Episode 663: Preparing the Demon Army (3)
The Wind Elemental Lord’s appearance caused a great deal of consternation…
Could it be that the Wind Elemental Lord was the one Surna was talking about?
“He’s on our side?”
Helia asked with a hint of anticipation- “Is he on our side?
It would be reassuring to have the Wind Elemental Lord on our side.
But at the same time, she was worried.
Elemental Lords are literally the pinnacle of nature.
If they were to use their power in earnest, they would have a great impact on the ecosystem, for better or worse.
That’s why most Elemental Lords don’t move much from their abodes.
Because they are nature itself, they care for it more than anyone else.
Conversely.
the Elemental Lords would only move if something happened that would have a great adverse effect on nature itself.
As everyone was thinking this, Surna spoke up.
“It’s not on our side-if it was, it wouldn’t have shown up here-”
“Does that mean it’s an enemy?”
Everyone tensed up at those words.
Considering the Elemental Lords are living natural disasters in their own realms, the Elemental Lord of Wind is a living, breathing typhoon.
Could it only be a typhoon capable of causing nationwide damage?
It is possible to create a hurricane by increasing its power instead of narrowing its scope.
“Don’t be nervous, it’s not an enemy-not yet.”
“Not yet?”
“He’s different from the other Elemental Lords- if the other Elemental Lords only care about the ecosystem of Mother Nature, the Wind Elemental Lord is quite the opposite-”
“What do you mean he’s different?”
“Because he is the only Elemental Lord in this world who has made a pact with a single human-”
From Surna’s mouth came a shocking truth that everyone didn’t know.
“Even an elemental lord can only make a pact with a spirit- someone who has a connection with him, of course.”
“Who was that?”
“Saint Arkenis-”
A real saint, the former powerhouse of the Order, now dead and gone, the one everyone looked up to.
“The Wind Elemental Lord is St. Arkenis’ contracted spirit, which is why he’s been asleep ever since she disappeared that day.”
“Ah, a saint, but a contract with an elemental lord- what the hell is that—-”
“Because elemental lords have feelings too- they can think, they can rejoice, they can grieve- they are much more pure than humans- and that one is unusually fickle even among them-”
Wind means freedom-
It blows everywhere and goes everywhere.
It is the wind that never stays still.
The Elemental Lord of Wind was not bound by the same compulsion to protect nature as the other Elemental Lords.
for it is the wind itself.
“To him, a girl with eyes that resembled the sky was better than the vast skies and clear atmosphere of this world-”
“Isn’t that a little dangerous?”
Violetta asked cautiously-
“If she’s a spirit who has a contract with Saint Arkenis, she’s at enmity with you, the Great Demon-”
“That’s right- we fought a lot- I can’t tell you how many times I was almost killed by him-”
Surna replied with a chuckle and everyone looked at him with a puzzled expression-
The fact that he said that here and now made it seem like the Wind Elemental Lord had come to kill him.
“But it’s different now- he’s not going to kill me- he can’t kill me, exactly-”
A confident tone-
The Wind Elemental Lord who had actually appeared hadn’t taken any action yet-.
“After the Saint disappeared, the one who lost the contractor went to sleep without doing anything- he made a promise- to stay put until the contractor didn’t show up-”
“—and now he’s awake and moving?”
“Because someone who is not Saint Arkenis, but who has inherited the greatest power she ever possessed, has now appeared-”
At those words, Ludger realized who Surna was talking about-
“Renee—-”
“That’s right- that’s her- the girl who inherited the saint’s power, the [Judgmental], that I was hoping to find in Seorn-”
“Weren’t you trying to find her and do something with her?”
Ludger could tell even before this that Surna was trying to find Renee-
Judgment was the inherent power of a saint, and Surna was the archdemon who had fought such a saint.
Eventually, Surna realized that Renee possessed the Pandemic Eye and made contact with her.
But to Renee’s surprise, Surna didn’t touch her.
In fact, she even gave her a little prodding to make her more aroused.
“For what?”
“Because I have some sort of connection to the owner of the crystal-”
Surna stuttered in moderation.
She was saying it as a way of saying she couldn’t tell him yet.
“Now that the owner of the Judgment Crystal has awakened to my power, the Wind Elemental Lord has also awakened from his long slumber and is acting in accordance with the agreement… But for him to show his power like that now, he’s just trying to see the situation and remain neutral.”
Neutral-
Ludger couldn’t help but question the words.
Renee is in Seorn now.
Why would the Elemental Lord of the Winds come here if he had nothing to do with this crusade?
“Does that mean she’s intervened in the crusade, siding with Salesin?
But if so.
why is the Wind Elemental Lord still letting the Contractor’s enemies get away with it?
And why is Surna’s attitude so casual in the face of the Wind Elemental Lord?
‘So you’re saying that the Wind Elemental Lord is here for a reason, and that Surna knows it, and that’s why she’s so relaxed.
I’m relieved to hear he’s not an enemy.
If the Elemental Lords were the enemy, Ludger would have no choice but to open the gates.
The elemental lord of fire was better.
The Elemental Lord of Earth had blocked the magma’s path, and it had disappeared on its own.
But what about that flying thing in the sky?
I had no idea how to fight an animated typhoon.
‘Among other things, if we open the gates here, Lumensis will intervene more strongly on this side-‘
The only reason we were able to open the gate completely was because Lumensis was unaware of this side’s existence.
It was only possible because I secretly opened a backdoor and borrowed the power of the gods outside of Lumensis.
But that was impossible now.
In exchange for that one great use of power, Lumensis had become fully aware of Ludger’s existence.
