Chapter 338: Sacred Beasts and Higher Gods
Five days passed since Clebeur's princess gifted Allen the Makris' Sacred Bead.
"Oh?! Allen!"
Kurena ran towards Allen after he appeared near her.
They had been apart for twelve days, but she was just as excited as when he returned to Kurena Village after years of being away.
"Hey, it's been a while."
Allen had access to Merus' vision, so he was already fully aware of everything that happened on Kiel's team.
He had always been available to advise them if they needed help, but that was different from meeting face to face.
"We've pretty much done here."
"It seems that way."
Kiel, the team leader, gave a very brief update on their progress.
Kiel had secured the fortifications, and then advanced into Carvalonea.
The soldiers with Talents from Carvaluna also followed after him to help in defeating the monsters.
And as Muhan had promised, the reinforcements that arrived two days later also sent their members with Talents.
Thanks to Merus, Kiel did not have to think about negotiating a lot, but he was still glad Allen had given him an opportunity to stand in front and have to think for himself.
Thanks to Kiel's team's efforts they had advanced all the way into Carvalonea's capital.
"Alright, let's go to Clebeur then. Cecile is waiting for us."
He took Kurena and Kiel with him.
Since Allen was coming to get them, Merus had gone to Sophie's group.
Allen's Bird A summon could leave [Nests] which served as teleportation waypoints. It did not matter whether Allen or Merus made them, both could use the Special Skill [Nest Transfer] and the Awakened Skill [Homing Instinct] on all Nests.
The only downside was that once one of them used a Nest, it would go on cooldown for one day, making it useless during that time.
Allen and Merus were basically trying to solve a puzzle with the available Nests, so they could gather everyone in the shortest time possible.
"Huh? Where did that bracelet come from?"
Shortly after arriving, Kurena noticed the bracelet with Makris' Sacred Bead shining on Cecile's arm.
"Heheheh."
Cecile was grinning all the time.
She had been that way for the last five days already.
Now she was holding her arm at an unnatural angle, making sure the gem was visible.
(Well, I can kinda relate with that feeling. I probably would act the same way in her situation. Oh right, I still have to reset the Nest.)
Allen was thinking of something completely different, but at least he sympathized with Cecile.
He was thinking of the emotion he felt when defeating an enemy and obtaining an item with a drop chance of one in ten million.
"It looks so pretty. I want one too~"
Kurena began mumbling about wanting one as well, and Cecile's grin grew even wider.
Obtaining a Makris' Sacred Bead brought the utmost joy to any girl, especially those of noble or royal descent.
"But Kurena, you got a necklace not too long ago already."
(Not like those effects would help her at all, they're basically essential for Cecile though.)
Kurena kept mumbling about wanting one, so Allen reminded her of the necklace they obtained by defeating the last boss in the S Rank Dungeon.
Makris' Sacred Bead had little use to someone who could not use offensive magic.
"Hmph."
"Well, Merus also kept that a secret. We should try to get more Sacred Beads from now on."
'I didn't keep it secret. You never asked.'
Allen got rid of the Bird A that had created the nest there, summoning another one to reset the Nest. A moment later, Merus and Sophie's team appeared there.
The moment he appeared, Merus spoke back at Allen.
Allen and Merus' thoughts were essentially tied together.
That was possible with most summons as well.
It was a connection that went both ways, so Merus could also tell what was in Allen's mind.
Everything Allen saw and heard was also accessible to Merus.
(Who was it that caused the existence of Extra Skills again? Was it me, the Sacred Fish Makris, and others too?)
That was a common occurrence in games from the past, when one could miss an important item or quest, leading the player stumped and unable to progress through the game.
Checking popular folk tales, even if their origin was dubious, seemed to have some merit to it.
While Allen thought of all that, Sophie started speaking.
"It seems you both have gotten pretty far. There's still a lot left to do on my side."
While Allen and Merus were talking, Sophie had heard the latest updates from Kiel.
Her group had been moving at a slower pace than Allen or Kiel's.
"Well, it's hard to cover a desert with just a few people. I don't think it's really a problem if you're slower."
"You think so?"
Sophie had noticed the other teams had gotten rid of a lot more Pagan Worshippers than her, but Allen told her not to worry.
The Abandoned Gamers party was together again.
Allen's team had the help of the beastmen, who were a great asset at fighting the monsters and Pagan Worshippers.
As a result, they met the schedule reported to the king, taking back the capital in three days.
It would have been fine to gather the party the day after that, but Allen decided to wait a bit longer to give the other teams enough time to finish things on their side.
After a bit of coordination in their sides, both Kiel and Sophie reached the point where they could leave their sides for a while.
"They've been waiting for some time already, so come here."
Saying that, Allen guided his party.
He took them to the beastmen troops that had stationed next to the capital's outer walls.
Many Gold and Silver Beans had been planted inside the city already, creating spots safe from monsters, but the stench of decay was a fierce enemy of the beastmen's noses.
(The beastmen believe in the Beast God Garm, that's another Higher God.)
The Beast God, deity of beastmen, was another Higher God like the God of Harvest.
There were hundreds of millions of beastmen alive, and all of them prayed only to Garm.
That made it easy for Garm to ascend into being a Higher God.
The beastmen, believers of Garm, all turned to look at Allen when he approached.
They were quite proud of their race.
Allen felt like every soldier he saw stood with their chest puffed.
"Please come with me."
A beastmen approached Allen, having been waiting for him.
He was tasked with guiding them.
They were led to a tent, which was surrounded by many guards keeping watch.
"Allen's party has arrived."
"Thanks."
Princess Shea's reply was short.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting."
As Allen entered the tent, he apologized for taking so long to gather everyone.
Princess Shea wore light armor as she sat on a simple wooden chair.
Surrounding her sat the commanders and officers of her troops, awaiting Allen's arrival..
"Oh, Princess Sophiarone. Please take this seat."
Saying that, Commander Lud pointed to a seat right in front of Princess Shea.
That was the seat for the person with the highest social standing.
"Master Allen, please sit."
Without hesitation, Sophie gave the seat to Allen.
She remained standing up, while Allen silently took the seat.
"""..."""
Sophie's voice had been slightly louder than usual, so everyone there, including Princess Shea, could see who really had the highest position in the party.
Sophie then sat next to Allen.
Merus was not present there.
He knew it could cause some uproar to show himself in public, so he preferred to only show up when absolutely necessary.
"Now that we're all here, let's start planning how to take down the Demon General."
Rath waited until all eight of Allen's party members sat down before speaking.
They would discuss how to fight the Demon General with the help of the beastmen now.