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CHAPTER 261: THE GREAT LIBERATION BATTLE 6

—From Curulario’s POV—

「Alright, so the plan Heil gave me is to hold this advanced-class tower while fending off attacks, then teleport away if things get dangerous, and launch another assault later. …But honestly, if the enemy’s only at that level, this is nothing. Compared to the trials Master put me through, this feels way too easy…」

Heil’s request was to capture the advanced-class tower and then hold it. Ideally, I would also draw reinforcements from the Supreme-class Dragon Tower, thinning their forces there as much as possible.

However, once each battle ended, there was plenty of time until the next attack came. To put it bluntly—I was bored.

「I mean, if the goal is just to hold the tower and whittle down their numbers, isn’t there a more efficient way?」

Most likely, Heil crafted this strategy with my safety as his top priority. Maybe because I’m not officially part of Tekirana. Or maybe it’s out of childhood friendship. Or perhaps he still sees me as weak…

Either way, if I shave off some of that safety margin…

Maybe I’ve just gotten too used to fighting right on the edge of my limits, but a rather risky strategy popped into my head.

Anyone else hearing it would probably say, ‘Are you nuts?’ But even so, Calvados has such overwhelming strength over Tekirana that unless we pull off crazy moves like this, we’ll never even the odds.

Besides, now that the plan’s taken shape, I’ve got this irresistible itch to test it out!

I know it’s a bad habit. But once it takes hold, I can’t stop myself.

「Well, might as well give it a shot! If I fail, I just have to retake the advanced-class tower again!」

Of course, I’d need to convince the Tekirana troops stationed at the tower. But that shouldn’t be too hard.

After all, the only one taking the risk will be me alone.

◇　◇　◇　◇

—Calvados Coalition Advanced-class tower Commander, Niglus’ POV—

「Stay sharp for that bastard in the fox mask! His stealth skills are extremely advanced. Always move in pairs, cover your partner’s blind spots, and corner him! Take him down, and the rest are nothing. Whatever it takes, contain him!」

I never expected Tekirana to assign such a powerhouse to the advanced-class tower. Is he some S-rank adventurer from another country? Someone that skilled should be famous in this city—and there’s no way our higher-ups wouldn’t have tried to scout him.

Even so, we did manage to predict his skill set after the first encounter.

As long as we stay alert for his ambushes, there’s no problem. Plus, I requested twice the manpower, including an S-rank party and scouts specialized in detection. With this many people, we can take down even an advanced boss without letting it do a thing.

Time to return the favor for last time!

「Stay alert on the way to the 9th floor! If you’re ambushed, follow the manual immediately!」

「「「Understood!!」」」

But when we reached the 9th floor, the scene that awaited us was nothing like we expected.

「Th-There’s no one here…?」

「Niglus-san, what’s going on here…?」

Two possibilities came to mind.

One: they panicked at our numbers and retreated.

The other…

「They’ve formed up on the 10th floor or even higher.」

「The 10th floor is a spawn room… Maybe they’re trying to wear us down?」

「Most likely. They’ll want to narrow the power gap. I doubt they’d risk an all-out brawl on the 10th floor… Everyone stay sharp as we advance!」

「Should we consider waiting on this floor until they come down?」

「No. We’re the mighty Calvados Coalition. And with these numbers, we can break through the 10th floor without taking a scratch.」

「Understood. I’ll notify all units to hold until everyone’s assembled for the push.」

And so, we gathered our forces and stepped onto the stairs—unknowingly walking straight into a nightmare.

When we reached the 10th floor, that fox-masked man was standing there with a horde of monsters at his back.

He simply stood there—but the unnatural aura was palpable to all of us.

Despite having his back to the monsters, not one of them made any move to attack him.

It was only moments later that I realized: We underestimated him.

The monsters turned their aggression toward us and charged like a tidal wave, while the fox mask vanished into stealth once again.

The 10th floor was said to be dangerous, but monsters alone shouldn’t be a problem.

Our response was correct. I followed protocol, and everyone executed it flawlessly.

Yet even so, tiny cracks began to form in the perfect system.

「What the hell!? Who are you aiming that spell at!?」

「At the monsters, obviously!」

「Look closely! That’s one of ours! What are you, some rookie who can’t tell friend from foe!?」

Shouts of confusion echoed everywhere.

