I stared at her cute face, squinting my eyes.
"I'm the one asking questions here. Are you Namia?"
The Succubus Lord, still unable to move freely, could only glare at me as she gritted her teeth.
"I am! Rather, I was. Now, tell me, who told you my name?!"
Sadness filled her expression and even the link between us for a moment. I closed my eyes for a little while, trying to figure out what to do. However, in the end, I just said everything as I understood it.
"I don't know who she was, but I was taken to a black space with absolutely nothing around. Her voice was the only thing I heard there."
"..."
The Succubus Lord, Namia, frowned as she heard my reply. However, she didn't raise an objection, as if she knew the place I was talking about.
"You know what that black space is? Can you tell me what or where it is?"
Although I had only been there for a short instant, I could feel a strong sensation of wanting to go to that space again. Is it because it looks similar to the mind space where my bloodlines' personalities stayed before?
Namia looked at my face, then pouted as she turned away. It seemed like she wasn't willing to tell me about it.
"The voice also told me that you can't hurt anyone among us, nor can we hurt you."
It was something that the taming system arbitrarily did, so I had no relationship to it. However, the owner of the voice was pretty confident with her words, telling me that there was no need to worry about Namia anymore.
"The voice earlier and the taming system. What's their connection?"
The taming system itself should be the only one who knew the fine details of the Faux Contract. Since she was able to tell me part of it, that means she was connected with the taming system one way or another.
To answer my question, Namia's frown grew deeper. She was still showing signs that she wasn't willing to answer. Seeing this, I sighed.
"Ember, tie her up and hang her on that tree. Even if we can't hurt her, humiliating her should work."
Hearing my light threat, Namia quickly glared at me. However, she quickly averted her gaze again.
"I can't tell you that, no matter what you do!"
I smiled slightly after she finally opened her mouth.
"Why can't you tell us?"
I asked to comprehend further.
"... It goes against my restrictions. If I told you, my very existence would vanish."
"Restrictions? Then, can you tell us anything about that female voice that doesn't go against your restrictions?"
"... I think... Her name; I can tell you her name only."
I sighed in relief after finally seeing hope of gaining some information about the mysterious voice from Namia. We all watched her as she slowly announced the name.
*SCRAAAAAAATCH!*
However, as if to censor her words, the entire world released an irritating, high-pitched noise similar to the sound made when scratching a board. Everyone covered their ears as we simultaneously heard the noise.
Namia, seeing this, frowned. However, she only snorted before muttering in displeasure.
"I already said the name. It's not my fault you didn't hear it."
Seeing that she did try to fulfill her promise, I can't blame her. However, I still feel cheated. I could try asking her to write it down, but she'd probably refuse. We could only postpone this topic for later.
"Anyway, let's go to the northern frontline first!"
Changing gears, I decided to just go to our destination first. After all, the situation there was urgent. I looked at Ember, who immediately nodded her head. She then opened a portal to the northern front quickly, using a clone that she sent with the succubus tamers before as a marker.
After the portal opened, one after another, we entered. Namia, who was still bound by Ember's clones, was forcefully made to move and enter the portal with us.
Although she's weakened, she's still a powerful asset. Just dumping her in the middle of the enemy lines should make it a lot easier for us to manage.
As soon as I reappeared out of the portal, I was shocked.
Before us was the camp on the northern frontlines. However, there were injured tamers, tamed beasts, and monsters lying around waiting for treatment as far as the eye could see. A rough count shows that there are already several hundred of them, probably a thousand.
"Clan Head, over here quickly!"
As I was gawking at the sight, Chiyome approached our group and called. Unlike her usual ninja-style outfit, her current one looked more like battle wear. It still retained its black color, and it was able to lessen her presence even more. That battle wear should be some sort of artifact with special effects added.
Without wasting any time, I quickly answered "Lead the way" before following behind her bouncy—I mean, following after her.
Chiyome strode forward with quick steps. We were almost running just to catch up to her as she led us to the area where the Seimei and the Luo fighters were.
As we approached, I immediately frowned. Even before reaching the center, all around us, there were already hundreds of injured. It hadn't been a few minutes yet, and there were already this many casualties.
Soon, we reached a large tent. Inside it, Guren and Lady Luo were already present, discussing something while looking at a large map.
"Will! Finally, you're here!"
Guren muttered in an urgent tone. I strode forward to the table, staring at the map as I asked.
"So? What's the situation?"
Looking at the map, it showed the entirety of the northern frontline, spanning to the northeast and northwest. There were a few green tokens scattered around, probably depicting all the allied forces. However, beyond the green tokens, red ones dominated the rest, almost filling the entire map.
"The worst."
Lady Luo commented by the side, shaking her head lightly as she pouted.
"The numbers of the 9th-stage demons are just too high. They're too close to each other, making it impossible to take them down one at a time."
Hearing her say this, I nodded my head. Outside, I already saw that a large part of our forces was made up of the 8th stage and below tamers. Only a few hundred 9th stages should remain; however, they're currently busy holding back the rest of the powerful demons.
"With just 8th-stage and below, it's hard to face multiple 9th-stage, is it?"
The two heads nodded after hearing my summarization. I quickly thought about countermeasures and immediately found one.
"Alright. I'll go and cut down their numbers first. If I use lifeblood with echoing thunderclap, I should—"
"Master!"
"Leader!"
"My Lord!"
As I was halfway through my suggestion, Ember, Fang, and Igni quickly rebutted from behind. As I turned to them with a quizzical gaze, I realized that the trio was wearing angry expressions while facing me.
"Master! Do you plan to shave off your life again? No!"
Ember, with a rare angry expression, reprimanded me.
"That's right, Leader! Don't you trust us? Why don't you give us the chance to show you how much we've improved?!"
Fang, whose tail and ears were down, showing she was disheartened, chimed in.
"My Lord, just give me the word, and I'll prove to you that I'm worthy of being by your side!"
Standing candidly, Igni shouted with great resolve.
I scanned the trio's expressions before scratching my head awkwardly.
"Well, the enemy is powerful this time—"
As I was about to add, "I don't want to see you girls get hurt," I immediately realized that saying so would hurt their pride. They chose to stay with me to become powerful, not to become house pets. Although I felt extremely conflicted, I sighed.
"—Alright. I'll entrust it to you guys. Fina, you stay with me and guard. The three of you, do your best. I'll be providing support fire from behind."
I was uneasy, extremely so; however, I also believe that the three of them should have enough power to face a 9th stage individually. After hearing my encouragement, the three immediately beamed before rushing to hug me.
"Thank you, master! I'll definitely show you work worthy of your trust!"
"Leader! Just wait here and count the mountain of demons I'll make later!"
"My Lord, watch how I turn every single demon before us to ashes!"
After the three had their fill, they separated from me and rushed out of the tent.
"Are you sure about this? Aren't they only at the 5th and 6th stages?"
Lady Luo asked, worry coloring her face. I just smiled at her question, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"I am worried about them, but they should be fine. At worst, I know that they can safely retreat."
As I muttered so, I patted the little clone that Ember left with me. Fang and Igni should possess something similar. If, for some reason, any of the three were in danger, Ember could quickly teleport them back to safety. Ember had the backs of her teammates, so Fang and Igni could fight to their heart's content.
Looking back to the map, I circled a large area and declared:
"Leave the area where the three are to us and focus on the rest."
At the same time, I took out the rifle from the [Spatial Storage] and hung it over my shoulders. I then turned to Fina, who had been staying quiet all this while, and called.
"Fina, let's find a vantage point. While Ember covers for the two, we'll cover Ember from afar."
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