Chapter 69 - 138-140

Chapter 138: The illusion of a decisive battle in Zozogante's Great Forest

"Mother, wait. I still want to follow Holy-Son-dono," said Gizania, raising an objection despite the fact that the problem had been resolved. "It is true that I mistook Holy-Son-dono's gender, but I truly felt that I wish to follow him. That has not changed, even now. And I owe him the debt of having saved my life. If Holy-Son-dono is going to face the trial to succeed the champion Zakkart, I must take part."

"I understand how you feel," Queen Donaneris said to her daughter. "The trial to determine the succession or second coming of the champion Zakkart, which has continued for about a hundred thousand years. An obstacle that has repelled all of the heroes of matchless valor who have faced it. The majority of them return alive, but there are also casualties. If the one who saved your life is going to challenge it, then it is only reasonable to want to take part."

"… Reasonable, is it?" Basdia said, confused. "Well, I do understand that you can't just do nothing if there's the possibility that your savior might die."

But it seemed that not only Queen Donaneris, but Chief Mage Bakota and the other Arachne and Empusa were convinced as well.

"Basdia-dono, this is what is known as the bushido*," Myuze told Basdia.

Note: This literally means "path of the bushi," it's like a samurai code of chivalry.

It seemed that the bushido spoken of in Zanalpadna was different to that on Earth. It was likely that concepts related to ambition and duty were emphasized.

"… Is it something like chivalry?" asked Basdia.

Of course, there was no way for her to know that the bushido was different. She seemed to be interpreting the bushido to be something like chivalry.

"I am curious about the difference in information regarding the Trial of Zakkart between the inside of the Boundary Mountain Range and the outside… but it does not seem appropriate to ask this now," said Zadiris.

On the outside of the Boundary Mountain Range, the Trial of Zakkart was known as an extremely dangerous Dungeon that almost none other than the Five-colored Blades have ever returned from alive. And it was rumored that the one who cleared the Dungeon would be considered to have as much power as the champion Bellwood, the one who had defeated the fallen champion Zakkart.

However, inside the Boundary Mountain Range, it was still known as a highly difficult Dungeon, but most who challenged it returned alive. And the one who cleared it would be considered the successor or the second coming of not Bellwood, but Zakkart.

They were completely opposite descriptions.

The fact that the one who cleared the Dungeon would become Bellwood or Zakkart's successor was merely a rumor, so it wasn't strange that these rumors differed between the inside and outside of the Boundary Mountain Range. However, the difference in the rumored survival rate of those who challenged it couldn't be explained.

It was difficult to imagine that it was simply that those outside the Boundary Mountain Range were weak while those inside it were strong.

The Trial of Zakkart was a famous Dungeon outside the Boundary Mountain Range. Thus, there were reckless people who challenged it in an attempt to test themselves, but other than them, most who challenged it possessed the strength of at least B-class adventurers; most of them were as strong as A-class adventurers.

Considering that they had that much strength, they weren't at all inferior to the heroes who lived inside the Boundary Mountain Range.

Perhaps it is because the races of those who challenge the Dungeon are different? Zadiris wondered. Using Zanalpadna as a reference, it is difficult to imagine that those who are not members of Vida's races, the humans, Elves and Dwarves, would become powerful enough. Now that the boy has said that he will challenge it, I want to ask about this matter in more detail, but… it seems that this will take some time.

The reason Queen Donaneris and Bakota hadn't talked about the Trial of Zakkart up until now was not because they had wanted to keep quiet about it, but because they had simply assumed that Zadiris and the others had known this information without it being needed to be said.

They were sheltered from the outside by the Boundary Mountain Range, so they hadn't known that there were differences in the information regarding the Trial of Zakkart on the inside and outside.

She didn't know this, but simply asking why the information was different wouldn't give any answers that anyone would want.

"That will come after this has all calmed down," Zadiris decided as she continued watching.

"I understand your feelings," said Queen Donaneris. "I understand, but you being with Holy-Son-dono would be complicated… No, if Holy-Son-dono has taken a liking to you, then perhaps there is no problem? How are things in that regard?"

"Indeed, if Holy-Son-dono takes a liking to Gizania-dono, then there will be no problems, even though there was a misunderstanding with the necklace of deep affection," said Bakota.

Was this their one chance? Bakota nodded in agreement with Queen Donaneris.

"No, would that not be imprudent? And from what I have heard, Holy-Son-dono already has numerous candidates to become his brides. Basdia is one of them," said Gizania.

She wanted to follow Vandalieu, but she had deceived him, even if it wasn't intentional, and she was against making use of that. And she felt bad for Basdia and the others.

"That's true, but you don't need to worry. It's not like you're going to keep Van all to yourself, is it? I heard that you people share your husbands with each other as well, so there are no problems," Basdia said, reassuring her.

"If there are multiple candidates, then I'm sure it's fine for Gizania-chan to join them! Darling is planning to marry people other than me as well, and Gizania-chan is cute!" said Princess Kurnelia, seemingly not going in the sis-con direction of not wanting to hand her younger sister to anyone else.

"Is it normal for one to be unconcerned no matter how many wives their husband has?" Myuze asked.

This would normally be true, but the truth was that not only Basdia, but Zadiris and Eleanora as well expected that Gizania might be bothered by this. So if she did actually become bothered by it, everyone would simply think, "as expected."

And Zadiris didn't really know what Vandalieu thought regarding such matters.

The boy has welcomed everyone with open arms up until now, after all. Though it seems that it is not as if he feels nothing at all, Zadiris thought, but she had another thought as well.

"Well, I suppose he has fewer partners than Vigaro, so there are no problems," she said.

Vigaro, Basdia's father, had experience with partners whose numbers were not in the tens or twenties, even if Zadiris was excluded. They had grown fewer in number since Vandalieu solved the Ghouls' birth rate problem, but even so, they were few only in comparison with his old self.

That was why Zadiris thought that it wouldn't be a problem… though in Vigaro's case, these relationships were like de-facto marriages rather than marriages like on Earth or Origin, so the circumstances should have been strangely different.

"Gizania, the problem is how you feel about the boy," said Zadiris. "Either way, after you repay your favor to the boy, you intended to think about your future, including marriage, were you not? It simply means that your marriage partner might be the boy. Before confirming the boy's feelings, you must first think about that."

"How I feel…" Gizania closed her eyes and went into thought.

But she had felt positive feelings for Vandalieu from the beginning. Even excluding the strange charm, he was the first member of the opposite gender… indeed, the opposite gender, who had called her beautiful.

Among the large-build Arachne with robust bodies, Gizania had trained substantially in order to be of use to her older sister, Princess Kurnelia, and to one day become a true Bushi.

Thus, she'd had almost no interactions with the men of Zanalpadna, many of whom possessed production-related Jobs. The only exception was her own father.

She had only vaguely thought that she would one day choose a partner to create children with from among the men who had been acknowledged as husbands by her sisters other than Princess Kurnelia and the citizens who lived in the same tower as her.

It wasn't that they didn't have charm. They were good people, but…

Comparing them to Holy-Son-dono, I find Holy-Son-dono to be more desirable.

Vandalieu was far more powerful than Gizania, so she had to work hard to catch up to him, but they could be together even in training. Indeed, they could truly be together. Because Vandalieu, the Insect User, could equip Gizania inside his body with the Insect Binding Technique skill.

But would she be able to move forward and think of him as a member of the opposite gender when she had mistaken him for a member of the same gender all this time?

Gizania opened her eyes and looked up. "Could I perhaps put this decision on hold?" she said, averting her gaze.

"Muh, you would falter there, my daughter?" said Queen Donaneris.

"That's just like Gizania-chan… come to think of it, what are you going to do, Myuze?" asked Princess Kurnelia.

"Me? It is unavoidable, so I am thinking that it would be fine if I could be at Holy-Son-dono's side," Myuze said, accepting things quickly compared to Gizania. "Holy-Son-dono can clone himself, conceal himself and might one day become able to transform into a giant toad; he is the closest being to a ninja there is! If I am at his side, my training will progress as well. And I am already seventy years old. I intended to have children before I reached one hundred, so this is perfect. At first, I thought Holy-Son-dono would be difficult to be with as he is expressionless, but he seems to be good-natured. Of course, this all only applies if Holy-Son-dono takes a liking to me."

"Myuze-dono, i-is it really alright to make such a clear decision?" Gizania asked.

"Gizania-dono, I am a standard example for Zanalpadna. In fact, relationships such as the one between Princess Kurnelia and Prince Budarion are the exceptions."

After all, it was a polygamic society where the women living in a tower shared the men living in the same tower. Of course, one couldn't freely adopt any particular male that they liked into their family. Women often had to choose partners for creating children from among men who had been chosen by other women.

"Is that true?!" Gizania exclaimed.

"Gizania-chan, Darling and I are special. Our encounter was -" Princess Kurnelia began.

"Leaving that aside, we should find out what Van thinks early on," said Basdia. "Though I have a feeling I know what his answer will be."

"Indeed. I can imagine what his response will be," Zadiris agreed.

"… Though it may be a little late, I have started to feel a little anxious," said Queen Donaneris.

"My queen, let us presume that they are engaged for now," said Bakota.

