The Defense of Ireves (1)

Tomorrow's schedule is already set. We'll spend half the day leveling up to improve our chances of victory even slightly, then use the other half to travel close to Irevs.

We will undoubtedly arrive later than the monster horde, but that is not a problem. We have no intention of destroying Irevs, nor do we want to annihilate the monsters.

"Now, we'll be starting our leveling tomorrow... Is it more efficient to slaughter hordes of weak enemies, or to challenge and defeat powerful ones? I don't know, but there's only one path we should take."

"Naturally, we're going for Giant Killing, right?"

I nodded at Eiji, who was brimming with motivation. Since we planned to interfere with the Defense of Irevs, we needed to become accustomed to fighting opponents stronger than us.

What? There are countless ways to defeat opponents stronger than you. I know that from having defeated powerful bosses time and time again. Besides, if we can't beat them, we can always run away. Let's approach this with that level of carefree confidence.

"Then we're heading north?"

"There don't seem to be any strong monsters near Irevs, after all."

"That's what we'll do."

The farther we moved from the city, the stronger the monsters became. It was wonderfully game-like.

Besides, even if I traveled somewhat far away, I had 【Spatial Magic】's Base Teleport. I could return here immediately, so I was free to devote myself to leveling without worry.

"How about we log out for now and start the traveling and fighting and whatnot tomorrow? I want to go to bed soon."

"I agree. Staying up late to play games is fine, but we shouldn't overdo it."

Shichiko and Mossan were saying something eminently sensible. I was getting sleepy too. Staying up all night playing became harder as I got older. If it were work, a sense of duty would get me through it, but being unable to push myself for fun while still managing for work was a sad fact of being a working adult.

"Sleep deprivation is the enemy of beauty, so I'm logging off too."

"Yaaawn... Since everyone's saying that, I'm getting sleepy too~"

"What? Isn't it still early?"

"That's right!"

Most of my companions seemed unable to resist their drowsiness any longer. Sei and Eiji, however, were still full of energy. Young people, huh? This old man couldn't keep up.

"Then those who aren't sleepy can keep hunting. However, we're planning to travel starting tomorrow afternoon. It will be a problem if you tell me you're sleepy when the time comes, all right?"

"I know."

"I have that much common sense!"

Then there was no problem. This old man was already sleepy. Good night!

◆◇◆◇◆◇

――――――――――

Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your tamed monster's Race level has increased.

Your tamed monster's Job level has increased.

【Tail Strike】 level has increased.

You learned the Tail Thrust Weapon Art for 【Tail Strike】.

【Staff】 level has increased.

You acquired the Title 'Insect Killer.'

――――――――――

Our leveling was more or less complete. We had taken breaks along the way, but I thought we had raised our levels properly. It had been a fulfilling stretch of time.

However, I was startled when a notification about 'Your tamed monster's...' suddenly appeared. What the heck was Cal doing? Was he leveling on his own? Could that even happen? I didn't understand it at all!

I had no idea what was going on, but I would set that aside for now. There was something else I needed to correct. I said the western side of the forest was an insect paradise, right? That was wrong. The north side of the forest was under the ants' control. What? You think Lesser Calamity Ants would be easy? Not at all. These were the stats of the monsters we fought most often.

――――――――――

Race: Calamity Worker Ant Lv. 21–28

Job: Worker Lv. 1–8

Skill: 【Acid Fangs】

【Exoskeleton】

【Strength Enhancement】

【Defense Enhancement】

【Agility Enhancement】

【Physical Resistance】

【Earth Resistance】

【Fire Attribute Weakness】

Race: Calamity Soldier Ant Lv. 25–29

Job: Soldier Lv. 5–9

Skill: 【Acid Fangs】

【Exoskeleton】

【Deadly Poison Stinger】

【Strength Enhancement】

【Defense Enhancement】

【Agility Enhancement】

【Coordination】

【Physical Resistance】

【Earth Resistance】

【Fire Attribute Weakness】

――――――――――

These were ants that had lost the single word 'Lesser' from their names, but they were incredibly strong—not merely higher-level, either!

Even though they were both called Worker Ants, they were ten levels apart despite being the same rank. Their appearance had also become much more intimidating, with sharp spikes added to their exoskeletons, making them look as if they had come from the demon realm. It was certain that all their stats were a step higher, but what made them particularly troublesome was the 【Physical Resistance】 Skill.

When they were Lesser, they had 【Slashing Resistance】, so we could still damage them with blunt or piercing attacks. But now that they had 【Physical Resistance】, nearly all the damage from our frontline fighters' attacks was reduced.

They were even tougher and harder to damage. Fortunately, they still had 【Fire Attribute Weakness】, so we somehow managed by repeatedly casting 【Enchantment】 on everyone.

"They're already evolving... Just how reckless was that leveling?"

"But now~ I'm not a burden anymore~"

Though the Calamity Ants had us outnumbered, we had already optimized our tactics for fighting ants. They had become stronger, but so had we. We struggled only at first; before long, we even had enough leeway to keep hunting while chatting.

