The End Of Falsehood

by Bisel13

The Saderan Empire has grown into a major powerhouse across the Falmart continent. Yet, their achievement had made them become arrogant and destructive. The Gods cannot sit idly and let the Empire do whatever their wish. And so, they agreed to unleash their authority to punish the Empire. They would give the Empire, an enemy beyond imagination.

12. Chapter 11:The Clash Of The Two Blessing

Important Note From Author

Sorry to disturb you for a moment. Please read this first.

This chapter would be quite controversial for Tensura fans. I didn't mean it to be that way, but I could already guess some of you who are a big fan of Tensura would read this chapter by frowning your eyes and thinking "The author nerfed Tempest so much!".

However, in my opinion, I didn't do so. Rather than nerfed the Tempest fighting force, I was more on buffed the Saderan fighting force. So I humbly ask you to read this with an open mind and not stick too much to the original Gate series. I tinkering with a lot of GATE original power scaling.

Further explanation would be given at the end of the story. For now, I would give you a warning that this chapter could be controversial for power-focused Tensura fans.

…

Chapter 11: The Clash Of The Two Blessings

On the vast, open meadow of Alnus Hill, the grass grows low, creating a soft, velvety carpet underfoot. Despite its short length, the grass is vividly green, evoking a sense of tranquility and purity. As you sit down on the ground, you can feel the gentle breeze blowing through the meadow, carrying the scent of wildflowers and the sound of rustling leaves.

The forest in front of you is a stunning sight to behold. The trees stand tall and proud, their leafy canopies creating a natural canopy that filters the sunlight in a dappled pattern. You can hear the distant chirping of birds and the occasional rustling of small animals in the underbrush.

This is a sacred place, where every creature comes from. This is the sacred place, where the Gate would bring a new species of life to inhabit the world.

But now, if you stand here, looking out at the once-sacred place, you can't help but notice how dramatically it has changed. The storm clouds above have completely obscured the sky, transforming the vibrant colors of the surroundings into a dreary, grey ambiance. The grass that was once a beautiful green has been flattened by the deluge of rain that has been pouring down for hours, unable to withstand the sheer force of the water. The once-brown soil is now covered in pools of water and mud, adding to the gloom of the place. Even the leaves on the trees seem to be drooping, unable to hold on against the force of the wind and rain.

There are no longer any beautiful blue skies to be seen, instead, the only thing visible is the ominous grey clouds that seem to go on forever. The once-musical chirping of birds has been replaced with the deafening roar of thunder, and the leaves that once danced in the breeze now lay motionless, weighed down by the rain.

As you look around, you can't help but feel a sense of sadness for the animals that call this place home. The squirrels that once happily collected their walnuts are nowhere to be seen, and the rabbits that once darted through the grass have now taken shelter in their burrows. It's as if all life has been sucked out of this place, leaving only the sound of the rain and the occasional clap of thunder to fill the void.

Yet, on this day, this sacred land would become a witness of a battle where two armies who had been blessed by their respective Gods, clashed in a massive fight.

The two armies have been in their formation, facing each other since the night still reigns in the sky. But as time goes by, the two armies wouldn't just stand there. In the end, a shout came to be heard. A shout that would mark a new age in a history book.

"CHARGE!"

The army of the Saderan Empire, led by Pina Co Lada, dashed with everything they had toward the army in their front.

The ground is shaking, it's rumbled by the sheer magnitude of the force from the Saderan army. The Saderans consisted not only of humans but for the very first time in history, a mythical beast from the heavens, came down to assist them.

They all charged toward the smaller army bathed in a grey-colored armor. The army in grey-colored armor didn't move a bit. They decide to wait for the upcoming attack from the Saderan army.

However, they did that for a reason.

Just as when the first Ogres in the front row managed to make a pretty solid step, another shout came from another army.

"FIRE!"

*Boom!

The ground shattered, spewing the soil up to the sky.

Yet, the soil is not the only thing that was thrown up into the sky.

"Hhaargghhh!"

On the shattered ground, there lies what's remaining left of two poor Ogres. Their blood splattered everywhere, their bone shattered into nothingness, and what was left of them was only a small quantity of skin.

The explosion didn't only reduce the two Ogres into nothing more than a small amount of flesh but also shredded whatever was behind them into a grinded meat.

Yet, it never ends.

*Boom!

"Hhharrrgghh!"

*Boom!

"Arrrgghhh!"

*Boom!

*Boom!

*Boom!

*Boom!

The continuous explosion emerged, shattered the ground, and killed whatever stood surrounding it.

Yet, the Saderan army kept shouting,

"CHARGE!"

As a result, nobody stopped their feet from running toward the enemy in front of them. The deafening sound of artillery barrage had been covered by the roaring of thunder.

The ground kept on shattering, minced every flesh that was standing on it. Yet, they kept coming. They kept moving forward. And before they realized it, the ground had stopped shattering.

For whatever reason, the unnatural sound of the explosion has stopped.

And what awaited them, was the thousands of soldiers in grey-colored armor. They have raised their shield, with a long spear in between.

And they charged at it.

"Huuaaarrggghh!"

The Saderans had become more like a wild beast as they blindly charged at the enemy's blade without hesitation. The blessing they had received from Emroy had made them think they were invincible. And it's not foul thinking as they have no idea how the blessing works on them.

However, the reality doesn't go as they expected.

As the first soldier got closer to the enemy line, he met the edge of the enemy's magnificent-looking spears. He blindly disregards how dangerous it can be, as he runs towards it.

And then he died.

" 'Graakkhh!' "

"Arrghh!"

"Hrrkkh!"

Another life was taken immediately after the first soldier died, badly opening their guts, chests, and even heads as they met the tip of the enemy's spears. Some who were "lucky" managed to slip through the line of pointed spears and miraculously get close to the enemy's shield wall. Those who were lucky tried their best to ram the wall, but the enemy was stubborn.

And for those who were lucky, life expectancy didn't get longer either. In fact, once they reached the shield wall, another enemy blade that came out of nowhere struck their bodies, creating a splash of blood on their back.

Hundreds of the front liners have met their end almost immediately. And the soldiers behind them are trying to do something about it. They slowed their pace as they tried to approach the perfectly lined spears in front of them. Some of them use their friend's corpse as a shield and then try to break the spear in front of them.

Yet, those spears are too sturdy to be broken even though they have just increased their physical strength.

Some are trying to slash their swords at the enemy shield wall from a distance, hoping the miracle of the supernatural power will unleash from it. And miraculously, almost all of them indeed manage to perform abnormal occurrences. Upon slashing their sword, a spark of fire came out from thin air and then grew into a solid mass of fire. Those fires relentlessly fly toward the Irregulars, creating a hopeful smile among the Saderans in the back.

Yet, their hopes to watch those Irregulars getting burned while breaking their formation in disarray was not happening. Instead, those flames suddenly vanished as they immediately came in contact with their armor.

At this moment, the Irregulars are starting to notice something very important from their enemy.

Most of the Saderan Warriors on the front immediately met their end when the spears struck at them, easily bypassing their armor. The Saderans also cannot break their spears despite the effort to do so. And their attacks, those amazing performances of flames turn out to be futile against their Rare-Grade armaments.

The Saderans might have received a blessing, but the output of the blessing is still below the advancement of the technologies possessed by the Jura Tempest Federation.

The armor that was worn by the Saderans is still a piece of normal iron. Their flesh is still a human with no kind of enhancement nor by technology or evolution. It might need better equipment and comparable power to withstand the blessing given by Emroy, but the force from the Jura Tempest Federation has everything they need for it.

However, it doesn't mean the Saderans didn't give any trouble for them. In fact, as the realization of their weakness came to sense, another perks that came from Emroy's blessing started to appear.

As the Saderans kept getting butchered again and again, they kept coming with no sense of fear. One after another wave of warriors also met the same end, with little gain on their side.

But they have become fearless. The dead body of their comrade is nothing but a doormat on this battlefield. There is no face of remorse upon stepping their dead comrade under their feet. They kept charge without any worries of their certain death.

The Grey Numbers Corps starting to get troubled by these fearless Saderans. Their shield wall might still stand firm, but they have been pushed over gradually by the Saderans who ram their shields.

The Saderans have gained more ground little by little.

Then, that little gain had slowly become a momentum.

And when there's momentum, a breakthrough is bound to happen.

"Kuhuhuhahaha! So many souls flowing to me! Haaa!"

The voice of a little girl rang across the frontline. Everyone could hear it despite the roaring thunder and the hectic battlefield. However, before both sides could figure out what was going on, a loud bang and scream could be heard soon.

"' Arrrgghh! '"

A splash of humans with grey-colored armor littered around. They were seen to be flying momentarily as if something had thrown them off to the sky. Then, they hit the ground, hard.

"Khuhuhaha, amazing! I have to spend more strength than I anticipated, but this is fun!"

"' Kuarrghhh! '"

Another splash of humans is thrown to every side and collapsing the nearby troops, whether it's a friend or an enemy.

The Saderans looking at the scene, then immediately realized what was going on. And then,

"Follow Her Holiness!"

"' Haaa!'"

A crack was now existing in between the solid shield wall. And the Saderans are not dumb to miss it.

Thousands of soldiers from the back had poured down towards the crack that had been made. They rushed toward the direction where Rory Mercury had made a breakthrough. It was the sight of a human wave striking at a single gap.

"Close the gap!"

A striking figure came forward while gesturing the soldiers around to follow him and bark an order. He rushed to meet the wild push from the Saderans to hold them off with his own. Understandably, he cannot reach the end of the gap, but he manages to push the Saderans several meters from their initial push.

Then he stopped as he felt it was starting to get heavy to push forward. He braced himself and stood bravely for the upcoming counter-push.

"Captain Nien!" the soldiers behind him rushed forward to accompany him, then pushed the Saderans in front of them together with their captain.

"Push! Push! Close the gap!" Nien shouted, followed by a vigorous collective shout as they heavily tried to make a step forward against the pushing Saderans.

"Push!"

"Push!"

The Grey Numbers started to retain their initial position.

However,

"Kuhuhuhu! Sorry, I can't let you do that! Hyahh!"

Nien and his men couldn't even react at the right time as they were soon being blown by a monstrous strength that pushed their shield.

"' Kuargghh! '"

Nien was thrown into his back, incidentally tackling everyone behind him. They all fall to the ground, exposing a vulnerable spot as they lay down with their arm and legs stuck.

Luckily Nien was able to stand up quickly because what was coming to him was a horde of Saderans wildly charging at him. He immediately raised his shield and then blocked the upcoming attack from the Saderans. He counters their attacks with his own sword, drawing some of their attention to him so his men could back on the fight.

However, as he started to find a good pace,

"Arara, seems like there's a sore thumb here."

He stared at the front, then immediately saw a little girl dressed in gothic-style clothing with a halberd in her holding. He immediately knew who it was.

"Rory Mercury…"

"Ara! You know my name! It's really impressive how well your people gather information, but…"

She dashed forward with an inhuman speed, then stabbed his shield with her halberd upper edge. Nien immediately strengthened his footing, trying to stand against the Apostle. But unfortunately, as immediately as her halberd and his shield clashed, the shield dented then a hole was created.

Sucks!

Nien cursed silently as he watched his shield be damaged. But that's not the end. Rory's sense is very much inhuman as she can immediately perceive what's going on and utilizes it.

Rory stopped her dash, briefly looking at each other with Nien, then swung her halberd to the right side with her might. Nien actually knew this beforehand, but he didn't expect Rory would overpower him. Eventually, Nien was thrown to the side, bringing down his own troops along the way.

"Kuhuhuhu… That's a well-made shield. I intended to break it but it's still save your life. Now, for the Saderan warriors you've killed,"

Nien was still conscious despite landing pretty harshly on his back. He can see a fight is still raging around him. The Saderans seem to come in endless numbers, as his men fight hard to stand their ground.

But the most disturbing was the sight of Rory coming at him. He tried to stand up, but for unknown reasons, he could not move either his arm or legs. Rory is getting closer, and he still can't figure out why he's incapacitated.

And sadly, before he can figure it out, Rory is already standing in front of him. None of his troops are free to help him out. And judging by the fact his shield was able to be broken, it means Rory's halberd somewhat has a higher quality than his shield.

If Rory could break his shield, it means most probably his armor wouldn't be able to protect him as well. For a moment, Nien saw his life would end.

"A life flashes in your eyes?" Rory asked him while raising her halberd. Yet Nien didn't answer anything.

"Hmph, you're brave. May Emroy give you heaven for your bravery. Ha!"

Nien closed his eyes. He might be brave, but he's not brave enough to watch the death coming at him. But it should be praised how quickly he accept death as his fate.

I hope my soul will be taken care of by Rimuru-sama…

Nien couldn't help but feel uneasy hearing Rory's last statement. He didn't want his soul to be transferred to another being other than Rimuru.

Nien braced himself for the upcoming death. He forcefully kept his eyes shut.

But nothing happened.

He can still hear a fight around him, and he can feel the presence of Rory in front of him.

Don't tell me she's going to spare me-huh?

*Clang!

The halberd never came, instead, the sound of a clashing metal clearly could be heard from in front of him. Nien immediately opened his eyes, then saw a figure has been standing between him and Rory, blocking her halberd with his sword.

"Your opponent is me!" the figure shouted.

"H-Huh?" Rory still trying to comprehend what's going on.

But then, the figure pushed his sword, throwing Rory off balance, then sent her a flying kick to the left side.

Nien look up to the figure who just saved him. Trying to figure out who is his savior. Then, upon briefly looking at the armor, he immediately knew who it was.

"Thank you, Saare-sama."

Saare turns his head and then looks at him. Nien couldn't figure out Saare's expression as his face was covered fully by the helm, but he didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

"Sorry for being late, Nien. Here, take this."

Saare pours a bottle of full potion to him. Nien could immediately feel his back being healed, as his bones, tendons, muscles, and skin started to regrow itself. And that's when he realized his back was broken before.

"Thank you, Saare-sama," he immediately stands up, "I owe you."

Nien could hear a chuckle from Saare, "No need. Now, go and fix the situation. I'll deal with Rory."

"Sir yes Sir!"

…

The sky is filled with thousands of flying Dark Pegasus and Manticore. They were flying from every direction, heading toward the Irregulars. At a glance, it appears the Manticore and Dark Pegasus were uncontrollable as they flew sporadically without any sense of order. However, the two mythical beasts aren't really that disordered.

"Panache! I'll go to those metal giants, you help Her Highness down there, okay?!"

"Okay! Take down those giants Norma!"

"Sure hel-what the?!"

Just as when Norma and Panache divide their task, they are forced to take a sharp maneuver as out of nowhere, a humanoid creature with a featherless wing flies in between them. The humanoid creatures flew fast and terrifyingly agile so they were difficult to spot. They were flying in between the thousands of Manticore and Dark Pegasus, some of them even managed to slay several of the mythical beasts along the way. They were quite a threatening presence for Panache and Norma.

Fortunately, those humanoid creatures seemed to be massively outnumbered as Panache noticed that those creatures were flying in a cornered manner. This is caused by the Manticore and Dark Pegasus nearly catching them in their course. The Manticore, Dark Pegasus, and Wyverns have packed the sky until it's crowded. And those mysterious creatures are like rabbits in the middle of a wolf pack. They can run and evade, but they are still on the chase.

Norma also noticed it. He felt threatened that those mysterious humanoid creatures would inflict damage if they were left unattended. So he made a decision.

"Panache, I'll take care of those flying humans! The faster we get rid of them, the faster we'll be able to fly safely!" Norma shouted, before preparing to maneuver his Manticore to chase down the humanoid creatures.

"Okay! Deal with it quickly so we can crush those metal giants!"

"I'll see you soon Panache!"

Norma takes a sharp turn, getting himself further away from Panache who is prepared to descend her altitude to help the ground forces. Norma slowed his speed as he widened the range of his sight to find the humanoid creatures.

He and other Wyvern Riders receive a unique and powerful blessing. He still couldn't figure out how, but ever since he felt the surge of increasing power inside of him, he could now command the Manticore and Wyverns with his thoughts. He just simply needs to think and decide what to do, then point out where it has to be done. Then, a Manticore or Wyvern- depending on what he chooses- would do it.

This ability was proven to be useful as he now didn't need a lot of effort to catch up with those humanoid creatures. He just needs to spot them, then command other Manticore and Wyvern to attack them.

However, that's when the problem started.

Unlike the Manticore and Wyverns, these humanoid creatures are small. And the fact they were fast and agile also made it more difficult to spot them. The lack of light caused by the storm and a massive dark cloud flew lower than usual day, not to mention the intense pouring rain makes their eyes really difficult to stay open consistently. All these things make the enemy easily cover themselves to hide.

Norma decided to fly lower in the hope of avoiding the thick clouds. The other Wyvern Riders also follow him and descend their altitude.

"Come on, where are those annoying fliers…" Norma mumbled himself.

"Sir Norma! Over there!"

Suddenly, one of his men shouted behind him. The man pointed northwest, and Norma could see a few dozen winged humans flying in line, trying to get away from them. Norma immediately concluded they were trying to flee for some reason. After all, seeing a bunch of winged human flies in unison was a chance he might never get anymore. And so, without hesitation, Norma ordered;

"Chase them! Kill them all!" while pointing in the direction of those winged humans.

A hundred, nearly a thousand Manticore and Wyvern immediately fly towards the direction at high speed. Norma's subordinates also followed as they kept up with the other Manticore and Wyverns.

"Good, at least a bunch of them would lay dead-woah!"

*Brrrrttttt

*Brrrrtttt

*Brrrrttt

Suddenly, multiple strange noises came from their left, and he could hear rapid whooshing sounds around him. He could also see several short red lines behind some projectiles that flew between them. Those strange red lines were rapidly striking at them, and not more than a second passed, Norma could see several of the other Manticore and Wyverns had taken a hit and died.

A lot of them are screaming in pain after taking a hit by those projectiles, adding to the horror of the sky. As those whistling projectiles were not enough, the continuous scream from the Manticore, Wyverns, and fellow Wyvern riders filled the sky.

Those who have been hit immediately died stopped flapping their wings and fell without any effort to slow their freefall. Norma gasped while desperately trying to maneuver to avoid being hit by those mysterious projectiles.

Yet, those projectiles kept coming with no signs of stopping.

*Brrrtttt

*Brrtttt

*Brrrtttt

"Khhaakkk!" Norma could hear his own Manticore taking a hit and losing control over it. The Manticore started to fall uncontrollably, causing Norma to panic.

"Damnit!" He cursed while panicky looking around for help. But none of it coming.

At least, not from a fellow Wyvern rider.

As he desperately looked around for help, he unconsciously signaled every other Manticore and Wyvern to come to his aid. A flock of Wyverns immediately came from all sides, flying side-by-side with the dead Manticore.

Norma immediately grasped the situation, as he ordered one of the Wyverns to come closer so he could ride it. And just as the free-falling dead Manticore only several dozen meters hitting the ground, Norma had successfully switched his ride and now he's on top of a Wyvern.

Norma immediately pulled the Wyvern to a higher altitude, rushing to the thick cloud to avoid the rampage of those deadly projectiles.

He might be safe and alive, but the earlier stunt had cost him quite a lot of Manticore and Wyverns. Because when he unconsciously pulls a flock of Manticore and Wyverns, it creates a golden chance for the enemy to wipe a lot of them by shooting those projectiles. Norma cursed his action before, as he remembered how many of his Wyverns and Manticore tried to save him. Even now they're still in danger as the rapid projectiles still flying around beneath him.

He was lucky he could pull his Wyvern through that, and reach a safe altitude. And he realizes it.

"Goddamn! That strange magic! Curse you Irregulars!"

He cursed out of his lungs, letting out his anger at the surprised attack from the enemy.

Norma tried his best to command the rest of Manticore and Wyverns to a safe altitude, even if it meant he brought them into the thick clouds where those winged humans could pose a threat. But he didn't have any choice. It's safer compared to the whistling projectiles that could instantly kill him.

Norma immediately felt frustrated because as it turned out, his new blessing from Emroy still couldn't help much. The Manticores are tough creatures, but the strange magic that shoots projectiles at him is still too lethal for them.

He tried to calm down, configuring his breath and slowing it down. He looked around and saw he was slightly above a sea of clouds. The rainwater was still pouring heavily, he could swear some of the raindrops were painful as they fell to his face.

He looked around, and some relief came as he saw the numbers of Manticore and Wyverns were still abundant. Although not as much as before, he could still see these two creatures in thousands. And what's more, he could see there were still Wyvern riders who survived.

"Sir Norma!" he suddenly heard someone shouting his name from his right side. He turned his head and saw another Wyvern Rider wave his hand with a smiling face. He seems to have lost his mask, and his decorative wings have been shattered, but he seems fine. Except for his panting.

"Oh! You survived! Thank God. Are you all right soldier?" Norma flew closer to him.

"Not quite! I almost died! My first Wyvern got killed, and I don't know how I was suddenly riding another Wyvern. It all happened too fast!" he replied. Norma could see his face was pale.

"I got the same story as you! How about everyone else? Did you see them?"

"I see several! I was flying higher and higher, in hopes of evading those thunderous projectiles! Good heavens I find you along along the way!"

"Good! Let's keep our altitude while regrouping! Help me find other surviving riders!"

"Yes, Sir!" the rider's face was still pale, but he complied with Norma's order.

…

…

"Well as expected, they started to fly higher," Glenda commented.

"I must say, Glenda-san, your plan is brilliant. It never crossed my mind even for a moment to lure them somewhere else. With this, we could establish an ideal killing zone," Rudiger, while piloting one of the 17 Siege Walkers there, complimenting Glenda's plan.

"Heh, don't be like that. Your Siege Walkers are amazing too. I didn't expect we could kill this many." Glenda sincerely complimented back, as she didn't expect the minigun on the Siege Walkers would be that lethal.

"Those beasts are swarming in tight to each other, it would be embarrassing if I didn't kill at least a hundred of them. Hahaha!"

"Hou… Bloodthirsty are we? In my estimation, you guys have shot down at least a thousand there. Well, more or less."

