NOVEL WEB Chapter 81
Currently, in the Shrine of Faith, we have five members we can mobilize.
Cecilia, Charlotte, Isabella, Balutak, and lastly, myself.
As for Estizel and Selina, I was planning to evacuate the rest to the castle.
In reality, tactical maneuvers may be possible, but in a fantasy world, a single superhuman can crush an army.
In that regard, the Shrine of Faith stood firm even against the Decayed Cave.
The core executives had us in an overwhelmingly superior position.
“The Shrine of Faith will stop Calandas.”
I had Charlotte summon the executives and got straight to the point.
Since I had given them a heads-up beforehand, there was no noticeable agitation.
“If he places humanity under his control, we will be next. If we sit idly by and watch, it’ll spiral out of control.”
You might question my conviction, but looking at the levels of the four, they believed me blindly.
“Depending on the situation, we might have to eliminate Calandas. Switching out the Seven Lairs would also cause significant repercussions.”
The damage from the war was severe, and they were probably worried about the aftermath.
“But have no doubt and trust me.”
“No objections, right?”
Roseha naturally took over from there.
Balutak raised his hand high.
“Kirik. Why is the chief’s female here? Is she planning to help?”
“Really? Are you joining us from the castle?”
In response to Isabella’s question, Roseha shook her head.
“The castle is bound by a non-aggression treaty.”
“Oh…”
“But I am not. I’m here to help our lord, even if it’s just me.”
“Oh…!”
If we’re talking pure strength, Roseha was the leader of this group.
She was the same level as Cecilia, but the boss of the Seven Lairs has a Phase Two.
Due to her unique presence, it was set that she conceals her full strength at all times.
Once Phase Two kicks in, her level increases by 1, meaning Roseha’s true strength was Level 94.
Moreover, the bosses in the Seven Lairs each had their own EX-class weapons.
Once in hand, that would increase her level by 1 again.
When it comes to battle situations, one could say she effectively had Level 95.
‘Weapons and war are a perfect match.’
Roseha’s weapon was a unique sword specialized for battles against multiple opponents.
With a name as fear-inducing as “Dreaded Nightmare,” it is truly terrifying.
Even on her own, her assistance would be a tremendous asset.
Although Calandas also possessed an EX-class weapon, so what if it explodes when enhanced?
Even if the 1% success chance works, my odds in a one-on-one are still higher.
The Holy Sword’s attack power and the Mana Eater’s defense.
With my unique skills, I could certainly take on Calandas’s assigned delinquent.
Meanwhile, the three of us bowed our heads to Roseha.
Cecilia, who had been perceptive, also bowed her head a beat late.
Roseha waved her hands dismissively.
“I’m doing this of my own will. No need for thanks.”
“But doesn’t the queen stand to lose? Why are you helping us…?”
“I’m helping not you, but my man. Who else will support him if not me?”
“Kirik. Chief, you’ve found a good female. You must hold onto her. If you let her go, you’ll regret it to the core.”
“Hmph, Insect seems to have good eyes. Did you hear that, darling?”
Roseha poked me in the side with her elbow.
I awkwardly cleared my throat.
“I’ll give you a day’s grace. Prepare yourself and gather your resolve.”
Jumping right into action wouldn’t do.
I also needed to subtly teach Charlotte staff usage.
“In the end, we’re trying to save the Empire, right?”
Cecilia asked this question.
Our goal was to stop Calandas, but it aligned with protecting the Empire, so I nodded.
“I’ve heard it before, but let me ask again. Don’t you hate humans, Master?”
“I don’t hate them.”
Undead would instinctively despise humans, but my heart belonged to humanity.
Being human myself, it was natural for me to have human affection.
“You died at the hands of humans, though. You still don’t hate them?”
Ah, that’s what it was.
To Cecilia, I was the former hero.
The hero Lucas, who had been unjustly executed at the guillotine.
She probably thought my transformation into a Death Knight was due to hatred towards humanity.
As I pondered how to explain it, I decided to mumble something vague.
“Humanity must continue to exist. There’s nothing more to say.”
“….”
Cecilia’s eyes glistened with a hint of moisture.
She seemed to be under the illusion that my only motive was to protect humanity.
A hero who was betrayed by humans yet seeks to protect them. That’s how Cecilia saw me.
I didn’t feel the need to correct her and decided to let her keep that delusion.
“Darling, do you remember? When I was Lucas.”
