Chapter 264
264 – Attack
After a sidelong glance at Baron, who’s fidgeting in worry, Hibi turns to face me . Having chanted an incantation under her breath, she connects to me with [Telepathy] .
『…The truth is, our village is under attack . We have come to borrow your strength . 』
Y-your village?『The women and children have taken shelter in the basement of the meeting hall, but our opponents are numerous, so at this rate…』
I-I got it . In any case, it’s better if we hurry, right? Is it okay if we go now and I hear the explanation later?
『That would be a great help . Thank you very much, dragon-god-sama』
Hibi silently bows her head . Then, like before, I put Hibi and Baron on my back and head towards the village .
On the way, I spot another abyss . I don’t have time to deal with it, so I keep on running like I never saw it .
An attack, huh… She said some dangerous-sounding things too . Is it a swarm of monsters?
There’s no way it’s the anti-dragon-god faction attacking, is it? N-no, there shouldn’t be any reason for them to fight now . There’s no way defeating the manticore would have made their relationship worse, is there? Could there be something I missed?As I continue to run, the dragon-god village comes into view .
I throw my thoughts to Hibi . So, I didn’t quite catch it, what exactly is attacking you?
『…Those things are . 』
Those things? Wondering what she means, I turn my gaze to the front, figuring that I’ll find out by seeing .
Three Lithovar men are standing back-to-back, their spears ready . In between there’s someone carrying a bloodstained person on their back . However, I can’t see the opponent they should be fighting .
The men are surveying their surroundings, but upon seeing me, their tense expressions melt away .
“Dragon-god-sama has come!”
“You fool! Don’t lose your focus!”
The moment the second man shouts, a black mass appears and charges them . With its eight legs writhing as it moves, there’s no mistaking it as anything but an abyss .
“Watch out! They’ve come!”
“Calm down and push it back!”
The three of them break their formation to face the abyss together, but another one makes its appearance behind them . T-two of them together!?
“GuoooOOOOOh!”
Startled by my [Roar], the two abysses flee into the village, disappearing from view . I was able to get rid of them for now, but they’ve gotten inside the village . Damn it! I thought it was strange how many there were; they’re also appearing in the village now .
I let Hibi and Baron down .
My partner glares at where the abysses disappeared . It’s clear from the look in her eyes that they’re what she least wanted to see . My feelings are exactly the same .
Looking at Hibi, I ask her . Why are there so many of them?
『The abyss breeding season is approaching, so their activity is increased as they acquire the nutrition needed to lay eggs . For some reason their numbers during breeding season has increased in the last few years, with the scale and frequency of their attacks rising year-by-year… I expect they are attacking us as a group to gain nutrition more efficiently . 』
Ugeee… I don’t want to know that stuff . No, for me to make my living as the dragon-god, I need to know . How many of them are there?
『They can hide their presences, so I can’t give you an accurate count . I’m sure there’s more than twenty, however . 』
O-oh… Abysses are C-rank monsters . There’s can’t be many humans who are able to win against them one-on-one . Much less take on twenty of them together . This village did a good job surviving while the dragon-god was gone .
『If we are unable to reduce their numbers even a little at this time, the situation will be even worse after breeding…』
In my mind, I visualise close to a hundred abysses marching in formation . I don’t like imagining it…
In terms of expected damage, aren’t the abysses even worse than the manticore? Isn’t it a serious disaster?
I’m not enthusiastic, but I need to participate right away .
“Leave me! Leave me, barbarians!”
I hear someone making a racket behind me .
“Ah! Hibi-sama, you’ve arrived at just the right time! The truth is, I found an adventurer and tried to threaten him away, but I saw that he was injured… Probably, an abyss got to him . ”
Two Lithovars are carrying a bloodstained man between them . The man is wearing a set of blue military uniform-like clothes, with red trousers .
Perhaps confused by fear, he’s acting violent despite his heavy bleeding . It looks like he’s got blood in his eyes and can’t see his surroundings .
He’s got a scabbard, but no sword in it . He must have lost it somewhere .
An adventurer, huh . They show up every now and again . He really has appeared at the worst time . If I was a human, there’s no way I would go into an area that has these giant cockroaches crawling all over .
“Another demon beast… is not what attacked him, it seems . Please take him beneath the meeting hall and get him some medical treatment . ”
“Understood . Pl-please calm down a little, we’re in an emergency situation . If you don’t take shelter soon, it’ll end badly . ”
“Shut up, barbarians! You plan to sacrifice me to your evil god! I know!”
They pick up the man and take him away . I didn’t get a chance to persuade my partner to use [High Rest] . There’s no time to chase after them either . He was making that much noise, so he’ll probably be fine… I think .
“Do you have any travelling companions? Are they safe?”
“Shut up! I have nothing to tell you!”
I see him shouting until the last moment… Adolf also said that the Lithovars are dangerous, so I wonder if that’s the normal reaction . They’re an unexpectedly well-natured bunch, so it’s a bit lonely .
More importantly, I should focus on the problem in front of me .
Searching for abysses with [Presence Perception], I face the village centre . Most of the Lithovars must be taking refuge underground, as I see hardly anyone . Abysses can hide their presences, so I should change my approach and search for people instead . I pick up on some human presences and move in their direction .
“It’s too dangerous to stay inside your house . We’ll take you to the meeting hall basement!”
“O-okay…”
It seems that the non-combatants, children and old people, are being collected by adults going round in search of them . Should I help them with that? I circle around the building to take a look, and they notice me too .
“Ah, dragon-god-sama!”
The child waves his hand happily . I’m still not used to being treated like that, so seeing that reaction makes me shy . In the next moment, a spray of sand appears behind the child, abysses appearing with it .
“““VeEeeeeh!”””
Moreover, there’s three at once .
Were they hiding together under the ground!? I really can’t let my guard down!
