Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Bestia Mountain (3)
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-Clang!
"Enemy attack!"
With someone's shout announcing the raid, the soldiers who had been resting sprang into action, swiftly forming up for battle.
Actually, they had already begun preparing for combat before the shout, reacting to the bell that rang out first.
As if this wasn't their first or second time dealing with such a thing, they maintained their composure even in this surprise attack that could easily cause panic.
"Shield unit, form up your phalanx immediately! You're holding the line until the archers are ready!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Hurry! If we break, Prifre will fall in an instant!"
The soldiers, scattered around the tents, assembled their formation in a mere minute.
In just one minute, they had detected the sudden raid, armed themselves, and completed battle preparations.
"Whoa..."
The sight of the heavily armored soldiers in clanking plate mail moving in perfect unison to form ranks was a spectacle.
...So cool...
To Sion's eyes, it looked just like a scene from a Cold War movie.
Regardless of anything else, she had once been someone with XY chromosomes who lost her mind at the sight of robots or powered armor.
"Lady Rion and Lady Mayer, please fall back for now."
But the frontline wasn't leisurely enough for her to just stand there admiring the view.
"Ah, uh... Should we help too...?"
"I'd be grateful if you did, but if it looks like you'll get badly hurt, pull back at a safe point."
"Y-Yes... Cloe... Let's go help too..."
"Right."
-Thud thud thud thud!
About a minute after the soldiers formed up, the sound of countless footsteps echoed from the direction of Bestia Mountain.
Not just mere noise, but footsteps that shook the earth with overwhelming pressure.
Along with the growing roar, magical beasts surged toward them from the mountain like waves, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Whoa... What are all those...?"
She had heard magical beasts were rampant, but she figured even if they were going wild, there wouldn't be that many.
But there had to be dozens of them, even at a rough count...?
"Yeah..."
She had wondered at first why the hero couldn't handle this disturbance.
But with hordes of magical beasts like that continuously pouring in, even Karl would struggle alone.
"Prepare!"
The beasts' wave and the soldiers' wall were on the verge of collision.
It looked like the formed-up soldiers would be swept away and trampled by the beast surge, but...
"Hold the line!"
-Boom!
"Raaagh!"
Surprisingly, the shield formation held firm.
It seemed precarious, like it might collapse any second, but it didn't break.
"Impressive..."
"Right? I thought they'd get pushed back right away..."
In terms of raw power, the beasts outclassed the soldiers several times over.
But the soldiers' desperate resistance was narrowing that gap, bit by bit.
Still—
"Urgh..."
They wouldn't last much longer like that.
Though they were giving it everything, the fundamental power difference remained unresolved.
As a result, despite their initial momentum, the soldiers' line began to slowly give ground.
If they kept getting pushed and the phalanx broke...?
Total annihilation...
Of course, Sion wouldn't just watch that happen, but without her intervention, the outcome was obvious.
"Lady Rion, what should we do?"
Watching the precarious clash unfold before them, Cloe was ready to charge in at any moment.
But she waited for Sion's orders, figuring there must be a reason she wasn't moving yet.
"Everyone, make way!"
"It's Lady Olivia!"
Suddenly, Olivia hurled herself into the midst of the swarming beasts beyond the soldiers' phalanx.
"Wait, charging in alone like that...!"
"Hold on... Wait, Cloe..."
Olivia was instantly isolated in the heart of the enemy lines.
Cloe naturally assumed she was in dire straits, surrounded by beasts—but
-Roooar!
-Groooowl!
—The ones in danger were the beasts.
"Good, just hold steady like that!"
Olivia danced through the beasts in the center like a whirlwind of blades, felling them like falling leaves.
So that's how she was holding back a horde that size...
She was the anchor.
The soldiers' capabilities weren't particularly outstanding.
No, compared to the beasts, their individual skills were actually inferior.
But among the beasts, there were no commander-level individuals.
"Hyaah!"
Someone like Olivia, with the power to single-handedly shift the battlefield.
