"Whatever. Having a clear direction is better than wandering blindly in the woods, right? I can't just stumble around like a headless chicken—that would be way too embarrassing."
March 7th didn't stop her pace as she thought this.
Sunlight filtered through the sparse branches and leaves, casting dappled shadows at her feet. It made her silhouette seem even more lighthearted, clearly showing her anticipation of leaving the forest.
As it turned out, the method March 7th had puzzled out—following the direction of thinning trees to break through—was still effective in this strange forest.
Fragmented sunlight pierced through the increasingly sparse foliage, landing on her skirt, which was now dusted with a few stray leaves. As the layer of decaying leaves beneath her feet grew thinner and the ground leveled out, she finally stepped out from the last patch of shade, successfully emerging from the vast sea of trees.
The moment her soles touched the soft grass outside the forest, a pale blue shimmer radiated from March 7th. Crystalline energy particles instantly condensed into a cold, diamond-shaped shield, wrapping her petite frame securely.
Her nerves were taut as her sharp gaze swept toward the high ground ahead. According to her memories of the original work, Buena Village should have a lookout post near the forest boundary. It should have been manned by either Sylphie's father, Rawls, or others on rotation, but there definitely should have been someone on guard.
"Huh?"
A soft cry of confusion escaped from behind the shield. March 7th tilted her head slightly, her clear eyes filled with bewilderment.
She stood on her tiptoes, using the height of the shield to peer further out. But as far as her vision could reach, let alone an armed sentry, there wasn't even the silhouette of a wooden structure resembling a watchtower. There was only the sound of the wind rustling through the grass.
"There's no way I went to the wrong place, right?" March 7th bit her lower lip, pondering inwardly.
She dispelled the energy shield and cautiously moved forward a few steps. Looking ahead, she saw a vast, golden field of wheat. Matured waves of grain rolled in the breeze, carrying the faint scent of wheat toward her.
At the edge of the wheat fields, about a dozen low wooden houses were scattered. Several lush fruit trees were planted around the houses, their branches hanging heavy with fruit. At a glance, it was clearly a small, peaceful village full of the signs of life.
"There's a forest, there are monsters, and the scale matches up... this should be Buena Village."
March 7th furrowed her brows, her fingertip unconsciously tapping the edge of her lip.
In the original story, this forest was plagued by monsters year-round. To guard against the risks, Buena Village always stationed sentries at the forest border. Yet, looking around now, there wasn't even a patrolling figure at the boundary. This abnormal scene made the doubts in her heart grow deeper.
"Instead of guessing blindly, I might as well go in and see."
March 7th made up her mind. Staying low, she moved with light steps toward the heart of the village.
She had only walked about a hundred meters when a chaotic noise—a mixture of roars and the clashing of metal—reached her ears. Intermingled within were the shouts and pained cries of humans.
"That's..."
March 7th's heart tightened. Her pace quickened instantly, her skirt cutting through the grass and leaving a trail of afterimages.
Rounding a bend, the scene within the village was fully revealed to her. Over a dozen villagers, armed with hoes, wood-cutting knives, and other farm tools, were struggling to fight off a pack of giant monsters that resembled Doberman Pinschers.
These monsters had thick limbs and hideous, muscular lines. Although they were on all fours, they were only half a head shorter than an adult villager. They were roughly half the size of the Termination Boar she had killed earlier.
When they opened their mouths, they revealed two rows of razor-sharp, glinting fangs. Saliva dripped from their teeth, leaving wet spots on the ground. Just looking at them was enough to make one imagine the gruesome sight of flesh being torn from bone.
"Assault Dogs!"
March 7th's pupils shrank slightly as she instantly recognized the identity of these monsters.
Combining this with the Termination Boar she had encountered earlier, a thought instantly formed in her mind.
Did that Termination Boar originally intend to lead this pack of Assault Dogs to raid the village? Did my sudden appearance disrupt its plan, causing the Assault Dogs to storm the village first while the boar doubled back to eliminate me, the unexpected variable?
Thinking of this, March 7th couldn't help but curl her lip. "In the end, it tried to be clever and ended up paying with its own life."
Her gaze swept rapidly across the battlefield. She noticed that the villagers' situation was dire. Most of them only had crude farm tools and had no way of fighting back against the claws and fangs of the Assault Dogs; they were only barely holding on through sheer numbers.
Only a few men were holding longswords—likely the village's security force—but their swordsmanship was somewhat amateurish. They were all wounded to varying degrees and were clearly at their limit.
Just then, two familiar figures burst into her field of vision.
One was a tall man wearing slightly worn leather armor, wielding a longsword. Though cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his face remained calm as he fought desperately to hold off an attacking Assault Dog.
Behind him stood a woman in a simple dress. She had a gentle temperament and was holding a fruit basket. Her face was filled with anxiety and worry as she watched the figure fighting the Assault Dog in front of her.
"Paul! And Zenith!"
March 7th felt a surge of joy. Her judgment was instantly confirmed—the monsters matched, and the key characters matched. This was definitely the world of Mushoku Tensei!
However, as she scanned the battlefield again, she didn't find any other familiar faces. There was no Lilia, the family maid; no young Rudeus; and no Sylphie or her father, Rawls.
But now was clearly not the time to fret over such details. Seeing a villager collapse in pain after an Assault Dog's claws slashed his arm, March 7th didn't hesitate. Her crisp voice, carrying a hint of playfulness and confidence, rang out across the battlefield:
"Hey! You doggies over there, look at me! Ultimate time!"
Before the words had even faded, she kicked off the ground, her body leaping several meters high like a graceful swallow. Pale blue energy surged around her once more.
She turned slightly, falling into a standard archery stance. Her right hand gripped the air, and a crystal-clear energy bow manifested out of nowhere. Immediately after, countless ice-blue energy particles condensed on the bowstring, transforming into transparent arrows radiating a chilling frost.
"Glacial Cascade!"
Following March 7th's shout, the arrows streaked out and suddenly exploded mid-air, transforming into countless palm-sized ice dolls. These dolls were cute in design but carried a bone-chilling frost. They plummeted accurately toward every single Assault Dog.
The villagers in the battlefield were startled and instinctively closed their eyes, but the expected cold and impact never came. The ice dolls seemed to have eyes of their own; they perfectly avoided all the humans and slammed directly into the heads of the Assault Dogs.
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Crossover World: Why Are All My Clones Beautiful Girls?
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