The Defense of Ireves (4)

The scene shifts, and this is being brought to you by me, Shiitake, leader of the 'Team Petty Thieves.' We're currently on the eastern side, diametrically opposite Toji and the others. I imagine things are the same over there, but Ireves's resistance is incredibly fierce. Since we're terrible at combat to begin with, a straightforward breakthrough seems impossible—and we have no intention of trying one anyway.

"Well, well, well, shall we proceed according to plan?"

"Yep!"

"We'll do our best!"

First, I bring out the smoke bombs I made with 【Alchemy】. Their attack power is practically nonexistent, but they're perfect for blinding the enemy. I throw every last one of them.

Conserve them? Don't be ridiculous. They'll just be blown away by 【Wind Magic】 anyway. If we skimp and don't make enough smoke, it'll be game over before we even get inside the city.

"I'll go first! Hrryaa, rapid-fire long throws!"

I use a Martial Skill from 【Throwing Arts】 to hurl the smoke bombs one after another as far as I can. Thanks to the Martial Skill, I can make long throws that would astonish a professional baseball player, even though in reality I'm only capable of limp, feeble tosses.

Hmmm, I honestly think the people called real-life cheats are amazing, but I think the system that lets even an athletically hopeless person like me do things like this is far more amazing. For someone with pathetic motor skills, being able to move like this is fun enough all by itself, you know?

"Whoa! What the heck is this!?"

"A smoke screen? Monsters are using something like this!?"

"Cough, cough! What the—!? Hey, watch out!"

"This isn't the time to yell! Anyone who can use 【Wind Magic】, get moving!"

Heeheeheehee! They're nicely confused, aren't they? But some of them are trying to use 【Wind Magic】, so if we don't get moving, this'll end with nothing more than a minor disturbance. Come on, this is the perfect chance! It'd be a waste to let it slip away, wouldn't it?

"I don't know what's going on, but it's our chance!"

"Storm in!"

"Hell yeah! First one in!"

"Oh, of course the players would take advantage of it."

Looks like some monster players took advantage of the confusion caused by my smoke and rushed up the ladders. Monster NPCs only have beast-level AI, but I knew monster players capable of reacting flexibly would act immediately.

Now we can move too. We can't do any petty thieving unless we get into the city first, after all.

"All right, we'll leave it to you from here."

"Leave it to me!"

"We'll do what we can!"

From here on, it's Shifune and Wool's job. I used my short limbs to clamber up and cling to Wool's back. Ooooh, he's warm! And soft and wonderfully comfortable! What is this? I want one in my real room!

"...I feel like I could fall asleep like this."

"Right now?"

"I get that Wool's fleece feels nice, but stay awake, okay?"

Ah, Shifune-chan knows this feeling, huh? Once you start, you just get completely absorbed. I wonder if Dream Sheep wool has a sleep-inducing effect too?

"Okay, let's go! Wool, you stay right with me!"

"Got it."

Nooo—!? D-don't suddenly start running! I'll bite my tongue! ...Oh, this avatar doesn't have a tongue, does it?

Whatever the case, our infiltration operation has finally begun. Shifune and Wool dash toward the castle walls under cover of the smoke and start climbing them. More precisely, Shifune can scamper up a vertical wall, and she's climbing while helping Wool, who has thread wrapped around his horns. Are they mountaineers?

"Uuugh, my neck—it's going to come off!"

"Keep going!"

Wool is climbing the wall on all four legs, carrying me on his back and scrambling desperately. Since cheering is about all I can do, I'm a complete burden right now.

"Almost there! Keep it up!"

Shifune-chan had already reached the top and was now winding in the thread to help Wool and me ascend. Then, just as Wool hooked both his forelegs over the edge of the wall, a problem arose.

"Ah! Hey, there's someone over here too!"

"Knock them down! Drop them!"

"We've been spotted!?"

Well, being found this quickly is a little unlucky. But not breaking through isn't an option. Even if it means doing something wildly reckless!

"Scattershot! Wool!"

"Baa, baa."

Without hesitation, I use one of my trump cards. It's the 【Launch】 Martial Skill, which scatters the spikes growing from my head all around me. By its nature, each individual spike has low power, and there's no way to accurately hit a specific target. But right now, blinding them is more important than taking them down. So this is good enough!

"Ow... urgh..."

"S-s-sleep...!? Zzz..."

What's more, the effect of Wool's 【Sleep】 is much stronger now than it was at the beginning. Of course, the fact that the Skill's level has risen is one reason, but even more effective was learning the 【Singing】 Skill.

Apparently, Wool's 【Sleep】, which works through his bleating, is being judged as singing. Like a lullaby? Or is it simply being treated as a voice? Whatever the case, the 【Singing】 Skill, which normally seemed like it wouldn't be useful for much, fits perfectly here.

That's why we succeeded in putting two apparently fairly high-level players to sleep with a single attack. Of course, it probably worked because no players heading into a battlefield full of Trolls would bother preparing against a minor status ailment like 【Sleep】.

"Ow... Wait, poison!?"

"Is this a poison needle? Where did it come from!?"

"Let's get inside, quick!"

"I agree with Shifune!"

