Level Down 34 (Patreon)

Volume 1 Chapter 34 - Those Who Defend Against the Stampede

RAW

Time goes back a little.

Just before the gates of Lilac City were closed, information that there were signs of a stampede in the Dragon Dungeon brought by a scout from the mithril class party [Homura] was immediately conveyed to the Adventurers' Guild, and soon it was transmitted to the Lord.

The Lord of Lilac City, Naveen El Lilac’s decision was quick. He found out about it before Orlando, the head of the Adventurers' Guild, arrived to report it, and had already begun preparations to dispatch soldiers.

While the fact that there are four dungeons in the vicinity can be said to be the primary factor in the prosperity of Lilac City, it can also be said that the land is at a much higher risk of stampedes than other cities.

Furthermore, there was no way Naveen could have forgotten the memory of the stampede 12 years ago. Because it happened soon after Naveen inherited his position as a Lord.

Although there was a difference that, unlike this time, he was unable to grasp the signs, causing his judgment to be delayed and the damage to increase. That bitter memory was etched in Naveen's mind.

Thanks in part to Naveen's quick decision, selected supporting soldiers were soon sent to the Dragon Dungeon. And as Allen had expected, Eric was among them.

Chosen as part of the select group, Eric entered the Dragon Dungeon with his fellow soldiers and joined up with the adventurers who had set up a defensive position surrounding the entrance to the dungeon.

The atmosphere was strained with tension, but when Eric arrived there, no signs of stampede could be seen from there.

A wyvern, a monster that lives on the first floor, could be seen circling above in the distance, but it didn't seem like it was going to attack.

Slightly relieved by this, Eric approached an adventurer who was his acquaintance.

“Hey, Kenneth. Seems like there’s no problem for now.” (Eric)

“Eric. It’s only for now though.” (Kenneth)

The man who replied to Eric with a somewhat tired expression was the mithril class party [Homura]’s leader, Kenneth.

Even though he was carrying a sword so large that it could cover his own body, Kenneth looked slender and somewhat lanky, but Eric had performed mock battles with him countless times, so he was well aware that his ability was anything but superficial.

“I want to exchange information now while it’s calm.” (Eric)

“Got it. Everyone, I'm counting on you for a while.” (Kenneth)

Kenneth called out to the surrounding adventurers, and then reported about the situation that he had grasped to the soldiers who had arrived. And in return, Eric and his comrades also told them about the situation outside the dungeon and the defense plan for Lilac City.

“I guess the problem is the lack of archers and magicians.” (Eric)

“Right. Starting with wyverns, many dragons have the ability to fly. This is the only place they can exit from, so they’ll end up having to come down to the ground though.” (Kenneth)

“How about fighting in the entrance hallway? We won't have to worry about the sky then, plus we won't have to deal with so many of them.” (Eric)

“If they threw their breath at us, we won’t be able to take cover. If we can't see them, we won't be able to even detect the signs.” (Kenneth)

Kenneth gently but immediately rejected Eric's idea. And no one objected to that.

This was because they know that Kenneth has been exploring the Dragon Dungeon on a regular basis, so he can make more accurate judgments than them.

Being active in this Dragon Dungeon, [Homura] of course always have magicians among their members. Because if they can't deal with dragons attacking them from above, they won't be able to even explore it, so it’s natural.

Further, there were several other adventurer parties besides [Homura] here, and each of them always contained someone with some kind of anti-air attack.

The only adventurers here were those who could enter the Dragon Dungeon, and these people possessed outstanding abilities even among adventurers.

However, their power was only enough for exploration, not for a stampede where dragons attack one after another.

Humans accumulate fatigue, there was always a limit to their stamina.

“Don’t you guys have such people over there?” (Kenneth)

“Archers are prioritized for the defense of the city because of supply issues, and there aren't that many magicians in the first place. Their numbers decreased quite a bit in the battle 12 years ago, and they haven't been able to replenish them in time.” (Eric)

“The heck’s that.” (Kenneth)

“Well, a stampede occurring in such a short period of time is beyond expectations after all. They were probably planning to get the number over a longer period of time.” (Eric)

As Kenneth looked at him in exasperation, Eric gave a wry smile while making a rough follow-up.