Everyone in the level-twenties group would soon reach level 30, while the duo with the lowest levels, Shishu and Wool, were approaching the latter half of their twenties. That's right: the two of them had achieved their second evolution during this event alone.

Shishu evolved from a Big Killer Spider into a Big Massacre Spider, a monster that seemed to consist of pure murderous intent. Wool evolved from a Sleep Sheep into a Dream Sheep, specializing even further in putting people to sleep. They would surely prove useful as an even more powerful damage dealer and disruptor.

"I'm happy we got a Title and all, but..."

"My first Title had to be this..."

After slaughtering countless ants, every one of us acquired the new Title 'Insect Killer.' Its description was as follows.

――――――――――

'Insect Killer'

A Title bestowed upon those who slaughter insect-type monsters continuously over a short period.

Damage dealt to insect-type monsters increases.

Acquisition condition: Defeat a certain number or more of insect-type monsters in one day.

――――――――――

The specific number meant by 'a certain number' was not stated, so I had no idea what it was. But we had indeed killed an absurd number of ants. In fact, if there was an 'Insect Killer,' there were probably Titles such as 'Beast Killer' and 'Undead Killer' too. You could probably acquire them naturally by continuing to hunt monsters of the same type for a particular item.

They were useful Titles for grinding experience and materials, as well as for making adventures easier. But if someone told me to do this many kills with another type of monster, I'd probably hesitate. Though, knowing me, I'd end up doing it anyway.

Acquiring a Title should have been cause for celebration, but it seemed unpopular with the women. I couldn't blame them. The name itself was... Well, it made us sound like a pest-control company.

"So, shall we head south soon?"

"Let's do that. It would be a little lonely to be too late for the festival, after all."

◆◇◆◇◆◇

We began heading south, and the journey was easier than I had expected. We followed the trail left by those who had attacked the western fort—the very people we had ultimately supported—but countless monsters had cut down the trees in their way and packed down the ground. It was nothing compared with a maintained highway, but needless to say, it was far easier than traveling through completely roadless terrain.

We continued without encountering anything resembling a real battle, until the sounds of intense fighting finally reached us from afar. Oh, it seemed the war had already gotten fully underway.

"In any case, let's check the battlefield situation first. Shichiko, Mossan. Can you handle it?"

"Sure! Leave it to me!"

"Understood."

After all the maneuvering we had done, charging in blindly was out of the question. We needed to properly assess the situation and choose the optimal strategy. For that purpose, I had the two of them observe the battlefield from above, since they could fly, and their small bodies made them difficult to spot.

A few minutes later, Shichiko and Mossan returned with the current situation etched into their memories. To begin with, Irevs was a circular city protected by walls. It had two gates, one to the north and one to the south, and the monsters were concentrated around the northern gate.

A bloody battle was raging in front of the northern gate. Countless Trolls swarmed around it, trying to smash it down, while the defenders rained magic and arrows down on the monsters below from atop the walls.

The defenders' fierce assault was keeping the gate secure, but the Trolls clung stubbornly to it thanks to their healing abilities. The other monsters were not sitting idle, either. Magic, arrows, and even thrown stones flew in from the ground, while some were clinging to the walls' few protrusions and attempting to climb them.

With climbers capable of scaling the walls, the defenders could never focus solely on the gate. Enemies might climb up from somewhere they had taken their eyes off.

The defenders of Irevs seemed to be at a disadvantage. But was that really the case? They might have some secret plan too. But hmm... We wouldn't get anywhere if we kept worrying about things like that...

"So, what do we do from here?"

"Yeah, that's right..."

"Hold on. There's something over there."

Just as I was about to explain to Shichiko what we should do next, Sei whispered in a low voice. We exchanged glances, then looked toward where his rod was pointing. There was a group of around twenty players.

I knew they were players because of the color of the human player markers and because several armed monsters were mixed into the group. They were probably monster players participating in the main event. They could have been tamed monsters belonging to Tamer players, but they seemed to be conversing, so they were almost certainly players.

"What are those...?"

"An assault squad, right? Judging by the lineup, it doesn't look like they're just here to create a diversion. They're planning to wreak havoc from behind, I'm sure of it."

I thought Touro's prediction was correct. The players included not only scouts skilled in stealth, but also heavily armored warriors and robed mages. They intended to do more than cause a little surprise; they planned to launch a rear attack and inflict serious damage.

"There are probably others too~"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"If I were in command, I wouldn't launch an ambush in only one place. I'd cause trouble in at least three places to create confusion. Wool-kun agrees, right?"

"That's right~"

Mossan elaborated for Shishu, who still did not seem to quite grasp it. If it were me, I would balance the assault squads' stealth against their striking power and send out eight units, perhaps. There would be no point unless they caused enough commotion to make the forces in front of the gate panic.

However, I thought there were actually fewer than that. If so, it meant the seeds of distrust I had planted were already beginning to sprout.

"For now, if we let this ambush succeed, they'll seize the initiative in the opening battle. We have to prevent that."

"Which means...?"

Everyone looked at me with eyes full of expectation. To answer them, I opened my mouth.

"To make this ambush fail, we'll ambush them instead. Now then, everyone—shall we have some fun playing at war?"