episode_0163

The wall between District 11 and District 12.

A giant hole had been punched through that wall.

Holy Spirits, and the Paladins and Priests of the Ariel Order, entering through there.

But they are blocking it better than expected.

The front line is advancing little by little near there, but the situation is somewhat slow.

Then, is the current situation really good?

If you ask that, anyone would shout X.

Although the Guild and the Magic Tower are providing all sorts of potions and support, the number of injured continues to increase, and fatigue has accumulated due to fighting for several hours.

People are starting to be seen getting seriously injured as their concentration gradually drops.

As a result, people with these thoughts began to increase on the battlefield.

If this war of attrition continues, they might collapse in an instant.

“To think that priests were such important beings….”

An explorer mumbled.

It is a natural thing to say.

Generally, monsters encountered in the labyrinth don’t fight for more than 10, 20 minutes at most.

And fighting consecutive battles with monsters doesn’t happen often unless it’s a special situation.

In such a situation, what if beings far stronger than themselves keep pouring in endlessly?

Furthermore, unlike the Holy Spirits, those controlled Paladins who still seem to have their minds must be subdued, so fatigue accumulates even more.

“Just kill us!!!!”

“We cannot live like this!!!”

Moreover, the subdued Paladins are also a problem.

Capturing them alive is one problem, but.

Managing them after capturing them alive is also a problem.

Because their bodies, constantly trying to move, were slowly tearing apart the bound chains.

“Are they originally this strong?”

“I don’t know either!!”

Furthermore, whatever was done, the bodies of the controlled Paladins seemed to have their limiters released, never taking rest.

The Tower Master wiped away the sweat after blocking another wave of attacks.

It felt like they had already blocked at least 100 offensives.

They continue to block the hole in the wall, but the speed of it being breached is faster than the speed of blocking.

“It would be easier if we killed them all….”

How could they do such a thing?

With the decisive battle against the evil god imminent, such a choice is impossible.

They cannot do that in a situation where the enemy’s goal of weakening the labyrinth city’s forces is clearly visible.

But as if knowing that, from a certain point, the number of Holy Spirits began to decrease, and the proportion of brainwashed Paladins and Priests began to increase.

Were there originally so many Paladins in the labyrinth city?

Admiring such a thing was momentary.

The Paladins walked slowly towards them, pointing swords at their own throats.

As if to say, if they retaliate, they will kill all of them.

And to respond with magic, a thick protective shield was placed over them, making it impossible to do anything about those swords.

The Tower Master clenched his teeth.

How could that person called the Pope be so cruel and brutal?

“……We retreat.”

The reality of having to hand over District 11, which was restored with so much effort after the attack, back into the enemy’s hands.

As they thus handed over about a quarter of District 11.

Strange phenomena began to occur.

“……Huh?”

Paladins suddenly starting to collapse.

Surely they didn’t commit suicide themselves?

“What happened?!!”

“S-Surely…!!”

But the situation began to flow strangely.

The attacking Holy Spirits suddenly paused.

As if something unexpected had happened, they suddenly began observing the situation.

The Tower Master realized at once.

That perhaps the situation might turn favorably for them.

Thud. Splash.

Paladins and Priests starting to collapse one by one.

Before long, the number of collapsing Paladins exceeded 20, then 30, 40, steadily increasing.

But soon, they understood why they had collapsed.

“M-My body is moving as I want!!!”

An awakened Paladin shouted while touching his body.

Then, only then did the Holy Spirits grasp what had happened and begin attacking the Paladins who were still in the enemy lines.

“Support the Paladins!!!!”

Immediately, everyone realized how they should act and began to move.

Tending to the fallen Paladins and Priests while repelling the Holy Spirits.

Then, the Paladins immediately prepared for self-termination.

Just as they were about to stab their bodies with blunted swords imbued with light.

Snap-

The light instantly extinguished.

Seeing that, the Holy Spirits suddenly became enraged and began to retreat.

“The enemies are fleeing!!!!”

“Pursue and strike them down!!!!”

While everyone, realizing victory, left to eliminate the remnants.

The Tower Master approached the Paladins who had not yet regained consciousness.

Thump, thump.

Simultaneously with the last remaining Paladin collapsing.

A being that had melted into the world and hidden its form revealed itself.

Ivan Arcana, carried on Grace’s back.

The Tower Master smiled, recalling the miracle his disciple had achieved.

“I am proud of you.”

“Thank you.”

What in the world could the apostle sent by that inscrutable main god be thinking?

While he was having such thoughts.

Ivan spoke confidently to the Tower Master.

“Please guide me to the subdued cultists!!”

“…I will take you there myself.”

Anyway, thanks to his disciple, there was a lot of mana left; it wouldn’t matter if he used it on that much teleportation, would it?

The Tower Master immediately took Grace and his disciple and used teleportation magic.

At the same time, the collapsed Paladins began to wake up, and repenting for their sins, they began to move their tired bodies to do what they had to do.

*

“Thanks to you, the enemy’s offensive has momentarily ceased. I am grateful.”

The Crown Prince, whom I met after returning to District 0, had an expression suggesting that at least the worst-case scenario had been avoided.

The face filled with tension and anxiety was gone, and his confident appearance had returned, which somewhat relieved me.

“Of course, we won’t launch a recovery operation to retake District 12 or District 2. In terms of actual strength, we would be at a disadvantage anyway.”

The Crown Prince, certain that there must be something hidden.

I think similarly.

Because the idea of taking over the labyrinth city with just this many Holy Spirits and brainwashed cultists is far too reckless.

