Chapter 333
The Searing Blood Hellbeasts continued spraying blood toward Earth Fortress. But the sturdy earthen wall created by powerful defensive magic completely blocked the scorching blood.
But that couldn't go on forever. The soil was gouged away each time the blood struck, and the wall was gradually growing thinner. We needed to defeat these creepy Hellbeasts as quickly as possible.
"Piercing Arrow Barrage!"
"Whoa! Take this!"
"...Let's just use a Martial Skill like we're supposed to."
Shio began attacking from inside the earthen wall using a Martial Skill that rained down arrows. It consumed a large number of arrows each time, but it could attack a wide area. Iris and Shiitake also began throwing metal balls. Each one was about the size of a shot put, a shoddy disposable item made by mixing together all the leftover metal we had obtained from 'Fortune Mine of Spear Rock.' They could only deal physical damage, but that was enough for now.
However, Shiitake, who for some reason wasn't using a Martial Skill, made a wild throw and sent an item flying in a completely wrong direction. Iris continued throwing with her tentacles while lecturing the dejected Shiitake, which I found rather amusing.
"I hate fighting little by little like this..."
"Don't complain, Jigorou-san."
"GROOOH!"
Jigorou, Shichiko, and Cal had joined the attack as well. Jigorou unleashed flying slashes created by swinging his claws, Shichiko sent his summoned crows into battle, and Cal hurled 【Dark Magic】 at the Searing Blood Hellbeasts.
The Searing Blood Hellbeasts swung their tentacles in an attempt to deflect these attacks, but they couldn't block everything. Almost every individual suffered damage to its tentacles, and two of them had parts of their heads destroyed.
Perhaps because they possessed such large quantities of blood, it spurted violently from their wounds. The two whose heads had been pierced were bleeding especially badly, enough to make blood rain down into the Blood Pond. Before long, they began convulsing violently and swinging their tentacles around.
Since they continued spraying blood from their tentacles, the surrounding Searing Blood Hellbeasts were damaged as well. Oh, how convenient—friendly fire. As I was thinking that, the other individuals extended their tentacles toward the heart-like heads and began eating them alive with the mouths at their tips!
"They won't even hesitate to cannibalize their own kind if they're being held back... What terrifying creatures."
"That ain't all, brother. Look, the wounds are healing."
It seemed that the Searing Blood Hellbeasts could heal their wounds by cannibalizing one another. That was probably the effect of the Skill whose details 【Appraisal】 had failed to reveal. If they could recover by eating allies on the verge of death, they could keep fighting until every last one of them was dead. We should finish them off one at a time before this turned into a battle of attrition.
"We'll steadily reduce their numbers, starting with the nearest ones. Shio, decide which one we should target."
"Roger that! Then... Guh!?"
Shio had been drawing her bow when she suddenly lowered her head and began struggling. A symbol had appeared on the marker floating above her head, so she had apparently been afflicted with a status ailment. There was no doubt about it. This was an attack using 【Cursecraft】.
I hurriedly used Dispel, the dispelling spell of 【Cursecraft】, to remove its effect. The status ailment seemed to have been safely removed, and the symbol on her marker vanished completely.
"M-My vision suddenly started spinning all over the place..."
"It must have been the effect of 【Cursecraft】. 【Cursecraft】 fails unless the enemy is within your field of vision, but... I don't even know how they're perceiving us. What a troublesome bunch."
【Cursecraft】 is convenient when I use it myself, but what a nuisance it is when used against me! 【Cursecraft】 has the clear weakness of failing unless the enemy is within your field of vision, but those creatures don't have eyes. As a result, we had no idea where they were looking.
At least, staying inside Earth Fortress kept us safe from 【Cursecraft】, so hiding behind cover seemed effective. However, if we carelessly stuck our heads out, we'd be cursed immediately.
"What do we do, brother? Do we just force our way through?"
"No, let's have Shichiko do the heavy lifting."
"Me?"
Shichiko was startled at suddenly being called upon. But this was precisely the kind of situation where his specialty could shine. Shichiko would realize it immediately. No one knew his own strengths better than he did.
"Why me...? Ah, I get it. That's what you mean, boss?"
Shichiko summoned a large number of crows, then sent the flock charging toward the Searing Blood Hellbeasts. The Searing Blood Hellbeasts sprayed blood at the crows attacking them from all sides, and any crow hit directly vanished at once while engulfed in flames.
However, since Shichiko had prioritized quantity over strength when summoning them, their numbers had barely decreased. Some of the crows also fell even though they hadn't been drenched in blood. They must have been hit by 【Cursecraft】, but that was precisely what we had been aiming for.
"【Cursecraft】 is powerful, sure, but since it relies on sight, filling their field of vision means it can't reach us."
"Exactly. I need to be careful about that as well."
