CH 205

Spear of Judgment

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"Knock them down! Don't let even one of them inside!"

"They're coming! Concentrate on dropping them no matter what!"

"The north side was also circumvented! Assistance is requested!"

"Ugyaaaa, help me!"

"They've entered! Requesting Cover! Quickly!"

The moat surrounding the Lastock garrison was already filled with Nibble Rats.

I didn't know if the residents had finished evacuating, but the drawbridge had already been raised, and the knights had taken up positions on the ramparts and were frantically knocking down the rising Nibble Rats.

On top of the castle wall, there was also Diethelm accompanied by a royal guard.

His face was pale from the tension, but he seemed to be trying to fulfill his role as a Prince even though he was nervous, but I couldn't help but feel like he was getting in the way.

It seemed that Zae-tachi were fighting hard in the river, and Zeta-tachi were fighting hard in the wasteland across the river, but regardless, there were too many Nibble Rats to repel them all.

The surface of the river was also filled with Nibble Rats, and the pressure was surging towards the garrison.

The knights continued to fight hard, but they looked like they were being pushed, so I spread shields of darkness along the ramparts.

Having lost their footholds, the Nibble Rats scattered and fell while getting involved with the ones climbing up from below, but they soon started climbing again.

Seeing that, the knights breathed a sigh of relief and then tightened their expressions again.

"Reinhardt, tell me about the situation!"

[ I'm sorry, Kent-sama. The number and range were both unexpected, and they ended up slipping through the ranks. ]

The abilities of my genus were high, but the numbers were so different that they seemed to be spilling out of their fingers like water they scooped up with their hands.

It seemed that Reinhardt had continued to fight fiercely, and as usual he was covered in blood, but he couldn't deal with them.

Looking in the direction of the Devil's Forest, it was filled with hordes of Nibble Rats, and the ground looked like it was undulating.

What's more, it seemed that monsters such as Goblins, Kobolds, and Orcs were mixed in with the large army of Nibble Rats.

"How about contacting the Gleisner territory?"

[ I already sent a Kobold with a letter. ]

It seemed that a considerable number of monsters had already avoided Lastock and headed further inland.

On the way to the Gleisner territory, there were small passes and forests spread out, so if it wasn't a group of them looking for food, they may live in hiding without attacking the city.

"Call back the Kobolds and use them to defend the ramparts."

[ Ha! , At once ... ]

"Wouldn't it stop if we created a feeding ground like during the Goblin outbreak?"

[ Since they approach the corpses of their comrades without even looking at them, that alone won't stop them. ]

"Okay, let me try something for a bit, call back Zae-tachi for now."

After having the Undead Lizardmen who were fighting hard in the river come back so they wouldn't get involved, I tried attack magic using my surplus magic power.

"First, with wind ..."

I created a tornado with wind-attribute magic from the shadow space towards the surface of the river.

The image was of Barshania's compound magic performed against the Gigas.

Although the scale was a little smaller, the swimming monsters were caught in the whirlwind and swept up along with the water of the river.

"Hey, what is that tornado!"

"You idiot, don't stop, they're coming up!"

The tornado caught the eyes of the knights defending the ramparts, but they couldn't stop pushing the Nibble Rats back.

I tried to move the tornado downstream while hoisting up the Nibble Rats and monsters that filled the river surface.

Immediately after the tornado passed through, there was a blank area, but it was soon filled with monsters.

"Hmm, it doesn't have the effect I expected, so here, fireball ..."

I imitated the tornado of flames that scorched the Gigas, but the river water was also swirled up in the tornado, so the moment the fireball that I shot without holding back touched it, steam was generated with tremendous force.

"Oh! , this might be bad ... Everyone get down!"

Dogaaaaaan!

For an instant, a steam explosion occurred that made it possible to see the bottom of the river, and the monsters caught in the whirlpool came falling as pieces of meat.

I put out a shield of darkness on top of the ramparts and yelled from there, but it didn't seem like I made it in time, and the knights were moving about in confusion in the wake of the blast.