After that, Vandalieu, who had already realized that his gender had been mistaken due to Prince Budarion's reaction, listened to the accurate descriptions of the necklaces of deep affection with the same dead eyes as usual. As Basdia and Zadiris had expected, his response was, "If the two of you are alright with it, then please take care of me from now on."

"Don't falter! There are only three enemies!"

"Push them back with our numbers! Mages, don't stop your spells!"

"GUAAAAH! It's impossible; no matter how much we surround them, we can't face them!"

Around the time Bugitas was struggling to decide whether he should withdraw his troops from the other battlefields to focus on conquering Zanalpadna and killing Budarion, the Ghoul nation was in a crisis that threatened its existence.

The entire Ghoul nation was inside a D-class Dungeon called Zozogante's Great Forest.

It was a twenty-floor Dungeon, entirely made up of forests, created for these Ghouls who had low birth rates by Zozogante, the evil god of the dark forest, who had become their guardian.

By living inside a Dungeon, their bodies and reproductive functions were stimulated more than if they were living in a Devil's Nest, and even after a hundred thousand years, they were able to maintain something that was large enough to be called a nation.

Even so, unlike Zanalpadna's E-class Dungeon, the Shell-less Open Field, this Dungeon was dangerous and there was no room to adopt citizens.

That was why almost all of the nation's citizens were Ghouls, and the population was about five thousand.

It had the smallest population among the nations near Zanalpadna.

However, the people could earn their keep in the Dungeon, and the warriors could go and hunt outside once they had trained themselves enough to survive on the outside, so it was a small but prosperous nation.

It was an army led by the 'Fang-Spear Boar' Budirud, the most exceptional spear-user among Bugitas's subordinates, who had broken the peace of this nation.

Budirud, a Rank 9 Noble Orc General, was a soldier who wielded a magic spear created from the tusk of a Prominence Mammoth, a monster that he had hunted on his own. But he was not merely powerful as an individual. He was known as an exceptional commander who made skillful use of his subordinates.

The Ghouls put up a good fight against the elite force of Noble Orcs, High Goblins and High Kobolds led by Budirud, but they were repeatedly retreating into the deeper floors of the Dungeon.

"NOOOOO! Stop them at all costs! Don't let them do as they please anymore!"

"Protect the chief! Warriors, show them your pride!"

"You think we'll hand you our women?!"

Unlike the Ghouls outside the Boundary Mountain Range, who possessed meager levels and variety in their skills and found it difficult to increase their Ranks, the Ghouls of Zozogante's Great Forest could change Jobs and safely become Rank 5 once they became proficient warriors.

And although they did not possess exceptional blacksmithing techniques, they would collect the items found in the Dungeon's treasure chest and use them for equipment.

Thus, the nation was being protected by the warriors who were few in number, but elite in quality. Though their enemies were Rank 6 Noble Orcs, Ghouls possessed both Jobs and Ranks, so they could win about half of the one-on-one battles. There were five thousand such Ghouls, while Budirud commanded only a few hundred. This was not a battle that the Ghouls should have been disadvantaged in.

However, Budirud and his army had been strengthened by some kind of power. It was something that was far clearer than the effects of the Commanding and Coordination skills.

And because the Ghouls lived in a Dungeon, they had been unable to build sturdy walls like the ones in Zanalpadna. It seemed that there were no problems in building things like houses, but only Vandalieu, who possessed the Labyrinth Construction skill, could build walls that were not easily broken, preventing the coming and going of monsters.

In addition, combat in this forest-shaped Dungeon, where space was limited, was advantageous to the small army of elites led by Budirud.

To top it all off, Budirud had once led an army to stop a monster rampage from a certain Dungeon in the past; he was one of the few men who had experience in winning a battle by commanding a large army against a large number of enemies.

Faced with this enemy and having retreated numerous times until being cornered down to the tenth floor, the Ghouls prepared themselves for the decisive battle.

"GYAAAAAH!"

"Budirud… Why would a soldier as great as yourself… no, I will not ask anymore. You are a rebel, but you are a warrior who has supported the empire up until now. You have served well. You should rest now."

"Th-this is hopeless! We can't hold!"

"… Prince Budarion, Budirud's spirit is behind you."

But before the decisive battle could unfold, Vandalieu and his companions had assaulted Budirud's army from behind.

Vandalieu had heard from Buburin's spirit that the Ghoul nation was under siege. He and his companions had pushed forward up to this point, instantly killing the lookout units that had been positioned along the way, passed through the entrance of Zozogante's Great Forest and then pushed on, with the few elite members of his party overwhelming and scattering the enemies standing in the way.

Vandalieu, who possessed the Labyrinth Construction skill that allowed him to understand the floors and structure of the Dungeon the moment he entered it and even change the structure of the Dungeon as he liked, had split up Budirud's army and cornered them into a state where they couldn't exert their proper strength.

And then the army had been scattered by Borkus, Vigaro, Zadiris, Basdia, Bone Man as well as Prince Budarion, who had recovered his lost arm and eye.

Budirud and his army had all been strengthened by the effects of a skill that was unknown to them, But Borkus and the others were strengthened by Guidance: Demon Path. And the strengthening effect was greater on Vandalieu's side.

If this was a battle on the surface rather than in a Dungeon, and Budirud commanded an army of over a thousand rather than just a few hundred elite individuals, some of them may have been able to escape.

But because the battlefield was inside a Dungeon, Vandalieu and his companions had been able to exterminate every enemy without letting a single one escape.

It was fortunate that news of this battle would be delayed in reaching Bugitas, who was likely troubling himself over it in the Noble Orc empire.

"Hmm, I see," said Prince Budarion.

"Should I use Visualization?" Vandalieu suggested. "That would make him able to speak, though."

"No, let us not. It is unlikely that he would be able to converse with me in that state," Prince Budarion said.

"That does not seem to be the case. I seem to be unnaturally calm right now," said Budirud's spirit.

Budirud had continued fighting while letting out beast-like roars until the moment Prince Budarion defeated him. According to Prince Budarion, he had been a composed general who had served for a long time, but to Vandalieu, he had appeared to be nothing other than a bloodthirsty berserker.

But he seemed to have regained his reasoning the moment Prince Budarion finished him off with his magic sword, turning him into a spirit.

"I apologize for my disgraceful behavior. I became a prisoner of the power of His Majesty the Emperor Bugitas… No, Bugitas. In exchange for my original power as a monster, I lost my ability to reason," Budirud said.

These were the words of a man who, up until his death, had howled orders at his subordinates in the Orc language, cursed Prince Budarion with unbearably harsh words and looked at Basdia and Eleanora with a vulgar smile.

… Wouldn't it normally be the opposite? The spirits of the dead were supposed to be more emotional than while they were alive.

Vandalieu was so perplexed that he canceled his plan of breaking Budirud's soul.

Of course, it wasn't only Budirud who had regained their sanity the moment they died. All of his subordinates had been like beasts before dying, but they had regained their ability to reason upon death.

"Perhaps Budirud and his subordinates were under Bugitas or Ravovifard's influence, and now that they have been released through death, they are under my lord's influence and regained their original personalities?" said Bone Man.

"I didn't know Bugitas had that kind of skill. He might have been given it by Ravovifard," said Prince Budarion. "Would it not be a guidance skill like yours, Holy-Son-dono? If that is the case, then I would be able to understand how a man like Budirud was misled."

Prince Budarion hadn't been under the effects of Vandalieu's Guidance: Demon Path until immediately after receiving the transplant surgery for his arm and eye. However, he was now under its effects.

It seemed that with the conversation following the surgery, Prince Budarion had acknowledged Vandalieu.

And his loyal vassals had followed, falling under the effects of Guidance: Demon Path as well.

"If it is a guidance skill, what would it be? The heretic path or the animal path?" Vandalieu said, thinking a little.

"Cooked, let's eat," groaned Eisen.

"The mammoth skewers are done, Van," said Basdia.

"Yay, itadakimasu."

Unable to win against the roast meat, Vandalieu decided to prioritize his appetite first.

It was generous amounts of skewered meat that Eisen and Basdia had made from the meat of the tamed Mammoth that Budirud had used as a mount.

It seemed that in the area around Zanalpadna and the Ghoul Nation, there weren't any dinosaurs, but there were mammoths and saber-toothed tigers - or to be more precise, monsters that resembled them exactly.

The mammoths were not the enormous, fur-covered elephants that Vandalieu had imagined, but more like large versions of African elephants.

Vandalieu had been surprised when Legion's Enma had informed him that mammoths of warm regions didn't possess fur.

Leaving that aside, this was another luxurious food ingredient like dinosaur meat.

Vandalieu took the skewer, bit into it, tore some meat off and tasted it as he chewed.

"The tare made from Eisen's iron apples is effective; the meat's smell is reduced and it has become softer. The way it's been cooked is perfect; the more I chew, the more my mouth is filled with flavor. It's very delicious," said Vandalieu's spirit, giving his impression on the meat with the Out-of-body Experience skill as the physical Vandalieu was busy chewing.

Eisen and Basdia gave each other a happy high-five.

"It seems like it would be delicious in hamburgers or teriyaki as well. However, the meat is tough overall, so it may not be well-suited for steaks," said Zadiris. "How is it eaten in Zanalpadna?" she asked Gizania and Myuze, wondering how mammoth meat was used.

