Free Life Fantasy Online-Chapter 17: 15 Starting Town's Defense Battle

15 Starting Town's Defense Battle

While we watched from the back as players were fighting against Goblins, an armed group approached us from the direction of the town.

In the lead, there was a well-built man.

“I’m Adventurers’ Union’s branch chief, Oswell. The one in charge here is… you?”

“I am the commander, so yes. I’m Anastasia.”

“I see, we are thinking of participating, what about it?”

“Oh, no. We have been told to protect Residents, I would like it if you left this to us.”

“I see… you were told so by gods?”

“Yes. We cannot die, so we shall confront them first. In case we are defeated, we leave the town to you.”

This is a World Quest.

People who die in this quest will probably stay that way. Therefore, if I told them that we who cannot die will deal with it, they should fall back.

However, they are people who fight for a living and from their perspective, it was their hometown and place they had acquaintances and family.

They won’t listen if I told them to get back into the town. Therefore, I made them go to the back, to act as the final defense line in case we are wiped out.

If he was the union branch chief and a person with responsibility, then he will have no choice but to follow these instructions. Although it did feel a little underhanded.

"............Fine. Sorry about that.”

“No, I don’t mind.”

“You guys! We are forming a final defense line in front of the Southern gate! Line up!”

“『”Yeah!”』”

Adventurers moved away from us and lined up right at the Southern gate.

Now, let’s focus on the frontlines.

"...and your true motives?”

“First of all, they might be adventurers, but they are still Residents. If they die, we will definitely lose evaluation. So I would love it if they’d get lost.”

““““I knew it.””””

From our perspective this is a game. We’ll happily face the enemy.

But from the Residents’ perspective we are “madmen who charge at the enemy with smiles on their face”. Due to the gods’ divine protection (or so it apparently is explained) we can’t die, but we do feel pain. A normal person would get put off by that, you know?

Don’t mind it, my adventurer friends. Let’s discard our feelings of guilt, otherwise we’ll feel bad for it.

No, seriously.

“All right, everyone readyyy? Let’s goo… we’ll do【Maestro】and then【Army Song】.”

Next to us… me, the commander and officers, Norbert-san and players he lead have gathered. The common point of those players was that all of them were holding instruments.

Although there were few people there who did not hold one, but everyone, them included … have formed a so-called military band.

It was a gathering of people who possessed «Spell Song» and «Spell Music» skills, and were capable of displaying extra effectiveness through synergy.

With players’ music as a majestic BGM, the frontlines fought against the enemy...

A wave of light had spread from the military band, and players it touched received a special effect.

The effect just now… damage increase, was it.

When the song ended, they immediately moved to the next one. There was a recast timer for the same【Art】, so they could not continue with the same song.

“Alright next!【Oratorio】!”

This time… it was recovery increase and HP/MP Automatic Recovery increase?

The effect is amazing, but normally a military band has heavy restrictions, so only at times like these they show just how good a military band is.

“When I hear this, I’m getting in a mood to have elegant tea time...”

“NOnono, we’re in the middle of a battle y’know. ...But certainly, we are bored here.”

“Aw, certainly we are.”

“But if we officers get beaten it seems like there would be a penalty, so...”

“My leadership skill which was at level 1 up until now is going up at a nice speed, but… it is boring.”

“Oh, you’re right. It’s going up.”

While officers were getting bored, Goblins were decreasing in numbers in our sight.

Although they are stronger now, they are still goblins...

It seems like there are some players who died and came back, the respawn point is nearby after all.

As we gave instructions here and there for the defense from goblins, their amount which was high enough to cover the entire ground, has decreased and there was some leisure made.

The evening came… which meant that in real it was past 3 p.m.. Since it was past 1 p.m. when it started, it’s been about two hours.

“They decreased by a fair amount, haven’t they?”

“They have...”

“It’s not like the general will appear now and it’s over, right?”

“If that was the case, we’d have ended doing nothing...”

Along with a roar from the forest, a nearly three meters large armored Goblin(?) had appeared together with his henchmen.

The escort weren’t hobs and were Goblins normal size, but their faces, posture and expressions looked fairly different and more dignified.

“Ahhh… no matter how you look at it, it’s the boss and the escort. Thank you very much.”

