“The aerial escort ship, Kleios, is intercepting the Mountain Boar. It might be difficult to kill it, but at the very least, we should be able to drive it off.”
“Th-that thing... in the sky...”
The enormous some-thing that had passed overhead.
The girl dispatched from <Paraiso> told them its name as if it were nothing.
“They dropped additional forces for us. We can secure safety, too.”
Just as the girl said, something began to fall from the sky.
It landed one after another on the highway, each impact ringing out with a roaring boom.
“O-oh... golems falling from the sky...”
Four golems joined the caravan evacuating from Frontier Village No. 1, Raran.
Originally, the caravan also had five escort golems that moved on wheels, and the village had provided two. That made a total of eleven golems assigned as guards for this caravan.
“...”
Even so.
The golems that had come down from the sky were the ones that had come from the enormous ship that had just passed over their heads.
They had seen it drop something small from its belly, but there was no way they had imagined it was the same kind as the six-legged golem they treated as a guardian deity.
Which meant that the ship called Kleios was unimaginably huge.
“We will also drop additional forces to the western frontier village, Clavine. After that, we plan to attack the Mountain Boar. If we can drive it back successfully, the village should be saved.”
“I-I see...”
Somehow, they had survived.
That was what they had thought, but now, perhaps the village might make it, too.
Told that, the defense officer and the headman nodded as they stood there, dumbstruck.
They did not truly understand what they were being told.
Well, there was nothing more they could do.
All they had to do was let this caravan take them, and reach a safe city in the rear.
“By the way... is Eighteen okay?”
“She has been stored in a medical pod. She is injured, but at that level, she should be able to move by tomorrow. I am sorry for worrying you.”
“No, no, not at all! No, hearing that is a relief... Truly, I kept thinking, what if something happened. Once again, thank you for protecting us.”
He bowed deeply, together with the headman.
Five Dissecta=<Cosmos> only gave a small nod in response.
“We are only doing what we must do. When that Hidden Player appeared, to be honest, I did not think we could protect everything. With your cooperation, we were able to drive it off earlier than expected.”
The girl replied evenly. She did not boast, and she did not regret it—she likely meant exactly what she said.
After bowing again, the defense officer and the headman sat back down.
At present, they were riding in what the caravan owned: a transport golem with many wheels.
Despite being called simple, it had many sturdy chairs installed, and it was such a huge golem that even if every villager sat down, there was still room to spare.
With light food having been distributed as well, many villagers had their eyes closed while remaining seated.
They were, as expected, completely exhausted.
“It may get a little dark, but we will reach the city by night. Please leave the escort to us as well.”
*****
Mighty-Arm Apes were monsters that lived in troops.
Normally, they did not come out of their territory, but due to the stampede that had broken out, they had moved all the way into a shallow part of the forest like this.
Even so, they were not the strongest kind of monster.
No—they were by no means weak, but aside from their abnormally developed arms, they had no magic-fantasy elements, and among the hunters of the Forest Kingdom of Levresta, they were treated like target practice.
“Fire.”
Two Gracilis=<Cosmos> sprayed bullets from an assault rifle.
In response, a Mighty-Arm Ape used both arms as a shield and charged straight at Two Gracilis.
“Straight!”
From the side, the Mighty-Arm Ape’s head was punched through.
It was a hunter from Frontier Village No. 2, Clavine.
A doll-machine communicator drew its attention with an assault rifle, and a hunter shot it through from the side.
Creating that kind of coordination on the spot, they picked off the Mighty-Arm Apes one after another.
“This helps, Two!”
“Good. The next is coming.”
A magazine change, then a click as a round was chambered. With the power of the assist suit, they moved through the bad footing of the forest as if sliding.
Scenes like that were unfolding everywhere in the woods.
The troop of Mighty-Arm Apes was a threat, but <Paraiso>’s forces were fully protecting the village, and the hunters were able to push forward aggressively.
In a situation like this, even if their attack power was high, Mighty-Arm Apes—with defense that had obvious weaknesses—were not such a terrifying opponent.
“If it’s only this, it feels like we can hold out, but...”
“We got word from the neighboring Raran. Do you know a monster called a Mountain Boar?”
“Mountain Boar? That thing from bedtime stories?”
The Mountain Boar was moving toward Raran, and because of that, they had been attacked by many mantis-type monsters. Those had been driven back, but since they could not hold the Mountain Boar, they were retreating.
“There is distance, so it should not come here, but as the Mountain Boar moves, there is a chance even more monsters will come.”
“If what I’ve heard is true, it’s the size of a small hill, but...”
If a monster that huge was rampaging, of course, smaller monsters and animals would flee.
“In about two hours, our additional forces will arrive. Can we hold until then?”
“At this pace, we’ll be fine for any number of hours. So you have a way to contact far away.”
As the hunters fought side by side with <Paraiso>’s mercenary girls, they were beginning to understand their unusual capabilities.
Without making a sound, the girls coordinated with each other.
They also seemed able to coordinate with the main force of multi-legged tank golems, and sudden support from the main gun would sometimes arrive out of nowhere.
More than that, from the way they spoke and acted, it was clear they were in contact with other frontier villages, or even the homeland.
However, it was also true that they were putting their lives on the line to protect the village.
At times, they even stepped out ahead of the hunters and served as bait.
Because of that, rather than feeling threatened, the hunters felt reassured.
“Two ahead. Observation... support bombardment.”
“I’ll swing left.”
“Roger. Three, two, one.”
The main gun of a multi-legged tank slammed into a Mighty-Arm Ape.
This was precision fire made possible because a doll-machine communicator was on the front line.
Even in the forest, bombardment was possible, but trees blocked sightlines and it was hard to catch the target.
By measuring with the doll-machine communicator’s sensors, they were performing indirect aiming.
The shell, arriving at a speed over 2,000 m/s, blew trees apart and struck straight into the Mighty-Arm Ape’s arms.
It would be different if it ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ had a magic defense barrier.
But the Mighty-Arm Ape was a monster that did not possess a magic defense barrier.
The hardness and strength of its arms defied physical laws, but it still was not enough to swat away a railgun shell.
Its arm-guard was knocked aside like a curtain, and the Mighty-Arm Ape was blasted apart. Even so, the fact that the arms still retained their shape was the frightening part of this monster.
The second one, distracted by the doll-machine communicator in front of it, turned a startled face toward the comrade that had suddenly burst apart—and then was pierced by an arrow from the side.
The hunters of the frontier villages were, fundamentally, skilled at stealth operations.
For that reason, they paired well with <Paraiso>’s personnel, who were nothing but noisy.
“Clear. Next, target forward three hundred meters. Count is three, or four.”
“Leave it to me.”
*****
The defense force of Frontier Village No. 2, Clavine, received additional multi-legged tanks by airborne drop from <Kleios>, and built an impregnable defense.
The villagers had been stunned out of their minds by the gigantic ship flying through the sky, but receiving multi-legged tanks and supplies seemed to have dispelled their anxiety.
In the end, after that, there were no major problems, and the Mighty-Arm Ape attacks died down.
It was fortunate that, unlike neighboring Raran, it did not become a situation where the entire village needed to evacuate.
Giant Soul Butterflies continued to arrive, but the great migration of monsters seemed to have settled down for now.
Even so, the distribution of monsters and animals inside the <Demon Forest> had likely changed drastically.
Regaining the everyday life they once had would still be a story for far, far later.