The countermeasure against 【Cursecraft】 was hiding behind cover, and the drawback of most cover was that it couldn't move. In that case, all we had to do was prepare moving cover—in other words, a wall of flesh. No Skill could surpass 【Summoning】 when it came to preparing a wall of flesh.
The Searing Blood Hellbeasts were absorbed in swinging their tentacles at the crows filling their field of vision, spraying blood, and firing off 【Cursecraft】 indiscriminately. Their attention was focused on the summoned creatures, and they seemed to be gradually forgetting about us. This was our chance to go on the offensive!
"Now! All-out attack! Aim for the hearts!"
Thanks to Shichiko, our all-out attack produced the best possible results. Shio's arrows pierced the exact centers of several hearts, the metal balls thrown by Iris and Shiitake punched holes through the hearts, Jigorou's flying claw strikes sliced the hearts apart, and the magic cast by Cal and me smashed the hearts to pieces.
The few surviving Searing Blood Hellbeasts turned their attention toward us, but Shichiko's crows swarmed them. The Searing Blood Hellbeasts wore no armor, nor did they have any Skills that increased their defense, such as 【Defense Enhancement】. Because of their high levels, the crows' beaks and claws dealt only negligible damage, but that also meant their attacks still got through.
By the time the Searing Blood Hellbeasts finished dealing with the crows by lashing their blood vessels around, they were already battered and broken. Another concentrated attack came flying at them. They couldn't even manage a final resistance before their vital points were pierced.
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You won the battle.
Your Race level increased. You acquired 1 SP.
Your Job level increased. You acquired 1 SP.
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All right, we won! Oh? The Searing Blood Hellbeasts' corpses are still here? When we fought them aboveground, they all turned to dust and left nothing behind. Could it be that Hellbeasts, not just Searing Blood Hellbeasts, only leave materials behind when defeated in Hell? I think that's a real possibility.
We carefully approached the Blood Pond from inside Earth Fortress. Then we threw in another glass bottle with a string attached. This time, it landed without being intercepted and sank into the pond. I felt relieved inside as I waited for Shiitake to pull the string and bring the liquid over to us.
"Ooh, it's thick and looks just like blood paste... Owowowow!?"
"Here you go, brother."
When Shiitake's hand slipped, Jigorou caught the bottle before it fell and handed it to me. I thought he should have returned it to Shiitake, but I accepted it without saying anything. The moment I took it, I was surprised to feel a tiny amount of damage being dealt to my hand. Apparently, this blood was extremely hot, and I was taking Fire-element damage. I decided to use 【Appraisal】.
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Resentful Searing Hellblood Quality: Excellent Rarity: T (Treasure Grade)
Blood of a Hellbeast that perished in antiquity and whose name has been forgotten.
Inflicts Fire-element damage and a random status ailment on anyone who touches it.
The resentment it felt at the moment of death has seeped into it. Those who are weak-minded will develop a mental illness just by looking at it, while those of weak constitution who are drenched in the blood will likely be possessed.
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Oh ho... Excellent. This is excellent. The fact that it is an exceptionally dangerous substance makes it all the better! I definitely want to use it in my flowerpot. It should also be a fine ingredient for Shiitake's 【Alchemy】. But in that case, we'd have to secure a large amount... No, perhaps that's unnecessary. The very source of this pond can be carried away, after all.
Judging from the description, the Searing Blood Hellbeasts must have been weak Hellbeasts that were drenched in the blood. It would be disastrous if it splashed onto low-level residents. We would have to keep it under strict control at the palace.
I returned the glass bottle to Jigorou, then floated up and approached the heart atop the pedestal. I gently reached out with both hands and lifted the heart. It continued beating powerfully in my palm, thumping away as usual. I was relieved that it hadn't counterattacked. All right, I should use 【Appraisal】 on the heart as well.
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Great Heart Harboring Resentment Quality: Divine Rarity: L (Legendary Grade)
One of the hearts of a Hellbeast that once came infinitely close to godhood, but whose name has been forgotten.
The largest of several hearts, and the only one capable of producing blood.
The resentment it felt at the moment of death still dwells within the heart. However, since it is a heart without even a consciousness of its own, it is no longer possible to know what the original target of that resentment was.
Now it merely curses everything that touches it.
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So it was one of several hearts... It seems this was a Hellbeast with multiple hearts. This heart itself apparently served as a blood-producing organ, so the numerous ventricles and atria Shiitake mentioned may have been responsible for producing the blood. Not that I intend to dissect it.
I stored the heart in my inventory, turned my back on the pedestal, and walked away. Then I heard something collapse behind me with a clatter. When I glanced back, the pedestal that had held the heart was crumbling, as if its purpose had been fulfilled. We finished our exploration, returned to Felfenil-sama's side, and made our way back to the surface. Needless to say, we ended up covered in saliva once again.