Ah. Looks like the players and NPCs who were hit by the spikes I scattered are coming this way. Just as Shifune said, we'd better hurry up and trespass before they take us out. In that case, I'll give them one last little present!

"Here, have another smoke bomb."

Of course, I'm using smoke bombs. But these are a little different from the ones I used before. Because these are poison smoke bombs!

"Ugh! Poison smoke bombs!"

"Crap! We're out of antidote potions! Does anyone have one!?"

"Everyone only brought enough for themselves!"

Bwahahaha! What a mess! Since ours took more effort to make, they're more effective than the poison needles and cover a wider area, too. This should make coordinated action difficult for a while, don't you think?

"Well then, good luck!"

And so the three of us left the area to borrow whatever we could.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

In front of the city gate, which had been torn apart by sabotage far too destructive to call mere harassment by Izam, an extremely fierce battle was raging. Even so, considering that the Troll King, the final boss of this event, had entered through the gate, the battle could be called evenly matched.

The reason for that was Izam as well. The explosion he caused had left the Troll King with fairly deep wounds, while the Troll Generals on either side of him were both in critical condition, hovering between life and death. As a result, they were brought down a few minutes later by the magic humans fired wildly in their frenzy.

The Troll King's direct soldiers charged in almost simultaneously with the gate's collapse, but players and NPC soldiers collided with them and held them back. Meanwhile, the ones bravely confronting the Troll King himself and the surviving Troll General were Ireves's strongest fighting force: a unit of elite knights.

"Gah!"

"Anri! You bastard!"

But their opponent was, after all, a King above level 70. They were at a severe disadvantage. While the enemy gradually recovered even after taking damage, one or two solid hits were enough to knock any of them out. Several knights were already incapacitated, leaving them with no choice but to throw themselves into a hopeless battle.

"Gwahahahaha! This is what happens when pathetic humans dare oppose me! Now surrender the city at once! Then become food for our bellies!"

"Don't be ridiculous, you witless, sluggish monster! We will never yield! Men, do not cling to your lives! Show your loyalty to His Majesty the King!"

"Hoooooooooooooooo!!"

Even so, their spirits did not break. It would be too simplistic to say that this was merely because of their programming. They were equipped with pseudo-personality AI, and therefore possessed individual personalities as well as human-like fear.

Then why could the knights fight with their lives on the line? It was simply because they possessed the pride of knights. They suppressed their instinctive fear and fought to fulfill their duty. Surely there was no difference between that nobility and that of human beings.

"How dare you, you vermin! Your lives are worth no more than the beasts around here! Your so-called resolve is nothing but meaningless drivel to me!"

"Big talk, for a monster!"

The Troll King swung his axe down at the nearest knight, but someone stepped between them. That person deflected the attack masterfully without even using a Martial Skill.

"You! The woman from before!"

"I don't need an ugly bastard remembering me!"

The one the Troll King glared at so hatefully was Kikuno, a member of the party 'Sacred Flame and Sword,' led by 'Hero' Luke. Among the players, she was a top-class Tank, and she had a greatshield obtained after overcoming the 'Azure Moon Trial.' She had made full use of that power during the retreat from the fortress earlier and played a major role.

That was why even the Troll King, who had no interest in memorizing individual human faces, remembered Kikuno well—as the hated enemy who had interfered with him.

"I crushed you with my axe, yet you rose again without learning your lesson. No matter how many times you come, the result will be the same! This time, I'll eat you alive!"

"Not if we can help it!"

"Reinforcements have arrived!"

Naturally, Kikuno hadn't come here alone. Luke's party members had rushed to the rescue as well. They had been in a position to coordinate the players, but that meant little now that the battle had become a melee. An NPC commander who knew about their achievements during the retreat from the fortress had judged that they would make a valuable fighting force and sent them in.

"Hmph! What difference will a few extra numbers make? I'll take you all—"

"Heeheeheehee. How lovely. People who fight with their lives on the line, truly giving it everything they've got."

"!?"

Just as the Troll King was about to hurl back an insult, a voice suddenly came from right beside his ear. Startled, the Troll King turned toward it, but there was no one there. The instant he thought it must have been his imagination, a sharp pain shot through his side.

"Gwooooooooh!? W-Who are you!?"

"Ah, forgive me for the late introduction. I lead a humble party called 'Persona.' My name is Usuba. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, King of the Trolls."

Without raising his voice or speaking any faster, Usuba calmly introduced himself while driving a knife deep into the Troll King's side. His words were exceedingly polite and obsequious, but there wasn't a shred of respect for his opponent in them—or in the Clown mask, whose smile mocked the person he was attacking.

"P-Persona's Usuba!? Why is the worst PK here!?"

"Not at all. I thought I would lend you a little assistance as thanks for the fun I had yesterday."

Luke and the others stiffened when they heard that. They immediately understood what Usuba's words meant. That was how widely Persona's ill repute had spread among the players.

"Youuuuuuu! Kill them all!"

Luke wanted to question Usuba about that, but the enemy was hardly going to give him the luxury of time. The short-tempered Troll King, enraged at being mocked by Usuba, had already charged at him. And so began a strange alliance between Ireves's strongest NPC, the strongest player party, and the worst PK.