The Spearmaster and the Black Cat
chapter-279

After surveying my surroundings, I followed the rest of my party. Currently we’re east of the 【Evil God’s Mound】. It’s straight opposite from the plains where I previously bested Evil Knight Degu on the battlefield. The grass-covered plain soon came to an end, replaced by a hill.

As we climbed it, a wide field with grasses growing stretched out to the right. The left side was a hilly area, dotted with rocks and trees of various sizes and shapes.

At that moment, I sensed a big number of magic source responses to the right.

『Master, the smell of monsters is wafting over from the right and front. There’s quite many of them…』

Mamani informed me through a blood message while being atop a rocky area on high grounds. She stood there with an Arrow of Shishik nocked onto Hawolk’s Bow.

With her blood message floating in front of me, I said to the others, “Monsters are on the way.”

“Let’s show them the power of the Lucival! I shall head out in front.”

“I will support you.”

“Even I can do as much! After all, I’m a Lucival swordswoman now!”

“Nyao.” Rollodeen called out to Souther as black panther.

She swiftly moved next to Souther who had readied her Twin Water Swords as she made her declaration.

Is my partner going to prank Souther? That’s definitely not what I was thinking. She’s acting in a way similar to protecting a small animal. I’m sure my partner feels like Souther’s mother in her own way. I mean, Rollodeen does like Souther. I won’t mention that I received a little shock about Rollodeen prioritizing Souther over me, though.

“…I think, unlike usual, I’ll have some fun with a ranged battle. Purin, you’re also heading on high grounds?”

“Yes, I’m better at ranged combat than close combat.”

“Roger.”

I took my eyes off her small body, looking at the vicinity. Spotting a rock suitable for its height, I aimed at its top part, shooting out <Chain> after holding my left hand up. As I had adjusted its penetration power, the chain’s tip stopped at stabbing into the rock’s top part. I confirmed the chain’s stability as anchor by pulling a bit on it, making sure that it didn’t give an inch.

Alright――

I put one arm around Purin’s waist, and pulled her into my embrace, causing her to yelp cutely.

“Emissary-sama…”

She obviously misunderstood, closing her eyes adorably.

What a funny girl. I won’t kiss you now, though.

I reeled the <Chain> back into the <Chain Factor> on my left wrist, smoothly moving towards the high ground while holding Purin in my arm. After a short moment I landed on the rock, kneeling. There I lowered Purin.

“Wow, a magical travel method.”

“Well, I suppose you might look at it like that.”

Currently we were on an elevation opposite of the one Mamani was using to look out. I crouched down. Purin did the same while readying the bone pipes growing out of her wrists.

After I sent the blood message, 『All of you, I’m on the tall rock on the left, the top of the ocher rock. I’ll snipe the enemies from here』, from my current location, I touched the metallic, cross-shaped attachment right above my right cheek.

The attachment should have changed into its 卍-shape as usual. Next, something similar to a glassy cover overlapped with the sight of my right eye. The Kaleidoscope had booted up.

Frames were now added to the reality in front of my eyes. Lifting my right wrist up to my chest, I stared at the spherical surface of my bracelet-shaped item box, a surface similar to the glass panel of a watch.

It displayed the menu with the four-eyed alien, but I quickly flicked it away. Operating the screen with my fingers, I picked the beam rifle from the item box’ menu.

I had already seen it before ― but, it’s a really cool rifle.

A strange metal and a viscous liquid were entwining with each other in spirals into a sphere located inside a crystal. A crescent moon marked metal extended thinly towards the muzzle from the skeletal gun barrel.

I think I should try to match my outfit with this awesome rifle.

Focusing on the classiness retained through the futuristic stream lines, I changed my outfit to that of the military Gatrance uniform.

At that point, blood messages streamed in from my <Servant Leaders>,

『Roger』

『Affirmative』

『These blood messages sure are handy. Oh, Master, that iron wand is the one you tested out on the courtyard a good while ago, isn’t it?』

『Oh, you’ve got sharp eyes. Or rather, I guess your eyesight went up by a notch after becoming a bloodkin』

『Looks like it』

I think I’ll use the opportunity to check out Fuu. I focused on the ▽ mark above the border line defining Fuu’s body.

