Hell Mode: Volume 4, page 11
“What’s the point of doing that in this situation?!”
He was about to add, “Are you right in the head?!” but the queen cut him off with a firm command to “do whatever Lord Allen says.” The colonel looked around to find everyone glaring at him as if also telling him to just shut up and obey. In the first place, the scouts were often not informed of the big picture of the situation. And so, without any other choice, the colonel bowed his head.
“I understand. Order received.”
Another general suddenly suggested having Gatoluuga, the Spirit User, accompany the No-life Gamers. He argued that, with Rohzenheim’s most powerful fighter at their side, their plan would have a higher chance of success.
The problem with that, however, was that Gatoluuga had no experience fighting alongside the Gamers. He would have a much easier time—and his abilities were far more suited for—staying behind to help with Tiamo’s preparations. And so Allen politely declined the idea, and it was decided that Gatoluuga would remain in Tiamo.
The elves then quickly sprung to action. Word of the approach of the massive host was immediately sent to Nest. While Tiamo readied its refugees for evacuation, Nest rushed to get its magic ships operational and began sending its soldiers over.
◇ ◇ ◇
After grabbing a few hours of sleep, the No-life Gamers set off from Tiamo once more. Just like the day prior, Allen was riding a Bird B with Cecil, sitting face-to-face with her so he could continue making Blessings of Heaven.
As usual, the monsters had started marching at daybreak. As the sun started climbing, the Demon Lord Army appeared along the northern horizon, eventually covering the entire earth like a massive, squirming stain.
“There’s...a lot of them,” Cecil muttered, her voice slightly shaking.
“There sure are,” Allen replied, still so focused on his work that he did not even bother glancing down at the host below.
“Aren’t you scared?”
“Hmm... Nah, not really.”
To be exact, Allen was not afraid of himself dying, but he was extremely afraid of his friends dying. He was aware that he had been asking them to really put themselves out there lately, but everything had been within what he believed was everyone’s safety margins. Today’s plan, however, might actually be toeing that line.
Cecil’s face softened at Allen’s answer. “Thank you, Allen.”
“For what?”
“For telling us everything. I didn’t think you ever would.”
Starting all the way back when Allen was her manservant, Cecil had always known that there was something about him that was different from other people.
“Well, y’know...you shouldn’t thank people before a fight.” We can do without you jinxing things, thank you very much.
“What’s that mean?”
“Ah, it’s something from my past life.”
“Tell me more about that too sometime.”
“Sure. To do that, we gotta get through this first, though.”
Allen now took a good look at the Demon Lord Army. Honestly, them taking the musclebrained approach of throwing bodies at us without any tactics whatsoever is literally the worst strategy they could have chosen.
If the enemy had come in a steady trickle, then Allen’s side could have whittled down their numbers slowly. If they had remained spread out over several cities, then Allen’s side could have killed off a lot more of them. In fact, Allen’s original plan had been to slowly work his way through all the occupied settlements and fortresses and clear them one after another. Unfortunately, the Demon Lord Army must have realized this; after their losses at the siege of Tiamo, they had immediately changed their approach.
It’s clear that one or two million dying makes no difference at all for the Demon Lord Army. The only thing they care about is wiping Rohzenheim off the map.
The tactic of launching an assault with overwhelming numbers was, due to its simplicity, extremely hard to deal with. As Allen continued monitoring the monsters, a black mass could be seen approaching from the south. It looked tiny compared to the Demon Lord Army, but this group was composed of around 10,000 individuals.
“Looks like the Lil Antsys have arrived,” Cecil commented.
“Yep. Time to get started, then,” Allen replied.
Right behind the Lil Antsys were the thirty original Antsys. All of them had marched through the night to arrive here at this time. They continued charging straight at the Demon Lord Army, their speed showing no signs of slowing.
Okay, so I’ve got thirty Insect Bs out right now and seventeen slots remaining.
