Vol 6 Chapter 4 - Info=Uang=Receh

Chapter 4
Place of destiny

Since we’ve prepared ourselves, I give orders to Veldora while waiting for people to take us to the venue.
   
I am following Ramiris since I don’t know the location of the Banquet.

Speaking of that, Ramiris seems to be unaware of its location as well.

When I asked her why she doesn’t know, she simply answered 「Because I’m escorted to the place every time!」. That’s quite a telling answer.
   
Since she always gets lost, so it became an unwritten rule to have someone to lead her every time.
   
There is no use forcing someone who’s not willing to memorize directions to memorize one.
   
They will likely send someone with a dimensional transportation ability here, so I’ve decided to wait for their arrival as well.
   
It soon reached eleven o’clock in the evening, but no one came to pick us up. Instead, I got contacted by Benimaru.
   
「What’s wrong? Is there a problem?」

I responded immediately and Benimaru begins to make a request in a calm tone.
 
This is what he said.

“Our army has engaged the enemies and they’ve now been informed of the composition of enemy forces”——
   
Due to my blessing, Benimaru has evolved to Youki22, a spiritual life form similar to a Dryad.

In other words, Benimaru’s power level could already rival the likes of Treyni-san.

Shuna, Souei and Hakurou also became Youki and can be considered to be very high-level species as well.
This is great, but the problem lies with the new skill Benimaru gained.

Unique skill 「Generalissimo」—— A very suitable skill for Benimaru’s aggressive style. It is a skill specialized in controlling one’s power output.
 
His power will not go out of control no matter how much strength he puts into it.
 
The secret lies within 「Prediction Analysis」, an ability which can completely analyze the flow of one’s strength and remove inefficiencies from it.
Not only is it a great skill for personal combat, it is also useful in leading army.

By treating the army’s movements as a flow of power, it can act as something similar to a predicting skill to determine the outcome of a situation. As soon as our army is in disadvantage, he can motion the army to alter the attack plan.

It’s is literally cheating.

The accuracy of communicated  information is of the utmost importance on the battlefield, and yet Benimaru can effortlessly communicate with and command the entire army in the most optimum way.

Right now there are, along with the soldiers of the Beast Kingdom, a total of thirty thousand men in the united army under Benimaru’s command. Benimaru can command the soldiers with the same precision as if they are his hands or arms, and lead the army of thirty-thousand units. It’s normal that they seem to be behaving abnormally (with his command)23.

Additionally, Snique Skill 「Generalissimo」 also possesses the ability 「Morale Boost」.

After the massive enhancement in the precision of army commanding, each soldier’s individual ability seems to have also been raised by around thirty percent. The overall strength of the army, consequently, is also increased by about thirty percent. The army is on par with the enemies in terms of number, and with the addition of superior soldiers, there is no reason why we would lose. With the adjustment of other skills, our chance of victory is even higher than before.

——All because Benimaru is in possession of such a powerful ability now.
   
It would seem that our army has secured the victory as soon as the battle starts.
 
That’s why he came up with a new attack plan.
   
「——It’s just like this, we want to directly invade the enemy base. Souei is also tempted to try it out. Since we’re all here, we should take down the suspected Clayman’s castle in the fog bank as well.」
   
Benimaru sure lives up to his reputation, What great confidence it is coming from him.
 
「But wouldn’t that be too dangerous? The fight has just begun and victory is still not guaranteed….」
   
「No problem. I’ve got it covered. Besides, the one in charge of attacking their base would be Souei and Hakurou——」
「Please wait a moment, Onii-sama!」

Someone hacked into my 「Telepathy Net」I was using to communicate with Benimaru——It’s Shuna who was serving me some tea.
 
By the way, I didn’t open this line to the public. And yet she broke in with such ease…...

「Eh, ohoh! What’s wrong, Shuna?」
Just like me, we both got a bit spooked. Benimaru’s voice seemed to jump a couple of pitches up for a split second.
 
「How dare you say what’s wrong with me, Onii-san! Doesn’t that Demon Lord Clayman possess dangerous power to manipulate people? What if Souei and Hakurou fall under his control——」

「No, they will be fine——」

「No way! If you really insist on sending them, I want to participate in the battle as well!」
Oi oi oi! I thought that Shuna is the well-behaved, quiet type, so why is  she making these kinds of demands now?

But my surprise was ignored as Benimaru continued to argue with Shuna.
Brothers can never win in an argument against their sisters——That is what a friend from my last life once told me.
   
Benimaru is not as confident sounding as before, he can’t win the argument and got pinned down by Shuna with her arguments.

Then——

「That’s how it is, Rimuru-sama, please grant me permission to participate in the battle!」

Shuna proposes with smile all over her face.

Hmm——even if you say so……
 
I don’t want to send Shuna to such a dangerous place either, but she does have a point. It would indeed be problematic if Souei and the rest got manipulated.

If that’s the case then should we not be trying to attack like this in the first place? However, it will certainly be the best opportunity to take the castle and prevent the enemy army from retreating back to their base. Indeed, the time that Clayman is absent for Walpurgis Banquet is our fated one and only chance.
 
But, it should be okay as long as I prevent Clayman from escaping. I don’t intend to kill all the Majins under Clayman’s rule.

「——Rimuru-sama, please do not worry. I’ll protect Shuna-sama」
「I will also be there, so it shouldn’t be an issue exploring the enemy’s base. But we do need to investigate whether Karion-sama is locked up in there.」

Souei and Hakurou also joined our「Telepathy Net」 to try and convince me. It seems Shuna have called them to play along with her.
Shuna is surprisingly stubborn and I really want to agree with her. Moreover, it is truly a concern whether Karion has been brought to Clayman’s castle or not.
 
「Rimuru-sama, I am angry as well. I can’t subdue my emotion to ever forgive what Clayman has done!」

Ah….. I totally get how you feel. Not only me, everyone has a grudge against him.

I indeed understand how Shuna feels as she no longer wants to stay and wait in the town.

「Then we should have Shuna join the battle. But, Souei and Hakurou, you two must put Shuna’s safety as the number one priority. Additionally, if the enemies’ combat abilities overpowers yours beyond expectation, you must prioritise you personal safety first and bring back such information. If you find Demon Lord Karion, do not engage unless it is safe. Do you all understand?」
「Shuna is just so stubborn. But it would truly be a great help with your permission.」

「I have the teleportation skill, so it won’t be a problem even in cases of emergency.」

「Indeed. I am in fact much slower in terms of speed if we are to attempt an escape.」
Even though Hakurou doesn’t plan to escape, he still said that to help to smooth things out.

「We all have psyche attack resistance, so it should be sufficient to prevent us from falling into others’ control. Especially with Shuna-sama accompanying us, we would be further reassured in terms of that concern. As for Karion-sama, we will decide our plan if and when we actually find him.」

Souei also interjects and adds, hoping to reassure me.

Indeed, with Shuna’s unique skill 「Analyst」, they can analyze any attack against the psyche. Shuna can also use 「Dimensional Movement」, so I may have been worrying too much. Despite Shuna’s low magicule pool, her skills are all outstanding.
 
And just as Souei said regarding Karion.
   
It’s possible that he may not be detained there anyway, so it’s no use worrying over it now.

「I’ve approved then, but you all must make sure to be vigilant of the situation and have your eyes wide open. For an extra layer of safety precautions, the time to commence this operation should be set after the start of the Walpurgis Banquet, that is after twelve o’clock, midnight.」

「「「Understood!」」」

As such, Shuna, Souei and Hakurou will be exploring Clayman’s base soon.
   
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

It’s almost twelve o’clock midnight soon, I begin to ask Veldora about the Demon Lords.

「I’m not interested in those nobodies.」

Although he said that, Veldora still shared his knowledge on the subject.

Leon is the only one who became a Demon Lord after Veldora was sealed. This means I can collect information regarding the rest of the Demon Lords.

Many Demon Lords seemed to have fought against Veldora due to him causing havoc around the world.

Around two thousand years ago, he once destroyed the city of vampire. He was pursued by the pissed off vampires. And its story seems to be quite interesting….. It seems that one of them was a slim and beautiful female vampire whose power is far beyond the rest of her race. These vampires later disappear without a trace, and even Veldora doesn’t seem to know of their whereabout.

「What’s her name now…...was it Ru..Lulus? No, or it should be Milus, right? (D: The name is still wrong btw) Anyhow, though I didn’t give it my all, she’s still not some simpleton to have been able to play a round with me, so you’ve got to be careful!」

Veldora says that vampire doesn’t have a sense of humor, but, he’s probably the one at fault.
Of course she would get pissed seeing her own country getting destroyed and burning to ashes.

Anyone would get pissed by it, even I would have lashed out.
But that’s a long time ago, so I’m not sure about that now.

「Oh, about that, now a man called Valentine has become the Demon Lord!」
   
Ramiris shouts, who has been listening to Veldora recalling ancient tales.
 
It seems the exchange of power took place around fifteen thousands years ago. Hopefully the hatred against Veldora held by the vampire race has died off.
 
The Titan race Demon Lord also seemed to be a strong opponent against Veldora.
   
They’ve fought several times without a definitive winner.
   
No wonder why Veldora has his name memorized, he sounds like a super duper extrememo bananaz fighter (D: Anymore adjective, Gavin?). If he was able to fight against Veldora, it means he has already possesses power to rival a 「True Dragon」.
That is very high leveled even for Demon Lord standards.
Lastly it’s the Demon race.

He seems to have beaten up the demons several times. But even with their bodies destroyed, they would resurrect after a period of time. They seem to be a group of very interesting opponents.
   
And they even grew stronger over time, which gave Veldora a fun play thing.
   
However, he didn’t seem to have fought against the king of the demon race.
   
His castle is rumored to be located on the permanently frozen land of the northern continent. The place is too cold to habitable, which is why Veldora never visited.
   
Veldora glossed over this part saying: 「Anyhow, that type of wasteland is not worth my visit! Gahahahaha!」 as he laughs.

Something must have happened, but no matter how I inquire, he just won’t tell me.
   
But there really isn’t a need to go out of your way to visit that kind of place, so I won’t follow it up
 
「That’s right, because Guy is very strong. Guy, Milim and I are all ancient Demon Lords!」

As soon as Ramiris said that, I begin to feel that there is nothing great about them. Unbelievable.
 
Anyway, that won’t matter for now.
   
Hmm, so that’s about it.
   
How many Demon Lords are left?
 
I’ve encountered——Milim, Ramiris and Karion.
 
I’ve just heard about Valentine, Dagruel and Guy.
   
According to Phobia, there is also Frey who backstabbed Karion.
   
Putting Leon aside first, the enemy this time is Clayman.

So is there still one more person?
「Ehhh——I’m not sure.」

The self proclaimed knowledgeable Veldora sure is unreliable.
   
「Ah, you mean Dino. The Demon Lord who’s lazier than me!」
 
So Ramiris seems to have a comrade.
   
「Not comrade at all!」
I ignore her angry shout. That makes up ten in total.
   
Veldora has provoked some Demon Lords in the past, so I have to be careful in how I interact with them.
   
By the way, the Demon Lords seem to be more powerful than I imagined.

It’s not fair to use a brat like Ramiris as a standard.
   
It’s probably more appropriate to have Milim as the standard.
 
Even with my evolution now, I still wouldn’t have much chance against Milim in battle.

I’ve spared against her several times by now, but in none of our matches did MIlim show her true power.
   
Insufficient information.

I can stand a chance if Milim is participating in a training with me, but I’d better not get over myself not knowing how she is when she gets serious.
   
But, it is still unbelievable that Milim would agree to wage a crusade on me.
   
There must be someone behind this…...
   
Milim shouldn’t be so naive as to allow herself be manipulated like this. She isn’t communicate with that many people in the first place, moreover, her personality doesn’t seem like the kind to betray others.
   
All I can think of it’s that Milim has done this because of some unknown reason.
   
But, it’s no use thinking about this now.
 
I’ll decide after I meet her.
   
As we continued to chat, I sudden feel a distortion in the space dimension before me.
 
It would seem our guide arrived.

A bizarre door appears before my eyes.

The door looks extremely extravagant as if someone is trying to show off intentionally. I could probably learn this given I could manipulate space directly. I think if I come up with a design like this, I could open the portal faster and proceed with 「Transportation」.
A green-hair beauty in dark red maid suit walked through as the door is open.
 
Then she bows towards Ramiris.

「I’ve come to escort you Ramiris-sama. Is this the one you’ve mentioned about? If you don’t mind, please come along with us too.」
   
As she finishes, she steps back to stand near the door and lowers her eyes.
   
She seems to have killed her sense of self and behaves like a professional with thorough education and training.
 
But, there is one thing I had on my mind.
   
This maid gives off an oppressive feeling similar to Diablo.
 
She is a Demon, and a highly ranked one among the race.
Normally Demons have an upper limit at the rank of Greater Demon General no matter how long they’ve lived. In order to evolve further, certain things are necessary……. In the case of Diablo, it is me giving him a 「Name」.
 
With name acquired, Diablo was able to break through the limit of Demon race and evolved from a Greater Demon General to a Demon Noble.
「Kufufufufu. I’m not interesting in becoming stronger. But right now that I am aware that there are people stronger than me. I should give it some effort in the future then.」
   
He is not interested in becoming stronger but is instead interested in fighting.
   
Combat is simply meaningless if I get too strong, that’s why I’ve enjoyed my evolution cap——That’s how he put it.
 
Was he joking?
 
If that’s true, then he sure is horrifying.
 
And right now the Demon maid that stands in front of me is the same as Diablo——That is, a Demon Noble.
   
