727 – Four-Eyed Beasts (side: Treant)

After separating from the Lithovars, Aro and I head a slight distance away from their settlement to begin our hunt. Fortunately, the four-eyed beasts have the power to call more of their own. If we can cause them to call for reinforcements, we should be able to draw all the beasts that are near the village to us.

“AAAAh AAAAAA!”

The four-eyed bear that I restricted with [Clay] cries out.

『I-is this working, Aro-dono?』

We have already weakened this one. I think its high-pitched cry just now was to summon more of its allies…

Soon, a large number of cries echo out in reply from our surroundings. More four-eyed bears appear from each direction.

“AAAAAh!”
“AAAh!”

From what I can see, there are six of them. More are still coming from further away.

『There’s more than I thought…!』

“The more the better.”

Aro-dono’s outline blurs as she splits into two more copies. She’s using the [Darkness Kaleidoscope] skill.

『Does that skill not consume too much mana?』

“It’s okay. I have [Mana Drain]. Besides, we can’t take too long.”

She extends an arm towards the bears as she speaks.

Half an hour after the battle had started, we are surrounded by the corpses of the four-eyed bears, as well as the four-eyed wolves that joined in partway through. In total there are dozens upon dozens of dead bodies around us…

Aro-dono grasps the neck of a wolf she captured alive, and sucks its mana with [Mana Drain].

“…I think we’ve reduced their numbers a little in the area now.”

Aro-dono snaps the wolf’s neck and lowers it to the ground. Her shoulders are heaving a little.

『Aro-dono, have you not been fighting too hard? Doesn’t recovering mana come with a feeling of fatigue…』

“But we can’t take too long.”

Aro-dono says, looking in the distance. In her line of sight is the gargantuan monster, the Magic Beast Kin, which is still slowly eating its way through the forest.

It’s not enough to just reduce their numbers. Our goal is to protect the Lithovar tribe from the threat of the Magic Beast King. After reducing the immediate danger to them from the swarms of beasts, we need to do something about their boss. Aro-dono probably wanted to hurry to defeat the beasts so she could directly fight the Magic Beast King.

『That’s true, but…』

I scratch my head.

I understand Aro-dono’s feelings. We’re in a race against time. The longer we wait, the more the forest and the people in it will die. But if we make a mistake, then that’ll be the end of it all.

In this fight, an absolute win is impossible. All we can do is buy time and try to reduce the casualties as much as possible. If we hurry, it could all come crashing down.

I’m not very good at strategising, but the current Aro-dono seems rather impatient and lacking in calmness. She’s been this way ever since she first suggested coming to this forest alone.

When it comes down to it, I need to act as her brakes. It can’t be helped if she goes a little overboard. But the moment she tries to pick a fight that she can’t win, I need to be the one to stop her… Even if it causes her to resent me.

“The Magic Beast King will reach the village soon… No, the village has already moved several times. They’re far away from where it was before.”

Aro-dono says.

『So then…?』

“They’ve already picked up and moved to keep away from the rampaging four-eyed beasts…”

I catch my breath. The entire village moved through this dangerous forest together. There’s no way they didn’t suffer some casualties. It must have been difficult for them to even secure food.

Is the village already in a state of destruction…? I can’t bring myself to voice the thought out loud.

『We’re far too lacking in information… Perhaps we should have talked with your father some more.』

The other Lithovars were scared, so after healing them we quickly left. But there are far too many issues that we face in order to protect the Lithovars.

We need to thin out the numbers of four-eyed beasts, protect th Lithovars’ base, guard them while they move, and secure food for them. In order to reduce the casualties, it might be better to cooperate more closely with them. To do that, it’s crucial that we come to a mutual understanding.

In the first place, it’s impossible for us to defeat the Magic Beast King. It’s probably almost certainly Legendary rank, and we know how terrifying the Legendary rank can be.

The ruin, the origin matter, the hecatoncheir, Miia the thanatos, and master-dono as an oneiros – if we fought any of them head-on, Aro-dono and I would be killed in a matter of seconds. Since defeating the Magic Beast King is impossible, we should cooperate with the Lithovars to learn what they need.

Aro-dono is shunned by them as an undead, so she is not ideal as an intermediary. As I’m seen as one of their Feared Gods, perhaps I take on the role of talking with them?

『It feels like we don’t have enough hands to deal with all the problems… We need to gather information on the Magic Beast King, cut down their numbers, and protect the Lithovars directly…』

If we had atlach-dono, Volk-dono, and magiatite-dono here, things would be much easier. With just us two, it’s risky for us to act separately. Even more so now, while Aro-dono doesn’t seem to be thinking calmly.

“UOoooooooOOOOOOOOOh!”

Suddenly, a massive roar cuts across the forest.

『M-more of the beasts…?』

“It sounds different…”

A large animal swiftly bursts out of the darkness of the forest. Its fur is a beautiful green, faintly glowing, and it has large fangs and claws.

Riding on the animal is a tall man covered in bright red fur. A cloth is wrapped around his waist. He’s over two metres tall, and his hair colour is too red for him to be a Lithovar. In his hand is a large hammer… and, for some reason, his head is covered by a clay bucket. A draconic face carved into the bucket, making it look like a mask.

“You have killed many of the four-eyeds… Who are you?”

The man says in a low voice.

『That voice… a monster?』

He puts his hammer on the ground and takes the bucket off his head, revealing the face of a giant red-furred monkey.

“I am the king who rules the beasts of this forest… Shuen.[1] Below me is the guardian deity of this forest. We are protecting the forest. Let us work together.”

“Feared God-sama…”

Aro-dono is staring wide-eyed at the glittering beast. Apparently, that animal is the true form of the Feared Gods, the Rarag Wolf. It’s the first time I’ve seen it, but master-dono mentioned its appearance.

Apparently the rarans are working together with the intelligent animals of the forest to protect it.

Following the rarag wolf and Shuen-dono, three more red-furred monkeys run out of the forest. They appear to be Shuen-dono’s subordinates. All three of them are similarly wielding blunt weapons… and for some reason, they are also wearing clay buckets with dragon faces carved into them.

[1] – A red-furred monkey monster in ancient China, said to be a harbinger of war – JP wiki.

AN:【Publication Information】

DoraTama volume 16 is now available! Aro and treant fight against the danger pressing on Aro’s homeland! Will a miracle occur as they fight against the overwhelming power of the Magic Beast King?

The new bonus story is ‘A Certain Dreaming Dragon and the Wooden Hero’! It is an ‘if’ story, describing what would happen if treant-san was the strongest. I wrote it to be comedic, so please enjoy it! It’s an entire 10,000 characters long! (2022-06-07)