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The monster attacking the people resembled a scorpion.

Instead of pincers, it wielded a sickle like a mantis, and its size was comparable to that of a medium-sized dog.

With a scorpion-like tail armed with a poisonous stinger, it was a monster that appeared even more threatening as it lived in packs.

Currently under attack by these monsters was a group of adventurers.

Or rather, they were moving together with some refugees it seemed.

“Elderly and children who can’t fight, move to the back! Retreat to a safe place so as not to interfere with the battle!”

“Damn it! There are too many of them!!! Hold your positions!!”

“Like insect monsters, they’re fast! It’s dangerous to scatter and run! It’s better to huddle together and form a defense line!”

Originally, the adventurers had been in a position where they wouldn’t be attacked by the monsters, but perhaps because they lost their leader to a sniper from the Dragon Priestess, they unexpectedly found themselves confronting the panicking monsters.

Not realizing they were fleeing monsters, the group’s adventurers reacted instantly and began the battle, and the monsters seemed to think that these adventurers were the ones who had sniped their leader.

“There’s nothing I can say but that I was unlucky.”

If the monsters hadn’t run this way, if they hadn’t confronted the group, if the panicking monsters hadn’t chosen to fight them, if the adventurers had noticed the monsters were fleeing…

If only that had been the case, the battle wouldn’t have started.

‘Did I let my guard down too much?’

“It’s just bad luck.”

Who would think to hunt monsters considering what direction they would flee in? If anything, they should have wiped them all out instead.

“Right now, rather than self-blame, it’s more important to help them.”

‘Yeah. I can’t even afford the time to self-blame.’

The Dragon Priestess quickly flew toward the area where the battle was happening.

“Ugh! Where the heck did these guys come from?!!”

“Damn it! We’re short on numbers!! Anyone with battle experience, grab a weapon and come out!”

“No! Even those without battle experience, just grab something like a pole and swing it!!! We have to stop them from approaching!!!”

“Shit! Just a little further and we could clear North Romania!!!”

Dozens of monsters resembling scorpions dodged the adventurers’ attacks, sometimes enduring blows as they continued to advance.

Their bodies, protected by hard shells, made it difficult for blades to penetrate, and it seemed the adventurers were struggling against such defense.

Being surrounded by these monsters was undoubtedly a significant crisis.

“Shh! Shh! Go away!!! Get back!!!”

“Watch out for the tail’s stinger! It must have deadly poison!”

“The shells are so tough that blades don’t work well! Blunt weapons or axes are effective!”

“Or aim for the gaps in the shell or the joints! That’s the only spot where blades can stick!”

“Damn it! If it was that easy, I wouldn’t be an adventurer, I’d be a knight!!!!”

“Eric! Step back! Don’t recklessly charge forward!”

“If we need even one more person! If I don’t step up, how can I protect the others?!”

The adventurers cursed as they struck at the monsters, but the scorpion-like beasts only staggered momentarily before rushing back toward the adventurers.

“I’ve completed the spell! Fall back! Fire of the flames!! Become our wall of protection!”

Fortunately, the one who seemed to be a mage chanted a spell to raise a wall of fire to block the monsters, but it was only a temporary measure; the quite intelligent monsters simply maneuvered around the wall of flames.

“Damn it! Can’t we hold them back with this?!”

“Ugh… is this it…?”

As the adventurers’ defensive line began to crumble little by little, at the moment when the monsters approached with glinting blades, in that precarious moment…

“Freeze.”

With a quiet voice, an unbearably cold frost erupted from the ground, ensnaring the legs of the monsters.

In a single instant, a wide-area spell had frozen the feet of many monsters.

‘Good. It seems I’ve put out the urgent fire for now.’

“It’s just that you could’ve killed them all and resolved the issue.”

‘Might it be? But wouldn’t the people be scared?’

“Don’t you think they’d be grateful for help at a moment like this when they’re close to death?”

If it were a magician who created such an overwhelming sight, they would probably be even more thankful.

Yet, regardless of the Dragon Priestess’s concerns, the adventurers didn’t miss their chance.

“This is… magic?!”

“A combat magician?! Reinforcements?! Thank you!!”

“Now’s the time! Attack while their feet are frozen!!”

“Even if their feet are frozen, their sickles and tails can still move! Be careful not to get slashed or stabbed!”

“If it’s the gaps in the joints, the blades can penetrate! Since their feet are frozen, aim well and swing your blades to drive them in!!!”

