Chapter 99: Warzone and Uesaka Shino
Narrator POV
Outside of the City, a huge army of Ecclesia Inquisitors is marching towards Vestir.
Their numbers are up to about 2 thousand.
General Koccur, together with his trusted men prepared to intercept this army.
Their numbers are about half as many as the ones trying to invade the city.
A thousand soldiers is but a small amount compared to the actual army of the country of Riles.
Unfortunately, they were caught off guard and only the soldiers who were already in Vestir could be rallied to face the marching enemy army.
Thankfully, it was during the season when Nobles from all over the continent gathered in Vestir due to the annual Noble's summit that was held a few days ago.
Because of this, more soldiers are in the city.
So... even though the enemy outnumbered the soldiers in the city, there were still adventurers who were currently in the city.
Although the number of adventurers in the city is around 5-6 hundred, they are strong enough to defeat most of the average soldiers.
A mere 5 hundred adventurers can arguably defeat 1 thousand soldiers.
So, the military power of the adventurers plus the soldiers stationed in Riles is enough to equal the marching army attacking the city.
If only they attacked at any other time when the city is a bit more relaxed.
Most of the adventurers in Vestir are hired to escort the nobles who attended the noble's summit.
On any other day, there should be fewer adventurers and soldiers in the city.
Thus, the city's defenses are significantly stronger than it usually does.
And yet, Ecclesia did not attack at any other times.
Despite knowing this, they still attacked right now.
"Why now?" <Koccur>
General Koccur said to himself while pondering about this.
He could not fathom why would the Ecclesia army attack now.
General Koccur did not know much about the situation of the saint of Riles.
The answer to his question was related to Calm Eastertale's current situation.
The assassin's order was going to try and assassinate the saint once again.
This will surely cause a lot of commotion.
Even if the assassination succeeds or fails, it does not matter.
If the saint ended up dead during this second attempt, it would cause the country to be on higher alert.
If that happens more soldiers would gather in the capital.
It would be harder than it was now.
At the same time, if the assassination fails it will also result in more soldiers gathering in the city to protect the saint.
The country will be on high alert and search for the enemies nearby.
Surely, the ones who already infiltrated the city will be caught and their efforts will be for naught.
With all things considered, they decided to attack now.
They went all in and used this opportunity to attack all at once.
Using the assassins and the inquisitors who already infiltrated the city to cause chaos from within.
At the same time, they use this chance while their attention is divided.
With the help of the nobles who decided to side with Ecclesia, they managed to sneak past several checkpoints.
Many of the soldiers marching with Ecclesia were members of those noble's private army disguised as Ecclesia's Inquisitor.
The nobles who escaped from the city earlier today rallied with the Ecclesia's army marching to Vestir.
Some of the nobles who sided with Ecclesia were arrested during the Noble's summit.
Their private army rallied with Ecclesia, their purpose was to free their lords who were being imprisoned inside the king's Castle.
Only half of the army was actually from Ecclesia.
This is how they managed to gather a large army to invade the city.
"Tsk... how did Ecclesia manage to rally this many Inquisitors this far within the country without being detected?" <Koccur>
A female soldier replied despite the question was not directed at her.
She was a beauty with blue-green cyan-colored hair.
She was wearing a militaristic uniform paired with thin-rimmed glasses making her appear like a typical secretary assistant of some kind.
A pair of fish fins can be seen at the side of her head instead of a pair of ears.
It was a common trait of the fish-kin race of the country of Phoeno.
Her name is Cyraenan, she is a Captain within the Soldier's rank and the right arm person of the army's general, Koccur.
"Must be the nobles who sided with Ecclesia." <Cyraenan>
The female fish-kin said with a proud demeanor toward General Kokkur.
"Nobles... those bastard." <Koccur>
"I've heard that Ecclesia offered them a handsome reward gifting them lands after they conquer Riles." <Cyraenan>
"Hah, they seriously think that they could conquer Riles? As long as I am alive they would never be able to conquer Riles." <Koccur>
Koccur cursed as he saw this act of the enemy as them looking down on him.
He was clearly pissed.
"How are things in the city?" <Koccur>
"Well... as you can see it's quite chaotic out there." <Cyraenan>
The two glanced back at the city from afar.
They could see flames rising from afar coming from within the city.
"But well... I am sure that the soldiers and adventurers are skilled enough to manage the situation there." <Cyraenan>
"I see..." <Koccur>
Koccur was a bit worried and it showed in his face.
Sure, he was worried about the state of things in the city.
But, the reason why he was worried was not that.