"Yeah we shot a lot, but there's still many more remaining. I hate to say this, but they are out of range now. Do you have any plan for it, Glenda-san?"

Glenda hummed and was quiet for several seconds, pondering about every possible move. She actually has several plans already, but after seeing the effectiveness of those Siege Walkers, she recalculates every possibility to end her part more quickly.

She also evaluates how these mythical beasts are acting. She cannot evaluate just like a hunting day where it would be sufficient to just figure out a way to kill the creature. She has to see it from a war perspective, where these creatures aren't wild animals, but a well-organized unit.

The way those so-called mythical beasts were acting had caught Glenda's attention. At first, she was hoping those mythical beasts were just as simple as wild animals. She hoped that the dangerous part was only their numbers and individual capability. If so, it would be easier to defeat them even if their numbers are in the thousands.

However, Glenda kept his head open to not get hopeful.

Because of this, she manages to find something pivotal between the mythical beasts.

Glenda asked for help from Saika to lend her several of her subordinates to lure the Saderans fliers. She noticed that there were 3 different types of creatures that terrorized the sky above her. She planned to make those fliers to get away from the main battlefield, and then take them somewhere else where the Artillery Unit could shoot them without any fear of friendly fire.

However, things get interesting when the Dark Pegasus doesn't take the bait.

Glenda activates her [Magic Sense], and immediately finds out there are two respective figures who lead these mythical beasts. She didn't know who they were, but the most important thing was that the woman seemed to have control over the Dark Pegasus while the man seemed to be controlling the Manticore and Wyverns.

In further detail, she noticed that these two figures have subordinates who can also control the mythical beast as well as them. However, because these two seem to be in the upper rank of the riders, their subordinates have to follow these two figures' instructions.

She cannot do anything as the Dark Pegasus wasn't taking the bait, but at least the other two mythical beasts were falling into her trap.

Now her focus was on the man who led these two types of beasts. What is he gonna do, how he would react, how good his control over the flock, those are what's inside Glenda's mind.

However, not all of her questions could be answered right away. She prioritizes how much she can take in a short time, and immediately makes a plan from it. Despite this is how Saare makes his mistake, Glenda can't see the other way to make the battle in her favor.

So Glenda intensely watched how the horde of Manticore and Wyverns acted upon being lured into the killing zone of the Siege Walkers.

The result was pretty satisfying.

Glenda was rather anxious about how good the leader of those hordes was. She anticipated if the leader has an excellent capacity as being one. After all, it was not the first time those Wyvern Riders experienced being shot at. Glenda remembered there was once a moment when a group of Wyvern tried to get close to her camp, but they were immediately being fired upon by guards who carried modern rifles.

A good leader won't forget that, she thinks.

However, as those Manticore and Wyverns kept being lured by Dragonewts, the leader kept biting the bait. Glenda couldn't hold her amusement seeing her hopes fulfilled.

And so, the hell was let loose upon those poor mythical beasts. 17 Siege Walkers in position, led by Captain Rudiger himself, firing an endless amount of condensed fire at the swarming Manticore and Wyverns.

However, what's more important is the reaction from its leader. The blonde man, as she nicknamed it, was in utter chaos as he rapidly got shot. The blonde man almost died as his Manticore was shot down, but to Glenda's dismay, the blonde man seems to be able to survive by commanding the nearby Wyvern.

Eventually, the blonde man responded by hastily flying higher to avoid the killing zone. Something he should have done much earlier.

But the enemy's mistake is a blessing. Thanks to the blonde man, the amount of Manticores and Wyverns that were killed in the first effort exceeded her expectations. And what's more, it gives a sense of ease to Glenda and the troops as those mythical beasts can be dealt with. With such ease, the morale is getting increased.

And with it, Glenda made up her mind.

"I have. But it's rather dangerous."

"I like danger. Whatever it is, I'm in." Rudiger chuckled while kept on smirking. This act somehow makes Glenda feel amused.

"Heh, you put too much faith in me, boy. All right, listen up. Here's the plan."

...

As Norma tries to regroup his Wyvern Riders, Panache is struggling to get close to the ground troops along with other cavaliers who are now riding a Dark Pegasus.

She didn't forget about Norma's story about the enemy's strange magic that was unleashed when he rode his Wyvern to scout the enemy camp. But she didn't expect to encounter it right now.

*Bang

"Urgh! Damnit!"

Panache barely dodges the incoming projectile. She dives quickly to the ground, drastically lowering her altitude. She felt frustrated that she could not find where those projectiles were coming from.

And what's more, although she was very well-versed in horse riding, she never felt what flying was like. Every mistake she made could make her fall to the ground. And she didn't like to think about it. Yet, every time she barely dodges those projectiles, she can't help but have an imagination of herself falling from the Dark Pegasus.

Seeing the ground from a lower altitude made her calmer, but it created another problem, which is the amount of projectiles that were shot against her, was insanely increasing.

To make it worse, she also helplessly witnessed her fellow Dark Pegasus Rider die and fall down from everywhere. Everywhere she looks, there's a fallen cavalier to the ground, complete with how when they reach the ground.

Panache witnessed her comrades get their bodies crushed, making a continuous thump after their screams came to cease. Some who got hit with the projectiles were mutilated by it, losing limbs and blood while desperately maintaining their flight.

She's aware of Pina's blessing from Emroy, and she's not dumb to realize she also has it as well. However, Panache was one of the few who realized that Emroy's blessing was not enough to beat the enemy. The enemy always comes up with a way she never thinks of. At first, the enemy seems to be just like mighty knights with powerful magic.

Yet, it appears they have more than what it looks.

The rapid attack from the mysterious projectile made her cannot move freely. She was in constant alert for the incoming mysterious projectile.

Panache gritted her teeth. She has agreed to aid Pina while Norma is taking care of the winged humans. But now she's busy defending herself.

*Fwoosh

Suddenly, a winged human passed by with an incredible speed. She barely notices it as she can only feel it has already passed her. But what's matters is she felt that her life in danger. Panache didn't even think twice and followed her instinct as she took a sharp turn in the next moment. And she made the right move.

*Bang

In less than a second, she heard a loud explosion, much like thunder, coming from her back. She thought it was literally thunder, given the storm was still wreaking havoc on the sky. She didn't feel anything, but her Dark Pegasus was shrieking in pain. The Dark Pegasus suddenly moves left and right, as he jumps wildly, and flies in disorder.

Panache couldn't take time to panic as she immediately hugged the Dark Pegasus's crest and stroked it while trying her best to gently calm him.

"Easy, easy, easy…" Her experience in taming a horse comes in handy as she finally manages to slow down the Dark Pegasus from making a more dangerous move.

"Good…" She continued to stroke the Dark Pegasus, and she started panting when realized the magnitude of the situation if she didn't handle it correctly.

Her mind almost wandered off if she didn't notice something important. She kept stroking her Dark Pegasus, but then she felt her hand was feeling something that it shouldn't be there. As she lifted her palm, she couldn't help but gasp immediately. In her hand, there is a fresh blood.

She's looking at her hand almost immediately, looking for wounds. She checked her leg as well, even though she wished her body was still intact. But thankfully, she found her body was still one, without any lost limbs.

But if it's not her blood, then who…

*Gasp

As she looked at her Dark Pegasus, she could see there was a strange wound on the lower crest. There's a scratch of a half-circular shape on it. The injury made the Dark Pegasus bleed and with her experience with horses, she knew the Dark Pegasus was holding a pain. Panache had no idea what kind of wound was, and she started to panic as to how she should handle this situation.

"Hang on dear… Please hang on…"

Panache panic looking around, searching for help. Even though she had no idea what kind of help she would get, or worse, is there any help out there to begin with?

And that's when she noticed there was another Dark Pegasus, with no rider on it, coming close to her. The Dark Pegasus flies to her side while keeping its eyes looking forward. Panache immediately realizes what the other Dark Pegasus are trying to do.

And so, albeit with hesitation, Panache reaches out to the next Dark Pegasus and mounts it. Her previous Dark Pegasus continued to fly, before eventually fleeing from the scene. Panache hoped that the Dark Pegasus would retreat safely as she felt quite attached to the first Dark Pegasus in her life. It would leave a bad taste in her if her first Dark Pegasus were killed. However, while her eyes still looking out at her first Dark Pegasus,

*Bang

Another sound of thunder came from her side. The Dark Pegasus shrieked in pain, then frantically kicked the air while its wing started to stop flapping its wing. Panache can't do anything as she can only witness her first Dark Pegasus finally stop crying and then eventually fall to the ground.

"No, no…"

*Bang

"Argh!"

Panache couldn't spare even a second to lament as she immediately felt a sting of pain in her left arm. She then takes a sharp turn to the left out of reflex, and as adrenaline is still in action, the pain in her arm seems to dissipate. As she took a sharp left turn, she ended up making a quick 180° turn. That's when she finds the culprit of her pain.

She knew the loud noise earlier was coming from her right side, so right now after turning around, she could see who or what had caused the noise. It was a winged human, one of the creatures belonging to those Irregulars.

"Damnit, Norma hasn't succeeded yet?!" Panache unconsciously shouted her mind.

And out of her expectations, the winged human turned out to notice it.

"I presume you're mentioning the man who rides a Manticore? Then forgive me to say this but, he wouldn't survive."

Panache slowed her pace as she had to ensure she wasn't just disillusioned after hearing the winged human retorting her outburst. She glared at the winged human, then started to realize the winged human stature.

The winged human she was glaring at was definitely a female. It has long purpled colored hair with a short horn on its forehead. For a moment, she couldn't help but notice that her attire was thin with no armor protection. However, all of that became nothing as she remembered what that winged human had said before.

"Do you really mean the guy who's riding a Manticore and Wyvern? You said he was dead?!" Panache shouted as she gripped her sword tighter than before.

"Not yet, but it will. So stop hoping he would succeed in his task. We were too formidable for you."

"You! Don't you know we've been blessed by Emroy?! How dare you speak so highly like that!"

"At first, I was very cautious about it. However, it seems the blessing that your Princess has been working hard for was useless for a weakling like you."

"You! You're gonna regret that!"

Panache has converted every emotion she felt earlier into a rage thanks to that last sentence from the Irregulars. She's not particularly angered by the insult toward her weakness. But she felt a huge amount of humiliation by letting the enemy mock Pina's effort and branding it as useless. And she's not gonna stand by for it. So she swore in her heart, that she would kill these Irregulars even if she had to die as the price.

"State your name, woman! I want to know who's am I going to kill." Panache gritted her teeth as she tried to contain her rage.

But the Irregular smiled slightly while the face didn't do the same.

"My name is Saika. I know who you are, Dame Panache, so don't bother to introduce yourself."

"Tch! You Irregulars are a freak who knows everything. But for you, your life will end here!"

"You're the one who needs to prepare your grave."

Panache charged at Saika with a sword pointed at her. Saika on the other hand pulled out two Pistols from her leg holster.

A blessed knight with a mythical beast fighting against a superior monster who possessed advanced magic and technology, their battle would become a memory that wouldn't be forgotten by either side.

…

…

{I've managed to lure the leader of these Pegasus riders. I leave the rest to you, Ophelia.}

{Understood Saika-san. I wish you luck.}

Ophelia, standing up from her commanding seat in her Magic Tank, had ended the brief communication with Saika. She continued her task of overseer the battlefield in front of her.

At this moment, her Magic Tanks were useless as she had positioned them on higher ground near the Gate. It had become useless because the battlefield was happening below the hill, and the Magic Tank's main turret couldn't reach it. That's why the Magic Tanks were used to support the Unit differently.

It's not an ideal task for her unit, but right now they are the only ones who can do this.

Ophelia and her unit had to make sure the Saderan fliers couldn't harm the Fukutsu Unit and had to watch over any movement from the Saderans. Without the Airship, Ophelia has no choice other than to use the Magic Tank machine guns to keep the Saderan's fliers off. She has installed extra machine guns in front of the hatch and the back of the Magic Tank to help the effort.

It was at this moment Ophelia really felt bad that the targeting system in her Magic Tank was still not very accurate so she could not use the missile armament due to the risk of hitting a friendly unit. That's why the amount of killed Dark Pegasus was lower than the Manticores and Wyverns who had been dealt with by the Artillery Unit.

There was also a bad coincidence that out of 15 Siege Walkers that were left at the Warehouse, only 7 of them were ready for deployment. The rest of them, as she's the one who's in charge of the maintenance itself, need to do some improvement from the last upgrade. So there were only 17 Siege Walkers ready to deploy, and Rudiger couldn't spare even one of them for her.

Ophelia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She looks at the Fuktsu Unit which is holding its position with such gallantry, then looks up to the sky to notice the Dark Pegasus is still off the bay from the Fukutsu Units. As it turned out, a sense of relief came down into her heart that the machine guns she installed in such a hurry managed to keep the Dark Pegasus from harassing the ground troops.

With such relief, she can now focus more on another task. She took a tablet device that connected to a MaDD all around Alnus Hill and surveyed all the battles that ensued around her.

Initially, the Fukutsu Unit was almost chaotic as Rory Mercury came and wreaked havoc. Their line nearly breaks as a gap emerges at Rory's taking place. However thanks to Captain Nien's command, the hole was patched and now the Saderans kept fighting a human shield wall. In addition, Rory Mercury seems to be battling with her commander, Saare.

The Artillery Unit seems to have just managed to deal a serious blow to the horde of Manticore and Wyverns. There are a lot of Manticore and Wyvern's dead bodies lying on the ground, as the rest of the surviving ones are flying above the storm clouds to avoid the endless fire from the Siege Walkers. However, there's still a large amount of Manticores and Wyverns who are still alive. But it seems Glenda and Rudiger already made a plan as they were doing a friendly banter.

And lastly, Saika is successfully luring Panache who's leading the Dark Pegasus Rider. Unlike Glenda and Rudiger who decide to indiscriminately eliminate the horde of Manticores and Wyverns, Saika wants to test whether just subduing its leader would suffice. That's why she's purposively taunting Panache and luring her into 1 on 1 battle.

However, when she glances at the ground, she notices the Saderans have made a quite dangerous move.

She saw a separate unit, probably around 1000 soldiers had detached themselves from the main formation and moved to the left flank of the Fukutsu Unit. And what's more, they seem to be not only consisted with just humans. Ophelia took a closer look, zooming in for several degrees, and figured out what they were.

"Centaurs, Draconian, and… Volraden?" she mumbled.

In the forefront of their unit, a larger muscular Volraden was leading with such a domineering aura. And worse, they seem to be a lot more powerful than the human soldiers.

Ophelia didn't waste any time and she immediately contacted Captain Nien.

{Nien, there's a separate unit going to your left flank. I'll prepare the Magic Tanks to come down there and help you out}

Ophelia didn't think twice as she was about to decide how many troops she would bring to come down from the hill to intercept the flanking enemy. However,

{Belay that, Ophelia. We can manage.}

{What?! What do you mean?! They're in a thousand!}

{Just shoot them from up there and soften up their front before they are out of your range. We cannot risk the Magic Tank for now.}

{We can defend ourselves, Nien. We won't lose any Magic Tanks.}

Then a silence. It must be not more than a second, but for Ophelia, it feels like an hour has passed. Then Ophelia takes as an agreement and started to count how many she would take with her. However,

{Don't go down here, Ophelia. I need you to keep those Dark Pegasus at bay}

A different person was communicating, making her surprised as she didn't even consider contacting him.

{But Grigori-sama, those separated units-}

{I'll handle it. Nien, I'll take several men from the rear.}

{Yes, Sir!}

Ophelia could only put her hand on her forehead as she felt anxious. She took the tablet once again, noticing the group of demi-humans were closing into Nien's flank. She took out a deep breath, then got herself together as she realized it was not a time to argue. So, she prepared another [Telepathy Net] with her own officers to start aiming at the incoming enemy on the flank. But before she starts to deliver the order, she replies to Grigori.

{Understood, Grigori-sama. I'll soft them up for you.}

…

Meanwhile, the ground was like a butchering field. Human bodies were scattered, mixed with slippery mud along with their own pool of blood. The heavy rain failed to wash away the blood, and instead, it helped to spread across the field, reddening the puddle and creating a foul stench of odor.

It is not only the remains of humans. Monsters such as Ogres, Orcs, and Goblins alongside mythical beasts like Dark Pegasus also "decorate" the battlefield with their corpses.

Some troops are relieving themselves from the front line to catch a breath, before returning back to strike against the Irregulars. The blessing from Emroy certainly made them more powerful and fearless, but surprisingly, it didn't help strengthen their stamina. They may feel numb for fear, but they still feel tired.

However, the biggest downturn was that the Irregulars seemed to hold their ground just fine.

Their armor could withstand the power of any kind of magic, they could withstand the power of Emroy's blessing, and they didn't lose their composure when they were pressed. These soldiers from the Jura Tempest Federation were way beyond any comprehension. Not even God's interference could guarantee their deaths.

Seeing this, some in Saderan ranks started to doubt the promised triumph. And surprisingly, those figures also consist of Pina's close aid.

"It's not supposed to be like this, right?" he muttered to himself. Thankfully he's pretty far from Pina so she couldn't hear it.

He looked around, seeing the battered Saderans catching their breath in the rear. For some reason, he felt something was wrong after seeing the scene.

He witnessed how fearless, or more precisely, how numb they have become ever since receiving the blessing. It's a good thing to be fearless, but he somehow felt unsettled when he saw his fellow warriors straightly going back to the battlefield once they had managed to settle their lungs.

Their faces are undeterred, even when they step on their friends' corpses. The militia, the unit that should be in shambles was no different than a monster who had lost their nerve. They kept pushing forward, butchered by the Irregulars, yet the wave never ended.

"Something was not right," he muttered.

His uneasiness kept growing, but he couldn't do anything. Not until someone spoke to him from behind.

"Things are not looking well, huh?"

He looked back and saw a muscular Volraden looking at him with a troubled look. Something he had never seen in him ever since they met.

"Does it look so obvious to you?" somehow he felt annoyed by the Volraden's presence.

"Your face is telling me everything, Grey. Don't be stupid."

"So what? You're gonna diss me for making a such face?"

"Don't joke around, you shiny bling. Don't make me regret to think we can work together for good. So shut up and let's do something."

Grey, taken aback by Wolf's sudden intention to cooperate, couldn't think how to respond to it. Personally, he didn't like it. The idea of working side-by-side with this rude and savage demi-human mercenary was honestly unbearable. But he's not stupid enough to fail to recognize the strength of this Volraden.

Seeing an opportunity to make things better and of course, to ease his uneasiness, he decides to get along with the idea.

"All right. Do you have any ideas? Honestly, I felt uneasy seeing how reckless and fearless our fellows were."

"Yeah, my men did that too. Got nearly wiped out, thanks to my brute it was avoided. These damned Irregulars are fucking walls of metal."

"Hm. We still have quite of number on our side. We should try to flank them."

"*Sighed… I should have known. Still, I have no better plan."

"So you coming then?"

"Yeah."

"Right, I hope it works. Probably when these Irregularss are dying, the uneasiness would fade away."

"Then stop talking and start doing it."

Wolf immediately left to gather his men, except for the one who was already engaging the Irregulars. Grey meanwhile, has no other he can gather on. And he cannot talk about this with Pina either. Not because he didn't want to, but because he cannot.

Right now Pina was somewhere on the frontline, along with Bozes and Hamilton. Grey trusted them to make sure Pina was still safe, albeit he couldn't be so sure about her survivability. After all, the whole army couldn't be left alone. That's why Pina only takes Bozes and Hamilton as her bodyguards.

Grey watched the battlefield from the rearguard. He could barely see what was actually going on in the front. But he knew the Saderans were making very little progress despite what was happening earlier before the battle. Rory Mercury doesn't seem to make a breakthrough as well. It was normal for anyone to start getting anxious.

There's something else that bugging him down other than the uneasiness. Watching his fellow Saderans become numb to fears and then charge recklessly toward Irregulars's shield wall has made another question in his mind.

"Why am I still sane?" he muttered.

It doesn't mean Grey had feelings of fear during this time. He also felt no fear despite his uneasiness and growing anxiety. But he still has a sense of sanity as he knew it would be reckless to just throw himself into the sea of spears.

As for the others, except for being tired, they seem to have lost their sanity and logic. However, it seems it was not only him who still had his sanity. One of the examples was Wolf.

But as he started to ponder about it, Wolf came with a lot of people following him behind.

Wolf definitely took some time to gather everyone he could get. But just as Grey already said, they still have more numbers than the Irregulars. This is proven by how many people Wolf manages to gather.

Around 1000 people, more or less, mainly from the demi-human mercenaries had gathered to make a separate front. There are some humans in it, Grey included. He put aside his uncomfortable feeling of being surrounded by demi-humans and focused on his new objective.

"So, what's next?" appeared from his side, Wolf asked him.

"We'll go to their left flank. Her Holiness was wreaking havoc there before. I don't know what happened to her, but it would be our best chance to go along with Her Holiness."

"Hmm, all right" Wolf nodded while unsheathing his double sword.

Grey took it as a sign that Wolf was following his lead. So he wasted no time and began leading the new column to the enemy's flank.

The flanking maneuver wasn't as dramatic as a legendary tale was told. Grey and Wolf put themselves in the forefront of the column while keeping an eye on the battle raging around. They didn't face any resistance since they moved pretty wide. But again, because of this, Grey felt something was wrong.

Normally, even though the battle is still raging, the general would still be able to spot the enemy's maneuver from a safe distance. And right now, he didn't even try to conceal his maneuver, so the enemy should be able to spot them right now.

However, the Irregulars don't seem to do anything to intercept them. They didn't send a separate detachment, or change the whole formation of the army to face the upcoming flanking maneuver.

Unless they deliberately let us go. But wh-

*Boom!

Grey is instinctively prone to the ground as a loud explosion followed by a splash of soil comes at him. His face was sunk into the mud, and his ear captured the scream of his comrades.

It feels like time has slowed down, as Grey couldn't fathom how long he's been covering himself. He swore he heard more than just one explosion, and his comrades didn't stop screaming. But again, he didn't feel any fear. He wasn't scared, but he knew the situation was dangerous and normally, it would be terrifying.

