**Side: Ludia**
After transferring to the right flank using Traveling with Mako, my sister, and Lily Wish, I immediately dispatched the Antlion Princess who stood before me.
However, their numbers were extraordinary, and proportionally, there seemed to be many Princesses and Queens. If I let my guard down for even a moment, I’d be in danger.
“Out of the way!”
Saya-san, wielding a spear amplified by Earth and Wind attribute magic and enhanced for penetration with spiraling Water attribute magic, cut down multiple Antlions with a single strike. Yet, in this battlefield where friend and foe were mixed, she seemed to be having a hard time fighting.
“How many are there, seriously!”
“It’s just a rough estimate, but likely no less than 2,000. What’s more, there seem to be more than ten or twenty An and Catastrophe Species. If we’re not careful, even we could lose our lives in an instant.”
Saya-san’s estimated number made me grit my teeth. Demi-humans usually lived in groups, but even then, it was rarely more than a hundred. I don’t think the largest group ever confirmed reached 500. Yet, now there were over 2,000, and numerous An and Catastrophe Species among them. Even with sixteen Ancient Class members, defeating them all wouldn’t be easy.
“I shouldn’t have asked…”
“Instead of lamenting, defeat as many as you can. There are quite a few W-rank monsters too.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Eisen, a male P-rank Hunter from the Hyde Dwarves, admonished Charlotte-san, who was grumbling, as he swung his Blue-Gray Iron axe. Lily Wish, along with the sixteen members of the Union, had evolved, with Saya-san becoming an Ancient Rabito and everyone else evolving to High Class. However, including Saya-san, there were only twelve people present here. The remaining four were archers who provided support fire from the observation deck of the Beast Carriage while simultaneously defending the main camp.
“We could use archer support here too, but we can’t be too greedy.”
“It can’t be helped. We never expected things to turn out like this.”
As Frou, a High Undine, and Ulfy, a male High Ulfy, Volf, said, with W-rank monsters capable of flying freely in the sky, we really needed archer support. We were managing thanks to Flying and Scaffolding, but it was still a tough situation.
“I know! Hyaah!”
Following Frou, who was wielding twin swords made of Jade Silver and took down a Mantis Antlion, Volf also swept away a group of Beetle Antlions with his massive Blue-Gray Iron greatsword. Others were also defeating Antlions one after another, and even coordinating to take down Princesses and Queens, which gave us courage.
“Haaah!”
With a fierce cry, my sister imbued her Drag Sword with Ice and Earth attribute magic and slashed an Antlion Princess diagonally, ending its life. Saya-san’s spear, with Lily Wish providing support, pierced an Antlion Queen from the crown of its head.
I was also using Fire Ring Impact to defeat Antlions, regardless of whether they were An, superior, or other types, but their sheer numbers meant there was no end in sight. I wished I had developed a Unique Magic that could attack a wide area, like Yamato or my sister had.
“Get out of the way!”
“Eek!”
Saya-san swung her spear without regard for the Solemne soldiers, slaughtering Solemne soldiers along with the Antlions. Many fled in fear of Saya-san, but outside their escape routes, Antlions awaited, leading to the deaths of more and more Solemne soldiers, reducing their numbers. In contrast, the Allied Forces had their Normal Class members slightly withdrawn, focusing on fighting Antlions and Beetle Antlions, while the High Class members were advancing, taking down Mantis Antlions along with the Solemne soldiers. This was probably due to the presence of Ancient Class members, but it was hard to believe these were the Solemne soldiers who were once said to rival Amister’s Order’s Guild.
“Running headlong without looking and getting caught by Antlions, huh? Pathetic.”
“Leave them be. If they’re lucky, they might survive, but it’s not our concern beyond that.”
“That’s right.”
As Eisen and Saya-san said, this war was initiated by Solemne’s declaration of war. Saya-san and the others explained that the Antlion Empress leading the great horde was a response to the Solemne army gathered at Deseo, so they brought this upon themselves. Besides, even if they survived, seeing this battle would likely extinguish their will to fight, so they probably wouldn’t dare oppose us again.
