CH 31.1

Litty Enters the Scarb’s Nest

Walking in the lead were Dimos, the head of the Heavy Warriors Guild Branch, and Instructor Gonza. Following closely behind were Litty, Roma, Instructor Toito and James.

In the rear guard were Laila and the other magicians. Since Litty and Roma were the most experienced in the battle against the Scarbs, they were also taken together.

In the narrow cave, a large number of people would be too much of a hindrance.

“I wish we had Caddock-san, too…” (Dimos)

“I understand how you feel, Dimos-san, but at his age, I can’t let him push himself too hard.” (Branch Manager)

Older people like the knight Caddock and the head of the Swordsman’s Guild branch had stayed in the town since long-term battles like dungeon exploration were too much for them. Moreover, they also needed some high ranked adventurers in the town for unexpected situations.

Everyone slowly approached the Bikki mine’s entrance while hiding behind the rocks and bushes.

“Look. Those multiple holes…!” (Dimos)

Dimos whispered as he pointed to several small and large holes beside the original entrance. Scarbs could be seen going in and out of them.

“I see. They have dug new entrances to leave the mines!” (Branch Manager)

There were no signs of those Scarbs heading toward the town, so the Branch Manager concluded they were probably looking for food.

“That hole over there seems to be used by Scarbs to carry the food in. There are obvious trails of blood and signs of dragging prey inside. That’s where we’ll get in.” (Branch Manager)

“Why, Branch Manager?” (Litty)

“The food is not only for them but also for the Queen. The Queen needs nourishment to reproduce further.” (Branch Manager)

“So that might be where the Queen is.” (Litty)

“Probably. Also, they would have attacked the town again by now, but it seems like they lacked the sufficient number. It looks like we have greatly reduced their number during the recent raid. That’s on target.” (Branch Manager)

The reason for the lack of raids last night and this morning was now easy to understand.

Even though enemies had a high reproductive capacity, they could not produce an infinite number of eggs. They would need both food and time to reproduce.

Everyone knew that now was an ideal time to counterattack. Except for one person.

“But there are so many of them. I don’t know if we can eradicate them by ourselves…” (Toito)

“Toito-san, I know you’re faint-hearted, but please refrain from talking right now. Besides, your cute junior is watching you.” (Branch Manager)

“Yes, I’ll do my best…” (Toito)

When Litty first met Toito at the training session, he looked experienced and tough. However, he was trembling after witnessing the number of Scarbs attacking the town. Toito, watching how Litty fought those Scarbs, finally acknowledged her as a reliable ally.

He was a rank 3 veteran. His knowledge and experience, including that of the branch manager who decided where to raid, were incomparable to Litty’s experience. Litty was learning from them, relying on them, and was grateful for it. She had a secret goal in her mind.

***

“We’ll launch an attack when all the Scarbs have entered some hole. Everyone! Keep your attention up.” (Branch Manager)

“”Yes…!”” (Everyone)

With the Branch Manager in the lead, everyone slowly approached the rock nearest to the mine and held their breath. As soon as he raised his one hand as a signal to move forward, everyone moved with him to take the lead.

The force of the Branch manager’s attack was reminiscent of Baffolo’s charge, but the power of the attack was incomparable to it. The surprise attack was so powerful that it seemed to wipe out the tail end of the Scarbs, reaching until even the leading group.

“Let’s go deeper inside!” (Branch Manager)

Dimos followed, and Instructor Gonza took his place at the rear, to prevent being caught unguarded in a pincer attack in the cave with vulnerable rear guards behind.

The rear guards were protected both in front and back, and light sword fighters like Litty and the others were split in between.

What surprised the group when they entered the cave was that there was no longer even a trace of the former Bikki Mine. The passageway was divided into branches, which went up and down, left and right, devoid of any form of control.

The width of the passageway, which seemed to have been designed to accommodate the size of the monsters that passed through it, was not a problem.

In other words, it was proof that there were twice or three times as many Scarbs as the adventurers expected.

“Oi oi oi… to have such a monstrous nest so close to the town. This could have been a disaster if we didn’t take any actions, eventually.” (Branch Manager)

“One of them leads to the Queen’s location, right?” (Litty)

“Yes, Litty, so maybe this is the right place for this guy to go.” (Branch Manager)

When the branch manager referred to this guy, he was talking about the last Scarb he defeated. The passageway that the Scarb carrying the food stepped into was most likely the correct pathway.

With no other clue, there was no reason to make an objection.