Chapter 4:
The Northern Threat
AFTER ELIMINATING the goblin horde, we surveyed our surroundings, hunting for stragglers, but none were to be found. We didn’t find their cave, either. Given the number of goblins we’d killed, I expected a vast cave system. Even the less intelligent goblins in the Demon Wolf’s Garden had a decent-sized cave, and a horde this large could easily have excavated one of their own.
Where did they all come from?
With no answers to speak of, we headed back to the village. On the way, we spotted a chickendeer and decided to hunt it down. It would make a nice treat for the villagers. The animal bolted as soon as it sensed our presence, but it couldn’t outrun Jet. He tracked it down and killed it.
When we returned, the Black Cats welcomed Fran with great rejoicing. They had seen the lightning flashes from afar, and gasped in surprise when they learned that Fran had the ability to call down lightning from the heavens.
“I did not think you could control the weather like that!”
“No wonder they call you the Black Lightning Princess!”
“So cool!”
The villagers got even more excited when Fran produced the chickendeer.
“Wow! You even killed that monster deer!”
“You’re the best!”
“Marry me!”
“I got this for you,” Fran said. “Eat it.”
“M-may we really have this?”
“Of course.”
“Th-thank you ever so much!”
The elder bowed his head, and his people did the same. Killing a chickendeer almost seemed to earn their respect more than killing all those goblins. The chickendeer was a strong monster in these parts, despite only being an F-Threat. It was fast, and its horns were also more valuable than its Threat Level indicated. Villagers often carved the horns off and sold them for a sizable profit.
“You can have this, too.”
“Again, Princess? But there’s so much!”
“Hm.” Fran gave the elder the goblins’ equipment. The intense heat of our thunder spells had melted some of it, but most was still salvageable. The Goblin King’s armor was made of metal, and was mostly still intact, but the Black Cats would have to get stronger before they could use it.
“This one’s sturdier than the rest,” Fran said.
“Aah, indeed. It certainly is of higher quality.”
“W-we shall give it to our fittest villager!” stammered the elder, tears pouring down his face.
That night, the village held another feast. This one lacked the frenzy of yesterday’s celebration, but the villagers still talked enthusiastically about their magic and swordplay training. Fran’s four-meter-long chickendeer roast was the main dish, and there was more than enough for everyone.
“If you please, Black Lightning Princess.”
“Hm.”
“Give this a try, too.”
“Munch…munch…”
“And some tea.”
“Slurp…”
The women tended to Fran as she sat at the head of the table, bringing her delicious tea and an assortment of food. It looked as if they were bringing offerings to their goddess.
“Come, Princess.”
“You may have this, Princess.”
“Oh, Princess!”
At some point, they had started calling her Princess. Fran allowed it, since the Black Cats had good intentions, and it wasn’t like they were making fun of her. I wasn’t about to argue. After all, Fran was certainly adorable enough to be a princess! In fact, I was willing to bet that she was more adorable than the princess of the Beastman Nation herself! Not that I’d met her yet.
“We thank thee for thy gifts of armor this day.”
“I’m just unloading my stuff on you,” Fran said.
“Even so, this is a great boon to us. We shall send our people to the neighboring villages to get the equipment repaired right away.”
“You don’t have a blacksmith here?”
“No, madam.”
Apparently, the local blacksmith had passed away several years ago, and left behind no heirs or disciples. With no blacksmith, the Black Cats had to visit other villages for repairs. It might take some time before they could use the gear we gave them.
Teacher?
Yeah?
We have to do something about this.
Hmm… I had been using my Blacksmith Skill to conduct maintenance on myself, and now would be a good chance to put it to use again. Good idea. Let’s fix some of this equipment up for them.
After the feast was over, we asked the elder to take us to the forge.
“This is the smithy,” he said.
“Hm.”
The last blacksmith had lived some distance from the main village.
“Are you sure you do not require help?” the elder asked.
“I’m fine,” said Fran. “I have my secret skills too.”
“Of course! Then we shall leave you to it. We have cleaned the place up for you,” said the elder. “Feel free to use it as you see fit.”
The forge was attached to the house, and it still seemed usable. “Thanks,” said Fran.
“Come now, Princess! We should be thanking you instead!”
When the elder left, we got down to work.
Let’s start by making some ingots.
We started by sorting the goblins’ equipment into piles. We’d already given the Black Cats the stuff that needed only minimal repairs. We divided the remainder into what was salvageable and unsalvageable, then began repairing salvageable stuff and breaking everything else down into its raw materials.
I’ll look after this, I said. You can get some sleep if you want, Fran.
“I’m fine.”
Are you sure? I guess we could work on some parts together.
“Hm.”
We happily smithed away until Fran was too tired to continue.
***
The next morning, I was clanging with my hammer when I noticed a sound that wasn’t metallic. It was a knocking—on the door, to be precise. Someone was here.
Fran.
“Hm.”
