Chapter 51

"Craft! Is the petrification cure ready yet!?"

An adventurer burst into the house, drenched in sweat and shouted.

Since all the stamina potions had been used up, it was clear at a glance how recklessly he had been acting.

"I'm making it now! Which unit are you from!?"

"Right wing! Alphard's team!"

"Damn. Has it finally started to crumble!?"

The central unit had already been hit by a large army of cockatrices, and they had been constantly demanding petrification prevention and cure potions since then.

Due to the priority given to the central unit for the prevention potions, adventurers in the left and right units had started to turn to stone.

The fact that the left wing of Persia had suffered less damage so far was a relief.

"Can't Alphard hold them off?"

"Just now, a large number of cockatrices came pouring in all at once. Even Alphard couldn't handle them, and quite a few managed to slip through. We can't let that happen, so the adventurers are taking risks..."

"Damn... Taking risks without any prevention potions. Did they get into the town?"

"No, we firmly prevented that."

"Considering the adventurers assigned to Alphard are of lower rank... but they did a good job."

Frankly, if even one cockatrice gets into the town, it's all over.

The damage would be unimaginable.

While petrification can be undone later, cockatrices are vicious. Civilians could easily be trampled to death.

The adventurers who prevented the invasion at the cost of petrification are heroes.

"The cure will be ready soon... but the central unit is also suffering a lot..."

The petrification cure I'm making is of legendary quality.

With a regular cure, it takes hours or days to reverse petrification, but this one does it instantly.

With the potion, they can immediately return to the front lines.

That's why every front line is desperate for the cure.

However, due to the priority given to making the cure, there's a problem of not being able to produce any prevention potions.

Without the ability to make prevention potions, it has become a constant cycle of petrification and cure.

No, since the main force of cockatrices arrived at the central unit, they have been completely overwhelmed.

"Done! Half... no, thirty percent to the right wing, and the rest to the central unit!"

"What! That's not enough!"

The adventurer from the right wing protests, but is immediately cut off.

"Are you an idiot! If our central unit is breached, cockatrices will flood to the left and right!"

The one who shouted back was the liaison with the center. He had been waiting for the potion to be completed.

"U... that's..."

"Actually, I want all of it... understand?"

"...Yeah."

The right-wing adventurer nodded, tears in his eyes. Perhaps some of his party members had been petrified.

Then the front door made a loud noise again.

It's a steady stream of visitors! Of course, the door is already unlocked!

"Craft!"

"Rifan!? Is the fence set up?"

Rifan was supposed to be helping build the fence for the central unit.

The front lines had already opened up, and it was no longer a matter of setting up the fence.

"Where I can! Is there anything I can help with!?"

"Then, take this barrel to the right wing!"

"Okay!"

I'm sorry, but Rifan is faster than the adventurer from the right wing.

Rifan snatched the barrel without a word and immediately rushed outside.

"Damn! I'll definitely... I'll definitely do something!"

I chugged a magic recovery potion and poured all my magic power into it, trying to complete the potion as quickly as possible.

◆

This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!

Alphard was internally panicking.

Of course, he didn't show it on the surface. If he did, the adventurers fighting alongside him would become anxious.

Alphard, who had been a squad leader in the Holy Knights at a young age, calmly said the opposite of his inner turmoil.

"It's fine! You can do it! I'll attack the front! You take care of the rest! Don't let them into the town!"

"Y... Yes!!"

The adventurers' responses gradually lost their energy. It's natural, as when they faced a large number of cockatrices earlier, nearly half of them were severely injured or petrified.

Injuries could be treated with healing potions, but fear had been ingrained in them, and the task of carrying petrified comrades to the rear was demoralizing.

Still, they stood up to protect the town.

Their morale hadn't been lost.

Alphard charged into the area with the most cockatrices, using the two-legged lizard's leg strength and his own power to turn them into pieces.

Still, it was only a few, a dozen or so.

Thanks to the two-legged lizard's leg strength, he was able to take out a considerable number of scattered cockatrices, but the number of incoming cockatrices increased, and there were many that he missed.

Now, he was dealing with a cluster of cockatrices that needed to be prioritized, and had to let a few others go.

The adventurers rushed to them.

They were brave.

Compared to the adventurers of the central unit, they were clearly of lower rank, but with the determination not to let the cockatrices into the town, they were taking down the higher-ranked cockatrices.

At the cost of several casualties.

Fortunately, healing potions were distributed in large quantities, so there were no deaths, but if this continued, it was only a matter of time.

"Damn!"

A particularly large cockatrice, which had been hiding somewhere, leaped and managed to slip past Alphard.

"That's bad!"

Alphard had been prioritizing the larger, stronger cockatrices, but even among them, one of the biggest had escaped.

Given the size, the current adventurers probably couldn't take it down.

If Alphard pursued it, the front line would collapse, so he couldn't chase it.

"Roar!"

Alphard dispatched the cockatrice in front of him, trying to help the adventurers as quickly as possible, but it wasn't necessary.

"I'll take care of it!!"

The voice that came was a girl's... no, it was Rifan, the guild master of the production guild, who was as reliable as Craft. She had fully armed herself and stood in front of the giant cockatrice, which was charging with its mouth open, holding a shield.

A sound like a battering ram breaking through a wall echoed, and incredibly, she repelled the massive body of the cockatrice.

The cockatrice let out a strange cry.

"Everyone, fall back! I'm going in! 'Rock Smash'!!!"

Rifan's move was a hammer technique.

The cockatrice, hit by a hard mithril hammer with a focus on power, had half its body blown away and fell to the ground.

It was immediately finished off.

"A production emblem holder using a hammer technique, how much training did she go through? But, we're saved!"

Alphard stopped worrying about his back and focused on eliminating the cockatrices in front of him.

"If Rifan is here, we can hold out a bit longer... but there's a limit, Craft!"

He called out the name of the only person who could turn the tide, as if in prayer.

◆

On the other hand, the left-wing Persia unit was barely holding off the fierce attack.

"Ms. Persia! Watch out!"

A cockatrice that had circled around Persia's blind spot while she was riding Tebasaki was taken down.

It was an arrow from Jitaro, who was mixed in with the ranged unit.

Incidentally, the reason this front line was holding up was largely due to Jitaro.

"Thanks!"

"Leave it to me!"

Persia shouted her thanks, and Jitaro showed his arm.

She smiled and continued riding Tebasaki.

"Hmph. Jitaro, not bad. If I get the chance, I'll introduce him to one of the royal guards."

Persia muttered to herself.

"Whoa! Really? Really!? I'll work hard!!!"

"What!? You heard that!?"

Thanks to Jitaro's mysterious efforts, the left-wing unit managed to maintain the front line.

Next! A sudden turn of events!