It's definitely an odd feeling.

*Boom

Another explosion came, this time it was near him. There's a strange energy coming from it. Just like the wind, but more powerful. It almost blew him away, but he managed to hold the ground just fine. His instinct told him that he had to move. It would be dangerous to stay here. So he mustered up every energy he had, to start getting up on his feet.

But just as he lifted his head,

"Come on now, you gotta be kidding me for your pathetic body!"

Grey felt a pair of hands grabbing his armor in the back, and pulling him to stand up. He knew who it was.

"I've just started to get up. You don't need to do that." Grey turns his head back while starting to run from the current place.

"You damned knight is goddamn prideful. Forget it, let's get away from this!"

Grey didn't bother to respond to that sentence as he immediately agreed. And thankfully, seeing both of the leaders moving away, the armies followed them and unknowingly saved themselves.

The explosions were still coming, but strangely they didn't hit any of them as they ran further away. Of course, there's a casualty but not so significant. At least one line in the front was reduced a pretty lot. Grey and Wolf were somehow lucky to not be hit.

As they fastened their run, they began to feel the momentum.

"Now! Charge!"

Grey pointed his sword upward, followed by Wolf who started to run faster.

The Irregulars is still pretty far, but somehow these Irregulars don't seem to notice the upcoming Saderans. This has emboldened Grey to keep charge despite inside his mind, he's still questioning what is going on. Especially, why do the Irregulars seem unbothered by us?

Those irregulars are still engaging the main army of the Saderans, but they should have already noticed their flank was about to be attacked by a separate column. Grey is also certain the explosion before was these Irregulars's doings, so that means they already noticed them beforehand.

So why they didn't do anything?

Nevertheless, keeping your mind trailing off like this was not a good thing. After all, it has actually happened less than a second. The adrenaline, and possibly the blessing too, was the cause of why Grey could think those questions in very short times.

But just as Grey managed to get his thoughts in order, a sudden warcry came from his right side.

"In the name of Rimuru-sama, charge!"

…

…

{Ophelia, get me the portable warp device now}

{Yes, Grigori-sama}

{Nien, I'll take 300 men from the rear.}

{Are you sure, Grigori-sama? We might be outnumbered but our line has stabilized. You can take more than just 300}

{That's the reason why. You just managed to stabilize the line recently. I can't take more than that to make sure our line doesn't break}

{…Understood, Grigori-sama. I wish you well.}

{Keep watch on Saare for me.}

{By your will, Grigori-sama}

{Grigori-sama, I'm sending the warp device to you now.}

{Thank you, Ophelia. I'll take over from here.}

{Grigori-sama, I have one thing to tell you first.}

{What is it, Ophelia?}

{Becarefull. I know about your phobia of dogs. And the Volraden race resembled wolves}

Grigori chuckled, {You sure know how to make things funnier, Ophelia. Thanks for the warning. I can handle it}

{Yes, Grigori-sama. I wish you luck.}

"That woman sure got guts to spread my embarrassing thing," Grigori muttered while snickering.

However, as much as embarrassing that is, it's the truth that he was afraid of dogs. That bad trait grew in him when he was munched by Ranga during Falmuth's Civil War. A trait that he tried to deal with, as he spent a lot of time getting used to it as he occasionally went to the Labyrinth during his free time.

Grigori was not so certain about the progress of cleansing his phobia, but he was confident he could take a Volraden just fine. One thing he has to be aware of is the blessing that those Saderans received.

Through intense communication between different units and shrewd observation by the intelligence unit, Grigori learned that the Saderans had awakened a different kind of abilities after receiving the blessing from Emroy. And that was difficult as no one from his side could identify how many different kinds of abilities were created.

Grigori would fight blind upon facing the Volraden. He already learned about Volraden before from one of Prince Diabo's subordinates. But right now, upon receiving the blessing, he has no idea what the capability of the Volraden is. Moreover, there seems to be one tough human among them.

He might not be a genius, but he's well aware of who's in charge and who's following orders. And that human, the one who's running side-by-side with the Volraden, was certainly a leader.

Grigori watched as their front lines severed upon receiving long-range attacks from Ophelia's Magic Tanks, but the rest of them still managed to survive. He would face quite plenty of these Saderans.

"Geez… Well, at least I got a chance to shine. Hoy! Prepare yourself! We're going to launch a surprise attack!"

"' Sir yes Sir! '" The 300 men who were already being taken by Grigori replied vigorously.

Grigori smirked, the sight of the unwavering soldiers brought nothing but pride to his mind. He lifts his left hand and looks at the portable warp device. Ophelia has sent it via short-range teleportation magic, and she's already set up a coordinate to the spot he needed.

"That girl is sure capable," Grigori couldn't stop his smirking lips.

Soon, he activates the device then a blinding light wraps his surroundings alongside his troops. But nobody is flinching. Everyone knew what was going on.

The light doesn't take a long time before finally dissipates. Grigori and the 300 troops he gathered could immediately see the charging Saderans into the left flank of the Unit. He looks back, glancing at his troops.

They were ready.

And so, without any waste of time, Grigori readied his poleaxe, then let out a warcry.

"In the name of Rimuru-sama, charge!"

He dashed forward with every ounce of strength. The warcry he just shouted echoed throughout his little troops.

"' For Rimuru-sama! '"

They all pointed their spears to the front, raised their shield, and ran like a wind.

Grigori could swear he saw the Saderans were confused, but not panicked. Instead of quickly forming a line to brace the charge, they just stopped their run and looked at them in disbelief. Probably, they really didn't think they would be ambushed when they were charged.

Grigori and the 300 men crashed into the very center of their column, smashing each of its people like a rolling stone. A gap was formed in the Saderan's column, separating the vanguard and the rearguard. No matter how bulky and huge those demi-human mercenaries were, the 300 men led by Grigori could push them to the ground with the help of the element of surprise.

The sound of living bodies trampled to the ground was filling the air, complete with every thud with it. Those half-human and half-horse creatures, a humanoid dragon, and humanoid wolves have fallen without fully understanding what just happened on the ground. Some of them got instantly killed, while the others were somehow incapacitated and unable to stand up.

Grigori and his 300 men kept bashing the Saderans mercenaries without any thoughts of stopping. They kept charge, wreaking the Saderan mercenaries' column, even at some moment, the Grey Numbers didn't even need to use their weapons to bash the enemy.

However, out of a sudden,

*Bugh

"Urgh!" Grigori was rolling on the ground, as he failed to notice the one who suddenly charged at him from his side.

Grigori kept rolling for several meters before finally stopping. He immediately stands on his knee while tightening his grip on his poleaxe, then looks around as he searches for the one who had rammed him before.

"Brace yourself, you fools!" a striking sight of a huge muscular humanoid wolf took his attention. The humanoid wolf, or Volraden as he learned, barked to his comrades. He stood firmly while looking at one of the Grey Numbers soldiers who charged at him. The soldier ran into him, but the Volraden put up a surprising move.

As the soldier charged at him with a spear with both of his hands, the Volraden moved slightly to the side without changing his expression, then when the soldier was less than 1 meter from him, the Volraden pulled up his right hand and punched the soldier with it.

The soldier immediately succumbs to the ground, and Grigori has no idea if he's still alive or not. But the next move from the Volraden had successfully shuddered him.

As the soldier falls to the ground, the Volraden raises his foot, and then brutally stomps him.

Grigori could see his fellow's armor was dented as each stomp reached his body. He immediately dashed toward the Volraden to save the soldier, but then his senses caught the Volraden were looking at him.

Sensing a danger, Grigori stopped his dash and then looked at the Volraden intently. He couldn't figure out why he sensed some ominous feeling from the Volraden. He's sure he has gotten rid of his phobia of the dogs, but his sense of danger kept tingling inside his head.

The Volraden stopped stomping the soldier, as his eyes kept locked on Grigori. He turns sideways to face Grigori. His face becomes more serious, as his eye looks at him fiercely as if he acknowledges Grigori as his opponent.

Both of the armies stopped as the two made a standoff with each other, and no one seemed to have the guts to interfere between the two of them.

There was a brief silence as the two kept looking at each other, seemingly readying themselves for a duel. Eventually, the Volraden breaks the silence as he makes contact with Grigori.

"Are you the next one?" the Volraden asked with a deep voice.

"If that means to be your opponent, then yeah," Grigori responded.

The Volraden smiled, but his eyes weren't. Instead, he started to step forward slowly, as if he tried to intimidate Grigori.

"Then, why don't you come here?" the Volraden raised both of his hands, deliberately taunting him.

But Grigori didn't take a single step forward, instead, he took a step to the right, slowly moving to the Volraden left side. His face didn't change, and his hand still gripping the poleaxe.

The Volraden did the same. Despite his undoubtedly taunting Grigori, his eyes never trailed off from him. This act made them walk in an invisible circle line, keeping their distance.

"I don't see any weapons in your hands." Grigori finally responded.

"It breaks. Seems like I'm too powerful to use weapons."

"You're not hiding them somewhere are you?"

"Oh? Are you scared of me being a sly opponent?"

"Just calculating my chance of winning."

"So you're a genius?"

"Having a working brain is a basic requirement for a living being."

"If that makes you a coward, then it would be useless."

"For a savage like you, I didn't doubt it."

The Volraden's face slightly changes as he gets a bit irritated by Grigori's statement. He's getting annoyed as his taunt didn't work and instead, it gives a chance for Grigori to rile up his emotion. Keeping the standoff might be bad for him. So, he decided he would make the first move.

"I have enough of banter. If you won't come to me, then I will."

"Be my guest, you big puppy."

The Volraden's eyes twitch at the insult. Never in his life, had he got insulted like that. And being the first time insulted like that, he cannot help himself but get out of control of emotion.

"Tch! You just make this become personal. I'm no damn knight, but you should remember my name. And I'm Wolf, the strongest from the Volraden tribe. You should remember that name to the grave."

Grigori didn't change his expression as he kept on guard for every movement that Wolf made. However, Grigori tried to respect Wolf's introduction by doing the same.

"In case it was you who died, remember that my name is Grigori, the second-in-command of Grey Numbers Corps and Enlightenment Task Force."

Upon hearing what Grigori just said, Wolf flashed a genuine smile, "Heh, so you're one of the top brass of the enemy. Guess I still got some luck."

Wolf raised both his hands, then opened his palms. His hand was big as expected, much bigger than Grigori along with some thick grey fur covering it. However, the fur is not what makes Grigori become wary. What made him wary was that a claw, smeared with the red blood of who knows belong, emerged from beneath those furs.

Wolf's mood suddenly rises and turns into a better one as he gets ready. He notices that Grigori seems uneasy, but putting up a brave expression. He concluded Grigori was just a big bulky man with a tiny gut. All the sour mood from the early banter of insults slowly turned into a hunger for battle.

Seeing Grigori already put up a fighting stance, Wolf keeps his word to attack first.

And so he did.

Grigori watched as Wolf literally launched himself from where he stood. Wolf was using both of his feet to jump straight toward him, with both of its hands stretched to the front. In less than a second, Grigori was ready to brace the attack by raising his poleaxe horizontally to the front, intending to block the upcoming attack from Wolf's paws.

However, Grigori also prepares something else other than readying himself to block the attack.

As well as Wolf who is still in the air, he also prepares something else.

Wolf is admittedly strong and much more of a figure who lives with his fists. He mostly acts on his instincts, seemingly never using his brain to decide what he would do next. But that's not true. His brain is very much functional for making decisions, and right now, he acts based on it.

There's a reason why he taunted Grigori to attack him first in the beginning. There's a reason why he didn't flee from the flanking move led by Grey. And there's a reason why he is still on the battlefield with barely surviving comrades.

Wolf smirked as he got closer to Grigori. He stretches both of his arms to the front, seemingly intending to pounce the enemy like a lion. However, that's when the oddity started to come.

Wolf blinked his eyes. And when he opens his eyes, the world seemingly slows down. His eyes caught everything surrounding him in oddly slow motion. It was no wonder, that the blessing bestowed by Emroy to him was extended to such an extent. Not only did his physique get stronger, his senses also improved a lot.

That is why he planned to taunt Grigori at first. Countering Grigori's attack with such an ability to slow down the world would be a foolproof move. Although he admittedly failed to make Grigori make a first move, doing the first offense wasn't so bad either. At least that's what he thinks.

Thanks to this ability, Wolf manages to change his hand position. Earlier, his hand would certainly blocked by Grigori's poleaxe. But now, he slightly changes it upward and then aims toward Grigori's head.

Grigori doesn't seem to move the slightest in Wolf's eyes, making him grin from ear to ear if he could do it. Wolf's paws were aimed toward Grigori's eyes, and Wolf screamed Gotcha! Inside his head.

However,

*Clang!

"Huh?"

As his paw reached Grigori's eyes, what he saw was not a brutally chopped head. Instead, he felt he just hit a sturdy iron wall.

And unconsciously, he just turned off his ability, creating a chance for Grigori.

Grigori launched a counterattack as he swung his poleaxe to Wolf's right side of his stomach, and successfully hacked it as a splurt of blood came right after it.

"Gurgh!"

Wolf couldn't help but wail as he couldn't defend himself at the right time. He falls to the ground almost immediately but still manages to keep standing on both of his knees. Although, it was barely.

He put his left palm on the part where his stomach was wounded, trying to put pressure on to prevent massive blood loss.

For a brief moment, Wolf didn't even remember that Grigori was still in front of him, and he was widely open as he still trying to get himself up and hold down the pain. It was undoubtedly a great chance to take him out and cease him from the living world.

However, Grigori didn't do anything. Instead, he's looking at Wolf with a blank expression.

No one from the Saderan side dared to rescue Wolf, and none from the Tempest dared to intervene, except to rescue the earlier soldier who got beaten by Wolf. Thankfully, the soldier survived, but it doesn't mean his condition was an excellent one.

"H.. How…" Wolf tried his best to ask while having lost control over his breathing.

"That ability of yours, we know it as [Thought Acceleration]. I don't have that ability, but I have been trained to counter it to some point." Grigori replied without even moving an inch.

"Th… Then, how you…"

"I know it when I see one. I'm faster than a normal human, but you can keep up. You can react faster before something happens. So I thought you have some ability to foresee the future or perceive things faster than how it was."

Wolf finally couldn't keep himself from the pain as his knees stopped supporting him. He fell to the ground, with a huge wound on his stomach, almost making his internal organs come outside if it's not held by his hand.

First time… my instinct was wrong…

Wolf felt the world had gone dark. He didn't know if he was still breathing or not. There's no sound anymore he could hear. He can't even feel the presence of someone, who should be Grigori, in front of him anymore.

Slowly but surely, he felt his consciousness was leaving his soul. Until suddenly,

*Splash!

…

…

Grey almost couldn't believe what he saw. He didn't particularly know what kind of ability Wolf possessed, but he certainly knew it should be very powerful since Wolf was able to survive all this time by himself. And the fact he actually managed to prevent a total collapse of the whole mercenaries from annihilation in the frontline, it's should be a proof that he's a very formidable ally for the Imperial Soldiers.

Yet, in front of his own eyes, Wolf was easily slain by one of the enemy commanders.

As a knight, he felt rather complicated for this. On one hand, he understood and actually respected the duel between two leading figures of each army. Under normal circumstances, it would be a glorious death to die at the hands of the enemy's commander. However, right now is not the right time to lose a valuable ally. Despite the uncomfortable relationship between him and Wolf, he knew Wolf was a good ally. So losing him right now would lead him into further chaos.

But right now, things just happened. There's no time to lament the loss of a valuable asset at this moment. What he should do right now, is make a decision on what should be done next.

He looks around his remaining troops. There are still barely a hundred left, with all of them already retreating. Grey was almost alone on that spot.

"Retreat…" Grey didn't have any luxury anymore to think about a decision carefully.

"Everyone, retreat!" he shouted to his remaining soldiers behind him. All of them took the order without any second thought.

"Retreat!"

"Retreat to the fort!"

The remaining soldiers, who are barely in dozens now, are running for their lives to the fort. They don't have any more time to look back to check if the enemy is chasing them or not. And fortunately, the enemy didn't chase them.

Grey, although a bit reluctantly, has sent a messenger to Pina to inform what just happened to his detachment. He also noted that they have lost a lot of mercenaries and the frontline has no support anymore. He hoped Pina would do the same and fall back for her own safety.

There's no time to think about how to achieve a victory anymore, it's time to think to save the Princess.

And so, Grey ran off from the battlefield and headed to the fort.

…

*Bang

"Argh!"

Panache couldn't help but groan for so many times. She's been shot by what Saika called a "Pistol" repeatedly. It's awfully painful, like being stung by a giant bee. However, much to her surprise, she was still alive and well. Although it's very painful, Panache can still hold on to her Dark Pegasus and continue to chase Saika all the way in the sky.

Saika was actually surprised at how mysteriously tough her opponent was. She used a pair of Pistols, a newly made weapon for her in Tempest. Initially, she used more medieval weapons such as Kunai or Shuriken, but after Souei ordered his subordinates to also use the more modern firearms, Saika also used the same model of pistol as Souei, the Walther P99.

However, unlike Souei, Saika prefers to have two pistols at the same time as she has a slightly different idea of how to use modern firearms.

Unlike Souei who's more flexible in using multiple weapons, Saika is more strict on how using her weapons. Souei could use both of his twin swords and pistols in a single battle, continuously changing it depending on the situation, while Saika still has a long way to go to be like that. So to compensate it, she always sets up the battle in her favor first and then uses one type of weapon for the whole time.

And on this battle, Saika decided to use a pair of pistols to fight against the enemy cavalry commander, Panache.

However, it seems it wouldn't be that easy to defeat her as she seems to have some kind of regenerative ability. Every shot she made toward Panache was lethal enough to incapacitate her. But after many times, Panache kept coming back again and again.

Saika noticed that Panache still felt the pain of being shot, but somehow her spirit didn't waver at all. She kept chasing her with her Dark Pegasus, although it could be easily outmaneuvered. Yet it is still quite something to be able to stay alive after all she did to Panache.

However, even though it's quite bothersome, Saika has prepared for something like this to happen.

Panache has a mysterious power of regeneration. To how much extent, not even Saika could get the definitive answer. It was not a skill, but resulting the same output. She would love to investigate it further, but time didn't give her that chance for now. What she should do now is not experiment again, but end the battle right away.

And so, she prepared the next move.

Saika flies upward, getting higher and higher. She ensures Panache follows her by decreasing her speed and reducing her maneuver so Panache doesn't lose sight of her. Saika only makes maneuvers to avoid another Dark Pegasus and her fellow Dragonewts.

She kept hiking up the sky, flying toward a thick dark cloud. She gradually slows down on deliberate, giving the impression of being exhausted and desperate to reach a safe altitude. She also kept activating her [Magic Sense] to watch over Panache behind her, making sure she was biting her bait.

And when she reached the thick cloud, that was the time she made a move.

Putting one of her pistols back into her leg holster, she now held one pistol with both of her hands, intending to focus more on accuracy. She changes her fly course from hiking the height into keeping herself covered inside the thick cloud.

While flying, she changes her pistol magazine into a new one that contains a special bullet. She dumped the old magazine into the air and put in a new one for her pistol.

"Now this should work," she said to herself before starting to turn back toward Panache who was seemingly unsure where she was.

Saika pointed her pistol toward Panache's body, fully operating her [Magic Sense] to locate her vital part. And before she pulled the trigger, she mumbled to herself,

"Sorry about this," then she locks her sight on Panache's head. And then,

"[Eternal Bullet]"

*Bang

...

...

Panache kept her struggle to chase down the enemy who introduced herself as Saika. She had vowed she would kill her no matter what. And swearing an oath like that was not a joke in her ideals.

Panache has suffered multiple times by Saika's weapon. She has no idea how Saika could harm her with such a strange-looking weapon, and most of all, that weapon doesn't seem to do anything when it pointed toward her. Yet, the output of that weapon always manages to deliver an extreme sense of pain to her body.

However, she would always manage to keep herself alive somehow. She had no idea how, but she could feel her wound closing at a rapid speed every time she was being hit by Saika's weapon. On one hand, she was grateful for such ability. It gives her a chance to fulfill her vow as she can keep hunting Saika down in the sky. But on the other hand, the pain is something she can't bear sometimes. Even when the wound is already closed, the pain is still there. It was only because of her sheer will that she could manage to survive this far.

And that's why she getting more and more eager to kill Saika. Because of the constant pain, she can't think clearly about how she would finish her vow. She simply kept on hunting her and desperately never lost sight of her. She has no idea how to kill her.

And alas, it was at this moment her life would be doomed.

With her mind being disrupted by the constant pain, she was easily manipulated by Saika and lured into a thick dark cloud. There, the moment Panache finally reaches the cloud, she loses sight of Saika.

She looked around, searching for Saika. All in the same time she winced her eyes as she desperately held back the pain from every part of her body.

And just as when she caught a glimpse of movement in front of her,

*Bang!

All of a sudden, she felt her head was burning. She instinctively holds her head with whatever side of her palm. She pressed the side of her head, only to realize her hair was oddly sticky. And as she desperately tries to find where the wound is, she finds it in a part she had expected the most. However, stating she found the wound was not an accurate depiction. Because when she touched her forehead, she felt a hole that it's fit enough to be filled by one of her fingers.

The pain is more unbearable than the other wound before. Even though she has a will of the strongest steel to fulfill her vow, this time she can't help but start to succumb to the intense suffering.

"Arrrrgghhhh!"

She wailed loudly, as she couldn't help but fall her head into her Dark Pegasus's upper crest. She felt that she had lost her energy to move even a bit. But the worst thing is, she didn't lose her consciousness.

She still wakes up, fully capable to feel the pain and perceive everything surrounding her. And that is what makes her life become hellish in the next moment.

*Bang!

Panache barely heard the loud bang as she immediately felt an indescribable pain in her left arm. She wasn't sure if she was screaming or not because her intense pain had caused her to lose quite significant of her capability to perceive things. But she's certain that she was beyond shocked when she realized she couldn't move her left arm. With her head burning, she used every ounce of energy and willpower left in her to take a glance at his left arm.

