CH 107

(Kurokiri POV for the whole chapter)

[Then, 3, 2, 1, let the sham battle commence!]

At Yuu’s signal, the sound of gongs and war cries ripple throughout the battlefield.

“Start the assault…!”

In the midst of it all, spearheading the battle are Izumi and the three Cuélebre carrying Minotamist on their backs, followed by the Pawns of the melee force.

The three Cuélebre send up a voluminous plume of smoke, gouging out the leveled ground and forcing it to transform into a wasteland as they surge towards the Fox Princess’ army.

[The first one to make a move was the Fog King’s camp? It is evident that they are aiming to gain the upper hand. However…]

Ichiko’s commentary can be heard as well.

But,

“Bumooooooo!”

“The enemies aren’t that naive.”

From the enemy position, the bellowing of cows is audible.

I was hoping that the Cuélebre would advance to the enemy position and seize the initiative in this sham battle, but it appears that the opposing side had the same notion.

[The Fox Princess after all recognizes the significance of taking the initiative too, right?]

Emerging out of the opposing side are six giant, horned stone oxen.

Their momentum is not inferior to our assault.

The distance between us and them is progressively drawing closer and closer. Then there goes the reverberating sound of the battleground all over the area.

[What a horrific rumble.]

[Both sides are heavyweights division of their own dungeon after all]

The outcome of the assault is a loss: the assault is successfully stopped by two large oxen per Cuélebre.

However, by capitalizing on the recoil of the halt, Izumi and the Minotamist descend from the back of Cuélebre and proceed to assail the nearest enemy, while Cuélebre itself also aims for the neck of one of the large oxen and bites it.

Both vanguards of the army then clash and a tumultuous confrontation ensues.

For an ordinary human being who has never encountered such a monster, this spectacle would probably give the impression that it is the end of the world.

After all, whenever Minotamist’s axe is swung, it sends up a fountain of red liquid from the nearest monster, and each time the panther slashes its claws at the foe, the damaged Minotamist’s body dissipates slightly.

The Mud Soldiers put an end to them as the Mud Puppets violently restrain the dog-shaped monsters while the alpacas leap with a leaping power that is out of sync with their appearance and trample the head of the Thin Mist Wolves.

However, the one who displays the most terrific performance is Izumi.

“Hmmm…!”

[Izumi is formidable after all. She has been on the front line for the past ten years.]

In both of her hands, she has produced a bone axe created by ≪Bio Weapon Creation Axe≫ and is mowing down the hostile camp as though it were a hurricane. Furthermore, upon reloading the weapon, she hurls the axe as a tomahawk at the closest opponent, causing an increasing amount of damage with each passing second.

Even so, Ichiko has grown accustomed to Izumi’s ability to vocalize. She was initially rather taken aback.

The moment Izumi recognizes the Kitsunejin man, who is a fellow Knight and attempts to strike the marker on top of his head after repelling his weapon, a vortex of flames engulfs Izumi and the Kitsunejin man, compelling them both to leave the stage.

[Oh, my! This is!?]

[This is Mugi’s ≪Fire Swirl≫.]

Yes. Simultaneously with the onset of the turbulence, the rearguard has begun to mobilize as well.

As soon as appeared that the momentum of the adversary was diminished by the release of Mud Magicians and Mystic’s arrow skills supported by Tabane’s ≪Magic Bundle of Bolt≫, the enemy’s rearguard led by Mugi and another Kitsunejin man, delivered a flurry of ≪Flame Plosion≫, ≪Fire Swirl≫ and ≪Fireball≫ that moderately embroiled their allies.

In parallel with this, aerial battles also unfolded.

[The aerial battle is a hectic one, right?]

[Movements are more dynamic in mid-air since each hit is more likely to be devastating.]

Once a Disarray Devil’s Darning Needle tries to support its allies on the ground through its buzzing wings, the opposing flying squirrel launches a suicide attack, bringing the buzzing to a halt, and when Mystic detaches the flying squirrel, the bats swiftly slash at Mystic. However, the Disarray Devil’s Darning Needle that has regained its posture bites the bat’s head off, instantaneously wiping it out.

If the battle on the ground is progressing more or less in favor of the Fox Princess, the aerial battle seems to be developing to my side’s advantage. This may be attributed to the variation in each Pawn’s specialized attack methods.

Now, since we are being pushed back in the vital battle on the ground, the enemy’s front line is steadily advancing closer to my main camp.

“It’s about time. Go! Chirito!”

But, once the front line approaches a certain distance, I issue Chirito a command.

[Oh, this is where the ambushers are!]

[That’s the basis of a battle, isn’t it?]

Chirito then directs the Pawns to the enemy rearguard, where Mugi is not present, charging in from right beside them.

[[!?]]

The sudden presence of Chirito and his Pawns unilaterally overruns the enemy rearguard, which has been hindered rather than augmented its firepower by being densely packed.

Notwithstanding, Mugi’s ≪Fire Swirl≫ gets activated in the center of Chirito and his army just as they are ready to storm the platform under Mugi’s leadership after destroying the rearguard on one side. Roughly ten monsters are annihilated all at once.

“If that’s the case!”

But at this juncture, Chirito sends out a single command.

[T-this is!]

Following his instruction, all the Swamp Flying Fish fly out in unison from within the Mud Puppet’s body and shoot at Mugi’s marker.

[A planted weapon is a very Kurokiri-like offense, right?]

“Ugh!?”

After evading the first Swamp Flying Fish, Mugi moves to dodge the second and subsequent ones. When Mugi has avoided ten of them, the wave of attacks ceases, prompting her to unintentionally remain motionless. But just as she pauses, the Mist Mosquitoes dive down from above her head and destroy her marker.

“Alright… ah!”

Yet no sooner than Chirito is rejoicing at his success, his marker is hit by a ≪Firebolt≫ and destroyed.

[However, even if the strategy succeeds, one must maintain constant vigilance.]

[In the meantime, I hope Chirito-san would explode.]

The MC and the commentary continue their words apathetically.

But I can say that the victory is already secured. After all,

“This is the final blow!”

During the process of Chirito’s battle with the enemy rearguard, Tabane had integrated several dozen arrows of Mystic’s ≪Mistbolt≫ and Mud Magician’s ≪Mud Bundle of Bolt≫ into an enormous arrow with a distinctive white and brown marbled pattern.

[T-this is tremendous.]

[I would say this is quite a trump card. How amazing.]

Like a ballista’s arrow used in a siege, it is fired at the Fox Princess’ main camp and impacts it. As it explodes, a vast amount of fog and mud is dispersed into the surrounding area.

[The King of the Fox Princess camp is confirmed to have been defeated! The winner goes to the Fog King’s camp!]

Yuu’s remarks resound through the sham battlefield when the smoke clears.