Chapter 42

Having infiltrated Rich's fortress and defeated all the zombies and skeletons that formed the flesh wall, all that remained was to defeat Rich and his subordinates waiting in the grand hall.

"Bel. Tulu. How is it inside?"

I waited a little distance away, having Bel and Tulu check the inside. Bel and Tulu entered the grand hall with a "kyakkyak" and returned with a "nikoniko" face after a while. They seemed to have had fun.

"What was it like inside?"

"There were a lot of skeletons and zombies. They were trying to attack at the entrance."

Bel spread her arms wide to emphasize the "a lot." It was incredibly endearing, but I didn't quite understand.

"Rich was in the back. Next to him were the General of the Zombies and the General of the Skeletons. There were many Mages and Archers. There were also many Knights. They were all preparing to attack."

I glanced at Sylph, who nodded. It seemed to be correct. Tulu was particularly reliable. Bel... if she could explain in more detail, it would be a great help.

"Bel. Tulu. Thanks for the reconnaissance. It really helped."

"Hehe. We did our best."

"Yep."

I petted Bel and Tulu, and when I noticed Rain looking a bit lonely, I petted her too. In the end, I felt like I was petting everyone every time something happened.

"Sylph. If we show ourselves at the entrance, they'll definitely attack, right? Do you think we can block it with the hammer and wind wall?"

"It depends on what kind of magic Rich uses to attack. If we put the hammer in front, we should be able to block most attacks, but it's better to be cautious. This is the time to use the new magic."

...It feels like things are unfolding just as Sylph expected. My mouth is a bit twisted. It's a magic I'd rather not use because it feels like a chuuni (otaku) thing, but what can I do? I guess I'll have to try my best in this fantasy world. No one except the spirits can see me, so I wouldn't hesitate or squirm if it were in front of strangers.

"Bel. Rain. Tulu. Please cast the Armor of Nature."

"We'll do our best."

"Kyu."

"Leave it to us."

This magic is Bel's favorite, and even the performance for casting it is well thought out. I'd prefer if they just cast it normally, but they got hyped up after being encouraged by Sylph. I wonder if this performance has any meaning when only I or the spirits can see it?

The magic name was also pushed to be a chuuni-laden name, but I managed to persuade them to settle on the Armor of Nature. If I had gone with the flow, it would have ended up being something like "Super Whatever Whatever." I did a good job.

Bel, Rain, and Tulu extended their hands and floated around me, making circles. They all had serious expressions, but it was just a performance and a meaningless act. Is it like how transformation heroes need poses and introductions?

"Kyu kyu kyu kyu (Water Cloak)"

"Rock Armor"

"Wind Mantle"

"Armor of Nature (Kyu kyu kyu)"

Bel and the others raised their voices as if this was the highlight. As they spoke, the light of magic entangled with my leg that was already halfway in. When they all chanted "Armor of Nature" together, the magic that had entangled me changed into each of their attributes, and a faintly glowing armor adhered to me. Sylph seemed very satisfied, nodding vigorously.

The trigger was Sylph's comment, "Yuta, you don't have any armor, do you?" Indeed, since coming to this world, I've been living in chino pants and a long T-shirt. While I keep them clean with washing, they are a bit worn out.

Thinking that for defense, something hard like rock would be good, I had Tulu make armor from magic-infused rock. However, it was so heavy that I could barely walk, and it was a good target.

The rock armor was changed to a light armor that only covered the vital points, and the empty parts were covered by a thin, glowing layer of magic-infused water from Rain. The rock and water, infused with the spirits' magic, glowed faintly, which was a bit embarrassing.

If it had ended there, it would have been fine, but this was where Bel's first whim exploded. She wanted her wind to be absolutely included in my armor. Even when I said I would cast a wind wall, she wouldn't accept it.

After much discussion, a thin, glowing wind mantle infused with magic was created. I had hoped for a wind shield, but with the addition of Sylph, it was decided to be a wind mantle.

As a result, a person from another world was born, wearing a shimmering water outfit, shimmering rock armor, and a shimmering wind mantle. Sylph was inexplicably delighted.

Bel and the others praised me with sparkling eyes, saying I looked cool. I knew that my face wouldn't stand out even with a glowing armor, so I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this armor.

Thinking this, I am now inside the dark fortress of Rich, wearing the faintly glowing Armor of Nature. It is very conspicuous.

"Yuta, you look cool."

"Kyu kyu."

"Amazing."

"Puh. ...Yeah. Yuta, it suits you."

"Ah, ah. ...Thank you."