"Mammoth meat is tough, so we often use it for boiled dishes. I prefer it raw, however," said Gizania.

"I also end up eating the meat raw when I hunt mammoths," said Myuze.

"… I wonder if you even make sashimi out of it," said Zadiris.

It seemed that their answer was even wilder than she had expected.

"By the way, Vandalieu-sama, do you not need to stop that? Vigaro has been rampaging on his own for a while," said Eleanora, pointing at Vigaro, who was having contests of strength with the warriors and mages of the Ghoul nation.

After Budirud's defeat, the Ghouls of Zozogante's Great Forest had thanked Vandalieu and his companions for saving them, become wildly enthusiastic under the effects of various things such as Vandalieu's 'Ghoul King' and 'Holy Son of Vida' Titles, and then began a feast to celebrate the victory, using the meat of Budirud's army.

"What's wrong?! Face me some more! Pick up your weapon and stand up! You won't be able to protect your women and children like this!" Vigaro roared.

"Bumo~oh. I have a wife, so I don't really need to be popular…" groaned Gorba.

"Captain, you're dependable, so I think you could do with another one or two," said another Orcus.

Vigaro, Gorba and the other Orcuses had suddenly become very popular among the local women, causing them to be challenged by the local men. Vigaro had willingly accepted, and before anyone realized, he was mowing down large numbers of the men from Zozogante's Great Forest.

To be more accurate, Vandalieu had almost become popular as well, but Basdia and Zadiris had been at his side, and the women had heard that "Van isn't at the age where he can make children yet," so that was why Vigaro and Gorba had become popular instead.

Incidentally, Borkus wasn't present, as he had said, "I'm going to go clear this place to kill some time," and departed on a solo-clear of Zozogante's Great Forest. He would probably clear it without any difficulty and return before long.

"Well, it's probably fine," said Vandalieu. "But I suppose I should warn him not to hurt their hips… more importantly, I have to say something to Kasim and Zeno the next time we return to Talosheim."

"It might be natural for you to say this as you are also the Ghoul King, but is it really alright to say that at your age, Holy-Son-dono?" asked Prince Budarion.

"Age… come to think of it, how old are you, Prince Budarion?"

"Me? I will turn fifteen this year," replied the three-meter-tall Prince Budarion.

Noble Orcs became adults within ten years, so even though he was fifteen years old, he wasn't a youngster.

Job explanation:

[Dark Fighter]

A Job that can be acquired by those who have experienced the Assassin Job. It provides general bonuses to Assassin Technique, Unarmed Fighting Technique, Short Sword Technique, Surpass Limits and skills needed by scouts.

Skill explanation:

[Assassin Technique]

A skill that mainly provides bonuses to the deadliness of surprise attacks. Also, when weapons are concealed in the user's clothes or equipment, they can be used more effectively.

Monster explanation:

[High Kobolds]

Like High Goblins, High Kobolds are a superior race of Kobolds that were created by evil gods.

They are about as tall as an average human, and at a glance, they look like bipedal wolves.

Their base Rank is 5, and even if they are not holding weapons, caution is needed, as they can use their claws and fangs to fight with the Unarmed Fighting Technique skill.

Like Kobolds, they are proficient at coordinating with their allies, and are as intelligent as humans. However, they possess strong bonds with their allies, and unlike High Goblins and Noble Orcs, they view members of their respective inferior race as members of the same group, rather than treating them like slaves.

Their reproductive ability is vastly weaker than regular Kobolds; they give birth to one or two children at a time, and the children become adults after five or six years.

However, a single High Kobold accompanied by Kobolds forms a solid fighting force. For this reason, they are designated as a disaster-class race of monsters.

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Chapter 139: People who need to take leave

Tarkus, a mage of Duke Marme's army, was surveying the ground from the skies above through the eyes of a bird-shaped familiar created through magic.

This breeze is pleasant… even the heat of summer doesn't bother me like this.

He was proficient in magic that allowed him to share the five senses of his familiars, and he enjoyed it.

In Lambda, where nature often came with danger in equal portions and transport methods and ways to record images were limited, there were few who could enjoy picturesque scenery like on Earth or Origin.

Exceptional mages could fly freely through the sky, but for many mages, flying through the sky like a bird was difficult. They could perhaps only manage to float about helplessly.

Tarkus himself was a mage among the many. However, by using magic that allowed him to share the five senses of his familiars, he could cut through the wind and fly like a bird, looking down upon the earth.

The green of the trees, the water surface of the marshlands that reflected the glistening sunlight, all of it was beautiful.

It is hard to believe that this scenery was originally the territory of those repulsive Scylla.

The land looked too good to be wasted on monsters that had the upper body halves of women and lower body halves of octopuses, but the truth was that it was land that was difficult to make use of for those other than the Scylla, so that was how it was.

No, this is work. Concentrate.

Tarkus, as a mage of Duke Marme's army, had begun this mission a few days ago, the mission to scout the former Scylla territory from the sky, as the resistance was apparently hiding in this area.

He had disguised his familiar with the shape and color of a bird that was commonly seen in this area, and he was searching from above for the resistance, and, if possible, traces of the Scylla that had vanished into thin air.

I don't know the details, but I have been told to be cautious. Though it is a mystery as to what I'm supposed to be cautious of.

This wasn't an unusual scouting mission in itself. Searching from the skies was effective for determining the presence of bandits or monster settlements.

However, his colleagues that had undertaken missions into the Scylla territory recently had gone missing. Tarkus had only been told that they were on leave, but the face of the superior who told him this had been as white as paper.

And just before Tarkus began the mission today, he had been warned to be cautious. To cancel the mission immediately if he sensed anything out of the ordinary. Even if it meant discarding his familiar.

Tarkus couldn't clearly picture any kind of danger that would warrant such warnings and orders, however.

Mages conducting reconnaissance through familiars were normally safe from danger. They shared the familiars' senses, but not the damage that the familiars took. They would feel pain, but once the mage's concentration was broken to a certain extent, the sharing of the familiar's senses would cease, and the mage might lose consciousness at worst.

Their physical bodies would be defenseless while they were concentrating, but Tarkus and the other mages were manipulating their familiars inside the Amid Empire's army's towers; they were essentially being protected by countless soldiers.

If my familiar is destroyed in a gruesome way, then I might inevitably need a few days' rest, but…

… e.

?!

Feeling like he had heard a sound resembling a voice, Tarkus turned his familiar around. What the familiar saw was a rectangular boulder that could be seen among the trees growing on the slope of a mountain. It was clearly not a natural construct.

Thinking that it might be a clue to the resistance's whereabouts, Tarkus made his familiar approach the boulder.

As he did, he noticed what was strange about the boulder.

What is this? A monolith?

A flat, rectangular, black monolith built among the trees. At its center was a motif shaped like an enormous eye, and there were small symbols carved closely around it.

… co.

This isn't… a code of the resistance. Is it an inscription left behind by the Scylla? Even if they possess the upper bodies of human women, they are a corrupt race born from monsters, after all. It would not be strange for them to leave behind such a curious object. Wait, it hasn't been long since this has been built. It's still new!

There wasn't much dust gathered on the monolith, and there were signs of the earth around where it had been built having been dug up.

In other words, this monolith had been built after the Scylla had vanished. With that being the case, was this an object created by the resistance's hands?

… e… ere.

Deciding to search for them, Tarkus made his familiar approach even closer. But then he noticed something even stranger.

Ever since he had approached the monolith, the mountain had become too quiet. There wasn't a single noise made by birds or small animals. Even the sound of the trees swaying in the wind sounded distant.

Is it just my imagination? No, something is wrong! Could this be…?!

Startled, Tarkus beat the wings of his familiar and tried to make it gain some distance from the monolith.

At that moment, he realized that he could hear a strange voice.

… Come.

What is this?! What kind of sound… what voice is that?!

Surprised, Tarkus made his familiar look around, but there wasn't even a single Goblin to be seen, let alone a person.

But the voice was growing steadily closer. It was as if it were whispering in his ear.

Come… here.

Thinking that this was impossible, Tarkus looked back at the monolith, and his eyes met the eye-shaped motif. He was being looked at by the monolith!

Come here… now!

The horribly repulsive voice that sounded as if it were piercing Tarkus's brain resounded directly inside his mind.

His concentration broken, Tarkus's consciousness returned to his physical body.

"NOOOO!" he screamed.

"What's wrong?! Oi, Tarkus, calm down!"

One of the soldiers of Duke Marme's army who were nearby rushed over to Tarkus.

But the monolith's voice still echoed in Tarkus's ears.

Come… here.

"I won't go! I WON'T GO!" Tarkus shouted with his eyes wide open, his entire body drenched in cold sweat.

The soldiers looked at him with expressions that were twisted in sorrow.

"Sheet, Tarkus as well! Someone go and get the priest!"

"Let me go! STOOP! I WON'T GOOO! I DON'T WANT TO GOOOOO!"

"Make him bite into a cloth! He's going to bite his tongue!"

"MMPH?! MMMMPH!!"

The soldiers restrained Tarkus with movements that seemed to be well-practiced, and then took him to the room where the others like him were taking their 'leave.'

"With this man called Tarkus, that's the fifth… merciless as usual," said Machida Aran.

