Divine Protection of Many Gods - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

After LaLu and his troops obtained superiority around the area, there were no proper opponents remaining in the forest.

After thinking about it a little I decided to test our skills in the ‘Demon’s Wilderness’.
Even though our monster’s level has increased greatly, we shouldn’t be reckless because the guild might hear about it from the adventurers in a few days.

I arranged The Elite Goblin forces in the nearby forest in case of emergency. There is no way a group of goblins in the wilderness would stand out.

We decided Ayla would take the monsters along with her as it wouldn’t be strange for a monster trainer to do so.

[Oh yeah, Ayla, put this on Duo and the rest]

[Yes, I understand]

I had noticed it when I went to Monster Tamer guild, a lot of Monster Tamers there had applied some kind of mark on their monsters.

It’s because the monsters that the Monster Tamer use don’t have a different appearance with wild monsters.

If a monster gets separated with their tamer, it might get hunted by other adventurers or caught in friendly fire.

To prevent that from happening a collar is equipped which seems to add something like a tattoo to the monsters.

I was surprised to hear that the tattoo itself was treated like a piece of equipment.
Today, we put the collar on Duo and the others.

Queen seemed to dislike wearing to collar on her neck so we wound it around the base of her right sickle.

The collars are handmade by Amy and filled with my magic energy. When making it we had a little dispute with Ayla as she wanted one for herself as well.

I immediately gave the okay for it, but Amy interrupted and said it’s impossible to make it right away.

Apparently, in order to control demi-human slaves their collars require a special skill to remove, so it can only be done by slave traders.

Since we had to go to a slave trader anyway we talked about using a magic gem in the creation of the new collar.

Although it would have been fine to ask Amy to make it, We decided on having it made together so we can make a date out of the occasion.

After hearing about it Amy insisted ‘I’m next, right?’ and pressured us like that. As I thought, Amy’s aggressiveness increased after the yesterday contract.

Let’s put aside the date with the two for awhile. I want to focus on our activities as adventurers right now.

After getting everything ready we embarked towards “Demon’s Wilderness”.

[Okay then, let’s try and use my ghosts for reconnaissance]

Zir directed several ghosts to the right and left area in front of her. The ghosts seemed really excited to be able to prove themselves to be useful.

When I asked if it’s okay to use the ghosts in broad daylight Zir answered they move better at night but there are no real problems using them during the day.

[Master, there are two Ogres ahead of us. The distance is not far from here].

When we look ahead closely, there is definitely something moving.

The ogre is a dangerous monster with bodies over 2 meters tall, and they use their powerful arms to deal severe blows to their enemy.

Even an experienced vanguard adventurer could get blown away in a single hit if he doesn’t pay attention.
When we slowly advanced we saw an ogre sitting down seemingly feeling dejected.

There was another ogre who seemed to be the opposite, and was slamming the ground with both his arms. His arms sunk into the earth each time and by now he was surrounded by craters.

[Are ogres always like this?]

I told everyone about the Ogre’s status. By the way, the level of Ogre who sit down lazily is lvl.32, the energetic Ogre is Lv.34.

[No way, this is because of my ghosts from before.]

It seems like the ghosts had inflicted the status effects [Exhaustion] and [Panic] by using their unique skills on the ogres.

It appears Sluggish Ghost has an [Exhaustion] skill and Panic Ghost can inflict [Panic].

[It’s super effective against simple guys like the Ogres]

I wonder if Duo’s [Howl] skill could cause the same [Panic] effect. It also seems like the ogres never noticed when we got closer.

We slowly approaching the panicked Ogre quietly from behind. We use an all-out attack with the our brand-new weapons.
The sword similar to a katana has an inscription of “Zetsumu“ (fog cutter).

The Kukri is inscribed with “Eiga“(sharp fang). The maine gauche was named “Mamorite“ (protecting hand).

Each easily cut through the ogre’s tough skin its right arm was severed like log getting split.

It turned to face us, but its angry roar was cut short by Ayla’s longsword which was sticking from its back, piercing its heart.
There was only minor resistance from the first ogre, and when we turned our gaze to the other one it seemed it was still in an exhausted state and was doing nothing in particular.

It’s easy since the ogre doesn’t put up any resistance and Amy, who is the lowest level among us, is able to defeat the Ogre without issue.

Amy’s level increased after defeating the Ogre. As I expected, the experience for defeating the opponent alone is different than in party.

We gather the dropped “Ogre Horn” and continue to search for our next prey.

