"Upper-rank rear guard, switch to anti-air attacks! Prioritize taking down the flying monsters! All other rear guard members, ignore the flying ones and continue attacking the ogres!"
Monty’s voice echoed across the grasslands.
Not all, but many monsters tended to prioritize attacking whoever attacked them first.
If the flying monsters included a Brigadier-class, the adventurers who attacked it would have a higher chance of becoming its target. That was why Monty gave the order — to prevent mid-rank and below adventurers from drawing its attention.
Monty and the few other upper-rank rear guard adventurers began anti-air attacks. Beams and glowing projectiles shot into the sky, exploding in mid-air with loud booms like fireworks.
The anti-air attacks scored direct hits on the flying monsters. Four of them exploded in the air, emitted light, scattered magic stones, and vanished.
Only one monster survived the barrage of powerful spells, though it lost balance and began falling from the sky. It hadn’t been killed, but it could no longer maintain flight.
The monster began spiraling down, falling toward the area where adventurers and skeletons were locked in chaotic melee.
"A monster is falling!" Monty’s voice rang out.
"Everyone near the landing point — if it’s a Brigadier-class, anyone below upper rank should run!"
(He says run, but there’s nowhere to run!)
Kazui was being pincered by two skeletons and was desperately dodging attacks from a longsword and an axe. He had no leeway to check the falling monster.
He jumped to avoid the axe strike, spun in mid-air, and delivered a kick. With a crushing sound, the head of the axe-wielding skeleton shattered.
Using the kicking technique called Whirlwind Kick, Kazui successfully destroyed the skeleton’s head. Right after taking down his sixth skeleton, he was struck by a tremendous impact and slammed into the ground.
His whole skeleton creaked. For a moment, he couldn’t even breathe.
(Wh-What was that...? It wasn’t... a skeleton attack... right?)
Kazui had no idea what had just happened to him. Thanks to Aura Mail he hadn’t died, and the damage wasn’t life-threatening, but he was wracked with intense pain.
(My Aura Mail couldn’t fully block it.)
Aura Mail at Kazui’s level couldn’t completely stop powerful attacks. Without it, the impact would have crushed him instantly.
Thanks to Aura Mail, he only suffered intense pain and a cracked bone in his left leg. (Even when it could block damage, Aura Mail couldn’t completely nullify pain.)
(I have to get up quickly — there are still skeletons nearby!)
Lying face-down, Kazui endured the pain and tried to stand. But a sharp pain shot through his left leg, causing him to collapse again — this time onto his back.
(My left leg... this is bad. Might have broken a bone.)
A look of panic crossed Kazui’s face.
"How careless of me — I really messed up. To think I’d get hit by that level of anti-air attack."
Suddenly, a woman’s voice sounded nearby. It was far too seductive and alluring for a battlefield.
(Is someone there?)
Kazui was surprised. There should only have been skeletons nearby, yet he heard a woman’s voice. He looked toward the sound.
Though dust was swirling and visibility was poor, about three meters away he saw a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties. She was kneeling, wearing an outfit completely unsuitable for battle — a black bikini top and a miniskirt that was extremely sexy.
(She’s pretty beautiful... though she seems awfully tall.)
While looking up at her face from his position on his back, Kazui thought to himself. She was clearly quite tall even while kneeling.
Her short hair and large, striking eyes were a deep ocean blue. Her features were alluring and well-formed, and her chest was extraordinarily large.
(Nice breasts...)
Kazui couldn’t help but stare at her ample chest for a moment. But he quickly realized this woman was clearly not an ordinary human.
On her back were folded wings resembling those of a bat. A long, black, whip-like tail hung down from near her hips.
Blue hair wasn’t particularly rare in this world, so Kazui didn’t pay it much mind.
(A m-monster!)
The wings and tail were moving naturally — they didn’t look fake. Kazui realized the woman was a monster.
But then a question immediately popped into his head.
(Wait... she spoke, didn’t she? I’ve never heard of monsters speaking human language.)
During his guild training, Kazui had been taught that even humanoid monsters didn’t speak human languages. He had also been told they sometimes used special languages among themselves that humans couldn’t understand.
However, he had clearly just heard this humanoid monster speak human language. That left him doubting whether she was truly a monster.
"For now... that red-haired old man pissed me off, so I guess I’ll eat him," the mysterious woman said as she stood up, sounding annoyed.
"Old men aren’t really my taste though. I prefer young boys — they’re much more delicious."
The woman stood up and glared toward the city wall, turning her back to Kazui.
Because she had turned, the area around her waist on the back side — which Kazui hadn’t been able to see before — was now visible. When he saw it, shock and terror froze him in place.