Ch.763If You Lack Strength, Just Beat Them With Type Advantage.

The Holy Order’s forces were actually more modest than any other faction that had come to the Celestial Mountains.

Though they had deployed a force of two thousand, among them only Ceylon was a warrior who had crossed the Wall.

Had they faced Alvheim, which had dispatched more than six Guardians, or the Dragon Kingdom with nearly eight winged Dragonborn, they would have been annihilated in short order.

“Astraea! Scale of order that destroys evil and upholds justice! Grant your servant unwavering will to protect!”

Yet it was they who now dominated this battlefield.

“Lord Demian, your wounds are severe! Leave this creature to us!”

“Followers of the Evil Dragon! The time has come for your sins to be judged! Repent and face your death!”

The two non-human races that had arrived with overwhelming forces had already inflicted near-annihilating damage upon each other.

“Huff… huff… get… away…!!”

There were only three or four stragglers remaining. Even those were so exhausted they could barely flee, let alone fight.

Perhaps this proved the old adage that it’s not the strong who survive, but the survivors who are strong.

“Weak, pathetic short-lived creatures dare to…!”

“Is this to be my end…? I cannot accept it. I will not accept it!”

Eirnesia and Beherikes thrashed on the ground against high-ranking Paladins who would normally have torn them apart with a single blow, but they couldn’t escape their overwhelming disadvantage as their wounds continued to multiply.

“…I surrender.”

Makaoros simply raised both hands in surrender. Since fighting back was futile anyway, it seemed he hoped to at least save his life by becoming a prisoner.

“Accepting the outcome is also elegance. Rather than struggling so disgracefully, it’s more beautiful to acknowledge defeat cleanly.”

…Or perhaps he simply disliked the idea of thrashing about on the ground.

Either way, thanks to the high-ranking Paladins joining the battle, the battlefield was quickly being cleared.

Our party, who had been fighting with their last ounces of strength, retreated to treat their wounds and replenish their depleted energy. I too sat down on an elf’s corpse to rest after receiving Durandal, which a Paladin had retrieved for me.

【 Kraaak! Krk, Kyaaaaaaak! 】

While watching Nidhogg, who was writhing and howling like a beast as it was engulfed by golden waves.

—-

Nidhogg had demonstrated literal ferocity when facing elves and Dragonborn, but now, despite being even stronger than before, it was helplessly taking a one-sided beating.

This was due to compatibility—a factor in combat as important as power difference.

Though it had the form of a dragon, its essence was a collective of countless insect-like monsters.

The golden holy light emitted by the Holy Order—the divine radiance that burned and purified dark mana—was as lethal as deadly poison to Nidhogg.

Indeed, there’s nothing better than Paladins for slaying monsters.

All the effort to restore the Holy State has paid off.

During the Battle of Extrashafel, most Paladins and priests besides Lacy were away hunting monsters, leaving them defenseless… but now it’s different.

Before the two thousand-strong Holy Order that seemed to have brought all available forces of the Church of Astraea, all Nidhogg could do was howl and struggle desperately.

“Haaaaaaah!”

Each time Ceylon swung his thorny longsword, Nidhogg’s scales turned to ash and scattered as its flesh was deeply cut.

The barrier of dark mana drawn from the black lake shattered instantly when swept by the light of judgment.

Hundreds of golden chains wrapped around the creature’s entire body, constricting it while generating fierce heat, and the blades of order wielded by the Paladins sliced through its scales like tofu, hacking it to pieces.

【 Goaaaaaaaa! 】

Driven mad by the frustration of being unable to move and the pain of its lower body being torn to shreds, Nidhogg looked up at the sky and roared.

– Kieeeeeeek-!

As dozens, hundreds of magic circles spread through the air, ghostly hands of the dead poured out like waves, wailing.

Black skeletons crawled up from the lake of dark mana, and the scattered corpses of elves that had been cut and torn apart rose with phlegmy groans, staggering to their feet.

“Necromancy…! The most wicked of demonic magics!”

But this too was merely a futile struggle.

As high priests from the Church of Elpinel and Church of Astraea roared and manifested purification miracles, a brilliantly dazzling holy light illuminated the surroundings, sweeping over the hordes of the dead.

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

“Guooooooo…!”

The reanimated dead collapsed in flames.

The dark mana that had forcibly moved the dead bodies was purified and scattered, and the souls that had been forcibly summoned achieved peace with their final screams.