It was a good thing she was already up. Fran could be semi-comatose in the mornings; the last thing we wanted was to explain how she was banging away in the forge while clearly half-asleep.
“Who’s there?” she asked.
“Good morning, Princess!” cried the elder. Fran opened the door, and the elder bowed to her. He held a tray of food. “Your breakfast.”
“Thanks.”
“Not at all. How are you feeling? You’ve been busy at the forge all night.”
Crap. Was I too loud?
“Sorry. Did I keep you awake?”
“Banish the thought! We were touched by your dedication, if anything!”
The elder was thankful that Fran pulled an all-nighter for the village, but I had to be more careful. Next time, I’d set up soundproofing spells.
As Fran ate, she and the elder discussed the day’s plans. We would continue smithing while the villagers continued their sword and magic training. The older population would focus on polishing up the equipment.
“You don’t have to practice again today, you know,” said Fran.
“Yes, but everyone is so enthusiastic that they proposed it.”
The chance of using magic was too enticing. Everyone was so motivated that we might see Black Cat mages sooner than I’d thought.
“Feel free to call if you need anything,” said the elder.
“Hm.”
Once he left, we got back to smithing. Today, I’d take the ingots we melted down last night and hammer them into swords while Fran worked on the armor and shields.
It’s nice that, when you level up a skill, you immediately gain all the knowledge you need. This world is so convenient.
I knew exactly how to use the forge, despite never even having seen one back on Earth. The fact that this world’s forges were designed in a completely unique way was no obstacle either. The skill told me everything I needed to know, even how to smith a sword.
Casting was the main method of production in this world. Smiths poured smelted metal into molds and only used the hammer to smooth out the edges. I’d once thought that both Japanese and Western swords were made by casting, but that wasn’t right. Japanese blades were usually forged. At least, that’s what I learned from TV.
However, this world had manatech and magic metals, which meant that a cast sword was as robust as a Japanese forged blade. Thanks to the metal’s inherent mana, forging wasn’t necessary, though hammering could still strengthen a blade, especially when you heated it with mana-imbued flames. As such, forging was generally only used to make high-quality equipment. Casting was good enough for mass production.
Let’s give casting a try and see what happens.
Using Double Mind and Telekinesis to cast, hammer, and sharpen simultaneously, I managed to produce numerous swords. The end products were pretty good too. I didn’t even break a sweat!
Fifty’s a good place to call it.
Including the existing swords in good condition we had set aside, we now had eighty swords in total. That should be enough to equip the greenhorn Black Cats.
Let’s see if I can make something else.
I’d always wanted to try a bit of forging, and I had some ingots left over to experiment with. If I happened to make a strong weapon, I was sure the Black Cats would put it to use.
The Blacksmith Skill had instilled knowledge of forging in me. All I had to do was hit and fold, hit and fold, until a sword eventually formed. Strangely, I could tell when the blade was finished. The Crafting Skill indicated that hammering it further would only reduce the quality.
The resulting sword wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. The poor-quality materials I’d used probably didn’t help. Unlike the Iron Swords I’d cast earlier, this was called a Low Quality Steel Sword. It probably represented the limit of what I could achieve with my current skills.
Still, there was room for improvement. I started by adding mana to the forging process. I couldn’t infuse a lot of mana, but every bit helped. Next, I ground some monster bones into powder and folded it in. The bones only came from a weak monster, but they still belonged to a monster.
I didn’t know whether it would actually work. It was all still theory for now.
You know, this looks all right.
It took longer than before, but I successfully produced another blade. The end product was a Low Quality Manasteel Sword. I had unintentionally made manasteel! Even though the sword was low quality, the mana infusion had worked—increasing the weapon’s mana conductivity from F to F+. That should cut through spirit-type enemies.
Name: Iron Sword
Attack: 88; MP: 0; Durability: 300
Mana Conductivity: F-
Skills: None
Name: Low Quality Steel Sword
Attack: 114; MP: 1; Durability: 380
Mana Conductivity: F
Skills: None
Name: Low Quality Manasteel Sword
Attack: 124; MP: 10; Durability: 390
Mana Conductivity: F+
Skills: None
For reference, this was one of Garrus’ swords.
Name: High Quality Steel Longsword
Attack: 398; MP: 5; Durability: 600
Mana Conductivity: F
Skills: None
He really was an excellent blacksmith. I decided to forge the remaining ingots into manasteel swords, and only stopped when Fran walked over.
“Teacher.”
Oh, Fran. What’s up?
She held her stomach sadly. Did she have a stomachache? “I’m hungry.”
“Woof…”
Oh. Whoops. Is it that time already? It was well past lunch. Blacksmithing had taken a lot longer than I expected. Sorry! I’ll fix you some lunch right away.
“Please.”
We had three meals every day at the capital, but the Black Cats only ate two: breakfast and dinner. They must’ve been struggling for food. I decided I should teach them how to better cultivate their farms. I supposed we could always come back once our business with Garrus was settled.
Some curry as an apology, I told Fran.
