episode_0130

Evening of the 3rd day.

The knights who returned from defeating Zott rested from daytime until now.

I thought the queen would attack right away, but she didn’t make any special moves, wondering if she was wary of my presence or if she had some plan in mind.

Thanks to this, the knights were able to rest comfortably, and now everyone is in top condition preparing for the final subjugation.

Inside the conference room.

I was giving a briefing in front of the assembled executives of the Knights Templar.

“The only troops left to the enemy are the leader, Moglam, and elite soldiers led directly by the queen. The only variable is the strengthening caused by the ‘magic sword’ they have, but I can’t predict the extent of it.”

Honestly, at first, I wondered how strong I would become if I became stronger with the magic sword.

Even in the last war, the petty monsters were ultimately far behind the knights, and there was no particular difference in Zot or other bosses.

At least it seemed like Moglam had become considerably stronger, but it was difficult to gauge because we didn’t know how strong Moglam was originally.

But this time, when I saw them subdue the monsters in Zot’s territory, I felt it clearly.

If it took a knight 10 strength to kill a group of Zots in the last war, it seemed like only 1 strength was enough for this subjugation.

Although it is not accurate because it is not data that can be measured strategically, I realized that the reinforcement from the magic sword was definitely effective.

“Mr. Zeke. I have a question.”

Without fail, Ren was the first to raise his hand.

“When monsters are strengthened with a magic sword, how exactly are they strengthened?”

“It is clear that basic physical abilities will be strengthened, but I do not know if other things can also be strengthened.”

“I see. What I am concerned about is that the unique characteristics of the individual may be strengthened by the magic sword.”

Speaking of unique characteristics… .

“Things like Marona’s paralyzing poison or Pete’s enchanting scent?”

“Yes. If the queen’s giving ‘commands’ to monsters is a unique characteristic, and if that characteristic can be strengthened by the magic sword… . In the worst case, we may have to deal with all the monsters on the eastern continent.”

Ren is very suspicious. In most cases, these suspicions are just unfounded, but sometimes they hit me in places I didn’t even think about.

The knights were quite exhausted from fighting the endless hordes of Zott all night long. From the queen’s point of view, it would have been the perfect time to attack, but for some reason she remained silent.

I didn’t know what trap I might have dug, so I wondered if I should approach cautiously. In addition, since there were not enough troops, it may have been seen that it was better to fortify in the queen’s advantageous territory rather than siege in an unfavorable battlefield.

But what if, as Ren said, the queen’s ‘ability to give orders to monsters’ could be strengthened with a magic sword?

So, while we were resting and reorganizing, what if the Queen was also gathering monsters from all over the Eastern Continent?

“……That makes sense.”

At my answer, which was a beat late, a shadow fell on Ren and the executives’ faces.

The final struggle pattern of a boss that has killed almost everyone is always shit.

‘But if it was possible, why wasn’t it used in previous wars?’

The question that arose in my mind was quickly refuted by subsequent thoughts.

Since the magic energy contained in the magic sword is not infinite, the queen would not have chosen the sure move of strengthening her subordinates rather than the uncertain move of strengthening herself. In favorable situations, it is most reasonable to choose the safe card.

However, now the corps is at a disadvantage. When the odds are against you, you are forced to gamble, so even if it is uncertain, you will choose the one with the highest odds of winning.

‘Besides, they also didn’t know about this method, and they may have thought of it only now when they became desperate.’

In any case, it is important to prepare for the worst. As I said before, it is most reasonable to choose a safe card in an advantageous situation.

“Then, let’s set up a strategy based on the premise that we will deal with all the monsters on the eastern continent.”

It will be difficult to clear it without any deaths.

*

*

Our expectations were spectacularly wrong. The legion that appeared through the thick forest was too small to be a legion.

‘I could count it with my eyes.’

Six monsters that were created and devoured at will, leading the way at the front of the army.

The queen and elite soldiers following behind, approximately 30.

Finally, to Moglam.

I don’t know why they suddenly changed their route to a small number of elites, but if this happens, the knights will not be outnumbered. Rather, there are more of us.

‘But what are those six monsters?’

The monsters belonging to the corps were somewhat consistent in appearance. Marona’s group were bees, Pete’s group were plants, and Jot’s group were giant gorillas. The Queen’s group are bipedal monsters with four arms.