Uwaa, Diethelm was also covered in blood.

"Uhiya, I messed up, messed up, I overdid it. Tehe!"

[ Buhahahaha, Kent-sama, both enemies and allies alike are standing still with their eyes wide open. ]

A large blank area was created around the hypocenter, but it was gradually filled in from the direction of the Devil's Forest.

"Hm ~ m, that's kind of strange. They didn't stop even after an explosion like that."

[ You're right. I wonder if there's a reason for that ... ]

The Goblin outbreak that attacked Volzard stopped for a while and then suddenly surged in, but the cause was the four Salamanders.

"Is there something behind the group of Nibble Rats?"

[ That possibility is high. ]

"Nero, come back for a minute."

I called back Nero, who had been slashing hordes of monsters from the sky, with a shadow summon.

"Even if I cut and cut, it never ends, nya."

"Nero, can you go and check if there's some kind of big monster behind the horde?"

"Okay, nya, I'm going, nya."

"Zeta, Eta, and Theta should intimidate in the forest so that the monsters don't go towards Volzard."

The Nibble Rats, I didn't know what was deciding their direction, but it would be troublesome if this horde headed for Volzard.

If Zeta-tachi were intimidating, they should be able to restrict the direction to some extent.

As I watched the monsters rushing in like the Night Parade of 100 Demons, Nero returned from scouting.

"There is a big snake with three heads, nya."

"Three heads?"

[ Kent-sama, it might be a Hydra. ]

A Hydra was a monster that was originally a single-headed serpent, but was transformed into a multi-headed creature by the Maou.

THere were several theories about the number of heads, ranging from two to nine, but there were no records of actual sightings, and the exact number was unknown.

"It doesn't matter how many heads it has. If the swarm of monsters won't stop because of that guy, then I'll just subdue it. Nero, guide me."

"Leave it to me, nya."

When I climbed into the shadows with Nero and moved to the tail end of the Nibble Rats swarm, a sight that left me dumbfounded spread out.

A monster that looked like a Hydra was pushing down the trees in the Devil's Forest, but the three-parted sickle neck was about the same height as a Gigas.

The length from the base of the three necks to the tail was more than twice as long, making it a suitable size to be called a monster.

"Uwaa ... Certainly, this makes me want to run away ..."

"Nyaaa ... Nero can't even beat that, nya."

The Hydra moved its three sickle necks at a speed that could not be imagined from its size, and put the monsters in its stomach.

The three heads seemed to be watching over the front, back, left, and right, so you couldn't approach it carelessly.

"Somehow, it feels like a living fortress."

The Hydra's three heads appeared to have different magical attributes.

The central neck was fire attribute, the neck on the right side was wind attribute, and the third neck was water attribute.

It seemed that the fire attribute neck attacked with a fireball, the wind attribute neck attacked with a breath containing wind blades, and the water attribute neck spat poisonous liquid.

The size of the body, the attack power, and the attribute magic probably strengthened its defense. Ordinary people, even if they challenged it to a fight with a frontal attack, there is no doubt that it would retaliate.

Even with a well-trained group, it was going to be a tough battle.

At first glance, it seemed impregnable, but although it moved quickly from the neck up, the torso that supported the sickle necks was huge, and it didn't look like it could move quickly.

"Even if it's a Hydra, it can't survive if its body falls apart, right?"

"Nyaa ... Goshujin-sama is smiling wickedly, nya. Don't overdo it, nya."

"But, isn't it better not to hurt it with half-baked attacks and let it rampage?"

"That's true, nya ... But, if you overdo it, Reinhardt will scold you, nya."

"No, no, it can't be helped because today is an emergency. So, I'll drop the large spear golem!"

"Nya!! There's no time to stop it, nya ... Wait, it's already falling, nya."

"I'll drop it from a higher place than usual!"

"Goshujin-sama is running wild, nya. Nero sympathizes with the Hydra, nya."

For the large spear, I tried to drop it at an altitude of about 10 kilometers.

As it plunged into the atmosphere, it was red hot and rained down ... If it's going to drop, it's better to be flashy.