The pages of Allen’s grimoire flipped furiously as he took stock of the situation with his Summons. He had already done everything he could to maximize the number of slots he could use while fighting. Of the sixteen Summons that had been sent to fight on the Central Continent, eight had already been killed. The remaining eight were still there, supporting Giamut’s forces from the shadows.
“Cecil, aim for that group at the very front, if you please.” Since the fastest ones are in the lead. We gotta slow them down as much as possible.
A heat haze sprang up around Cecil’s body, then she thrust out both her hands. “Petit Meteor!”
A red-hot boulder enveloped in flames slammed into the earth, incinerating the cluster of monsters at the head of the procession. However, it was not long before more monsters appeared beyond, breaking through the cloud of dust as they trampled the hellish landscape created by the impact. The flames that still blazed on the ground were quickly stamped out, having made no impact whatsoever on the direction that the Army was heading in.
“Okay, we’re going down to fight in person!”
“All right!”
The Bird Bs descended, taking up position behind the Insect Bs. They never quite landed, though, opting instead to fly at extremely low altitude so they could pull up at a moment’s notice.
“Dora, Cerby, Belly, Finny, Genbu—come out!”
Ten Dragon Bs, four Beast Bs, and one each of every Fish-type Summon appeared. This left Allen with literally zero free slots—the way he saw it, this was the best composition he could bring out in light of the current situation.
All the Summons aside from the Fish-type ones immediately charged into the Demon Lord Army as if diving into the mouth of an unstoppable flood.
Come at us seriously! We’ll destroy everything you’ve got!
Allen had come to this world because he was sick of games with the difficulty level dialed all the way down. The scene before his eyes now, however, reminded him of the days he spent annihilating the enemies that filled his screen. His head raced with ideas to kill as many monsters as possible as he suppressed the sense of euphoria coursing through his body. After all, if they failed to kill enough monsters here, the queen and residents in Tiamo would be the ones getting killed instead.
And so the Lil Antsys dived right in, the numbers they had accumulated over several days slowly but surely getting whittled down. Even when they were attacked, they showed no hesitation at all. Similarly, Dogora and Krena brandished their weapons fiercely, killing every single monster within reach.
“Krena, Dogora, make sure you use the Lil Antsys as walls to take the damage for you!”
“Yep, I know!”
“Got it!”
The two vanguard fighters fell back as Allen instructed and adopted positions behind the giant insects’ carapace. At the same time, Volmaar, Cecil, and the Dragon Bs took care of the flying enemies. Even so, the million-strong host continued its relentless march, paying no attention whatsoever to the Gamers.
As I thought, they really are ignoring us.
“Forget about the monsters heading to Tiamo for now and focus solely on killing the monsters before you! We’ll move to the front again a little later!”
“Are y’all running from us?! Huh?! I’ll kill every last one of you!” Dogora howled at the monsters turning their backs on the Gamers to continue heading toward Tiamo.
“Calm down!” Allen shouted before his friend could break formation to charge the other way. “Don’t get swallowed by the heat of battle!”
It was clear that the Demon Lord Army had made a conscious choice to pay the No-life Gamers no mind at all. After killing the monsters that they had been engaged with, Allen’s group flew back to the front again to repeat the process, desperately trying to thin out the fastest monsters so as to slow the Army’s approach toward Tiamo.
＊ ＊ ＊
Three days had passed since Allen and his companions left Tiamo. The sun hung high in the sky around the ten o’clock position. There was still no sign of the enemy host that was supposed to have arrived the day before. The No-life Gamers’ delay tactics had paid off.
During the preceding three days, the magic ships had been running at full capacity. Thanks to this, the soldiers stationed in Tiamo now numbered 300,000. The four walls of the city—each five kilometers in length—were fully manned.
Three more walls had been hastily erected to the north of the city, wider in width than the city’s. These makeshift ramparts reached five meters high but did not provide very sturdy footing, being made of rocks stacked so haphazardly that the structures looked like tetrapod coastal defenses. These walls, too, were fully manned, with everyone holding their Spirit Magic and bows at the ready and looking very tense.
