Chapter 91

Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri s.h.i.tai to Omoimasu 91
Defense Specialization and the Fourth Event
When the light faded, what the eight of them saw was a shiny green orb on top of a pedestal. They immediately knew that this was to be their base.
It was a wide room with three hallways leading out.
Sally and Kasumi quickly went towards the two paths behind the pedestal. They returned after a little exploring.

This one was a dead end with some water. We could rest there.


There was nothing through this one. Well, you might be able to lie down.


Does that mean the remaining one will take us to the surface? This place will be easy to protect then.

If there was only one way in, they wouldn’t have to worry about being ambushed.

Okay, then we’ll go out to attack.


Alright, we’ll move as planned.

As if not wanting to waste any time, the attack team trio flew out of the home base.
The remaining members put on the robes that Izu had given them. Izu put her on hers as well, and they all sat down.
This material didn’t have any defensive properties, its only purpose was to hide them.
Of course, this would be very effective on any unlucky players who came from afar and did not realize that Maple was here.
Maple was a symbol of danger, after all.
It would be easier for them to attack an enemy if they didn’t expect such a danger.

We’ll have Yui and Mai kill anyone who comes.


Yeah. For now, let’s just wait for those three to come back with an orb.

The five of them watched the entrance as they waited, so as to not deplete any of their energy.

If we do see an enemy, it’s alright to kill them without asking any questions, right?


Yes, that’s fine… Let’s do a little exploration first. We’ll start by eliminating any danger that is close by.

Sally said as they made their way into the forest. Then she heard the voices other players.

I’ll go and beat them up a little and lead them back here.


Okay.


We’ll be waiting in the bushes here.

Everyone waited in position as Sally skillfully jumped onto the branches of the trees, and headed for where the voices were coming from.
The voices that Sally heard were coming from a group of five. They too had come out looking for orbs and had lost no time in leaving their home base.

I think there should at least be one nearby…


It’s fine. Let’s not rush this.

They said as they walked. It was just as the last person in the group had pa.s.sed the tree that she was in.
Sally’s legs wrapped around the branches as she swung upside down and showed herself. And in one quick motion, used her daggers to cut the person’s throat.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!?

Sally’s merciless attacks continued.
The guy screamed with confusion before turning into light. The other four turned around, only to be a.s.saulted by blades of wind.
The situation had changed in a flash, and the four enemies looked stunned.
Sally dashed away from the scene.

He-hey! Wait!

Confusion spread among them, and they could do little but chase after the person who had attacked them.
It was just when they thought that they could catch up with Sally.
A sword and a billhook swung out from behind some bushes and dealt a lethal blow to the guy in the lead.

Oh…no!

They realized that it was a trap, but it was too late.
The third was slashed by Kasumi.

Retreat…ah!

A girl player tried to escape, but Sally sent a fireball into her back, and she lost her balance.

Ooomph!

There was no way that she could dodge Chrome as he swung down on her.

…Good.


Yeah, let’s go then.

They purposely allowed one player to escape.
That player would have no chance trying to defeat other guilds alone, so they would have to return to the home base.
However, it might have been better for that player to go down quietly.
Because the alternative was inviting some ogres into your house.
The two opened the map and checked Sally’s position.
Yes, all they had to do was to follow Sally’s icon on the map, as she secretly chased after the player they had allowed to escape.

Ah, you’re finally here.

Sally called to them from on top of a tree.

Is it that cave over there?

Kasumi asked her, and Sally nodded.
There was an entrance a little ways ahead, that was slightly hidden by some trees.

Yes. They must be a smaller guild like us. But I don’t know how many are in there.

If they wanted to, Maple Tree could accommodate up to 50 members, so even smaller guilds could have much more than them.
It was really just that Maple Tree was ridiculously small.

I’ll go in the lead, as we planned. I’m sure it’ll go well.

Chrome said, as he walked in front of them and entered into the cave.
After walking a little, they saw a pedestal with an orb on top of it.
Also, they could hear a player talking about a crazy encounter to an excited group of about 30 people.
As some players were looking at the entrance, they immediately noticed the intruders.

Everyone, draw your weapons!

A guy who was likely the guild master gave the order, and everyone pulled out their weapons.

Well, let’s go, eh?

Chrome went first, with Sally and Kasumi following close behind.
The advance guard charged first, the whole group of them slashed at Chrome at once.
Chrome could not escape taking damage from it, and since they were a group, someone was always guarding while the others were attacking.
The advance guard tried to move back when they finally noticed his HP was recovering every time that it went down, but Sally and Kasumi immediately moved to the offensive.
Magic came flying, which was easy enough for Sally to evade, and Kasumi covered for Chrome.
Sally and Kasumi continued to carve away at the wave of enemies. Chrome took the opportunity of this distraction, to go in for the attack.
The enemies could not heal in time under these concentrated a.s.saults, and one by one, they fell.

How, how is this happening?!


The shield-bearer has been paralyzed! Charge!

Perhaps this was their final desperate attempt, as Chrome had taken too many status affecting hits, he had become paralyzed. And he was no longer able to fight quickly.
And now he would not be able to heal in time.
Seeing that his movements had become sluggish, eight of them surrounded him, and they chipped away at his health with magic attacks.
However, it only ended in a close call.
A red skull floated behind Chrome, and his HP depletion stopped at 1 HP.
Chrome should have died. But due to Chrome’s equipment, he was able to revive again and again.
If his luck was good, he could revive an infinite number of times.

Ah, I must be lucky today?


‘Heal’!

Sally healed him with magic, and enough time had pa.s.sed to cure his paralysis.
With their final attempt ending in failure, the remaining enemies were crushed by Chrome, who had now regained his total strength.

My previous equipment wouldn’t have withstood that. It’s probably only Maple who could be surrounded like that and be able to stand it…

Chrome was also at the top level, but he was not so strong that he could take being paralyzed and then surrounded by people pounding away at his HP.
It was all he could do to make it stop before death.
In the end, it was Kasumi who killed the most players. She had the highest attack power and mobility in the group.
As Chrome was so visibly overpowered, the enemy players had flocked to him like ants to sugar, which caused Chrome’s HP to decline to the lowest. But it was also necessary to make a few risky moves in order to reserve energy.
This was only the first day, and they had decided to avoid using certain skills.
They were at least confident that they would not die, and so Chrome didn’t use skills that were guaranteed to protect him.

Now, to grab the orb… Kasumi, could you take this with you and return to the base? I want to explore this place a little. If the rest are like this, there may be more guilds nearby than we thought.

Sally decided to stay in order to find out how many guilds were in the area, Chrome and Kasumi would take their prize back to the base.
While Kasumi and Chrome were making their way back, invaders(victims) were trying to enter the base.

Five! We can do this!

The group of 8 people shouted as they excitedly charged towards Maple and the others. They were met by iron b.a.l.l.s being thrown at them, like in a snow fight.

Oomph!

Their cute voices echoed as they threw the metal b.a.l.l.s. They came at the invading players with a thunderous noise.
Those that raised their shields found that the onslaught of iron b.a.l.l.s destroyed their entire shields.
Those who tried blocking them with their swords, found their swords bend and explode.
Those who tried to turn around and escape felt despair descend upon them, as the exit was so far. They felt the impact on their backs before disappearing out the exit.
They escaped in tatters, however, they were still able to return to their guild with a warning that no one should even get close to this guild.
And that in itself was quite an achievement.