Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~ - Chapter 354.2: Sytry's Strategy ⑦

I regain my nerves, close my eyes, sharpen my mind, and look up at the World Tree, praying for the success of the strategy. Maybe feeling the same as me, Miles quietly looks at the World Tree, its 『Hometown』 which had now been swallowed up by the 【Temple of Origin】 and turned into something abominable.

“It is almost time……” (Serene)

For now, the forest is peaceful. The earth soldiers are controlled by Miles’ Magic. So to speak, they are Miles’ arms, eyes, and ears. If any Monsters or Phantoms approach, we will know it right away.

If anything happened, it would have given me a sign, so I guess the other teams haven’t been attacked yet.

Please, just like right now, I hope nothing will happen.

I make up my mind and put the bright red jewel I received from Sytry into the device.

――It made a *kachiri* small click.

The feedback on my fingers is surprisingly light. The Magic power flowing from the Magic Stone is transmitted to the spiral glass tube, causing the device to shake without a sound.

“Hh………… Th-This is――” (Serene)

My heart beats strongly. The voice that comes out of me is unintentionally shaky.

Even after the device is activated, the landscape does not change at all. There are no changes such as the earth shaking, making noise, or emitting light. It is probably difficult for people who don’t have eyes like mine to understand how it works.

As she refers to it, it truly is a Mana Materials stirring device.

It is certainly an action that could be called 『Stirring』.

The device is quietly stirring the Mana Materials sucked from the earth’s vein to its spiral glass tube.

Unlike underground, where the Mana Materials continue to flow in one direction like water in a river, the Mana Materials emitted from the top of the device is released vigorously into the surrounding area. It is like a spring gushing out. The released Mana Materials spread in all directions as if they were ripples, but if you look closely, you can see that the ripples are deformed into elongated strips in the direction that the end of the glass tube is facing.

Sytry’s plan is to create a new flow of Mana Materials by connecting the torrents of Mana Materials that are stirred and released by each device――. This is going to be difficult. I am fine as I can see Mana Materials, but someone who can’t see Mana Materials has no way to tell if the device is working properly or not.

After all, the usage this time is probably different from its original intended use.

Precise calculations are essential in order to use this device’s mechanism to distort the flow of the earth’s veins and weaken the Treasure Shrine. After checking again, I found out that this device is specialized in the function of holding the dispersed Mana Materials in one place. If that is the case, the main function of the device should be to strengthen a Treasure Shrine――But it is certainly not impossible to weaken one.

I don’t know how the device itself works, but whoever invented it must be either a genius or insane. Maybe it is both. The people of Yggdra already have the technology to use the power of the existing earth’s veins, but we have never thought of doing anything with the earth’s veins themselves.

Most of the Mana Materials flowing in the earth’s veins towards the World Tree has been pumped out by the power of the device and has indeed decreased. If the other teams are also able to activate their devices correctly and block the Mana Materials flowing in from the South, the Mana Materials flowing into the 【Temple of Origin】 should be reduced by half.

The abnormality should have already been reported to the Treasure Shrine. The Phantoms will definitely start looking for the cause, and will sense our unusual activity――While checking the device that keeps moving, I search for the Phantoms’ presence.

At that moment, Miles, who is floating nearby, transmits the information with a bell-like sound.

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“………… 7 beast-like creatures――The advanced squad, is it…” (Serene)

The breakdown included five wolf-type creatures and two lizard-type creatures that Eliza and her friends had dealt with before. There are no sounds of footsteps, but Miles’ eyes cannot be fooled. The wind, the earth, and the trees are all Miles itself. Now, Miles and I are connected by an invisible force. My expanded five senses alert me of the Phantoms’ approach.

There is no sound, no presence, and they are quite fast. If this had been a surprise attack, I might have been killed by a single blow before I even realized it. No matter how powerful a Magi is, there is nothing they can do if they are attacked before they can use their Magic.

However, right now, I do not have any openings. I do not have that much combat experience, but that is irrelevant.

The forest is on Serene Yggdra Frestel’s side.

I tightly grip my beloved long staff and let out a small voice.

“………… Miles.” (Serene)

No orders are needed. Miles and I are communicating through an invisible connection. For the me right now, using Magic is like breathing.

The earth beneath my feet rises, lifting me even higher than the surrounding great trees. The earth soldiers all move in unison to face the direction the Phantoms are coming from.

I look down. Mana material is spreading through the power of the device. Because I raised my foothold too high, the figures of the Phantoms are hidden by the branches and leaves and can not be seen. However, to put it another way, I am currently very conspicuous when viewed from a distance. The number of Phantom is not infinite. The more I attract, the easier it will be for other teams.

After receiving Miles’ report, I frown.

“15 additional ones, all beast-type. They are underestimating me.” (Serene)

I am lucky that the ones coming towards me are all beast-types. There are no beasts among the missing warriors of Yggdra. There is no need to capture them. I will crush them all together.

The beasts slow down. The opponents are highly intelligent. I guess they are planning to surround and attack me. There is no reason to wait for that to happen. I stab my staff on the ground and yell to dispel my weakness.