"They'll probably recover after a few months, but that's a terrifying countermeasure," said Shimada Izumi.

With pale faces, the two familiar spirits were looking through the records from Tarkus and the other mages who had tried to find clues as to the whereabouts of the Sauron Liberation Front.

The two of them were trying to find out what Vandalieu was doing by looking through the eyes of Lambda's humans, but they had ended up seeing the process of the records' owners going insane.

"… That monolith and stone circle is a countermeasure to Clairvoyance, isn't it?" said Izumi.

"It can't be anything else. It's been built so that you can't see the whole thing unless you're looking from above," said Aran.

A while ago, the reincarnated individuals had tried to use the power of one of the members of the Bravers who had recently died in Origin, the 'Clairvoyance' Tendou, to gather information on Talosheim and Vandalieu.

But although they had intended only to gather information, the 'Death Scythe' Konoe Kyuuji had conspired with Rodcorte and tried to use his cheat-like ability through the image produced by Clairvoyance to kill Vandalieu.

That had failed, and Konoe Kyuuji had perished, his soul broken. But because Tendou was safe, it should have been possible to try and gather information with Clairvoyance once more.

But Vandalieu had taken a terrifying countermeasure.

"Objects that cause madness only when viewed from above. If we hadn't become familiar spirits, it would have been bad news for us as well," said Aran.

To be more precise, what Vandalieu had created were objects and paintings that enticed people to the Demon Path just by being looked at, but Aran and Izumi didn't know that, so this is what they thought.

Because rather than be guided to the Demon Path, Tarkus and the other mages who had found these objects had gone mad. The reason for that was because they were members of Marme's Army, many of whom belonged to Alda's extremist faction.

Of course, Tarkus and the other mages were also members of Alda's extremist faction, and had very radical, discriminatory views on Vida's races.

That was why they had shown fierce reactions of rejection to the effects of the Mental Encroachment skill that had been placed in the objects and paint, their rejection of the guidance to the Demon Path causing disorders in their minds.

They had mentally carried out the thought of, "I'd rather die than become [blank]." Of course, this wasn't the effect that Vandalieu had originally intended, so they would recover after a few months' rest, even if they would have some trauma left.

"It would be bad if Tendou or Asagi were to see that. Even though they have cheat-like abilities, they don't have mental fortitude," said Izumi.

"You're right," Aran agreed. "Well, Tendou is refusing to use Clairvoyance after seeing the way Rodcorte does things, so that probably won't happen, though."

Rodcorte could forcibly control the reincarnated individuals to some extent as long as they existed within his Divine Realm, but he couldn't force them to activate their cheat-like abilities.

That was a relief, but… Vandalieu was even warier of the reincarnated individuals now. How could a relationship be mediated between him and their Braver companions to prevent a bloodbath?

"And here I thought that we could have Tendou look at Vandalieu again and communicate through written messages." Aran said wistfully.

"Rodcorte would definitely interfere the moment we tried. And it's completely impossible with that countermeasure in place," said Izumi.

"You're right… I suppose we should consult everyone first. We still have time before the one-month limit."

Vandalieu was troubled over his relationships with members of the opposite gender.

Ever since he lived on Earth, he had always yearned to build a warm family environment. He'd also had an obsession with luxuries since back then, but he'd thought that a family environment where his heart felt at ease with those he loved would be a luxury that money couldn't buy.

That hadn't changed now, even after his death on Earth, his death in Origin and his rebirth in Lambda.

But what if the number of those people is easily over ten? Is it a problem?

Basdia, who wanted Vandalieu to be the father of her second child, as well as Bilde who said that she wouldn't mind being next and Tarea, who refused to say it. The maids Saria and Rita, Princess Levia, Princess Zandia, Jeena, Orbia and Privel. These ten had already been confirmed.

Eleanora and Bellmond said they were fine with being a servant and steward but likely had feelings of that sort, and Zadiris and Kachia likely had such feelings as well, though they wouldn't say it clearly. Isla seemed fully intent on competing with Eleanora.

Legion was a friend, but Vandalieu had the feeling that they were following a similar pattern to Eleanora and Bellmond.

Pauvina, Jadal and the others were still children, so their opinions might change in the future as well.

Eisen, Rapiéçage and Yamata were attached to Vandalieu, but he had the feeling that their affection was still not of that kind.

And Gizania and Myuze had been added to those. Accepting a necklace of deep affection from a member of the opposite gender and wearing it around one's neck was apparently equivalent to accepting a proposal.

The fact that Vandalieu had been mistaken as a 'shrine maiden' rather than the 'Holy Son' by these two… or rather, all of Zanalpadna's people, had been a shock to him. But after the incident with Privel, this was the second time that he had become engaged due to a misunderstanding.

Being waited upon by this many members of the opposite gender would be a great problem in the current-age Earth. Vandalieu wasn't the daimyo of Edo, so he would naturally be criticized.

The same applied in Origin.

In Lambda, it would depend on the society and what kind of position of that society he was in. Societies of people… Humans, Dwarves and Elves, were generally monogamous. However, it wasn't unusual for wealthy merchants and successful adventurers to have numerous mistresses and concubines.

For members of royalty and nobility, this was essentially a duty. Wedding multiple wives was a display of economic strength and the family's stability.

"The Mirg shield-nation is quite obstinate regarding this, but Ani-ue… the oldest, Alzard-aniue, had three wives," Kurt explained. "It would normally have been suitable for him to have four like our father or even five, but the financial situation of the Legston family of earls is quite bad now, so… no, perhaps he will forcibly take more?"

It seemed that it was appropriate for the head of the Legston family of earls from the Mirg shield-nation to have four or five wives.

"Why would there be a need to push himself to take more wives?" Vandalieu asked.

Kurt gave a bitter smile as he answered. "Because Chezare-aniue and I, who were supposed to support Alzard-aniue's children as branch families, have 'died.'"

The fact that Chezare had been killed and Kurt's death had been feigned were both events that had been caused by Vandalieu.

Alzard, the current Earl Legston, had lost both of his unmarried younger brothers within a short period of time, so Kurt predicted that he would be driven by a need to produce more children.

"… I have done something bad, haven't I. When I execute the plan to have him change sides as well, should I give him a virility drug as a present?" Vandalieu suggested.

"The effects of any virility drug created by you would likely be terrifying, so don't do that. Alzard-aniue is no sexual prodigy, but his first-born son who will succeed him has already been born, and it would be problematic if he were to have too many children," said Kurt with a pale face. "And as for you, Your Majesty… isn't it fine to have over ten partners?" He shrugged, thinking that it wasn't anything to be troubled over. "Though it depends on the size of the nation, it isn't strange for the king of the nation to have that many. I've heard that the previous emperor of the Amid Empire had several dozen in his harem. Though I think that the current Emperor Marshukzarl has less than ten. And the now-deceased Duke Sauron likely laid his hands on over a dozen if you include his maids. Thanks to that, he had many orphans and caused a lot of trouble for them back then…"

Apparently, Duke Sauron, the father of Raymond Paris, had been quite the sexual prodigy.

"I think our nation is different to the empire and the Sauron region, though," said Vandalieu.

The populations of the Amid Empire and Sauron Duchy were vastly greater. As for economic strength, wouldn't the referee's hand be raised on the Amid Empire's side as well? That was what Vandalieu thought, but it seemed that Kurt thought otherwise.

"It is indeed different, but… it cannot be compared using the empire or the kingdom's standards, because it is too different. Wouldn't it go unnoticed by anyone if you even multiplied your candidates several times?" said Kurt, shaking his cold-sweat-covered face from side to side.

From his point of view, Talosheim was a rising nation that had been restored, and aristocratically speaking, Vandalieu was its first king and was in a position where he needed to leave behind many descendants. Small efforts like political marriages with branch families and other influential people would be far from enough to solidify the nation.

But Vandalieu's lifespan exceeded at least three thousand years, so he wouldn't need to worry about a successor within Kurt's lifetime as long as he wasn't killed.

To begin with, almost nobody in Talosheim had an ordinary sense of values regarding aristocracy.

To add to that, the citizens were believers of Vida and understood polygamy… or rather, some of them didn't think about these things that deeply and others didn't possess the concept of marriage at all.

And the nation's economy was good. Nobody knew how it would be in several thousand years from now, but… Kurt thought that there wouldn't be any economic slumps in the next few hundred years at the very least.

He even said that we should learn by example from Zanalpadna and this Ghoul nation, and that he will create low-class Dungeons to use as emergency shelters, farms and fisheries… Normally, a nation would need to cultivate uncultivated land or invade other nations to acquire land, but this king can simply increase the nation's land within a matter of hours.

Vandalieu, who could create new Dungeons with the Labyrinth Creation skill, would adopt the way that Dungeons were utilized on the inside of the Boundary Mountain Range. That would mean that Dungeons would be the same as extra land.

And Vandalieu could even roughly control the monsters produced inside the Dungeons that he created. He didn't normally do this because he wanted to increase the levels of his skills, but for Dungeons being used as shelters and production, he would likely leave them constantly standing still.

Resources were certainly necessary to wed multiple wives, but Vandalieu could gain any resources he needed at any time, so Kurt couldn't be blamed for giving such a vague response.

"Is that right?" said Vandalieu in confusion, blinking several times.