“Really?”
“Arf?”
You can eat all you want today.
“This is the life,” she replied.
Come on, you’re exaggerating.
“The name of heaven is Curry.”
Fran was so happy, she was getting poetic! Still, the curry was a small price to pay to lighten her mood. Speaking of which—our curry stocks were actually running a bit low. I figured I should plan to make more.
“Delish.”
“Woof!”
I decided to use the rest of the afternoon to top up our curry supplies. Fortunately, the smithy had a kitchen, where I could cook hidden from prying eyes.
***
The kids had grown used to being around Fran, and they started asking for stories from her adventures. The adults wanted to listen in too, and by the time we realized, night had fallen and the entire village was gathered.
Fran started with tales of her journey thus far. She wasn’t blessed with rhetorical skills, so she described battling the lich in a laconic manner. Somehow, her prosaic style only drove home the intensity of the events she recounted. You could hear the faintest gulps from the audience.
“And then the Leviathan saved us,” Fran explained.
“Woooow!”
“That’s amazing!”
She had the villagers’ full attention. They breathed sighs of relief and wiped the sweat off their chins. It was as if they had been on the journey themselves. Salutia—still front-row center—practically panted with exhaustion.
“What other stories do you have?” she asked.
“We’d love to hear them!” one of the others chimed in.
“Hrm.” Fran looked pensive, having exhausted her repertoire.
She moved on to mythology—specifically, the story of the Black Cats’ ancestors. It wasn’t a cheerful tale, but these people deserved to know why’d they lost the ability to evolve.
“This might sound hard to believe, but the Black Cats used to be a powerful race—”
The villagers perked up their ears, sensing that this story was not going to be a heroic epic. Their faces grew more serious as Fran continued.
For the first time, they learned that one of their own had been Beast King. They learned that the royal family had grown corrupt and used the Evil One’s powers to take over the world. This act of rebellion angered the gods, and the Black Cats were duly punished, stripped of the ability to evolve. The gods cursed them to hunt down Fiends to atone for the sins of their fathers.
“And that’s the end of it.” By the time Fran’s tale came to a finish, the entire town square was silent. It was a lot to take in.
Finally, the elder stepped forward and bowed. “Thank you, Princess, for telling us this important tale.”
“Hm.”
“We shall not let it go to waste.” The elder turned around to his people. “You have heard our princess’s message of our forefathers’ horrible sins!”
The assembled Black Cats looked ashamed. Fiends were the enemy of all this world’s rational races. The Black Cats were shocked to hear that their ancestors had sought the Evil One’s powers and brought down divine punishment on their people.
“But we are not to despair!” cried the elder. “For the merciful gods showed us the path to atonement!”
His words were powerful enough to lift the spirits of his people, and many turned to look at him.
“Not only can we atone for their sins, but through that, we may learn again how to evolve! We have been as kittens, lost and alone in the darkness, terrified of the violence that befell us, but we need not walk this path any longer! Instead, we can endeavor to become stronger and, in so doing, atone and regain our lost glory! I have decided to dedicate our village to this effort! I cannot force this task upon you, but I hope many of you are with me!”
The elder was a good public speaker. I was hooked. The villagers must have been too, because a thunderclap of applause soon broke the silence. The Black Cats got to their feet and cheered.
“I’ll definitely evolve!”
“I’m way past the age to evolve, but I’ll help any way I can!”
“I’ll carve the princess’s words into a stone tablet!”
I was surprised by how the Black Cats immediately accepted Fran’s story, but more surprised by the utter lack of any resentment toward their gods. As someone from Earth, it didn’t make sense to me. The Black Cats just accepted that they had been at fault, and that the gods were right to punish them.
After that, there was a grand celebration. The festivities even exceeded the ones the night before. I figured it was fitting, considering that this was the night Black Cat history would change forever. Wine and ale were passed around, and the adults tucked Fran and the other children in early.
They’re such good people.
“Hm.”
I wondered whether there was any way that I could convince her to stay.
“We’re leaving tomorrow.”
Already?
“Hm. I’ve said everything I needed to say.”
There’s no need to rush. We can stay longer if you want.
“No. I’m getting too comfortable. We’re leaving tomorrow.”
I mean—
“Tomorrow.”
Well, it seemed like her mind was made up. I figured we were leaving tomorrow. Let’s come again sometime.
“Hm!”
It wasn’t like we’d never come back.
Fran shifted in bed, her eyes glittering with excitement. She couldn’t sleep. Instead, she told me about all the things she did that day. I already knew, of course. I’d been with her the entire time. Still, talking about events could etch them into your memory, and that seemed to be what she wanted—to never forget about Schwarz Katze.
Finally, she fell asleep, the day’s exhaustion having caught up to her. For a long time, the only sounds were her soft snores and Jet’s snuffling breaths. I assumed the Black Cats had ended their festivities.
The clock showed midnight, and Fran and Jet were fast asleep. As I watched over them, though, they woke up suddenly.
