Ch.145145. Subjugation

– Grrrr.

A scratching growl that didn’t sound like it came from any ordinary beast echoed from all directions. The approaching thuds belonged to trolls, classified as large monsters.

Despite their stupid appearance, these creatures—about the size of a Golem Knight—were swinging massive wooden clubs in every direction.

Those wooden weapons must have weighed hundreds of kilograms, yet they wielded them as easily as if they were twigs.

[Prepare yourselves.]

Commander Seraphina began timing through the communication magic network established just before deployment, her voice hushed. The beginning of any battle was always crucial.

If they could seize the advantage with a single overwhelming assault, they might be able to wipe out the enemy without suffering major casualties.

– Keurk keurk.

Medium and larger monsters, including trolls, were descending from the forest, avoiding the eyes of the larger monsters. Though only about half the size of the large monsters, they were still enormously bigger than humans.

[To all extermination squad members. Eliminate all monsters before you!]

Just as the monsters reached the foot of the mountain, the waiting Golem Knight unit began their charge. They poured everything they had learned at the Academy into confronting the monsters.

– Kyaaaak!

Surprised by the sudden appearance of the Golem Knights, the monsters unleashed their ferocious savagery as the extermination squad began hunting their kind.

With killing and destroying being more instinctual to them than fear of death, they charged at the Golem Knights fearlessly, like moths diving into flames.

– Kwang!

The magical armaments mounted on the Golem Knights spewed fire. Enchanted multi-shot fireballs began pulverizing the medium-sized monsters.

– Keeek!

Though many monsters were torn apart by the firepower pouring from numerous Golem Knights, their momentum showed no signs of diminishing. If anything, the scent of blood seemed to excite them further, their eyes reddening as they clung to the Golem Knights.

[You bastards!]

The attacks from medium-sized monsters weren’t fatal to Golem Knights protected by magical barriers. Medium monsters were sensitive to mana but couldn’t manipulate it themselves, making it impossible for them to penetrate magical barriers.

However, magical barriers couldn’t be maintained indefinitely. Even if the medium monsters’ attacks weren’t fatal, they were steadily chipping away at the barriers.

Moreover, large monsters and above could launch crude attacks infused with magical power. This was a natural manifestation of mana accumulated in their bodies from devouring mana-bearing creatures indiscriminately.

This tendency was particularly pronounced in large monsters emerging from Mount Njord.

It was happening now.

Unfortunately for the extermination squad, most of the large monsters that had emerged were swinging clubs wrapped in magical power.

– Kwang!

[Ack! These monster bastards!]

Despite blocking with a magical barrier, a Golem Knight was sent flying by a club strike that combined magical power with inhuman strength. It was just a single swing, but it had shaved off a huge chunk of the remaining magical barrier.

The extermination squad members had to admit they’d been thinking too complacently until now.

They had subconsciously believed that riding Golem Knights meant monster hordes would be no big deal.

But the reality was different.

These creatures could manipulate mana, and their ferocious savagery was beyond comprehension.

Even with death staring them in the face, the monsters roared and charged forward. Even with flesh torn and bones broken, they still bared their teeth.

Despite their Academy training, this was something beyond what they had prepared for.

The extermination squad members finally realized what it meant to face monsters.

This wasn’t a war.

This was a desperate struggle for survival, not entangled with any interests or gains.

– Chwak!

[First platoon, pull yourselves together!]

As they began losing momentum against the monsters, Gilbert stepped forward.

Wielding an iron sword and radiating golden magical power, he cut through the monsters with lightning speed.

There was no hesitation in his sword. No matter how the monsters before him charged, he thrust his sword without wavering and deployed magical armaments to methodically dispose of them.

When the extermination squad members saw their commander personally taking the lead, they straightened their hunched bodies. They couldn’t show cowardice by tucking their tails and running when Gilbert, their superior, was leading the charge.

Among them were both nobles and commoners, but right now they were all proud cadets of Demeia Academy. Moreover, they were cadets belonging to Grade 1, recognized as the most excellent in their year.

Their pride and self-respect wouldn’t allow them to tuck their tails and flee in fear.

They straightened their iron swords and immediately followed Gilbert.

[First platoon, raise your swords. I’ll clear the path!]

[Yes, sir!]

Golden magical power led the way, with the first platoon extermination squad members following behind.

Mount Njord Range Extermination Operation.

