Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu

Defense Specialization and the Calm before the Storm

At night, when no battle ensued, the field was shrouded in silence.

In fact, few players went out, so no wonder it was quiet.

With his special vision, Wilbert patrolled while looking over the field at night.
Next to him was Lily, who served as an escort.

“I’m glad there’s only a few players.
After all, the town is quite far from here.”

“Sorry about what happened this afternoon.
I didn’t mean to force your hand.”

“It can’t be helped.
At the time, we needed to figure out the source of the red spark.”

In the large-scale battle during the daytime, they managed to minimize the damage by swiftly detecting Maple’s surprise attack.
If it had taken longer, the outcome of the battle would’ve been very different.

“We aren’t being pursued by anyone, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.
For now, anyway.”

The two were worried that the enemy camp would pursue them.
After all, they used such flashy means to escape.
It wasn’t strange if there were players who wanted to chase after them.

However, contrary to expectations, no matter how long they waited, the enemy didn’t show up.

—When they started to think it was time to return.

“…!”

“Did you sense something?”

Just like when he detected Maple during the day, Wilbert—who was scanning for enemies in a wider range than usual—confirmed the presence of a player who’d entered his range of detection.

They were still far away, though.

“Maple and Sally are heading this way… As far as I know, there are only two of them.”

“Seriously?”

Lily thought it was preposterous.
Although their previous attempt had failed, they had demonstrated to the enemy that they were capable of eliminating Maple at any moment—

—and yet, the enemy still sent Maple out.
Without [Indomitable Guardian] and proper escorts, to boot.

…The enemy had to be planning something.

“Will, are you sure there’s only those two?”

“Yes, I only see two of them.”

“I see… Then it has to be a trap.”

“Indeed.
What should we do?”

On one hand, they could just pretend they didn’t see anything and retreat as planned.

Undoubtedly, Maple and the others had some sort of goal, but who’d have thought that they’d go straight to the royal castle?

If they didn’t do anything, it’d surely escalate.

“Can you shoot them?”

“…Sure, but we have to wait a bit.
However, you can’t expect a clean hit.”

“Well, I’m sure Sally will protect her.
This might be a bit extreme, but it looks like it’ll work.”

—It was difficult to guarantee a kill.
If Will couldn’t do it, then it was impossible for anyone.

Still, in order to defeat them, they had to take the risk and start a battle—such was their decision.

“Will, just in case, can you check again?”

“I swear there’s no one.”

After some contemplation, Lily nodded slightly.

“Okay, let’s do it.
If they can manage to conceal a large group from Will’s detection, I want to see how they’re doing it.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll contact others.
Maybe, they’ll withdraw once the number becomes large… Or could it be, that’s what they’re planning?”

“Maybe so.”

Lily contacted her own camp and summoned players who could assist in the sortie.

They were also trying to lure the two.
In order to ensure that they couldn’t escape, Wilbert and Lily waited patiently.

“We’ll wait until the others arrive and surround them.
That way, they won’t be able to get any reinforcements.
However, if the two show any signs of withdrawing, I’ll commence an attack.”

For the enemy to deliver such a golden opportunity to their doorstep… While it was quite fishy, they couldn’t afford to miss it.

“See if you can protect yourself from this.”

“I’ll continue looking for enemies.
I’ll report if I sense more enemies.”

“Alright, please wait for a little longer.”

Both of them were determined.
All that was left now was to wait for the battle to begin.