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Chapter 311 Part 2

The winning ticket has to be the last group of horses.
Let’s not waste our time here.

Do you think I’ll fall for the same trick again?!
We approach the Majin’s herd of horses with Resist Dark active.
There’s probably another illusion at work here.
What if the real one is here?

Il Capitano.
It’s definitely here somewhere, right?
What a poor imitation they’ve had the nerve to try and deceive me with.
Let’s see if it has used this herd of horses as a decoy.

I’ll never forgive that bastard.

「Dispel Magic!」

Is my suspicion of Il Capitano too strong?
I tried using a spell to counter its tricks.
As a result, the Majin in front of me turned out to be a Beast Master.
These horses are not Sleipnir Slaves either.
They’re actually Svadilfari Slaves!
Not even Call Monster nor 【Identify】 can see through these illusions!

One by one, the surrounding illusions are dispersed.
What about Il Capitano?
There it was.
It had the nerve to take the form of a Juggler.

I lift the Beast Master on the tip of my spear and swing it down, throwing it away.
I have no more business with it.
All that remains is Il Capitano.

How does my charge go?
It misses.
It’s not like we’re getting sloppy or anything.
All I can say is that the Sleipnir Slave is an amazing mount.

How fast can that thing run?
It’s certainly fast.
But what’s even more amazing is how it can run while dodging my attacks with incredible precision.
Aotsuki dashes through the air, so we can catch up easily.
However, even after charging with Aotsuki at full speed, we can’t bring that thing down.

I need to force it to stop.
Of course, I’m also using offensive Spells, but they don’t always hit the mark.
Thunder Arrow hits it relatively well, but the Sleipnir Slave doesn’t seem to care at all.
What a monster!
It’s truly a terrifying beast.
Let’s switch to AoE offensive Spells.
Using those won’t be very efficient, but it’s better than missing.

I also tried setting up a Pitfall.
But it leapt over the hole as if it was flying.
What about wall spells?
It dodged them.
Not only that, it also broke through the ones it couldn’t avoid.
It seems like that did some damage to it…
No, it’s healing myself.

It’s no use!

How about trying to hinder its ability to move?
Let’s go with the usual.

However…
It resisted my Gravity Prison.
I couldn’t get it tangled into my Thorn Fence.
And it just powered through both my Branch Bind and Root Snare.

It’s no use.
Speaking of Sleipnirs, didn’t Juna summon one of those and use it as her mount?
I wonder if it’s one of the most advanced Summoned Monsters of the Horse line.
It’s very tough to beat.
Which is more advanced throughout the Horse line, the Sleipnir, or a Pegasus like Aotsuki?
Well, let’s leave that aside for now.

The one riding this Sleipnir Slave is Il Capitano, a Majin.
What is it planning to do?
I feel like I know.
I can see the Silent Bamboo Woods in the distance.
The W5 Map area portal.
Well, not anymore.
It would be more correct to say that it used to be the area portal.

Sleipnir Slave’s HP bar is over 90%.
But that’s not the case with Il Capitano.
That one is at about 70%.
I even used AoE offensive Spells to prevent the Sleipnir Slave’s evasion from being too effective.
Obsidian, Heather, and Kotohogi have also expanded their attack range.
Because of that, our MP bars don’t have much leeway to do a lot, but…

If we keep chasing it like this, we’ll eventually checkmate it.
Do you intend to use the Bamboo Woods to your advantage?

The Majin runs into the Bamboo Woods.
Let’s check its location with Call Monster.
The Sleipnir Slave seems to have stopped in the center.
A trap?
Is it a trap?
It has to be a trap.

I would like to refrain from rushing into the Bamboo Woods while riding Aotsuki.
I’m afraid I might end up running straight into their trap.
However, getting delayed here might allow them to recover, so that’s a problem as well.

I look at Couturier.
Her MP bar isn’t that low.
I wonder if she can lure the Sleipnir Slave out of the Bamboo Woods?
Still, it seems to be a high-ranking monster, and what if it’s under Il Capitano’s control?
Her Lure may not work.

But it did work.
The Sleipnir Slave has arrived.
Il Capitano is not on its saddle, though.

Hey…

But Couturier’s quickly running out of MP.
Looks like you’ve been doing your best for us.
You’ve earned the right to get some honey for you to lick.
Of course, I don’t have royal jelly, so I hope this normal one will do just fine!

What should I do about this Sleipnir Slave?
Of course, I want to hunt while it’s not doing anything in particular, but…
It is a very tough opponent, and it would be a waste of time to fight it properly.
I’ll have Couturier check to see if we’re being fooled by an illusion.
There is no Il Capitano in the saddle or anywhere around it.

Right, right.
What’s wrong, Il Capitano?
Why don’t you come and help your own horse?
You heartless bastard.

Oh, I see.
So that’s what you’re trying to do.
I see…
You’re really abandoning your horse to save your own skin?
In that case, we’ll just keep going.

Once the Sleipnir Slave came back to its senses, it entered a Passive state.
It ran around in small circles around this place, but it failed to find its own master.
Then, as if it had given up, it started running towards the west.
Or is that a trot?
Since it has eight legs, I can’t really tell what kind of pace that was without getting me really close to it!

Well, what time is it?
It’s 11:30 AM.
I scouted the Silent Bamboo Woods area from above while having Portable Food for lunch.
Just to be sure, let’s conduct a Wide Area Search, considering the possibility that it may have escaped to the west from the Bamboo Woods.
I also tried to fly low along the track that Kim Kui Slave made when it came this way.
There are no signs of escape, though.

Is it still here?
It probably is.
I hope it is.

Let’s change the lineup.
We need to explore inside the Bamboo Woods.
And my opponent is only one Majin.
A single Majin for us to hunt down.
Only Il Capitano.

I drastically revised my lineup.
Volff, Obsidian, Oma, Modulus, and Kiyohime.
This one has a strong emphasis on tracking and capturing.
My main weapon will be the Petrified Wood Tonfas.
Now…
Where are you?

This is the same Silent Bamboo Woods that has been split into two as the Kim Kui Slave passed through it, however…
The scent seems to go on towards the north side of the Bamboo Woods.
Volff and Oma give chase.
Modulus and Kiyohime climb to the top of the bamboo trees.
It’s like it doesn’t bother them at all.

It will be very difficult for Il Capitano to escape from this lineup.
It would need to use a teleport spell similar to Return Home.

My Summoned Monsters are using their abilities to the fullest.
They can sense sounds and vibrations with great precision.
They can also detect heat signals.
As well as picking up scents.

All of which suggests that Il Capitano is still here.
Of course, we should still be cautious.
He is probably among the strongest Majins there are.
It has its own special name and all.
Besides, I don’t know what tricks it may have up its sleeve.

I had thought it would be hiding somewhere, but…
It seems to be quite a confident creature.
It’s standing in a bamboo forest.
There’s something shady about this.
Maybe it does have something up its sleeve that allows it to be that confident.
Or maybe it’s all just a bluff.

I suppose its confidence comes from it seeing itself as the one with the best chances at winning here.
It’s gotta be that, right?

Let’s recover MP with some Mana Potions.
Right now, most of us have our MP bars decreased to some extent, but with these, our MP bars should be keeping themselves at around 60%.
With this, we can fight.

『Are you the one who has awakened the heroic spirits? If so, then you cannot escape this. You will die here.』

This line from Il Capitano…
Haven’t I heard it before?

After that, my surroundings are shrouded in darkness.
Just as I thought.
But I’ve seen this before.
So I’ve taken some precautions.
Even if these precautions aren’t effective, that’s fine too.
It’s a matter of mental attitude.