Abael

The presumably Abael let out another fire attack from his mouth at the other party. Two warriors or paladins were hit. Their hunter too. The orc warriors took advantage of their panic to take them down quickly.

The rest of the two parties were also troubled by the shamans. The shamans brought forth bugs or something out of the pots on their hips to create chaos among the volunteer soldiers. It's frustratingly effective. Others go down just like that. 'Sure, we were told to focus on the shamans. But how?'

'It's going to be pretty hard.' It's not impossible to carry on. It's just way too risky.

When in battle, I felt gradually detached from reality, but I still had a part of me that sensed this apprehension.

"Reinforcements?!" 

I looked at the tower to the southeast. A number of the volunteer soldiers who had gone up earlier were now coming down from there. It's a little bit ten in number. Even so, I didn't feel very happy about it. 'We could have lasted longer at least' was my tenuous conclusion. "Watch out!" —but I couldn't believe 'that' was coming from Kiyotaka, so I was more than surprised.

When I turned my head towards him, Zoran Zesh was no longer in front of him. The Keeper ran. Ran so fast that it had been enough to intimidate many people because of how fast it was. Where to? It's the volunteer soldiers who had just arrived on the first floor.

"Oh, shit!"

"Magic...!"

"Up to the front, Shitake!"

They panicked, but not to the extent of losing their decision-making ability. In an instant, they were lined up. Would they be able to fight back, though? No.

More than half were cut down the instant Zoran Zesh was at their site. Zoran Zesh performed a body-twisting technique where his two scimitars flew to the volunteer soldiers within range. It was long. And fast. With Zoran Zesh's physique, no one could timely dodge. They all died pretty much instantaneously.

Kiyotaka-kun sprinted at him with even more mesmerizing speed. How could he unleash Zoran Zesh, to begin with? However that is, he was able to prevent Zoran Zesh doing further damage to the remaining volunteer soldiers.

In response, Zoran Zesh did a somersault. Not just one turn, but two in one fell swoop.

"...That guy," Kanji-kun gaped. "Is he a Superman?"

Kei, now being replaced by Suzune, watched the scene with an expression filled with strain.

Kiyotaka-kun took it straight on. Zoran Zesh clearly had more brute strength than him. Was he unable to dodge? Kiyotaka-kun brought an additional hand to the sword's ridge to withstand the vertical slash of Zoran Zesh's two blades. There's literal fire made from the friction of their sword blades.

Then there's that horizontal spin. Instead of retreating, Kiyotaka-kun strode forward, swinging the Butcher at Zoran Zesh's arm. It was now the orc who was forced to retreat.

"Adachi!" A hoarse voice called out.

I glanced over to the southwest watchtower's entrance. Renji-kun had arrived with his team and was now barreling towards Zoran Zesh.

He was probably trying to throw himself into the fight somehow, but couldn't find the opening. Kiyotaka-kun and Zoran Zesh gave him no chance.

They never stopped their pace. They leaped from one spot to another with swings of their swords far too fast for anyone to bear. Renji-kun didn't look like he could slip himself in readily.

"Focus on shamans!" Suzune said.

"Get lost...!"

Haruhiro-kun's party and one other party had also arrived on the first floor. 

'We could probably win this.' We just need to wait for Wild Angels now.

"Choco!" Haruhiro-kun shouted to the group staying in the same lodging house as us.

That party had lost its warrior, presumably the leader, and its priest. There's still one other warrior, a paladin, a mage, and a thief. The thief, a girl, seemed to be Haruhiro-kun's acquaintance.

Moguzo-kun, his party's warrior, went forward with great strides to help Choco's party. Shihoru-san, the mage, and Yume-san the hunter were behind in support. Ranta-kun, with the rare dread knight as his role, moved along with Moguzo-kun with his unique footwork. 'They should be fine now.'

Each party that descended from the southwest watchtower assisted a party of orcs and shaman warriors each. The orc warriors were one thing, but the shamans were another. They were heavily protected by orc warriors, and Abael alone was enough to outwit all the volunteer soldiers. 'We have to do something with Abael.'

I approached Suzune. She noticed me getting closer.

The orcs on our side were barely present. "What is the matter, Chiaki?"

"I just have a thought."

"I'll listen. But explain it briefly and concisely."

I nodded. Abael was now gone. Suzune probably realized that. The bounty on his head was not just a decoration, it seems.

"Right now, Abael is likely to attack one of the volunteer army parties, including ours. He's using the vast terrain and his allied orcs to deliver a surprise attack. Our numerical advantage will disappear if we continue to let him be. I wouldn't call this a plan, I just want you all to move with the thought that you don't know Abael's trick of suddenly disappearing."

"So you're going to kill him with a surprise attack yourself?"

I smiled dryly. "Yes, that's about it."

Suzune nodded. "That's a plan worth hearing. I and the others will distract them while you try to land the decisive blow, at least."

It was largely in my control to kill him. Well, I hope someone with the same role realizes the same thing too, though. But there's no point in whining about it.

The party moved. Volunteer soldiers were scattered across randomly. It would be difficult, if not, impossible to guess where exactly Abael would head next. Suzune led with a steady, confident pace, and assisted as many volunteer soldiers in trouble as possible. I acted like I was doing the same thing.

'This is such a gamble.' I can't directly observe Abael while trying to pay attention to my surroundings because he'll surely become more cautious after that. That automatically makes it harder for me to kill him.

The trick to that is to look at it in the wide picture. I'm confident in my ability to do so. 

'I have to stabilize my emotions. My mind. My body. Conduct them naturally.'

Quickly, the shaman emerged. He went for Kikyou and Kei, who were at the back. Kei should have noticed him as well.

"Hk?!" "Eek!"

Abael unfolded a pot of some sort from his waist. He threw small objects— no, lifeforms to the two girls and, Yousuke-kun and Kanji-kun who were close to them. Snakes. A whole lot of them. They freaked out almost immediately.

"Damn you...!" Ken-kun lunged at him, only to be stopped in his tracks when Abael raised his palm.

Suzune didn't rush to help. She deliberately pulled three orc warriors at once towards her. They're closest to us. 'She really did it now.'

I didn't just stand still during that whole time, of course. My starting position was between Kikyou at the back and Suzune at the front. In the centerfield, more or less. 

When Abael appeared, I had already activated Sneaking and waited for the chance to catch Abael by surprise. The initial move worked. He was almost completely focused on the seven people in front of him. He didn't look like he was suspicious about the lack of one member either. 

The second move went smoothly as well. There were no enemies that could interrupt my process of getting behind him. That said, the orcs on the other side could probably warn him at any time. So because of that, I accelerated my pace more than usual. 

'He barely had any protection on himself. I should be able to kill him comfortably.'

I didn't let any unnecessary thoughts enter my head. Abael would realize immediately if I just lowered my focus a little. That was the feeling I got.

When I was close enough, I stabbed him in the back. Backstab. Abael stiffened. He was stationary earlier, so I could easily connect with his vital spot. Even so, I sent Shatter into his back leg, knocking him down, and then slit his throat to ensure a thorough demise.

I still wasn't used to the sensation of slashing or stabbing a living creature like this, so I didn't feel a sense of triumph to have the head of an enemy amounting to 50 golds in my hands. 'But, again, there's no use whining about it.'