Chapter 99: Battle of The Underground Lake Tower I


    We have yet to confirm the size of the army of Jiras, even though it was waiting for us along the banks of theke. The army kept popping out non-stop from the water around our only escape path, around the road and near the bridge. I guess breaking through by force will be impossible. Naturally, we don''t have enough manpower to hold back the advance of the Jira troops either. If we include Rem, there are only five of us and there’s definitely not enough coverage in the banks of theke either.


    Naturally, our only choice was to run towards the tower and hold the fort there.


    「CLOSE THE ENTRANCE NOW!! 」


    「IT DOESN’T HAVE DOORS!? 」


    Juri and Mari, who rushed in the tower ahead of me, were at a loss when they saw the opened gates of the tower.


    「UWAA, WE’RE SCREWE~D!! W-WHAT SHALL WE DO, MOMOKAWA~?!」


    Randou-san and I entered a bitter than them and also confirmed theck of anything resembling an entrance gate. The gates, or whatever was previously used as the shutter, were gone. Not even its broken joints could be found amongst the remnants.


    This ce was wide open without any shutter to seal the entrance.


    「Randou-san, use your mud wall here.」


    「Eh, THAT''S RIGHT! 」


    Thebo of permanent shape and mud wall was what we needed the most at the moment.


    「Here and here, twoyers, please. Make it rise upwards but leave a small opening. We''re gonna kill anything that enters through there and decrease their numbers.」


    「U-Uhm.」


    「Nonomiya-san, Houzaki-san, please take a look inside the tower. Look for usable weapons or equipment, or a room to hide us. Also, please confirm the condition of the stairs that lead to the rooftop.」


    「UNDERSTOOD! 」


    「Let''s go! 」


    They left immediately. It wouldn''t be a joke if the stairs crumbled. Still, we shouldn''t ignore the possibility of climbing to the rooftop, no matter how small a chance it was.


    「Momokawa, can you check the sturdiness? 」


    「Uhm.」


    The mudwall sealed the entrance just as the figures of Jiras ran in our direction.


    「SHOOT!」


    「『Tera Sagita』！ 」


    The stone rifle bullets were fired, creating a loud "Dohyuun" sound. The bullets never missed their mark since the Jira were basically covering our whole line of sight.


    「GYOAAA! 」


    The poor Jiras who got hit by the bullets died on the spot, their ce taken immediately by the Jiras behind them. Their number didn''t seem to decrease at all no matter how many of them were killed by Randou.


    「Keep shooting at the closest ones.」


    「Yup! 」


    I could hear the dying screams of the Jiras with every bullet fired by Randou. But we were simply outnumbered by them. Randou-san’s 『Tera Sagita』 needs 5 seconds to cast. Fortunately, Jiras are aquatic monsters, their speed onnd isn’t that fast. Nevertheless, they were slower than me. It took them 10 seconds to cover a 50-meter distance.


    After who knows how many times we shot them down with Tera Sagita, the Jira horde finally reached the entrance of the tower.


    「NOW! 」


    「――『Tera st*』」<b> [*TL : Stone Cannon]</b>


    The next moment, the sound of an explosion resounded around the tower. At the same time, the sound of countless pellets breaking the scales of Jiras was apanied by the sound of their ripped flesh.


    The next skill Randou-san learnt after 『Tera Sagita』 was 『Tera st』. It''s what you would call an AOE attack. This skill was the earth version of ss rep''s 『Eis st*』. <b>[*TL : Freezing Radiation]</b>


    But still, unlike the ice counterpart which only releases cold air, this one fires physical matter called pellets. The size of the bullets is smaller than 『Tera Sagita』 and they have shorter range, but the moment an overwhelming number of pellets is fired right from the front, the effect is simr to a giant shotgun.


    Long ranged attacks are better with the rifle-like 『Tera Sagita』 which has greater firepower, a wider range and a stable trajectory, while the shotgun-like 『Tera st』which fires numerous small pellets is better at a short range. Thus, the firepower of Randou-san with these two firearm-type magic increased tremendously.


