Semi-retired Adventurer Lives Leisurely Chapter 61

Published at 6th of August 2021 10:30:53 AM

Chapter 61: The Highest-Tier Part 2

At the very top of the Altohern Mountain.

There was a spot where the ground laid out flat, and at its center, the Fenrir was laying on its side.

We circled around the perimeter, and it took us a while to get to the other side. We took position there, and though we had some distance with the Fenrir, we could see it well from here.

A blue, silvery fur. A muscled body that at a glance told you held immense strength. And even though it’s laying on its side, you could feel the immense presence pierce you from where you stood.

Although it resembled a wolf in many ways, you can almost sense a certain type of divinity from where it laid.

Cyril: “Um….uh…..it looks like it’s sleeping. Henry, why don’t you sneak a strike at it with your spear before it notices?”

Henry: “.....well, that is one option, but it’s pointless. That Fenrir has already realized that we’re here.”

I shrug my shoulders as I respond to Cyril’s suggestion.

Our group is not particularly adept at covert operations, and we approached the summit with these numbers. It would be foolishly optimistic to think the Fenrir hasn’t noticed us. It’s ignoring us on purpose because it doesn’t see us as a threat.

Charlotte: “Yup, you’re right. It’s acting like it’s asleep, but it’s definitely aware of our group and position.

………..and it’s not dumb enough to really let it’s guard down for us to take advantage of it either.

Henry: “Ms. Lotte, how strong do you think that Fenrir is?”

In the Highest-Tiers, they don’t have any classifications to further break it down. There’s too few of them to make that classification meaningful, and each individual Highest-Tier Demonic Creature’s strength varies wildly. Almost all of the Highest-Tiers store up Corrupted Magic inside themselves, so the longer they live, the stronger they grow.

Charlotte: “Hmmm...well, from just looking at it, it looks normal.”

So it’s just a normal, extremely dangerous Demonic Creature. Got it.

Charlotte: “We got lucky. It doesn’t have many followers, so I’ll leave those guys to you, Jend. Is that okay?”

The Highest-Tiers will sometimes use their immense strength to lead large hordes of Demonic Creatures…….but this also varies wildly between them, and some prefer to be alone.

And it looks like that Fenrir likes to keep the number of his subordinates relatively low.

There are five Giants positioned a little farther away to protect its sleeping area. There are four Snow Queens which are the higher class of Snow Fairies. There are many more Snow Wolves, and in total, they number around 50 but are broken into several smaller groups.

It’s rare to see Giants with other Demonic Creatures, but if they are a subordinate of a Highest-Tier, that’s not unheard of.

Jend: “Oh, yeah, no, that plan should be fine, Ms. Charlotte………..but, um, do you think we can win against that many?”

Though Jend nods at Ms. Lotte’s words, I think somewhere in the back of his mind, he’s reminded of the recent loss to the Giants and cannot help but feel some uncertainty.

Ferris: “.......it’s true that we were recently defeated and retreated from Giants. It’s a bitter loss, but since then haven’t we come up with new plans to deal with them?”

Teo: “This time, they are not catching us off-guard.……...let’s make this our revenge match.”

To answer Jend’s concerns, Ferris and Teo encourage him.

Cyril: “Exactly～! Let’s show them what we got!”

Jend: “.......Cyril, aren’t you supposed to be helping with the Fenrir?”

Cyril tries to wrap it up, and Jend throws in a terse comment.

But the women in our group sure are tough…..I remember when I made a huge mistake during an expedition, I was down and discouraged for 3 days…..and because of that, I still hate dealing with Giant Spiders even to this day but…

Charlotte: ‘Looks like you’re all ready. I think we’re done planning…..let’s begin.”

We had discussed in detail how we were going to deal with the Fenrir on our route around the summit and came to a general agreement in the end.

Ms. Lotte and I will face the Fenrir. Cyril will stay back and charge her Song Spell and lay one down on the Fenrir when she’s ready…….that was it. It was almost too simple to call it a plan.

Jend: “......alright! I’m ready to go whenever you are, Ms. Charlotte.”

Cyril: “I’m ready too, of course.”

As each of us confirms, Ms. Lotte nods one last time to the group.

Charlotte: “Then I’ll let you hear, [The Rainbow’s Battle March]!”

Ms. Lotte begins tapping her feet to get the rhythm going and without delay, begins to sing loud and clear.

Cyril: “What?!”

Jend: “Whoa?!”

Startled, everyone shouts in surprise.

