第６８掘：大事な場所を守る為 (Part1)
**Dungeon Chapter 68: To Protect a Precious Place**
Hmm, even though I said I’d take a break, I ended up writing.
For the time being, I still plan to take tomorrow off, so please keep that in mind.
Also, the "Side Story: Pitfall" will be moved in a week.
A week should be enough time for that, right?
Also, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their comments on the yakitori.
***
**To Protect a Precious Place**
**Side: Eris**
"Attention, all forces!! Begin the advance toward the enemy’s main body!! Once contact is made, use your own judgment to 'annihilate' the enemy!!"
The order to advance comes from Seraria-sama.
Now, it’s finally time.
"From this moment, the right wing will keep pace with the main body and crush the enemy’s left wing head-on!!"
As I declare this, our total force of 140 begins to move forward.
Our unit is composed primarily of monsters, supplemented by volunteers.
Although it was a short period of only two weeks, there were people among the immigrants from the Kingdom of Roschur who volunteered to cooperate with us, driven by the desire to protect this dungeon.
They number only 30—about 10 percent of the total—but they are incredibly reassuring.
It’s a bit regrettable that men make up the majority of these 30, as it feels like we’re taking away their workforce, but there are plenty of women who volunteered as well.
After this battle, these volunteers will be integrated into the dungeon’s military.
Normally, the representative members—us, who have undergone leveling—would be enough.
But we all decided to allow the volunteers to participate.
For the sake of the dungeon’s future.
"Now, everyone who volunteered. Your role is strictly to provide support for the monsters. They are still stronger than you are for now, after all," Ratz says, calling out to the volunteers.
"You’ve all had your levels forcibly raised through dungeon training, but your technical skills are still lacking. Your stats might be higher than the soldiers over there, but you absolutely must not push yourselves too hard. Leave that kind of thing to us," Riel adds, offering a word of caution.
That’s right. It wasn’t just us representatives who used the dungeon’s functions to level up.
Of course, we prioritized raising ourselves to the level 100 range, but the volunteers have also reached the level 40 range.
In terms of levels, they are on par with veteran soldiers.
However, as Riel said, their technique hasn’t caught up at all; a properly trained soldier could likely toy with these volunteers even at half their level.
We must protect these people who stood up to defend this dungeon.
These are not lives that should be lost in such a ridiculous conflict.
They are the people who will carry the future.
"...Eris. The enemy left wing is right in front of us," Kaya informs me.
"Notification to all units!! From here on, the right wing led by Eris will annihilate the enemy left wing!! Focus on the representatives, do not overextend, and whittle the enemy down from the front!!"
" " "Oooooohhh!!!" " "
A roar goes up.
"Ratz, Milly, Tori, Riel, Kaya—don't push yourselves. In the worst-case scenario, we have 'that,' so we cannot lose. Please stay calm."
" " "Understood." " "
The representatives begin their engagement with the enemy.
"Deryu-san, could you wait here just in case?"
"I don't mind. I’ve been told to keep my hands off as much as possible anyway. I’ll follow your lead, Eris."
Deryu-san and I are holding the center of the right wing.
It’s practically an impregnable formation.
Yet, the anxiety in my heart won't disappear.
No matter how high our levels are, Ratz and the others aren't *that* strong.
I’ve confirmed that with Designated Protection, we can nullify attacks within this dungeon.
But the unease remains.
What if we get captured? What if there’s an enemy against whom Designated Protection doesn't work?
Such thoughts surface and vanish.
We’ve been holding meetings centered around Yuki-san to devise countermeasures for those possibilities, but the anxiety persists.
Has he always faced the enemies coming to the dungeon with this kind of feeling?
Honestly, in the back of my mind, I’m leaning toward the idea that we should just wipe them out with Yuki-san’s traps.
But as Seraria-sama and Rurua-sama said, I know that if we don't demonstrate our own strength, it will become troublesome later.
Furthermore, this battle is being broadcast to the dungeon’s residents to give them a sense of ownership in protecting the dungeon, to show them the power of their representatives, and to build up our influence.
In many ways, this battle is necessary.
"Say, Eris. Isn't it about time for the signal for the archers in the rear?"
"Ah, yes. Archers, ready!! Aim for the rear so you don't hit our allies!! There are many of them, just fire blindly, you’ll hit someone. Fire!!"
At my signal, our allies release their arrows.
" " "Gyaaaaahhh!!?" " "
The screams of the enemy reach us.
"What!? The monsters are firing arrows in unison!? Damn it, get some distance from the vanguard!! You're too close—"
The shout of the commander who brought the rear guard is cut off mid-sentence.
"Too slow!! The enemy general—I, Riel, have taken your head!!"
Riel, having heard the enemy’s voice, used the incredible speed she gained from leveling up to dash across the battlefield and decapitate him with her short sword.
But because of that, Riel has overextended.
She’s going to be surrounded at this rate!!
"Can anyone provide cover for Riel!? She’s too far out on her own..." I contact the representatives via radio.
"Leave it to me!! I, Milly, am going!! Milly’s unit, merge with Riel’s unit and catch up to her!!"
Milly, who was near Riel’s unit, merges the forces and slices through the enemy formation in one go.
"Riel, can you hear me!? Milly is coming to cover you, so try to link up with her!!"
"Whoa, got it. Hmm, actually, I might be able to manage on my own?"
"Don't say something so stupid! I told you so many times not to act alone!!"
"Sorry, sorry."
Riel seems to be surrounded, but she still appears to have room to spare.
"This is Tori. The enemy we’re engaging is starting to retreat. We’re going to push through!!"
"This is Kaya. I’ve linked up with Tori. The unit I was fighting is almost wiped out. I’ll cooperate with Tori to push forward."
"Understood. I’ll leave that side to you. Ratz?"
"This is Ratz. There are a lot of enemies left behind by Milly and Riel. We’re currently at a stalemate in terms of combat power. Since we have fewer numbers, we’re at a disadvantage in the long run. Oh, watch it there!!"
Currently, the enemy left wing’s vanguard has been broken through by Milly and Riel, who are now biting into the center.
Half of the enemy’s left vanguard is about to be annihilated by Tori and Kaya.
Ratz is holding off the remaining half.
"Ho ho, they’re doing well. Pushing back a thousand with a hundred. Ratz is mostly on defense and not doing much, but Milly and Riel have a certain desperate intensity to them."
Well, they are actually facing about double their numbers in direct combat.
We distributed 20—or should I say, 20 individuals—to each representative, and they are engaging the enemy head-on.
Even if the enemy has a thousand, they probably have 300 in the vanguard, 500 in the center, and 200 in the rear.
As I’m thinking about this, Deryu-san narrows her eyes, looking toward where Milly and Riel are.
"Can you see them?"
"Yeah. It’s hard to see because there are so many enemy soldiers, but they fall so quickly that it’s easy to tell."
Even if I squint, I can’t tell very well.
But over the radio...
"Everyone, hold them off with a circular formation!! I’m going to whittle down the perimeter!! Get out of the way—!!!!"
"Honestly, you didn't learn your lesson even after being scolded. Think about me, who has to protect your back! Well, I won't show any mercy to those who dare to attack this dungeon anyway!!"
It seems the units are focusing on defense in the center while the two of them are charging into the nearby enemies.
The center is already in a state of near-melee. Archer support is too dangerous.
We have to break through the enemy vanguard as quickly as possible...