“Hrm.”
“Urf.”
They were both awake now. I didn’t sense anything, but their ability to detect danger had always been reliable.
What’s up?
“Hm…?”
“Arf?”
Fran and Jet didn’t know what had woken them. They looked around, still half-asleep. When they didn’t find anything amiss, they tilted their heads.
Well?
“I don’t know.”
“Woof.”
What could it have been? Was there an earthquake? I was used to ignoring smaller earthquakes in Japan, but Fran and Jet might’ve been more sensitive to them.
“Earthquake…?” Fran asked, confused.
“Arf?”
Neither of them could figure out the cause, so we decided to take a look around. Maybe a monster had infiltrated the village using a Stealth Skill. However, after a quiet tour around the village, we came up empty. All we found were stone-drunk Black Cats passed out in the streets. We didn’t know where they lived, so we moved them onto some soft grass.
Was it all a coincidence? I didn’t think so. After all, Fran and Jet had both reacted at exactly the same time.
Let’s keep looking.
“Hm.”
Their restlessness was rubbing off on me, and their raw intuition was far too sharp for me to pass it off as an accident.
Maybe a higher vantage point will help.
“Hm.”
“Woof.”
Fran got onto Jet’s back, and we raced into the night sky. It was cloudy tonight, and visibility was poor, but Fran surveyed the area anyway.
Anything?
“I don’t know.”
What about you, Jet?
“Ruff…”
Jet’s nose twitched as he sniffed around. He obviously smelled something, but he couldn’t quite work out what. We carried on patrolling the area until finally I saw something. At least, I thought I did.
There…
“What is it, Teacher?”
There, in a crack in the clouds… Something was moving there, I swear.
“That way?”
Yeah, due north.
We headed toward a patch of wilderness several kilometers north. Fran tilted her head and strained her eyes. Even with Nightvision, she couldn’t see a thing.
Move closer, Jet.
“Woof!”
Jet continued north for several minutes. The clouds cleared slightly, and the moon shone down on the landscape below.
“Teacher…” Fran croaked. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
I see it.
“Grr…”
Monsters. Lots of them. So many that it looked as if the earth itself undulated. This wasn’t an ordinary pack of wolves or goblins. A great horde of monsters marched over the landscape.
We have to be sure. Take us closer!
“Woof!”
“What is that?”
I don’t know. Whatever it is, it can’t be good!
***
Three minutes later, Jet hovered over the aforementioned horde. At this distance, we didn’t need any light to see them. I felt their massive presence. This was no horde. It was an army.
Someone must’ve been controlling these creatures. There was no way that this many monsters were moving together without making a noise. And they were all heading south—to Schwarz Katze.
“What do we do?”
I don’t know if we can stop them all on our own, Fran.
“But the villagers can’t fight them off, either.”
We’ll warn the village. Get them to evacuate.
“Should we take potshots and kill some of them now?”
No, there’s too many. Some might be troublesome opponents, even for us.
I didn’t even know whether we could outrun them if they gave chase. We could end up leading them straight to the village. We had to hold off on the offensive until the Black Cats evacuated.
“Okay.”
Back to the village, Jet. Double time!
“Woof.”
“Go!”
“Woof woof!”
We rushed to Schwarz Katze, and Fran went straight to the elder’s house. Jet howled for good measure. “Awoooo!”
Nothing beats a howling direwolf to warn of an emergency.
Fran banged on the door. “Elder! Wake up!”
“P-Princess? What is going on?”
The elder opened the door, rubbing his eyes. Jet’s howling had done the trick.
“There’s an emergency,” said Fran.
“A-all right…”
“A horde of monsters is coming to the village.”
“O-oh. Monsters you cannot deal with on your own?”
“Hm. They’re coming through the northern plains. We’ll need the army.”
“B-by the gods…! I shall alert our soldiers immediately!”
“Start evacuating everyone.”
“It shall be done!”
Good thing they trusted Fran implicitly. The Black Cats were leaving their houses now, awakened by Jet’s howling.
“Hear me, good people!” shouted the elder. “The princess spotted a mass of monsters in the plains to the north. They are approaching us as we speak!”
“What?”
“Oh no…”
Screams of panic rose from the crowd, but the elder shouted them down. “Remain calm! We have time before they arrive! Now rouse your fellow townsfolk, and make ready to depart!”
“A-all right!”
“On it, Elder!”
“We shall inform the guards!” the elder cried.
We accompanied him to the guardhouse while the villagers prepared to evacuate. The Black Cats really were light on their feet, having been an errant tribe before settling down in Schwarz Katze. This wasn’t the first time they’d had to evacuate since their village was founded either. The Black Cats might be useless in battle, but that martial incompetence was matched by their flight skills.
“I know not whether we can weather this storm,” the elder muttered. The neighboring villages’ fortifications were similar to Schwarz Katze’s, so it was no use seeking refuge there. The monsters would crush them in an instant. “We might have to flee all the way to Green Goat.”