“Go!!” (Serene)

The earth, certainly, trembles.

The hundreds of earth soldiers which have taken position charge towards the Phantoms all at once.

The Phantoms react to the sudden counterattack without letting out a single scream. They stop hiding their presence and kick the ground as they use their body to crush the earth soldiers that are assembling around them. Their hard skin resists the attacks from earth soldiers and easily blows them *barabara* apart in one hit.

Everything is as expected. Each one of the soldiers does not have much power. No――Strictly speaking, they weren’t even soldiers.

They have limbs and a head, but no vital organs. Miles is the one operating them. To Miles, the one who is manipulating the earth, those soldiers are nothing more than lumps of earth, and those simultaneous charges are a simple tsunami of earth.

We generate new earth soldiers. Increase the production speed. Reuse the earth from the crushed soldiers to create new soldiers. Transform the ground where the beasts try to move forward into mud. Bury the beasts with dirt faster than they can blow it away.

The Phantoms twist and begin to rampage. Even if you realize the danger now, it is already too late.

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“――Return to the earth.” (Serene)

There is a sickening *gokuri* clatter sound that makes me want to cover my ears. The reactions of multiple Phantoms disappear in an instant. By manipulating the earth that covers them, I compress and crush their entire body. They are quite hard and have a lot of vitality, but if that is the case, I just have to crush them until they die. Several lizard-shaped Phantoms force their way through the restraints and jump towards me.

Even though the ground has turned to mud, you sure can still jump well. As I am admiring it, the Phantoms all open their jaws at once.

“Hh!?” (Phantoms)

Light gathers inside their mouth and is instantly released towards me. However, their attack never reaches me. A thick wall of earth grows from the ground and catches the light. The wall becomes red hot and the temperature of the surrounding area rises at once, but it does not penetrate. On the contrary, the wall that has been created is knocked down, crushing the Phantoms. The presence gradually weakens and finally disappears completely.

Silence returns to the surrounding area. The first battle only took about five minutes.

I hold my staff and adjust my disorderly breath. I wipe the sweat that has formed on my forehead before I know it.

There wasn’t any issue. However, there is no joy in victory either. As soon as they can resist Miles’s power even for a moment, they are formidable foes. The other members have more combat experience than me, but they won’t be able to hold out for long if that many of them come. There is no telling when a third group will arrive.

And for the device――.

I became speechless for a moment after checking the condition of the earth’s veins.

“………… The Mana Materials that were diverging…… Has returned to its original state?” (Serene)

The device continues to function normally. However, the torrent of Mana Materials that have been greatly disturbed by the device and spread out horizontally, return to the earth’s veins source a little further away. You can clearly see it when you look from a bird’s view. It is as if the branching streams of water are merging downstream――If it is like this, the amount of power flowing into the Treasure Shrine remains the same.

Did the Phantoms do something? No………… That is not it.

I hurriedly raise the scaffolding even higher and look at the spot where the neighboring team has activated the device. They have the same results as me.

It is successful up to the point where the device is activated and the Mana Materials is absorbed and spread out. However, it has not led to the creation of a new stream of Mana Materials.

――This is because the diffusion, the performance of the equipment, is not enough.

In order for the Mana Materials to ignore the existing earth’s veins stream and create a new one, the Mana Materials disturbed by all the devices must be connected with each other.

Mana Materials tend to gather in places where their power is more powerful. This is the reason why living things are able to absorb Mana Materials, the reason why the Mana Materials that have just been disturbed are returning to their original earth’s veins, and the reason why a synchronous activation of the devices is necessary for Sytry’s strategy.

“A miscalculation…… Was the device not big enough…? No, the plan originally had a lot of unknowns.” (Serene)

The strategy is a failure. No matter how much I protect it, there is no point.

I thought I understood that there was a possibility of failure. But it is the worst. If I don’t inform everyone soon, everyone will continue to fight against powerful enemies for no reason.

Miles is telling me about the presence of a group of Phantoms approaching from afar. But there is no time to deal with them.

I restore the elevated ground below me. I take a deep breath and calm myself down.

The guideline is not wrong. I am sure it will work if we install a more powerful device.

Then, suddenly, there is a *pishiri* sharp sound.

Even though my head is about to explode, I manage to turn my gaze towards the sound. The Mana Materials Stirring Device is still operating. And in the glass part, there is a small crack.

The crack quickly expands in front of my eyes, and then――.

“!? Why!?” (Serene)

The Mana Materials Stirring Device shatters into pieces and the Magic Stone that has been inserted as a power source rolls around.

It is the worst. Turn out there is something worse than what I thought was the worst situation. I haven’t heard anything about the possibility of the device breaking. I do not know what to do.

I freeze due to a series of situations that exceed my thinking capacity. Then, a red flare is launched. It is the signal to retrieve the device and withdraw. I scold my shaking body and manage to start retreating.

Thanks for reading! Not bad Serene! Who would have thought that you were this strong But did the strategy just fail!? （ ﾟДﾟ)

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