But for now, I needed to think about myself rather than the Solemne army. I’ve probably already defeated over a hundred Antlions, nearing two hundred. The Antlions were also attacking the Solemne main camp, and their numbers were greater there. If I could defeat another two or three hundred, perhaps we could provide support there too? Mina was with the main body of the Allied Forces, but the number of Queens and Princesses was also higher there, so we needed to hurry and defeat Antlions to go to their rescue.
**Side: Rex**
After my partner, Muse, and I succeeded in slamming the winged Antlion Queen to the ground, we faced each other. During the previous Alliance, both Muse and I had fought the P-C Rank Monster Orc Queen, but this Antlion Queen was W-rank, making its Monster Rank P-W. At that time, thirteen High Class members fought desperately and barely achieved victory, but both Muse and I felt more at ease this time.
“You think you can fly away!”
As I drew its attacks, Muse slashed at the Antlion Queen’s wings as it attempted to take flight. Like insect monsters, their wings were translucent, but the W-rank wings, like those of the Winged Tribe, were made of magic, so minor wounds would regenerate quickly. However, regeneration during combat naturally consumed magic power, so we just needed to ensure it didn’t have the opportunity.
“Kyururururu!”
The Queen’s face contorted in anger as its wings were wounded, and it aimed the blade on its right arm at Muse.
“Shielding! Take that!”
However, Muse, blocking the blade with Shielding, swung her sword at its arm and severed it. My sword, Muse’s sword, and Rosemary’s swords were gifts from Yamato-kun to celebrate our marriage. Made of Lapis Laz, an alloy comparable to Divine Metal, they were sharper than Jade Silver swords and their magic flow was smoother, allowing them to fully handle our magic even after evolving to Ancient Class.
“Kyururaa!!”
With its arm severed by Muse, the Winged Queen shrieked and glared with eyes full of hatred.
“Too slow!”
The Winged Queen aimed the blade on its remaining left arm at Muse, but Muse deflected the blade and struck with the shield she held in her left hand. The shield was made of Jade Silver and was provided by the Order’s Guild. Since the shield could also be used as a blunt weapon, the Queen was blown all the way towards me.
Towards the Queen, I unleashed my Unique Magic, Plasma Light Blade, imbued with Lightning, Ice, and the Light attribute magic gained from evolving into an Ancient Human, bisecting it from the shoulder.
“That was easier than I expected.”
“Indeed. Our Arc Order’s Coats, and Muse’s Platinum Order’s Coats, were all remade through Emperor Reinhardt’s kindness, so that likely contributed.”
“I agree, but there’s no telling if there won’t be other Orders evolving to Ancient Class in the future, so I think it’s better to prepare a little more material.”
Muse’s concern was not entirely unfounded. My Arc Order’s Coat was remade using a Gryphon, and Marie and Muse’s Platinum Order’s Coats were remade using a Lesser Dragoon. Other Orders’ coats were made from Feather Drakes and Winger Drakes. Since there might be other Orders capable of evolving to Ancient Class besides us, I felt it would be better to acquire the materials in advance and have them stored at Amagi Castle. We could prevent materials from spoiling using Storage Bags, so it might be good for us to take the lead in acquiring them. However, the Gryphon being an M-rank monster and the Lesser Dragoon a P-rank monster presented a problem, as they were not easily obtainable materials.
“Let’s decide on that after this battle is over.”
“That’s true. The Antlion Empress… looks like that one is finished too. Shall we rejoin the main force then?”
“Let’s do that.”
Waving goodbye to Yamato-kun and the others who had finished their battles, Muse and I turned back.
**Side: El**
After Mako defeated the W-rank monster, and Rex-kun and Muse took care of the Antlion Queen, the three of us – myself, Yamato-kun, and Prim-san – plunged into battle against the remaining Antlion Empress.
