Chapter 44:Millenia Doesn’t Hide Her Power (2)

A small, elite charge.

…Surprisingly effective tactics against dragons.

If you bring a bunch of riff-raff, they get angry and make a fuss, but with a small number, it’s a different story.

Curious young dragons would often fight them for fun.

Even if they lost, they would often just take the gold and let them live.

In other words, a charge by a small, elite subjugation force was a proven method.

A long-standing dragon hunting method recorded in history.

[Oppa- What about old dragons?]

[They say the ancient dragons didn’t even resist. There’s a theory that they gave up after seeing the healthy adults die…]

[Dragons are supposed to get stronger as they get older, right? That doesn’t make sense!]

[I’m also wondering about that, but what does it matter? Dragons are already extinct.]

Of course, this was only for ‘young’ dragons.

It is said that the mighty ancient dragons were different, giving up their lives without any resistance.

It was a huge question left in human history, and

[Hmm… That’s strange, don’t you have any more dragon books, Oppa?]

[I didn’t know Frida was interested in history. I’ll talk to Father.]

[Yay~!!]

That question became an opportunity to overturn the notions of one princess, but anyway.

Most of the dragon subjugations left in history were also carried out by small, elite forces.

There was a reason for the Human Alliance’s actions.

‘Of course, I didn’t think Teonar would do that. He’s a unique dragon in many ways.’

‘I definitely thought she would use some force, and I warned them to some extent…’

-Tremble, tremble.

“What is that, what on earth is it?”

Leopoldus’ consciousness returns to the present.

He shifts his gaze to the image being transmitted by the magic tool held by Seras.

He saw a horde of Chaos Ogres.

[-Commander!? What, what is that?]

[-Turn all the horses around!! Retreat immediately!!]

‘That Seras, she didn’t even listen to my orders and immediately ordered a retreat…’

As soon as she saw it, Seras immediately turned the horses around.

Even though Leopoldus was nominally the supreme commander, she ordered a retreat without hesitation.

It seemed she sensed that there was no chance of winning.

‘That means it’s a tremendous force. That many Chaos Ogres.’

What kind of race were the Chaos Ogres?

They were once the apex predators that dominated the Millas Great Forest.

If they even loitered on the border, the Knights had to be dispatched to barely drive them away.

Seras assessed that one of them was easily worth ten elite knights of the Royal Knights.

Even he would find it difficult to face more than two at a time.

And yet, this race, the Chaos Ogres, those mighty monsters were running across the plains.

Even roughly counting, there were a thousand of them.

Converted to human forces,

“A great army equivalent to ten thousand elite knights…”

[What is it, what is it, what is it!!! Where did that kind of thing come from!!!]

[Vivian, calm down and order a retreat first!!]

[Victor is right. That must be the force sent by Teonar. All existing operations must be abandoned and we must switch to defense.]

[Defense… Unlike Valentia, we don’t have the extra energy to do that!!]

The lords also became noisy.

Everyone was talking in confusion.

It was natural, as the capital was in danger of being captured.

To Leo, all of that just sounded like noise.

‘Millenia’s population is only five hundred thousand, how did they mobilize this many Chaos Ogres?’

‘It must be one of two things. They either deceived me… or they’ve been hiding their strength until now.’

‘Damn it, is Millenia’s military power the strongest too!!’

Leopoldus trembled with a pale complexion.

It was a genuine reaction of fear, not acting.

He was sweating so much that even the other lords felt sorry for him.

[Hey, Leopoldus!! You knew about this… right…]

[Vivian, the country that will be most afraid of that is Arkenia. Defense may be impossible.]

[I understand, but get a grip!! If you guys are destroyed, it will be even harder to deal with those things!!]

Thanks to that, he was able to avoid the lords’ suspicion.

The suspicion that ‘he knew this would happen’, that is, ‘he pretended to cooperate but was colluding with Millenia’.

He wasn’t particularly happy.

‘Sorry, Seras. I didn’t know something like this would pop out either…’

His gaze returned to Seras.

It was directed at his childhood friend, who was riding her horse with a serious expression.

