I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince - Chapter 270 [Battle at Dawn]

T/N: This bonus chapter is sponsored by James B. (5/14). Also, I hope you understand that I’ll be leaving the goblin’s noises as is. Converting them to English SFX would be akin to watching an English dub of some anime; that would end up ruining their impact.

“Kiiieeeek…!!”

“Keruk, kiiieeeek…!!”

The goblins that appeared in the dead of night caused everyone sleeping in the tents to crawl out.

I had thought about gauging their numbers and not waking the others if possible, but at a glance, the number of goblins that had swarmed in was too large for just me and Knight Colt to handle. 

“Ethan, take the left side, and Knight Colt, please take the right side! I’ll handle any enemies that slip through you two, so don’t look back even if you miss some!” 

“Got it, understood!” 

“Understood!”

Ethan, who sprung out first as if he had been ready the moment the men’s tent opened, and Knight Colt, who was already outside due to night watch, each ran to take charge of one direction on the left and right. 

While I could engage in close combat, it wasn’t my main skill, so I was in charge of any monsters that slipped through. 

Also, my role in this battle was to provide backup with support magic, just as Lilith did in the original game.

I immediately gave orders as soon as the monsters rushed in, so I inadvertently ended up feeling like a battle commander, but neither Ethan nor Knight Colt seemed to mind.

“And Lady Agnes…” 

“I’ll enlarge Infernoclilia, break their formation, and build a defensive line with a fire fortress.”

“…You know well.”

Well, Agnes was a character who would perform well on her own if left to fight as she saw fit, even in the original game.

Large-scale fire magic was always right in battles like this, so I could just leave her to fight as she pleased.

“|The burning flame awakens that soul, today the young spirit shall burn in a new form!|”

Fwoosh!

|Alright~! I’ll be back, Agnes~!|

“…Don’t go into the forest.”

Agnes’s fire spirit, enlarged through Agnes and Infernoclilia’s combined spell, leaped into the horde of goblins. The monsters, startled by the huge mass of flames, scattered in confusion.

Of course, since it was just a low-level spirit that had gotten bigger, the attack it could actually inflict would only amount to minor burns, but it was enough to break the monsters’ formation and cause chaos.

“L-Lady Rosewood. Wh-What should I do?! I-I’m also quite confident in my swordsmanship, so I can join the front line like Lord Ethan and Knight Colt…” 

“What nonsen…the front line is sufficient with just those two, so Prince Antonio, please just protect Lady Agnes on the opposite side from me.” 

“Ah, understood! Indeed, protecting Lady Agnes is my most important duty!”

In reality, I just left him in a relatively safe spot because I couldn’t gauge Antonio’s current skill level.

Since he wasn’t a main character used in Luminor Academy, I lacked information about Antonio’s basic abilities and growth potential.

I just put him in a safe place. No matter how weak he was, he should be able to handle the one or two goblins that slipped through from the front. 

If worse came to worst, I could just put Antonio behind me too and protect both him and Agnes by myself.

{Lilith~! Do I have anything to do? Should I just swish them all away like that kid~?!}

[Sei too, grow? Shoom, shoom?]

Seeing the low-level spirit charging out excitedly, Sally and Sei asked if they should play a similar role. 

Since they were a high-level spirit and mid-level spirit, respectively, the two of them going wild would be quite helpful in itself, but naturally, I had a separate task for the two who were smarter than low-level spirits.

“You two, fly to the rear without being noticed by the monsters and search for the named monster.” 

[What’s, a named…?]

“Find a goblin holding a needlessly large staff or something, or one playing an instrument, or one that’s just four or five times bigger than the other goblins and decked out in equipment.” 

Those were the characteristics of a goblin magician, goblin bard, and goblin lord, respectively. 

Of course, those three weren’t the only types of named goblins, but they were the only goblins that could command this many troops.

{Ah~! You mean those strange goblins that sometimes appear~?! We just have to search for them~?} 

“Yes. And report directly to me as soon as you find one. I’ll finish it off. You have to tell me the exact location and how far away it is from here.”

[Got it. I’ll look for it.] 

{I’ll be back too~!}

The two spirits nodded at my request and flew off beyond the horde of monsters. With two mid-level or higher spirits starting the search, finding the named monster shouldn’t be too difficult. 

There was a possibility that Sei, as a mid-level spirit, didn’t fully understand my words, but at least Sally seemed to have understood perfectly.

As in the original event, there was no need to take out each and every goblin and then enter the final boss battle. If we just killed the named monster, the rest of the goblins would scatter or falter, so we could handle the rest then.

To mention it now, this night raid was also a reproduction of the original ‘Luminor Academy’. 

When camping on the way to the Witch’s Forest, monsters almost always attack. The Witch’s Forest itself was an environment that was a repository of mana where monsters thrived, so outside the settlements where witches gathered, there were really only monsters.

