episode_0046

46. Boss Subjugation.

In response, the chains of fire gradually tightened. However, the power was insufficient. Jerry hurriedly joined in.

‘To follow along with such crazy actions…’

If he hadn’t profoundly trusted Johan, he would have slapped him on the cheek, telling him not to talk nonsense.

In any case, aided by Jerry’s assistance, the speed at which the chains tightened began to amplify.

Rumble rumble rumble!

The two geniuses’ mana was draining away as if sucked into a vacuum cleaner. The result was astonishing.

Originally, the chains would have merely swept past the enemies, but instead, they gathered the undead, compressing them into a single point.

The ground was roughly torn apart by the giant monsters, and when they were gathered to a certain extent, Johan shouted like a scream.

“Jerry!”

“Yes!”

At that moment, a silent stillness enveloped the area where the chains were located. Shortly after, an ear-splitting explosion occurred.

Kaboom kaboom kaboom kaboom!!!!

By compressing the flames into a single point, the explosive power was further intensified. The combatants on the battlefield were taken aback by the intensely felt wind.

‘What insane magician used such bizarre magic?’

‘That’s a Great Magic level or higher… Even if two people combined their power, Johan the magician is amazing every time I see him.’

Naturally, the morale of the close combatants rose. They swept across the battlefield, screaming with a ferocity even greater than the monsters.

The other magicians were the same, stimulated by Johan and Jerry. Some magicians even experienced mana exhaustion from forcibly drawing up their mana.

Everyone in the inner castle was united, and they quickly cleared out the medium-sized undead.

Eventually, only the boss and a few medium-sized undead remained on the battlefield.

Sir Zakison beat his chest with his sword and shouted bravely.

Clang! Clang!

“Charge! Charge forward!!”

“Woo-ah-ah-ah-ah!!!”

Now it was truly the final stage. Led by the knights, they formed a circle, surrounding the boss.

The sight of hundreds of soldiers gathering to target a single monster was like watching a scene from mythology.

Of course, the boss wasn’t standing still. Although not highly intelligent, it wasn’t a moron who would stand there dumbly until surrounded.

Kuwahhhhh!!!

Using its giant palm like a broom, it swept away the ground. A dozen soldiers instantly turned into minced meat. Even those who avoided it weren’t unscathed.

“Aaaargh!”

“Cough…”

The wind pressure created by the swing caused people to lose their balance and fall, or in severe cases, their necks were broken.

The knights momentarily lowered their center of gravity to avoid falling from their horses. Fortunately, all the knights were safe.

“Huuuh!”

Now it was humanity’s turn. Sir Zakison, who had become one with his horse, swung his greatsword as he approached.

Splat, blood spurted from the giant’s ankle. But it was shallow. Even with the horse’s acceleration and the knight’s superhuman strength combined, it was shallow.

“Hahaha! This is what makes it fun to fight!”

However, Sir Zakison didn’t despair. Rather, he burst into mad laughter and twitched his muscles wildly all over his body.

Whoosh!

After leaving a few cuts, he quickly turned his horse’s head and left the area. The giant’s hand passed behind the elastic hindquarters of the warhorse.

‘Gotcha!’

Sir Zakison wore a triumphant smile. There was another reason why he swung his sword around like a madman from the beginning.

A slender figure that had approached the giant’s side was relentlessly unleashing attacks.

Each individual attack was weaker than Sir Zakison’s, but the speed was slightly faster.

A figure rarely seen on the battlefield, it was Sarah.

Sarah also retreated after inflicting a few wounds. Then, a new young knight charged at the giant.

“Aaaaargh!”

Perhaps because he hadn’t been knighted for long, he wasn’t very skilled. Still, he made a decent cut.

Now, if he swung a few more times and retreated…

“Eek!”

At that moment, the young knight let out a shrill scream and left the area.

Sir Zakison, who was watching this, was taken aback. Sarah’s position was still within the giant’s range.

‘That goblin-like thing! To fight only once!’

They had agreed to at least four sword strikes. But that coward swung only once and ran away!

Sir Zakison hurriedly kicked the horse’s belly to raise its spirit. He had to save Sarah.

If it was just her alone, it wouldn’t matter, but for the sake of a smooth relationship with Johan the magician, she was needed.

However, the two were quite far apart, and the giant’s limbs were strangely long. In an instant, the giant’s palm loomed over Sarah’s head.

Whoosh!

She racked her brain so hard that she felt like a mouse was gnawing at it. It was too late to dodge. Should she protect her vitals as much as possible? Would that even be meaningful? Would she even be able to protect herself?