But these monsters were faster than the escaping villagers. I didn’t know how much time they had, or whether it would be enough.
“We will need to alert our close neighbors,” the elder said. “Send riders to the surrounding villages and Green Goat.”
“Hm.”
It was a race against time.
“There’s the guardhouse now.”
It looks like they’re already aware.
The guards were outside the guardhouse. They had noticed the commotion in the village, and they stood on alert just in case.
“Good guardsmen!” cried the elder. “There is an emergency!”
“Elder! What on earth is going on?”
“We haven’t much time! You see—”
The elder told the guards exactly what Fran had reported.
“R-really?”
“An army of monsters…”
The guards stared apprehensively at Fran, clearly not buying it. Not being Black Cats, they just didn’t have same kind of faith in her.
The elder noticed their doubts. “We tell you the truth! The princess saw it with her own eyes!”
“Sure, but still…”
“But nothing!” the elder said. “We need you to send riders to Green Goat!”
“Elder, we must confirm the existence of this monster horde first.”
Ugh. We’d have to put this in a way the guards would understand. They gave us no choice.
“So,” said Fran. “You don’t believe me?”
“We do, but…”
“Send the riders. I’ll take the blame if anything goes wrong. But if you’re going to slow us down…”
Fran sent out a wave of Intimidation to establish who was in charge here. She wasn’t about to cut the guards down where they stood, of course, but beastmen respected strength. Fran was just taking full advantage of that respect.
The guards nodded immediately, recognizing her authority. “U-understood!”
“We shall send the riders at once!”
“I’ll go to Green Goat myself,” said Fran.
“A-are you sure?”
“Hm. Faster that way. You guys take care of the surrounding villages.”
“It shall be done!” the elder said with great confidence.
“I’m off. Jet.”
“Woof!”
Jet took to the skies, and we zoomed off.
“Hrrr…”
Every second counted. Jet strained himself until he was in clear discomfort.
“Urf…hurf…”
He belched some sort of white slime—probably the contents of his stomach. We rode through the night sky, Jet holding down his dinner as best he could.
“You can do it, boy.”
We’re counting on you, Jet!
“Awooo!”
All Fran and I could do was be there for him.
Thanks to Jet’s heroic efforts, we made the four-hour trip back to Green Goat in a little under an hour. The gate guards were shocked to see a giant direwolf rip through the darkness, but we didn’t have time to shrink him down to a friendlier size. Sorry about that!
“Thanks, Jet.”
“Ruff…”
You still have the return trip to worry about. Get some rest.
“Woof.”
Jet retreated to the shadows without a single complaint about the ordeals ahead. Complaining took energy, and he needed every ounce of his.
Time for us to do our part.
“Hm!”
Fran called out to the guards. As much as we wanted to rush right to the marquis’s estate, disrespecting due process would probably slow us down.
“I am the Black Lightning Princess. I wish to notify the marquis of an emergency situation. Let me see him. Now.”
“O-okay!”
A giant direwolf had descended from the darkness, and the little girl riding it turned out to be the acclaimed Black Lightning Princess. She burned with Intimidation, for whatever reason, and demanded to see the marquis of the whole city. The guard nodded and opened the gate, far too shaken to ask questions.
Once inside, Fran took to the rooftops and Air Hopped her way to the marquis’s mansion. She reached it in less than five minutes.
“Wh-whoa! A little girl?”
“Where did she…? What are you doing here?!”
The guards pointed their spears at her.
Fran did not have time to humor them. “Is this the marquis’s mansion?”
“O-oh. Black Lightning Princess, is that you?”
“Hm. Is this marquis’s mansion?”
“Y-yes, it is!”
“Let me see him. It’s an emergency.”
“Pl-please wait while I tell him that you’re here!”
“I’m in a hurry. If you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m going in by myself.”
“Ma’am?”
“Go.”
“Y-yes, ma’am!”
The guard went pale and rushed inside, calling for his friends.
“A-and what is this emergency, if I may ask?” the remaining guard asked meekly.
“That’s for the marquis to know.”
“V-very well…”
Oh yeah, ask him about the town’s military strength.
“You got any knights in town?” Fran inquired.
“Yes. The city’s remaining knights all serve under the marquis.”
Finally, some good news. Beast knights were probably stronger than your average knight. We were about to ask how many there were when the previous guard returned. That was fast! It had only been five minutes.
“Th-the marquis will see you now! Right this way!”
“Hm.”
The guard led us to a small room near the entrance. It was no throne room, but it was still sumptuously decorated. Almarno, the muscular marquis, waited for us in his pajamas. The situation looked like a setup for a skit. I’d have laughed, if I didn’t have a monster army to worry about.
“It’s been four days, Black Lightning Princess!” said Almarno.
“Hm. Thank you for seeing me.”
“Not at all. I apologize for my rough apparel. I heard it was an emergency.”
This was the kind of noble I liked—one who rated the convenience of his guests above his own appearance.
