Chapter 195
Several days after the tengu and the yokai of the foothills signed a ceasefire agreement, the yokai finally began to move. It seemed they intended to engage in a full-scale decisive battle. Accordingly, the tengu and oni warriors would also be setting out.
"We do not know what they are plotting. They may still have a secret plan in reserve. Stay alert and give it your all!"
"Yes!"
This extermination operation was led by Great Tengu himself as supreme commander. That said, the leader of the capital could hardly fight on the front lines. Therefore, he would remain in the rear, commanding from the watchtower atop the capital's gatehouse.
However, he was positioned where he could head out as reinforcements at any time, just in case. Jigoro and the others had never seen Great Tengu fight in earnest, but the oni all said that with him there, they would certainly be able to hold the capital. So they had not the slightest concern.
"But in the end, we're moving in parties, huh?"
"It cannot be helped. We cannot exactly burn down the forest."
As Jigoro had said, the army would not advance as one large group. Instead, the parties would proceed with some distance between them. Naturally, there was a reason for this: a party-sized group was the most efficient formation for fighting in the forest.
After Jigoro and the others' fierce fighting, along with the steady efforts of the oni and tengu, they had nearly driven the Hihi out of the forests surrounding the capital. However, many Hihi still remained, and ambushes from them were expected. Moving in parties made it easier to respond to such attacks.
The distance between parties was strictly maintained at all times, allowing them to immediately go to one another's aid if a nearby party was attacked. It was a testament to the oni and tengu's training.
"Come now. Even if this is called a march, we're free to do our own thing, right? Just as usual."
"It'd be impossible to move in step with them, anyway."
Jigoro and the others had been permitted to act freely. Even if they were regarded as part of the fighting force, they were ultimately outsiders. It would be almost impossible for them to move in step with the rest of the army.
If they tried to force themselves to match the army's pace, that would certainly give the enemy an opening to exploit. Therefore, it had been judged better to let them act freely from the beginning and assign them the role of disrupting the enemy ranks.
"Enough idle chatter. Shall we set out as well?"
"There has to be someone strong, right? Heh heh, I can't wait."
Thus began the operation to exterminate the Hihi on 'Heavenly Spirit Island.' Regardless of how events unfolded, no one doubted that the island's Hihi population would be reduced at a rate that could drive them to extinction.
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"Oh, right. Today's the first day of the production event."
As Jigoro and the others walked through the forest ahead of the oni, Nanako suddenly remembered and spoke up. As he had said, the production event was being held that day. All four of them had been completely preoccupied with the Hihi incident, and they were not particularly interested in the event itself, so they had forgotten about it until then.
"I hope Iris-han and Shiitake-han win some kind of award!"
"They'll probably win a prize, won't they? Also, Shiitake was boasting that he'd make a killing at the event. Did he pull it off?"
Screenshots of the two's works and the results of their 【Appraisal】 had also been sent to the four of them. Both had created highly distinctive works, and regardless of whether they won, they seemed likely to receive some kind of award.
"I don't know about the money, but if today is event day, that means the Third Wave of players is coming, right?"
"So it was. I'd forgotten."
Genjuro had forgotten, but the first day of the three-day event was also the day the Third Wave of players would arrive. If a beginner fought Jigoro, there was no way they could win unless they were someone with the same kind of real-world strength as Jigoro or Genjuro.
However, beginners would become veterans as time passed. Some players might eventually grow strong enough to fight on equal terms with them. For Jigoro, who sought blood-pumping battles, an increase in new players also meant an increase in candidates for powerful new opponents.
"So that means there'll be more monster players too, right? Maybe new players will come to Birdie Perch."
"If they choose Birdian, they'll start at Birdie Perch, same as Shio-chan. In that case... won't they run into the two we've heard about?"
"...Wouldn't that cause trouble?"
Sei recalled the appearances of the two who had been sent in the screenshots and might become their new companions, making him stare off into the distance. Their personalities seemed fine, but their appearances were the sort that would make him launch a preemptive attack without hesitation if he happened to encounter them in the field.
Could a fight break out inside the city? Sei was not the only one worried about that; even Jigoro shared his concern.
"Grrrrr..."
"Phil, they're nearby, aren't they?"
"Woof!"
Even while Jigoro and the others chatted, Sei's familiar Phil never let down his guard, making use of his keen sense of smell. He had allowed an ambush in the past, but such ambushes would no longer work against him now that he could distinguish the scent of Hihi. He even knew where they were hiding.
"There!"
"Sure thing! Holy Ray!"
"Kiiiii!?"
Nanako fired magic toward the treetop Sei had pointed at. Just as Phil had sensed, a Hihi had apparently been hiding there. A Hihi pierced by the magic came falling down, snapping the thin branches beneath it.
"They're all small fry."
"Let's dispose of them quickly."
"Oookiiiiii!!!"
