Chapter 300: A Successful(?) Preemptive Strike

Chapter 300: A Successful(?) Preemptive Strike

We calmly observed the five C ranked monsters that gathered around us and attempted to look for openings. They had us surrounded, so we needed to remain vigilant. There was a chance that the horde, the army that had continued to advance, would disperse if we sat around for far too long, and it would be much more difficult to annihilate them if they weren’t all gathered in one spot.

And if we failed in our extermination, the many villagers, black catkin or otherwise, would be attacked. They wouldn’t be able to evacuate all the way to Greengoat.

Letting our guard down and diving right in would be an act of suicide. We wouldn’t be able to defeat the five enemies before us unless we remained calm. And so, with my mind restored to a state of serenity, I quickly devised a plan and informed Fran of its contents.

“Urushi. Can you keep the Crimson Wolf at bay?”

“Woof woof!”

Kin to the God of Wolves, one of Urushi’s titles, provided him with the ability to intimidate other wolves. Thus, it seemed likely that he would have a paw up on the Crimson Wolf, even if the two were the same rank.

“Fran, focus on the demon. He’s going to be the most troublesome of the bunch. Don’t hold back if you think it’ll get you in trouble. Feel free to use Brilliant Lightning Rush at your discretion.”

“Nn!”

I don’t really want to deal with any trickery, and its magic lets it support its allies too. Yeah, definitely bringing that thing down asap.

Fran pulled the Phantom Pyroxene Blade out from her inventory and equipped it. While the two of them were holding off their respective opponents, I would be defeating the final three.

The monsters kept us surrounded and stared in anticipation of our actions. Fran’s actions, the drawing of a brand new weapon, had caused them to raise their guard even further. It was precisely their excessive caution that allowed me to gather up enough magical power for my next action.

“Let’s go!”

“Nn!”

“Kanna Kamui!”

There was a minor bit of delay before the spell activated, in which the magical aura radiating off my body drastically beefed itself up. The monsters reacted to it and immediately launched an assault.

But they were too late.

A giant white thunderbolt larger than even the Graphite Hydra, the largest of the five, descended from the sky and swallowed the jet black snake whole. Its ability to regenerate would be far too obnoxious if left alone, so I’d slammed it with as much burst damage as I could muster. Kanna Kamui’s light soon faded. And with it went the multi headed serpent’s corpse. The attack had burnt even the very concept of the monster to dust. Not a single bone or scale remained. All that was left was a large crater situated right where it had been just moments ago.

The aftershock, a heavy burst of wind, assaulted the remaining four monsters. The force was so great that it threatened to knock each of the four massive beasts off their feet and sweep them away if they didn’t take care to keep themselves firmly planted in the dirt below. That said, all four had gone completely stiff. Seeing the instant death of their ally had frozen them solid.

Their response, or rather, their lack thereof, proved that they were still unused to combat and its intricacies. Freezing up in the middle of a battle was a huge mistake, one that proved fatal for the Steel Titan Bear that had been by the Hydra’s side.

“You’re mine!”

“Roarrrrrrrrrrrr!?”

“Guah!”

“Fran!”

The massive insect charged at Fran the moment she glanced at the demon. She realized the moment the creature began to accelerate, and readied her defenses, but they were easily broken.

It turned out that the beetle was capable of not only using its magic as a propellant, but also condensing it around its horn in order to up its damage. The force of its blow was able to tear right through the barrier she threw up.

Both her right arm and right leg ended up bent the wrong way. Her head was bleeding pretty heavily as well. But that wasn’t even the worst of it. The whole right side of her gut had been wrenched out by the beetle’s horn.

I immediately threw out a Greater Heal, but the spell wasn’t strong enough to close the wound.

“Fran! Use Instant Regeneration! Right now!”

The only response I got from her was a cough.

“Can you hear me, Fran!? You need to use Instant Regeneration!!”

My second shout got through to her, as she nodded while wincing, her face distorted in pain. Her wound then quickly began to close. Luckily, she had made it just in time.

The only problem was that Fran was a humanoid. Unlike a sword or a slime, her body wasn’t made up of a series of simple, easily definable features. To that end, the skill ended up being inefficient as far as cost went. It had ended up draining a massive portion of her mana.

“Are you okay?” I asked her as I put up a barrier.

“Nn...” She managed to squeeze out a reply between ragged breaths.

“What happened?”

“Came out of nowhere.”

I nodded my metaphorical head in agreement. She and I had seen the same thing. The attack the beetle had launched didn’t feel like something that had caught us off guard because it came from a blind spot. It felt more like the attack had just suddenly appeared out of thin air.

For a moment, I suspected that the beetle had teleported, but it didn’t have the skills to let it do so. I was certain of it. It did have the Espionage skill, but its level was far too low to be of relevance.

“Well, that’s a high ranked monster for you. Damned thing has got a few tricks up its sleeves.”

“But will win.”

“You betcha.”

Though she had been on the verge of death only a few moments prior, Fran’s spirit had yet to wane. She was still all for going in and giving it everything she had. But that was only to be expected. Fran’s resilience had always been her most notable trait.

“Alright, let’s keep our guard all the way up and do this!”

“Nn!”