It seemed that he was unaware that he could create land from thin air.

"Hey, oi," said Borkus, poking Kurt's shoulder.

Not feeling like explaining these things endlessly, Kurt decided to ignore this. "The important thing is what His Majesty wants to do, isn't it? In other words, his own feelings. What are those like?" he asked.

"Well, I think that's right as well, but…" Borkus muttered.

"My feelings… I'm very happy to be liked by everyone," Vandalieu said.

If he were to express his emotions, they couldn't be described as anything other than happy.

There was no way that he wouldn't feel happy about multiple members of the opposite gender liking him. And unlike on Earth, he was now in a position where it wouldn't be a problem for him to date multiple people.

So then, what would be inconvenient about accepting that?

Vandalieu, whose goal was the pursuit of his own happiness, was a very worldly-minded person.

"Then there won't be any problems," said Kurt.

"Hey kid, Kurt doesn't seem to want to turn this way, what's wrong?" Borkus asked, seeming bewildered.

"I think it's because Zozogante is over there," Vandalieu said in the direction of Borkus and Zozogante.

He had been consulting Kurt partially for the purpose of diverting his attention away from Zozogante, while using the Mental Encroachment skill to treat him.

This was the deepest part of Zozogante's Great Forest. The treasure chamber, which could only be reached by those who defeated the Dungeon boss.

Borkus, by clearing Zozogante's Great Forest on his own to kill time, had cut down all of the monsters in his way and reached this place. And then Zozogante, the evil god of the dark forest, guardian of the Ghouls who lived in the southern region of the continent within the Boundary Mountain Range, had descended before him.

And then Zozogante had said to Borkus, "I'm sorry, but could you please ask your boss to come here?"

Having been requested this, Borkus had brought Vandalieu and Kurt, who was Vandalieu's lieutenant general.

At first glance, Zozogante appeared to be a large, twisted tree, but if one looked closely, the fruit hanging from its drooping branches were all eyeballs, and he had numerous mouths that looked like rips in the tree's trunk. This appearance had caused a huge shock to Kurt's mind.

That was what Vandalieu had been treating.

When Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five sins, had descended in the deepest part of the Scaled King's Nest, Vandalieu himself had been a little shaken but still fine, just like Basdia and everyone else except for Darcia, who was a powerless spirit. Thus, his perception of danger when meeting a god had become fainter, but it seemed that a chance encounter with a god had large effects on human minds.

Apparently, even the chief of Zozogante's Great Forest kept his head down and never looked up when meeting Zozogante.

"He didn't have to risk himself to try and prove that he was normal," Borkus muttered.

"Were you alright, Borkus?" Vandalieu asked.

"Well, I was a little scared, but that's all."

As for Borkus, he wasn't affected too much because he was already an Undead, possessed the Mental Corruption skill and because as a Rank 11 monster, he himself had already stepped into the realm of beings of legend and myth.

"Excuse me… may I begin now?" asked Zozogante, whose voice sounded like the creaking of a tree, in a reserved tone of speech.

"Ah, yes. Kurt, you mustn't turn around," said Vandalieu.

"Oi, oi, Your Majesty, don't treat me like a child… if I just squeeze my eyes shut, cover my ears and hunch over, I'll be fine," said Kurt.

"Is that really fine?" Vandalieu asked, but there was no reply from Kurt, as he was sitting on his knees, eyes shut and ears covered.

Thinking that it was best to have Kurt sleep for now, Vandalieu secreted a volatile sleeping drug and put Kurt to sleep.

Once Kurt's sleeping breaths could be heard, Zozogante began speaking.

"Ah, first of all, I offer you my gratitude for saving these Ghouls. They are not only my important believers, but they are like my own children, so I wished to avoid having them trampled down by Ravovifard's servants," he said.

"Not at all. I am the Ghoul King, after all, so please don't worry about it," said Vandalieu. "But if you can make various accommodations for us in the future, it would be very helpful."

"Ah, yes. Well then, you may take several of my daughters as your attendants -"

"I don't want those accommodations."

"Does it not make you happy to be liked by multiple members of the opposite gender?"

"Their feelings are the problem here."

With the reason for those feelings being because the god they believed in them told them, Vandalieu wouldn't be particularly happy.

"I'll leave the blood-relationship-deepening exchanges to Vigaro," he said.

"I see… Well then, perhaps in a few hundred years when you feel up for it," said Zozogante, seeming disappointed at having been refused, but it seemed that he intended to patiently wait out the centuries. "Well then, how about accommodations in the form of my divine protection? I do not possess any sealed fragments of the Demon King, and I cannot think of anything else I can do in gratitude. I can bestow it upon your Ghoul companions and that plant-type monster."

"Are you talking about Eisen? Yes, please," said Vandalieu.

The divine protections of gods could increase Attribute Values, provide bonuses to the effects and acquisition of skills and even raise the limits of an individual's growth. They were equivalent to talent being given after birth.

Thus, it was best to accept divine protections unless they were from a god with extremely incompatible qualities.

Zozogante was apparently on equal standing with Fidirg… in other words, in a low position among gods, but one would expect the divine protection to have an effect.

"I am grateful for your divine protection, but if you wanted to protect the Ghouls so badly, why did you do nothing until now?" Vandalieu asked. "I don't intend to blame you, but this is a Dungeon that you created. Could you not have done something more?"

"That's right. If you'd sent the Dungeon boss or the mid-boss at Budirud, even if they didn't win the battle, couldn't they have reduced the losses that the Ghouls suffered?" Borkus added.

Zozogante hadn't been sealed away like Fidirg. Perhaps he might not have been able to descend onto the world and take part in the fight himself, wouldn't he at least have been able to send the monsters produced by the Dungeon as reinforcements for the Ghouls?

"I wanted to do that, but… My hands were occupied with maintaining the barrier," Zozogante said.

The gods in the southern region of the continent who were on Vida's side had a painful circumstance to deal with.

It was the maintenance of a barrier that prevented the intervention of Alda, the law of god and fate, the one who had wounded Vida and the gods on her side including Zozogante in the war a hundred thousand years ago, as well as the intervention of Rodcorte, the god of reincarnation, who wanted to deny the existence of Vida's races.

Immediately after the wounded Vida had raised the land of the continent with the last of her power to create the Boundary Mountain Range, she ordered Zozogante and the other gods who were still capable of action to surround the inside of the Boundary Mountain Range with a barrier.

Because of this barrier's presence, Alda could not dispatch his familiar spirits directly into the area enclosed by the Boundary Mountain Range, nor could he 'call out' to entice people to become his followers. In order to have any influence here, he needed to have his believers physically enter the Boundary Mountain Range from the outside.

This effect of the barrier applied to the entire area enclosed by the Boundary Mountain Range, including Talosheim.

Rodcorte could not look at the records of the people living in Zanalpadna or the other cities that were protected by the gods on Vida's side. He couldn't directly interfere with the world, but it was possible that he would cooperate with Alda by sharing the information that he gained, so the barrier prevented this.

But this effect of the barrier did not apply to Talosheim, which was supposed to be protected by the Sun Giant Talos, nor to the marshlands, which were supposed to be protected by Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five Sins, as both had become incapable of action.

This hadn't proved to be a problem, however, as there were only Titans and Lizardmen living in Talosheim and the marshlands respectively, and Vandalieu's Guidance: Demon Path skill was there now.

This barrier that even interfered with Rodcorte was powerful, but it was special and required a vast amount of power to maintain. That was why Zozogante and the other weaker gods were spending most of their power on it.

And the gods more powerful than Zozogante had been entrusted with the sealing of the Demon King's fragments instead.

On top of that, there were still many gods whose wounds from the war of a hundred thousand years ago hadn't healed.

"That is why I am capable of little other than bestowing my divine protection and projecting a false image of myself like this to limited places in order to converse," said Zozogante. "The Pure-breed Vampires are all also fully devoted to the maintenance of the barrier, or to the protection of Vida and the healing of her wounds. Zanalpadna and Mububujenge were freer, but with Ravovifard… who knows where he got that much power. He was originally a god with about as much power as myself."

Zanalpadna, the evil god of carapaces and compound eyes, hadn't appeared before Vandalieu, and this was apparently because she was busy interfering with Ravovifard.

And Ravovifard had apparently been a god of equal rank to Zozogante and Fidirg, but he had somehow gained enough strength to suppress Mububujenge and Zanalpadna, who were supposed to have possessed more power than him.

"I see. That means I have to not only defeat Bugitas and have Prince Budarion take the throne, but also do something about Ravovifard… I wonder if I can? He is apparently quite strong, even for a god," said Vandalieu.

"I believe that you can manage it," said Zozogante.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, kid. And you're close to your next Job-change, right?" said Borkus.

"No, I don't think it will be that simple," Vandalieu said back to them.

Zozogante and Borkus didn't change their opinions, however.

『The levels of the Mental Encroachment, Labyrinth Creation and Golem Creation skills have increased!』

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Chapter 140: Survival of the fittest

Birkyne, the last surviving member of the three Pure-breed Vampires who worshipped Hihiryushukaka, the evil god of joyful life, was having trouble with rebuilding his organization.

"To think that I would gain sole control over the organization in this form," he muttered with a self-deprecating laugh.

