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Chapter 136

Thanks to Lilith’s healing magic, we somehow managed to recover.

That said, my wounds were particularly severe and couldn’t be fully healed.

I had taken deadly attacks from both Merlin and Liu Hai, and my body was in a mess due to the forced demonization.

To heal this, it looks like I’ll need to rest for a while and recuperate both physically and mentally.

When we went outside, the dragon army led by the Dragon King had already wiped out the mass-produced heroes.

We decided on our next course of action in the village’s meeting room, which led to an urgent and sudden blitzkrieg.

「Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the urgency, but we’re going to launch an assault on the Ark now.」

I have to say, this guy always looks great in his host outfit.

He has long blonde hair and an old-fashioned sense of style, but he’s handsome enough to pull it off.

「An assault? Now?」

Liu Hai nodded vigorously.

「Yes. Moses never expected to lose you, Lute. Right now, he’s probably in chaos trying to revise his plans.」

Merlin continued Liu Hai’s explanation.

「Basically, this Moses guy likes to use underhanded methods, right? So, before he has time to fix his broken plans, we should crush him in one go.」

「Well, we’re all muscleheads here. Hitting them hard before they have time to react isn’t a bad idea. But I’m a mess. Liu Hai and Merlin, you’re both exhausted too, right? I’m really sorry about that」

At that point, the Dragon King smiled and placed an attaché case on the table next to his chair.

It was a stylish one, probably used for travel. They say some items drift into this world from the other one.

The Dragon King took a small bottle from the case.

The bottle contained a golden liquid that sparkled.

「This is the World Tree’s Dew. It’s an artifact created by the system, like the guardians, to sustain and protect humanity.」

「The World Tree?」

「Yes. We managed to secure a small amount just before the World Tree was destroyed by reincarnators 50 years ago.」

「What does it do?」

「Complete recovery of HP and MP. We have just enough for everyone, so we can launch our assault in top condition.」

I’ve always thought these guys were overpowered.

They’re absurdly strong, and having investigated the system for a long time, they know a lot about it.

Well, I guess I’m one to talk about being absurd.

「Um, Dragon King? You mean Moses thinks I’m still under his control and can’t move yet, right?」

「Exactly. So, now is the perfect time.」

「So, a powerful counterattack right off the bat.」

I said, looking around at everyone who nodded in agreement.

Originally, both Cordelia and Lilith were quite hot-blooded. And including myself, none of us are the type to just take a beating without fighting back.

Well, it looks like we’ve unanimously decided on our course of action. I nodded firmly and said,

「Our target is the Ark. Now that they’re unprepared, we will launch a surprise attack. I need everyone’s strength.」

The Ark—Moses and his group call it that. It’s the Vatican, a self-sustaining urban shelter that survived the nuclear apocalypse. It looks like a dome, and it’s nearby.

「That reminded me, that thing used to be the World Tree, didn’t it?」

There was an old, withered tree standing there. It was a gigantic tree, as big as a mountain, with its top lightly covered by clouds.

「Yes, Lute. The reincarnators have been gradually stripping away the power that protects humanity to make population control easier.」

I nodded at the Dragon King’s words and smiled.

「But life is resilient. Even if it was destroyed once, new life is still sprouting.」

At the base of the giant, withered tree, there was a forest of young, tall trees, though not as big as the World Tree, reaching about a hundred meters tall.

The tall forest extended almost to the Ark, giving off the feeling that life was striking back at the reincarnators who once destroyed it.

Merlin nodded cheerfully and said,

「Life cannot be managed by human hands. Those who destroyed the World Tree never considered the possibility of its revival. Well, the drops that heal everything can only be harvested from mature trees… but that will happen in a few hundred years. In the scale of life and this planet, it’s just a moment. Human tricks are of little consequence. The same goes for this system.」

「By the way, how are the drops harvested?」

「When the tree matures, it constantly emits a mist. That’s why the mortality rate of adventurers in the past was significantly lower than it is now. Immediate full recovery made life tough for healing magicians back then.」

「It really does sound like something out of a game.」

「Well, it was made by humans.」

But setting that aside… the six of us proceeded towards the Ark.

As soon as we reached the dome, the door opened.
Two armed men, seemingly mass-produced heroes, came out.

「What are you guys doing here? Only a handful of people can reach this place… Are you some kind of S-rank adventurers?」

「Shut up.」

I said, delivering a backhand blow.

「Puh-blergh!」

I shattered his nasal bone and sent him flying about a hundred meters.

「Wh-what the hell are you guys?」

「As I said, I told you to be quiet!」

With another backhand blow, the man flew off in the opposite direction this time.

