Chapter 72

Chapter 72 – The Frontier’s Expedition Force

<Your Level has increased>

<You earned Skill Points>

<Your Karma has dropped>

<You acquired new interpersonal combat skills>

<You acquired new martial arts skills>

<You acquired new dark arts skills>

<The level of existing skills has increased>

<New title: Carnage Tyrant>

<New title: Equally Evil Against All Of Humanity>

<The level of your servants has risen>

As I watched Yuu and Maria’s banter, I was notified of the results of the last battle. I ended up getting some new titles, so I suppose I should check them out in case they give special bonuses.

———

Carnage Tyrant: Proof that one has repeatedly caused mass slaughter in a short period of time. AGI increases with each murder over a single battle <Caps at +75%>; Rigidity Reduction: <Medium>; Knockback Resistance: <Medium>; Damage dealt to humans: <Medium>

Equally Evil Against All Of Humanity: Proof that one has repeatedly and mercilessly murdered others regardless of their age, gender, or karma. Increased damage dealt to humans: <Large>; Increased damage dealt against enemies with <Good> Karma: <Large>; Increased damage dealt: <Medium>; Increased damage received from enemies with <Good> Karma: <Large>; Increased damage received from enemies: <Medium>

———

… I didn’t have any intention of pushing things in this direction, but my titles make me feel more and more like an enemy of mankind. In particular, the constant hostility towards people with <Good> Karma makes it a bit bothersome to interact with NPCs, as they have troubling reactions if I don’t use skills like Stealth and Concealment.

In any case, the event rewards were quite helpful. The Tranquil Kodachi that I got for 50,000 points is pretty strong. With another 8000 points I also got the <Thread Manipulation>, <Dual Wield> and <Preparation> skills, and when paired together with the Darkness Thread weapon, that I bought for 30000 points, ended up being quite useful.

“You liked the new weapons, didn’t you, Yamada?” I asked to the monster that possessed my weapons, who made some happy noises in return.

I also spent 220,000 points in armor and accessories, and the last 10,000 points for materials and SP. Seems like I made good choices overall.

“Shall we go?” I asked Yuu and Maria.

“Yes! sorry!” Maria said.

“Oh, you done already?” Yuu asked.

“Hi-hi-hyaa!” Maria exclaimed. For some reason she behaves weirdly every time I talk to her, and it’s probably not because of my Karma, as other players would probably be affected by this during battles if that was the case.

“I’m going.” I told them.

“G-got it!” Yuu replied.

“I-I’m saved…” Maria said… She seems a bit funny, and she is on good terms with Yuu, so it should be alright to travel together for now.

******

“Oh? Some people are gathering over there.” Yuu pointed out.

“So they are… I wonder why.” I answered while looking at the crowd.

“Clear out the road!” A soldier shouted.

“Hey, is this a quest or another event?” A player asked.

“No clue, but that’s definitely a large military group for sure.” Another player commented.

“Good grief, can’t you migrants stop causing such a ruckus!?” A soldier yelled.

“He’s getting angry… Maybe we should step back?” A player said.

“Even if you say that, I can’t move backwards with this many people behind me…” Another player replied.

Seems like the players saw the army marching and ended up gathering around them, which stopped the march and attracted even more attention, which made things even more crowded… And since the game’s setting says that the migrants were called here by the gods, the army can’t simply force them out of the way without a good reason… This looks like a good opportunity.

“Is there an important person in the midst of that group?” Maria asked.

“I think so. Probably a count at the very least.” Yuu replied… Their hypothesis seem likely.

“Make way, for the commander of this battalion, is his highness, the crown prince!” A soldier shouted.

“Seriously!?” A player replied.

“The crown prince!?” Another said.

“So this is an event after all!” One exclaimed.

“There was an event just the other day, so this is probably a world quest.” Another player commented.

“What!? Why are you coming even closer than before!?” The soldier was troubled by the players’ reactions… There shouldn’t be any incident that would bring the crown prince all the way over here though, even if there was the recent coup, there should be another commander capable of handling this…

“The NPCs are confused.” Maria commented.

“Well, that can’t be helped, the players don’t pretend that this is not a game after all.” Yuu replied.

“I guess it can’t be helped that they get confused by this kind of reaction when the NPCs themselves aren’t aware that they’re game characters…” Maria said.

“Well, let’s get started.” I said.

“… Started with what?” Yuu asked.

“Wait, miss Ichijouji!” Maria said.

For now, I threw an iron scrap at the head of the soldier who had been shouting for a while, instantly killing him.

“A surprise attack!” A soldier with fancier armor shouted.

