Chapter 264: Attack

264 – Attack

After a sidelong glance at Baron, who’s fidgeting in worry, Hibi turns to face me. Having chanted an incantation under her breath, she connects to me with [Telepathy].

『…The truth is, our village is under attack. We have come to borrow your strength. 』

Y-your village?

『The women and children have taken shelter in the basement of the meeting hall, but our opponents are numerous, so at this rate…』

I-I got it. In any case, it’s better if we hurry, right? Is it okay if we go now and I hear the explanation later?

『That would be a great help. Thank you very much, dragon-god-sama』

Hibi silently bows her head. Then, like before, I put Hibi and Baron on my back and head towards the village.

On the way, I spot another abyss. I don’t have time to deal with it, so I keep on running like I never saw it.

An attack, huh… She said some dangerous-sounding things too. Is it a swarm of monsters?

There’s no way it’s the anti-dragon-god faction attacking, is it? N-no, there shouldn’t be any reason for them to fight now. There’s no way defeating the manticore would have made their relationship worse, is there? Could there be something I missed?

As I continue to run, the dragon-god village comes into view.

I throw my thoughts to Hibi. So, I didn’t quite catch it, what exactly is attacking you?

『…Those things are. 』

Those things? Wondering what she means, I turn my gaze to the front, figuring that I’ll find out by seeing.

Three Lithovar men are standing back-to-back, their spears ready. In between there’s someone carrying a bloodstained person on their back. However, I can’t see the opponent they should be fighting.

The men are surveying their surroundings, but upon seeing me, their tense expressions melt away.

“Dragon-god-sama has come!”

“You fool! Don’t lose your focus!”

The moment the second man shouts, a black mass appears and charges them. With its eight legs writhing as it moves, there’s no mistaking it as anything but an abyss.

“Watch out! They’ve come!”

“Calm down and push it back!”

The three of them break their formation to face the abyss together, but another one makes its appearance behind them. T-two of them together!?

“GuoooOOOOOh!”

Startled by my [Roar], the two abysses flee into the village, disappearing from view. I was able to get rid of them for now, but they’ve gotten inside the village. Damn it! I thought it was strange how many there were; they’re also appearing in the village now.

I let Hibi and Baron down.

My partner glares at where the abysses disappeared. It’s clear from the look in her eyes that they’re what she least wanted to see. My feelings are exactly the same.

Looking at Hibi, I ask her. Why are there so many of them?

『The abyss breeding season is approaching, so their activity is increased as they acquire the nutrition needed to lay eggs. For some reason their numbers during breeding season has increased in the last few years, with the scale and frequency of their attacks rising year-by-year… I expect they are attacking us as a group to gain nutrition more efficiently. 』

Ugeee… I don’t want to know that stuff. No, for me to make my living as the dragon-god, I need to know. How many of them are there?

『They can hide their presences, so I can’t give you an accurate count. I’m sure there’s more than twenty, however. 』

O-oh… Abysses are C-rank monsters. There’s can’t be many humans who are able to win against them one-on-one. Much less take on twenty of them together. This village did a good job surviving while the dragon-god was gone.

『If we are unable to reduce their numbers even a little at this time, the situation will be even worse after breeding…』

In my mind, I visualise close to a hundred abysses marching in formation. I don’t like imagining it…

In terms of expected damage, aren’t the abysses even worse than the manticore? Isn’t it a serious disaster?

I’m not enthusiastic, but I need to participate right away.

“Leave me! Leave me, barbarians!”

I hear someone making a racket behind me.

“Ah! Hibi-sama, you’ve arrived at just the right time! The truth is, I found an adventurer and tried to threaten him away, but I saw that he was injured… Probably, an abyss got to him. ”

Two Lithovars are carrying a bloodstained man between them. The man is wearing a set of blue military uniform-like clothes, with red trousers.

Perhaps confused by fear, he’s acting violent despite his heavy bleeding. It looks like he’s got blood in his eyes and can’t see his surroundings.

He’s got a scabbard, but no sword in it. He must have lost it somewhere.

An adventurer, huh. They show up every now and again. He really has appeared at the worst time. If I was a human, there’s no way I would go into an area that has these giant cockroaches crawling all over.

“Another demon beast… is not what attacked him, it seems. Please take him beneath the meeting hall and get him some medical treatment. ”

“Understood. Pl-please calm down a little, we’re in an emergency situation. If you don’t take shelter soon, it’ll end badly. ”

“Shut up, barbarians! You plan to sacrifice me to your evil god! I know!”

They pick up the man and take him away. I didn’t get a chance to persuade my partner to use [High Rest]. There’s no time to chase after them either. He was making that much noise, so he’ll probably be fine… I think.

“Do you have any travelling companions? Are they safe?”

“Shut up! I have nothing to tell you!”

I see him shouting until the last moment… Adolf also said that the Lithovars are dangerous, so I wonder if that’s the normal reaction. They’re an unexpectedly well-natured bunch, so it’s a bit lonely.

More importantly, I should focus on the problem in front of me.

Searching for abysses with [Presence Perception], I face the village centre. Most of the Lithovars must be taking refuge underground, as I see hardly anyone. Abysses can hide their presences, so I should change my approach and search for people instead. I pick up on some human presences and move in their direction.

“It’s too dangerous to stay inside your house. We’ll take you to the meeting hall basement!”

“O-okay…”

It seems that the non-combatants, children and old people, are being collected by adults going round in search of them. Should I help them with that? I circle around the building to take a look, and they notice me too.

“Ah, dragon-god-sama!”

The child waves his hand happily. I’m still not used to being treated like that, so seeing that reaction makes me shy. In the next moment, a spray of sand appears behind the child, abysses appearing with it.

“““VeEeeeeh!”””

Moreover, there’s three at once.

Were they hiding together under the ground!? I really can’t let my guard down!