Shatei Kyokufuri Yumi-Ojisan

Data.128 – Old Bowman, Wave of the Dead

Sponsored Content

So, what should we do?
As Canaria had returned, there were now three of us.
It would be possible for us to continue fighting here for a little longer without retreating to the stairs.
Of course, it would still be much more dangerous than quietly drawing back.

To be honest, I wanted to speak with Oliver again and decide.
However, even though he seemed to be in a more desperate situation, he was also clearly enjoying himself.
I could tell that the idea of letting us retreat while he stayed and fought until his friend returned was getting him fired up.
And I didn’t want to dampen his…enthusiasm.
In that case, I would just have to move on my own.

“We’ll retreat to the staircase!”

If they’re in a pinch, then it is even more important that we keep the battleline stable here.
Any hesitation could lead to being damaged and killed, which would decrease our fighting force.
And so we would quickly fall back to a place where it would be easier to fight.

“Garbow! Miss Canaria!”

“Gar! Gar!”

“Just call me Canaria, please! It’s a waste of time to be adding the ‘miss’!”

The two dashed up the stairs first, and I covered them while retreating myself.
It was a dog leg staircase, with a wide gap in between that was perfect for shooting zombies from above.

However, the staircase itself was also wide.
The zombies would not be climbing it politely, two by two… If they were close together, then as many as ten could come towards us at once.
Furthermore, there would be zombies behind them.
And so I could imagine them climbing right over the zombies who were staggered after being hit, and push towards us continuously.

Besides, the difference in levels would make it difficult for the advance guard to fight.

Sponsored Content

I guess ranged weapons really were the best for fighting zombies…
In any case, I would activate the traps that Gray had set.

“Uh, Laser gate…?”

Things that looked like enlarged metal detectors in airports were set in front of the staircase.
When I touched them, a control panel appeared and asked me if I wanted to activate them.
As everyone had gone through the gate, I pressed ‘Activate’ without hesitation.

Vvvvvrrrrmmm… I heard the whirring sound, and in the next instant, several thin laser beams appeared.
The oncoming zombies hit the lasers and sizzled loudly as they were sliced up.
I see.
So this was a reliable advance guard…!
Oliver had been right to prioritize the setting of these traps.

“Look, Mr.
Kyuji! There are a lot of other useful items here! Like this! It’s an anti-zombie weapon!”

Canaria was looking through a trunk that had been placed on the landing, and had pulled out a submachine gun.
Indeed, that did seem like the perfect weapon to use against zombies…!
Zombies in fantasy settings were created by curses, while zombies in sci-fi settings were created with viruses, but in both cases, modern firearms seemed like the best weapon against them.
However, there was already a ‘Gun’ weapon category in NSO, so maybe Canaria wouldn’t be able to equip it….

“Woah!? This gun is a special item that anyyone can equip.
And it combines with your current weapon for increased power and attributes!?”

Hmm, that was nice of them to design it that way!
But I would stick to my bow.
It was still a ranged weapon, and it was possible that I would be no good with a gun anyway…
And so I let Canaria use the submachine gun.
She seemed very happy as she combined it with her own weapon, the Cyalumeblade Lime, and unleashed a rain of wind bullets at the zombies.

“Ahahaha!! This is amazing! What a great stress reliever!”

Sponsored Content

She would start shooting at us at this pace…
In any case, it was a good thing that Canaria could shoot now.
The laser gates would not be able to stop the zombies forever.
It used ‘energy’ every time it sliced up a zombie, and so once the spare batteries that Gray left us were depleted, then it would just be a useless object.
And so it would be best if we could kill the zombies before they even reached the gate.
Because it didn’t use energy for just being activated.

Not only that, but if it was hit by too many attacks, then it’s durability would go down and it could be destroyed.
Currently, there were no zombies that were smart enough to try to do this, but who knows what would happen in the future.
As the lasers did not stop our own attacks, it made sense for players to actively attack the zombies from the other side.

In the meantime, I was still worried about the others at the front entrance.
Perhaps I should go through the safe 2nd floor and see how they are doing…

“Canaria.
Could I leave this to you for a short while? I want to check the front entrance…”

“Ahahahahahahahahaha!! Yes!!”

I had never heard a ‘yes’ that made me feel so anxious before, but since I would also be leaving Garbow here and on ranged attack mode, they should be fine.
And so I went up the stairs towards the 2nd floor.
There were no zombies on the second floor, which meant that Oliver had not died.
So, maybe it really was a rare, powerful zombie…

Dadadadadadadada!!

“Woah!?”

As I went down the stairs towards the 2st floor, numerous bullets were unleashed at my feet.
Thanks to some tap dancing-like foot work, I wasn’t actually hit, but that would have been quite the handicap to receive if I was…

“Well, it looks like I was right about something dangerous appearing.”

Sponsored Content

There was a muscular zombie that had gatling guns on both arms.
It was going wild on the central floor.
We had not seen anything like it near the back entrance.

“Exploding Sky Tear!”

Charge attacks for strong enemies…!
The highspeed arrow pierced its head and exploded, causing everything from the neck up to be blown away.
And yet it was so tough that this could not kill it.
Still, the headless zombie was definitely slower.
And the other two took advantage of this.

“Axeblade Slash Wave!”

Oliver’s axe unleashed a black cutting shockwave that severed both of the zombies arms, making it impossible for it to use its gatling guns.

“Saint Cross Star!”

Anne unleashed seven iron balls that crushed the zombies.
After these attacks, the gatling zombie finally turned into light and disappeared.

“Thank, Kyuji! There will be more amazing zombies like that, so keep using your charge attacks! Haha!”

The fact that he described it as ‘amazing’ showed how much he was enjoying himself.
That was fine.
But there was something else that I wondered about.

“So, it seems that Miss Kyuka…is not back yet.”

“Yeah! But I doubt she would die that easily, so she’s probably fighting some awesome zombie somewhere! I don’t want to abandon her this early, so we’ll stay here for as long as we can!”

I agreed with Oliver’s decision, but I did wonder how long they could hold.
I suppose it was all about luck whether something like the gatling zombie appeared at this phase.
It was possible that they would all die if they didn’t retreat soon.
But I wouldn’t want to abandon a friend at this point either.

Sponsored Content

I just wanted to know that she was actually alright…
I wonder if she would reply if we shouted very loudly…

‘…Kyuka here.
Anyone listening?’

Kyuka’s voice sounded in my ear piece…!
She must have found one in the west ward.
And you had to be on the same floor in order to communicate with them.
In other words, Kyuka had returned to the 1st floor!

‘I’m stuck on the 1st floor in the west ward.
I know that I messed up by going over time…but I need help now.
Over.’

“This is Kyuji.
I’ll head right over.
Over.”

‘Aa-are you sure? Aren’t you in the rear guard… Over.’

“I have a good charge attack, so it will be fine.
Over.”

‘Thanks.
Well…I’ll be waiting then.
Over.’

Then I turned back to Oliver.
He gave me a thumbs up and smiled.
I had made the decision on my own, but he was okay with it.

Perhaps he knows about I’m Arrow.
It was a charge attack that allowed you to attack while traveling long distances, so it was perfect for rescuing.
There was a long hallway on the route to the west ward, so that’s where I would use it.

“I’ll be going then! Good luck over here!”

The entrance to the west ward was already open, but there weren’t as many zombies there.
It was probably because they were fighting Kyuka.
I did not want anyone to die at a time l