War in the Lake (3)

The dust that had accumulated inside the building swirls up, so I still can't make out its form, but eight or nine times out of ten, this is our target.

"Hah, finally decided to show yourself."

"Isn't this more like a VIP's late arrival?"

"Grandpa, isn't he royalty rather than a VIP?"

You guys... you're pretty relaxed. Look at Iris. I can't make out her face, but her tentacles are stiffer than usual, right? That's proof she's nervous.

Whatever destroyed the house in the back is approaching straight toward us, destroying the Toadmen's houses along the way. ...Uh, isn't this nest already doomed even if we don't do anything?

"Gebbuuuu... Gegogo!"

"Eek!"

"Whoa..."

The thing was so hideous that even the women in our group couldn't help shrinking back. Its body was enormous in both height and width. Its protruding belly and four folds of flesh beneath its chin made its obesity obvious. To top it off, its mouth was lined with row upon row of fangs that frogs shouldn't have, so we'd need to be careful of its bites as well.

If that were all, it would merely be a tall, fanged, overweight Toadman. The real problem was its skin. Countless purple and muddy-brown warts bulged from it. Since they were dripping with mucus, it was a particularly unpleasant sight for the women.

Based on our experience so far, large opponents were generally strong. That was why we couldn't let our guard down. This thing was bigger than any other Toadman, which might also mean it was stronger than any other Toadman. Then, 【Appraisal】!

――――――――――

Race: Toadman Prince Lv35

Job: Prince Lv5

Skill: 【Fangs】

【Tongue】

【Fist】

【Kick】

【Earth Magic】

【Water and Ice Magic】

【Strength Enhancement】

【Defense Enhancement】

【Intelligence Enhancement】

【Automatic Health Recovery】

【Aquatic】

【Roar】

【Deadly Poison】

【Command】

【Minion Enhancement】

【Poison Immunity】

【Pain Resistance】

【Gluttony】

【Night Vision】

【Mucus】

――――――――――

I-It's strong! More importantly, he's a Prince with that appearance? It doesn't suit him at all!

Putting that aside, his Skills cover both melee and ranged combat. I was honestly surprised that both of his magic Skills had already evolved.

His resistances were troublesome too, especially 【Poison Immunity】. The poison I'd prepared for Ruby was completely useless against him. And then there was 【Pain Resistance】. Going by the name, did it mean he could endure a certain amount of pain? I probably shouldn't look into it too deeply.

"Geggo!"

"Gero!"

"Ribbit ribbit!"

So he did have an entourage. He was certainly strong, but if he had been alone, he would have been an opponent we could handle. This was only to be expected.

His entourage consisted of War Toadmen and Toadman Mages, while the unfamiliar ones... could they be females?

――――――――――

Race: Toadman Singer Lv20–23

Job: Singer Lv 0–3

Skill: 【Tongue】

【Water Magic】 or 【Earth Magic】

【Singing】

【Intelligence Enhancement】

【Keen Ears】

【Aquatic】

【Night Vision】

【Mucus】

【Lightning Weakness】

――――――――――

Toadman Singers, huh? There were four of them. What use could Singers possibly be in a battle? I couldn't imagine it at all.

But they had deliberately appeared alongside the boss, so they had to serve some purpose. I had a bad feeling about leaving them alone.

"Gegogogogooo! Geroroooo!"

"Geggo!"

"Gero!"

Hmm! Did the Toadman Prince just encourage his minions? It had to be the effect of 【Command】 or 【Minion Enhancement】.

"Damn!"

"These guys suddenly got stronger!?"

I could hear the Lizardmen crying out in pain. Their stats must have been boosted by the encouragement, making them roughly equal in strength to the Lizardmen. We were at a disadvantage because we were outnumbered! If we didn't deal with this quickly, we'd all be wiped out!

"Jigoro! Can you hold off the big one!?"

"Of course I can!"

That's reassuring! In that case, I should give him the enemy's information.

"He uses hand-to-hand combat, as well as Earth and Water Magic! And if you hit him, watch out for 【Deadly Poison】, 【Mucus】, and 【Pain Resistance】!"

