Chapter 84: Cooperation With Everyone

「That… seems dangerous. Those Minotaurs have formed an army.」

「Nyan, that equipment aside… The variants are also mixing in amongst the normal one nyan.」

They had advanced quite a little bit from the previous position―

Aria and Vulcan were having this conversation while hiding in the shade of a rock.

It was just as they said, they had found eight minotaurs after scouting the area.

Four of the minotaurs were normal ones equipped with battle axes… Two of them were equipped with bows, and the remaining two were equipped with canes.

The last four were variants of minotaur, the〝Minotaur Archer? and the〝Minotaur Mage?.

「As long as Tama-chan went all out, they were piece of cake, but…」

「Yes, we mustn’t overly rely on Tama-chan. Let’s take them down with our own power!」

If they depended on Tama, whose power could easily defeat trolls (A-rank monsters), defeating these minotaurs was a simple matter.

But, doing so would halt Aria’s growth.

That was why Aria readily agreed to Vulcan’s idea about defeating them without relying on Tama’s power.

「We will not let our guard down this time!」

「This will be payback for our failure from befo~re!」

Lily and Faeri proudly declared so after hearing Aria and Vulcan’s conversation.

It seemed that they were still vexed with their previous failure.

「I will do my job then.」

Stella tapped the back of her great sword on her shoulder, smiling as if telling the two fairies, “Leave the protection to me.”

As she looked at Stella, Aria slightly smiled and said,

「Thank you, Stella-chan.」

「That’s why, you shouldn’t help us in this battle, Tama-chan.」

「Nyan (Roger that, miss Vulcan)!」

The girls were really fired up right now.

That’s why Tama had agreed to Vulcan’s proposal, replying with his adorable cry as only a boorish man would disturb those spirited girls.

（Nevertheless, I’ll give my support if push come to shove…）

Tama muttered inside.

He might be Aria’s knight, the knight who protected this party, but, this was a time when he must not help them for their own sake.

Still, if the worst situation came to pass, Tama would use every means to protect them, including the evolution.

「Well then, Lily-chan, please use your 《Fairy Bullet》 to surprise them. Faeri-chan will use the resulting turmoil to attack. She will confuse them even further with her 《Branch Whip》, and, if possible, kill one of their rear guards.」

「Roger that, Aria!」

「Leave it to me~!」

Lily and Faeri replied to Aria’s instructions with a cheerful voice.

If their strategy went well, they might be able to take down the other party’s rear guard while still under the effect of 《Divine Protection of Lion King》.

「Stella-chan, please focus on dealing with the incoming attack. Vulcan-san, you’re to intercept the opponent’s vanguards if they manage to slip past Stella-chan. I’ll make use of my speed to enter their blind spot and use my 《Sacred Blade》.」

「Humph, it’s annoying that you’ll be the one to take them down, but you can leave the protection to me.」

「Funya!? Stella-chan is actually cooperating on her own will nyan! Well, roger that, nyan!」

Although Stella seemed to be dissatisfied by Aria’s order, it only took a glance at her face to know that she didn’t really mean it.

And Vulcan, who looked at Stella, agreed to Aria’s plan and willingly followed her order, giving a satisfied nod.

She was really happy that Aria had taken the lesson about battle strategy from her seriously and had applied it in the live combat.

「Let’s go, 《Fairy Bullet》!」

Lily fired her 《Fairy Bullet》 toward one of the minotaurs.

The Minotaur Mage, who received the attack right in the gut, let out a cry of pain. 『BUMOOOOO―!?』.

When they saw their comrade suddenly bleeding heavily from its abdomen and suffering, the other minotaurs were flustered.

At that moment―

「《Branch Whip》?!」

Two 《Branch Whip》 rose up from Faeri’s feet and then… struck the two Minotaur Mages, their opponent’s rear guard.

『BUMOOOO!』

Finally noticing that they had been ambushed, one minotaur then pointed at the shade of the rock, Aria and co’s hiding place.

Both of the opponent’s vanguards readied their battle axes and ran toward the rock at breakneck speed.

「OVER MY DEAD BODY!」

But, Stella and her mega shield was in their way, blocking their path.

And instead of waiting for the incoming attack, she sent a powerful charge attack toward the two minotaurs.

Even the minotaurs, who were famous for their brute power, were powerless in front of Stella, who had transformed into her dragonewt mode.

They were the one who had been sent blown back instead.

「VULCAN, NOW!」

「…! ROGER NYAN?」

Even though Vulcan became dumbfounded for a moment when she saw the minotaurs’ fate, she got a grip on herself. In the next moment, she leaped up while raising her battle hammer.

She was surprised. The Stella she knew before would’ve charged ahead and chased the enemy she had sent flying back.

But, the current her was only holding on to one of the two minotaurs with her shield while leaving the other one to Vulcan.

Vulcan was even more surprised compared to when she had seen Stella’s tremendous growth as a tank during her adventure in Gladdstone.

「Good job, Stella-chan!!《Acceleration》――!」

Stella and Vulcan, who had stopped both of the minotaurs’ vanguards, opened the way for Aria to strike into the core of the formation.

Seeing the opening, Aria charged in like a bullet with her prided skill, 《Acceleration》.

The one she was aiming for was the minotaur who had nocked its arrow, the Minotaur Archer.

『BUMOOOO!?』

When faced with Aria’s overwhelming speed―

The Minotaur Archer stiffened for a moment.

Aria didn’t miss this opportunity.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Using her top speed, she leaped towards it, slashing at its head as she passed it.

The Minotaur Archer was decapitated, his head thrown aside in the next moment.

Aria’s knives—which were made with an alloy that combined both orichalcum and tamahagane, blessed with Tama’s 《Divine Protection of Lion King》, combined with her speed—sliced through the minotaur’s muscle armor as if it were just a piece of paper.

Aria’s attack had yet to end.

After she landed on the ground, she went after the two vanguards who had been blown away by Stella’s charge shield from before. They were trying to stand back, when—

Aria landed right in between them, knives gripped in both of her hands.

With one knife, she aimed for the heart of the minotaur on the left, while with the other one, she went for the eyeball of the minotaur on the right.

Both of her knives resulted in critical hits on the heart and the brain.

The bodies of both of the minotaurs twitched, and then, fell right on there along with a loud crashing sound.

Aria had shown the tremendous growth she had gone through after capturing the forest-type labyrinth, and the battle against the undead army controlled by Reis in Gladdstone.

「Lily, take care of the one who was thrown back by my charge!」

「Roger, Stella!」

One of the minotaurs’ vanguards, the one stopped by Stella, had been flung to the side, thanks to her skillful manipulation of her mega shield.

「《Fairy Bullet》!」

Lily didn’t miss that moment. She shot her 《Fairy Bullet》 toward the left side of the minotaur’s chest.

Stella stabbed her great sword toward the only vanguard left.

「Vulcan-san, let me help you~!」

「Thanks a lot, Faeri-chan!」

While Vulcan sealed the two rear guards’ movements, Faeri used her 《Branch Whip》 to attack them till they were rendered unable to do anything.

Vulcan swung her battle hammer toward the minotaur’s head and―DOPAN!—landed a critical hit.

「THIS IS THE END!」

Aria then sliced through their throats, finishing off the two Minotaur Mages, whose movements had been sealed by Faeri.

The party didn’t let their guard down until they had made sure that all of their opponents had been killed.

（Yup! Wonderful cooperation for their first time! Their cooperation rivals your average knight group.）

Tama gave a nod, quite satisfied with the result of their battle.