Ch.198[Episode 198] Gacha Land 4-1

“Greetings, comrade.”

[You will be given 10 minutes to strategize within your party.]

[After 10 minutes, you will be transported to the battlefield.]

As Sir Dominic finished speaking, a system window appeared giving them 10 minutes.

10 minutes was neither long nor short, but it seemed somewhat insufficient for introductions and strategizing.

“My name is Vacheslav.”

Said a man with a round face, glasses, and a well-groomed mustache.

For some reason, he was pulling out the wicks from Molotov cocktails and gulping down the alcohol inside.

Behind him was an enormous quantity of Molotov cocktails—so many that it wouldn’t be noticeable if he pilfered one or two.

“Welcome to our par… I mean, party, comrade.”

He stroked his elegant mustache while enjoying a pipe.

“Jugashvili.”

Jugashvili introduced himself while removing the bear fur hat from his head.

“Pleased to meet you, foreigner… I mean, Sir Dominic.”

Finally, a clergyman with fiery eyes and long beard and hair greeted him.

“Call me Gregory.”

Unlike the others, he didn’t address Sir Dominic as comrade, but simply called him by his title.

They were truly a diverse group, but they had one thing in common.

They all wore bear fur around their bodies.

“Are you three a party?”

Sir Dominic questioned them, curious about their strange uniformity.

“A party? With these guys?”

“Ha. Not likely. Oh, if you mean party instead of Party, then maybe.”

“Well, we’re somewhat friendly, but…”

They vehemently objected to Sir Dominic’s question.

It seemed that Jugashvili and Vacheslav weren’t on bad terms, but Gregory didn’t appear to get along well with the others.

“Anyway, I think it’s fortunate. As luck would have it, there was one empty spot because seven people came by mistake.”

Jugashvili said to Sir Dominic while stroking his mustache.

“You’re very lucky. To be able to roam the battlefield with the famous Comrade Dominic. It’s an honor.”

Jugashvili grabbed Sir Dominic’s hand and shook it.

Jugashvili showed a surprising amount of trust.

Sir Dominic felt rather awkward about this excessive trust.

“Anyway, what should we do?”

Sir Dominic changed the subject, unable to handle the excessive trust.

Many people had flustered Sir Dominic before, but Jugashvili was the first to do so with praise alone.

“You mean our strategy, comrade?”

Vacheslav said, wiping sweat from his forehead.

The weather was a bit warm for bear fur, but the three still wore it.

“It’s simple, comrade.”

Jugashvili said.

“We’ll climb that hill. And then we’ll block the other parties’ attacks once with Comrade Vacheslav’s special skill and once with mine.”

“After that, we plan to have Comrade Dominic survive until the end and be the first to get 1000 points.”

“Or we could just kill everyone. That wouldn’t be bad either.”

The strange clergyman said, widening his already frightening eyes.

“With Sir Dominic here, points won’t be an issue, so the rest of us can take turns killing everyone else. If I use my ability with those sacrifices… a virtuous cycle will be complete.”

The clergyman tried to entice everyone with his sinister words.

However, Sir Dominic thought that holding out on the hill would be better than killing everyone, given his low mobility.

“The former would be better. All things considered.”

Sir Dominic cast his vote for Jugashvili’s strategy.

“Good. Then—”

[10 minutes have passed.]

[Everyone will be summoned to the battlefield.]

[Spawn points will be determined randomly.]

[May you achieve glory, or survive.]

Just after they had briefly established their strategy, the 10 minutes ended.

“Now, let’s get going, comrade.”

Jugashvili said to Sir Dominic.

Their bodies slowly disappeared as they were summoned somewhere on the battlefield.

…

Somewhere on the battlefield.

“…Where are we?”

“I don’t know. But it’s definitely not Feralant.”

Arkus and Ogreson were trapped on a small sandy island.

The small island in the middle of the lake had a single palm tree growing on it, and Ogreson was alleviating his boredom by plucking a coconut with his agile movements and piercing a hole in it with his finger.

If one knew how tough coconut shells were, they would understand how remarkable Ogreson’s strength was.