Now, the moment this side opens the portal to borrow the power of the gods, Lumensis, and no one else, will be the first to intervene and utilize the power.
The other gods would use threats or persuasion, but Lumensis, who would use this one as a puppet, would hear Ludger’s words.
“I’d rather not use it at all, or at the very least, use it sparingly and only perform the first level sealing ritual.
It was fortunate that the Wind Elemental Lord hadn’t pounced, as he needed to conserve his strength for the fight ahead.
“So what is the Wind Elemental Lord doing here now?”
“I think he’s trying to confirm-”
“Confirm?”
“As a contractor, he can’t do nothing, so he’s planning to intervene in this fight, but minimally-”
“What do you mean, minimal involvement-”
“You can rest assured- he doesn’t intend to have any effect on the ground-”
Surna smirked.
“But the sky is a different story-”
Kurrrrr-
The elemental lord of wind spread his wings wide.
The dark clouds that enveloped Bretus grew larger and began to spread outward from the island.
“You just asked how we’re going to defend against the air defenses, and this is the answer-”
Surna said to Caroline.
“The Crusaders are now blocked from traveling to the skies – the Wind Elemental Lord has not allowed it.”
If what Surna said was true, this was a stroke of genius on this side.
Over two thousand airships, all because of a single Wind Elemental Lord.
This is nearly half the power they have to deal with.
Of course, the remaining half was enough to wipe them out.
There was still a difference between a dwarf and a giant.
“That’s enough-”
The sudden appearance of the Wind Elemental Lord was unexpected, but it ended up not being a bad thing.
Caroline crossed her arms and nodded in satisfaction.
“Just by blocking the opponent’s airborne forces, the possibilities have opened up tremendously- You said we only needed to hold out, so it’s quite possible-”
Caroline’s mind quickly drew a picture of the battlefield.
From the third checkpoint city to the first checkpoint city.
If we can utilize our geographical advantage, we can certainly slow them down.
“The road to the citadel isn’t that wide- if they want to get inside, they’ll have to go through the checkpoint cities.”
I had to consider going around the side, but I didn’t have to worry about that.
The road to the other side is narrow, and it would take a great deal of time for a large army of that size to make a detour.
Making a path?
It was better that way- if some of the troops were to get lost and buy them time, it was something they would welcome with open arms.
The Brettusians were not expecting a foreign invasion.
Not because they were lulled into a false sense of security by their absolute power.
but because they were well-equipped to fend off any enemies that might come their way.
“Did you all hear? I’ll take command from this side, since I have more practical experience in this area.”
“Ha- I see, you’re scratching your ego!”
It was Ambella Burke who reacted to Caroline’s bold statement.
“Hey- you little human-”
“What, the little human?”
Caroline’s brow creased.
There was a gasp from the Monarch mercenaries at Ambella’s taunt.
Ambella had said something she should never have said to their leader, Caroline!
Sure enough, Caroline glared at Ambella with a fury that made her hair stand on end.
“What are you- an elf?”
With hair like a lion’s mane and a ferocious grin, Ambella looked, to put it mildly, too much like a Sioux.
She was large for a woman, with considerable muscle and an eye patch over one eye.
and pointed ears that didn’t look quite right on an elf.
“What kind of barbarian is here?”
“What, barbarian?”
Ambella’s face contorted into a hideous scowl.
It was a look that would have made a fellow elf shudder, but Caroline did not avert her gaze from Ambella.
It was like a fierce bear and a vicious bobcat confronting each other with bared teeth.
“What is it that you don’t like? A savage-”
“Yes- you expect me to leave my defense to a child, it would be far cheaper to put a bow in his hands-”
“I am a sixth rank mage at the head of the Monarch Mercenaries- we have never been dethroned from the top spot in this business and have fought in many civil wars and battles in many countries-”
Caroline thumped her fist against her chest with pride in her voice-
“There is no one on the battlefield who knows better than I do where and how to lead a man in battle-”
Oooooh!
The Monarch mercenaries shouted in response to his words.
“Ha! What the hell- I thought you had something to say, and you said that in such a small squad battle- I am Ambella Burke- the patriarch of the Burke family that protects the Elven Kingdom from foreign invasions- I even defended it from enemies in the Great War a hundred years in the past- defensive warfare- we Burkes are the best defensive warriors in this world!”
Wow!
At those words, the elves of the Burke family let out a roar-!
The two organizations glared intensely at each other and entered into a nervous battle.
Each of them had enough pride that such a clash was inevitable.
“Small-scale battles don’t belong on the battlefield of Mercury- Elves have their own ways-”
“Ha- That’s true, it only works in large-scale sieges- Look at the situation now- Our troops are a handful compared to the enemy- Naturally, we’ll have to fight as guerrilla as possible in small numbers-”
“Our individual combat power is all elite- Do you think it will work in a situation like this to treat them like regular mercenaries?”
Dig!
Sparks flew between Caroline and Ambella.
Surna, who hadn’t seen the scene, stepped in and intervened.
“Come on- everyone- moderate yourselves- you both have a point- it’s not who’s right or wrong, it’s just a difference of opinion, right?”
Oh-
Sedina, who was secretly afraid that Ambella would start a fight, let out a gasp of admiration at Surna’s gentle approach.
Though she’d betrayed them now, there was a time when she’d had a vague idea of the existence of the Zero Order as a Second Order.
A man who could organize a secret society of this magnitude without anyone realizing it, he must be very good at manipulating people.
Sedina’s hopes and wishes were completely dashed by Surna’s next words.
“You know, I get a little tired of listening to you two talk about things that are lesser than me, so listen to me here-”
“What?”
“You bastard!”
The situation became even more chaotic-
