445 For the Future!
God-level demons might not be much of a threat compared to the Void Beast, but still, with their numbers, we would be at a disadvantage if they focused their attacks on a single place.
Fortunately, such a possibility was eliminated almost immediately.
"The demon army is scattering?"
That was the first thing that Ember reported as soon as we had a bit of rest.
After she checked the state of the army, she found that the march was slowly turning chaotic. As if they just lost their leader.
"Was the void beast the one that was commanding them before?"
Looking at its figure, being humanoid with armor and all that, there's a chance that that could be true. After all, as soon as it died, the army started to lose cohesion, just like a battalion that lost its commanding officer in the middle of their march.
Anyway, this is fortunate for us!
"Ember, predict the areas they will hit. We'll strengthen our defenses there specifically!"
With the army scattering, this means that their power was also getting dispersed. As such, it is our chance to further strengthen our defenses in response to them losing their command chain while sending a "guerilla" troop to cull their numbers little by little.
Ember quickly went to work and pulled out a map of the tiled kingdoms. Then, she quickly marked a few red points from the east, going denser further to the southeast before going thin around the southwest.
With the distribution she predicted, the most important point that would be burdened with the most attacks would be the southeast end.
For that position, the best personnel to place would be... I turned to the god tamers and frowned. Right now, they're still far from being back in shape for battle. At most, they would be able to provide backup, but handling the frontlines would be a tall task.
"Can I ask you to lead the defense in the southeast?"
I turned to the one girl who was sulking by the side, her face buried against her thick thighs. Igni.
"My Lord... are you sure? I... What if I fail again..."
Seeing her state, it looks like getting surprise attacked by the Void Beast and getting wrecked left a scar on her confidence. She looked smaller now that she was balled up in the corner of this large cathedral.
Although I wanted to go to her side and comfort her, I was currently immobile from pain. As if to add to my problems, my connection with Azrael suddenly faded. The Faux Contract's effect had ended!
"...!"
Energy rushed to fill my body—the energy that was used to power up Azrael. If I don't do anything, then it's dangerous to my life. As an emergency measure, I added all my 9th-stage girls under the effect of the Status Augmentation.
Fortunately, that alone was enough to bring energy consumption and recovery into balance. However, Fang, Minerva, and Hekate twitched in surprise as power started to course within their bodies.
The one most surprised, however, was Igni.
"My Lord... you still believe in me even after I failed you once?"
Igni was looking at her hands with eyes filled with a complex mix of joy and anxiety. I wasn't really trying to comfort her with that powerup, but well, it worked anyway.
"Igni, I never thought that you failed me. You did what you could and were just caught off guard by an opponent that was more powerful than you. If not for that surprise attack, I doubt the Void Beast could even damage you."
"...!"
Igni stood up and wiped the tears that threatened to overflow from her eyes before facing me and answering with a serious look.
"I understand. I will make sure to fulfill my task to my best capability, My Lord!"
As soon as she finished talking, she quickly spread her wings and flew away at the speed of sound. She could've just asked Ember to teleport her to the southeastern battlefield... I wonder what time she'll arrive there.
After that, I asked Zeshion to rearrange his tamed monsters near the red marks that Ember made on the map. He didn't dare question my order and did as told, while letting Blanc's, Vermeil's, and Ajax's tamed monsters stay on their posts just in case.
Finally, the guerilla troops. For that, I chose only a select few: me, Fang, Minerva, and Hekate. Why did I include myself? Of course, because offense is the best defense! With the four of us together, it would be a cinch to wipe out large numbers of God-level demons, surely!
About ten minutes later, the effect of the potions faded. Before my energy was drained completely, I immediately deactivated the Status Augmentation that I cast.
I opened a portal directly in the middle of the slowly scattering enemies. Although they were now weakened due to spreading out, the middle was still where the most powerful god-level demons gathered.
17:04
Ah, by the way, Igni apparently reached the southern end before I turned off the Status Augmentation. She probably flew close to the escape velocity, but horizontally instead of heading to space!
"Hnnnngh!"
I stretched my aching body as soon as my suffering was over. I still feel pain from all over, but it's nothing I can't ignore. This much shouldn't pose a problem to me when fighting.
"Alright then, let's go!"
Now that I was free from the effects of the Energy Recovery Potions, it was finally time to head out.
I opened a portal directly in the middle of the slowly scattering enemies. Although they were now weakened due to spreading out, the middle was still where the most powerful god-level demons gathered.
In short, we should prepare for intense battles as soon as we reach the other side.
I set the portal high up in the sky just in case, to let us have a bird's-eye view of the battlefield beforehand. Before we even started to fall down from the pull of gravity, a transparent platform appeared under our feet. Minerva must've done this.
"... There's a lot of them."
I muttered as I stared below. Although they had begun to spread out, there were still hundreds of thousands of god-level demons gathered at the center. Their formation wasn't as dense as before, though, as expected.
"Then..."
Before I could begin to give the signal, Minerva suddenly took a step forward and waved her hand.
"[Palace of Endless Mirrors]!"
As soon as she finished her chant, activating her Domain, chaos ensued.
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SeraphWedd
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