Hell Mode: Volume 4, page 12
Despair washed over him as he came up on the remnants of the third wall and saw how it was now swamped with monsters. Then he noticed that the city wall beyond was as yet unbreached. After heaving a sigh of relief, the scout changed course, deciding to circle around to the east gate. The main gate was shut tight, so he dashed through the small door at the side for gatekeepers. He continued running through the city at top speed, streaking down streets—normally filled with the hustle and bustle of life but now entirely deserted—as he made his way north. When he reached the north gate, he found the colonel in command of all the scouts waiting for him.
Without stopping to catch his breath, the soldier saluted his superior and shouted, “I’ve brought the magic stones!”
“Well done!” the colonel replied. “Now go to Lord Allen and ask for his instructions!”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
During this exchange, the other elves were still desperately fending off the monsters from the walls. Healers were busily running to and fro casting their spells, Spirit Magic casters were firing off spells one after another, and the archers never let their hands rest as they loosed arrows like there was no tomorrow.
Despite knowing there was a horde of monsters beyond, the scout did not hesitate when heading out of the north gate through the side door.
Phew, they actually made it. I was this close to literally running out of magic stones. Like, I only have about a thousand left! Yes, come here, this way!
Allen was using his Summons to maintain a safe area immediately outside the gate. When the scout stepped through, he could immediately see where Allen was.
“Thank you for making it! Please throw all the magic stones into this hole!”
Right in front of Allen was a square hole in the ground measuring roughly a meter each side and around a meter deep.
“I’m sorry?”
“Hurry, please!”
“Yes, sir!”
Despite not understanding what he was doing, the elven scout did as he was told and began emptying his bag into the hole.
“Do you know how many you were carrying, by the way?”
“Around 5,000, sir.”
“You’ve been an enormous help.”
“I...see.”
The man was worried about the magic stones overflowing from the hole, but for some reason, they disappeared practically as soon as they went in. It was almost as if the hole did not actually have a bottom.
Heh heh heh, and this is how the elves will be able to help restock my magic stones even though they can’t see my grimoire.
This hole had been dug by Beast F, a Summon that looked like a mole. Allen’s grimoire lay at the bottom of this hole, opened up to the Storage page. He had Moley dig this hole because the elves would not be able to tell where his grimoire was otherwise.
Now I can continue fighting. Oh, here come more scouts! Yes, yes! Come to me!
Allen gleefully checked Bird E’s vision and spotted ten more elves with large sacks running over. Thanks to their Extra Skills, they approached with unbelievable speed and were through the north gate in no time at all.
“We’ve brought the stones!” they cried, then followed Allen’s instructions to empty their sacks into the hole in the ground. The sight of the magic stones seemingly being swallowed up did raise questions in their minds, but they continued carrying out their duties in silence.
“Thank you so very much,” Allen said, commending these men who had risked life and limb for this strategy from the bottom of his heart.
Scouts often received very unreasonable orders; for example, they were the ones who had confirmed the total number in the force invading Rohzenheim as well as made out the direction they were heading. This was why it was often said that they were usually the first to die on the battlefield. When Allen learned all this at the Academy, he found himself understanding why Dagrah, the former scout whom he had fought during Cecil’s kidnapping, had come to hate the world and the nobles who served as his superiors and why he had decided to degrade himself by becoming an assassin.
In any case, I’m now back to over 50,000 Rank B magic stones, and there’s still more on the way.
It was not long after that the second group of scouts arrived. This time, there were more than thirty of them.
The tactic used by the Demon Lord Army this time was very simple: they would overwhelm the city where the queen was believed to be located with sheer numbers. That was it.
This was why Allen decided to keep things simple too. First, he and his party would spend three days and nights killing as many monsters as they could. When the Demon Lord Army passed them, they would then just circle back to the front again. As a result, the course taken by the enemy host was littered with the corpses of the 400,000 monsters killed by the No-life Gamers. It was a literal trail of death that stretched all the way to the north.
The task of the 3,000 scouts was to harvest the magic stones from these corpses. Then the one hundred with Extra Skills that further increased their Agility stat would gather up the stones and carry them over.
In short, Allen had asked to borrow troops to replenish his stock of magic stones.
Sure enough, there was now a steady stream of elves running to Tiamo, bringing with them bags and bags of magic stones. One by one, all one hundred of them emptied their bags into the hole in an unending stream.
I’ve more than 300,000 stones now. All right, time to get started.
Allen deleted all the Dragon B cards he had out at the moment to create new ones, then Summoned all twenty in one go.
“Doras, we’re ready. It’s time to go ham on Hellfire of Fury!”
“We’ve been waiting, Master!”
The dragons all flashed smug grins, then opened their massive jaws as if sucking in the air. Then a light several times more luminous than their Abilities gathered in their mouths before bursting forward the next instant in roaring billows of fire that turned almost a thousand monsters before them to mere ash. Their simultaneous breath attacks did not burn the enemy so much as they simply erased them.