And that's when she saw her left arm had gone.

There is practically nothing left from the upper arm to below. In just less than a second, she could see her blood pouring down from the part where it was cut.

Now, it was not only her body that couldn't take any more than this, but her heart as well. She has now lost her mind as she can't even remember why she was here in the first place. The pain has messed up everything inside her mind.

For some reason, she remembers a story of a warrior who finally see a gate to heaven during his time to death. She remembers in that story, the warrior was finally freed from the hellish pain and replaced by an ethereal sense of peace.

Yet, she can't feel it.

She can't feel any peace.

Worse, she can't feel the pain is going away.

The pain is still there. Overwhelmingly filled her mind, torturing every inch of her body. She couldn't be sure whether she was screaming in pain or not. And in her last desperate effort to gain focus, she spent her all of energy to grab her Dark Pegasus crest with her right arm.

But that was proved to be a huge mistake.

Because what was left on her right arm, was nothing more than a shoulder without a limb under it.

Surprisingly she was capable to feel a confusion. She has no recollection of hearing another sound of Bang after she lost her left arm. And now, all she could see was some of her muscle strands, hanging wildly under her shoulder. Her eyes were constantly had to abnormally blink to cover themselves from the rainwater. However, sometimes, she felt the rainwater was thicker and smelly.

And all sudden, she felt a sting of pain again. And this time, the pain is too overwhelming until she can't even move any part of her. Not even her eyes could be moved as she wanted because of the extremely intense pain.

Her mind is in an indescribable state. And the last thing she could remember quite clearly was the chilly sensation on her back and the strange view direction from her eyes. She could see the cloud, but somehow the cloud was brighter. And lastly, she saw a lower part of the Dark Pegasus, flying majestically.

She couldn't, and probably wouldn't want to remember anything of what happened to her that day forever.

…

…

"This is not a blessing!"

Saika shouted to herself while carrying Panache in her arms. She is in the middle of diving from the sky toward the ground, heading to Ophelia's position. She kept checking on Panache to see how it was going for her.

"P…le.. " she heard a weak cry from Panache's lips, barely audible for a normal ear.

"Hang in there!" Saika shouted to Panache, even though she was not sure that Panache could hear her at this time.

Panache's eyes were wet from unending tears, making her eyes swollen badly. Her body couldn't react better to respond to the immense pain that she was enduring right now. Panache's head was severely wounded, there's a literal hole from her forehead that most possibly extends into the end of the brain. Both of her arms were gone from a fatal shot, only left her with the shoulder and a little bit of part of her upper arm. Her chest has two holes, one in the heart and one in her lung. Yet, for some reason, her soul kept insisting on living inside the dying body. A biologically impossible to live on, yet for unknown reasons, Panache was still alive with all the pain still in the play.

Saika couldn't understand it either. She intended to kill Panache with her shots, but Panache is still alive even after being shot by her [Eternal Bullet].

[Eternal Bullet] is a combination of elemental magic and advancements in technology. It was a special bullet made for Kurayami members made from Magisteel, with an intricate design for magic runes of [Black Flame]. It was designed for an enemy who has a regenerative ability because the [Eternal Bullet] creates a spark of [Black Flame] into the enemy's body.

The bullet was inspired by Benimaru and Rimuru's way of using a [Black Flame]. Rimuru used a [Black Flame] to prevent regeneration from Orc Lord by burning the severed limb. Benimaru also used this technique when he cut a Charybdis in half, then put on the [Black Flame] between the cut so the Charybdis wouldn't be able to regenerate.

The [Black Flame] wouldn't be able to be extinguished until the matter was burned to dust. And so did [Eternal Bullet]. Saika injected some of her magicules to activate the rune, and it affected how much damage the bullet would inflict. And sadly, Saika put up quite a lot of magicules in her [Eternal Bullet].

The [Black Flame] isn't quite visible since it was burning inside the organ, but the heat could be felt from the outer layer of skin.

And that's why Panache couldn't regenerate her part of the body. Yet, the pain doesn't go away. And for some mysterious cause, she can't die. Meaning she was in constant extreme pain because of the severed internal organs, amputated limbs, and burning heat.

Saika didn't expect the blessing would keep her alive even with this much of a fatal wound. And so, after noticing that Panache is in such unbearable suffering, she can't help but feel terrible for her. After all, what she wanted was to kill Panache, not torturing her like this. That is why, instead of leaving Panache to fall to the ground, she catches her up and brings her to the field hospital.

She didn't need a long time to finally arrive in the field hospital. Saika already informed Ophelia that she would come back to the encampment so it was no surprise that when Saika landed, Ophelia along with 2 field doctors had already waiting for her.

Saika handed Panache over to one of the doctors, then said "She's been hit by [Eternal Bullet], but she's somehow still alive. Please don't let her suffer like this."

"Understood. We'll give her temporary [Pain Nullification] meds, then we'll take care of the bullet. Don't worry, her suffering will end in a few minutes."

"Thank you," Saika still accompanied the doctor to the field hospital, before they finally arrived in one of the sterile rooms.

"Let's go, Saika-san." Ophelia patted her shoulder and then walked away from the field hospital. Saika nodded and followed along.

"How's the battlefield?" Saika asked Ophelia once they got outside.

"For now everything went well. The Fukutsu Unit had stabilized and had gained a stronger footing. The Saderans tried to flank them, but Grigori-sama brought a contingency troop to deal with them. And now they have retreated back to the fort. The swarm of Dark Pegasus has slowly fled since Dame Panache is focusing more on hunting you down. I predict the Saderans would retreat back to the fort in a short time. It only leaves Sir Norma and Rory Mercury who are still eager on the battlefield."

"I see. We should tell Glenda that aiming for the leader would suffice. And about Rory Mercury, is she gonna stay in the front while the other Saderans retreat?"

"Understood, I'll make a contact with Rudiger soon. And about Rory Mercury, it seems she was more concerned with her battle against Saare-sama. I think we should leave that to Saare-sama himself."

"All right. Then I'll fly again to make sure those Dark Pegasus are fleeing. Probably capture some of them alive to be studied next time."

"Understood. I wish you luck, Saika-san."

Saika only nodded, then started to flap her wings before finally flying back on into the sky.

…

Meanwhile, somewhere on the battlefield.

*Clang

*Boom

"*Pant Hah… hah… you're the toughest opponent I have ever met."

"It's an honor to be praised that much."

"Heh, I don't mean it as a praise. But don't think our battle has ended."

"I don't. Until one of us couldn't stand on our feet, the battle is still on."

"Now that I can agree with."

Rory dashed once again toward Saare with inhuman speed. The speed of her dash has caused a turbulent wind surrounding her, making the other Saderans slightly blown away. Rory lifts her halberd while dashing toward Saare, she intends to hit Saare with the help of the momentum.

However, when the halberd was swung upon Saare's left side, her halberd stopped. A sword had just stopped its trajectory.

*Clang

Following that was a small shockwave that was successfully sent across the battlefield, creating a small wind along the way. The ground was vibrating caused by the clash, managing to get the attention of others.

However, both Rory and Saare seem to haven't budged at all. They look at each other intently, before Rory pulls back her halberd and then spins her body. She fixed her grip on her halberd while spinning, then once again delivering a blow into Saare's lower part on the other side.

Yet, it hit nothing but air.

Saare was able to see the upcoming blow and decided to avoid it by jumping up, successfully evading the halberd.

Rory who noticed that she failed to deliver another hit, stopped her halberd from getting out of control. She immediately rolled backward to avoid the possible counter from Saare, making a distance between her and Saare.

Saare didn't push any moves when he saw Rory had taken a distance between them. He kept standing still after landing and pointing his sword upfront.

"You're fast as always," Rory spoke again.

"I'm pretty good at speed," Saare replied.

"Is it normal for people beyond the gate to be this powerful?" Rory asked again, while kept on thinking about the next move. Yet, her mind is still full of curiosity as she wonders how powerful the people in Tempest are.

"There's quite a lot of people who's on par with me. But just for you to know, in my country, I'm still somewhere in the middle ranks of the strong individuals."

"Tch!" Rory somehow felt displeased by the recent information, "I'm barely keeping up with you yet there are still stronger people out there? You got to be joking"

"I'm not. And I said 'somewhere in the middle', but it could also mean I'm still below that in terms of strength."

"That's adding more reason to send you back home before another stronger individual comes to help you."

"Then come and try it,"

Rory couldn't lie that she was starting to feel dreadful upon knowing how much power these Irregulars possess. She was already struggling to fight against the ordinary soldiers because of their high discipline and coordination. And now, she was on the edge against the enemy commander.

"At least I got the leader", she thought.

Fighting straight ahead against Saare has proven to be too difficult for her. He was too fast and nimble, and no matter how much she tried to make a feint, he would realize it and wouldn't fall for it. She will need a new approach.

So Rory decides to try something new. Something she never thought she would use in a duel.

But before that, just like before, Rory makes the first move.

She dashed forward again but after several steps, she jumped. She raised her halberd highly, then slam it toward Saare. However, as expected, Saare block the attack easily with his sword. He used both of his hands to hold the sword horizontally to block Rory's halberd slam.

But, despite successfully blocking the slam, the power that was unleashed by Rory was powerful enough to make the ground sink downward. The water on the ground had jumped caused by the vibration of the impact, and a new puddle was created right under Saare's foot.

Rory immediately jumped down then as she expected, Saare was countering. Seeing her make an opening, Saare thrust his sword toward Rory's unguarded torso. But Rory blocks it in the last moment with her halberd, successfully stopping Saare's sword from thrusting her body.

Rory managed to get her feet on the ground, then launched another attack. She swung her halberd horizontally, only to be deflected by Saare. But that's not the end of it.

Rory kept attacking relentlessly, sending multiple types of offensive moves. And mostly Saare only defends himself and then counters when there's an opening.

Combat skill wise, both of them are almost equal. Rory's experience and comfortability using the halberd forcing Saare had to be careful enough to not make any foolish move. While on the other hand, Saare's training and years of fighting against stronger opponents had made him able to make Rory frustrated for always failing to hit him.

But this time, Rory seems a bit off.

Rory's attacks seem more predictable. It would still be too hard to read for a normal human, but for Saare, her attacks become more readable as time goes by. Yet, the strange thing is, this is not happening before.

In the early fight, Rory tried to outmaneuver him multiple times. Seeking an opening, throwing feints, or even attacking in unusual parts. But now, since the last exchange of words, Rory's attack has become more obvious. In Saare's mind, this must be a tactic to keep his guard down.

Yet, although her attacks are obvious, it doesn't mean those attacks can be ignored. Saare is fast, but so is Rory. Saare uses every move he has to avoid being hit by those attacks. Evade, deflect, and sometimes block.

Saare also tries to counter, but Rory also manages to handle it.

Saare began to feel uneasy. He worried that Rory was trying to dictate the flow of the battle. And when it does, Saare wouldn't be so sure if he can escape it or not.

And so, after considering for a while, Saare decides to make his own move.

He saw Rory was backing off a bit. Then, in less than a second, Rory dashed forward while pointing the upper part of her halberd toward him. Just like cavalry horsemen charge with their spears. Normally, Saare would evade such an attack. Yet, right now, he has decided to do something different.

He fixed his footing, he dropped his sword, then when the halberd was only a few millimeters from him, he grabbed it.

He catches the halberd and then struggles to keep his feet on the ground. He didn't notice where he put his palms, but he could feel some pain in his hands. And alas, thankfully, the halberd stopped.

Rory was taken by surprise seeing Saare decide to stop her attack in such a way. And now, she can't take her halberd easily as it was being held by Saare.

However, Rory's expression was odd.

Saare was looking into her face, and surprisingly, he saw a wicked smile on her lips. Instead of showing an expression of surprise, Rory's expression was delighted. Saare was immediately alarmed as he knew, he had fallen into her trap.

What kind of trap, he doesn't know. But for someone like Rory to make such a face, he knew it wasn't good.

Then, noticing Saare's panic, Rory couldn't help but laugh.

"Khahaha! My my, I'm so pleased it was actually work." Her face shows exactly how she felt. And her words are as direct as her expression.

"What did you do?" Saare tried his best to calm down, but his tone couldn't hide his uneasiness.

"You see," she walked backward a bit, pulling her halberd from her grip. Saare instantaneously releases it. "I'm also well-versed in hex. With my will, the halberd would deliver you a curse every time it touched you. It's very difficult to hit you, but I'm glad you decided to touch the halberd by your own consent."

Rory continued to giggle, as Saare began to look at her hands.

Upon looking at it, he noticed that both of his palms were starting to turn black, little by little. Saare saw a black-colored pattern, like tree branches, growing and moving toward his arm slowly but surely. His palm had already been covered by the black-colored curse, and soon, her arms would follow.

"Kuhuhuhu… That curse would eat your body to the very soul of yours. Once your soul is entirely covered, you'll die. And not even Lord Emroy can help you at this point."

Saare looks up toward Rory. However, thanks to the helmet, Rory couldn't see his expression. Nevertheless, she was certain that Saare was panicking and would beg for mercy.

And she has every right to think so. She didn't say it out loud, but the curse she's putting is the deadliest curse she know ever exists in the world. It was so powerful as it's not only affecting the physical body but also the soul. Once it's affecting the soul, the curse wouldn't be able to be lifted entirely. In fact, as far as she knows, there is no way to lift such a curse.

Dealing with a soul was far too intricate for a mortal. Even for an immortal like herself, she has a limit on how much she can control the soul. And being an Apostle from God of War, she's more excelled in harming a soul rather than saving it.

And now, after successfully putting a curse on her strong opponent, it seems the only thing left was for her enemy to decide what kind of death he would choose.

She would give an option for Saare; painless death, or glorious death. If Saare chose a painless death, then it was her job to execute him as fast as possible, sparing no room for pain from it. If Saare chose a glorious death, then she would serve as his last opponent. Saare would die in her hands as a brave warrior who fought to the last, but it would be a painful death.

Rory didn't mind for either option. And for her record, fighting with such a strong opponent was a reward for herself. Yet, she didn't want to fight someone stronger than him for now. Knowing there were multiple individuals who were stronger than him, made her feel uneasy about keeping the Gate open.

"Once I deal with this, I will immediately close the Gate by force", she thought.

In Rory's mind, there was still another job to do. But she didn't mind taking a little breather after putting a curse on Saare. After all, it's a certain kill move. No matter how powerful these Irregulars were, they would stand nothing against a power that can affect the soul.

However,

"Is that the effect?"

Saare asked with a surprisingly disappointed tone. Now, it was Rory who was confused.

"Yes. You'll die shortly once your body is covered by it. And you wouldn't be able to lift it since it's directly connected to your soul too." Rory tried to instill fear by speaking in a calm tone.

And Saare didn't reply with anything, making her think it was a success. So, she continued,

"Now you have to choose. Saare, will you accept a glorious death by fighting me until the curse kills you, or a painless death by accepting me as your executor? The choice is yours."

Rory can't help but keep her lip smile. She hasn't tasted this kind of triumph for so long. It's normal to feel so proud of that achievement. Yet, however,

"I see." Saare's voice becomes very clear. His tone shows a rather monotone feeling as if he really is expecting something bigger. It's no wonder, Rory began to feel uneasy upon hearing such a response.

"Is this your trump card?" Saare asked.

"It's my most powerful curse. But against you, this is the most suitable way. I hate to admit it, but I can't hit you with a physical attack alone."

Rory started to feel annoyed by the sudden uneasiness.

Don't tell me, you can lift the curse. she thought to herself. But she brushed it off as she deemed it impossible.

"I see. Then, I'm grateful for this." Saare picked up his sword as if nothing happened to his hand. The curse should be quite painful, but for some people who have a strong will, it can be ignored. And Rory knows this.

But for some reason, it doesn't feel that was the case. Rory began to stop thinking that everything was according to her wishes.

"For what?"

"For showing me that you're indeed powerful."

Saare readied his sword, while Rory, still in confusion, did the same with her halberd.

"But not powerful enough against us."

Not even before she could come up with a response, she saw something happening to Saare.

Saare stood motionless as his armor suddenly began to emanate a soft, golden glow. The intricate lines etched into the armor started to shine with a radiant light, casting gleaming reflections all around the area. As he stood there, a gentle current of air seemed to rise from the ground, swirling around him, creating an almost mystical atmosphere. Then, a magnificent, iridescent blue light gradually embraced his entire form, creating an awe-inspiring aura of divinity that seemed to emanate from within him.

In an extraordinary spectacle, Rory was captivated as she watched Saare undergo a remarkable metamorphosis. Before her eyes, Saare seemed to exude an otherworldly aura, appearing to grow lighter, swifter, and more robust, as if he was being elevated to a whole new level. In this unprecedented moment, Rory bore witness to a divine occurrence on the verge of unfolding. As Saare defied the constraints of gravity, an ethereal glow enveloped him, illuminating the space around him with a mesmerizing bluish hue. It was then that Rory noticed the emergence of a magnificent pair of white, featherless wings, evoking a profound sense of celestial transcendence.

And very much to her dismay, she saw the sign of the curse had mysteriously started to evaporate from his hand.

Rory has lost every word to be spoken. Her mind, for the very first time after a near millennia, was awestruck by the sight of divinity in such a degree.

"I am the Saint Saare the Blue Sky, a loyal servant of Supreme Deity Rimuru Tempest, The leader of Enlightenment Task Force, and the commander of Grey Numbers Corps. Hereby, I vowed upon my Lord that I shall defeat you, Rory Mercury the Apostle of God of War."

The real battle between a Saint and an Apostle had begun.

…

On the other side of the battlefield, 17 Siege Walkers have moved to an open field. The field was in between two thick forests near the hill. Earlier, those Siege Walkers were placed on the higher ground on one of the sides. They have to borrow Ophelia's warp device to move all the Siege Walkers downhill.

Those Siege Walkers were lined up pretty far from each other. At a glance, they seem to be just randomly put there. But there was a reason to do so.

While the Siege Walkers were placed on the lower ground, a separate force was placed in the woods. And those troops were a part of the Artillery Unit. This time, they didn't fight by operating the artillery guns. Instead, they used a long-barreled rifle.

They were hiding in the woods, supported with some little illusion magic to make them invisible and merge with nature. With their presence concealed, it would be easy to prey on the upcoming Saderan fliers.

All of this was Glenda's idea. She intended to make the Siege Walkers become bait on an open field. This way, the swarm of Manticores and Wyverns would focus on them. In the meanwhile, the troops who hide themselves in the woods would shoot down those fliers. And the priority was their riders. That's why, precision is more important at this stage of the plan.

If not for Rudiger's persistence who keeps boasting about the Siege Walker's power, Glenda might use the earlier tactic until the very end of battle. After all, Rudiger seems very eager to face those mythical beasts head-on.

And right now, Glenda has finished arranging her plan. She has just received good news from Saika, who tells her that as long as the leader was taken out, the swarm would most likely flee from battle. She was pleased by that, but although she was the one who came up with a plan, the decision was not in her hands.

"I think it's better to wipe all of them. You know, for a good measure." Rudiger, the captain of the Artillery Unit, was actually the one in charge of this sector. Glenda, for the most part, was just a guest.

"Well, if you think so, then you got the most dangerous part. Not that I'm concerned about you though."

"Hahaha! Rest easy, Glenda-san. Our Siege Walkers is tougher than you might think. In fact, I think we should employ this tactic from the beginning."

"This is not my troops. I would feel bad to send you down there without any subtle knowledge about them first. And I don't wanna get scolded by Saare for old-time sake."

"Hahaha! I still can't believe you're the commander's old friend. All right Glenda-san, I think we came to a conclusion. I'll take their attention while you carefully shoot down any riders. And remember, only shoot at the riders. I'll deal with the swarm, you don't have to worry."

"Fine. Have it your way, Captain. But one thing I gotta ask. Isn't the weapons on those Siege Walkers' hands couldn't reach the angle of more than 40° upward?"

"Well yeah. You're actually right."

"*Sigh… You know those swarms are flying right above you, and not in front of you, right?"

"Yes, I do. But don't worry, a fury from those miniguns would still decimate the Saderans fliers. After all, they won't be always flying above me! I know the Saderans are warrior people to the heart. They would face me like a true opponent! Haha!"

"Well, it's good if you think so positively. But remember, you still got troops hidden in the woods. Including me. So don't hesitate to call for help if things turn bad, understand?"

"You worry too much, Glenda-san! But I appreciate your concern. I'll call your help when things take a bad turn!"

"Right, that's good. All right Captain. I'll be heading to the woods now. Make a call when you're ready."

"Sure thing!"

What a daredevil, Glenda thought to herself as she walked away toward one of the trees. She is still in the process of understanding why he became Saare's subordinate. And most of all, how come he became a captain?

Well, it's not my business anyway, she brushes off her thought and focuses on her role.

As she walked toward her position, she checked on her new rifle. She twinkled some part of it, adjusting the scope and grip, then carried it on her back. She smiled upon carrying her new weapon as it reminded her of her old job in her former world. The rifle took the shape of a familiar rifle in her old world, which she recognized as AWSM.

It's no wonder that from what she heard, the design was made by one of the Otherworlder who resides in Tempest. However, apart from the design, the mechanism took a lot of different from the one in her former world. One of the significant differences is that this rifle didn't particularly shoot kinetic bullets.

The rifle shoots a condensed light, which is produced by some complex magic runes. She didn't particularly understand how it's produced, but she understood that to produce such output it will need multiple magic runes. The mechanism is complex and intricate, but the result was more than satisfying.

This rifle is on the level of Special-Grade and it has one additional slot for magic marbles.

And the name of the rifle is TR-1, a short for Tempest Rifle.

Yet, for Glenda, no matter how good the rifle is, nothing more she can rely upon other than her old firearm, the Walther P99. Her pistol is basically the same one that is used by Saika and other members of the intelligence bureau in Tempest. However, her pistol is the one which she brought directly from her former world. And for every occasion, this little pistol of hers has always accompanied her everywhere.