Rather than a maid, she is more like a messenger from hell24.
According to knowledge (anime that I’ve watched) from my past life, maid is also a battle-oriented class.
Also, allow me re-emphasize, she is a Demon Noble.
   
This woman is obviously a dangerous opponent.
 
「Oh, it’s Misery. Long time no see! How’s Guy?」
   
Ramiris doesn’t seem to mind despite the other side being a dangerous Demoness.
In some way, this fella is not some simpleton as well.
 
「——how would someone as humble as me dare to worry about my master….」
 
「Oh, yeah. You are still the same. Never mind.」

With that being said, Ramiris flaps her wings and flies to the door.
 
We followed as well. If we are to be left here, we won’t know where the exact location of the Banquet is.
 
If we are to hesitate now after solidifying our resolve, I would be too embarrassed to see Benimaru and the rest.

And about this maid——Misery, she seems to be Demon Lord Guy’s subordinate.

I recall that he is the king of the Demons, and one of the ancient Demon Lord.

If he’s able to tame even Demon Noble, he is guaranteed to be strong. I’d better not antagonize him.

——But, it will still depend.
   
And speaking of which, Misery who’s already overpowered is supposed to lead way for other…...

It would seem that Guy is quite the arrogant man.
And I here thought that the only ones who I should be vigilant against are the Demon Lords, I think I was being too naive.
 
If I had known this, maybe I would have brought Diablo. But if I did, there may be a solid chance of him rampaging with Shion…..
 
Those two are on bad terms and it’s no use thinking about it now.
 
It’s time to show my resolve.
 
The dominators of this world is waiting ahead.
 
But, I am not afraid.
That is because——I have become one of those people who are the strongest in this world.
   
I made up my mind and walk past the door.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Benimaru smiles looking at the situation on the battlefield.
   
Everything is going according to his plan.
   
The enemies have been baited into the traps set by Geld.
   
But that is only natural. Since the enemies were totally underestimating them during combat.
   
「Sasuga Rimuru-sama, your plan is so perfect that our defeat here seems impossible.」
 
Benimaru said to himself while pitying the enemies. Benimaru doesn’t think it’s anything since he’s only able to execute on the strategy because he is able to control the army to his will.

Just like Benimaru said, Clayman’s army seem to firmly believe that they have the advantage because of their numbers, which led them to underestimate us and fell into the traps. The fast-moving Beastmen soldiers who were disguising themselves as refugees being pursued lured them near the traps.

「The victory is within our grasp. As it stands now, it’s impossible for the enemies pull a reversal.」

Benimaru is observing the battle while floating in mid air when Anubis suddenly flew up next to him.
 
She tapped the wings on his back, and giving it extra thought as to not break Benimaru’s concentration.
「I see it is Anubis-san, sorry if you’ve heard me boasting without victory, how embarrassing.」

「Please just call me Anubis, Benimaru-sama——」
Upon hearing this, Benimaru turn his scarlet red eyes towards Anubis.
 
「You are not my subordinate.」
   
Benimaru refuses coldly.
   
「indeed, you have a point. But, right now you are the commander giving orders of us Beastmen.」
 
as such, Benimaru nods.
   
「Very well, then for this battle only, I shall appoint you as adjutant.」

「I accept your order, Benimaru-sama.」

The authority to command the united army belongs to Benimaru. And as of this moment, the person in charge of leading the army of Beast Kingdom Yuurazania, Anubis, proclaims her allegiance to Benimaru, which makes Benimaru the Generalissimo of this united army.
   
The words of the Generalissimo cannot be doubted.
 
The pursuit of the strong, that is the rule of the Mamonos.
   
「——I’ve appointed you as adjutant, but right now there is not much work to do. I won’t get careless, but, all these operations are to ensure our victory.」
   
「Indeed, I think so too. However, there are still several strong opponents left on the battlefield.」

「Hmm, once we have the situation under control, I’ll send in Geld and the rest.」
 
Benimaru answers without hesitation.
   
「Please hold on. We also want to help in regards to that mission!」
   
「Indeed. I hope you won’t take away our glory, Generalissimo. This is after all the kingdom of the beastmen. Karion-sama would scold us if we just leave everything to you guys.」

「Yes! Since you all have even take on the task of confirming Karion-sama’s whereabout, I hope we will at least get to fight this battle.」
   
Sophia and Phobio interrupt, become increasingly more excited. Anubis gives off a wry smile seeing how this is and says:
 
「Benimaru-sama, we will leave the task of commanding the army to you, but please order us to take the heads of enemy generals!」
Upon saying so, the Beastketeers bows with respect.
   
Benimaru smacks his lip with a 「Ze」 sound.
   
「So you guys made me the Generalissimo because of this, right?!」
   
「Ara, what do you mean by that?」
Seeing Benimaru is losing his temper, Anubis begins to persuades him.
   
At last Benimaru’s willing to compromise.

「Alright. I was planning to have you guys join in the fight anyway, so no problem. But, you must retreat immediately if you feel uncertain about your victory. Some very dangerous individuals seem to be lurking in the enemies’ troop.」
 
He speaks permitting the actions of Anubi and the rest.
 
As a matter of fact, the combat abilities of several enemies are still unknown. There may be difficult fights once they encounter these individuals.
   
However——

It won’t matter since I’m here. As long as I can sense if someone is in a tough fight, we won’t lose.
   
Benimaru smiles fearlessly.
 
The Beastketeers also begin to selecting their prey. They are sharpening their claws with their proud animal instinct in order to eliminate the barbaric intruders.
   
The traps would be activated in just a few minutes.

Anubis waits patiently for the moment to arrive. Suddenly she thought of a question and asks:
 
「——There is one thing I need ask. What do we do with those who run into the traps?」
「We kill them all, is what I wish to say——」

Benimaru got stuck there and gave it an extra thought.
   
「But we will leave the decision of killing or not to you Beastmen.」
   
「And what do you mean by that?」

「We will capture those who don’t plan on resisting. Although Rimuru may look it based on how he acts but he is in fact a kind hearted person who doesn’t like to kill off other people. But with that being said, if there are casualties in our side, he would most definitely slaughter the enemies.」

「....... I see. Then we will discuss the fate of the captives later.」
   
「Right, that would be fine. If it’s Rimuru-sama, he may let those people serve time as worker.」(Sweat shop)
   
「——Eh?」
 
「Aren’t you guys going to rebuild the Beastmen cities? The more labor the better.」
   
「To be able to think that far ahead——!」

Benimaru’s random conclusion shocked Anubis.
Not only her, Phobio and Sophia are also very surprised.
 
They all thought that it is only natural for Rimuru’s army to win, but the fact that he also made considerations for the aftermath truly surprised them.
 
He is so confident! Even when the enemies are all veterans under the cunning Demon Lord Clayman…….

The more surprising fact is that his attack plan has taken the precautions to bring the enemies into captivity.
 
Given how war works in this world, it is much simpler to kill the enemies rather than pursuing and capturing them. The commander won’t care for any surrenders when he can just use a large radius magical attack to wipe them all out.

The captives are not captured because they happen to survive, instead they are captured as forced labor. This idea has never been seen in practice before. However, Benimaru and the rest seem to think this to be common sense and put it into practice.
   
This makes the Beastketeers feel extremely fearful.
 
It would mean——Majins under Rimuru don’t think they would be defeated at all.
   
They must have enter the battlefield with the confidence that their army would win no matter what.
   
「However, it would be based on the condition that everything goes smoothly according to our attack plan.」
   
Benimaru smiles and answers while the Beastketeers both respects and fear him.
 
And soon, the fight broke out.

「Souei, engage according to the plan.」

「Understood, Benimaru-sama.」
 
Soon after this brief conversation, the first casualty appeared within Clayman’s army.
   
It seems to be a named Majin who’s leading several hundred other Majins. His died instantly at the scene as his magical core was pierced by Souka who suddenly emerged.

The other four subordinates of Souei also simultaneously took the heads of the other captains under Clayman’s army. Following Benimaru’s instructions, they’ve only assassinated opponents that they are confident enough to win against.

They followed through on Benimaru’s instructed actions and achieved a one hundred percent precision.

Since the command chains of Clayman’s army is now shattered to pieces, the officers’ order won’t be able to reach the soldiers.

As such——

「It’s a trap! We’ve been surrounded by the Beastmen!」
   
「No way, how could this——」

「Retreat! We have to retreat for now to reorganize our troop!」
   
But they discovered it too late.

Unlike human army, the Mamono army often relies on personal performance, which is why a captain is needed. Now without the captions, Clayman’s army has plunged into chaos.

「Geld, you may begin.」
   
「Understood!」
   
With Benimaru’s order, Geld begins to dispatch his commands.
 
「Prepare to engage!」
「「「Yes sir!」」」

The next instant, the ground suddenly collapses onto itself, burying many soldiers from Clayman’s army. This is because of the activation of earth manipulating skills. The seemingly natural and flat plain is in fact a temporary ground that was set up using skills with many traps hidden within.

The only ones who successfully escaped are the flying Mamonos. However these individuals with flying abilities couldn’t escape either as they are soon taken down by the Bird-Type Beastmen troops and the「Hiryuu」 led by Gabil.
Now let’s check on the ones who triggered the traps.

Rimuru’s army has prepared large cave with quicksand25 like soil at the bottom. This is non-lethal but would render anyone sinked into it unable to move below their waist. But with that being said, this is an army of Mamonos after all. Some people managed to escape using magic and other special abilities.

As they struggle the strong kick aside the weak making them fall down to the bottom. The remainder now gather around the edges of the cave.

However, this is an important part of the plan.
   
Rimuru’s army has intentionally allowed them up to make examples of them.
   
When the stronger ones in the army are killed without being able to defend themselves, reality of the situation would lay out the in front of the others. The weaker Majins would witness this and lose their morale. The survivors would understand the difference in power between the enemy and themselves, losing their last bit of strength to struggle.
   
These nature of these traps are a stage set-up in order to successfully capture captives.
 
Ten minutes passed after the fight began and the situation is one-sided. The enemy is unable to reverse the situation.
   
「T-to have gone to this extent…...」
   
Below them, Clayman’s army with more than ten-thousand people are split off to chunks with countless fallen into traps. The Yellow Corps led by Geld are responsible for fortifying the edges of the caves. The members of the corp spread out in evenly around the traps to take care of any Majin that attempted climbed up.

The ones who are cut off can’t fight against the many enemies above. Although the difference in power may be compensated by number and equipments.
   
But the more powerful Majins have been taken out one by one at the hands of the Beastmen warriors and members of the 「Kurenai」.
   
It is even more unfortunate that most of Clayman’s army has attacked the plain with an open view. Even the remaining troops with around a thousand men awaiting order (cannot participate) won’t be sufficient to reverse the situation.
   
「We are guaranteed to win.」

「S-sasuga…..」
 
Benimaru says naturally while Anubis expresses praise from her heart.

「Heh, of course we will win. But we can’t get careless now. I’ll take care of the business at hand. Anubis and the Beastketeers, I permit you to roam freely and hunt down the enemy general!」

「I’ve been waiting for that order, Generalissimo! Then we shall be on our way!」

「We can finally put on a show. I’ve caught scent of someone who once plotted against me so I’m going after him.」

「Then, I shall set out too. I’ll leave the rest to you, Benimaru-sama.」
   
Benimaru doesn’t even return a look and directly addressed the Beastketeers.

「Go on!」

「「「Yes sir!」」」

As such, the Beastketeers begin to mobilize.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Sophia crosses the skyline at incredible speed, so fast that it has already surpassed conventional flying methods.

Her skill 「Shuttled Flight」 could be only be wielded by very few competent Mamonos, yet Sophia, as a Beastman, is able to use it effortlessly.

Her target is the furthest line of the enemy force. That is where the non-military organization that has little to do with the frontline of the battlefield is located.

They are the Worshiper of Dragons——The Priest Warrior Order led by the High Priest Midley.

Sophia hasn’t discovered their true power, but her wild instinct told herself that these people are the strongest among the remaining forces.

At the same time, the leader of the flying soldiers greets Sophia.

It’s Gabil.
 
Gabil, who is leading the hundred members of 「Hiryuu」, decided to follow Sophia.

「Gahahaha! I’ve come at your aid, Sophia-san!」
「Oh, it’s Gabil-san. Sorry, but I may have made a horrible decision choosing to pick a fight with these guys.」
 
Sophia responds, her bold smile only adds to her beautiful face. .
   
「WHAHA, it doesn’t matter. We’ve cleared out all the enemies in the sky. Some Beastmen are capable of flying, so it would be rude if we continue to rob them of their duty. Moreover, since we are winning, aren’t the enemies all fleeing?」

「Ha! Our army is indeed winning. But just to be cautious to prevent the situation from being reversed, we’ve got to suppressed the forces on the back.」

「I see, understood! You guys, be cautious!」
   
「Yes, boss!」

「We’d say the same to Boss, don’t get tilted.」
   
Seeing his subordinates’ teasing faces, Gabil shouts at them in anger. This scene often plays out in life.

Sophia smiles upon seeing such a scene. Her fighting spirits gradually grow high as she faces towards the enemy in front.
Midley has positioned his force in the safe zone behind the back

They aren’t exactly a military force, but instead they became part of the support team at the back. It would be more accurate to call them the medical squad that is operating away from the battlefield.
 
They didn’t volunteer to enter the battlefield, but the notion of being looked down by others would make Midley too ashamed to see Milim again.

If that’s the case, even MIlim-sama would be looked down upon.

Midley felt anxious about it and propose that they join the frontline as well. Yet Yamza rejected his proposal.
   