There must be several more moves much stronger than that.

“Anyway, if reinforcements come from the outside, it won’t be too late to launch a recovery operation then.”

Rather than pushing too hard and getting hit hard, missing the opportunity, it’s better to act a bit conservatively and create a situation where the win rate is maximized.

That was exactly the kind of thing the Crown Prince would choose.

“More importantly, have all the places where Holy Spirits are summoned in each district been cleared?”

“Yes!! Except for the Holy Spirits attacking from District 1, all others have been subdued.”

“Then, what do you think about gathering all troops from each district to defend the front line?”

The reason the front line is being pushed back now is the lack of troops.

The troops were scattered to block the Holy Spirits that appeared sporadically in each district.

If these are concentrated on the front line, the damage might possibly end with just giving up District 12 and 2.

But.

“If they wage guerrilla warfare in other districts like the Holy Spirits appeared, it could lead to the worst-case scenario.”

“…I think so too. But if we keep getting pushed back like this, we might regret not concentrating our strength. I will listen to everyone’s opinions.”

I quickly gathered opinions, but unfortunately, it was decided to maintain the current situation for now.

My master was furious about that decision. But it couldn’t be helped.

The leaders of each district wouldn’t easily decide to abandon their own districts.

It is regrettable due to human nature that cannot abandon their own interests for the greater good, but what can be done? That is the natural way of things.

“Meeting concluded. I will call again if there is anything specific.”

As the Crown Prince declared the meeting over, the connected magical tools began to disconnect one by one.

As soon as everything was over, the Crown Prince let out a deep sigh.

“It’s difficult. It’s not a problem that can be solved by concentrating forces on the front line either. Attacking them first would probably be the best method.”

“Have you not found a way yet?”

“We won’t know a way unless we at least try to approach District 1, will we?”

“That is true.”

While we are saying ‘Abandon our district right now?’, how can we go into the enemy lines?

Even if I went with the power of the Thief’s Deck, the risk is too great. It’s like the king himself moving to capture the opponent’s king.

Still, since the battlefield has reached a lull, let’s be satisfied with that.

“Ivan, thanks to you, the Paladins and Priests have regained their senses and are helping us. It seemed like we would break under the war of attrition, but now that has become impossible, I wonder how they will react now.”

“Perhaps then they will unleash a powerful force?”

“Yes. Like the calm before a storm. Right now, those guys must be preparing a big move.”

What could it be? It was enough to make me curious.

We must be prepared to respond with all possibilities open.

“For now, you should rest a bit too. I need to rest a bit as well.”

Saying so, the Crown Prince sat down on a chair in the corner of the tent and began to close his eyes.

He seemed very tired from the fighting that had happened all day.

Because sitting still and using one’s head isn’t as easy as one might think.

I bowed lightly, went outside, and entered the tent assigned to me.

Jack and Kylek weren’t there, but Grace, Luca, and Noah were.

“What about the others?”

“They are on watch.”

“Watch?”

“It’s an order for a part of each party, or unit, to watch the front line.”

“I didn’t hear that.”

“Of course, Mr. Ivan doesn’t need to. Did you see the Crown Prince standing watch?”

“…That’s true.”

Had I become somewhat privileged? While thinking such thoughts. Following Grace’s words to lie down here, I lay down in a suitable spot.

There was no bed, only a sleeping bag.

Well, camping was familiar thanks to my long time in the labyrinth. There was nothing particularly uncomfortable.

But I wasn’t particularly sleepy.

My heart was pounding; was I originally the type to get this nervous?

Of course, it was an unprecedented event for which that was understandable, but.

“……?”

Just then, the status window at the edge of my vision caught my eye.

Right. Come to think of it, what about this?

『Save the cultists.』

『100/100』

『Bonus: Additional Achievement 351』

While I hadn’t paid attention for a moment, something else had been attached.

Additional achievement, huh. Then, adding 351 to 100 people, did I save about 451 people?

I saved more than I expected, didn’t I?

Unfortunately, the enemies retreated partway through, so I couldn’t save more, but.

Since I saved much more than the target, won’t they give a more substantial reward?

While I was having such thoughts.

Suddenly, Ding!! and the status window rings.

『Congratulations. You have completed a sub-quest.』

My first sub-quest nearly a year after coming to this world, huh.

Thinking about it that way felt a bit awkward. But there was no reason to refuse.

『You have achieved results exceeding 4 times the target』

『Congratulations. Clap, clap.』

『Check your special reward』

Special reward? That’s a name I’m hearing for the first time too.

But there was no specific reason to refuse.

I offered a silent prayer and then clicked the reward window.

But contrary to my thought that options would appear, a subspace suddenly opened, and something sharp began to fall directly towards my belly as I lay down.

No, what in the world did the main god do?!!

Ah, at the moment I thought, ‘I’ll get hit if it stays like this’.

Clang!!

Something that was futilely blocked by my master’s purple robe’s 1-time attack nullification rolled beside my sleeping bag.

Ah, right. This was there. I sure tend to forget it.

“Are you okay?!”

Grace and Luca urgently approached.

Noah lagged behind, trudging along.

But soon, seeing the object beside me, Noah’s eyes widened immensely.

“You, that….”

“What is this?”

I immediately examined the sharp object that had attacked me.

An object entirely white in shape…, a sword.

As soon as I saw this, where gold and white harmonized beautifully, I could realize what it was.

“…Holy Sword?”

An object that could only be called that was shining in my hand.