The first game of the team competition was a dismal affair.
The trio of good friends have already been fighting since they appeared on the scene.
They are the "Childhood Friends Triangle" consisting of two men and one woman, and as you might expect from the team name, it was a true triangle.

This time, the vice-captain of the team was running around the ring with a microphone (temporarily) on his head, so the sound was coming into the ring.
He said

'Hey, if I win this competition, I'll be the one with a date with Kisara!
'You have an appointment?　I'm a firm believer in keeping my word.
"What?　Kisara, are you sure?　Do you like the izti?
'No more Ringles, no more Eyesty!　Sure, I promised Aizti that I would, but I can't decide if I like it or not... yet.'

I'm sure that the face of the buddy is gone, and although I was originally hoping for the unique coordination of buddies, it looks like it's impossible.

On the other hand, Sonic Fang looks flashy, but he's a B-rank adventurer.
They were young men whose confidence seemed to be on the surface, exposing their well-developed abdominal muscles.
They seemed to be smiling and laughing at the bickering of the 'Childhood Friend Triangle', with only one man with a shield and a one-handed sword, one man with a bow, and one man with a spear, a balanced man in close and middle distance.

As expected, the match was won by "Shunsuke no Fang".
As the name of the team suggests, they used their speed to fight, knocking out the disparate "Childhood Friend Triangle" one by one and ending the match.
They muttered something in Kisara's ear and handed her something, though it was hard to see clearly from a distance, and left laughing.

The next match was about to begin for the "Dwafuru", an A-ranked adventurer like our "Red Line", and the "Dwafuru", the "Hammer Spirit Messenger".

According to the handouts, the Dwarf Spiritual Apostles were adventurers consisting of three dwarves.
You can see that they are an aggressive team, all holding a hammer.

I'm sure you'll find that they are all aggressive.
"Yes, you are right. Well, I'm glad you're alive to fight the Red Front that makes Ainsdale so famous.
"It's an honor to be the one to fight a skilled hammering spirit apostle.
"Oh, you know us.
''Of course. In fact, you'd be crazy not to know that as an adventurer.
"Yes. We're community-based, just like you, but we're famous, so our activities reach you.

It seems that the Hammering Spirit Messenger is also a famous adventurer.
Although they don't know each other, they seem to know each other well.
If the age of the dwarves is as they look, they must be over 60 years old, but are they still active adventurers?

The Hammering Apostle is a rank A adventurer from Black Rock, a city of dwarves and blacksmiths located in the far southeast corner of the capital. His achievements in defeating the Land Eater have long been felt in the capital.
Land-eating?
Hmm. It is a demon that eats the land as the name suggests. It is said to be a mutated form of the spider called the "earth eater". But its size is much larger than that.
Well done, male-spirit apostle!
What the hell are you doing here?

Thank you, Hammer Spirit Apostle, for slaying the big spider!
Thank you for killing it before I ever met it!
Keep up the good work and destroy the spiders!

'The Lord is not a big fan of bugs. So I'm excited to hear that he took down a big spider.
'I see......... But still, you suddenly shouted, which surprised me and changed my comfort level.

Iris wriggling around to find a comfortable place to sit.
White's balance is as good as it gets, and he didn't seem to change his position even if I shouted out loud.

''.........Hey, something the Lord is praising the Hammer Spirit Apostle.''
"Hmm, you've heard about the land-eaters, haven't you?
"Oh, I see. I see.
"So it's true what they say about you becoming slaves?
'Yes. Our lord is watching you today, and I'm sorry, but we're going to win.
I see you've been treated better than I expected.
"Of course. He's a great guy and a great guy!
I see. Well, you wouldn't be able to smile like that if you've been treated badly. I'm glad you're a good host.
"Thanks for your concern. But it's made my life better than it was before.
Oh, yeah.

It looks like they are laughing and chatting with each other.
I was a little concerned about it, but it seems that Sorte is relaxing too.

Now, let's give it our all, fair and square.
"I am going to let my youth inspire me.

And so the game begins.

At the same time as the vice captain's command, the 'Hammer Spirit Apostles' crowded together in the center with one person in front of them and formed a formation so that they could follow each other firmly.

''I'll start with myself!''

Almost as soon as the formation was formed, Renge swung his fist at the dwarf in the center of the formation, but it was easily blocked by the handle of the mallet.
Then the two men right next to him swung their hammers at Renge and Renge back stepped to avoid them.
It's a good idea to make sure that you have a good idea of what you're looking for.

It's not a good idea. It's a good thing.
"Mmm, you missed it. I knew we weren't heavy enough.
"I'm sure it's the same there, but you have to be careful with that fist girl.
"So. "Despite the difference in reach, your daughter is exerting herself as usual.

The dwarf who received Renge's blow with the mallet let go of the mallet once and waved his wrist with a plop as if he was numb.
Renge is originally a gauntlet equipped with offensive and defensive weapons, so he doesn't use the ones for mock battles.
It seems to be treated as an armor since it doesn't have a blade tip attached to it.

