The composition of the sub-party ’Shadow Squad’ was extreme.

Two mages. Three archers.

It’s a combination that would never be attempted in the game. The formation was dangerously skewed towards firepower.

Without a tanker or healer, the party would be annihilated if exposed to the enemy.

However, if both of those mages were not pure damage dealers but utility supporters.

If they had the capability to protect and assist their allies.

Then this composition could potentially work.

’Besides...’

I took a quick glance at the system window.

[Active Party Synergy]

(Mage2) Double Mage: Magic Attack Power of all party members increases by 20%.

(Archer3) Mozambique Drill: Critical hit rate of all party members increases by 30%.

An overwhelming damage debuff that could only be obtained due to the extreme job combination.

If this party truly got rolling, flattening the enemy with sheer firepower would be an easy feat.

Godhand, standing at the front, briefly issued commands to his subordinates.

"We’ll go with the anti-monster formation."

Godhand raised his hand over the flat, gargoyle corpses lying on the ground.

"I’ll form the defensive line."

With a swift sound, the steel bodies of the gargoyles where Godhand’s hand touched melted rapidly, transforming into a barricade positioned on the ground.

In an instant, three layers of steel barricades, each about 1 meter high, sprung up from the ground.

Being a metal mage, the metal touched by Godhand could be shaped at will.

"Bodybag, you’ll be in charge of hindering the enemy and targeting from the middle line."

"Roger!"

"The rest of you..."

Godhand issued a simple command.

"Fire."

The remaining three party members - Oldgirl, Skull, and Burnout, simultaneously nodded.

Oldgirl drew her dual crossbows, Skull pulled her massive bow, equal to her size, and Burnout...

With a clanking noise, she was setting up a giant assembled ballista that appeared at least five times her size.

It looked twice as large as a typical ballista.

No, it was closer to a fire cart than a ballista. Such equipment for an archer.

The gargoyles that had landed at the edge of the castle wall let out ferocious roars.

Any normal children would feel tense, but the five members of the Shadow Squad remained calm.

Indeed, the hard-earned experience on the battlefield did not go to waste.

With a whizzing sound, the three archers fired arrows at the leading gargoyle rushing across the castle wall.

Ping! Pinging!

However, all of them bounced off.

Regular arrows struggled to even scratch the hard body of the gargoyle.

"As expected, it’s not working."

Godhand waved his hand.

"Permission to use skills. Skull, mid-range. Oldgirl, close-range. Burnout, maximum range. Execute."

"Execute."

"Okay~!"

"..."

The three archers each responded, and Skull was the first to pull back her huge bow.

Woosh -

The arrow nocked on the bow shimmered with a magical light, and was instantly loosed.

Whoosh!

The arrow, imbued with a blue aura of magic power, cleanly pierced through the center of the leading gargoyle’s head.

A perfect headshot.

The power was one thing, but the accuracy was strikingly precise.

‘Is that why her codename is Skull?’

While Skull was nocking another arrow, the gargoyles behind rushed forward at a remarkable speed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Oldgirl ran towards the gargoyles, who were unhesitatingly breaking through the barricades set up by Godhand, and marched forth atop the barricades.

“Let’s see how tough these fellas are~!”

From the dual crossbows in Oldgirl’s hands, bolts poured out like a shotgun blast.

Blam!

A volley of bolts, fired with a shimmering aura of magic power, turned the gargoyle’s upper body into a shredded rag.

But the gargoyle did not fall, its eyes flashed menacingly. It seemed to have the resistance, but no fatal damage had been inflicted.

“Hmm, they’re pretty sturdy. Seems like my stopping power has limits.”

Oldgirl grumbled and looked back, shouting,“Then there’s no choice! Burnout! It’s your turn~!”

At that moment, Burnout, who had been aiming from the assembly-type ballista, opened her mouth for the first time.

“Everybody down.”

Thud!

The next moment, hundreds of arrows were shot at once from the ballista.

It was a monstrous machine that, looking like a chariot, fired arrows simultaneously like a volley gun. Wow.

BOOM!

The arrows fell like a bombardment, causing an explosion as soon as they hit the gargoyles.

The gargoyles swept in the hail of arrows were shattered without even being able to scream.

This was Burnout’s passive skill. She had the ability to imbue explosive magic properties into any projectiles she fired.

The reason I first took notice of Burnout was here.

‘If trained well, she can be optimized for hunting mobs!’

Boom! Bam...

Thud...!

The fragments of the gargoyles shattered by the carpet bombing scattered everywhere.

Among them, a few gargoyles that managed to avoid the attack tried to approach the archers.

Swish!

The psychokinetic, Bodybag, snatched those gargoyles with magic from the middle row, lifted them up in the air, and then threw them back.

Crack! Crunch!

The thrown gargoyles, swept up in the whirlwind artifact, fell straight down the ramparts.

SCREECH!

The last gargoyle of the fourth wave let out a gruesome cry and charged.

Targeting Godhand, who was standing firm between the barricades, it swung down its mace.

“Hmph!”

Godhand swiftly sidestepped the attack and placed his hands on the gargoyle’s flank.

Sssssss!

Immediately afterward, the gargoyle’s side twisted wildly, and a large hole opened up.

Craw...ahhh...

The gargoyle, half its upper body gone, stumbled and fell sideways with a dreadful thud.

