TPITT - Chapter 161



Baron Erka was trash as a human, but he was quite capable of being a guide.

As he had predicted, the expedition had to engage with monsters frequently starting around lunchtime the next day.

In the depths of the labyrinth, some plants form habitats at the entrances and block the path.

Many insect-like monsters smelled like intruders and attacked in groups.

“Get ready for battle!”

This time, the enemy is a variant of the sandworm.

There were about fifteen black monsters visible. They were approaching from the front, their maggot-like bodies writhing.

Although it looked slow from a distance, it was as big as a house and moved at the same speed as a chariot.

The knights of the Bloodthirsty Order at the forefront drew their weapons. Soon the sound of battle began to resound.

“They’re fighting again. Is it the sandworm this time?”

Rosenite spoke calmly, without even looking out the window. She had good hearing.

It seemed that she could now infer the type of monster just by hearing its sound.

I was secretly impressed.

'They say even a snail has the talent to roll, and Rossie has the talent to listen, too.'

As I stared at her with that thought in my mind, Rosenit caught my gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that again?”

“Because you're interesting.”

“...Not because I'm pretty?”

I added that at the moment, Rosenite's eyebrows were furrowed in discontent.

“I thought you were a lot more calm than I thought, even though there was a fight with a monster.”

“I don’t think it’s a devil-hunting competition, so I’m not scared at all. The carriage will be safe anyway since it is guarded by a bunch of homunculus.”

Rosenite lifted her chin as if showing off her courage.

But then it happened.

Woof woof!

“What, what is it?”

Suddenly, the carriage we were riding in began to shake violently, and a loud noise rang in our ears. Stones fell like corn from the cliff.

'Earthquake? Landslide?'

If it's a natural disaster, it's not a good idea to stay in the carriage. I opened the door and looked outside. Just then, someone shouted.

“Look up, look up! There’s a worm on the rock wall!”

I raised my head and looked surprised.

In a cave in the center of the rock face, a giant maggot is driving a chariot looking down. It was the same type of sandworm that was fighting in the lead, but it was incredibly much larger.

“What, what is that big? Is it by any chance a dragon?”

It was when Rosenite, who had stuck her head out, asked stupidly.

For a moment, the black sandworm shrank, then unfolded itself and leaped out from the rock wall.

“Get up, it’s falling!”

The worm's massive body is fully revealed, and the shadow falls over the expedition team heads. The worm opened its sphincter-like mouth wide and was just about ready to slam into the carriage and cart.

Getting swallowed in one bite is not the only thing that matters, but getting crushed by a worm of that size would be a sure death.

"Your Highness!"

The ones who reacted the fastest to the life-threatening crisis facing the royal family were the knights who had been engraved directly under them.

Michael and Sylvestian, who had been guarding the rear, immediately flew forward. Of the three, Michael was a bit faster.

Thud.

I and Rosenite who were riding the carriage groaned dully. Michael had climbed up onto the carriage roof and landed.

Shhh!

He drew his sword and hurled a powerful sword energy towards the sky. The powerful mass of energy gathered in the shape of a crescent moon directly hit the giant sandworm.

Phew!

The sandworm's body exploded in midair. But it wasn't over yet.

The monster's huge body was torn to pieces. The amount of debris that spread in all directions was enormous. Even the sandworms that Michael killed were not ordinary.

“Egg?!"

The sandworm was a brooding female. Tens of thousands of eggs burst out from inside her stomach.

The yellow eggshells broke and the larvae hatched prematurely. They were plummeting to the ground along with their mother's body fluids.

“Ugh, ugh!”

If things continued this way, the expedition team would be showered with disgusting bugs.

Luckily, Michael had a way to recover.

Crunch.

He immediately lifted the scabbard containing the sword and put it in Aegis.

The magic stone was activated. A huge defensive barrier spread out like an umbrella, covering the entire procession of the expedition.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Bursting with flesh and fluid, a living larva fell onto the barrier of Aegis. The surface, which had been transparent like quartz crystals, gradually turned black.

After quite some time, Michael atomized the barrier and burned away all the things that had clung to it like filth.

Michael, who had finished his work neatly, came down from the ceiling of the carriage.

“It’s over. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Michael.”

