Pick Me Up!

“What is this? Are they not going to defeat it? They said they’d take care of it even if we just watched from the back…”

In the rear of the field, other onlookers like myself murmured.

It was understandable, as the main raiding party of high-ranking players was rapidly withdrawing. They were each turning their ships and moving away from El Cid.

I clicked my tongue.

“There is a strategy.”

The high-ranking players hadn’t yet shown their full power. Only third or fourth-tier heroes were present here. Surely, among the high-ranking players, there would be a master with heroes capable of standing up to those three. The problem is that the cost-benefit analysis doesn’t add up. Even though special rewards are promised, these veteran players already possess most rare materials. Thus, there’s no need to reveal their full power and engage in a bloody battle with El Cid.

“I have no business with you. Go your own ways.”

El Cid’s voice reverberated across the entire field. That alone made the heroes waver and lose their fighting spirit.

They were probably proposing a retreat to their waiting rooms.

El Cid’s gaze turned in this direction.

He was looking at me.

‘Well, if interference is what he needs, there’s no better place than Niflheimr.’

Even if he swept everything here, it wouldn’t be enough for Niflheimr.

Especially by absorbing the first party members, the interference power he could gain would be enormous, as they each have the power comparable to 7-star heroes. Therefore, it’s likely that the one he has business with is me.

“Is it time to go back?”

I never expected El Cid to kneel in this raid anyway. Moreover, I didn’t walk away empty-handed. I considered myself lucky if I could at least see his cards through this raid, and I learned more than expected.

A difficult opponent, that’s for sure.

Objectively speaking, his forces might be superior to Niflheimr.

But it was also clear that he wasn’t invincible.

His greatest ability, summoning an army, comes with a critical penalty: the more he summons, the more his level drops. In this battle, he compensated for that by absorbing the raiding party, but…

“It won’t be easy.”

If I organize an elite team focused on endurance, one that won’t easily die, and induce a war of attrition, I could continue the battle from a more advantageous position. Even if El Cid has a power I’m not aware of, as long as we don’t suffer any casualties, it’s doable.

The first party excels at endurance.

If we can wear him down and then concentrate our power when he’s weakened, we can definitely turn the tide.

I’ll show him the endurance we honed on the 80th floor.

“…..”

When I turned my head, Wiryung was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.

She must have realized the gap between herself and that guy.

Even if there were a hundred Wiryungs in their prime, they wouldn’t be able to defeat El Cid.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take revenge.”

I rotated the ring on my left hand to the right five times, signaling Yurnet to pick me up. Speed is essential for proper countermeasures. If I return to Townia from here, I’ll miss the right timing to respond. I had already requested Iselle to manipulate the logs, so it would look like I returned safely if the raid party failed.

By now, Iselle should be struggling with Anytng’s game screen.

I snapped my fingers.

[Master, hero ‘Han (★★★★)’ requests to withdraw from the field!]

[You can re-enter the event zone anytime, and the rewards you can obtain will not change. Are you sure you want to withdraw?]

[Yes (Select) / No]

Anytng didn’t hesitate.

The airships that were watching the battle with me also started to retreat.

Even the Lucette was turning its bow to prepare for escape.

El Cid didn’t touch the retreating raid party.

He seemed focused on absorbing the heroes lying on the deck. The wind pouring from his cloak swept across the entire airship, devouring the corpses.

He had eaten about half of them.

If he absorbed the rest, he would regain all the interference power he used in this battle.

“Back to full strength, huh?”

Tch.

I clicked my tongue and turned away. I had no more business with this raid.

“This won’t do.”

Suddenly, the sky darkened.

And a familiar voice echoed across the field.

“…..”

It was a lilting, girlish voice.

I knew this voice all too well.

“I worked so hard for these kids, and now they’re all running away because they’re a little pushed back? Masters in the old days didn’t act like this. I don’t know where they’ve all gone.”

I looked up to the right.

Anytng’ control screen displayed a red-tinted message.

[Now Loading…….]

[There was a server error, and the connection was lost. Please wait a moment.]

This time, I looked to the side.

Wiryung, who was about to say something to me, was frozen with her mouth open.

The Lucette, which was turning its bow, and the airships moving in the distance were all stopped.

A world where everything had come to a halt.

“Don’t you think so, Number 1?”

A wooden desk and a leather chair floated in the air.

A black-haired girl in a sharp black suit looked at El Cid.

She placed her legs, clad in black stockings, on the desk.

Her name tag slowly appeared.

[SS▩SH黒⊙∈※ Lv.999]

Crackle.

A burst of static followed.

[Mobius Inc.]

[T E L Lv.999]

I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

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