She kept glancing at the magic tool, as if complaining, ‘This is different from what you said!’

‘I can’t understand Teonar’s intentions at all. If He does this, humans will only unite…’

“I’ll prepare for defense for now.”

[You’ve made a good decision. As a long-standing friendly nation of Arkenia, we will dispatch reinforcements immediately.]

[We, we will too!!]

[I’ll send them to Selicia. I’ll send them to Belarus as well, but even if we launch the ships right away, it will take several weeks.]

[Taking advantage of this… Haa, no. It’s you who will be in trouble if we are occupied. Please.]

The Human Alliance also achieved genuine cooperation, for a moment.

If someone is defeated and falls into Millenia’s colony, it will be unstoppable.

Just as they exploited other races, if they squeeze humans to prepare for an all-out war…

The blood that must be shed will increase several times over.

That’s what everyone thought.

“Seras, can you hear me?”

[-Your Majesty! Did you see it?! That’s…]

“Change of plans. Prepare for defense in case of an emergency.”

[-Yes!? Th, that’s…]

“Also, I authorize hostile acts against that Chaos Ogre horde. I believe you know what that means.”

[…Increase the speed!! Bella, please hold them back!]

[-Understood!]

Because of this, even Arkenia switched to defense.

Even launching attack magic at them, sincerely.

It wasn’t like their usual selves, who tried to avoid conflict with other races as much as possible, but…

——Fortunately, no battle took place.

-Whoaaaaa!!

“It’s been a while, Seras de Valois.”

“……!!?”

At that moment, a magic circle appeared in front of Seras.

A complex shape with numerous runes engraved on it, qualitatively different from those of humans.

A woman popped out from there.

It was a known other race.

-Thud.

“A, Aurelia!?”

“Don’t be nervous. We have no intention of antagonizing humans.”

The Dryad Queen Aurelia, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Millenia, appeared, her green hair fluttering.

She smiled gently.

It was the somewhat unsettling smile that Seras felt from their first meeting.

“What nonsense are you talking about, sending something like that…”

“Those are not citizens of Millenia. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“…What?”

“Other races and monsters are different. Those are monsters who cannot stand slaughter.”

With the 130 elite soldiers of Arkenia stopping in their tracks, Aurelia’s finger slowly pointed forward.

Her narrow eyes also opened very slightly.

-They are ‘pests’ that we cannot coexist with and must be exterminated.”

-Thud.

Soon, her footsteps turned in the opposite direction.

She stood facing the Chaos Ogres running towards her.

“Wait a moment. I’ll exterminate them soon.”

“Extermination, what…”

-Tear.

“It’s faster to see it.”

The sound of tearing a scroll.

At the same time, magic circles are drawn under the ogres’ feet.

Large and huge enough to trap everyone.

‘Teonar’s magic!!’

That’s what Seras thought when she saw it.

That was the scroll Teo had prepared.

A powerful magic that would wipe out those monsters all at once.

Her expectations were spectacularly wrong.

-Flash… Boom!

“Kra?”

The charging ogre is blocked.

By the barrier created by the magic circle, that transparent wall.

Whether they were embarrassed or not, they threw punches with great force-but.

The barrier doesn’t budge.

Rather, it quickly narrows the area and puts the Chaos Ogres together.

“That is, what.”

“They’re gathered just right.”

Soon, the barrier was reduced to the point where there was no room to set foot.

Aurelia slowly headed towards it.

-Whoooo…

“I hate pests. They make the crops I’ve worked so hard to grow sick and eat them away.”

Something is held in her hand.

A device with a long metal tube attached.

It was a machine called an ‘agricultural high-pressure sprayer’ that creates liquid like a mist and sprays it.

It wasn’t easy to guess what role it played, but….

“What is that…”

“You’ll know when you see it.”

There was no need to rack her brains.

It was because Aurelia stuck the sprayer’s nozzle into the barrier.

And she.

Just.

Emitted mist.

-Whoaaaaa.

“Krwaaaa… aA?”

The barrier is filled with transparent mist.

Soon, it turns so hazy that you can’t see inside.

For some reason, even the noisy ogre sounds become quiet.