It’s obvious that he does not care for Midley and his party, instead, he simply doesn’t wish to share his victory with anyone.
   
Surely the conquest this time would be successful.
 
The enemy is only one third of Yamza’s army, a band of loose troops at that. There is no way they can launch a counter-attack while trying to protect the retreating refugees.
 
It doesn’t feel honorable to be fighting this type of opponents….

Midley changed his mind  these few days went by.
 
However, the situation has took an unexpected turn.
 
「Midley-sama, this is really bad……. If we are to continue fighting, do we even have a chance to win?」
   
「Welp….hmmm. Too weak, they are just too weak. So Demon Lord Clayman’s subordinates are that weak….」
   
「No no no, it’s not like that! The enemies have outsmarted us with tactics!」
「What! You idiot, if the enemy resorted to tactics, all we have to do it’s to beat them with our true power! The only reason why you are saying these weak things is because you are still too inexperienced, Hermes!」

「I’ve said already! It’s a different case if we are talking about a duel, but when it is a wide-scale battle with armies, the tactics will determine the outcome of the battle! This include how to trick and outsmart the enemies. Our opponents have won this time. They’ve been hiding their strength until key moments and have prepared traps.」

「Huh, no one needs you to explain that, anyone who’s seen the battle would know!」
 
Midley replies so while giving a snort of contempt.

He is no good with brainwork. While in contrast, Hermes a little clever, that’s why he often says things Midley finds hard to understand. Midley is quite upset about it.
   
But, consider how things have developed——

He is on no grounds to argue back. Even Midley knows Hermes is right.
   
The sight in front of them is the best proof of that.
   
「More importantly, Midley-sama——」

「I know. Those people are closing in on us and they are strong. Even though I don’t want to fight, we are on the battlefield after all. Since the enemies are heading for us, we will keep them  occupied till the end.」
「So it really does turn out like this in the end. Understood….」

Midley’s spirit burns high as he glance at Hermes, who unwillingly accepted the reality .

As such——

At the corner of the battlefield, the back of Clayman’s army.
   
The most intense fights of the battle is about to begin.
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Phobio lands on the ground and silently sprints through the field. He soon discovers the people hidden some distance away from the battlefield. Then he jumps in front of them.

They are the man with the angry jester mask and the girl with the tearing jester mask.
This bizarre duo is —— 「Angry Clown (Angry Pierrot)」 Footman, 「Tearing Clown (Teardrop)」 Tear.
   
They are members of the Moderate Jester Association who are surveillancing the battlefield at Clayman’s request.

「Hey, thanks for taking care me before.」

Phobia suppresses his anger and speaks up calmly.
 
「What’s this? Isn’t this Phobia-sama!」

Behind the angry jester masks, a pair of evil eyes are glowing.

「It’s Demon-Lord-wannabe Phobia-sama, lost-to-Milim Phobia-sama! Thanks for your help back then! 」

The girl wearing tearing jester mask mocks at Phobia, looking down on him hard while greeting him while spinning and singing.
   
「Hey, it’s great that you both remember me. It would be really sad if you don’t even know why you’ll die at my hands!」

「Eheheh? What are you angry at?」

「How strange. What is this baka angry at? That angry emotion smells very tasty, but it isn’t enough reason to kill us.」

「Right, right!」

「Cut the nonsense! I may be an idiot for being tricked by others, but an idiot has an idiot’s way. I don’t need a reason to get my revenge!」

It’s a matter of dignity. Phobia unleashes his sharp claws.
   
Those claws are so dark as to shine, and are also sharp and ferocious like wolfs’ teeth.
   
However, Tear and Footman didn’t seem to react even seeing his claws.

「Oh~Do you want to fight us? But you are so weak, better not get ahead of yourself!」
 
「He——hehehe. I’m dying here, Tear. Phobia-sama come here specially to joke around, trying make us laugh.」
   
The two goes on with their chat, but that didn’t lead Phobia to lose his cool.

He failed once because he was too easily angered. He’s done more self reflection on the matter more than anyone and with much regrets.

So he begins his action at once as if announcing that greeting time is over.
   
He  breaks into a run and closes in on the enemies at high speed.
   
「——Oh!」

「Ze!」
Footman and Tear changes their attitudes now knowing words won’t irritate him.
   
Besides——There has been an intervention.

As the space begins to warp, a man shaped like a pig walks in from mid-air.
 
「Long time no see, Footman. Do you remember me?」

「Oh? Oh my? What an honor it is to have the orc general arrive here. Wow, you’ve really grown handsome!」
Footman speaks with mockery, yet his expression is not as relaxed as his words.
   
In contrast to how he looks, Footman is good at mind games.
   
But Geld has seen through his true personality.

When his troops destroyed Benimaru and his companions’ hometown——Tribe of Ogre, the one who accompanied them was Footman. Geld knew then already that he is not to be underestimated.

Footman is unlike any other normal Majin, Geld thinks.
   
Plus that Tear is also present as well.
   
She’s around Footman’s level. Since her true strength is unknown, this opponent cannot be underestimated .

Even if the Beastketeer from Beast King Warrior Army,「Black Panther Tooth」 Phobio, has very strong ability, he would still have a hard time dealing with both Footman and Tear alone.
Hehe, as expected of Benimaru-san, these people are worthy of being my prey.

As he thinks that, Geld is also extremely eager.
 
Benimaru learnt of the situation from above and ordered him to assist Phobia. Geld was originally frowning since the order required him to give up his commanding post on the battlefield, but only now did he realizes how accurate Benimaru’s prediction was.
   
The outcome on that battlefield is already settled, even Geld’s adjutant could handle things there. But in order to take on the duo from Moderating Jester Association, it would be a challenging task that only the veterans under Rimuru could handle.
   
「Allow me to assist you, Phobia-dono.」

「Oh oh, Geld-san. Thanks for the help!」
 
Phobia has also calmly judged the difference in strength between him and his opponents, that is likely why he didn’t refuse Geld’s proposition. He’d rather put down his ego knowing what his limits are and choose  the easiest path to win against his opponents.

As such, in the dark side of the small hill next to the battlefield, the two parties would soon engage in their battle——
   
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Upon receiving reports coming from the battlefields, Yamza has lost his footing. The absolute advantage that his army possessed so far has all been an illusion created for the enemies’ trap.
Yamza couldn’t even imagine the prospect of his army being defeated.
 
Clayman would definitely loses his nerve, Yamza must find a way to turn things around and win.

But, it is an idiot’s dream considering the what remains of his forces.

Yamza hasn’t lost his ability reason yet, so he can at least realize that.
   
He begins to think about what remaining force he can utilize.

Yamza the “Middle Finger” is the top lieutenant within Demon Lord Clayman’s vanguards 「Five Fingers」as well as the strongest Majin within Clayman’s army. If anyone is to rival him, it would only be “Index Finger” Adalman and “Thumb” Nine-Head Beast.

Adalman is in charge of the defence force of Clayman’s nation. He was an undead from the Great Jura Forest.

He seems to be a prominent clergyman when he’s still alive, but it matters little in the afterlife. After being baptized with Clayman’s curses and becoming a Mamono, he received a significant increase in power and became an Undead King that commands many undead creatures.

His Holy power prior to his death has been turned into foul magic that curses the living…...

However, Adalman has a weakness. His powerful body is accompanied by limited intelligence. That’s why he would only follow Clayman’s order——Killing invaders. It is the reason why he did not join the battle.

The other one, Nine-Head Beast, is an extremely rare and high level Mamono 「Youko」26. She’s only three-hundred years old, relatively young for its race, and has only grown three tails. Yet her magicule reserves is far larger than Yamza, even rivalling Clayman.
 
Right now she is acting as Clayman’s guard to attend the Walpurgis Banquet along his side. So she can’t assist us.
——Alas, I have to ask Adalman for help then.

But the problem is——How is he supposed to get Adalman here.

No, no. There is no way I can bring him here. If that’s the case, I should lead the remaining soldiers and flee back to Demon Lord Milim’s territory.

After that I’ll call Adalman and rendezvous with him, then we will fight our way back——That may be the best solution, Yamza thinks to himself.

A Walpurgis Banquet may last for a month at times, it’s a long time. And if he handle the situation well, he might even be able to resolve it before Clayman returns.

It’s not gonna be easy trying to order Adalman around, but he’s got to take the first step even if it’s hard.

No matter what, Yamza can’t allow the situation to continue on and suffer a defeat, he would most definitely be punished if that’s the case.

Clayman-sama is really scary and he would even go as far to get rid of me…….. I’d be lucky to survive, but I don’t want to be mentally destroyed and manipulated as a puppet.
 
Even though I don’t want to admit it, but I’ve lost this battle. However, I’ll be the one that stands triumphant in the end.
With his plan settled, Yamza looks towards the battlefield.
 
There he witnesses an surprising sight.

A beauty with black and golden hair is on the front, her face, beautiful and flirtatious.
   
She is approaching rather casually with golden khakkara in her hands as if she is entering a no man zone.
 


The top warriors of the Beast Kingdom surrounds around her.

They are the Beast King Warrior Group——A group consisting of only several dozens people, yet the strength of the group is guaranteed.

They are warriors capable of fending off thousand by themselves.
 
Including the Elephant Beastman Zar, Bear Beastman Talos and more, they are not as strong as the Beastketeers, yet they are nonetheless powerful lieutenants who are worthy subordinates of the King of Beasts.
Apart from these Beastmen, there is also a red-clothes group following them. They are casting powerful and deadly fire magic and has burnt the reserved forces awaiting at the back to a crisp.
   
These people are not worthy opponents to Yamza, but they are certainly better than his subordinates——much stronger than those Majins.
   
Things just turn horrible.

「Impossible…… What are the Beastketeers doing here? Did these people leave their army to assist here by themselves? But, even if that’s the case…..」

Yamza begins to panic upon seeing the appearance of these unexpected people.

「Why are the enemy sending their strongest force into our camp——?  What the hell have the sentinels been up to——!」

The angry shouts of some of Yamza’s lieutenants can be heard.

Yamza is not the only one feeling overwhelmed by the situation, many high-level Majins at the scene also began to panic.

「Sorry to intrude but! We are unable to contact the sentinels, we suspect they’ve been killed!」

「What did you say——!!」
   
Yamza’s lieutenants shout while Yamza remains speechless.

The enemy is moving too to respond to. By the time they realize the situation they’ve fallen far behind the opposition almost to a fatal degree..
 
Yamza completely loses his composure upon realizing this fact. Forget reorganizing and mounting a comeback, right now, just surviving and escaping challenging enough.
   
Not good, not good, not good, not good at all——! At this rate, I would be lucky just to escape here alive!
   
Yamza becomes anxious.

It’s a one thing to have a duel, but Yamza is not delusional and narcissistic enough to fight against that army and expect himself to emerge triumphant.

「Buy me some time! I’ll return to our country and bring Adalman. He would be able to summon the undead here and help our army regroup.」
   
These are all excuses. Yamza knows he’ll lose, so he has made his decision to escape with all his might. Luckily Yamza pledged his loyalty to Clayman voluntarily, so he won’t end up killed by contract (curse) unlike the rest of the Five Finger.
   
Continuing to follow Clayman is no difference from suicide. Yamza made that decision and drew his line of loyalty.

「Yes sir!」

「We will try our best to hold out for three more hours!」
 
His lieutenants replied one by one with resolve written on their faces. Yet Yamza’s decision remains unchanged.
 
He only has only one thought——These people are all idiots.

Yamza decides to directly initiate teleportation magic——But as soon as he tries to cast the magic, he discovers something is wrong.
   
「——unable to activate? Is this……”Dimensional Lock-down”?」

Indeed, it’s all too late now.
 
Yamza and his men notices Anubis, who’s also looking back at them.

It is through Anubis’ skill—— 「Eyes of Heavenly Snake」.
It may only be an extra skill, but it is able to induce all types of negative status on enemies——paralysis, poison, madness etc.——It also has a horrifyingly wide area of effect, and one would be affected by the skill as soon as Anubis spots them. No one can escape it unless they could resist or endure the effects. it is an extraordinary skill.

Moreover, Anubis holds another trump card.

That is, her unique skill 「Suppressor」.
   
It is a dimensional skill with the effect of Thought Acceleration」, 「Dimensional Manipulation」, 「Dimensional Transportation」. It can pose as an obstacle to the enemies’ movements in order to create situations that favours of her allies.

Once seen by Anubis, the regular soldiers under Yamza are all paralyzed.
 
The weaker willed ones will go mad instantly.
   
Even ones with some capabilities couldn’t escape it either, they either have their bodies paralyzed or are poisoned to death.
   
Some even got petrified.
   
There are only less than a hundred men who escaped the fate. Anubis didn’t give a fighting chance to the unworthy opponents before the actual fight even began.

Yamza’s magic was neutralized with Anubis’ 「Dimensional Manipulation」, It is not a disruption to the magic he casted, but instead, she locked down the coordinates of the space around Yamza so as to prevent him from altering his nearby space using magic.

That’s why no one could escape through magic in this surrounding area. The so called “surrounding area” refers to the area within Anubis’ eyesights. All of the surrounding battlefield is now under Anubis’ control.
 
This is what the Beastketeer—— 「Golden Snake Horn」 Anubis is capable of.

Unable to escape, Yamza grinds his teeth hard as he realize his situation.
   
But he has kept a trick up his sleeve.
 
However, that is a forbidden technique that Yamza wishes to avoid using.
   
In other words, he must engage the enemy in order to survive.
   
