The guard tower must have seen the monster parade, I can see the fortress town's gate being lowered. However, that's not helpful against the climbing spiders nor the mother spider which will step over the walls like it's not even there.
In the darkness, it was easy to sight a brief light burning atop the town walls. Then a large cloud burst from the same spot followed by a whistling sound, making my hairs stand on end. I instinctively raised my hands constructing a barrier.
A projectile struck the earth, kicking up chunks of dirt and gravel into the air. The guards had fired a cannon, missing us by a small margin. They almost killed us.
Both of us are unharmed but halted due to the sudden shock. We have to get out of here. On grassland there is nowhere to hide. We can only run and pray. Roughly 600 meters till we're safely past the cannons... The closer we get the less time we'll have to react and the more dangerous it'll be. Almost 30 Dexterity puts me at far beyond a human's reaction and movement speed, but if those cannons even graze us, we'll die from the shockwave. Based on testimony during the war, at least 80 Vitality is required to survive direct contact just once.
I smiled unwittingly. Oops. That was totally inappropriate. I can't help it. This reminds me of dodgeball. A more lethal version that is.
"Sophie, the guards are firing cannons! Maintain your mana barrier, keep running!"
-Willpower: 5/44-
How does a Swordsman's Reflect skill work? It doesn't just recklessly clash against the opponent's weapon. It adds a sudden force, utilizing the target's momentum causing it to veer off in a different direction than intended.
In the same way a barrier can't stop a direct hit, it might be possible to deflect it the same way Sophie does.
I'll form a cone shaped barrier. It could work but if I misplace the barrier, we'll be squished. Extending mana further from one's body with air as the medium is difficult, I can't help my hands from shaking.
More cannons were lit. Let's get lucky, Sophie.
400 meters till safety.
Hahaha. It slammed into the barrier adjusting its course, but still landed close to us, knocking off our feet with the impact. A series of booming noises followed. Blood's rushing to my head, my ears are ringing, and I've got dirt in my mouth... Bastards, how about getting some better aim. You're going to kill us... I know you can see us from up there.
"Claud!"
Sophie's relatively unharmed but crying. Crying's reasonable. This is terrifying.
A second volley was fired.
-Willpower: 4/44-
"Go!"
I have to get up and run!
A spider's approaching our back, ignore it, an incoming shell will destroy it anyways. Keep moving.
Sophie used her skill to empower us just in time. A barrage will land in our path, redirecting so many is impossible. Do we change directions? No. The spiders will catch up and we'll have to turn our backs to fight.
Think of something else. Don't be so hardheaded, be flexible... like netting. There's the answer. Project multiple layers, slow the cannon fire with a mesh shape. Hopefully enough to allow us to pass then it will fall, eliminating enemies behind us.
200 meters till safety.
Snap, snap, snap. I heard my mana meshes stretch and break almost instantaneously like rubber bands, but they helped. We felt the tremors behind, a thin coat of mana protecting us from stray debris.
Almost there... 50 meters. The gate is almost finished lowering!
A black shadow passed overhead crashing into the gates, sending bricks flying. The mother spider lunged forward to prevent us from escaping.
Oh shit.
Caught up even with all that firepower raining down on her. Stupid spider, intelligent monsters on the Eastern continent would have run away before so much damage had accumulated.
The rest of the smaller spiders are catching up without mantis hindering them. We don't have another choice.
-Willpower: 3/44-
"Sophie! Finish off the smaller injured ones. You need as much stats as you can get."
The small spiders didn't escape the bombardment unscathed; Sophie can take them on easily. I'm slicing up all their limbs without missing a beat, leaving them immobilized. Sophie, hurry up, a bunch of stats are ripe for the picking here. These aren't a big challenge for us. The mother spider on the other hand had placed herself between the cannons, inadvertently soaking up most of the shelling. Great. At least we won't have to worry as much about stray misses. Guards had begun firing arrows and guns into its back as well.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
I can't summon mantis, but we have a bigger advantage than when we were trapped with our backs to the wall. Yeah, beating this thing might be doable.
-Willpower: 2/44-
"Sophie, I'll aim for its legs! Stay safe back here!"
From my point of view, the pressure it emitted was gradually shrinking. This giant started looking like a big bag of experience.
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Seeing the mother spider in front of us, my heart sank. But Claud... he's smiling, isn't he?
Honestly his very words and actions inspired me, but it also scared me. How hasn't he given up? Even now, he's giving me the last hit on the monsters to build my stats. I can't comprehend what he's thinking about to be able to be so confident.
-Strength, Dexterity, Vitality has increased by 2-
Our lives are in jeopardy. He should be wearier, but his eyebrows weren't tense at all. Claud is a calculative person who doesn't like to take risks, I know that. Could it be that he is certain we'll survive? That was reassuring.
That gave me confidence to fight.
"Sophie, I'll aim for its legs! Stay safe back here!"
