Chapter 336
A true paradigm shift, that's exactly what this is.
If breaking the seal takes too long, then just find a way to ignore the seal altogether.
Combined with using an item players couldn't utilize, this approach prevented the enemy from anticipating the possibility.
A suicide tactic? No, in this case, it should be called an action to fulfill his ultimate ambition, I suppose.
"Is everyone here!?""I'm fine!""Present.""Yes, we are alright.""I'm here."
It was fortunate (or perhaps a stroke of luck) that we managed to evacuate the ruins swiftly, unflinching before the immense pressure that evoked instinctual terror.
"Genjiro! Your side!""Hah! All members of the Otoban-shu are present!""Lord Liberta! What in the world is—""Bogle."
We evacuated the ruins shouting for a full retreat. The atmosphere around the ruins had changed so drastically it felt like it had shifted to another dimension.
"Are you saying Azhdaha has revived?""Not a full revival, but a similar situation has occurred. What are your casualties?""Thanks to Lord Liberta's warning, all knights who had entered the ruins have evacuated.""I see. Then we will pull back the front line as planned. Please retreat quickly."
There's no time to stand around. While running, I urged the knights to move away from the ruins as we relocated.
"Amina!! We're moving! Stop the song!!""Got it!"
Nell shouted loudly towards the sky, and Amina also began to move.
"Understood. Anything else?""Send an urgent message to the royal capital. Report to His Grace the Duke the subjugation of Boldrinde and the occurrence of an emergency situation. Also, instruct Clarice and the others to assume their pre-arranged immediate response posture.""Understood."
The capabilities of the Mirror Image Homunculus contained too many unknown elements even for us players; we only had a rough grasp.All we knew was that it perfectly copied the target's form, stats, and skills, and that the original controlled it.
Meaning, what's about to appear is a copy of Azhdaha. Depending on its specs, there's a real chance our current forces could be utterly defeated.
Under Bogle's orders, cavalry scattered in all directions.
"All personnel except the assault team members, retreat to the rearmost position!! Double time to the rear command post!! Hurry!!"
The other knights began running at full speed towards the rally point.
***`'■■■■■■■■■■■!!！！！'`***
And just as the retreat began, a terrifying roar echoed from underground.Despite the thick barrier of earth, the roar was deafening enough to stun everyone present. The knights nearly faltered.
"Don't stop!! Retreat!! Fall back!!"
Bogle shouted another command, accelerating the knights' pace.
We retreated alongside the knights, but...
"My Lord, you go ahead first!! We shall serve as the rearguard!""No, I need information. Just provide escort.""But!""I'm counting on you.""......Understood.""Nell, you all—""We're staying with you! We're the strongest ones here!""Appreciate it!""Yeah! Rely on us!"
We would serve as the rearguard.If the worst happens, I'm the one most capable of resisting.Above all, my failure to anticipate this situation led to this outcome.We had Boldrinde cornered, one step away from securing victory.
This catastrophe resulted from that carelessness.Then, I must take responsibility.
I must ensure the knights entrusted to me by His Grace the Duke retreat safely. And I must gather as much information as possible.
"An earthquake!?""No, this is! Something is coming up from underground!"
The earthquake that struck while we were acting as rearguard.Having experienced a similar tremor sensation during the Rainy Devil fight, Claudia and I understood this quake was caused by something trying to claw its way out from below.
"It's huge...""Is that... Azhdaha?"
The shaking ground of the ruins split open widely, and from it emerged a long, reddish-black neck.One, two, three... necks emerged one after another from the ground, until finally, a total of eight heads and the massive body supporting them crawled out from the earth.
Heads adorned with sharp horns, faces resembling a cross between a snake and a dragon, with crimson-purple eyes—the eight faces atop the long necks surveyed their surroundings.
***`'■■■■■■■■■■■!!！！！'`***
It let out an earth-shattering roar loud enough to make one cover their ears.
"Tch!""My ears... it hurts..."
Nell, a beastkin with sensitive ears, desperately covered them, the impact likely far greater for her than I could perceive.Her steps became unsteady, and I hurriedly supported her.
"Thanks.""It's alright. We're falling back now."
If this follows Azhdaha's action pattern, the next move will be contaminating the surrounding area.Staying here is dangerous.
Holding Nell by the waist, her balance disrupted by the inner ear disturbance, I resumed our movement.
"The forest..."
Then, seven of the eight heads simultaneously spewed dark purple breath over the surroundings.Cursed Poison Breath.Trees touched by it instantly rotted and decayed; the earth was defiled, dissolving into toxic swamps where the breath landed.
As if declaring this its territory, Azhdaha indiscriminately spread soil contamination. The very air began to tinge with purple pollution.
But the threat didn't end there.
"Is that... it can't be..."
Across the area polluted and turned into toxic swamps around Azhdaha...While retreating as rearguard, glancing back...That must be why Lady Esmeralda saw it, her voice tinged with confusion at the reality before her.
"Serpent Dragon Kin? But the numbers..."
Humanoid shapes emerging as if boiling forth from the toxic swamps.Those familiar forms appeared from the poisonous mire.And in greater numbers than we had faced just moments ago.As Claudia said, they emerged one after another from the swamps.
"My Lord, please escape. We shall hold them here, even if just a little, and reduce their numbers."
Faced with this overwhelming horde of monsters, Genjiro and his men, sensing the crisis, stopped, turned, and prepared to make a desperate stand.
"Denied."
Their resolve is noble.They might be thinking of me.