――――――――――――――――

？？？？do？？？nus Lucival High > Low ex88

Brain Waves: ？？？

Body: ？？？

Gender: Female？？

Overall Physical Strength: 12？？？？

Elenium Integration: 465111232？

Weapons: Present

――――――――――――――――

It gives me the same vibe as with Rollo. Apparently the Kaleidoscope can’t make a clear identification. After turning her into a bloodkin, it’s become impossible to get a reading since the value display has become bugged.

I closed the stat display, and immediately after setting up the rifle with its long barrel and peering through its scope, a slender metallic pipe wriggled out of the rifle’s back part, stuck to my 卍 attachment, and fused with it. The Kaleidoscope linked up with the beam rifle.

Just like before, my sight evolved even further, turning into a head mounted display. The meter values at the edge of my visual field were going up and down, and the target cross was following my eye movements.

――I shifted my scope.

Let’s have a look at Mamani’s face. I confirm her tiger face through the zoomed-in frame view. The white pores at the base of her whiskers are really cute. They remind me of Alray. The border lines of her tiger beastman body are realistic, too.

Next I shifted the scope to the lower left, allowing me to see Bia, Souther, Rollo, and slightly behind them, Fuu. The white carapace brigandine Fuu was wearing was glued to her body. It gave her appearance the touch of her breasts being wrapped up by a knitted sweater, making it an extremely charming overall impression.

But, I won’t zoom in. After all’s said and done, I’m still a gentleman.

I felt like I heard the perverted demon – apt to become the cause of a intracerebral trial – in me saying, 『What a cheeky statement』, in an old man’s voice. But, there’s no point in retorting, “Who are you!?”

『Your Excellence, have you recently taken a fancy to Fuu?』

『Obviously, no need to ask something so silly.』

Without paying any further attention to Helme, I shifted the scope’s alignment towards the place with the monster responses. My sight combined the Kaleidoscope and the item box’ simple map function.

At this rate, a futuristic combat style is lying ahead of me.

『The enemy has shown up. A swarm of plant-shaped monsters I’ve never seen before, clusters of leaves, trees…as if a forest has been completely corroded…are heading this way in a bee line. They apparently sensed our movements. I suggest Shishik’s Pincer Strategy.』

The strategy is about Shishik’s Arrows? I don’t really get it, but going by the word Pincer, I suspect it’s a strategy based on Mamani and Purin & I starting a pincer attack from our positions on high ground?

『…All of you, just as Mamani reported, we will start battle using that Shishik’s Pincer. Demonstrate your strength as Lucival 08 Platoon.』 1

Such a platoon name was fiction, but I passed on the message anyway.

“Purin, you’re also free to start shooting as soon as the monsters enter your attack range.”

“Okay.”

『Affirmative』

『We’re the 08 Platoon?』

『Never mind!』

Now I could also see the monsters with my eyes. Moreover, I could perceive their plant-based shapes through the scope. They were tall, and looked like a gathering of wriggling tree branches. They kept advancing while scattering the green leaves growing at the branches, as if spitting them out, all around their vicinity.

Those might be poisonous, but poisons likely don’t work on us.

『Possibly poisonous, watch out.』

I warned them, just in case.

『Roger』

Mamani directly hit the base of a plant monster with a Shishik Arrow. The monster had its trunk petrified, as if freezing from the roots. Following up on that, Bia hit a javelin with <Throwing> against the stiff trunk of that monster.

Bia lifted up her Demonic Shield of Sebol Galdory after the throw, and provokingly shouted, “Kssshaaaaaaa!”

Seeing how her scream reached all the way up here, it must have been fairly loud. The number of plant monsters was still high, but she seemed intent on taking care of the offensive all by herself.

With a little delay, Souther stepped out of Bia’s shadow. Rollodeen moved at the same time.

Grasping the gun barrel with moderate strength so as to not break it, I propped it up with my left hand, and placed my right hand’s fingers on the trigger. I aimed at the countless branches lunging for Bia. While making sure of my aim and grasping the battle situation, I pressed down on the trigger.

――The thick beam leaving the muzzle caused a peculiar shooting sound.