Arkus looked at the forest beyond the lake.

Unlike the forests of Feralant, this forest gave off a very damp and unpleasant feeling, full of vines and swamps.

“I don’t want to go there.”

Arkus muttered with a shudder.

Arkus’s gaze shifted slightly to the side.

There was a hill there, which seemed high enough to be visible from anywhere in the vicinity.

“How about we go there and look around?”

Arkus said to Ogreson.

“Good idea.”

Ogreson said with a reluctant expression.

Then he tossed the coconut he was holding into the lake.

“If we can get out of here, that is.”

As the coconut created ripples on the water’s surface, spirits of the lake appeared and began to tear at the coconut fiercely.

Even though they must have known they couldn’t eat it, watching the spirits savagely gnaw at the coconut shell made any thoughts of leaving the island disappear.

Ogreson climbed the palm tree again with his agile movements and plucked a new coconut.

“Ugh… if only someone would help us.”

Despite witnessing that incredible sight, Arkus continued to mutter something as if disappointed.

“…Wait, be quiet for a moment.”

Just then.

Ogreson detected a sound from beyond the forest.

It wasn’t the sound of the forest moving in the wind.

Something huge was coming this way, knocking down trees.

“…Something is approaching.”

Ogreson warned Arkus.

But even without the warning, Arkus would have known something was approaching.

Because he could see the trees in the forest falling in succession.

“…Good heavens. What is that?”

Whatever had been advancing through the forest, knocking down trees, soon emerged and revealed itself.

It was a giant dog.

Not just any dog.

It was a dog larger than most fortresses, with burning fur as if it had risen from hell, and a collar with horns.

The dog had three heads, all resembling Chihuahuas.

Despite the distance between Arkus and the dog, Arkus unconsciously took a step back.

He was frightened by the sight of the three heads shaking the fallen trees they had in their mouths and barking madly.

“White raven, my goodness. How can such a terrifying creature exist?”

Arkus began frantically making the sign of the cross in fear.

But that was a mistake.

The three-headed dog’s attention turned to Arkus because of his frantic movements.

With a growl of threat, the giant dog crouched as if about to pounce on Arkus at any moment.

It was truly a critical situation.

“Do something, Ogreson!”

“Damn it, why did I take this job!”

Ogreson raised his greatsword and stood in front of Arkus.

Ogreson was a mercenary hired to guard Arkus, and he had a duty to work for Arkus’s safety.

Although the lake served as a natural barrier between the giant dog and the two of them, judging by the dog’s size, it seemed capable of easily jumping across this distance.

And given the small size of the island, they would instantly become dog food the moment that giant dog jumped over.

Ogreson made a lame joke, prepared for death.

“This wasn’t in the contract. If we get back, I’ll have to charge double.”

Arkus nodded vigorously.

If they could just resolve this situation, he wouldn’t mind paying double or even triple.

Fortunately, the giant dog didn’t attack Arkus and Ogreson.

“!”

Thanks to someone’s appearance.

…

Sir Dominic was running toward the hill with his three party members.

Fortunately, the area where Sir Dominic’s party spawned wasn’t far from the hill.

“It’s simple—get there first and claim it, then be the last to leave.”

“Just plant the flag. I’ll handle anyone who tries to climb up.”

Sir Dominic nodded at Jugashvili and Gregory’s words.

Then he was the first to climb the hill and planted Feralant’s flag.

Sir Dominic immediately dismissed the system window indicating damage reduction had been applied, and looked around from the top of the hill.

Quite a few others had the same idea as Sir Dominic’s party; about four parties, including Sir Dominic’s, were heading toward the hill.

Sir Dominic’s party was the first to reach the hill.

“Aha.”

Gregory let out an evil laugh.

“This is a perfect situation. Just perfect.”

“Comrade, while I fortify this place, please block those who are climbing up. You don’t need to stop them all. But harass them as much as possible to prevent them from scoring points.”

Jugashvili said to Sir Dominic.

Sir Dominic raised his shield.

Beside him, Vacheslav raised his Molotov cocktail.

The battlefield was about to heat up.

In every sense of the word.