I Was Called Incompetent ch.112

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Translator: Raizu
Editor: Shirayuki

Chapter 112 – Army

The soldiers patrolling the city were the first to notice the anomaly.

[Hey, that is…]

[Hmm? …isn’t it strange to see someone this late at night?]

The soldiers were divided into several groups and were constantly patrolling the city for security, but one of the groups found a black figure wandering around the city.
It’s been a long time since they’ve seen anyone walking outside at this time with the current situation in Armenia.
Even though they didn’t think it had anything to do with the dragons, they were cautious not to overlook even the slightest incident, so they used their communication stones to contact the headquarters and chased after the figure.

[They move like they’re confused…]

[Are they just drunk?]

[I don’t know. Anyway, let’s try calling them out.]

The figure, swaying left and right as it walked, was heading towards the center of the city as if being guided by something.
Its walking speed was unusually fast despite its pace, so the soldiers naturally began to walk faster to keep pace with it.
When they began to feel an unspeakably unpleasant premonition, the communication magic stone connected to headquarters emitted a faint light.

『Headquarters calling all teams. A large number of suspicious persons have been reported. Be careful.』

Hearing the message, the three soldiers silently quickened their pace.
They realized that the other teams had come across similarly suspicious figures, and guessed that something was wrong.
Perhaps noticing them, the speed of the black hooded figure increased even more.

[They’re so fast despite looking like they’re just walking…!]

[This is weird…something is obviously amiss here/]

Even though the soldiers ran with all their might, for some reason they couldn’t keep up with the figure despite it seemingly walking all the time.
As the soldiers continued the chase, the suspicious person passed through a narrow alley and stopped moving when they reached a wide open street.
The soldiers also stopped moving.

[Why did they stop…they must have noticed that they were being chased…]

[…Maybe they’re inviting us in.]

[Maybe. But there’s no way we can leave them be.]

The three soldiers emerged from the alley and approached the suspicious person from behind.
The person should have noticed the soldiers, but they just stood there without looking back.

[Hey, you. What are you doing at this hour?]

One of the soldiers said.
However, as expected, the person wearing the black hood did not heed the soldier’s call.
The person was wearing a hood so the soldiers couldn’t tell exactly what was going on, but the person seemed to be staring at the Armenian Castle a little further away.
That eeriness caused the soldiers to strengthen their tone.

[Are you listening!? Turn this way!]

The three of them pulled out their swords and prepared their magical spells.
Then, the person wearing the black hood suddenly jerked their body and slowly turned around as if they were stepping on the spot.
The tension of the soldiers increased due to the strange movement.
Then, the person turned to the soldiers and stared at them from under their hood.

[…Take off your hood and show your face. Slowly.]

[If you do something strange, we will attack you. This is not an empty threat!]

As the soldiers instructed, the person slowly took off their hood with an awkward motion.
The soldiers’ eyes widened in surprise at what was revealed.

[What…!?]

[What…are you…wha…what in the world are you!]

The faces lit up by the soldiers’ torches were not human.
The soldiers were simply surprised at the strange and creepy face that seemed to be mixed with something human, and then they involuntarily retreated out of fear.

[Sa…………Tu……Ji……]

Furthermore, the strange man let out a strange voice as he approached the soldier.

[Wh-what…!]

[Don’t move!]

[Don’t get any closer!]

[O…degi…ji.]

Ignoring what the soldiers said, the strange man continued to raise a strange voice as he approached them.

[Wha, what is this guy!?]

[Aa….aaaaa… gebo! Geho geho! Aa…aaaaaaaaaa….aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!]

It opened its mouth to the limit, spewing blood while letting out a strange cry.

[Huh!? H-hey!]

[This guy…isn’t human!]

[Uh, start attacking!]

Magic came from the three soldiers. The deformed man, receiving direct hits, was blown away several meters and fell to the ground.
However, it stood up as if nothing had happened and this time spoke clearly while staring at the frightened soldiers.

『Hmm! Let’s get started.』

=====

[Neil! What’s the situation!?]

『A monster suddenly appeared in city! We are currently evacuating the people and dealing with this!』

The Dragon Slayer Knights led by Mariana had deployed troops along the coast far away from the center of the city in preparation for an attack by dragons.
As Mariana was staring at the sea as usual, a huge explosion suddenly erupted and flames rose from the center of the city.
Sensing something unusual, Mariana hurriedly returned to the center of the city, leaving the bare minimum number of people to stand guard at the coast.
While communicating with Neil with communication stones, she headed towards the place where there was a loud noise.

[What did the soldiers guarding the gate do…!]

『I was able to contact them until a while ago…but now I can’t contact them at all.』

[Shit…what the hell is going on?!]

For Mariana and the others, who were preparing for the dragons’ attack, the sudden appearance of monsters in the city was completely unexpected.
In addition to the soldiers who were patrolling, there was no contact with the defense force guarding the wall protecting the city.
Armenia was now in  turmoil.

『It started with suspicious figures appearing around the city. And as soon as the patrolling soldiers called out to them, they suddenly changed into a monster.』

[What do you mean…don’t tell me it’s the demons?]

