Metre-wide spheres came rumbling through the forest.
There were... about a hundred of them?
They navigated around the trees with surprising agility, yet they charged headlong into monsters and magic beasts without the slightest hesitation. Or rather, it seemed as though they were intentionally targeting them.
Then, their true nature was revealed.
Just as I thought a sphere had collapsed, limbs burst forth from the mass. The creatures immediately began devouring the monsters and magic beasts they had just trampled.
My first impression upon seeing them was simple.
A hyper-aggressive armadillo?
Apparently, these monsters were called Death Balls. Their current path was leading them straight toward the Village of the Great Tree.
"At this speed, they will likely reach the village in about three days," Granmaria informed me.
I was observing the situation from the air, carried aloft by Granmaria. Below us, the local wildlife was suffering. Fanged Rabbits were the primary victims. Even the massive boars, though they could withstand a direct hit, were fleeing in visible distress.
"You did well to find them," I said.
The location was to the southeast of the village, well outside the usual patrol range for Granmaria and her team.
"After the festival, the Lamia race warned us to be on the lookout for signs of a massive Death Ball outbreak," she explained.
They had entrusted the immediate perimeter of the village to the Harpy race while the Angels ventured further out on reconnaissance.
"I noticed the local monsters fleeing in a panic and figured something must be chasing them. It turns out my hunch was correct."
I see.
"How do the Lamias usually deal with them?" I asked.
"They apparently just seal the entrances to their dungeons."
...
True, waiting for them to pass might be the sensible option, but...
"They say there isn't much edible meat on them, so they don't bother taking the risk of fighting," Granmaria added.
In other words, the reward wasn't worth the effort. However, that wasn't an option for the Village of the Great Tree. If they rolled into our territory, our fields would be completely wiped out.
I couldn't allow that.
I asked Granmaria to drop me off directly in front of the leading row of Death Balls. Landing, I readied the Universal Farming Tool.
Sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, you're just pests.
Whether they were in ball form or beast form, the Universal Farming Tool made short work of them, turning them into fertilizer instantly. Not every single one came for me; once they saw what was happening, several changed course and fled. I didn't mind letting a few go, so long as they stayed away from the village.
"Incredible," Granmaria remarked. "My spear couldn't even scratch their hides..."
"Their outer shells did look quite tough," I agreed.
The attacks from the local Fanged Rabbits had been entirely useless against them. Regardless, the problem was solved. They were troublesome opponents, to be sure.
Just as I was relaxing, Kudel came rushing over in a visible panic.
"We've spotted approximately two thousand more Death Balls! They're about five minutes away on foot, heading directly for this location!"
...
Two thousand? Not two hundred?
"Approximately two thousand," Kudel insisted. "I framed the group with my hands to form a square, counted the number inside, and then calculated how many squares the whole swarm occupied."
"Village Head, that is the standard method for estimating enemy troop numbers in battle," Granmaria added. "The figure is likely accurate."
I see. I wasn't doubting her, but...
Two thousand was an impossible number for me to handle alone. Having just faced a hundred of them, I knew they weren't stupid. When they realized they couldn't beat me, they simply rolled around me and kept moving. Once I'd taken down about ten, the rest stopped attacking me altogether, which meant I had to chase them down.
It had been an exhausting process. Granmaria had to fly me to the front of the swarm multiple times just so I could intercept them again.
Killing a hundred had taken half a day. Even if I fought day and night without rest, I wasn't sure if I could even cull half of them. If they changed direction after losing half their number, that would be fine, but...
I had misjudged the situation. I shouldn't have come out to intercept them; I should have stayed back to fortify the village's defenses. No, rather than regretting my choice, I needed to get back and evacuate the villagers.
Damn it, the sun was already starting to set. As if to fuel my mounting anxiety, the massive swarm of Death Balls finally came into view. They were already here.
"Granmaria, Kudel! Get back to the village and issue an evacuation order! Tell everyone to take whatever they can—"
Dark shadows suddenly lunged from the forest's edge, cutting off my command. Had they come from the direction of the village?
It was Zabuton's children.
There were dozens, maybe even hundreds of them. They moved with perfect coordination, not in a chaotic swarm. They worked in teams of four, using their silk threads to swing through the trees like specialized units. One of them raised a leg to greet me in passing before diving straight into the sea of Death Balls.
After that, all I had to do was watch.
