Chapter 299
The Centaurs seem to be having a harder time than expected with the offshoots formed from transformed scales. According to Sei's chat messages, they aren't strong, but apparently what happens after defeating them is annoying.
Judging from the situation, it would be better to have them sent over here instead. Fortunately, even when destroyed and turned into caltrops, they do no more than minor damage to the Golems and Undead units. Around the time I sent that message in chat, aerial attacks and the efforts of Jigorou and Genzuro had killed all the grotesque giants except the mage-like one.
The aerial group was raining down merciless fire, while Jigorou and Genzuro had stopped enjoying the fight and were going all out to kill their enemies. Only the mage giant could protect itself with magic. But, put another way, it seemed all it could do was protect itself.
I thought the offshoots would disappear when the Lord of Scales died, but they showed no sign of vanishing and continued advancing toward us. Apparently, they won't disappear until the mage giant is defeated. What a truly troublesome enemy!
"Complaining won't make the enemy numbers decrease, so we'll just have to fight and break through this situation. Golem unit, advance!"
I led the Golem and Undead units, annihilating the offshoots that had reached us. Just as I had expected, even though fragments were scattered everywhere like caltrops, the two units suffered no more than minor damage.
Eiji was fully encased in armor and simply crushed the fragments underfoot, while Uru and I were in the rear to begin with, so few fragments reached us. Toji, however, was different. Lightly equipped and moving around intensely, Toji was vulnerable to them.
"Ugh! Izam, sorry, but could you blow away the trash on the ground?"
"Y-yeah. Leave it to me."
Overwhelmed by Toji's clearly displeased, no-argument-allowed air, I did as requested and swept away the fragments spread across the ground with 【Storm Magic】. Seeing that, Toji pulled out and discarded the shard embedded in the sole of their foot with a relieved look.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. But the damage is worse than I expected, and it seems having one embedded gives you an Agility Down debuff."
"Whoa... That's the worst possible thing for Centaurs, who focus on speed and mobility!"
"They are a hardy Race, and they have no culture of wearing shoes, after all..."
Weakening the enemy after being defeated... I had created the Golem and Undead units as meat shields, but these things were outright disposable pawns. Just how harsh was the survival competition in this Hell, where Hell Beasts that had evolved to fight by sacrificing parts of their own bodies lived?
Setting that aside, the Centaurs had managed to withdraw thanks to Sei and the others, and apparently they were going to take some distance while healing with the items they carried. Meanwhile, the mage giant continued to be beaten from all sides, its entire body covered in wounds. Was its defeat only a matter of time? That thought was surely the result of my letting my guard down.
"Gwooooooooooooooh! Gaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
The mage giant, which had been entirely on the defensive, looked up while covered in wounds and unleashed a tremendous roar that echoed across the battlefield. The physical wind pressure produced by the roar sent Jigorou and Genzuro flying backward, scattered the aerial forces, and shook Shiratsuki violently as though caught in a storm.
Having driven away the enemies that threatened it, the mage giant wore a defiant smile. Then the roar that had constantly rumbled up from the vertical shaft changed in tone. A few seconds later, a Hell Beast far larger than the giant emerged from the shaft!
"Baboooooooooh!!!"
The Hell Beast was a cluster of eyeless elephant heads, each about as large as the giant. Several twisted tusks protruded from every mouth, countless spikes covered the surfaces of their long trunks, and geometric patterns were drawn across their enormous ears. It was the most grotesque thing I had ever seen, something that could not possibly belong to this world.
The elephant Hell Beast gently lifted the mage giant with one of its trunks and placed it atop the largest head, at the highest point. Apparently, the giant's Hell Beast was the elephant Hell Beast's master.
It had a pet that looked stronger than itself! Just like me! ...Thinking that up myself is making me sad.
"Gwooh! Grrrraaaaah!"
"Baoooon!"
"Baboooooooooh!!!"
The giant's Hell Beast cried out, and the largest elephant head answered with a cry of its own. Then bright-red liquid sprayed from the trunks attached to the remaining heads. The moment the liquid struck the ground, the giant's Hell Beast ignited it with magic, and it began burning with a tremendous roar!
