Chapter 291: We’re here to help

“Haa, haa, haa…damn it, what a persistent lot…”

A girl who was breathing heavily said so as she stared at the pack that was steadily chasing after her and her group.

Her pursuers were a pack of monsters called Evil Hyenas.

A pack of such monsters—which on average consisted of 20 or so members—were one of most dreaded encounters in this whole desert.

The Evil Hyenas’ individual fighting strength was frankly not great, but they were sly and prudent. They would trail after their prey continuously, never giving it any time to rest properly. Sooner or later, a moment where they would have the upper hand would present itself. Be it because the prey succumbed to the harshness of the desert environment, attacked by another monster, or simply exhaustion, the Evil Hyenas would patiently wait for that chance.

The Evil Hyenas themselves take turns in resting, thus ensuring they could attack whenever the chance presents itself.

These Evil Hyenas were now following the girl’s group—which consisted of less than 10 people including her—for about 3 days now.

Even under normal conditions, travelling in this desert for that long and without taking breaks was bound to push people to their limits.

“It’s alright…just a little bit more and…yes, we’ll reach the small oasis soon…we just have to keep going until then…”

The one to say such words of encouragement was a man with a sword hanging in his waist.

He was a young soldier with a muscular body, yet even he was visibly fatigued.

As for the others, a lot of them were feeling lightheaded and had difficulties walking properly.

“*(None of them has the energy to fight left…those Evil Hyenas, I’m sure they’ll be able to tell that too. It’s only a matter of time before they begin attacking us…and even if we reach the oasis now, it doesn’t necessarily mean our situation would improve…is this the end for us…?)*”

The girl understood that as things stood, the fate that likely awaited them was to become the hyenas’ meal.

“*(Would we really die here like this without taking back the kingdom…!?)*”

While the girl was thinking so, the Evil Hyenas finally began their attack.

“““Uhyahyahyahyahya”””

The maddening cry they had been hearing for the last 3 days could now be heard all around them.

The group quickly drew their swords with what little strength they had left in an attempt to fight back. The girl too drew the dagger on her waist and made a terrifying scowl as though to say ‘I won’t die without a fight; I’ll take at least one of you with me!’

However, just when the Evil Hyenas were about to charge, the skies suddenly grew dark.

“……huh?”

The girl looked up and saw something so unbelievable, she forgot the danger her group was in.

“T-t-the, the ground…it’s floating…?”

At first, she thought it was just a hallucination induced by her fatigue. But she apparently wasn’t the only one seeing it. In fact, everybody else was also looking up at the sky with their mouths agape.

That went for the Evil Hyenas as well. They were so shocked they forgot to attack.

But the surprises weren’t over yet.

Something dropped from the ground above them into the sand.

“Mh~~~m! We’re here to help ♡”

That something turned out to be a large, muscular man.

…can he really be called a man though?

The said muscular man wore pink frilly clothes and had a tiara on top of his head.

Moreover, his long blonde hair was tied in twin tails by a pretty ribbon. He also had just the right amount of make-up on.

The girl had never met this person before, but since the person in question told them that he was going to help, she assumed that he probably wasn’t going to be hostile towards them.

Either way, she and her group had no choice but to rely on him for now.

“Here I go!”

After the man kicked the ground, he suddenly got closer to some of the Evil Hyenas.

Just a moment after, he made those Hyenas fly far away.

“What speed!”

Evil Hyenas were highly agile, yet even it couldn’t even react to the man’s attack just now.

Someone that tall and with that much muscle can’t be that fast, can he!?

“““Uhyahyahyahyahya”””

“They’re…they’re running away…!”

Sensing the man’s strength, the Evil Hyenas quickly started making a retreat.

“I won’t let you!”

“Mhm, let’s crush them.”

“““!?”””

Other people dropped down from the ground above and also attacked the Evil Hyenas.