She put her pistol in her leg holster like usual and placed her favorite knife on another leg. She wears her exclusive armor developed by the Three Wise Drunk organization, which gives her good protection against physical and magical attacks. But the one she wore was also giving her a boost of agility and light in terms of weight. Making it perfect for moving at a fast pace. Although it's not as robust as Saare's armaments, her armor was pretty much at the level of Unique-Grade. And because it was made with magisteel, it still has the potential to grow into a higher grade.

After taking some time, Glenda had already positioned herself on one of the trees. She scans the whole area with her [Magic Sense], but due to her limit on processing the quantity of information in her brain, she can't sense the swarm of Saderan's mythical beasts up in the sky. Those mythical beasts were still flying at a relatively safe altitude, and being kept busy by Dragonewts.

Feeling certain everything is on set, she contacts Rudiger.

{I think everyone is ready, Captain}, and then, Rudiger responded in no time.

{All right! Let's call back those Dragonewts and bring the Saderans here!}

{It's your call. Recalling those Dragonewts is not my part}

{Right right, just feeling excited you know? Haha. Prepare yourself too, Glenda-san!}

{Right on.}

…

…

…

It took enormous effort to gather the surviving Wyvern Riders, along with the newly added Manticores. And Norma was forced to do it.

Finding the survivor of the fellow Wyvern Riders is one thing, but to do that under the constant threat of being killed by a mysterious winged Irregulars is nearly depressing work. Those winged Irregulars kept coming with various attack patterns. Some were attacking straight from an obvious direction, some were ambushing from beneath the clouds, and some were attacking from a long range with a strange-looking weapon. Despite the overwhelming number of flying Manticores and Wyverns, Norma couldn't even kill a single one of them.

It brings nothing other than frustration to his mind.

Norma wished everything could gone faster. Whatever fate I am destined to, just fucking hurry up, he thought.

Norma is a good fighter, but not the most patient one. His frustration had made him quickly abandon his real goal, and now he just wanted to end it as fast as possible. If he was destined to win, then it's good so he wished it would happen so soon. And if he was destined to lose, then it's a shame but he has done everything he could so he wished it would happen soon as well.

He is just tired of being stuck in this situation. And right now, if not for a little consciousness and empathy for his fellow Wyvern Riders, he would just abandon the entire squadron of Wyvern Riders and dive into where those metal giants were by himself and let fate decide his life.

However, thanks to that little consciousness that remains in himself, he has a motivation to keep going. Even under the constant threat of those Irregulars, he managed to rally the remaining Wyvern Riders.

From the initial 400 Wyvern Riders, and around 5000 combined Wyvern and Manticores, the remaining forces he had now were 230 Wyvern Riders and around 3000 Wyvern and Manticores. It's still a pretty high number if they were up against a normal enemy. However, against these Irregulars, Norma couldn't help but feel hesitant.

Yet, flying back to the fort without delivering any blow to the enemy would be the most embarrassing thing in his life.

"Sir Norma, what are we going to do now?" one of his men nearby asked him.

"We cannot leave empty-handed, are we? Prepare for another attack."

"What?! But you just have witnessed how utterly defeated we were before!"

"You're right, we cannot be careless anymore."

"Then what are you planning, Sir Norma?"

Norma didn't answer that question immediately. He looks toward his underneath, only to realize once again he is surrounded by thick clouds. But at the same time, these thick clouds are the ones who protect him this far.

He knew he made a grave mistake before. Chasing down the winged Irregulars blindly was his biggest mistake which led not only him but the entire Wyvern Riders along with the Manticores to get lured into a butchery. He cannot fall to the same mistake.

So he has to make a plan with a limited time. He felt his time was limited because he thought Panache was still engaging the enemy on the ground. His task is to defeat those metal giants so the ground troops can focus more on the enemy's main army.

However, he didn't know that Panache was already in the enemy's hands. He didn't know that the Saderans had already crumbled. The news about the Saderans and the order to retreat from Grey didn't reach his ear a bit.

It only makes things more sorrowful, because if only Norma knows about the current situation, he and his retinues could bolster the remaining forces and probably have a better chance for the next battle. But it didn't happen that way.

Instead, what happened next was the winged Irregulars, which Norma finally remembered as Dragonewts, started to fly in unison once again and headed toward somewhere else. The way they fly is really similar to how Norma saw them before the first incident happened.

Trying to learn from his mistakes, he decides to not pursue them. He ordered his Wyvern Riders along with other mythical beasts to hold themselves from pursuing the Dragonewts. Personally, he didn't like it. But he knew if he would give chase to them, what awaited was an annihilation.

"What do we do now, Sir Norma?" one of the riders finally asked him.

Norma didn't have any idea how to proceed with the situation. He's certainly confused about how to respond. He wanted to do something, but his brain didn't give him any idea. It was probably because of the frustration he had felt since a moment ago.

"Didn't you say we have to prepare for another attack?" another rider comes along. Only to add more frustration to his impatient heart.

"Tch! Fine! Let's go and chase them-"

"Hold on, Sir Norma! I got an idea." Suddenly, out of nowhere, another figure comes into his sight.

However, this person seems rather odd. Instead of fellow Wyvern Riders who wear plate armor and metallic feathers that resemble a wing on the back, the person was wearing a long black robe with furs on the neck, long brown boots, and a sword on his waist. His hair was visible because he didn't wear a helmet. He looks too underequipped for a Wyvern Rider.

But strangely, his wyvern was somewhat bigger than the rest.

"Wait, who are you?!" At that moment, Norma was too surprised until he couldn't help but have to bring up his identity into the matter.

"I'm Jekyl. Seriously, you people are the ones who hire my service."

"Oh, you're one of those mercenary. Now I remember. I didn't expect you're the one who has that big Wyvern in our den."

"All right, enough about that. Now I need you to listen to me." Jekyl tried to cut the talk short, proceeding to the next step. However,

"You! You really-" Norma almost snapped at the impolite tone from the mercenary. However, thankfully, one of his men calmed him down immediately.

"Sir Norma! Please calm down! He's on our side!"

Norma pulls his hand back, he really intends to hit the mercenary before. But thankfully, he managed to calm down a little after being reminded by his men.

"Tch! All right all right. You have an idea, right? How?" in an annoyed tone, Norma finally complied to listen.

Jekyl sighed, he already disliked the knight for their prideful attitude, so listening to it directly was certainly a displeasing experience. But he knew it was not the time to make another argument, so he decided to explain.

"We sent a reconnaissance first, a small group of Wyvern Riders will do. We cannot let the chance slip, but we cannot fall for the trap once again."

"Sir Norma, that's a reasonable plan."

Norma tried to consider the plan but found nothing to reject the idea. Instead, he felt another displease as he cursed himself for why he didn't think of it before.

"All right. We'll go with that plan."

Jekyl nodded, along with a small sigh of relief from other Wyvern Riders who heard it.

Norma eventually had to pick some riders to do the scouting. He chooses 10 Wyvern Riders, along with a dozen of Manticores to follow them in case something bad happens.

As the group was formed, they immediately set off to track down the Dragonewts who seemed to flee from the scene.

The group followed a somewhat like trail in the clouds, where there was a strange cut-looking cloud beneath them. With very little knowledge about Dragonewts, they decide to follow it.

The trail led them to descend their altitude, and their anxiety grew. They felt something was gonna happen, but they cannot run back now. So in the end, they keep descending their altitude.

The cloud was still thick, and the rainwater didn't stop pouring into their face. The thunder was roaring nearby, making the ears ringing because of it. Some are still flinching upon hearing the thunder, and the sight of the blitzing lightning is never easy to ignore.

But finally, the cloud becomes thinner. The raindrops become more intense, along with the sound of it. The scouting group is now at the altitude where they were massacred before.

It was a normal thing to get scared and their reaction to it was understandable. They become uneasy and cannot stop looking around to watch out for ambush. The previous incident was still a mystery anyway. They don't see where the attack comes from. And all of a sudden, the people surrounding them including the Manticores and Wyverns were dead.

They try to hold those memories for now and focus on searching the Dragonewts. They flew slower and all of them were looking in a different direction.

But not a single Dragonewt was in sight. No matter where they looked, they found no single creature flying.

Instead, they found something else on the ground.

"Hey isn't that the metal giants?" asked one of them.

"Looks like it. We didn't see them before."

"Probably because we're too busy to see them."

"Or probably they were the ones who killed us before."

"Nonsense, how can those giants attack us from down there?"

"Yeah, I thought they were like Ogres. With those gigantic statures, they should be in the frontline."

"Maybe they were resting right now. Look how docile they were from up here."

"You're right, it is probably our best chance to kill those metal Giants!"

"I agree! Let's head back to Sir Norma and report this immediately!"

"Can't disagree with that. Let's go!"

The 10 Wyvern Riders, a group who were tasked to scout the enemy, had found themselves information that was worth to be reported.

It didn't take much time for the scouting group to finally reach back to Norma. In haste, they reported back everything they saw, and Norma was listening to them with full concentration. Jekyl is also present along with other Wyvern Riders who fly very slowly up above the clouds.

"So there's a group of metal giants on the open field?" Norma finally responded after hearing the report.

"Yes! And they seem to be resting. They didn't move a bit. Although I have to say, it's pretty strange for them to be standing far on each other."

"Well, maybe they are just not social creatures." Norma tried to answer.

"I want to say we need to know more about them first. After all, we don't know whether those metal giants are living creatures or just a weapon." On the other hand, Jekyl gives his own argument.

And that argument wasn't really accepted well by Norma.

"A living creature can bea weapon. I don't care if they are living beings or not, I want to destroy them all."

"That's not the point but hahh… whatever. I just wished you to know it could be a trap." Jekyl commented.

"I'm tired of this. Can we just attack them head-on like we used to?!" Norma let out his frustration while rubbing his neck. And his words, judging from his tone, everyone knew it wasn't meant for them. It was for himself.

Because of it, not even Jekyl answered the question.

And thankfully, Norma indeed didn't mean those words toward anyone but him. He just felt tired and sick of the enemy's trickery. He just wanted to face them head-on, like a true warrior he used to know. Whether he died or survived, it's not a matter to think about right now.

"All right. I didn't forget about our early incident. How can I forget that anyway? Right, so does dividing ourselves into two groups sound good? One to attack and one to watch the surroundings?"

Norma suggested. This took Jekyl by surprise since he didn't expect rather than giving an order, Norma was giving a suggestion. But he was pleased by it. So to show some respect to it, Jekyl didn't argue with that suggestion.

"It sounds good. The second group would keep an eye on any ambush. And when it does happen, it will be the one who should deal with it."

The other riders nodded, agreeing with him. This makes Norma look a bit relieved compared to several moments before.

"Then I'll be in the first group. I wanna destroy those metal giants." Norma declared. He looked at Jekyl, and from his eyes, everyone knew he was asking "What about you?".

So in response, Jekyl said, "Then I'll be in the second group."

"Good. That makes the balance between the two units."

Jekyl nodded, it marked a new assault carried by the remaining Wyvern Riders.

…

…

…

{Hey did you see that, Glenda-san?}

{Yeah I did. It means the plan is worked, partially}

Glenda and Captain Rudiger keep the communication ongoing. They have just seen a group of Wyverns up in the sky. Rudiger almost pulled the trigger in his Siege Walkers, but upon closer observation, he found out they were not going to attack them as planned.

{I thought they were going to attack immediately}

{It's a scouting unit. And that's a good decision to pull your hand from the trigger. I didn't expect their leader would be cautious right now.}

{Well perhaps being ambushed before leaving him traumatized. Perhaps he was substituted by someone who was more level-headed}

{That could be the case. Sorry, I didn't think about it, Captain.}

{Yeah well, everyone makes mistakes Glenda-san. It was my call to use your plan. It should be my fault too.}

{I don't want to conclude we're making a grave error. After all, there's hope.}

{You mean, how the main unit would respond to their scouting unit report?}

{Exactly. We set up this trap by making the Siege Walker appear defenseless on an open field. There's hope they take the bait.}

{Hahaha! To think we're defenseless, what an amusing joke!}

{Hey it's the Saderans we're talking about. They never saw a mechanic giant like us}

{You right, you right. Then, all we can do now is wait and hope, eh?}

{Yeah, wait and hope. Must be hard for you, eh Captain?}

{You got me there! Hahaha!}

{I knew the type of person you are}

Glenda could hear Rudiger's laughter even after she said the last sentence. And for her own sake, she didn't want to continue the communication for too long after all. She's not the type who likes to chat for a long time. Even though she knew Rudiger wasn't a bad person, she just couldn't work forever with this kind of guy.

Thankfully, Rudiger also noticed how quiet Glenda was after his laughter finished. So he didn't say anything after that as well.

The whole Artillery Unit was forced to wait for the uncertain attack from the Saderans. They have gained success from the earlier strike by luring the Saderans into an open space where they could fire their Siege Walkers freely. However, it seems the same tactic won't work this time.

They borrow several numbers of Saika's subordinates in the intelligence unit to keep the Saderans occupied in the sky, while also acting as bait when the preparation is ready. But once the Artillery Unit was ready, the Dragonewts seemed to fail to lure the whole Wyvern Riders and Manticores like before.

Nevertheless, nobody blames the Dragonewts for this. It was much expected actually. And they couldn't ask for more help from other units since they had their own part in this battle. The Manticores and Wyvern Riders are their responsibilities. Although frankly, if only the Dark Pegasus was on the same command as the Wyvern and Manticores, Rudiger and Glenda might work together alongside the Motorized Unit under Ophelia.

There are 450 shooters hiding themselves inside the forest. It's almost the whole of the Artillery Unit since they only have 500 personnel, which is the second smallest unit in Grey Numbers Corp after the Shokubai Unit. This number of shooters, added with 17 Siege Walkers on the field, was certainly outnumbered by the Saderans who still had around 3,200 fighting forces.

That's why a good tactic cannot be messed around. Despite the advantage of technology and magic capabilities, if they use it improperly, they could be crushed by the Saderans. So to make sure they emerge victorious, they have to be patient.

Glenda couldn't help but get more anxious as more the time passed, the more she was concerned that the Saderans were not being lured. She got a situation update from Ophelia that the main ground forces were already in a "winnable" situation. The enemy monsters were wiped out by Magic Tanks, the main army was already at a steady pace and in a favorable situation, and the Dark Pegasus had already fled from the battle.

If the Saderan Wyvern Riders were not taken care of here, Princess Pina could use it to escape. Not only the princess but some other more prominent figures from the Saderan. If they survived, the next battle might be still getting difficult. Nobody knows what could Princess Pina do after this. There's no guarantee she couldn't summon these Mythical Beasts anymore.

If Pina and her close aides manage to flee, Prince Diabo's campaign would be more difficult.

However, apart from that, there are some personal reasons why Glenda didn't want to fail in this battle. And that reason was she wanted to please Saare and Rimuru.

She knew well Rimuru wouldn't punish a failure caused by an unprecedented factor like this. And Saare, by as far as she knew right now, wouldn't say anything either if she failed.

Yet, she didn't want any "failed" words coming in her reports. Not to Rimuru who was her savior and benefactor, but also to Saare who forgave her and gave her trust to once again become a partner.

{Glenda-san?}

Glenda is almost lost in her own thoughts if not for a sudden call from Rudiger. Although in all honesty, she felt a bit annoyed, this time she felt sincerely grateful for it.

{Yes, Captain Rudiger?}

{Look, I know we barely know each other, and I notice you aren't really on the same page with me either, but I'm gonna tell you something and you have to believe in me}

{Pardon?} Glenda was obviously surprised by Rudiger's words. She has no idea what's in Rudiger's mind.

{Okay, just hear me out, Glenda-san. Let's believe I have an accurate premonition. And my instinct kept saying something was gonna be pretty dangerous in the next moment. So I want you to do something.}

{All right, to be honest, I can't really accept that but if it's your command, then I'm gonna do it.}

{Right, consider this as my command. Put a magic marble from the supply and put it into your rifle. It would boost the capability to produce the bullet and in some otherworlder's terms, it would "unlock automatic mode". Do that, and I promise you, you'll need it, Glenda-san.]

Wait hold on, automatic mode? Does he mean this rifle, which seems like a single-bolt action rifle could shoot like an assault rifle? Glenda thought to herself. Well, whatever. He didn't have a bad intention anyway.

[All right Captain. I'll do as you say.]

[Much obliged, Glenda-san.]

Rudiger's tone was dead serious, at least much more serious than it usually does. It makes Glenda have less reason to disobey it. So to waste no time, she pulled out one of the magic marbles inside her supply pocket and put it inside the hole in the rifle's stock. As she put it in, she could see the rifle glow for a moment. She also felt a significantly increasing flow of magicules in her rifle which released a small amount of aura from it. However,

Oy oy isn't this just the same as exposing myself?!

Even though it was a small amount of it, it still had a leaked aura.

She intended to ask about it to Rudiger, but out of all moments, the enemy decided to show up at the same time.

Glenda notices there's a movement up in the sky. She looked up and could immediately see more than thousands of Manticores and Wyverns skydiving towards the Siege Walkers.

"Hah…" Glenda sighed, feeling conflicted.

On one hand, she felt joyous since it meant her plan was a success once again. Her anxiety about failing her part was gone. Yet, on the other hand, she felt quite annoyed because her chance to ask about her rifle leaking an aura to Rudiger became impossible.

Nevertheless, it's not a time to lament over it.

She readied her rifle and then put her eyes on the scopes. With her [Unique Skill: Sniper], she could easily put a bullet toward them, especially with her sub-skill [Warp Bullet] which could create multiple warp portals in between the target and herself. With that skill, she could manipulate where the bullet would hit her target since she has control of the spatial element of it. She could shoot her target from the front, but the warp portal appeared on the target's back, resulting in the bullet hitting the target from its opposite direction as she fired it.

Normally she uses her [Magic Sense] to perfect her shot. But ever since she had a good sight from the MaDD and the quality of the scope itself, Glenda decided to save her energy and use the alternatives.

{This is it! Shoot them down, fellas!}

Rudiger encourages the whole unit through [Telephathy Net] as the swarm is getting closer and closer.

Glenda on the other hand, is looking for the blonde man. She didn't take Saika's report for nothing, and she wanted to try it by herself. If she could take out the enemy leader, then perhaps the whole swarm would withdraw like the Dark Pegasus.

She took her time to pick up a target. After all, there's no specific target like she used to work, and she's not the only shooter here. And because of it, Rudiger was ahead of her.

*Brrrrtttt

*Brrrrttt

*Brrrrttt

A deafening sound of a strange continuous burst round from the Siege Walker's minigun filled everyone's ear. The soundwave was sent across the field, even reaching the woods where the shooters hid themselves.

Even without her scope, Glenda could see the first wave of the dive. Wyverns and Manticores had suddenly lost their ability to fly and then plummeted to the ground. For Glenda, even after witnessing the success of the first ambush, the sight of the sudden death of hundreds of huge flying creatures was still an unfathomable sight to behold.

The ground splashed with mud and water as the mass numbers of Manticores and Wyvern's dead bodies hit the ground hard. The numbers of the fallen flying beasts were like rainwater itself, except for their size.

And what made the sight more amazing to see was the Siege Walker itself.

As the first wave of the Saderan's fliers killed during their dive, another wave of them still came. They stop their dive midway and then spread out in every direction. The 17 Siege Walkers were outnumbered no matter how you see it. And because of it, they couldn't shoot down every single one of them immediately.

This has resulted in plenty of the Saderan's fliers managing to get close enough to the Siege Walkers. With their claws, the Wyverns tried to grip while the Manticores used their paws to whack the Siege Walkers from an angle where the miniguns couldn't reach them. As mentioned before, the Siege Walkers's minigun couldn't reach a 90° angle upward and could only reach 40° at maximum. That's why, the Wyverns and Manticores were rather safe as long as they weren't in the range of those miniguns.

However, the Siege Walkers are safer.

Basically, there are two layers of barrier that protect the Siege Walkers. The barrier was almost invisible as it did not envelop the Siege Walker with a dome-shaped barrier. It was following every line of shape of the Siege Walker. The first layer of the barrier was meant to protect against physical attack while the second layer was to stand against magic-based attack.

And the result was, no matter how powerful the Wyverns and the Manticores attacked, the Siege Walkers were literally unhinged by it.

He really wasn't lying Glenda thought to herself as she remembered Rudiger's remarks on how she was underestimating the Siege Walkers.

Glenda could only chuckle realizing she was at fault. But no matter anyway. It was a happy mistake. She could laugh it off and be grateful that her worries about using the Siege Walkers as bait on the open field were unneeded.

Guess I can't fall behind, she put her eyes back on the scope, looking for a suitable target. Her priority was the blonde man. But taking out any Wyvern Riders still would do since they are the ones who control the swarm of beasts. Taking them out would most likely make those beasts lose their cohesion. And hopefully, it will be the same scenario as the Dark Pegasus.

Glenda began to set her aim toward the visible riders who had somehow survived the onslaught.

Then, she began pulling the trigger.

*Foom

Glenda barely feels any recoil from her rifle. In fact, it doesn't have any recoil at all. And there's almost no sound coming from it when she pulls the trigger. All of this gave her a kind of strange feeling as she didn't feel she was firing a rifle.

However, the result was undoubtedly satisfying.

She couldn't see the condensed light as it traveled much faster than a kinetic bullet. But she can see the impact of it. She didn't move her eyes from her target after pulling the trigger. And she witnessed the rider suddenly have a hole in his torso, with an addition of a small amount of black smoke as the result of a high degree of heat by the condensed light.

"Heh, very cool," Glenda murmured to herself as her eyes didn't move away from the scope.

From there, she began her hunt.

…

…

…

Meanwhile, on the Saderan's side,

"AGAIN?! I'M FUCKING AMBUSHED AGAIN?!"

Norma couldn't stand it anymore. For what he thought these metal giants were resting since they were weaponized living beings, he really wished these metal giants would just stand still and not do anything as he slew them all with his wyvern.

But as it turns out, reality doesn't come to his favor once again.

Never in his wildest expectation that the one who mysteriously killed a bunch of his own Wyverns and Manticores was caused by these metal giants. He simply thought these metal giants were going to be used in the frontline.