Day One.

Complete victory.

***

After dismounting from his Golem Knight, Gilbert exhaled deeply. Leading the platoon members in monster extermination had been no easy task.

The cadets, though skilled, lacked combat experience and weren’t displaying their full abilities due to tension. As a result, it had been a battle where excessive magical power was wastefully expended.

[Gil. The battle was inefficient compared to your usual standard.]

“Couldn’t be helped. It was the best way to boost the morale of the squad members.”

[Affirmative. Though inefficient, the method raised squad morale by over 80%. I will learn from this.]

Since the extermination operation wasn’t related to Academy grades, linking was permitted.

The ideal outcome for an extermination operation was to complete it without casualties. Allowing Gilbert, who was developing into a skilled Golem Knight, to use a high-performance artificial spirit was one good method to minimize damage.

In fact, with CT-777, he and the first platoon members had completely eliminated more than half of the large monsters. Inspired by their performance, the other extermination squad members also overcame the pressure of their first real combat and finished the battle without a single injury.

This was precisely why outstanding Golem Knights were needed in war. Their presence alone could turn the tide of battle as easily as flipping one’s palm.

[The distortion index of Seraphina, one of the Seekers of Twisted Possession, is increasing.]

Did I stimulate her possessiveness again?

Gilbert irritably closed the message window blocking his exit from the cockpit.

He had anticipated this. Her “distortion index” was a measure derived from her desire to possess Gilbert.

It was easy to deduce that her possessiveness would be stimulated after such an impressive performance in the extermination operation. While staying inconspicuous would be the best way to avoid the doom ending, that would increase the likelihood of casualties for the extermination squad.

As long as the distortion index didn’t reach 100%, the doom ending wouldn’t trigger, so he had acted deliberately. Sure enough, the index had risen. Fortunately, it hadn’t increased by much—only 3% higher than yesterday’s figure, still within the safe zone.

“Hmm-hoo-hoo! Did you see Gilbert?”

As he dismounted from his Golem Knight and joined his squad members, Camilla came to greet him with her arms crossed, wearing her usual smug smile. Gilbert responded appropriately to her typical demeanor.

– Pak!

“Eeek! My head’s splitting!”

After bringing his fist down on her crown, Gilbert walked past Camilla, who was clutching her head in pain. It was good that her previous gloominess had disappeared, but she seemed excessively cheerful now, requiring occasional crown strikes to calm her down.

Gilbert looked over the squad members standing in formation. Though not a perfect battle, it was commendable that they had completed their mission flawlessly without any injuries.

“Good work, everyone.”

There was no need for many words. They were already bonded by camaraderie, and their emotions had grown even stronger from facing monsters rather than humans.

Wars against humans often left soldiers unable to shake off guilt and self-loathing for killing people like themselves. Those they killed could have been husbands, wives, or children in their own countries. Taking such lives with one’s own hands brought psychological pressure.

Killing another human was never an easy thing.

But now they were exterminating mindless monsters. If they didn’t kill these creatures, their own families or acquaintances might die. In that sense, the cadets felt no aversion to killing monsters.

Gilbert considered it fortunate that he didn’t need to pay special attention to managing the squad members’ mental state. In a prolonged extermination operation, looking after their mental well-being would require considerable effort.

“Commander. The Commander-in-Chief has requested all commanding officers to gather. It seems she plans to conduct feedback on today’s battle.”

“Understood, Deputy Angelina.”

Meeting Seraphina in the current situation was something he was reluctant to do, but it couldn’t be avoided. The feedback from the first day of the extermination operation was important.

Gilbert headed straight for Seraphina’s command tent.

“Gilbert…”

He encountered Ian in front of Seraphina’s command tent. For a moment, Ian’s eyes flared with hostility, but it quickly subsided. He seemed to realize that this wasn’t the time to display petty emotions and cause discord.

Has he matured a bit?

Though they say chuunibyou is an incurable disease, Gilbert thought that perhaps Fresia had helped him somehow. That’s how capable the super-artificial spirit was.

Without exchanging any words, the two entered Seraphina’s tent.

Some commanding officers hadn’t arrived yet, but most were already seated in their designated places.

Both of them found and took their assigned seats.

After about a minute, all commanding officers had gathered.

“First, I would like to commend all the commanding officers gathered here. It is largely due to your merit that we completed the first day without any casualties.”

