Chapter 368 - From Speculation to Conviction...... Arriving in the Crux of the Matter
The title is actually “推察から、確信/核心へ”, which would be “From Speculation to Conviction/Crux”. 確信 and 核心 are both pronounced as “Kakushin”, so Author may be trying to make a pun?
From the results, the three-day war ended in our victory.
In any case, I can say it’s because of Sogou Ayaka.
Sogou also charged the following Sacrament army that had not yet reached the battlefield.
All on her own.
That said, it wasn’t a reckless solo charge.
It was more of a “preemptive attack” while checking the movements of the enemy reinforcements in the rear.
Giant Sacraments.
Medium-sized Sacraments.
Human commanders on Vysis’ side.
At her destination, Sogou always gave priority to these three and crushed them.
In addition, she filled in the “openings” in our allies that were at a disadvantage……
Thanks to Sogou’s efforts, our allies were able to concentrate on a pure “many-to-many” battle.
I’m also making almost the same movements on the right flank.
But of course, I wasn’t able as extensive a range of results as Sogou.
I mean———
Towards the end, Sogou was even reaching the right wing where we were.
What should be noted is Sogou Ayaka’s ability to continuously fight.
She said that due to her past level-ups, her MP consumption is now much lower.
This time, however, the war lasted three days.
The soldiers engaged in combat had also swapped positions with the reserve forces in the rear.
As expected, it would be difficult even for Sogou Ayaka to continue fighting for three days straight.
I had Sogou temporarily retreat and used on her.
In this possible, it’s not possible to level-up by acquiring EXP.
Sleep is the only way to recover MP.
Even if……
“I can’t sleep because my mind is too excited.”
——–they were in such a state, is a skill that can make someone sleep.
For example, it can put even insomniacs to sleep.
“I have an important appointment tomorrow, but I’m wide awake and can’t sleep.”
Even in such a case, I can grant them a deep sleep.
No need for sleeping pills.
……Depending on the person, I think this would be a useful skill in my original world.
————-Now then.
While Sogou was asleep, I primarily took care of the large ones.
The medium-sized ones around me were taken care of by Seras and the Holy Knights.
Even if I can’t match her in terms of results, I have confidence that I can keep up in terms of battle endurance.
As for why, it’s because a
+ combo consumes 20 MP.
The consumption is like a drop in the bucket compared to my MP pool.
Besides, it’s not just me fighting here.
The fact that I was able to continue fighting for three days was simply due in large part to the qualities of my allies.
Also, on the third day, the forces of the Faraway Country, which had been lagging behind the others, caught up with us.
The Lamia Knights, led by Armia, caught up and quickly joined the battle formation.
By the third day, the soldiers also started showing signs of fatigue.
In that sense, the reinforcements here were also very welcome.
Sogou took short breaks for sleep, occasionally returning to the frontlines, taking turns with us.
In the end, we didn’t have to deploy the Takao Sisters.
In fact, around noon of the second day, the Sisters did offer to be “dispatched”.
However……
“Only if we look outnumbered.”
———or so I replied.
I left the decision of whether or not to participate to the Sisters.
However, that was on the condition that they would do so “if necessary”.
Since it’s Takao Hijiri, looking at the war situation, I don’t think she would have judged that they needed to dispatch.
At any rate, this first skirmish ended in victory for the Goddess Subjugation Alliance.
After destroying the Sacrament Army, we sent the Black Dragon Knights and Harpies out on a scouting mission.
At the moment, we couldn’t confirm the presence of the enemy where we were heading after all———–
At the very least, we couldn’t confirm it until we reached Alion’s borders.
▽
After the third day of fighting———–
As the sun was setting……
The main path and the plains are littered with the dispersing bodies of the Sacraments.
The remains of the Sacraments, their white bodies dyed with the color of the setting sun……
Along with it was the eerie sight of the Sacraments with wings sprouting from their eye sockets, reaching out to one another.
[They attacked relentlessly for three days and three nights, almost without pause but…… it didn’t feel like a successive deployment of forces, did it?]
At my words, Loqierra, on my shoulder……
[I think Vysis planned to crush us with sheer numbers, with a combination of powerful large and medium-sized Sacraments. However, gathering all of them in one unit and sent them out together might have been a bad move.]
[Sogou huh.]
[To be honest, even if Vysis had anticipated Ayaka’s presence on our side…… I doubt she thought she could handle a battle of this scale entirely on her own, don’t you think? I think she’s probably counting on causing more significant casualties on our side…… Enough to sow doubt about the course of the battle, I suppose. Well, we had substantial forces beside Ayaka, and we had the quality of units for that————- You know, I’m especially talking about you.]
[Not like I was as active as Sogou though.]
[Fufuun, what are you saying, Fly King-san? I think many people here are aware that you were the one tirelessly running around the battlefield without showing any signs of fatigue while Ayaka was taking a step back, right? You have the credit of lubricating the whole flow in this vast battlefield.]
I snorted at that.
[I guess so.]
[Umu umu, not downplaying your role there gives Loqierra-chan quite a favorable impression of you. You’ve done well, Human.]
[……There sure are lots of weirdoes among you Deities.]
[Ahh! Did you just lump me in with Vysis!? That’s mean!]
[Pigi.]
[Owaahhh!? You’d surprise me if you suddenly come out, Pigimaru! C- Can you not do that!? Haahhh…… That surprised me…….]
That…… surprised her……?
I think that’s the first time I’ve heard someone actually saying that.
[It seems you and Pigimaru are getting along well.]
[Better than I do with Vysis, that’s for sure!]
[Pigiii♪]
Let’s return to the main subject.