He is once again walking a fine line between life and death.

He barely escaped the first onslaught of thunderous claps that was unleashed by these metal giants' hands. It seems these metal giants are somehow able to cast an unending spell of strange projectile that kills his men.

A giant, whether it's an Ogre, troll, or other species of giant is massively advantaged in terms of physical power. Only very few of them who able to cast any magic. And each of them is a huge pain in the ass.

"Tch! Curse you Irregulars!"

He pulls his Wyvern higher, hoping it will work once again despite the odds. And even though he was frustrated before and just wanted to end this battle as soon as possible, his instinct kept pushing him to survive.

Along the way, he flies side by side with a fellow Wyvern Riders. The fellow was riding a Manticore instead of Wyvern. Norma could see his fellow riders were also in a crisis and in a desperate effort to save himself. Because of this, Norma didn't particularly keep an eye on him all the time.

Yet, he noticed when all of sudden, in the blink of an eye, the fellow rider was suddenly missing from the Manticore's back.

What now?! He screamed in his thoughts.

He was sure he and his fellow rider were at a rather safe angle, so it shouldn't be that easy to get killed by the metal giants. Yet, it was if not because of those metal giants, then what else?

But Norma has no time to think about it as the most important thing to do right now is to pull back once again and regroup with the second group. And so, he kept pushing his Wyvern to climb faster and faster to avoid the onslaught caused by these metal giants.

As he pulls his own Wyvern to climb, he also commands the other beasts with no rider to follow him. Some other remaining riders were following him, but some had gone mysteriously insane by attacking the enemy in clear sight. And they are the fastest who meet their end.

Norma's suffering didn't end there. As he commands the other riderless beasts to follow him, there's one of the Manticore who got nearly too close to him. He barely noticed it as his body almost crashed into the Manticore's body.

But from there, he witnessed something that took all his mind.

The Manticore was almost hitting his side as he also raised his arm to protect his head. Yet, the manticore suddenly wails and flies in a different direction. He watched the Manticore closely, something he didn't understand why.

But thanks to that, he finds something unusual.

In a glance, he could see there was a hole in the Manticore's stomach. Something that shouldn't be strange since he already knew the Irregulars were firing a strange-shaped projectile toward his troops. However, when he thinks about it more, he realizes something is rather off.

He's sure he wasn't mistaken when he sees the hole is on the Manticore's stomach, but the hole doesn't appear from the bottom part. Instead, it was coming from it's side. Which should be impossible since the one who was firing at them was the metal giants. And those metal giants are on the ground, so the holes must have come from the bottom part of the Manticores. Yet, it doesn't appear to be that way for the early Manticores.

So that means…

"Sir Norma! Come on! There's an enemy in the woods!"

The voice of a familiar person came into his ear. He looked up and saw a big Wyvern descending in haste to get close to him. Just by seeing the size of the Wyvern, Norma didn't need to think who was the rider.

Jekyl didn't stop when they got close enough. However, Jekyl gave Norma a meaningful look. A look that says, "Don't stop!".

Norma was full of adrenaline as he didn't find any reason to not follow along. And so he swiveled back his Wyvern and descended back to the battlefield.

Yet, this time, he went toward the woods. Not the metal giants.

"Let's send most of our Manticores to hold the metal giants! We sent all the remaining Wyvern to attack the enemy in the forest!" Jekyl commanded.

Fortunately, Norma was under pressure as he could not think more than he already had. So following along with someone who has a plan is a much better option for him now.

"All right!" Norma responded. This response made Jekyl somewhat smile a little.

"Let's gain some momentum after our first loss, Sir Norma."

…

…

…

"Ah, shit… I should have used [Warp Bullet]" Glenda slowly cursed. She had pulled her eyes off the scope, and now she witnessed two Wyverns heading to her position.

What a bad luck. Just when I finally found that blonde man, Glenda thought to herself as she began to stand up, because there were two big Wyverns coming toward her.

That damn Manticore.

She had successfully found Norma during her time on a hunt. Yet, when she pulled the trigger to kill him, a Manticore suddenly stood between them. As a result, Norma was saved, and Glenda failed.

Worse, somehow Norma figured out where the shot coming from. And now he brought along his friends to hunt her down.

Seeing two Wyverns coming at her, Glenda abandoned her hiding and stuffed her rifle on her back, then she started running into the deep woods. She activates her [Magic Sense] to locate the distance between herself and the two Wyverns.

Glenda kept running between the trees once she noticed the two Wyverns were closing in fast. She could even feel the wind caused by those Wyvern's flapping wings. Responding to that, she decided to keep running until she found a good spot to shoot them.

However,

*Brak!

Glenda noticed a large tree trunk had collapsed from its roots. Luckily for her, she managed to avoid it thanks to her [Magic Sense]. She ducked and rolled to one of her sides, then figured out she could not outrun these 2 Wyverns. And so, there is no other choice than to deal with them in this very spot.

She takes her rifle from her back and places it in her hand. She immediately looked back to face the two Wyverns. And not to her surprise, she saw these Wyverns hovering around 8 meters above the ground in front of her. She was soon lock her eyes on the blonde man, Norma.

She immediately took aim, but before she could pull the trigger, the blonde man surprisingly started to speak.

"So you're the one who tried to kill me?" He looks at Glenda with a disgusted face.

Glenda's finger is right on the edge to pull the trigger. She wanted to say nothing and shoot the blonde man immediately but if she did so, the other one would immediately react. She needs a little bit more time to make a plan out of this.

"I am. What's wrong with it? Everyone is killing each other."

"I just didn't expect it was a woman who almost killed me."

"Too bad for you. Must be embarrassing to die in the hand of a woman."

"Indeed. But I'm tired now, so I don't want to think about anything. So…"

Glenda saw the small movement from the blonde man's hand, and she rolled to one side instantly. And she made the right move. Because as soon as Norma stopped talking, he threw some kind of bottle then when it hit the ground, the ground was on fire.

My armor could withstand that, but the heat would be annoying still, she thought as she looked at the fire. But just looking at the fire wasn't the only thing she did.

Glenda took her rifle up and then aimed toward the Wyverns. By any means, she wants to retaliate against Norma. But annoyingly, Norma wasn't there. Instead, she saw the other Wyvern rider, somehow looking surprised at something she didn't understand. This time, she waste no time to think and pull the trigger.

And the other rider fell to the ground.

The Wyvern probably felt his rider was killed as he immediately attacked Glenda without hesitation.

Glenda responded by pulling the trigger. But this time, the shot isn't coming once. Instead, it came out with a burst.

Glenda didn't even aim, and the rifle let out a long burst of fire. It fires dozens of condensed lights that find no difficulty in piercing the thick scale of the Wyvern. As a result, the Wyvern follows the same fate as his rider in merely less than two seconds.

{Glenda-san, are you okay?!}

Suddenly, Rudiger's voice came into Glenda's head as she took a breath.

{I'm fine. Just got lost the track of the man I'd hunt}

{Damn! Watch yourself Glenda-san, the enemies are coming toward you!}

{What?}

Glenda widened her [Magic Sense] and immediately saw all of the Saderan fliers flying into the woods. But they didn't just come in one direction.

{All shooters, abandon your place immediately! The enemy has found your position!}

Rudiger's voice now wasn't just heard by Glenda but by the entire personnel of the Artillery Unit. His voice was rather panicked as everyone could see, this was not how the plan worked.

Responding to this, all the shooters were coming out from their hideout and starting to run to save themselves. Although the armor could withstand most of the physical attack, it was better to be safe and avoid any risk of danger.

The Manticores and Wyverns started to attack wildly. They cannot easily find their enemy, so they make their move by tearing down the trees with their powerful leg.

And so, the forest began to be torn apart from their trees.

There are a lot of big trees, with it's almost gigantic trunks. Some of those trees are bigger and taller than the Siege Walker. They have countless branches over the top, along with wide leaves.

Yet, they are falling to the ground by the combined attack from hundreds of Wyverns and Manticores.

And the result was a terror.

The ground was shaking, there was an unending sound of creaking sound followed by a big thud which almost sounded like an explosion. The sound of water splashing followed soon every time after a tree fell.

Glenda could only helplessly run deeper into the forest while keep trying to find other shooters. She could avoid those falling trees easily, but if it kept on going with no end, she would get tired eventually.

She kept running deeper, keeping on trying to coordinate with other shooters. If she can reach at least two other shooters, she can comfortably move forward while giving a cover fire in succession with the other.

However, she underestimates the distance between herself and her comrades. The result was no matter how hard she put an effort to make a rendezvous point, the enemy Wyverns were sporadically tearing down the trees nearby. Glenda couldn't help but start to get frustrated as she became the prey as the battle went on.

The wyverns in particular seem to be getting stronger each time they get closer. Most probably because of the blessing by Emroy. Or hopefully, it was only Glenda's imagination.

Yet, no matter the case, the Wyverns are getting bolder. Some of them are starting to aim at the individuals rather than tearing down the trees. They dive from a high altitude and then snatch the person below like an eagle hunting their prey.

One by one, the shooters were caught by their claws and thrown to every side.

Shit!

Glenda notices everything with her [Magic Sense], putting her brain to the limit by constantly receiving all kinds of information in a wide area. The amount of information processed inside her brain was tremendous for a normal human like her. If things continued like this, she would eventually exhausted.

Yet, apparently, things have gotten worse by every moment.

With her [Magic Sense] at work, she noticed there were at least 4 Manticores chasing after her. Two on her back, and one on each side. It leaves her with no option other than to keep moving forward. An option which proven to make things more difficult.

Because of the Manticores on her tail, she couldn't make a turn whenever she needed. It makes the Wyverns above have an easier job tracking her, including taking her out of action.

In such a situation, Glenda has no choice other than to use her trump card. She would use the [Warp Bullet].

She takes her rifle from her back, puts it on her arm, and then forces her brain to do extra work by marking the location of each Manticore.

A moment later, a strange circular black appearance came out of nowhere in front of each Manticore. Those Manticores didn't even realize there was a strange black hole in front of them because they were too focused on tracking Glenda by her smell. And before they even realize the anomaly, their soul has vanished into the thin air.

Their bodies lay on the ground as immediately as those black holes appeared. And soon after, the Wyvern followed suit.

*Crash

The Wyvern fell from the sky above her, leaving a crashing sound that could be heard several dozen meters across. The Wyvern let out a cry for several seconds, screaming in pain as he screeched, desperately holding the pain.

But before any help could reach out to him, Glenda fired a long burst of shots into its head. And what's left from it, was a dark singed skin with a burnt smell filling the air around it. There's no wailing or cries from it anymore. All there was left was the dead, burnt corpse of Wyvern.

"*Pant… *Pant… You damned beast…" Glenda had been almost out of breath. She stood in front of the dead Wyvern while looking around where there were also the corpses of Manticores.

She still put her rifle in her hand, ready to fire another round of condensed lights. But her head started to sting even more than before.

"You really are an annoying opponent…"

Glenda instantly looked up above her, to see the source of the sudden voice which meant to her. And up there, above her, she saw the guy who was supposedly dead several moments ago if not for the troublesome Manticore.

"Still alive, blondie?" she retorts back with a snark.

She didn't notice when this guy came. She was unconsciously deactivating her [Magic Sense], that's why she didn't even notice when he came from whatever place before.

"Tch, you're worse than I imagine. You have no shame and honor. I was complimenting you before. And you reply with such an insult."

"Oh. My apologies, SirNorma. You look healthy and handsome as always. I was happy to see you alive," Glenda smirked as she spoke such a compliment toward Norma. Trying to fix her response as she was deemed as shameless and dishonorable.

Even though in reality, Glenda was starting to get a pretty terrible headache and she was annoyed to see Norma was still alive.

Norma, on the other hand, had frowned his eyes in response. That reply was the last thing he had expected, but nonetheless, he understood that this banter would result in nothing other than another emotional exhaustion.

So, in response, he chooses to keep quiet. But only in his mouth.

For Glenda, it all happened so quickly that she didn't use her [Thought Acceleration] in time. She didn't see Norma was striking her with his Wyvern. All she felt was the sudden chill on her back, and her vision was somehow distorted to the surroundings.

Glenda finally managed to get herself together, only to realize she had flown away from the earlier position into several dozen meters above the ground. Worse, her altitude keeps decreasing as she flies above the ground. It means she was not supported by any flying ability, and she would fall to the ground very soon.

She braced for impact as the treeline came into her sight once again.

*Brak!

"Guh!"

Her armor didn't save her from such an impact. She could feel a pain in her back, and one of her hands suddenly had no strength to lift a rifle. Fortunately, she has a Full-Potion in one of her pockets. With her uninjured hand, she wastes no time to drink the potion.

Drinking the Full-Potion saved her life, but it didn't save her from the battle yet.

Immediately after feeling the pain in her body has completely gone, she stands up and then scans the area with her [Magic Sense]. This time, she kept aiming toward every direction she was pointing, guarding herself from a potential surprise attack.

The sound of heavy rainwater hitting the trees and the ground, followed by continuous thunder which almost covered every sound that was caused by a living being in the surroundings. The dark cloud still blocked the sunlight, giving little help to see through the treeline. Glenda has no choice other than to keep on relying upon her [Magic Sense].

Unlike before, Glenda decided to stand her ground and not move anywhere. She decided so because she had a better momentum to fend off the upcoming beasts rather than running away from them. And she made the right decision.

With Norma suddenly vanished from her detection, another swarm of Manticores came straight to her. Glenda didn't do anything other than press the trigger as she aimed at the horde of manticores. She has lost count of how many Manticores have been slayed by herself.

But that's when things turn in her favor.

Noticing that Glenda is having a rather safe place, another shooter starts to run towards her. One by one finally reach out to her, making Glenda relieved by having more hands to defend their lives.

More and more shooters came. The already standing on guard gave them a covering fire as the other survivors came to the defensive position. Glenda was more than happy to aid and receive another shooter that survived.

{Glenda-san! Are you alright?!}

Captain Rudiger's voice came inside her head.

{I'm fine, thankfully. That bastard blondie is still out there.}

{That can wait. I notice you have made a secure place. Listen, I have a plan but I need your approval}

{Anything that can help us out of here was approved, Captain}

{Listen to me first. I will use the Siege Walker's cannon and blast the portion of the forest. The horde of Manticores and Wyverns are too spread out to be taken care of by miniguns alone.}

{Wait wait wait! You wanna blow us apart too?!}

{Part of it, yes! But here's the thing. Cast a barrier first, a magical one. You must cooperate with other personnel to cast a barrier that is powerful enough to withstand the blast}

{Hold on! Are you sure?! You said it yourself that the Siege Walker is powerful!}

{Positive! I know I ask too much but think about it! Even if the barrier was destroyed, your armor would keep you alive. I promise I'll save every one of you if things get uglier!}

Glenda clicked her tongue, genuinely displeased by the plan. On the other hand, she understands that Rudiger has a fair point. Bearing the grunt of the Siege Walker's cannon sounds very dangerous but with the proper armor and barrier, the chance for surviving is pretty much high.

Not having much time to think, Glenda made up her mind.

{Alright. You better live up to that word, Captain}

{Certainly! Now go and prepare for the upcoming strike}

{Understood. We'll hold out with everything we have}

…

…

…

The forest was now flooded with a horde of Manticores. They viciously hunt down every grey-colored people who wields a strange long metal stick, chasing them away from every corner. Above them, several remaining of Wyverns are helping by tearing down the trees to limiting the Irregular's movement.

But now, the horde is running toward a more direct path. They are running towards a group of Irregulars who stand their ground.

There are several groups of them. Each has varied numbers. Some in dozens, some even less than 10. But nevertheless, they manage to stand their ground perfectly.

This is giving precious time for Rudiger to finish off the portion of the whole Manticore horde.

He kept on firing the Siege Walker's miniguns endlessly. All of the Siege Walkers under his command followed his action.

Rudiger has no time to waste after all. Glenda and his subordinates who took the role of sniping the enemy were in danger. Even with the high-quality armor and body enhancement, fatigue could still be an issue. The more time he takes to clear the horde in front of him, the more time his subordinate has to endure.

Moreover, something is bugging him since the enemy's second wave is coming.

That Sir Norma seems able to move around at unfathomable speed. He thought.

Much like Glenda, he also aims to hunt down Norma, even though not as serious as Glenda did. He still prioritized to stop the whole horde of mythical beasts by eliminating them as a whole. But it doesn't mean he was not paying any attention to Norma's existence.

While firing at the mythical beasts, he constantly checked on the MaDD to track down Norma's position. Sometimes he lost sight of him, which became the start of his confusion.

The speed of his Wyvern or Manticore is normally still in a range of MaDD capability but on several occasions, he simply vanished from detection. It almost looks like he could do a short-range teleportation.

At this moment, everyone knew it was caused by none other than the blessing from Emroy. However, how the blessing could resulting a different kind of ability was still a mystery for the Enlightenment Task Force.

Most probably, the Saderans don't even know the answer as well.

Heh, whatever. With the blast of these cannons, Sir Norma wouldn't be able to evade it. Rudiger affirms himself.

The blast that Rudiger meant was a huge fireball that was fired from the twin massive cannon on his Siege Walker's back. To add more about it, he's not going to be the only one who fires it.

All the 17 Siege Walkers would do the same.

As Saare ever mentioned before, the fire would almost equal to [Inferno Flame], one of the most powerful fire attacks that exist in Cardinal World. Only a handful of individuals who could cast such an attack. One of the most prominent was the "Conqueror of Flames", Shizue Izawa.

Of course, to produce such an attack requires a massive amount of magicules. And to fulfill it, Rudiger needs to spend more than half of their magicule reserve in his Siege Walker. All of it just for one single massive fireball.

And he planned on making all the 17 Siege Walkers to do that.

It's no wonder why Glenda was displeased with the idea. But given the situation of those mythical beasts being sporadically scattered around the forest, it would be a long and hard-fought battle to eliminate them little by little. A one-massive area attack would be a more preferable option.

Not to mention that Norma somehow can move incredibly fast, so burning everything surrounding him would trap him and leave him no choice but to make a move.

So to waste no time, Rudiger back to his senses and fired his Siege Walker's miniguns at the flying Manticores.

*Brrrrrtttt

*Brrrrtttt

*Brrrrttt

Despite the drawback of the Siege Walker's inability to shoot 90° upward, he used a coordinated tactic with other Siege Walkers so the area where they couldn't reach was minimalize.

And the "rain" of Manticore's corpses didn't stop to decorate the view of the battlefield.

The sound of wailing and screams of pain from the dying Manticores has continuously filled the air. Some who didn't die instantly were given a mercy killing by the nearby Siege Walker by stomping them to death.

The soil is getting more sticky as the puddle of rainwater has been mixed with blood. There was no greenish grass on top of the soil anymore, nor the grey ambiance upon reflecting the storm on the sky. All there left is a flood of reddish water.

If not for the cover from the Siege Walker armor plate, those pilots would certainly feel nauseous at the sight and smell of the thousand of Manticore's corpses. After all, blood has a peculiar smell, and it's not a fragrant one.

It will become a hunting place for Vulture as soon as the storm passes.

Nevertheless, it was necessary. Because if they didn't do it, the Saderans would still have a will to fight.

And those efforts are about to pay off. As currently at this moment, the sky has been cleared of those mythical beasts. Most of them are dead, but some are fleeing. As to where they fleeing, Rudiger himself has lost track.

But that's not the priority for now. Because right now, it was time to save Glenda and his remaining subordinates.

{That's the last of them! Alright, you know what to do! Let's burn the forest down and save our comrades!}

{Yes, Captain!}

Rudiger brought his Siege Walker to a new position. He directed his Siege Walker into the forest where Glenda and the rest of his subordinates were holding out. He began to prepare the canon on his Siege Walker's back.

All the Siege Walkers in the same spot are doing the same as their captain. Divide the targets, calibrate the size of the output, calculate the energy they would spend, and all the mechanical procedures to fire the canon on their back. It was a time when they showed themselves as a worthy Siege Walker's pilot.

{Everyone, status!} Rudiger commanded, checking the rest of the other pilots.

{Walker 2, ready to fire!}

{Walker 5, ready to fire!}

{Walker 6, ready to fire!}

{Walker 10, putting the coordinate of the target}

{Walker 13, calibrate the canon evelation}

{Walker 9, ready to fire!}

{Walker 3, malfunction on one of the canon}

Rudiger kept receiving status reports from other pilots. Although most of them were already in position, some were not. Even there are some technical issues among them. So he decided to give them a bit more time while ordering the Siege Walker who happened to have technical trouble to step aside and didn't fire at all. It was better to be safe.

Fortunately, there are only 2 Siege Walkers that have technical issues. The rest of them are ready to carry out the plan.

This should be written in the After Combat Report(ACR) for evaluation, Rudiger said to himself. Funny enough, even at the pressuring moment, he already projecting himself behind a desk working a lot of paperwork in the near future.

However, right now his hands were on a grip of the canon's trigger. He double-checked the procedure, not wanting any mistake to happen that could cause a fatal outcome. And then, when everything was ready, he took a deep breath.

I hope this won't get hurt for you, Glenda-san.

He breathed out slowly, letting the feeling of air leave his body. It was a subtle moment, as he perceived it as a little "breathing room" before a storm came. Then, his voice is reaching out to other pilots,

{All pilots, make a 20-second countdown before firing.}

{Understood!}

{Countdown begins!}

{20…}

{19…}

{18…}

{17…}

{16...}

{15…}

…

…

…

*Bang

*Bang

*Bang

"You! Fall back from your position, the barrier won't reach you!"

"Understood! Falling back right now!"

"Go! I'll cover you!"

*Bang

*Bang

*Bang

Glenda let the bullet fly heading to the nearest Manticore she was aimed. She has changed her rifle with her loyal pistol. The main reason was that her rifle had been run out of Magic Marble, and the rifle's fire rate was slower than her pistol without it. Since the distance between the hordes and her group was somewhat getting closer and closer, it was logical thinking for her to change her firearm.

