Chapter 130: The first day in the southern region, I met a spider-san at the edge of the forest
Volume 7: Advancing into the Southern Region
After a week of preparation, the participating members for dealing with the Noble Orc empire to the south beyond the marshlands were announced.
First was Vandalieu, along with the Ghosts that would help him with Dead Spirit Magic, and everyone he was equipping using Plant Binding Technique and Insect Binding Technique.
The Black Fang Knights' Order led by Gorba, composed of the Orcuses who could mount monsters, a total of ten members and ten mounts.
The 'Sword King' Borkus, who had increased his Rank and become a Zombie Epic Hero.
Zadiris, Vigaro and Basdia, who had also succeeded in increasing their Ranks.
Bone Man, as well as Eleanora who had succeeded in becoming Rank 10.
It wasn't certain that this would become a war, so there hadn't been any particular departure ceremony�� because it would be problematic if everyone got too excited and then charged in to attack.
"Come to think of it, this is the first time we're invading another nation head-on! We've only ever been invaded, and we didn't invade the Hartner Duchy from the front!" said Borkus, speaking dangerous words even without such a departure ceremony.
"We are not invading them, Borkus. We will see the situation first and talk with them," said Princess Levia, scolding him.
Things would likely have turned out badly if there had been a ceremony.
"We'll be working hard and getting stronger while His-Majesty-kun and everyone else is away, so help us out next time," said Jeena.
"I don't think there will be a next time, though," said Zandia.
It seemed that the two of them intended to continue leveling even without Zadiris and Borkus. Zandia had regained much of the power that she had possessed while alive, but Jeena had apparently not been able to do so.
"Why must I join you?! I will die if I enter a B-class Dungeon!" shouted a pale-faced Luciliano, who was being held by Jeena by the scruff of his neck like a kitten.
"Umm, so that you can take responsibility for peeking? I'm not married yet, you know?" Jeena said.
"That was due to my insuppressible scientific interest, and are you not the one who ran out wearing only a single surgery gown, holding Master in one hand?!"
It seemed that Luciliano, who had suffered multiple broken ribs during that incident, was not satisfied with this reasoning.
"With Zadiris-san gone, we lack mages in our party," Zandia continued. "We tried inviting Kachia-san, but when we mentioned B-class Dungeons, she said, 'spare me, I'll die.'"
"I'm telling you that I would die as well, am I not?!"
"Eh, aren't you a former C-class adventurer, Luciliano-san? You'll do better than Kachia-san, since she is a former D-class adventurer."
"She is clearly stronger than I am now! Though I would indeed 'do better' than her!"
TLN: The verb for "do better" here can be used in a variety of ways; I believe Luciliano is implying that he is better-looking than Kachia.
For a former C-class adventurer, especially one that was not well-suited to fighting like Luciliano, stepping into a B-class Dungeon was suicidal. It would be possible for him to return alive if he were to join an adventurer party made of B-class or A-class adventurers with previous experience of clearing B-class Dungeons, providing support and carrying luggage while staying out of the firing line as much as possible.
However, Jeena and Zandia still hadn't regained the strength they had possessed when they were alive. Rita and Saria would join them as well, but Luciliano still seemed anxious.
"The shallow floors of B-class Dungeons are no different in difficulty from C-class Dungeons, so it's fine. But you can't go to the deeper floors until Luciliano gets used to it," said Vandalieu.
"Okay," said Jeena.
"No, Master, the problem at hand is that I would rather perform research than leveling –"
"You can watch Jeena and Zandia fight from close-up, so it's fine, isn't it?"
"Muh… If I consider it to be a place where I can gather precious data, then I suppose a little field work once in a while is not so bad."
And so, Luciliano was persuaded.
"Look, Basdia. It's our new rival," said Vigaro, his two pairs of arms crossed as he looked at Jeena and Zandia. He had become a Rank 9 Ghoul Arch-tyrant with a third eye appearing on his forehead.
"I'm not quite sure you can call her your rival, Vigaro, but she's definitely a rival for me," said Basdia, who had become a Ghoul Amazoness Geronimo, as she glared at Jeena and Zandia as well.
"Why? Are you saying that my muscles are inferior to those biceps brachii, those ripped abdominal muscles and those powerful latissimus dorsi and trapezius muscles?" said Vigaro.
It seemed that Vigaro's declaration was ignoring the sex of his rival.
He had gained a king-like personality after his Rank increased, but even after gaining such a robust, impressive body, it seemed that he viewed Jeena as a threat… he was inferior in volume, after all.
"I don't think you are inferior, but if you're going to ask why I said that, it's because she's a female warrior. If one had to say, it's more reasonable to consider her my rival," said Basdia.
Basdia's appearance hadn't changed since her Rank increased other than the patterns on her skin changing a little, but the air around her was impressive. It wasn't as impressive as Vigaro's, but it was worthy of the 'Geronimo' (Elder) race title that she had gained.
Her body had sturdy, powerful muscles that were not at all inferior to Jeena's, while also possessing abundant feminine curves and appeal.
She would not be inferior to Jeena even if they were to both take side-chest and most-muscular poses.
"That's true. Don't lose to them," said Vigaro.
"Of course. The father of Jadal's younger brother or sister is going to be Van, after all."
Vigaro and Basdia nodded together like comrades who respected one another. Though the two of them had likely forgotten, they were father and daughter. Basdia had been born during a time when children were raised by the entire village, so she had a weak awareness of her father, unlike the mother who had given birth to her.
Perhaps because of this, Vigaro and Basdia acknowledged each other with a relationship that was not that of a father and daughter, but one between a leader of warriors and a young warrior, and it seemed that they had no thoughts of changing this.
Also, though this was only natural, they did not consider Jeena and Zandia as rivals, but rather Jeena herself.
"Mother is doing her best to not lose to Zandia, too," Basdia said.
"Zadiris, you've known Vandalieu for a long time and you've even performed artificial respiration on him, so you won't lose to Zandia. I guarantee it," said Vigaro.
"I do not view Zandia as a rival, how many times must I tell you!" Zadiris said indignantly.
Vigaro and Basdia believed that Zandia was Zadiris's rival.
"It is true that her name is similar to mine! I also admit that my figure is young! I will not deny that Zandia has the advantage in magic as well, as she possesses an affinity for many attributes. However, there is no need for me to compete with her. Leaving aside our skill in magic… there is no future for us." Zadiris had started speaking with vigor, but towards the end, her face fell.
As a Ghoul, she had stopped aging physically from the time she became pregnant with her first child, and Zandia was a Zombie, so their futures were shrouded in darkness in terms of physical development.
"No, umm, we might change if our Ranks increase, you know?" said Zandia herself. "As a Ghoul, I don't know how you'll look after increasing your Rank further than that, but it's enough to make you grow extra eyes and arms, so won't you develop physically as well? And once my Rank increases, my chest will go boing-boing –"
"I see, so there is a possibility through increasing our Ranks! Oh, Zandia, I must thank you. You are a true friend!" Zadiris exclaimed.
"I-I'm glad I made you happy."
Zadiris was overjoyed, but she had been accompanying Zandia and the others in their leveling as well and become a Rank 9 Ghoul High Wizard, so her next Rank increase was likely far-off for now.
"In any case, this is the nation that exiled Bugogan. I'm sure Noble Orcs as strong as Bugogan aren't unusual there. If they're going to stand in our way, let's hunt them down one by one," said Vigaro.
"We've become stronger as well. Kachia and the others were saying, 'Kill them if they don't listen,' too," said Basdia.
Everyone had become unbelievably strong compared to when they fought the pack of Orcs led by the Noble Orc Bugogan about six years ago. Vigaro, Zadiris and Basdia as they were now would be able to defeat the Bugogan of back then with ease.
Meanwhile, away from Zadiris and the others, Vandalieu was saying farewell to everyone who was reluctant to part with him for this short while.
"Vandalieu, do you have a handkerchief? After drinking blood, you have to wipe your mouth with a handkerchief, not your sleeve. Also, don't eat organs raw just because you have the Status Effect Resistance skill. Make sure to be careful to not leave your body behind and get up with just your spirit form when you're half-asleep," said Darcia.
"Yes, Mom. By the way, I'm intending to come back every few days," Vandalieu said.
"Danna-sama, though it is arrogant of me to say this, we shall protect Darcia-sama in your absence," said Bellmond.
Tarea was weeping a little. "We will be separate for a while, won't we? I am very reluctant about this."
"Fuh, I have to save up my fill of Bocchan while I can," said Rita.
"When you run out, you feel like you can't calm down, don't you?" said Saria.
"Ah, Bocchan, may I join in with my daughters?" said Sam.
"Van, you have to make sure you come back safely," said Pauvina.
"Van-kun, even if you meet someone with a lot of legs over there, you can't forget about me! My legs have suction cups!" said Privel.
