CH 517

Dettomorian stared quietly at the storage room door from which the three visitors had vanished.

'The ritual has already been performed.'

He knew that the long-held offering had already reached something, and that it had come to fruition.

It was a ceremony held in the hope of peace.

However, Dettomorian could not be certain whether the ritual had truly reached a power capable of bringing about peace.

And even if the outcome leads to peace, the process could not be peaceful.

If the ritual had reached a dark power, peace would come through a dark process.

If it had reached a benevolent power, peace would come through a benevolent process.

If the ritual was weak and had reached a weak power, it would be unable to bring about peace.

A shaman cannot know the process or the outcome.

All they could do was make offerings and perform rituals, just as shamans had done since ancient times.

Dettomorian recalled the abyss he had felt within Ellen Artorius.

How could he be sure that it was not the result of the ritual's influence?

It was entirely possible that the influence of the ritual had reached and ultimately taken hold within the hero.

The impact of the offering made by Dettomorian on the world was unknown, and nothing strange could happen no matter what the consequences.

The abnormally vast collection of spirits within Ellen, which could not have occurred naturally, may or may not have been created by Dettomorian's ritual.

A shaman knows nothing and can be certain of nothing.

All they can do is perform the ritual.

Dettomorian slowly rose to his feet and began rearranging the candles.

The ritual had already been performed.

He had seen something that might have been its result.

Now it was time for the next ritual.

A more intuitive and clear ritual.

"..."

A prayer for the lost souls.

A prayer that this miasma would not grow any larger.

This was one of the most common and important roles given to shamans since ancient times, long, long ago.

The Soul Calming ritual began.

—---

"One hundred...members."

These could be considered the finest elites of Edina.

Vampire Council mages.

Holy Order knights and priests.

And even a handful of powerful demons.

Exactly one hundred members.

One hundred and five, including the direct squad I personally lead.

They were divided into five units, each consisting of twenty members.

A Vampire Lord leads each unit.

And the direct squad that would accompany me personally.

My direct squad consisted of five members: myself, Liana de Grantz, Harriet de Saint Owan, Airi, and Olivia Lanze.

Unit 1, Eleris.

Unit 2, Lucinil.

Unit 3, Luvien.

Unit 4, Gallarush.

Unit 5, Antirianus.

Each unit was led by an Archmage with control over mobility.

Five Vampire Lords, one for each unit, capable of using Mass Teleport.

We would move separately in our units, securing the path for the Allied Forces.

"The main principle is one: when encountering the Allied Forces, absolutely do not engage in battle."

There was a high possibility of unnecessary conflict.

Our enemy was the monsters of the Gate. Fighting amongst ourselves would only weaken both sides and bring about negative consequences.

"Also, when engaging with the monsters, there's no need to fight recklessly. Keep in mind that our goal is not annihilation."

We cannot afford to lose forces while securing the route. There is no need for us to do everything.

Our goal is not to destroy the Gate on behalf of the Allied Forces, but to help them reach the Gate more quickly. The difference between the strength of humanity and ours is

Our goal is not to destroy the gate in place of the allied forces but to help them reach the gate as quickly as possible. The difference between the power of humanity and our own is still quite apparent.

We need to hasten the resolution of the gate situation.

By doing so, we can lay the foundation for the world to function properly once again.

We may not know what the ultimate outcome we must reach is.

But now, it is time for us to move towards the ending.

------

A massive army is, in itself, a massive consumer group.

An enormous amount of supplies is needed.

During the previous Demon War, the human army carried out large-scale supplies while installing warp gates.

However, now that warp gates can no longer be installed, and the continent is overflowing with monsters, maintaining supply lines has become impossible. Thus, most of the resource transportation relies on the mass teleportation of the great magicians.

While humanity's ability to meet supplies through mass teleportation alone is impressive, inevitably, the longer the army is in operation, the more likely it is to encounter limitations.

Therefore, if the war doesn't end quickly, there is a possibility that humanity's last army will wither and die, not due to the fight against the monsters, but of its own accord.

To end the war quickly, this expedition must end as soon as possible.

As such, we become the vanguard of the allied forces without them even knowing, clearing the path they must take. The allied forces will eventually realize that there is a vanguard they are unaware of.

Soon, high-ranking commanders of the allied forces, including Bertus, will also learn that we are the ones behind this vanguard.

Fighting amongst ourselves is foolish, so the commanders will try to avoid conflict as much as possible.

Of course, it is naive to think that there won't be any soldiers or knights who lose their reason and charge at me upon seeing me.

So, we must avoid contact as much as possible.

And one more thing.

We need information about the allied forces.

"Be careful, Sarkegaar."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Sarkegaar bows his head.

As always, Sarkegaar will infiltrate the garrison, gather information about the allied forces' march and detailed strategy, and pass it on to us.

It might be safe to contact Bertus directly, but that would be risky.

Not for me, but for Bertus.