Then Allen deleted the Dragon B cards and used Quick Summoning to call forth fresh Doras once again. Each Dragon B could only use its Awakened Ability once per day. This was why Allen was going to all this trouble, but this process burned through magic stones at an incredible rate. Now, however, Allen had more than enough to sustain this strategy.
“Let’s keep this up! Hellfire of Fury, FIIIIRE!”
“You got it, Master!”
Allen was consciously managing how many magic stones he was using based on the situation. During the first siege of Tiamo, his stock had gone down to around 1,000, so he had gone with the tactic of using Insect Bs to trap the enemy in a pincer attack. When delaying the force of a million, he had chosen to use more Dragon Bs in order to increase the pace at which his group was killing the monsters, and this had cost him around 20,000 magic stones per day.
Now, however, he could afford to go all out. Each time he Summoned a fresh batch of Dragon Bs, he spent 580 magic stones, which added up to around 50,000 per hour.
For the first time since the start of this battle, the elven side began pushing back the Demon Lord Army. The pace at which they were killing the monsters had finally exceeded the pace at which the monsters were rushing forward to attack.
Still perched on his Bird B, Allen slowly pushed forward, inviting monsters to enter the range of the Dragon Bs’ Awakened Ability. After a while, he finally retook the third stone wall. Soon enough, not a single monster was left standing north of Tiamo.
Allen called out to his companions, “There’s still about 100,000 that passed us on the sides. We’re circling around to the west now!”
“That’s right, this ain’t over just yet!” Dogora shouted back. His morale had been high throughout this entire fight.
The reason Allen chose to go to the west was because Spirit User Gatoluuga was on the eastern edge. He figured that the west side needed their help more.
“Th-They’re not human...” murmured one of the soldiers who had watched the No-life Gamers fight from atop the city walls. Even though he ought to have felt relieved now that the monsters were all dead, he found himself trembling instead. He had just witnessed a power beyond mortal understanding raze the Demon Lord Army to nothing in the blink of an eye. It had been a literal massacre.
It was not long after that the bells of Tiamo began to toll in triumph. The city had defeated an army of one million.
Chapter 8: Strategy Meeting (Part 2)
All in all, Allen had expended around 200,000 Rank B magic stones in the siege battle. Of the one million monsters that had marched on Tiamo, the No-Life Gamers had killed 400,000 over three days through their efforts to delay the Army, then an additional 400,000 on the day of battle. The remaining 200,000 had fled Tiamo and were now scattered throughout the land, entirely drained of motivation to fight and reduced to nothing more than mere beasts. It was no exaggeration to say that the second siege of Tiamo had ended once more in a resounding victory for the elves.
The feat was so shocking that it took some time for the generals just to come to terms with what they had heard in Allen’s report. Of course, this was extremely felicitous news that would raise the entire nation’s morale, and so it was promptly proclaimed throughout Tiamo and transmitted to Nest and the other cities through Allen’s Summons.
Even after night had fallen, cries of “Long live the Sovereign of Spirits!” and “Long live Her Majesty!” rang out across town. Just as before, Allen’s name and involvement was being kept under wraps, so all credit went to the Sovereign of Spirits for his miracle and to the soldiers who had put their lives on the line for the sake of their queen. Minstrels strummed their lyres as the elves danced and downed wine from wooden cups. For the first time in a long while, a semblance of normalcy had returned to the city.
In sharp contrast with the festivities outside, however, tension hung heavy in the air inside the queen’s audience chamber. The No-life Gamers, who were here to report on the results of the day’s battle and to discuss the next step, found themselves facing a very uneasy room.
Some of the generals were muttering among themselves.
“Th-They’re back...”
“Don’t be afraid. They’re on our side.”
“I kn-know that. But you weren’t on the walls. You didn’t see it with your own eyes. Their power doesn’t belong in the hands of an ordinary person.”
After a nice bath and a delicious meal, I can’t help but feel sleepy. Ah, the Sovereign of Spirit’s fast asleep as always. He’s even all splayed out with his belly wide open.
The flying squirrel was sleeping in the lap of the elven queen, looking as defenseless as a domesticated pet. Allen had done a double take before he remembered that this animal was the Sovereign of Spirits.
“You have done well yet again. On behalf of all the elves, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lord Allen.”
“Your words honor me, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, due to the urgency of the situation, I was unable to think of a more suitable strategy. I am relieved that we managed to protect Tiamo regardless.”
Seriously, it was super touch and go at times. Every part of the resistance effort had been stretched to the absolute limit. If the Demon Lord Army had attacked with a force of two million, we would have been done for. Thank god they decided to prioritize speed and didn’t build up their numbers any further. They thought one million would be enough, and they paid for that mistake in judgment.
Allen continued, “Of course, we won only because everyone worked together.”
Of the one million monsters, 800,000 had been killed by the Gamers. However, Allen fully understood that the elven scouts’ support and the teamwork of those manning the northern wall contributed in no small part to this victory.
