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Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Kabur & Silavin
“Stay on your toes until the end!”
Bart’s call echoed through the battlefield.
“””Hoh!”””
Replies from adventurers with some leeway could be heard from all over the place.
After the first two dozen of monsters that started the battle, the succeeding attacks had been easier than expected, thanks to the fact that the raids have been only sporadic.
According to the results of their reconnaissance, there were at least a hundred monsters, more likely around three hundred, but fewer than expected were coming out to raid them.
The reason for this was also somewhat predictable.
“It’s easier than I thought it would be.”
One of Bart’s party members spoke.
His gaze turned in the direction from which they had just heard explosions.
Like Bart, he was trying to guess the cause of the easy turn of events.
“You never know what’s going to be there until the end. Don’t let your guard down.”
“I know.”
The explosions that had been heard continuously were now sporadic.
Was it because the magic/holy power of the magician was running out? It was unclear if it was quite unclear, but it might also be because the number of monsters had decreased.
It was only natural that they could not let our guard down until the very end.
Above all, they did not know what was happening with the leader species, which was the cause of the flood.
It was common sense that even after a swarm was defeated, one should still be cautious, which was the culmination of the experience an adventurer had built up over the years.
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Layla was stunned by what was happening in front of her.
When she was told of her role, she had thought that it was the worst.
In reality, however, things were unfolding in a way that she didn’t even have time to move.
The adventurer next to her, Kou, was not joining the fight, but she had some idea why.
He was probably trying to avoid being caught up in the techniques that Collete, the elf, had just unleashed.
In fact, when he was about to be caught in the wind of the explosion, she saw him putting up something that looked like a barrier.
However, what confused Layla the most was that she couldn’t tell whether what Collete was using was magic, divine arts, or something else.
Considering that she was an elf, it could also be a spirit technique.
Since she has been a frequent barrister for Koh, she can see what appears to be a spirit, so it is quite possible that the same party members are using spirit magic.
However, Layla’s knowledge did not allow her to say for certain, since she was not aware of the fact that any class of those techniques were capable of causing such an explosion.
“Oh, is that… Is this some kind of different technique?”
Layla asked Kousuke, who was staring at the monsters without any caution.
Kousuke, with no intention of hiding anything, answers honestly.
“That’s right.”
“Oh, no… I’ve never heard or witnessed that kind of technique before…”
Kousuke smiled and replied to Layla, who seemed to want to ask about it.
“It is often misunderstood. But the strength of a technique is not only determined by the amount of power one has accumulated or the number of spirits that follow them, you know?”
“…. Yes?”
Layla tilted her head at Kousuke who suddenly started talking.
She did not understand how her question was connected to what Kousuke had just said.
“Let’s say, in spirit arts, where follower spirits are the ones causing phenomena. They say that if you have a lot of follower spirits, you can create more effective phenomena.”
Layla listened silently to Kousuke’s story.
Even Layla, who could not use the techniques, could understand this level of talk anytime she wanted to look it up.
“The misconception there is about needing to have more spirits with you to cause phenomena such as large explosions.”
Kousuke continued his story as he watched Collete, with the support of Peach and Nana, exercise her spirit techniques.
“That may be a variable, but it is also important to have a deep connection with the spirits.”
After hearing this, Layla finally understood what Kousuke was trying to say.
“In other words, is it possible to create such an explosion even in a place where spirits are thought to be scarce?”
“Well, in simple terms, yes.”
Layla finally nodded in agreement.
However, although Kousuke spoke comfortably, it was actually not so easy to explain in detail.
By nature, spirits were not visible beings.
It was difficult to have a deep connection with an invisible being.
Fortunately, Layla was not able to use spirit magic, so she did not go into the matter that deeply.
If it had been Cecil or Arisa listening to this story, they might have wanted to bury their heads in the sand.
Or they might have thought, “As expected of the quintessential Collete”, but since they were not here, unfortunately they could not confirm it.
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With such a relaxed atmosphere, Kousuke and his group steadily reduced the number of monsters.
Just when it seemed that the number of monsters would soon exceed 100.
Finally, the monster they had been waiting for arrived.
The leader of the swarm showed its presence.
The leader species was a monster followed by multiple types of monsters, and there was no specific type of monster that could become a leader species.
On the other hand, if a monster was not followed by multiple types of monsters, it would only be a commander type that controls monsters within its species.
It was a small difference, but it made a lot of things different.
It was said that a leader species would even be two ranks higher in some cases than its swarm.
The reconnaissance team confirmed that the leader species in this case was identified as a Hate Horse, a horse-shaped monster that appeared around this area.
The Hate Horse by itself was a C-rank monster, so a party of top adventurers would be able to defeat it without much difficulty.
However, when it came to a leader species it would be a different story.
The scouts expected it to be A-ranked if not worse.
“Kou… Kou-san, it’s here!”
Peach almost called him Kousuke, but managed to hold back as she came over to alert him.
The leader Hate Horse was more than twice the size of a normal hate horse.
It was surrounded by a dozen or so monsters that were under its control.
Starting with weaker spirit techniques, Collete attacked as a greeting.
It was more than enough to defeat the monsters surrounding the leader. Some monsters were not so lucky, but some managed to survive.
The monsters were probably stronger than the normal kind, as they were the only ones that were near the leader species.
And as expected, the hate horse leader also remained.
Peach and Collete were clearing away the remaining monsters in the vicinity, leaving the Hate Horse on its own.
Nana was monitoring the hate horse.
After clearing away the monsters in the area, they were about to head for the Hate Horse when suddenly the Hate Horse roared.
“Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
It was so loud that it must have echoed throughout the forest.
Kousuke and the others would not have been safe if they had to listen to that much noise so close.
Of course, they did not take the sound seriously, and each of them took countermeasures.
As soon as the roar ended, the Hate Horse pulled back into the forest.
Not wanting to miss the leader of the swarm, Kousuke and his group chased after the hate horse.
Of course, there was a possibility that it was a trap, so they moved carefully.
After they had been in the forest for about 10 minutes, they understood why the Hate Horse had entered the forest after roaring.
The reason was now in front of Kousuke and his group.
There were other monsters included, but there was another big reason.
“I might really have to move this time.”
A different leader species from the Hate Horse was waiting for them where the Hate Horse had fled.
Kousuke’s voice reached the others clearly even when they were in the forest, which should have been noisy with the buzz of the monsters.
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