“That’s okay,” said Fran. “You look great in it.”
“Thank you. Now, what is the emergency you speak of? Have you uncovered another assassination plot?”
“No.”
“What is it, then?”
“There’s an army of monsters coming in from the north.”
“What?! From the north, you say?” The news struck Almarno like a splash of cold water.
“Hm. They’re heading south toward Schwarz Katze.”
“How many?”
“Uh…a lot? They covered the whole plain.”
“By the gods… I don’t suppose this is your idea of a joke?”
“You can have my head if I’m lying.”
Fran! What are you saying?!
It’s fine. I’m telling the truth.
Sure, but that’s not the point! Don’t bet your life so easily next time!
What? All right.
As I panicked, Almarno muttered to himself. He stroked his white beard as he processed the information. “A stampede? There are no dungeons nearby, so that can’t be it…”
As ruler of these lands, he knew the location of any and all dungeons near his city. Only an old, well-established dungeon could have produced so many monsters.
“What’s to the north?” Fran asked.
“Nothing noteworthy. The kingdom of Heredia lies to the northeast, and Basharl is to the northwest. Between them and us is an uncharted mountain range we call the Border Mountains.”
The Border Mountains were steep and rugged—harsh terrain where only the hardiest monsters could survive. The Beastman Nation had once sent a special task force to cross the range, and failed utterly. There was no way the weaker monsters we’d seen in the army could have scaled those mountains, but that also meant that whole area was poorly fortified.
So, where did the monsters come from? I just couldn’t figure it out. Regardless, we needed to stop them.
“Send the military,” said Fran.
As soon as she spoke, Almarno’s face fell. “…”
“What’s wrong?”
“I cannot,” he said grimly. “Not right away.”
“Why not?”
“Fighting with Basharl broke out along the southwest border three days ago.” That was news to us, and very bad news for Almarno. “I deployed over half of Green Goat’s military there. The only ones left are the reserves.”
“But you’re not defenseless.”
“We can just about defend ourselves, but against a whole army of monsters…?” Almarno bowed his head. “I apologize, Black Lightning Princess! Green Goat will take in as many refugees as possible. It is the only city well-fortified enough to withstand the force of which you speak. But I cannot send out any more soldiers. It would leave us defenseless!”
“Is there anyone in town who can use Earth Magic?” Fran asked. “If they could create a big wall, they might buy us some time.”
“Only one Land Mage in the country is capable of that, and he is currently in the thick of the battle against Basharl.”
“I see.”
“I shall contact the armies to the south immediately to ask for help!”
“How long will it take them to arrive?”
“A few days at the very least. Until then, every soldier we have shall need to remain here.”
“Okay.” Fran nodded in understanding and made ready to leave.
“I truly apologize. Wh-where are you going?”
“The Adventurer’s Guild. I’m done here.”
“W-will you not stay?”
Fran was as powerful as an A-Rank. Not only could she defend the city against the looming threat, but her presence would reassure the marquis’s citizens and boost the morale of his troops. Fran wasn’t about to go along with that, however.
“Can’t,” she said. “I don’t abandon my kinsmen.”
She didn’t blame Almarno for any of this, but he looked visibly distressed. He stood up, gnashing his teeth in despair. “I’m sorry…truly! Please…save the northern villages!”
He bowed his broad shoulders, begging Fran to do what he could not.
“It’s all right,” Fran said, clapping a hand on his trembling shoulder.
“I beg of you…!”
“Hm.” The marquis watched as Fran left.
She made her way to the Adventurer’s Guild, located right in the heart of the city. Once again, her title opened all the doors we needed. The receptionist left immediately and came back a few minutes later to take Fran downstairs to the Guildmaster, who was both powerful and evolved—an aging old man with a pure white beard. He was surprised to see us again so soon, and immediately sensed that something was wrong.
“What’s the emergency, Black Lightning Princess?”
“An army of monsters coming in from the north.”
“Excuse me? Can you elaborate?”
Fran explained the situation to the Guildmaster, whose shock soon gave way to consideration.
“An army of monsters in the thousands, you say?”
“We need the adventurers’ help.”
“Of course. I shall send out a call for everyone we have. I only hope there are enough of us left,” he muttered, looking worried.
“What do you mean?”
“Most of our adventurers went south to assist in the war effort.”
“I thought adventurers weren’t conscripted?” Fran said.
I remembered the guild’s fine print from the day Fran had signed up. Most adventurers didn’t want to get tangled in international politics, and the guild was set up so that the government couldn’t force them to. Adventurers’ sole obligation was exterminating monsters and bandits.
Long ago, Raydoss had broken the agreement and conscripted adventurers to fight their wars. Anyone who refused was summarily executed. As a result, adventurers left the kingdom in droves, sentencing Raydoss to defeat. The kingdom retaliated by eliminating all the country’s Adventurer’s Guilds.