"Are you worried General?" <Cyraenan>
Cyraenan asked as she knew that he was worried about something else entirely.
"... No." <Koccur>
The general hesitated to answer those words right away.
"I heard that your daughter is in the city." <Cyraenan>
The general's eyes widened as he heard this.
He understood at once that his assistant was aware of the thing he was worried about.
He thought about his daughter before speaking another word.
"She is..." <Koccur>
Cyraenan looked at Kokkur and saw his worried face.
-sigh-
Cyraenan could not help but sigh after seeing the troubled look on the general's face.
[Despite how he looks he is such a sorry parent.]
She thought.
"Well. She will be alright, I'm sure. She's my daughter after all." <Koccur>
The general answered with a confident voice.
"Is that so?" <Cyraenan>
Cyraenan answered with a sarcastic tone.
A teasing smile appeared on her face as she thought of how to respond to the general.
"Ah... that's right I heard she was with her mate, I'm sure she'll be alright." <Cyraenan>
Veins appeared on Koccur's face after hearing this comment from his assistant.
It seems that he did not like the idea that her daughter had found a mate.
In fact, Cyraenan knew that the general would react this way but still said those unnecessary information.
"After all this is done I will personally see if that little prick deserves to be with my daughter with my own hands." <Koccur>
"With your own hands... huh..." <Cyraenan>
[You mean you will personally beat him up to make him give up on your daughter.] <Cyraenan>
Cyraenan thought as she fixed her glasses.
Kokkur chuckled but his aura was menacing.
-sigh-
Cyraenan shook her head thinking that the general was a lost cost.
"Anyway, please focus on the problem at hand, General." <Cyraenan>
Cyraenan said in a more serious tone as she changed back to the problem at hand.
"I understand. Now then..." <Koccur>
He looked back at the marching army.
He used some kind of skill to assess the enemy force.
"I can sense 3 individuals who can cause us some trouble." <Koccur>
"Is it Crusaders?" <Cyraenan>
"No... Apostles." <Koccur>
Once Cyraenan heard Apostles her tone became sharper.
"That is... a little bit problematic." <Cyraenan>
Within the ranks of Ecclesia Inquisitors, they have ranks that correspond to their fighting ability.
Their ranks are as follows.
Priest;
High Priest;
Crusaders;
Apostles.
In comparison to Adventurer's fighting ability, a Priest is on par with D-rank adventurers.
High Priests are on par with an average C-rank adventurer.
Crusaders are on par with the strongest B-rank adventurers.
Apostles are on par with the strongest A-ranked and even some S-ranked adventurers.
Kokkur himself is about as strong as an Apostle as he had defeated one before.
He had a really hard time fighting against such an enemy.
Knowing that there were about three of them marching with the army makes it harder for them to deal with the enemy.
"Apostle? Heh~ This will be the first time for me to fight one myself. I wonder if they are as strong as they said them to be." <Dwarf>
Said a man caressing his beard and listening to Koccur and Cyraenan talking.
He was short but his body was chiseled with well-carved muscles.
He was a person of the Dwarf race.
He has a long beard braided under his chin and he wears fancy-looking armor.
Anyone can tell that even behind that armor, he carries a well-built body.
As a drawf he was short, he was about half as tall as Koccur.
Still, his aura gave off an intimidating feel.
His name is Hasear, an S-rank adventurer.
"Hasear-san, please take this seriously. I've fought one before and they are really strong." <Demon>
Replied by another adventurer standing next to Hasear.
He has pale purple skin and a pair of black horns, a common trait of a demon-kin.
Unlike Hasear who covered his body with armor, this man was barely even wearing any.
His upper body was mostly exposed aside from some straps of leather hanging all over.
He was also wearing shiny leather pants adorned with spiky metal.
In a way, he resembled the look of a punk rocker.
He is one of the strongest A-ranked adventurers in the world.
He is the person responsible for all adventurers within the country of Riles standing as the guildmaster of Vestir, Irkaroz.
Chatting in the background were these two adventurers who were capable of fighting against Ecclesia Inquisitor Apostles.
Cyraenan looked at the two adventurers listening to their conversation hearing that they would be facing Apostles from the enemy side.
He was thinking about their attitudes after hearing what they were about to face.
She could not help but notice how relaxed they were and it made her worried.
Still, she understood why they were like this as she had known the two adventurers for a long time now.
-sigh-
Shaking her head helplessly she looked at the two with a resigned expression.