He had once planned to turn Ternecia, one of the other Pure-breed Vampires, into a puppet to rule the organization together with Gubamon. And then he had thought that one day, he would do the same to Gubamon to take sole control over the organization.

That had been a long-term plan, spanning hundreds, thousands or perhaps even tens of thousands of years, but… less than three years had passed since then. Despite that, Ternecia and Gubamon had died… they had been destroyed.

If their souls had remained, it would have been possible to turn them into Undead with the power of the evil god of joyful life. Turning a Pure-breed Vampire into an Undead was impossible for Birkyne, but it should have been possible for Hihiryushukaka. Toying with life was the duty of that evil god, after all.

However, Birkyne knew that wouldn't happen. He had been told through a Divine Message from Hihiryushukaka that their souls had been destroyed.

"Less than three years have passed since then… A period of time that is like the blink of an eye to me. In that short time… DAMN IT!"

The sorrowful expression on his attractive face was erased for a moment by anger as Birkyne crushed the glass in his hand and smashed his fist down into the table that he was sitting at.

With a thunderous sound, the table that was made of Elder Treant wood, stronger than a steel shield, broke into pieces.

But this did little to stop Birkyne's anger.

"Gubamon, that crazy old fool! Disposing of not only his Noble-born Vampires but his Subordinate Vampires with his own hands as well! Does he not know how much I have suffered because of that?! HUH?!" he cursed his fallen comrade with foul words, saliva flying from his mouth.

Gubamon, who had gone mad with paranoia, had tried to use all of his own subordinates as materials for Undead. He had been destroyed by Vandalieu before carrying this task out to completion, but for Birkyne, who now had to rebuild the organization under his control, the damage that had already been done was too great.

The three Pure-breed Vampires had dispatched Vampires to every region to make backroom deals with royalty and nobles and to act as the masterminds pulling the strings behind the bosses of crime syndicates.

There were some, like Earl Thomas Palpapek of the Mirg shield-nation, who contacted the Vampires directly, but many others were unaware that they were making deals with Vampires; they didn't know that they belonged to the low-ranking parts of a Vampire organization unless they were close servants of a crime syndicate's boss.

This structure had allowed the organization to cut these people off like lizards' tails when things went bad, and even if an enemy with sharp intuition caught on, only a single Vampire would be lost.

When Ternecia was defeated, four of the Five Dogs, her close subordinates, had been killed, while the last one had betrayed her. However, the Noble-born and Subordinate Vampires scattered across the various nations had remained. That was why Birkyne and Gubamon had been able to continue by taking them all in except for the organization that had been destroyed by the adventurer party, the Five-colored Blades.

However, Gubamon had killed almost all of the useful Noble-born and Subordinate Vampires, turning them into Undead. The only ones who had escaped this were those who had tried to carry out Gubamon's reckless orders and been killed by adventurers and knights, or those who had immediately gone into hiding and fled the continent or into regions where Gubamon couldn't find them.

Thus, the only Vampires left were those so insignificant that Gubamon hadn't noticed them - young, Noble-born Vampires who had been Vampires for less than a century, or Subordinate Vampires that were essentially small-fry.

Of course, there was no way that such lowly Vampires could make deals with royalty, nobles or corrupt merchants, nor could they control criminal syndicates from the shadows. The Subordinate Vampires hadn't even been told Birkyne's name.

Given this, it wasn't difficult to imagine how much Birkyne and his subordinates had suffered in trying to rebuild the organization.

There were even some cases where the smaller organizations had been taken over by the surviving underlings before Birkyne could reach out to them. These organizations had done reckless things, resulting in the exterminations of both the organizations and those who had taken over them.

"Damn it… If only Grant Roche, Raleigh Rodriguez, Miles Rouge… If only I could have taken in one of the Vampires that had been in charge…!" Birkyne groaned in frustration, recalling a few names of the Vampires that had led Gubamon's faction.

Those Vampires were now serving under Vandalieu along with those who had been turned into Undead, however.

The ritual to summon the souls of dead Noble-born Vampires and revive them as Undead couldn't be carried out without the blood of the Noble-born Vampires' parent, so Birkyne had no way of confirming whether they were alive or not.

It was difficult to imagine that Hihiryushukaka would deliver such trivial details to Birkyne through Divine Messages.

"This is all Vandalieu's fault!"

The truth was that Gubamon had been mentally driven into a wall not by Vandalieu, but by Birkyne's own plan to turn Ternecia into a puppet, but… Birkyne seemed to think that Vandalieu's very existence was the cause of everything.

"Now that things have come to this, I have to take him in no matter what. He has already become someone that I cannot fight. In order to take him in, we have to monitor the Sauron Duchy that he's going in and out of more closely -"

"Birkyne-sama, I have a report regarding the Sauron Duchy," said one of his Noble-born Vampire aides, having appeared after seeing that Birkyne had calmed down.

"… It's you, Mortor," Birkyne muttered.

Mortor, one of Birkyne's 'Four Confidants,' a Noble-born Vampire of Dwarf origin.

Mortor lowered his bald head in a bow and delivered his report. "This is information from a spy in the occupying army, but it seems that Duke Marme has appealed for action to be taken by the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords. Among the fifteen Swords in the imperial capital, there is no movement from the First and Second Swords, but there are reports that the Third Sword has left the capital, so I believe this information is true."

"What is the possibility that this movement is a decoy?" Birkyne asked.

The Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords were a secret force under the emperor's direct command, and all fifteen of them had designated numbers. But only the names and faces of the First to Third swords had been revealed.

By having these three revealed, the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords' existence was made known to a certain extent to criminals within the empire itself as well as to other nations; this was a form of public relations that deterred enemy attacks.

Thus, the First to Third Swords were not actually truly formidable; the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords could be accurately referred to as the Twelve Swords. Knowing this, Birkyne suspected that this public movement was a decoy. With that said, even this decoy had strength greater than a B-class adventurer.

"I do not know," said Mortor. "However, the 'Thunderclap' Schneider and his companions have departed the continent, so I suspect we could send a few of our people in."

Even Birkyne and his Vampire organization did not know the identities of the non-decoy, true members of the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords.

Though Mortor didn't dare utter this out loud, even Birkyne wouldn't be able to defeat them if they were gathered in one place.

If such enemies were on the move, that Dhampir and the resistance members who had apparently become his subordinates were finished. That was what Mortor thought.

He thought that this would reduce his master's temper a little, but his master gave him an unexpected order.

"I see… Well then, send those who are proficient at gathering information to the Sauron Duchy. If multiple of the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords have been dispatched, they should at least be able to force Vandalieu to show his power to some extent in exchange for their lives. Make sure they don't miss it," said Birkyne.

"Certainl… huh?"

"Of course, strictly order them from interfering. There is no point in this if they do not return alive with the information," Birkyne continued. "But don't make them observe from the sky above. According to your reports, the mages of the occupying army that have tried that have gone mad, so just in case."

"No, I understand that, but… Birkyne-sama, do you believe that the Dhampir will survive a battle against the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords?" Mortor asked.

It was the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords they were talking about. Multiple of the Noble-born Vampires that were Mortor's subordinates had been defeated by them. Monstrosities that were almost immortal unless their heads were severed or their hearts were destroyed, who were also masters of advanced combat skills and magic, had vanished without a trace.

It was likely that Mortor himself wouldn't be able to win if he faced them. That was how powerful these enemies were.

But Birkyne predicted that Vandalieu would likely win against multiple members… around five or so of the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords. "That's right. He will likely emerge victorious, even if multiple Evil-breaking Swords come after him," he said. "For you, it may be difficult to believe, but he killed Gubamon. Perhaps he would be defeated by all fifteen, but just a few won't be able to kill him. If they were so exceptional that they were capable of that, it wouldn't have been strange for them to have caught my tail by now."

With this, some proper information regarding Vandalieu would finally be obtained. If several hindrances would be removed in the process, it would be killing two birds with one stone.

That was what Birkyne thought. It was possible that he was the one among Vandalieu's enemies who was evaluating Vandalieu's strength the most accurately.

Meanwhile, inside the Boundary Mountain Range, Gargya, nephew of the previous king of the High Kobold nation who had successfully staged a coup d'état with Bugitas's support, was sitting on the throne, eating meat.

He gave a gleeful cackle. "Ravovifard, the evil god of release, is incredible. It was the right choice to stop worshipping Rishare, the god of hunting, who refused to give me his divine protection."

Even for a High Kobold, who had appearances resembling bipedal wolves, Gargya was unusually large and beast-like.

Abundant fur; large, gleaming eyes; thick fangs and sturdy limbs… the presence given off from his entire body was enough to know that Gargya was no ordinary individual.

"The power that fills my entire body is wonderful… My level that had stopped increasing is going up like crazy, and even my Rank has gone up. Just from killing my sheetty, annoying old man, my mother, my stuck-up uncle and my cousins." Gargya cackled again. "Don't you think so, you guys?"

However, the High Kobolds and citizen women waiting in the throne room… or rather, being made to wait in it, seemed to feel nothing but repulsion and fear towards him.

In order to conceal these emotions and prevent them from being revealed on their expressions, they kept their faces looking down and didn't answer, even when spoken to.

Gargya groaned at their attitudes. Not because he found it unpleasant; in fact, it was the opposite.