“It’s ‘cause you raised a flag...”

“Goblin General and Goblin Elite, they say.”

“I see, elites huh. If there are several of them then it must mean they aren’t unique. Probably a level 20 evolution? Which means the general is level 30.”

“It would be a problem if it was any higher, I hope that is the case.”

“But this looks like it might end with strength in numbers. Will it end just like this without anything happening?”

“From the town’s perspective it would be a good thing. But to us, the officer team, it would mean being unable to do anything...”

When we officers looked with sadness at the frontlines, from the back of the general… from the forest, there was something rising up into the air.

"...Hey.”

"...Looks like plan B.”

“Please do your best.”

Goblins riding on something round were flying this way. No, it feels like the ones on it are elites, too...

So it was correct to think of the possibility?

Our NINJA Musasabi-san gave instructions to his division and commenced anti-air combat.

From one corner in the front, magic and arrows started flying into the air. Among it there were several green lights which exploded in mid-air, causing the enemy to lose balance。

“So there are people who can use AoE already? It’s green, so wind magic?”

“Oh, that’s not it. It’s a bow effect. It’s【Aero Flak】you learn at 30 of Bow. A very valuable anti-air attack.”

“I see… but at this rate...”

“They’ll get past. Seems like their flying speed is higher than we thought.”

“This’ll be bad if they go to the tow……...aren’t they heading straight for us-degozaruna~?”

“Sure they are… Elite Thief and Ride Bugs, eh.”

“Coming to beat our leadership from above? Looks like we’re being taken lightly!”

“I guess game-wise they won’t go straight for the town. At the very least not this early in the game. Well, from our perspective it’s a good chance, yeah?”

“Alright! Come, COME!”

“Gotta protect Princess and the military band, don’t we?”

Mr. Elite Thief… it seems like our side doesn’t panic and is eager to fight. Well, and so am I.

It’s a festival, just watching from afar felt lonely.

Let’s slaughter some?

I pulled out my rapier and started channeling【Dark Lance】.

“Now, how many got through?”

“Umm… 12-degozaruna~. If 6 makes a squad, then two squads were shot down.”

“So half of them fell, if they get down and start moving independently it will be troublesome, but...”

When Ride Bugs died, thieves fell in the middle of player mass.

Naturally there was fall damage, and they get beat from all directions afterward.

“They caaame.”

“Well then, let’s attack preemptively.”

If I don’t hurry it will end with a misfire, after all.

The moment they moved close by I shoot a【Dark Lance】at the group that’s heading our way from the front. It’d be troublesome if they avoided us and spread. 　

Those elites’... moreover, thieves’ reaction was fast. However, it was another thing for Ride Bugs under them.【Dark Lance】swallowed a Ride Bug and left the goblin above it flailing his arms in mid-air as he flew alone in our direction.

“A skit?”

“Uhahaha! It is a skit! Hngph!”

A bear punch welcomed the thief who was flying in our direction flailing his limbs, and apparently his neck was broken as he died with a single critical hit.

The main combat begins.

“Tch!! So they jumped off after all!”

Six Goblin Elite Thieves of Lv26 and five of Lv27.

Ride Bugs are all of level 8.

Thieves got off the bugs and start fighting with their daggers on the ground. Bugs fly around and tackle us.

“Those bugs are annoying-degozaru!”

“Argh dammit! My sword slips off those bugs! Damn resistance...”

“Their weakness to blunt goes through nicely. And thieves are simply strong.”

Looks like Cecil-san’s double swords were a bad match against bugs. They are weak to blunt, but resistant to slashes.

Me? My sword is magic-based, just slipping my blade against them as they pass by, cuts them apart. I tried to pummel them with the handle when their movements stopped after guarding, but it was STR-based and did no damage.

Although thieves were fast, it was within my response speed so I somehow managed. The problem was that since their weapons were daggers, it was hard to counterattack.

Since I had reach advantage, it should be easier to point the sword tip at them and keep them at distance. It is a thrusting weapon in the first and foremost, so that’s the correct way to use it anyway.

While pointing the sword’s point at thieves, I parried flying Ride Bugs with the blade instead of using the back of the blade. When I did so, they pretty much suicided on it.