That was an unexpected remark from Roseha.
What did she mean by remembering?
“Indeed. Looks like you don’t recall.”
“…Were we acquaintances?”
“Yep. Very well.”
Roseha’s lips curled up slightly.
In contrast, Cecilia’s expression turned icy.
“Why is the monster from the Seven Lairs with the Master?”
“There’s a reason for that.”
Roseha sneered down at her.
Then she brought her mouth near my ear.
“I’ll tell you everything once it’s over.”
There was something strangely nostalgic in her tone.
Could it be that the hero and the Demon Lord were… close in that way?
If true, then Lucas was truly a cursed fool.
‘He deserved to be executed. A traitor to humanity.’
My disciple had Cecilia as a girlfriend, while Roseha was…
Someone was in a predicament because they didn’t have a penis.
…It’s definitely not that I was jealous.
Afterward, there really wasn’t much to prepare for.
It wasn’t a legion scale; with fewer than ten individuals, just getting mentally prepared was all we needed.
Cecilia polished her Moonlight Sword, while Charlotte sought to learn the usage of Witchcraft.
Subtly, I had instructed her on the staff’s utilization.
From what I observed, it seemed that the magic spatial pocket was due to these deductions.
“You truly have an extraordinary talent for magic, my Lord.”
Thanks to that, Charlotte’s eyes sparkled as she grasped the usage.
She deployed the higher-circle magic circle and stored one in the staff’s spatial pocket one by one.
Then, after chugging tons of mana potions and doing endless repetitions, it turned out that a limit was reached at twenty.
Setting aside the disappointment, just being able to cast twenty high-circle spells without consuming mana was a reason to be grateful.
[Lv. 92]
I had now reached Level 92.
This was considerable enough to be on par with a lower boss of the Seven Lairs.
***
The next morning came, and before the battle deployment, Roseha gathered everyone.
On the table lay a map of the Empire, along with finger-sized bone fragments.
They seemed to represent Calandas’s army.
Snap!
Roseha clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.
“I’m going to give a briefing, so pay attention. I possess the ability called ‘Puppet Mastery.’ I can share my senses, so I’m using those puppets as scouts.”
“So you’re saying you’re monitoring the situation in real-time.”
“Exactly.”
Roseha began moving the bone fragments one by one.
To the south were fragments labeled 1, 2.
To the north were 3, 4.
To the east were 5, 6.
To the west were 7, 8.
Calandas’s eight legion was in a scattered formation east to west and north to south.
Roseha shifted the southern legions 1 and 2 upward.
That position was near the Shrine of Faith.
“You may not realize it, but concentrating our forces in one area is disadvantageous, especially since we’re up against the Lich King.”
“You mean we should block their advance from three directions while they advance from all four sides. That’s a fair point.”
To that, Roseha nodded at Charlotte’s words.
“If we’re all gathered in one place, the damage from three fronts would be significant. But that’s not the only problem.”
“The Undead will grow stronger.”
Just because we leave one side exposed doesn’t automatically mean that faction is collapsing.
If the human legions recovered, the issue would merely become Calandas’s forces expanding.
Moreover, if we got trapped in a densely packed situation, it would definitely worsen.
“We need to split up as well. Of course, we might get caught in our own schemes.”
If we misallocated our forces and one side collapsed, we could be overwhelmed.
Furthermore, if Charlotte or Cecilia became Undead, the chances of our plan going awry would increase significantly.
“But, well, there’s really no other way, is there?”
The key was carefully distributing our forces to prevent the growth of the Undead.
If one side collapses, things will be tough, but that would be resolved if we win.
It may not be easy to say, but I trusted the four of us.
“This is my thought: I and Barugore will take on the southern legions 1 and 2.”
Roseha swept away the bone fragments from the southern area of the Empire map.
“It shouldn’t be too difficult. After that, we’ll head west where Calandas is advancing, so what will you all do in the meantime?”
Clap. Clap.
Roseha placed finger-sized wooden blocks in the east.
“The 5th and 6th legions will be handled by a deputy and 8th Lord. As you know, one person must block one legion.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
Charlotte and Isabella could handle a single legion without issue.
Roseha seemed to know this too and casually issued the order.
Clap. Clap.
Two other wooden blocks were placed in the north.
“The 3rd and 4th legions will be handled by the Hero and Insect. Can you manage that?”
“Kirik! Leave it to me!”
“Why do I have to deal with this bug?”
