Ch.199[Chapter 199] Gacha Land 4-1

“My goodness. White raven, forgive my sins.”

“Praying is fine, but please refrain from clinging to me like a cicada. Someone might misunderstand.”

Bishop Arkus was being dragged somewhere, the nape of his neck gripped by the middle head of a giant three-headed Chihuahua.

To his left was Ogreson, who was also being carried, and Arkus, who had acrophobia, was clinging to Ogreson’s arm like a cicada.

Of course, Arkus only discovered his fear of heights today.

This was because there were hardly any buildings in Ferallant as tall as this giant Chihuahua.

Arkus continued praying, trying his best not to look down.

“White raven, forgive my sins. White raven, forgive my sins…”

Ogreson sighed.

He understood Arkus’s feelings, but didn’t think it warranted such an extreme reaction.

In truth, there was a reason why Arkus was so fervently confessing.

It was because of someone sitting atop this giant three-headed Chihuahua.

A short body with a 2:1 head-to-body ratio.

Horns as large as the body itself.

“?”

As those in the know would recognize, Princess Teu Le Vante was sitting atop this Chihuahua’s head.

Arkus was caught in confusion between gratitude for being rescued, discomfort at being saved by a demon lord, and his hatred for demon-kind.

Why were Demon Lord Teu Le Vante and Arkus’s group moving together?

To understand this, we need to go back in time, about 15 minutes ago.

…

Just moments ago, when Arkus and Ogreson were being threatened by the Chihuahua, Demon Lord Teu Le Vante appeared and subdued this terrifying magical beast.

The strong, intelligent three-headed beast, after being subdued by Teu Le Vante, immediately decided to become the Demon Lord’s subordinate.

The Demon Lord, taking a liking to this giant adorable creature, added the three-headed Chihuahua to her party.

All before the Chief of Staff could arrive and lecture her.

“We’re alive! Bishop Arkus! We’re alive!”

“This can’t be…”

“!”

The Demon Lord turned her head in surprise at the sudden cheer, eyes wide.

There was Ogreson, cheering with joy at escaping death, and Arkus, who had just noticed the Demon Lord’s presence.

As soon as Arkus recognized the Demon Lord, he made the sign of the cross.

As you know, Ferallant was a region that had suffered greatly at the hands of demon-kind, making it a place where hatred toward demons ran extremely deep.

And that hatred was no different for Bishop Arkus.

No, as a clergyman, he instinctively recognized demons more easily and felt more revulsion toward them.

“!”

Whether aware of this fact or not, Demon Lord Teu Le Vante climbed onto the back of the giant three-headed Chihuahua she had just tamed.

The ride was terrible, but she liked it because the creature was cute.

“…!”

While enjoying the contradictory sensation of the rough yet soft fur, the Demon Lord suddenly recalled one of the rules of this place.

[Collaborating event participants can be recruited in addition to existing party members.]

The Demon Lord blinked as she looked at Arkus and Ogreson.

Though the Demon Lord appeared young, she was actually a veteran among veterans who had lived in Gachaland for quite some time.

With her keen eye, she could tell these two weren’t Gachaland natives.

In other words, they must be people who entered through the collaboration event!

Having reached this conclusion, the Demon Lord immediately ordered her new subordinate to capture the two.

Since the rule was to occupy hills to earn points and win, recruiting additional members wasn’t a bad choice.

However, the Demon Lord made a few misjudgments.

One was not asking for Arkus and Ogreson’s consent, and another was—

“Oh my, is this saliva? Ugh, good heavens.”

The three-headed Chihuahua didn’t consider Arkus and Ogreson as comrades either.

And so, this chaotic Demon Lord party was formed with problems from the very beginning.

Where their journey would lead… only the Demon Lord knows.

…

At that time, Sir Dominic’s party—not faction—had occupied a hill.

[Empire and Federation synergy activated.]

[Empire and Federation (3/6/9): Rasputicha activated. Creates a small/medium/large swamp area that greatly hinders movement.]

[Damage greatly reduced due to the influence of [Standard Bearer].]

Sir Dominic’s party strategy was quite effective.