Jigoro seemed dissatisfied that there were no individuals he could call strong opponents, but he apparently still intended to fight properly. He took up a fighting stance without lowering his guard. Perhaps realizing that their hiding places had been discovered, the Hihi emerged from the trees and attacked. Thus began Jigoro and the others' first encounter of the operation.
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Around the time Jigoro and the others began fighting, the yokai and the Hihi were clashing violently. The yokai had launched a large-scale invasion of the Hihi's territory, and the Hihi had moved to intercept them.
Since this was the Hihi's territory, they had the advantage at first. However, the yokai taking part in the battle belonged to a variety of Races. This allowed them to employ a wide range of fighting styles and gain the upper hand.
The Hihi had already lost their initial momentum and were being driven back, as though this were a replay of the battle recorded earlier. Just as before, it would be difficult for them to turn the tide unless their greatest force, the Savage Hihi King, arrived.
"Tch! Bad timing!"
Unfortunately, the Savage Hihi King was not there; the de facto ruler, Shentu, had ordered the King to attack elsewhere.
"Then we'll just have to abandon the forest territory. It's a little different from the plan, but we have no choice! You two, follow me and guard me! The rest of you, keep fighting until you die!"
Realizing that there was no chance of turning the battle around, Shentu ordered the Hihi around him to fight, then fled at full speed with two of them in tow. His destination was the strongest piece he had raised himself: the Savage Hihi King.
"With that guy, we're safe. We'll quickly take that sturdy nest and use it as a foothold to claim this island!"
The sturdy nest Shentu referred to was 'Heavenly Spirit Capital.' His plan was to deploy the Savage Hihi King, his greatest force, and conquer it as quickly as possible.
As a result, the defenses of his territory had become thin. He would certainly lose the territory if things continued this way, but if he seized a new base and made its inhabitants his servants, his own faction would surely grow stronger instead.
"This has gathered enough magic power too. Once I use it somewhere safe... Kikikikiki!"
Shentu lovingly touched the contents through the drawstring pouch hanging from his neck and let out a loud laugh. His face was filled with such confidence and ambition that he hardly looked like a fugitive fleeing from a battlefield.
As he gathered the Hihi remaining in his territory, he headed for 'Heavenly Spirit Capital' to join the Savage Hihi King. Then he heard the sounds of battle coming from ahead.
"Who are they fighting? There shouldn't be any yokai on this side."
At the time, Shentu did not know that the tengu had moved in accordance with the yokai's advance. So he was genuinely puzzled to hear fighting near 'Heavenly Spirit Capital,' close to his territory.
"Oh, well. A wall would still be useful. We're going over there!"
Thus, he paid no heed to the battle itself and barged in with his followers. He had not skipped sending scouts to assess the enemy's strength because he was eager to aid his comrades as quickly as possible. He had simply assumed that a force this size could crush anything, whatever the enemy.
"Woof! Woof, woof!"
"...Everyone, enemy reinforcements!"
"So they've noticed me. But it doesn't matter! Go, you lot!"
The first to notice Shentu's approach was a wolf with pale blue fur and horns. It glared at him and barked fiercely. In response to its cries, a large ape that appeared to be its companion swung a staff around and warned the others to be on guard. The group was clearly well coordinated.
Only then did Shentu realize that the people fighting were not creatures he knew as yokai. Yokai was merely the name for monsters living in the Aquaria Islands. Conversely, any monster not called a yokai had not originated in the Aquaria Islands.
"Outsiders? Why are they here...?"
"Hey, old man! Isn't that guy our target?"
"Kiki!?"
The one pointing at Shentu as he revealed himself was a golden oni—in other words, Jigoro. There was no mistaking his distinctive fur and the drawstring pouch hanging from his neck.
Jigoro and the others were delighted to have found their target by chance, but Shentu, who had never dreamed that he was the one being hunted, was thrown into a panic. He had devoted himself to controlling the Hihi from behind the scenes and never appeared on the battlefield, so he had not imagined that anyone knew he existed.
"Indeed. We're lucky. If we bring down that monkey..."
"You lot! Hold these guys off at all costs!"
As soon as Shentu heard the word "slay," he acted swiftly. He sent every fighter he'd gathered while fleeing against Jigoro and the others, choosing to escape by himself immediately.
The Hihi obeyed his command and attacked with their fangs bared. They showed no hesitation whatsoever in sacrificing their allies as pawns, and that boldness surprised Jigoro and the others in turn. However, their leader Genjuro reacted quickly.
"Sei, chase him! We'll deal with these and catch up!"
"G-got it! Phil, follow his scent! Tes, cling to my shoulder!"
Shentu fled by using the branches of the trees as footholds, but Sei, himself a monkey-type monster, could pursue him. Thus, a game of tag between two monkeys began in the forests of Heavenly Spirit Island.