Chapter 573
『Our convoy is longer than I imagined』
「Nn. Lots of carriages」
「Woof」
Fran and Urushi muttered in agreement to my unintentional comment.
We were currently outside the Lady Blue, about 20 meters up in the air. Fran, riding the Thoroughbred-sized Urushi, was looking down at the long line of carriages.
(TLN: Thoroughbred > name of a horse breed)
Today was the start of our off-campus survival training. We were traveling to Lake Vivian with 40 carriages, including those for transporting our supplies.
Over 200 students were participating in the event, and 30 instructors were accompanying them as their guards. In Fran's case, she was given the role of a scout, so she could keep an eye on the entire group and respond to any dangerous magic beasts that might appear.
On the other hand, if it was a small fry, the students were supposed to handle it by themselves, and we were not supposed to help them.
Senior students such as those in the Special Battle Class would take turns escorting the carriage as it moved. However, some students rarely got off the carriage and were just escorted to their destination.
About thirty new students were accompanying them on this off-campus survival training. This seemed to be a tradition of the academy, and the students of the Special Battle Class had also experienced that when they enrolled in the academy.
Even on Earth, there was a joint school activity with the upperclassmen, and I guess, this event was similar to that.
In one of the carriages that don't have a roof, we saw Khanna chatting with her classmates.
There were three freshmen and three upperclassmen in each carriage. However, there were always two upperclassmen guarding the carriage outside, and they took turns to rest.
Charon and her group were the ones who were guarding Khanna's carriage. In case Charon and her group couldn't handle the situation later, they had an instructor sitting on the coachman's seat, and if that wasn't enough, they had Fran and Weena Rhyn as support.
『Well then, Let's get going too』
「Nn. Urushi」
「Woof! Woof!」
By riding on Urushi, we were going to keep an eye from the sky.
As Urushi ran out by leaping in the air, I could see that the students below us were looking up at us.
It was not every day they got to see a giant wolf running in the sky. Urushi was particularly magnificent, and I'm sure that this sight would make a great picture.
『It's going to be more troublesome if we get a bunch of the small fry than just a big one』
「Like goblins?」
『And maybe a bandit, or a swarm of bug types monster』
It would be a disaster if a large magic beast were to run into them. So, it might be better for us to defeat the big ones as soon as possible.
『Let's keep looking for the enemy!』
「Nn!」
「Woof!」
...
Six hours after our departure.
The convoy had passed the first rest stop and was now entering the forest area from the plains. From here, the visibility was very poor, and we need to be more vigilant than before.
It must be a difficult place for the students playing the role of escort, as I could clearly see the tension in the whole group increasing.
As for Fran, she was now a little further away from the convoy. We were not slacking, okay?
Rather, we were currently doing our job.
「Haaa!」
「Gii! Gigii!」
We were in a battle with a magic beast that lived in the forest area. Our opponent this time was a Tall Mantis. It was a giant praying mantis with unusually long arms and legs. Its body was seven or eight meters long, but its legs were probably more than ten meters long. It was a magical beast with a threat level of E. It used its arms and legs to move dexterously through the deep trees.
It must have sensed the signs and smells of the many prey moving. It was approaching the convoy at a fairly fast pace, so Fran went out to intercept it.
However, it was quite an unusual magic beast, as it possessed a martial arts skill called Scythe Technique. It was able to catch Fran's first blow with its sickle. Even though it was just a check to gauge our opponent's strength, it was pretty impressive.
Moreover, its scythe was covered with electric shocks. If it hadn't been for Fran, who was immune to lightning, they might have been paralyzed.
However, the magic beast's resistance only ended there. Fran, who had found a blind spot where the scythe could not reach, sliced it in half from the back and it fell apart.
I heard that this was a troublesome enemy that would rain scythes down on us from above when we fought in the deep forest, but for someone like us who could always attack from the sky, it was an opponent full of openings.
『Now that we've cleared all the big ones, let's get back to the convoy. It seems they're fighting with goblins right now』
「Okay」
The reason for our return was not to help them but to heal any students who were badly injured. However, their opponent was just a normal goblin, and no one would be injured enough to need Recovery Magic.
The students of the Special Battle Class were capable enough to handle them. They were also able to strip materials from the defeated goblin skillfully. I could even see relaxed expressions on their faces.
However, the new students looked pale.
Not many students were able to remain as calm as Khanna. In her case, she already had actual combat experience and she was capable of defeating goblins.
However, most of the children must have had no experience in fighting. So, if they were suddenly shown a fight with a magic beast in front of them, it was inevitable that they would become frightened.
「Master」
『What's wrong?』
「That」
『Aah, you mean the Heavenly Dragon's Lair, huh? We can see it clearly from here』
「Nn!」
Fran doesn't seem to be interested in the fights below us, she was looking up at the floating island that stood so majestically far above us.
We didn't get the chance to see a Heavenly Dragon today either. However, the sight of the floating island covered in white clouds never got boring no matter how many times I saw it.
Both Fran and Urushi stared at the floating island with sparkling eyes. However, they quickly turned their gaze back to the ground and stared deep into the forest with sharp eyes.
「Master, Urushi, Let's go!」
「Woof!」
『This time they came as a flock huh!? Let's kill them all at once!』
「Okay!」
We sensed the presence of magic beasts approaching the convoy. And they were much stronger than goblins.
They were called the Assassin Apes, magic beasts that excelled at killing their target with a single blow by a sneak attack. They were slightly larger than a Mountain Gorilla, but their threat level was the same as that of the giant Tall Mantis.
In fact, these beasts were more troublesome to deal with than the larger target, like the Tall Mantis, as they could move quickly and had the attack power to kill their target instantly.
There were six of them. Six of them, using tree branches as platforms, repeatedly leaping towards the students at a tremendous speed.
The way they eliminated their presence was that of a seasoned adventurer, so the students were probably still unaware of them.
「Urushi, take care the two on the right」
「Woof!」
『I'll take care of the two on the left then!』
「Nn!」
We were the first to attack them, as we were a step ahead of them in terms of eliminating our presence, and in terms of detection. Moreover, we could also teleport.
It took less than a minute for them to be annihilated after the first one was cut down by Fran, who had appeared with teleport in front of them. They hadn't thought that they would be taken by surprise in the forest. A look of astonishment was still on the face of the big ape that was about to die.
『For two types of magic beasts with a threat level of E to appear in such a short time is... It looks like we'll be pretty busy until we reach Lake Vivian』
「Nn!」
Fran looked happy when she nodded to my words. She must feel refreshed after being able to rampage against those magic beasts. Well, it was better for her than being stressed out and frustrated.