[There is a crowd of Orcs further on. They’ve already succumbed to the [Panic] effect]

We head to the crowd of orcs as directed by Zir. They don’t seem to be able to put up a fight either.

Previously, only one Ogre who is in panic state. Therefore, its keep repeating slamming the ground.

However, there are 30 orcs now and it seems a fight is going to break out among them.

The average level of these Orcs is around 20 which is higher than the ones we found in the forest. As expected from monsters from the “Demon’s Wilderness”.

[It’d be bad if we rushed into that melee.
Amy, assist me with the power of your ring.]

[Yes, is it will suffice to cast a large fireball in the middle of crowd?]

[No, I’ll manipulate it and scatter flame around the orcs]

[Understood]

Amy obeys my instruction and releases the flames. Several fire pillars rise in the vicinity of the orc crowd.

As I see this I put the fire under my control. I cast a gentle whirlwind in the center of Orcs by using wind magic.

This is the reproduction of the Firestorm, as named by Kuesu. I hadn’t seen the real thing yet so I made it based on my own image, but I’m sure it would be something like this.

The wind mingled with the flames. The flame heated up the air and boosts it further upward. I’m sending in new air with air magic in the lower parts that’s running low on oxygen.

Though it took some time, my Firestorm completely encircles the Orcs crowd. Due to the rampaging flame we can’t make out the situation inside.

After confirmed the strange voices from inside is have all disappeared, I slowly dispersed the wind and erased the flame.
All that was left inside was cooked [Orc’s meat]. It appears I overdid it because the dropped loot materials got burned too.

[Oh my, what terrifying power. Commanding Goblins and such powerful magic, my master this time is really amazing]

[You’re magic has become even better than what you used in the forest]

[Now that I think about it, you did say that you had Kuesu-san teach you some magic didn’t you?]

Since it can’t be helped now, we choosing some of the better cooked meat to have for our lunch.

The Orcs fatty grilled meat is fairly delicious and only needs to have some salt added.
The remaining meat was given to Ruby.

Ruby went around to collect the scattering meats and divide it to Duo and the other monsters. I didn’t expected to see Ruby act as [Supervisor] like this.

[Fuu, my belly is full. Zir, where we will going next?]

[You’re a hasty one, aren’t you. I’d like to have a break after a meal.]

I flicked Zir’s forehead and made her to guide us to our next prey. It’s 30 minutes after we finished eating, so hasn’t she rested enough?

The next prey is a plant monster named Parafurawa. It doesn’t move around and just grows en masse within its territory.

Approaching humans tend to get paralysed by its pollen and get turned into seedbeds for new plants.

According to Zir these being are immune to status effects themselves because they possess neither intelligence nor a consciousness.

As we approach it, the plant’s toothy mouth begin to turn to our direction and swell up trying to intimidate us.

Amy using her magic bow to defeat them one after another from outside of their range.

Amy got level-up again after defeating all of the Purafuwara.
I collected the Parafurawa’s [Stun Spores].

[Umu, it’s for [anesthetic] material]

[You’re well informed]

[Well, it’s necessary for Necromancers to understand how to handle chemicals like these.]

Amy nods her head behind me like she’s thinking ‘That’s right!’.
I left Amy in charge of pharmaceuticals, so I’m happy to see the 2 can get along on this subject.
I make Zir check the surrounding area so we can start moving again.

[There is a herd of Giga Buffalo over there. Mu, my ghosts are not effective. Most likely they’re being obstructed by the boss of the herd.]

Ghost summoning has just been too useful so far anyway. Zir turned her reddening cheeks away from me when I told her so.

[Let’s try to approach them for now. Zir, do you know their exact number?]

[Let’s see, it’s around 30]

The Giga Buffalo is a particularly big and strong monster.

[If possible, I want to bring them down and divide their body parts. [Giga Buffalo’s meat] is a material which was on the Guild’s collection request]

[Giga Buffalo’s meat] is very wonderful red meat. It’s perfect to use in a stew.

[Shall I leave cutting up the corpses to Duo and Ruo?]

Ayla made this suggestion. However, I felt a bit uneasy to send those two off into a herd of 30 Giga Buffalo.

[Do you want to use the fire ring again?] Amy suggested

The enemy will certainly be confused by the fires, and it’s a good tactic to separate them with. However, the flame might also hinder our cooperation as well.

[Let’s ask help from the Goblins. The area around here is distant enough from any towns. I’ll also have the ghosts examine the surrounding to check there are no humans around]

Zir gave a nearly perfect solution.

