“Yikes! How are we going to handle all of those?!”
“Let’s just start by hacking away at them!”
“But if we keep doing that, we’ll run out of mana and be in big trouble, Charlotte!”
“I don’t care!”
“Hey!!!”
Thinking about the complicated stuff is too bothersome!
Charlotte, wielding the Super Super Strong Sword, rushed out.
Julia, feeling frustrated, couldn’t help but shout out loud.
It was clearly a serious situation.
Thousands? Tens of thousands?
There were so many ant monsters surrounding the castle that it was impossible to even estimate the number.
Some of them were even climbing the castle walls and threatening the interior.
How are we going to deal with all of them?
The immediate priority was to handle the monsters climbing the walls.
Thanks to Charlotte’s reckless assault and the aura she emitted, they were being held back.
But the number of monsters was so immense that it was impossible to count. Even if Charlotte managed to control the output of her aura, it was clear that her mana would run out in less than 10 minutes.
They can’t hold out like this for long!
They need to do something…!
“Oh! What about targeting the queen ant?”
[That species of ants does have a single queen ant per colony. However, killing the queen will only increase the ferocity of the enraged ants.]
“Then what should we do…!”
“Just lure them away without killing them.”
“Aslan…!”
At that moment, Aslan Vermont approached, carrying Sylvia.
Julia, without realizing it, called out Aslan’s name with a welcoming tone.
Embarrassed, she cleared her throat.
It almost felt like she had been waiting eagerly for Aslan as if she had missed him terribly during their brief separation…
“Ahem, ahem. Lure them away? …How?”
“Won’t they try their best to protect the queen ant from being killed? If we find where the queen ant is hiding and threaten her, we might be able to draw the ants away from the castle. If we can gather them all in one spot and focus our firepower, we can annihilate them in one strike.”
“Ah! That method definitely seems like it will work! …I think!”
If that’s the case, we can protect the people and deal with all the monsters with a small amount of mana!
Julia clapped her hands at the unexpected idea.
Since she thought of using the queen ant first, doesn’t that mean more than half of this idea was hers?
“Then Dirt-Dirt, find the location of the queen ant!”
[What do you think I am, a scout!?]
In response to Charlotte’s audacious request, Dirt-Dirt stomped his feet with a bang.
But Charlotte faced the massive Dirt-Dirt without showing any sign of backing down.
“I’ll make you a bunch of donuts that you like when we get back!”
[Donuts…! Are you trying to bribe me, a Great Spirit who has lived for a thousand years, with mere food?]
“I’ll make them with lots of sugar and cream!”
[…I suppose I can’t refuse considering your sincerity.]
Bang, Bang, Dirt-Dirt’s tiny fists clashed as he prepared to go.
The donuts Julia and Charlotte had given him before were delicious.
They had been plain, but if covered in sugar and cream?
Gulp.
Just imagining it made his mouth water.
The joy of savoring food, something he couldn’t even imagine before existing in physical form.
[I have a rough idea of where it might be. But if I use my abilities, I can pinpoint the exact location…!]
Grrr, grrr.
Periodic and small vibrations echoed from Dirt-Dirt. It felt as if a small earthquake was occurring, causing the ground to shake.
“Argh! Not again! That damned earthquake again!!!”
“Father! Please calm down!”
Count Ariente shivered and lay on the floor.
[I found it. The entrance to the ant colony is halfway up that mountain. Go into the entrance, turn right, enter the passage that goes up, then go back down and proceed straight to the vertical passage…]
“That’s enough. No one will remember that. It’s better to let Dirt-Dirt guide us.”
Aslan shook his head and summarized.
A colony of ants would surely be a confusing maze.
Although Dirt-Dirt could see through the ground, humans would have no clue about the maze’s structure.
It would be better to take Dirt-Dirt along for guidance.
Aslan quickly came to that conclusion.
“Sylvia and I will go into the ant colony with Dirt-Dirt.”
“Why me of all people? I’m already exhausted from mana depletion.”
“Then should we send the kids in?”
“I’ll go.”
If you had just agreed from the beginning, it would have been much better.
Aslan couldn’t understand why Sylvia insisted on making herself look bad.
Sylvia, barely able to stand on her shaky legs, was soon joined by Aslan, who brought Julia over and began to replenish Sylvia’s mana with his ‘Touch of Death’.
“Ah! Ah…!”
Numerous low-level spirits gathered around Julia.
The spirits died from the sinister aura spreading from Aslan’s fingertips, only to gather again and die in a repeating cycle.
