Chapter 344: Chapter 342 – Battle at Lands Harvest

Battle at Lands Harvest

The fleet carrying the expedition army headed for Lands Harvest first.

Dream Maker would’ve been better suited as a base of operations, as it hadn’t been long since it was abandoned, but they wanted to be able to escape to sea immediately in case of an emergency.

The order of priority was Lands Harvest first, then Dream Maker.

Doriachi and his people probably wished to return to Dream Maker as soon as possible, but that was asking for too much, considering the strength of the monsters that attacked on the day of the city’s collapse.

「I’m kinda worried.」

The overcast skies made the sea a deep indigo color, a hue that seemed to portend the hardships ahead.

Seventeen thousand forces was quite a huge number—two thousand from Dream Maker, seven thousand from Vireocean, seven thousand from the other countries, and one thousand adventurers. Considering there was still the second and third batches coming, securing and defending the base would be easy.

That’s what you would normally think, at least.

But the soldiers of Dream Maker were far more skilled than those from other countries. Simply increasing the number of forces wouldn’t guarantee victory. Furthermore, the expeditionary army was not monolithic, and the adventurers each had their own goal.

『You’re looking melancholic.』

Hikaru turned around to find Selica. The cloudy weather meant few people came on deck; most were lounging around in their cabins.

Twelve days had passed since the voyage. No doubt everyone was tired of life on board the ships.

『Where are your friends?』Hikaru asked.

『I should be the one asking you that. You’re usually together.』Selica replied.『Selyse is in a meeting. Sophie and Sarah are with her.』

『What about you?』

『I always fall asleep in those boring meetings. So I go somewhere else. 』

Selica walked over beside Hikaru and placed her hand on the railing. A strong wind was blowing, bringing with it the warmth of spring.

『So what’s bothering you? You can talk to your business partner.』

Hikaru assumed she was referring to being owner of the hot dog chain. Although personally he saw it as an enterprise she managed on her own, that he had nothing to do with it.

『A piece of advice.』Hikaru didn’t answer her question.『Don’t die. If you think you’re in trouble, run, no matter what.』

Selica grinned for a moment, thinking he was joking.『Wait, you’re serious.』

『Damn right, I am.』

『They’re already talking about how to split up the dragon stones.』

Hikaru was not only worried about the strength of their forces, but the mood onboard as well. People were relaxed, already convinced of their victory.

『The enemy is no pushover.』

『Hmm... I’ll let Selyse know, then.』

『She probably already knows. She just doesn’t say anything.』

『How? Besides, if she tells everyone, I’m sure they’ll listen.』

『Some won’t, simply because you’re women. There’s no need to risk agitating them. They’ll find out after one fight anyway.』

『People might die in that one fight.』

『If you’re gonna die then, you’re gonna die sooner or later. She’s attending the meeting, fully aware of that.』

Selica pouted.『It’s kinda annoying. You sound like you know more about Selyse than I do, when I’ve known here for longer.』

『Difference in intelligence, I suppose.』

『Oh now, you said it!』

『Ouch. A woman shouldn’t be kicking people around.』

『I’m a high school girl!』

『There are no high schools in this world.』

It was then that Hikaru noticed a bird flying in the sky.

『A seagull?』Selica said.

Hikaru was silent.

『What’s the matter? You look grim.』

『Seagulls mean we’re close to land.』Hikaru nodded and turned his back to Celica.

『Where are you going?』

『Getting ready to disembark. It’s gonna get busy.』

It was early afternoon in mid-March when the fleet appeared off the shores of Lands Harvest.

Dozens of enormous ships floating in the sea was a sight to behold, but unfortunately no one on land witnessed it, so it was unlikely that the spectacle would ever be written down for posterity.

No human might have seen it, but ferocious creatures did.

They knew by the scent the wind brought that the ships carried living beings. Eagerly, they waited for the visitors to land.

「Operation: Land Harvest Landing. Begin!」

The operation started with Vireocean’s navy dropping small boats. The people gathered on the deck watched as five hundred men headed towards the location that bore traces of a ruined city.

Every ship was filled with people who wanted to see the new continent and the landing operation.

The moment the first boat reached the shore, soldiers jumped down into the shallow waters. The whole area was a sandy beach, and although it was easy to trip, walking was not at all difficult.

「Look at ‘em go!」

「Damn it. I wanted to be the first to go.」

「Idiot. It’s better to let the army do the scouting and then later we can just go without any problem. Easy.」

The adventurers gathered on the deck were eager to go sightseeing. Apart from the crumbling harbor, the surrounding land was lush and green. The coastline stretched as far as the eye could see. They believed there were even dragon stones around here. It was no wonder that their expectations were so high.

「Look. One unit is heading towards the forest.」

The first team had reached the bushes.

「Huh?」Someone let out a strange sound. That was all that managed to come out of their mouth.

A lizard jumped out of the trees. Bigger than any of the soldiers, the creature stretched out its tongue, wrapping it around a man, and pulled him into its mouth.

「Wh-What the...」

「What the hell is that?!」

「I think I’m still drunk. I’m not sure how big it is.」

「It’s huge! Is that a dragon?!」n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Several more lizards appeared, swallowing men. The soldiers finally moved to fight back, but the creatures were too strong. While their weapons could scratch the lizards’ outer skin, the enemies were quick, their tongues far-reaching.

「The lizards are gonna eat them all!」

Most adventurers probably thought the same.

「「Magic Squad, go!」」

No one noticed the additional boats that arrived on shore. The vessels carried members of Huge Twins, a whole party wearing black armor.

The Spirit Magic they unleashed rapidly lowered temperature, slowing down the lizards’ movements. With long weapons in hand—spears, halberds and pole axes in—adventurers lunged at the creatures, skewering them.

「「Save them! Hurry!」」

Ram and Leg sauntered down the beach last, giving orders. Members of Huge Twins used their knives to cut open the lizards’ bellies and rescue the swallowed soldiers.

「Wow!」

「They’re adventurers, right?!」

Excitement soared among the adventurers as the soldiers were rescued. But that wasn’t the end of it.

A gigantic, orange-feathered bird, bigger than any of the lizards, appeared from the woods, mowing down trees in its path. Too big to even fly, it grabbed a lizard by its talons and swung its beak down. The lizard’s head flew.

The giant bird then turned its eyes to the twins Ram and Leg.

「Protect the boss!」

「Defensive positions!」

The black armor-clad adventurers blocked the path to their leaders with their kite shields, but the rushing bird easily kicked them away.

Everyone thought Ram and Leg were doomed. Only a few noticed the orange light that streaked across the sky.

「I won’t miss if it’s that big.」

A silver-masked boy with a black hood—Silver Face—suddenly appeared behind the giant bird. He pointed the silver barrel at the creature and pulled the trigger.

A huge fireball even bigger than the bird materialized and flew straight at it, roasting the creature. The bird let out a shriek of pure agony.

「「Oh... You’re the famous Silver Face.」」

Even though a gigantic creature just charged at them, the twins stared at Silver Face with an unconcerned look on their faces.