"Calm… down," groaned Rapiéçage.
"Bold~" said Yamata.
"Everyone, we can make a round trip with teleportation with the Undead… our lord, so he could even come back every day, you know? We explained this before, didn't we?" said Legion, but it seemed that the fired-up atmosphere of farewell wouldn't really change.
"See you later, Gorba. We'll keep watch here. If the reincarnated individuals come here, we'll defeat them all," said Braga.
"I'm here, too," said Zemedo. "Talosheim has no flaws."
"Braga, Zemedo, Memediga, take care of my family," said Gorba.
"Leave it to us!" said Memediga.
Gorba said his farewells to the Black Goblin Braga and the Anubises Zemedo and Memediga, who had been raised as if they were siblings ever since they were born.
"While you remain behind, I will serve Vandalieu-sama well, so rest assured. While you remain behind," said Eleanora.
"Well, that is reassuring. I can be at ease knowing that my former superior will be with him. You have become freer now that you do not have any subordinates," said Isla.
The two of them smiled as they exchanged a handshake. Smiles that looked as if they had been pasted onto their faces, unsmiling eyes, audible creaking sounds… it was not a heartwarming scene.
"Is this what is called a relationship of formidable enemies that are friends?" said Vandalieu.
TLN: This is a reference to Fist of the North Star, quite a famous line. It kind of means "rivals that are friends."
"Ooohn?" Knochen, who had taken the form of a fort, gave a curious cry.
There were many heavyweight members, including the Black Fang Knights' Order, so Vandalieu couldn't carry them even if he were to fly by transforming his spirit form into that of a strange bird. And more importantly, the exact location of the Noble Orc empire wasn't known, so the Knochen fort would act as their base of operations for now.
The Lizardmen and Noble Orcs had not interacted for many years, so nobody knew the exact location of the Noble Orc empire.
It was probably possible to find it within a few days if Vandalieu searched from the skies by using Lemures, which were flying, transparent, skull-shaped familiars, and Undead insects. In the southern region of the continent, which was sandwiched by the Boundary Mountain Range to the east and west, an empire of three-meter-tall Noble Orcs would stand out.
However, if this scouting was detected, it might immediately be taken as an act of hostility.
Monsters with sharp senses could detect Lemures and Undead insects. It was certainly possible that the Noble Orcs, who had maintained an empire in a continent rampant with such monsters for over a hundred thousand years, would be able to sense them.
It was uncertain as to what kinds of monsters would be inhabiting the areas around the Noble Orc empire, but it was possible that there were monsters that could make their bodies transparent. If there were, then it would be only natural for the Noble Orcs to have ways to keep those monsters from invading their territory.
It would be terrible if the relationship with the Orcs turned volatile and started a war, only to later realize that they were good Orcs all along.
That was why the plan was for Vandalieu and the others to go out to scout while the Dark Night Knights' Order would remain in the Knochen fort to stay alert for monster invasions.
"But your amateur swordsmanship that relies on the Orichalcum weapon is worrying," said Isla. "Have you trained properly, Eleanora-ojouchan?"
"It's alright, I've done my leveling properly so that I won't have to worry Isla-obasan, whose prided sword was blocked and her head cut off by amateur swordsmanship," said Eleanora.
The insuppressible bloodthirst of the two spread around their surroundings. Vandalieu thought that at this point, it might be best for them to simply brawl and then start with a refreshed relationship, but for some reason, they were both maintaining a handshake and trying to crush each other's hands while conducting psychological warfare.
Both of them had the Superhuman Strength skill, which gave them a grip powerful enough to crush the skulls of beasts, but they also both possessed the Rapid Regeneration skill, so even if one of their hands were completely crushed, it would recover several hours later.
But they knew that the dominant hand would become unusable for several hours, so they seemed to be avoiding this.
"Isla-dono, please take care of my Leo. I would be most pleased if you could polish his scales every once in a while. However, he will bite and tear your hand if you put it in his mouth, so please be careful," said Bone Man, who would be leaving his mount Leo behind as it wasn't well-suited for moving other than in marshlands and other waterside areas.
But it seemed that his words didn't reach Isla, who was busy with her battle against Eleanora.
Vandalieu spoke up to stop the quarreling. "No magic, no martial skills, no flying. The first to down the other wins. Fight."
Eleanora and Isla immediately began grappling each other in earnest with both arms. They began attempting to trip each other with their legs to make the other lose their balance.
A judo-like battle between two beautiful women began, with enough power in their moves to beat even a dinosaur to death, never mind a bear.
"Jyuuh? My lord, would you not normally stop them?" asked Bone Man.
"Once things are settled, I think both of them will calm down for a while," said Vandalieu.
"Oohn…"
Knochen seemed to be a little troubled due to having become the stage for this battle, but the bones that he was made of were stronger than stone, so there wouldn't be any problems.
Vandalieu and the others watched the fight between the two unfold for a while, but then they suddenly smelled the scent of blood on the wind.
"I can smell a little blood," said Vandalieu.
"Perhaps a skirmish between monsters or Goblins eating each other," said Bone Man.
Very few monsters entered the marshlands, as the environment was very different, but it wasn't unusual for monsters living near each other to kill each other.
Roars and dying screams on such occasions reached the Knochen fort on a daily basis. Each time this happened, Knochen's Skeletons or the Vampire Zombies of the Dark Night Knights' Order would go to investigate, but only found monsters unrelated to the empire hunting, so almost no information had been gained.
Vandalieu had gathered a number of spirits as well, but they were not very intelligent and had only lived in a small area, so they hadn't given any hints regarding the Noble Orc empire.
Normally, Vandalieu would have left Knochen and the Dark Night Knights' Order to check on things as usual.
"… I have a strange feeling about this," said Vandalieu. He had felt unnaturally restless after smelling the blood. He was uneasy, feeling a sense of danger for a reason he couldn't explain.
Even though he didn't have the Intuition skill, nor was this a reaction from Danger Sense: Death.
"I'll go and have a look," he said.
"Jyuuh?! You will go yourself, my lord?!" Bone Man said, flustered.
Having realized what was going on, Eleanora and Isla turned around while still grappling with each other.
"W-wait, Vandalieu-sama, it's dangerous!" said Eleanora.
"Yes! Please leave it to us!" shouted Isla.
But Vandalieu rose into the air with Flight. "It's alright," he said. "I'm never alone."
With those words, Princess Levia, Orbia and Kimberley appeared around him.
"Now that you mention it, that's true. Please come back if anything happens," Eleanora said.
"Jyuuh, I will contact Vigaro and the others," said Bone Man.
Eleanora, Bone Man and Isla calmed down when they realized that Vandalieu wasn't alone.
"Okay," Vandalieu said as he flew away from the fort.
"But Your Majesty, we still do not know what's there, so would it not be best to keep Death-Attribute Magic, including Dead Spirit Magic, concealed?" said Princess Levia.
"Unlike Orcs, Noble Orcs are monsters that are about as intelligent as humans. I think it's best to hide as much as information as we can, just in case," said Kimberley.
"Eh? Isn't that a pain? Is that how it is?" said Orbia.
"Apparently so, Orbia," said Vandalieu. "Well then, heeding Princess Levia and Kimberley's advice… Pete, Kühl, Eisen, I'm counting on you."
"Bugih!"
"Buhohohohoh!"
Gizania gave a bitter smile as she looked at her remaining ten enemies, who were letting out coarse laughter, through her two regular eyes as well as her compound eyes.
"Bukeh, bugoh…" The enemy's commander, one of the Noble Orcs, cleared his throat and called out to Gizania not in the Noble Orc language, but with human words. "We have been bested by you quite thoroughly," he said. "Through the instructions of our god Ravovifard, we noticed that you and your ilk were trying to involve us in war with the lizards of the marshlands, so we hastily attacked you, but… to think that we would lose two thirds of our troops and let Princess Kurnelia escape… We underestimated the secret medicine that is said to be passed on in your tribe."
The Noble Orc was provoking Gizania, but at the same time, he couldn't conceal his excitement.
Gizania responded in a matter-of-fact manner. "That is because you underestimate our tribe. With only a single Noble Orc and a handful of Orcs and Kobolds that are barely skilled enough to be used as familiars, this is the natural result. Though you take pride in your strength, in the end, you are just usurpers. It appears that you do not have any soldiers with resolve."
"You bastard! You dare ridicule Bugitas, the new Emperor BUGIIIIH?!"
The Noble Orc was immediately enraged, to the point of humor. It wouldn't have been strange for his mushroom-shaped blonde hair to stand on end.
"FUGOOOOH! I thought that we would at least grant you an honorable death, but it seems that you wish to be tormented first! We will cut off all of your arms and legs and then violate you until you die!" the Noble Orc shouted with Orc language words mixed into his speech, saliva flying from his mouth.