As if Loqierra had just remembered something……
[Come to think of it…… She didn’t send out any flying Sacraments here huh. Maybe she allocated the flying ability entirely to the Anti-Deity Sacraments? Hmmm…… I guess that would mean she can’t mass-produce them, right?]
In other words……
She hadn’t sent out the Sacraments that she allocated resources to?
[Could it be that the Sacraments we fought this time wasn’t her main force?]
According to Liz, even now, Vysis and the Divine Servants are still in the Royal Capital.
Loqierra, sitting on my shoulder, alternately flapping her legs……
[———–You could say that, but Vysis invested most of her effort in generating the Sacraments for fighting against the Deities. They weren’t created for you lot. And so, just as I mentioned before, when faced against non-Deities like you, her main force which consists of Anti-Deity Sacraments can’t fully unleash their strength. In short……]
Loqierra leans back, arms behind her head, gazing at the sky.
[I guess you could say these are “leftover scraps”, the Sacraments that aren’t Anti-Deities?]
[She gathered all her leftovers and threw them at us?]
If……
If she had allocated all her generated resources into the extermination of the inhabitants of this continent……
There’s a possibility———– that things wouldn’t just turn out like this huh.
Loqierra springs her upper body back up, letting out a sigh.
[Well, even though I say they’re leftover scraps…… There’s still a possibility that she’s preserving even more formidable forces. There might be battles with even tougher Sacraments ahead of us.]
The interrogation of the nobles we had captured alive has already been carried out.
However, they don’t have much information on forces other than those involved in this current battle.
It’s also tough to say we’d be able to obtain highly reliable information about Vysis and the Divine Servants.
We’ve utilized lie detection in the interrogation, so the information we obtained should be reliable.
————-The full extent of the enemy’s forces is still unclear at this point huh.
[……If they keep coming with this kind of force and strength day after day, it might not be good.]
However, Loqierra looked as if she disagrees.
[I don’t know…… Putting myself in her shoes, even if I do have other forces to spare…… I feel like it would be better to seriously crush that side……]
After Liz’s first sent out her familiar……
After issuing orders for Sogou to advance, I remained at the scene for a while.
That was to see if I could get “a certain information” from Liz.
As a result, I did obtain that information.
[A large army of Sacramanets is moving north from Alion’s Royal Capital.]
Yes, in the direction opposite from here……
[There’s an 80-90% chance they’re heading towards Jonato’s Royal Capital.]
I looked up at the sky dyed in the colors of dusk.
That sky where a laser, which had destroyed the gate a few days ago, streaked through.
[Loqierra, it was just as you read.]
It had indeed gone just as Loqierra had said before.
Her guess had turned into a certainty.
[Unnn…… Vysis really is aiming to destroy the Sacred Eye.]
She’s moving at the same time as we are fighting.
Vysis is determined to settle things on both fronts.
[It’s possible that Vysis intends to take action after she manages to deactivate the Sacred Eye———– Then once again……]
She’d deploy that gate.
If she deliberately deploys units on both fronts, that would certainly be possible.
In other words……
[The moment the other side confirms the destruction of the Sacred Eye…… They’d be in a position where they can immediately deploy that gate and send out their Anti-Deity Sacraments huh.]
And so, we must hurry ahead as well as much as possible.
[Just like before, we can confirm if the Sacred Eye is functioning with my Sacred Treasure.]
With a serious look on her face, Loqierra continued……
[Comparing the information obtained from that familiar, it seems like there are more large and medium-sized Sacraments heading in Jonato’s direction. In other words, among those “leftover scraps”, there might be those with real strength and those that are not. That being the case, it’s also possible to interpret that the ones sent to our side aren’t the primary forces.]
[……Fortunately, there’s a long distance between Alion and Jonato. The Sacrament Army heading towards Jonato would have to traverse the northern part of Alion and the vast Magnar territory. Even if they manage to cut through the Demon Zone, considering the distance between the two countries, it would still take them a considerable number of days. Considering its terrain, the Demon Zone isn’t suitable for the movement of large armies.]
From the report received from Liz———– according to the location of the Sacraments heading to Jonato.
With the speed of their movement, there were still a few days before they could arrive.
[There are reinforcements for Jonato from the country of that Mad Emperor child, right?]
[His brother should be heading to Jonato with the Mira soldiers that had been defending the Imperial City. This depends on the speed of the enemy’s movement, but considering the difference in distance, they will probably make it in time there.]
If things turned out well, we’d also have White Wolf King———- Magnar on our side.
There’s also the Drunken Sword Party.
We should have gathered as many available forces as possible.
[For the time being, I’ve asked for reinforcements from those I know of. The question here is whether Jonato…… whether Jonato’s Queen will recognize the goddess as an enemy when she hears the evidence provided in the smartphone……]
Here’s what’s at stake.
If we face trouble ahead of our path……
Those in Jonato would need to protect the Sacred Eye in their Royal Capital.
In other words———- We will need Jonato to stall for time.
A two-sided simultaneous operation by Vysis.
What that implies is already almost certain now.
The moment the Sacred Eye is destroyed———– Vysis will open the gate again and send the Anti-Deity Sacraments towards Heaven.
However———— As long as the Sacred Eye isn’t destroyed, Vysis wouldn’t be able to move.
The fact that they’re now taking a defensive posture is evidence of that.
That is the most optimum action for Vysis now.
To buy time by staying in the castle.
The gate can only be deployed in the same place———— the Royal Capital Enoh.
However, Vysis wouldn’t want Enoh to be left empty either.
Before she could send out her troops, it’s crucial that the essential Anti-Deity Sacraments aren’t crushed by us.
Therefore, if we reach Enoh with the Sacred Eye still undestroyed, Vysis must be eliminated.
Thus, we’re going to go there coming from the west.