    It was something of a big haul since Jira troops were basically flooding the entrance of the tower. Almost none of the fired pellets missed as they gouged on the bodies of Jiras.


    But still, we couldn''t stop those things and their Unending Waves tactic even with the power of the『Tera st』. We couldn''t rapid fire this spell like a machine gun. Its cooldown time was 8 seconds, longer than 『Tera Sagita』 which was only 5 seconds.


    In the blink of an eye, the Jiras arrived at the opening of the mud wall by trampling upon the corpses of theirrades.


    Nice, now it''s my turn.


    「Decay within the corrupted red abyss ――『Rotten Bog』!」


    I stretched my hands from the opening of the mud wall as my blood dripped from the curse crest. The drop of blood that fell right in front of the mud wall formed a 『Rotten Bog』 in the next moment.


    「GYOOO!? 」


    「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! 」


    Thanks to their own momentum, those Jiras plunged into the dangerously colored swamp. As their bodies came into contact with the extremely acidic red swamp, they raised agonizing death screams.


    <i>Fools! You guys are too naive if you think those measly scales of yours can protect you from Ruinhilde-sama’s toxic swamp!</i>


    「Waaa~h! What is that thing, Momokawa! 」


    「My curse. You mustn''t touch it. It’s extremely corrosive.」


    I didn''t have the chance to introduce my skills to others so far, so this was the first time Randou-san saw mine. Nevertheless, she didn''t seem to be disturbed by the sight of my skill at all.


    「Use this chance while they''re falling over and st them! Do it NOW!」


    「U-U~gh, I’ve had enough of these things! 」


    Randou-san, who started toin like that, fired her 『Tera st』 towards the Jira who had already spilled over right in front of us from the opening of the mud wall.


    「Twine into hairs, O rotten red, be thread which vites flesh and bone ――『Redhair Twine』!」


    Not wanting to let Randou-san take all the glory, I released 『Redhair Twine』 from the curse crest on both on my hands after expanding my 『Rotten Bog』. Though it took some time to kill them, that was plenty enough for me. Otherwise, they were bound to die trampled by their ownrades as they advanced from behind.


    I threw a few of the tentacles towards the Jira that caught my eyes at the edge of my field of view, hoping that it would at least dy their advances through the opening of the mud wall.


    Thanks to my acid swamp and Randou-san’s relentless short distance sts, we managed to ughter quite a number of Jira, but still―― My 『Rotten Bog』, which was covered by Jira corpses almost reached its full capacity.


    But the Jiras kept advancing, mercilessly using theirrades corpses as scaffolding.


    「Retreat, Randou-san! 」


    「''Ka~y! 」


    This kind of hard-fought battle proved to be too much even for Randou-san. Despite her strange reply, it seems that my instruction had reached her.


    「Erect some spears at the opening in the mud wall. Quickly, we''re running out of time!」


    With those Jira rushing in like this, the mud walls were bound to copse sooner orter. Even if we erected a magnificent stone spear, only the ones at the front would be stabbed and killed by it.


    「Nonomiya-san, Yoshizaki-san, how''s your situation?! 」


    I shouted as I looked up at the open ceiling of the tower. Their faces appeared from the edge of the spiral staircase built on the outer wall.


    「THE STAIRS TO THE ROOFTOP OF THE TOWER ARE STILL GOO~D! 」


    「BUT THE ROOMS ARE EMPTY! WE CAN ONLY ADVANCE TO THE ROOFTOP! 」


    I expected this situation when I saw that tower from the outside but still, there really was nothing until the rooftop. Was this used to trap invaders or to hide the transfer circle somewhere in this tower?


