Baron continues to weep in the corner and Hibi approaches me.
Then, Hibi uttered a short chant and spoke to me with〖Telepathy〗.

【”…… T-To tell you the truth, our village is under attack. A-And, we would like to seek your help.”】

U-Under attack?!!

【“The women and children have all been evacuated in the town hall’s basement, but with their overwhelming numbers, I fear we won’t be able to……”】

A-Alright.
At any rate, you’re in a hurry, right?
Explain the details to me on the way, we’re going back to the village.

【“We are forever grateful, oh great one. Thank you, Ryujin-sama.”】

Hibi deeply bowed her head.
After that, Hibi and a reluctant Baron rode on my back and we hurry to their village.

On the way there, we encountered an Abyss.
I don’t have time to deal with that right now, so I ignored it and continued running forward.

An invasion, huh……
One problem after another.
Maybe it’s just a swarm of monsters?

I hope the anti-Ryujin village isn’t the one behind this.
No, that can’t be, there’s no reason for their disputes anymore.
There’s no way defeating the Manticore would make the two villages only hate each other more.
Did I miss something?

Their village is now in sight.

I ask Hibi a question with my mind.
So, since we had to cut the talk before, what’s attacking you?

【”…… Them”】

Them?
I wondered what she meant, but then I averted back my gaze forward and saw.

Three Lithuvar men holding spears are seen fighting…… something.
One of them has their back bleeding.
But, I don’t know who or what they’re fighting against.

The men look around their surroundings nervously, but when they saw me, their faces showed relief.

“Ryujin-sama is here!”
“You idiot! Don’t break the formation!”

When the man shouted, a black figure jumped at the three men.
It was an Abyss with its eight long legs wriggling creepily like always.

“It’s here! It’s coming!”
“Calm down, let’s drive it away!”

Their three-way formation broke apart and just behind the Abyss, another Abyss appears.
T-Two Abyss at once?!

“Gru~o~o~oooooo!”

I used〖Roar〗to scare the Abyss away, and the two of them ran to the inner parts of the village.
Well, that’s one casualty avoided, but how did they get in?
I thought the Abyss were strangely increasing lately, but to think they’d also reach the village!

I put down Hibi and Baron.

Partner continues to stare at the direction the Abyss ran.
The one thing she doesn’t want to see the most is back.
Honestly, I feel the same way.

I shift my gaze to Hibi and ask her.
What’s happening? Did the number of Abyss increase? By how much?

【“The breeding season of the Abyss is approaching, that is why many are looking for a host to lay their eggs. In recent years, their number has jumped for some reason, and the scale and frequency of attacks have been increasing year by year……. and, they’ve also learned that it’s more efficient to attack as a group.”】

Urgh…… I did not want to hear that.
No, this is necessary information to me as their stand-in Dragon God.
So, how many Abyss are there now?

【“Because they are very good at hiding themselves, we couldn’t really identify the exact number. But, I believe there are more than twenty of them.”】

R-, Right……
Abyss are rank C monsters.
There aren’t that many humans here who can handle them in a one-on-one.
Not to mention, there’s more than twenty of them.
This village did well to fend for themselves without a Dragon God for this long.

【“If the number of Abyss doesn’t decrease now, then there will surely be a terrifying swarm of them after their breeding season……”】

In my mind, I’m imagining a hundred Abyss marching by.
I don’t even want to think about it……

This makes the Abyss a whole lot more dangerous than the Manticore.
Heck, this should already count as a large-scale disaster.

“Get away, get away from me, you barbarians!”

Then, I heard a commotion from behind.

“Aah! Hibi-sama, you came at the right time! We found an adventurer and tried to threaten him to turn back, but he was severely injured…… we figured he was attacked by an Abyss.”

Two Lithuvar men is seen carrying a bloodied man.
The man is wearing a blue military-like uniform and red pants.

He’s probably confused by fear since he’s thrashing all around while bleeding.
His eyes are covered in blood, so maybe he can’t see anything.

There’s a sheath on his waist, but no sword.
He must’ve dropped his weapon somewhere.

An adventurer, huh.
So, they stumble here from time to time.
He came at the worse possible time.
If I were him, I also wouldn’t like to enter a roach-infested village the size of human.

“Is it another disguised monst-…… no, he doesn’t seem like one. Bring him to the basement and give him medical treatment.”

“Understood. Hey you, calm down for a second, will you. We’re in a state of emergency here.”

“Let me go, you barbarians! You’re going to feed me to your evil god! I know it!”

They carried the man and took him away.
W-We could’ve let Partner use〖High Rest〗on him though.
Too late to say anything now that they’re far away.
If he’s thrashing that much, then I’m sure he’s fine, but……

“Do you have any companions with you? Are they okay?”

“Never! I have nothing to say to you!”

I could still see him flailing about in the distance.
…… Adofu did say that the Lithuvar Tribe is dangerous, is that how everyone normally reacts?
Even though they’re a really nice group of people, this is sad.

Anyways, onto the main problem at hand.

Using〖Presence Sense〗, I followed after the two Abyss that ran in the inner parts of the village.
I’m guessing most of the villagers have already evacuated since there aren’t any around anymore.
The Abyss can hide their presence.
I change my searching method from finding the Abyss to finding humans instead.
If I find someone who hasn’t been evacuated yet, I’ll go there.

“It’s dangerous to stay in your house. We’ll guide you to the evacuation site!”

“T-Thank you……”

There are men all around aiding children and elderly hiding in their houses.
Should I help them out instead?
I approach them while looking around the house in caution.

“Ah, Ryujin-sama!”

The children are all happily waving at me.
I’m not really used to this kind of treatment, I easily get all giggity and stuff.
But then, at that moment, from behind the child, out comes an Abyss.

“““Vu~ee~e~e~e~e!”””

And, there’s three of them.

Did they call for help and hide under the ground?
Give me a break already!