Final Electric Current Boar Deer Monkey

It is said that the demon race dislikes agriculture.

Even the demon race, with intelligence and the ability to build a society, rarely engage in farming, even though they may resemble beasts. While they have the concept of savings, they tend to avoid the tedious work of steadily accumulating results for their daily sustenance, with the exception of some insectoid races.

Why the demon race developed such a nature is not certain. One theory suggests that the malevolent gods intentionally bestowed this nature to lead them into battle, ensuring that they couldn't survive without taking food from the human race.

However, if they wanted to maintain a large Demon King army, hunting and plundering alone wouldn't suffice. Especially when the human race was gradually being driven out of the continent by the demon race, they had to find a way to sustain themselves.

At that time, Everis, who was a staff officer of the Demon King’s army, devised a large-scale agricultural system using undead.

Creating a system to produce food using mindless zombies and skeletons in large numbers was no easy task, but a semi-automatic food production line that operated day and night made significant contributions to the Demon King army's rapid progress.

Now, René was trying to do the same.

he ability to use undead was an advantage unique to the Evil God faction, and she believed that agriculture was unavoidable in building a significant force in the future.

A pillar-shaped device that harnessed magic from the earth's veins and supplied energy, the "Transipole”.

Low-level golems that issued instructions based on weather and work conditions.

And a few undead.

She had placed these elements and had begun testing agriculture on a small scale. If it worked properly, she planned to proceed with labor force acquisition and environmental improvement, gradually scaling it up.

However, the experiment had gone terribly wrong in less than half a day since it began.

"This is..."

It was a relatively shallow area in the dense forest on the north side of the Ku-Lukal Mountains.

The place where they had cleared the forest to create a field.

The newly established field looked like it had been blasted with explosives, and the "Transipole" used to move the undead had been destroyed, exposing the remnants of a skeletal structure and wiring.

"We evacuated just as the sun was setting. And within an hour, it turned into this."

Mialanze, who was reporting, seemed bewildered.

René inspected the ravaged field, or what was left of it. It could no longer be considered a field but rather a small, localized wasteland.

There was an eerie atmosphere as if something strange was looming, even though there were no crops. It didn't feel like the work of field thieves.

So, René wondered if they were targeting components of magic items, but the "Transipole" had been destroyed, and its remnants were left untouched.

"Did anyone see the culprit or notice someone leaving?"

"We haven't received any such reports. If someone unknown had entered and destroyed the field, the monsters would have caused a commotion."

"That's true..."

Entering a forest filled with monsters, destroying an undeveloped field unnoticed, and then leaving without being detected.

The purpose and means were unclear, and the motive was difficult to guess. Whoever was behind this seemed to possess all of these.

The night was pierced by a sudden sound, and when René looked up, she saw Everis riding a broom, bathed in moonlight, her purple hair flowing in the wind, presenting the image of a typical witch.

“Princess, excuse me for being late.”

Everis, who jumped off the broom, was wearing a coat that covered her entire body, instead of her usual revealing outfit.

"Everis... Could it be that underneath..."

"Well, you see, it seemed like quite a serious matter, so I just put on the nearest clothes I could find and flew here."

It was an outfit that was appropriate for early spring.

René and Mialanze had left a note at Everis's workshop before coming to investigate the scene. The note was brief, but Everis sensed that something was amiss from it.

Everis inspected the damaged fields like a police investigator, bending down to touch the ground.

"Though it's not holy energy, there's an odd presence."

"Yeah, it wasn't my imagination. It's like the smell of non-burning trash is lingering, and there's a subtle numbness in the body…"

"It's not holy energy, but it seems like a counter-malevolence technique. It's like a purifying power."

Disgusted, Everis shook her head.

　It is different from neutralization by holy energy.

It was a different sensation from neutralizing with holy energy. This mysterious energy imposed a form of order to prevent malevolent forces from acting. It was akin to the famous fire elemental magic, ≪Cleansing Fire≫, which could eradicate the undead.

"That's quite a serious matter. But, it doesn't give that uncomfortable feeling like holy energy, though.”

"Well, it's like odorless poison for the undead. I think you'll get used to it and start feeling it eventually. So, maybe it's a good opportunity to get accustomed to it?"

Even though Everis's tone seemed casual, she was serious about the situation.

An attack with countermeasures against undead.

It was only natural to assume that someone with clear malicious intent had taken action against René or the nation she led, the Dead Land of Ciel-Terra.

While the "who" and "why" remained unknown, the urgency of the situation was undeniable.

"…Mialanze, you should use a call mark for reporting such things. They may be expensive, but when used effectively, they provide benefits that far exceed the cost. Even though this turned out to be an emergency in hindsight, if you report any unusual occurrences promptly, even if they don't lead to an emergency, it can help us identify potential threats earlier. So, even if there were multiple false alarms, it wouldn't be a waste."

"Huh...I'm sorry."

"I hope you'll be more careful next time."

Mialanze, with her ears down and looking dejected, received a bit of encouragement from René.

In this situation, she hadn't reported it immediately and chose to deliver the message orally when visiting the castle. Consequently, there was a time lag of about 20 to 30 minutes from the moment Mialanze noticed the situation to when René learned about it. However, it might be unfair to blame Mialanze for that.

If this had been a clear enemy attack, she would have reported it right away. But the value of rapidly sharing less critical information was something Mialanze hadn't yet grasped.

There was a difference in the perception of time between René, who possessed memories of her previous life on Earth filled with IT technology, and Mialanze, who was born and raised in the world of Pangaea.

In this world, while there were magical communication methods available, they were still less convenient and reliable compared to phones, telegrams, or even modern social networking platforms. Information transmission for the people was relatively slow, and the world operated at a pace aligned with this slow transmission of information. Even major state institutions of the Great Powers often struggled with speeding up information sharing.

In fact, René and Everis could be considered too radical.

"If you think communication scrolls are too precious, how about learning communication magic? With Mialanze's aptitude, she should be able to send her voice from here to the castle without any issue."

"But isn't using call marks recommended for such cases? If a sudden battle were to break out, and Mialanze were exhausted, it could be tough..."

"In such situations, you can always use a potion to recover. It's not the safest method if you think about safety, but for this particular situation, it's a temporary solution until we establish a communication facility using the land's veins... Oh, I got sidetracked."

Everis, whose work had momentarily stopped, retrieved what appeared to be a test tube and began collecting some of the disturbed soil. Then, with remarkable speed, she dismantled the " Transipole" device and arranged its components for further analysis. It was evident that she intended to take them back for a closer examination.

"However, who would do such a thing..."

Now aware that the attack was driven by clear malice, Mialanze appeared agitated. She held René in the highest regard, and any attack on René's nation, the Dead Land of Ciel-Terra, was unacceptable to her. If there was a way to track down the elusive attacker, Mialanze seemed ready to act immediately.

In any case, the unknown aggressor needed to be identified.

"...Everis. Do you know what a surveillance camera is?"

"Of course, I do. Want me to give it a try?

Everis said as she crouched down to work, exposing her bare hips through the hem of her coat.

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