Even in this chaotic melee, the number of friendly fire incidents was unnaturally high.

The tiny cracks quickly widened into gaping holes, throwing the battlefield into disarray.

That’s when I finally remembered—we saw this in the first battle, too.

We had assumed his skills were stealth and status ailments—but he had hidden his trump card. And this time, he unleashed it from the very start.

A monster-controlling skill?

I thought he was a debuffer, but could he be a tamer?

No, that’s not it. A tamer couldn’t control this many monsters at once, nor did he give them any commands.

And it doesn’t explain the excessive friendly fire.

…Wait. Where’s the rest of Tekirana’s adventurers? Don’t tell me—he’s taking on 150 of us alone?

Impossible. Even if someone thought of such a plan, only a madman would actually do it.

Of course, no manual covers a situation like this. But without new orders, our losses will just keep piling up… Dammit, I can’t think straight!

「Niglus-san! We can’t keep fighting like this!」

「What do we do!? Give us orders!」

「B-But the monsters are thinning out! If we keep this up, we’ll beat them back!」

「That’s not the point! Our real enemy isn’t the monsters—it’s Tekirana!」

Retreat or fight on…

We can’t retreat twice in a row.

And the enemy is just one man—if upper management hears about this, I’m finished…

But if I issue the wrong orders here, I’ll be held responsible for everything.

The pressure narrowed my vision, my breathing growing short and shallow.

My thoughts whirled frantically, but the more I thought, the harder it was to speak.

「Niglus. Have everyone except us return using escape stones.」

A voice from behind.

That’s right! We have them!

The S-rank party 【Snapdragon】. The party ranked number 7 inside the Calvados Coalition, strong enough to take down the Advanced-class Tower boss Aquilaleo in just one hour.

Even that fox mask bastard can’t stand against them—

「Aha! Found you! Since these five look a bit troublesome, let’s give them some extra-strong paralysis poison♪」

「Gah…」

Before I could turn around, a cheerful yet chilling voice came from nowhere.

When I spun around, I saw 【Snapdragon】’s five members twitching and convulsing on the ground, while the fox mask stood over them with a smug gaze.

Even with the mask, I could feel the ecstasy in his voice, making it all the more unsettling.

「Now then—time for a big cleanup~♪」

He no longer even bothered to stay hidden, gleefully swinging his crimson shamshir.

Something shot through the air at high speed, striking the nearby soldiers from behind with terrifying precision. Each victim convulsed violently, foaming at the mouth as they collapsed.

There were barely 40 monsters. We had 150 people.

And yet, because of this one man, both sides had nearly evened out. Most of our forces couldn’t even activate their escape stones, lying on the ground helplessly convulsing.

Anyone watching would call it what it was—one-sided slaughter.

At some point, I’d fallen to my knees, unable to do anything but watch my comrades fall one by one.

「I… I don’t understand…」

How is this possible?

Why does he look so relaxed?

What could I have done to prevent this?

Who is this fox mask?

What can I do, what can I do, what can I do—

How can I wake up from this nightmare—

「Nuhuhuuu~♪ You’re the last one left, you know? How long are you gonna stay like that?」

Before I knew it, the monsters were all gone, and only I remained conscious.

「Don’t worry~, it’ll just sting a little at first. Okay, relax—」

I didn’t even understand his nonsensical words before a sharp impact struck my back.

Then came the unbearable pain, dizziness, and nausea.

「Guh—Gobo—OEEEHH!!」

I writhed pathetically on the floor, smearing my face in my own vomit, but my mind was oddly clear.

(Es-escape stone… I have to escape…! Wha!? My body—it won’t… move…)

「Oh? Did I mess up the dosage? Ehehe~ Oh well♪」

With those words, the fox mask vanished from the floor.

Roughly three hours would pass before monsters respawned in this room.

Considering nearly all 150 of us failed to return via escape stone, expecting reinforcements was futile. Our only option was to writhe on the floor, praying the paralysis wore off before the monsters reappeared.

About two hours later, the paralysis wore off, and everyone escaped using their stones.

When I teleported back to the city of Wislo, the first thing I saw was the Calvados rear base overflowing with wounded, its support functions completely paralyzed.