Seeker 247

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Chapter 247. Prelude To Battle (2)

"Kazane-san!"

"Roger! [Windstorm]!"

Simultaneously with my voice, Kazeon-san activates magic. 

The storm of wind blades engulfs the already weakened front 5 Killer Ants.

Immediately afterward, those 5 bodies turn into black mist and disappear, transforming into magic stones.

Alright, that's five defeated.

But without a moment's respite, the following Killer Ants step over the area where their comrades' corpses, now magical stones, rolled.

"Yuzuki!"

"Here it comes! [Explosion]!"

Our party's main artillery, Yuzuki's area-of-effect magic, explodes, encompassing four following Killer Ants.

All four bodies vanish with a single blow, turning into magic stones.

"Huh...?"

Voices of astonishment can be heard from the surrounding adventurers.

Ah, I guess we really stood out.

It can't be helped.

If you wipe out a horde of Killer Ants with one area-of-effect magic spell, it's bound to be surprising.

But of course, the battle isn't over yet.

The subsequent horde of Killer Ants, despite seeing nearly 10 of their vanguard get obliterated instantly, continues to approach rapidly.

"Hold on, [Rock Bullet]!"

"Oh no, [Icicle Lance]!"

Two other adventurers hastily cast single-target attack magic.

Whether intentionally or coincidentally, both attack magics hit the same individual.

Confirming that it didn't disappear, I also cast magic belatedly.

"Go, [Rock Bullet]!"

The rock projectile I released hits a weakened Killer Ant directly. 

Turning it into a magic stone.

Additionally, 2 adventurers shoot arrows at different individuals.

But none are defeated.

It seems that the adventurers' one-sided long-range attacks have reached their limit.

The horde of following Killer Ants is now approaching us.

"You lot! We'll meet you head-on!"

[Yeah!]

Under Gadol-san's command, adventurers wielding close combat weapons such as swords, axes, and spears rush toward the horde of Killer Ants.

Kazane-san and I joined the group.

Now it's a melee between the horde of Killer Ants and the adventurers.

Individual strength heavily favors the adventurers.

Members participating in the raid are all seasoned adventurers, and with their skill, they can handle one-on-one combat with regular Killer Ants quite advantageously.

In terms of numbers, the magical attacks have significantly reduced them, making it almost an even match.

The tilt of the battle was evident.

"Take this, [Three Strikes]!"

"Haaaaah!"

Kazane-san and I stand side by side, quickly disposing of one Killer Ant each.

Then we scatter left and right, making moves under the pretext of support—actually stealing the finishing blows from other adventurers.

"Pierce, Spear of Flames! [Flame Lance]!"

Yuzuki also uses single-target attack magic, meticulously burning each Killer Ant.

And so, about 10 seconds after the collision between the adventurers and the Killer Ant horde began.

All the attacking crimson giant ants have disappeared, leaving many magic stones scattered on the ground.

"Huh, is it over already?"

"That was fast, right? I felt like there were quite a few of them."

"I know, right? At first, there were around 30 of them..."

The surrounding adventurers seemed disappointed.

Meanwhile, several people, including Gadol-san, directed their gaze toward us who had just finished the battle.

It appeared they were suspicious that we might be the cause of the anomaly.

Well, we did stand out a bit too much.

Especially Yuzuki's [Explosion], its extraordinary power was too noticeable.

I didn't want to attract too much attention.

But balancing that with achieving a high number of defeats was challenging.

If we stood out, we had to deal with it accordingly.

Gadol-san walked toward us.

I took the initiative and bowed slightly.

"Thank you for your hard work, Gadol-san. We managed to eliminate them quite effectively."

"It seemed like you were making some strange moves. We'll share the rewards and magic stones for the defeats here. You remember that, right?"

"Yes. We 'performed' quite well, so can our party claim a quarter of the rewards?"

I put on a sales smile I had cultivated from part-time work and said that.

Gadol-san's expression turned stern.

"Well, yeah. After being shown that, I can't really complain. So, what tricks did you use?"

"I'd prefer to keep our methods secret. As a party participating in the raid quest, we've demonstrated sufficient strength. Isn't this enough?"

"Tch, still a cocky brat, huh? Well, whatever. As long as you do your job well, I won't complain."

Gadol-san turned on his heel and returned to where his party members were.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems we managed to get through.

By the way, our party's defeat count in this battle was 17.

We used a bit of a cheat. But thanks to that, we achieved reasonably good results.

Even though we used a cheat, we conceded to the defeat count for magic stones and monetary rewards.

So there shouldn't be any complaints.

Now, the Killer Ants within our visible range have been exterminated.

The only task left is to clean up those in the holes.

However, we haven't encountered higher-ranking species like Killer Ant Soldiers or Killer Ant Mages yet.

Above all, the Killer Ant Queen is the goal of this quest and mission.

So, what just happened was a preliminary skirmish, and the main event is yet to come.

Once the raid members were ready, the 16 adventurers, including us, descended toward the village in unison.