But those six monsters had a jagged appearance. Some were as big as Zot, some crawled on all fours, and some were sly.

‘hmm… . ‘I don’t know if this is going to be okay.’

It is unknown where the five monsters came from.

There may have been hidden strongmen among the wanderers, like reclusive masters, or they may have decided that it would be better to concentrate the magic energy on a few people rather than distributing it to a small number of people.

Maybe they ordered all the wanderers on the Eastern Continent to kill each other, and only the five strongest survivors were brought here.

What is certain is that the queen has also sharpened her sword.

‘If you’re dealing with a large number of weak monsters, even a low-level knight can handle one person, but if you’re dealing with a small number of strong monsters, it becomes ambiguous.’

While I was thinking about this and that, one of the five monsters jumped up and landed in front of the barrier.

The guy, whose entire body was as solid as a stone, took a stance and rushed towards the barrier.

“Mr. Zeke! It’s dangerous!”

In response, Liza rushed to me and jumped off the barrier while holding me.

Kwaang—!

A dull crash sound follows.

“Wow.”

The barrier has been broken through.

‘That thing is so fucking hard.’

The special alloy that only exists within this worldview is difficult to break through with force alone unless you have Lion-level superpowers. But you pierced it with a body slam.

Are you an idiot? You just have to jump over it.

Well, I think the purpose is to lower morale by showing the difference in power, but if you scare me with something like this, you’re not a knight.

As expected, the knights on top of the wall came down without much disturbance and drew their swords, and the knights waiting below also prepared for battle.

Then the monsters come in through the hole in the barrier.

‘Elite soldiers and five monsters. And moglam… .’

From the performance just now, I was able to roughly estimate how much power the five monsters had.

“Mr. Liza. Divide roles. The knights below intermediate level will be in charge of the queen’s group, and the remaining five knights will be in charge of the upper level knights. I’ll leave Moglam to Filia.”

“…I understand.”

It’s time to put an end to these damn monsters.

*

*

‘It’s fierce.’

The queen’s group vs. mid-level low-level knights, five monsters carefully selected by the queen vs. five high-level knights. Moglam v. Philia.

Even though more than a few hours had passed since the battle began, a tense struggle of power was still going on.

Among the lower-ranking knights, there are many injured people, and Shuri and the medics are busy treating the knights. Of course, the queen’s flock is also reduced in number, so it’s not like she’s at a disadvantage.

The advanced knight feels a bit pushed back, but it’s holding up well.

The problem is with Philia and Moglam. They fought throughout the camp, climbed up to the top of the wall, and while fighting with swords, the wall broke into pieces like tofu, so they went out.

I climbed up the wall and checked the situation on Philia’s side.

‘…What the fuck should I see?’

Their movements were far beyond my cognitive abilities, so all I could see were afterimages and sparks of swords clashing.

‘Approximately two and a half hours until midnight.’

There are roughly two hours left until the banshee brings the heroines.

‘If you last 2 hours, you win.’

Time was on our side.

The situation is not good.

In fact, was time not on our side, but on the side of our enemies?

The fight between low-ranking knights and elite soldiers gradually began to lean towards the elite soldiers. It’s not that there were no losses among the elite soldiers, but the losses were greater among the lower-ranking knights.

As the fight continued, fatigue accumulated, and concentration was disrupted because of the fatigue. In particular, the lower-level knights easily showed loopholes as they were not used to such long battles, and because of those gaps, they slowly began to fall apart.

‘hmm… . What should I do with this?’

Soon the heroines arrive. The problem is that it is over 10 minutes.

It may be possible to hold on as it is, but I don’t think the damage will be significant.

From my perspective, where I want to achieve victory with minimal losses, it would be a shame to just let go and ignore the situation.

‘Should I use that too…? .’

There is still one trump card left.

The problem is that if that trump card is used, a complete victory without a single fatality is impossible.

Moreover, since it is something that should not be known, we must keep our mouths shut.

It’s annoying and untidy in many ways, so I didn’t want to use this secret tactic as much as possible… . There is nothing we can do because strategy is more important than annoyance.

‘I don’t know if they will cooperate obediently.’

The stationed knights seemed to have a strong sense of camaraderie, so they would be willing to sacrifice their lives to save their comrades, right?