77. Exploiting Weaknesses Is A Good Strategy, Isn’t It?

“It didn’t work!?”

Eva, who had cast a high-powered attack spell, cried out in shock.

“Whoa!? Retreat! Temporary retreat!!”

Raidoc shouted in panic.

As we turned around to retreat while shouting “Whoa!” and the like, the path of corpses was blocked by a newly appeared giant frog, a Baron Frog.

“What the!?”

“No way! It wasn’t this quick to cover the last time!”

“Are we being outsmarted? This frog’s got some brains!?”

“Smarter than Jitaro!”

“What do you mean!?”

It was a serious and dangerous situation that made us want to joke involuntarily.

What do we do!?

“…Craft! Cast one attack spell! Save your energy!”

“Understood!”

Raidoc’s command made possible spells flash through my mind.

Ice spells… In this water-soaked state, that’s the worst choice.

Lightning spells are also risky. We could all get electrocuted.

Light and dark spells probably won’t help much.

That leaves wind or fire. But the [Scorching Eight-Layer Inferno Storm], which includes both attributes, is a wide-area spell unsuitable for this situation.

Besides, the target, the Titan Duke Frog, is mostly submerged in the swamp. It’s doubtful how effective fire spells would be.

Seeing my hesitation, Eva, the excellent magician among the Kasper triplets, shouted.

“Craft-san! Can you use [Water Blade Sever]?”

Her words made me look up. [Water Blade Sever] is a powerful spell that generates ultra-compressed water blades to slice the enemy. In this water-rich situation, its power would increase.

But there’s an even better spell!

“Eat this, frog bastard! [White Ice Blade Flash]!!!”

I cast a spell superior to Water Blade Sever.

A gigantic ice blade, twice my height, flew swiftly, crescent-shaped, aiming to cleave the giant boss frog in two.

“Gekooooooo!!!”

A foul-colored bodily fluid sprayed up.

However, considering the spell’s power, it seemed like it could have been more effective!?

“Craft-san! Did you see that!?”

Eva shouted.

“See what?”

“Yes! The ice blade scattered by the frog’s surface magic!”

“What!?”

There is a defense magic that converts physical attacks back into magic to reduce their power. Is that it!?

“Barduck! Any attack spell will do!”

“Got it! [Ice Spear]”

Barduck quickly understood my intent and cast an ice spear.

I focused, feeling the flow of magic.

When Barduck’s ice spear pierced the Titan Duke Frog, magic spread rapidly over its surface from the impact point.

“What is that reaction!?”

“What!? Just now!?”

Looking closely, there was a slight wound at the impact point.

Still, the magic dispersion was unusual.

Normally, when defending by converting attacks into magic, the impact point’s magic would burst and spray, like water spilled from a height.

And the unconverted attack would penetrate.

But now, the magic spread like water pooling without bursting from a height.

My [White Ice Blade Flash] caused damage because of its sheer power and massive magic amount that couldn’t be fully converted.

“Damn it! Craft! Any solutions!?”

Raidoc yelled while defending against whip-like tongue attacks from all directions.

Predictably, the Titan Duke Frog’s tongues regenerated immediately after being cut. Common among soft-bodied monsters.

Leafan and Moda desperately shielded us.

But maintaining the status quo was the worst option. We needed a quick breakthrough.

Solutions!?

The original plan was to clear the path with swordsmen and archers, then bombard the boss frog, the Titan Duke Frog, with magic.

With magic being mostly ineffective, we had to retreat.

Wait.

“Raidoc! Switch physical and magical attacks!”

“What!? It’s worth a try… Okay! Camille and I will attack the boss! Meanwhile, Eva and Barduck will use magic to keep the other frogs at bay! Archers too! Leafan and Moda, protect the magicians! Craft, act as you see fit!”

“”“Roger!!!”””

Raidoc quickly grasped my intention and ordered a formation change.

Raidoc and Camille, who had been reducing the surrounding Baron Frogs, now focused on the boss frog, the Titan Duke Frog, while Eva and Barduck used magic to fend off the others.

Solar and Jitaro provided support.

“Raidoc! Use high-damage single hits!”

“Got it!”

Having thought of something, I watched Raidock closely.

“Camille, match my attack! [Mighty Arm Strike]!!”

“…[Double Dark Dance Funeral]”

The two launched powerful physical attacks at the same spot, crossing each other’s paths.

The impact blew away the frog’s slimy body fluid, and blades sank into its seemingly soft body, causing a spray of blood. It was clearly more effective than my earlier White Ice Blade Flash.

Not missing this slight chance, I cast my prepared spell.

“[Water Blade Sever]!!!”

An ice blade flew between Raidoc and Camille, striking the wound they had made.

Despite being a weaker spell, it caused significant damage to the boss frog, similar to Camille’s sword technique.

“What!?”

Raidoc shouted.

“Craft!”

“Probably, the frog’s surface slime nullifies magic!”

“Then, physical attacks work!?”

“Likely! …But can we keep up!?”

“A bit… tricky! This frog has high regeneration!”

“This is bad…”

I asked Raidoc to use high-damage attacks to blow away the slime.

It’s not confirmed, but considering that magic worked in that state, the slime-dispersing magic is almost certain.

To defeat this boss frog, we need to remove the slime first, then hit it with magic.

“Craft-san! Can’t we blow away the slime with wind magic!?”

“Idiot! That magic would get nullified too!”

I called Jitaro an idiot impulsively, but his idea was directionally correct. If we can blow away the slime with wind or fire, it would work.

“Then, we could gather firewood and burn the frog!”

“Idiot! In this swamp, we can’t afford to…!”

Calling Jitaro an idiot again, a scene flashed in my mind.

It was the day after Golden Dawn repelled a stampede of cockatrices.

The sight of burning cockatrice corpses, with only magic stones extracted, in a large pit.

To burn that many cockatrices, mere firewood wouldn’t suffice. I used something I had alchemized.

“That’s it! Combustion powder!”

I remembered the combustion powder I had made on request from the guild. It burns much more efficiently than oil. Plus, it’s powder, making it suitable for use on the frog!

“Raidoc! I’ve got an idea! Can you scatter this powder as evenly as possible over the enemy!?”

I retrieved a barrel from my spatial storage.

I had kept a barrel of leftover combustion powder as part of my reward.

“Over that huge body!?”

The Titan Duke Frog was even bigger than the Baron Frogs. Only half of its body was above water, but it was still massive.

If it were stationary, it wouldn’t be a problem, but it’s a monster.

It moves and attacks.

“…What now?”

Raidoc gritted his teeth, slashing at the numerous attacking tongues. His mind was clearly racing.

At that moment, Camille, holding twin swords, retreated towards me, gliding over the water.

Her movements were the smoothest under these constraints.

“I will do it.”

Usually silent, Camille muttered.