「——It can’t be helped. I guess I’ll get serious with you.」

「Oh oh, Yamza-sama!」
 
「If Yamza-sama is to get serious, even the three Beastketeers won’t stand a chance against him!」

「We’ll fight to the end! Now it’s our time to shine and carry out Clayman-sama’s will!」

The subordinates regained some morale.

What a bunch of idiots, Yamza ponders to himself.

Demon Lord Clayman only wants to profit from their victory.

To suffer so many losses on top of losing the war, Clayman surely will not let Yamza and his men walk free.
   
That man only believes in power…..
   
No matter how loyal is Yamza, Clayman would never recognize him.
   
He would only treat him as a useful pawn and a competent subordinate to adore.
It is even the case with the Special Frost Magic Sword that Clayman gifted to Yamza. His intent is to make Yamza stronger.
 
In other words, Clayman does everything for himself.

But even so, Yamza still respects Clayman. His sharing of wealth with Yamza benefits him too as they both stand to profit.
However, Yamza doesn’t intend to sacrifice his life for Clayman.
    （
…….It’s about time. I will survive and rise up again someday!
 
He would go into hiding after meeting his waterloo.

With that being said given his strength as a Special A ranked Greater Majin, other Demon Lords would definitely be willing to take him in——Yamza thinks so to himself.
「Interesting. Anubis, Majin of the Beast King, fierce Beastketeer, do you wish to fight me one on one me?」
   
He fires off a strong force of will towards Anubis.
He makes his bet.

He will defeat the strongest opponent Anubis to sink the enemies’ morale. He may even be able to reverse the situation by doing so. But even if that doesn’t pan out, he could still create the opportunity he needs to escape himself.
「Sure, no problem. Strongest fighter of Demon Lord Clayman’s 「Five Fingers」, Yamza-dono. Let’s find out our difference in strength!」

This can also illustrate the difference in character between Clayman and Karion-sama——That’s the other reason why anubis accepted his invitation
 
She uses 「Dimensional Transportation」 to move towards Yamza. The surviving Clayman’s soldiers thrust towards her.

This is not even worthy of being called a tactic.

Beastmen are simple creature, once provoked they would fight to the death. Yamza tried to exploit such nature and planned out this despicable trickery.

As long as they try to exhaust Anubis’ stamina, Yamza would have a easier time winning. His subordinates launched their attack based on that.
   
「Fool, there’s no use in using such dirty tricks on me!」

Anubis shouts in response and activates her 「Eyes of Heavenly Snake」.

But for Yamza, that was all he needed.

The moment Anubis activates her skill was also the chance of winning that Yamza’s been waiting for.

「——Diiiie!」

He suddenly moves towards his enemy and swings his sword towards Anubis’ back, where she neglected to defend.
 
As the sword swings closer and closer to Anubis’ back——
   
「Nice thinking! You don’t deserve to be a man by using such despicable trickery! 」

The man who shouted that jumps out of Anubis’ shadow and deflected Yamza’s sword.

「Heh, who are you?」

「I am Gobta! I’ve been hiding inside (the shadow) in case of emergency.」

As Gobta was explaining, more people gradually jump out of the shadow.

It is obvious now that they are the Goblin Rider units who now moved on all fours after 「Union」. By utilizing their high mobility, they scattered to engage the several Majins around who are still able to move.
「Ara, you’ve even kept me in the dark. No wonder I’ve been feeling something weird this whole time.」

Despite Anubis saying that, she has in reality noticed them long ago. That’s why she reassuringly walked into the enemies alone, knowing someone got her back.

「Heh heh, we’ve been sent by Benimaru-sama.」
Gobta casually replies to Anubis while secretly pointing and activating his sheath railgun at Yamza. He has realized the difference in power between the him and Yamza, and that he is no match for Yamza when he deflected Yamza’s sword, That’s why he determined that this is a great opportunity to strike when Yamza is still keeping his distance and weary of his kodachi.

Even Gobta has the phrase “Fair and Just” in his dictionary, but his understanding is a bit different than what common sense would dictate in that it is something to demand from the opponent but not something he would give.

Gobta fires his sneak attack but was deflected by Yamza’s sword.
   
「Trash! Get out of my way!」
 
Yamza points the tip of his sword at Gobta and casts his magic.

Yamza launches the Great Magic Water Ice Canon at Gobta, while Gobta launches the same thing back at him using his kodachi.
Gobta did not launch the attack as a counter but rather as a followup to his initial sneak attack. But the magic saved Gobta’s life as the two canon beam collides with each other mid-air and fizzles out.

「——huh, how could that be as powerful as my magic sword? And even without chanting? How can a lowly trash be so arrogant…... 」
From that point onward, Yamza begins to treat Gobta as an enemy.

But Gobta is out of tricks.
 
Oh no, his reaction was so fast I didn't even catch up with it. I was saved because he happened to launch that magic too. If I was stabbed I would be dead by now. I guess it’s time for my escape!
 
These are his real thoughts.

Thankfully the Goblin Rider units have made some progress, that’s retreating now won’t net him a bad reputation.

Hence Gobta decides to retreat.

「Then let’s retrea——」

Just as he was just about to give out the order, Yamza’s sword was thrusted above Gobta nose tip.
   
「KYAAAA!」

But lady luck has smiled on him once more, as Gobta narrowly avoided death once again due to him having an unstable and tilted posture.
 
But, this made Yamza’s more wary of Gobta.

Did he seriously just dodge three of my attacks?

It can’t be a coincidence if he can do it three times in a roll. Yamza concludes. After all, his super-sonic attack has indicated this sigh——The Hobgoblin in front him is no ordinary Mamono.

「Hehehe, it seems that the Beastketeer has also fallen so low to be sneaking in reinforcement in a duel.」

Yamza shouts out with bloodshot eyes.

This is also one of his tricks. Now not only the Beastketeer, some unknown individual has come to interfere, he thinks it would be too dangerous to deal with them both.

Gobta on the other hand is thrilled at the situation.

This is great! Now I don’t need to fight this dangerous Majin anymore!
   
He hides his joy and takes action swiftly.

「Then I shall be the referee of this duel.」

Gobta proclaims.

Now he’s just a referee.

It’s better off this way as he would just be a hindrance out there.
Rimuru allows them to fail but dying in battle is strictly forbidden. But Gobta is not that dumb, not dumb enough to become the first one to die for such a dishonorable cause.
   
「Ara, I ok with leaving him for you to fight!」
Anubis intentionally teased, but Gobta rejects it with ease.

「How could you let others have your prey, that would tarnish the good name of the Beastmens! So I won’t fight over him with you, please do what you wish! Sorry for the interrupting.」
   
The luckiest thing of all is, Gobta’s bizarre responses actually worked.

Yomaz is able to avoid the unknown danger.
 
Anubis wasn’t planning on giving up on her prey anyway.
   
As for Gobta——
 
AHH——YEAH! Now my mission is complete!

He got to escape from having to fight the super strong opponent not to mention that it’s a fight  he had no chance of winning.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

At the back of the enemy force, the end of the battlefield.

The Priests Warriors led by High Priest Midley are engaging in an intense battle against the 「Hiryuu」 led by Gabil.
 
With that being said however, there are only a few people who remain standing on the battlefield.

The two hundred people from both side in total are almost all lying on the ground now.

Among them, Midley didn’t receive a single scratch.
   
Even his white tidily worn vestment is without a single dirt stain. He also claims to be extremely lively.
 
「WH————HAHAHA! You guys really are something. As expected from the children of dragon!」

Midley laughs delightfully.
   
He was focusing his eyes on the people lying on the ground while ignoring the Sophia panting heavily in front of him.
   
「Don’t just treat me like air!」

Sophia activated 「Transformation」(Beastilization) and entered a state of half human half beast. Her improved bodily function now rivals Midley. However, her intention has been seen through by Midley as he begins to dodge sideways to keep his distant.

Sophia missed her chance to strike and left herself exposed with openings all over her body, giving the Midley tho perfect chance to strike.
   
「Eat this!」

He grabs her sharp clawed hands that was coming for him while tripping her feet and carries Sophia over his shoulder——then with a quick and hard throw, thrusted her towards the ground.

It’s a lot like a Judo throw, it is the unique throwing technique passed down by generations within the Worshippers of Dragon.

「I wasn’t treating you like air. After all, I don’t get much chances to use this technique on Mamono, so I’m quite fond of it as well. I have not met a worthy opponent like you to throw for a long time.」
    (ara ara, muggy was here)
Midley says so with joy, but Sophia, who just got thrown by other couldn’t bear her anger.
「Woo, damniit! H-How dare you do this to me…...」

Her opponent is clearly treating her like a play thing. Sophia’s face reddened out of the humiliation.
   
But she has to admit.

The man standing in front of her named Midley is strong beyond her imagination.
 
And the party in question Midley begins to ignore Sophia again and starts to glance around. He’s waiting for Sophia to get back on her feet.
 
Damnit, he’s totally ignoring me! And my 「Automatic Regeneration」for some reason is not activating......
 
Indeed, Sophia has not sustained any damage to her body, that’s why the healing skill is not activated. The reason why she feel exhausted is simply the draining of her stamina.

One’s body would feel exhausted by the impact force after being thrown on the ground by others. There is no damage to the outside, yet it would traumatize the body’s interior.
But Sophia stands up again.
   
She is the Beastketeer——「White Tiger Fang」 Sophia, and she won’t allow her enemy to give her a one-sided beatdown.

「I can’t believe someone like you serve under Clayman. I thought Yamza was the strongest, and my instinct is always quite on point. 」
 
「Yamza….. You mean Yamza-dono. That man is quite good himself, but not enough to be toyed by me. I may look the way I look, but I have Milim-sama as my sparring opponent.」

「Milim…...Demon Lord Milim? That would mean, you guys are the Worshipers of Dragon!」
No wonder they are so strong, Sophia thinks to herself.
These people would seem too out of place if they are indeed Clayman’s subordinates.

They took great joy in battle and won’t hesitate at all in killing. But most importantly, their power is much higher than the other Majins.
「Oh? That Dragonoid has beaten Hermes! WHAHAHAHA, that’s really something!」

Midley laughs out delightfully as usual.
 
Hermes’ opponent is Gabil, and just now, he got beaten the crap out of him by Gabil’s spear.
   
「Eh, Midley-sama. Stop laughing, give me a hand already!」

「Idiot! You are the one who has lost. You better reflect yourself while staying there.」
   
Hermes is lying on the ground while trying to beg Midley for help. Midley instead laughed it off.
He probably has seen through that Hermes was holding back and that Gabil didn’t plan to kill Hermes.
   
「Very well, now there are only three of us in total including me. You’ve proven the skills of your soldiers by fighting to a draw with my warriors. It means that they have thoroughly trained their bodies and souls instead of relying on their skills.」
   
「I should be the delighted one bearing your compliments. I am Gabil. And you are Milim-sama’s…….?」
 
「Hmm! I am the Worshiper of Dragon, Midley.」

「I am Sophia. Beastketeer Sophia! I won’t bother giving my name to Clayman’s subordinate. But it’s a different case of Milim-sama’s subordinate.」
   
「Hmm, Sophia-san, right? I’ll remember that. Now then, what to do, what to do? Should I take on both of you now?」

As he says so, Midley crosses his hands casually.
 
His actions says much about his confidence that he won’t lose even against them both.
 
「Could I ask a question before we fight?」
「Huh, what’s wrong?」
   
「Nothing in particular, but how could a mere human be so strong? Or should I say, are Worshipers of Dragon really human? There’s definitely something strange about this.」
Having been asked by Sophia, Midley also nods intriguingly in response.
   
And then he makes his response:
   
「The human you say——That is the issue. If you are raising a question regarding our race, then the answer is very simple. We are the same as Gabil-san over there. We are all Dragonoids.」

Midley proclaims as if it’s nothing of significance.
   
「What!? You mean just like us?」
   
「Hmm, indeed. The difference is we didn’t evolve from lizard man. We are the offsprings born through the merging of「Humanoid」Dragon and Humans. That’s probably our difference.」
But, we are the same in nature——Midley finishes his sentence with a smile.

「So that’s why…...speaking of that, my sister Souka also evolved to look like human.」

「No wonder, you guys are way too strong in terms of human standard…..」
 
「That being the case, there are very few people left who can revert to our ancient appearance. None of my subordinates lying over there have gained any of those skills, such as “Dragonization” or “Dragon Warrior Transformation”. Nowadays, we are about the same as humans.」
Midley looks at Sophia as he says so.
   
「However, with this power inherited, we worship dragons to remind ourselves to not forget of the blood that runs in our body. Is that what you wish to know, Sophia-san?」
   
「Yes. It doesn’t matter if you are human or Mamono. I just want to know whether that toughness was trained and obtained by the weak humans, that’s all. I should pay much respect to your efforts now that you mentioned you are no difference from humans.」
 
「WHAHAHAHA, I hold the same thoughts. The so called strength is divided into innate and trained. A Majin is weak if he relies too much on his own innate strength and measuring the strength of others based on their magicule possession. Real strength cannot be seen with eyes. The difference in skillfulness is the only correct criteria. 」
 
I see——Sophia resonates such sentiment a lot.
Sophia was born strong. Even without any effort, her combat abilities are stronger than most Mamonos.

Most Majin would stay away seeing her huge amount of magicules and the Youki surrounding her.
 
Through her agility in battle, she utilize her strength to the fullest in order to get to where she is today.
   
Now with Midley’s words, she realize that she hasn’t been practicing her skills for all these times.
   