-Claud's Willpower: 2/44-
I quickly grasped his hand. The only thing I can do is return mantis to him. He smiled.
Even if I'm not as good a fighter, I want to fight... but I don't want to cause any trouble...
He dashed from leg to leg, attacking its joints. Some joints separated, some didn't. But regardless he didn't stop moving, avoiding attacks deftly. I mustn't get involved... If I do, Claud might have to cover for my shortcomings. He could die if I do something rash now.
Hero Cecillia's closest friend, Gargant died because she launched an attack against Ironpoise when she wasn't ready. I can't make the same mistakes. Learn from history, Claud has nagged me about this plenty of times.
His body is glowing... generating differently colored mana than usual. Is this that? A battle aura. When a fighter has gained sufficient experience, an overwhelming strength which fills you. The mana encasing him is visibly thicker than usual, his movements are fluid wasting no strength, using mana barriers as platforms to avoid attacks midair. I'm so pathetic... I promise to protect Claud too but he's doing all the hard work. I feel so frustrated...
Carefully he's weaving in and out of the spider's comfortable strike range. It has to use its legs in awkward ways to try and attack, Claud's capable of manipulating the enemy to this level. I'm sure that even with all the knowledge he has learned about monsters, actually applying it would still be difficult. But not for Claud, he's a natural. He's fought the same enemies I have; we've trained the same amount... But then why is there such a big difference?
Eventually after a hard-fought battle, the mutilated spider on its back, wriggled its amputated limbs desperately trying to hold onto its remaining life force.
-Claud's Willpower: 1/44-
"Sophie! Come get the last hit! Hurry! Before the guards get here!"
I know Claud doesn't mean any harm, but I feel belittled when he does this... I didn't contribute anything of value to the battle and yet I get to reap the rewards. Finishing off weaklings and stealing the experience that should have gone to him. After Eindell, I promised to become stronger... I wanted to protect you but I'm just being a burden again...
I stab the arachnid's head, ending its life. It kept writhing even after the mana dissipated from its corpse...
-Trait: Arachnophobia added. Bonus 30% damage dealt to and received from arachnids-
-Strength, Dexterity, Vitality has increased by 6. Luck has increased by 12-
-Claud Branford's Empathy Trait Active-
"Sophie? What's wrong? Why are you crying? Are you hurt? Are you feeling sick? Did any of the spiders bite you?"
"Uuuu... Uuuu... Not hurt... I just wanted to fight too... I don't want to be weak..."
"Sophie... you're not-"
"Liar! If I weren't weak, you'd have let me fight. You wouldn't have spoon fed me last hits like a baby!"
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'I didn't ask for your help, $#*@(!'
Damn it. Don't think about that. I was expecting hugs and happy tears but received their anger out of the blue. The subversion of expectation hit hard, my feet glued to the ground and jaw wired shut. Calm down. I must be the rational one in these types of circumstances; they're feeling insecure so that results in them lashing out. Although the similarities are striking, the scenarios of Sophie and Keith are different. I haven't made any mistakes this time. I haven't disregarded her feelings; I carefully considered how my actions would affect her emotions and well-being. Didn't I carefully observe her reactions during this whole trip? I was being considerate.
"I-Im sorry for yelling... I didn't mean to yell. Don't get mad at me, Claud. I'm so sorry..."
Luckily, she realizes she did something wrong and acted before me. I didn't know what I could've said to comfort her there. Prideful children wouldn't have admitted their fault, but Sophie is good at her core. I should accept her apologies now lest in the future, she might decide not to apologize so quickly.
"It's alright. I understand your irritation, it has been a harsh few days. Let's quickly get some rest. We'll sleep in as long as we want today, tomorrow, and the rest of the week if you really want to!"
I have to change the subject. The longer her mind's occupied by this, she might develop an inferiority complex.
-42/50 Bad deeds completed. Deceit unsuccessful-
Damn.
"I don't want that. I... How do I become stronger, Claud? Even though my stats have increased. It's still not enough. I don't know what I can do to help... I can't keep up with you..."
Truthfully, I don't know what to do either. All of my power has been given to me by the system. Fighting the mantis was the only time I've ever gotten stronger because of my own efforts.
I would have had her join in fighting the spider to build experience, but I was scared a random hit could kill her... She only has half my durability.
I failed to answer in an acceptable amount of time, her expression began to darken.
"I promise, it's only for now, Sophie. In the future, you can be incredibly strong. You just have to be patient. If there's even the slightest possibility, you could get hurt, I'd never want that. Carefully grow stronger; injuries can affect your rest of your life. I don't want you to get hurt..."
-44/50 Bad deeds completed. Deceit successful-
"Okay, Claud. I understand... I'll try to be a little more patient."
I can't carelessly push her out of the nest, hoping the baby bird will fly. She's the only Hero, the only one of her species you could say. If she dies, the Hero species will disappear, and the rest of humanity will be driven to extinction as well. That bad end must be avoided.