RAW:
TL: MayonaizeShrimp
ED: Elhessan
Chapter 39 is currently being edited and I’m still doing chapter 40. Will continue No Fatigue after this one.
In a room covered with thorns and ivy, a single tremendous tree stood tall penetrating the ceiling. The tree grew countless thorns and vines. Its red rose blooming like blood. Right in the middle of the tree was a girl, Grandfang dol Fuiria. Her lower body and her arms were buried deep into the trunk.
Right beside her, a hooded figure sat right next to her on top of a bulge that protruding out from the tree. His fingers playfully caressed her cheek. The large rose bloomed on Fuiria’s chest, spreading ominous but sweet scent.
「………u……a…a」
「「Fufu… Some interesting intruders have come. Look, it’s the Wei Warlord, the one who once you held dear… Along with the people from the Kingdom. They came a lot quicker than I thought. I don’t think you’ll get bored, after all」」
The hooded figure watched Masaki’s group and smiled happily. Meanwhile, Fuiria was moaning in pain in the background. The inside of the hood was dark. No one could see the facial expression under that hood, but imagining his mouth split made it even more eerie.
The hooded figure looked at each intruders. He switched back and forth as if trying to evaluate their price. Adelle, Tatsuma, Hayato, Leon, Nemea, Akiha, Haruka… and finally Masaki.
「「Iro」」
「Yes. Here」
A person appeared from the shade of the tree.
His body was covered in silver thorns; the same thorns as the ones around the flower on Fuiria’s chest.
This man was the prime minister of the Empire, Iro Hakara. He had long abandoned his human body and now looked like a grotesque humanoid organism.
Iro had served the empire for a long time. He had also stabbed his own country from behind since he began serving the Empire. Iro was the one who recommended Barry’s advice when Barry just “received” his new life.
「「There’s really an interesting one here. Although Barry’s just a prototype, he’s still the one who beats Barry. I think his name is Masaki… What do we know about his power?」」
「No, not much… All we know is that the enslavement didn’t work on him at the time of summoning. He’s strong enough to fight on par with Leviathan. There was a report that he is a spellsword who can fight and fly in the sky. According to soldiers, the Kingdom hailed him as 『Hero』」
「「『Hero』 is it……? I will traverse to where the 『Great Admiral』 is. I shall leave the rest onto your hands. Feel free to use our rodbhldmr sn ynvq gdtqs’r bnmsdms」」
「Yes! Understood!」
「「If you could hold them back, you will become the emperor of this country. The princess will surely love you as well~ Yes… let your desire leads you」」
The hooded figure touched the tree and disappeared into the void where no light could escape.
(I can’t see behind his power… Perhaps he was the real deal. fufu… this is going to be fun. I thought that this country had served its purpose… but I can still use it to observe him)
The hooded figure sneered as he melted into the darkness.
Iro grinned as he touched Fuiria’s soft cheek, admiring her like an objet d’art.
「…Fu… Fufu… My greatest desire…
The Emperor’s throne will soon be mine…
Pqhmbdrr Fvhqht… ynv rgtkk ad ly pvddm.
Let’s defeat the pests together. We shall sacrifice them and the very life of this country… And we'll hold the grandest celebration ever!」
Iro’s evil grin spread from ear to ear. Meanwhile, Fuiria, or at least her remaining consciousness, could only endure the fear while struggling to keep her consciousness from being swallowed.
There was only one man remained in her mind.
(……Pro… mised… He… Tat… suma……… will sa… ve…… promised…… My… Knight……)
Her right arm that was buried into the tree trunk clutched the scarf tightly, relying on its lost warmth to help to endure the pain.
***
「Haaaaaa!!!!」
With a huge roar, Tatsuma blew off five armored plant monsters.
It didn’t seem like he used a skill, but I remembered seeing that move.
Not afraid even when facing hundreds of enemies, it was a technique that blew away enemies like leaves against the wind.
(No doubt that Tatsuma came from the action VRMMO 「Bushin Sangokushi」.
That explains why he was this strong)
(TL: Bvrghm Stmfnjvrgh = 武神-Mhkhstqy Gnc 三国志-Ammtkr ne sgd 3 jhmfcnlr)
「Bushin Sangokushi」 was not a game that puts more emphasis on equipment and status. Instead of using skills, the player fills a gauge to deliver deadly attacks. I didn’t have much time to actually play the game, but I had seen several of its commercials.
The game grouped the players in a party of 4 and have the players blew enemies away. The refreshing feeling of beating enemies was its major selling point, along with intense PVP matches. There were national competitions for that as well.
A troublesome enemy, but a strong ally indeed.
On my hand was a black crossbow gun (Black Damascus Crossbow Gun.
It was a high-chance drop from a dungeon boss, so I had it in inventory) and shot at the thorn monsters on the walls and the ceilings. I, of course, tried using it along with 『Drill Bunker』. The shockwave from the skill went from where the arrow stuck on the enemy and pierced them through. I confirmed that the skill was compatible with crossbows. The damage output was certainly weaker than when using a sword, but as a rearguard, it still packed quite a punch.
Leading our party was Tatsuma and Prince Leon, with Haruka following them from behind. I put myself on the back of the group. I ran while keeping my speed moderately, to prevent wearing myself out before dealing with the giant reaction mark on my map.
