Metro Labyrinth - CH 77

A/N: 6/26- I had reversed Midori and Aoi.

The correct order was Midori (elder sister) and Aoi (younger sister).

~3rd Person Perspective~

The main camp of the allied forces of the humans and the Xolotl tribe is positioned on the east side of the ruined city.

“The fog was thinner than usual. It’s a good day for war,” said the werewolf, his fangs gleaming.

While quietly eliminating the few zombies in the jungle, they entered the city from the main street to the east. Fifteen canine infantrymen of the Xolotl tribe, led by Giran, moved forward.

“Hey, here we go!” (Giran)

The zombies in the area immediately sense it and come rushing toward them at full speed. About a dozen of them, a mixture of Minotaurs and Sahuagin.

“Not yet, keep them close.” (Giran)

The front line is lined with [Great Shield] the size of them, about fifty centimeters in hight. In front of the hulking Minotaur, they are as tiny as toy soldiers. At this rate, they would be easily blown away by the force of the charge.

“–Fire number one through number three!” (Giran)

“““Mauuu!””” (Xolotls)

At Giran’s signal, bright red spheres are released from the hands of the rear guard. In their hands, large balls hits the minotaurs and its surroundings, creating a column of fire with a rumbling explosion. A hot wind hits the front shields and burns the fur of Giran, who cannot hide under a shield.

“Over there! Over there!” (Giran)

The force of the blast is immense. With three shots, it blows off two minotaurs and blows off the arms and legs of two of them.

“Well, well… as expected of a high-rank Fungal Skill. It’s already something of a siege weapon.” (Giran)

Giran, too, holds a [Fireball] derived from my [Accumulation], and throws it at one of the approaching corpses. It hits the body head-on, and with a thud, rock fragments scatter. The giant body falls on its back.

“A direct hit would knock out a minotaur or two. But still–is it a matter of phrasing when throwing someone’s balls away?” (Shuu)

“That’s right, this is Little Shuu’s ball… that he created, you know?” (Kure)

Kure rubbing his cheek against the [Fireball] next to him. Giran thinks that it might be nice if it exploded while Kure is doing that.

Zombies react to the sound of the explosion and gather one after another from the back. The Xolotl let out a mau-mau and a fearful cry.

“Well, here we go.” (Giran)

Giran just laughs as he thrusts his [Knight Sword] forward.

“Don’t be afraid, just keep going! With dignity and gallantry, you will charge headlong through the enemy lines! Let’s make sure they know we are here, and let’s set off some fireworks with even more flair!” (Giran)

“Mau?” (Xolotl)

“Mau?” (Xolotl)

“Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.” (Giran)

~3rd Person Perspective~

The ruin city has eight main streets radiating out from a huge altar in the center.

Zombies on the south, north, and near the center of the city react to the huge sound of destruction at the east end.

Agile corpses move unsteadily down the alleyways between the abandoned houses and rubble that separate the streets.

—Rocks rains down from above their heads. It hits their flayed skin, crushes it, and blasts it.

“Little ones, we have a customer.” (Midori)

Shishikaba Midori instructs the five animals under her command while playing a trick with Abe Shu’s [Fireball].

A [Fireball] is shot from the roof. Explosions and pillars of fire erupt here and there, and dust and stones scatter.

The bodies of the zombies are torn apart. Some are unharmed, but their paths are blocked by debris and the wreckage of their allies. A traffic jam is created by those lured by the sound of explosions.

“Gyahahaha! Please don’t push! Manners are important, you know? —eh?” (Midori)

A minotaur grabs a piece of debris and hurls it at Midori. “Whoa!” Midori dodges a chunk of rock as big as her head just in time.

Another minotaur uses its companion as a springboard to climb onto the roof. It approaches Midori and the others, traversing the narrow foothold.

“Wait—” (Midori)

Midori throws a  [War Spear]. It lodged shallowly in its head, and as it staggered back, she delivered a full-body flying kick. The massive body tilts and falls into the alley.

“Suck on that, you rotten cow-head! We’re on top, you’re on the bottom!” (Midori)

Midori’s back was sweating coldly as she dared the others to do the same.

（I knew we couldn’t do it.) (Midori)

There are too many enemies for the remaining ammunition. The range that can be covered by one person and five animals is known. They can’t stop them from moving toward the main group. They can’t last long here either.

“Don’t waste ammunition! Use the terrain to divide them! Let’s show these dumbasses the wisdom of the weak!” (Midori)

“Mau!” (Xolotl)

“Mau!” (Xolotl)

Explosion in the north. That is her younger sister Aoi’s area.

She must be in a similar predicament by now, as she shares the same genetic makeup.

“Hang on a little longer! If we run out of ammo, we’ll retreat to the perverted wolf!” (Midori)

~3rd Person Perspective~

In a corner of the city that is Bishop’s territory, a battle is being waged with unprecedented intensity.

Even without moving from the altar square, Bishop senses it by the sounds and vibrations coming through.

This golem has a relatively high intelligence among Metro Beasts, and as a mutant among them, and through its three years of experience here, Bishop is acquiring intelligence, something close to logical thinking ability.

Day after day, there are multiple hostile entities tearing up the yard and hunting the zombies that are its limbs. Their scarce egos are alerted by the realization that they have finally revealed their true nature and bared their fangs.

The bishop has only two principles of action.

Hunt on prey other than its own kind. Eliminate those that threaten its garden. That is all.

A sound wave is emitted, inaudible even to himself or to other members of his species.

The terminal that receives it starts running on command. The sound of heavy footsteps pound through the garden.

