117 – 117. Battle of sh*t (3)
The number of Scourge spreading throughout Utulum Forest was truly astonishing.
It is said that the vanguard units are using dragons in the forefront, but they are not strong enough to deal with the fearless swarm of rats that are attacking by self-destructing only with physical strength, not magical power.
Nevertheless, the reason Tembris was able to advance through the rats was because he had the only one who could use magic against the Scourge.
“Michelle! Are you ready?”
“Enough.”
Hwaruk.
Senia mentioned that she shouldn’t be using magic against the Scourge.
The power of the Scourge, which chews up mana and self-destructs in response to mana.
It is because of the existence of the magic circuit, the only organ within the Scourge.
The magic circuit that exists only for the means of extreme self-destruction, spitting out babies to parasitize toward the host, activates the moment it senses human magic and induces self-destruction.
But right now, even if the magic touches it, it doesn’t self-destruct.
– Chii Iik!!!
The skin of mice burning with acrid smell.
The rats, which only dared to self-destruct, screamed and died.
In the bodily fluids that hold the babies, you can occasionally see individuals trying to pierce a hole in their mother’s body.
Their share belonged to the rest of the members.
“Wow. How cool. I want to take a shot too.”
“Aris.”
“I know, I know. That’s what they say. I don’t really intend to explode it.”
Blue flames consumed even the shadows of the Scourge.
If the mana circuit can’t rotate, it’s just a rat that’s smaller than a Kud Rat.
“As expected. I really like Michelle’s magic and compatibility.”
“Senia-senpai’s theory is exactly correct. Not a single one shows signs of self-destruction.”
“Really, at that level, they’re just natural enemies. A flame that burns mana. Even if those guys were intelligent, you wouldn’t have expected this at all?”
Michelle of the Blue Flame.
The blue flame, a nickname given to Michelle who freely handles blue flames, is derived from her own magic.
That blue flame is the essence of her temper, which she believed was the wrong use of magical powers at the root of a wrong society that prioritized absurdity and injustice.
It was the power of Michelle’s will to burn away the magical power that acts as a social evil.
But if it was only this, Tembris might not have been able to advance.
“That’s the case, but if I had to point out the reason why everyone doesn’t get tired, I’d guess it’s because of this.”
“mmm. That’s right.”
People’s stamina is of course finite, and Michelle says that magic is good for the Scourge, but the limit is obvious.
But, like Erica’s reason, she doesn’t look tired.
Because of this, the clear liquid in the bottle all the members were holding was half gone.
“I never thought my youngest would have prepared something like this.”
“Sure. How did you know and prepare?”
“Ah, that… I saw it in the encyclopedia, and I heard that Miss Tellis is effective against rodents. When it comes to mice, she bought it just in case.”
Because of this Mystellis solution, the rodent Scourge weakened over time.
Everyone is laughing and chatting, but one person. A sense of incongruity preceded Michelle.
Mystellis.
And rodents.
Obviously, I can’t think of anyone else who can use this information in an innovative way.
“Let’s hurry. If we take care of the mother, no more Scourge will be born.”
After giving the answer, Michelle wanted to finish the matter quickly and ask Junon what he was doing.
In this way, Tembris moves forward with Senia’s insight and Michelle’s blue flame.
On the other hand, at Bonn University, Professor Meuniher predicted that there would be a mother body.
At this point, an urgent meeting was held to gather opinions.
As Professor Meuniher came out of the barracks after the meeting, a girl asked a question as if she had been waiting.
“Muniher 3… No, Professor Meuniher. How did it go?”
Rhenias, her face full of worry, was asking as she tumbled to her feet.
“…The main force has been decided to advance.”
“Yes?! Then…!”
Currently, the vanguard unit and main unit had crossed the mountain to avoid the adverse geographic conditions of Mount Utulum.
Therefore retreat was impossible. However, once this is decided, a problem arises.
She knew that, and muttered in a low voice.
“Please send me and Ronelion to the forward troops.”
“Renias.”
“It’s obvious that they’ll be destroyed! How can we stop them from a much duller frontline than here, where the troops and power are at the forefront?!”
The fact that the distance between the front line and the front line is too far, so I can’t go to support.
Hungry rats always expected to come to the side with plenty of food.
However, it was completely unexpected that the attacking direction of the Scourge would be directed towards the rear rather than the main unit, so this situation occurred.
“Calm down. You made this decision based on your own thoughts.”
“How true! Who can deal with those rats there…!”
Shaking off Meuniher’s hands on her shoulders, Rhenias tried to go back alone, but
“It’s because of Junon.”
She stopped her steps at his words and turned her head again.
“…Yes?”
“If it’s that guy, I’ll come up with a trick again.”
Meuniher’s eyes were full of conviction.