"Got it!"

As he listened to me, Jigoro leaped at the Toadman Prince.

"Goooooaaaaaah!!"

"Gegooooooo!!"

They exchanged 【Roar】 attacks as they began a frontal slugfest. A dull sound echoed out as their fists collided, making the air seem to tremble.

However, the entourage and the other fodder rushed in to interfere. First, we had to reduce their numbers so the Lizardmen could hold out on their own!

"Genzuro, support Jigoro! Ruby, deal with the Toadman Singers... and the females in the rear!"

"Sure thing!"

"Leave it to me!"

While listening to their replies, I looked around. Then I took aim at the area with the highest concentration of enemies.

"Let's wipe them out in one go! Activate Star Magic Circle, standby! Iris!"

"Yes! Flash!"

"Activate, Black Sword!"

Flash, which produced an intense light, and Black Sword, which sliced through shadows to inflict damage. This combo was something we had come up with... or so I thought, since apparently plenty of other players had reached the same conclusion. When I excitedly checked the forum after thinking of it, someone had already posted about it, and I was devastated...

The forum said that although the effect was tremendous, the timing was so exacting that the combo wasn't practical. That was only natural, since the two users had to coordinate their timing perfectly.

However, the standby function of 【Magic Circle】—which had been useless until now—finally came in handy. I put Black Sword on standby and activated it when Iris released Flash, making it easy to synchronize what had previously been extremely strict timing.

"Geggo!?"

"Geko!?"

The five Black Swords slashed through the shadows stretched out by Flash. The Toadmen, struck by slashes that made evasion and defense practically impossible, collapsed one after another.

The only one who survived the attack was a War Toadman, and it was already on the verge of death. Leave it to the Lizardmen. Next!

"Iris, take the right! I'll handle the left!"

"Yes!"

"Activate Star Magic Circle, Storm!"

Five enormous tornadoes appeared to my left. The Toadmen caught in them were swept into the air, regardless of whether they had evolved or not. By the time the spell wore off, they would have been carried to a height from which death was unavoidable.

Meanwhile, on the left, Iris was using her tentacles, the wooden mallet and hatchet gripped by them, and the throwing weapons we'd prepared. There were throwing knives Iris had made, as well as poison smoke bombs I'd created with 【Alchemy】. Did you think I had only made potions and poison? I make all sorts of things too!

Being squeezed by tentacles, beaten with a wooden mallet, hacked apart by a hatchet, and bombarded by thrown weapons—this battlefield was nothing short of hell. The Toadmen on this side should be manageable too.

"Ribbit ribbit-ribbit, ribbit ribbit♪"

"Gerrooo!"

"Hmm! They're strong!"

"My concealment isn't working!? Are they detecting me!?"

While Iris and I were proceeding smoothly, Genzuro and Ruby seemed to be struggling. The Toadmen who had been unable to read Genzuro's swordsmanship until now had somehow started defending against it.

Ruby had also failed an ambush that she had previously pulled off as a matter of course, and was fighting the Toadman that had come to help head-on. What was going on?

...I see. The troublesome nature of the Toadman Singers was becoming clear. My guess was that their songs had a buffing effect on their allies.

And when I considered the Appraisal results as well, I could infer that they were using 【Keen Ears】, enhanced by their own songs, to detect Ruby's location. It was painful that her disruption tactics were useless. I had to go support her quickly!

"Bone Dragon-sama! We'll hold them here!"

"Go to your companions!"

The Lizardmen said that, but in my estimation, there were too many enemies for them to hold off. That would inevitably mean treating them as expendable pieces. What should I do!?

"Izam, go! I'll stay here!"

"...All right!"

I sensed resolve in Iris's near-scream, so I turned and flew toward the boss. She had strengthened herself in various ways too, and was by no means the burden she claimed to be.

Even so, that many enemies would be a harsh challenge. With the battle against the boss ahead of us, I couldn't use 【Summoning Arts】, which would reduce my maximum mana. They would have to manage somehow with our current numbers.

This was going to be a difficult battle, but I'd finish things and return as quickly as possible. I'm counting on you!

◆◇◆◇◆◇

"Geko!"

