Ch.170170. The Right Combination

# The Northern Border

The border between human territory and monster territory was like a playground for the northern warriors.

Though “workplace” would be a more accurate description… these naturally aggressive, battle-loving people didn’t really consider it work.

While they certainly felt responsible for stopping the invading monsters, they also enjoyed the task itself.

But even they couldn’t help feeling tense during a monster flood.

After all, what was normally catching one or two monsters at each position had become fighting dozens or hundreds pouring in from all directions. It would be strange not to be tense.

The immediate battle might only mean facing two or three more opponents at once, but the problem was that it continued endlessly.

Defeat a monster and look ahead—another monster appears. Behind that, more monsters. And after defeating them all, the same scene unfolds again.

That landscape carried an indescribable sense of hopelessness.

“Don’t play around too much.”

“You be careful too.”

That rare, awkward exchange felt somewhat bitter.

The last time they’d shared such words during a flood, the friend had ended up on the list of casualties.

There was no guarantee this time would be any different.

Or perhaps this time, it might be their own name added to that list.

The thought was so bleak it felt suffocating.

But what could they do? Surviving only to live with regret wasn’t worth it.

And… they feared the additional sacrifices that would result if they fled.

In the end, there was only one choice: kill as many as possible and survive.

It wasn’t even difficult. It was what they did every day.

Even as they steeled their resolve, monsters continued to swarm toward them. If they didn’t move soon, they’d end up fighting too close to the border.

Just as they were about to step forward toward the monsters, something rushed past them.

“Let there be light.”

“What?”

They thought they glimpsed a man carrying a woman on his back, but couldn’t be sure.

Because in the next moment, the world turned white.

///

The edge of the continent.

Beyond the northern frontier lies a space where humans cannot set foot.

More precisely, you couldn’t go there in the game. If you tried to go further, you’d hit an invisible wall.

Even if you glitched through, there was nothing there. I only remember my character suddenly shooting into the sky and dying while wandering around.

But there was information about that space.

‘It was the area where the Demon King was born.’

The setting was probably that it was corrupted by demonic energy, endlessly spawning monsters.

A hopeless cycle where demonic energy creates monsters, which in turn increases the demonic energy.

This was land contamination, so killing the Demon King wouldn’t solve it.

Unlike in the game, now that we could enter, we could probably find a solution if we looked… but I had no intention of risking demonic corruption just by venturing deeper.

Anyway, when that accumulated demonic energy becomes too much, massive numbers of monsters emerge like this.

It seemed more majestic in the game’s cutscenes, but seeing it in reality was actually less impressive.

“Wow. This happens often?”

But maybe that was just me. Lilith standing beside me looked quite overwhelmed.

“You can go back if you’re scared, Holy Maiden.”

“Stop with that creepy way of talking.”

But she showed no signs of fear.

Well, Lilith isn’t the type to be scared of something like this.

“Hey, Ludion.”

“Yeah?”

“We didn’t make a bet or anything, but…”

Lilith glanced around and moved closer to me.

Her gesture suggested she wanted me to lean in for a whisper.

“…Celia will hear us anyway, you know?”

Since she has that stalking magic… I mean, surveillance magic cast on me.

“Ah, right.”

Lilith, seemingly embarrassed by her attempt at secrecy, backed away with a slightly reddened face and just said what she was going to say.

“If I win again this time, make some time for me next time.”

“If you can win this time.”

“…You’re right, it might be difficult this time.”

Agreeing with my assessment, Lilith calmly glanced somewhere.

In the distance, Celia could be seen floating in the air.

She seemed determined to avenge her previous defeat, gathering an absurd amount of mana and dispersing it around herself.

And on the opposite side…

“Alkine. Why don’t you just rest?”

“This much is fine. Honestly, in this situation, I might even be better than my father.”

“Oh? Looking down on your own father… I like it. I’ve actually been waiting for a day like this.”

Alkine appeared to be seeking both revenge against Lilith and competition with the Duke.

If the previous remnant monster subjugation was WWE, this time it’s more like UFC.

Even for the Holy Maiden who’s unmatched in monster subjugation, victory wasn’t certain.

“If I lose, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just have to look forward to next time.”

Perhaps that’s why Lilith didn’t seem particularly confident even while proposing her condition for winning.

That’s… kind of cute.

Isn’t it? She’s like a newbie who’s just getting used to the game and becoming somewhat decent.

As a veteran player, I couldn’t just ignore it.

“If it seems too hard, want me to help you out?”

“…Really?”

Actually, the reason I was sticking with her was because Celia had sent me to protect Lilith, saying she was going to be serious this time.

I came to help anyway, so I could do this much for a newbie.

Of course, there’s a lot to consider about whether “Lilith is a newbie,” but compared to those two powerhouses, she’s still lacking.

“I’d appreciate the help. But is Celia okay with it?”

“…”

“…She is okay with it, right? You don’t have to force yourself to help me.”

“No, I’ll help you.”

I should keep my word once I’ve given it.

I felt like Celia was watching me, but when I looked back, she wasn’t looking this way.

…She definitely had her back to us. Why did it feel like I was being watched?

It must be my imagination. Probably.

In the end, the two-person team I formed with Lilith was much more effective than expected.

It was a combination that was bound to work well from the start.

I had mobility and defense through evasion and parrying, but my attacks were practically meaningless in large-scale battles like this. Lilith had overwhelming offensive capabilities but almost no defense or mobility.

Unlike Celia and Alkine, who had their own balance of offense, defense, and mobility, we each had our own deficiencies… but when we joined forces, our weaknesses perfectly complemented each other. It was truly an ideal combination.

“Is this really the best way?”

“What else can we do? They’re flying around while we’re just taking a leisurely stroll? We can’t win like that.”

“That’s true, but…”

Our combined form wasn’t particularly impressive.

Despite the grand talk, all I was doing was carrying Lilith on my back while running.

“Couldn’t you at least carry me in your arms?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Your technique is blinding, remember?”

“Ah.”

Had she forgotten that her technique was essentially a high-performance flash grenade? Lilith’s expression, which had shown some dissatisfaction until now, instantly cleared.

Well, it would be just as blinding even if she fired from behind me. But it’s still better than taking it directly to the face.

That was my reasoning for carrying her on my back… but this had its own set of problems.

I could understand why manga and novels always describe the heroine’s chest when carrying her. It was surprisingly distracting.

I decided to focus my attention elsewhere and ignore it.

Though we were a bit awkward, the effect of our combined strength was remarkable.

When I charged into a group of monsters, Lilith would spread her divine power around us.

The divine power would rush toward the surrounding monsters, and upon contact, the monsters would instantly melt away.

That alone made things much easier, and on top of that, my body was glowing brightly.

[Agility: 26(+20)]

Lilith had cast a buff on me.

I had thought my speed came from evasion so stats wouldn’t matter much, but the effect was better than expected.

It was thanks to improved dynamic vision and reflexes.

In this state, I felt I could more easily face the Duke in a duel that had me struggling yesterday. Not that I planned to go back and fight him again.

But still. If my growth hadn’t been blocked, I could have experienced this sensation of becoming stronger firsthand. Thinking about it that way was quite disappointing.

“What are you thinking about so intently? We’ve cleared them all.”

“Ah, sorry.”

While I was lost in thought, nothing remained around us.

Weren’t dozens of monsters charging at us just now? She really deserves the title of Holy Maiden.

“Celia went that way, so let’s go this way.”

“Route deviation detected. Recalculating route.”

“Forget recalculating, I said let’s go this way!”

Whatever the case, I decided to focus on my role as her mount for now.