After waiting about 20 seconds, a red dot appeared.

I was worried that it would burn up, but it seemed that the link as a dark attribute golem was still alive.

"Nero, make sure you don't go out."

"Even if you tell me to go out, I refuse, nya."

I put out a huge shield of darkness, caught the spear that was falling faster than the speed of sound, and launched it from directly above the Hydra.

The moment I saw the spear, I closed the shield of darkness, retreated into the shadow space, cut off access to the outside, and no sound or vibration would be transmitted.

"Nya ~ ... Goshujin-sama, I'm sure you're overdoing it, nya."

"Nero really is a worrywart. Since I'm going to defeat a Hydra, I need that much."

"I'm sure it's going to be terrible, nya, I'm afraid to see it, nya ..."

"It's okay ... maybe. But, let's go back to the garrison once."

"That's better, nya."

When I went back to the garrison with Nero, there was a lot of commotion.

"A star has fallen! God's judgment!"

"Isn't that the Spear of Judgment."

"It's the end of the world ... The time of destruction has come ..."

The knights, forgetting to knock down the Nibble Rats, were pointing at the Devil's Forest and making a fuss, and some even crouched with their heads in their hands.

No, no, everyone is exaggerating, aren't they ... Rather, a mushroom cloud was formed.

The sun had already set, but the big moon was rising, illuminating the cloud rising deep inside the Devil's Forest.

Riding the strong westerly wind, the dust was blown up and flowed eastward.

Once again, both humans and monsters had stopped moving and were looking towards the Devil's Forest.

[ Buhahahaha, as expected of Kent-sama, you have already surpassed even the realm of gods. ]

"Nah ... The realm of gods is too much, but maybe I went a bit too far?"

[ What happened to the Hydra? ]

"I wonder? It should have been right under that place, so there may not be any form left. Or rather, it seems that the pressure from the forest has increased."

[ The power was beyond the power of a Hydra. ]

The plan was to reduce the pressure from the forest by subduing the Hydra, but it seemed that due to its slightly higher power, the monsters fled and the momentum towards Lastock increased.

"It can't be helped, let's fire a few shots in the middle and make them run away in different directions. Zae-tachi go support Zeta-tachi."

"Understood, My King."

The spear golems I had were one large, two medium, and six small.

For the time being, I dropped one medium-sized one into the wasteland between Lastock and the Devil's Forest.

Although it was temporary, the pressure on Lastock increased further, so I dropped two small spear golems on the opposite bank of the river.

With this, the pressure on Lastock was greatly reduced, but just as I was worried, some of the monsters began to head towards Volzard.

After receiving the news from Zeta, I dropped three small spear golems in quick succession at the head of the group that was heading towards Volzard to stop the group from moving.

"Zeta, push them back."

"As you wish, Nushi-dono."

When Zeta-tachi roared furiously, the swarm of monsters turned and headed back.

I felt like I was leading a flock of sheep with a sheepdog.

"Nero, push back from north to south."

"Understood, nya."

The east side would be surrounded by Zeta-tachi and Zae-tachi, Nero would drive in from the north, and we would be in charge of the remaining west side.

"Now, Reinhardt, Basten, do it."

[ Buhahaha, I've been waiting for this, let's go Basten! ]

[ Let's make it flashy, Branch Leader. ]

Reinhardt and Basten moved to the opposite bank of Lastock and began to rampage at will.

Reinhardt used his beloved sword, Gram, to blaze and mow down hordes of monsters.

Since this didn't stop them, the Hydra's pressure must have been considerable.

In order to support Reinhardt and the others, I scattered fireballs from the shadow space towards the swarm of monsters and pushed them back south.

It seemed that the invasion of the swarms of monsters had somehow subsided, so I went to see what happened to the Hydra.

"Ahha! , ahahahaha ... Let's pretend we didn't see this ... This is the work of a meteorite."

A crater with a diameter of over 200 meters was created where the large spear fell, and the surrounding trees were also knocked down in a concentric circle.

