The horns and stone axes, which were originally enough to pierce leather armor, only sent a few tufts of black bristles flying when they struck the iron armor on the Fierce Person.
Immediately after.
"Bang, bang, bang—!"
Several white figures, accompanied by shrill screams, flew out in all directions like kites with broken strings, slamming heavily into the rock walls and turning into clumps of black ash before even hitting the ground.
—The big fellow who usually looked cute and naive in front of everyone.
Now displayed the ferocity a wild beast should have.
"Roar—!!"
And this.
Was only the beginning.
"Too slow!"
"Too fragile!"
Kirukiru Amou was at the very center of the encirclement.
She was surrounded by those red-eyed killer rabbits, frantically waving their weapons.
"Swish!"
An Almiraj jumped from behind, its horn stabbing directly toward the back of Kirukiru Amou's head.
The horn grazed her hair as it missed.
In that very instant.
Kirukiru Amou snapped back to her senses and raised her leg.
That slender right leg, encased in a black stocking, turned into a black steel whip at this moment.
Backswing.
Whipping strike.
"Crack!!"
A crisp sound, like a firecracker exploding.
The Almiraj still in the air had its entire upper body instantly twisted into a bizarre angle.
Then.
As if struck by an invisible sledgehammer, its body jerked in mid-air before flying backward like a cannonball, crashing through two companions who were trying to fill the gap.
Three clumps of black ash.
Exploded in the air simultaneously.
"Not enough!"
"Still not enough!"
Kirukiru Amou landed on the ground. The sensation of slaughter didn't satisfy her; instead, the fanaticism in her eyes grew even more intense.
Opponents of this level.
Couldn't even make her use Delusion of Struggle to boost her stats.
Even as a warm-up exercise.
They seemed somewhat unqualified.
"Honestly."
"Don't forget about us."
Rin, Kikakujuo Mary, Tamaba Satori, and the others also jumped down.
...
At the same time.
In another passage separated from this cavern by only two corridors.
It was deathly silent, almost terrifyingly so.
The light here was dimmer than elsewhere, and the air was thick with an unsettling oppression.
"Stop!"
A tall young man at the front of the group stopped abruptly.
—The captain of the Takemikazuchi Familia.
—Lv.2 Adventurer, Kashima Sakura.
At this moment.
His slightly dark-skinned face was filled with solemnity.
His ear was pressed against the nearby rock wall.
The vibration conducted through the rock layers was becoming increasingly intense, even causing the ground beneath his feet to tremble slightly.
"Do you hear that?"
Kashima turned back and lowered his voice, speaking to his equally nervous companions behind him.
"Yeah..."
"I hear it..."
At the back of the group, a girl with short chestnut hair shrank her neck back in fear.
—Hitachi Chigusa.
"Such a huge commotion..."
"It's like hundreds of monsters are rampaging at the same time."
"And that direction..."
Chigusa pointed toward the fork in the road to the front right.
"The sound is coming from over there."
"Hissing, crashing, and..."
"I can't hear clearly, but it feels like something is collapsing?"
"This is definitely not a small-scale battle."
Kashima stood up straight.
"To make such a noise at this depth..."
"Aside from a large-scale monster rampage, it means they've encountered an even more troublesome situation."
"For example..."
"Someone has poked a monster's nest."
Having said that.
Kashima's brow furrowed deeply.
As a small Familia that had struggled all the way from the middle floors to barely gain a foothold.
He knew all too well what this meant.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
If it were a monster rampage, even a small team like theirs getting caught in it would likely suffer greatly.
Moreover.
Their purpose for coming down this time was merely to collect some materials to exchange for money to supplement their household expenses.
If they got injured, the cost of healing potions alone would be enough to cause them serious trouble.
"Let's take a detour."
Kashima made a prompt decision.
"While those monsters haven't noticed us yet."
"We'll detour through the path on the left."
"It's a bit further, but it's safer."
"..."
However.
Just as Kashima finished speaking.
"But..."
A voice rang out from within the group.
—Yamato Mikoto.
This black-haired girl, wearing a purple kimono with a long sword at her waist, was now slightly tilting her head, looking toward the direction where the noisy sounds were coming from.
In those deep purple eyes, a hint of hesitation flickered.
"What if..."
Mikoto pursed her lips.
"What if it's not a monster rampage."
"But rather other Adventurers surrounded by monsters?"
"That sound just now..."
"I think I vaguely heard human shouting."
"Though I couldn't make out the content."
"But..."
"If we just leave like this."
"What if someone is actually calling for help over there..."
"Mikoto!"
Before Mei could finish speaking, Kashima cut her off.
Her voice was stern.
'I know what you're going to say.'
'You're going to say we should help, right?'
'But have you considered this:'
'If it really is a call for help,'
'and they are surrounded by a horde of monsters at this depth,'
'how can we help?'
Kashima pointed to her companions behind her, whose equipment was well-maintained but visibly old.
'With just us?'
'Rush in and become monster fodder?'
'Remember!'
'We are not a large familia with countless high-level Adventurers!'
'We cannot afford to lose!'
'If any of you get hurt, or worse...'
Kashima gritted her teeth, not uttering the worst-case scenario.
'In any case,'
'as the captain,'
'my top priority is to bring you all back safely,'
'not to gamble our lives on a slim chance!'
...
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[email protected]/Rexlent
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"