「In other word, I can become stronger.」
   
「WHAHAHAHA, indeed. The best way to get stronger is through actual combats. Go ahead, I’ll be your opponent.」
   
Midley stands looking calm as ever and says so while having his hands crossed.
   
「Should I join Sophia-san? Also, aren’t you a bit narcissistic?」
 
Midley gives off a smile as Gabil says so, he then responses:
   
「Huh! Young man, then I shall take down my hands and play with you two for a while!」
   
Since their opponent has come to this point, Gabil would not stay silent.
 
「Sophia-san——」
 
「Right, let’s go. But I assure you, this guys is strong!」
Just like that, Gabil and Sophia challenge Midley.
 
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

The fight between Anubis and Yamza becomes more and more intensifies, and the moment to determine the outcome has finally arrived.
   
With the two in a stalemate, Yamza decides to use his trump card.
   
「Hahaha, as expected of the Beastketeer! It’s no easy feet to fight me to a draw. However, victory is mine with this!」
   
「What are you talking about?」

「Hehe, did you really think this magic sword is my only trump card? You are good, and I’ll admit that you are on par with me. But! What would happen when there are two me to fight you?」
As he finishes his sentence, Yamza releases the magic of his left wrist ring.

This wrist ring is the 「Clone Wrist Ring」. It possesses the magic to spawn an exact replica of the user, it is a reputable and valuable treasure of a magical item.

Including gears, even the skills of the clone would be exactly the same as the summoner. In other words, Anubis must confront two Yamza at the same time.
   
Since the clone could rival the summoner, the situation is highly disadvantageous for Anubis. However——
 
「How about it? I would consider sparing you if you surrender now——」

「So what?」

「——What?」
   
「Do you think you can beat me with such dirty trick? I see that the Majin serving Clayman is indeed just this low, what a crude ace.」
   
Anubis doesn’t seem to be moved and even mocks at Yamza.
   
「Prepare to die then!」

Yet Yamza couldn’t finish his shout as Anubis reveals shows her trump card.
   
Her upper body resembles a beautiful female while her lower body is that of a dark serpent. That is Anubis’ real appearance. 「Beastilization」 has revealed Anubis’ natural appearance and granted her immense strength.

A lot of people think unlike Phobia or Sophia who are good at close-quarter combat, Anubis is the long range mage-type fighter skilled in casting magic attack from a distance.But it is the furthest from reality. She lives up to her name as the subordinate of Beast King and is most talented in close-quarter combat, a natural warrior.
   
With that being said, her fighting style differs a lot with the other two.
   
Anubis raises her golden khakkhara above her head. The khakkhara disappears instantly as Golden horns appear on Anubis’ forehead.
 
Her suppressed Youki bursts out to the surrounding, indicating her immense growth in strength.
   
A double stage 「Transformation」—— That is Anubis’ trump card.

With dragon scale armor covered all over her, Anubis stands before Yamza.
    这一带的空间完全被阿尔比思支配，满溢的妖气开始发出紫色电光。
The space around the surrounding is now under Anubis’ complete control, her overflowing Youki begins to appear as purple lightning.
   
「Eh!」
   
Gobta shouts in fear.
   
Right now Anubis doesn’t seem to be differentiating friends and foes, so he feels he’s in a life threatening situation.
   
「You are Gobta, right? I’ll grant you the permission to leave here at once.」
   
「I’ll run even without your permission.」
   
Everyone retreats! Gobta orders everyone and begins to flee with the Goblin Slayer units.
   
「Idiot, do you want to take on us alone?」
 
「She’s looking down on us!」
   
The surviving Greater Majins begins to shout and surround Anubis.

But Anubis, who has revealed her true self, doesn’t seem to give a single care.
   
「AHAHAHAHAHA! Then die, you fools!」
It was too late when Yamza comes back to his senses.
   
Some Majins have collapse with blood pouring out of their mouths.

Some Majins are petrified entirely and breaking into pieces.

The rest of the Majins’ bodies begin to corrode and were turned into dust on the spot.
 
The difference in power is simply too large. Yamza’s subordinates are all being consumed by negative effects, dying off one by one. Yamza couldn’t do a thing to stop this.
   
「B-bastard——!」
   
Combating in close quarter with her special method, that’s Anubis’ most skilled fighting style.
   
「Golden Snake Horn」—— Anubis’ Golden horns symbolize death. No living beings within this area could survive.

Yamza finally realizes he has been completely defeated.
   
「Surrender now. I’ll have you as captive and allow you to live if you surrender.」

Anubis proposes. He may only survive by accepting her conditions. That’s because, his 「Clone Wrist Ring」 has been broken the moment Anubis’ 「Eyes of Heavenly Snake」  laid on it.

It seems to also be able to destroy equipment, and Yamza’s clone vanishes before the fight even started.
 
——My hands and feet are also paralyzed. If this is to continue, I’ll even have trouble fighting…… How in the world is the Beastketeer this strong?
 
Yamza was unlucky, since Anubis is the strongest Beastketeer among the three.

He has picked the wrong opponent. But he’s not aware of it.
   
Anubis is often entrusted the role as commander, so she rarely utilizes her power. That’s why to the outside world, even though she is the head of the Beastketeers, she’s still often underestimated/
   
Yamza is one of them, looking down on Anubis from his heart.

The outcome has been determined. However, it is not over yet.

Clayman is a cunning Demon Lord that will never allow his subordinates to betray…...
   
I just need to accept her proposition. Yamza makes up his mind——
   
——How would I ever allow you to do that?
   
Clayman’s voice begins to echo in Yamza’s heart.

「Eh?」
   
Yamza exclaims out of surprise.
   
His body begins to act on its own without his control.
   
「S-stop! Please don’t do this, Clayman-sama!」
   
Yamza takes out a ominus dark purple orb and bring it to his mouth.

「Wu-Gu!」
   
He grinds his teeth tight, trying to avoid getting near that object, but…..These are futile resistances.
Clayman has inserted skill 「Puppeteer」 in him, so Yamza’s body is not following his command.

「——What are you doing?」
   
Anubis is confused as Yamza is being forced to swallow that object.
To swallow the dark purple orb——Fragment of Charybdis.
   
「Ha? Ha-pu, wugugu…….GWHAAAAAAAAA————!」
   
「What is going on?」
 
The confused Anubis has her nerve tightened.
   
In front of her, Yamza——his tentacles begin to reach out towards the corpses surrounding him as his body begins to expand into something abominable.
   
Having been affected by the dimensions filled with magicules under Anubis’ control, Yamza’s magicule storage begins to expand.
 
There begins a blizzard of ice snows.

As it consumes and expands, and explodes in the end.
   
It is a consuming-type Mamono that lacks the 「Core」 of a Manomo and would disappear after its rampage.
   
Even though it could only last for a while, its power is compatible to the one it originates from. That’s likely the most challenging part that it’s this character. Its appetite to consume is endless just like its summoner (Yamza).

That is the forbidden technique Yamza didn’t want to use, a clever trap set by Clayman.
 
  ⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Charybdis is reborn to this land.

Anubis’ nerves are extremely tense as she attacks Charybdis with all she can.
 
Yet she couldn’t harm it. Charybdis continues to expand, and her normal attacks won’t even leave a scratch on it.

The most challenging part is no more than 「Super Regeneration」. It would absorb the corpses around it to regenerate temporary flesh.
 
「Ehhh, you monster!」

Anubis shouts with hatred, as her proud skill 「Eyes of Heavenly Snake」 won’t work on it and her purple lightning has a weak effect.
Regarding that, this monster is already Calamity-level, a Mamono with many levels higher than herself. Even if Anubis is the strongest among the three Beastketeers, she won’t be able to take on it by herself.
 
Thankfully there is still quite the distance from where she is and the battlefield. Anubis wants to buy some time so it won’t affect her companions.
   
But, that is at most until Charybdis completes creating its body.
 
Its horrifying collective body in the form of desperation now rampages this land.
   
Moreover, this monster isn’t satisfied with consuming Yamza, it even swallowed the Magic Frost Sword in order to search for its 「Core」. It is thus drawing in heat from the surrounding and causing a temperature drop.
 
The monster is turning its Youki into a Giant Water Ice Storm and causing a havoc there.
   
The way the Ice Storm swallows and harms the surrounding people and objects indeed is horrifying to watch.
   
More severely, what concerns Anubis is what would happen the moment it releases all the heat it absorbed.
   
It’s fine for those who can escape with teleportation skill, but as for those without it…..

Everyone would die.

「Damnit! That bastard Clayman——!」
   
Anubis shows her true character as she shouts and continuously launches attack on the enemy without interval.
   
She launch it so frequently to the point of not sparing a single breath.

However——
 
All of these efforts have been futile.
Charybdis has only sustained some flesh wound, the damage to its core is less than significant.
No, it’s because it is regenerating too fast.
   
「Blasted! I’ll have to let those who can run retreat first——」

In time of desperate, Anubis tries to come up with a best solution to her situation. She was going to request Benimaru to issue the order for fast retreat.

In terms of result, the order was not issued.
 
That’s because——there is no such need.

「You’ve disobeyed me, Anubis. Didn’t I tell you to retreat if you can’t win?」
   
With that said, Generalissimo Benimaru suddenly appears before Anubis.
 
「——Benimaru-sama!」
「Oh, Charybdis. I couldn’t harm it last time, but what about this time?」

Benimaru shows an arrogant smile.

「Benimaru-sama, this monster is too——」
   
「I know. It’s quite impressive, now I could use it to test out my strength.」
   
As he says so, Benimaru raises his right hand.

Then, he gains control of everything.

He has analyzed thoroughly between the capability of Charybdis and himself.

This battle could now end in the blink of an eye.

Benimaru holds his footing tight and unsheath his tachi covered in black flame to slash against Charybdis. However, his strength wasn’t enough to cut through the Giant body that Charybdis has built so far.
 
But there is one big difference from before.

Unlike Anubis’ attack, its wound did not regenerate.

Charybdis has taken the burning damage of 「Black Flame」 from the knife and it seems to be burning it to ashes.

「Ze, I’m still not good enough it seems. No time to toy with you then, I’ll send you straight to hell.」

Benimaru says so as she walks in front of Anubis.

With his tachi carried on his shoulder, he isn’t even considering Charybdis as a threat.
   
「My apologies, I was playing to have some fun with you when you complete your body…..」

It hasn’t flown to the sky, yet its gigantic body is almost forty meters long. Yet right now this gigantic being is being covered up by a black hemisphere.
   
「Begone.」

Benimaru whispers.

In an instant——with a “BOOM!” sound, its noise spread across the surrounding.
   
It’s the large area burning attack —— 「Black Flame Hell」——
   
Its power cannot be compared to that of the past.

In addition to Benimaru’s 「Fire Manipulation」, his magicule movement is completely within his control. Even with Charybdis’ innate skill 「Magic Interference」, its body is still burnt to ashes.
 
Thus it shows how much more stronger has Benimaru’s control of magicule is compared to the Charybdis.

「There’s no way!」
   
Anubis is justified be so surprised.

Benimaru’s attack is able to harm Charybdis, which indicates his magicule possession is superior than it.

That means——
   
Benimaru is already able to rival the master of Anubis and the her companions, that is Demon Lord Karion, Rank Calamity.

「Anubis, I still have something to do. Right now, I order you to command the army as an adjutant.」
 
「——Understood, Benimaru-sama.」

Anubis deactivates her 「Transformation」 and receives her order while kneeling.
 
She has a lot of questions on her mind, but it is the wrong time to ask. She has hidden her inner shocks to take on the order with pleasure.
 
The calamity Charybdis that appeared on this land——was taken care of before it could destroy a thing.
 
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

「He, hehehe….. What a surprise. I know Yamza would betray, but I can’t believe Charybdis was handled that easily but someone…...」
   
「Right. Talk about everything having its own vanquisher, even us won’t be able to kill it.」

「Clayman’s army has been routed. The mission is a failure and he’s suffered heavy losses this time. He should have listened to that lord and stay put as he’s ordered.」

「Right. Even Laplace went to persuade him, it’s all Clayman’s fault this time.」
   
Footman and Tear exchanges looks and chit chats with each other.
 
Phobia, who’s been devastated in the fight, is still waiting in front of the two alongside Geld who’s come to protect him.

「We’ve got to report to that lord now, playtime is over.」

Footman didn’t get a scratch while Tear sustained some injuries that wouldn’t have affected combat either way.

If in terms of damages they sustained, Geld and Phobia is on the losing side.
 
「Don’t try to escape. I know you guys are good. But I just need stall you until Anubis and Sophia arrive. As well as with Benimaru-san, you guys are dead meat.」
   
Phobia raises his body while shaking, announcing these to them. His wounds just now have all been healed.

It is the level of regenerative power akin to 「Super Regeneration」 that can easily outrank the 「Automatic Regeneration」 unique to the Beastmen. After all, Phobia was once consumed by Charybdis, he has inherited some of its power.

「You are really annoying, little black kitty!」
   
Tear shouts as she sends phobia flying in a hit. But it was not lethal, and Phobia was able to regenerates and stands back up instantly.

Tear has the upper hand in terms of speed, but she’s unable to deliver a fatal blow to Phobia. On the other hand, despite Phobia is covered in wounds, none of which are severe.
This duel seems to look as though Phobia has lost, but with each minute passing, there may be a very different result in the end.

As for Footman and Geld,

Footman would squeeze himself into a giant meatball and smash towards Geld with high spinning speed. Geld would then fended himself with his giant shield and launch a intense counterattack in between the interval. However, all of these attacks have been stopped by Footman’s meat armor and thus not sufficient to cause any lethal wounds.
 
The two side continues this cycle of attack and defense, both seem on part with the opponent. That is how their duels are going.
 
