Chapter 94: Ichino’s speech

Sorry for the long wait guys! I was away for the Chinese New Year holidays. Enjoy this extra chapter as part of my Patreon supporters! ????

The sun had already set and we were wrapped in darkness.

We were acting under the veil of secrecy so we didn’t use lighting such as bonfires.

The light from a fire can be seen from afar. Those lights are probably from the fires used by the Dakyat soldiers.

But I couldn’t really see them clearly.

“The Dakyat soldiers seem to be preparing for dinner.”

“Haru, you can tell?”

I knew that she has good vision but she’s able to tell even in such darkness?

“Yes. The White Wolf race prefer the night. Our night vision will be effective as long as there is moonlight.”

Haru said without bragging about it in particular.

The White Wolf and the moon do certainly seem to be paired existences.

“That sure is envious. I can’t really see much from here other than the lights.”

Maybe I’ll have Haru tell me all about the state of the Dakyat soldiers.

“Master, don’t you possess the skill called Hawk’s Eye?”

“Hn? Ah, oh right, I do have such a skill.”

Allows the viewing of the land from above.

Able to configure the height up to 1 km at maximum.

Maybe I should give it a try.

Thinking so, I activated Hawk’s Eye.

Then, I felt as if my body was floating.

No, there were no changes to my body. My line of sight was the one rising upward.

When I tilted my head downwards, my line of sight tilted downwards.

Then, I saw my own figure below me.

“It’s as if I’m having an out-of-body experience.”

When I muttered that, the me below also opened my mouth.

The difference to an out-of-body experience would be that my movement was restricted to only either going up or down.

I gradually floated higher and higher.

I could no longer see the figures of Haru and myself due to the darkness.

However, when I looked at the soldiers, I could clearly see scattered fires from the sky.

The distance was in fact further but it was easier to see the movements of the soldiers from the sky.

“Hn? That is ― ”

“Ichino-sama, what did you see?”

“Uwa … Ah, I see, although my vision has floated up, my body is still on the surface so I can hear Carol’s voice huh …”

“Yes, everyone is here.”

When she said that, most likely it was Carol who grasped my hand.

A gentle touch was transmitted through my palm.

Was it Haru who grasped my hand on the opposite side?

… And I also felt a slight tugging sensation on my clothes.

Did Malina read the atmosphere and grabbed the hem of my clothes?

I was all alone in the sky but I was not lonely at all.

Then, I looked at that.

“I see squirming beings from the north-west direction ― it seems to be the monster herd and they have quite a number. Haru, can you confirm this?”

“No, a hill is blocking my view from here … ah, the soldiers are shooting arrows. It seems to be fire arrows.”

“Ah, so those are fire arrows … uwa, fire is spreading across the grass plains.”

Perhaps they scattered oil before releasing the fire arrows as the flames spread in an instant.

They probably mowed down the grass so that the fire won’t burn until our position.

The flames spread to the west but it didn’t look like it was spreading to the east.

With the amazing power of fire that is not an exaggeration to be called mankind’s greatest weapon, I thought maybe the monsters would be eradicated all at once by the fire.

“Amazing … ”

I could hear Carol’s voice.

Ah, it’s amazing … it doesn’t look it we will need to step up … or so I thought but,

“It’s a lie … right?”

The monster herd did not lessen their speed at all.

They thrust themselves into the flames without any concern for burns as they charged directly to the east ― towards the direction of the soldiers.

It immediately became a melee.

Most likely due to the monsters that crossed the wall of flames while still clad in fire, the fire spread to the soldier’s encampment.

“They have begun retreating ― isn’t it way too fast!”

Ten minutes hasn’t even elapsed since the start of the battle.

“If they lose war potential here, they will leave an opening for Korat to take advantage of. They have most likely switched their objective to hold up at Ferruit. Since there’s also the possibility that the monster herd might ignore Ferruit’s walls and head to the east if they are lucky.”

“Certainly … if the monsters don’t have a definite purpose, that strategy might work.”

The behavior of those monsters was abnormal.

That scene where they charged into the midst of the fire ― it’s as if they are being manipulated.

I canceled Hawk’s eye and returned to the surface.

I saw Haru and Carol to be left and right and Malina behind me.

I took out the mask from my item bag and passed it to Malina.

When she switched into Marina,

“It looks like it’s become a serious matter … do you need my strength?”

“Yeah, Marina, and also Haru and Carol, I need the strengths of all 3 of you. Since we can achieve anything with the 4 of us ― but we can still escape to my world if the situation turns sour.”

I said with a laugh.

Then, I looked at Carol.

“Carol, it seems to me that you are being controlled by your Temptress skill. You feel that you’ve brought misfortune to your surroundings because of the Temptress skill. However, your that very skill will save Ferruit.”

“E … Ah, yes! Em, Ichino-sama, please don’t put too much pressure on me.”

Although I thought that was quite a good speech coming from myself, it seemed to have made Carol unnecessarily nervous.

“Haru, please support me with 「Slash」. Don’t plunge into the center of the enemies like before. Since we’ll be fleeing too if it becomes more dangerous that what the Dakyat soldiers faced.”

“I will do my best.”

“No, please absolutely keep that promise.”

I was afraid because Haru prioritizes my life over her own.

Well, when push comes to shove, I’ll probably prioritize Haru’s life over my own too.

“Marina ― ”

“When my 3rd eye opens, my magic bow will pierce through all heartbeats, destroying the hourglass carved by life that marks the passage of time ― ”

“Too long! Well, it’s great that Marina is in top form.”

“Ichino. That’s what I’m trying to convey. Our feelings will be the same even if you pull off a good speech or not.”

Marina poked at where it hurt most.

That’s right.

This battle is completely safe, a match with no problems at all.

It’s not four versus a couple thousand or tens of thousands of monsters.

What we’re about to do is a bonus stage based on the premise of fleeing.

“Everyone, let’s enjoy it!”

“””Yes!””

“Then, here we go!”

I exclaimed as I converted Carol’s job to Temptress.