Hell Mode: Volume 4, page 14
Neftira waved his hand dismissively at Yagof’s theory. “It’s impossible for there to be a Tamer capable of overwriting His Majesty’s Monster Subordination, no matter how superior their Talent may be. And if the elves had a Grand Spirit User with them, we wouldn’t have been able to get this far to begin with.”
Judging by the name, “Monster Subordination” must be an unbreakable contract—a curse, maybe?—that the Demon Lord has with all the monsters in this world. Looks like they’re really confused why my Summons, which they think are monsters, are fighting against them instead of with them.
Glaster continued listening to Neftira and Yagof exchange theories with his brows drawn together in a deep scowl.
“Here you go, my lords.”
Allen had told Ellie to take her time pouring the tea so as to gather as much intel as possible, but it would seem suspicious if she were too slow. When the timing seemed right, she set cups down in front of each of the three demons.
Seems like they know a lot less about me than I had thought. Well, that is why we’ve made it a priority to first take down all the eyeball bats at the start of each battle.
It was Volmaar’s duty to shoot down the bats, and Allen had never seen him miss a single one within his range of a kilometer. Even so, there had been times when the party had landed in order to fight the Army’s monsters in person, so Allen had expected at least some information about him to have leaked. Perhaps their thoroughness in wiping out monsters for the sake of farming magic stones had played a huge part in this.
“So what you’re basically saying is that, in the end, we know nothing!” Glaster roared. It was clear to him that they still had no idea why they had lost and that the conversation was simply looping around meaninglessly.
The Demon Lord Army had swiftly shifted tactics after their first major loss, coming back almost immediately with the one-million-strong host. This had led Allen to suspect that the demons had a spy among the elven generals or Elders who was leaking information to them. For all he knew, the reason why the demons moved so quickly was because they had been alarmed by the healing that the elves had suddenly gained access to. Given all this, one goal of this infiltration mission was to also determine the identities of any such moles. As it turned out, however, his fears had been unfounded.
Even the weakest demons were the equal of Rank A monsters, with some being closer to Rank S. The total stats of a Rank A monster were usually within the range of 3,000 to 6,000, meaning that underestimating the demons would usually end terribly.
As Allen became occupied with his thoughts again, Neftira turned to give Ellie a better look. “You’re a new face. What’s your name?”
Without faltering in the slightest, the Spirit B gave the name that Allen had assigned her. “It’s Ellie, my lord.”
“I see. What do you think, Ellie? Why do you think our army of one million lost?”
“I cannot presume to know. But if you want my conjecture...”
“Mm? You have one? Sure, more input can’t hurt.”
“Perhaps the Hero from Giamut has come?”
“No, that’s impossible. He’s currently on the Central Continent. The two million sent to Giamut were meant to keep him there, after all.”
Ellie’s suggestion was immediately denied by Neftira, who then turned to Glaster as if looking for confirmation. The older man nodded without saying anything.
Interesting, this confirms that they’re in communication with the forces on the Central Continent somehow. Okay, Ellie, now see if you can prompt them to talk about their next strategy.
“Then how about this, my lords: I have heard that Rohzenheim has access to recovery items that they call elven elixirs. What if they are using these elixirs to bring their troops back from the verge of death, and we, not knowing this, lost due to letting our guard down?”
Neftira crossed his arms. “Elven elixirs, huh... Yagof did mention that just now.”
“I did, huff,” Yagof confirmed. “The enemies were obviously too numerous, huff. If their wounded did not return, they would not have been able to put up a fight, huff.”
“If that conjecture is correct, they might have even more of these elixirs on hand.” Neftira rubbed his chin. “The same strategy might fail again next time.”
Glaster nodded again, then spoke up. “Naturally. That is why Lord Rehzel has ordered that we attack both over land from the north and from the sea to the south next.”
So they changed up their tactics again. And this time, they’re even coming from the sea... Ellie, try to get more out of them without raising their suspicions.
With the tray in hand, Ellie stepped back and took up position next to the door, acting like a maidservant. The demons continued their conversation having already forgotten about her.
“From the sea, is it?” Neftira asked. “As in, the army will be riding on the backs of monsters that can swim?”
“That’s right. At the southernmost tip of the continent is a port city named Nest—that’s where the majority of the elves have evacuated to. Lord Rehzel’s instructions were to take that city first to fill the army’s stomachs, then to march north.”
The Demon Lord Army apparently also had tools that they were using to maintain constant contact between Fortenia and the Army’s headquarters. According to Glaster, it was about time for headquarters to decide whether to send the reserves to Rohzenheim or to the Central Continent, the latter of which was putting up a fierce resistance despite supposedly losing their elven healers.
The Army did want to push further into Giamut, but they had ultimately decided to prioritize Rohzenheim, as they had already finished conquering more than half the country. Consequently, reserves would be sent to bolster the war effort here in order to launch a pincer attack, striking the northern front and Nest at the same time. By now, almost everyone who had been displaced by the war were gathered in the one city, bringing its population to around two million. If the monsters managed to take that city down, they could feed on the elves as food, reducing the burden to create a supply train for the force.
