Breakthrough

"My lords, the outpost ahead has been occupied by demons."

On a winding mountain road, several hundred refugees—men and women, young and old—came to a stop.

The men wore leather armor and carried pitchforks or spears; the women had their heads wrapped in scarves and clutched their children tightly to their chests; the children, who did not understand what was happening, looked bewildered yet somewhat innocent; as for the few elderly people, they merely sighed numbly.

The "history" of this world had never known peace. Demons and monsters appeared every so often, while raids by bandits and brigands were equally commonplace.

Had they not encountered those two adventurer ladies from a foreign land, this small band of refugees would never have made it this far.

But the outpost ahead, once belonging to humanity, now blocked their path.

Facing the report from the middle-aged militiaman holding a spear, Tokugawa Shizuka, who carried a long saber, gestured.

"Take me to look."

At the same time, she turned and instructed Busujima 10087, who was following behind her.

"You stay here."

"Yes, my lady. This way, please."

The middle-aged militiaman respectfully raised a hand to guide them. He, too, had awakened power, but he was merely an "Initiate Rank" militiaman. Without these two "Elite Rank" foreign girl adventurers, most of the people in their group would already have fallen beneath the blades of zombies and skeleton soldiers.

Led by the middle-aged militiaman, the two arrived at a bend in the mountain road ahead. They carefully hid behind the bushes and looked across at the other side.

Ahead on the mountain road stood a towering, fortress-like structure. Due to the existence of supernatural power, the buildings in this world were all exceptionally "solid": a sturdy, thick wall built from stone encircled it, broad enough for