However, that is because Footman is not treating it seriously.
Just now Charybdis was just defeated, and Footman has lost his interest because of that.
   
「Woo!」

Seeing he has gotten serious, Geld immediately shows up before Phobia to defend him.
 
「What’s wrong, Geld-san?」

He couldn’t answer Phobia’s question before Footman attacks towards Geld and him.

It’s a Giant Magic Missile.
 
It was a solid hit that didn’t have much change to its shape, yet its power was enough to change the terrain of the surrounding.
   
Geld’s giant shield is destroyed by the missile. Not only so, his full body armors are also broken into pieces.

Phobia, even with Geld’s shielding sustained some damage. He got to survive thanks to 「Super Regeneration.」

「He——Hehehe. Taking care of you guys aren’t part of my contract, so I’ll let you walk this time.」
「Be grateful! You guys would be dead long ago if we got serious!」

Geld and Phobia have sustained heavy injuries that they are unable to stand. These are the words heard by them.
   
As the dust of the explosion dissipates, there is no sign of Footman and Tear.
「——That was a terrible loss. Even though I’ve gained new power through it, there is still many that are stronger than me.」

「No, had Geld-san not come, I would have long been dead. Sorry, I’ve dragged you back…..」

「There is no such thing. We’ve lost indeed, but we are still alive. Let’s just win our next fight.」
 
Geld encourages Phobia like that.

「Indeed, you are right!」

Phobia is no amateur.

It’s just that Footman and Tear are too strong. With that power, it won’t be strange if people call them Demon Lords.

From magicule possession alone, it would seem that Geld is superior. But the cunningness of the opponents have greatly masked the difference between their skill.

When Geld fought Footman, he has taken a defense stance all along. With that being said, he knew that he won’t be able to win even with all he’s got put into the fight.

However, the result is exactly as he intended.

「Benimaru-san, the clowns have escaped.」
   
Geld reports to Benimaru using 「Telepathy Net」.
   
「Hmm, I saw. And they thought they’ve had mercy on us, how naive.」
 
Geld received order from Benimaru to find out what the opponents are capable of.

In addition he needed to protect Phobia.

I was just here to observe the situation——Even though I can’t say it was that easy. But, it is their biggest failure that they’ve not killed me. Benimaru-sama would also keep an record of my fights. In other words, we can give it to Rimuru-sama for analysis. Then their powers and secrets would be exposed to everyone.

This is why their defeat was not meaningless.
   
He has accomplished his goals. There is no need to worry about winning at the moment, he can always train himself in the future to reduce their gap in strength.

Geld wanted to use his own men to fight to the death at this place of destiny, but unfortunately he is not strong enough.

But, I will win next time!
   
He makes such resolve in heart.
   
「Then, I’ll return to command the army.」
   
「Go ahead, there is still one more troublesome guy. I’ll have him companied.」
 
It ain’t easy being a Generalissimo. Geld thinks to himself after the report.

There are several hidden opponents that are really challenging.
They couldn’t fight these individuals simultaneously, so they had to take the harder route in tactic in order to distract and spread these people.
 
From the situation now, Benimaru would prioritize the sequence of aiding, but it may put others in danger if his judgements are wrong.

But with that being said, Benimaru has fulfilled his duty perfectly.
   
He was planning to go straight for Footman’s head, but he’s put aside his personal grudge to consider the victory of the whole army.
   
This Generalissimo doesn’t seem so reckless in his decision-making. As compared to our initial battle with each other, he’s grown a lot…..
Geld feels much more respect and trust towards Benimaru.
   
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

——The time rewinds a bit and we are again at the end of the battlefield.
 
The two parties have only fought for a few minutes.
This however, has been like forever to Gabil and Sophia.
 
But, this period has suddenly come to an end.
   
「Hmm?」

「This is——!」
   
「Hu——hu——W-What is…. Is happening——?」
   
Sophia has learnt how to buffer herself after being thrown the second and and third times, her tired body is also smoothened.
   
On the other hand, Gabil is not used to the attack. He has been tricked all over the place and exhausted as he swings around his spear.
   
Midley has been the two’s opponents all this time. He doesn’t seem tired at all, rather he looks very energetic. These two are a piece of cake compared to sparring with Milim.

And Midley is also the first to notice the situation.
   
「Everyone, I approve you all of using healing magic! Get up! Come on, get everyone up right now!」
   
He no longer looks as calm as he shouts out furiously.

「This is bad Midley-sama! From the reaction it seems to be quite the monstrosity.」
   
「I know! That is probably the Charybdis that Mililm-sama just defeated recently. No, or is it its remains?」

「It looks like so…… But it doesn’t seem quite stable, even without our interference, it will probably disappear in about a day…..」

「No, this is the battlefield. It may have some unforeseen development if we are not cautious. We’d better not feed anything to a monster like that.」
   
Midley and Hermes who’s been suddenly healed have entered their own worlds and converses all over the place.

Right now, the priests on the ground begin to cast healing magic, not only on themselves, but also helping to heal Gabil’s subordinates from 「Hiryuu」.
   
「Do you mean Charybdis? That monster that possessed baka Phobia! Didn’t Demon Lord Milim destroy it already?」
 
「Indeed, Charybdis has already been eliminated by Milim-sama…..」
 
Sophia and Gabil also join the discussion. They don’t think it’s the right time to be stubborn about winning or losing.

「Calm down everyone. That isn’t the real deal, more like the fragments of its power. And it seems to have used Yamza as substitute for its “core”....」
   
Midley activates his 「Dragon Eye」 and begins to analyze the nature of the thing to explain to everyone. It is not as effective as Milim’s 「Dragon Eye」, but it is still a great skill with the abilities of 「Vision」 and 「Analysis」.
 
Hermes is not just sitting around either, he’s guarding the surrounding in case of emergency.
   
「That should be it. I was planning to kill that bastard Yamza, but his soul has been eaten clean. With how things have developed, all we can do is try to reduce casualty and wait for it to die out by itself.」
 
He concludes calmly.

「Have you guys heard what I said? I permit everyone to gear up to prepare for battle. But don’t get greedy. We are just buying time to come up with a solution against it.」
 
「Let us help as well. We are much more skilled in high speed flying compared to last time. We won’t get injured as long as we watch the scale attack.」
   
Midley and Gabil are like old friends. The two decides to collaborate with much tacit bonds. The mad Charybdis has one habit of chasing things that move. Gabil’s party can fly and is the best bait for it.

Sophia is also contemplating, her brain is running much faster than usual. She decides to do whatever she can and immediately takes actions.
   
「Alright, in order to prevent it from consuming any ground troops, I’ll assist everyone to retreat——」

But she couldn’t finish her sentence before things took a quick turn.
   
It is when Benimaru happened to incinerate Charybdis.
「Wh…..What…..! That guy didn’t even flinch while carrying out such spectacle!」
   
「——What the hell? Is that a Demon Lord? It would make sense if it’s MIlim-sama, but how can a single Majin be capable of that? What a monster…..」
   
Only two people saw it first-hand, Midley and Hermes.
 
Sophia, Gabil also noticed the difference, but they are aware of the situation. All they knew was that the evil aura of the Charybdis dissipated instantly.
「OI, what happened? Could you tell me as well!?」
   
「Hmm. I was hoping you two would help explain to us.」
   
「About that, I want to do it as well….」

「But it seems unnecessary.」

Hermes and Midley couldn’t begin to explain before the space before Sophia and Gabil begin to twist and till. A Majin with red hair, akin to burning fire appears before them.
 
It’s Benimaru with his tachi on his shoulder.
 
Benimaru has come here to deal with the last dangerous individual on the battlefield——Midley.

「Hey, it seems our men have been taken under your care.」
 
Benimaru arrives to stare intensely at Midley, but he soon realizes things were amiss. There are traces of fights at the scene, yet there are no injured. The tension that was just about to break out now ceases to exist.

「Wait a second, Benimaru-sama! These people are Milim-sama’s subordinates. The Priest Warrior from the Worshippers of Dragon.」

「What, Milim-sama’s subordinates? That means——」
 
「Our wounds are healed by their healing magic too!」

「........ I see. I suppose I’ve thought too much. You’ve really raised my alert high since you are the toughest opponent to deal with on this battlefield.」
   
「WHAHAHAHA, you wasn’t thinking it wrong. Our troop did fight yours. And it’s also true that we’ve healed your wounds, but that is for the coming battle against the bigger trouble. Right now there is no longer this necessity.」

「——I see. Then what should we do next? Do you wish to fight us?」
「About that, what to do now…..」
   
「We don’t actually want to fight Milim-sama’s subordinates either.」
 
「Hmm, that’s right. Even though I want to have a spar with you, but it’s not to antagonize you. But instead to see who’s stronger in terms of strength.」
   
「So that’s how it is, I understand your sentiments.」
   
Midley and Benimaru both smiles as they finish their words.

「Eh, HOLD ON——! This isn’t appropriate!」

「Right, Benimaru-sama! If you harmed Milim-sama’s subordinates, there is no guarantee how much hell she would rain on us!」
   
「That’s right, Midley-sama! Rimuru-sama and Milim-sama are friends, it would lead to a catastrophe!」
   
Hermes and Gabil moves out to stop the two, while Sophia who was trying to interject has to shut up.

「I know. Besides, if we really get serious in the fight, I’ll most likely lose.」

Benimaru decides to step up with the addition of 「I don’t plan to fight without the chance to win.」

「WHAHAHAHA, nice saying. But if you are able to kill that Charybdis, even someone as strong as me wouldn’t be absolutely sure in defending against your attack.」
 
Midley follows it up with his laughter, with those words said, he seems confident in preventing benimaru from using the skills he used to win against Charybdis. It would definitely render the fight into a life-or-death brawl rather than a relaxing spar.

It would be too strange to spar on this battlefield, and besides, the incentive to fight against each other has long gone.

On top of that, none of the side has the intention of doing the fight.

Just like that, at this location——The battle that took place at the ruins of the Orc Kingdom Ocby concludes with the overwhelming victory of the united army.

Apart from this, there is another battlefield out there, there also——
 
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

The time is midnight twelve o’clock. Shuna, Souei and Hakurou begin their operation.

Across the wetland masked by thick fog, there lies the Clayman’s headquarter ahead. They intend to go there as they secretly intrude the wetland.

There are many suspicious swamps in the wetland with sound of biogas popping off. These biogas seems to be the cause of the fogs, adding a sense of creepiness to its surrounding.
 
As soon as they intrude into the wetland, a thick layer of mist begins to emerge in front their eyes.
   
「This is not good. My “Magic Perception” has been affected by the fog.」

「Indeed. This is the reason why I’ve given up my investigation. My visions here are greatly limited and I could only rely on my five senses to collect intels. On the contrary, the enemies seem to be collecting intelligence using the fog.」
   
「So that’s how it is, in other words, the situation is highly against us.」
   
「Yes. Hakurou-sama should be fine and I could also use skill “Stealth” to conceal my presence. However, Shuna-sama would——」

As Souei said, Hakurou could use his esoteric invisibility technique 「Haziness」 to completely hide his presence. Souei can also achieve perfect stealth that causing one unable to detect him even if he’s right next to them.
   
「I’ll be fine as well.」
 
Shuna is faced with the biggest challenge, but Souei’s concerns seem to be unwarranted. Shuna also erases her traces and conceals her perfectly.
「Oh, so it works just like my “Haziness”. It seems to be a combined skill of “Illusion Magic” and “Witchery”. As expected of Shuna-sama.」

Hakurou is correct, that is the unique skill invented by Shuna.
 
Although unable to rival Rimuru, Shuna can create unique magic through her unique skill 「Creator」.
 
「It seems that the issue has been resolved. But do still be cautious, as you can’t use “Telepathy Net” as long as you remain in the sea of fog. The vision is not clear and communication is difficult, so you guys must be careful with every step you take27. Also, here’s something for you.」

In this sea of fog, even with Souei’s 「Clone」 to connect the them, they can’t communicate through 「Telepathy Net」. So Souei wants Hakurou and Shuna to hold on to 「Sticky Steel Web」 as method of emergency contact.

Through the vibration of the web, they can make some bare communication with each other. However, once the web is broken they will lose the method to contact, so they must be cautious with its usage. Shuna and Hakurou nod and carefully wrap the web around their wrists.
That concludes the preparation work.
 
「Let’s head out.」
 
Shuna launches the journey as the three begin to move out.
 
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

「——This is bad, we seem to have walked into a trap.」
 
With only a few minutes set out, Shuna stops to say.

「A trap?」

「I’ve also getting a mixed feel from the surrounding, almost as if there are presences of enemies——What’s that!」

Souei couldn’t finish his sentence when he senses an unknown and overwhelming aura suddenly surrounds him.
   
「I can’t believe this…… They’ve got many people, how could I have not sensed it, where have they been hiding?」
   
「No, Hakurou! The enemies have not shown, but we have been lured to this location!」
「Is that so, it must be this fog. Not only did this fog caused us to lose direction, it also hid our enemies’ presence and lured us into the center of this encirclement of trap….」

「So that is how it was, this is the reason why I’ve been feeling strange from the start.」
「Indeed, Souei, Hakurou. This fog has triggered “Dimensional Interference”. No matter where the enemies attack us from, it will always lead them back to a certain location—— 」

Halfway through Shuna’s explanation, someone has already rushed out.
   
Souei and Hakurou are maintaining their guards against the concealed Mamonos near their surrounding and at the same time, displays a battle posture against the person that suddenly appeared.
   
Shuna also remains silent as she looks at the person.
 