Though their feet were frozen, the monsters’ ferocity didn’t diminish, but the adventurers calmly began to stab their blades into the immobilized monsters.

In the process, there were issues with a few sustaining injuries, but thanks to the invisible arrows that flew in from somewhere, piercing the monsters at critical moments, further damage seemed to have been prevented.

After some time passed, once most of the monsters were vanquished…

“Phew… there were a lot.”

“With this many, the mana stones ought to be quite valuable, right?”

“It’s good to be greedy for mana stones, but first, we need to deal with the situation. Let’s tend to the injured and deceased first!”

“Captain! There are no fatalities!!! Quite a few are injured, but none are in critical condition!”

The captain, referred to as such by the adventurers, expressed his surprise at what one of them had said.

“Wow…. It’s miraculous that there are no casualties after such a fierce battle. Could it be the Goddess of Life lent her help?”

“I wouldn’t know that far. Anyway, we should clean up the situation before we move out.”

“Hmm. Next time, somehow we need to travel with the Church of Life’s pilgrims. Almost got killed trying to save some cash.”

“I agree, Captain.”

Well, traveling with the Church of Life’s pilgrims would indeed ensure a safer journey.

They are basically strong, skilled in monster extermination, and can set up barriers with divine magic to prevent monsters from approaching.

Sure, it isn’t free. Because pilgrims are still people, after all. People need to eat to survive.

“By the way, where did that magician who froze their legs with ice magic go…?”

The captain, referred to by the others, glanced around. He seemed to be searching for the Dragon Priestess.

However, he couldn’t find her, who was flying above, hidden from sight.

“Ugh…. I wanted to thank her, but has she already vanished?”

“She didn’t reveal herself to begin with. What kind of power does she possess…?”

As those two conversed, a figure clad in magician’s robes approached.

It was the magician who had created the wall of flames earlier.

“I don’t know exactly, but she’s probably no ordinary magician. Someone capable of casting that level of wide-area magic… and with such precision that it doesn’t harm people, she might have skills comparable to those from the Magic Tower in Procyon.”

“Why would someone with such skills be here?”

At that remark, the magician shook her head slightly.

“I wouldn’t know. It could be a coincidence, or perhaps she was hunting monsters after receiving a commission and stumbled upon us.”

“How unfortunate… I wanted to convey my gratitude to my savior.”

Though she was hiding and flying above them.

At the sight of such adventurers, the Dragon Priestess smiled faintly and nodded.

‘Doing good feels good.’

“Indeed.”

Not bringing up the bad words about how she almost caused a disaster, since it was merely bad luck.

This girl is a bit fragile at heart, so words like that would leave a damaging impact.

‘Alright. Now that the work is more or less done… I should head back soon…’

“Isn’t it dinner time soon?”

If I don’t head back now, I’ll be scolded.

Just as the Dragon Priestess turned her body toward the main group of the Church of Life.

“A big problem! Eric has collapsed!!!”

A loud commotion rang out from below.

“What? Collapsed? Is it because of his first real battle?”

“No! There’s a wound on his thigh… and the area around the wound is turning black!!”

“It’s poison! It’s poison! That fool Eric! Was he hiding the fact that he got stung?!”

“Did he get excited during his first real battle and not realize he’d been stung! Damn it! Is there an antidote!? An antidote?!”

Suddenly, the situation among the adventurers grew chaotic. Someone had been stung by a poisonous stinger.

After fighting so hard, the life of one could be threatened by a single poison… how frail life truly is.

‘……’

“What’s wrong?”

The Dragon Priestess silently gazed down at the ruckus among the adventurers.

“Damn it! What the hell is this poison! We can’t cure it with the antidotes we have!!”

“Damn! If we had a priest or a pilgrim from the Church of Life, they could surely cure it!!!”

“Eric! Stay with us! Eric!!”

The poison that began at the thigh started to creep upward, and the body of the boy called Eric began to turn black.

He was still just a child… so pitiful.

‘Me.’

“Hmm? What is it?”

‘I’ve decided.’

“What about?”

‘Hero.’

What?

Thus, the Dragon Priestess landed beside the boy afflicted by poison.

“Suddenly, there’s a gust of wind…!”

“Who, who is it?!”

The adventurers surrounding the boy were shocked by the sudden wind, but the Dragon Priestess paid them no mind.

“I found you.”

The gaze of the Dragon Priestess was fixed on the boy, who lay poisoned.

 

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