The year-end and New Year holidays turned out to be even busier than last year.
Customer visits increased because of the construction of the so-called "Otokomichi" (Man's Path), a route that allows visitors to reach the shrine without entering the residential area forbidden to men. This led to a frequent need to restock omikuji (fortunes) and omiki (sacred sake). A major boom was also expected for the Hatsumōde (first shrine visit of the New Year), which kept them busy with preparations.
Securing labor also became important. However, when it came to their new companion, Meteor, she declared a firm "No" to the job of distributing food and drinks, saying:
"Why must I work for the lower classes?"
"Originally, the master should sit back calmly and wait for guests to come, right?"
"Hmm... well, in this case, the master of the shrine is Shion, not us."
In the end, they secured her cooperation with the condition that she would "only talk to the guests." As a princess, she seemed accustomed to greeting and dealing with visitors.
However, that wasn't enough, so they also decided to enlist the help of Iris's sisters and May's sister, whom they had met recently.
The ingredients and amazake (sweet fermented rice drink) prepared were considerably more than the previous year. They even splurged and prepared seishu (refined sake) this year. In return, they all drank, ate, and celebrated late into the night on Christmas and New Year's Eve.
They watched the first sunrise (Hatsuhinode) from the roof of the house.
The mountain that Iris and Meteor spearheaded was brilliantly completed, and over twenty people from the town decided to "go see the sunrise" and carry out a mountain climb plus a banquet. However, Ren and the others, as usual, exchanged greetings with the group near the forest entrance but didn't get involved further, saying, "It's cold and we have an early start tomorrow."
Having successfully navigated the highly successful January 1st, their first dungeon trip of the New Year was to:
"Th-the forty-first floor."
Passing through the entrance, they found themselves inside a certain fortress. The room, perhaps a storage area, was cluttered with wooden boxes stacked haphazardly. A staircase gaped open at the back of the room. As usual, this staircase should be imperceptible to anyone other than Ren's group.
Stepping outside, a passage naturally extended before them. The fortress was built of stone, wide enough for two or three people to walk side-by-side. This immediately told them that large monsters were not dwelling here, and for good reason: this was a fortress not of monsters, but of 'humans'.
"Now, which way shall we go?" Meteor sent a telepathic message while looking around at the passages stretching left and right. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if she was thinking, "How unrefined. This is why human architecture is like this."
"For now, maybe the direction with more people."
The guidebooks for the 41st floor and beyond had incomplete and often unreliable information, so they couldn't be fully trusted. Still, iron-clad routes from the entrance were established, and Ren's group decided to follow them.
The inside of the fortress was quiet. Nothing seemed to be happening. There was a human presence, and as proof, after walking a bit, they ran into two men with swords at their waists.
Upon confirming Ren's group, they reacted with an "Eh?" and took a second look before shouting a phrase in the other world's language, which Ren's group took to mean:
"Who are you!?"
Meteor stepped forward in front of the men, who drew their swords and braced themselves. She showed her empty hands, then clasped them over her chest to signal that she had "no intention of fighting."
The details of the conversation were only known to Ren's group later, as they were still studying the other world's language. What Meteor later relayed was this:
"Calm yourselves. We are not your enemies. We have come to give you a warning and offer cooperation."
"Cooperation?"
"What is a Dark Elf talking about! And that one behind you is a demon, isn't she!?"
"Then you can also see the Spirit and the Half-Elf. We do not belong to the demonic forces. On the contrary, we are hostile to them."
The men—soldiers belonging to the fortress—were clearly skeptical, but since Ren's group showed no hostility, they showed a certain level of understanding.
"So, what is your business? How did you infiltrate this fortress?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you how we infiltrated. As I said before, our business is a warning. This fortress will soon be attacked by a large number of monsters. If things stay as they are, you will all be killed."
The clear condition for the fortress dungeon that begins on the 41st floor is "Successful Defense." The guidebook, written with a touch of exasperation, noted that the battles they faced on boundary floors were now required on ordinary levels.
-----------------
The soldiers called their comrades and escorted Ren's group, surrounded, to the person in charge.