"These people... they never change, do they? Could they be at the very least nervous or something?" <Cyraenan>
"Just give it up. Most adventurers are like that." <Koccur>
"Well... I guess you can call this the confidence of the strong?" <Cyraenan>
"Nah, I think that the attitude they have are common to most adventurers. They are as free-spirited as they could be." <Koccur>
"Free spirited huh... I suppose you are right. Come to think of it, Even Svencity-sama is someone like that." <Cyraenan>
"Svencity... It's too bad that we can't see him in action here." <Koccur>
Koccur seemed to have imagined the person they were talking about.
"Well... if he was here this fight would be over. Fast." <Cyraenan>
Cyraenan said confidently, without any doubt in her mind.
"Strongest adventurer... seriously... I still wonder how he managed to get that strong. It still puzzles me." <Koccur>
"Yes... I still remember that battle 6 years ago." <Cyraenan>
"Yeah... when the Demon lord attacked after a long time." <Koccur>
"He was amazing back then." <Cyraenan>
A distant look can be seen in Cyraenan's eyes.
"You fell for him since then..." <Koccur>
Cyraenan's eyes widened after hearing such a comment from Kokkur.
"That's!" <Cyraenan>
"Hahaha, I see you still admire him till now." <Koccur>
"It's not of your business General." <Cyraenan>
All of a sudden, Cyraenan reacted out of character.
She acted as if she was trying to fix her glasses but she only wanted to hide her slightly blushed face.
Her serious lady demeanor was shaken when talking about the strongest adventurer Svencity.
She was like a maiden in love.
"Anyway, enough of that. What is the plan in engaging the enemies?" <Cyraenan>
"Well... as much as I wish to form a plan, there is no time to do so. They would not give us time to come up with a good plan anyway. In the end, all we can do is to resist them here and not allow them to get past us." <Koccur>
"We're outnumbered 2:1, I don't think that that would be possible." <Cyraenan>
"Well, we just need to level it 1:1 right, To do that, I guess I would be going to the front line and killing as many soldiers as I can" <Koccur>
-sigh-
"You're being unreasonable again General. But I guess you're serious about that... -sigh- There's no helping it, I guess I have to accompany you in doing so." <Cyraenan>
She stepped forward and pulled out her weapon.
"Haha, I'm counting on you Cyra-chan." <Koccur>
She looked at Kokkur with a killing gaze after hearing him calling her name willy-nilly.
She glared at her superior calling her name in such a manner and corrected him at once.
"It's CAPTAIN Cyraenan, General Koccur." <Cyraenan>
"Hahaha. This little girl never changes. You're still as cute as you are even after 6 years, little Cyra." <Hasear>
Hasear walked forward with his giant axe as he said those words.
"I suppose that is true..." <Irkaroz>
In the same way, Irkaroz also walked past Cyraenan to face the enemy army.
"I..." <Cyraenan>
A blush appeared on the face of the Fish-kin Captain.
The other soldier who only saw Cyraenan with her serious and commanding attitude was amazed at this side of her.
"It's time to teach those Ecclesians some lesson." <Koccur>
The four stepped forward.
At the same time, three people walked forward from Ecclesia's side.
A huge battle started outside the city.
.
.
.
Vestir City, Recidential Area
"WHAAA!!!"
"MONSTERS!!! HELP"
Screams can be heard everywhere.
The inhabitant of the city was screaming for help.
Just like in the other part of Vestir, monsters are also released in the rural area where most of the non-combatant members of the society live.
A place where most of the common people of the city live.
This part of the city should be located in one of the safest areas this city can provide.
As a result, the security of this place is quite lax compared to the business area and the Nobles' residential areas.
The city guards are present in the area but their numbers are not enough to deal with the monsters rampaging in there.
It was already late in the night, and most of the people living here were resting.
All of a sudden their supposedly silent night was interrupted by loud destructive sounds.
The screams and cries for help came from the commoners who were abruptly disturbed in their sleep.
Unfortunately, this was happening all over the city.
The hope of reinforcement is closer to none.
Thus the only people who were able to respond to this sudden danger were the adventurers who were living in some cheap inns located nearby.
"Holy! That monster is a Gargoyle, that's a B-rank monster why is that thing here?!"
"Why are there monsters appearing in this part of the city?!"
"Why are monsters here!?"
"Hurry! Call for more help!"
The adventurers and the city guards started to work together.
Some are stalling time to deal with the monster.
Some are running to call for help to the adventurers guild in the main office of the city guards.
As the commotion happens, a woman is being chased by a monster as she runs in an alleyway.
"HELP!" <Woman>
The woman stumbled on the floor as she lost her balance while running.
