Mountain Pass Crossing: Defense

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“Raise your shields!”

And with that, the shields were raised above our heads at once. As this was the second time, everyone was quick to react.

A moment later, the rocks came plummeting. But there were not as many. I suppose they didn’t have enough time to gather more.
Not only that, but this time, we were in a dense formation, so the target was smaller. And as we had our shields ready, the damage was not as great.
Of course, even a shield would not protect you completely if a boulder hit it directly. So while some were injured, it was mild enough that they could be healed.

And then once again, the tornado of harpies descended.
And from the fortress of wagons, the arrows were unleashed. However, there was no break in the harpy attack, and one after another, they smashed into the shields.

In general, the harpies attacked once and retreated. They would fly, using their momentum to attack once, and then go back up.
And so we targeted the ones that would become greedy, and continue to attack near the ground. Spears and swords shot out from the cracks between the shields, wounding them.

Just now, another harpy’s leg was pierced by Jirot’s spear. However, the harpy stayed in the air while being pierced. And then it opened its mouth.

“Gnaaaa…!!

Once again, it unleashed the horrible sound waves, and the defense formation was disturbed. However, this time, arrows were quickly unleashed, knocking the harpy out of the air. The Adventurer who shot it down had put in ear plugs in preparation for the attack. Though, you would not be able to have a conversation with him.

From there, the battle between the merchant caravan barricaded in the wagon fortress and the Harpies, who repeated their hit-and-run attacks, began to take on the appearance of a grueling struggle of endurance.

The powerful attacks of the talons would crack through the simple wooden shields. Before long, the roofs of the wagons were torn down, and there was less covering.
With defenses weakened, the number of wounded increased. And having to use Heal over and over again was draining my MP to a dangerous degree.

As for the harpies, they could not attack without limit either. Monsters were still living creatures.
And they were clearly becoming tired.

After attacking once, one harpy tried to move away, but it lost its balance while flapping its wings wildly in the air.

“Hyaah!”

I took advantage of the opportunity and thrust towards its legs.

“Keeeeee…!!”

After dragging it down to the ground, the other Adventurers finished it off. Such things were happening a lot more now.

“They are getting tired. We just need to hold our ground!”
“Aye!”

Lodoz shouted, boosting morale. I wasn’t sure if it was just me, but the harpies seemed to recoil for a second.
Just then, a sound echoed that tore through the battlefield.

“KYUUUUAAAAaaaaa…!!”

It was at a volume that far exceeded that of the previous screams. And both harpies and humans froze for a second.

When I looked up towards the source of the sound, I saw a creature that was twice the size of the others. There was no doubt about what it was.

“The queen! Target her!!”

Someone shouted, and the arrows were unleashed. However, the arrows seemed to go along an unnatural trajectory before missing their target.

“What!? What is that?”

“Wind protection. It is wrapped in wind.”

Gunat answered me.
And we were not the only ones who had recovered from the shock.
The other harpies had also resumed their attack.

As if encouraged by the sight of their queen, the harpies pushed with increased force.
And then the sorcerer unleashed a fireball at the queen. However, the queen dodged it as if it was nothing.
While such magic attacks would get through the wind barrier, there was no point if they did not land.

“We’ll match his magic!”

Gunat shouted while blocking the oncoming attacks of the harpies.

“You won’t be able to hit it!”

I shouted while defending myself with my sword.
Gunat answered while moving closer to me.

“That fireball was just a feint. That sorcerer can use Fire Javelin. If we could stop its movement, then we’ll have a chance. Got it?”

He said and then returned to his position. Stop its movement. But how the hell were we supposed to do that?

Their attacks were growing more ferocious by the second. The tarps covering the wagons were already torn, and insides exposed.
And as the others raised their shield and hid behind, the talons attacked as if to destroy the obstacle in their path. There was a horrible cracking sound, and one of the carriages crumbled to the ground.

“Kueeee!!”

The gap was widened and the harpies flocked to it. And then Lodoz moved in with his shield. He brushed away the harpies and used his one-handed sword to cut at them while pushing them back.
This was a man who had fought harpies as a guard and Adventurer for years, and it was enough to fill the gap in the crumbling defenses.

“Please heal me!”

“Lu-mes-lotto-rim Dark Heal!”

Still, the longer the battle continued, the more people would be wounded. Leliane used healing magic to treat them.
And so to do my part, I raised my sword and stepped forward.

“Ajifu!”
“I’ll support you!”

I didn’t have much MP left anyway. I could use Heal twice more at the most.

“Hyah!”

I slammed Mine Breaker into the approaching claws. I had wanted to knock it out of the air, but the talons blocked me, and it escaped.
The talons were harder than I expected. I could probably cut through them if I charged the sword with magic, but then I would not last very long.

The attacks started to concentrate near the gap in the wagons. And while Lodoz continued to block the harpies, it was a dangerous situation.
The number of harpies was going down, but there were still enough to be a threat. It felt like it would never end.

Furthermore, we had entrusted the attacks to the rear spearmen and archers, but problems began to arise.

“I’m out of arrows!”
“Me too!”

The bad news rang from behind.

As the arrow attacks lessened, the attacks from above grew more aggressive. They no longer just targeted the gap in the wagons, but would attack from any direction when they had the chance.

They were slowly pushing us to the brink.

When I looked up at the sky, the harpy queen, which was flying away from the flock and looking down at us.

Next Chapter

Ossan Boukensha no Jimichi na Isekai Tabi