Chapter 176: Enemies and Reinforcements
Of course, Shakuna insisted that she wanted to go save her sister... but I managed to convince her.
If it was just me, it would be easy to escape, but the more people there were, the harder it would be to escape.
"Well, our mission to rescue Ryuna was successful. Now, we could have prevented the resurrection of the Evil God..."
I look up and stare at the sky.
Above me, the sun is still hidden, and the darkness has fallen.
The total solar eclipse is not over. And it\'s about time the sun showed its face...
"Still, the eclipse is not over...what is Rujanaga doing?"
He is a terrible sorcerer who can even interfere with astronomical movements.
Of course, this would never happen in real life... but this is a game.
There were spells to rain meteorites and to twist sunlight into rays of light that hit the enemy, so it\'s not that unnatural.
"Let\'s stick to the plan we discussed beforehand. Shakuna, you will take Ryuna and retreat. Stay hidden until the total eclipse is over."
I handed Shakuna the feather of Horus that I had been holding.
It would allow them to leave at a safe distance. Even Veinrune, who also can teleport, will not be able to catch up with them if he does not know where they have fled to.
"Okay. I won\'t let go of Ryuna again! I will protect her!"
"What about you, Baskerville-sama? Aren\'t you going to run away with us?"
Shakuna clapped her hands on her chest strongly while Ryuna\'s eyes shook uneasily.
She may be worried about leaving me... but I think she is genuinely concerned that I\'ll do something dangerous.
"I\'ll go back to the Altar and crush Rujanaga. I won\'t let him hide in the clouds!"
Rujanaga, the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King Army.
Although I had defeated the plot in the Maafern Kingdom by rescuing Ryuna, I had no intention of letting the great leader of the enemy escape.
He is the only one of the Four Heavenly Kings who is both a strategist and a plotter. So, it is quite significant that I can kill Rujanaga at this stage, who is a demon that pursues the hero with various schemes.
After all, it will be able to considerably reduce the Demon King\'s army\'s strength.
"It is convenient if he stops the progress of the total solar eclipse. And if he\'s using magic big enough to interfere with astronomical phenomena, he won\'t be able to move. So, I will kill him and send that perverted demon back to hell too!"
"...Please don\'t force yourself. Please run away if you\'re in danger."
"I understand. Then, go ahead."
"I\'ll go first! You too... be careful!
Shakuna takes Ryuna\'s hand and teleports using the feather of Horus.
They teleport to the Royal Tomb of Salomon. We choose this place because of our friendship with Salomon, the master of the dungeon, and it has become a safer zone than the royal capital.
Normally, it is not possible to move into a dungeon by teleport magic.
However, the feather of Horus can travel to places that cannot be reached by regular teleport magic, although it is limited to the Maafern Kingdom.
So, as long as they stay hidden in the safe zone on the lower floor of the tomb, neither Rujanaga nor Veinrune will be able to follow them.
"Well, I\'ve got some work to do... oh?"
""""""OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"""""
The cries of many people...or something else...can be heard.
The direction was the place where Ryuna had been captured a while ago. That is, from the \'Altar of the Snake God.\'
"...Here comes the group! Where the hell did he hide such an army?"
A mixed army of humans and demons was moving toward me.
Snakes and lizards with human heads, crocodiles in armor. Skeletal knights armed with swords.
And human soldiers in armor. Their eyes are vacant as if they are being manipulated.
These mixed forces of demons and humans number more than 1,000 at least. But how did he summon such a large number of soldiers in the middle of the desert?
"Did he use that demon\'s ability to teleport? I remember... there is a magic that creates a \'gate\' and teleports many people."
This is a special magic that cannot be learned by the player or other characters in the game.
However, it was possible for Veinrune, an entity outside the game, to use it.
""""""GAAAAAAAAAAAA!"""""
With an eerie battle cry, a thousand mixed troops charge toward the rocky area.
Rujanaga may have used some kind of magic to find my location. And without hesitation, they were heading for where I was hiding.
Fortunately, I\'ve already let Ryuna go, so it doesn\'t matter if they find me here or not.
However... it would be tough to defeat Rujanaga with so many enemies.