A wolf-like monster jumped toward the woman and was about to attack her with its sharp claws and teeth.
"Kyaa!" <Woman>
The woman covered her face with both of her hands to protect her head which was about to get bitten by the monster.
-Crash-
A loud crashing sound echoed in the alley.
"Are you okay?!" <Adventurer>
The woman removed her hands covering her face, She then saw a man standing between her and the monster.
"Don't worry, you're fine now, Hurry and go to the plaza! Adventurers are rallying there, GO!" <Adventurer>
"T-t-t-thank you." <Woman>
The adventurer's guild has deployed all of the available adventurers in the area.
They have posted an emergency quest, requesting adventurers to protect the people of the city and escort them safely to the plaza.
All the adventurers who were in the guild at that time passed the message to their fellow adventurers within the city.
Some adventurers were resting in Inns scattered all around the city.
Most of them were not notified about the quest but they still went out of their way to help with the chaos happening outside.
After all, dealing with monsters is the primary job of adventurers.
Even without a quest, the raw material they could get from these monsters can be sold at a high price.
Thus, adventurers are willing to help.
Also, it is expected for the guild to issue an emergency quest when these kinds of major thing is happening in a city.
The center of the west side of the city is the city plaza where most adventurers are currently staying, thus most of the reinforcement there were adventurers.
The center of the eastern side of the city is the Castle where the city guards and most of the noble's private guards lived.
Thus in the eastern part of the city, most of the people fighting with the monsters are the guards serving the nobles.
This is also where Uesaka Shino and many other guards are fighting with the monsters released within that side of the city.
It has not been long since the battle started.
Monsters, assassins from the Assassin's Order, and Inquisitors of the Empire of Ecclesia are all causing destruction within the city.
At the moment Shino is engaging in battle with the Monsters and the people from both Assassin's Order and Ecclesia Inquisitors.
-Clang- -Clang- -Clang-
-Boom- -Boom- -Boom-
The clashing sound of blades rang.
Booming sounds from the wrecking monsters rampaging.
"Kieeeckkk!!!"
An insect-like monster jumped in Shino's direction.
It was one of the monsters that are commonly found within the forest areas near the city, a Giant Mantis.
Although these monsters can be found easily in forest areas, monsters should not be able to enter the city easily.
There are quite a number of them that came out from under the rubble from where the B-rank monster, "Flame Salamander" came from moments earlier.
It seems that numerous monsters are coming from under the rubble.
There seemed to be a secret underground space where this monster was kept underground.
One can tell at a glance that the monsters were purposely released.
"Hahaha... just what the hell is happening..." <Shino>
"I want the answer to that question too." <Marlo>
Shino looked around and saw the guards from another noble's force who were fighting with monsters, Assassins, and Inquisitors.
It was happening all over the place.
She calmly assessed the situation.
[... As I thought, the biggest problem at hand is that monster...]
Shino was glancing over the Flame Salamander who was rampaging from not so far away.
She was standing from a safe distance from that monster but at the same time, she had no intention of closing their gaps.
Shino knew that the monster was completely out of her league.
The guards who foolishly tried to stop the monster ended up dead or injured.
As far as she can tell, none of the people here could deal with such a powerful monster all by themselves.
"Tsk..." <Shino>
She clicked her tongue.
Ironically, despite knowing that she cannot defeat that monster, Shino wants to personally kill that monster.
As to why she would want to do such an impossible task, Shino has a good reason why she would want to do that.
Shino possesses a unique skill (Skilless).
A skill that allows Shino to steal skills from the monsters she killed.
Although this skill sounds impressive, there are undeniable defects that this skill has.
This defect makes this skill to be not as good as it sounds.
Firstly, Shino could only randomly steal a "random" skill from all of the skills that the monster possesses.
For example, A High Orc has 3 skills, (Iron Skin), (Roar), and (Groundbreak).
If Shino kills a High Orc, she can only gain one of the three.
However, by killing the monsters over and over again, Shino may gain another of the skills by chance with a much lower chance.
Another defect of this skill is that, if Shino was able to steal a passive skill, she wouldn't be able to control it.
Because of this, she had a lot of trouble dealing with the inconvenient skills that she obtained in the past.
Lastly and most importantly, Shino's (Skilless) skill has another major defect, the skill she stole from the monsters she killed would be gone after 30 days.
This means that Shino could not permanently gain the skills she obtained with the (Skilless) skill.
If there is a skill that Shino finds to be useful, she needs to kill the same monsters where she obtained that particular skill over and over every other month so that she can use the skill for as long as she wants.