The surviving Orcs around him let out a cheer. Their eyes were bloodshot with greed.
Even for the secret medicine, it's working too well, Gizania whispered to herself in her mind as she tried to give a provocative smile… her mouth was stiff, so she couldn't do so properly.
By using the secret medicine, she had succeeded in drawing the Noble Orcs to herself, away from Princess Kurnelia. Not only that, but she had been setting traps for them as she ran, killing her enemies as they approached her one at a time, reducing their numbers considerably.
But in return, she had lost all of the legs on the right side of her body and her left arm was broken as well. Now that she couldn't fight any longer, she had no choice but to use her remaining secret medicine and buy time using her body.
No matter what cruel fate she met, her tribe would praise her devotion. They would certainly remember her end as a proud one.
But… she couldn't completely deny that she was frustrated and scared.
Considering what was going to happen to her body now, she would rather end her own life, but even Orcs were unlikely to lust after a corpse.
"If it was going to end this way, perhaps I should have chosen my partner as my mother told me to. But I will not go down without a fight!" Gizania exclaimed.
"You have courage! If you survive, you will make a good breeding mother! Do –"
The moment the Noble Orc was about to give the order for the Orcs to attack, the head of an enormous centipede with enormous black horns appeared from the thicket right between him and Gizania.
"Excuse me," the centipede said.
"Eh? Huh?"
Gizania and the Noble Orc looked at each other, completely bewildered. The other Orcs opened their bloodshot eyes wide and blinked blankly.
Not taking any notice of this, the giant centipede… or rather, Vandalieu, who was clinging to Pete's stomach, asked a question.
"I'll ask just to be sure, but is the wounded person over there an Arachne and you a Noble Orc?"
Vandalieu looked at the Noble Orc who could speak human words, and at the Arachne Gizania, a member of the Vida-created Arachne race that possessed the lower bodies of spiders, who was resting her weight against an enormous sword.
"I don't know what the situation is, but based on what I overheard of the conversation, I'm thinking of helping the Arachne… there's no problem with this, is there?"
Vandalieu was asking just in case Gizania was actually an evil criminal and the Noble Orc was a diligent pig-like official.
One might have expected that there would be no response to this question.
Unexpectedly, there was one.
"W-who is this guy?! A monster tamed by one of the guys worshipping the gods on Vida's side?!" shouted the Noble Orc.
"Leaving aside who is good or evil, I've now figured out who I need to defeat," Vandalieu said.
Vandalieu was the 'Holy Son of Vida,' so there was no problem in fighting monsters that opposed her believers.
Pete bared his fangs and let out a roar as lightning covered his horns.
Name: Vigaro
Rank: 9
Race: Ghoul Arch-tyrant
Level: 1
Job: Great Axe Master
Job level: 11
Job history: Apprentice Warrior, Warrior, Axeman, Axe Master, Magic Axe User
Age: 172 years old
Passive skills:
Dark Vision (Transformed from Night Vision!)
Superhuman Strength: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)
Pain Resistance: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Paralyzing Venom Secretion (Claws): Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Strengthened Attribute Values when equipped with an axe: (Large) (LEVEL UP!)
Magic Resistance: Level 2 (NEW!)
Endless Sexual Stamina: Level 1 (NEW!)
Active skills:
Axe Technique: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)
Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
Commanding: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Coordination: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
Deforestation: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Dismantling: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
Shield Technique: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Surpass Limits: Level 4 (NEW!)
Surpass Limits - Magic Axe: Level 3 (NEW!)
Parallel Thought Processing: Level 3 (NEW!)
Monster explanation:
[Ghoul Arch-tyrant]
A monster whose name does not remain in the Adventurers' Guild's records, of whom there are only a few descriptions in ancient documents held by the Mages' Guild.
It has been recorded that when numerous great individuals are acknowledged among Ghoul Tyrants, the most exceptional among them undergoes a ritual to place tattoos on his body with an eye on his forehead as the motif.
The above description is that of the concept of a Ghoul Arch-tyrant; it is thought that such previously sighted beings are simply Ghoul Tyrants that are more powerful than the rest that have been mistaken for something greater.
Of course, there are no previous actual sightings of this monster.
Job explanation:
[Great Axe Master]
The Job that exists at the top of all axe-wielding Jobs. It is said that all individuals who have previously acquired this Job have left their names in history.
If noble, those with this Job would be known for their prowess both within and beyond their nations, and if they are an adventurer, they are naturally at least A-class.
Liked it? Take a second to support Novels on Patreon!
Side Story Chapter 21: The reincarnated individuals' counseling
Following the destruction of the 'Death Scythe' Konoe Kyuuji, the reincarnated individuals continued to exchange their arguments and worrying about the future.
However, they could not all come to an agreement. The reason was that Konoe Kyuuji's words and actions had made it clear that all of the reincarnated individuals thought in a definitively different manner.
And so, Shimada Izumi and Machida Aran, in Rodcorte's place… forced to take Rodcorte's place, provided the reincarnated individuals with information, answered their questions and offered their opinions.
"I-in other words, it's impossible to be reincarnated as a member of a race that he holds dear to him?!" shouted the 'Marionette' Inui Hajime, saliva almost flying from his mouth despite him not having a physical body.
"Yes, that's right," Izumi said, looking fed up. "… Incidentally, that's the twelfth time I've answered that question."
"You're sure, right?!"
"I'm sure. Incidentally, that's the thirteenth."
It seemed that even Izumi, who had become a familiar spirit with no physical body and had a different sense of time, felt mental fatigue at having to answer the same question over and over.
"There's no way we can believe you so easily, right?! You've stooped low enough to become minions for that fraud of a god!"
With the people asking the questions taking this kind of attitude, it couldn't be helped that Izumi felt like it was all pointless.
And Izumi could even tell through her Inspection ability, which could see through all kinds of falsehoods, that she was being genuinely doubted.
"If you can't trust me, then I don't think there's any point in asking me any questions any number of times," she said.
It was only to be expected that she would say this and leave. Inui was not a precious companion to Izumi. He was a traitor who had sided with Murakami and the others, and Izumi knew that he hadn't stopped Murakami and the Eighth Guidance from eliminating her and Aran.
She pitied him for the fact that he had later been betrayed by Tsuchiya Kanako, who he had thought was his ally, but she couldn't consider him an important companion now. He was even genuinely abusing her verbally, so she didn't want to persuade him gently.
"Damn it! Don't look down at me! You…" Inui looked outraged for a moment after having Izumi point out something that he knew himself, but his face turned pale and he let out a shriek as he turned around and ran away.
"… This makes it look like I threatened him, doesn't it?" Izumi muttered.
The truth was that the symptoms of Inui's gynophobia had shown themselves. Of course, even without that phobia, it was impossible for him to harm the familiar spirit Izumi, as he himself was nothing but a human soul.
"At this rate, I don't think he'll think of opposing Vandalieu, so I don't really care."
Meanwhile, Machida Aran was answering the questions of the 'Chronos' Murakami Junpei and his group with a sullen expression on his face.
"So, in other words, it's impossible to take the latest weapons from Origin and Earth?" Murakami asked.
"Yeah, it's the same as when Kaidou Kanata was reincarnated. According to that god, everyone is naked when they're first born," Aran said.
"Can't he do something about it? The chosen heroes are normally supposed to be granted a holy sword by the god, right?"
"Look here… what kind of god would give state-of-the-art weapons including crystals based on modern science and magical knowledge in place of a holy sword?"
Aran answered the questions in an exasperated tone, but Murakami didn't seem to be satisfied with the answers. Left with no choice, he decided to elaborate. "What would you even do with state-of-the-art weapons? What about the parts needed for maintenance and the fuel needed to power them? Do you intend to make the gunpowder by hand?"
"I don't really intend to use them multiple times. I just need to use them once. Well, that doesn't apply for the magical media, though," said Murakami.
What Murakami and his group wanted was a state-of-the-art stealth fighter like the one that the 'Noah' Mao had piloted before her death in Origin, transport helicopters, lightweight missiles that could be used to attack from afar… if possible, nuclear and hydrogen bombs. Not only those, but all kinds of various other things such as magical media that assisted in reciting and casting spells, body suits made of special materials and military-grade knives.
The reason they wanted these was so that they could use them to kill Vandalieu. It seemed that Murakami's group had decided on becoming assassins to erase Vandalieu.
Indeed, it would be difficult even for Vandalieu to completely block a surprise attack from a tactical nuclear warhead or a hydrogen bomb.
Even without these, Murakami and his group had plenty of chance to win if they could make full use of modern weaponry with their cheat-like abilities.
However, this was a thought that had occurred to everyone. And there was a reason that this idea hadn't been put into practice yet.
"It would be difficult even to fire these weapons once," Aran said. "They could even explode the moment they're brought into Lambda."
"What?! What do you mean?" Murakami exclaimed in surprise.
