Defense Team Training
“Damn it!”
The members of the village’s defense team were thrusting their spears at a giant centipede. However, their attacks just bounced off the hard round shells.
Ahh! I told them to stay calm and target the weak spots!
The giant centipede thrashed out with his mandibles as if to take advantage of the opening. I wanted to rush forward and help them, but stood back after seeing other members move forward with shields.
The shields were large enough to protect their whole bodies, and this gave the others a chance to regroup.
Clang! The centipede and great shield clashed. The creature was nearly three meters long, and the defense member stumbled back. Still, he was focused on defense, and managed to stay on his feet.
In the meantime, two of the other members moved behind the distracted giant centipede.
Alright. Just as we trained!
They swung their swords at the centipede, but this only resulted in cutting off a few legs. Otherwise, the swing bounced off the carapace. The loss of a few legs was not going to mean much to a centipede. Still, it seemed to be painful, as its body thrashed around after the attacks. One of the defense members tried to move away, but tripped and fell.
Rowar, who had been watching, tried to intervene, but I put a hand on his shoulder.
“Mr. Ajifu!”
He began to argue, but I silently pointed at the centipede.
Rocks were flying towards the centipede, who was trying to attack the fallen man. One of them caught the centipede in the face with a loud ring. As it thrashed about, its soft underbelly was exposed. This was the perfect chance!
However, the spears that were thrust towards it got caught in the violent tangle, and the shafts were snapped.
“Mr. Ajifu! The defense team is not ready to take on a D-Rank monster! Let’s help them!”
Nenreko shouted, but stayed where I was.
“Look. They have not given up. Everyone is fulfilling their role. We all trained together for one month. Have faith in them.”
I said, and Nenreko stopped. However, he was still holding his spear ready, so that he could move in at a moment’s notice.
My training of Nenreko and Rowar had attracted a lot of attention in the village.
This was the frontiers, where one step out of the village carried a risk of being attacked by monsters. And you could not always avoid a fight. Even more so if you were a member of the defense team. So it was no surprise that they eventually joined the daily training as well.
Of course, they were not soldiers, and did not fight like soldiers. These were villagers who had other occupations, and they took turns guarding the village. Some were farmers and others were crafters. They merely picked up weapons out of a necessity.
That being said, I had already been training with them occasionally, so their level had been raised. I even thought that they were better fighters than a lot of G-Rank Adventurers. Still, fighting a D-Rank monster would be hard. But I thought it was possible with the right preparation.
More rocks shot through the air towards the giant centipede. Hunter Ozlo was holding a leather sling. I had made it based on knowledge from earth. It was a simple weapon, made of leather and string alone.
Obviously, I did not want to cause any strange effect on this world by bringing in things from outside, but Ozlo had asked me about ways to defend himself against the bugs.
His main weapon was a bow, but arrows were not very effective against the hard shells. I thought something with blunt damage might be better, and it was proving to be rather useful.
“Take this!”
When Ozlo used it, the stones had much more force than when just throwing them. And they slammed into the underside of the giant centipede. Fluid began to pour from the damaged stomach, and it writhed with pain.
“Good! We can do this!”
The defense team was able to regroup, and with the two shield-bearers in the front, the spear-wielders looked for a chance to attack.
Ozlo’s aim was precise. He had even acquired a skill for throwing. Before this battle, I had even seen him hit killer ants with perfect aim. Though, I was a little sad that I didn’t acquire a skill, though I had also helped make the sling.
One of the members returned with a spear to replace the one that had broken, and the three began to stab the centipede, causing it to start to retreat. Thankfully, we were right next to the village, so it was easy to bring out spare weapons.
The reason that they were even able to fight on such even footing with a D-Rank monster, was that they had lured it out here, and they were fully prepared. Since Rowar and Nenreko were here, I thought it was a good opportunity to do some real combat training.
In fact, luring the centipede all the way out here had been the hard part.
“Yes!”
Finally, a spear sunk into the centipede’s side, and someone cheered. Then the other spears followed. Its tail thrashed into one of the men, sending him flying into the air.