"Well, well, well... What shall I do? Did my reinforcements not arrive in time?"
"Goshujin-sama! We\'re here, desu~no!"
"Oh? Speak of the devil!"
I turned around to see Urza waving at me from behind a distant sand hill.
Urza is riding astride a sand dragon, and she is riding it well even though she has never ridden a horse before.
"Zenon-bocchama-! We\'ve been looking forward to seeing you!"
Urza was not the only one who came to help. Levienna followed, coming out from behind the sand hill.
And then... following them, more and more people on sand dragons appeared toward me.
Their numbers are growing by the dozens and hundreds, and they are... the Revolutionary Army.
They are a resistance organization working to overthrow the corrupt Maafern Kingdom under the control of Rujanaga.
"Goshujin-sama-! I\'ve brought reinforcements as you asked!"
"I was surprised to see you two working with the Revolutionary Army...."
For the note, about half a day ago, Shakuna and I escaped from the \'Royal Tomb of Salomon\' and went to the Royal Capital to gather forces.
Now that we have the Feather of Horus, we can go anywhere in the Maafern Kingdom.
Of course, we can\'t go to a place we have never been before... but the royal capital is where Shakuna used to live. So, with the help of the item, we could get around without any problem.
Once we arrived at the capital, I quickly met up with Urza and Levienna, who had gone on separate ways... But to my surprise, they worked with the revolutionary forces that had risen against the palace and the temple.
They said while investigating the Guru, Urza and Levienna were discovered by the royal court, and they met members of the revolutionary army when fighting soldiers.
And... the revolutionary army was not the only force that rushed to the scene.
Another force was called in as an ally.
"All troops, charge! Defeat the army of monsters!"
A division appeared, sent by the Revolutionary Army. At the head of the division, a man astride a sand dragon shouts.
A mature man with brown skin, white hair, and a beard. His name is Glenys Maafern.
He is Shakuna and Ryuna\'s father and the king of the Maafern Kingdom. He is the boss character in the additional scenario, \'Jade Tombstone.\'
He is an evil king who has been brainwashed by the Guru Rudanaga and oppresses the people living in the Maafern Kingdom.
There is a reason why King Glenys, who should have been an enemy, became an ally.
In the first place, King Glenys became an oppressive tyrant because he was brainwashed and manipulated by Rujanaga. Though the original King Glenys was an authoritarian, he was not incompetent as a king.
And using the \'Scepter of Osiris\' that Shakuna obtained from the \'Royal Tomb,\' we could break the brainwashing condition cast on King Glenys.
"Let the wicked sorcerers who tried to kill my daughter Ryuna be put to death! Avenge the traitor Rudanagaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
""""""OHHHHHHHHHHH!"""""
The knights charge at the king\'s order.
With his brainwashing broken, King Glenys regains his love for his daughter. He leads his knights to defeat Rujanaga, who plans to sacrifice Ryuna.
The boss character and his men appear as reinforcements and try to fight as allies. This is an impossible situation in a game.
"Do not fall behind the king! Show that we, the revolutionary army, will protect this kingdom!"
"""""""OHHHHHHHHHHH!"""""
The Revolutionary Army, which did not want to be defeated, began marching toward the enemy.
The Revolutionary Army and the Knights combined forces totaled about 500 soldiers. Although it had only about half the number of enemy soldiers, it could be said that it had done a good job of gathering them in less than half a day\'s preparation.
It was quite a task to unite two forces that until recently had been enemies... but thanks to Urza, Levienna, and Shakuna, we managed to do it.
""""""OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"""""
""""""GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"""""
Mixed forces of revolutionary army and knights and a mixed army of demons and humans.
These two chaotic armies are about to collide in the middle of the desert.
"A once-in-a-lifetime chance to win. Reinforcements are coming at the perfect time!"
Now, I can leave the enemy forces to them.
And I can concentrate on fighting Rujanaga and Veinrune.
"The demon pervert and the old snake... let both of these nuisances disappear. I\'ll settle all scores before the sun comes up!"
I laugh viciously, baring my fangs, and leap from my hiding place.
Character Illustration:
Levienna => here
Urza => here
Aeris => here
Nagisa => here