Aran continued grimacing as he replied. "You guys might have forgotten this, but it's a different world, you know? It's only natural for the laws of physics to be different. Earth, Origin, Lambda. There are differences in the force of gravity, whether magic exists and the number of attributes. The worlds are similar, but they're like different planets."
Indeed, the three worlds had different laws of physics. The creation-minded champions led by Zakkart had once tried to recreate Earth's tactical nuclear weaponry in order to defeat the Demon King. However, the goddess Vida stopped them, saying that modern weaponry designed with Earth's laws of physics in mind would be unusable or possibly even simply explode if recreated in the exact same way in Lambda.
Even the magical media (what are known as mages' staves) designed for Origin would have problems because the time attribute, which didn't exist in Origin, existed in Lambda. Thus, there was no guarantee that they would have the same effect even if they were brought into Lambda exactly as they were.
"The more complicated something is to create, the more dangerous it is. Well, a lightweight missile would simply be a little different in its power and firing range, so those could probably still be used without problems, though," Aran said.
It was Murakami's turn to grimace as he pondered this. "What was that god trying to make us do after gathering experience in a world with different laws of physics? Our knowledge and technology aren't going to be of any use."
"And from what we saw with Tendou's Clairvoyance, it looked like Vandalieu has been introducing technology and knowledge from Earth and Origin into Lambda, one after another. If what you say is true, wouldn't that city be a mountain of rubble by now?" said the 'Hecatoncheir' Doug Atlas.
Aran let out a deep sigh.
"Oi, what's with your attitude?!" Doug demanded.
"I'm tired of how stupid you guys are. What Vandalieu is doing is completely different from what you guys are asking for," Aran said. "You guys are asking to directly bring in weapons and creations from another world, exactly as they are. On the other hand, Vandalieu was reborn in Lambda and is using resources in Lambda to recreate technology from other worlds. What Vandalieu is doing fits in with Lambda's laws of physics."
Even the cooking of a single dish involves all kinds of chemical reactions during the cooking process. It is as a result of these that a dish on Earth is perfected to deliciousness.
So how could the same dishes be created in the foreign world of Lambda? That was because not everything was completely different, just because it was a different world.
Of course, if the chemical reactions were studied in detail, there would certainly be differences between the worlds. However, the differences were too small to take practical notice of.
From the time that Vandalieu was cooking for himself on Earth to the time that he was reborn in Lambda, there had been a twenty-year-long blank space, during which he was able to gather information in Origin but was unable to actually test it and put it into practice. Even if Vandalieu noticed the differences in Lambda, he simply thought it was his imagination.
When the dishes weren't delicious when cooked with the same recipe as on Earth, he just needed to conduct trial and error until they were.
"Using lye water to make ramen from wheat dough and even making soap, paper, mayonnaise and ketchup were all based on knowledge from Earth and Origin, but he would have performed trial and error to make it work well in Lambda. Hey, Murakami-san, if you manufacture the weapons you want so badly using materials that exist in Lambda and perform a lot of trial-and-error, you should be able to make something that works with Lambda's laws of physics, you know?"
In other words, Aran was telling Murakami to build them himself after being reincarnated.
Of course, he knew that what he was saying was impossible.
"Look here… you know that we'd have no way to create modern-day weapons on our own using the required parts when we don't even know the methods needed to make those parts," said Murakami.
Metal parts could be made to some extent by hiring a blacksmith. But there was no way that Murakami and the others had remembered all of the parts needed for a state-of-the-art stealth fighter or transport helicopters, and the parts were made of alloys rather than iron or copper.
And going from machine-creating to hand-creating the semiconductors needed in the computers controlling the fuselages was definitely impossible.
Did the fuel needed to power these war machines even exist in Lambda?
Even if Murakami and his allies spent years of effort, it was questionable as to whether they could even create a human-powered aircraft that operated by pedaling to turn the propellers.
"Tch, so it would be muskets or cannons that use gunpowder at best, huh," Murakami muttered.
"Magic would have more power than that, and be easier to use, too," said Doug.
"Signal flares would probably be useful, but… isn't it better to not rely on weapons, then?" said the 'Odin' Hasamada Aki.
"Ah, really, I wonder how he intended for us to develop the world," the 'Venus' Tsuchiya Kanako sighed.
"I don't really intend to defend him…" Aran said. "I've said it over and over, but there are no problems with using trial-and-error using knowledge from Earth and Origin after being reincarnated in Lambda. And we never heard anything about killing Vandalieu when we were reborn in Origin. He probably wasn't really hoping that we'd make weapons."
"But despite that, the creation of gunpowder is apparently forbidden in that 'Lambda' world. It's a world where a god who denies the knowledge of other worlds holds a lot of power, right?" said Murakami.
"About that, the god (Rodcorte himself) thought that we would make things work out with hard work, since we were the ones chosen by him. There are a hundred and one of us, and even if a hundred of us failed, he thought that it would be fine as long as the last one succeeded."
"… That god is a thorough piece of sheet. I'm starting to wonder whether that's actually harder than killing Vandalieu."
The truth was that even if the reincarnated individuals didn't bring their knowledge from other worlds into Lambda, Rodcorte would have considered it development for the world if they used their magic and cheat-like abilities to exterminate beings that threatened the prosperity of the races he considered to be people, the humans, Elves and Dwarves… while pressing the Dark Elves, Scylla and Vampires to extinction or a near-extinction state.
Now that Murakami finally seemed convinced, Aran asked him a question in return.
"More importantly, I have a question. Why do you trust what I say? You're the one who killed me, you know, Murakami-san?"
Indeed, Murakami was the criminal who had killed Aran and Izumi. The two of them would certainly feel hatred and a desire for revenge against him.
But Murakami's face remained the same as he answered, seeming bored. "Yeah, that's why I asked you in detail. Why we can't do things, why we can do things, I'll ask about everything and then ask the god the same thing later. If the god says something different, and what he says is inconvenient to you, then that makes you a liar."
"Guh, you know all about that idiot!" Aran groaned.
Rodcorte generally did not tell lies. At times where it was inconvenient for him, he would simply say, "I cannot do that," or, "I cannot say," but would not give any detailed reasons as to why he could not do or say something.
There were also cases where he never stated his true intentions from the beginning, but he didn't tell clever lies and was probably incapable of doing so.
This was likely due to his personality rather than some restriction having been placed on him.
Of course, he couldn't be trusted, since he was always looking down on the reincarnated individuals from above. However, for Murakami, who intended to kill Vandalieu, Rodcorte was more trustworthy than Aran.
"… Though this is an obvious question, why are you guys thinking about killing Vandalieu? You guys are clearly at way too much of a disadvantage," said Aran. "As Death Scythe showed us before, he won't be killed just by stopping his heart. Even if you could kill him, he might just turn into an Undead unless that stupid god does something about it. He has over a billion Mana and he's more of a cheat than us, even though he doesn't have any cheat-like abilities. There's even a mountain of enemies willing to protect him. And even after you guys are reincarnated, he won't stop growing stronger. And the nail in the coffin is that he can break your souls and destroy you in a way that you won't ever come back."
Murakami and his companions were certainly strong. Even without their equipment and state-of-the-art weapons from Origin, they would be able to compete with B-class adventurers in Lambda as they were now.
This was especially true for the 'Odin' Hasamada Aki, the 'Hecatoncheir' Doug Atlas and the 'Chronos' Murakami Junpei. These three had possessed some of the greatest fighting strength among the Bravers.
However, Aran couldn't imagine that they would be able to defeat Vandalieu, even if they combined their strength.
"You've been promised a blessed fourth life like Kaidou Kanata, but it's clearly not worth it, is it?" Aran said.
"Our ways of thinking are different," Murakami said in response. "I don't think there's much of a point in keeping this quiet from you, so I'll tell you. That guy intends to kill us. He was looking at us when that useless Konoe attacked him. That's why we have to kill him no matter what, before we get killed. And since there's a reward that comes with it, there's nothing more to be said. The choice is obvious."
"If I were him, I'd try to kill us."
"I don't want a life where I'm just trying to hide so that he doesn't find me."
"And that god will apparently help us out more than he did with Kanata, so things will probably work out."
Given the values of Murakami and his companions, it was only natural for them to decide that it was highly likely that Vandalieu would actively try to kill them. With that being the case, it went without saying that they would think of counterattacking rather than simply being killed.
"Oi, according to my Calculation, the probability of him actively trying to kill you guys is -" Aran began.
"At this point, no matter how low that number is, it might suddenly increase later. There's no point in that calculation," Murakami Junpei said as he turned his back to Aran and left.
The other reincarnated individuals followed after him. Aran watched them leave with an irritated expression.
Aran didn't really care whether Murakami and his companions died or not. He probably wouldn't feel sympathy for them even if their souls were destroyed.
