Volume 6 Chapter 15 (1/2)

~Stolas's point of view~

It happened out of the blue. For the enemy side to have prepared that many A rank monsters, it was unimaginable.

If it was just the ten, the Emerald Dragon and some proper support would have won. However, before that could happen, something even more unexpected happened: another 10 A rank monsters appeared. Fighting them here was just going to uselessly increase her side's losses.

And so, with all their might, Stolas's monsters were enticing the enemy into a field that was advantageous to them.

”This is all my fault.”

”No, it isn't. It's impossible to have predicted they will have that much of a fighting force.”

Rozelitte the Rathgrith consoled Stolas. However, Stolas still felt listing her faults.

”Maybe it was impossible to know that there would be reinforcements, but my slow response after their arrival is inexcusable.”

”There's nothing you could have done about that.”

The moment Stolas thought victory was hers, she dropped her guard. That then caused her decision-making skills to be delayed.

”But there was something I could have done about it. And now, because of my delayed judgment of the situation, Emerald Dragon sustained a fatal wound. This after all that child did.”

In all haste, Stolas put the Emerald Dragon into her [Storage] to prevent it from dying.

However, [Storage] would not heal a monster placed there; it would only prevent any change to their condition. In other words, once the Emerald was taken out of her Storage, it would soon die.

”Procell should have amazing potions on him. Whatever the price he names, I'm willing to pay.”

So long as it ended with that child not dying, Stolas was fine to part with anything.

To that end, she first needed to do something about their current situation.

”Rozelitte!”

”Yes, Stolas-sama!”

After replying so, Rozelitte's body shined.

She was activating her ability that strengthened the whole army she was in.

It was timed to match her side's barrage of magic against their pursuers. As unbelievably strong as her ability was, the toll on her magic power and constitution was intense. It was going to be a long fight and conserving as much of Rozelitte's strength was vital. For that reason, it was best to activate it just a moment before the release of a big attack—in this case, the barrage of magic spells.

All that being said, that barrage was not enough to defeat the A rank monsters. But then again, it was just strong enough to delay them.

”Phobos, it seems we're maintaining the path for those behind.”

”Of course, I, Phobos, am not your [Monster of the Covenant] for nothing.”

Phobos was a Pegasus, a B rank monster. As of the moment, he was flying in the lead and cutting through the air in front. This created a slipstream for those behind, enabling them to fly with less air resistance. Thanks to this, their side was able to advance quite quickly.

Combining their speed, the dungeon's traps, and the counterattacks they did at every vital point, they were able retreat with the least possible damage. A magnificent feat, considering just escaping from a group of A rank monsters was a life-risking effort.

”Everyone, hold on just a bit more.”

However, they weren't just retreating; they were also luring the enemies into a field where they could win.

After a while, they finally reached their destination: the second dungeon room of the second floor. It was a [Ravine] type room with an endless blue sky and very narrow footholds.

After crossing the complicated ravine—the non-flying monsters taking a ride from the flying ones—Stolas's monsters headed toward an open area. Upon achieving some distance from their pursuers, the monsters turned around.

It was there that they were going to make their stand.

Right at that time though, a wind that was anything but ordinary wrapped around Stolas's body. Realizing that there was intent embedded into the wind, she decided to decipher it.

Upon doing so, Stolas broke into a smile.

”I see, Procell's worried. But even if the enemy's being conniving and doing something foul, I will still come out on top. I'll show him that I've grown as well.”

In the message sent by Procell's subordinate, he told Stolas that he was willing to lend a hand. The fact that he was worried for her made her happy, but at the same time, it made her lonely. She wished he would believe in her more. She was his rival, after all. Not some helpless damsel in distress whose only purpose was to be protected.

Deciding to snap out of it, she came to the conclusion that if he didn't believe in her strength, she just had to fight until he did.

”They still show no hesitation, even in this field”

Even with the difficult and narrow footholds, the A rank monsters unsurprisingly charged on without any sign of cowardice.

”As expected.”

Though monsters that could fly were rather rare, the enemy side had a few of them in the lead. Three of such monsters were A rank monsters: a peafowl with gigantic wings that had the 7 colors of the rainbow; a demon with four wings; and a moth monster that spread poisonous scales.

They were bold, but also too reckless. They brazenly charged in against all the [Wind]-type monsters gathered in this place.

As they neared, a rampaging tornado formed.

As strong as the A rank monsters were, against such a tornado made by several of Stolas's monsters, they were helpless. They were tossed around so much, they've lost their sense of direction, not even knowing which way was up or down. And then, one after the other, they were skewered by a spear.

”Skillful as always, Garuda.”

”My utmost thanks.”

Almost before Stolas knew it, a humanoid bird monster was there by her side. It had feathers and wings so red, it seemed like fire.

It was an A rank monster born from the combination of the [Beast] and the [Wind] medals. While having strong flying capabilities, it also had enough knowledge and intelligence to be dubbed a sage of the sky. And if those weren't enough, it also had extreme martial arts capabilities and could even control fire.

In its hands was the spear it used to skewer the reckless enemies.

It did so by reading and then riding the wind of the tornado rather than going against it. It also used fire explosion magic to give itself a boost. With all these, even if the enemies were A rank monsters, so long as they were within the tornado, it was impossible to evade or defend against the spear attacks.

The flying monsters in the lead were not the only ones under siege though. One by one, the monsters desperately traversing through the narrow footholds would suddenly vanish one moment and then reappear 2000 up in the sky the next moment. Never mind falling into the narrow footholds they previously were at, they were made to fall into the perhaps non-existent bottom of the ravine.

As such, the enemy ranks were thrown into chaos. They didn't even know how they were being attacked.

The one to do so was of course a monster of Stolas. While refracting light using the wind so that it could conceal itself, it waited for the approaching enemy monsters. It would then grab an enemy monster by the ankle and then use [Transfer] to whisk them away.

When a location, either the destination or origin point, was outside of one's dungeon, [Transfer] could only be used through a pair of Transfer arrays. However, when both origin point and destination were within one's dungeon, such limitations didn't exist. If used to move an enemy far up in the sky, it could turn into a very deadly attack.

”You don't have to reply, but good work, Windy.”

Just like Garuda, Windy was an A rank monster.

And, although it was only an A rank monster, it had the ultimate wind skill for monsters: the [Ruler of the Wind]. Additionally, it also had [Transfer]. Although its overall base stats were rather low, it had a high magic stat as well as excellent skills and spells. Depending on how those were to be employed, Windy could do fantastic work.

”See, Procell, I've grown too.”

After losing in the [War] against Procell, Stolas strived to become even stronger.

Her ability to make calm decisions about the situation—how and when to use her monsters and traps—were clear evidence of her growth.

Additionally, her fighting force has also drastically increased. She has gained quite a few C and B rank monsters. As for A ranks, she has gained three new ones. In other words, aside from Windy and Garuda, there was one A rank she still hasn't revealed in this [War].

For her to be able to use that monster—as well as some of her traps—in the most appropriate of situations, she has decided to hold back on deploying it for the moment.

She believed that with the locational advantage and the proper deployment of her monsters, her side could prevail against 20 A rank monsters.

Suddenly though, the enemies' attacks and movements ceased.