Chapter 61

After finishing the meal, they headed back to training.

Recently, Asto's expression has been calm. It must have been tough for him after Liz left, with all the transportation and such.

Still, as a father, I guess it's like putting down a burden when his daughter's marriage is decided.

After the meal, we started the training with the makeshift grave.

Today, we ended up with an injured person.

With that in mind, I focused on the movements of the middle guard to control the opponent's position and to make the front line's job easier.

Sweat dripped down. My arms wouldn't lift. Still, I could manage the positioning. I expanded my imagination and moved around.

At the same time, I incorporated close-range wind magic into my movements. While large movements were possible, the fine details were still lacking.

I imagined thrusting with a thruster on the arm as I stabbed.

When slashing, I increased the momentum with a thruster on the back of my hand.

Repetition, repetition. Even as I struggled with the momentum, I repeated the movements to get used to them.

Finally, I collapsed, out of breath. I'm just a salaryman, after all... Such thoughts came to mind, but I didn't give up.

Soon, Liz came out of the house, saying the bath was ready.

"Thank you, Liz. You always help me out."

"No problem, really. But you're sweating a lot, are you okay?"

"Well, I'm a bit overweight, so I sweat easily."

We chatted as we returned to our rooms.

After cleaning up, we reunited and chatted in bed.

"There's something I want to ask..."

Liz asked, looking thoughtful.

"What?"

"At night, are you doing something? Hiro is sometimes not there."

I thought he hadn't noticed because he was a deep sleeper, but maybe I was wrong.

"Just practicing a bit. Don't worry, I'm not overdoing it."

"Okay, that's good. I thought maybe you were doing something else... like sneaking into someone's room."

The thought of a sneaking habit... and her slightly dark expression made me feel a woman's wiles.

By the way, there seems to be a brothel in town.

On one hand, I want to go because I can check their health status, but on the other hand, I think it's too much.

After putting the kids to bed, I slipped out of the room.

Now, it's time for magic training. I can feel a gradual improvement.

The rest is repetition and contingency plans.

Actually, I've been experimenting with sticks and such, but it's not very stable.

It might depend on the spear's modifications.

After a while, I stopped and turned on my smartphone. I'm worried about what I'll do if it breaks.

Now, it's time to check the to-do list.

[x] Get the shoes.

[x] Get the knee pads.

As for Watys, he seems to be busy with goblin hunting and we can't meet.

He mentioned group training, so I hope to talk to him then.

I quietly slipped back into bed.

Liz stirred slightly, mumbling cutely. She's so adorable, like a small animal.

I kissed her gently and fell asleep.

In the morning, after eating, I headed to the forest as usual.

"Today, I want to try facing more opponents than yesterday."

"More? How many?"

"More than double yesterday."

The two of them made slightly unhappy faces.

But we can't avoid it. In the worst-case scenario, we might have to face eight times as many.

"I'll do my best to support you, and I'll use magic if it gets too dangerous."

We headed to the usual stream and the wide open area from yesterday.

Hmm, can we really train with 24 of them...

I moved on the hover, using 'Caution' to find a group.

This itself is difficult.

I tried to gather small groups and look for more, but they would scatter if they lost sight of us.

I gave up when I had gathered about 20. The rest were already following due to the atmosphere.

I moved around to keep them in sight and, once they were somewhat gathered, I quickly broke through the bushes and returned to the base.

"About 20."

The moment I shouted, the group surged forward.

It was nothing like yesterday. A half-encirclement? No way. They rushed in from all sides.

I used magic to prevent them from flanking. However, I couldn't manage to control them.

By the time I had taken down about six, a spear pierced Fia's right side and arm through the gap in her armor. I quickly took down the opponent.

"Light injury!! I can still go!!"

It was indeed a difficult spot to defend. Moreover, her right hand wasn't moving well, so she couldn't attack. She was desperately fending off with her shield.

Liz switched positions and provided support. She was thinking well on her own.

Seizing a moment, she quickly pulled out the spear.

"Heal, just a moment!!"

"Ugh..."

Fia wobbled from the pain but held on.

I then used divine magic. Since I couldn't clearly assess the condition, the image was quite vague. I thought of Disia's tired face and felt sorry.

'It's okay, really...'

Ugh, Disia being so proper at a time like this. But I was a bit irritated. Maybe it was a mistake to include the image of a blood transfusion because of the heavy bleeding?

I used magic to take down the opponents trying to flank from behind. Due to the divine magic, I felt a slight over-recovery.