Cecilia squinted her eyes in displeasure.
As I placed my hand on her shoulder in encouragement, Cecilia didn’t resist.
“Ria. Please take good care of Balutak.”
“…Yes.”
With the high affinity, she quickly agreed even to a simple request.
“As mentioned, I and Barugore will handle the 1st and 2nd legions. After that, we’ll shift west, and you all must resolve your issues before joining us in the west where Calandas will be.”
In fact, if we capture Calandas, it would all be over.
Ideally, I’d want to gather everyone to take down Calandas at once, but he wouldn’t simply allow that to happen. He’d be dodging and dragging out the fight.
Instead of pushing for that and wasting time, it would be better to solidly tackle him from the start.
Snap!
As Roseha snapped her fingers, three portals appeared in the air.
“They are portals leading to the southeast and northwest. The portal mediums were the puppets I sent out. Once you enter, you’ll be pretty close to the battlefield, so get ready before you go in.”
Roseha truly had it all figured out.
I wondered what would have happened if she hadn’t been around.
“I trust you all, just like Barugore does. Among the Seven Lairs executives, you guys are pretty strong. So absolutely don’t die. If you show up as Undead, I’ll show no mercy.”
Roseha locked eyes with me.
More specifically, she was alternating her gaze between the Holy Sword and me.
“Calandas, you plan to kill him, right?”
“That is correct.”
“No one but you can do it. You have to be the one to take him down.”
If I could enhance the Life Vessel, that would be ideal, but that kind of freebie wasn’t possible.
It wasn’t like item judgments like in dungeon crawling.
With the Holy Sword in hand, I had to personally cut off Calandas’s head.
The complete death of Calandas relies on two things.
One is to destroy the Life Vessel along with the physical body.
The other is that the body’s death shares overwhelmingly more divine energy.
So if I kill him with the Holy Sword, the Life Vessel becomes moot.
There was no need to go through the hassle of separately getting rid of the Life Vessel.
It’s not like the Holy Sword was superior to Calandas for no reason.
“I’ll pave the way, so as for Calandas… you just have to manage it somehow.”
“Understood.”
When Roseha swung her unique sword, the legions would fall like autumn leaves.
While my Holy Sword may struggle against mass murder, it was perfectly suited for driving the nail into Calandas.
In a one-on-one with Calandas, I held the upper hand.
The problem would be his Undead minions, but that’d be resolved by Roseha and my subordinates.
“And one last thing to be careful about. Calandas commands a Bond Dragon, and it’s no ordinary beast. Be particularly cautious.”
The Bond Dragon starts at Level 85.
From what I know, the three Bond Dragons under Calandas are Level 85, 86, and 87.
It wouldn’t be a trivial threat if Roseha was cautious enough to give a warning.
…Something ominous crept over me.
“What does that Bond Dragon look like? How many horns does it have?”
“Huh? Horns? Ah, right. It had six horns.”
“What color are its eyes?”
“It was blue.”
I barely restrained myself from cursing.
Six horns and blue eyes.
It had to be Briyagon, the final boss of the Ancient Dragon’s Tomb.
‘Damn. Is this the butterfly effect?’
This definitely didn’t happen in the game; it felt overwhelmingly chaotic.
Did Calandas recover Briyagon due to my meddling in the Ancient Dragon’s Tomb?
Briyagon wasn’t just a ‘boss’ of the Seven Lairs; it was originally in that position.
The very inclusion of Briyagon was unexpected, but so was the addition of Roseha.
Right.
I could think of Briyagon as being offset by Roseha. That’s what made me feel more at ease.
“Ah, and when you enter the portal, take good care of my puppet. We need that puppet to remotely open the portal for joining us. It’s convenient without wasting time and movement, isn’t it?”
“It would have been a catastrophe without you.”
“Hmph. Being a lady, I need to do at least this much.”
Regardless, a conclusion was reached.
In pairs, we’d split northeast and southwest, suppress two legions, then gather to face Calandas.
Depending on circumstances, it could even be the center rather than the west.
With no further words to say, Roseha stepped back.
When I glanced around, everyone was silently gazing only at me.
Their eyes sparkled, as if something was expected from me.
Gulping, Roseha jabbed me in the side with her elbow.
This wasn’t any more awkward than a toast at a gathering.
“We will even replace the Seven Lairs.”
After saying that, I regretted it.
I felt I had chosen the wrong line.