There was absolutely no trace of the Hydra, but I wondered if it was successfully subjugated.

That being said, if there was a monster that could withstand this attack, there was nothing we could do about it.

When we returned to the garrison, the knights finally took a breather and wiped their sweat thanks to the drastic reduction in the number of monsters that were surging in.

Several Nibble Rats climbed over the ramparts and entered, but the Kobolds chased after them and dealt with them.

It seemed that Diethelm, dressed in an unfamiliar armor, had finally recovered from his tense state.

Because he was bathed in the blood and flesh of monsters that rained down from the steam explosion, his appearance was quite impressive.

I put out a shield of darkness in front of Diethelm and called out to him.

"It's not over yet. Don't let your guard down, Diethelm."

"Maou-sama, thank you for your help. Umm, Aneue is ..."

"Since I'm here. Isn't it obvious she's already made a completely recovery."

"Ha! , I'm sorry."

"Camilla was poisoned by the First Queen and was stabbed when she was no longer able to control her body. It was pretty dangerous, but now it's fine."

The nearby knights raised bewildered voices when I said that the First Queen had been told that Camilla was the one who killed Alphonse.

"Who the hell, that kind of hoax ..."

"Well, that's what I need to investigate from now on, but it's not something that people here think."

"However, it seems that disasters will befall my sister from now on ..."

"Diethelm. That's for Camilla to worry about. You have things to do, right. From what I've seen, a considerable number of monsters have entered the mainland. The area between here and the Count Gleisner territory should be in the same state as the Devil's Forest."

"Certainly ... It's as Maou-sama says."

"Currently, Lastock is isolated in the Devil's Forest. If we don't secure traffic on the highway, won't there be a shortage of various supplies."

Hearing that they were isolated in the Devil's Forest, the surroundings were shaken, and some knights unintentionally let out groans.

Even so, Jürgen, the royal guard knight attached to Diethelm, remained calm.

"Don't panic. As Maou-sama said, the current situation is tough, but we've overcome the hopeless situation. What we should do is work together to protect the residents, and above all, don't give up hope!"

I felt that not only the knights, but also Diethelm's courage grew after receiving Jürgen's shout.

In fact, the city of Lastock had suffered a great deal of damage from monsters.

The city had finally recovered from the damage caused by the Orcs raid, so it must have been a big shock to the residents.

"Diethelm, I think I won't be able to come for two or three days, but I will have my genus come to check on the situation, so if there are any urgently needed supplies such as food, tell them. Even if it's not possible to travel between here and the Count Gleisner territory, it can be transported directly through the shadow space."

"Thank you very much. We have secured enough food for a few days, but if the isolation is prolonged, I will ask for it."

Several knights guarding the ramparts were injured, but the goal of the Nibble Rats was not to attack and eat people, but rather to enter the garrison as a hideout, so there were no serious injuries requiring emergency medical attention.

However, Nibble Rats may be hiding in buildings throughout the city, and the reconstruction work after dawn seemed to be accompanied by danger and difficulty.

[ Reinhardt, select five Kobolds from the Kobold Corps and have them subdue the Nibble Rats that are hiding in the city of Lastock. Everyone else, please be vigilant around Volzard. ]

[ Understood, so far, we have not been able to confirm a large group heading for Volzard. However, it's not like they've completely returned to the southern continent, so don't let your guard down. ]

[ It would be better to let Klaus-san know, but I wonder if it's a little too late. ]

[ That's right. Tomorrow ... I would like to say, but Kent-sama used the booster. ]

[ That's right. It still seems okay, but I'm afraid of what will happen after the effect wears off. ]

When I was talking with Reinhardt about the future, Hart called out to me.

"Wafuu, Goshujin-sama, the Knight Commander has arrived."

"Finally, that took a long time, but did something happen?"

"Wau, they said someone escaped."

"No way ... Diethelm, I'm going back to the royal castle, so I'll leave Lastock to you."

"Ha! , leave it to me."

After exchanging glances with Kingsguard Jürgen accompanying Diethelm, I dived into the shadows and headed for the royal castle.