Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

Satou here. I've never participated in whale watching, but I have been out offshore on a fishing boat. I think there’s nothing more luxurious than eating freshly caught fish as tempura.

◇

“Wow, there are more people here than I expected.”

We had come to watch the sand magic scorpion hunt, which I had heard about during lunch.

In the Sania Kingdom, it seemed to be a popular form of entertainment. Quite a few curious onlookers gathered at the dock, and it looked like we'd be splitting onto two canoe-sized sandships.

“Master, I report no larval forms present.”

Since the hunt was dangerous, as Nana had said, there were no children among the spectators.

“Master, it appears the hunt will be conducted by those military ships over there.”

Liza pointed toward three warships.

According to the map information, the crew included archers, seven fire magic users, three wind magic users, and about three swordsmen from the Clan of the Sword.

As the warships set sail, our viewing boats followed them out into the Little Sand Sea.

Because of the sandy hues, it was hard to tell, but there were several breakwater-like structures stretching about three meters deep and several hundred meters wide throughout the sea.

“What are those breakwater-like things?”

Curious, I asked a nearby crew member.

“Oh, those are used to guide the sand magic scorpion swarms during an eclipse,” the crewman explained.

After hearing him and checking the map again, I understood the purpose of those breakwaters clearly.

They would herd the scorpion swarms into designated areas and then annihilate them with magic from the Clan of the Staff.

After passing the breakwaters and sailing about two hours offshore, the warships furled their sails and hung half a carcass of goat meat from a crane-like device.

“That rotting meat’s smell is spread by the wind magic users, which lures the scorpions to the ship.”

One crew member explained the warships’ tactics.

“Master, they’re coming.”

Liza spotted approaching sand magic scorpions from afar.

A sand magic scorpion about the size of a small truck was swimming through the Little Sand Sea toward us.

“Master, the archers on the warship are slacking off.”

“Ah, that’s for sand crocodiles and vultures. Those scorpions have thick shells; flimsy arrows won’t do any damage.”

Nearby crew members denied Nana’s accusation.

“Oh! The magic users are attacking!”

The passengers cheered as they saw several fire orbs and fireballs launched from the warships toward the scorpions.

Most attackers were fire magic users; some wind magic users attacked, but most seemed to play support roles, helping with movement or luring the scorpions.

“Wouldn’t earth magic be more effective in the desert?”

“No way would earth magic users take on such a dangerous job. They have plenty of other work.”

The knowledgeable passengers exchanged thoughts.

“It doesn't seem to be very effective,” Liza noted.

The magic users seemed mediocre. The fire and wind attacks were mostly deflected by the scorpions’ shells, barely dealing any effective damage.

They were slowly chipping away at the scorpions’ stamina, but it seemed more likely the scorpions would latch onto the warships first.

“Here comes the big guy.”

A regular merchant pointed toward the stern of the central warship and shouted.

Looking that way, I saw about three men from the Clan of the Sword slowly rise to their feet.

“Let’s go!”

“For sure!”

They roared and charged from the stern to the bow, then leapt onto the sand magic scorpion with full force.

“Ultimate technique — ‘Shell Crusher’!”

“Ultimate technique — ‘Hair-through Piercer’!”

“Ultimate technique — ‘Hair-through Piercer’!”

The first attack smashed the scorpion’s neck shell, and the second and third men thrust their swords deep into its neck.

It seemed one strike wasn’t enough to kill it, as the scorpion attacked the three on its back with its pincers.

Perhaps anticipating this, the three swordsmen jumped off the scorpion’s back, landing on the sand sea.