Seeker 200

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Chapter 200. Defense Battle (2)

"Crossbows, aim for the front Frost Wolves—fire!"

—Bang, Bang, Bam!

On top of the same fortress wall where we were, 4 Dwarf warriors were poised with crossbows and simultaneously released their arrows.

The targeted front Frost Wolf, attempting to evade the attack, swiftly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding only one shot.

The remaining three arrows deeply pierced the giant wolf's body - two in the torso and one in the forehead, causing the Frost Wolf to dissipate into a black mist.

Even the missed shot found its mark, piercing the abdomen of a Yeti standing just behind.

However, it didn't falter and continued advancing with the other monsters.

Finally, the front of the monster horde entered the range of attack magic.

Then, another 4 Dwarf warriors unleashed their attack magic.

"Take this, [Explosion]!"

"""[Rock Bazooka]!"""

Fire-element area attack magic roared as it enveloped a group of monsters at the front of the horde, taking out several of them.

Additionally, 3 single-target earth-element attack magics targeted the wounded Yeti that got struck by the crossbow bolts.

The Yeti, already damaged, disappeared and turned into a magic stone.

However, the remaining monsters, although some suffered damage from the explosive magic, continued to charge forward.

Before the next round of magic or crossbow shots, they would reach the gate.

If that happened, when attacking from the fortress wall, we would face retaliation from the Frost Wolves' ice breath.

Moreover, the gate, hastily repaired over the last two days, would likely be destroyed by the tremendous strength of the Yetis.

—But we still had a trump card.

Our self-proclaimed archmage couldn't display their full potential against fire-element monsters like Hellhounds and Flame Skulls. 

But when it came to ice-element monsters, everything would be different.

"All right, I'm going too! Roar, Flames of Doom—[Explosion]!"

Immediately after confirming the results of the Dwarf warriors' magic, Yuzuki's magic attack exploded.

It was a completely different level of magical power density from what Dwarf warriors had cast. 

It landed in the center of the group of monsters at the front, creating a fierce blaze.

Within the area of effect were 3 Frost Wolves and 2 Yetis.

Yuzuki's [Explosion] annihilated the same 5 monsters that Dwarf warriors [Explosion] had. 

But it did so with far more devastating flames.

After the flames subsided, all the monsters within the area disappeared, and all 5 had become magic stones.

"What...!? Did they wipe out Frost Wolves and Yetis horde with area magic alone!?"

"What incredible firepower! Even though it's the same magic, this is...!"

Dwarf warriors couldn't hide their astonishment at the power of Yuzuki's magic.

Furthermore—

"Kazane-san, I'm going too!"

"Yeah, Daichi-kun!"

"[Stone Shower]!"

"[Wind Storm]!"

Additional area magic attacks from me and Kazeon-san knocked down another five monsters in unison.

While these attacks didn't defeat them, they should have inflicted significant damage.

"Ooooh! The young human mercenaries are dependable!"

"We can do this! Let's strike before the gate is breached!"

"Ooooh!!!"

Dwarf warriors' morale soared, and the battle continued with high spirits.

Most Dwarf warriors were not skilled in ranged attacks, so they had prepared melee weapons behind the gate.

But it seemed they wouldn't needed this time.

"Hahaha! This is my grand stage! I'll blow them all away with [Explosion]!"

In any case, our self-proclaimed archmage was performing spectacularly.

If it's Frost Wolves, a single [Explosion] can wipe them all out, and even the more durable Yetis can be cleared by Kazane-san and my [Wind Storm] and [Stone Shower].

A group of monsters weak to fire attribute was the best match for Yuzuki.

Of course, the monsters weren't just sitting idly by. But our overwhelming firepower didn't allow them to make any decisive strikes, such as breaking the gate.

Despite Frost Wolves occasionally targeting her on the fortress wall with their ice breath, Yuzuki's high magic defense made her immune to any damage.

As a result, the monster horde, which should have been a formidable force, was almost completely annihilated within a minute, unable to accomplish anything.

"What...? Is it possible that just 3 human mercenaries could make such a difference...?"

The town's acting chief Grunba-san, stood beside us, staring at the result in amazement.

I smiled and addressed Grunba-san. 

"In our prior agreement, we mentioned that the town can buy the magic stones from the monsters we finish off as a bonus reward, right?"

"Ah, yes, that's correct. ...But this is almost as if only you guys who defeated them..."

After the battle, we reported our achievements. 

Yuzuki had defeated 9 Frost Wolves and 6 Yetis, I had taken down 2 Frost Wolves and 2 Yetis, and Kazan-san had defeated 3 Yetis, surpassing the total number of kills by Dwarf warriors by far.

Later on, when the total number of magic stones found matched the sum of our reported numbers, our kill counts were officially acknowledged.

As a result, we earned 22 magic stones by selling them to the village, along with additional rewards of 82 gold coins and 5 silver coins.

With a horde of monsters like this, the rewards from the magic stones were nothing to scoff at.

Yusefia-san appeared on the fortress wall a little while after the battle had ended.

"Is it over already? There was no need for me to assist."

She said this with a composed expression despite arriving late, and it annoyed me a little.

I'm by no means an ideal person.

"Well, it's all good in the end."

"Hmm...? You seem somewhat dissatisfied."

"Not really. I couldn't care less about what Yusefia-san said about being one of the 8 Heroes and the most righteous person."

"Hmph...! Could it be that you hold grudges?"

"I've been called gloomy."

And so, I couldn't resist making a snarky remark to Yusefia-san, who was as free-spirited as a cat.

By the way, in this battle, we also completed a mission.

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Mission Completed: Defeat 5 Frost Wolves!

All party members gain 10,000 experience points!

Musou Daichi level up to 38!

Yuzuki Hotaru level up to 38!

Current Experience Points:

Musou Daichi... 39,3034/44,1573 (Next Level: 48,539)

Kodachi Kazane... 38,3126/39,0112 (Next Level: 6,986)

Yuzuki Hotaru... 40,3801/44,1573 (Next Level: 3,777)

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It seems Yuzuki earned a considerable amount of experience points in this battle. 

Well, in the end, it worked out.