Why parry you might ask… if I don’t parry it won’t be judged by AGI modifier and I might lose balance. I don’t have STR, so if I fail I might even drop my weapon. That would be extremely troubling.

As expected of high level mobs, thieves were strangely tough, but I was able to beat them by shooting light and dark magic alternately, and by stabbing them when they got closer.

When they attacked at the same time as bugs, I ignored bugs.

I have automatic recovery and resistance, so I could pretty much ignore them. There was no problem dealing with them as long as I don’t lose my balance and I know they come at me.

“Princess is simply strong.”

“It IS our first time seeing her fight.”

“Looks like we no longer have to desperately protect her, so isn’t this fine?”

“For now I’m having an easy time. It’s my first time doing one versus many so it’s a good experience.”

“Looks like you have good reflexes, so there’s no problem-degozaruna~.”

There are up to six people in one party, so the enemy has sent four parties worth of enemies, 24 Goblins in total.

Half of them have been shot down by Musasabi-san’s division, leaving two squads.

The opening【Dark Lance】and punch further reduced them by one, leaving 11 pairs.

Thieves got off the bugs, turning into 22 enemies total.

From there on, weak bugs quickly decreased in number, leaving 10 thieves and three bugs.

“One more thief down!”

And the instant Kotatsu-san beat a thief, thieves stopped at once, changed their weapon, and then headed toward me all at once.

“Hey, waaitt! The AI suddenly changed-degozaruna?!”

“WHATTT?!”

“Waiiiitt!”

"...they changed weapons? Color-wise, it’s poison?!”

People whom they were fighting were completely ignored, and they rushed straight at me.

The【Parry Stance】’s negative effect is decreased defense… then in this case...

“I will focus on defending, I leave the rest to you.【Guard Stance】”

“Bear it until we beat them, Princess~.”

I’ll ignore bugs for the time being. Their damage might as well be non-existent.

Let’s use【Guard】and【Parry】to repel the thieves’ attacks.

Oh, I forgot. Let’s enable «Aura of Darkness» as well.

This way, just by doing【Guard】and【Parry】I will put Status Ailments on them. What’s left is for the set’s effect… the «Reaction Time Enhancement» to help me defend.

Let’s not force myself against attacks that are hard to parry and just guard them. There is no need to force myself and show openings.

While moving as to make the thieves come in front of me, I parry all attacks that came for me from the front. This is getting fun!

“FUHAHAHA, MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDAAA!!”

“Our commander is being so reliable that I’m in awe-degozaruna.”

“Heck, what’s with that excitement. What happened to her character?”

“AWw, isn’t it a line you want to say at least once?”

“Ahhh… well… yeah. It’s not like I don’t understand.”

I guess I could not block all attacks, but daggers’ attack power wasn’t too high so there was no problem. Criticals barely work on me as an Immortal, and I’m immune to poison that’s on daggers.

My clothes’ defense is fairly high and the sun started to go down, so my «Automatic HP Recovery»’s recovery speed goes up.

“By the way, Princess was a Zombie-type, right?”

“No, more importantly, that weapon parry and weapon guard is the issue here, right? Normally you can’t do things like that.”

“Princess-was-actually-a-tank-theory -degozaruna~.”

“I’m curious about what is that black haze that suddenly came out.”

“No, rather, come help. It’s nice for leveling my defensive skills, but these numbers require some concentration to defend from...”

“Ohh, yeah, let’s do it.”

“You looked unexpectedly fine, so we forgot.”

Thieves were crazy about me, so they died right away.

Ride Bugs? Long gone.

People who died and came back also came to help out. They ran back to the front line already, though.

〈«Sword» reached level 25.〉

〈«Sword»’s Art【Rush】was acquired.〉

And then, when Goblin Elite Thieves were all defeated, the Goblin General and his henchmen started moving.

“Thieves started at 24. When they got down to 10 they realized that they were at disadvantage and headed straight to kill the commander, right. We can’t let our guard down.”

“And now that the attack at the chain of command failed, the boss moves-degozaruna.”

Goblin General - Level 36

Goblin Elite Fighter x60 - Level 26~28

Goblin Elite Archer x48 - Level 24~26

Goblin Elite Mage x36 - Level 23~24

Goblin Elite Priest x24 - Level 25

Is the summary of the boss and his escort.