[I see, this way we can compete in numbers]

The monster whistle was taken out from her bosom and she blew on it. LaLu, together with several Goblin Elites came at once.

One of the Goblin’s Elite returned to the forest at once to inform the rest of the platoon that they’ll be hunting the herd of Giga Buffaloes.

LaLu will act as a decoy and we’ll flank the group. We ended up going with a rough strategy like that.

LaLu and his team charged the front of Giga Buffalo herd. The charge formation seems distorted a bit, but is firmly maintained.

As soon as the Giga Buffalo set their
attention to LaLu’s group we begin the all-out attack from the sides.

First, Duo’s group will be the vanguard. Ayla with her swords in hand will be behind them. If something happened, i’ll go ahead to help out too.

While rushing at the herd and I’ll conjure a sand cloud using wind magic to disperse them. I defeat any I encounter using
[Zetsumu].

Amy will cover us from a distance with her magic bow. Thanks to the level-up, her accuracy has improved.

Zir, who will join the combat using her ghosts, stayed with Amy. Queen protects the both of them.

The battle against the Giga Buffaloes is progressing well thanks to the collaboration between LaLu’s forces and us.

After 30 minutes had passed, all the Giga Buffalo were already defeated. We’re taking a break while collecting the [Giga Buffalo’s meat].

[Fuu, fighting as group sure is intense.]

[Yes, when the melee started it became very difficult to command all the monsters.]

In the last battle, Ayla was blowing the Monster Whistle the whole time .

[Using a magic bow sure leaves you open to attack doesn’t it? you have to manage both arrows and your magic stone after all.]

The magic bow is powered by the magic from the magic stone. Therefore you have to worry about not just your arrows running out but your magic energy as well.

Compared to a few days ago the magic bow allows for much more effective covering fire, but because of this any time this is interrupted a certain dissatisfaction comes out which previously wasn’t there.
Humans really are greedy creatures.

[The magic bow needs fire or wind magic to work properly. I’ll be sure to keep this in mind too]

[Yes, I don’t think both will run out in a single battle, but in the space where we’re looking for the next target we should recharge the magic stones.]

[If you need to reload during battle I’ll help out too. After all, when the battle has already started there’s little need to order the ghosts.]

[Is it okay to rely on you for that?]

[Umu, I’d feel sorry watching Amy moving hastily during battles while just watching off the side.]

Not only on the subject of pharmacology but also during battle these 2 seem to be getting along just fine.

[Well, let’s stop our hunt for today. I’d say LaLu’s group improved a lot in the forest]

[Umu, It was a fulfilling hunt.]

Zir nodded looking satisfied. While we’re returning to town I suddenly thought of something I wanted to ask her.

[During the last battle you really didn’t use anything but your ghosts, did you? Well, when you’re in a party that’s more than enough, but how do you fight normally?]

[Hm? I actually never fought before, nor have I ever been in something like a battle party. Since I can’t do any physical attacks at all, I was never really considered useful.

[I see, by the way, why you dislike summoning zombie?]

[I can’t think of any happy memories concerning zombies]

Zir had an unpleasant look and answering rather curtly.

[I see, by they way, how about the other undead?]

[Other undead?]

[Such as Skeleton, Dullahan, or Frankenstein monster?]

A frankenstein monster seems more of an automaton though.

[so, there are undead other than zombies then?]

When I heard in detail, the Zir’s technique as Necromancer seems self-study. It seems she learned all she knows from a book about spirit magic in her house.

However, the book seems to have only covered the parts about Ghost summoning and Zombie summoning.

Zombie summoning seems like a bad
subject, so let’s not mention zombies again in the future.

When I asked whether nobody pointed this out before she said she never had any friends.

Since I have the opportunity of having a necromancer on the team, Let’s have her to display her abilities fully and without reserve. I’ll buy the related books at the magician guild later.

[Zombie has various types too. I assume it’s the rotten kind that you’re not good with?]

She nodded hard in reaction to my question.

[A skeleton has only bones, while a dullahan’s body won’t rot at all]

We arrived in the town. We sold a part of today’s harvest at the adventurer’s guild and since we’re there we also checked to see if there are any good requests around.

[Hibiki, glad to see you’re here.]

When I turned around towards the voice, I saw Lux standing before me. He wasn’t wearing his equipment, but a casual outfit instead. However, he still has the pretty-boy look going on.

[Hey Lux, it’s been a long time. Anything going on?]

[Yeah. We’re planning to leave this town tomorrow so I wanted to say hello to you before that]