It’s a divine song that makes you almost believe her voice itself is wrapped in Heaven’s light.

The song permeates into your body, and incredible strength you’ve never felt before begins to well up inside.

Unlike the forced ability enhancements of the potions, her Spell strengthened you in a more natural way. And even so, the enhancement was much greater than potions.

Cyril: “Ye～s! If it’s like this thenーー”

As Cyril gets pumped up, her words trail off.

As Ms. Lotte’s song echoed throughout the summit, the other Demonic Creatures recognized our position.

As our Magic Power surged and continued to increase, the Fenrir finally determined us as valid [enemies] and got up.

……….and by doing so, it robbed Cyril of her words.

The invincible sensation we were feeling from Ms. Lotte’s [The Rainbow’s Battle March] was splashed with cold fear as the Fenrir gave us a single glare.

…….the blood thirst of a Highest-Tier Demonic Creature is like that.

If it wasn’t for the fact that everyone else looked up to me, I would have freaked out too. It was due to my experience and position as their leader that helped me keep my expression as unimpressed and unaffected.

I am pretty confident in my skills even among the top Adventurers (as long as you remove the true monsters out of the group). But when faced with the Highest-Tier……...it depends on our compatibility, but my win rate will drop below 20%.

But…even so….

Charlotte: “Oh ho ho…..look at that….it’s got a good look on its face. It’s been a while, but I think I’ll be able to go all out.”

……..this Princess of Song is getting more and more excited with every second.

Even if she speaks, she makes it part of the song and rhythm so the effect of the Spell isn’t broken. As always, it’s a ridiculously powerful and absurd Magic.

Charlotte: “Henry, just like we planned, I’ll charge in first, so deliver a blow before I reach it!”

Henry: “GAH!! Fine, fine! I understand!”

Ms. Lotte stretches quickly with two quick movements and runs off at unbelievable speed.

Henry: “[Strengthen] {Hazac} + [Strengthen] {Hazac} + [Strengthen] {Hazac}! ……….[Fire] {Ignis}!”

Since the Fenrir is leaning towards an [Ice] Magic Type, I triple strengthen and add fire. I pour as much Magic as possible into my Nyoiten Spear, and change its form to something I can throw easier.

………..at that point, I could feel the Fenrir’s eyes on me.

But that alone won’t be enough to make me trip over myself. If I did, Ms. Lotte would have a “talk” with me after this is all done.

Henry: “G………………ーーーーーO!!!

I throw the spear with all my might.

This signaled the beginning of our fight with a Highest-Tier Demonic Creature.

<<<<>>>>

A spear enveloped in fire head straight for the Fenrir in one straight path.

A typical Demonic Creature would not have been able to respond to that speed - it was one of my best throws.

………..but at this distance, it’s not enough to nail a Highest-Tier with just that.

The Fenrir reads the course of the spear and places itself out of the spear’s path. It at least knows that receiving the spear without any caution would cause some painful damage.

The Nyoiten Spear is now veering to empty space, and my magic would be wasted…….but before that happens….

ーーNow!

Henry: “Multiply!”

Before it reaches the ground, I split the Nyoiten Spear into several clones of itself.

If my timing was off, it would have multiplied after it hit the ground meaninglessly, but thankfully, I was right on point.

……..although it initially dodged the spear with ease, the attack multiplied at the last minute, and the Fenrir was now caught in its attack radius again.

At that moment, the Fenrir roared.

“GAAAAAAAGH!!”

The earth shook as it bellowed.

The Fenrir kicked the ground as it tried to move out of the way……...as a result, it was able to dodge most of my spears.

Only two directly hit and one grazed it.

ーーIf it was any other Upper-Tier, Upper-Class Demonic Creature, it had enough power to kill them two or three times over, but even as it bled, the Fenrir stood unfazed and shook out the two spears from his body.

I call the Spear back and grasp it in my hand.

Jend: “........even your attack won’t pierce it…….”

Henry: “It left some damage, but it’s from this distance….even if I was closer, I would have to deliver at least 10 blows to take it down.”

It’s no surprise that the Highest-Tier are incredibly tough and resilient.

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Henry: “Oh, we better get going. It wouldn’t be good to leave Ms. Lotte hanging like that!”

ーーwell, I say that but she’s probably fine alone!

Everyone in our party dashes forward and launches an attack to give Ms. Lotte support.

Ferris: “Cyril! I’ll protect you. Don’t get distracted.”