Zabuton's children wove makeshift nets with their silk on the fly, snaring the Death Balls and hoisting them up into the canopy. It seemed the monsters' hard shells were no defense against being bundled up and hung from a branch.
The sun set and rose again. When morning came, I was greeted by a bizarre sight: countless spheres—probably all two thousand of them—dangled from the trees. Some stayed curled in their ball form, motionless, while others had shifted into their beast form and were squirming helplessly.
I wondered what we would do with them, but the local Fanged Rabbits and big boars were already busy eating the ones they could reach. Even other monsters I rarely saw were joining in on the feast.
I see. If they couldn't roll, they were easy prey. Unsurprisingly, none of the scavengers dared to get too close to Zabuton's children, who were standing guard over their catch.
"Aren't you going to eat any?" I asked one of the spiders nearby.
It gestured back, indicating that it much preferred potatoes.
Understood. When we get home, we're having a potato party.
"Granmaria, Kudel. What's the status?"
With the arrival of Zabuton's children, the evacuation order had been cancelled. The Angels had spent the night guarding my perimeter, and now they were finished scouting for any stragglers.
"Everything seems to be under control," Granmaria reported.
"We found a few that escaped the nets, but they're moving in the opposite direction of the village," Kudel added. She lifted her spear with a dejected expression, mentioning she'd tried to poke one earlier but still couldn't get through the shell.
For now, I suppose that settles the matter.
I asked Zabuton's children to kill a few of the Death Balls so I could take them back with me. I was curious if the hard shells could be put to use, and I vaguely recalled seeing a program back home where they ate armadillos. It was on a segment called "Strange Foods from Around the World" that aired right after my favorite idol farmer show.
Well, these were just armadillo-shaped monsters, so I couldn't be sure about the taste... but judging by how the other forest creatures were swarming the ones in the trees, they couldn't be that bad.
I was also impressed that the nets woven by Zabuton's children held up perfectly, even with multiple monsters tearing at the trapped prey.
Back at the village, I explained the situation. The residents didn't seem particularly worried, which made me wish they had just a bit more of a sense of crisis. While I was brooding over this, one of Kuro's offspring walked up to one of the Death Balls I'd brought back and bit it.
Its teeth crunched right through the "impenetrable" shell. It then looked up at me, wagging its tail proudly.
...I see.
Then Rusty stepped up and casually ripped another shell apart with her bare hands. It seemed I had been worrying over nothing.
And just like that, the shells I'd hoped to use as crafting materials were reduced to scrap.
Regardless, we held a potato party for Zabuton's children that day. I prepared them every way I could: raw, steamed, roasted, and fried. The potato salad turned out to be a secret favorite among them. I felt a bit lonely with just potatoes, so I added some sweet potatoes to the mix and made Daigaku Imo. I have my own particular style: no black sesame seeds.
While the party was technically for the spiders who had come to our rescue, I wasn't about to exclude everyone else. More and more people joined in until it turned into a full-blown banquet.
"Alright, I'm starting the meat now!"
Kuro and the others got their share, and I even decided to try cooking some of the Death Ball meat.
"Hey, Urza! I know those shells are technically trash now, but if you mince them into tiny bits with that sword, it’s going to be a nightmare to clean up... Wait, didn’t Hakuren just scold you for swinging that thing around?"
That sword was dangerously sharp. I made her go put it back where it belonged. Her reply was energetic as always, but I wished she wouldn't forget every reprimand after a single night's sleep.
Sigh.
I had thought about making armor out of the Death Ball shells, but they clearly weren't as durable as I'd imagined. Perhaps I should focus more on upgrading the spears Granmaria and the others use. I'll have to look into that.
As for the shells... they’d been hacked to pieces, but the rounded scraps actually made for decent balls. They became new toys for Kuro's pack.
The Death Ball meat itself was lean and tasted quite a bit like chicken. It wasn't bad at all, though there wasn't much of it per creature. If I were to hunt them with the Universal Farming Tool, they were a bit too small to be efficient. Hunting the big boars was much easier.
...I suppose I don't need to go out of my way to hunt them. The Lamias had the right idea from the start. It’s the kind of wisdom you only get from living in a place for a long time. I’ll have to ask them more about the local environment soon—and maybe check in with the Giants in the Northern Dungeon as well.
That night, I reflected on the day's events.
Had I been too hasty? No, my mistake was trying to handle it all on my own. I need to remember to cooperate more with the other residents when problems arise.
I fell asleep while making that mental note. I'm not like Urza. I'll still remember this when I wake up.