「…」

Cordelia stayed silent, so I tilted my head and said,

「What is it?」

「You’re really just all brawn, aren’t you? Your way of doing things is just ridiculous. I’ve kept quiet until now, but sometimes I can’t tell which of us is the thug.」

「Haha, that’s a harsh critique.」

「Once this fight is over, I’ll have to teach you some manners.」

「Take it easy on me, will you?」

「…Cordelia Allston?」

「Hm? What is it, Lilith?」

「…It’s too soon for you to act like Lute’s wife. And playing the elder wife role is a million years too early for you.」

As the two of them started glaring at each other, I quickened my pace towards the door, muttering,

「Scary, scary.」

We walked down a long, long corridor until we saw a door. Just as we were walking, an alarm started blaring.

「So, this means they’ve caught on to our intrusion.」

But this was part of the plan. The fact that we were even here was unexpected for them. So, the flashier the better.

After walking for about five minutes, the corridor ended, and I kicked the door open with all my might.

「Well, well, this is unexpected.」

It was literally a dome. This place was originally a nuclear shelter that buried the Vatican city underground. I knew the residential areas were underground, but…

The ground area was several times the size of the Tokyo Dome’s field… and I could see the mass-produced heroes swarming up from the underground passage.

There were about 3000 or 4000 of them. The fact that they came out in just a few minutes showed their high level of training.

All 10,000 of them… no, we killed 3000 in the Dragon’s Village, so their total is 7000. It would take a few more minutes for all of them to come out.

「Alright. Let’s go for the ‘thousand-man slash’… no, the ‘seven-thousand-man slash.’」

As I drew Excalibur, the Dragon King shook his head.

「No, Lute? Leave this to us.」

「What do you mean?」

With a wink, the Dragon King responded,

「It’s fitting that you should be the one to deal the final blow to your fated enemy, isn’t it? We’ll handle this part—me, Liu Hai, and Merlin.」

I thought for a moment and then smiled.

「So, it’s the three monstrous kaiju vs. the Ultraseven Police Force 7000, huh? Unless we bring in the Ultrastars for reinforcements, Moses is at a disadvantage.」

「Police Force?」

「If you don’t get it, that’s fine.」

「Anyway…」

I scanned the dome.

「I’ve memorized the layout of this facility. The largest entrance to the underground—it’s over there!」

I pointed to a staircase a few hundred meters away that led underground.

「Run! Cordelia! Lilith!」

We sprinted through the dome.

Like the wind, like a pegasus, we dashed forward at maximum speed.

Cordelia and Lilith were slightly behind.

Four mass-produced warriors surrounded Cordelia, each brandishing their weapons and striking simultaneously.

Swoosh.

The sound of cutting wind resulted in four lifeless bodies, split into eight pieces, in the blink of an eye.

Cordelia continued her charge, not altering her course, heading straight into the human barricade ahead.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

Hinokagutsuchi, the flame sword known as the Godslayer, left a trail of blue flames as it turned humans into chunks of meat in an instant.

Cordelia ran as if she were in an uninhabited field, cutting down people with her sword without slowing down.

「What the—!? What the hell are they!?」

「That red hair… it’s like a demon!」

Lilith sighed lightly and muttered.

「…MP conservation… Limited Golden Roar (Minimum Drags’ Nuclear).」

A nuclear flame dragon appeared in front of Lilith, consuming and incinerating the mass-produced warriors one after another.

「Nuclear heat…!?」

「We’re all over S-rank! And yet we’re being wiped out like trash… This wasn’t supposed to happen! This isn’t what we were told!」

「Wasn’t this supposed to be an invincible army that could do whatever we wanted with money and women!?」

Watching the mass-produced warriors running around in confusion, I couldn’t help but laugh.

「Haha, it’s like one of those hack-and-slash games. Well then, I guess it’s my turn…」

Reaching the entrance to the underground, I decided to clear the way for the delayed Cordelia and Lilith.

In other words—

「Unleash fighting spirit!」

A gust of wind erupted within a 50-meter radius, blowing away hundreds of mass-produced warriors at once.

Seriously, this really feels like a hack-and-slash game.

「What the—what the hell is with this black-haired guy!?」

「He blew us away with just the shockwave from his fighting spirit release!?」

Watching the people flung into the air and dropping down like stones, Cordelia and Lilith finally caught up.

Then Lilith aimed at the underground staircase—

「Limited Golden Roar (Minimum Drags’ Nuclear).」

「Aaaaargh!」

Screams of men being burned by flames echoed from inside.

「Alright, that should have cleared things up in there. Let’s go.」

Cordelia and Lilith nodded, and I addressed the remaining mass-produced warriors around us.

「Don’t worry. We’re just passing through. We won’t bother you any further.」

Then, waving dismissively, I started down the underground stairs.

「Though, behind us are some terrifying… a dragon-like man, an old man who looks like a woman, and a childlike old lady.」