A skeleton wearing white clergy coat——
That is the person who appeared before Shuna’s party.
 
「Such strong mana…..」

Shuna whispers with cold sweat on her.
   
She thought and panicked for a moment thinking that it was Clayman himself, but he quickly rejected that idea.
   
It’s already past midnight twelve o’clock, Clayman has long set out for the Walpurgis Banquet. If that’s the case, the logical deduction would be that this is one of the member of Clayman’s close lieutenants, a member of the 「Five Fingers」.
   
Right now this individual not only can rival the strength of the Beastketeers, his power is closing in to that of Demon Lord. That is how much magicules this Majin possesses.
What’s also unbelievable to Shuna is why such a person would want to work under others.

And Shuna then recalls a thing that Myuran mentioned to her. The member of Clayman’s 「Five Fingers」 who is responsible for defending the castle is——
「——I see, you must be Adalman. The ruler of this land——The Undead King who leads many undead Mamonos.」

Hakurou, through his 「Eyes of Heaven」28 also reached the same conclusion just as Shuna described.
 
Adalman’s immense and ominous power is far greater than what Myuran described. This is the Undead King who can rival a Demon Lord, he is the protector of this land.

Souei wouldn’t doubt Shuna and Hakurou’s, reaching the intended conclusion as it is meant to be reached. He concentrate his killing intent quietly.
   
Whoever this foe is, I’ll kill him——That’s the logic of Souei’s action.
 
At that moment, Souei prepares for action.
   
「Indeed, I am Adalman. Guardian of this land and servant to the order of the great Demon Lord Clayman-sama. Lowly intruders, prepare to die. If you follow my order, I shall grant you all a painless death.」

Undead King——Adalman proclaims.
 
That is an order from a king. Those words indicate that he is not considering enemies such as Shuna as an equal to him. But it is reasonable to be terrified at the hugh possession of magicules Adalman holds.

It would seem that due to the presence of his seemingly infinite magicules, tens of thousands of undead Mamonos begin to emerge from the surrounding.
Godagodagodagoda, giligiligiligili *spooky skeleton sounds* they begin to make sharp noises as they surround Shuna’s party.
   
「So it’s true, we’ve been completely surrounded by the enemies. This fog is combined with “Coordination Barrier”, we can’t use “Dimensional Transportation” to escape. All means of communication have been interfered, we can only break out of the encirclement by defeating Adalman.」
   
Shuna informs them without hesitation.
Basically, Hakurou and Souei would never just take Adalman’s suggestion without a fight. Hearing Shuna’s suggestion, the two strike out together without a discussion.
「No time to waste, let’s take down the enemy general.」
   
「I agree. One it is struck by my techniques, even the dead can’t escape their fate.」
 
The two make such response as they close in on Adalman.

Seeing the two striking towards him, Adalman gives off a disdaining smile.

「Hehehe, a bunch of arrogant fools. How silly of me to have wished to offer you my mercy. Since you won’t even be grateful to my proposition, I shall let you taste the consequences and regret your decision.」
Adalman swings his giant hand as if he still has much strength to spare.

Immediately afterward, something astounding occurs. Hakurou’s knife closing in on the enemy was stopped by a knight in front of Adalman.

Hakurou deeply believed that that strike would have taken his enemy’s life. He backs off while being shocked.

That knight is a Rank A- Mamono, Undead Knight.

However, that strike has had Hakurou discovered something amiss. Even if it’s a powerful Mamono, a single Undead Knight won’t be able to stop Hakurou’s knife.
   
「You are no common foe. Very well, I shall use my real skills to spar with you.」

Hakurou was right.

He has realized the strength of this Undead Knight.

It is not skills derived from the bodily strength of Mamono, but from human skills gained through the hardship of training.

Then, it won’t be the simple type to be seen through by 「Eyes of Heaven」. That’s why Hakurou has devoted himself to duel his Undead Knight.

「............」
   
The Undead Knight remains silent. He can’t talk with hie temporary body made up of dead corpse.
 
However, you can see the blue white flame shaking in its hollow eye sacks.
 
That is undoubtedly the light of will. They symbolize he has accepted Hakurou’s invitation to duel in the name of honor as a human.
   
Even though he is no longer a human, the heart of that Undead Knight still belongs to an honorable knight.
Both sides have rivaling magicule stores as well as similar bodily strength.
   
With sparks from the clashes of techniques trained for years, the battle between two master swordsman begin.
   
Apart from that, Souei has also encountered an opponent.

He was sneaking near Adalman before a giant shadow emerged before him to stop his attack.

「Ze!」
Souei smacks his lip while staring at the gigantic shadow.

「Could this be a Zombie Dragon29——?」
 
「No, Souei! The enemy is not that simple! His magicule level alone is greater than you. It would be the strongest undead Mamono here——Undead Dragon!」
   
The fog has blocked Shuna’s vision making her hard to do an accurate analysis of the enemies’ real identities.

After hearing so, Souei gives off a upset look. He could handle it if he’s on his own, but right now the situation is highly disadvantageous as he is also trying to protect Shuna during his fight.

The more dependable Hakurou is focusing on fighting the Undead Knight as well.

Souei must defeat the Undead Dragon as soon as possible. If not the tens of thousands of undead Mamonos from all around would devour them all, even Shuna would not be able to survive.
From Souei’s point of view, he doesn’t need to hold back under such circumstances.
「Time to die! Web slash of ten thousand monsters30!」

He decides on the spot to give off all he has to attack.
   
His unique skill 「Secret Inspector」 grants him the effect of 「One Hit Kill」by using tens of thousands of 「Viscous Steel Web」 to chop his enemies into pieces——This is the ultimate killing move of Souei, like looking through sceneries of a kaleidoscope, where the flowers of fresh blood blooms. 
   
It won’t matter even if the enemies are half spiritual life form such as undead. His technique can cut through and kill spiritual beings, so it should be the case that they are already dead.
「How could this be, it is regenerating!」

Souei begins to feel anxious.

The twenty-something feet tall giant body has now been chopped into chunks, so his victory should have been guaranteed. Yet, the Undead Dragon revived itself as if it was nothing and restored its body.

That’s even faster than 「Super Regeneration」, the power of so called 「Undead」.

「If that’s the case, I’ll destroy you along with your soul——」
   
Souei makes up his resolve, yet Shuna’s calm voice raises beside him.

「Calm down, Souei. Some as calm and analytic as you should know that you can’t defeat the Undead Dragon, right?」

「But——」
   
「And the soul of that dragon seems to be in the body of that Majin Adalman. Don’t worry about me, just focus on distracting the dragon. I’ll take down Adalman.」
 
Shuna says so calmly to Souei.

「This is too dangerous!」
   
「No, Souei. Right now I am angry.」
 
A cold smile hangs on Shuna’s face as she expresses her dismissal of Souei’s concern.
   
Her eyes begin to glow brighter, showing her aggressive side. Seeing this, Souei lost his words.
Shuna was once the female Miko responsible to rectify the Ogre tribes. Her words held a certain power that can cause others to follow her every order. Right now, her power has long surpassed the unique skill 「Kyogenshi」31 (Speaker of mad words) of 「Otherworlder」 Kirara Mizutani.

Besides, Shuna is not the type of person who needs protection.
Souei is well aware of that.
   
Then there could only be one answer.
 
「Understood. I wish you emerge victorious, Shuna-sama.」

「The same goes for you, Souei. The dragon is all yours.」

Shuna smiles as she says so.
   
Souei nods towards her and returns his focus on the Undead Dragon. Since he’s taken the task, he won’t hesitate anyone. Souei is confident in Shuna and dives into his own battlefield.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Shuna is alone now, but she’s not anxious nor panicked as she confronts Adalman directly.
 
Adalman seems to look down on her.

「Oh? What do you plan to do, young lady? What can you do without your guards? And how do you plan to take on this ten-thousand strong troop?」
 
Adalman’s voice reflects a level of unbelieving accompanied by a sense of joy.
 
In fact, Adalman is enjoying himself.
   
The order of Demon Lord Clayman cannot be disobeyed, but Adelman's own will still remains, only his actions are restrained.
   
Eliminating invaders——That’s the only thing Adalman can do.

All powerful but with an empty head——That’s how Clayman’s subordinates always mock him. This is only so because Adalman has been bonded by the land and unable to move freely.

Clayman won’t even give him a chance to argue back, it’s no wonder why everyone does not know about this.

It’s not accurate to call Adalman a Majin, he is more akin to a weapon.

He is the defense mechanism bonded to this land to protect the castle.
 
His soul however is not restrained, but his actions are all scripted orders that would automatically be executed.
   
Although he claims to pledge his loyalty to Clayman, but it’s all but an act. This mechanism has long been designed to express respect towards its master. And Adalman has long desired to get rid out of such chain.
 
That’s why Adalman is enjoying his time talking to Shuna.
He would always automatically carry out the mission to protect the castle regardless of the situation. However, Adalman is not restrained from talking to the invaders, which is one of his source of joy.

It is perhaps a twisted form of mercy from the craftsman of this mechanism——Demon Lord Kazaream.
 
Perhaps that is not the truth, however, Adalman has decided to explain it in that direction. After all, with this tip bit of mercy, Adalman was able to remain sane and endure for  thousands years.

I do appreciate him for crafting this mechanism in order to prolong its durability.
   
Adalman believes so deep down his heart.
   
It is for this reason he is able to give everything he has to defeat the invaders when he’s body is no longer retrained.

Upon imagining the scene of more than ten thousand undead Mamonas plunging at Shuna, he prays to himself that she won’t suffer too much pain in her death——
 
「You don’t have to worry about that. “Anti-Monster-Attribute Barrier”!」

Shuna’s firm voice echos.
   
At that instant, the circle with one-hundred-feet long radius centered around Shuna suddenly becomes a holy ground that would prevent the invasion of any evil monsters.

This is a barrier that will respond to magicule matters. She 「Analyze」 and 「Fuse」 her 「Magic Nullified Domain」 and 「Holy Purification Barrier」. With previous experience of their usage, Shuna developed this original spell by herself.
This time he has barricaded against all magicule. It also has very powerful Magical defense that could choose one of the four attributes such as fire and wind to defend against.

「Now then, we won’t have any other people to interfere. If I can beat you, I would be able to destroy the defense mechanism that is using you as its core.」

「——Oh, impressive. You’ve discovered my secret. Little girl, what is your name?」
 
Indeed, just as what Shuna said.
Once Adalman is eliminated, the defense mechanics of the castle would also be destroyed. The key point of the mechanics lies on the fact that Adalman’s soul has been bonded to the terrain, which has enabled the perpetuation of powerful magicule energy.
Of course, then the Undead Dragon who admires Adalman, his close ally and friend Undead Knight would also be able to break free from this cursed bond.
 
Shuna has seen through the truth in one glance and Adalman is impressed from the bottom of his heart. He also holds a shred of hope that his opponent may be able to assist them in escaping their suffering.
「My name is Shuna.」
   
「Shuna, Shuna-san then. Let’s have our battle. If you could beat me, I shall respect your will.」
   
「That’s quite the generous offer. However, we only want to destroy Demon Lord Clayman. If you stay out of my way I can spare you your life. You can also continue to stick around here if you want!」

「Heheh, but shouldn’t you know that is simply impossible?」

「Is that so? By the magnitude of your strength, you should be able to win against that cursed bond by yourself, but I may have been mistaken.  It can’t be helped then. I’ll go according to the plan to defeat you. 」
 
Shuna says so without hesitation.
 
If I could conquer this cursed bond, I would have done so long ago. Demon Lord Kazaream is a horrifying man who few could stand against him. HIs title 「Curse King」 did not come in vain. Yet you describe it like such an easy chore…..
   
That is how Adalman sees it, but even so, his mood did not get worse,

「Then this would be the end of our conversation. Now, fight with everything you’ve got!」
 
The battle ignites.
 
………………

…………

……

Adalman was once a prince.
His hometown was on of the many province states under the rule of Holy Empire Ruberios.
 
These countries had no army. They relied on the Templar Knight Order sent out by the central Saints Church to protect their lands.

It was at the cost of having to uphold the Rumina sect as their national religion and supply the knight order with both talented labor and monetary fund.
 
At the time, the Western Saints Church were not as influential as it is now and the Holy Knight Order has yet to be formed. The ones excelled in the field would be rewarded the honorable knight title of the Templar Knight. It was a title that can not be passed on in generation.
 
Under such circumstance at the time, Adalman was one of these talented individual that was elected.

His brother inherited the throne and gave birth to the new heir. Due to such condition, Adalman became more diligent in promoting the Ruminas sect.
   
He started his new career by joining the Western Saints Church that promote Ruminas sect.
Adalman was charmed by the deity and believed Ruminas with all his heart.

Ruminas is the great god, and Adalman never once held doubt against his god.
   
That is why he obtained the archbishop skill 「Miracle」 and became one of the few master of 「Holy Magic」.

He was able to climb to the highest position within the Western Saint Church and became a Cardinal Deacon, yet his position within the Holy Empire Ruberios was still not very high.
   
Adalman continued to work even harder.
 
In order to get to a higher place of power, he didn’t limit himself to 「Holy Magic」, he even began to learn other magics. He often discussed, practiced magic with his friend then, Gedora (D: Remember this name, he’d be back in 6 volumes kek), in hopes of becoming stronger.
   
His hard work was finally rewards, as Adalman was able to become a 「Sen’nin」32

Sen’nin refers to the spiritual life form that pushes human body to a similar state as the astral body of a greater spirit. These people are seen as humanity’s guardian with much greater strength than ordinary humans.
 