If someone were to hear about it, the situation would become dire.

Also, since Bertus isn't directly commanding this army and usually resides in the Imperial Palace, our information gathering would inevitably be slow.

It's better to keep our enemies as enemies.

As always, Sarkegaar, an expert in disguise and infiltration, will relay information about the allied forces to us.

A spy not to hinder the enemy, but to aid them.

Leaving aside the reversal of roles, I can't even tell what's what anymore.

-Krrrkrrrk

We all watch as Sarkegaar transforms into a hawk and takes to the skies.

"Well, let's get started."

We have now left Edina and arrived on the continent.

We will occasionally return to Edina for maintenance, but we will be spending a significant amount of time in the field.

Until the gate situation is completely resolved.

It was going to be a long battle.

------

The allied forces are also utilizing a vanguard.

We don't know the specifics yet, but they are likely employing a vanguard made up of extremely powerful combatants, like Saviolin Turner and Ellen.

A unit that emphasizes mobility, including swift responses in emergencies, infiltration, and withdrawal.

If we encounter the vanguard, a headache-inducing situation may arise, so we will carry out our operations from a position further ahead than the vanguard of the allied forces.

There is no need for us to annihilate all the monsters on the march, as the absolute size of the allied forces is overwhelmingly large.

By handling just what we can, the amount of work for the vanguard of the allied forces will be significantly reduced.

There is no need to overdo it.

The five divided squads will spread out in their assigned directions, annihilating the monsters.

And, the five of us, including me who leads directly, will go even deeper.

The current target of the allied forces is the city of Rastran, a large city in the northwest of the continent.

However, before reaching that place, we must pass through numerous small and medium-sized cities, starting with the border region.

Destroying all the warp gates in the ruined territory of the once third-largest kingdom, Riselen, will end the gate crisis.

As it was too vast a territory to deal with, the empire had initially planned to restore this place as the last recovery point when Riselen fell.

Therefore, all the warp gates in Riselen's territory were untouched.

In other words, it's about reclaiming the entire territory of a nation that was occupied by monsters.

Rastran was the largest city among those located on Riselen's border.

There were a total of seven warp gates in the city.

However, monsters also come out of the gates in the small and medium-sized cities that we must pass through to reach that city.

In a way, the smaller cities are points to pass by, and the larger city is the main target.

"If the outskirts are like this..."

"Indeed..."

While the other squads were performing their missions, we were scouting at a much more advanced point.

A point so far ahead that whatever we did here would not affect the allied vanguard or our squads.

The vanguard of the vanguard, one might say.

We stared blankly at the monsters overflowing from the small warp gate in the border area of Riselen.

The distance was far, and we were hiding our bodies with Harriet's concealment magic while observing the situation from a high ground.

-Kwooooooo!

-Groooaaar!

Flying monsters filled the sky, while other monsters roamed the fields and the ruins of the city.

Their numbers were too many to count.

And the deeper we go, the more there will be.

Me, Harriet, Olivia, Airi, and Liana.

The range of what the five of us can do is much broader.

"Let's check them out one by one, see which is most effective. If we can suppress a small city by ourselves, there's no reason not to."

I look at Liana.

She could summon a lightning storm. And among us, no one can match Liana's wide-area killing ability. Even across the continent, there is no one like Liana.

Not even the magic of the Vampire Lords can match Liana's destructive power.

However, Liana has awakened a new ability, and the scope of that ability is on a different level than before.

Weather control.

It changes the weather on a regional scale.

Literally, it is a supernatural power that reaches beyond the horizon, and even further.

Moreover, this supernatural power is not manifested through the consumption of energy called magic.

"Hoo..."

With a calm expression, Liana quietly looks at the monsters boiling around her.

The ability has already been thoroughly tested.

It's not just about storms, nor is it limited to tornadoes.

Liana, who had taken a depression-inducing drug, began to manifest her power with a gloomy expression but confident eyes.

"It's going to get cold."

It's only the tenth month.

The date is too early for winter.

However, the clear blue sky soon fills with clouds, and the air changes.

Before we know it, white breaths start coming out of all our mouths.

The wind blows.

-Whoooooosh!

The wind soon turns into a fierce gust.

And gradually, flurries of snow mix with the swirling wind, and then heavy snow pours down from the sky, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead.

"It's... impossible..."

Harriet, wide-eyed, stood with her mouth agape, seemingly unable to believe what she was seeing.

A large-scale weather change.

A blizzard rages.

-Kiiiiiiiiaaa!

-Keeeeeeack!

Flying monsters crash as their wings break due to the sudden weather change and gusts of wind.

The wind brings down the flying monsters.

However, that's not the real deal.

Liana murmurs quietly in the rough gust with a stern expression.

"Let's see how many of them can survive without freezing to death."

Freezing and killing monsters that wouldn't withstand such extreme cold under normal circumstances.

That's the true power of this blizzard.