CH 182

I ended up using 200,000 B-rank magic stones to wipe out the Demon King's army.

The number of magical beasts in the Demon King's army was 1 million, and we had defeated about 400,000 of them in the delayed operation and hunted another 400,000 in the defensive battle. About 200,000 of them scattered and fled Tiamo during the invasion. It didn't even look like an army anymore.

It was just a group of beasts without the will to fight until last one alive.

The battle for Tiamo, which started before noon, ended before evening, and this second battle for Tiamo also ended in what could be called a complete victory.

I communicated to all the cities, including Nest, that we had won this siege.

The Generals seemed to be having a hard time wrapping their heads around the story because of the huge results of the war.

However, in order to give courage to the elves, including the refugees, they seemed to have promptly announced the result.

Even after the sun went, chants like "Spirit King!" "Her Majesty the Queen!" were echoing in the cities.

Our (party) existence was still unknown to the public, and the result of the war was attributed entirely to the miracles of the Spirit King and the work of the soldiers who risked their lives to save the Queen.

As I watched the elves slowly drinking from wooden cups while listening to the harp-playing bard, I wondered if this was the true scene of Rosenheim's nightlife.

Unlike such a relaxed city scene, there was a place where tension was in the air.

That was the hall where the Elven Queen was.

"Here he comes."

"Don't be afraid. We are friends."

"I know but... you don't understand because you weren't on the outer wall. That was not a power a single person should have..."

In the midst of the tension, we were summoned to the Queen's Chamber and came.

It was to talk about the results of the war and the future.

(Don't get sleepy after taking a bath and eating dinner. Hmm? The Spirit King is sleeping soundly again today.)

With these thoughts in mind, I stood before Her Majesty the Queen with my friends.

We were provided with ample food and a bath once the battle was over and we entered the hall.

I had always thought that taking a bath after a whole day of dungeon raiding was the best during my Academy life.

On the Elf Queen's lap, the Spirit King in the form of a Flying Squirrel was asleep. The way he was sleeping without curling up and showing his belly to the sky made me wonder if he had forgotten his wild instincts, or if he was a Spirit King in the first place.

"Thank you very much for your help in this battle."

"Yes. I wasn't able to prepare a good strategy because of the short time available to us, but I'm glad Tiamo didn't fall."

(No, seriously, we were lucky. That would have been the end if they had attacked us with 2 million troops. The Demon King's army also prioritized the speed of the attack and didn't gather enough troops. Well, the outer wall of Tiamo is only about one-fifth the height of the northernmost fortress.)

I said that we all worked together for this victory but the Generals gulped at my words. Of the million magical beasts in the Demon King's army, me and my friends had killed at least 700,000 of them. The elves had only managed to defeat 100,000 of them.

However, I believed that the battle was fought because of the efforts of the elven Thieves and the cooperation of everyone in the northern wall of Tiamo to fight back.

And although everyone was happy about this battle, I believed that it was a close call. In order to carry out a delayed operation, the Demon King's army would have to be far enough away from Tiamo to be meaningful. If the number of magical beasts was 2 million, this operation surely would not have been possible.

So, "We were lucky." he said, that both luck and an error in judgment on the part of the Demon King's army were on our side.

(But I am now Level 63 and still haven't released ?)

I had been gaining experience ever since I arrived in Rosenheim.

It was an unthinkable amount of experience if I had continued my Academy life, where I could only defeat a thousand or so magical beasts no matter how hard I tried for a day.

As a result, I, who was Level 55 when I fought the Hero Helmios, was Level 63 after defending Tiamo.

However, even at Level 63, the "sealed" indicator next to the  skill did not disappear.

"And what should we do now, Master Allen?"

Marshal Sigur, standing next to the Queen, spoke to me.

(Mmm, this is an elven war. I'll fight the Demon King's army, but I don't think I can tell them what to do.)

The land of the elves had been attacked and the elves were fighting. I thought it would be better for the elves to decide the general strategy, but since they asked, I answerd.

"Yes, after this defensive battle, the number of magical beasts from the Demon King's army that came to Rosenheim should have been reduced by almost half."

"Indeed, if the report is accurate, there are about 1.7 million left."

"However, we cannot let our guard down. I believe that the Demon King's army's response after last defeat and change in strategy to today's attack was brilliant. The Demon King's Army will not stop at this point. They will make a new move, including bringing in reserve troops."

