The groups that headed from Centria to the front line of the Stampede were the Red Demon Squad, the Infinite Circle, the Labyrinth Conqueror Squad, and some of the Music Squad, reaching a total of a hundred people. Some of them include non-combatants such as cooks and those who perform miscellaneous tasks, but they come from the Labyrinth Conqueror Squad.

　However, the Labyrinth Conqueror Squad has only completed many dungeon expeditions, so there are only those who can fight, even if they are cooks. And the non-combatant man who was still taking care of the horses was talking to Oli next to him.


''........Originally, you were a servant of that Babenberg family?''
Yes, sir.
Well that's strange, isn't it? How can a servant be so knowledgeable about horse manure?
It's a lesson that has been available to the Babenberg family for generations.


　The non-combatant man smiled dryly at Oli, who was unconcerned with the fact that he was collecting and disposing of horse manure. Not to mention taking care of the horses, Oli was not too proud of him, as he even knew how to process horse manure for use as compost, or Taihi.

　Basically, the clans of the labyrinth city do not go on expeditions, so most of the servants there can only do routine work. So the non-combatants prodded Oli when she offered to help, but she started with the dirty work, which no one was willing to take the lead on. Then she had moved through the stages and now she was taking care of the horses.

　Oli's behavior was beyond the realm of a servant, but she specialized in her own work for that reason.

　It was true that she wouldn't be able to handle anything up to combat like the non-combatants of the Labyrinth Conquest Squad. But Oli's basic physical strength is high, so she doesn't raise her roots in the march outside, and she can do the dirty work that arises because she's outside without raising an eyebrow. He is well educated and can easily handle the paperwork. Because of his inability to handle combat, he was able to perform various miscellaneous tasks as quickly and accurately as a machine.


'Leave the dirty work to me.
I'm going to tell the captain it's a shame to keep you here.


　The non-combatant man said that to Oli, who had a bright smile on his face even in the harsh conditions of the unusual Stampede frontline, while stroking his horse's face.

　While Oli was taking the lead in doing the dirty work that was not under anyone's jurisdiction to create his own position, the frontline group was moving further and further south, listening to information from Leon on the way. Finally, they reached a position where they could see the Stampede wave.

　The scale of the stampede visible under the cloudy sky is still more than last time, but there are no monsters to note. Small fry monsters, led by goblins, are walking in groups.

　After looking at such a stampede through the telescope, Christia immediately gave instructions to the group behind her.


'Musicians, start playing. The rear guard, cut as much as you can. The rest of you stand by.


　With those instructions, Diniel and Leleia stepped forward from the infinite circle. Then, for some reason, Amy also stepped forward with a smug look on her face, and Tsutomu made a face that said, "Hey, hey.


''Why is Amy stepping forward?''
Hmph. You were instructed to cut the rear guard as much as possible, right?
No, Souba Zan doesn't fly that far. Even if it reaches you, it's only a gentle breeze.


　The only long-distance attack skill called Souba Zan, which a swordsman learns at the beginning, decreases in power as the distance is increased. Since she's known as the Amy of Rampant Dancing, she's the most skilled in handling the Twin Wave Slash, so she should be able to grasp the effective range.


''Leleia-chan!　Please!
The Contract, the Sylph.


　As if answering Amy's call, Leleia's green hair flew up and a fairy looking sylph, a wind spirit, appeared. The sylph then climbed onto Amy's head and held her habitual white hair as if to maneuver it.


''........Is Amy good with the sylph?''
'Yes. Not as much as I do.
'Wow, have you tried this before?'
'Yes. Amy seems to be a good match for Sylph, so I've been practicing how to get around while signing up.


　With Amy beside Amy, who was high-fiving the Sylphs with her fingertips, Leleia also signed up with the Salamander.


''It's just that I didn't really get along with the other spirits. Especially since Undine didn't seem to like Amy and even got into a fight with her.
Oh, man, I'm scared.
'Undine isn't good with women by nature, and he's very jealous. He didn't like Amy being pampered.


　Leleia said that with a clear face and instructed the salamander to start attacking towards the Stampede. Diniel has just started firing his bow and arrows as well, and Amy also looks flustered and calls out to Sylph.


''We're late to the party!　Sylph!　I'm going full throttle from the beginning!


　The sylphs returned the voice with a bicep salute and settled in between the cat ears on Amy's head. Then Amy drew her twin swords, and a swirling wind inhabited the blades. Then Amy ran a bit and took a distance from him, as if she was careful not to involve her surroundings.


''Not yet!　I'll accumulate more!


　Tsutomu's eyes narrow as he receives the wind that is granted to his twin swords in response to his voice. As that wind increases, Leleia's knees begin to plop and tremble.

　Then Amy, who had stacked her twin swords to form a cross, firmly stepped on the ground and said.