It looks like there are no Elite Thieves in the main troop. They must have all come over here.

“There are lots of elites in his escort. Looks like a lot of people will die and come back.”

“Thieves just had the worst compatibility with Princess, they are higher level, after all...”

“If it was nine of fighters I would have been in a pinch. Purely because of enemy’s firepower.”

“There are a lot of them but… it’s just 150, right? We’ve got ten thousand on our side, it should end soon enough.”

“168 and the boss. Let’s not mind the people who died and came back. They had no luck.”

While we thought so, there was an explosion among our troops.

"...【Explosion】?! Those mages are bad news!!”

"...There were quite a few unlucky folks-degozaruna...”

“Certainly, it is no wonder they’d have it with that level...”

“『“Commander to all officers. Mages have used【Explosion】. Please prioritize their targeting.”』”

“With this equipment, magic hurts as helll...”

“We’re all still low on magic defense...”

“Because of priests in their ranks, they are enduring a lot...”

Numbers-wise they are enduring it… but that’s all, and in the end the escorts have fallen to the force of numbers.

The Goblin General must have received a boss adjustment, thanks to which he had three HP bars.

Well, we are just looking from afar, so…

The Goblin General swung around a two-handed sword with one hand, and was wearing metal equipment. He was completely armed.

I wonder, where did he get that sword and armor? Well, asking so is boorish. He’s a game’s mob. I guess this is where you focus on game elements rather than reality.

I guess a Goblin General (bare hands + naked) would be kind of… pitiful, appearance-wise… you see.

And there is the possible story backbone of having robbed someone of it, but in such case it would mean quite some people got beat…

“Tanks look like they are having a hard time-degozaruna~.”

“Because tanks start to be tanks when they change «Defense» into «Large Shield»… at this point, they are people who only intend to become tanks...”

“Above all, the general’s attack power looks insane.”

“A direct hit is a 1shot, huh. Well, it’s their fault for going in front of large shields.”

“Since it’s a dive-type, there is only first perspective… Unlike games up until now, the positioning is difficult here.”

“Well, it requires getting used to...”

“The number of players is also a thing. It must be hard to move around.”

“I guess… Oh, one of his HP bars died. Ah, did he enrage?”

“A staple came~.”

Aura that looked kind of like red vapor surrounded the Goblin General, who shouted with anger and did a large jump, from which he struck his sword on the ground.

“Uwwaah… avoiding that one is hard.”

“Rather than hard… isn’t it impossible? A jump slash into a large group is so ruthless I can only laugh. It’s super-effective… Was there a stomp effect?”

“Looks like it. Oh, a giant tank is doing his best. Those sure pack a punch~.”

“This is truly war-degozarunaa...”

Cecil-san, Ruzebarm-san and Kotatsu-san were doing live coverage. Meanwhile, Musasabi-san and I were taking our time looking.

Both the general and the giant were 3 meters tall. It was perfectly intense.

A giant tank’s weak point is that it’s hard to support him from behind because of his size.

Although apparently, the sense of security they give is amazing.

I don’t know whether it was time or HP dependant, but the general’s enrage was removed and he turned relatively meek.

And when the second HP bar reached about half of it’s length, he roared with anger again.

This time he did not jump slash, but entered a shoulder attack posture and started to charge, then after running a certain distance he did a single rotation and pulled out a sword.

“No, well...”

“Certainly, it was perfectly effective...”

“If they were of the same size they would stop him right away, though...”

We are a large group. In other words, the swings that are AoE attacks are extremely effective.

Just running around with that huge body must have dealt serious damage to everyone.

“Tanks sure are desperate...”

“Those are special actions that ignore hate, aren’t they?”

“They are. Normally he properly attacks the tanks, after all.”

“The bigger our numbers are, the easier it is for us to lose people-degozaru… but he also loses health fast, too-degozaruna.

“His attacks having a wide area of effect is also a problem.”

Looks like his second HP bar had disappeared. This will make it his last health bar.

Once again he got angry and did a jump slash… and a rotation from that.

The people who aimed for the moment he landed, were all blown away.

That was nasty.

The General’s jump slash had a stomp effect, so to avoid it, it was necessary to jump.

Which meant that people who aimed for his fall, all did a jump attack on him and were unable to avoid the stomp. They were in the air after all.