Since I wasn’t the vanguard, I could still run while looking at the 『Map』.
This way, I could make the most of my 『Map』 and 『System Message』 to strategize.
There were 26 enemy markers on the room ahead of us.
Please don’t break the door…
『Tatsuma, Prince Leon, enemies behind that door. There are 26 of them. Get ready』
「Affirmative! I’ll deal with them! Prince Leon, pleaー」
「You don’t have to tell me. I will cut them all」
As I expected before, the door broke apart with a loud noise, followed by dozens of monsters jumping out to attack us. Some of them wore armors, but some of them also wore maid dresses. I also saw some who wore very expensive looking noble clothes, even though they were in serious tatters…
They were a mere shadow of the people who used to work in this castle…
When the monsters appeared, Prince Leon released a skill that he prepared beforehand.
「Dragon Storm!!」
Prince Leon covered his sword in a dragon-like aura, which extended it into a large sword. A small-scale tornado appeared in the castle’s hallway and sliced through all the monsters that appeared.
It was one of the dragon skills that dragon knights could use.
It was similar to the skills that the players in my game used, but our version wasn’t something that could be spammed, as it used quite a lot of energy.
「Musou Advances!!!」(TL: 無双-Musou and 快進撃-steady march)
Tatsuma dashed and attacked. One slash, two slashes, three slashes, four slashes. Slashing at the tornado containing the enemies. The tornado was dispersed immediately, along with the enemies trapped within it.
「Masaki, how’s the enemy markers?」
「All enemies in this room are completely gone. Those stairs at the corner.
Five enemies over there. I’ll try contacting Adelle’s team. In the meantime, Haruka, please cover our back for a while」
「With pleasure~」
She trotted along with a sunflower in her hand.
I was surprised when the sunflower seed came out of the flower and pierces through the enemies.
What are “Farmers”, really?
I swallowed my concern at how dicey the game Farmer Island sounds and gave my report to Adelle’s team.
『Adelle, Akiha, there are 10 enemies following you from the stairs that you just passed. Three of them sneaked from the ceiling. Be careful. Also, there are three more enemies ahead. Another five behind the corner』
《Affirmative. Over》
A personal whisper message came from Akiha.
I was thinking about sending a telepathic message to Adelle at first, but apparently, the magic prevention also affects telepathic communications.
But since whispers were considered as a player’s personal communication feature, we could still use them as is.
I took a role upon myself as the battlefield operator between both groups and the effect was tremendous. I could prevent the enemies’ surprise attacks and took the initiative in the offense.
Thanks to it, we could keep the working efficiency of both teams at peak. Since I had to maintain constant focus at the 『Map』, we couldn’t help that our speed was dropped slightly, but I could always catch up while the other 3 was fighting.
I kept constant look at the map as I chased after Prince Leon on the stairs.
After hearing system message from Masaki, Adelle’s group started preemptive strike towards the enemy that they had been informed of.
ーpew pew pewー
The bird-shaped thorn monsters disappeared along with Akiha’s gunshots. In the passageway, Nemea grabbed an enemy by the neck and threw it at the other enemies like some sort of makeshift bowling ball. Meanwhile, Hayato and Adelle broke down enemy ranks with their bokutou and mana spear.
She lowered her magnum for a while and confirmed that all of the enemy markers had disappeared from her map.
「No enemy reaction. All Clear」
「Ou. So glad we have Masaki’s Map, though. But what’s the deal with this map anyway? Adelle, you’ve known him for a long time, yes? You know something about it?」
「Even if you say that, I don’t actually know him for very long. But I think he’s trying to keep some abilities for himself」
「I don’t know Masaki-kimi, but even I know that his ability is really dangerous.
If he knows about everything including your soldier’s placement, the number of people, and even your ambush points, no ordinary country can touch a strand of his hair. No wonder he decided to keep it to himself」
Nemea spoke as he stroked his mane.
No one seemed to disagree on that.
Not only the map, but the ability to convey information to everyone on the battlefield was powerful as well.
Once you grasped all soldier’s position, you can easily found security gaps and assassinations would be as easy as flipping your hands.
「If Masaki-kimi himself wants to keep it a secret, I don’t think you should ask him. Ah, we have a guest. I’m going in. Please support me from the back」
Another monster appeared from the end of the passageway. Nemea used his beastmen muscle strength and closed in before the monster could even react. He grabbed the monster’s head and slammed it against the wall.
The monster was now locked in place.
ーBam! Bam! Zash!ー
Those monsters then finished by Akiha’s bullets and Adelle’s mana spear.
Nemea then crushed the monster’s head with his grip and made it disappear.
Hayato didn’t even get a chance to act and sighed.
(Don’t they even realize that everyone here is strange on their own……? Especially considering one of them can even solidify mana…)
Hayato glanced at Adelle, but he then returned back immediately. There were enemies right behind that corner. It was now his time to hunt. Nemea was running towards them already.
(It would tip the power scale against the people in this world, but maybe I should discuss with everyone on how to improve Adelle’s ability even further)
Hayato swung his bokutou as he thought on how to use Adelle’s ability.