefield, that is, this plaza, more than five times faster than the other light spots (units).

This is--

"Young Master, up there!"

I follow Ceres' voice and look up in the sky behind her.

There was a figure leaping high into the sky.

He raised his sword with both hands, lit it up with golden light, and swung it down with his waving spirit.

The blade, which should have reached the enemy, struck the beast below with a flying slash. With a single swing, the five Ugalufs that had been aiming at the plaza are cut in half, and the number of red dots of light (the "Enemies") on the map that Helian had displayed is reduced.

The shooter who had fired the slash then drops down toward the center of the plaza, falling in front of Helian. It was a known person who landed on the ground with a heavy thud, breaking the cobblestone pavement. Silver armor, a golden knight's sword, and an intimidating back that seemed to embody dignity.

"It's you, Herian. It's been a long time.

Count Glenn Gardiner was there.

Unlike the other times, he was fully armed and looked around the area. He seemed to have grasped the general situation and nodded his head in agreement.

"I see. I had thought that there was very little damage, but now my doubts are cleared up. So you guys have been helping us."

"I just happened to be there. We participated in the rescue operation in our own small way.

"Is that so?　Judging by the reaction of the people around me, I think it's a bit too modest to call it a small help."

No, sir. I think we need to take care of the problem at hand first.

"Well, that makes sense. First of all--"

He turns around and flashes his sword. He cuts off both of the monsters that appear in his line of fire.

"Let's get rid of them, shall we? Then everything else will follow.

As soon as he announced this, the frontier count shouted at the people around him in a loud, clear voice.

"Sorry for the wait, my dear subjects!　You fought well. And you survived, gentlemen!　But it's all right now. From this point forward, in the name of Glenn Gardiner, I assure you of your relief!

The people gathered in the plaza cheered at the sound of the frontier count's voice.

Those who had been injured or sick and had failed to escape were convinced that they had been saved, and they hugged their loved ones and rejoiced in their safety. Adventurers who were wounded but did not break their knees also fell to the ground with deep sighs. And even Biegel, still in the midst of the battlefield, sits down complaining that "it is finally over".

It was a reaction that confirmed the people's great trust in Glenn Gardiner.

The Count of the Frontier, or rather the Count of the Sacred Sword, appeared on the scene.

This mere fact, however, was enough to guarantee relief to his beloved people.

With the knights who caught up with him late, the Earl of the Sword marched forward to meet the people's hopes. He is a hero, the way he throws himself into the battlefield ahead of all the others.

The elite of the Knights left in the Seals. He is ahead of all of them, slaughtering more enemies than anyone else, and he is marching forward in a straight line toward the center of the labyrinth district - the dungeon. The monsters and beasts that block his path are all cut down by the flash of his knightly sword.

The following knights also make sure to kill the demonic beasts that have escaped from the clearing, and gradually narrow the circle of encirclement as they march forward.

--Three hours later...

The labyrinthine area is swept clean of the monsters and beasts by the knights.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

That night.

After the sun had set at the edge of the wilderness, the central government declared the situation under control in each district.

The news that the labyrinthine outburst had been successfully suppressed spread quickly throughout the SEALs, and the situation was settled.

The next day, after the sun had risen, an announcement was issued through the public relations office, reporting that the number of victims of the labyrinthine outburst was extremely small, and that the amount of material damage was surprisingly small compared to past cases.

The citizens, who had been in a state of agitation for a while, calmed down after the statement issued in the name of the "Count of the Frontier," and the chaos caused by the labyrinthine outburst seemed to be quickly coming to an end.

It was two days later that Helian and his party received a summons from the Count of the Frontier.