The battles on the 47th through 49th floors concluded without any notable incidents.
Next was the 50th floor, a major milestone for Ren's group. They realized the calendar already showed May. Continuing at the same pace to the estimated 100th floor would take another four years, leading to a strong feeling that they should take a break after this was over.
In any case, everything depended on winning.
"Alright. Shall we begin the strategy meeting then?"
Since men were present, Ren's house couldn't be used. The gathering for the pre-meeting was held at the Sage's house. The cluttered house was frankly cramped for ten people, but it couldn't be helped. They ignored the fact that the host, the Sage, wore a scowling face.
Kent, who naturally took the role of meeting facilitator, made his declaration and immediately began:
"Our opponent is a Dragon. There are a few problems with this fight."
Only the Sage and Kent had experience on the 50th floor. Iris's mother and May's mother were also new, meaning the majority of the group were inexperienced. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the words that followed.
"The first problem is the waiting time. It takes about an hour from the start until the Dragon arrives."
"Huh? Why does that even matter?" Ren asked, deflated by the anticlimactic point.
"And wouldn't that be convenient? You could use that time to evacuate people, couldn't you?" Iris asked.
"It wasn't that simple for us. After all, the location is the capital city. The castle is right there, and the soldiers are highly trained. To meet the highest authority, you have to enter the castle, but we couldn't speak the language. We had a terrible time," the Sage explained.
Causing a disturbance in the city would lead to suspicion, and they even had to fight the soldiers before the Dragon arrived. That time, they ended up going home and restarting, meaning their next attempt began with another hour's wait. Looking at it that way, "an hour until the enemy arrives" was indeed very difficult. Moreover, the first time, they didn't even know who the enemy was or when it would arrive. The original conquerors must have been gripped by the paranoia that "the enemy is sneaking in while we wait."
"This time, with Meteor here, we should be able to manage minimal negotiations," Ren said.
"Of course, I don't mind, but shouldn't you all at least be able to manage minimal responses by now?" Meteor scoffed.
"Yeah, well, we can manage word-level conversations, somehow...?"
The Dark Elf princess with white hair and red eyes snorted and began pressing the Sage and Kent for details about the capital's features. After hearing a few characteristics, she seemed to have figured it out. "Ah, that place," she nodded.
"...A Dragon attacking the capital of that country. It truly sounds like the end of the world."
Everyone agreed that since they could communicate, they should attempt to persuade and negotiate. If they couldn't, they would fight the Dragon alone. The conversation then shifted to the battle itself.
"Mr. Sage, what's the victory condition?" Ren asked.
"We don't have enough data to confirm, but it's likely the subjugation of the Dragon."
"That's all?"
"That's all. Even if the capital is destroyed, killing the Dragon will probably be considered a success."
"The city was about 60% annihilated when we did it, too," Kent added.
"60%!? If that much is destroyed, who knows how long recovery will take...!" Iris cried out in distress.
Iris's pained reaction was understandable. However, the Sage calmly responded, "There are cities that have risen to become world leaders from ground zero in just a few decades." Whether this was ruthlessly pragmatic or simply better than saying, "It's all fabricated anyway," was up for debate.
"What will our strategy be? It would be best to settle it with long-range attacks, wouldn't it?" Shion asked.
"I will cast as many Meteors as I can before it gets close. But it will be impossible to defeat it that way. After that, my role will be done once I apply all the buffs I can on you," the Sage said.
"Huuli, was it? If you fly me over, I can get into close combat with the Dragon." Kent suggested.
"Ew. I'm not in the mood to possess a guy." Huuli grimaced.
"This isn't the time for that! We could have him (the Sage) fly me, but then it might just be a one-shot and done kind of deal," Kent countered.
Apparently, if the Sage used his magic to fly others, it was literally a "Go fly away!" with no control whatsoever. While Kent might survive the fall, it was basically suicide.
They considered having Kent ride on Shion, but allowing the lightly armored Shion to carry a heavy load into close combat was too risky.
"Fine, fine. I'll endure with Mr. Kent this time." Huuli reluctantly agreed.
"We will focus on long-range sniping with arrows and countering the breath attack with wind magic," Iris's mother proposed.
Iris and Meteor nodded at the suggestion. Arrows could reach even from a considerable distance if boosted with Wind Spirit Magic. Once Kent began close combat, they would shift to using wind magic to block the breath, minimizing damage to the city.