But I calmly rejected the proposal.
"My Lord!""Running away is easy. We could escape, all of us, unscathed to the royal capital, without a care for appearances. It's simple. But to overcome the threat before us now, we cannot afford to lose a single person. Not a single one, Genjiro.""......But!""I understand you're feeling the crisis as the enemy multiplies before your eyes. I understand the anxiety that we might face irreparable consequences if we just stand by and watch them increase unchecked."
Even now, I'm desperately constructing a path to victory in my mind.Under normal circumstances, I might be angry at such an unnecessary suggestion, but I understand Genjiro's reasoning, so I feel no irritation.
"Don't panic. We can still turn this around. There is still a path to victory."
Especially at times like this, when an abnormal situation occurs, it's necessary to think calmly, to quell everyone's panic.
"Trust me."
In dire straits, people's faith wavers. So honestly, these words are almost a gamble.Even if they believe we can manage, whether they can personally accept this predicament and follow that trust is unknown.
"Understood."
The Serpent Dragon Kin continued to multiply, soon likely to form an army large enough to fill the toxic swamps created by the cursed breath. Glancing at that scene, Genjiro still accepted my words and resumed the retreat.
Relieved by this, we continued our retreat when the sound of flapping wings reached us.
"Liberta-kun!!"
Then, Amina descended from the sky.
"Whoa, Nell! Are you okay!?""Just my ears got a bit hurt from that roar earlier. Are you alright, Amina?""Yeah, I was inside my golem, so I'm fine."
She probably left her golem at the command post and came to get us. I thought coming alone was dangerous, but...
*`'It seems the revival occurred earlier than anticipated.'`*"Dark-san."
Seeing the spirit figure ooze into existence behind her, I understood.Along with his usual military uniform, multiple dark spirits had been escorting Amina.
Even considering approaching the nemesis, Azhdaha, with this many spirits by her side, meeting up with us was possible.
"I'll explain the situation. But right now, I want to put distance between us and Azhdaha. Can you follow?"*`'Understood. I, along with the other spirits, are also pulling back. His Majesty is eager to know about this situation.'`*
In a rapidly changing situation, sharing information is absolutely crucial.
While moving at a run, I explained the operation and my failure at the end. When I told Dark-san...
*`'I see.'`*
He didn't blame me, merely nodded in understanding.
*`'The preparations for "that item" are already complete. The mobilization of all available light spirits, from high-ranking to low-ranking, is also finished.'`*
That single sentence made me feel his trust, filling me with gratitude while also making me keenly aware of the heavy expectations placed upon my shoulders.
Dark-san's eyes seemed to say, "Don't worry, just focus on recovering from here," not placing all the blame on me but offering to fight together. It eased my mind, just a little.
Then, a thunderous roar echoed from behind.
"Is that... lightning?"*`'Ah, the lightning spirits can attack from high altitudes. It won't be a decisive blow, but it's an annoyance that buys time. Lightning strikes from above can minimize the curse damage even against Azhdaha and serve to delay it. The Thunder Sisters said it was their thanks for the fun. They mobilized all their connections to gather as many lightning spirits as possible.'`*
It wasn't part of the plan, but the spirits were voluntarily offering what help they could.
The high-level lightning from the spirits rained down not only on Azhdaha but also on the spawned Serpent Dragon Kin.
Annoyed, the copied Azhdaha spewed breath and curses towards the sky, but catching lightning moving at light speed was difficult. Furthermore, wind and water spirits cooperated to create rain clouds, hiding the lightning spirits.
"Once this battle is over, I'll have to thank them properly again."*`'Indeed. A live performance, a festival, a sports day, and a BBQ are, of course, included. Now then, what else shall we request?'`*
Thinking of the faces of those spirits, I felt my eyes grow slightly moist.Ah, really, I'm getting distracted thinking about how to thank them properly.
But I don't consider that a bad thing at all.
"Yes, I'll have to rack my brains for ideas."*`'Hmm, then we must ensure everyone survives to enjoy it.'`*
At a glance, the battle seemed evenly matched.However, because it was deploying cursed poison, the copied Azhdaha was continuously devouring the spawned Serpent Dragon Kin to regenerate, establishing a near-perpetual motion system.
In contrast, the lightning spirits had to constantly move and repeatedly discharge to continue their attacks, even with the cover of thunderclouds.
A disparity in endurance was forming.
Imagining the familiar Thunder Sisters engaging in this desperate fight, my chest grew warm at the fact that I had such reliable comrades who would come to aid me even in this world.
Dark-san urged me to buy time and reorganize our forces.He cracked jokes to lighten the mood, loosening the tightly wound, tense atmosphere.
But it was a masterful mood shift, adjusting the nearly snapped thread of tension to a more manageable level.
"Yes, you're right. This battle... anything less than a perfect victory is unacceptable. I will absolutely achieve a complete victory."*`'Hmm, that's our Guild Master for you.'`*
That slight distraction returned flexible thinking to my overly tense brain, and I could feel it starting to spin at high speed.
What's good? What's bad?Spinning my brain at high speed, I searched for a way to escape this predicament with our current forces.
Then, returning to the command post, I declared with a smile to the knights who welcomed us with anxious faces.
"We will achieve a perfect victory in this battle and return triumphant to the royal capital with everyone! And then, we'll have a grand victory celebration funded by His Majesty the King's wallet!"
Declaring that there was no need to worry, the knights shed their anxiety and responded to my encouragement.