The gargoyle’s body was metal.

For Godhand, the metal mage, if he could only touch them, a one-shot kill was possible.

Three archers indiscriminately rained down their firepower, while two mages obstructed the enemies’ approach with various utility skills.

This was the major monster-fighting strategy of the sub-party, ’Shadow Squad.’

In an instant, the fourth wave of gargoyles was annihilated. Watching the scene, Damien muttered with his mouth slightly agape.

"So... is this... a real archer’s battle?"

They shoot arrows imbued with magic power, apply explosive attributes, and each assumes a portion of the firing line according to their confident range.

For Damien, who was performing the role of a sniper with nothing but his innate ability, without any archery training or related skills, this might have been an unfamiliar sight.

"That’s amazing. If I... learned sniper-related skills, I could be more helpful to Your Highness..."

As Damien murmured, I slapped his shoulder.

"There’s no real or fake in monster killing. You just do your best in the way you can."

I gave him a sly smile.

"Don’t worry too much, Damien. You’re already incredibly helpful. Just do what you can."

"Your Highness..."

No, I’m serious. After all, Damien can’t learn archery skills.

It’s more efficient to think about how to maximize the talent he has.

Anyway, the Shadow Squad performed much better in defense than expected.

As a result, by the time the third whirlwind artifact began to operate, we were able to annihilate up to the fifth wave of gargoyle bastards.

Watching the gargoyles fall like autumn leaves, I thought we might finish this defense quite comfortably. Just at that moment...

*Ding!*

An ominous system notification sound drilled into my ears.

"Darn it, what now-"

Cursing my carelessness, I opened the system window. What the!

[Enemy Information - STAGE 4]

- Lv.35 Gargoyle Chieftain: 2

- Lv.15 Stone Gargoyle: 58 (Kill Counts: 302)

- Lv.20 Steel Gargoyle: 40 (Kill Counts: 202)

The enemy boss’s information had been updated.

"Huh?"

I felt a sense of surprise.

The information should only update when the enemy boss appears on the field.

But so far, I can’t see it anywhere...

"...!"I felt a chill run down my spine.

Frantically scanning the surroundings, I suddenly thought to look upwards.

"Damn it."

Sure enough.

From high in the sky, something... was plummeting down with monstrous momentum.

"Damn it, look up! Up!"

I pointed at the sky and yelled urgently.

"The boss monster is coming from above! Everyone get ready-!"

But the appearance of the boss monster was too sudden, and everyone failed to react in time.

Especially the sub-party members, who were already engaged in battle with monsters on the front line, struggled to respond.

And then,

*Sreeeeeeeeek-*

Thwack!

Something plummeted onto the fortress wall with a resounding crash.

For a moment, the entire wall quivered under the impact. Bricks around where it landed splintered and scattered in all directions.

Clang, clunk...

It was a massive statue.

Despite its body being clearly made of steel, the writhing whole of it seemed like a well-toned, muscular body.

It donned armor made of metal over its metallic body, wore a helmet, and each of its four arms held hammers of varying lengths.

Growl...!

It was the commander of the Gargoyle Legion.

Compared to the previous gargoyles, this boss monster was so ferocious that the others would seem endearing.

“The Gargoyle Chieftain...!”

It landed precisely where the Shadow Squad archers had been stationed, and the auxiliary party members, unable to evade in time, were flung helplessly in all directions.

“Kugh?!”

The collapsible ballista crushed under the Gargoyle Chieftain’s foot was obliterated without a trace, and Burnout was flung far away, vomiting blood as she rolled.

Skull, standing next to her, was thrown off without even having time to scream.

“What, what is this thing...”

Taken aback, Oldgirl reflexively fired her crossbow at the Gargoyle Chieftain. Thunk!

However, the Gargoyle Chieftain nonchalantly blocked the flurry of bolts with its thick arm, then swung its hammer at Oldgirl.magic

Crack!

“Aahh!”

Oldgirl, struck in her side by the heavy hammer, was flung like a ragdoll across the fortress wall. Oh no!

Lucas and Evangeline, startled, were about to dash forward.

“We’ll support her right away!”

“Wait!”

I hastily held them back and quickly looked up at the sky.

“There’s one more!”

“Huh?!”

This boss monster event, due to the dark event, had two.

That means, the other one was nearby-

Screech-!

“...!”

Soon, I spotted it.

Breaking through the dark clouds, the second Gargoyle Chieftain was seen, descending almost perpendicularly from an unimaginable height.

“That one’s aiming for...”

Having quickly read the trajectory of the second one, I immediately recognized its target.

“Damn it, the Artifacts!”

It was falling precisely towards the location where the Wind Artifacts were gathered.

I shouted in desperation.

“Lilly!”

I yelled urgently at Lilly.

“Get away from there! Now!”

“Huh?”

Just as Lilly asked back with a confused look,

Kaboom!

The second Gargoyle Chieftain, who fell like a lightning bolt, destroyed the Artifacts in one fell swoop.

“Ah...?”

Lilly, who had been right next to the Artifacts, was flung into the air, wheelchair and all, along with the shattered artifacts.

The Gargoyle Chieftain, eyeing Lilly, lifted its hammer high and then,

Smash-!

Brought it down brutally.

--TL Notes--

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading

;Previous ;; ToC ;Next