If there were soldiers here who blindly believed in the Lord, there might have been some who objected to Kenneth's words, but the ones here were relatively young soldiers in their twenties, including Eric. Moreover, all of them were from commoner backgrounds.

That's why their inner feelings were actually not that different from Kenneth's. Well, it’s probably good that they had enough loyalty to not say it out loud.

“Then I guess we can only hope for the supporting adventurers.” (Kenneth)

“You think they’ll come?” (Eric)

“I can’t go on if I don't believe it. Well, my luck is good, so I'll believe that miracles will happen. Then, I'll be counting on you in the battle.” (Kenneth)

Saying that, Kenneth returned to the adventurers. Even though he knew the situation was hopeless, he acted calmly, as if he never thought he would die.

“Miracle, huh? I think that's not something that happens, but something that you grasp even if you have force it. Right, Aniki?” (Eric)

Thinking of his older brother, Allen, who earnestly worked hard while carrying the baggage called younger siblings, and miraculously succeeded in sending them off on their own separate paths, Eric laughed a little, and then began to prepare for battle.

.

.

.

“Up above, 1 wyvern left” (Adventurer 1)

“I will drop it down. Air Hammer!” (Adventurer 2)

As the wyvern was circling in pursuit of its prey, its body deformed as if it had been hit by a giant invisible hammer and fell to the ground. With the wyvern writhing, its wings broken due to the damage it had received when violently slammed into the ground from the sky, Kenneth used his huge sword to slash at its neck.

The wyvern’s neck was easily cut off and it plopped down to the ground as if it were a joke, and Kenneth took a glance at it before putting his greatsword back on his back.

“Fourth wave, complete. Collection team, hurry!” (Eric)

Under Eric's instructions, soldiers carrying magic bags desperately collected the corpses of wyverns, two-headed hydras, and others scattered all over the place.

As Eric was watching the scene while keeping an eye on his surroundings, Kenneth approached him. His figure, while it didn't have a single scratch, was stained in dark red in places due to the blood of his enemies, showing how fierce a battle it was up until now.

“They’re just wyverns and two-headed hydras from shallow floors, but with that many, it'll be a fortune. The prices seem like it’ll crash for a while, though.” (Kenneth)

“We’re not collecting them for that, but if we can get through this safely, that might happen.” (Eric)

It seemed Kenneth called out to him for a small talk, and Eric replied with a wry smile. Of course, the reason they go out of their way to collect defeated monsters is not to make money, but to reduce the unevenness of the battleground even just a little.

This was to avert the danger of being caught by surprise or having their escape routes blocked because of the corpses left behind, but now that he said it, the large supply of wyverns and hydras will probably cause their price to crash. Eric can understand that.

The monsters come in waves, and Eric and the others have already survived the fourth wave.

Thanks in part to being able to take adequate breaks in between, they've been able to fight through without anyone dying so far, but...

(Some people are getting tired.) (Eric)

That worried Eric. Of course, it’s not like all of them fought at the same time, they have a system in place where they are rotated so that they could take long breaks, but, among some of the soldiers, especially those who were talented but relatively young, he could see this tendency.

Eric guessed that it was probably because they were too tense even during the break, but he didn't have any effective means to solve it.

“That's bad. Eric, did you notice?” (Kenneth)

“Are you talking about the young soldiers?” (Eric)

“Nah, that's just as expected. What I'm talking about is your sword. That sword you told me had magic in it back in the day, it's already at its limit.” (Kenneth)

“...Yeah. I noticed.” (Eric)

Eric stared at the sword hanging on his waist. This was not something issued to soldiers, but a sword made by Dolban, which Allen gave to Eric for his exam.

Of course, it held no magic in it, it was a pure steel sword, but to Eric it was a magic sword. He had been handling that sword with great care, and used it in every battle when the need arose, and it had survived all of those battles.

However, for a while now, Eric himself had been noticing a discomfort with the sword. It’s not like there were any visible cracks in it, and he couldn't tell from the outside at all, but because they had been together for so many years, Eric could clearly sense the minute differences.

And what that means.

“If you know, that's fine. It’s still fine now because we happened to have a good magician among the supporting adventurers, but I recommend replacing it as soon as possible.” (Kenneth)

“My bad. I'll think about it.” (Eric)

Even as he said that, Eric didn't move, and Kenneth smiled wryly at him and left.

And soon, the fifth wave began.

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