It’s really, really rare that the eyes of that picky, high-eyed man are full of conviction.
***
From noble mtl dot com
Your morale will never go up if you are pushed back.
If you can show that you can take even one step forward, even if your numbers are pitiful compared to the Scourge, then your counterattack will be successful.
I wanted to drive it to the target point, but it seldom progressed.
“One more step forward. Step back or die!”
“Hey, more here?”
He hesitates even if I tell him to take a step forward.
Fear is contagious.
If fear strikes a weaker person, it inevitably spreads that fear to others as well.
The morale is low, and the power is declining at an accelerated rate as fear spreads.
Professor Meuniher once said this.
If fear came to the weakest of the soldiers who entered the battlefield, then that battle would lead to defeat.
It is said that it is his quote that I have only seen in books, but it is really like a pair of tweezers.
What we need right now is a minimum of hope to get rid of our fears.
– Dalgrak.
“Take it.”
“What disease…? What is this?”
“You said you could use fluid magic against liquids, right? I’ll have to borrow that power.”
“That’s true… But you told me not to use magic.”
As they say, magic is not to be used against these Scourge.
For the Scourge, there is only one cause for the magic circuit to activate. It is a reaction with magic.
Therefore, Junon had warned in advance.
-‘All magic is forbidden, except for buff magic that strengthens all members of the community.’
I chose the minimum method so as not to stimulate the magic circuit, the root organ that causes self-destruction.
“Yes. But, I never told the Scourge to use magic.”
“Huh…? Then where are you going to use it?”
“I’m going to throw these bottles after giving a signal. Just spread them out so they don’t tip to one side.”
This is exactly what I was expecting.
The students gathered here know better than anyone else that wasting time is the limit.
In addition, most of the people gathered here are third-year students who are not familiar with actual combat, and among them, there are people whose main combat method is magic, so there is no progress in taijutsu.
Nevertheless, you can counterattack.
It is a counterattack that lasts a much longer time, and if no one is infected until the end, it is a great counterattack.
Because humans are animals that use tools.
“How about it. Can you spread it?”
“With this much viscosity… I can barely do it on my own.”
Their magical power circuits detect magic that even slightly touches skin and fur.
In the eyes of the allies, it will become a ember that kindles the dying flame.
“Listen carefully, everyone! If I throw the bottle, they’ll definitely weaken after a while. We’ll take advantage of that gap and follow the strategy we’ve told you before. Got it?”
The northern borders of Sheet have a fairly rough geography.
Since it is a place that faces Mount Utulum, such as a strait, hill, or slope, it is a pretty harsh environment for humans.
But that’s not just for humans.
Even for a single mouse with a much smaller body, even if outnumbered, this geography is equally draining. Aiming for this
Then the sound of the bottle breaking was heard, and the rain of solution pouring from the air hit the skin of the rats containing the plague.
“Spread them by the first designated group! As I said, spread them for 30 seconds!”
It was the beginning of a counterattack.
***
Again, the rough terrain will equally strain any creature.
In the meantime, the weary rats will wander about, and like the Scourge, we have something to do.
In fact, the weak Scourge are noticeably weaker than before.
As the effect of Mystellis appeared along with the rough terrain, even the senses became dull.
To the eyes of the rats, only a steep slope in the dense forest was visible, but they completely lost track of where their prey had gone.
“Now!! We attack first!!”
The dispersed rats are bewildered and deal with the humans who suddenly appear.
I rush at the fact that the prey has appeared again, but unlike before, my body does not use strength.
At this remarkably slow speed, it could hardly reach the human skin.
“West! Run!”
“This way, you rats!!”
-Jjiik?!
In the meantime, Joe, who arrived from the west in a circle, attacked the back of the Scourge.
The attack target is not clearly determined as it is being attacked from both directions as if it is being eaten.
“South!”
“Yes, we are here too!!”
Once again, the human offensive continued from the south.
With no chain of command, the rats bumped into each other and were unable to adapt to the melee.
The operation was as follows.
Using the senses of the Scourge, which have been blunted by the Mystellis, to spread them out in groups, and then the humans unite to eliminate one group.
Even with the effect of the Mystellis, it is difficult to deal with all the Scourge from one direction.
But dealing with a group split from four directions is something that can be done in just a few tens of seconds.
The dispersed group of followers arrived later due to geographical factors.
In the meantime, remove one group at a time, spread it out, and repeat. In this way, gradually reduce the number.
It was a guerrilla warfare that would have made him exclaim if Professor Meuniher had been watching it.
“North! Attack now!”
And lastly, north.
It was the moment that marked the highlight of this strategy, which was to finally attack all four directions and wipe out some of the scattered hordes.
But…
– Jjiik!!!
“What… How did this…”
From the north, not the last group, the Scourge hordes were charging.