『No, it’s a strange shape I’ve never seen before… I can only call it a monster.』

[Monster?]

『After defeating 3, there are 12 left, but each one is unusually strong and big. I managed to keep them in check with the help of the adventurers, but…these guys aren’t just regular monsters.』

[I don’t understand… What about His Majesty?]

『He’s probably underground… The castle’s defenses have been strengthened, and soldiers have already been dispatched.』

[Until a time like this…! What about Greece and Celts?]

『I have already contacted them. About half of the population has already fled to Greece. But it’s tough on the south side…we are currently in combat in the center of city while there’re still civilians left on the southern side.』

[It’s close to where we are… Alright, the Dragon Slayer Knights will guide the evacuation on the south side of the city! I’ll take the rest and kill the monsters!]

『Got it. Mariana…don’t die.』

[You too… Neil.]

Mariana immediately instructed the members to bypass the center and lead the people to the north gate leading to Greek territory.
Meanwhile the fire spread around the city.
Mariana clenched her teeth and kicked the ground harder.

=====

When she went out to the main street with about 100 members, it had already turned into a battlefield. Many soldiers had fallen and the beautiful cityscape had turned into a tragic figure of its former self.
In the center of the main street, Mariana saw the strange silhouette.
Lit by the flames that burned the city, it stood calmly on its two legs. It had distorted arms growing from its back in addition to its thick and long arms.
Its face was ugly and bruised and it’s hard to tell where the eyes and the mouth are.
Mariana took out her spear from her back and faced the monster with anger.

[You…did you do all this…!]

『Hou, are you the leader of the Dragon Slayer Knights?』

[Wha… you can talk!?]

Mariana unintentionally shouted so, not even thinking that she would get a reply.
However, she immediately braced herself and glared at the strange monster.

『Haha, well. I’m not interested in you guys, but… do you want to do it?』

Mariana pointed the tip of her spear at a strange shape, even though she was wondering about the words “I’m not interested.”

[…..I don’t know what you’re thinking. I’m Mariana, the leader of the Armenian Dragon Slayer Corps… I’m just going to drive you out of our homeland!]

『I see. Well…you choose death then?.』

[You cur…!]

In an instant, Mariana kicked the ground and slipped under the monster’s feet.
The speed that the monster could not follow was due to the magic she used.
With the same momentum, the steel spear pierced both of the deformed legs.

『Whoops!?』

[Mariana!]

She usually deals with giant dragons.
Even if it’s the first time she’d seen a strange monster, she knows how to destroy its giant body.
Most monsters’ weak points are their heads or hearts.
She understood that the first thing to do was to break the nervous system.

『Oh my goodness!』

The deformed body supported its crumbling body with an arm growing from its back, but Mariana had already read it.
The moment the distorted arm was about to hit, something like a feather erupts from her back.
As a result, her slash, which accelerated at once, tore off the distorted hand of the monster. She landed behind the malformed, sliding on the ground due to the momentum of her speed.

『What!?』

[Let go!]

Along with Mariana’s shouts, the members of the troupe cast their magic all at once, carving out a piece from the monster one after another.
Its strange shape could not even stand up, but flames suddenly rose from its body.

『Shit… I’ll burn everyone with me!』

[It’s no use!]

A large amount of water erupts from Mariana’s whole body, extinguishing the fire that was burning the surrounding buildings along with the monster.

『W-water magic!?』

Mariana’s magic was “Waterflow Magic”.
It is an excellent magic that ranks high even among water magic, releasing a large amount of water from the whole body, or condensing it and releasing it to cut through even iron.

[It’s over!]

Mariana’s water-enhanced spear cut through the malformed monster’s neck and the decapitated body turned into a mute mass of flesh.

[Okay, next…!]

[It got done in, huh…well, its only role is to spread destruction in the city anyway.]

[What!?]

That voice was definitely similar to the strange voice of that monster she should have defeated just now.
When Mariana looked in the direction of the voice, a man was looking down on them from the top of the building.

[Who are you…!?]

[You lot don’t deserve to know my name. Besides…there’s no point in telling my name to dead men.]

[Are you joking?!]

A stream of condensed water was released from Mariana’s hands, but a monster appeared from behind and caught it instead.

[What!?]

[You know this guy, don’t you? Aquarius…a crystalline monster that loves water.]

[You… Are you a demon?!]

It was only natural for Mariana to make that judgment from the way this mysterious man was manipulating monsters.
However, the man grinned and shook his head.

[Wrong. I’m a decent human being. That’s right…a human who wasn’t considered human once.]

[I don’t understand… What is your purpose! Why Armenia!]

[Don’t make me say the same thing twice…]

The moment that man… Fake raised his hand, a large number of monsters climbed over the building at once.
The Dragon Slayer Knights led by Mariana were surrounded in no time as the area was filled with monsters.

[Bah, how silly! For humans to control monsters…and this number!?]

[I’ll tell you my street name as a souvenir to the Netherworld. My friends call me… ‘Replica Legion’.]