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ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 600: Copy the Snake, Listen to the Burning Cry Part 3

Oh yeah, I didn’t come in for a while, so I wasn’t able to receive the reward for participating in that battle. And honestly, I managed to completely forget about it by this point in time. Speaking of which, it seems that this icon did not appear when I was fighting against the Fossil Miners’ Chrysalis…… Oh well, since it popped up right now, I might as well click on this thing and see what this is all about.

「THE HEAD EQUIPMENT IS GOING TO BE CHANGED MOMENTAIRLY.」

「Muh?」

* * *

「My Lady, umm…… Ah, w-who is that half—naked man right next to you?」

「Please, I would greatly appreciate it if you were not to raise your voice so much…… There is no doubt about it, it’s the one of the “Beginning’s Eight”……」

「That person? It is the one of the eight shards that branched out from the original one……?」

The original one, the primordial snake whose existence dates all the way back to the time of the Era of the Gods, the very first Goldunine. Long ago it was just a simple snake, but one day it started to grow in power and eventually it even managed to develop an ego of its own, but that was not the end. As it continued to grow in power, one body became two, and then three and so on and so forth until it eventually split into nine parts, one original and eight shards. And that’s how all Goldunines came to be.

The man and his Lady were already laying in wait in here ever since two days ago, when his Lady fist sensed a familiar presence from somewhere beyond the sea of sand…… And right now they could see them clearly, although the man needed his player abilities to correct his vision in the dark: one player and his breathtakingly beautiful companion.

Unfortunately, his “Lady’s” usual aides could not be with them here at the current moment. Because they would draw too much attention to themselves, there were left behind in a separate location and were awaiting further instructions. Normally he would think that it was a shame that their battle potential was severely diminished like that, but thanks to this situation the two of them could be alone more, so he was hoping to use that time to gradually improve their personal relationship. Or at the very least, convince his Lady to think about him in a more favorable way.

「For someone like her, she sure seems to have an easygoing attitude……」

「If she only has a single companion with her, maybe it means that there is more to him than meets the eye? Appearances can be deceiving, after all……」

Thanks to the tube of the small portable telescope they were able to see their target slowly advancing through the forest some distance away from them. Then, once the “Lady” stopped looking through the object she crossed her arms, a frustrated frown clearly visible on her face.

But that girl right there, even though she was supposed to be the newest shard that was created, and she should be so similar to their original one, she was continuing to walk forward with an expression that could only be described as the big grin on her face. Could it be because her power was on a completely different level from everyone else around her? Or maybe it was because of her self-confidence that was allowing her to feel superior? It was a great unknown here, something that was impossible to devise or measure by a mere observation alone. A much more radical solution was needed here if they wanted to know how things were standing at the current moment.

「What is it that you want me to do, My Lady? I can simply keep my distance and observe them for the time being, but if you want me to engage them, I shall gladly do so.」

「Hmm, let’s see…… What should we do, indeed? I don’t really want to engage them yet, but a part of me is eager to see how “she” is going to react, and what is she capable of…… What do you think, Shuu? Can you fight that? That really sinister human being marked by the Nightprowler……?」

「What’s this? I feel like I might be able to pull this off, but at the same time something is telling me to stay away. I guess I would have to actually engage him to see how it would go……」

He felt as though he heard a really quiet breathing nearby. And then he saw a weird group of reflections dancing in the night air, and a strange sense of discomfort started to eat away at him.

It wouldn’t be all that strange if he heard a normal voice. But it was actually strange that he was able to hear a breath. But no matter how he was focusing his eyes, there was no source of that breath to be seen in the nearest vicinity. But even so, it would be impossible to hear someone’s breath from far away, unless that someone was actually right next to you. That’s why it was so confusing.

That’s why Shuu was so late to actually notice the presence of the “Cooperator” in this whole equation, and the moment he realized what was going on, it was already too late to prevent it from happening. He could only do his best to protect his Lady and minimalize all of the possible damage that was about to take place.

「My Lady, please cover your ears!」

「Hmm? What are you……」

In the very next moment, it was as if the darkness of the late night itself took form and launged itself towards them ––––––

* * *

There are two women out there.

「Hey, hey, Isuna-chan~? I think that it would be really wise if we were to refrain from engaging in conflicts that we know that we absolutely cannot win, wouldn’t you agree?」

「Huh? What the hell are you blabbering on about? Even though I might be but a shard of my true strength, it doesn’t mean that I am going to cower from engaging some small fries that stand in our way. I’m going to crush right ahead, destroying anyone that dares to cross my path.」

But be that as it may, the two women were still pretty much on the fence about whether or not they should engage the prey that was located somewhere in the distance from them.

A woman who wanted to attack their target had a creature that looked just like a king cobra coiled around her arm…… She was also holding onto the sniper rifle which she was using (or at least the gun’s scope) to track the movements of their target.

On the other hand, the woman who advocated against engaging the enemy looked just like a snake-woman, looking all scared and her body trembling all over. Her instincts must have been telling her that engaging them would be really bad news.

「No, look, what I have been telling you this whole time, huh? Huh? See that guy over there? Those markings…… That must be that “Sanraku” guy for sure! And if rumors are to be believed, he’s nothing but bad news!」