On another note, I’m now Lvl. 63 thanks to the battle, but Deputize is still sealed.
Allen had been earning XP practically nonstop ever since he had arrived on the Rohzenheim continent, with the amount being incomparably higher than from dungeon delving in Academy City to boot. He had gained eight levels since his fight with Helmios at the tournament, back when he had been only Lvl. 55. Even so, the skill Deputize was still marked as “sealed” on his Status page in his grimoire.
“Now, what are you thinking of doing next, Lord Allen?” Grand Marshal Siguul asked from his position next to the queen.
The way Allen saw it, Rohzenheim was the elves’ country. As such, they should make their own decisions. However, there was no way to avoid answering a direct question.
“Before that, please allow me to first lay out our current situation. After today, we have officially killed more than half of the Demon Lord Army’s numbers.”
“That is so. The reports from our men did mention there are only 1,570,000 of them left now.”
“However, I highly doubt the Demon Lord Army will just back down after this. Rather, they’ll very likely direct their reserves our way and come up with a new tactic.”
The speed at which the Demon Lord Army had retreated from their first loss, regrouped, and launched a new attack remained fresh in Allen’s mind. If he had not dogged the retreating force himself as they headed north, he would have been caught completely unawares by how quickly they immediately turned back.
“What shall we do, then?” the queen asked.
Everyone else understood what Allen was capable of and also hung on to his next words.
“Our top priority should be to secure a position that can withstand even greater numbers than what we faced this time.”
Grand Marshal Siguul immediately caught on. “Are you referring to Castle Lapolka?”
“Yes, sir,” Allen nodded.
The elven capital, Fortenia, was surrounded by a massive mountain range with peaks that towered far above those in Allen’s previous world. And close by, nestled between summits so high that the common description “natural fortifications” was an understatement, stood multiple castles famous worldwide for never having fallen until the arrival of the Demon Lord Army.
One such castle, located ten days away from Tiamo by horseback, was Castle Lapolka. This was the target that Allen had set his sights on next.
“It is true that we would need a castle to withstand such a great host,” Siguul agreed thoughtfully. “However, all four major cities as well as other smaller settlements along the road to Lapolka are currently in the demons’ hands. Our reports indicate that there are tens of thousands of monsters still stationed within each city. Should we not take care of them first?”
“That’s a fair point. It’s true that 400,000 of the one million that attacked today had been siphoned from various occupied settlements, making those places undermanned. However, we currently do not have the time or resources to spend on retaking settlements not crucial to the war effort.”
Attention directed toward other cities would be attention that could have been focused on Lapolka. If even one of the four million reserve forces was added to the original attacking troops and they all came knocking before the elves could recapture Lapolka, then things would truly be over for Rohzenheim.
Grand Marshal Siguul mulled over Allen’s words. After a while, he looked up, his eyes shining with the awareness that he was making a choice that would decide the future of the country.
“You are right—it is time to attack and retake Castle Lapolka with all we have. We will gather all the soldiers on standby in Nest and the other cities to form an attacking force of 300,000.”
Wow, half of all their forces. That’s a lot. He really is going all in. “Thank you very much, Grand Marshal. How long would the process take?”
“With all the magic ships flying at max capacity, the force would be ready to begin its march from Tiamo in six—no, in five days.”
Five days before they set off, then about another ten days to reach Lapolka. So, fifteen total. Wait, no, they’ll definitely be attacked by monsters along the way, so it’ll take even longer. Looks like time is our biggest enemy right now.
Maneuvering armies took time. Even if they ignored all the other cities along the way, the elves would still need half a month to get to Lapolka.
Allen began racking his brains for ideas to shorten that time while replying, “Understood. In that time, my party and I will hunt down the monsters still near Tiamo. I’ll also think of a way to capture Castle Lapolka.”
The 200,000 monsters that had fled the second siege battle of Tiamo were now in small clusters scattered around the vicinity. Part of Allen worried about them bumping into the elven army and wasting their time, but a bigger part of him was thinking how convenient it was that the monsters were now in small units that were much easier to annihilate and harvest magic stones from.
Would it make sense to say that we’ll be killing two monsters with one stone? Hm...nah, it doesn’t work that way.
Distribution of the Magic Stones from the 800,000 Monster Casualties 400,000 went to Allen (of which 200,000 were expended during the siege itself)
200,000 went to Rohzenheim (of which 100,000 were used to power magic ships and 100,000 were exchanged for Blessings of Heaven)
200,000 were disintegrated by the Dragon Bs’ breath attacks
Allen figured that if he were to kill the fleeing monsters, he would make the elven army’s march that much smoother and add to his stock of magic stones. It was agreed that he would get to keep all the Rank A magic stones.
The boy turned to the Spirit B in the room and directed a message to her without speaking out loud. Ellie, I want three of you to infiltrate Castle Lapolka ahead of the main force and gather intel on the inside.