After 1 minute, 2 minutes pass.

Seras cautiously approaches.

“Aurelia… What is this? Is it magic?”

“No, this is called pesticide. It’s what you spray when farming.”

“Pesticide?”

“To be exact, it’s a pesticide called Mevinphos… Um, it’s dangerous if you get too close?”

“Why? You got rid of them…”

-Kaaaaaaang!!!!

[Kieeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!]

“…!!!”

In front of Seras, who had brought her face to the barrier, a fist slammed down.

Fortunately, it was blocked by the barrier, but…

The sight inside that was glimpsed as a result.

Was utterly horrific.

“Wh, what is this…”

‘How could those mighty Chaos Ogres.’

Inside the barrier that was glimpsed.

The monsters groan in pain.

They grab their stomachs and vomit stomach acid.

Some are dizzy and just flail their arms.

Some lose consciousness and fall down and are trampled.

Only those who are lucky enough to be near the barrier desperately pound on the barrier as if begging to be saved.

The more they do, the more flesh, blood, and various wastes stick to the barrier.

Making it impossible to even see inside.

‘They’re dying without even resisting…? This quickly?’

However, the sound of thumping-gradually subsiding.

That makes one guess what is happening inside.

Seras’ pupils shook violently.

“Poison… is it?”

“I told you it’s pesticide? It’s harmful if used incorrectly.”

“Isn’t that the same thing!!”

“It’s a bit toxic, but it can’t be helped. The purpose of pesticide is to kill pests.”

“No, but still, how… Gasp!?”

Suddenly, her gaze turned to Aurelia.

What she saw was an unwavering smile.

The same smile when looking at Seras as when looking at the monsters dying from inhaling high concentrations of pesticide.

Both were…

-A smile hiding disgust inside.

‘Could it be that she doesn’t see much difference between us and the Chaos Ogres? Does she consider humans to be bugs?’

At that, she belatedly realized.

The unsettling feeling she had felt since their first encounter.

The identity of the sense of discomfort she felt whenever she saw Aurelia.

To that mighty other race, humans were…

Just pests.

“Eek…”

‘Is it not only humans who reject other races? They were the same too?’

At that, Seras couldn’t hide her shock, but…

She didn’t know.

What happened in Arkenia was actually the most moderate.

-Kaaaaaaaaaaang!!!!!

“What, what is this!!”

“…Tch, this is called a cannon. It’s a type called a field gun.”

Normare, a powerful nation that had dominated the western seas of the continent through its ships.

A rain of shells fell on that land.

-Drrrrrrr!!!

“What on earth is this…”

“Hehe~ It’s called a machine gun♡ If I get hit without defending, umm~ I might become a honeycomb♡”

Selicia, the southernmost country on the continent that burned down the World Tree and enslaved the elves.

Bullets poured down like rain on that territory.

-Clang.

“You, thank you for stopping them…”

“Step back. It’s annoying if I get poisoned.”

“…Poisoned? What was in the bottle you threw over the barrier earlier?”

“Liquid Sarin. The reaction will appear soon.”

“Appear soon, what… Wh, what is that!?”

Belarus, a kingdom that boasts its strength even while waging war with Selicia.

Weapons of mass destruction were scattered on that land.

The horde of Chaos Ogres that threatened the fate of the continent.

Most of them were annihilated before long.

…Except for one country, Valentia.

“How on earth…”

“Seras, don’t be surprised by this. Because from now on, you will witness a great sight.”

“What?”

The four vassals except Lucia.

Magic circles rose on their hands all at once.

“Consider it an honor. We too are witnessing a sacred, history-making moment for the first time.”

“And let us applaud. For our master’s overwhelming strength.”

“Kneel and praise♡ For the mercy he has shown until now♡”

“The Great One is coming. Open your eyes and watch closely.”

And, in front of the commanders of each nation.

An exceedingly vivid illusion magic unfolded.

Reflected there was Valentia.

Monsters charging, unaware of what had happened in other countries…

—And above them, a transparent sky.

-Flap.

“Krrraaar. (I hope you understand this time.)”

The strongest invisible dragon roared.