"You females are quiet during the day as usual. Even though you cry and shout so much on the bed…" he said, tormenting them with his words.

The women's shoulders trembled in unbearable frustration, tears of sorrow welling up in their eyes. This sight sweetly stimulated Gargya's sense of superiority.

"Do you think that I did something heinous? Don't misunderstand; it was because the male you looked up to as king was weak that you became my possessions. The strongest male in the group is the one who is served by the most females, the one who violates and impregnates the most. Even beasts know this; it is obvious, isn't it? Kuhahahah!"

With those words, Gargya sank his teeth back into the lump of raw meat attached to a bone that he was holding in his hand… the meat of a High Kobold who had disobeyed him.

Males whose cunning had been their only redeeming feature, who had refused to give up their females despite being weak. Having slaughtered these males, Gargya used their meat for his dinner that night rather than burying them.

"You… beast! Fiend!" one of the High Kobold women shouted at Gargya, unable to bear the sight of her own husband's remains being eaten any longer.

But even these words only made Gargya happier.

"Beast? Fiend? Isn't that just fine! Us High Kobolds are monsters! Beings that welcome savagery and live in darkness! This is what is right for us! What is wrong with taking females from weak males! What is the problem with killing the children of those males?! Lions and monkeys do the same! Alright, I shall violate you tonight and impregnate you with my child!" Gargya shouted, his fangs bared.

The Kobold woman broke down in tears, mumbling the name of her dead husband. Another Kobold woman… Princess Lulu, who was being kept alive as a hostage, embraced that woman.

"Remember this, I am an example of how High Kobolds should be!" Gargya declared.

None of the women here agreed with him. To them, his words were nothing more than the ramblings of a madman.

In fact, the only ones supporting Gargya, who had staged a coup d'état to kill the king and slaughter all of the princes, were the High Kobolds who had obeyed him since before the coup d'état, and General Bufudin who had been dispatched here by Bugitas.

The other High Kobolds and the citizens were merely being forcibly suppressed by Gargya and Bufudin's power.

Gargya had wanted to kill all of the High Kobolds who opposed him as well as their families, but Bufudin had stopped him.

He was trying to achieve Emperor Bugitas's ambition of unifying the southern region of the continent into a single great empire that worshipped not Vida, but Ravovifard. Thus, the number of available soldiers couldn't be decreased just to make examples.

In order to achieve this ambition, the women and children had been taken hostage, and they would be turned into war slaves to conquer Zanalpadna and the other nations that were still resisting.

However, Gargya had no intention of settling for becoming a king of a vassal nation to a great empire ruled by Emperor Bugitas.

Ambition, huh. Bufudin, you dog who worships Emperor Bugitas… no, I suppose you're a pig. One day, when I grow more powerful, I'll take over for him. You can daydream as long as you want until then.

If survival of the fittest was true, then Bugitas himself would become meat for the strong as well. And Gargya believed without a doubt that he himself was that strong individual.

Gargya had already received Ravovifard's divine protection. In other words, Ravovifard had no intention of making Bugitas his only priest. He wouldn't mind in the slightest if Gargya could surpass Bugitas and take his place. That was how he interpreted things.

"- One day, you will stand at the top. That is the foolish delusion that you have in your head, isn't it?" said Princess Lulu, bringing the cowering women and gloating Gargya back to reality.

"… What are you talking about?" Gargya asked her, suppressing his discomposure despite having the thoughts in his mind seen through.

But he couldn't trick her.

Princess Lulu laughed at how shallow Gargya was, revealing her white, well-shaped fangs. "If your current state is the right one for us High Kobolds as you said to everyone earlier, you will one day be killed mercilessly by someone who is stronger than you. My wretched cousin who has gone corrupt with power, you will die a mortifying death like the ones you delivered upon my father and brothers," she said, delivering her prediction with her eyes shining with a dim, hatred-filled glow.

Gargya felt a chill as he heard his cousin's words.

Perhaps by hearing them, he had realized for the first time that he was not an exception to the law of survival of the fittest.

"GARURURUGAH!" Gargya shouted at her in the Kobold language for her to be silent.

But perhaps because his discomposure could be seen in his behavior, it was not only Princess Lulu, but the citizen women as well, who were fearlessly giving him rebellious glares.

The moment Gargya tried to turn his discomposure and humiliation into anger, he heard a distant howl.

In the High Kobold nation, distant howls weren't noises made by stray dogs. They were a solid method of communication. According to this howl…

"A large-scale enemy attack?! What has Bufudin been doing?! Has he lost himself in the women I gave him?!" Gargya shouted.

Though part of his job was to act as a supervisor, Bufudin had been dispatched by the empire to protect this nation. But even as Gargya shouted, the next distant howl came and informed him of the situation.

��I-impossible… Bufudin, killed in battle?! You have to be kidding me! GUOOOOHN!" Gargya howled, commanding his entire army to move.

The hearts of the women behind him danced, sensing that his end was near.

A short while earlier…

Bufudin's subordinates, who were watching the gate in the wall of the High Kobold nation, were taken aback by an unexpected guest.

"Budirud, fugogah?!"

For some reason, General Budirud, who was supposed to be attacking the Ghoul nation, had come with his army.

The Orcs and the Noble Orc commander in charge of them were flustered, wondering what was going on.

"Bugogogoh Ghoul pugyubah."

The Noble Orc noticed that there were Ghoul women behind him, tied up with ropes. This was what he thought: Budirud had successfully conquered the Ghoul nation, and he was here to deliver the Ghoul women who were prisoners of war to their general, Bufudin.

The Noble Orc didn't know whether it was an offering or a bribe, but that was probably what it was.

He did have questions, such as why General Budirud had come personally rather than sending subordinates, or why the offering wasn't being made to Emperor Bugitas. But those who had sworn loyalty to Bugitas had a tendency to become more ferocious the more powerful they were.

Questioning someone as powerful as General Budirud would result in the Noble Orc commander's own death.

"Bugohah! Bugobuh!"

At the Noble Orc's order, the Orcs hastily opened the gate.

Budirud started to lead his army and the Ghouls through the gate -

"Bufuh!"

But a Noble Orc with an enormous hammer resting on his shoulder stood in his way.

"… Who are you? You can't fool my nose. For that Budirud, who loves putting on airs, you smell strange. There's a strange smell coming from inside your cape… What is that? Whatever, you're definitely a fake. All of you Noble Orcs and Orcs stink of dirt!" he shouted.

This Noble Orc was Bufudin, who was supposed to be tormenting the women given to him by Gargya. Having smelt a stink that he had never smelled before… a stink that included the scents of multiple insects and plants, he decided that none of the Noble Orcs in the group in front of him were real.

"Holy-Son-dono."

"So, we were found out after all. Well then, get up."

"You bastard, who are you hiding inside your cape -" Bufudin recognized the voice that came from inside the fake Budirud, but his surprised shout was drowned out by the groan let out by the gate.

"UOOOOHHHHN!"

"BUGOH?!"

"BUGYAKIH?! Go and get the dog-heads! There's something wrong with the gate they made!"

The gate had suddenly taken a humanoid form. It was now mowing down the Orcs that had been guarding it and knocking down the Orc archers, standing to the side so that it wasn't in the way of Budirud's army.

"That's the signal!" shouted Basdia.

"GROOOH!" Vigaro roared. "Kill them! Take them down!"

"Now is the time! You may avenge your king and princes freely!" shouted Zadiris.

Vigaro, Basdia and the other Ghouls who had pretended to be bound smashed their fists into the Orc-shaped Earth Golems, taking hold of the weapons buried within them.

The Orc soldiers flickered, and then the illusions vanished, revealing the High Kobolds hiding within them. They were those who had sworn loyalty to the previous High Kobold king. They had fled to Zanalpadna as a result of the coup d'état staged by Gargya.

In addition to them, the Arachne and Empusa warriors, Eisen, Pete and the other plant and insectoid monsters, as well as Kasim, Fester and Zeno, all emerged from within Vandalieu, who had been hiding inside the fake Budirud's cape.

"There really is something about it, just as we were told."

"I-it was really itchy!"

"… Really? I don't think it was as bad as we were told."

The three of them had been infested by harmless insects and plants and equipped inside Vandalieu.

Now, they attacked the flustered army of Bufudin.

Unable to close the gate as it had turned into a Golem, and seeing enemies appearing out of nowhere, Bufudin's army fell into a state of panic.

One after another, they were cut down where they stood or stabbed in the back as they tried to flee pathetically.

"Don't falter, soldiers! BUGOOOOOH!" Bufudin roared.

His army recovered from their confusion.

"BUGYAAAAH!"

"BUGAAAH!"

No, to be more precise, they lost the reasoning that gave them the ability to be confused. As if they had become beasts, they bared their fighting instincts and faced the Ghouls and Arachne.

They swung their weapons with bloodshot eyes and bared fangs; they were truly berserkers.

Not that any of this changed the battle situation for the better however.

"GOGAAAAH!"

"Iron Form! Iron Wall!" Kasim activated martial skills from the Armor Technique and Shield Technique skills, and then grunted as he stopped an attack from a Noble Orc that that had charged straight towards him.

"Slicing Moon!��

"Invisible Slash!"