Sylph probably followed me inside, expecting me to fight in this form. She looks very excited. ...Well, it's fine. I've been given Sylph's seal of approval for the greatly enhanced defense. I'll finish this quickly.

"Bel, please cast the wind wall too."

"Okay."

When Bel chanted "wind wall," a wind cocoon about a meter away formed around me. This wind wall initially reacted to my weapons as well, but after many improvements, it no longer reacts to my attacks. I don't understand the logic.

"Thanks, Bel. I'm going to go in now, so please back me up if I'm in danger or if there's an enemy I can't defeat."

"Leave it to me."

"Kyu."

"I'll protect you."

"Okay. Thanks. Let's go."

I approached the entrance cautiously and placed a rock I had stored, quickly moving away. The moment the sound was heard, a barrage of magic and arrows rained down, quickly reducing the rock to rubble.

"Wow. If we go in normally, we'll be hit by that attack. It's a good thing we strengthened our defense."

"True. But what do we do? We'll still be hit by that attack if we try to enter. Do you think we can just charge in with our current defense?"

I don't want to. But what can I do...

"Sylph, the arrows will eventually run out, but do the undead run out of magic?"

"Mages will run out of magic if they use it repeatedly, but Rich has abundant magic, so it's difficult."

"I see. Well, I'll aim to drain the mages' magic. It would be nice if the arrows run out too."

I placed a rock at the entrance again and quickly retreated. The rock was reduced to rubble just like before. How many times will they keep this up? It would be nice if they got impatient and broke formation. I placed a rock for the third time and quickly retreated, but no attack came.

"Sylph, would their magic run out with that much?"

"No, it wouldn't. They haven't broken formation, so they might be trying to determine if we are enemies before attacking."

That makes sense. I wish they had just kept attacking. With intelligence, they take countermeasures. What can I do... I don't want to charge into a barrage of attacks, even if I'm safe.

"Hmm. I have an idea! Sylph, they were attacking the rock, so they don't know my exact position, right?"

"Seems so. They probably don't have the ability to detect."

That's good. I asked Sylph for the detailed layout and enemy positions and moved to the next room. I took out a magic saw and made a cut in the wall without making a sound.

"Oh, good idea. There's no need to charge in straightforwardly. You can enter from where they aren't on guard."

I nodded in agreement with Sylph's words. Now, if I enter from here, they'll be surprised. I'll rush in and knock them down. I raised my hammer to its maximum size and struck the wall I had cut, causing a loud noise. The wall fragments flew into the enemies inside.

At the same time, I rushed in, using my hammer to knock back the Zombie Knights and Skeleton Knights that were guarding the outside, and charged towards Rich.

As expected, it's a level on par with King. There were not only skeletons but also zombies, and the Knights were densely packed. I wanted to reach Rich before they could recover from the confusion.

I charged forward with all my might, breaking through the Knights, and knocked back the Archers and Mages with my hammer, aiming to strike Rich. However, spears were thrust out from both sides simultaneously.

I rolled to avoid the attack, and seeing the spear tips hit the wind wall and be deflected, I regretted not charging through. But in that moment, Rich hid behind the flesh wall.

Just like the previous General and this Rich, they immediately hide behind the flesh wall, making things very troublesome. I was annoyed and looked at the attackers, who were the Skeleton General and the Zombie General.

As expected, the higher ranks react quickly? I was surrounded by the enemy because I had stopped. If I stay here, they'll attack all at once. I'll take out the Generals first.

I raised my hammer and charged with all my might. The Skeleton General and the Zombie General thrust their spears, but I didn't dodge, having seen the spears deflected by the wind wall.

I aimed for the spot where the wind wall deflected the spears and swung my hammer horizontally, knocking both Generals back and finishing them off.

I then used the skill "Hammer Great Rotation," believing in my own defense. The giant hammer began to rotate around me.

...The skill doesn't make me dizzy, but the zombies being minced and flying off due to the high-speed rotation of the hammer is gruesome. I moved while rotating, pulling in enemies and breaking out of the encirclement. I'm a bit wobbly, but it's fine.

However, two consecutive failed charges. Up until the previous General battle, charging in usually defeated the main enemy, but with intelligence, it's not that simple.

What should I do? Should I grind them down again? Honestly, there are too many and it's troublesome. While I'm thinking, magic and arrows keep flying, so I run around to avoid them.

Even after defeating the Zombie and Skeleton Generals, the enemies are still in formation, and I need to defeat Rich.

I run around, thinking of a good method, and gradually whittle down the enemies. Should I have Bel and the others use magic, or grind them down? The wind wall occasionally deflects magic and arrows, so grinding them down isn't a problem. I guess I'll have to grind them down again.

Thank you for reading.