However, they intended to become Vandalieu's enemies, and if Vandalieu were to see this as all of the reincarnated individuals working together and actively tried to kill Aran's Braver companions, it would be a serious problem.
"Considering that he has no way of actively finding us, we could hide if we were to be reborn as babies, but since it's him we're talking about, there's no guarantee that he won't gain some unfair skill like 'Sense Reincarnators'…" Aran muttered.
"Can I have a word?" said a voice.
"Uwah! … It's you. What do you want?"
Aran had thought that everyone had left with Murakami, but the 'Aegis' Melissa J. Sautome had remained behind.
"I have a question. Origin and Lambda are different worlds, so why can Vandalieu use death-attribute magic in the same way?" she asked.
Aran was confused by Melissa's question, but he quickly decided that it was fine and gave an answer. "It's not that he can use it in the same way; it just looks that way. The fine points should be different… I think. To begin with, death-attribute magic is irregular in both worlds. Rules might not be relevant for a previously-undiscovered foreign magic."
Aran and the others didn't know this, but the truth was that the Counter ability of Ereshkigal, who had become a part of Legion, could now only counter damage received from the last enemy that had attacked.
Of course, Vandalieu had relearned death-attribute magic on his own from scratch due to the 'Experience gained in previous life not carried over,' so he wasn't aware of any differences from Origin.
"I see… then in the end, it's likely that he can do the same things. I have another question. Does Vitality in Lambda apply in all cases? Like when someone's throat is cut by a knife or when they receive an attack that ignores defenses?" Melissa asked.
"Wow, that's quite a dangerous question… it generally applies," Aran said. "Of course, the amount of damage increases depending on where the attack hits, so it's not meaningless to aim for vital spots. But you can consider it impossible for a hero in that world to be caught off-guard and die from a single attack from a regular person."
On Earth and in Origin, no matter how battle-hardened a hero was, they could die very simply. However, in Lambda, where the rule of Vitality (HP) existed, that would not happen.
Even if a hero's throat was slit by a regular person or a nameless soldier, even if they were stabbed in the spleen from behind, they would not be fatally wounded. In some cases, they would not even be scratched.
"There are the concepts of attack power, defense power and skills. Defense power is made mostly meaningless if the attack lands through gaps in armor, but those with the Physical Resistance skill have skin that's like armor," Aran said.
"So even lightweight missiles wouldn't cause any problems, even if they landed."
"… So, you noticed."
Indeed, beings that could withstand an attack from a lightweight missile were not rare in Lambda. Such missiles would likely defeat Rank 4 monsters such as Orc Soldiers, but even a direct hit would not inflict a fatal wound on a Rank 7 Earth Dragon. Such a hit would feel like nothing more than a somewhat strong punch to a Rock Dragon.
Among Talosheim's members, the 'Sword King' Borkus doesn't even need to be mentioned; even Miles, who was currently on a business trip with the Sauron Liberation Front, would undoubtedly simply ignore the hit from the missile and go on to kill the person who shot it with his bare hands.
Class adventurers would remain unharmed if they used Shield Technique and Armor Technique skills, and depending on their equipment, even D-class adventurers might get away with minor injuries. Even if they were hit in a bad place, they would not receive a fatal wound.
"Then what about a musket?" Melissa asked.
"Well, it would be impossible to kill a D-class adventurer unless you hit them right in the eye or the mouth. I don't think the bullet would pierce the skull even if it hit the head. Even normal soldiers wouldn't die in one shot through their helmets. One shot might kill mages that have low Vitality, though," Aran said. "As for monsters… it depends on what kind of monsters they are, but you'd get the idea if I tell you that a Rank 3 monster is about the same as a bear, right?"
It was difficult for even a skilled hunter to kill a bear with a single shot. That difficulty wouldn't be any less if the bear was replaced by a three-meter-long huge boar or a fast-moving carnivorous dinosaur.
And considering a musket's range, the shooter would normally be counterattacked in Lambda. Even if only melee-range weapons were available, if one was skilled enough, martial skills that released slashes and impacts such as Flying Slash existed.
Well-penetrating, highly lethal sniper rifles, assault rifles with high rates of fire and high-power anti-tank rifles might be different, but it seemed that guns were not very effective weapons in Lambda.
The only difference was Vandalieu's Cannon Technique, but a cannon using vast quantities of Mana as a propulsion force and projectiles made of a magical metal or fragments of the Demon King that could even slay gods could not be put into the same category as the guns and cannons of Earth and Origin.
"I see. So, what about attacks that ignore defense?" Melissa asked.
"… I don't want to answer that question," Aran said. "That's clearly a question as to how effective Amamiya's Ignore Defense will be in Lambda, isn't it?"
"Then you don't have to answer it. That response gave me a good enough idea."
The cheat-like ability possessed by Amemiya Hiroto, Ignore Defense, which had its inconveniences but was considered to be overwhelmingly powerful in Origin. However, it seemed that it would not be as much of a threat in Lambda as in Origin, due to the existence of the concept of Vitality.
Having decided this from Aran's reaction, Melissa asked her next question, not caring about making him give a proper answer.
"Is it possible for us to be reincarnated in Lambda right after we die, like Kanata said?" she asked.
This was the reason Kanata had been destroyed by Vandalieu.
"It's possible, but difficult," Aran answered. "It places a burden on the system. Once might be doable, but being reincarnated in an adult's body the moment after you're killed is impossible."
Rodcorte was using a system to conduct reincarnation. That system denied the resurrection of any dead person.
The reincarnated individuals tricked the system by being reborn as babies, but being revived in the same adult body as one possessed before being killed was no different from resurrection.
As a result, it would place a burden on the system.
"So that means we can't redo things over and over… thanks, that's all," Melissa said as she turned her back to Aran.
With this, I've decided who I'm going to bet on, she thought.
Meanwhile, Rodcorte was devising a concrete method of destroying Vida's circle of transmigration system and absorbing the souls of Vida's races that didn't originate from monsters… the evil gods who were the remnants of the Demon King's army, into his own system.
"Vida's destruction is necessary after all. However, looking at it another way, taking over her system will be simple once Vida is destroyed. The problem is, how will Alda destroy Vida when he is unable to destroy souls…"
If this method became possible, he would not only grant Alda's request, but also increase the number of souls flowing into Rodcorte's system, meaning that more of them could be used as fighting strength for erasing Vandalieu.
He had gained information from the memories of the Humans and Dwarves of the Hartner Duchy's cultivation villages when Vandalieu brought them to Talosheim, though this information was only from the short period from before they were guided to the Demon Path.
Beyond the Boundary Mountain Range, Vandalieu had a nation in the southern region of the Bahn Gaia continent, where the goddess slumbered, and he called himself the 'Holy Son of Vida.' With that being the case, he was unlikely to run if Alda's forces attacked.
And those who worshipped Alda would not ignore a nation that considered monsters such as Undead, Ghouls, Vampires and Lizardmen its citizens and worshipped Vida and the evil gods that had allied themselves with her.
Rodcorte did not exist in Lambda, but Alda did. It would be difficult to stop his forces from labeling Zuruwarn, the god of space and creation, and Ricklent, the genie of time and space, as evil.
"Hmm… if she is attacked with more persistency, her power is decreased and her believers fall sharply in number, she should fall from divinity. I suppose I shall go with this method," Rodcorte decided.
"Oi, answer my question! Broken souls can't be fixed, right?!" said the 'Mage Masher' Minami Asagi, interrupting Rodcorte's thoughts.
"… How many times must I answer that for you to understand?" Rodcorte asked him.
"I want to make sure. Because I can't trust you. I'm asking you the same question over and over to help decide whether you're lying or not."
Rodcorte was slightly impressed. There were few humans that acted this arrogantly towards gods.
"… It is not impossible to join the fragments of a broken soul together to recycle it as a different soul," he said.
"Really?! Then -"
"However, this is different from the resurrection that you are imagining. It would only result in a distorted soul that does not possess the personality or the memories of either Konoe Kyuuji or Kaidou Kanata."
As Rodcorte said this, he suddenly remembered something. A hundred thousand years ago, he had gathered the soul fragments of Zakkart and Ark and combined them into a single soul to ensure that Vida would not resurrect the dead.
He had watched numerous reincarnations of this soul as it flowed through his system, but it had not shown anything unnatural, so he had left it alone and forgotten about it.
"If you do not trust me, you can simply ask Machida Aran and Shimada Izumi. Why are you asking me?" Rodcorte asked.
To Minami Asagi, the two who had become Rodcorte's familiar spirits should have been trustworthy companions. Despite that, he was making the effort of questioning Rodcorte, whom he declared untrustworthy, and Rodcorte couldn't understand this.
Asagi quickly answered this question. "That's right, but there might be some things that Aran and Izumi don't know. Even if I asked those two these things directly, something like what happened before might happen again. That's why I'm going to question you and then have Aran, Kouya and Tendou analyze your answers."