Stone buildings are blown away. A huge torrent of zombies rises up, clinging to the debris in a flurry. Bishop had 15 pawns in total, which he had put to sleep because they were not suited for capturing prey.

Bishops do not have a high level of strategic thinking. There has never been anyone to learn and cultivate it.

This decision is nothing like that, but even so, it senses, as an unspoken sign, that something is changing in it. It feels the stirring of something budding.

~3rd Person Perspective~

“I can’t believe that thing is here, a Treant—” (Giran)

Giran scratches his head with his sharp claws. It’s an insect-type metro beast that appears in many places, but he has never seen one that’s the size of a two-story building other than this one.

When it comes to zombies, the threat level is far greater than that of the Minotaur. The giant monster would swing its huge legs down on them without pain or fear. The barricade of the Xolotl tribe would be useless against that.

The twin sister’s unit has already joined the main group and is somehow fighting off the swarming zombies with [Fireballs] and bullets. If the Treant joins the battle, they will be kicked out in one fell swoop.

(This is for Rook, but this is no time to be stingy.) (Giran)

He takes a deep breath, sweeping the dusty air away with his cloak.

“Awooooo!” (Giran)

A roar rumbles out, shaking the area. Soon a small shadow crosses overhead. Two short riders are riding on a bird monster through the sky.

The [Illusionist] system has a rare Fungal Skill called [Training]. This has the ability to tame a Metro Beast by feeding it a ball of mycelium.

There are some restrictions, such as the target’s low level, lack of high intelligence, and the type of beast, but the more the beast is fed, the more obedient it becomes and the more it will be attracted to people other than its master. The Wanyuudou and Gigalizard (a.k.a. Crocodile Busses) used on the surface are Metro Beasts bred and trained in this way.

The monstrous birds that the Xolotl tribe rides are individuals that appear on the 32nd floor. Shishikaba Aoi spent several days taming it for the occasion. In the end, only two of the birds were of any use, but the addition of the Abe Shuu bombs dramatically increased their strategic importance.

“Mau!” (Xolotl)

Three red spheres, tied together with ropes, were dropped from by rider flying over Treant’s head. Aoi’s Spartan training had only lasted one day yesterday, but it was a success, and the spheres landed on Treant’s torso accurately. The Treant’s huge body shakes and it is knocked off its feet.

“A-ha-ha! That’s good! War is really all about firepower. Don’t you think so, younger Shishkaba!” (Nai)

“I’m telling you, there’s a huge difference in mass.” (Aoi)

It’s good that we were able to bring two Treants to a standstill, but as time goes on, the zombie army is growing in number. Initially, they estimated three hundred, but clearly there are probably more than that.

On the other hand, Abe Shuu was about to run out of [Fireballs] that he could prepare.

No matter how high the level is, it is not possible to create an infinite number of [Fireball]. There is also the time required to produce one and the expiration date. No matter how many sporangia one eats, the lost energy will not be fully recovered immediately, and there is also a limit to how much a human stomach can take. It was both amusing and enviable to watch two of my fellow girls forcibly stuff sporangium into Abe Shuu’s slack mouth.

The younger sister eventually joins the main group, but it seems that they too are poor and cold. Like [Knights], they pulled out their [War Spears] and jumped over the walls of the Xolotl tribe and cut into the front line where Kure was struggling.

(Well, we’ve done all we can, haven’t we?) (Giran)

(With such a large force, it was worth it to draw them in with such fanfare?) (Giran)

“Older Shishikaba, take command.” (Giran)

Giran raises the [Knight Sword] in front of him and puts his strength into it. His white blade blazes with red flames and burns orange. It’s [Flame Blade] that only [Holy Knights] can learn.

“Giran Taichi, the Kingslayer. Lifting a sword against a hero’s adversary.” (Giran)

Naturally, the edges of his mouth lifted and his fangs peeked out. In the end, it all comes down to this. After all the tricks he had, the question to be asked is really a simple one. Which violence is stronger?

Well, it doesn’t matter. In any case, they are pawns to be discarded.

“…I’m begging you, Thirteenth [Master-Thread-Weaver]!!!!” (Giran)

The silver wolf runs toward the approaching army of corpses, pointing his red blade at them.

~Shu’s Perspective~

With a clank, I lift a stone tablet like a manhole cover and steps out onto a deserted southern street. The zombie parade of the past few days, which seemed to be the Halloween of Shibuya, was a complete waste of time and energy.

“Thanks to Mr. Giran’s loud fanfare, I guess.” (Shuu)

“Squeak.” (Tamiko)

No matter how high-level Giran and I are, if we rush headlong toward the opponent’s main camp and gets surrounded by such a large force, we will not be able to hit the main camp.

Therefore, the main force was a diversion. Then, a detach force would attack the main base, which had thinned their defenses. This is a very typical tactic, but one of the worst-case scenarios, the Treant zombies, are real and rampaging around the place. How long can they endure?

Waiting in the dimly lit underground tunnels was also quite a patient experience. Thanks to the zombies, we had time to recover our strength.

We ran, our footsteps silent. Soon, we arrived at the plaza surrounding the huge altar.

“Yo, long time no see.” (Shuu)

The rock doll, which should have been expressionless, turns its humanoid face to him in surprise.

The five minotaurs that had remained behind as its cronies brace themselves.

Noa and Makko swing their arms holding the enhanced [Fireball].

Tamiko is placed on Noa’s head, and Shuu holds a huge [Katana] on his shoulder, gazing at the enemy.

“Sorry, but we’re going to end this as fast as we can.” (Shuu)