The beam penetrated the central part of what seemed to be the trunk of a plant monster, opening up a big, gaping hole. The edge of that hole naturally caught fire, blazing up wildly. In no time it turned into a ring of fire, similar to the ones used in circuses for lion jumps, quickly spreading across the bark. The raging propagation of the flames, extending to the many leaves and branches, was extreme. When the monster screamed out something similar to a cry of death agony, the blazing torch that used to be a plant monster completely stopped moving.

This is going to work.

I targeted the next plant monster. Pressing the trigger gave birth to another broad beam alongside a sweet beam emission sound. The monster hit by that beam suffered the same fate as its peer moments ago.

Each shot used up two units of Elenium Energy which was displayed in my visual field. But, I didn’t care.

I can’t get enough of this unique shooting sound that reverberates in my ears.

In rapid succession I kept pushing the trigger, killing one monster after the other. Following my lead, Purin also shot a big amount of bone needles from the bone pipes at both her wrists. The arm with the mounted Selele’s Bone Pipe was long…

Is the pipe’s tip shining a bit?

A plant monster that had been showered by a charge of bone needles had many holes drilled into its base, collapsed, and stopped moving altogether. Purin’s cover-fire was superb, but there were still a lot of monsters alive and kicking.

Our vanguards were surrounded by them. At that point I saw Mamani running down from her rock. She was holding Ashram in her hand.

I guess she plans to join the melee. Seeing as there’s also the matter with the Energy consumption, I think I’ll plunge into close combat, too.

“Purin, keep providing support from here. I’ll shift to close combat.”

I held out my left hand with the beam rifle towards the ground.

“Okay.”

The attachment at my right temple and the metallic tube had been connected, but the tube disconnected itself, and got automatically pulled back into the rifle’s rear part.

I used my left wrist like a gun scope. Gazing at the instant <Chain> quickly rushed out of Gatrance’s chain hole, I could watch how the chain’s tear-drop-shaped tip extended and deeply stabbed into the ground beneath the rock.

I jerk <Chain> towards me a bit…okay, it seems to be firmly embedded in the ground.

While reeling in the extended chain towards its <Chain Factor>, I got drawn towards the place where the chain’s tip was stuck with a movement similar to Tarzan. At the same time as I landed on the ground like Spiderman, I erased the chain connecting my wrist with the soil.

Raising my eyes, I confirmed Fuu’s location. She was currently firing earth magic-based spells at the plant monsters. I headed over to her.

A swarm of branches drew in on Fuu. Bia dealt with them by swinging her curved shamshir. The speed of her swinging the blade up after swinging it down was fast. Shadow Strike’s blade severed the branches from the trunks.

――A skill?

Befitting a vanguard, Bia protected her rear guard, Fuu. The branches that had approached were completely cut apart. Next Bia went straight for a plant monster. She swung her shield as if performing a right hook. The shield directly impacted, obviously breaking the plant’s trunk and utterly blowing away the monster itself.

At that moment, Souther lunged forward by jumping out. She nimbly slashed her Twin Water Swords, leaving a trace in the airspace right next to her. With a single stroke she fully cut through the base of a plant monster. Souther’s skill at swordplay was magnificent.

However, the other plant monsters consolidated their attacks, obviously aiming for the moment when Souther would land after her slash. Yet, Rollodeen stood in the way of the monsters’ branches, making sure to protect Souther. Imposingly Rollodeen deployed the tentacles from across her whole body in a radial shape. The bone swords of my partner’s tentacles cut down the cluster of branches.

Branches approached my partner as she protected Souther from all directions. However, my partner’s tentacle bone swords are powerful and peerless. All branches were stabbed, cleaved apart, destroyed, and pulverized by the bone swords. The offense and defense of a divine beast at its best, I’d say.

As for me, I was rather interested in the lil’ pads located at the underside of my partner’s tentacles. Same as with the forepaws, there were carpal pads and dewclaws beneath the metacarpal pad. The existence of carpal pads that were isolated from the other pads had quite the cuteness impact.

In order to praise the cute pad-chan’s, I yelled, “――Nothing less of my partner!”

I summoned Ganghis into my left hand.

I’ll never allow those who attacked my partner to get away alive!

I fixed my eyes on the plant monsters that had been attacking Rollodeen and Souther by shooting out their branches. Taking aim, I powerfully kicked off the ground with Magic Combat Step, charging in a forward-bent posture.

