71.Defense of Diamant Valley 4

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Defense of Diamant Valley 4

Hayato

“…oy… Can you wake up, boy?”

I woke up to the feeling of someone patting my cheeks.

“Ugh…”

I had to wonder why I fell asleep.

Last thing I remembered, I had just finished taking down the last of the enemy casters, and was about to return to assist Nee-chan when I suddenly felt a strong impact on my head…

Crap, the battle was still going on, wasn’t it?!

“Where’s Nee-chan?!”

I jumped up and looked around in a panic.

What the…?

As he was saying, the big brother grabbed a petal that was fluttering nearby and put it in his mouth.

“According to my sister, this rare herb is one of the base ingredients to brew elixirs… By itself, it’ll help you recover from fatigue.”

He then went on to ramble about how rare this herb is and that it took a special kind of miracle to see an entire field of them in one place.

With a mixture of skepticism and curiosity, I pick up a petal nearby and put it in my mouth.

“…It’s sweet.”

Not just sweet, the fibers melted away in my mouth. It’s more like a sugar candy than a flower. And I definitely felt like my fatigue had been blown away.

“Well then, we’d better get moving.”

“Is that… Iris-neechan’s party over there?”

From a distance, I saw Reiji-niichan and Saul-niichan engaging in a fierce battle with the enemy boss, the troll in crystal armor. My eyes could barely keep up with how fast they danced around the boss, alternating their positions and striking at his armored fists.

Suddenly, I was reminded of their reputation as the two knights who were virtually glued to the Princess 24/7 back in the game.

The three of them were capable of clearing entire raids that normally required eight players all by themselves… there were many dubious anecdotes like that surrounding them, but after seeing those two in action, I kind of understood why.

But what caught my eye even more was Iris-neechan, who was supporting the two from behind.

I was caught off guard at first by her golden wings, but those new radiant, pure white wings were just absurd.

Even from afar, when I saw Nee-chan with that light on her back, I couldn’t help but think that everything will be okay, victory is at hand.

I’ve never been interested in religion… But is this what it means to be divine?

Sometimes, the two swordsmen would slip up and be unable to dodge the troll’s counterattack. However, each time, something resembling protective magic would absorb the attack and deflect it.

…A feather?

Feathers made of white light appeared to be floating not just in the Princess’ vicinity, but also around the soldiers fighting on the frontlines below. And each of those feathers could expend itself to deploy a force field to repel enemy’s attacks.

“…At first glance, the two at the front seemed to be charging recklessly and exposing themselves to counterattacks… but that’s not it. The backline supporter would always suppress the enemy’s attacks with perfect timings. That kind of trust is the foundation of their teamwork.”

“Amazing… Just how much do they trust each other?”

Such trust must have been cultivated over many years. To be honest, I don’t think I would ever reach their level, at least for the foreseeable future.

I’m so jealous…

“Good grief… I thought that if she already had a lover, I could still become a knight to stand by her side and protect her… but it seems there’s no place for me to do even that.”

“What…?”

“Sorry, forget what I said.”

Like me, the mercenary big brother was also looking in their direction with envy, as if they were somewhere out of reach.

“…Haha, even you’re in trouble, huh?”

“Yes… I sense a kindred spirit in you, in fact.”

“As in having unrequited crush? I’m not sure I like the sound of that…”

I let out a chuckle because it was so ridiculous.

Even such a strong adult can’t have everything their way… Thinking that, I felt like the fog in my chest had suddenly disappeared.

“Well, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do… I’m going to assist the princess, what about you?”

“Of course I’m going, too!”

I took the big brother’s hand and jumped up, both of us smiling.

“It’s time for us losers to take action…”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, I’m off!”

I still had a score to settle with that raid boss, now that I think about it.

My form disappeared as I rushed to the battlefield atop the walls, where the sounds of swords were still ringing out.

Iris

So strong.

In this world, the Trolls are a warrior-like race, characterized by their strong physical strength, steel-like body and regeneration ability. They usually keep to themselves, devoted to their self-strengthening. While eager to test their strength by fighting, they’re deeply averse to unnecessary conflict or killing.

I don’t know the exact extent of the crystals’ influence… but it’s clear that their corruption had made the troll far sturdier, faster, stronger at the cost of his sanity and combat skills.

