Chapter 1464 The Emperor’s Grassy Road

In the middle of the battlefield there can be no such things as racing and playing Hero. Because if you are going to get ahead of yourself and stand out too much, you will be targeted. On the ground, as well as from the above.

That’s why, in order to avoid the equipment loss due to the current shitty update, I decided to have a word with my party after they were done with their initial round o triathlon from hell. Initial impression: they seem to be really “lukewarm”, especially armor-wise.

「What’s your initial impressions?」

「Hmm … it’s not all that bad.」

「It actually made me remember some really nostalgic feelings.」

「Alright then, now allow me to show you how the complete capture is supposed to look like here.」

「Do you know how insects mate, exactly?」

Hmm, I see, so it’s kind of nostalgic for Survival, huh? Not that I did not expect something like that. No, there wasn’t such a big monster on an isolated island for sure, but…… it’s still rather dangerous. Oh, and I chose to ignore that stupid comment of the perverted Deepslaughter.

「So what, you actually managed to beat this hell?」

「And do you use a horse to ride to war? Of course I did.」

「Was that supposed to be a joke, or……?」

「No, it’s a literal war here.」

「Always with some cryptic words, huh……?」

It’s all thanks to the workings of humanity, after all…… Now then, it’s really great that you have all enjoyed yourself out there but will I be able to set a good example for them? And will they be able to actually follow it?

「The smart way to fight here is not to challenge the big game head-on, but to be like a fisherman.」

And then I died from the energy beam that was emitted from the above.

「Ahh.」

「Huh?」

「What the?」

「Bufuh!」

………… Yes, that’s right.

Crawling out of the tent, I recovered the equipment scattered on the ground and let out a deep sigh.

「Sanraku-kun…… What are your impressions here?」

「It was an accident just now.」

So it’s here, huh…… And from what I was able to tell, the Emperor Scorpion and his friends were all ready to go and enthusiastic about it. That thing just now was a pinpoint accuracy, right? Hmm? If it was not a mere mistake right now, they shot at me the moment I entered the field with a shitty pinpoint accuracy, is that right?

Okay, let’s this again……

CHIKA!!!

「And there! Avoidance!」

No doubt about, they were clearly trying to take me out like a sniper. But why on earth ………… Ugh, it’s time for another headache recollection.

……………

………

…

Certainly, it was like that the last time I came here…… Certainly at that time, the time to go to school was approaching fast for the real me, so I left the scorpions alone and only collected some materials and then I made a really narrow escape there…… Ahh, am I starting to go crazy here? Or, hmm, I see. Maybe they have remembered that particular behavioral pattern and learned to adapt to it?

…

………

……………

The end of a headache flashback.

「Hmm, yes, I see……」

「Do all monsters in here aggro just like that?」

「It’s a habitat for Hyper-flexible and Explosion Beam Scorpions. It’s an endangered species because it only lives there and nowhere else.」

Well, if you really wanted to say it like that, then basically about sixty percent of monster species in this game would need to be classified as endangered. There are some monsters that you can see in various places, but that would be true for Vorpal Bunnies and such other creatures.

「I also like beam guns, they really convey the feeling that this is a game.」

「Given that we will be shot from above…… plus one, so that leaves us with triple all-nighter, perhaps?」

Yeah, I can’t really tell, to be honest. But either way, we’re not going to spend the entire night here! At this rate, I would just teach them how to get about this place, but…… Well, sooner or later they will get a hang of it. I know that there are already quite a few Players ahead of the Sea of Trees area, as I occasionally talk to the mapping folks back at the frontline base. Besides, it’s not a material that can be monopolized by any individual out there……

「Oh well, it looks like this is about to get more annoying than it’s actually worth it, so maybe we should be on our way……」

「「「Huh?」」」

「Yes.」

Hey, are you kidding me? The other three people here still seem to be full of energy. What? I am the Party Leader here, right? Do you want to go against what the Party Leader says? No, but if I were in that position I would have done the same…… Haa, I guess it cannot really be helped……

「Karoshis, we are not going to be pulling any multi all-nighters here. We are finishing this in one night.」

「Isn’t it possible to do about five laps if we want to end this tonight?」

「I think that a single loop is better for us here. After all, there are even more dangerous things lurking in here.」

The battle between the Queen Fortress and Treinor Dora, who is even bigger than the ones that are fighting now, is warming up and makes this hellish picture even more hellish than ever before. Normally, if the number of Armilles produced by Fortress Gargantua is ten or so, then number of Armilles produced by Queen Fortress is about fifty or so, and that’s a slight understatement. And the power and range of Dora’s poison train cannon is more than five times that of Trainor Gustav…… Basically, if you are on the ground, you will surely die, no matter what you do.

Moreover, since the lower floors are being noisy, the scorpions living on the upper floors started shooting their beams at them, so what you are dealing with here is the leaking beam from above and the hell of an earthquake below. It is a miracle that we survived the battle and secured the materials in the past encounters here.

What I’m trying to say here is this. To put it the other way around, the composition of dispatching about four human pillars to the battlefield below and deciding myself as the nominated Scorpion fighter without any worries can be said to be the most optimal course of action…… And once the noise on the ground starts to disappear, the Emperor Scorpion is going to back away as well…… Alright.

「When you are making a first-class grass salad, what you need is a first-class dressing as well! Therefore, Grassy Caesar salad it is!」

「That sounds like some rather gourmet type of food, don’t you think?」

「But it’s not like you are going to make it with the real grass, right? Right……?」

「Aren’t all weeds just green and bitter in taste in general?」

「「「And don’t even get me started on the bits that get stuck in between your teeth!」」」

「Uwah…… What a perfect harmony……」

The Guide to the Isolated Island, Part Nine.

You cannot be a picky eater. If something you come across looks even slightly edible, you take that and you eat it with gratitude. Even if it tastes bad or gets stuck in your teeth. But it’s not like I cannot understand them. I hate when something gets stuck in between my teeth as well.

…

………

……………

「No way!? A direct hit with a shotgun from point blank range and this thing is not even scratched!?」

「No, you’re simply not on a high enough level for a weapon like that to make a difference! Sanrakuuu!!!」

「Oh wow, this is so much fun! It’s been a while since I’ve been fighting like that without being able to prepare properly! It’s just like in the real world!」

I felt like I heard something really funny from down below. No, I’m sure it’s only because I can’t hear people’s voices properly through all of those roaring sounds.

Right in front of me, there is an unnaturally huge scorpion with scissors-tail, the Alexandre Scorpion, and the more I see it, the more the memory that has been blurred is clearly regained inside of my head.

Hmm, I see, it would seem I was wrong about this ting after all. It was not good for the Vorpal Soul meter for me to escape halfway through the battle because it would also affect the “lap” that I was trying to do right now.

「Shame must be washed off before you can apply honor once again…… No, it was really wrong about that. At this rate I will never make up with my best friend here!」

Just like deepening one’s friendships on the good old riverbed, there are friendships that can only be strengthened by a having a fair fight. At least I believe so ……… Now, let’s settle this, shall we!?

「Sanraku-kun, let’s do our very best!」

「Sure, but you’re already within range.」

「Huh? Npyiiihhh!!!」

I know it must be pretty upsetting of a feeling. You just hang around the crater’s edge, minding your own business…… And then you get sniped by some stupid scorpion. You poor pervert of a woman…… You yourself should have known best that on the battlefield there is no such thing as a “safe spot”.