Apparently, the elephant Hell Beast stored some kind of flammable, oil-like liquid inside its body. Grrr... Even though Cal and I can't use a combination attack like this! D-damn it, I'm jealous!
"Hah-hah! That doesn't hurt at all, you bastard!"
The one charging straight toward the elephant Hell Beast, which had turned the surrounding area into a sea of fire in an instant, was my brother-in-arms, Jigorou. He charged through the flames without hesitation, leaped onto the elephant Hell Beast, and dug his claws into one of its long trunks to cling to it.
Jigorou tried to climb up, but the trunk was swung violently and knocked him away. Then another trunk, bending through the air like a whip, struck him hard, sending him crashing into the burning ground. I-Is he all right...?
"Baboooooooooh!?"
"Heh! Tough hide! I was gonna cut it off with my claws!"
Contrary to my expectations, it was the elephant Hell Beast that cried out. Judging from Jigorou's voice, which reached us even from here, he had apparently tried to sever the trunk by using the force of the blow against it. He himself seemed perfectly fine, and apparently hadn't taken any damage at all. He was just as monstrous as ever.
Jigorou seemed ready to attack again without missing a beat, but perhaps because it had suffered such a painful counterattack, the elephant Hell Beast wildly swung its trunks to keep my brother at bay. Apparently Jigorou couldn't slip through the gaps between dozens of trunks, and he seemed unable to press his attack.
Like Jigorou, Genzuro seemed ready to charge the elephant Hell Beast, but he was weak to fire. His equipment reduced the damage, but even he couldn't jump into a sea of flames. He must have been using flying slashes from the other side of the fire.
"Grrrrrrrr! Gwaaaah!"
"Baoon!"
"Babooooooooon!!!"
When the giant's Hell Beast cried out as though giving an order, the elephant Hell Beast answered with another cry. Then the elephant heads attached around it began peeling away with a wet, dragging sound. W-what on earth was happening!?
Once all the heads had fallen away, what remained was a flabby, bright-red substance resembling a Slime. If I had to guess, this meant they had been a horde of Hell Beasts with elephant heads and Slime bodies. The detached elephant heads did indeed have the same kind of bodies, so I could safely assume that was the truth.
The enemy's true form was a group of identical Hell Beasts clinging together around an especially large individual. Now that its true nature was clear, why had it removed the smaller heads surrounding it at this particular moment? I had a very bad feeling about this...
"Bao! Bao!"
"Hey, you're kidding me, right!?"
The individual that seemed to be the leader of the group carrying the giant's Hell Beast began skillfully using its thickest, longest trunk to hurl the smaller elephant Hell Beasts. Apparently it had terrible aim, and many of them flew off in completely the wrong direction. That was a blessing in disguise.
The problem was that two landed in the Dark Elves' forest, two in front of the Centaurs who had withdrawn to take a short rest, one near where Ruby and Scar should have been by now, and... four landed right under my nose.
"Izam-san!?"
"Calm down. Golem unit, defensive forma—"
"Baooooooooooh!"
The instant I tried to give the Golems an order, a blow from a trunk swept away four of them at once. Worse, that single strike broke one arm each on two of them and destroyed another outright.
Come on... seriously? That's strength on par with Jigorou! We were supposed to take on four of these at once? That's impossible!
"Eiji! Toji! Take the one a little farther away! Finish it quickly and come back to join us!"
"Yes!"
"All right."
Eiji and Toji dashed off with reassuring replies. Eiji ran with his armor clanking and clattering, while Toji moved with such lightness that they seemed to be flying. Their fighting styles and running styles were polar opposites, but that was exactly why their teamwork was so good. I was sure they would defeat it quickly!
"Everyone from Metallica, sorry, but it looks like I'll have to use the armored vehicles up as though I intend to destroy them."
"Got it."
This battle was certain to cost us even more. The Metallica armored vehicles would likely be among the losses. However, if the ground forces' position fell, the Dark Elves defending the surrounding area would suffer heavy casualties. More than anything, my defeat as commander-in-chief would affect morale.
We absolutely could not retreat here, and we could not lose. I steeled myself and racked my brain for a way to win.