A little before Riku and his group would defeat the Leader Species.
Kousuke and his companions, using their overly-cheating abilities (Kouhi and Mitsuki), accurately located and subjugated the Leader Species.
“…I feel pity for those who are seriously walking around to reach the Leader Species,” Floria muttered.
Kousuke could only offer a bitter smile in response to Floria’s remark.
This was because Kousuke and his group would repeatedly teleport towards Leader Species found by Mitsuki from the sky, quickly defeating them.
As Floria said, it was an overly aggressive method compared to adventurers who traveled on the ground.
Such reckless actions were only possible because Mitsuki, from the sky, intercepted approaching monsters as if they were mere birds.
Indeed, it was a method that could only be achieved with Mitsuki’s power.
As Floria said this with a half-astonished expression, Silvia’s face turned serious.
“But thanks to that, I think the defending side is making things easier, despite the Great Flood.”
As if proving her words, every time Kousuke and his group defeated a Leader Species, the monsters they controlled fell into confusion, and some even began to fight amongst themselves.
It was certainly effective, even if it was only a part of the group believed to be related to the Great Flood.
By the way, the reason the flood doesn’t completely stop when Leader Species are defeated is that while the control is lost, the monsters have already begun to rampage, and their movement cannot be halted.
The current common sense in this world is that the only way to stop the movement of a large number of monsters that have started moving is through subjugation.
However, to stop the movement of a large number of monsters without combat, it would be impossible unless beings like Monster Tamers with absolute power appeared.
Kousuke and his group, who were subjugating Leader Species using overly-cheating abilities, had already exceeded five in number.
Even after defeating this many, it didn’t seem like they had defeated them all, showing how truly massive this flood was.
“Perhaps this will be a Great Flood that will go down in world history,” Kousuke said. Floria nodded in agreement.
“It will undoubtedly be so. Although the exact number of Leader Species we defeated won’t be publicized, the number of monsters alone will be astronomical.”
“That’s true. And it’s probably not common for so many countries to be involved, is it?”
Historical assessment would take into account the results received by the defending side, so it was still unclear how it would be evaluated, but judging solely by the number of monsters, it would undoubtedly be in the top ten.
Considering this, the Central Continent, where floods occur with around a hundred monsters, could be said to be experiencing only small-scale events in terms of scale.
However, even the Central Continent experiences Great Floods, so there was no point in comparing them.
While Kousuke and his group were chatting leisurely, Mitsuki, who had been searching for Leader Species from the sky, descended.
“Hmm? Did something happen?”
“Yes. It seems the one we were waiting for has arrived,” Mitsuki replied, pointing to a spot in the sky.
The place where Kousuke and his group were was an open area in the forest, so they could clearly see in the direction Mitsuki was pointing.
And there, a monster with large wings was flying.
It seemed that the Dragon had clearly recognized Kousuke and his group and was heading straight for them.
“…A Dragon Leader Species? Floria, Silvia, what do you think?”
“It’s undoubtedly the ringleader of this Great Flood, or at least second in command.”
“That’s right. Conversely, it would be surprising if there were other Dragons.”
Floria and Silvia nodded in agreement to Kousuke’s question.
Kousuke and his group were searching for the Leader Species that was the cause of this Great Flood.
Once that was defeated, the well-balanced control they had would be disrupted.
After that, they would only need to defeat the scattered squads individually.
As expected of a Dragon, the considerable distance was closed in an instant.
During this time, Kousuke made a decision.
“Alright. Let’s try doing it according to the original plan. If it works, it’s a bonus, and if it doesn’t, it’ll just become our material, so that’s fine.”
As Kousuke spoke, his companions, who had been resting their bodies as they pleased, began to take a fighting stance against the approaching Dragon.
In the first place, the reason Kousuke and his group, despite wearing easy-to-understand masks, appeared in public was not solely to obtain materials from the Leader Species.
That was merely a pretext for those present at the meeting.
The true objective was to create a “hero” by taking advantage of the current commotion.
To put it more clearly, Kousuke and his group intended for Riku and the Flame Wolf to become the key figures who quelled this Great Flood.
They were able to defeat the Leader Species that appeared during the Great Flood, a monster that everyone thought could not be defeated.
If that happened, Riku and his group’s rank would undoubtedly be upgraded from A Rank to S Rank.
Conversely, by not doing so, they would create a situation where Crown would be hounded by other adventurers.
There were several reasons for doing this, but the primary objective was to expedite the establishment of Crown Branches.
If the importance of Crown spread with this flood, it would make establishing branches easier.
Not only that, but it also served to promote Kousuke’s original purpose in creating Crown: “to create an organization that spreads throughout the world to counter monsters.”
Conversely, Riku and his group could be considered human sacrifices for that purpose.
Of course, they intended to make all the necessary preparations.
Kousuke and his group planned to weaken the Leader Species and then send it towards Riku and his group. However, if they weakened it too much and it was defeated by other adventurers, it would be meaningless.
Conversely, if they sent it over in an injured state that Riku and his group couldn’t handle, it would also be meaningless.
They had to send the Leader Species to a prominent location with a delicate balance.
The preparations, in a sense, could be considered staged, but it wouldn’t be a major problem since Riku and his group would be the ones to defeat it.
After all, it was quite common for many adventurers to face a single monster, and when it was greatly weakened, for a “hero” to deliver the finishing blow.
Rather, without doing so, it would be impossible to counter monsters that possessed far greater power than humans.
Still, people called the one who delivered the final blow a “hero.”
After inflicting some wounds on the attacking Dragon, just when they thought it was enough, Kousuke and his group deliberately gave it an opening to escape.
Of course, the direction was where Riku and his group were subjugating monsters, and where many adventurers and soldiers were defending against the flood.
After confirming that it had gone in the planned direction, Kousuke immediately contacted Riku and his group.
“Riku, are you alright right now?”
Riku responded firmly to Kousuke’s call.
Furthermore, Riku mentioned that they had just defeated a Leader Species.
Kousuke, confirming that all preparations were in place, turned his gaze to Mitsuki and informed Riku about the Dragon Leader Species’ escape.
Whether this is called a grand farce or necessary preparation is left to the readers w
However, there is no doubt that the Leader Species that Kousuke and his group deliberately let escape is a monster that only Riku and his group can defeat.
At present, the strength of the Flame Wolf is outstanding.
Even so, Riku and his group could not defeat it in its fully energetic state, so Kousuke and his group made a slight modification.
Alternatively, if other people found out about this, it might come to be known as the “Trial of the Gods.”