I had experienced this event about 15 times out of my 25 playthroughs, so I was used to night raids like this. I had insisted on taking the second night watch shift because I had a feeling this incident would happen.

Probability-wise, between 1 AM and 2 AM was the time slot with the most monster attacks. Rather than leaving the report to someone else, it was best for me, who was already prepared, to respond.

‘Still, I didn’t expect this many to show up….’

Generally, in ‘Monster Night Raid’ events like this, the strength would be proportional to the combat power of the party members.

For a party of five to summon this many monsters, all five members had to be elites. Taking a rough look at our party’s strength one by one…

First, there was a dual-wielding Sword Expert (win rate against the Hero was almost 50/50)… 

A 5th circle mage who was slated to be the next Archmage of the Crimson Tower (fire magic was her main skill, and she had even contracted a fire spirit)…

An all-rounder with a maximum mana capacity rivaling the aforementioned successor archmage, who could use attack magic, support magic, and dagger techniques (owner of the special move Mana Blast)…

And Natalie’s older sister (stronger than Natalie). 

Even excluding Antonio, whose exact skill level was unknown, each one was already at the level of the Hero’s party elites. How did a party like this even come to be?

Well, putting aside the system of Luminor Academy, where the number of monsters increased in proportion to the party members’ skill, it wasn’t bad since each member was strong individually.

In battles like this, where we took formation and fought, the strength of each individual member shone even more.

Poof! 

“Keeeeek!”

The number of goblins I had taken down after breaking through Ethan and Knight Colt’s defense was already seven.

It wasn’t comparable to Ethan, who was cutting down five or six at a time with a single sword strike at the very front, or Knight Colt, who was thrusting three times per second with skilled Royal Knight swordsmanship, but I was still steadily gaining XP.

Moreover, the Sharp Blade buff I had cast on the two of them was also playing its part as an assist.

I would definitely reach Level 18 by tonight, and if I was lucky, I might even aim for Level 19.

Meanwhile, glancing at Antonio’s side, where I had given him the task of protecting Agnes on the side opposite from me, the prince had just cut down his fifth goblin, his whole body drenched in sweat.

Slash!

 “Huff, haaa… Huffff….”

…He’s fighting somewhat better than I expected.

Of course, his swordsmanship was far inferior to the two people swiftly cutting down goblins at the very front, but it was rude in the first place to compare a current Academy student with a prince who hadn’t even enrolled yet. 

One thing that was certain was that he was stronger than in the original story of Luminor Academy. It must have been the result of his encounter with Agnes during the attack on the Imperial Palace two years ago having a positive effect.

‘If we raise him well, we might be able to put him in the Hero’s party….’ 

I should suggest it to Gyeongmwajogyegigwat if I get the chance later. As royalty, his potential growth rate should be quite high, and for some reason, I had a feeling his growth rate would increase even more with Agnes by his side. 

“Blaze up! Wall of flames!!”

‘Keeeeeeek!!!’

Meanwhile, Agnes’s fire fortress, which had finished its incantation at some point, soared high into the sky in front of Ethan and Knight Colt. 

In terms of scale and height, it was more than twice the size of the fire fortress she had used in the evaluation duel before, and the moment the fire fortress was activated, the sound of the nearby goblins being massacred in an instant could be heard.

‘That should take care of most of the small fries, so the only one left is the boss.’

Agnes would maintain the fire fortress, and Ethan and Knight Colt would take care of the goblins remaining inside the wall of fire. Seeing Antonio’s skill just now, I thought I could entrust him with defense for a bit.

“Ethan! Knight Colt! From now on, you only need to handle what’s inside the fire fortress!” 

“Got it!” 

“Understood!” 

“Prince Antonio! Could you please help me protect Agnes for a bit?! You can do it, right?!” 

“Haaah… Y-Yeah…! Leave it to me as much as you want, Lady Rosewood…!” 

 …To be honest, I had far less faith in him than Ethan, but this was still the best way to end it quickly.

Just then, I spotted Sally and Sei passing through the wall of fire, so I began the incantation for Mana Blast to be ready to shoot at any time.

I had to prepare so that I could use my special move whenever, in line with the location Sally and Sei would tell me.

{Lilith~!! Over here! The huge boss goblin was over here~!!} 

[About, 300 meters, away.]

I threw the Mana Blast I had gathered with all my might, following the two spirits’ location briefing. 

Actually, using Mana Blast against a goblin lord was a bit of an overinvestment, but if not now, when else would I use Mana Blast?

In the first place, among the spells I possessed, there was no spell other than Mana Blast that could kill in one hit, so it was an inevitable choice.

“…Explode! Storm of mana…!!”

The moment my Mana Blast flew, Agnes’s fire fortress was retracted with good timing. 

Through the gaps in those flames, my special move flew in a straight trajectory towards a huge goblin that was faintly visible. 

Immediately after, a massive explosion sound resonated through the campsite in the middle of the night.

T/N

Thanks for reading, see you in the next one!