Before long, smoke went up in the north—a company of the scouts temporarily under Allen’s command had been ordered to their usual duty of keeping lookout, and they had just used their Signal Fire skills. The Demon Lord Army was here.
“The time has come! Men, to positions! Follow the strategy! Third wall, ready your attacks!”
“SIR, YES, SIR!”
Slowly but surely, a rumbling filled the air and the ground began to quake, making the stones clatter against each other. The idyllic scenery of Rohzenheim was soon trampled beneath the feet of the countless monsters.
“THEY’RE HERE! PROTECT HER MAJESTY!”
“RAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
Arrows rained down on the monsters, but they continued their charge forward. When the front line crashed against the northernmost wall, the structure shook violently and crumbled in some places. Even though each stone was more than a meter long, the Rank B monsters still proceeded to dismantle the wall. The elves frantically retaliated with arrows and Spirit Magic, but they were nowhere close to killing the monsters fast enough.
“Retreat! Men, retreat!”
Deciding that this wall would not last any longer, the general in charge gave the order to fall back. The troops returned to the city and joined those already on the walls who were making whatever preparations needed to continue fighting.
Eventually, the second northernmost wall fell as well. These structures had been erected using every last drop of MP the elves possessed, and now those on the city walls could do nothing but bite their nails and look on as everything got torn down. Was this the end of Rohzenheim? Was there no more hope? Despair spread throughout the ranks as they witnessed the overwhelming power of sheer numbers.
When the fighting reached the final makeshift wall, a massive griffin flew down and stopped before the commanding general. On its back was a black-haired teenage boy, who said, “Looks like they’ve already started. Maybe staying behind to finish off that last group was a bit too greedy of us.”
“The monsters haven’t actually reached the city yet, though,” the girl riding beside him replied.
Allen turned to quickly update the generals stationed between the city walls and the makeshift wall. “We’ll be joining the fight now. We’ve already killed 400,000, so there are only 600,000 more to kill and we win this. Our aim is to stop the monsters from making any more headway. Please provide cover fire.”
“I...see. However—” The general was about to say something, but Allen was already gone.
Okay, I have a total of fifty available card slots right now and only 30,000 Rank B magic stones left. I guess this will have to do.
Even though Allen’s stock had ballooned up to 130,000 stones after the first siege of Tiamo, it was now back down to only 30,000 after using them for all the Summons and Blessings of Heaven he had made.
“Antsys, Doras, Cerbys, Belly, Finny, Genbu, Hawkins! Come out!”
Twenty Insect Bs, twenty-two Dragon Bs, four Beast Bs, one each of the Fish-type Summons, and one Bird E appeared all at once. This was the best way Allen could think of to use all fifty slots right now. Immediately, the Insect Bs used Spawn and began arranging their Lil Antsys’ formations.
While all this was going on, the monsters finally broke through the final rock rampart and started marching on the city walls. The elves who had been manning that last wall rushed back into the city to bolster the forces on the northern wall.
Allen was not sure whether the frenzied monsters could even understand human language, but he still addressed the monsters. “You’re hungry, right? Since your side apparently doesn’t know how to set up a supply train. Oh wait, that can’t be right. Ah, so your superiors chose not to set one up...”
These monsters had barely had any food at all for at least three consecutive days and nights. The lack of supply lines meant these monsters were being treated as disposable fodder. It was clear just how little they were worth in their superiors’ eyes.
“THEY’RE HERE! ARCHERS, SPIRIT MAGIC USERS, FIIIIIIRE!!!”
“RAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
The moment the Demon Lord Army burst through the last makeshift wall, the elves along the top of Tiamo’s north wall began unleashing their attacks. However, this did nothing to stop the monsters’ charge, and they continued closing in on the city wall. It was not long before they were within a hundred meters.
Here’s to hoping my backup arrives in time!
Upon seeing the last of the soldiers evacuate safely from the final wall, Allen shouted, “Doras, use Fire Breath!”
In response, the twenty-two Dragon Bs began reducing swathes of monsters to ash.
“Cecil, can you land a Petit Meteor all the way north of the third wall? Any closer and the city itself might get damaged. Our goal is to hold the monsters back until the last elf makes it through the city gate.”