It would be helpful if they would just strengthen the guard, but they are being troublesome.
Now, now, Mee-chan. We should be grateful that your efforts prevented a fight.
Ren's group couldn't communicate verbally with the people of the other world. While they could decipher the script to some extent, they had never had a native speaker. Previous successful adventurers had to deal with the situation with almost no communication with the fortress soldiers.
Unlike Ren's party, which included a Dark Elf and a Succubus, an all-human party might not be immediately seen as an enemy. Still, they were people who had somehow entered the fortress and couldn't be understood. Naturally, they were met with caution—in the beginning, it was apparently the default to scatter the fortress soldiers while dealing with the enemies. After the Sage had analyzed the other world's script to some extent, they would prepare a letter outlining their business and present it, somehow achieving a position of "not enemies, but not allies either" before starting the fight.
Therefore, Ren's group might be the first to meet the person in charge so smoothly.
"You claim to be cooperators? I find that hard to believe."
The middle-aged, large man who heard their story crossed his arms and scowled.
"If it is a lie, I do not understand your intent in risking a break-in to this fortress. If you had hostile intentions, you would have acted already. Thinking about that..."
At that moment, a loud, metallic clanging sound echoed throughout the fortress.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! A horde of monsters is approaching the fortress! Directions are North, Northeast, and Northwest! The numbers are fifty, one hundred—th-they're a huge army!"
"I suppose I can no longer afford not to believe you... I can assume you will cooperate until the enemies are defeated, correct?"
"Yes. Rest assured, we have no intention of harming you. More importantly, you need to act fast, or it will be bad."
"It appears so."
Meteor secured permission for free action and received an arm band for each person as proof of identity.
Alright, shall we go? she urged Ren's group.
Flying to a suitable watchtower and looking out, they could indeed see swarms of monsters approaching from three directions. They would arrive in less than ten minutes.
Since a soldier on patrol happened to find them and gave the warning, they had a relatively good amount of time to prepare. Though, having an army of this size get this close meant a devastating loss was unavoidable. The fortress personnel would handle sending messengers and gathering soldiers from other towns and forts, so Ren's group could focus on defeating the enemy.
Let's split into two teams. Huuli and I will take the right. Shion, Iris, and Meteor will take the left. May, can you slowly hold back the enemy in the center?
May-chan alone in the middle?
It might be tough if they ignore the attacks on the left and right, but the fortress soldiers should be there too.
The idea was that if Ren's teams worked hard enough, they would inspire the others to fight.
Okay. Well, then, I'll have Ren carry me.
Oh, you're going to do that?
Yes.
Ren, confirming his partner's intention, hugged the upright Huuli from behind. Then, the girl's body seemed to melt and lose its shape. In a state slightly different from non-corporeality, she was absorbed into Ren's body behind her. Her hands, feet, and face overlapped, and she moved in sync with Ren's movements.
This was "Spirit Possession," Huuli's skill to grant power to someone by transferring into them. In this state, they are two-in-one, and one-in-two, allowing them to exert immense power.
Everyone, please be careful.
I understand. You, too, make sure you don't mess up.
Please leave this to me, Lord Ren.
Then, I shall leisurely wait for them.
May decided to have Shion transport her outside the fortress. Meanwhile, Ren spread his wings and took to the sky.
Mmm, this feels good!
Huuli's voice echoed in his head, not as a telepathic message, but as if it were his own thought. In the possessed state, immediate communication like this is possible.
In addition, Ren's body was overflowing with wind magic. His flight speed was clearly faster than normal, and it didn't take long to engage the enemy.
The enemy was a large horde. The number was the same as, or even greater than, the boss fight on the 20th floor. The composition included Goblins, Orcs, Lizardmen, Ogres, and even Dark Elves. This was clearly not a spontaneous attack but an organized military assault.
They, too, noticed Ren's group and assumed an attack stance. However, Ren was faster to move.
"Wind Blast!"
The gust of wind, boosted and powered up by the strength of the Wind Spirit, was like being struck by a colossal, invisible blunt weapon. The power was doubled again by the Double Cast dual magic.
