Having finished absorbing the Magic Stones of the Werewolves and Werewolf Leaders, Rei and Vihera headed toward Gilm on Set's back — though in Vihera's case, she was hanging from his front leg.
The sun had already begun to tilt from its zenith, signaling that afternoon had arrived.
"Took a bit more time than expected."
Rei's murmur drifted away on the wind. Since he hadn't spoken for Vihera's benefit, she likely never heard it as she dangled from Set's front leg.
They continued on Set's back without any particular conversation, until...
"Gruu!"
Set suddenly let out a cry.
Rei turned his gaze toward where Set was looking and saw a merchant caravan under attack by a pack of monsters.
Goblins.
Normally, against Goblins — whose running speed was by no means fast — a carriage could simply flee and the Goblins would never catch up. In fact, among the caravans that had traveled to Gilm since monster packs began appearing so frequently, more than a few had been attacked by Goblins and escaped by driving their horses at full speed.
Yes, normally, running would have been enough to get away.
But that was impossible here — nearly half the horses pulling the caravan's carriages had already been killed.
A carriage was only a carriage because of its horses. Without them, the carriages went nowhere.
And what had killed most of those horses...
"Cobolts?"
Rei murmured.
From behind the carriages, a pack of Goblins was swarming the caravan. From the front, a pack of Cobolts was tearing into it.
That was the scene spread out before Rei's eyes.
Goblins and Cobolts.
Their monster ranks were roughly similar, but that did not mean they were cooperative. No — precisely because they were similar, it was not uncommon for them to turn fiercely hostile and kill each other.
Yet in the scene before Rei, there was no mistaking it: these two types of monsters were working together.
"Rei!"
The scene Rei and Set were watching was, of course, visible to Vihera as she hung from Set's front leg. She called out sharply.
Rei's attention had been momentarily caught by the monsters' unexpected cooperation, but Vihera's voice snapped him back.
Rei and Vihera were on their way back to Gilm after completing the Werewolf pack subjugation request. Even if they ignored the caravan under attack, no one would blame them for it.
Even so, watching a caravan get slaughtered — one that had traveled all the way to the frontier of Gilm despite hearing that monster packs were actively roaming near Abuelo, the closest town — and simply looking the other way didn't sit right with him.
No, more than that: Gilm's very position as a frontier territory meant it depended on outside goods. Most of those were luxury items, and none were strictly essential. But the difference between having them and not having them was significant, which meant there was no question of abandoning the caravans that brought them.
(Besides, Goblins and Cobolts are cooperating. I need to get a good look at what's going on.)
Given all the problems with the packs lately, this situation — two different species cooperating — was something he wanted to understand in as much detail as possible.
And, though it was more than a mere side benefit, there was also the fact that he wanted the Cobolt Leader's Magic Stone.
For all those reasons, ignoring the caravan was simply not an option. Rei called out to Set and Vihera.
"I'm thinking of helping that caravan. Any objections?"
"Gruu!"
Set nodded at once. Perhaps because he'd been created through Beast Magic, or perhaps simply because of his naturally sociable personality, Set was fond of people. If his beloved Rei were in danger, that would be one thing — but right now there was no particular threat, so it was only natural he'd want to help the caravan.
...Of course, if asked whether he had no ulterior motive of hoping the saved caravan might give him some food, the honest answer would be: not at all.
"Sure, I don't mind either," Vihera said, nodding as if following Set's lead.
For Vihera, who loved fighting strong opponents, Goblins and Cobolts were hardly thrilling foes. If anything, the gap in strength was so overwhelming that bringing them down was tantamount to manual labor.
Even so, with a caravan under attack, she wasn't heartless enough to leave them to die. Had it not been a caravan under attack — had they merely spotted packs moving through the area — she would have ignored them without a second thought.
"Alright then, let's go. Set, we'll test out the new skills too."
"Gurururu!" Set purred his agreement.
They were also the right opponents for testing the skills acquired from the Werewolf and Werewolf Leader Magic Stones. Sense of Smell Enhancement would likely be of little use, but Poison Claw's true effects couldn't be known without actually using it.
For Rei, too, it was a perfect opportunity to test Penetrate, the newly learned Multi Slash, and other skills he hadn't been able to use during the fight against the Werewolves and Werewolf Leaders — Pain Burst among them.
"I'll take the Cobolt pack at the front. Set, Vihera, handle the Goblins in the rear."
Told to handle the Goblins, Vihera glanced down while hanging from Set's front leg. In terms of pure strength, Cobolts were marginally stronger than Goblins, but the difference was within the margin of error. Since neither would give her a satisfying fight, it made no real difference to her which she fought.
"Fine. No problem."
"Good. Set, carry me above the Cobolts."
"Gurururu!"
At Rei's word, Set let out a short cry, flapped his wings, and soared over the caravan. Even in flight, he held steady at an altitude of one hundred meters.
At that height, not a trace of fear crossed Rei's face — undoubtedly thanks to having leaped from Set countless times before.
(Probably the only person in all of Elgin who's used to falling from this height is me.)
