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"Eh--Aaah!!"
A scream erupted from the very front line where the fighters were in contact with the monsters.
Ryoji focused on the source. One of the vanguards, the man with the great shield, was drenched in a thick, purple mucus. The liquid dissolved his clothes almost instantly and began to eat into his skin.
"What's going on? Even the weapon…!?"
Someone at the front shouted in shock as he stared at his own shield.
The large steel shield was also splattered with the purple slime. Far more horrifying than the way it melted cloth and flesh, the shield itself vanished in seconds, completely dissolved without leaving a single shard.
'A piece of gear worth at least a million valis had just melted away that easily?'
"It's weapon destruction! The mucus that thing spits has a weapon‑destruction property!"
The black‑haired Catman girl barked a crisp order.
"Don't let that slime touch you, dodge it! Aim for the Magic Stone inside the monster's body; its hide should be fragile!"
"Roger!"
Under the Catman girl's command, the vanguards changed tactics at once. With their supporters' help, they cast aside their shields, switched to offensive weapons, and launched a proactive assault.
"Puchi!"
"Wuoh, Aah!"
But no sooner had blades bitten into flesh than another scream rang out.
Everyone's eyes snapped to the wound left by the greatsword. The same purple slime gushed from the caterpillar's gash, dissolving the greatsword even as it splattered onto the vanguard's body, carving a purple, corroded crater in his arm as though a chunk of flesh had been gouged away.
"Even its blood is corrosive? Then how are we supposed to get close!?"
The Catman girl's eyes widened; her earlier composure was gone, replaced by growing anxiety.
Shuā!
Just then, support arrived from the rear. A volley of arrows streaked forward like flashes of lightning and thudded into the caterpillar's chest.
The creature's skin was absurdly soft, softer, it seemed, than even a Minotaur's. The heavy arrows plunged straight in and, with a single strike, pierced the Magic Stone.
Boom!
But the next instant, purple slime erupted like a volcano, forcing the vanguards to scramble away in panic.
"You've got to be kidding! It self‑destructs even after the Magic Stone is hit?"
In the mage ranks at the rear, a golden‑haired Spirit Elf girl clutched her greatbow and cried out in disbelief.
The caterpillar that had taken the arrow to its Magic Stone exploded in a heartbeat. Purple mucus splattered over the ground and rock all around, and the vanguards recoiled as if fleeing a nest of vipers.
It spits corrosive slime at range, its blood melts weapons at close quarters, and when it dies it self‑destructs,
"There's no way to attack that!"
"What is this monster? I've never seen anything like it!"
"Is it a new‑species monster?"
Helpless confusion spread across the front lines.
These caterpillar creatures didn't project the same oppressive aura as the Fomoire, but they were far more threatening. Worse, this was everyone's first encounter with them, no tested tactics, and right now there was no captain giving orders. The whole camp had been thrown into chaos.
"Should we have the vanguards pull back?"
"We can't. The monsters are clearly fixated on the mages, if the vanguards retreat, the mages will be in danger!"
The golden‑haired Spirit Elf girl immediately shot down Ryoji's suggestion.
Sure enough, the caterpillars pouring out of the flattened tunnel were surging forward one after another.
They seemed to ignore the vanguards entirely, intent on only one thing, breaking through to the mage corps that had drawn their attention.
Had the monsters sensed the threat the mages posed, or was it something else?
Either way, it didn't matter. The vanguard had to hold the line. If the mage corps started taking casualties, it would become truly impossible to repel these monsters.
"Still not ready yet?!" Ryoji glanced at Riveria, who was still chanting, and his brow furrowed deeper.
In theory, his instincts always gave him the right calls. The timing of his signal to Riveria should have been perfect, So why had they already fallen into a crisis in under thirty seconds?
Could it be that… his instincts were wrong?
No,
That couldn't be it.
Ryoji focused his gaze toward the tunnel. From its depths, an unending stream of caterpillar monsters continued to pour forth There was no sign of it letting up.
"…So we need to stall for more time?" Ryoji slowly came to understand what the best course of action was.
"Vanguards, spread the line as far as you can! Switch to ranged attacks!" His sharp command echoed across the entire camp.
"Wait a minute, what are you doing?!"
The golden-haired Spirit Elf beside him, Alicia, stared in disbelief.
"I already told you, we can't split the vanguard up! If we do, the mages will be left exposed!"
"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!"
The vanguards, relentlessly pursued by the monsters, could only retreat and dodge.
Weapons were being destroyed one after another as they tried to slow the enemy's advance. The front line was descending into chaos, cries of fear and confusion rang out nonstop.
"Alicia, trust me!" Ryoji's eyes locked onto hers, filled with unwavering resolve.
"I can do this. I'll take full responsibility!"
He wasn't good at commanding. Actually, he'd never studied command at all, but he could analyze the battlefield, and he had the determination and the confidence to act.
"Tch… Whatever happens afterward, I'm not taking the blame!"
Despite the battlefield chaos, Alicia couldn't help but blush slightly under Ryoji's intense gaze. Her guard dropped for just a moment, just enough. She passed command to Ryoji.
"All units, scatter!"
"What do we do?!"
"Listen to him!"
The vanguards exchanged glances, then chose to believe in their comrade.
This… was what a true top-class Familia looked like.
Ryoji licked his dry lips, which made Alicia flush redder and quickly turn her head away.
Shortly after,
With the vanguards no longer blocking the path, the caterpillar monsters surged straight forward, undeterred, squirming directly toward the mage corps.
Shiiing!
With a high-pitched, atmosphere-tearing whistle, a flash of silver light cut through the air.
It was a direct hit and a gash split open across the monster's chest.
The sword shard Ryoji had fired dissolved the moment it entered the creature,
But the supersonic kinetic force smashed through to the Magic Stone, shattering it in an instant.
Boom!
"So fast… and accurate!" Alicia turned to look again, stunned.
The sword shard Ryoji had launched had not only flown with incredible speed, it had also hit the Magic Stone dead-on. Even she, a Level 4 Spirit Elf archer, couldn't guarantee that kind of pinpoint accuracy with her arrows.
The first caterpillar exploded on impact. The second one charged again, another shard launched from Ryoji's hand, hitting its Magic Stone with the same deadly precision.
And now, with the vanguard lines spread wide, the exploding mucus from the self-destructing caterpillars didn't hit a single ally.
"Got any Mana or Health Potions?!"
"On it!"
Alicia, in the middle of the hectic fighting, grabbed a batch of potions from a Supporter and rushed over to Ryoji.
"No time, feed me!"
Ryoji, gripping a fistful of sword shards in his left hand and continuing his relentless firing with his right, opened his mouth directly.
"I'm definitely gonna get yelled at by Tiona for this!"
Flustered but with a faint trace of joy in her chest, Alicia helplessly popped open the bottle and held the vial to Ryoji's lips.
Despite her fear…
She felt something strangely pleasant stirring inside her heart.
(End of Chapter)