Sword, Magic and Academic Society

After about 30 minutes of bleeding the Runesheep, the three shield-wielding little guys each hoisted a wooden stick with a bound Runesheep and began to make their way back along the path we came from.

In the sky, two huge vultures were circling seemingly targeting the leftovers.

Unfortunately, this world didn't have any magic storage bags that could hold an unlimited amount of items in the fourth dimension.

I did want to take upon the role of carrying a Runesheep since they were quite heavy for the little ones, who still were unable to use body-strengthening magic efficiently, but the Boss said the role of the weapon holders like us was to watch out for monsters. Well, it was also important to learn how to deal with tough jobs.

Thud-Thud-Thud

We should have been around 300m into the grassy field when the sound of something running from the east brought me out of my thoughts. Judging from the sound, whatever it was was heading our way.

I focused my gaze and looked in the direction of the sound to see around 20 rat-like monsters, each weighing about 20kg, running straight toward us from 500 meters away. If I wasn't wrong, they were Meadow Mara. (T/N - I assume author is depicting Patagonian mara here)

...What in the world? I was sure I had read they were timid monsters and would run away at the faintest sign of people...

Just as I was contemplating the strangeness, Boss shouted.

"Talk about bad luck! They're being chased by a Greateus Snake, and are planning to push it onto us!"

Greateus Snakes had a nature of chasing after moving prey. When facing it, the best way to survive was to either let it pass or stay absolutely still until the Boss had finished it off. But, given the situation, we would be sandwiched between the Meadow Maras and the Greateus Snake if we followed either of these strategies.

I also spotted a 10m huge Greateus Snake heading this way while swallowing one Meadow Mara after another. It seemingly was capable of swallowing humans as well. Leaving me aside, the little guys of the <Apple House> would never be able to outpace the Greateus Snake with its speed.

"Tsk! I don't know if I should curse our luck or be glad that it at least isn't an elemental type!"

Greateus Snake, while originally black, could have scales of vibrant colors corresponding to their attributes if they possessed any. I was amazed he managed to figure that out from that distance...

The Boss seemed to have been thinking of something as he glanced at me for a fleeting moment. I immediately understood what he wanted to say.

"It’s now or never. I’ll handle the rats, so I’m leaving that huge guy behind to you, Boss!"

He was worried that the Greateus Snake might turn its attack toward me midway while I was dealing with the Meadow Maras and didn't want to adopt this plan, but that was definitely the best plan that we could come up with in such a pressing situation.

I swiftly distanced myself from the group, placed my hand on the quiver, and took my battle stance without waiting for a reply.

"...Aim first at the elemental leader! You don't need to care about whatever is behind them! Ren, run away as soon as the Greateus Snake arrives within a 50m range! And you lot, make sure you don't move a single muscle of yours even if those Meadow Maras crash onto you! Close your eyes if you feel scared. It’s on to you if you want to forfeit either some of your bones or your lives!"

The Boss left behind these instructions and bolted in the direction of the Greateus Snake.

Thump-Thump

My heartbeat quickened at being caught up in a life-threatening battle all of a sudden. I wanted to relax myself, but I could feel the muscles in my hand slightly stiffening, much like the time when I dealt with that Horned Rabbit.

...Believe in myself, me. Just how many arrows I have shot in these last two weeks... I counted the number of Meadow Maras while recalling the training I had done until I couldn't even hold up the bow anymore.

Their numbers had slightly decreased with the Greateus Snake swallowing many of them during the chase, leaving about 16 of them… And the Boss apparently planned to deal with the two in the middle, including the elemental one, when he passed by them.

That would leave 14 then, with one of them, their leader, having red eyes.

My effective shooting range was 100m, and it probably wouldn't take them more than 5 seconds to cross the 50m distance from there that the Boss warned me about.

The best I could shoot in these 5 seconds were 8 arrows. I took my aim at the red-eyed Meadow Mara.

"Brother Ren..."

Po called out my name in a tone akin to a prayer.

I flashed a grin at Po to reassure him and gestured for him to stop making any noise.

The first clash between the Boss and the Greateus Snake happened at the same time as the Meadow Maras entered my shooting range.

◆◆◆

...We were nothing but irredeemable fools.

How many times did Pops say to never underestimate monsters, that we weren’t absolutely safe even if he was there, and that the outskirts of the Royal Capital were dangerous places… Yet, we never took these words to heart.

We got carried away after seeing that nothing had happened in the last 2 or 3 trips we made to procure meat supply, thinking there was no way we would be in any danger when even Pops was there. Until a few moments ago, we had completely disregarded caution.

I was in a good mood that I finally wouldn't have to do boring, demanding work in the Royal Capital, and was nonchalantly thinking of how I quickly wanted to hold a spear instead of a shield.

"Talk about bad luck! They're being chased by a Greateus Snake, and are planning to push it onto us!"

I never expected such a loud shout coming from Pops, much less the sense of urgency it was laced with.

The Greateus Snake that was visible in the distance was directly heading our way with incredible speed while playfully chasing after the Meadow Maras, occasionally swallowing one of them.

Just looking at it from a distance made our knees buckle, our hands quivered as the stick to which Runesheeps were tied fell and we collapsed on our butts on the spot. Our mental state wasn't in the condition to keep our body-strengthening magic active to carry them.

Everyone else, aside from Pops, was petrified, unable to take even a single step. Even Amur and Roye-aniki were barely holding their ground, using the spears in their hands as a cane.

At that moment, Ren said in a clear voice.

"It’s now or never. I’ll handle the rats, so I’m leaving that huge guy behind to you, Boss!"

He didn't wait for any reply from Pops and moved to a slightly distant spot from us as he put his hand on his quiver, taking a battle stance. Pops nodded, passed his instruction to us, and then ran toward the Greateus Snake.

I gazed at his departing back while hoping for the best.

The rats, almost as big as dogs, were making a beeline to our direction. The detestable snake had further diminished their ranks by a few, but their earth-shaking footsteps continued with an overwhelming force.

In just a few more seconds, they would crash into us, but brother Ren continued to hold onto his bow without showing any signs of moving. What happened, brother Ren? He did say this was his first time using a bow in battle, so perhaps he got scared…

"Brother Ren......" I mustered up the loudest, yet desperate, voice I could through my parched mouth and called out his name. And hearing my voice, brother Ren turned to glance at me and showed a fearless smile.

'Sssh...' he briefly moved his hand that was on the quiver to put up on his mouth, gesturing to me to keep quiet, and swiftly shifted his gaze back to the front.

In just 10 more seconds, the Meadow Maras would be upon us. Pops was almost at the range to clash with the Greateus Snake.

However, right at that moment, brother Ren, who had been only holding on to his bow so far, took out an arrow from the quiver with unthinkable speed. All I noticed was a blur of movement before the arrow was released. His movements were fluid and streamlined.

We hurriedly traced the movement of that arrow as it splendidly pierced the red-eyed leader of the Meadow Maras who was heading straight toward us.

However, before we could cheer, we received another surprise. It was because brother Ren had fired the second and third arrows that shot down other Meadow Maras one after another.

'Beautiful,' was all I could say to describe the breathtaking speed at which brother Ren continued to release one arrow after another. Their speed was incomparable to the first arrow he had shot.

As if they were mysteriously attracted to them, the arrows reap the lines of the Meadow Maras, and within ten seconds, all of them were annihilated.

Just when I thought it was over, brother Ren immediately carried his bow and broke into a dash, circling to the right of the Greateus Snake.