It was really best not to break a contract with adventurers, but that wasn’t to say that they couldn’t take contracts with the government if they wanted to.
“They left of their own accord,” said the Guildmaster. “This is our country, after all. You don’t have to be part of the army to want to protect your own nation.”
The Adventurer’s Guild held special favor with the crown, and the current king was an adventurer himself. I supposed it was only natural that beastman adventurers would head for the front lines.
“Even if we gather every adventurer in the neighboring villages,” said the Guildmaster, “we can’t fend off an army.”
“We need all the help we can get,” said Fran.
“I understand. But we might only have enough people to bolster Green Goat’s defenses. Please try to understand.”
“Hm. That’s fair.” Fran got to her feet.
“Will you go back?” the Guildmaster asked.
I figured he wanted her to stay too, but he didn’t try to argue with her. After all, Fran was a Black Cat. The Guildmaster understood her desire to protect her own people.
“Hm,” she said. “Bye-bye.”
“Godspeed.”
***
As Jet raced back toward Schwarz Katze, Fran and I discussed our plans.
We can’t expect help from the military or the adventurers.
“Hm.”
If we did nothing, however, the monsters would catch up with the Black Cats in no time. No matter how quickly the villagers tried to evacuate, the monsters were faster. The younger Black Cats might get away if they used every horse in the village, but there was no way Fran would settle for that.
The village was everything she’d ever dreamed of—a place where Black Cats could live in peace and harmony. Fran had been at peace in Schwarz Katze from the second we arrived. She was determined to protect the village.
It’s gonna be tough…real tough.
“What’s the matter, Teacher?”
Fran, we’re the only ones who can protect the Black Cats. Help isn’t coming.
“Hm.”
You know how dangerous that’s going to be?
“Of course.” Fran nodded. She had a grim look on her face.
I need you to be safe. If you’d like, I can teleport us a million miles away.
“Sorry, Teacher. You know I can’t do that.” Her eyes looked like they could pierce through anything.
Urk…we’re really doing this, then.
“Hm!”
I knew from the start that Fran wouldn’t leave her fellow Black Cats in the dust. Still, I had to say my piece. Fran would fight to the death for her kinsmen, and I was terrified of losing her.
Sorry. I was being stupid. I just feel so useless right now. What was I thinking? Here she was, heading into battle, and I was dampening her resolve.
“You’re not useless. You’re the greatest sword ever!”
Fran… She was right. I was her sword, and she had decided that she would fight. All I had to do was help her win. I’m fine now.
“Thanks, Teacher. I know you’re worried about me. But I need your help to save my friends!”
And my help’s exactly what you’re gonna get!
“Hm!”
Still…killing all those monsters is going to be really hard.
“I know.”
We wouldn’t just face a few goblins this time. That army could be full of A- and B-Threat creatures, for all we knew. We had to expect the worst.
Our priority was to stop their advance. That would buy the villagers more time to escape. Of course, that meant directly engaging the horde, and I wasn’t sure how long we could hold them off. Eliminating whoever controlled the monsters would be the best option—not that I had a clue where that person might be. Still, the horde definitely had a master. There was no way this many monsters came together by accident. Whether it was a Goblin King, an elite monster, or something else entirely, a leader was out there somewhere, and all this would go much better if we found them.
If we couldn’t find a way to hold the monsters back, they’d catch up with the villagers. Could we protect the Black Cats and attack the horde at the same time? We might be experts in killing, but we knew very little about protecting others.
“Doesn’t matter,” said Fran. “We still have to do this.”
You’re right!
I would do my best to help her wishes come true.
All the while, Jet streaked on through the sky. He wasn’t going at maximum speed—he had a battle to conserve energy for—but we still moved fast, and soon caught up with the evacuating Black Cats. When they noticed us, they cleared space for us to land.
“Everyone’s here,” Fran said.
Good. Evacuation is going just as planned.
The villagers were heading south, down the mountain toward Green Goat.
“Take us down,” Fran told Jet.
“Woof!”
Jet descended, and the Black Cats welcomed him with hopeful smiles.
“Princess, you’re back!”
“Hm. Is everyone accounted for?”
“Of course,” said the elder.
He looked relieved to see her. Not just because he worried about what would happen to them without her, but because he was worried for her too.
I’d prepared myself to find the Black Cats still dillydallying around in the village, but they had moved fast. The elder explained that they finished preparing an hour ago and left the village immediately, bringing only a few valuables and several days’ worth of food. They left anything that would slow them down behind, and as they moved, the adults surrounded the children to form a shield. They really were good at this.
That said, they could only move at the pace of their oldest and slowest members. At this rate, it would take them days to reach Green Goat.
“I can’t come with you,” Fran said. “Will you be all right?”
“Yes. We can defend ourselves with the equipment you provided.”
“It’s good enough to beat the local monsters with!” Salutia chimed in.
She and the men of the town were armed and ready. They might’ve been weak individually, but they were motivated. That should be enough to deter any small monsters that got in their way.