Now that the Noble Orc had stopped moving, Fester's longsword and Zeno's short sword swept in from the sides.

"Gubuh…!"

Kasim exhaled as he pushed aside the Noble Orc, who fell to the ground with blood pouring from his mouth. "My arms are numb… but aren't these guys weaker than we heard?" he asked.

"They're full of openings. Could it be that these guys are just Orcs wearing blonde wigs?" said Fester.

"Fester, there aren't any Orcs that would do that. And considering Kasim had used his martial skills, it would be impossible for an Orc to make his arms go numb," Zeno pointed out.

Kasim and his companions, who had become as capable as Class adventurers through their training, were bewildered by how weak their enemies were; it was difficult to believe that they were Rank 6 Noble Orcs that were supposed to be capable of using advanced combat techniques and magic.

Perhaps the Noble Orc they had just defeated was a particularly weak one. That was what the three of them thought, but similar fights were occurring all around the battlefield.

"BUGAAAH! VIOLATE! FEMALES!" a Noble Orc roared as he raised his halberd and charged at Zadiris, who had stepped onto the front lines, completely unprotected.

One would think that his heavy, three-meter tall body would turn her into a bloody, mangled corpse before he could violate her if he charged at her like that, but it seemed that he had lost the intelligence necessary to realize this along with his confusion.

The Noble Orc's halberd fell towards Zadiris.

But at that moment, Zadiris vanished.

"BUH?! BUGEH?!"

And then a spear of light was fired from thin air, smashing the Noble Orc's head.

Zadiris, who had fooled the Noble Orc into mistaking her position with an illusion created through light-attribute magic, seemed perplexed as she looked at the Noble Orc, who crumpled to his knees with blood spraying from his head like a fountain.

"According to the boy, one should say, 'it was an afterimage' at a time like this, but… he fell for it so easily," she muttered to herself.

Note: "It's an afterimage" is a famous manga reference where the character speaks the line after tricking his opponent with an illusion, I think.

"Mother, hurry and conceal yourself! These guys are full of openings, but they're persistent!" shouted Basdia, who was fighting multiple Orcs and Noble Orcs at once.

Indeed, she was decapitating Orcs one after another and slashing Noble Orcs' torsos in two, but the enemies kept attacking her without fear.

With their eyes sparkling and saliva dripping from their mouths as they ran their gazes along Basdia's tall, sturdy body that also possessed feminine curves.

"This really is unpleasant… maybe I should have had Tarea make me some armor that shows less skin," she said.

"I agree!" said Eleanora from above as she flew through the sky, splitting Noble Orc heads with her longsword.

"It does make you excellent bait, however," said Bone Man, cutting down the Orcs that had stopped in their tracks as they admired Eleanora's slender, beautiful legs.

"We don't need it~" said Eisen.

Bufudin's soldier's attacks were focused on Kasim and his companions, who were supposed to be humans that were weak when compared to Noble Orcs, as well as Zadiris, Basdia, Eleanora and the other women.

The ones attacking the women in particular seemed to take no notice of their comrades and those more powerful than themselves being killed.

"Absorb, ripen, eat!" groaned Eisen.

As she had a high level in the Allure skill, enemies were coming after her one after another. However, the Orcs and Noble Orcs were caught in the branches growing from her back and had their spirit absorbed by her Spirit Siphon skill.

And once a certain amount had been absorbed, they would be strangled to death by the branches, with the iron apples produced through the absorbed spirit being thrown at other enemies.

"This feels strangely empty," said Vigaro.

"Gishaah."

Vigaro, Pete and the rest of the men weren't being taken notice of by Bufudin's army; they were simply performing the task of taking down enemies from the side as they relentlessly attacked the women.

"BUGAH! You useless fools!" Bufudin cursed his disappointing subordinates as he raised his hammer and charged at the fake Budirud. "It seems that you defeated Budirud, but you can't defeat me! I'm even stronger than him!"

With the Transcend Limits skill activated, the muscles in Bufudin's body expanded, making him grow even larger. Meanwhile, the fake Budirud merely unsheathed an enormous sword from beneath his cape and raised it.

Bufudin felt a momentary chill as he looked at that enormous sword's black, sinister blade, but he ignored it and charged on. "Mountain-breaking Hammer!" he roared.

Bufudin wielded a super-heavy Obsidian hammer coated in Adamantite, and strength that had been polished through defeating countless foes. On top of that, the Transcend Limits skill was active.

Even an Archdemon wouldn't have escaped unharmed from such a blow.

Though the sword wielded by the imposter was quite large, Bufudin would smash him along with the sword.

"True Blade."

Instead of smashing the imposter's sword, the hammer was sliced through without a sound.

Impossible, Bufudin thought as he opened his eyes wide in shock, but the sword that had cut through the hammer went on to cut him clean in half, from the top of his head to his crotch.

"I will praise your spirit for charging at me head-on," a voice said in the Orc language.

Before Bufudin could recall whose voice this was, Bufudin's consciousness was swallowed by the darkness… and then joined the spirits serving Vandalieu, who was still hiding inside the cape.

"You seem to be on good form, Prince," Vandalieu said.

Prince Budarion had defeated Bufudin with the sword that had been made for Borkus from a fragment of the Demon King.

"Indeed, it is thanks to you, Holy-Son-dono," Prince Budarion said with a nod, now certain that his own strength had increased.

His level increased by a surprising amount through the Experience Points gained by defeating Bufudin, and his Attribute Values increased.

Prince Budarion had gained Mububujenge's divine protection years ago, but even so, his growth had slowed down after reaching Rank 10. He had been aiming to become equal with his father and one day surpass him through diligent training in the years and decades to come.

However, he was now growing at a rate that was as if he had returned to being a boy who had just started training.

"So, this is the power of a Guidance skill," Prince Budarion muttered. "But still, these enemies are too weak. No, rather than being too weak… they have too many openings. Even Bufudin was once a general known for being cautious, to the point of cowardice, but…"

"Well, they're like beasts who don't fear death, aren't they," said Vandalieu.

"Beasts who don't fear death… indeed, that is what they appear to be, but if that were the case, shouldn't they have been more formidable?"

"That's not necessarily the case. To be more precise, they're foolish soldiers, less than beasts, whose feelings of fear have been paralyzed."

Indeed, soldiers that didn't fear death were threats. Enemies prepared to die wouldn't stop struggling until the very end.

However, Bufudin's army had gone mad; they were beasts rather than soldiers. They had simply lost their ability to reason and turned into fools that prioritized their desires over their fears. That was why they repeatedly carried out reckless attacks out of anger and greed, continuing to thrash about, unable to associate the corpses of their companions with their own impending deaths.

And they had no coordination with each other, not using magic… or even martial skills.

Magic wasn't something that could be used by beasts on rampages with their fighting instincts and desires, and though martial skills weren't quite on the same level, they needed reasoning and concentration to use.

In exchange for becoming unable to use these, the Orcs had a dull sensation of pain and they could continue fighting without faltering until they died. However, because their sensation of pain was dulled, they were full of openings, leading to quick defeat by their vital points being destroyed in single blows from Basdia and Eleanora.

"Their Attribute Values are high and they're well-equipped, but they're a group of wild Orcs acting on their own. I think that's what they're like. I have a feeling that Buburin's army at his frontline fort and Budirud's army that we defeated at the Ghoul nation were more difficult to defeat as groups," said Vandalieu.

"So, this is the fate of those tempted by Ravovifard… Bugitas, where do you intend to lead your vassals…?" Prince Budarion asked the empty air, but his question fell on nobody's ears except Vandalieu's, being drowned out by the clashing of swords and dying screams.

Bufudin's subordinates didn't regain their sanity after his death; they continued fighting in their mad states. But as they had only been stationed here to protect the nation and maintain public order, the size of the army itself wasn't that large.

The enemies would run out of numbers before long.

But a distant howl could be heard, and then a powerful howl echoed from the High Kobold nation's palace.

"Holy-Son-dono! Prince! That is the High Kobold king's nephew, who has become Bugitas's dog! It seems that he is going to come and face us personally!" said an allied High Kobold, translating the Kobold language.

And as several more distant howls resounded, the High Kobolds began to move.

"Well then, I'll go on ahead. Arachne, Empusa, Pete, Eisen, Kasim and everyone else, regroup," said Vandalieu.

"Again?!"

"He's doing it again, oi, stay still!"

Name: Zadiris

Rank: 9

Race: Ghoul Elder Wizard

Level: 27

Job: Great Philosopher

Job level: 28

Job history: Apprentice Mage, Mage, Light-Attribute Mage, Wind-Attribute Mage, Philosopher

Age: 298 years old (Has undergone age reversal)

Passive skills:

Night Vision

Pain Resistance: Level 3

Superhuman Strength: Level 1

Paralyzing Venom Secretion (Claws): Level 2

Increased Mana Recovery Rate: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Mana Enlargement: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Active skills:

Light-Attribute Magic: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)

Wind-Attribute Magic: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

No-Attribute Magic: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Mana Control: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)

Alchemy: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Chant Revocation: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Multi-Cast: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

Surpass Limits: Level 3

Housework: Level 1

High-speed Thought Processing: Level 2 (NEW!)

Unique skills:

Zozogante's Divine Protection (NEW!)

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