Even though he consumed a huge amount of mana, Michael's face remained indifferent.

I also seemed to believe it and just smiled calmly.

'What kind of mana amount is that!'

But the world of peace was only for the two of them. Around them, the royal family, regardless of whether they were servants, craftsmen, or homunculus knights, all looked astonished at Miel's amount of mana.

Brigitte in particular was glaring at Michael with poisonous eyes.

“Sis, did you see the settlement area just now? Even Snorlet, if she does that once, her head will turn white..."

“Be quiet, Derek.”

"Yes..."

Brigitte got into the carriage, taking her anger out on Derek for no reason.

In this case, the troublesome work fell to me. I was the one who took care of the knight commanders.

I called them together, reported on the battle situation, and cleaned up the mess.

“Incinerate the monster’s corpse without touching it. And, even if they are not injured, those who come into contact with the monster’s body fluids must wash the contact area with clean water.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“And I was in the lead because I didn’t want to accumulate fatigue from the battle. Send the bloody wall to the rear. I will rotate the knights’ positions like this at appropriate times. That’s it.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After giving the order, I walked back to the wagon. Rosenite, in the seat across from me, complained.

“Every time I fight a battle, time passes by incredibly quickly.”

“The movement of large numbers of people is bound to be inefficient.”

“The carriage is narrow and I want to get there quickly and wash up..."

It seemed like it would be a difficult journey for the beautiful white rose in the palace to endure even a single day. It seemed like she was starting to whine.

It's a bit much to ignore it so openly

I looked at her for a moment.

“Please bear with me for a little while, as we will arrive tomorrow taking into account the delay.”

“Can’t we hurry? Why should we hesitate when we’re just catching a low-level bug?"

Then a strange sound was heard.

Roll, roll. Knock, knock.

Our eyes were drawn to the sound. I headed out of the carriage. Something was rolling down the cliff. I looked closely.

They were live larvae.

“Oh, is there still any left?”

“I guess it was stuck on the cliff when the mother ship exploded in midair. It seems like it’s finally falling... Huh?!”

Unfortunately, our carriage was not closed yet.

A larvae bounced into our carriage.

Roll, roll. Wriggle.

A black maggot the size of an arm wriggled in the scrotum.

It was when the two large royal families were frozen solid.

Just then, the larva twisted around and hit the toe of Rosenite's shoe.

“Eek...”

A strange sound came out of the mouth of the Imperial White Rose. She, who had been lost in thought, immediately acted on instinct.

“Gyaaaah! Bug!”

For a moment, I almost screamed. The prettiest bug in the empire, a Rosenite, had burrowed into my arms.

'What, what! Someone take this off me!'

It was when I cried out earnestly in my heart at the unexpected calamity.

“What is it, Your Highness the 8th Princess?!”

This time, the direct knight was the fastest. The one who appeared was Sylvestian.

“B, a bug..m!”

Sylvestian immediately threw the baby worm out of the carriage with his sword.

Fuzz.

Michael, who arrived later, stepped on it and blew it up.

Over Sylvestian's shoulder, he glared coldly at Rosenite, who was clinging to me.

“Yes. It’s a bug.”

Rosenite, who had come to her senses, fell off me. And she sat quietly and presented a disgusting sight.

“I’m a little surprised. I’m fine.”

Of course, Rosenite's condition was not Michael's concern.

Michael entered the carriage and approached me.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?”

He was extremely careless when dealing with sandworm larvae.

His attitude has changed now. His eyes and words are filled with all the worries in the world.

The two were so caring that it was almost extreme.

Michael is like someone who saved me from a very big crisis.

He carefully examined my condition. He touched my body here and there with his hands.

He even pretended to do it. It was mainly in the places where Rosenite touched.

I was a little taken aback and tried to dissuade Michael from being overprotective.

"It's okay."

“Did the bug touch you?”

“It didn’t reach me.”

“To my eyes, it looked like it touched.”

The tone was somehow confident.

“You really don’t have to worry about it. We have to start again as soon as things are sorted out, so go ahead.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Michael's cold eyes lingered on Rosenite as he closed the carriage door.

He glanced at me once more. His eyes were full of regret as if there were still bugs left to be exterminated.


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