"My and Shion's magic requires us to get pretty close, doesn't it?" Ren asked.
"It's long-range for a human-sized creature, but against a Dragon, you'll be within range of not just its breath, but possibly even its tail," the Sage warned.
"On top of that, it can regenerate minor wounds. Dealing with it piece by piece won't be very effective," Kent added.
"Ugh. So even cutting it with my tail won't do much good."
The regeneration was only supposed to heal injuries; it couldn't stop the depletion of physical stamina. In game terms, its maximum HP would be slowly chipped away, but it sounded disheartening.
"What will May-sama's group be doing?" Shion asked.
"We'll primarily be sniping too. Getting hit by the Dragon could mean instant death. We're bringing our special weapons," May's mother replied.
"And, of course, everyone should carry as many potions as possible. Don't worry about leaving space for drops. Pack as much as you can into your storage. If the capacity isn't enough, just throw it away and come back," the Sage instructed.
It sounded luxurious, but it was a necessary measure for safety. They also strengthened their equipment as much as possible, focusing on magic items for magic reinforcement and defense. While wearing multiple magic items with the same effect apparently diminished the effect of the second and subsequent items, it was better than nothing. They decided to endure looking overly fashionable and wear everything they had. For example, Magic Defense UP, Physical Defense UP, and Fire Resistance were treated as separate effects, so they utilized that to the full. Being able to buy magic items freely was a benefit of having made it this far. They invested heavily, perhaps excessively, to avoid dying and losing everything now.
"Everyone, be extremely cautious. The operation is set for the day after tomorrow. Get some rest and prepare yourselves," the Sage concluded.
"Let's all come back alive and have a celebration...!" Ren rallied.
The group chorused their agreement, and the meeting dispersed for the day. The time for the decisive battle was finally upon them.
-----------------
The Day of the Attack
The capital of the Holy Kingdom, one of the continent's leading cities.
El, a young girl serving as a shrine maiden apprentice at the Great Temple in the capital, noticed an unfamiliar group on her way back from an errand assigned by her superior.
A group of five strikingly beautiful young women:
A blonde Half-Elf, a silver-haired woman whose features were impossibly perfect for a human, a mystical beauty with green hair. Her eyes were drawn especially to the beautiful woman with deep purplish-blue hair and eyes. A tiny, unfamiliar beast perched on the woman's head, raising the group's profile.
And then there was the last person. A woman whose entire body was hidden by a hooded coat and gloves, concealing her skin completely. She was suspicious. Even more so because the other four were openly displaying their beauty. Was she a royal figure from some other country traveling incognito, or perhaps a divine incarnation?
Or, could she be a monster in disguise?
El knew she would be scolded if she was late with her errand, but she couldn't help but stare. She hastily held onto the basket in her hand against a sudden strong gust of wind.
"—!"
When she looked up, she saw the suspicious woman's hood momentarily ruffled. Peeking out from the edge of the hood was a pair of brown, pointed ears.
She blinked several times, then glanced around, thinking, "I wasn't dreaming, was I...?" The hood was quickly adjusted, so the glimpse lasted only a second. It seemed El was the only one who had noticed. The women exchanged glances, and as if they understood each other without speaking, they headed toward the castle. It was definitely suspicious.
"Was that person a Dark Elf...?"
Unlike the Elves who belonged to the human side, Dark Elves were a race of the demonic side. While they preferred forests and rarely appeared near human settlements, the common belief was that they considered humans to be inferior and enjoyed dominating them. The legend of humans captured by Dark Elves being treated as slaves deep in the forest for life was well-known.
A Dark Elf, in this peaceful city.
El, who was taught daily as an apprentice shrine maiden to "accumulate good deeds," thought, "Could this be a serious situation?" If they were plotting something evil and targeting the castle, they needed to be stopped right away.
But what if she was mistaken?
But what if she wasn't mistaken?
"I'm going to follow them...!"
After a moment's consideration, El decided to trail the women. Even as an apprentice, wearing the shrine maiden uniform meant El wasn't questioned when she got close to the Royal Castle. This was because the temple itself was adjacent to the castle (though the size of the castle meant there was still a fair distance). That's why she was able to follow the mysterious group. She never thought they would actually go right up to the castle.
"What should I do?"
