Chapter 614: 【Adventurer Mitran】The Approaching Stampede

【Adventurer Mitran】The Approaching Stampede

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White sand as far as the eye can see, in all directions.

A cloudless blue sky.

The vast, yet unchanging scenery, under the scorching sun.

And—

“Hahhaa! Miss, this time they’re coming from the right!”

“Got it!”

—The magical creatures, frequently attacking the sled we’re riding!

This is pretty much all that makes up our day, exploring the western part of the Lasanaskiros Desert… commonly known as the ‘Lair of Magical Creatures’.

“Hyaa!”

By the way, the magical creature I just knocked down with my sword… is called a Cannon Urchin.

It’s a giant sea urchin, about the size of a human, and true to its name, it suddenly jumps out of the sand with the speed of a cannonball!

It’s apparently the adult form of… the sea urchin I ate at the oasis the other day.

What an aggressive, murderous sea urchin.

The sea urchins of this world are scary…!

“As expected of Mitran-kun!”

Nevertheless, an opponent of this level… with my current growth, I can easily handle it even without activating a cheat.

As Leseida-san patted my head, I breathed a small sigh of relief—Fuu.

Honestly, I’m tired now.

I haven’t encountered any strong enemies on the level of that super-giant worm… since entering the Lair of Magical Creatures.

But there are just so many battles.

Those sea urchins, giant scorpions, and so on… keep attacking us.

This has been going on for three days.

I can handle the attacks from the magical creatures.

And fortunately, there are no nocturnal magical creatures in this desert, so I can rest well at night.

But mentally… I’m getting more and more exhausted.

“Hey, Harishurap-san… how much longer until we reach ‘Nut-Gathering Village’…?”

So, I’m feeling a little weak-willed.

I asked Harishurap-san about our upcoming schedule.

Nut-Gathering Village is a rather unique village, built by digging holes into the rock face of the ‘Great Wall’, located at the westernmost edge of the Lasanaskiros Desert… the edge of the world.

Although most of the western Great Desert is an uninhabited area, called the domain of magical creatures, there are also several villages inhabited by people at the edge of the desert.

According to Leseida-san, the culture is distinctly different from the eastern Great Desert, and it’s apparently very interesting from a scholarly perspective… but that aside.

Of course, what we’re looking for is the Golden Pyramid, but its whereabouts are unknown.

Since we’ll get lost if we just wander aimlessly through the desert, we’re heading towards Nut-Gathering Village, cutting through the Lair of Magical Creatures, as our provisional destination.

By the way, if we can’t find the Golden Pyramid before reaching the village, we’ll use the village as our base and continue searching.

“Around noon tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow, huh…”

So until then, I have to stay alert.

I looked up at the sky, feeling weary.

The wandering mage Nenesane was also pondering with her hand on her chin.

…And that’s when it happened.

“…Hmm? What’s that…?”

Leseida-san, who had been looking around with binoculars, searching for the Golden Pyramid, muttered, as she spotted something in the south.

“What’s wrong, Leseida-san?”

I looked up at her face…

And froze.

Because Leseida-san’s face is completely pale.

Cold sweat was streaming down her face.

She clearly isn’t looking well!

“Let me see!”

I took the binoculars from the trembling Leseida-san and looked through them.

And then… I was dumbfounded by the sight that came into view.

Because.

Because, it’s…!

A large horde of various magical creatures… approaching us, kicking up a cloud of sand!

“A-A STAMPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDE!?”

I couldn’t help but scream!

“WH-WHAT!?”

Even Harishurap-san, usually cheerful, shouted, his face pale, and quickly turned to the south.

…And then, at that very moment… the horde of magical creatures was close enough to be seen with the naked eye.

No, they’re still far away, but—

Anyway, their numbers are just too great!

From one end of the horizon to the other… a horde of magical creatures, large enough to cover the entire Great Desert, is running towards us!

“Wh-What’s going on!? Since magical creatures are overflowing into the eastern part of the Great Desert… shouldn’t the density of magical creatures on this side be lower!?”

“It IS lower! It IS lower, but… even so, if a stampede occurs, it’ll be like this!! That’s how many magical creatures live in the Lair of Magical Creatures!!”

“Then why did a stampede occur!?”

“How the hell would I know!? I’m not a monsterologist!!”

“Harishurap-dono!!”

Here, the one who interrupted my argument with Harishurap-san, in the midst of the chaos.

Is Leseida-san.

Her face still pale, her body still trembling… but calmly.

Leseida-san opened her mouth.

“A stampede approaching from the south… is it possible to avoid it by continuing west?”

“…That’s impossible. Look at that horde… I can’t even see the end of it. No matter how fast Lady is, we’ll definitely be caught.”

“Then, can we outrun the stampede by changing direction and heading north?”

“That’s also impossible. We can run for a while… but Lady won’t last.”

Leseida-san suggested several escape routes, but they were all rejected by Harishurap-san.

This is… a hopeless situation!

“Then, all that’s left is…”

“Yeah…”

Here.

The two of them made eye contact, nodded with serious expressions, and then simultaneously looked towards the distant horde of magical creatures.

““We have no choice… but to charge into that stampede…!!””

They said… something reckless!