By 'something like what happened before,' he was likely referring to how Aran and Izumi had become unable to move when Konoe Kyuuji had tried to use the 'Clairvoyance' Tendou to attack before the others could get a chance.
Humans who had ascended to becoming familiar spirits generally had free wills, but when they directly interfered with the gods they served or clearly violated the rules that had been imposed on them, they became unable to move.
Asagi was likely wary that this could happen if questions that were inconvenient to Rodcorte happened to be asked.
It seemed that there was more thought behind his actions than Rodcorte had thought.
"So then, why is it that you are honestly admitting this to me?" Rodcorte asked.
"You can read what we're thinking anyway, right? So then, there's no point in hiding it," Asagi said.
"Indeed, that is true."
Realizing that Asagi also possessed the courage and strength of will that he had originally thought, Rodcorte revised his view of him.
On top of being aware that his thoughts were being read, Asagi was acting genuinely arrogant before a being who was absolutely superior to himself. Leaving aside whether that had any meaning or not, it was something that normal humans could not do.
In fact, Rodcorte knew that Asagi's thoughts were the same as the words he spoke.
"But why would you wish for the resurrection of those two? You people no longer consider them your companions, do you?" Rodcorte asked.
Kaidou Kanata had conducted acts such as abducting female criminals and murdering them after raping them, then concealing their corpses. When another reincarnated individual's mother in Origin met an accident that left her on the verge of death, he had considered this fortunate and sold her organs after ending her life; he had truly disgraced the Bravers.
Konoe Kyuuji could be considered to be better than him, but he was a traitor who had joined the Eighth Guidance with Murakami Junpei.
Even though they had been destroyed, these two were not people whom Asagi should have been concerned about.
However, it seemed that Asagi had different thoughts.
"It's true that I can't consider them to be my companions," he said. "In fact, I think they deserved to die for the things they did. Aran and the others aren't worried about those two being destroyed, either. I know that the things Amamiya did were because he had no choice but to protect himself. But if you ask me whether they did something that made them deserve to have their souls broken, then I…"
It seemed that Asagi's thoughts as an individual were prompting him to investigate whether Kaidou Kanata and Konoe Kyuuji's souls could be rebuilt.
However -
"That is quite the meaningless thing that you are worrying about," Rodcorte remarked.
"What?!"
"Ah, my apologies. It seems that I have accidentally spoken my true thoughts out loud."
"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?!"
"Why would I pick a fight with someone who cannot fight back? You are worrying about a truly meaningless thing, so that is simply what I thought."
Asagi was enraged.
Rodcorte decided to explain as he took small break. "It seems that you are worrying about whether those two committed acts worthy of having their souls broken, but the fitting punishment for one's acts will change depending on one's views. If there are some who say that someone deserves death for his crimes, there will be others saying that death is too harsh a punishment," he said. "It is a problem to me when any souls are broken, so I can say that those two should not have had their souls broken. That is all."
"… You don't understand at all, do you? It makes me feel strange when a god himself says something like that. And aren't you the one who let Konoe die?" Asagi said.
"Would you like me to explain my reasons for that once more? Based on what I can read of your thoughts, you have quite the complete understanding of them."
"Sheet, you're not a god after all!" Asagi spat as he turned his back to Rodcorte and left.
It seemed that today's questioning would end here.
What support the reincarnated individuals would actually get after being reborn in Lambda, how their previous experience would be reflected in their skills, whether their other memories would remain intact when their memories regarding the circle of reincarnation systems were deleted as they were reborn, whether they could choose their parents if they were reborn as babies, whether they could choose the place they started if they were reborn as adults… Asagi had asked numerous questions, but Rodcorte interpreted this as him thinking more seriously, and held higher expectations of him than he had in Kaidou Kanata.
"Now then, I suppose I will give my response to Alda."
"In other words, what I felt wasn't wrong. Amamiya, I'm definitely going to stop you," Asagi murmured.
Liked it? Take a second to support Novels on Patreon!
Chapter 131: The spider-san's request to kill her
"Who is this guy?! A monster tamed by one of the guys worshipping the gods on Vida's side?!" the Noble Orc blurted out in agitation.
"Leaving aside who is good or evil, I've now figured out who I need to defeat," said Vandalieu, understanding that the ones he needed to defeat first were indeed this Noble Orc and the Orcs that were his subordinates.
Keeping Princess Levia and the others hidden so as to not reveal his hand, but not wanting to fight on his own because everyone would worry, he had produced the enormous centipede monster Pete, and it seemed that he had successfully disturbed his enemies.
"Gishaah!" Pete hissed.
Incidentally, Vandalieu was not simply attached to Pete's belly. To be more precise, Pete was protruding from his own back through the Insect Binding Technique skill.
"Kill him bugih!" the Noble Orc commanded his Orc subordinates with words of the Orc language (?) mixed in his speech, but the Orcs had also been shaken by the sight of Pete. And the Orcs present here were those that had been gathered hastily. Their ability and loyalty were several levels below what could be called elite standards.
They couldn't be blamed for backing away from the powerful-looking Pete. They were surrounding Pete with a semi-circular formation, but there weren't any that were willing to attack without any hesitation.
But Pete didn't hesitate as he charged at them.
"GISHAAAAH!"
"BUGIH?!"
Pete's body, which was covered in a shiny, black carapace, passed between the bow-wielding Orcs and Gizania, who was likely unable to move after having lost four of her legs, and lightning shot from his horns at the Orcs.
Saliva dripped from Pete's mouth at the delicious smell of burning flesh. However, it seemed that the Orcs' fighting instincts had been ignited after their allies were attacked.
One by one, they roared and charged at Pete, raising their heavy weapons.
However, the defensive power of Pete's carapace in its normal state was greater than knights wearing full suits of armor. And he was currently using Stone Form, a martial skill of the Armor Technique skill, so the Orcs' poor Axe Technique and Club Technique skills couldn't even scratch him.
In fact, their attacks only caused their own ends due to the electricity flowing from his horns.
"Bugigih!" the Noble Orc cheered as he saw a crimson fluid gushing from Pete.
"Bururururu!"
The crimson fluid flowing from Pete was not blood, but Kühl, who was now a Deep Blood Slime, emerging from Vandalieu.
"Bugurururu!" Kühl said as it attacked the nearby Orcs. It was complaining, as it seemed to have been electrically shocked by Pete.
"Gishaah…"
"Bugih!"
Watching an Orc be dissolved alive and absorbed by Kühl as he let out a dying scream, the Noble Orc realized that his subordinates could not win against these enemies no matter how much the numbers were in their favor, so he raised his trusty greatsword and joined the battle.
The Noble Orc was indeed of a superior race; his agility far surpassed those of his subordinate Orcs.
"BUGOOOH!"
He avoided the part of Kühl's body that had been extended like a tentacle and then released a Swordsmanship martial skill superior to Triple Thrust - Hundred Furious Thrusts.
With the sound of a rock drill digging into a boulder, most of the Noble Orc's thrusts were deflected after inflicting shallow scratches to Pete's carapace. However, some of the thrusts slipped through the gaps in Pete's carapace and successfully dug into his flesh.
"GISHAAAH!"
Pete let out a roar that was more out of anger than pain. However, the Noble Orc seemed to think that he could win after seeing the damage inflicted; he pulled his sword back and tried to release another martial skill.
However, what appeared to be tree branches entwined themselves around his sword.
"BUGOH?!"
Those were the branches of Eisen, which Vandalieu had extended using Plant Binding Technique. They were powerful despite how thin they appeared to be, and they would not release their grip over the Noble Orc's greatsword.
"GISHAAAH!"
Not letting this opportunity pass by, Pete twisted his body around and pierced the Noble Orc with his horns.
"BUGYAAAAAAAH!"
With the electricity flowing from the horns piercing his body, the Noble Orc let out a dying scream.
I suppose this is how it is, Vandalieu thought as he received a slight electrical shock from being caught up in the attack as well. This Noble Orc is probably about as strong as Bugogan. Appraisal tells me that he's a Rank 7 Noble Orc Leader like Bugogan was, too.
The Noble Orc's skill with Swordsmanship might have been inferior to Bugogan's, but his equipment other than the greatsword seemed to be superior; they were likely on equal grounds.
The Devil's Nest in the forest in the Mirg shield-nation, homeland of Zadiris and the other Ghouls, a second homeland to Vandalieu. The Noble Orc Bugogan had ruled a pack of three hundred Orcs in the center of that Devil's Nest.
Vandalieu felt a little surprised upon learning that Pete had been able to defeat a similar enemy while receiving only a light wound in return. When Vandalieu had fought Bugogan, he had tried all of the methods he could think of but they hadn't worked; he had felt in danger, thinking that his barrier might be broken. Bugogan had been a powerful enemy that Vandalieu had finally managed to defeat after receiving a deep wound, using a plan that involved him risking his life.