“They got splendidly lured in-kuma.”

“Uwwaah… that looked fun...”

You sure look envious, Cecil-san.

“WQuest’s difficulty seems high. This is pretty much the weakest one, right?”

“I guess so. If not for the level difference, a giant tank could probably stop him, though.”

“Honestly speaking, the boss himself isn’t raid boss level, is he?”

“Well, the moment a commander gets to fight, the war is over isn’t it?”

“Certainly. The moment that the army of goblins was wiped out, this war turned pretty much into our victory.”

And when the general’s health bar turned half, he roared with anger again.

From the rotating slash… he rushed forward and started flailing his two-handed sword.

With that said, isn’t the general staring straight in our direction?

“Oh? Isn’t he looking this way-degozaranka?”

“Staring like hell.”

"...We have no tank in our officer group.”

"...Musasabi, dodge tank go.”

“Go.”

“You serious?!!”

While we were talking like this, the charge did not seem to stop.

Isn’t that the type that won’t stop once it starts charging? Tanks are trying to stop him and he is receives blows from the surroundings, but...

“Do your best, tanks.”

“Hmm… players on both wings seem bored.”

“It’s too dense and there’s nothing to do there.”

“Should we have him come over here while we can?”

“Should we do that? He IS staring at us.”

“Whiich means… mine and Kotatsu’s divisions.”

“Please do take care of it. If he’s coming this way, it should be all right to attack him from the sides.”

“Yup, let’s do that.”

“Roger.”

Thanks to the officers’ instructions, the players on both sides all came this way. At this point they had nothing to do anyway.

Shield-holders in the front, close combat attackers behind them and ranged lined up in the back.

“If he doesn’t come here, won’t he just die like that?”

“I don’t think he is that stupid of an AI… he wasn’t.”

“Indeed he wasn’t.”

A rotation attack perfectly using centrifugal force was swung, and it was impossible to stop it with just a few tanks, which allowed him to pass. Looks like they need knockback resistance.

The general then ran straight our way.

Players lined up on both sides, and in front of me, officers lined up forming a dead end.

Looks like he completely ignored attacks from players on the sides as he passed.

Since he is running straight to us, let’s try a ranged attack.

A special of mine. I changed from the【Guard Stance】to【Attack Stance】.

I had Cecil-san and Ruzebarm-san open the way in front, and pulled out the rapier before pouring in Magic Power for about thirty seconds.

With this,【Spiral Magi-Amp】activated. A spiralling light appeared around the rapier.

And...

“【Libertà】”

“Ohhh?!”

“That’s coool!”

Along with the sound of an orb breaking, which came from the sword, the spiral light has explosively grown intense.

“【Distance Sword】”

This was the Art called【Distance Sword】which released flying slashes, and while it was fantasy, it was also fairly plain. After all, it only released semi-transparent crescent blades.

However, with【Spiral Magi-Amp】and【Libertà】on it, the effect has changed into a flashy flying slash which hit the incoming general straight-on.

While he let out a scream of pain, the General did not stop charging. Looks like it indeed was the type of rush that did not stop once it has started, wasn’t it?

Let’s leave the space to Cecil-san and Ruzembarm-san.

“Ohhh… HP visibly decreased-degozaruna...”

“Just what kind of firepower is that?”

“I think I know now what Princess’ combat style is.”

“He’s comiiing!”

Since was time remaining, I took out an orb out of the pouch and replenished the weapon.

“He sure is intense!”

“Hahha! We, four heavenly kings will not let you pass-degoza...oufh.”

“Nwahh.”

“Owa.”

“I knew it wouldn’t work!”

The four heavenly kings(officers)(laughs) were easily blown away.

And the least funny part is, that the thing was aiming for me. If I do【Guard】I will probably die. Let’s deal with him with【Parry】.

And let’s change the stance to【Guard Stance】.

I parry the two-handed sword that the general held in his two hands and swings at me at full strength.

Then next, he rotates and swings it diagonally upwards.

So merciless I can only laugh. That killing intent is too high.

“Yup, looks like Princess can do a parry-type subtanking. With that said, don’t let him kill Princess! We’ll definitely lose evaluation!”

“『“OOooo!”』”

“Beat his back, HIS BAACK!”