"Gerooo!"

Izam has gone. They should be all right now. He's much stronger than he thinks he is.

The problem is this side. The Toadmen are weak enough that even I can defeat them, but there are too many of them and not enough hands. At this rate, all we can do is buy time.

Even so, I sent Izam to help them because I have my own pride. I make items and potions to contribute to everyone, but I tend to get in the way during battles. Everyone loves fighting, after all.

Since those four are my companions, I want to prove that I can be useful in battle too. That's what I thought.

"Bind! Keep squeezing!"

"Gya!?"

"Gyuge!?"

I'm nowhere near as skilled as the four of them, but I've gotten used to defeating Toadmen. One of my methods is 'catch them and squeeze them tight.' And then...

"Heavy Blow!"

"Geboa!?"

The second is using a wooden mallet to perform the 【Club Arts】 technique Heavy Blow. Normally, Heavy Blow has a wide swing and is difficult to land, but unlike humans, I have no joints, so I can flex my tentacles and correct the trajectory. A homing mallet!

"Flying Chain Slash!"

"Gegogo!?"

The third is using the hatchet with 【Sword Arts】. I can't aim for vital points as accurately as Genzuro, but this is good enough. If I can't finish one off, I can just use another tentacle.

"Triple Throw, Mighty Throw!"

And the fourth is my homemade throwing weapons and the alchemical items Izam made. Each individual item isn't particularly powerful, but I have them in abundance.

Most importantly, Izam and I had steadily made these whenever we found a little time, so we could raise our Skill levels. We still had plenty in stock, so we could use them lavishly!

Attacks with tentacles, a mallet, a hatchet, and thrown items—that's my fighting style. Until now, I had poured every bit of SP into learning all the production-type Skills, but I had invested all the SP from the previous event into combat Skills instead.

【Strength Enhancement】 to strengthen my tentacles, 【Club Arts】 and 【Sword Arts】 to use techniques with the mallet and hatchet that I had previously only swung around, and 【Throwing Arts】 so I could throw items accurately and incorporate techniques. My Skill levels were still low, but I was somehow managing to fight. It was a good thing I had acquired those Skills!

"Gah!"

"You damn frog!"

Ugh! I expected this, but the number of injured Lizardmen was increasing... Still, I couldn't let them get near the other four. We had to hold out somehow!

"War Chief-san! I'll move to the front! Use that time to regroup!"

"I-Iris-dono!? Wait!"

I ignored the War Chief-san's attempts to stop me and moved to the front. Rock Ropers are a Race that normally uses their high defense to endure attacks while skillfully manipulating their tentacles to defeat enemies. They also possess extremely tough and heavy bodies.

Yes, heavy. I'm the heaviest of the five. Th-that doesn't matter! No, it's not good for a girl! A-anyway! I'm suited to being a tank!

However, one of the drawbacks of my Race is its sluggish movement. Because of that, our marching speed had to be set to mine. But things are different now!

"Hup!"

"Ribbit?"

I extended a tentacle and grabbed a pillar from a nearby house. Then I jumped just a little and pulled with all my might. That let me close the distance to the enemy in an instant!

"G-Gero!?"

"Take this!"

After closing the distance all at once, I body-slammed the Toadman, carried along by my momentum. Apparently, my burst speed was comparable to that of a short-distance track athlete. What happens when that speed collides with my rock-like shell and the heaviest body among the five?

"Gegya..."

"Gero!?"

"Gekoko!?"

The result was a frog that had just been run over. They were shocked that I had suddenly moved so quickly and plunged straight into the middle of them. I'll take advantage of this opening! I'll imitate Izam's method!

"Hiyah!"

With me at the center, tentacles and weapons rampaged around like a tornado! I had to defeat as many Toadmen as possible!

"Geroa!"

"Ugh!"

Ah! One of my tentacles was cut off! Naturally, the one who cut it was a War Toadman. As expected of a higher Race—it could deal with attacks from someone like me, who didn't have a combat-oriented Job.

Even so, I won't retreat. I've decided to hold out until everyone defeats the boss. I absolutely won't let them regroup with the boss!