A Noble Orc of the same strength as him was now convulsing on the ground, emitting a delicious smell.
Even though Vandalieu himself had done almost nothing at all.
"I suppose it means we've become stronger," he said.
But if he thought about it, this was the natural outcome. Over six years had passed since the battle against Bugogan. During that time, Vandalieu had acquired Jobs, and his Strengthen Followers skill had transformed into the superior skill, Guidance: Demon Path. There was nothing abnormal about having defeated a Noble Orc as powerful as Bugogan with Pete, Kühl and Eisen on his side.
"Bugiiiih!"
"Hogogeh!"
"Bugyaaaaah!"
And hadn't Vandalieu planned to have a yakiniku buffet at the Noble Orc Empire before?
I suppose it's because he was the first enemy to ever inflict a serious wound on me in battle. He was a powerful being in my mind.
Vandalieu was satisfied with this analysis of his own unrest. Incidentally, while he was doing this, the subordinate Orcs had attempted to run after seeing their Noble Orc commander being killed, but they had been sent flying by Pete sweeping the lower half of his body sideways, had their necks broken after being grabbed by Eisen's branches or been enveloped by Kühl.
Their skills were lacking and their coordination was lacking as well, so they were nothing but large-sized small fry.
Watching this scene unfold, Gizania let out a sigh of both relief and defeat as she smiled. "With this, all of Princess Kurnelia's pursuers have been defeated. Princess, please become happy with Prince Budarion… Great Vida, Zanalpadna, evil god of carapaces and compound eyes, please protect everyone," she prayed briefly with her eyes closed, and then she thrust her greatsword into the ground and let go of the handle.
As all of the Orcs stopped moving and Vandalieu finished his self-analysis, Pete faced Gizania once more.
Vandalieu, who was attached to his belly, made eye contact with her. "You don't seem to be in good condition. First, your wounds need to be treated -"
"Though this may be a coincidence, I thank you for the reinforcements, Great Centipede-dono. I suppose this, too, was the judgment of my guardian god, Zanalpadna."
What a polite person, Vandalieu thought as he heard Gizania's words of gratitude, despite having been interrupted. But even if her wounds aren't fatal, they're quite serious, so I want her to hurry up and let me treat them.
"Not at all, I simply did what any person would do -"
"As thanks, I should at least allow you to devour me and gain Experience Points. I do not know if you understand my words, but… Come! End it in one instant!" Gizania squeezed her eyes shut.
"… Eh?" Vandalieu was very bewildered, not understanding why he was being told to kill her. And then he suddenly realized. "Could it be that you think that I'm a part of Pete?" he asked as he separated himself from Pete's abdomen and stood on the ground.
Gizania opened her eyes and looked at him, dumbfounded. "Eh? You're not?"
"No good."
"Bururu!"
"Gishaah…"
Kühl and Eisen were scolding Pete, whose electricity had electrocuted them during the battle against the Orcs.
Meanwhile, Gizania was receiving treatment from Vandalieu nearby.
"I am terribly sorry. I was certain that you were an organ of a monster like a Manticore that spoke in a voice similar to that of humans to bait them into a trap…" she said.
It seemed that she had mistaken Vandalieu for something like the lure of an anglerfish.
"Not at all; I appeared in a form that could cause that misunderstanding, so please don't worry about it," said Vandalieu, focusing on other things, realizing that it couldn't be helped that Gizania thought that.
He had used Spirit Form Transformation to fuse with Gizania to apply his Rapid Healing skill to her while using Blood Potion to heal her as well.
"I've found the third leg. One more!"
"We'll find it even if we have to split the grassroots apart."
"I found it, Danna!"
Vandalieu had created clones of himself with Out-of-body Experience to find and collect the severed legs of the right side of Gizania's body with Kimberley. He used the Surgery skill to reattach them. He extended his tongue to release drugs and disinfect the wounds, and then wrapped the legs at the point of reattachment with bandages made of thread.
"By the way, is the pain bearable?" Vandalieu asked.
"Yes, it seems that there are no problems. Thanks to your magic, it simply feels a little itchy. But to think that my severed legs could be reattached… how long will it take before I can move them?" Gizania asked, looking happily at her right legs that had been reattached by the thread that Vandalieu had produced from his mouth.
"I don't know for sure," Vandalieu replied as he continued wrapping her legs in thread. "This is my first time treating an Arachne person… But if it's just small movements, I suppose it will be several hours to half a day."
"That's enough," Gizania said. "Normally, they wouldn't regrow to their original length until I went through five yearly moltings."
It seemed that Arachne molted once a year, and severed legs would regrow gradually as they did.
"It is not only my legs. In the state that I was in, if I were to survive and return to my nation on my own, I would have lost my arm," Gizania continued.
Her arm that had been broken in a horrible fashion had been completely healed, and she was able to move it normally. The upper body halves of Arachne, which resembled those of human women, didn't molt, so her two arms would never regrow if severed, unlike her eight legs.
And for Gizania, losing her arm, which was necessary to swing her sword, would be equivalent to death.
Of course, Vandalieu was happy that her arm had healed as well.
"I'm glad to hear that," he said. "It would be sad to lose an arm as beautiful as yours."
Gizania's arms had powerful muscles for wielding her greatsword. All muscles other than those of enemies were beautiful. Losing them would be an unbearable loss.
"Beautiful… is it?" Gizania asked.
"Yes."
"I see… I am not so sure, as nobody has said that other than my mother, but I'm happy." Gizania didn't look entirely convinced.
Vandalieu decided that he'd have her make poses for him later.
And he thought that the rest of Gizania was beautiful as well.
It was true that normal people might be afraid of the spider-like lower body that was the size of a two-ton truck with fluffy-looking, furry, tarantula-like legs protruding from it.
Her upper half resembled a human woman's, but when she stood upright, the top of her head was over three meters above the ground. On top of that, she had a large build, her body clearly being one of a well-trained warrior.
However, for Vandalieu, who was friendly with the giant centipede Pete and Cemetery Bees, she was not someone to feel fear or disgust towards.
In fact, even outside of her muscles, Vandalieu thought about how he wanted to try touching the fluffy fur on her lower body, about how the compound eyes on her forehead were like beautiful gems, about how her white skin was beautiful and about how her front two legs resembled a human's until halfway down.
Ah, come to think of it, she has eight legs… Will Privel be angry? No, I'm just gathering information and happened to save someone in the process, so it's fine.
Tentacles and the legs of an arthropod were quite different in appearance, but… their number was the same.
"I will thank you once more. I am Gizania. I am a samurai of the Arachne race. And I wish for you to tell me who you are. I know that this is not how I should behave towards my savior, but…"
Vandalieu was the one who had saved Gizania's life, and for some reason, she felt some charisma from him (The Demon Path Enticement and Guidance: Demon Path skills, as well as the effects of the Insect User Job), but Vandalieu wasn't someone she could not feel curious about.
"It's alright," Vandalieu said. "Kimberley, while I explain things to her, please bring everyone over from the Knochen fort."
"Fort? Could it be that you came from that fort of bone?!" Gizania exclaimed.
"I'll include that in my explanation."
"Danna, could I take my time to bring them here?" Kimberley asked. "About thirty minutes, or maybe an hour."
"Don't worry about that and bring them here quickly," Vandalieu said.
"Yeah, yeah."
Vandalieu excluded the information about the reincarnated individuals, but explained to Gizania about the current Talosheim and the reason that he and his companions had crossed the marshlands to come to this place.
Gizania was simply astonished. "The fall and resurrection of the Titan nation, travel to and from the outside of the mountain range being possible, immigrants… I would never have dreamed that things had become like this beyond the marshlands," she said.
"I feel the same way," Vandalieu said, having heard from Gizania what was happening south of the marshlands.
Eleanora, Vigaro and the others had regrouped with them around this time, and they were greatly surprised as well.
A hundred thousand years ago, the goddess Vida was defeated as a result of the battle between her and Alda, and the Arachne and Noble Orcs that had fled with her and her gods survived by forming groups encompassing their entire races in the land south of the marshlands.
The goddess Vida fell into slumber, and the surviving Pure-breed Vampires became watchmen to protect the place where she rested, while the gods of every race, including the Arachne, needed to fall into a deep slumber for tens of thousands of years to regain the power they had lost due to their wounds.
And the remaining Arachne and Noble Orcs endured the dawn of a new era by helping each other.
As they had been allies who had fought together under Vida, even though their lifespans and ways of living were different, they helped each other and the first few tens of thousands of years went well.
It seemed that the fact that the two races preferred different environments to inhabit, like the Lizardmen and the Titans, worked to their advantage.
However, several tens of thousands of years passed, the villages of each race grew in population and development, and the gods began to awaken, beginning with those with the shallowest wounds and greatest power, putting an end to the new age.