Unlike Japan — Earth — where Rei had once lived, the difficulty of flying in this world was extraordinarily high. Which naturally meant few people had ever experienced descending from the sky. And while Dragon Knights flew wyverns and looked down from above, this was a descent in the truest sense — a fall. How many people could possibly own something like the Sleipnir boots that made flight possible?
(Ah, wait. Elena has Sleipnir boots too. And if Ielo grows bigger, could it have a similar experience? ...Well, if it's just about flying, I suppose she could grab Set's leg like Vihera does.)
As he leaped from Set's back, a stray image flickered through his mind: Elena, with her own Sleipnir boots, diving from Set alongside him. The two Alias Holders — Crimson and the Princess General — plummeting out of the sky. To their enemies, it would be nothing short of a nightmare.
"Set, Vihera — see you later."
He called out as he passed beside Vihera, still hanging from Set's leg, and then his figure plummeted toward the earth.
Using the Sleipnir boots several times midair to kill his speed, he drew Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring. Then he dove straight into the pack of Cobolts attacking the caravan's escorting adventurers.
"Multi Slash!"
Just before landing, Rei swung Death Scythe and activated his newly learned skill.
The strike caught the Cobolts completely off guard. Before they could react, they were split clean down the middle from the skull.
At the same time, a second set of wounds appeared on the bisected bodies — not from Death Scythe. Of course, since the first strike had already killed them, the follow-up hit was entirely meaningless.
"Waoon!?"
Cobolts cried out in alarm at their comrades suddenly dropping dead.
Rei activated another skill against them.
"Pain Burst!"
As the skill that multiplied pain eightfold took effect, Rei swept Death Scythe horizontally.
"Gyaun!"
Several Cobolts caught by the blade shrieked. Those bisected died without even a scream, but the ones who'd only been partially wounded felt Pain Burst's effect directly.
"Penetrate!"
Sweeping Death Scythe to the side, Rei reversed the motion and thrust the pommel far behind him while activating the skill. The wind-wrapped pommel shattered the skull of a Cobolt that had been lunging at his back.
The Cobolts died one after another — the whole thing over in seconds, not even ten. The Cobolt Leader clearly registered Rei as a threat and let out a sharp howl.
"Waooooooooon!"
At its command, the Cobolts broke off their assault on the caravan and turned to swarm Rei.
But even united, the gap between them and Rei was overwhelming, and corpses piled up in rapid succession.
Death Scythe swept through — and in the opening it left, the Twilight Spear thrust forward. When the spear pinned a Cobolt's foot to the ground and stopped its movement, Death Scythe's blade reaped its neck.
The newly acquired Multi Slash was used again and again, leaving double slash wounds from a single strike on many Cobolts. ...Though since most fell to a single Death Scythe blow, relatively few actually received the skill's benefit.
Even more devastating was Pain Burst. Its vicious effect — multiplying pain eightfold — meant even wounds that would normally be trivial became crippling impediments.
He used Wind Hand to yank a Cobolt's tail, and in the instant it glanced back, drove the Twilight Spear through it. He used Terrain Manipulation to shift the ground — only slightly — causing another to stumble, then buried Death Scythe in it before it recovered.
All the while, the Cobolts' numbers plummeted.
And of course, Rei wasn't the only one fighting. The caravan's escorting adventurers had been getting pushed back before his arrival, but they were still in the fight. ...Even the merchants themselves had some combat skill, loosing arrows from the driver's seat.
Rei's arrival had turned the tide in an instant, and they weren't about to waste the opening. As the Cobolts pivoted toward Rei, the escorts seized every exposed gap and struck.
With attacks converging from all sides, it was only natural the Cobolts dwindled fast. The escorting adventurers operated near Gilm — their skills were by no means poor.
"Waooooooooon!"
The moment the last Cobolt fell, the Cobolt Leader made its move.
Rei had assumed it would charge — only natural, given how the previous Cobolt pack had hurled itself forward with reckless abandon.
Instead, the Cobolt Leader fled.
It whipped around, presented its back to Rei, and bolted.
If one called it the nature of Cobolts — a weak species among monsters — they wouldn't be wrong, but given everything that had come before, Rei was caught off guard for a moment.
And as expected of a monster with a dog's head, the Cobolt was reasonably quick.
"I'm not letting you get away!"
Recovering from his brief surprise, Rei kicked off the ground.
"Ah, wait! Even if you chase it now—"
One of the escorting adventurers tried to call after him, but Rei didn't listen. He fixed his eyes on the Cobolt Leader's back and gave chase.
Rei's sprinting speed was by no means inferior to the Cobolt Leader's. In fact, the distance between them visibly shrank as he ran.
"You don't get to attack and then run! Power Slash!"
The leveled-up Power Slash tore through the air, and the majority of the Cobolt Leader's torso exploded.
Its innards and flesh scattered cleanly across the surrounding ground.
Rei furrowed his brow slightly — likely because he hadn't been able to fully absorb the recoil from that strike.
"...Phew."
But when he saw the Magic Stone lying intact on the ground, he let out a breath of relief.