I told them to move back after stabbing it…
Goblins were one thing, but giant centipedes did not die after a few spear thrusts.
I rushed towards the man who had been thrown, and his arm was twisted in a strange direction. He was also holding his shoulder in an expression of agony.
“Metor, that’s…bad… Mei-lei-mote-sei Heal!”
“Gaaah!”
I fixed the position of the bones and cast Heal.
“I’ll have to do it two more times. This will hurt.”
“Be gentle!”
“It’s your fault for getting carried away. Mei-lei-mote-sei Heal.”
“Gaaaaahhh!”
The others looked nervous when they heard his screams.
“Remember your training! You can beat it!”
“Aye!”
Rowar shouted, and they regained their calm. Rowar and Nenreko were only E-Rank, but they had a lot of experience with fighting daily. And so they knew when to raise their voices. Apparently, they had fought D-Rank monsters before.
And while they wanted to join this fight as well, I asked them to stand back.
After all, they were here to learn how to fight against humans.
“Hyah!”
This time, they retreated right after thrusting their spears. As soon as they were far enough, the stones came flying.
“Tsk. Damn it!”
It grabbed one of the shields with its mandibles, and then crushed it into shards.
“Hiliot! Retreat!”
A different shield-bearer switched positions with him. Damn it…another wounded…
However, they were slowly but surely pushing it back. It was growing slower as the damage piled up. They were almost there… And so I held back the urge to help them.
“Hyaaah!”
And then, finally, it happened. One of the swords pierced into the monster’s neck. It stopped thrashing then, and shuddered.
I was about to shout for them to stay on their guard, but there was no need for that. One after another, the swords and spears pierced through it. And then it was flipped over and the body cut in half.
Even a giant centipede could not survive that.
“We did…”
“A D-Rank monster…”
After the magic stone was removed, they did not celebrate. Instead, they sat down on the ground as if exhausted.
There were nine of them. And while I had healed them, they did not come out unscathed. They also had to change weapons and shields. As for the centipede, it was also not a clean kill, and there would be little they could get from it in terms of materials.
Still, a win was a win. To these men, the important thing was to protect their village.
“Good work, all of you. How was it? How did it feel to beat a D-Rank monster?”
“While we won…it was heavy. It hurt. It was completely different from fighting a killer ant.”
“Aye. I think we only fought because we knew that we could get help if needed. Otherwise, I would have run.”
“I would not want to do it again.”
They laughed dryly. Still, there seemed to be more confidence in their expressions now. Not a confidence to fight strong monsters, but a confidence in their ability to protect the village.
“Adventurers like us can run away from enemies we cannot beat. But you might have to pick up your sword to protect the village, no matter how strong the enemy is. When the time comes, I want you to remember the fear you felt today. And how you bravely faced it.”
It was best to avoid being reckless. However, there was no guarantee that your family, friends and loved ones could escape in these dangerous lands.
“Well, let’s hope that time never comes.”
“Indeed.”
Ozlo answered. He had gotten a little too confident since acquiring the throwing skill. And so the giant centipede, who kept getting up after being hit, was a good medicine.
I wasn’t saying that because I was jealous or anything! Honest!
“Now, Rowar. Do you remember your promise?”
“I know. I have to buy drinks if the defense team beat it without any help… I really didn’t think they would do it…”
Rowar frowned as they dealt with the corpse. They could not leave a monster carcass close to the village.
“Everyone! Drinks are on Rowar tonight! Let’s make the most of it!”
“Aye!”
Nine people cheered. That would not be cheap.
“Hey, Nenreko. Help me!”
“Don’t look at me. I told you to stop.”
Everyone else laughed. Their expressions were cheerful as they returned to the village.
“Please!”
“No.”
But Nenreko was still laughing. Even though the individual members of the defense team were not strong, when they worked together, and were brave, they could take down a strong enemy. The sight must have been stimulating for those two.
Still, I felt a little bad for Rowar. Yes, I would probably help him out in the end.
I thought as I followed after them. My feet also felt light.
Thank you for the chapter!