It was a battle that could never have been won.

—-

“Are you injured, Lord Astika?”

“I’m fine. These are just scratches.”

I pulled out Tersillius’s sword that had pierced my left arm, smiling at the priest from the Church of Saulite who was casting a healing miracle.

He seemed to have rushed over in alarm seeing my blood-soaked appearance with a sword stuck in my left arm, but it wasn’t really an injury worth worrying about.

Most of the blood covering me belonged to the non-humans, and the pierced left arm was a prosthetic to begin with.

I deliberately offered my arm while grabbing Tersillius’s sword to make him lower his guard.

I could have blocked his sword with Frosting’s scales, but… if I had defended that way, instead of continuing to thrust his sword, he would have dodged or twisted his blade to aim for my neck.

So I deliberately caught the sword with my unscaled palm, letting it pierce through, and allowed the tip to pass through the gaps between the scales covering the inside of my arm, making it appear as if I’d been run through.

All to draw him in close enough to burn him completely.

“This is enough for me, please take care of my companions.”

Treating my companions was the priority.

Unlike me with just a few cuts and tears, Demian had suffered full-body burns, and the others had wounds so deep their bones were exposed.

“Rest assured. Healing priests have been sent to them as well.”

“Is that so? That’s good. Then, all that’s left is that thing…”

Feeling the crimson holy light gently caressing my small wounds, I stood up using Durandal as support.

“No, are you planning to continue fighting in that condition? You should rest and leave the rest to us…”

“Just in case. We need to press the advantage while we have it.”

The Holy Order led by Ceylon was performing well against Nidhogg thanks to their elemental advantage… but judging by how they were pouring out holy light like water, they would eventually reach their limit.

So the best course of action was to help them finish off Nidhogg now that I had recovered some strength.

“You know what they say, target a burning house if you want to steal.”

“Pardon…? I’ve never heard that saying… shouldn’t such a person be caught and have their wrists burned?”

The healing priest tilted his head in confusion, looking at me as if wondering if I’d taken a blow to the head.

“No, that’s not what I meant… it’s a saying about pressing the advantage when the enemy reveals a weakness.”

“Ah, that’s what you meant?”

The healing priest nodded, his face showing understanding.

“Like the saying: burn the forest first to kill elves, destroy the city first to fight Dwarves, and hang the family first to catch criminals.”

“Um… something like that?”

Is that really the same meaning…?

I’m not sure. It sounds about ten times more brutal than the saying about stealing from a burning house.

“Oh, and tell them to capture that elf alive if possible. There are things we need to interrogate her about.”

“Hmm… but capturing a Guardian is no easy task.”

The healing priest expressed reluctance, as if it were a very troublesome order.

“Why? She’s clearly dying. Just subdue her and capture her.”

“She may be weakened now, but we never know when she might summon high-level spirits and cause havoc.”

Ah. So they can capture her, but keeping her captured is difficult. That’s not a problem.

“Cut off her limbs and tear out her ears. After that, she’ll only be able to bite with her teeth.”

An elf’s ears are like antennas for communicating with the World Tree. Tearing them out completely cuts off the World Tree’s protection bestowed upon elves.

Given that elves depend on the World Tree’s protection for most of their combat abilities, once that protection is cut off, all that remains is a weak, light body.

Like Perneisia, who seemed to be doing well for once, but after just one battle became as powerless as Lena.

And if her limbs are cut off too, even the swordsmanship she proudly trained for hundreds of years becomes meaningless.

What can she do with just a torso and head? It’s not like she can perform swordsmanship with her tongue.

“Yes, I will relay your orders.”

The healing priest nodded and ran toward Demian’s group to deliver my command.

“What…?! You, you filthy short-lived creatures…!”

Eirnesia, realizing her future, spat out curses filled with rage and hatred, thrashing wildly.

Perhaps understanding that if she lost here, a fate more miserable than dead Tersillius awaited her, her complexion had turned deathly pale beneath the blood.

She should have just stayed quietly in her forest.

I looked at her final struggle with contempt, then slung Durandal over my shoulder and began walking.

【 Kyaaaaaa――ahgak…?! 】

Toward Nidhogg, who had opened its mouth wide to gather dark mana and spew black flames, only to have a golden spear thrust into its open maw, causing it to exhale empty breaths.

What followed was more like hunting than combat.