Defense Specialization and the Floating Castle 3

  “It-it’s amazing . ”


  “Yes . There must be an entrance somewhere……”


  They had reached the base of the mountain, which was really the bottom of a cliff . The side of the mountain practically shot up in a vertical line towards the sky .

  It looked very difficult to climb . Especially for someone like Maple .

  “There is no way that they would require players to have the ability to fly or have something like Syrup . So there must be a normal route that leads into the castle somewhere . ”


  “That’s true . ”


  It would be possible to climb it by using Syrup or Helping Hand to move the shields . Sally could also use Web User . However, it was clear that those were not the normal solutions .

  “And we decided to do this the proper way this time……”


  “Yes . Let’s try going around the cliff . We might find something . ”


  Luckily none of the monsters in the forest were a threat to them, so exploration was not a problem . And so they killed the monsters while walking alongside the side of the cliff . Eventually, there was a change, and they stopped .

  It was a place in between two mountains that reached high into the sky, like a valley . Perhaps others had passed through here, as there was a path through it with no grass . And in the far back of this valley, they could see that there was a gate made of pure white material .

  “I guess the surrounding mountains are like a natural wall?”


  “Ohh . This must be the entrance!”


  “Yes . Well, shall we attack the castle?”


  “Okay! I’m all prepared!”


  They brandished their weapons and headed straight for the gate . After they had walked far enough that the gate could be seen clearly, something teleported to the other side of the gate . And then they heard that giant roar echoing again .

  At the same time, winged humanoid dragons called dragonewts flew out as the gate opened .

  “Maple . Here they come!”


  “Yes! ‘Deploy all Weapons,’ ‘Commence Attack’!”


  If they attacked from the front, she just had to fight back with a wall of bullets . And so Maple unleashed her ammunition onto them . However, the dragonewts all twisted their bodies and dodged them as they moved in .

  “What! I can’t hit them!”


  “I doubt it has anything to do with aim! We won’t be able to keep them away!”


  “Okay!”


  It’s not like they weren’t good at close quarters combat . If anything, that would allow them to use their most powerful attacks . Just then, the dragonewts that had been flying in the lead dodged the last of Maple’s bullets and then dove down towards Maple . She could not dodge the attack, and it slammed into her shoulder and then bit her . At the same time, she was also hit by its breath . Her weapons shattered .

  “Maple!”


  “Th-that was a little surprising……but I seem to be fine! Do it, Sally!”


  Maple’s body was more durable than any weapon . She would not get injured from mere dragon bites . As if to return the favor, Maple shot at it point blank with her cannon, and the two Predators on either side of her attacked it as well .

  “‘Frozen Earth’!”


  “‘Quintuple Slash’!”


  Just as the dragonewt tried to jump up, the ground froze over, and its feet were stuck to the earth . It could no longer dodge attacks like this, and so Maple’s strongest cannon fire and Sally’s chain of attacks slammed into it .

  Obviously it could not survive this, and its body faded into light .

  It had all happened in a flash . But there were still more of them headed towards Maple and Sally . Unlike players, monsters did not retreat . That made things easier .

  “You’re better at counter attacks, aren’t you?”


  “Yes . I think it’s easier . ”


  Maple just needed to wait for things to jump on her . Sally just needed to shred them and find every opening . The fact that the dragonewts could land a clean hit and still do zero damage meant that their fates would be identical to that of the lizards and great snake .

  “Phew . We did it . ”


  “Yes! I’m glad there were no piercing attacks . ”


  After successfully crushing the pack of dragonewts, they went through the gate and entered the castle . Some of the castle was inside of the mountain and some of it was on its surface . And they weren’t quite sure where the hallway they were walking down was located .

  The floor and walls were made of the same white material . And while it wasn’t made of cloud, it still reminded them that they were on the fifth layer .

  “Where do you think the goal is, Maple?”


  “Hmm…… Maybe at the highest point?”


  “Oh, that’s what I was thinking . ”


  Currently, while there were rooms on both sides, the hallway was just a straight, single path . They didn’t know when it would branch out .

  They both felt that if there was a boss, it would be in the location that was the farthest from the entrance . And so their goal was to reach the top of the castle, which they had got a glimpse of when they first teleported .

  After walking for some time, the hallway started to branch out, and dragonewts appeared around corners .

  “Ah! There they are again!”


  “But I think they’re a little different . Be careful!”