It was tough, but I swung the makeshift grave desperately. I focused on controlling and buying time until I could use magic.

The number had decreased to the same as yesterday, but it felt completely different. The anxiety made my movements stiff.

"Same number as yesterday. Don't panic!!"

I shouted and cut down the opponent trying to flank with the makeshift grave. It was a light injury but served as a deterrent.

"Fall back for now!!"

With a scythe, you need to set the blade and aim for the weak points to be effective. Otherwise, it's just a deterrent.

The new equipment was also making a difference. We adjusted the impact points and Liz followed up with punches.

The number gradually decreased, and Fia's condition improved. The elimination speed increased, and we took them down one by one.

When the last one was down, I couldn't tell who was the first to sit down. We all panted heavily, sprawled on the ground.

"Isn't this way too intense?"

Fia, who was the first to get injured, said tiredly.

"It hurt. But, thank you."

She turned to me and smiled.

"Without magic, it's impossible. With this many opponents..."

Liz also had a serious look.

Yes, even if the number is less than the worst-case scenario, it's still like this. They don't all rush in at once, but somewhere it turns into a melee.

The battlefield is determined by numbers, not individual quality. Even if the opponents are weak, it's tough when they can overwhelm you with numbers.

The peasant uprisings in Japan are a typical example. When I read the textbooks, I wondered if it was scary for professional soldiers to be attacked by non-professionals.

But when I saw TV footage of rioting civilians throwing stones, I understood. Thinking about being on the defense side in such a situation is terrifying.

Imagine them coming at you with shovels, sickles, or even swords. It's scary.

"Any points to improve?"

"The two of you were too close. Considering the weapon range and movement distance, you should spread out more to defend."

Liz answered immediately.

"Hmm. After getting injured, I did shrink back. I need to get used to it."

Fia tilted her head.

Yes, they're able to come up with improvement points in this state. Both of them have great vitality.

"I agree. As a middle guard, I was desperate to prevent being flanked. I wasn't effective as a deterrent."

"Then, what should we do?"

"Get used to it... to the pain and the situation. Everyone's bodies and minds are too stiff. Also, be careful of the footing as the bodies pile up."

We gathered the scattered bones, half-eaten remains, and newly killed bodies to the side.

The forest's self-cleaning ability is being overwhelmed here. It's quite smelly.

We moved to find a new open area. We need to try at least once more today.

During the move, we found and dealt with goblins gathering food.

I had a question, so I opened one's stomach. The structure is the same as a human's. I felt disgust, not at the contents but at the similarity to humans.

I opened the stomach and intestines. The contents were extremely minimal.

"Is this one being chased?"

Liz asked. Maybe it's a hunter's intuition.

"Since it's alone, it's likely. If we find a group hunting, we'll try again."

We continued moving, leaving marks on trees.

We hunted goblins we found during the move.

We found a new open area after moving a considerable distance.

"Let's make this our base."

After confirming the two nodded, we started circling the area again.

We found a group, pulled them in, and nudged those trying to separate. I thought, "Are you all kindergarteners?" as I formed the training group.

We confirmed they were out of the 'Caution' range. There were 19. It's fine, let's go with this.

"About 20."

The moment I shouted, the group surged forward just like before.

This time, the two called out to each other, spread out to the sides, and ran to intercept.

They struck once and quickly retreated, then attacked the sides again. They then gathered diagonally towards the middle guard.

"Hiro, fall back."

Following the command, I took three steps back. At that moment, they spread out to the sides and ran to intercept.

I used the makeshift grave to control the group coming from the center. The opponents not controlled from the sides were flanked.

"Hiro, fall back."

Following the command, I took three more steps back. They spread out again and intercepted. Then, they moved towards the center.

"Hiro, hold your ground from here."

The number decreased rapidly. This should work. I controlled the opponents trying to flank from behind. I used magic to take down those making wide flanks.

The two used the new equipment more skillfully and gradually advanced.

"Hiro, fall back."

As I took three steps back, they both quickly retreated. Then, they rushed forward. Their calls were in unison.

They moved in sync, flipping the opponents back and forth.

With the number reduced, it became much easier. The rest was to control the flanks and take them down one by one.

After taking down the last one, we panted heavily. But no one sat down.

"We can't stand still and intercept. We need to move and manipulate them."

Liz said, out of breath but happy.

"Right. I can match Liz's movements."

Fia agreed.

Intercepting a large number of opponents while standing still is impossible. We need to manipulate them with movement.

There's something we've grasped. I was confident in that moment.