''Let's go!　Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Â


　The Twin Wave Slash, which had become tens of times huge compared to the usual ones, was released in the shape of a cross. Thanks to Sylph, the power of the twin-wave slash, which is heading towards the swarm of monsters while easily scraping even the ground, will not be reduced. And then the twin-wave slash reached the swarm of monsters and the goblins were blown away as if blown away by a tornado.


''Gueh!''


　Just as the recoil from releasing such a twin-wave slash was great, Amy fell to the ground after spinning neatly in the air. Her flexible body and passivity didn't injure her, but a slightly distressed voice leaked out.

　However, the twin-wave slash, which was as powerful as a first-class black mage's skill, caused a surprised cry to rise from the group that was watching behind him. They hadn't expected that a twin swordsman was capable of such a long-range attack.


''Doh!　Tsutomu!
Â


　Tsutomu gave an unwilling applause to Amy, who jumped up from the ground and made the V-sign with Sylph. Then he took his mental power with him in one fell swoop and unintentionally pointed at Leleia, who had put her hands on her knees and was genuflecting.


''The power is perfect, but the fuel consumption is too low.
Yeah, it's - well, yeah!　I'm sorry, Leleia!
You'll have to cut back...


　The source of the spirit's power is Leleia's mental power, so if you use it, it will take a toll on her. However, with a little more adjustment to that combination, it would be useful. Tsutomu dismounted Amy, who lightly stuck out her tongue and apologized, and looked at Stampede after riding his horse.

　The monsters this time are not as diminished in number as the last Stampede, and they don't seem to be making any frightening movements behind them. It's just an ordinary swarm of them. At this rate, they could probably bounce back easily in King's Landing.


(If only the rampaging dragons didn't appear, I'd be relieved.


　The most popular theory is that the cause of the appearance of the rampant dragon is that the appearance of the divine dungeon caused the monsters in the outer dungeon to accumulate magic power without being thinned out. If that theory was correct, there was a good chance that a monster comparable to a rampaging dragon would emerge from the southern dungeon, which had been neglected for a long time.

　All of the people who had experienced the Stampede last time knew that, and they didn't seem to be caught off guard, even if it was just a bonus time to attack the monsters from a distance. They remained vigilant to the east, west, north, south, and west, and they were also far enough away from the Stampede.

　Chrystia, who was in the air above with her fly, was also used to commanding, and the group moved as if they were one creature under her direction. Under her command, even those unaccustomed to group battles would be able to demonstrate sufficient strength.

　It was because of such a state of affairs that those in the Infinite Circle, such as Garum, Amy, Diniel and Daryl, whose hearing was more acute than that of humans, could detect the slightest anomaly. In the midst of all this, Hannah sensed something coming through her senses.


'Isn't that kind of creepy?'
"Well noticed. Good, good.
What is it? Suddenly.
Hannah's an idiot, but her senses are pretty good there.
...That's making fun of me, isn't it!


　Hannah, who came to such a conclusion after crunching Diniel's words well in her own head, instantly changed her loose face. Diniel ignored such a gaze and released a large long-distance arrow into the bow for a guarded shot.

　And the Red Demon Dan's Weiss and the Labyrinth Conqueror's Christia also seemed to have noticed the abnormality and were all looking up at the cloudy sky.


''Eagle Eye.''


　When I moved my gaze to the arrow Diniel had just released, it was already stabbed into something. And Diniel, who caught the bat-like wings in his field of vision, announced that a group of wyverns were coming from the sky.


All hands, prepare to retreat. The rear guard use the potion to regain your mental strength and prepare for the wyvern coming from the sky.


　Soon after, Chrystia's instructions came from above, so Tsutomu quickly dismounted from his horse and took out a blue potion from his magic bag and handed it to Diniel, Leleia and Amy.


''Well a wyvern doesn't fly in the clouds, does it?''
It's not my favorite part.


　Since you can't see what's going on around you in the clouds, flying monsters basically don't enter. If they do enter, it would only be in an emergency situation where it doesn't matter if the view is obstructed.


'But it didn't look like we were being chased by anything. I couldn't see much because of the clouds, but the wyvern was probably calm. It would have been much louder if we were being chased.


　Diniel looked a little refreshed as he sipped the blue potion he had received from Amy, the blue potion he was about to drink. It was a blue potion made by an elder elf in a forest apothecary, so it must be comfortable to drink.


''I have a bad feeling about this.''
Agreed.


　As Diniel said this, he rode his horse and guarded his arrows, releasing them one by one into the clouds. Those who have already completed their preparations also release their skills into the sky in sequence.

　Then, when the frontline group was preparing for a full-fledged interception while retreating, a monster jumped out of the thick clouds.


''........What is that?''


　A loudspeaker-like voice echoed around the area from Christia, the closest to the sky. The monster that jumped out of the clouds was a wyvern, just as Diniel had informed us.

　But atop the wyvern was a green-skinned orc straddling it. The wyvern with an orc with a shield in its left hand and a spear in its right hand approached Cristia in a straight line.