She has been taking command of the group ever since it was formed. Now she's commanding 15 surviving shooters, with 6 of them focusing on erecting a barrier for the incoming strike from the Siege Walkers.

In all honesty, Glenda feels a doubt about it. She didn't know how powerful the output from those cannons was, and she worried that the barrier she had prepared was not enough to hold against it. That's why she ordered 6 of her surviving member to focus all of their magicules left to cast the barrier.

I hope the other group has enough personnel to withstand it, she hoped. Even though she's in the middle of danger herself, she can't help but worry about the other surviving personnel. But most, she was worried about the personnel who were probably still out there and hadn't reached out to any groups.

After all, the attacks from those flying Wyverns were not a joke. She has tasted it first hand by Norma. It was possible there were several personnel who might get attacked and incapacitated, and no one came to the rescue.

Nevertheless, she's not in a position to afford such a task. Right now, she's still under attack from the horde of Manticores. And to get out of this situation was for Rudiger to burn down the whole area with his cannons.

"Glenda-sama, the Siege Walkers are starting to countdown the strike!" One of the personnel shouted.

"Got it! Barrier caster put all your magicules into it! The rest of you, embrace for impact!"

"' Yes! '"

"Hey! Count down the strike!" Glenda ordered the personnel who were in touch with the Siege Walker's pilot.

Nobody needs to hear the command for the second time, as he immediately voicing out loud the countdown.

"Eight…"

"Seven…"

"Six…"

"Five…"

"Four…"

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One…"

…

…

…

It feels as though time itself has come to a halt. The once tumultuous thunder has now dwindled into a haunting silence. The relentless downpour of rain has abruptly ceased, leaving the world eerily still. The cacophony of battle—the warcries, the clash of metal, the shouts, and the wails—has all but vanished, and even the gentlest sound of a water droplet hitting the ground seems to have ceased to exist.

Every individual present on Alnus Hill appears to have been caught in a moment of petrification, their initial dread giving way to a profound sense of wonder.

The sky, now transformed into the center stage, provides a dramatic background with its ominous storm clouds. The once powerful wind has now subsided, no longer adding pressure to the unfolding spectacle.

If the world could indeed be likened to a grand stage, this surreal phenomenon would undoubtedly represent its climax. It is not an exaggeration to say that the current scene has managed to captivate its audience in a way that words cannot fully describe.

And the one who stood proudly on the stage was none other than the multiple monstrous balls of fire.

The size of the fire was the same as a hill, and the shape was similar to a fallen star from the sky.

For most of the Saderans, the sight was undoubtedly terrifying. Having never seen something so grand and monstrous as such, they suddenly came to their senses.

Everyone's eyes were glimmering with its reflection. At this moment, the world was much brighter than the midday in the summer. The temperature has suddenly heightened, erasing the freezing air from the storm.

No matter who they are, whether it's Saderans or Tempest, nobody disagrees it was a marvelous sight.

Marvelous, but deadly.

It was one thing to be able to see it. But to confront it straight forward, it was a whole different feeling. Nobody knows how it feels. Every existing mortal could only hope, that whoever facing such monstrous fire, would meet a painless death.

And such hope should be more like a wish.

Because of what the phenomenon brings upon this world, it was not as beautiful as its appearance.

The monstrous fireball traveled at a slow-looking pace. But nothing can stand against it. Nothing can make it stop.

It leaves a destruction as its trail. The trees are burnt in a moment, the puddle instantly evaporates into steam, and the soil is turned into a pitch-black ground with several yellow and red lines among it. Those giant trees became the biggest torch that people had ever seen.

Yet, contrary to the ambiance of the time stopped, the storm still existed.

The rainfall immediately distinguished the fire, filled the gap between the cracked soil, and slowly replaced the burnt smell with a peculiar smell of water.

However, despite such a quick recovery from the destruction, the natives of this world, have the same conclusion upon witnessing such a phenomenon.

They all think the same thing, Nobody would ever survive that.

Those giant waves of flame were nothing more than destruction sent by the Gods. There is no way a mere mortal could create such a godly wave of fire. Such a scale of harbinger of death, no one would ever disobey it. For them, it was none other than a sign that the Gods had been angered.

But one thing they hadn't considered was the fact that at this very moment, they were facing an enemy. Their enemy was coming from the otherworld. A world where it seems every normal sense would be shattered by the scale and frequent abnormalities.

It was a such marvelous sight indeed. But for the people of Tempest, they have witnessed something much more out of sense. Something that is more proper to be said as the work of the Gods. Something that would make the sight pale in comparison.

And no wonder, when the Saderans collectively thought nobody was going to survive from it, the warriors from Tempest would shatter that expectation.

"*Pant… *Pant… Hah… Goddamn it, that almost killed me too…"

Rose from a pile of singed ground, Glenda Attley struggled to stand above her two feet. She was out of breath for some reason. Her feet are wobbling, and her armor is stained with a black-colored dust.

But still, she's alive. Alive and well.

She took a time to take a breath and process what happened to her surroundings. As she looked around, there was nothing but a pitch-black everywhere. The ground, the trees, and…

"Holy-hold on! Hey! Can you hear me?!"

Glenda immediately kneels near a fallen fellow soldier. Thankfully, he doesn't seem to be burnt by fire. There were no injuries caused by Flame, but his completely unmoving body gave great concern to Glenda.

Worse, it seems she's the only one who appears to be in good condition. The rest of her group have now fallen unconscious. In such a condition, Glenda had abandoned every pain she felt right now and immediately tried everything she could to save them.

She pulls out everyone's full potion supply and pours it down to each of them immediately. She watches as the full potion evaporates into the air, and for a moment there's a small hue of light on everyone's body. She anxiously watched every one of them, silently praying they would wake up soon.

"Urghh…"

Finally, one of them groaned. Glenda walked toward him immediately. She pulls out an emergency clothing and folds it. She put it under the man's head, making it a pillow for him to rest.

When she finished, she heard a multiple sound of small movement. She raises her head, looking at around two soldiers, one female and one male, who are making an effort to sit on the spot where they're lying. Glenda saw no serious injury on them so she helped them to sit.

Eventually, all of Glenda's group awakened, albeit most of them seemed to have some kind of internal injuries so they weren't fully in good shape. But at least, none of them died.

{Glenda-san, are you all right?}

A message from Captain Rudiger came into her head.

{Not quite. But we are alive, at least}

{Haha! I knew you would survive that, Glenda-san!}

Glenda was honestly irritated, but now a sense of fatigue started to take control over her body. So she didn't have any energy left to exchange banter. In the end, she gives no answer to Rudiger's remark.

{Hang in there, Glenda-san. I've contacted Saika-san to help us out. Ophelia is also on her way to your position.}

Rudiger's voice was softened, probably noticing that Glenda did not have any energy left to respond to his words. But to his mild surprise, he gets a response.

{Yeah… I'll be waiting}

Glenda was now lying on the ground. She doesn't care anymore about the burnt smell or the dirty soil. She was now completely out of energy, and she barely had enough strength to keep her eyes open. Probably, even if the enemy suddenly came to attack her, she wouldn't have the energy to fight them.

But it doesn't matter anymore. She has done everything she could. It was time for her to stop. At this moment, it was all right for her to close her eyes and let the other do the rest.

In the middle of contemplation, and probably one of the melancholic moments in her lifetime, she heard a voice in her head. And it says,

{…Good work, Glenda}

Strangely, it was not Rudiger's voice.

And soon after that, Glenda lost to her fatigue.

…

The bright light caused by the monstrous fireball could be seen many kilometers away. Unknowingly, the bright light could be seen until the outskirts of the city of Italica. Unfortunately, every one of them thought it was just an appearance of the sunrise.

But for the people in nearby the Alnus Hill, the sight was a big mystery.

Nevertheless, the bright light caused by the massive twin cannon from the Siege Walker has caused massive confusion in the Saderan ranks. Both the army who stayed in the fort and the army who went to the battlefield were awestruck by such a sight.

The flow of the battlefield seems unfavorable for the Saderans up to this point.

The Dark Pegasus by unknown reason had fled from the battlefield, the mythical beasts had nowhere to be seen, the ground troops were about to retreat from the battlefield soon, and Rory Mercury the Apostle seemed to be drawn into a deadly match with the enemy's commander.

The sight of the enemy's commander is also worth mentioning.

Saare, as people from the Saderan ranks remember his name, seems to become an entity that resembles an angel.

He seemed to be levitating above the ground, with two pairs of featherless white wings on the back, and he was enveloped with a dim hue of blue light. His armor was shining especially the golden line intricates, and his sword glowed erecting a white light.

It was thanks to the earlier phenomenon that made everyone became aware of Saare's transformation.

And that was also the one who gave the final straw for the Saderans.

"Your Highness! We must retreat!"

"Your Highness! Grey has instructed us to fall back to the fort!"

Bozes and Hamilton urged Pina to fall back. Despite how painful it is to admit they were losing, it would be more painful if they let Pina get hurt.

The two of them had been bravely become Pina's bodyguard. They charged toward the Irregulars just like everyone, despite they are charging from one of the last waves. It's not because they were afraid to take the forefront row, but it was because her knights were insisting on keeping Pina and the two bodyguards in a rather safer position.

Thankfully, Pina and the other two managed to tone down their ego and listened to their subordinates. It wouldn't be an understatement that this decision saved their life.

But despite all of the things that just happened, Pina is still reluctant to listen to Bozes and Hamilton's plea.

"But we must hold the enemy here. We can't le-"

"We lost too many troops already, Your Highness!"

Bozes slammed the reality into Pina's mind. She was obviously scared upon seeing so many deaths among the Saderans people, yet there was very little gain from their deaths.

Hamilton didn't say anything, but her face was grim with a thousand kilometers stare in her eyes. She was also obviously taken aback upon seeing the deaths and the capabilities of the enemy force.

Yet, however,

"But, Lord Emroy promised us triumph…"

Pina responded with a weak voice. Barely audible, but still manage to be conveyed. Her face itself was enough for Bozes and Hamilton to understand what was inside Pina's mind. They knew that Pina was barely hanging into those hopes, but there was no choice left apart from it. The decision to attack the enemy as soon as they received the blessing, Pina wanted to carry it out until the end. Because she believed, it was the way how Lord Emroy would fulfill his promise.

But Bozes and Hamilton had seen too much of the reality.

They have seen, no, they have understoodhow terrifyingly the enemy turns against them. The unbreakable shield wall, the long-range explosion, and the flying dragonewts, mysteriously held all the information about them, godly power that illuminated the whole area with light, and now…

*Brak!

"Ugh! Hrrghh…"

*Clang!

*Boom!

A loud crash and the clash of powerful metal echoed through the battlefield.

It successfully drew everyone's attention, as the cause of the sound had now stood in between the army of Sadera and Tempest. They seemed to be locking each other. But the one with an angelic appearance clearly has the upper hand by still effortlessly holding out, while the gothic-styled one gives everything she has to block the coming sword.

The fight between the two divine entities had accidentally stopped the whole fight between the Sadera troops and the Fukutsu Unit. It was a strange sight since at the beginning of the battle, the Saderans were acting wild and mindless, as if their sanity had gone forever.

It would be great to know the reason why they have changed now, but the fact that the Saderan has now started to fall back from the battlefield gave a sense of relief to the Enlightenment Task Force.

Now, there is only one fighting left between the two armies.

"Your Holiness…"

Pina mumbled upon seeing Rory was barely holding out against Saare. The apostle of God of War, the one to be said as one of the 12 Apostles, has been toyed with by the enemy beyond the Gate.

Pina felt a sense of urge to help her out. She unconsciously drew her sword back and readied it in her hand. She just needs to step closer to Rory. But yet,

"Your Highness! We have to retreat, please!"

Bozes grabbed Pina's hand, desperately begging her to give up the battle and fall back in immediately.

"Your Highness, look around us! We barely have enough force to keep things going. We took too many casualties! Our numbers are dwindling in our very own eyes!"

Hamilton stands in front of Pina, putting both of her arms on Pina's shoulder. She shakes Pina's upper body, depicting how seriously she begging Pina to fall back.

But Pina didn't seem to budge. Except, in Hamilton's eyes, she can see Pina's lips were trembling. Her whole face seemed to be shuddering, and her body was shivering. She can feel it from her shoulder.

"Princess Pina…" Hamilton tried to get closer to Pina's face, intending to get her full attention. But again, Pina turns her eyes somewhere else. It was clear that Pina was avoiding Hamilton's gaze.

But Hamilton didn't give up.

"Princess Pina! Look at me!" She violently shakes Pina's body. But that was not what made Pina finally pay attention to Hamilton, it was her shout and desperate tone that made her finally look at her.

"We must retreat, Your Highness. Please…" The tone is getting softer, there was no shouting anymore. It was almost like begging for mercy.

"I… I…" Pina stammered upon her own words. But noticing Pina was at least paying attention, Hamilton didn't let it slip.

"We might be able to win this battle by focusing on our defense. We might fail with a frontal assault, but maybe, just maybe, this is not how Lord Emroy would bring our victory. Lord Emroy did promise us a triumph, but he never told us how. That means, we still have a chance with a different strategy!"

Hamilton didn't let anything interrupt her voice, not even a need to breathe. She was determined to bring back Pina no matter how it was.

Pina heard everything that Hamilton has been said. She wouldn't deny that she was in chaos upon seeing her army being slaughtered that easily, even with the blessing from Lord Emroy. To add it all, some of her close friends such as Panache and Norma didn't come back. They were gone from her sight.

Part of her still hoped they were alive, and they still fighting somehow. But another part of her also thought they might have already fallen in the middle of battle.

She has no better choice. Hamilton has a point too. Her only hope was Emroy's vow. That vow was the only driving force that she held to this very moment. If that vow was broken, she would never recover from it. So hearing Hamilton's opinion somehow managed to spark another hope inside her heart.

With the very little time she had to make a decision, she chose what she deemed as the right thing to do.

"All right. I'm sorry, Hamilton. Let's retreat-"

"Good! Sorry, Your Highness, I can't spend any more seconds to waste!"

Bozes suddenly drags Pina into her horse. With Hamilton's help, Pina was already on top of a horse in seconds. Bozes ride the horse, with Pina on her back.

"Hamilton will follow us soon! Don't worry Your Highness!"

Pina didn't find anything she could use to retort, but now her hope has returned. Even though she is saddened by the huge amount of casualties on her side, the battle is still not over.

With that, a new stage of battle has begun.

…

The Saderans took a huge loss. So it's no wonder they started to retreat from the battlefield.

On the other hand, the Enlightenment Task Force from Tempest has successfully stood on their ground. Albeit, not entirely unscathed. There were no death casualties, but the number of injured is quite high for Tempest standard.

The casualties have mostly come from the early clash. It made the Fukutsu Unit had the most casualties. Especially during the first appearance of Rory Mercury, and the effort to close the gap that she made. Almost a thousand were injured, and some of them needed more intensive care. And in that thousand injured, less than a half are able to come back to the battlefield in a short time.

Even with the help of Full-Potion, strangely some of the injured have not just suffered a physical wound. It is already known that the blessing from Emroy grants a different kind of abilities to every individual. So probably among them, there are people who can attack a spiritual lifeform. Or, just like Rory's did, casting a curse.

The second-highest casualties are coming from the Artillery Unit. Aside from the pilot of Siege Walker, almost every personnel is in an injured state. Most of them suffered from extreme fatigue, caused by nearly depletion of magicules during the fire strike from Siege Walker. Some of them also suffered from brain damage, mostly caused by extensive use of [Magic Sense]. Glenda was among them.

And the third is from Saika's unit. The dragonewts are doing their best to hold and lure the Saderan fliers such as Manticores, Dark Pegasus, and Wyverns. They are individually much stronger than those creatures. But the overwhelming number eventually took casualties, although not even half of them were injured. Yet, with almost a hundred of the Dragonewt injured, it was worth noting that the number of forces from Sadera could still pose a threat.

Nevertheless, the most important part was there were no death casualties. And even with some severe injuries, Tempest's medical knowledge is prepared for such a situation.

And what's more important is that the battle is not over yet.

The Saderans have started to fall back to the fort. Some were still retaining discipline which was shown with good order, while some were frantically running away from the battlefield.

This is a good chance to counter-attack. With the Saderans in such a state, it would be very difficult to hold an incoming attack. Even though they have an advantage by having a fort, it would still be useless if the defenders were in chaos with the survivors of the battlefield.

Yet, Tempest didn't take the chance. And the reason is simple.

…

…

…

In the middle of the place where it used to be a battlefield early on, there stood two entities who possessed a power beyond humanity.

They have been fighting for quite some time. Nobody dared to interrupt, even though there was no such statement that these two were having a duel. It's still a battle between two armies. So technically, anyone could jump in and join the fight.

But no one did.

And they did the right thing to do so.

Because if anybody decides to join the fray, most likely it will be their last day.

"Hyaahh!"

Rory swung her halberd viciously, but she immediately fell to the ground.

Saare was almost nowhere to be seen. He comes out of nowhere. At first, he seemed to be standing in front of her, and the next moment he was already behind her.

Rory's perception was barely keeping up with his speed. But the most annoying part was her body couldn't react as fast as her perception. And somehow, Saare could outmatch her in every single way.

The only thing that keeping her alive right now is her regenerative ability. She has been cut in every part of her body. Saare's sword has managed to injure her in every way. And thankfully, her regenerative ability could keep up for now.

The problem is, that she can't rely on it. She wouldn't be able to win if she only relied on her regeneration. She needs a decisive blow, a deadly hit, to make Saare fall to his knees.

Yet, it's easier to be said than to be done. She barely keeps up with Saare in his first appearance, and now after undergoing such metamorphosis, the gap of the strength between her and his has doubled, if not tripled.

What's more, Rory sensed there was one despicable thing that Saare had done that caused her still able to survive this long.

"You're just toying with me, aren't you?!" Rory snarled at Saare.

Saare stopped on his track. With his face covered by the helm, Rory couldn't see what kind of expression he had made. But his gesture showed her some kind of… pity.

"I see… So you perceive this as me playing around?" Saare retorted with a rather monotone tone.

"What else could it be?! You can strike me with a single move and emerge victorious! Yet you didn't! Do you enjoy torturing your opponent?!" Rory's anger was visible even from her eyes alone.

"I don't," Saare immediately replied upon the accusation. "And I didn't mean to play with you. I only tried to defeat you without killing you".

Rory's eyes widened, that answer was one of the most unexpected things to hear for her.

"Huh? What?"

"As I said, I want to defeat you by not-"

"I hear it already! But why?! Is it because I'm weak so you think you can defeat me with such half-assedly?"

"No, that's not what I'm thinking," Saare lowered his guard a bit, loosening his stance. Then, he continued, "You're the Apostle, correct? I find it more beneficial for me to capture you alive rather than kill you."

Rory was confused. In all her life, she has been viewed as one of the most dangerous threats in the world. Some people would wish for her to cease to exist because they felt threatened by her presence.

It is also one of the reasons why she rarely associates herself with royalties from every nation. Those power-hungry aristocrats, or those who's life depend on power over the people, would always avoid her existence simply because of how dangerous she could pose.

So, hearing Saare's intention has brought her a feeling she had never felt before. Confusion, irritation, and yet… interested.

Is it because the army of Tempest really that powerful until she was deemed as a small threat? Or is there something else why they need her alive rather than dead?

"What do you mean by beneficial?"

"Hmm… I'm afraid I can't tell you yet." Saare sounds genuinely disappointed, yet he still decides to answer in such a way.

"Is it embarrassing to say it out loud?"

"That's not the cas-"

"Oh, are you intended to make me your slave? A sex slave maybe?" Rory frowned her eyes while asking that. She seriously thinks it's one of the possibilities. Albeit, she hoped it was not.

"Impossible! We would never do such a thing!" Saare quickly denied the accusation. Those impeccable things were never on the list of what he wanted.

"Then what? Depending on your answer, I might cooperate rather than continue resisting."

Rory's curiosity finally reached its peak as she was certain that these Tempest soldiers were not intended to do such lowly deeds.

As much as Rory is bloodthirsty and seriously intends to drive away these invaders, she doesn't fail to notice how honorable and respectful these invaders are. The first impression was not so good, as they kept on hiding and attacking without showing themselves.

However, from that on, things kept improving her judgment toward these invaders.

They keep their word, they make amends, they are merciful and merciless, they are brave, they are powerful, and most of all, they are true warrior.

It was such a rare sight during her lifetime that an army would be this discipline. They entrust their lives with their comrades, honoring their superiors, and judging from their way of fighting, they do not possess a lust for trampling the weak.

Rory surely felt incredibly irritated during her fight with Saare. She thought that Saare was dishonorable for not giving his all. But a short exchange of words has managed to pique her curiosity.

Saare has said he didn't want to kill her. He needs her alive more than being dead. That means they would use her somehow. But for what?

She tested and gambled by asking if he wanted to make her a sex slave. It is one of the despicable things to do, yet it really did happen in every war in Falmart. Every beautiful woman would be taken as a slave, mostly for entertainment. And by entertainment, people knew it was not a fancy and kind environment. After all, despite her status as Apostle, Rory was aware her looks were more than average.

It wouldn't be strange for anyone to lust over her body and beauty.

Yet, Saare immediately denied the accusation. His voice, his body language, and how quickly he responded became an answer itself. It was no doubt he really told the truth.

Then, for such quality warriors, she was certain a wealth, glory, fame, or even women was not a part of their reason to invade this world. But if it wasn't, then what is it?

Her guts began to scream that she had fought for the wrong side.

"That's… I apologize, but I'm still unable to give you an answer. After all, you're still our enemy. At least, if you surrender now, I will tell you eventually."

Unfortunately, Saare didn't lose his stance. Rory is now in a dilemma.

Lord Emroy has sent her to aid Pina. And Pina had been determined to drive away these invaders. With such a premise, it was obvious her goal must be to defeat the invaders and send them back to their world.

But something makes her more than just interested. Her instinct keeps telling her that something very grand will be happening. And her decision right now would decide on which wave she would surf.