''I thought I'd be caught off guard at the start of the season, but, well, that's where my experience is different, isn't it?''
"Right. It would have been easier if I could hit one person.
Well, it won't work out that way.

The strategy seems to have failed, but he doesn't seem to be in a hurry.
In fact, they seem to have pulled themselves together when they found out that their abilities were as good as the rumors.

The best way to do that is to say, "I can't move fast enough. I'll be taking the lead from the rear.
You may look very stiff, but I'll still be able to push through.
"Ha ha ha. It's not going to be that easy, is it?

Aina stands directly in front of her opponent with her sword at the center.
Sorte and Renge canter along his side with great enthusiasm.
Aina runs a little later and swings her sword at the dwarf in front of her.
That blow is easily stopped and pushed back, but no follow-up comes.

''.........Hmm. It's not good.''

If you look at it, before you know it, it was a one-on-one situation.
When Renge stepped in and approached the dwarf on the left side towards him, he swung his fist sideways in the manner of a hook around the body, and when the mallet prevented him from doing so, he grabbed the mallet and threw it away, forcing him to keep his distance.

Solte, while maintaining the advantage from farther away than the distance of the mallet, unleashes a powerful blow with his spear.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more information on this in the future.
It was seen from above that the opponent was fixed into a defensive piece and gradually broke down the formation.

But even though we've been brought into a one-on-one situation, we're still going to have to do it too," he said.
Yeah, I know, I'm not going to let my guard down.

Aina now holds her sword next to her waist and approaches and swings it out to the side.
This is a full blown blow, as if to say "catch it".
And in response to the blow, the dwarf who has been swinging his hammer to the side and hitting the sword, grinned at me as if to compare strength.
But his face immediately turns to astonishment, and the dwarf loses his balance and is blown away for a few steps.

''Ka!　What stupidity.
'I'm not very handy, you know. So why don't you focus on the blow?
Yeah. So do I.

The dwarf grinned happily, and Aina smiled in reply.

Aina smiles as she replies, "But we are the people of the earth. But we are the people of the earth, and as long as we are standing on top of it, we have the advantage.

Aina's relative dwarf gave the other dwarves a look, and the other two swung their hammers with full force, forcing Renge and Sorte to keep their distance.
And when the three of them raised their hands up, they shouted loudly.

''Mother Earth's blessing.

Then, after destroying the street with Hayato's 'Holy Sword of Light (Excalibur)' a long time ago, the earth-colored light I saw at Emily's side when I was fixing the street began to envelop the three of them.
With that, Aina and the other three resumed their stance as if they were on guard.

''What?''　Is it magic?
'Mother Earth's Blessing.... The dwarf's unique skill. A skill that greatly improves physical abilities by receiving blessings from the earth spirit that dwells in Mother Earth.

Emily mumbles and tells me.
Apparently it's not magic, but a skill that can only be used by the dwarf race.

'The more dwarves you activate at the same time, the more blessings you can receive from the earth spirit. That's why they have great power in the dwarven city. But.........

When Emily looks at where she's staring, she's definitely stronger than before...?
As usual, neither Renge nor Sorte slackened their offensive moves, and the dwarves who were dealing with the two of them seemed to be all about defense.

''As I thought, the earthen spirits are dwindling, so we don't have enough blessings.
Less...?
Yeah. The number of spirits has been decreasing drastically for some time now. I've been traveling with Hayato, looking for the cause of that.

Emily's face remained forward, but her gaze was serious.
This problem was quite deep-rooted, and the cause of the problem was probably not yet known.

''Kaa!　You're still losing strength with this one!　What kind of foolishness is this?'

Aina and the dwarf have several weapons together, but Aina is not defeated by force, on the contrary, the dwarf who should have received the blessing seems to have lost his balance.

'Hmm. But it's not decisive...''
'You're a serious person, aren't you?　You're too honest in your attacks and your feints.
'I suppose so. But, well, I'll just have to do my part.'
My role...
"Ah, here we go, Solte, Renge.
Sss! Of course!
What!　Al, Fredrick!　You've been hit!'

Ah, so that's the end of it.
The dwarf, who was in between one and two of them, collapses under the pincer attack.
Renge had thrown the dwarves he had been facing early on relative to each other and dropped them out of the field, while Sorte had attacked the dwarf he was dealing with from behind and knocked him out.
And then the remaining one was three........and so on.

''Hmm. That was a match that was worth watching compared to the one we just had.''
Yeah. All three of you looked great!

As for the win, I guess Renge went for the outside of the field instead of a knockout.
Perhaps it was a good decision to toss the sturdy dwarf out of the field instead of knocking him down and securing the advantage in numbers.

''Winner!　red line
''Oooooohhhh!

Aina erupted in cheers when she received the declaration by the vice captain, and Aina raised her hand in response.
Solte and Renge also raised their hands to answer and their eyes met mine, Renge seemed to be jumping up and down to show off himself.
I gave them a thumbs up to say well done, and the three of them exchanged high fives before bowing and leaving the ring.