Defense Specialization and the Weather
A large-scale battle with casualties on both sides. The players—who were both physically and mentally exhausted—didn’t try to force another move. Time pa.s.sed slowly for a while, and eventually the sun sank below the horizon.
“Maple, how are you doing?”
“I’m fine! I had a good rest!”
After eating the dessert prepared by the chef inside the royal castle, Maple seemed to be ready.
“I’ll depart at night. I’ve also contacted the [Congregation of Holy Swords].”
“I see! I hope it goes well.”
“We should be difficult to predict. I don’t think there’s anyone who can read Maple perfectly.”
At night.
The time period when ambushes and small-scale battles rose. The focus of that operation seemed to be Maple, instead of Sally. Even though Maple’s flashy skillset didn’t seem to be suitable for surprise attacks, it seemed that they’d come with some kind of plan.
“We should wait for a while.”
“Yes, let’s wait and see.”
With each battle, the number of players continued to decrease. Furthermore, at night, it became easier to move undercover, making it difficult to notice that the enemy had entered their base.
If they went to attack the enemy camp, it’d take time to return to their base. If the royal castle was breached when they were on the way to the enemy base, it’d be over.
While defeating enemy players, their main objective was on the defense. A balance of offense and defense was required to survive the night.
“Even if you have to go outside, you should avoid traveling alone as much as possible.”
“After all, it’s difficult to defend yourself when you’re alone.”
Mai and Yui in particular, were vulnerable to surprise attacks. At the same time, when going out as reinforcements, it was also necessary to exercise caution.
“Maple! Sally! Please do your best!”
“Still, be careful…!”
“Leave it to me! Sally is there too, so it should be okay!”
“I’ll be careful! Especially until I can use [Indomitable Guardian]!”
[Maple Tree] was taking a break before deployment. Suddenly, the door to the room where they all resided burst open, and Frederica emerged.
“Good work. How is it? Are you ready?”
“I’m all set!”
“Then, it’s about time. The sun is going down.”
Maple and Sally said goodbye to the guild members and left the room to launch a surprise attack under cover of darkness.
“Alright, let’s do our best!”
“That’s right. Since Maple is leading, we have to hold our grounds.”
Maple left the royal castle and summoned Syrup. Together, they wrapped Syrup in a huge black cloth so that neither its limbs nor head were exposed. Afterwards, they hopped onto its back.
“Let’s fly!”
Along with Maple’s shout, Syrup flew up in the air.
“What a relief. If I had to fly like Mai and Yui did, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
“No need to rush this time.”
Slowly rising in alt.i.tude, Syrup pierced through the clouds and gradually reached the maximum alt.i.tude. The sky was dyed in the darkness of the night.
“Wow, it looks wonderful. Thankfully, I don’t fear the heights…”
“Be careful not to fall!”
After all, Maple was the only one who could survive a fall from that height. The three continued to advance through the night sky towards the enemy base. There were no landmarks in the endless sky, but they wouldn’t get lost as long as they had a map.
“It should be difficult to detect us.”
“We even used this cloth.”
The black cloth that enveloped Syrup was for concealment purposes. When viewed from far below, it was difficult to spot it due to how well it blended with the night sky.
Due to the cloudless sky, it became even more difficult to spot them. However, it was just a preliminary preparation.
For the convenience of launching a surprise attack, it was necessary for the enemy to not recognize them in the slightest.
As they went on, Maple and the others successfully sneaked into the enemy territory.
“It’s about time, Frederica.”
“Yes, it’s your turn, Knots!”
After making sure that Knocks was perched on her head, Frederica activated her skill.
“[Sonar]!”
The skill that spread like a ripple could detect the area around Knots. Similar to Maple’s [Dedicated Affection], it was an excellent skill that had no upper or lower distance limit, so the terrain wouldn’t hinder the search.
“I saw it.”
“How convenient. How many are there.”
“Hmm, about ten?”
“Maple, let’s try it. We’re going to do an experiment.”
“Got it!”
“Then, I guess it calls for this—Knots, [Volume Up]!”
Along with Frederica’s instruction, Maple received a buff. The effect expanded the range of skills and magic. Frederica watched Maple to see what she was going to do.
“[Acid Rain]!”
“[Create Water]!”
A purple magic circle manifested overhead, and droplets of venom trickled towards the ground.
At the same time, Sally’s blue magic circle conjured rain, giving the illusion as if it was just a simple rain—and not acid rain.
It’d take some time to realize that the ground was covered in poison.
“…Is that it?”
“Yes. Well, it’s an experiment. You’re aware of how lethal your poison is, right? However, if you were to shoot [Poison Dragon] right off the bat, they’ll just find out.”
“You’re right.”
When Maple said that it was simpler than she thought, Frederica shrugged.
“I’m still thinking about whether or not I should make it rain on the town.”
“Won’t that just alert Wilbert?”
Frederica, who chatted carelessly, didn’t know that the rain that soaked the ground could instantly kill anything it touched.
[Curse of Poison]
They hoped that the widespread rain of death would bury more players.
That night, the weather was rainy, with a chance of poison. There were already casualties in some places.
Thus, Maple and the others moved through the enemy base while making it rain.