As I was thinking about such thing, black shadow converged upon the troll’s arm.

The crystal monster I fought before used shadows to create multiple tentacles, but this one gathered them into a single point to strengthen himself. The destructive power was beyond imagination.

Using the feathers, which I could freely control, I slid them between the enemy’s fist and Saul-niisama in order to deploy Multi-Protection.

The next moment… the sound of air being compressed then burst forth rang my ears as the jet-black fist collided with the deployed force fields.

“…One… Two…”

The force fields started to crack, one by one.

“…Three!”

The force fields were shattered, but the enemy’s fist was stopped.

By then, Nii-sama had already slipped under the troll’s arm and plunged his sword, glowing with purple lightning, into the enemy’s midsection.

From behind, Reiji-san moved in for a pincer attack, his sword already wrapped in fire.

“Lightning Vapor!”

“Boiling Burst!”

Lightning and fire intersected and exploded after a flash of light, shattering a huge chunk of the crystal armor while also incinerating the troll.

…That still wasn’t enough.

The troll didn’t draw blood upon being wounded. Instead, black smoke spewed out of his wounds. But more importantly, he didn’t seem fazed in the slightest even after that devastating pincer attack.

Suddenly, his attack stopped. In front of my eyes, he tried to take a deep breath.

No!

I know that move. He was preparing to use that cursed roar that knocked me out earlier.

Letting him pull that off again would be certain death for all of us!

Since it’s a matter of life and death, I couldn’t possibly take any risk… but what should I do?

He should be completely defenseless while he was charging that roar… right? Is there something I can do to prevent him from using it?

“Divine Spear!”

This flower field was a temporary manifestation of the goddess Ailene’s domain, the goddess said to be the progenitor of the Lightwing race.

Therefore, my magical power was expanded in this place, and the magic I used also exceeded its original limits.

Spears of light formed around me, much brighter and much more powerful than the ones I previously summoned… numbering ten in total!

“Go…!”

The first few spears went straight for the troll’s chest… and got deflected.

It’s as I feared. I had to get rid of his A.M.R.A first!

“Milly-san!”

“I got you covered, nya! Swords of Revealing Light!”

Six swords of pure magical power manifested in front of Milly-san’s hands. They rotated around her arms like the barrels of a Gatling gun.

Then, one by one, they were fired at a tremendous speed toward the spot my spears struck earlier.

The A.M.R.A, which had been invincible until now, let out a shrill creak… it’s breaking!

I fired more spears at that very spot for good measure.

“GET REEEEEEKT, NYAAAAAAA!!”

With the last of our swords and spears, we punched through the A.M.R.A, pierced the troll’s crystal armor into his chest, blowing him away and almost completely shattering his armor.

The troll was forced to exhale the air in his lungs, his deadly roar interrupted.

“We did it!”

“Hurray!”

Now that the troll was completely helpless, it’s time for…

“Reiji-san!”

“I’m on it!”

Reiji-san closed the distance with inhuman speed, but instead of striking, he simply passed by, and in an instant, he kicked off the wall surface and leaped into the air. The troll reacted to this and quickly guarded his head, but…

“Come! Form is Emptiness!”

Twelve semi-transparent swords appeared around Reiji-san’s body.

With the “Arventia” stowed away before I knew it, he grabbed two swords with both free arms, and with the momentum of his fall, he swung them down in an X shape.

The swords immediately shattered upon impact. However, it left two deep scars on the troll’s arm.

“I dare you to block all of these!”

With a fluid motion, Reiji-san grabbed two more swords and continued his onslaught.

The troll’s left arm was mercilessly carved up at a pace that not even I could follow.

Then with a dull cutting sound, a giant arm flew through the air.

What was that technique? That was so cool!

“Saul!”

“No need to tell me! Chainbind Rampage!”

That super cool technique Reiji-san used seemed to be very consuming, as Reiji-san immediately retreated after all the swords were used up… but Nii-sama was already in position to launch a followup attack with countless chains and lightning.

The chains held the troll in place as Nii-sama plunged his lightning sword in the troll’s chest right in the center before engulfing his body with an electric shock.

“…Your turn, Hayato!”

A small shadow appeared out of thin air behind the troll. Since when did Hayato-kun come back here?