Cyril: “Got it, got it. La～ la～”

Cyril begins to sing as she ran.

…….on the battlefield, two voices join together in song.

The song Ms. Lotte is singing is a famous song, and Cyril is matching her song to Ms. Lotte’s.

The singing helps increase focus and concentration and raises the Spellcaster’s spirit, so what song they sing is not as important. I remember Cyril telling me “When casting fire, it’s best to sing a song that makes you burn with excitement” or something like that.

“GRAH!”

Jend: “Out of the way!”

Jend strikes down four Snow Wolves with a single swing of his blade. Regardless of whether the sword just grazed them, they all flew back backwards.

The Rainbow Battle March’s effect increased Jend’s normally high attack power to at least 50% more.

Jend: “Yes! This is awesome!”

Teo: “Yes, it is incredible!”

As she speaks, Teo draws her Magic Bow’s string and aims at an enemy. The Magic Bow places an arrow as soon as she draws her string, and she lets the arrow fly even as she’s running.

Even then, the arrow flies straight and true and pierces a Snow Wolf.

Her second and third arrows also strike down enemies one at a time. She’s taking them down before they reach our position.

Teo’s archery skills are amazing, but even she would have a tough time shooting at these quick intervals while running. Her senses and agility is also being increased and supported by Ms. Lotte’s song.

Jend: “Hey hey, do you plan to take them all down by yourself?””

Teo: “No……..Mr. Jend, please take out the one coming at us diagonally from the right. It’s out of my line of fire.”

Jend: “On it!”

Jend takes down the Snow Wolf that was running towards us while hiding behind a large boulder ahead in its path.

Henry: “.........and now the Giants arrive.”

I was grateful that the Snow Wolves charged in head first ahead of their group.

It gave a chance for everyone to get used to their enhanced abilities and movements.

Jend: “Alright! Henry! Leave them to me! I want to see how far I can go!”

Henry: “Sure, all yours.”

In our previous planning, I’m heading to support Ms. Lotte, so I want him to test the waters with the Giants while I’m still able to back him up if needed.

The Giant itself is running at us with unbelievably quick speed, and raises a club that matches its height.

It’s at least 8 meters (26 feet) tall. But without hesitation, Jend meets it head on and braces himself.

Jend: “Come on! I’m right here!”

“жегиле, аны！”

Jend stands at the head of the group and calls all the attention to himself with his loud voice as the Giant’s club heads down upon him.

The clash.

The impact sound echoes all around, and the snow scatters everywhere.

We lose sight of the two for a moment.

Jend: “........fwew～”

With [The Single Blade of the Fire God]’s move and the Godly Equipment’s effect, the large broadsword is wrapped in flames and scatters the snow around.

He had the sword angled, and Jend was able to easily redirect the Giant’s club. The Giant struck only the ground with its initial strike.

By wrapping his sword in flames, he nullified the Snow Giant’s [Ice] Magic advantage it gained from the [Corrupted Ice Magic Territory].

Using the Giant’s strike as cloud cover, the Snow Queen fired a Spell at Cyril in the rear-guard but….

Ferris: “I won’t let you!”

It’s unable to get past Ferris’ defense. Ferris’ [Ningale’s Hand] is adept with Healing Magecraft Spells as its greatest asset, but it also excels at Support and Defensive Spells as well.

The Magical Shield [Force Shield] will not allow normal Spells to pass.

Teo approached the Snow Queen without sound, took off its head, and it was vanquished.

Jend continued his brawl with the Giant, and with Ms. Lotte’s Spell support, he’s more than a match for it.

Henry: “.......they should be okay.”

The Giant was the biggest hurdle, but as I look across the field, Ms. Lotte took down three of the five Giants on her way to the Fenrir.

With the Giant Jend’s facing right now, that’s a total of two Giants and a Snow Queen. The Snow Wolves shouldn’t pose any problems for these guys.

Henry: “Alright! I’ll leave this to you guys! I’ll go help Ms. Lotte!”

Ferris: “Good luck, Mr. Henry!”

Ferris, who had the least amount of pressure on her, sends me her encouragement, and I nod towards her.

Henry: “Cyril, let’em have it when you’re ready!”

Cyril gives me a firm thumbs up as she continues her song.

Her eyes are glistening with joy to be able to blast a Spell on a scale she’s never done before.

……….I better be careful to get out of the way when the time comes.

I felt a tinge of guilt for the inkling of doubt that skidded across my mind just now.

Chapter end