And with things becoming easier, conflicts of interest began arising between the two races, and arguments began occurring.
These didn't develop into war, but this was only because the gods, including Zanalpadna, the evil god of carapaces and compound eyes, sent Divine Messages to mediate peace whenever signs of conflict began to occur.
But soon enough, war between the races that served Vida broke out. At that time, a wise emperor appeared in history.
"The one who suppressed the war and brought peace to the southern region of the continent was the Noble Orc Arch-king, Emperor Buugih," Gizania said.
Emperor Buugih was the most powerful being existing at the time, other than the Pure-breed Vampires who were slumbering with Vida. If he had wanted to, he could have used military might to create an empire with the Noble Orcs standing at the top.
However, Emperor Buugih did not do this; he solved each race's problems through discussion.
"We are not enemies. Every one of us are brothers and sisters, are we not? Let us value peace together and prepare for the battle against the tyrannical god Alda and his hounds, who will come for us one day."
These were his words that had been recorded in history.
In other words, he had created unity within by making an enemy of those on the outside. The truth was that the tyrannical god he had mentioned, Alda, the god of law and fate, was indeed an enemy. So, to be more accurate, he had reminded those within that there was an enemy on the outside.
And then Emperor Buugih created a republic with the Noble Orc empire at its center, where each race cooperated and helped each other.
In the end, the Noble Orcs were in the position of leadership, but this was the natural course of events, as the Noble Orcs possessed the greatest fighting strength among every race.
And that republicanism had functioned well until several months ago. That was because even after Emperor Buugih's death, the successive generations of emperors had been wise and impartial, devoting themselves to maintaining the peace.
However, the second son of the late emperor, Prince Bugitas, had felt discontent with this.
"I do not know what he is thinking," Gizania said. "But when the late emperor Fugofu-sama passed away, Bugitas acquired the divine protection of a god I had never heard of, a god named Ravovifard, instigated a coup d'état and drove away Prince Budarion, who was supposed to become the next emperor, as well as his loyal retainers."
Prince Budarion, who had managed to escape despite being defeated, was in hiding now, relying on the Arachne race where his fiancé Princess Kurnelia was.
Having taken over the empire, Bugitas had erased records of his older brother and destroyed the republic created by Emperor Buugih, starting a war to create a dictatorship that worshipped the unknown evil god, Ravovifard.
The Arachne race was fighting against the empire along with the other races that supported Prince Budarion, but the situation was grim.
That was when the Arachne race had received reports that a fort had suddenly appeared without warning on the outskirts of the marshlands. Having remembered the existence of the Lizardmen race (whom they had apparently forgotten about completely due to lack of interaction with them), the Arachne race had dispatched a group of individuals with Princess Kurnelia at its center to form an alliance with the Lizardmen to change the tides of war.
"Wait a minute, why would you place the princess at the center of the mission? She's an important person, isn't she?" Eleanora asked, interrupting.
"We had no choice," Gizania replied. "The princess possesses a unique skill called 'Thread Telepathy.' It is a skill that creates mutual understanding with those connected to her by threads that she creates, and the plan was to use that to negotiate with the Lizardmen."
"… The skill's name sounds like 'string phone,' doesn't it," said Vandalieu.
Note: "Thread Telepathy" is (糸念話)ito-nenwa. 'String phone' is (糸電話)ito-denwa, which refers to a telephone made from two cans and a piece of string.
"But during our mission, the group, including myself, was attacked by Bugitas's subordinates. In order to allow the princess to escape, I applied upon myself the secret medicine passed down among our tribe that forcibly induces arousal in Orcs, drawing them all the way here… and then, when my life was in danger, I was saved by Vandalieu-dono. I will never forget this for the rest of my life. I will definitely repay the favor one day," Gizania said, lowering her head.
"I said this before, but I just did what I should do as a person, and as the 'Holy Son of Vida.' Please don't worry about it," Vandalieu said.
Though he said this, he actually expected a lot from her repayment of this favor.
Things look like they'll turn out bigger than I expected, and if I have her mediate things with the Arachne race, it seems that I'll be able to talk to Prince Budarion's side as well. I'm glad I obeyed my instincts, Vandalieu thought.
Now that he thought about it, that uneasiness that he had felt earlier might have been some hidden effect of the 'Holy Son of Vida' Title.
"But… Insectoid monsters, Undead, Ghouls and Vampires? And Orcs that I have never seen before. And they all seem to be several steps above me in strength," said Gizania, having sensed the strength of Eleanora, Vigaro and the Orcuses. ��A Dhampir who leads such beings… how tremendous the 'Shrine Maiden of Vida' is."
"Hmm?" Vandalieu felt an uncomfortable feeling.
"Fugoh, King is amazing! By the way, I'm starting to get turned on!"
"Bufuuh! Bufuuuh!"
"Deodorization!"
Before he could figure out what that uncomfortable feeling was, Vandalieu realized that Gorba and the other Orcuses were breathing wildly and looking at Gizania with dangerous eyes, so the feeling went away.
"My apologies. It seems that the odor of the secret medicine still lingered on my body," Gizania said.
It seemed that the secret medicine that forcibly stimulated arousal in Orcs was also effective on Orcuses.
"Bufuh? I've calmed down. I'm a wise man now," said Gorba, turning his calm gaze to a faraway place.
"By the way, why hasn't your god appeared yet when you're in such trouble?" asked Orbia from next to Gorba. "He came out to mediate peace several times tens of thousands of years ago, didn't he?"
This question completely distracted Vandalieu from his uncomfortable feeling.
"I do not know," said Gizania. "Perhaps there is a reason, or perhaps Ravovifard has done something, or perhaps he has some deep thoughts that I cannot hope to understand."
"Hmm, that might be right. But still, a wise Noble Orc emperor…" Basdia murmured.
"Is it surprising? For us, it is not surprising at all," said Gizania.
"Rather than surprising, it is beyond our imagination completely," said Zadiris.
"That's surprising as well, but I heard that the Noble Orc was speaking human words. Is that true?" Basdia asked.
"As far as I can remember, Bugogan and his sons didn't speak a word," said Vigaro.
"About Bugogan… I remember hearing about a Noble Orc criminal who was exiled over ten years ago. I know why that is," Gizania said.
It seemed that speaking the human language was a requirement to become the head of a family in the Noble Orc empire. However, with his body physically being unable to pronounce human words, a certain Noble Orc had pretended to speak human language using a Magic Item that he had created in secret in order to become the head of his family.
He had apparently been exiled for the crime of killing a Noble Orc of a rival family who had learned of his secret.
It was likely that this Noble Orc had been Bugogan. It seemed that no other Noble Orcs had been sentenced to exile for some time, too.
"I suppose it can be said that he was defeated in a power struggle," said Vandalieu.
The story was slightly different from what he had heard from the spirit of Bugogan himself, but it was within an acceptable margin of error.
"By the way, I would like to move to regroup with Princess Kurnelia after you've had some rest," Vandalieu said.
"Yes, but chasing after them will likely be difficult. Around half a day has passed since I became bait and ran all the way here," said Gizania.
"I'm not sure whether I should praise Arachne for their stamina or be exasperated at the sexual desire of Orcs."
If Princess Kurnelia had returned straight back to the Arachne village, that difference would be more than a day's worth. Vandalieu would be able to chase after her if he flew, but he didn't really want to do this in a Devil's Nest that he was visiting for the first time.
"I drew all of the Orcs in the nearby area to myself with the secret medicine, so the princess and the others should be safe. That Noble Orc seemed to have gathered those subordinates in a hurry, so there are unlikely to be any more pursuers," Gizania said.
And so, Vandalieu and his companions decided to pursue Princess Kurnelia and her followers without straining themselves.
Name: Pete
Rank: 7
Race: Black Hundred-Lightning Centipede
Level: 45
Passive skills:
Hunger Resistance: Level 2
Self-Enhancement: Following: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Venom Secretion (Neurotoxin): Jaws: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
Wind Attribute Resistance: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Enhanced Body: Exoskeleton, Horns: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
Superhuman Strength: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Active skills:
Silent Steps: Level 1
Charge: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
Surpass Limits: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)
Armor Technique: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Lightning: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)
Unique skills:
Dragon Devourer: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
Name: Kühl
Rank: 6
Race: Deep Blood Slime
Level: 61
Passive skills:
Blunt Damage Resistance: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)
Hunger Resistance: Level 2
Predator's Restoration: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
Body Form Manipulation: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Venom Secretion: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
Magic Resistance: Level 1 (NEW!)
Superhuman Strength: Level 1 (NEW!)
Active skills:
Silent Steps: Level 4
Bloodwork: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Surpass Limits: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Grow: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 1 (NEW!)
Liked it? Take a second to support Novels on Patreon!