I praised the movement of the Demon King's army. The Demon King's army was moving very fast. If we hadn't been chasing the retreating Demon King's army fleeing to the north to destroy them slowly, we would have misjudged their movement.

"So what do we do now?"

After understanding the current situation, the Queen asked me to make a decision.

Everyone present understood my strength.

"First of all, we need to make sure that we can withstand the Demon King's army even if they carry out the same plan and attack with a large army like today."

"So you're saying we're going to take down Fortress LaPolca?"

"Yes, Marshal Sigur."

The mere mention of needing to withstand a large army seemed to be enough for the Marshal to know what to do next.

Rosenheim was blessed with rich nature, with many mountains and large peaks. The Capital city, Fortenia, was surrounded by such mountains.

Some of the fortresses that protect Fortenia were located in the mountains. These fortresses, combined with the natural beauty of the terrain, made them quite solid.

And about 10 days' travel by carriage north of Tiamo was the mighty Fortress LaPolca.

I wanted to take down that fortress.

"It's true that we need such a fortress to deal with the large army but by the time we get there from Tiamo, the magical beasts that are waiting for us in the cities that have already been destroyed would attack us."

Marshal Sigur said that there were 4 cities to that had been destroyed between Tiamo and LaPolca.

"That's right. It seems that 400,000 out of the 1,000,000 Demon King troops this time came from these cities. Now that the number of magical beasts has decreased, their defense will be weak. It's possible to take them down, but we don't have time to waste on taking down a city that's not a key point."

In order to send a million of their forces to Tiamo, the Demon King's army brought in a large number of magical beasts that had been waiting in the cities they had already been destroyed. Even though the number of magical beasts in those cities had decreased, we would waste a lot of time if we targeted a city that could not be a key point.

That would also mean wasting the time it would take to get to LaPolca. And if even 1 million of the 4 million reserve troops were deployed before we brought down LaPolca, it could be the end of everything, including Tiamo.

When I said that much, Marshal Sigur began to think. He pondered over his next words to the point where it seemed like his next words might change the future of Rosenheim.

"Indeed, it's time for us to head for Fortress LaPolca. Including the soldiers waiting at Nest City, let's form a combined army of 300,000 from each city."

Marshal Sigur decided that he would use half of the 600,000-strong elven army to capture Fortress LaPolca.

"Thank you. How long will this take?"

"It'll probably be 5 days before we leave Tiamo."

(It will take 5 days to complete preparation, and 10 days at the earliest if we march from Tiamo. The magical beasts from the destroyed cities will probably attack us, so it will take even longer. It's a race against time.)

The Marshal said it would take 5 days to mobilize all the Magic Ships, no matter how fast they were. Military action was something that took time. Even if we ignored the occupied cities between Tiamo and Fortress LaPolca, it would still take that long.

Not wanting to waste any time, I pondered what we should do next.

"Then I request that you do so. I will sweep up the escaped Demon King's army. After that, I'll consider future strategy."

200,000 of the million-strong Demon King army fled in several groups that day. That number would surely get in the way of the elves' march. I wanted to collect their magic stones as well as that they were in several groups and easier to defeat.

In my  I had around 100,000 magic stones. I still had an additional 100,000 or so left to receive from Rosenhiem. The rest would be turned into charcoal by B-rank Dragon and used by Rosenheim for powering their Magic Ships and for [Blessing of Heaven]s.

Breakdown of the 800,000 magical stones we collected from that day's battle

400,000 to me(200,000 of which were consumed in the same battle)

200,000 turned to charcoal

200,000 to Rosenhiem (100,000 for operating Magic Ships, 100,000 for the [Blessing of Heaven]s).

As a result, I had around 200,000 magic stones in my . I was planning to increase it as much as possible until the elven army was ready. So, I decided to destroy the remnants of the 200,000-strong Demon King's army and proceed with the recovery of the magic stones.

The Queen and I had already agreed that all A-rank magic stones would belong to me.

I looked at B-rank Spirit.

(Ellie, I need you to infiltrate Fortress LaPolca. I want to know what's going on inside.)

I spoke to my B-rank Spirit summon who has consciousness.

"Yes."

Allen made a new move and started to move toward the next battle.