    「Those guys outside are rushing in. The second round of this battle will be on the stairways! 」


    「What should I do~? 」


    「Randou-san, you are more suited for defense. Keep in mind that those guys might use projectiles.」


    「OKE~, LET''S DO OUR BEST, ANZU! 」


    「Thanks a lot, Juri, Mari! 」


    Randou-san''s earth magic was our lifeline in this defensive battle. We have no way to stop the enemies advance without the mud wall. Any slight mistake will be our doom, we’d end in the stomach of those Jira.


    「Randou-san, retreat. Make a mud wall around the stairway.」


    「What about you, Momokawa? 」


    「I''ll be right behind you after I cast another curse on them.」


    The biggest fault of Randou-san’s earth magic was that it took a long time to activate, even just to form a wall. We probably wouldn''t make it in time if we didn''t start beforehand.


    Maybe thanks to her awareness of her own power and limitations, Randou-san went towards the stairs immediately.


    「Well then, guess it''s time to try my new curse! 」


    「GAGA~!! 」


    Sticking together by my side like a bodyguard, Rem also raised a warcry. She also wanted to do her best since this new curse was rted to her.


    「d in Flesh and Blood of Acid Venom, Raise From The Sea of Red――」


    I could hear the crunchy sound of Jiras tearing apart the mud wall. Thanks to those guys trampling the bodies of theirrades into the poisonous venom under their feet, the swamp filled up and they''ve built up a safe scaffolding.


    But, that didn''t change the fact that the water below their feet was an extremely deadly corrosive poison.


    「――『Vile Mud Doll』」


    At that moment, I heard a loud sshing sound. The Jiras that were still clinging to the mud wall were blown away.


    Standing in front of the mud wall with dark red flesh was…. A y doll.


    That''s right, it''s a new curse which I created when I used Rem in tandem with 『Rotten Bog』 in my first solo battle against Kamakiri.


    『Vile Mud Doll』： A y doll of acid and poison created in the depths of the Rotten Bog.


    Thanks to Ruinhilde-sama’s recognition, that skill got it''s own name and exnation. This is my second original sorcery after the『Redhair Twine』. Or was it already a derivative skill?


    That aside, the『Rotten Bog』, that was almost unusable due to the amount of corpses piling up in it, could now be recycled as another skill. Thus, the human shaped poison doll was raging on her battlefield, feeding many of her enemies with her potent acid.


    The reason why I only made one Rem instead of two until now wasn''t due to theck of materials. I left the second slot open to make this 『Vile Mud Doll』 since a single Rem was enough as my bodyguard at that time.


    The 『Vile Mud Doll’s』 movement was linked to 『Vile y Doll’s』, the other Rem. That''s why I couldn''t make another 『Vile Mud Doll』 when I used Rem the 2nd.


    I wanted to test it for a while now and yet… I never expected to do it in realbat.


    「Yosh, let''s go Rem. No 2, Rage as much as you want.」


    「GAGA! 」


    Taking along Rem who nodded in understanding, I ran after Randou-san towards the stairways. I barely managed to slip into the gap between the almostpleted mud wall.


    「Momokawa! 」


    「We still have some time left until those guys destroy the barricade. Calm down and use that little extra time to make an even more solid wall.」


    Rather than Randou-san, those words were directed at me.


    Whether it''s mud wall or earth spear, both take too much time to cast. And I don''t even know whether we can hold for five minutes before the Jiras break the barricade. Making it poorly would ultimately end up with it being destroyed in a second.


    What should I do, what kind of barricade would work more efficiently to stop those things? I couldn''t think of a better n other than spamming mud walls. I did consider the option of making a nted wall to drop them down below or a pitfall with skewers, but…. I think making thick and strong mud walls one at a time is a better option than trying out wacky ns. I mean, Randou-san would be the one casting the magic afterall.


    「The wall is done! What should we do next!? 」


    「Keep raising it up to this height and make another wall from here. A thicker wall will gain us more time.」


    「UNDERSTOOD! 」


    This tower was around four floors high, so the stairs weren’t that long. The only way out of this situation was to construct lines of defense in several ces.