Julia’s lips quivered as she witnessed the terrifying spectacle.
She had never seen the spirits before, so she was unaware of this mechanism.
But seeing it directly was truly horrifying.
Nevertheless, Sylvia’s mana needed to be replenished immediately, and there was no other effective method…
‘I’m sorry, spirits!!!’
I will become stronger and make sure you don’t suffer anymore.
One day, I will develop a method to replenish mana that doesn’t require your sacrifice!
Julia resolutely vowed to herself with tears in her eyes.
“Sylvia, can you move?”
“It’s very sore, but… I’m fine. It’s nothing compared to the time I had to return with a broken leg after falling off a cliff.”
“Uh, hmm. Okay. Julia, send Dirt-Dirt back to his doll form.”
[Kyaah! Who do you think I am, a doll? And sending me back!? As if I were originally a doll…! Damn kid! You’re shrinking me while talking!!!]
Whoosh.
Dirt-Dirt’s body, once enormous, quickly shrank down to a doll size.
Sylvia then lifted the now tiny Dirt-Dirt effortlessly.
When Charlotte picked it up, she seemed to struggle a bit.
But in Sylvia’s hands, Dirt-Dirt was so light that he looked like a mere fluffy doll.
“Now I will explain the plan. I’ll only say it once, so you must remember it clearly. Your lives depend on this. Charlotte. Julia.”
“Yes…!”
“Uh, yes!”
It was a somewhat dangerous plan, but there was no other choice.
There was no way to save Ariente except by paying off the monthly interest.
Aslan, with a serious expression, began to explain the plan.
“Vermont has come to rescue us! They’ve sent reinforcements from Vermont!”
“Black magic to annihilate the monsters…!”
“Shh! Be quiet! We didn’t see that black magic! If they find out we saw it…”
“…”
Gulp.
Swallowing nervously, the people tensed up.
Vermont had personally come to rescue the Ariente region.
In the process, Vermont had not hesitated to reveal the results of their research into black magic.
The Ariente region had already received assistance from black magic.
They were no longer unrelated to it.
If Vermont were to be punished, Ariente would not escape punishment, regardless of its severity.
The vengeful wrath of Vermont would inevitably follow.
All the residents, including Count Ariente, decided to erase all memories of what they had seen tonight.
“Yaaah! Boom…”
“No booming, Charlotte!!!”
“Ying! Just slash sideways! Slash strongly sideways! Slash quickly sideways! Hiya! Hiyaa!!!”
With each swing of the ominous Demon Sword, black flashes of light streaked across the dark night sky.
The flashes were so dazzling that just seeing them made one’s knees tremble, and they sliced through everything they touched.
The monsters that had just climbed the walls of the castle were being cleaved in half.
And to think that a girl was controlling an evil god that caused earthquakes!
The silhouette of the evil god seemed vaguely familiar, but it was too frightening to look at closely.
‘Black magic, necromancer, and even a dark knight…!’
Count Ariente’s eyes darted around wildly.
Just a few months ago, he had thought Vermont was corrupt, its economy in ruins, and its military power lacking.
Yet, Vermont now possessed the strength to contend with the massive army of ant monsters.
Where did they find such powerful individuals?
Talent in necromancy and dark knights wasn’t common.
They must have conducted cruel experiments on numerous orphans to create such forces!
‘Even though he’s my younger brother, he is truly formidable!’
It’s said that evil beings tend to take good care of their own.
How true that was.
Ah, my brother.
I will never cross you again.
I will bow and scrape for the rest of my life.
I’ll make sure to pay my dues punctually without falling behind.
Count Ariente felt his loyalty to Vermont swell up.
“Even so, if we continue like this, the battle will never end until dawn…?”
“Count! The monsters are retreating!”
“What!?”
What does that mean? Count Ariente rushed to the castle wall and looked down.
Wrrrr.
The ant monster army was indeed retreating, raising a cloud of dust as they moved away from the castle.
“What trick did my brother use!”
We’re truly saved! We’re alive!
Count Ariente’s heart swelled with relief and elation as he realized he had narrowly escaped death.
“Eh? Could it be?”
The sudden appearance of the monster army.
The timely arrival of assistance from the staff in Ariente made everything seem too coincidental.
The timing of Vermont’s rescue also felt suspiciously perfect.
“I’m having such ridiculous thoughts!!!”
“Ah, Father! Why are you suddenly banging your head against the wall?!”
Count Ariente quickly succeeded in erasing those thoughts from his mind.