Despite being attacked from range and in the back from up close, the boss’ hate was all focused on me.

Tanks came over to swap with me and stopped the boss for a while, but were eventually blown away so the target switched back to me.

After a few repeats of this, the general has finally fallen and turned into particles of light.

Looks like the WQuest mobs don’t leave bodies.

Oh, another line to say.　

“『“We are victorious!”』”

《World Quest: Defense of the Starting Town　Complete.》

《Checking the quest evaluation………》

“『“UOOOoooo!!”』”

《Number of Commander Deaths……...0》

《Number of Officer Deaths……...0》

《Number of Outsider Deaths……...7517》

《Damage to the Defense Objective……...0%》

《Number of Resident Deaths……...0》

《Number of Adventurer Deaths……...0》

Yeah, as long as there is an item about us in the evaluation, it means that our death would decrease it.

And it looks like a fair number of other players, including squad leaders, have died and come back.

The damage to defense objective must mean the percentage damage to the town itself.

The Resident and Adventurer deaths are literally what it says, and Adventurers here means Resident Adventurers… I guess.

It was correct to have them get back.

Death penalty is normally a decrease of all stats for a set amount of time, decrease of experience gained, loss of half of money held, as well as decrease of equipment durability.

However, it seemed that this changed during the event. There was a decrease of equipment durability damage, and other penalties were disabled.

Still, it does seem like when you are PKd and when you kill a PK who attacked you, the death penalty rules are different, too.

《Clear Evaluation……...S Clear!》

《Furthermore, there is an additional bonus for a Perfect Clear.》

《Because you protected them from all harm, Residents have improved their opinion of Outsiders.》

〈Your Race level has increased.〉

〈«Aura of Darkness» reached level 20. The effect increases.〉

Once again we heard the “hoo hoo” sound from the sky and an amount of owls large enough to cover the sky, have come down to drop rewards for each player.

“This number of owls is kind of scary...”

“They are birds of prey-degozaruna...”

“It’s probably the number of players = the number of owls...”

Kotatsu was slightly put off by the number of owls, and Musasabi-san answered her seriously. This time they are the gods(management)’s messengers, which is why they are birds of prey? Is what it feels like. Though, it was dubious as to whether they were even living beings.

Now, let’s confirm the reward.

First, money… exactly 150k, is it.

Next is… a huge amount of Goblin-type drops...

".........This doesn’t make me happy at all.”

“Well, it was an army of Goblins...”

“I understand why-degozaruyo? But I don’t want to be convinced-degozaru...”

“I guess the elite and general materials will be lucky drops...”

“Wait, can it be that the biggest reward is the improved evaluation from Residents?”

“That is possible. Evaluation, meaning likability, right?”

“Most likely. It’s always good to have high likability. They often give us information through conversation.”

“Thinking of it, the increase from Residents we normally don’t interact with, isn’t too bad.”

While the five of the officer group were talking, Rina came from behind.

“Onee-chan, did you get anything good?”

“Hmmm… nothing really special… just Goblin General’s Magic Stone?”

“By Magic Stone you mean… at this point they can only be exchanged for money…”

Now, let’s go back and continue doing «Cooking».

Looks like everyone is going to take a break before going to hunt again, huh. Aren’t they energetic.

Name: Anastasia

Race: Immortal Princess　Woman　Lv15

Element: Dark

Genus: High Immortal

Family: Royal Zombie

Skill Points: 54

Skills:

«Sword Lv25» «Defense Lv24» «Parry Lv24» «Armor Lv24»

«Light Magic Lv21» «Magic Ability Lv26»

«Sensing Lv23» «Uncover Lv22» «Footwork Lv26» «Cooking Lv25» «Alchemy Lv5» «Gathering Lv17» «Appraisal Lv16» «Disassembly Lv13»

«Identification Lv23» «Discern»

Inactive:

Monster Skills:

«Dark Magic Lv21» «Aura of Darkness Lv20»

«Physical Resistance Lv20» «Physical Immunity Lv16» «Magic Resistance Lv5» «Automatic HP Recovery Lv24»

«Immortal Royalty Lv11» «Royal Authority Lv14» «High Immortal»

Titles:

Elegant and Calm Princess: Improves the impression given to others and makes it harder for them to become wary of you.