First, they occupied the hill, and then, due to the synergy and Sir Dominic’s special skill, the hill transformed into a fortress.

Those trying to climb from below had to endure severe stamina drain and frustratingly slow movement speed due to the steep hill and swamp.

Of course, the swamp and hill didn’t perfectly block all damage.

The hill was exposed on all sides, and the swamp couldn’t block attacks from a distance.

This is where Sir Dominic’s special skill shone.

The Ferallant flag planted on the hill.

That flag applied an 11.25% damage reduction to Sir Dominic’s party, making even long-range attacks largely ineffective.

[One party is leading with 250 points.]

It was truly Sir Dominic’s party’s show!

However, as if anticipating such dominance, the system imposed a penalty on Sir Dominic’s party.

[Your party’s points are currently higher than the sum of all other parties combined.]

[A random misfortune will befall your party…]

Sir Dominic looked at the system window that appeared before him with a puzzled expression.

Was there such a rule? he wondered.

“Oh, no.”

“I forgot about that.”

However, Gregory and Vacheslav seemed to know about this rule, as their expressions darkened.

The rules of this battlefield were simple, but there were a few hidden minor rules for balance.

These were rules that normally wouldn’t come into play, but Sir Dominic’s party performed so well that a hidden rule emerged.

Everyone in Sir Dominic’s party except for Sir Dominic himself knew about this rule, but they had forgotten about it in their excitement defending the hill.

[Possible outcomes are as follows: 1. Increased damage taken. 2. Decreased damage dealt. 3. Teleportation to a random location]

[The wheel of misfortune is spinning…]

A roulette began spinning in the system window.

Vacheslav anxiously watched the roulette, but Jugashvili spoke calmly.

“Let’s wait and see. If it lands on increased damage taken or decreased damage dealt, we can continue fighting as is.”

“But what if it lands on teleportation to a random location?”

Vacheslav said nervously while fidgeting with a Molotov cocktail.

Since all three outcomes had an equal 1/3 chance, there was a significant probability of landing on random teleportation.

Whether aware of Vacheslav’s anxiety or not, the roulette slowly spun and began to slow down at “increased damage taken,” then precariously moved toward “teleportation to a random location.”

3 pixels. 2 pixels. 1 pixel.

It was a razor-thin margin, straddling the boundary between the two.

But perhaps Vacheslav’s words were prophetic?

With a tick sound, the roulette finally selected “teleportation to a random location.”

“Jugashvili! What do we do now—”

Bang! Vacheslav’s words were cut short.

[Jugashvili’s special ability, [Purge] has been activated.]

[One person has taken responsibility for what happened and been purged. ‘Nothing happened.’]

Sir Dominic looked back and forth between Vacheslav and Jugashvili, startled by the sudden turn of events.

Smoke was dissipating from Jugashvili’s gun.

And on the opposite side, a stream of blood flowed from Vacheslav’s forehead as his body began to roll down the hill.

Sir Dominic couldn’t comprehend the situation at all.

“It was a necessary sacrifice, comrade.”

“Ah, indeed. Still, it was a valuable sacrifice.”

However, Gregory and Jugashvili seemed familiar with such situations and immediately returned to battle stance.

“…What just happened?”

Sir Dominic asked Gregory.

He hesitated to ask Jugashvili directly, as he was the one who had taken action.

“Nothing important.”

Gregory explained to Sir Dominic with an eerie smile, as if it were nothing.

“He used his special ability to eliminate the penalty. He made the penalty disappear by sacrificing one person.”

Gregory stood up.

He walked past the dazed Sir Dominic and looked down the hill.

“To win, we don’t shy away from any sacrifice. That’s the Empire’s… no, the Federation’s way.”

“Unfortunately, we can’t solve this with ‘quantity’ here, so it’s essentially a one-time use,” Gregory muttered before addressing Sir Dominic.

“You know, here, even if you die, you don’t really die. With his sacrifice, we’ve gained another chance. With just one worthless death. What could be more valuable than that, right?”

Gregory grinned.

The madness that Sir Dominic had forgotten, Gregory and Jugashvili still possessed.