<strong>Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 418</strong>


    <strong>Defense Specialization and Joining an Army</strong>


    The members of “Congregation of Holy Swords” were the most powerful forces in Maple’s faction. After they left the town, the faction’s power to protect the base was greatly reduced.


    “Alright, let’s do our best to protect this ce!”


    “”Yes!””


    Maple called out to the nearby members of “Maple Tree” and turned to face the field. Using the high-performance binocrs that Iz gave her, she stared at the nd in front of her, but she couldn’t see any yers from the opposing side.


    “Well, as expected, they won’t juste guns zing at the front gate, right?”


    “Yeah. So we’re still going to wait and see how things y out for the time being?”


    Just like the yers that Sally and the others met out in the forest, no one could afford to make any bold moves, since this event didn’t allow yers to die even once.


    No one was trying to pass through the outer walls’ defenses by simply flying over them in order to head straight to the castle. Even if the enemy could avoid the allied yers on the ground, with so many lookouts on top of the walls, they would be risking getting shot down before they could reach their goal.


    “Unless one of us makes a move, there won’t be anyrge-scale battles.”


    “Yeah, you’re right.”


    If they continued to wait like this, they could expect the first big battle to take ce the moment the “Congregation of Holy Swords” shed with the enemy faction.


    “Though it doesn’t look like everyone else is just going to sit around doing nothing.”


    As Kanade peered over the top of the outer wall, he could see several guilds gathering in the distance, as if they were about to start marching.


    “There’s so many people…”


    “Looks like we’re going to see more activity from now on…”


    Since several guilds have assembled, the number of yers gathered around was much greater than that of the members of the “Congregation of Holy Swords”. Being that many, any sort of covert action would be much more difficult, and it wouldn’t be surprising if any invasion they couldunch resulted in a fierce battle where both sides would suffer damage.


    “Hmm, Maple. At this point, it might be better if you go with them. I think that would be more effective than waiting here for that number of people toe at us at once.”


    Kanade’s suggestion also made sense. The reason Maple was waiting here was to see what the opponent would do in the early stages, and to be the strongest line of defense in the event of an assault.


    However, since not everyone on this side was working on the same idea, it was also necessary to have some degree of flexibility.


    If many yers suddenly were to die here, Maple’s side would be at a huge disadvantage.


    “Sally also said that it would be good to go to a ce with a lot of people and protect it.”


    “I wonder if the town will be okay if I go…”


    “Haha, don’t worry. I’ve already made some preparations. They should buy enough time for you to fly back here if things go south.”


    After saying that, Kanade picked up a book with a ck cover from his floating bookshelf and smiled confidently.


    “Well, the rest of us will still have to be on guard duty just in case. Mai and Yui are here, so we should be fine.”


    “Do your best, Maple!”


    “Please be careful…!”


    “Go, and don’t worry about this ce. This is a good chance for me to show you the power of my items.”


    “Okay! Then I’m off!”


    After having made up her mind to move to the offensive after being encouraged by her fellow guild members, Maple let out a short sigh and jumped down from the outer wall.


    “With this, the ‘Congregation of Holy Swords’ should have an easier time moving around, right?”


    “Right.”


    If several powerful yers of Maple’s side were to be scattered about in multiple ces, the more difficult it would be for the opposing side to defend against them.


    Switching to an offensive approach had its risks, but it was also true that they wouldn’t be able to win just by defending. And if they were going to attack at some point either way, it would be better for them to be more efficient about it and reduce the number of times they’d take risks.


    “Now then, let’s take a look at the equipment that we can use for defending this ce, and help Iz set up her items.”


    “”Yes!””


    The four saw Maple off as they started to make their preparations.


    In the meantime, Maple, who had just jumped from the top of the high wall,nded on the outer side of it, lifting up a great deal of dust and causing a loud noise. Naturally, this attracted the attention of the multiple allied guilds that had started to march towards the enemy base, who had been on alert for any potential enemy ambushes waiting to happen.


    The allied guild members stopped to wait for Maple, who seemed to be having a hard time catching up with them, and she thanked them for that as she ran towards them.


    “Are you guys leaving now?”


    “Ah, yeah. That’s the n.”


    “Can I go with you? I’m very confident in my defense!”


    After Maple said that, the yers began to murmur to each other. Any yer who was fairly high level and had participated in events up to this point would naturally know about Maple. If so, there wouldn’t be anything more reassuring to her than that.


    “Sure, let’s go. Would you like to take a position in the middle? Ah, you have that ‘Dedicated Affection’ Skill, right?”


    “Yes! Would you like me to exin how it works?”


    “Hmm, well, if that’s okay with you, it’ll be a great help.”


    The allies in this event could be enemies in the future. The man told Maple that she didn’t have to tell them anything she considered unnecessary, but Maple still decided to talk about the weak points of “Dedicated Affection” since knowing about them coulde in handyter during this event.


    “I see. So that’s how it was designed… We’ll need to be careful about knockbacks and piercing attacks. I’ll pass this along to the rest of the party, so please stay in the center of our formation so that everyone can be within range.”


    “Got it!”


    “By the way… What are those weird ck boxes?”


    Wondering about how many more weird things he would have to see during the event, the man pointed at the ck cubes floating around Maple and asked her about them.


    “Ah, this is a new weapon!”


    “Okay, okay. Then feel free to use it if you have to.”


    Though the number of yers who didn’t know the names and general effects of Maple’s Skills had decreased, there were things that those who had never been in the same party with Maple would never know about. By sharing this information with this party, it would make it easier for Maple to work with them.


    Aftering to the center of the party’s formation as the man –who seemed to be the party leader– had told her, Maple bowed her head and greeted the yers around her.


    “Thanks for letting me join!”


    The rest of the party greeted her back, but they all seemed to be fired up about Maple’s participation, so they were pretty noisy about it.


    “Yeah, we’ve got even more powerful allies now! Let’s march on!”


    “””Yeaaaahh!!”””


    Several yers, who were probably the guild masters of various other guilds, took the lead, raising their weapons to the sky and calling out to the rest of the members of their parties in order to raise morale.


    After everyone responded with a war cry of their own, therge army finally began to move…


    “Whoa!?”


    “I-I’m sorry!”


    And, of course, since therge army started to move with a great deal of energy, Maple, who was in the center of their formation and was unable to keep up with their pace, couldn’t avoid being bumped into by those marching behind her. As expected, even though AGI was rted to movement speed, not many yers were willing topletely ditch it in favor of other stats.


    “S-She… she walks really slow, don’t you think?”


    “Should we get her into a cart? We’re going to need someone to pull it, but I think it’s worth the effort.”


    “Right. Wait here a second, I’ll get one ready.”


    “That really helps, thank you…”


    Thus a small pull cart was brought to ensure that Maple would march at the same speed as the rest of the army.


    “That oughta do it. Be careful not to make her jump too much, okay?”


    “Right. We wouldn’t want to just march on recklessly only toter realize we’ve dropped her along the way.”


    While keeping Maple’s shorings in mind (which had be more clear after bing their ally), the allied forces continued their march towards the enemy camp.