To make it worse, she still has a bad feeling about her Lord's ploy. Sending her to aid Pina is still understandable, but giving a blessing over the whole army? Not to mention, he brought Pina to his palace. Even for her, his own apostle, had to endure several hundred years to finally be summoned to the palace.

And Pina is still Pina. She doesn't become an apostle. She is still a princess. She still fought for the Empire, not for the entire world.

What else? Hardy loses control over the Gate, but her Lord Emroy has to deal with it? Why Hardy doesn't seem to do anything? Why send her to aid Pina rather than Giselle, the Apostle of Hardy?

Why is Lord Emroy being bothered by these invaders so much?

All she saw was the most impressive, the most honorable warrior she had ever seen. She thought Emroy would love them compared to the Saderans. Yet, why aiding the Saderans?

And why, out of all the answers she demanded, the clue was somehow located in these warriors?

Maybe, just maybe, by knowing the purpose of these warriors from Tempest, she would be on track to uncover what is really going on. And the price for that is to betray her Lord's commandment, and also betraying her promise to help Princess Pina.

Which one holds more value? The truth, or honor?

Her all-life experience would make her choose the honor. But today, she chose a different path. It's time to believe more in her own instinct. There was something definitely very wrong that happened. She didn't want to fight for the wrong side. She has seen so many lives taken for stupid reasons.

While protecting an honor is not a stupid thing, many people misinterpret it and use it as a shield to do something awful.

With a heavy breath, she decided to pursue the truth. However, is it really the only way?

Is surrendering to these invaders worth it? Will betraying Pina is the right thing for the future?

She has decided to pursue the truth rather than keep the honor. But she has to be certain that she chooses the right path. And to determine it, she needs to do a last check on these Irregulars.

"Fine. I'll surrender, Saare."

"…Really?" Saare took a short pause before asking. He definitely didn't expect it.

"With one condition." Rory retorted.

"What is it?"

"Prove me you're indeed that powerful."

"Huh?"

"I know you're powerful, but is it really that powerful? Are you really intending to keep me alive rather than enjoy torturing me?"

"I told you I didn-"

"Then prove it. Show me that you indeed could end my life easily. Show me that you're holding back against me for a good reason."

"…"

Saare was giving her silence as an answer, something that made Rory disappointed. She hoped Saare would give a quick answer like always, but this time he seemed to hesitate. Or maybe, he's still confused.

After all, the test she was given was harder than it seemed.

It is one thing to seriously intend to kill, but to kill someone you don't want to? That takes a lot of thinking.

She doesn't necessarily intend to be killed, she just wants to see how seriously he intends to kill her. After all, Rory was still an immortal. Nothing can kill her. Except, of course by ending her soul as well. Now that might work.

So she was curious about how Saare would deal with this. How he will prove he can kill her easily, without any need to kill her literally? She might be disappointed by the slow response, but at least she understood it was not an easy question to be answered.

But Rory decided to give a little push.

"Is that a no?"

"…Fine. Sorry, I just thinking of a way to fulfill your request."

"So you really wished me to surrender? You really think you can kill me at ease?"

"Of course. As I said, it would be more beneficial if we kept you alive than dead."

"You keep saying that but I have no idea what you mean. Fine, whatever."

"But let me ask you first, Rory Mercury."

"What?"

"Are you ready?"

"What do you mean? Of course, I'm ready!"

"Seems like you're certain of yourself. Let me give you a warning. It might be unpleasant."

"…"

Saare's voice was serious. Unlike before when he seemed to be just gauging her abilities, or answering her questions in an uninterested tone, this time it felt like he really giving her a warning.

Whatever magic he used, those words alone successfully sent some chill down her spine.

But Rory wouldn't back down from a mere warning.

"I'm ready."

"Then, prepare yourself. This is gonna be our last fight for today."

Rory raised her halberd, and Saare fixed her stance. Both of them look at each other in the eyes, testing each other resolve.

"I'll be performing a technique that I've learned from my old companion. Just a little information, she's far stronger than me."

Saare raised his sword, while Rory responded with a nod. She appreciates the little addition of information from Saare. It might be not much, but at least it's worth knowing that even for Saare, he can casually admit there is someone else who's far stronger than him.

"Here I come."

"[Dead End Rainbow]!"

Saare vanished into the thin air, only to suddenly appear in front of her.

Fortunately, Rory is starting to get used to it and in an instant, she manages to block the first strike. A sound of *clang was sent to her eardrum. However, the sound of clashing metal was not the only thing she sensed.

Huh?

She felt… pain.

But the pain was nothing she ever felt before. It doesn't feel like her physique has been hurt. It feels like… a part of her has slightly drifted away from her.

Saare jumped back, giving a breathing room. Rory immediately used it to check her torso.

She found two stab wounds there. However, instead of blood pouring out, multiple colors were shining in it.

"That's two."

"Huh?" Rory was dumbfounded.

Yet, Saare becomes relentlessly attacking.

Now, instead of suddenly appearing in front of her, he has somehow appeared at the back.

Rory was too late to notice it, as the strange pain had come to her sense again.

"Three", Saare's voice could be heard from her right side.

Rory tried to turn her head toward where Saare was located, but not even reaching halfway, she was sent flying.

She lost her footing, as she was sure Saare was kicking her using such power until she was blown away above the ground.

However, it's not the main attack. It was only a part of the plan.

As Rory just barely manages to get a hold of herself, Saare appears in front of her, defying the laws of gravity. Perhaps it was the work of his wings, or maybe he possessed such power to defy the law of nature, Rory wasn't sure.

But what's certain is Saare delivered more attacks as he relentlessly stabbed and slashed her body at such magnifying speed. Rory gave everything she had to defend herself but ultimately failed as she felt the strange pain once again.

"Five" Rory heard Saare continue his counting, but she didn't understand what it was.

"And now, six!"

Saare pulled back his right hand, only to thrust it again into her stomach. Rory could see the sword's course but still failed to prevent it from reaching her body. She cannot block, or deflect such powerful thrust with her halberd alone.

As a result, Rory was once again stabbed.

*Brak!

Rory's back was hitting the ground hard. It was caused by Saare's thrust. He thrust his sword while also forcefully pushing her body to the ground, resulting in a little crater on the ground.

Rory could feel most of her body become rather numb. It can only barely withstand a few more hits before eventually dying.

She seriously thinks she would die if Saare attacked her even just for once.

That hurt… And… Why? Why does it feel like I'm losing a part of myself? Rory gave everything she had only to stand up on where she had landed.

Saare on the other hand, had mysteriously in several meters away from her. He kept looking at Rory. His firm stance and silence gave something an eerie feeling even for Rory.

I'm seriously going to die. What is he gonna do? Wait for me to surrender? Is that his plan?

"Are you ready?" Saare unknowingly asked a question with rather an ecstatic tone. He seems to be rather pleased with all of this action.

"Wait! What are you-"

"The next strike would surely kill you. Are you prepared?"

"Huh?! Wait! I thought you're not gonna-"

Not even Rory could finish her sentence, Saare already appeared in front of her. And worse, with she completely let her guard down, the sword already struck her stomach.

Huh?

She feels her body has been out of strength completely. The world is turning dark very fast. But at the same time, everything felt slower.

What…

The darkness had enveloped her completely. She can see nothing. And nothing she can feel. There is no cold, no warmth, no sound, there is only a complete void.

And for the first time in a while, she feels scared.

…

…

…

Rory Mercury's POV

It was pitch dark. It's the worst kind of color I ever encountered. I don't like any of this. No. Please… Someone let me out of here.

I don't like darkness.

I don't even know if my body is moving or not.

I don't know if am I shutting my eyes, or whatever the place I was in was this dark.

I just want to get out of here.

It reminds me of how scary Hardy's underground realm is. Hardy… Perhaps, I'm in her realm?

Am I in hell? Am I punished? But all I did was follow Lord Emroy's commandment…

Or is it?

Is it my betrayal? Is it really a betrayal?

Is my decision to pursue for truth the one who brought me to this hell?

Hell… Is it really a hell?

Is it, is this… where am I?

I'm scared.

Someone… Something…

Lord Emroy… Please… Forgive me…

My Lord, my Lord Emroy, please give me another chance…

I won't, I won't betray you anymore. Please… Please let me out of here…

Saare, it's your fault… I was never ready to die!

I never… never…

*Tap Tap Tap…

Huh? Is that, someone's footsteps? Is there someone here?

"…"

Huh? My voice? My voice is gone?

"…!"

"!"

"H!"

No!

No no no! Please, please hear me! I'm here!

Plea-

"Rory…"

Yes! Yes, it's me! I'm here! Please…

"Rory…"

I'm here! I'm right here! Please, I can't move! I can't speak!

*Tap Tap Tap

The footstep is getting closer. Yes! I'm right here!

Ah! Is that… a light?

Yes! It's a light!

I see it! I saw a light! Hey! Hey, I'm here!

I don't know if my hands are waving, but I did all I could to move. I don't know if it works. But I will do everything to be saved from this place.

"Rory…"

Yes! I'm… huh?

Wait, why… why the sound is getting further? Wait, no no no, come back!

You're getting further away!

I'm-

*Tap Tap Tap

Huh? The footsteps are… getting closer? Wait, how?!

How the footstep is getting closer and the voice is getting further!

Ah, the light! The light!

The light is getting closer! Thank God…

Please… Please reach out…

*RORY!

Eeek!

Huh?!

Who's there?! Who's…

*RORY! How dare you!

Wait, wait! Who?! Who is that?!

What do you mean?! What do I do?!

What-

*How dare you betray me!

Be-betray?

L-Lord Emroy, is that you?

My Lord, is that you?!

I'm sorry!

I'm-

*You're gonna regret it!

Wha-Wha?!

How? How did the space feel shaking?

No! Why does my mind scream it's dangerous?!

My Lord! My Lord Emroy!

I'm sorry! Please forgive me!

I… I won't ever do it again!

I won't-

"Rory… Rory!"

Huh? That voice?

Who is that?

Who is that?!

Are you here to save me?!

Are you-

"Rory! Come back!"

I'm here! I can't move! I can't go anywhere!

I can't!

Please… anybody…

Whoever you are…

I promise I would belong to you…

Please, anybody…

Save me…

Ple-

Huh?

A hand?

Someone is grabbing me. Where? Where are you?

Where-

"Let's go, Rory!"

…

…

…

"Rory!"

"Rory!"

"Rory Mercury!"

Ahh… that voice. It feels so gentle.

"Rory!"

I hear you… I hear you benevolent soul.

Thank you… I'm feeling better. I don't feel scared anymore. I feel calm.

And the dark-

Huh?!

I can feel it. I can feel my eye muscles are moving! I can move my body!

I can… I can…

*Open my eyes

"Rory!"

I see a bright light. I see a blue sky. I see… an angel?

I see white hair… Ah, I wonder how smooth that hair is… It looks much smoother than the white wolf in the Arctic.

But, a hair? Just hair? What about the fac-

*Gasp!

"S-Saare?"

"Rory!"

"Sa-Saare?"

"*Fuhhhh… Yes, thankfully."

"I-Is that you, Saare?"

His face… Is that real?

*Touch his cheek

"U-Uh… Are you alright, Rory…-san?"

It's… I…

"I… don't know. It's scary…"

"Sca-ehem… It's, It's all right now…"

His hand touched my head. His fingers are combing my hair.

And his face… his lips are… smiling?

"Seems like it's a success!"

I suddenly hear a hoarse voice somewhere near me. I turned my head to the side and saw a big muscular man standing.

"Barely. Something is interfering with my [Ressurection]. I almost lost her at the beginning."

I hear Saare replied to the big man. I don't get what he meant. Ressurection? Is that mean, reviving the dead?

"Saare?"

"Hm? Yes?"

"What just happened?"

"Ah… You just died a moment before."

!

"H-Huh?"

"You did. I didn't mention it, didn't I?"

"Mention about what?"

"My technique. [Dead End Rainbow], it's an Art that was imbued into my sword. It's striking directly toward the Soul. And in the seventh strike, it was an absolute strike when the target would die. That's why I make a count for every strike I manage to land on you."

I don't really get it. I wanted to understand, but I just… can't understand it.

"Saare, she is probably exhausted. She's a prisoner now, right? We better treat her well now."

The big man speaks again.

"You right, Grigori. I can feel she have barely enough energy to stand up. Guess I'll take her myself to the hospital."

"You sure? Saika would be here soon. You can leave that task to her."

"No thank you. After all, if I'm here now, it would mean I was stealing Zeno's spotlight."

"Heh, whatever you say, Saare."

"After all, Saika isn't the only one who can fly now."

"Eeeekk!"

I suddenly felt that my body was being lifted. It made me squeal unconsciously. I didn't expect it at all.

And… does it mean…

*Looking down below me

I suddenly felt my face was burning a little. Furthermore, now I can feel Saare's hand on my back and… my hips.

"S-Saare?"

"Oh, don't worry Rory-san. I'll take you to the hospital soon. Just a moment, wait."

"I… I mean…"

"Zeno!"

"Yes, Saare-sama!"

"I'll leave the fort to you."

I tried to look at who was talking with Saare, but my head didn't move as much as I needed. It seems Saare was right. I ran out of energy.

"You can leave that to me, Saare-sama!"

"I'm counting on you."

"By every means, I'll definitely take over the fort!"

"Do your best to capture Princess Pina too. And probably some of her aides if you can."

"Yes, Saare-sama. I'll fulfill your expectations."

"Thank you, Zeno. I'll be here to keep on watch. Do your best!"

"Thank you, Saare-sama!"

I look up once again, spending every ounce of energy I have left. I want to see what's going on. I can hear them fine, but I can't see it. I want to see…

"My apologies, Rory-san. Let's go, we'll go now. Grigori! I'll leave the rest to you as well!"

"You got it, Saare!"

I feel lighter. I can feel a breeze of wind. I can feel the rainwater. And I knew just from the feels, we're now flying above the ground.

The sky has now strangely turned darker. But every time I turn my head toward Saare.

I saw a blue sky.

It's strange. Why? How?

"Saare"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

I saw it. I saw his lips. I saw his smile.

It makes me wonder.

Is he always this warm?

Rory Mercury's POV Ended

TO BE CONTINUED

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Hello! Geez seriously, this chapter is quite difficult to write. I've been stuck writing some scenes. Even some of the fight scenes were barely satisfying for me to read. However, I'm quite proud of this.

Now let me answer your reviews.

Sol4g: Hello man! Been a while it seems! I rarely see you in my reviews recently, hahaha. Of course, nobody going to die. I would certainly dislike it if there's a character from Tensura's verse to be dead. But! I want to make them struggle. So here we are! Hope it was pretty satisfying.

Agile Bite and VeteranNewGuy: Ah I see you guys are basically asking the same thing. And especially for you VeteranNewGuy, I actually have sent you a Private Message(PM). You can check it on this web's menu, and find your inbox. I'm sure you'll find mine. But just for this once, I'll copy my answer from the PM so you can read the answer here.

The reason why Saare felt uneasy and quite panic here is because 2 factors that I didn't write down.

1. He felt pressured and burdened to bring victory without any casualties like his comrades in Tempest.

I don't know how long Saare has been staying in Tempest, but the hint from volume 18, he was joining Tempest only a few moment before The Great Tenma War. So he's probably the newest addition to Tempest military. And you must be already knew, every military commander in Tempest is a great leader such as Geld, Gabiru, Gobta, Rigurd, and Gobwa. They always manage to bring their subordinates alive after every battle. Now, can you imagine how is Saare's feeling being on the same position as them? Even though Rimuru and Benimaru wouldn't want to burden him with those previous triumphs, but you probably could agree that under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to not felt under pressure to achieve a same thing like other army commanders.

2. Saare's defeat against Diablo leaves an impactful change of character.

Now I actually not very sure if in Original story, Saare would feel like this. But again, after reading how respectful he is toward Rimuru in volume 18, he really changed from an arrogant and boastful warrior into a humbled and cautious one. After all, during the battle against Diablo, Saare was actually quite decent. He tried to know who is Diablo, how strong he really is, and gather every information he could get before engaging him. So that attitude wasn't changed from original.
However, unlike his fight against Diablo, Saare is becoming more cautious as he felt he was failed to foreseen the interference from Emroy. He really wanted to know everything about the Saderans before making a plan to engage them because he didn't want to repeat his mistake when he fight against Diablo. So, rather than straightly engage the Saderans, he prefer to be cautious to prevent any kind of loss.

That's why he was panicked when he knew the God of War, Emroy, would help the Saderans and Princess Pina capability as a leader was exceeding his expectations. Because he didn't knew all of these things, he felt he already failed.

PS: Saare might seems underestimating his own force. And it's probably true. But the reason he think like that is because he hasn't sure how strong the Saderans are. So no matter how strong his army was, if he didn't knew how strong the enemy is, he would never stop being cautious.

I hope it helps to answer your question

And Agile Bite, I hope you understand that the monsters in Falmart are entirely different from the monsters in Cardinal World. They are complete biological creatures, so a holy magic wouldn't do much against them.

Dakota Bruder: Nope! hahaha. Sorry, I don't know what the refference is that. I actually came up with a random name and that's what I came up with. And sorry for the mistake. Thank you for pointing it out.

AbyssalPhantom: Whoa there buddy, I know what you meant but let's not underestimate the Saderans shall we? Hehe.

Guest: Thank you for enjoying the chapter! Hopefully, this chapter can be enjoyed as the previous one. However, I can't answer that question for now. It will be a huge spoiler, hehe. But one thing I want you to understand, the deities in Falmart wouldn't be stupid and foolish. They would pose an obstacle, and even some would support. But one thing for certain, they are not going to be entirely egoistical and stupid.

Eddie199: That's the beauty of the plot! hahaha. Be patient my friend, soon it will be revealed!

Guest: My apologies for my bad english! I have used Grammarly for the past two chapters, I hope it helps!

Guest: I really appreciate your suggestion, thank you! Probably I would add more from Warhammer 40K, but I'm not too sure. Honestly, the main reason why I used Starcraft is because it's my very first love of strategy-based sci-fi games! But I will take your advice and see if there's anything I can do about it. Once again, thank you!

---

In this chapter, I honestly think I should end it straight away. I mean, the battle from Shokubai was initially would be written in this chapter as well. But yeah, when I write it, I think it will be too much crowded for a single chapter. So, please await the next update!

---

Author's Yapping

Hey guys. Been a while, eh? I hope you've been well all this time.

For some reason, I hope you didn't skip this section. But eh, I understand if you do.

But if you didn't skip this, I'm wholeheartedly thankful. This is the only one of a few places where I can share my thoughts about the story.

This story, "The End Of Falsehood" was initially just for fun and I just thought very lightly about it. I mean, it's still for fun, but the scale of the seriousness was something I didn't expect would be this high after writing more and more chapters for this. The more I wrote, the more I found an idea to make this interesting. And before I knew it, I became fully drawn into this story alone. Then, I found it as a good way to practice my own writing skills since I dream of being able to write my own original story.

Someday, I'll write my own fantasy story. With my own world, my own characters, and my own plot.

That is why, writing this story become a good way to practice it. Why? In this story, you must notice that I didn't fully use just one character to carry the whole story. Sure, I mostly write from Saare and Pina's perspective, and sometimes with Diabo, but I never wanted to use them as the sole main character.

This is how I want to write a story. It's not about someone, it's about something.

I ever read somewhere about writing techniques, that there are two options on how to set your story theme. Which is; 1) The story about someone where he became the main story itself or, 2) The story about something where characters are just a part of the story.

As far as I knew, the first option was used more frequently. You can name it. Naruto, Astro Boy, Captain Tsubasa, Superman, Batman, HALO, Red Dead Redemption, Faraway Paladin, and even the classics such as Hamlet, Anna Karenina, The Great Expectation, Macbeth, Sherlock Holmes, etc. Those stories were about someone, who become the main character. And as the reader/watcher, you'll see the world through the main character's perspective.

However, for the second option, I don't find as many as the first one. And the best example of it was none other than The Lord Of The Rings. I haven't read any of its books actually. But just from the movie, you can see multiple events happening from different character's perspectives. You can see the journey of Frodo and Sam while at the same time, you can watch Aragorn and King Theoden battling in the Helm's Deep. Why it's happening? Because the whole story is about defeating Sauron. It's not just about Frodo destroying the ring, or Aragorn reclaiming the throne, it's about the all-out war throughout the Middle-Earth. There's no single main character there, but there are multiple main characters.

And I want to write with the second style.

It's a bit challenging, but fun to do because both of these originals(Tensura and GATE) were stories with the style of the first option above.

In Tensura, it's easy to perceive it was Rimuru's story this whole time. We see the world through his perspective and his ideals. Sure, there are some other perspectives as well, especially the villain. But in the end, it was still about how Rimuru dealt with them. As for GATE, I believe you don't need further explanation since we all see nothing but Itami's adventure.

These two stories made the plot for the main characters to walk by. It's not about one major event that would need to be dealt with from multiple perspectives.

And that, my friend, is what I'm trying to do in this story.

I already said in the previous chapter that this story is about the Jura Tempest Federation vs The Saderan Empire, and not about Rimuru Tempest stumbled upon the appearance of a Gate.

That is why, there will be a lot of things happening at the same time, and I will need multiple characters to carry it out. You guys have seen how I made Prince Diabo carry the side of "Enlighten" Saderans, Saare for Tempest's military stories, Princess Pina for the Empire defender, and Rimuru as Tempest's political segment. And I tell you this, there will be a lot more characters showing up. Because there will be a lot more things to be covered.

We haven't seen the Empire government react directly, we haven't seen the Gods create the religions, we haven't seen how the merchants would do their economies, we haven't seen how the demi-humans lived before and after Prince Diabo made a way back to Falmart, etc.

As I said, it's more about World-Building.

I hope you guys didn't think the further plot will be like these 2 recent chapters where a battle becomes the main focus. The next chapter would focus more on Gods and Goddesses, and the continuation of the post-battle in Alnus Hill.

So my point is, that this story would not have a single main character. It will have multiple because it's about something and not someone. And to carry it out, I will need a lot more characters. So I hope you guys didn't bored when I used multiple different characters for each chapter.

Ciao!

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