"The phalanx is just to draw attention... The real deal is Olivia."
Beasts varied, but most had animal-level intelligence.
And those beasts couldn't even discern who to prioritize in combat.
So they ignored the most dangerous threat and kept hammering at the unbreakable shield wall.
"Archer unit ready!"
"Fire at will!"
"Archers, loose!"
Finally, the archers were ready, and the tide turned in an instant.
Unbreakable shields and ranged support from the prepared archers.
Plus Olivia rampaging freely in the enemy midst.
The battlefield was already all but won for their side.
"Cloe... Let's join in quick."
"Yes!"
"If we don't... Olivia might actually die."
"...Huh?"
If asked if there were no sacrifices, that wasn't true.
"Her movements... They're way slower than at the start. She must be nearly exhausted."
She looked composed on the surface, but up close, sweat beaded on Olivia's face.
A sign she was starting to falter, yet the beasts around her hadn't thinned out.
Apparently, Olivia had temporarily taken over the hero's role.
She was holding out admirably, but her lack of experience showed.
At this rate, Olivia would fall before the archers cleaned up the rest.
"Then, I'm going!"
Using Haste magic, Cloe vanished from Sion's side in a flash, racing toward Olivia.
"Mayer?!"
Olivia showed surprise at Cloe's sudden entry.
"You looked like you could use some help alone."
Recognizing reliable reinforcements, Olivia unhesitatingly turned her back to her.
"Let me lend a hand."
"...Please do!"
No longer needing to watch her rear, Olivia could pace herself more comfortably.
With Olivia's side stabilized, there were no more variables on the battlefield.
"Well then... I can't just sit idle."
She couldn't just watch.
Inside the subspace magic pocket full of odds and ends, Sion began searching for a particular item.
"Where is it... Around here... Ah, found it."
What she pulled from her inventory was—
Epic Grade: Make Tonkatsu!
[Condition: Kill 10+ beast-type monsters with a 'Hammer' category weapon]
A massive hammer at least twice her height.
......
With all variables eliminated, the overwhelmingly favorable battlefield needed little time to mop up the rest.
They remained vigilant to avoid any injuries.
Already short on manpower and borrowing adventurers' help, every soldier was precious.
In that situation, after most beasts were slain, Sion—
-Crack!
-Squeeeeal!
"Eight."
-Crack!
"Nine."
-Crack!
"Ten."
Ignoring the stares around her, she focused on completing the achievement.
"Phew... Done."
For a mage like Sion, this annoying achievement requiring her to kill monsters with a 'hammer' was a hassle.
Having cleared one irritating task, she took a moment to catch her breath, feeling relieved.
-Thud!
As the Strength Enforce spell's duration ended and she could no longer lift it, she dropped the hammer like discarded trash and stretched.
"Hoo... Still... Moving my body like this once in a while... Isn't so ba—"
But realizing every eye was on her, she shrank back immediately.
"W-What... Why's everyone staring at me...?"
Sion had grown somewhat accustomed to people from frequent outings for achievements.
"Eek."
But being the center of attention like this was still uncomfortable.
"Hah..."
Of course, she couldn't blame the onlookers.
Who wouldn't be shocked seeing a girl bludgeon multiple beasts—each capable of tearing apart an adult man—with a hammer?
Especially one twice her size.
"Did you see that...? How many did she take down alone...?"
"Look at those corpses. Completely smashed into pulp."
The soldiers gazed at the blood-soaked girl with awe.
"If not for her, we'd probably be..."
"What kind of adventurer is she anyway? Not a mage...?"
They also felt relief that she was their reinforcement.
As expected... There's a reason she's Sion's disciple...! But is that magic?
Rion... Who the hell are you...?
Even Olivia and Cloe, who had shone on the battlefield, were no different.
Just as most eyes on the frontline were captivated by Sion's exploits—
"It's the hero! The hero's here!"
The person to rescue Sion from this awkward spotlight arrived.
"Ugh... Why now of all times..."
For Sion, an utterly unwelcome guest.