“Do not worry, Princess,” said Salutia.
“Hm. Take care of the village.”
The little girl beat her chest. “I will!”
“I’ll be off.”
“Do be careful,” said the elder.
None of them asked where Fran was going. They all knew—she was going to battle the monsters so that they could escape, and she would fight to the death for it. The best they could do was send her off with smiles.
“We’ll see you soon.”
“We shall be waiting.”
“Hm. Bye-bye.”
The Black Cats bowed their heads, and Fran departed into the dark sky, heading north. There was no going back now.
“And we’re back,” Fran murmured.
Yep.
Schwarz Katze was below us, dark and empty. There was no sign of the great feast held there just hours ago. All the laughter was gone now, and only the wind whispered through the village’s streets.
“We’ll protect everyone,” said Fran. Seeing the deserted village only renewed her resolve.
Yeah, we will.
“We’ll give them something to smile about again.”
“Woof!”
We can’t just go rushing in. Let’s figure out a plan.
“Sure.”
I wanted to intercept the monsters while they were still on the plains. Once they got into the forest, they could slip past our defenses more easily. Besides, it was easier to read the horde’s movements out on the plains. It would mean that we had nowhere to hide, but at least it lowered the chances of stealthier monsters ambushing us.
I can feel them coming.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before the monsters reached the forest edge.
“We have to hurry.”
“Woof!”
Oh well. We’ll think of a strategy on the way there.
Our main concern was stopping the horde from progressing any farther. We needed to figure out exactly how to do that.
“Should we make a wall? Maybe a pitfall?” Fran suggested.
Hmm.
Both those things would be nice, but our Earth Magic just wasn’t strong enough. Even fully charged, we could only dig a hole three meters wide and five meters deep. That might split the horde and make the situation worse, if anything. Of course, we could dig a trench by casting the spell over and over again, but that would take too much time and mana.
What would people have done back on Earth? I didn’t know much about military tactics, but the term “guerrilla warfare” came to mind. It was a tactic small militias used to fight far more numerous foes—setting up traps that forced the enemy to stay on their toes, until anxiety and fear of invisible foes undermined the morale and combat capability of the guerrillas’ enemies. At least, that was what I got from light novels and movies.
The problem with guerrilla warfare was that we didn’t have enough points in our Trap Skills. Even making pitfalls with Earth Magic would only mean digging holes and covering them. Those would probably be hazardous to the Black Cats once the fighting died down, like the landmines in Vietnam.
I think we’ll just have to draw attention to ourselves and meet the monsters head-on.
“All right.”
In the end, we couldn’t really come up with anything better. Still, we could at least add a bit of flair.
“Stone Wall. Stone Wall.”
Stone Wall! Stone Wall! Stone Wall!
“Will that do?”
Yep, looking good. It even has windows.
“Hm.”
My turn, then. Earth Control!
We quickly threw together a building at the forest edge, raising multiple Stone Walls and fusing them together with Earth Control. We made a gate, which looked a bit like the Arc de Triomphe, and gave the whole place the air of a well-defended garrison. In fact, it was a well-defended nothing at all. The thing was hollow inside.
However, all that mattered was that it looked the part. The oncoming horde wouldn’t ignore our fake defenses in favor of rushing into the forest. At worst, they’d try to destroy the building in a pincer attack, and at best they’d stop traveling entirely. I didn’t know how long the structure would stall them, but it certainly couldn’t hurt.
All our little fort needed was a few soldiers. And where would we get soldiers, you ask? Simple. We would make them.
Over to you, Jet.
“Woof!”
I drew the corpses of goblins and robbers from my Pocket Dimension and laid them on the ground. There were about ten, all in good condition. Jet used necromancy to turn them into zombies, and we posted them on the gates.
They certainly looked the part. Sure, they were weaker than goblins, but all they had to do was make it seem as though the fort was manned. I equipped as many zombies as I could with bows and arrows to fire at the incoming horde, and armed the rest with spears and swords—just the right equipment for gate guards.
And there’s our fake fort.
“Should we go now?” Fran asked.
Not before a round of buffs.
“All right.”
There was no way we were going to fight a monster horde without a full set of magical buffs.
How do you feel? I asked.
“Good. Stronger.”
Great!
“Hm!”
Our preparations complete, we set off again toward the approaching army.
Go higher, boy. I don’t want them to see us. We need the initiative.
“Woof!”
Jet accelerated higher into the sky. After some time, the monster horde came into view below. The clouds had cleared now, and we could get a better look at them.
It seems like the ground is squirming down there.
“Like a trash heap.”
We’ll start with a bang and knock the wind out of their sails.
“Hm!”
We approached the horde carefully, making sure they didn’t notice us.
All set. You ready, Fran?
“As ever.”
“Woof!”
I figured we were good to go.
“Awaken!”
No Flashing Thunderclap this time. Fran had to pace herself. This was going to be a long night.
Here we go!
“Hm!”
“Grrr!”
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