    The stairs were built on the wall of the tower, spiraling up from inside the tower to the rooftop. The center part of the tower was empty, without even a railing for safety.


    「Did Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san destroy the railings? 」


    「Wait a minute―― UORAAA! 」


    「ORAAA! 」


    Raising a cry unbefitting of girls, Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san destroyed the feeble metal railings one after another. Their splendid kicks made their mini skirt flutter around and… Ah, I saw their panties… ck and red, huh?


    「Let''s go, Momokawa.」


    「It only takes one blow with an axe.」


    「Take care of the railing over there! 」


    The sound of "ORAORA" or "CLANKCLANK" resounded for a while and, in the blink of an eye, we took care of the railings as they served no function.


    Left unchecked, they would only help those Jiras. I wouldn''t let even a morsel of an undesired factor threaten our safety. Best case scenario, the railing would give out, unable to support the weight of the Jiras.


    「GUGAGOGAGA! 」


    「Eh, is the 2nd Rem about to reach her limit? 」


    「GUGA~! 」


    I could somehow sense that the 『Vile Mud Doll』 was swallowed by the waves of Jira when I saw Rem’s reaction.


    They came at the worst moment, huh?


    「GYOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! 」


    The Jira were flowing endlessly inside the tower from the destroyed wall. And, just as I expected, those fools were idiots who got skewered by earth spears as soon as they surged out from the destroyed mudwall. The earthnce trap was rendered ineffective after a fair bit of the Jiras got skewered by it.


    We were looking at that situation from the top floor. The stairway was blocked with a mud wall.


    「Uwaa, they came…」


    「We have no ce left to escape now. Do your best Randou-san―― GO!」


    「Y-yeah――『Tera Sagita』! 」


    「『Rotten Bog』! 」


    After breaking through the mud wall at the entrance, the Jira swarming around the stairs got sniped by Randou-san. I also made full use of my 『Rotten Bog』 from the blood stains which I left in various ces around the stairways beforehand. And, once again, those Jira were ughtered by the stone bullets and acid mud.


    The stairway was wide enough for two people walking side by side. It was pretty wide for a stairway, but one couldn''t simply escape from the terrain restriction. Naturally, the Jira were also advancing through the stairs in pairs. Randou-san’s sniping aimed for the front most group.


    「GYOAAA! 」


    「AAAAAAA………」


    When she shot one down, the Jira right behind it tripped on itsrade’s corpse. Despite the domino effect of their tumbling, those things’ fighting spirit never wavered in the slightest. They continued to climb, no matter how many times they fell.


    But they wouldn''t be able to advance that easily since I''ve prepared several 『Rotten Bogs』 to wee them.


    「ck Hair Bind… Kuh, it''s hard to use it at this distance, huh…」


    To make full use of my 『Rotten Bog』, I used my ck Hair Bind to get rid of the piling corpses in the swamp and throw them below. Thanks to the Juri-Maribo destroying some of those rails I had an easier time removing those corpses.


    Nevertheless, the distance and speed of the Jiras plunging into the swamp made it impossible to keep up the pace.


    Damn it, even though we were supposed to have advantages in terms of terrain and abilities…. It was futile in the face of overwhelming numbers, huh.


    「Watch out, Momokawa! 」


    「Uwaaa!? 」


    A sharp metallic sound resounded right in front of my eyes with a "Gakin".


    I wasn’t able to see it, but it seems that Nonomiya-san protected me with her spear from the weapon that was thrown by one of the Jira.


    「HEY! THAT WAS DANGEROUS! 」


    「It''s fine, Anzu. Fire! Leave your defense to me! 」


    Those Jira started to aim for me and Randou-san, who kept on shooting them down from above. They used their weapons as projectiles. Some of their projectiles reached our level and one came too close to hitting me. Depending by chance, huh.