Dark Elves could use magic. If they attacked the castle, it would be irreparable. El was an apprentice, and the only magic she could use was simple healing magic for scrapes. She was also much younger than the adult women. There was almost nothing she could do.
Still, she couldn't stand by and ignore something she knew.
"O-over there!"
The words burst out, and before she knew it, she had rushed forward and grabbed the coat of the suspicious woman.
"Let go of me," the woman said with fluent but heavily accented pronunciation. As the woman tried to forcefully pull away, El shouted, "You are a Dark Elf, aren't you!?"
The street wasn't particularly crowded, but that was due to the heightened security. Guards quickly approached and asked, "What is the commotion!?"
"This person is a Dark Elf! She must be up to something bad!"
It was the kind of statement that could easily be dismissed as a child's prank. El imagined the worst-case scenario: the woman wasn't a Dark Elf at all, and El would be scolded by both the guards and the women, and then again when she returned to the temple. Just then, she heard the hooded woman let out a small, quiet 'Tsk.'
As El opened her eyes in disbelief, the woman said,
"Well, fine. I was going to introduce myself anyway."
The woman's cloak was discarded, hood and all, revealing the beautiful Dark Elf underneath.
"My name is Meteor. The Second Princess of the Beekaneilin Forest Tribe, who bears the crest of the Black Apple! As you can see, I have no hostile intentions. This is an urgent matter. Take me to the King immediately."
"Wh-what!?" a guard stammered.
"A Dark Elf royal...!?" another murmured.
Something completely out of hand had just happened. While El stood frozen with her mouth agape, she and the women were surrounded by guards, and El was quickly ushered away from the commotion. One of the more thoughtful guards told her, "Go home," so she trudged back and was, as expected, scolded by her senior. When she told them what happened in front of the castle, they didn't believe her at all, telling her, "Stop lying." However, a knight soon arrived from the castle.
"A Dark Elf in the capital!? El was telling the truth!"
"I told you so!" El exclaimed, puffing out her cheeks in anger, though only her fellow apprentices reacted.
The conversation continued among the adults in hushed tones, and El could only catch snippets.
"Is the capital in danger?"
"There is a possibility. Therefore, we must immediately request an audience with the Saintess—"
It seemed Meteor, the Dark Elf princess, wasn't immediately believed. However, the mere appearance of a Dark Elf claiming to be royalty and making cryptic statements was an incident in itself. It was not unreasonable for them to heighten security as a precaution.
If something bad were to happen, the temple's duty was to help the people. They had to heal the injured and serve as an emergency shelter in case of a disaster. As El and the other apprentices gathered to stand by for the emergency, a senior shrine maiden arrived.
"There is a possibility that monsters will attack the capital," she announced the surprising fact.
A buzz filled the temple. Many of her peers muttered that it was probably nothing serious, and even El expected it to end without incident. But the situation continued to worsen. The alarm bells rang throughout the capital, and the temple transitioned to maximum alert. El and the other apprentices were mobilized to close and reinforce windows and entrances, take in evacuees, and prepare food.
The cause of all this was not the Dark Elf's recklessness, but:
"A Dragon. An evil dragon will soon attack this capital."
The arrival of a legendary creature. Whether it was the Dragon's power or not, the wind, which had been calm moments ago, became fiercely strong, and clouds began to crowd the sky.
No way, such a thing.
While everyone thought this, the Dragon truly arrived. A roar that echoed through the sky. And a massive explosion, unlike anything they had ever heard, resonated even inside the closed-off temple. Even the Saintess, the head of the Great Temple, was mobilized for the battle.
The battle must have been fierce, as even the temple, protected by a barrier erected by the remaining clerics, was struck repeatedly by powerful impacts. Vases and pots shattered, and the wooden planks covering the windows cracked.
Unable to stand still, El ignored the calls to stop, rushed to a window, looked up at the sky, and saw them.
The figures of heroes fighting the Dragon in the air.
----------------
============
🚀 Want Early Access & Bonus Content?
"Loving this story so far? You can read ALL chapters RIGHT NOW by joining my P4tr3on!
✨ Unlock instant access to the full completed novel
✨ No waiting for daily updates
✨ Support your favorite degenerate author (that's me!)
Only $5.99 for the full experience!
🔗 Check my profile for the Link!!
Free readers - don't worry, I'll still be posting daily updates here. But Pa4r3on members get the VIP treatment!
Your support helps me create more wild stories like this. See you on the dark side! 😈"