Shino was very tempted to try and confront the monster.
To kill the monster rampaging in front of Shino would mean that she might be able to gain a very powerful skill from the monster.
She dropped this idea moments later.
"Impossible..." <Shino>
She mutters to herself seeing the monster destroy an entire building using a blast of energy that shot out of its mouth.
It was surely an impressive skill to have but she could not think of a way to kill the monster.
[If I face that monster, there is a high chance that I will lose my life.]
That is what Shino thought watching that attack.
Shino was a normal girl back when she was in the other world.
She never stood out in any group, not in class, not in the school, not in any way.
It was not as if Shino wanted to stand out herself but she wanted to at least be known for something.
Back in their world, she always thought that there was nothing she could do about it and just ignored it and went on with her life.
Things changed after Shino lived in this world.
Upon arriving in this world, she thought that she would not be special.
But, after some time, she realized that with the skill (Skilless) she could be special.
If she works hard and works wisely, she can be special with this unique skill that only she possesses.
For the past several months despite facing many challenges and troubles, Shino was able to gain such attention from others.
The Viscount acknowledged her, abilities, and her work.
This gave Shino a sense of happiness.
Being acknowledged by others made her a bit happy.
She herself did not expect that she could be motivated this way.
Shino also loves the other things that come after she accomplishes something.
Whenever she does well and accomplishes something, people will celebrate.
When they celebrate, she can see how happy people are for the things she has done.
They will throw a party and start having a good time.
They would talk about Shino and tell her she did a good job.
These praises make Shino's heart warm and fuzzy.
At first, she was shy to receive these praises as she was not used to receiving recognition.
As she was able to accomplish more she became accustomed to these praises.
She then discovered that she was happy receiving those commendations.
After being acknowledged by others, Shino thought to herself;
[If I work hard I think I too can be special.]
[If I work hard, I will be acknowledged]
[Everyone is going to be happy.]
[I can become somebody I can be proud of.]
[I think... I am a person who wants to be recognized and respected.]
Shino became motivated, and despite having money problems and facing many challenges she managed to survive until now.
Surely, her efforts were not in vain, the people working around Shino.
They acknowledged her efforts and skill and gained their respect.
Shino could not lie to herself, she was happy about that too.
That is why... even now, she still wants to do better.
But then again, impossible things are impossible.
Despite wanting to have a skill from that monster, Shino could not do so.
She was not stupid after all.
She knew her limitations and she was okay with that.
Instead, she focused her attention on other problems at hand.
She gave up thinking about how she could kill that powerful monster.
Those problems were the other weaker monsters and the people assisting those monsters to wreck devastation to the city.
Shino observed the monsters running amok in the city.
She was well versed with those monsters as she studied them using the books she bought with the money she had.
She was aware of what monsters they were and Shino was able to memorize their skills as she read the book many times over.
Shino had a bad experience of accidentally gaining a "Skill" from a monster that gave her lots of inconvenience.
She wants to avoid gaining another skill that would give her such inconvenience.
Thus, she diligently studied and read the books over and over again.
She was able to note the monsters that she would and would not like to kill.
After rationalizing the situation.
She came after the monsters that may give her useful skills as they were there.
[Ah... That's a "Black-fanged Wolf" as I remember... Right... that monster has the skill... (Poison Fangs)]
She skillfully chased after the monsters she was interested in and disposed of them.
Meanwhile.
Mages and other combatants who are capable of attacking from afar were trying to attack the Flame Salamander.
Unfortunately, their attacks are unable to do much to the powerful B-rank monster.
Flame Salamander is one of the most powerful B-ranked monsters that is found in Riles.
The adventurers' attacks could barely deal damage to the monster.
Not only that, those adventurers are being targeted by the assassins and the inquisitors.
They are trying to assist the monster to do more damage to its surroundings.
Shino chased after a monster and killed it with her daggers.
After doing so, the monster fell to the ground and turned into dust.
"Huh?" <Shino>
[The monster turned into dust?]
Shino thought as she defeated the monster with her daggers.
"That's weird..." <Shino>
Shino said to herself finding the phenomenon to be very odd.
"It turned to dust?" <Shino>
"???" <Shino>
"Eh?" <Shino>
Author Note:
Well it’s almost chapter 100, I was doing something to commemorate this but I don’t think I have time to do so.
I already written up to chapter 115, I just have to edit it here and there.
I am currently starting writing the next Arc of the story so I was thinking of creating a new cover page for this.
So~ I might not add an visual sketches in chapters (like this one).
Anyway~ thank you