Kireo, who attacked the Naga Village, was confronted by Tomoe’s younger brother.
Tomoe, his older sister, was the most surprised by the sudden intrusion of the male.
“Y-, you. Yabuki, what are you doing?! This is dangerous, run quickly!”
“You’ve always been the one working hard, Older Sister. Even someone like me was met at the edge of my territory. You will be the next king!”
With a shout, Tomoe’s younger brother, Yabuki, leaped at an opponent two sizes larger than himself.
“Rats, what did you come here for? You won’t even be enough to kill time.”
Kireo’s left foreleg mercilessly sent the small Yabuki flying. It was as if swatting away a bothersome fly. His courageous blow fell to the ground before it could reach the enemy.
“Damn it…”
“What? You have a complaint? He’s the one who attacked. Now, I’m not interested in you, so move aside if you don’t want to end up like him.”
Following Kireo, Manticores approached in a line. However, we couldn’t just hand over Elana and say, “Here you go.” Tomoe must be at her limit; she’s sustained too many injuries in battle. Honestly, it’s strange that she can even stand. No matter how tough she is, she’s a living being and needs rest.
“Wait, you!”
In the back, the subordinates are stepping on Yabuki as he tries to get up. How can we confront an opponent who possesses both intelligence and strength? Sarakka, the Nagaraja we relied on, is currently being overwhelmed and seems to be struggling to deal with them.
Approaching from the front are the boss and two of his subordinates, making three in total. And in the back, two are tormenting Yabuki.
“Elana, hold Kireo at the front. While you do that, Cecilia and Sharin, finish them off from both sides. The remaining members, split into left and right and stop them from the flanks.”
“Yes, it seems we have no choice but to do that.”
We charged forward all at once, with Elana in the lead. The enemy, on the other hand, had their two subordinates on the flanks rush towards us a moment earlier.
“Wait! Where are you going? Your opponent is here!”
Before colliding with us, Tomoe charged at the two monsters, wrapping a foreleg around one of their necks and capturing it. Instantly, the other bared its fangs, seeing its chance. But she braced herself with her hind legs and pulled the other monster into her side.
“T-, Tomoe! You traitor!”
“Shut up, don’t say a word, you female cats.”
Tomoe stood up on two legs like a bear, holding the struggling two monsters in both arms.
“Yabuki, listen carefully. You are the next king! Elana, use your magic!”
Did she intend to burn herself as well? We circled around from the side, but no, that wouldn’t be enough. Because from the front…
The next moment, the three monsters right in front of us were sent flying into the air with an explosion. Then, splitting the rising smoke, a colossal body appeared.
“Here it comes! Philiana!”
“Yes! Everyone, be careful.”
Philiana raised her sword as if to meet Kireo’s charge. Seeing this, the enemy spread its wings just before impact and veered away. It then landed on its side and swung its foreleg.
A heavy blow descended upon Cecilia, who was nearby. She managed to dodge backward, narrowly escaping direct impact. But this is bad. Because Philiana, the vanguard, evaded the attack, the closest individuals are Piyo and Cecilia.
“You guys, you were there during that centipede incident, weren’t you? You’re an eyesore.”
“W-, wait! I’m your opponent!”
This unreliable voice belonged to Yabuki, the younger brother who had been suppressed until now. He had managed to break free from the subordinate’s legs and was running towards us. Kireo rolled his eyes, looking as if it was a bother, and turned his attention back to us.
“Are you still going to fight? Give it up. Don’t you understand you can’t win against me?”
“But, Older Sister entrusted her hopes to me… Even if I die, I have to win against you.”
Kireo scratched his head with a sigh.
“Then I’ll listen. What will you do if you become the boss? Do you know what the King of Pride does? Can you satisfy all those females with such a small body?”
“Huh?”
Yabuki’s eyes widened at the unexpected words. If you say that…
“Hahaha, there’s a reason why this species thrives. Well, you’ll never understand.”
“…No, it’s you who doesn’t understand.”
