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Chapter 38 – part 6

Ignoring his words, Lilith shifted her gaze to the road stretching ahead.

「…Straight from the road. 700 meters.」

The Ogre’s forces were closing in, now just 700 meters away.
The Ogre King’s figure was visible to the naked eye.

The Vice Captain’s expression started to pale at the sight.

「So that’s the Ogre King? It seems… he really does exist.」

A portly, bulging figure resembling a sumo wrestler.
Standing at three and a half meters tall, and easily weighing over 500 kilograms.
Adorned in a multitude of rare equipment stripped from adventurers, he marched proudly and imposingly along the endless road with a large entourage trailing behind him.

「Hey, Student Lilith?」

「…What?」

「In the face of an Ogre group that includes an Ogre King, how should we handle it?」

「…Just run away. You can’t win anyway.」

「But that is not the way of the Knights. We have helpless civilians behind us.」

At that, Lilith nodded in apparent approval.

「…Chivalry.」

Seeing her nodding in agreement, the Vice Captain chuckled.

「In other words, we have to just tough it out. Well, at this rate, annihilation is certain. Lilith, you’re a student. No one will blame you for fleeing.」

Lilith looked around.
From the moment the Ogre King was sighted, guild members motivated by money were already retreating.
Even among the knights, those lacking determination were beginning to shed their cumbersome armor hindering their escape.

「…However, all the knights except for you are starting to flee.」

「Even so, I’ll stay here. You should escape with everyone else.」

The approaching horde of Ogres.
Trembling faintly down his spine, with his expression stiffening, the Vice Captain smiled a strained smile and told Lilith so.

「…I’ve changed my mind.」

「Hmm? Changed your mind? About what?」

「…I have numerous secret arts at my disposal. Conspicuous methods, inconspicuous methods… There are many of them. And my master prefers to avoid conspicuous methods if possible. So, I was planning to take the least conspicuous approach, assuming there would be some casualties. But… I’ve changed my mind.」

With that, Lilith pulled a staff from her pure white robe and raised her right hand.

「To sweep away all in a straight line…」

For a moment, Lilith closed her eyes and concentrated.

「…Golden Roar (Drag’s Genocide).」

An overwhelmingly violent flash appeared, almost blinding in intensity.
Both the knights and guild members covered their eyes with both hands right where they stood.

Then, as the explosive light vanished, Lilith nodded firmly and raised her head.

「…Yeah. As far as I can see, there are no survivors in the Ogre group. It seems the Ogre Emperor wasn’t present to the south.」

Rubbing his eyes, the Vice Captain surveyed his surroundings.

And he was left speechless.

Certainly, all the Ogres that had covered the road were completely gone, leaving only a thin mist.

「The O-O-Ogres… The Ogre Generals… And… The Ogre King…?」

「…This spell was passed down to me from my father.」

「…?」

「…Telling me that an Ogre King could withstand a blow from my most powerful spell. You’d better stop joking.」

「Student Lilith…? Wh-Wh-Who are you…?」

「…I’m Lilith. I don’t have a last name.」

「No last name?」

「However, a few years from now, I will introduce myself like this: Lilith Mclane… Yes, I will be the woman who becomes the wife of the strongest man on Earth. I certainly don’t have time to struggle against Ogres.」

Now… I nodded after completing the reconnaissance of the surroundings.

「It seems that things are settled in the north and south…」

Or rather, it’s ridiculous that Lilith went ahead and used my MP just because she can.
Seriously, she took about 5% of my MP.

She wouldn’t go on a rampage, right?
She’s really doing as she pleases just because it’s not her own MP.

Golden Roar (Drag’s Genocide).
Its power easily reaches the realm of S-Rank, but it’s a one-shot attack that mercilessly consumes the spellcaster’s MP.

Originally, it’s a technique meant for a last-resort one-shot kill in a desperate situation, but in Lilith’s case, she can use it repeatedly.

So, she’s quite the cheater too.
And speaking of what I’m responsible for in the west…

「Hey, The Villager over there?」

The leader of the knight order continued speaking with a high-handed attitude towards me while stroking his beard.

「How do you assess the situation?」

We’re right outside the western city gate.
Although this is basically a danger zone inhabited by monsters, since it’s a city located right in the middle of the road, the view of the road ahead is good.

「The situation?」

At that, the knight commander shrugged as if saying, “Yare, Yare” .

「Because of Cordelia-sama’s special instructions, I’ve placed you near the battlefield. Normally, someone like you would find it difficult even to talk to me. That’s the difference in our positions.」

「Ah, it seems like I was causing trouble.」

「Hey, you?」

「What is it?」

「Do you understand the significance of a mere villager being allowed to stand next to a knight commander?」

Ah, I see. This one is the rather annoying type.

「So, the situation huh?」

Reconnaissance is complete.
One Ogre Emperor and twelve Ogre Kings.
Over a hundred Ogre Generals, but not even a single regular Ogre is here.

It seems like they’re focusing on here.
The knights still haven’t noticed anything, but both us and them are within visual range, and it will take… a few more minutes for us to clash.

「Oh, so how do you view the situation?」

「Well, isn’t it pretty manageable?」

「Manageable… you say?」

At that point, I reverted my tone to informal.

「Do you, Knight Commander, know why Cordelia is referred to as the Berserker?」

「What’s with your way of speaking?」

「Well, never mind that. Do you know why?」

「I’ve heard that Cordelia-sama used to be just a village girl. At the age of twelve… she was attacked by a goblin horde numbering a thousand, before she even began her full-fledged growth as a hero.」

「That’s not all, is it?」

「At the age of fifteen, she defeated a legendary monster recognized as a calamity… an evil dragon.」

「That’s right. And both of those monsters were supposed to be opponents that the Cordelia of that time couldn’t possibly defeat.」

「I think the same. That’s why it was thought as a magical power rampage, and that’s why she became determined to bring her magical power rampage under control, and that’s why she undertook feats that a normal person couldn’t bear.」

I shook my head vigorously.

「Cordelia has never gone into a magical power rampage even once. She managed to always remains calm and composed somehow.」

「However, then how has Cordelia-sama managed to defeat opponents she should have been absolutely unable to defeat?」

At that, a commotion spread through the crowd.
There are those who ran away.
And there are those who fell to the ground right then and there, losing their will to fight.

The knights largely ended up choosing one of these two options.
And it seemed the Knight Commander chose to fall to the ground right there.

「Hyaaahhh!」

「Hii!」

「It, it, it’s here!」

「Help, helppp!」

And so, about 90% of the knights seemed to have chosen the option to flee on the spot, just like scattering spiderlings, leaving their armor and weapons behind as they ran.

「…Haha… It’s just like dealing with a kaiju.」

Facing the colossal mass about three kilometers ahead, I chuckled wryly.

Its body length easily surpassed ten meters.
Its weight was clearly in the dozens of tons.

Zu-shiiiin. Zu-shiiiiiiiiiiiiin.

A violent sound emerged just like from an amplification device set up in a large-scale concert venue like the Tokyo Dome.
A deep bass that seemed to pierce through one’s lungs and internal organs, shaking the surroundings.

And the footsteps of the Ogre Emperor sounded quite similar.
The deep bass footsteps that shook the earth resonated within the depths of my organs.

For the knights who fled, I don’t really blame them.
The opponent had a truly monstrous appearance and was recognized as a calamity due to its S-Rank difficulty.

Currently, the defending forces at this gate are nowhere near capable of dealing with it.