Chaotic questions swirled in her head, and eventually, she came to a conclusion.

‘Inflict as much damage as possible, and then die.’

She was usually quick to give up. She didn’t try to pour her energy into things that couldn’t be done, and it was the same this time.

The ground Sarah was standing on was dug up like mud. It couldn’t withstand the force pushing against the ground.

Just as she was about to shoot out like a bullet…

Clanggggg!!!

“……Huh?”

A translucent barrier seemed to be placed over Sarah’s head, and it was struggling to block the giant’s attack.

She could instinctively tell. It was Johan’s shield spell.

Smirk.

She stretched the corners of her mouth and looked at the fortress wall where Johan was standing.

It was too far to distinguish human faces, but Johan’s features were clearly visible to her eyes, which were gradually transcending humanity.

Immediately after, her figure twisted like a snake.

Tatatata!

With flexible movements, she slipped out of the shield and quickly climbed up the giant’s arm.

Looking slightly ahead, Sir Zakison was already floating in the same position as Sarah.

The two swordsmen looked into each other’s eyes, then rotated their entire bodies in opposite directions.

Slashhh!

Unlike before, they created a fairly deep injury. They were slightly tempted to go further, but Sir Zakison and Sarah hurriedly left the area.

“Return to your positions! We’ve gone too deep!”

“Yes!”

This was enough. They could slowly kill him.

The basic principle of a boss raid is to kill the boss with ‘appropriate’ damage.

Waves occur every year, and new soldiers and children are born or drafted every year.

From the lord’s perspective, soldiers are merely consumable resources, and even if they die here, they can be endlessly replenished.

It was the same in the past, it was the same in other cities, and it will be the same in the future.

Unless another city overwhelmingly protects its soldiers, it was an unspoken rule between lords.

Consumables should be used as consumables.

***

[Goddess Power Year XXX Boss Raid Troop Loss Report]

Magician casualties: 0, Knight deaths: 1, Knights seriously injured: 2, Knights lightly injured: 4, Soldier deaths: 127, Soldiers seriously injured: 253, Soldiers lightly injured: 765.

Overall: Losing a knight is regrettable, but compared to past boss raids, the raid was completed ‘successfully’. In particular, the low number of soldier losses is exceptional.

Additional notes: Next year, it would be good to establish a strategy to reduce knight losses by actively consuming soldiers.

***

[Announcing to all citizens of the city! The wave has ended! The wave has ended!!]

“Woo-ah-ah-ah-ah!!!”

“Kkyeeeek!!”

Johan listened to the roar of the citizens shaking the entire city and looked at the field. Numerous human corpses were left unattended.

They were merely uttering cries of victory, leaving the already dead humans in a terrible state. It didn’t look very beautiful.

Of course, he understood. The great battle that had dried up their blood for five days had ended. However, the treatment of the dead was too inadequate.

“……”

Anyway, it wasn’t something Johan needed to worry about. Johan just needed to receive his reward, and he didn’t care about anything else.

He looked at Sir Zakison and Sarah, who were riding their horses towards the fortress wall in the distance.

It was time to welcome the heroes of this boss raid.

***

“Hahahaha!!! I never imagined you could deploy such a precise shield from so far away. Amazing, amazing!”

Splendid and nutritious food filled the huge table. Sir Zakison tore into a whole roast pig with both hands as he spoke.

It was a truly unaristocratic sight, but no one in this place said anything about it.

The servants were used to it, and Sarah and Johan didn’t care in the first place.

Johan wiped his mouth with a napkin and replied.

“I was keeping a close eye on it from the beginning, so it was possible. I didn’t expect it, but I was lucky.”

“To keep watching your lover’s movements even on that busy battlefield! The two of you are very close!”

“Haha.”

Johan just gave an awkward laugh. That’s why he didn’t see it. The sight of Sarah’s earlobes turning red.

Sir Zakison chuckled as he watched the two handsome and beautiful people. It was a very pleasing sight.

“Hehe, I have some good news. The reward has finally arrived from the Coward.”

“If it’s the Coward, are you perhaps referring to the Grand Prince…?”

“Of course! Butler, bring it here!”

Following Sir Zakison’s command, the head butler disappeared with silent steps.

Soon, the butler brought a bag in an antique style and handed it to Johan.

“Please open it.”

“Oh, I understand.”

He wanted to do it even without being told. Johan examined the contents with a slightly excited feeling. Then, his eyes widened.