Chapter 110
Two whole days had passed since Kazuma mysteriously kidnapped. His party members remain stuck in the Hub's world and wander along the Great Forest, seeking for food and shelter while avoiding any sign of civilization due to them being wanted criminals.
Their funding, resources and survival equipment all vanished alongside Kazuma. They are forced to eat edible moss and wash it down with purified water made by Aqua for every meal of the day. Then sleep on the bare forest ground during the night while keeping watch around the campfire they kindled using Megumin's magic.
"This is hopeless." Aqua whispered while laying her back on a tree.
"Without direction or any information to get started on. How are we supposed to find and rescue Kazuma?" Aqua continued while glancing at the other two that were also sitting around the campfire for warmth.
"Perhaps we should return to the frontier town?" Megumin blurted out but was immediately shot down by Aqua.
"And captured before we are thrown into prison?"
"Whose fault is it in the first place that lands us with a ridiculous amount of debt, you drunkard!" Megumin that reached her breaking point due to their miserable living conditions, lashed out on Aqua.
Meanwhile Darkness sighed and facepalm. This isn't the first time the two went into an argument. She knew, Megumin being the tsundere she is, refused to admit that she is extremely worried about Kazuma and wanted to immediately go and rescue him but they can't because they are now a criminal that will be stopped by the guards and thrown into prison. She lash out on Aqua because she is the reason why they are stuck here, living like a hobo in the forest and couldn't enter any city under the jurisdiction of the Holy Kingdom.
Though, little did they know. The moment the king found out about the matter, he removed Kazuma's and his party's criminal status then paid the debt they owed.
Although not much, helping in the logistic department is the least the King could assist the heroes and their party that is making an effort to liberate his land from the monster infestation. The noble that dared to declare the heroes as criminals was also punished after the king put out an investigation that found out the noble is part of the minority group of nobles in cahoot with Marquis Rowan.
"Enough you two. Enough for tonight and go to rest. Tomorrow we continue our journey." Darkness put a stop to the argument the moment both are about to resort to violence.
She sighed that she had to be the leader in place of the kidnapped Kazuma. She might act like a perverted masochist all the time but she is also a knight and nobility of Dustiness house. Both had prepared her for a role of leadership. However, she prefers being led rather than leading due to her 'acquired taste' and somewhat resents this role.
"Shut up you masochist crusader! I had enough of this narcissist bitch. If not for her, none of us have to live through all those torture." Megumin lash out on Darkness too for what she assumed to be picking Aqua's side.
"What do you mean by that! I am a proud Goddess of Water and patron god of the Axis Church!" Aqua shouted and everything just went downhill from there.
"Goddess of Water my ass, more like Goddess of Failure and Poverty with how much suffering you are causing for us."
"You! You take that back!"
"After my dead body you bitch!"
"Girls, stop. You two are alerting the monster nearby."
The two are already on the ground doing cat fights while Darkness is trying to untangle the two.
That is until a fourth voice suddenly entered the conversation out of nowhere.
"Freeze! No sudden move. Hand on your head. I count to three before I put a hole in one of your heads."
The three near the campfire immediately stopped and looked around for the source of the voice. Though Aqua is the only one that followed the order and laid on her stomach with hands behind her head. The two are still looking around for the hidden person.
"Told you this is the fastest way to make them stop."
"Even I would piss myself if someone did that to me in the middle of the woods at night, Laura." A fifth voice is heard before two figures walk- no, more like floating out of the darkness like a ghost.
"Ahhhhh! GHOST!" Megumin shouted when seeing two vaguely human-like, glowing figures float out the darkness.
"See! Told you we would scare them if we appeared like this."
"Ah, sorry. We were part of Ray's group and we know you all. We detected your camp and decided to check it out, which turned out to be Kazuma's party members." A female with long blond hair and appearance of nobility, wearing a blue mecha suit spoke to the three while the other eyepatched petite one with silver hair and black mecha stayed silent while on the lookout for unwanted guests.
"Would you three want to come to our camp? We can talk and rest there. We have plenty of food to share too." Cecilia added the last part when seeing a bowl with edible moss that her group also discovered but tasted very awful that they rather eat sand than the moss, figuratively.
At first the three have some suspicion but swayed when they heard Ray's name. They still had some hesitation until they heard the latter part. The hesitation and suspicion immediately poofed out of existence as the three nodded.
"Well, allow us to give you all a lift. Flying is way safer and faster than walking back to our camp." Cecilia said before she carried Megumin and Aqua while Laura carried Darkness as the five take a two minute flight that could be shorter if not for carrying passengers.
———
"What the heck is this!" Both Megumin and Darkness shouted in awe while Aqua was terrified and confused.
"Make yourself at home." Cecilia invitingly said to the trio.
"Should I fire up the grill and make some food for the guest, Miss Cecilia?" Yao asked while attending Cheshire's whim.
"Lady Cheshire, you shouldn't shake the rod or nothing will take the bite." Yao then looks at Cheshire to advise her to stop impatiently waving the fishing rod.