“Huh?” Some soldiers said. They seemed to be confused by the situation, but seemed to regain their composure once the previous guy got off of his horse. “Captain!” The soldiers shouted as they saluted him.

“Who did this?” A player asked.

“Find out the attacker!” Another player shouted, creating some confusion.

“Migrants, is that your aim!?” The captain shouted towards the disorganized players.

“Wait, what!?” A player replied.

“What happened to the event?” Another said.

Making use of the confusion, I threw many explosive at the midst of everyone, increasing the chaos and worsening the visibility within the area.

“W-wait, Rena!” Yuu shouted.

“I-is miss Ichijouji always like this?” Asked Maria.

I ran through the crowd, beheaded a player, stole his weapon and threw it forward with a bunch of explosives tied up in it.

“Protect his highness!” A soldier shouted.

“Infantry, forward!” Another yelled.

As expected of the army, even within this confusion, they still respond quickly while being well-aware of what their priorities should be. Not that it matters much though, as I threw multiple players as living bombs towards the infantry that was approaching me.

“Gyah!” Someone shouted.

“What’s happening!?” Another yelled.

“It’s the Genocider!” A player exclaimed.

“Seriously!? We’re doomed!” Another said.

As the players started to realize what was happening, I coated the Darkness Thread with poison and shaped it into a form similar to a spear, before throwing it at a mass of players. Many were able to survive due to high defense or evasion, but the numbing poison should incapacitate them for the time being.

“Magical Squad, make a barrier!” One soldier shouted.

“Infantry, regroup and enter defensive formation!” Another ordered.

“Archers, shoot!” A soldier yelled.

I’m not gonna let them. I used the poisoned Darkness Thread to attack the infantry at the gaps in their armor, and used <Gale Magic> to cast <Tailwind> to block the incoming arrows.

And before the Magical Squad created the barrier, I combined explosives, poison, thread and pieces of player meat with <Thread Manipulation> to make a spear, then used <Impact Delivery> and <Boulder Throw> to make a <Comet>!

“Woah…” Yuu said.

“I-it’s hard to keep up with her…” Maria commented.

“… Don’t try the impossible.” Yuu replied.

“… Okay.” Maria said.

While listening to their conversation, I charged at the army before they could retreat.

“Damn it!” One shouted.

“She’s coming!” Another yelled.

“Don’t let her through!” A third one ordered.

“To fight against the army… She’s mad!” A fourth exclaimed.

Using the infantry’s shields as a foothold, I jumped to the middle of their groups and then started walking on soldier heads while leaving explosives behind.

“Archers, stop!” A soldier ordered. The rain of arrows could not be maintained due to the risk of friendly fire, so I could now just move through the rest of the infantry without many worries.

“She’s fast!” A soldier exclaimed.

“Encroach!” Another ordered.

“Our numbers are doing nothing…” A third one said.

I used the thread to tie the leg of a spearman and the pulled it to make him lose balance and get in the way of their formation. Then I threw iron scraps at the eyes and throats of the temporarily disorganized soldiers. Following that I grabbed a spear that was thrust against me and cut of the arm of the soldier who was wielding it. Immediately after, I jumped high in the air and threw some explosives at the wheels of a fancy carriage that was trying to escape amidst the confusion.

Then, used poison needles to the kill the cavalry horses, who were the next method of escape after the carriage’s wheels were destroyed. Blocked the path to me with some explosives to buy time, then landed on top of the carriage.

<Your Level has increased>

<You earned Skill Points>

<Your Karma has dropped significantly>

“Drop your weapons and surrender.” I told them.

“How dare you!? Just where do you think you’re standing at!?” A soldier shouted.

“Get out of there!” Another yelled.

I sighed. To think I even told them to surrender… Guess I’ll need to show it to them then.

“Please pay attention.” I took out a special explosive and threw it at the nearby mountain. A second later, a huge explosion occurred, and a landslide came out of it.

They all became silent after that. “So, what are you going to do now?” I asked while pointing another of those explosives at the carriage.

“You little…” A soldier said. They were slowly encroaching on the carriage, but they couldn’t get much closer due to the current circumstances.

“… It’s alright, lower your weapons.” The crown prince said while getting off the carriage.

“Huh? Your highness!?” The soldiers seemed in disbelief… I wonder why the crown prince got off the carriage.

“I’d like to talk to the young lady.” The crown prince said. He seems to be in his late twenties, similarly to Alexei. He beckoned me to get off the carriage without taking his eyes off me.

“Your highness, it’s dangerous!” A soldier shouted.

“It should be fine, because this girl…” The prince said.

“It can’t be!” The soldier replied.

Well, what to do now?