With the image of shortening the combat distance to the monsters in a flash, I performed a dropkick against the base of a monster on the left – snapping its thick trunk in two.

Yay!

After breaking it, I applied a triangle kick, using it to jump over to the neighboring plant monster. The instant the monster entered the range of my spear, I landed hard on the ground, and capitalizing on the rotational power of my body, I poured some of the big amount of the mana within me into Ganghis, and unleashed a fierce <Thrust> at the base of the monster.

――The vibrating spearhead drilled through the monster’s root.

“Gyobaaa.” It screamed creepily.

Moreover, the blue-furred spear tassel hanging from Ganghis’ handle squirmed automatically. So far I was aware of its movements if I poured mana into it, but now was different. In an instant the tassel transformed into a swarm of sharp, blue blades, and with Ganghis’s shaft in the center, the blue blades spread out into the vicinity as if depicting a conical rear while spiraling around at tremendous speeds.

The tassel blades that were drawing blue spiral patterns into the air shredded the plant monster that had been stabbed by Ganghis.

Has it been cut apart alongside its large magic stone?

That was my worry, but the magic stone fell to the ground, undamaged.

“…That packed quite the punch. Probably because I poured quite a bit of mana into the spear after getting pissed off by the attacks against Rollo…”

“――I won’t fall behind, milord!”

“Me neither!”

“I’m going full throttle.”

It had developed into a full-blown melee. Did the number of enemy plants increase? Just then I saw how Souther’s slashes and Rollodeen’s tentacle attacks finished off a plant monster that had stopped moving due to Purin’s cover fire.

I placed the beam rifle, which I had still held in my right hand, on the ground. Even during that short moment, branches closed in on me, but I dodged them. Pressing one hand against the ground, I pulled off a cartwheel, and while continuously evading the branch attacks, I touched my bracelet, summoning the Burning Knights.

『Helme, you come out as well』

『Okay!』

Helme, who gushed out of my left eye right after the cartwheel, took a humanoid shape in midair, and created ice loops while floating. Ice pebbles were randomly fanned out from the ice loops.

“――Your Excellency, Zemetas has arrived!”

“Your Excellencyyy, Adomos reports in!”

“Yo. You get it from the situation, right?”

“Leave it to me!”

“You can entrust this to me――”

The Burning Knights had smoke seething out of their armor with a puff-puff. They protected me. While holding up their tower shields, they positioned themselves undauntedly at my sides. Even while getting injured, they knocked down the countless approaching branches with their shields.

…Their backs looked very reliable. You idiots, aren’t you totally awesome right now!?

“Well done, Burning Knights.” I kicked off the ground after praising them, circumventing the cool knights with Magic Combat Step.

A bunch of branches still chased after me, but I weaved my way through them, joining the melee.

At that moment, Fuu screamed, “Kyaaa.”

A sharp branch had stabbed into a soft part of her brigandine, and coiled itself around her body. Her boobs were visibly emphasized.

The branch was squirming, seemingly sucking her blood.

“You leech!” Vampiric blood veins appeared in her eyes.

Even her angry expression had some sexiness to it. She bit into the branch entangling her with the sharp canines protruding out of her mouth. Fuu broke away by her own effort from the perverted branch that had alluringly bound her body.

In the past she would have likely died after getting stabbed and bound. The Lucival Fuu with her eyes dyed crimson and her white skin whirled around the tip of Bastoral’s Cheek as if handling a rhythmic gymnastic baton, pointing it at the plant monster. Pouring the mana she had gained as Lucival into the short wand, she unleashed a large number of pebbles from Bastoral’s Cheek.

The monster that had sent out its branch to attack took the full brunt of pebbles, turned into green trash, and vanished.

“――Fuu, don’t get ahead of yourself just because Master shared his power with you!” Mamani barked in a style resembling a platoon leader.

She had transformed into her unique form. With a crimson aura gushing out of her grown tiger beastman body, she charged. Using her now big right fist, she thrust out a punch. Her fist penetrated a monster’s trunk, causing it to blow up in an explosion.

Really splendid, and what heavy fire power――

It spontaneously woke in me the urge to salute at her. However, branches from all monsters in the vicinity simultaneously headed for Mamani with her conspicuous presence. A bunch of branches pierced into her body where its defense was weak. Blood spurted out of Mamani’s body.