“Shielding! And… take this!”
Yamato-kun, using Shielding to deflect the Antlion Empress’s attack, struck with the sword in his right hand. Yamato-kun was clad in a newly made coat crafted from Dragoon hide, and on his arm, he wore Magic Gauntlets that allowed him to use Knight Magic like Shielding. Yamato-kun didn’t use a shield, but as a O-rank Order, he could use Knight Magic. These gauntlets were originally standard Order equipment for when a shield was damaged, but since they enabled even Yamato-kun, who didn’t use shields, to use Shielding, he had the Union’s Crafters make them for him.
Caesar, also a G-rank Order, had also commissioned their creation at the Crafter’s Guild. Caesar uses a great axe, and he said these Magic Gauntlets were incredibly useful.
The Antlion Empress, whose stance was disrupted by the Shielding from the Magic Gauntlets, managed to block my attack with the blade on its left hand, as expected of a Demise Species.
“Haaaah!”
I swung my scythe down at the Antlion Empress. With its stance broken and its left hand occupied blocking Yamato-kun’s sword, even the Antlion Empress couldn’t evade my scythe and I succeeded in inflicting a large wound. I never thought I’d be able to wound a Demise Species.
“Yamato!”
At that moment, Prim-san charged in, wreathed in flames. Yamato-kun moved away as if accustomed to it, but the Antlion Empress couldn’t evade, and its left arm and left leg were burned to ash by the flames.
“Both of you, get back!”
Sensing an opening, I unleashed my trump card, the Unique Magic Scythe Edge Tornado. It was a magic that created multiple wind scythes using Wind and Telekinetic attribute magic and released them with a tornado. However, thanks to meeting Yamato-kun and Prim-san, I had improved Scythe Edge Tornado. The current Scythe Edge Tornado still created wind scythes, but it was able to freely control them using Accelerating Magic, and by layering Thunder and Fire attribute magic in the tornado, I had succeeded in boosting its overall power. This was the first time I was using it since evolving into an Ancient Harpy, but it was also the magic that defeated the Icequake Tiger and the Grand Deathwurm, so its power should be even greater than before and effective against Demise Species.
“Kyuraaa!!”
However, the Antlion Empress, after being hit by my Scythe Edge Tornado, escaped the tornado of fire and lightning, though its surface was scorched. Its body was burned in various places, and the wounds were not small, but I never expected it to escape so easily.
“A massive opening!”
But towards that Antlion Empress, a giant flaming spear attacked from the ground. It was Prim-san’s trump card, the Unique Magic Seraphim Penetrator. The Seraphim Penetrator, attacking from directly below, inflicted even larger wounds on its left side, which had already lost its arm and leg, but it could still move; what kind of body structure did it have?
“Finishing blow!”
Using Accelerating Magic and Scaffolding in conjunction, Yamato-kun approached the Antlion Empress with three-dimensional movements and swung his sword towards its neck. The sword struck the Antlion Empress’s neck precisely, separating it from its torso.
“As expected.”
“What are you saying? It was all thanks to El’s trump card.”
“It certainly exposed a large opening.”
It was a relief to hear them say so. This was my first time facing a Demise Species directly, but I certainly couldn’t have done it alone. Yet, Yamato-kun and Prim-san had fought Demise Species three times and defeated them all, so I could only call them amazing.
As I looked around, it seemed Rex-kun and Muse had also finished off the Antlion Queen. The Antlions on the right flank also appeared to have been mostly annihilated. Although the number of Antlions heading towards the Solemne main camp was greater, there still seemed to be Queens and Princesses there, so we needed to hurry and rendezvous with the main force.
However, now that we had succeeded in defeating the Demise Species, the burden on the Allied Forces would undoubtedly be reduced. If we quickly defeated the remaining Queens and Princesses, the casualties should be minimized. Honestly, I wanted to rest today after the mental strain of fighting a Demise Species, but let’s give it one more push.