With this power in hand, Adalman was able to move up the ladder of power to assume the role of Cardinal Priest.33
   
Time passed by fast.
 
Adalmen devoted himself into studying magic, and was one more step before reaching peak human performance and becoming 「Saint」.
   
Yet Adalamn encountered a joyful surprise then. Someone finally summoned him to the 「Inner Temple」 on the Spirit Mountain.
   
He was really happy.
   
Now I can finally meet Ruminas-sama!

Indeed, Adalman really did believe in the existence of the god Ruminas. After all, it is reasonable for him to think so given such fantasy is part of his faith.
 
That was the beginning of the end. The uninformed Adalman headed towards the Holy Land with great joy.
   
Yet unknowing to him, his ardent heart had been betrayed——
   
………………
   
…………

……

The intense magical battle entered a stalemate.
   
「Melt them down, corrode all matters——Corrosive Acid Magic Missile!」
 
Adalman chant and cast elemental-based magic 「Corrosive Acid Magic Missile」.

Many water balls begin to flow in midair and pour towards them the magic missiles that could corrode even bones. These water balls begin to shoot out Magic Acid MIssiles at Shuna like a storm of rain.
   
Yet Shuna does not seem panic at all.

「Magic Flame Wall.」
The flame wall stopped all of the acid missiles and evaporated tham.
Her thinking speed has been accelerated to a thousand times more alongside his highly accurate 「Analysis」, and she is also capable of alter reality using her 「Casting Rejection」 and 「Law Manipulation」.

「Very good, but how about this one! Oh cursed spirits, I grant thee thy live sacrifice——Cursed Bond!」

Undead magic——A branch of spiritual magic, utilizes negative emotions of Demons and the Dead to activate. Among these magic, Cursed Bond is the most wicked. The magic would summon the dead to possess onto human, magic or any living beings to absorb their vitality.

However, this didn’t work either.

「Holy Blessing.」
 
Adalman heard Shuna’s calm voice, and immediately after, he heard the familiar ring of the holy bell.

It alone could purify and grant salvation to the cursed dead.
 


「——Impossible! What is this, how can a Mamono use 「Holy Magic」?」
Adalman’s eyes are open wide as he witness this miracle. The beautiful way Shuna displays when casting reminds Adalman of his hard-working self as a youth.

Moreover, these Holy Magics are casted by a Manomo girl. He’s shocked to the point of shouting out his thoughts in front of such incredibly unbelievable reality.
   
Shuna instead laughs in response. She is not obligated to answer, yet she still gives a detailed explanation to Adalman’s doubt.

「Is that really strange? You are too rigid in your thinking. “Holy Magic” is not a magic unique to humans. If you heart pray for the miracle with enough faith, it will become a reality!」
   
Most people believe that in order cast 「Holy Magic」one must bond with the holy spirit.
   
Such view is correct in some level, but when viewed on a different spectrum, it would no longer be the case.

Some Majins can use healing magic too——This means apart from bonding with holy spirit, one has other channels to access 「Holy Magic」.

Yet most humans and Mamonos don’t know about this.

The power of faith——in truth is the heart to believe in miracle is the key to learning 「Holy Magic」.

No matter the character of the wielder, one’s firm faith would be transferred into power.
 
That is the secret truth behind this magic.

By the way, the Worshipers of Dragon could use 「Holy Magic」 because of their faith in MIlim.
Shuna explains calmly and told him everything she knew.

Adalman is shocked upon hearing this.
 
I——have I been mistaken? I’ve been betrayed into losing faith in the god Ruminas. That’s why I couldn’t use 「Holy Magic」 anymore…….

Adalman was betrayed by Ruminas. To be more precise, he was played by the higher-ups of the Ruminas sect.

He never knew the reason, not even until now. Perhaps they did it in fear of Adalman would climb to a position too high, or based on some other reason.

But the one thing he was sure is that the god Ruminas did not give him a helping hand.
It’s quite funny when I think about it. I was deceived by the 「Seven Celestial Saints」to contaminate the massive wave of undead causing calamity for the people……. And it turned out to be a trap. I accepted Gedora’s magic experiment then to have been revived in this twisted form.

Not knowing the other side intends to push him to the abyss of death, Adalman went to the edge of Great Jura Forest without any concern, the location where he resides today. There, massive amount of undead Mamonos and their Zombie Dragon leader awaited Adalman.

Adalman’s close ally and friend——Holy Templar Knight Albert fought with him alongside four other knights and an expedition army who all admired Adalman. Yet in the end they exhausted themselves in battle and died on this land.

Adalman died once. But at the time, his other friend Gedora casted the secret technique of 「Reincarnation」 on him to successfully revive him. However, the foul spirits of the land corrupted him and the curse of the dead bonded him. The reincarnated Adalman did not turn into human, instead he became an undead that looks like a skeleton.

Demon Lord Kazaream saw the talent of Adalman the undead, which is why he fell to where he is today.
   
「That is why I believe, you are not my opponent as long as you can’t use “Holy Magic”.」

Shuna asserts herself with these words, Adalman thus realizes he’s still in midst of battle.
 
「H-how? How do you know I can use “Holy Magic”?」

Adalman asks Shuna out of curiosity.

But Shuna responded coldly.

「Because the way you look. You wear white holy rope that only a high position priest could wear. You are a high level mage qualified to wear it, yet you aren’t even able to break this level of cursed bonds. Instead you complain it to your safe and act so soft of a man. You only wear this outfit out of your nostalgia for “Holy Magic”. I don’t need to be cautious against opponent like you.」
Her words were filled with disdain as if saying 「Why do you still act all high and mighty at this point.」
 
「——Ehh….. How dare you say these nonsense when I remain silent.」

Adalman becomes furious.
 
However, he’s not angry at Shuna but himself. His fury originates from his shock that someone suddenly pointed out his real thoughts that reflected how useless he has been.

On the other hand, his dismay that lasted for thousand of years have finally been cleared up. He feel much joy and smooth within his body.
「I pray to lord thy god. Grant me thy holy power and listen to my wishes——」
 
With the outburst of emotion, Adalman begins to chant.

Indeed. It is because my resolve is not thorough enough. My companions who admire me were turned into undead Mamonos and I couldn’t just leave them behind….. It was I who was naive. 「Undead Magic」 and 「Elemental-based Magic」 couldn’t purify undead Mamonos. But if I continue to pray in hope of casting 「Holy Magic」, it may actually…...
   
If anything, the reason why Adalman was trapped and bonded by this land was due to his companions.

They died on this land and became the cursed dead. Adalman couldn’t let him behind. This thought alone has bonded him with this terrain.

Now Adalman finally realizes how wrong he was.
He raises his two skeleton hands and draws out complicated spell patterns while reciting prayer to god.

These are curse spells, the proof being the complicated geometric shapes that emerged before Adalman.
 
Shuna, right? I don’t hate you. Moreover, you’ve helped me to clear my mind. I very much appreciate that. However, I can’t just commit suicide. So I’m sorry that you’ll have to come along with me to death——
   
Adalman apologizes to Shuna in his heart.
   
There are still many levels of highly imposing forces of Demon Lord Kazaream that bonds Adalman. That’s why even suicide is not allowed. But with that being said, it’s a different case to be killed by the remaining shock wave of the attack launched at the enemies.
 
He plans to kill Shuna as well as himself. In this way, his companions that have been affected by him could finally be set free…..
 
As of now, many layers of magical circles gradually unfold around Shuna and Adalman.

「——I call forth the destruction of all beings! “Disintegration”!」

「I was waiting for that! “Overdrive”!」

As soon as Adalman cast his spell, Shuna utilized her unique skill 「Analyzer」 to carry out「Law Manipulation」.

It resulted in the spirit particles gathered by Adalman to no longer be in his grasp and begins to go out of control.

「W-What? Your magicule possession is less than one tenth of me, yet you could overwrite my magic——!!」

Magicule and Spiritual particles all operate based on magic. In terms of overdrive magic, there is no other explanation but that Shuna’s magic ability is above that of Adalman.
   
In Adalman’s view, Shuna has not been a worthy opponent at all. Now he realizes again that he has misjudged.
 
「Very impressive. To reward you, I shall severe you cursed bond with this land!」
   
SHuna didn’t listen to him till the end as overflowing light begins to consume Adalman.

Shuna has exploited Adulman’s magic.

When confronted with Adalman who is a much competent use of Holy Magic than her, he holds sufficient power to purify this entire land. Shuna didn’t expect him to release the most powerful Holy Magic spell, but thankfully she knew the origin of that magic and overwrote it with ease.

On this land, where that shine of light is omnipresent, it consumed all undead Mamonos including Adalman and purifies them…...
 
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Hakurou and Souei come before Shuna.

「Oh well, I was trying to get a result early, but that Undead Knight is surprisingly skillful. Shuna-sama has saved my life.」
Adalman was defeated and the land was purified. The Undead Knight devolved to a skeleton swordsman and was rendered incapable of moving. It would seem that the Undead Knight is under the order of Adalman to cease combating.
 
Upon seeing his look, Hakurou knew that his duel has concluded.
   
It is a shame that he wasn’t able to come to a result against an opponent, long awaited by him, who would require Hakurou to fight with his real abilities. But right now protecting Shuna is the more important thing. Hakurou knew the priority of things and immediately went back before Shuna.
 
「No, I’m lucky that Hakurou is here. If it’s me, I won’t be able to defeat the Undead Knight. Souei as well, your opponent was an Undead Dragon yet you were able to win some time. Had that dragon been causing rampaged all over the place, we would not have been able to win this battle.」

「No, I couldn’t strike it down. I am deeply ashamed.」

Just as Souei said, the Undead Dragon was a strong enemy. Its wounds would recover immediately if they are not deep enough. Once you come in contact with its Youki, your mind would also be contaminated.
 
Souei was only able to retreat with several 「Clones」 operated at the same time. He should be praised however that he was able to stall the Undead Dragon that he has no way of beating.

That Undead Dragon was also defeated after Adalman’s fall. It maintained its shape through Adalman’s magicule, and was no longer able to maintain its body afterward.

Souei personally couldn’t accept the result, but surviving alone is a victory.

With the being said…..
 
The three look at each other awkwardly and sigh together.
「Speaking of which, if that Adalman fought us seriously from the start, we would have been killed. I was so mad that I may have overdone things.」
 
In fact, Adalman didn’t intentionally hold back or play any dirty tricks. If he truly intended to Kill Shuna and the rest, there must be other available methods.
   
Shuna saw through it and began he self-reflection.
「That’s right, we may have become boastful after gaining power.」

「Indeed. Rimuru-sama’s worries were warranted as he said that the situation of the battlefield may alter in an instant. I should have collected more intelligences.」

The three speak up and reflect for their arrogance.
 
But regardless, they were able to triumph.
 
Clayman’s headquarter has lost its key defending members.
   
But, things are not done yet. Shuna and the rest still have work to do.
 
They must take down Clayman’s castle and completely paralyze it.
   
The majority of people remaining in the castle are non-combatants who aren’t loyal to Clayman. These are sensible people who were hired by money and they don’t intend to resist.

The rest are mainly forced into bonds with Clayman due to all sorts of reasons. Shuna not only persuaded them, she also helped to release them for their curses. Only a while later were they able to take over the castle.
   
The Majins within the castle no longer posts a threat, Shuna’s party then begin to explore.

They’ve confirmed that Demon Lord Karion was not detained here. But the rest still wish to find evidence to get their hands on Clayman’s weakness.
 
As they are halfway through——
 
Shuna and the rest were exploring around as someone approaches to speak with them.
   
「——please hold your step.」
「Hmm? How is he still alive? Should we finish him?」

「Hold up, Hakurou. This person no longer wishes to fight us.」
   
The one came to talk was Adalman.
 
Hakurou, who doesn’t dare to let down his guard was unsheathing his knife as Shuna stopped him calmly.
 
「Shunan-sama——Please allow us to call you so. Thanks to your magic, we were able to leave this land, receive purification and survive. I believe this is fate in working, so we have one request to as of you.」
   
With a skeleton swordsman, Adalman, now an undead who has lost more than half of his power and kneeled and says.
「——What is it?」
 
Shuna asks out of suspicion. It seems they have run into trouble again.

「Yes, much appreciated. In fact I want to see the one who Shuna-sama has place her faith in. I’ve lost my faith and my power will never reverse back to that of my prime. I no longer believe in the god Ruminas. That’s why I now look for a new god to server.」
「「「..............」」」

Shuna and the rest were shocked and speechless.

「Sh-should I call him god? I respect Rimuru-sama, but not to the point of serving as a god!」

Shuna makes her bare response, but Adalman doesn’t mind. It won’t pose a problem to him so he continues to recommend himself.
 
「His name is Rimuru-sama, is it? What a splendid name, perfect for my new god. We may be fragile Undead Mamonos, but we’ll still be of use in some way. Shuna-sama, could you introduce and recommend us to Rimuru-sama.」
Unconditional, undoubting faith seems very different from respect for someone——Shuna was going to explain towards that end but gave up the thought seeing it may turn too troublesome.

It’s alright. When he sees Rimuru-sama’s true identity, he may quit at the sight of the challenge.

Upon recalling how Rimuru’s cute and soft look he usually displays, Shuna comes to that conclusion and decides to let things flow as it goes.

Adalman also seems very stubborn about his opinion. So persuading him would take too much time, it’d be better to just let him do what he wants.
   
As such, Adalman and the thousands of survivors that are the undead Mamonos under his rule——If anything, have all been dead——are now under Shuman’s command. The conquering of Clayman’s castle thus concludes here.