So they’re attacking from two different directions this time... Well, as they said, they realized just throwing more bodies at us isn’t good enough. This strategy would also be effective if their other guesses, like the elves having a Grand Spirit User, were true.
Even if the elves had possessed a particularly powerful fighter, this fighter still would not be able to be in two places at the same time. Allen was surprised that the Demon Lord Army already had a new strategy so soon. He felt very keenly aware of the fact that he was facing off against enemies whose Intelligence was in the thousands.
Ellie, continue staying with these monsters. Serve them while gathering whatever information you can.
“Your will is my command,” the Spirit B murmured under her breath.
＊ ＊ ＊
This whole time, Allen had been chasing down groups of the monsters that had fled into the countryside around Tiamo. He was now over ten kilometers north of the city.
“Hmm, maybe we really should ask the elves to gather the magic stones instead of doing it ourselves.”
“Because we don’t have time?”
“Yeah. The Demon Lord Army’s already come up with a new plan.”
Standing next to 20,000 monster corpses, Allen proceeded to share what he had just learned with the rest of his companions.
Being the first to comprehend the situation, Sophie replied via a Summon, “You mean to say that the demons at Castle Lapolka are commanding all the monsters currently in Rohzenheim?”
“That’s right,” Allen confirmed. “However, there’s apparently a Demonic Deity in Fortenia as well. And he’s supposedly in very close contact with the chain of command over on the Forgotten Continent.”
“Well, are the demons strong?” Dogora asked. That was all that mattered to him.
Judging based on the information he currently held, Allen replied, “We were told at the Academy that demons are roughly as strong as Rank A monsters, and that seems about right. The big boss called Glaster, however, is probably quite a bit stronger than the other two.” Of course, Allen also noted that all he had seen Glaster do was drink tea and complain, so there was no way to know for sure.
“And you mentioned there being a Demonic Deity too?”
“Yep. His name is Rehzel, and he’s probably the highest-ranked commander for the forces attacking Rohzenheim.”
As she listened to the conversation and stared at all the corpses, Krena dejectedly said, “I couldn’t do it this time either.” The fact that she was still having trouble fully activating her Extra Skill was such a shock to her that none of what Allen had just said registered in her mind.
“Krena, you can definitely do it. Believe in yourself,” Allen replied.
“But I’ve already tried so many times.”
“Don’t worry about that. You can definitely do it. Who decided that you can’t?”
Looks like she’s really struggling with it. But it is true that Krena still hasn’t drawn out more than half the true worth of her Extra Skill. Once she actually masters it, it should make her as strong as the Hero in his natural state.
Once again, Allen took out his grimoire and compared Helmios’s and Krena’s Statuses.
* * *
Helmios’s Stats (Status + Class Skill Bonus + Equipment Bonus)
Attack: 10,400 (2,400 + 3,000 + 5,000)
Endurance: 10,400 (2,400 + 3,000 + 5,000)
Agility: 8,400 (2,400 + 3,000 + 3,000)
* * *
Krena’s Stats With Limit Break Active (Status + Class Skill Bonus + Limit Break + Equipment Bonus)
Attack: 10,200 (2,400 + 1,800 + 3,000 + 3,000)
Endurance: 9,500 (1,700 + 1,800 + 3,000 + 3,000)
Agility: 8,400 (1,600 + 1,800 + 3,000 + 2,000)
* * *
Krena was wearing two rings that each gave her +1,000 Agility. When she activated Limit Break during the tournament at the Academy, she seemed to have gotten nearly as strong as the Hero. If Sword Lord Krena and Hero Helmios were able to fight on equal footing with each other, Krena would probably have the upper hand thanks to her automatic healing.
“I can’t use my skills at all!” Krena cried. “My mind goes all blank and— Gyuuu!”
Allen interrupted Krena’s attempt at describing what it was like with Limit Break by pulling her cheeks. “Listen—who decided that it’s impossible to use skills when using Limit Break? Was it Elmea, the God of Creation? Or was it you, Krena?”
“M-Me, I guess?”
When Limit Break was activated, Krena would go completely berserk, cutting down anything that approached her. However, all she was doing was swinging her weapon around with normal attacks that relied solely on her sheer strength. This was nowhere near as powerful as Helmios, who had been able to almost slay a Rank B Stone Summon with a single attack. If Krena could learn how to use skills in her Limit Break state, it would make her twice or thrice as powerful.
“Don’t limit yourself. You definitely can use your skills!” Allen said once more, still playing with Krena’s cheeks.
For now, I have no basis, but I’ll continue encouraging Krena to keep at it. We do have a Demonic Deity battle waiting for us, after all.
“Okaaay. Thank you, Allen. I’ll keep trying!”
“Good. You don’t have that many tries, since you can only use it once a day. Krena, it’s time for some training from hell!”
“Roger that!” Krena replied cheerfully, using a response from Allen’s previous world that he had taught her.
“There they go again.” Keel and the rest of the Gamers sighed wryly. Dogora, as the only one who had yet to activate his Extra Skill, tightened his grip on his ax without a word.
Chapter 9: Assault on Castle Lapolka
“Is this everyone?”
“Indeed. We did as you asked, Lord Allen.”
