16-4 Part 2
The Village that Burned with Revenge
- Burning Demon -
Translator : PolterGlast
We continued
straight through the town. Every time we found the giant body of an Abyss Ogre
ahead, Sigrun and I alternated roles as the tank's guard and the
vanguard. Sigrun's blades, and the rain of ballista bolts and arrows,
defeated the demons one by one, cleansing the town destroyed by the demons.
The sounds of battle
attracted more Abyss Ogres, and they fell into our net one after another.
However. Something far beyond non-standard got caught in that net. It might be
presumptuous for a youngster like me to say, but this was the first time I had
seen such a bizarre individual.
「What
is that... It's, it's burning...?」
「Wahahaha,
and it looks like it's charging right at us!」
「There's
no 'what do we do,' you idiots! Shoot,
shoot, shoot, shoot, keep shooting you bastards!!」
It was a burning
demon. Something humanoid, a size larger than an Abyss Ogre, clad in flames.
That thing ran toward the tank we were riding with somewhat sluggish steps,
raising a scream as if writhing in agony.
The fact that no one
speaks its species name means this thing might truly be an unidentified
monster.
「Sigrun,
I’m leaving the loose-cannon role
to you.」
「What
did you say, are you intending to be my shield!? That's unfair!」
「Yeah,
I'm better at holding them back and buying time. Let's go, Sigrun.」
「Wait, Shinza,
close combat against something like that, what are you thinking!?」
「He's
probably not thinking anything at all...」
The ones in charge
of the ballista are hesitating to take aim. If they miss, it takes time until
the next reload. It's not that they can't shoot; they can't afford to miss a
crucial shot. Also, crossbow bolts and arrows have been fired at the burning
demon for a while now, but it seems they aren't having much effect. The arrows
were sucked into its fiery body, burning away leaving only the arrowheads.
Abyss Ogres were
tough, but this guy is even more so. Against the demon charging at us, having
gotten off the tank, I set up a small trick on the spot and waited.
「Sorry,
fair and square is impossible.」
Sorry to use my
usual trick, but I dug a pitfall. But the opponent has a giant body twice the
size of a human. It's not something that can be easily buried. So I made myself
the decoy.
I made multiple
small pitfalls behind me, and jumped back, praying it would trip on them. A
burning arm reached out right in front of me, sending a chill down my spine,
but it was a success. With its arm extended in a forward-leaning posture, the
guy tripped on the sinking ground and fell over without being able to break its
fall.
「A
perfect opportunity! Fire the ballista, I will follow too!!」
The burning demon's
movements stopped. Following the volley of arrows, a ballista bolt cut through
the air and pierced the demon's shoulder. In succession, Sigrun aimed
for its ankle, bringing down her twin swords there.
「Uwa
chachachacha?! This is bad, this guy is hot, Shinza!?」
「You
can tell that just by looking...」
「On top
of that, it's hard! It's like its body is made of iron!」
Was the hard body
the reason the ballista bolt only pierced shallowly? The burning demon raised a
scream of anger and was struggling to stand up. Then let's extinguish the
troublesome flames first.
I flipped over the
stone paving underfoot and threw the cold dirt underneath onto its burning body
one after another.
「It's
not going out at all...」
「No,
rather than going out. Isn't the dirt you covered it with melting entirely!?」
「Eeeh!?
Then how are we supposed to defeat something like this!?」
The burning demon
stood up, dripping melted dirt from its body. This thing is practically a
creature from the world of mythology at this point.
「Don't
give up there, let's keep throwing it patiently. ——?!」
Because it was such
a casual movement, I neglected to react. Who could have predicted that its hand
would touch its own stomach or chest, scoop up whatever was there, and throw
the red, liquefied dirt back at me.
And who could have
predicted that before that red burning dirt, or rather lava, could hit my skin,
it would rapidly freeze and fall to the ground.
「Hmph...
Being calm is good, but you seem to lack vigilance and a sense of crisis.」
「Sorry Zirant,
I have no words in return. I was just about to suffer a terrible burn...」
Before the giant of
flames stood the dragon Zirant, whose specialty is the power of ice.
That's right, Zirant. With that power that froze the Abyss Ants, she
might be able to defeat that guy in one blow.
「Kukuku...
I refuse.」
「What
did you say...?」
「Try to
overcome a predicament of this level with your own power. If Wagahai
cleans that up here, there is no growth for you.」
What you're saying
is quite different from when we fought the Cherubim Armor, Zirant. If you felt like it, something
like that would be defeated in one blow...
「Indeed,
and that is exactly why it is convenient. If it looks like you are going to
die, Wagahai will save you.」
「Then
let me borrow a word from the other world. That's called 'trolling' (namepu)!」
「What
is that?」
「I
don't know!」
Then what should I
do? Zirant says this, but if danger befalls my comrades, she will surely
try to protect them. Despite what she says, she's a kind one. If so, I should
leave maintaining the battle line to Zirant and the others, and look for
another approach.
『Umu, if it is only that much,
I do not mind. After all, I want to let Kachua
read the ending of that novel.』
It seems that when
people are completely at a loss, they look around their surroundings. Wondering
if there was a clue to a solution lying around somewhere, I gazed at the town
of Enes using Zirant as a shield. And I found the answer there.
「Sigrun,
coordinate with Zirant and hold it back!」
「Yeah,
fighting alongside the legendary Dragon God is my utmost pleasure!」
「I
don't feel bad being told that by a peerless swordswoman. So, where are you
going?」
「You'll
know soon enough. Hold it off for a bit.」
A waterway ran
through the town. That's it, water. I just have to draw the water to this
place. Since my course of action was decided, I immediately dug at my feet. I
activated the 30x power of the Shovel.
First, I constructed
a pool just big enough for the giant to bathe in, and once that was done, I dug
up the earth heading in the direction of the waterway. I lightly threw the
excavated dirt, rocks, and stone paving outside, and pushed forward in the same
manner I built the moat in Corin Village.
「Wh-what
the hell is that?! Are you, are you a mole or something!!?」
「Are we
dreaming... A burning giant, and Shinza moving through the ground...」
「Ah, I
(Ore) get it, Shinza intends to draw the waterway all the way here!」
That's right. The
power brought by my ancestor's Shovel softened everything like jelly,
allowing me to smash through the wall of the waterway in the blink of an eye.
However, I dug a little too deep. A current of water mixed with sludge rained
down on my face. Fortunately, I didn't even have the leeway to feel disgusted
right now. By the time I wiped my face and spat out the liquid that got into my
mouth a few times, water had already flowed into the new waterway up to my
feet.
「Sigrun,
drop him in there!!」
「Well
done, Shinza, that request, is a piece of cake!! Funuuuuuu...
Dooryaaaaaah!!」
Curious about what
kind of method that female hero would use, when I crawled up from the deep
waterway, what I saw in the distance was a feat of brute strength. She pulled
out a young tree by its roots... with unbelievable brute strength, and using
the damp roots as a spear, thrust it into the burning giant.
That wasn't the only thing that surprised me. In a contest of strength against the giant, she surprisingly won, and splendidly pushed the burning giant body down into the pool exactly as I ordered.
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