“Assassinate!”

He slashed the troll from the right shoulder to the left flank.

Coincidentally, it was the exact same way as how Hayato-kun injured the troll in the tunnel.

The troll’s armor and spine were cut through, and the black shadow from his body scattered around like blood splatter, and before it fell to the ground, it was purified and disappeared into the air.

As soon as Hayato-kun jumped away, another figure climbed up the wall behind him and charged in.

“Bloom nobly, Espinas Azul!”

You too, Zeltis-san?!

Zeltis-san’s twin swords were thrust into the wound that Hayato-kun had opened. The next moment, ice crystals grew, piercing through the troll’s body like the thorns of a bramble.

“Wanna join in too, Mr. Newcomer?”

“Shut up! Why are all of you so stupidly loud when attacking, anyway?!”

The troll, entangled in chains and ice, his spine severed, was shot by Weiss-san straight through his left eye into his brain. Then, as if it wasn’t brutal enough, the arrow, which was apparently imbued with the fire attribute in advance, set the troll’s head on fire.

…And yet, the troll refused to stop struggling.

“…Tch, why won’t he die?! Is he even a living creature in the first place?!”

“It seems that I have to take the spotlight again, nya!”

Milly-san, who had been chanting another spell since the A.M.R.A was broken, unleashed her completed giant magic circle.

“This time I’ll definitely blow you to smithereens, nya! Photon Blaster!”

A torrent of pure energy swallowed up the battered troll whole for a whopping ten seconds before disappearing.

“*pants*… Did I get him, nya?”

As the swirling dust settled down…

“Haha, hahahaha, are you kidding me…”

There, the troll still stood, even with his spine severed, his organs torn to shreds, and his head burned. Shadows were filling in the gaps on his body.

“…Is that a ‘Nanomachines, son’ joke?”

“Still, his armor is gone, and he should be quite weak now. Besides…”

I could hear it. The sound coming from the east.

“…We’ve already won!”

They’d finally arrived.

“All units, ready to assist our comrades on the other side of that wall! Charge!”

At someone’s command, a war cry erupted.

It was as if they were running through the air… No, they were actually running through the air, over the walls where we were on.

“Wow, it’s the Princess in the flesh! Hi!”

I heard a rather out of place voice of a girl. When I turned to look in that direction, I saw a tall man riding a particularly impressive black horse with a girl in his arms in front of him.

Long, black hair. Sharp eyes, a handsome face with a stern expression… A handsome man who fits the expression “black knight” to a T.

At first glance, he looked like a terrifying villain from a storybook, but… I knew he was a sincere and honest man, so I somehow managed to suppress my fear.

The Count of Roland, Leonhardt Rolandia. He was the lord of this land, and for a short time, he was my… “Irisria’s” guardian.

“Her Highness Irisria, His Highness Saulquez. I have a lot to ask you, but let’s put if off for now. Do you need my assistance?”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m sure there’re somebody else that you should help… We already have reliable companions with us.”

“As you command. Titilia, remain here and provide support from behind.”

“Yes, Milord!”

The girl named Titilia quickly dismounted from the horse, and the man… Leonhardt-sama, turned his horse’s head towards the enemies.

“You look… livelier than I remembered.”

He muttered quietly while looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

“Yes… I’ve found many important people… people that I can trust.”

“That’s good to hear… Then I shall take my leave. Please stay safe.”

With a slight smile on his stern face, Leonhardt-sama, rushed to the frontline, where the battle was still raging.

“Well, talk to you later, everyone! I’m looking forward to hear your stories, especially you, Princess! Fellow unpopular support classes should get along, don’t you think?!”

“…Eh? Wait, you’re…?!”

At the unexpected words, I tried to stop her, but she had already turned around and descended from the walls.

That’s right, the battle wasn’t over yet. We’d have plenty of time to catch up later.

I pulled myself together and readied my weapon.

A little while later.

The enemy leader, the troll, finally fell to the ground, never to rise again.

When the reinforcements arrived, it didn’t take long for us to finish off all the enemies.

Although many were injured, the death toll on our side was… zero.

And thus, this battle, later called “Defense of Diamant Valley”, ended miraculously with everyone surviving, which was unprecedented in a battle of this scale…