“It was because of your guidance, Commander-in-Chief.”

Vice President Talisman spoke as a representative, and the other commanding officers nodded in agreement.

It was thanks to Commander-in-Chief Seraphina’s trust in them that they were able to achieve such good results.

“Even so, that does not diminish your efforts. Everyone worked hard today. However, I believe we need to analyze today’s battle for tomorrow. The fatigue accumulated from today’s battle is likely to affect tomorrow’s combat. Therefore, we need to closely examine the condition of our troops.”

Seraphina began the most important feedback that needed to be done after battle.

The expressions of the commanding officers, who had realized that fighting monsters was not easy, were solemn. The unfounded confidence they had shown before starting the extermination operation had completely disappeared.

Gilbert was satisfied with this situation. In his judgment, the mere fact that the commanding officers felt this way had halved the probability of cadets suffering casualties.

“This concludes the feedback for day one. Are there any commanding officers who have something else to say?”

Seraphina looked around at the commanding officers. No one raised their hand to express an opinion.

“Then we are dismissed. Pay attention to the placement of sentries.”

After the meeting ended, the commanding officers left the command tent with groans. Though they were pretending to be fine, they too, like the other extermination squad members, had battle fatigue lingering in their bodies.

The commanding officers gathered in small groups and left the command tent, saying they needed to wash up and get some sleep quickly.

That left two people.

Seraphina and Gilbert.

“It seems thou hast something to say to me.”

Instead of answering, Gilbert nodded. Originally, he had planned to avoid meeting her and postpone this, but he needed to make things clear here since he didn’t know how much the distortion index would rise after tomorrow’s battle.

“Well, speak. After rejecting me so coldly yesterday, now thou sayest thou hast something to say. Perhaps thy heart has changed?”

“What I have to say is the same as before.”

“How boring. Let this teacher give thee one piece of advice. It is not a good habit to trample on a pure maiden’s heart.”

“Didn’t you say you had given up being a woman?”

“Let me add one more thing: men who lack tact are not popular.”

Seraphina, who had been smiling mischievously, wiped the smile off her face as if to say the joke ended here.

“So what is it thou wishest to say to me?”

“I will not accept your proposal. As I said from the beginning, my loyalty is directed only toward the Empire.”

“How cold. Dost thou not think it unwise to bring up facts that are already well known?”

“If you reconsider what I said, you’ll find the answer.”

“What thou said?”

Seraphina tapped near her lips with her long index finger, retracing Gilbert’s words.

Something flashed through her mind.

“Disciple. Let me ask thee. Didst thou say thy loyalty is directed toward the Empire?”

“Yes.”

“And previously, thou told me this: that thou wouldst not succeed the Count of Lithuania. Instead, thou wouldst become the sword of the Empire. Is that intention still valid?”

“Yes.”

“Ha! From the beginning, thou wast sending signals.”

The corners of Seraphina’s mouth turned upward. She had only now realized what he had been saying.

“Thou art saying that if I ascend to the Emperor’s throne, thou wilt pledge thy loyalty to me.”

“Since my loyalty is directed toward the Empire.”

“How bold. Thou art telling me that thou canst not serve me unless I become Emperor. Interesting. Yes, this is interesting, disciple.”

Seraphina’s smile deepened, and her eyes shone. Unlike yesterday, she wasn’t seductive but rather like her usual self.

“I understand what thou art saying, but it is unnecessary talk.”

Seraphina rose from her seat and approached Gilbert, just like yesterday. Once again, her fingers traced down Gilbert’s chest.

“I am the one who will succeed His Majesty. Therefore, it is right that thy loyalty should be directed toward me.”

“Even so, my loyalty…”

“Is directed toward the Empire. Very well. My bold disciple. It’s a contest between us. If I can make thee mine before I become the Crown Princess, it’s my victory. If not, it’s my defeat.”

Gilbert looked at Seraphina and smiled back.

This was what he wanted.

[You have chosen the second branch point of the sub-scenario “Seekers of Twisted Possession.”]

[The distortion index of Seraphina, one of the Seekers of Twisted Possession, is increasing.]

I was trying to reduce the distortion index…

Gilbert had to secretly make a dejected face.

***

– The operation begins now.

– Alright. Understood.

Two people wearing identity-concealing masks took out bottles filled with a black, viscous liquid from a large box.

This time, the operation would surely succeed.