"No, actually… what is going on here?" Aqua asked, yet disregarded until Cecilia finished replying to Yao.
"Ah! Welcome to our camp." Cecilia clapped as she realized she might have forgotten to welcome the three.
"No, I get it but how the heck is there a frigging ship- no. A warship in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention this one looks too advanced to be from Earth." Aqua raised her voice while pointing at the ground she is standing on.
"Oh, this. This is Cheshire's ability. She can materialize her warships which we use as temporary camps since monsters can hardly reach us from here and it has automated turrets to dispatch any that get close." Cecilia explained with a ladylike manner and smile to her guest.
Meanwhile the oblivious two only realized the massive cannons after Cecilia pointed at them. Both Darkness and Megumin saw cannon's before in the forts all around the frontier city neighboring Demon lord's territory. But these, these cannons are larger than any cannon they had seen before.
They could only wonder how strong this cannon is with their sheer size. Then there are other smaller ones scattered all around the warship.
After that, both groups sit down and talk while also feasting on the grilled fish that was cooked by Yao. The three gorge down the incredibly scrumptious meal like no tomorrow until they have bloated tummies.
"So, what happened to your group to end up in the forest in that… state?" Cecilia asked and like a broken dam, all three shared the story on how they landed with huge debt then became criminals and the part after Kazuma's kidnapping.
"Kidnapping too?" Laura, who had been hearing disinterestedly, suddenly asked when hearing that Kazuma was also kidnapped.
"Too? Your group members are kidnapped too?" Aqua asked.
"Not ours. Our initial group split into two and the second group is the one kidnapped according to the last moment Ophis experienced with her shared sense with Ray before it was cut off." Cecilia explained while pointing over to the highest point of the warship's bridge where the brooding Ophis is sitting and waiting for any sign of Ray's presence.
The other three looked up to where Cecilia was pointing and found another member of the other party. When greeted by Ophis' unhappy gaze, the three immediately stop looking and return to the conversation.
"Well, since both our groups landed in this unfortunate situation. We can at least offer you three some help with shelter." Cecilia said which brightens the three's expression when they no longer need to sleep on uncomfortable and freezing cold ground, also eating the horrible moss.
"We gladly accept your offer." Aqua said before happily shaking hands with Cecilia.
"Wah! I caught my first fishie!" Cheshire shouted excitedly and followed by claps and congratulations from Yao and Myui that accompanied Cheshire at the edge of the deck.
However, before Cheshire can reel up her catch. A bigger fish leaped out of the water and chewed off her catch before escaping with it.
"Nya! My fishie! Cheshire not yet show it to papa. Bad big fishie." Cheshire scolded the fish.
"Wait, Lady Cheshire. Not the canno-"
*Boom*
"-n…"
"Oh no, not again! Quick! Grab something or you'll fall off." Cecila warned the newcomers.
The close proximity explosion of the shell made the banked warship to tilt to the side until a large purple snake made of magic appeared and fixed the issue.
"Quite sure we're gonna get deaf by the end of the week if this continues." Laura added with disinterest when her quick nap was disturbed before fixing her sunbathing chair and falling back into a power nap.
"Ehe, Cheshire is sorry." Cheshire, who was caught red-handed again for firing the cannon, shyly apologized before retreating into her room with her big kitty and Myui in tow while Yao sighed before proceeding to clean up the mess Cheshire caused.
———
While another group is camping by a large river on a warship, Ray has already reached the second 'key dungeons'.
This dungeon is yet another verdant dungeon filled with plants that start to rub Ray the wrong way.
"Burn bitch! Burn! Burn to death you homo tentacle freaks!" Ray let loose his profanity and his Flammenwa- *Cough* Ronson WP Flamethrower to burn any and every plant in his vicinity without exception.
The other operators also did the same. With the Ant Queen and her escorts as mounts that provide higher ground, the operators on top spray out jets of burning fuel mixture that burn and leave everything in ash and smoldering remains. Except the actual monster that takes time to be exterminated by the fire.
Once the monsters are located, the group concentrates their firepower on the poor monster that has nowhere to hide as everything in the surrounding is nothing but ash and still burning plants. The tree monster no longer has cover to camouflage and has to fight frontally, outside of its advantageous terrain.
"There! Shoot down that tree faggot!" Ray swapped to Proposition before emptying his entire magazine of incendiary rounds on the Tree Roper that were fleeing the group or fire spewing pyromaniacs.
"My lord… I think this is quite excessive for accidentally ambushing you while… *cough* Never mind." Lancelot got shut down by Ray's intense glare of both shame and righteous fury after getting assaulted in his moment of weakness that will probably scar him for life, almost being done the unspeakable by the Tree Roper if not for Lancelot arriving in time to prevent it.
"I have decided to exterminate this species of monster from existence. I am doing this world a favor by exterminating those hell spawn" Ray said as if stating fact while continuing to march onwards to the Boss room ahead while burning the last patch of area of this dungeon.
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Wow, three chapters (technically 4) in a day. Though I wonder if those chapters are good. Because quantity over quality isn't good.