“You got it. Petit Meteor!”
Far off in the distance, a gigantic, flaming boulder came crashing down. A heavy boom and the screams of monsters filled the air, but more soon took the places of their fallen monsters-in-arms.
Allen’s force—which included the No-life Gamers, Dragon Bs, Insect Bs, and Lil Antsys—did whatever it could to hamper the Demon Lord Army’s advance. Their current formation was doing a good job protecting Tiamo’s northern wall, but they could not cover enough area lengthwise, meaning there were monsters getting past on their left and right. The sole silver lining was that Allen had at least had the foresight to tell the elves to station more men on the east and west walls.
I’ve got to use more Doras, or the east and west walls will fall first.
The rapidly evolving situation forced Allen to change up his strategy on the fly. His original idea was to make up for the difference in numbers with Lil Antsys, but at the end of the day, they only had the stats of a Rank B monster, so it took them much too long to kill the enemy, which were evenly matched at Rank B. They were great for situations where the Gamers could take their time and slowly work through an enemy force, but not so much under these particular circumstances.
Through the eyes of the Bird E Allen was monitoring the entire battlefield with, he noticed the Demon Lord Army making contact with the eastern and western ends of the north wall and the elves putting up a desperate resistance.
Oh! The Spirit User’s also fighting!
Gatoluuga was standing on the eastern end of the north wall, fighting with the help of what looked like a floating stuffed doll and a fairy with exquisite wings. The pace at which he was finishing off monsters more than validated his title as Rohzenheim’s strongest fighter.
Oh hey, it’s my first time seeing a spirit— Or not. Right, Rohzen’s a spirit too. Okay, focus. Ugh, I’m burning through my magic stones so quickly. For now, I should probably replace a few Antsys with Doras.
Each Dragon B required twenty-nine Rank B magic stones to make. What’s more, the fewer Insect Bs—and by extension, the fewer Lil Antsys—there were, the more attacks that would be redirected to the Dragon Bs. And every time a Dragon B got done in, Allen had to use more magic stones to replace it. However, what was most important now was the pace at which they were killing the enemy, so he decided to place his bets on Dragon B, which could use its Ability with no limitations.
As expected, the monsters had learned to focus on the dragons, and Allen needed to continuously make more. However, right before each one died, Allen made sure that it used its Awakened Ability first. To go down without ever using Hellfire of Fury would have been an enormous waste.
The more Allen expended stones, the more monsters died. However, the fact that the Dragon Bs were dying so quickly also spoke volumes about just how powerful these enemies were.
I have to take my hat off to them. At this pace, I’m gonna run out of magic stones in no time.
“Krena and Dogora, focus on the Rank A monsters! Cecil, Volmaar, Doras, Antsys—the Rank Bs are yours!”
“Sure thing! We got this!” Krena’s cheerful answer gave Allen a modicum of relief.
The legion of Rank B monsters was steadily being culled by Cecil’s magic and Volmaar’s arrows, with the Doras and Antsys providing support however they could. After the Summons exhausted the Rank A monsters, Krena and Dogora then summarily finished them off.
My magic stones won’t last me another thirty minutes, let alone an hour. Damn, and I thought my plan would work.
Just as Allen’s stock plunged below 5,000, the Bird E in the sky noticed an elf running toward Tiamo parallel to the monsters, carrying a large sack over his shoulder. His entire body was enveloped in a heat haze, indicating that he was using his Extra Skill.
OH! THEY’RE HEEEERE!
The elf had asked himself why he was doing this. Rohzenheim was in crisis right now, and he could not understand how his orders contributed to the battle in any way. As a scout, he would not have even minded if he were told to infiltrate one of the towns taken by the Demon Lord Army to gather intel. And if it led to protecting the life of his queen, he would even give up his own life without complaint. That said, his superiors’ orders were absolute. Despite feeling qualms about what he was doing, he had indeed filled a bag to the brim as he had been told and ran all the way back to Tiamo.
