Chapter 11: Raid of Monsters

I went outside the village the other day with Maria and Finia; the feeling outside was different from that of the village where the atmosphere made one feel at ease. But if there were sweet and sour fruits right in front of them, the children would run towards it without regard. In the blink of an eye, we finally arrived at the tree and the children scrambled to be the first one to pick the fruits.

“Wait a minute!” “You can climb too, Nicole? Get up there!”

Though just a little, I started to climb the tree in response to the provocation of the boys. I proceeded quickly to the end of the branch and tried to reach out to the fruits.

It was then, I noticed a moving shadow at the edge of my sight. It moved to hide behind the western prairie, close to the village.

“Is that a kobold?”

Kobolds were the weakest monster in this world. It looked like a bipedal dog, but its essence was closer to a wild beast. Nevertheless, because it had the same degree of intelligence as a stupid person, it was quite dangerous.

Can you imagine a dog with human dexterity and a cruel murderous demon’s temperament? Such monsters formed a herd and were approaching the village.

It was not too dangerous for adults to drive them away. But the problem was that their physique was not much different from that of children. If it was usual, they would head back after ravaging the vegetable fields in front of the houses. However, we were only children – it would be dangerous for us.

“Oh no, it’s the kobolds! Everyone, let the adults know!”

I could observe it because I had a high viewpoint on the tree, and if not, it would have been a surprise attack. Because there was the ultimate weapon called Lyell in this village, there would be no major damage. But that was only inside the village. We now had no ability to drive back the kobolds.

After listening to my words, the children of the village panicked and ran away. It was doubtful whether it was true or not, but this village is in constant risk of a monster raid. There are no benefits to be gained from telling such lie though.

“Uncle, there are kobolds outside the village! Call for Lyell-sama!”

Although it was a little off, this place was still near the village. If the children kept running for a while, they would surely come across the villagers who would often come and go. I understood that much from the voices of the children who called out to those villagers.

But I had not descended from the tree yet. Obviously, the kobolds were trying to stay hidden. If you lost sight of them, it might become troublesome.

“Nicole, let’s run away soon.” “No, no, I will monitor them from here, you must flee to the village soon.” “You cannot do that!”

One girl among the children said that stubbornly and refused to evacuate. Was she unable to abandon her friends, or was she just fearful of Maria and Lyell, my parents? In any case, she decided to stay here for me. I appreciate the sentiment, but to be honest, that’s quite bothersome to me.

“Tsk!”

I kept my voice down to a minimum so that I could hear the child – the little girl. The tree was located outside the village, very close to the kobolds. If we were attacked by the kobolds, she would be attacked first since she was waiting under the tree.

“Can you climb this tree?” “No–” “Well, come up. It would be dangerous if you stay down.”

Kobolds had properties of the canine family. They had clumsy claws and bad at climbing trees. It should be safer up here than staying on the ground.

The girl began to climb the tree with awkward movements. But in response to the voices of the children, the kobolds seemed to have noticed us as well. They stopped hiding themselves, let out loud a roar and rushed over to us.

“Quickly!” “Wait, wait …… I am not good at climbing trees.” “The enemy will not wait!”

It was clear she would not make it the way she was climbing. If I don’t stop the kobolds’ advance, she would soon be dead.

“Keep climbing!”

I said so, jumping over the branches and onto the ground. The deep undergrowth formed a cushion, and I was not injured from the jump. I was aiming at becoming a hero. I could not abandon this girl.

With the body I have now, it would be impossible to beat down the kobolds. However, there was no need to defeat them. If I stalled for time, Lyell and Maria would come. I was worried since I had no weapon, but I had brought a small knife to chop nuts. It should be possible to fight with this.

The kobolds got here before any villager could come running. Drool came out from their open mouth with tongues hanging out. There were three kobolds. Then, two more behind the trees.

The girl on the tree screamed when the kobold got closer. Although the kobolds seemed to have noticed her, they did not have the means to reach her.

“Sorry, but I can’t have you damage the village any more than this.”

Recalling the lines I said in my past life, the corners of my mouth lifted. At the same time, the first kobold started its attack. With my current physical strength, I couldn’t receive a frontal attack from the kobold, so I dodged to the side and aimed the knife at its neck. But I couldn’t cut the hard fur because my grip strength was weak. Still, it seemed that the kobold hadn’t come out unscathed; the kobold scowled in pain and howled.

In response to that, the other kobolds changed their target to me. When I attacked the first kobold, I was a good distance away from the others, so there was a delay before they could attack. Using that gap, I swung the knife again.

Though the attack couldn’t cut through its fur, I could still stall for time. That was my current purpose. But there were five opponents and I was only one person. There was a limit to how much I could do, even though I said I could still stall for time. I was already being surrounded.

I adjusted my position against the cherry tree to avoid getting hit from a blind spot. The kobolds like to launch a surprise attack from an unexpected position.

“Gurururu……”

One kobold raised a growl to intimidate. Even the little time they took to gauge my strength, I appreciate it. My limbs were already beginning to get tired as they want past their limits. As it was, I won’t last long.

“Although it is impossible, I have to stall for longer.”

I lowered my body and kicked the grass to increase my speed. After I stunned the first one with a tackle, I would do my best to take on the kobold in the opposite corner during that gap. Breaking the enemy’s formation would help to stall for time as I waited for reinforcement.

But my thoughts crumbled away in an instant. I was too young to be able to tackle the kobolds with my small body.

On the contrary, I bounced back and rolled on the ground. The kobolds were not stupid enough to miss that gap. They surrounded me to prevent me from escaping.