I’d say this was Mamani’s negligence since she didn’t use Ashram, still hanging on her back.

“…Kuuh, it hurts just like before…sorry, Fuu. I also got carried away, wanting Master to watch me fighting. I probably overestimated myself. Still, it’s a good opportunity to have Master witness my <Whiskers Power> trump card!”

She made her mana gather at her jaw. At that moment, her chin whiskers turned big――!?

Big tigers connected to the whiskers manifested. While squirming around, the tigers started to crunch away at the big number of branches entwined and stuck in Mamani’s body. Having regained her freedom, Mamani roared.

At the same time, the tigers at the tips of her whiskers dashed forward like the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh. The tigers rampaged with a fearsome intensity. They clawed and snapped at the branches, scattering them. In the end, they bit all the way from the branches to the roots, and then to the trunk with sounds similar to crunching steel, continuing to destroy everything in their path.

Mamani, the main body behind the tigers, used <Throwing> with Ashram, severing the branches of another plant monster. Mamani with her terrific strength was alright.

I shifted my eyes to the other side of the front line. Bia didn’t suffer any injuries since she skilfully used her demonic shield. She struggled, taking on several monsters at once.

I guess I’ll join her side.

I let <Chain> fly around Bia like a satellite. It was a combat style of supporting her who vividly reminded me of a heavy tank. However, the time for me to actively step in has now come as well.

Having closed the distance, I made the monsters eat <Thrusts> and <Darkness Drills> with Baldok and Ganghis, which I held short because of the close distance. When I gained some distance, I used <Dusk’s Stake> as a ranged attack.

I’m a Light Demon Lucival, but enacting a force to drown out any light, I chain fired <Dusk’s Stake> with such a speed that I created the world of darkness <Beginning of Dusk> only through the <Dusk’s Stakes>.

Babababababaam――

I turned countless plant monsters into beehives without minding the ongoing dull impact sounds, similar to an array of jack-hammers.

Next, I shot countless 《Frozen Arrows》. However, I got too caught up in the moment. Some of the plant monsters were fast.

At such times ― “Bia――” “Master, use me!” “Roger――” ― I hid behind Bia――

For an instant, I recalled the 《Darkness Wall》 spell, but instead I used <Chain Spear of the Ray System> as a finisher from behind, err, next to Bia ― causing the plant monsters to stop moving.

Helme also backed us up by casting a water membrane on one of Bia’s sides. At that point, Purin also gave her support, and the Burning Knights jumped into the fray, too. As fellow shield users, they cooperated with Bia, pulling off combination techniques.

On the other hand, Rollodeen kept an eye on Souther. At times she changed to an appearance close to a black horse or lion as a divine beast.

My partner is really gentle. Seeing her protect Souther by using herself as a shield lets me fully perceive her as the mother of a tiny beastman! Well, my partner has pink boobs at her belly after all. Though I can’t imagine Souther suckling her milk――

As if to reject my silly thoughts, my huge partner steadily sank her fangs into one plant monster after the other while overflowing with a fierce wildness.

In such a way all of us cooperated in defeating the plant monsters, looking like a wriggling forest. Eventually all monsters had been annihilated.

“Done~”

“Nya.”

Souther hugged my partner. I’m sure it’s because the fur at her chest is fluffy. Everyone else rejoiced as well.

“”Yahooo!””

Their cheering made the ears of my partner twitch, causing her to roar, “Nyaoooo～”, in response.

Many large magic stones were scattered on the ground. With the numbers having been so high, we suffered a few injuries, but we managed to wipe the monsters out at a decent pace.

Now then, time to collect the magic stones.

Returning to the place where I had put down the beam rifle, now surrounded by magic stones, I picked it up and stored it away into my item box. Next up is this ridiculous amount of magic stones.

Oh, I got a nice idea.

I turned my face towards everyone, and declared, “…It’s a contest. The one picking up the most magic stone is going to receive paw punches from Rollo!”

“――Nyao.”

Rollodeen got a head start by picking up the magic stones with her tentacles. Hmm, what am I going to do if Rollodeen ends up being first?

“Emissary-sama~~”

Oh, I’ve got to pick up Purin from the rock.