On the fourth morning after the second siege of Tiamo, the No-life Gamers returned to Tiamo to regroup with the elven forces that would be marching on Castle Lapolka.
Thanks to the Spirit Bs, Allen knew that the Demon Lord Army was sending all four million reserves to Rohzenheim. Part of the forces were circling around south to attack Nest and then punch their way through northward, while the rest would simply be marching southward over land. The former group was already on its way. Neither Nest nor Tiamo were equipped to deal with the numbers that they would be facing. Given all this, seizing Castle Lapolka was of paramount importance.
Even though every battle Allen had participated in since coming to this continent had ended as a victory for the elves, the Demon Lord Army still kept the momentum of the war firmly on its side through its overwhelming numbers and responsiveness in tactics.
Before, the elven generals had told Allen that they needed five days to assemble a force of 200,000 elven soldiers and that the force would then need ten more days to reach Lapolka on foot—but even that would take far too long. Additionally, once they succeeded in taking back the fortress, they would still require more time to fully restore its defensive capabilities. If the Demon Lord Army were to catch them in the middle of this process, the elves would be done in for certain.
Allen watched the soldiers rushing about in a hurry while asking a general, “How many troops are ready right now? And how many Bow Masters and Spirit Wizards?”
“We have 50,000 men ready for battle. Of that number, 3,700 are Bow Masters and 3,900 are Spirit Wizards.”
I see, so there’s a total of 7,600 with two-star classes.
In light of the numbers he was given, Allen had an idea. “If my party clears the way, would it be possible to have these 50,000 reach Castle Lapolka in three days?”
“‘Clear...the way’?”
While giving it further consideration, Allen had realized that they would be too late if they waited the full five days for all the elven soldiers to get ready. Therefore, he was thinking of wiping out the 200,000 monsters that had retreated after their loss at Tiamo; this would create a safe passage for the magic ships. The Gamers had already spent the past three days dedicating themselves to this very task, bringing the number of roaming monsters down to under 20,000. They were now very scattered, making them that much harder to track down and annihilate. Allen was now proposing to lead the troops north and protect them should any of these free-roaming monsters decide to attack.
“What do you think, General?”
The elf gave his knee a quick slap in excitement. “Yes! The magic ships can be used that way.”
The original idea was for the elven force to march on land, but if they were guaranteed safe passage aboard a magic ship, then they could make the journey in two full days. From their landing point, they would have only a short distance to march before reaching Lapolka, therefore arriving within a max of three days.
“You plan on taking on Castle Lapolka with only 50,000 troops?!”
“Yes, General.”
The general looked straight into Allen’s eyes, then nodded. “Understood. We will have the troops board the magic ships immediately. Once everything is in order, I will board one of the ships as well. Lord Allen, we will be right behind you.”
Allen returned the general’s gaze head-on and nodded in turn. “You’re in safe hands.”
＊ ＊ ＊
A few hours later, eleven magic ships took off, ten carrying 5,000 soldiers each with the last one jam-packed with weapons and supplies. Rohzenheim’s greatest fighting strength, Gatoluuga, would also be participating in this assault on Castle Lapolka.
“Okay, we should get going too,” Allen said. “Cecil and Sophie, you two take care of the monsters that Volmaar doesn’t get to.”
“Understood, Lord Allen,” Sophie replied, looking happy about having received a task from him.
Without further ado, all the No-life Gamers mounted their Bird Bs and flew up in front of the magic ships. As always, Allen was at the head of the group, but Cecil was not the one riding with him this time.
“Volmaar, do your best,” Allen said encouragingly.
“Of course,” the elf replied in his usual deadpan manner.
Allen was sitting toward the rear, fully preoccupied with making Blessings of Heaven as always. Every so often, he used a Bird E’s Awakened Ability, Farsight, to check for monsters within a hundred-kilometer radius.
“There’s an eyeball bat to our right, slightly below us.”
“Got it.”
Allen would point out a monster, and once they got within a kilometer of it, Volmaar would dispassionately shoot it down. After all, a single magic ship sinking meant the loss of thousands of elven lives or precious supplies, all on top of losing the priceless vessel—practically all the magic ships in Rohzenheim were on loan from Giamut in exchange for elven healer squads. The burden of responsibility was great, but as expected of the one selected to be the princess’s bodyguard, Volmaar was carrying out his duties without breaking a sweat.
As I’d thought, Volmaar really is the best for long-distance attacks. His range is several times that of Cecil’s.
While feeling impressed, Allen checked his grimoire without stopping his hands.
* * *
Name: Volmaar
Age: 68
Class: Archer
Level: 60
HP: 1,322
MP: 716 + 1,000
Attack: 1,730 + 1,600
Endurance: 1,140
Agility: 727 + 600
Intelligence: 482
Luck: 783
Skills: Archer {6}, Keen Sight {6}, Long-Distance Target {6}, Strongbow {6}, Bull’s-Eye {6}, Treading {2}, Bow Mastery {6}
Extra Skill: Arrow of Light
Skill Levels
Archer: 6
Keen Sight: 6
Long-Distance Target: 6
Strongbow: 6
Bull’s-Eye: 6