    「JUST DROP DEAD ALREADY YOU F##KING FISH! 」


    「WOAAH, QUITE A GOOD INSULT THERE! 」


    Catching the thrown weapons in mid air, Nonomiya-san and Yoshizaki-san threw them back to those Jiras. As expected of the ones withbat vocations. Their simple throw was packed with overwhelming power. Quite different from those Jiracking control of their weapon, the weapons thrown by the Juri-Maribo traveled like arrows, skewering their targets to death.


    「Rem, pick up the weapon for these two.」


    「GA! 」


    Our share of problems had increased thanks to the other party’s usage of projectiles on us. The Juri-Maribo’s full powered throw was strong enough to skewer two bodies at once as long as they used a pole-type weapon. The current Rem couldn''t exert such power yet, so she decided to support the Juri-Maribo and decrease their workload.


    The four of us fought back with our lives on the line. We had long since lost count of the number of Jiras we killed. Nevertheless, at this rate, we were fated to lose.


    「Tch, why the hell did these goddamn fish have to begin using their brains now….」


    They might have begun to understand the structure of the stairs and my 『Rotten Bog』 tactics. Some of those Jira tried to get over the poisonous swamp by piggybacking on the other Jiras. Others threw ropes with something like a metal w at the end and began to climb. Though their methods were rather primitive, they managed to climb up after some trial and error.


    「AAAH, STOP COMING UP ALREADY!! 『Tera st』! 」


    Those Jira finally arrived in front of ourst defensive wall created by piling up mud walls. Randou-san didn''t snipe the Jiras below us anymore. Instead, she sted away the Jiras who managed to arrive in front of the mud wall with 『Tera st』 to reduce their numbers.


    I judged that I couldn''t afford to cast my curses at other ces and used 『Redhair Twine』 to harass them too.


    「GUGYOO! 」


    「GYOAAA! 」


    One after another, those Jira fell in front of the wall. Their corpses were just like money falling out of a quarter pusher in a casino. Just giving them a bit of a push was enough to make them fall from the stairs.


    And yet, their number didn''t seem to diminish at all.


    <b>[ED: don’t do gambling kids! It’s mathematically impossible to beat the house]</b>


    「AAAH…. WHY DID YOU START USING SHIELDS NOW, YOU DAMNED FISH?! 」


    Even I snapped at their shrewdness.


    Those guys started using their ownrades’ corpses to protect the ones demolishing the wall. Not only using them as shields, they quickly piled them right on the handrails position like sandbags.


    「Momokawa! My st can’t get through it! 」


    「Tch, my spear can''t pierce it either! 」


    「None of our axes or knives can get through those piles of corpses! 」


    The scales that covered the Jira’s bodies were far tougher than human skin. It was just a makeshift meat wall and yet it was tough enough to seal the few offensive methods at our disposal.


    F#ck, if only we had firepower that could st them once and for all, like Tendou-kun’s dragon breath. Those f#cking Jira would have already be hist-……. Yeah, I guess asking for that kind of firepower is too much.


    「Let''s go to the rooftop, Randou-san. Please built a wall after enclosing the entrance with spears. That ce is ourst line of defense.」


    「R-Right away! 」


    Turning around, Randou-san went towards the rooftop of the tower. I could see her leopard patterned panty covering her plump butt. She didn''t even try to cover her mini skirt when she ran up the stairs―― Well, at least I''m lucky enough to be able to see that scenery in the midst of this predicament!


    「DIE, ORAAA! 」


    「DROP DEAD YOU FAKE FISH! 」


    After that me, Nonomiya-san, and Yoshizaki-san reduced the number of Jira as much as possible until they were just about to break the mudwall. To be honest, I didn''t know whether we bought enough time for Randou-san.


    「Inheriting meaningless trial. And unfortunate fate. If you''re not chosen by fate, carve it with your own feet――『ck Blood』」


    In the end, after I made ast『Rotten Bog』 with a drop of my blood in front of the stairway, I ran up to the rooftop.


    This was ourst line of defense.