The lighter Goblins, Lizardmen, and Dark Elves couldn't withstand it and were blown away, while the Orcs and Ogres also had their movements stalled.
Then,
Wind Blast!
A third, decisive blow.
In the possessed state, Ren can use all of Huuli's skills. Also, Huuli can utilize Ren's wind attribute skills. The higher magic attack power of the two—in this case, Ren's—is adopted, meaning:
This is like taking two actions, isn't it?
Yep. I kind of feel like a Great Demon Lord.
The three consecutive wind hammers threw the enemy army into chaos.
The Ogres, the largest and most durable, were the first to recover and began throwing stones. However, Ren's group did not stop moving while attacking. Stones the size of small rocks missed their target one after another and flew off somewhere. Since they were likely intended to be thrown at the fortress walls as makeshift projectiles, reducing the number of stones was a decent achievement in itself. Of course, the magic attacks continued while they changed position.
Starting with the fourth blast, those with low HP, mainly Goblins, and those who took a direct hit from the magic, began to disappear. Ren's wind magic usually had a low killing power, but at this level, it could serve both defense and offense.
Since we can use Ren's MP, we can shoot magic freely.
No, even shooting constantly, my MP would eventually run out, you know?
That being said, they had energy drain from their comrades, and they could, of course, use Huuli's MP. Ren's MP, which he was constantly increasing by leveling up and using skills whenever he had time, was already at an absurd level—it was almost like that of a Demon Lord.
Ren, the Dark Elf squad is trying to break away.
You're right. Okay, I'll circle around and slam them with wind.
Though they couldn't let their guard down, the two of them successfully stopped one-third of the enemy army. Essentially, they could stop the enemies with wind as long as they were careful of those trying to escape it.
Then, a group of flying Dark Elves entered Ren's line of sight from another direction.
Isn't that the central unit?
Yeah. This might be a problem.
Plan change. They adjusted their position to target both the newly arrived enemies and the previous group, unleashing a barrage of full-power "Magic Arrows." Huuli took charge of defense with "Wind Blast."
This is actually lucky, maybe. If the central enemy force is reduced...
It will lessen May-chan's burden and make things easier for the people in the fort.
Several Ogres even came up from the rear of the Dark Elf squad.
This was certainly not an easy fight, but this was the exact kind of battle Ren's group had spent their time preparing for. They were not struggling with the same strength as they had on the 40th floor, and more importantly, this field offered the space to fly around.
They steadily whittled down the enemy, though not achieving an instant annihilation. By the time the area was cleared of enemies,
They're fighting.
Yeah. But they should be able to manage that much.
The battle had begun between the fortress soldiers and the (reduced) central unit. May was on the front line among the soldiers, shooting down enemies with fireballs from the cannons (!) on her arms.
It was brutal. That was an attack method they had prepared because, after months of searching for a find, they couldn't find a weapon they were happy with.
They had paid a high price for a Fire Spirit Stone—a magic item said to house a Fire Spirit. May incorporated this into her internal structure, allowing her to manipulate the fire attribute. This also solved the body temperature problem she had struggled with before, but more to the point:
With this, May-san can also shoot Firebolts, right?
That is correct, but if I shoot them as they are, it will drain my operational energy, so I have made another modification.
She created special bullets that generate fire pellets in advance. By firing these in combat, she dispersed the timing of energy consumption. Although there was the issue of bullet inventory, she could now fight without shutting down.
As for her weakness in close combat, due to not buying a weapon, she compensated by pummeling enemies with her hands, which are far harder than human hands. Ultimately, the weapon type May decided to enhance with her skills was "Blunt Weapons."
Actually, bare hands count as blunt weapons.
Yeah. But May is special, I guess.
The logic was that a Golem's arms are not living flesh, so they are treated as blunt instruments. Kicks are also considered the same. Once she had mastered a certain level of warrior skills, the option of becoming a kick-master by apprenticing under Mariabell came up.
Alright, let's attack from the rear.
Okay!
Shion's group soon joined them, and as a result, the fortress suffered minimal damage and few casualties. The commander of the fortress called it a "miraculous great victory," bringing the battle to a close.
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