Chapter 163: Subjugation and the Start of War
“We did it…”
Before my eyes lay the corpse of a large chameleon, a startling shade of shocking pink.
This was Mirage, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Evil God. I saw him in the game, so there’s no doubt.
Mirage has a truly twisted personality, laughing from behind at challengers lost in the mirror labyrinth. And when the battle starts, even though it’s a boss fight, it begins with you taking a preemptive back attack.
In the game, I thought he was a real jerk, and even though I knew he was behind me, I couldn’t do anything about it. But in reality, it’s possible.
Thanks to this, we could defeat the boss, Mirage, without having to clear the Mirror World.
There was a bit of a gamble on whether this would actually work, but I’m glad we did it.
When I turned and looked up at the mirror castle, the vibrant, verdant aura that had been rising vigorously had vanished.
With this, the Evil God’s effect of halving magic damage taken has worn off.
“Dee, you defeated him, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. El’s final Shield Bash was nice.”
“Praise.”
“Ah, Lily was great too. You did well to pin Mirage down. Amazing.”
“Mufufu.”
“Onii-sama?”
“Won’t you praise us too?”
“Ria and Clau did great too. You did well to believe in me and follow.”
“Ehehe.”
In the end, I praised everyone, but they all truly did a great job. If I were alone, I probably would have let him get away. My excuse about seeing it in a dream was pretty far-fetched, but I’m glad I told them properly.
Believing in your comrades is important, huh?
“Alright, shall we move on to the next one? Next up is the Evil God.”
“Onii-sama, what about the other Heavenly Kings?”
“We’ll leave them to the other parties!”
I don’t know if they’ll move according to my assumptions, nor do I know if they’ll be able to defeat the other Four Heavenly Kings of the Evil God safely. But, I chose to trust them here and take the fastest route.
We defeated one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Evil God without clearing the dungeon. But it won’t be like that for the other dungeons. The battles with the other Four Heavenly Kings will begin after those dungeons are properly cleared.
Most likely, by the time we reach the Evil God, the other parties will be succeeding in defeating their respective Four Heavenly Kings.
We will strike the Evil God right after its buffs from the Four Heavenly Kings wear off.
“The next enemy will likely be the Evil God. From here on, it’ll be a battle we can’t turn back from. Are you prepared?”
When I asked everyone in Reginleif about their resolve, I unexpectedly received smiles in return.
“We’re the ones who will defeat the Evil God, after all!”
“Mm.”
“Of course.”
“Our resolve has been firm from the very beginning. Let us carve open the future for humanity.”
Cornelia, Lily, Claudia, Eleonore. Each of them looked at me with eyes holding firm determination.
It seems it was an unrefined question. I nodded as if to answer them.
“Well then, shall we go? It’s lunchtime, but let’s just eat in the carriage.”
The carriage is a luxury item equipped with leaf spring suspension. Plus, it’s big, so it’s spacious. We should be able to relax comfortably.
Well, I’ll be on the coachman’s seat, though.
◇
The battle for the Baumgarten Territory was intensifying.
The Moat, which they had been digging right up until the start of the battle, was now teeming with monsters. They were struggling, unable to escape from it.
Once it came to this, it was possible to defeat them by shooting arrows or throwing stones from above.
The Moat was more effective at halting their advance than Cassandra had imagined. A welcome miscalculation.
However, there was also an unwelcome miscalculation.
“Kishishishishi!”
It was the sheer number of insect-type monsters. Many of them had wings and could fly. It was terrifying how they flew over the Moat, over the castle walls, and descended directly into the town. Many soldiers had to be diverted to deal with them.
Then there were the troublesome large Centipede monsters. They swiftly climbed up the Moat and the castle walls, poked their heads over the ramparts, and engaged the soldiers stationed on top.
At first, she thought they were successfully holding them back.
But, she was wrong.
The monsters in the Moat began to climb the bodies of the large Centipedes.
And the Centipede monsters didn’t shake off the monsters climbing their bodies. They accepted them.
The bodies of the large Centipede monsters were just like natural rope ladders.
And what was most surprising was the total number of monsters. Even though adventurers and soldiers had repeatedly ventured into the forest to cull their numbers, an unbelievable horde of monsters was now pressing in, threatening to swallow the Baumgarten Territory.
Many of them seemed to have halted their advance upon seeing the monsters that had fallen into the Moat.
Beyond the Moat, she could see enough monsters to fill the entire space up to the forest.
Their total number easily exceeded ten thousand, perhaps even reaching a hundred thousand. If they had faced them directly, they would have surely lost. They had to somehow hold them back by skillfully utilizing their defensive structures.
Moreover, there was something worrying. The monsters, even different species, were cooperating, moving with discipline as if commanded by someone.
“Is this… the power of the Evil God…?”
Cold sweat trickled down Cassandra’s cheek.
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