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Chapter 70 - I’m Thinking Nonsense

"Eek! How are we supposed to handle all of that...?!"

"Let’s just start slashing and see what happens!"

"If you keep that up, you’ll run out of mana and get into serious trouble, Charlotte!"

"Ugh, I don’t care!"

"Hey!!!"

I’m too lazy to think about complicated stuff!

Charlotte, clutching her Super Strong Sword, charged forward, while Julia let out a frustrated yell.

It was clear to anyone that the situation was dire.

Thousands? Tens of thousands? It was impossible to estimate just how many ant monsters surrounded the castle.

Some had already scaled the walls and were threatening the interior.

How could we handle them all?

The immediate priority was dealing with the monsters climbing the walls.

Thanks to Charlotte’s reckless charge, her aura blasts were holding them back for the moment.

But the number of monsters was beyond counting.

No matter how much Charlotte tried to regulate her aura output, she wouldn’t last more than ten minutes before running out of mana.

At this rate, they wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer!

Something had to be done...

"Ah! The queen ant! If we take out the queen ant, won’t that solve the problem?"

[That species of ant does indeed have only one queen per colony. However, killing the queen will only make the others more vicious.]

"Th-Then what do we do...?"

"You don’t kill it. You lure it out."

"Aslan...!"

Just then, Aslan Vermont appeared, carrying Sylvia on his back.

Julia, without realizing it, called his name in a voice full of relief, then immediately felt embarrassed and cleared her throat.

It sounded like she had been eagerly waiting for him as if she missed him terribly during their brief separation...

"Ahem, ahem. Luring it out, you say?"

"Those ants will do anything to protect their queen. If we find where the queen is hiding and threaten her, we can draw them away from the castle. Once we herd them all into one spot, we can concentrate our firepower and wipe them out in a single strike."

"Ah! That might actually work!"

With that plan, they could protect the people and defeat the monsters while using minimal mana.

Julia clapped her hands, thinking to herself, Since I was the first one to come up with the idea of targeting the queen ant, doesn’t that make at least half of this plan mine?

"Alright, Earthy! Find the queen ant for us!"

[Kyaah! What do you think I am, a search engine?]

At Charlotte’s bold request, Earthy stomped his foot in protest.

But Charlotte wasn’t intimidated in the least by the giant Earthy standing before her.

"If you help us, I’ll make you as many donuts as you want when we get back!"

[Donuts...? Do you think you can bribe a Great Spirit who has lived for over a thousand years with mere food!?]

"I’ll make them with extra sugar cream on top!"

[...In light of your sincerity, I suppose I could do it.]

Boom, boom. Earthy pounded his tiny fists together, stepping forward.

Those donuts Charlotte and Julia had given him last time had been incredibly delicious.

That time, they were plain, but with sugar cream added?

Gulp.

The thought alone made his mouth water.

The pleasure of tasting and savoring food—something he had never imagined before gaining a physical form—was a sensation he had come to love.

[I have a rough idea where she might be. But if I use my abilities, I can pinpoint her exact location...]

Rumble. Rumble.

The ground trembled periodically, centered around Earthy, as if a small earthquake was shaking the earth.

"Waaaah! It’s happening again! Another one of those cursed earthquakes!!!"

"Father! Please calm down!"

The Count of Arient threw himself to the ground, trembling in terror.

[Found it. There’s an entrance to the ant colony on the mountainside. Head in, turn right, then go up the path, take a left, go straight, and then drop down a vertical shaft...]

"That’s enough. No one’s going to remember all that. It’ll be better if Earthy leads the way."

Aslan shook his head, summing it up.

The ant colony was sure to be a complicated labyrinth.

Earthy might have the ability to see through the ground, but to humans, the maze-like structure would be impossible to navigate.

It would be much more practical to take Earthy with them for guidance.

Aslan quickly came to that conclusion.

"I’ll go with Sylvia and Earthy into the ant colony."

"Why me? I’m completely drained from mana exhaustion."

"Should I send the kids instead?"

"I’ll go."

It would’ve been easier if she’d agreed to go in the first place. Why did she have to make herself look so pathetic? Aslan couldn’t understand it at all.

Sylvia, legs trembling, barely managed to stand.

Aslan immediately brought Julia over and began using Touch of Death to recharge Sylvia’s mana.

"Ah! Aah...!"

Countless lesser spirits gathered around Julia.

As the dark energy from Aslan’s fingers spread, the spirits perished, only to gather and die again in a seemingly endless cycle.

Witnessing this, Julia’s lips quivered.

The last time Aslan did this, she couldn’t see the spirits, so she had no idea this was how it worked.

Seeing it now was terrifying.

But there was no other way to quickly recharge Sylvia’s mana...

‘Spirits, I’m sorry!!!’

I’ll become stronger, so you won’t have to suffer anymore.

I promise, one day, I’ll find a way to recharge mana without sacrificing you!

With tears welling in her eyes, Julia made a firm vow.

"Sylvia. Can you move?"

"My muscles ache, but... it’s nothing. Compared to the time I had to return with a broken leg after falling off a cliff, this is nothing."

"Uh, right. Julia, turn Earthy back into a doll."

[Kyaaah! Who are you calling a doll!? And ‘turn back’? You talk like I was always a doll to begin with...! Kyaaaah! Damn brat! I’m shrinking as I speak!!!]

Swoosh.

In the blink of an eye, Earthy shrank down from his intimidating size to the point where he was just a small, plush doll again.

Sylvia effortlessly picked him up, though Charlotte had always struggled a bit to lift him.

Earthy looked so light in Sylvia’s arms, he might as well have been a feather.

"Alright, let me explain the plan. I’ll only say this once, so make sure you remember it. Our lives depend on you two, Charlotte and Julia."

"Y-Yes...!"

"Mhm!"

The plan was dangerous, but there was no other choice.

This was the only way to save Arient, the territory that had to pay me monthly interest without fail.

Aslan, his face set with determination, began explaining the plan.

"Vermont has come to the rescue! We’ve received support from Vermont!"

"They’re using dark magic to wipe out the monsters!"

"Shh! Be quiet! We didn’t see any dark magic! If word gets out that we did..."

"..."

Gulp.

The people collectively swallowed in nervousness.

Vermont had come to save Arient.

And in doing so, they hadn’t hesitated to reveal the results of their dark magic research.

Whether they liked it or not, Arient had already benefited from dark magic.

They could no longer claim to be uninvolved.

If Vermont were to be punished, Arient would be punished as well—there was no escaping it.

And on top of that, they’d have to face Vermont’s wrathful revenge.

The Count of Arient and all his people silently agreed to erase tonight’s events from their memories entirely.

"Haaaah! Boom...!"

"No booming, Charlotte!!!"

"Heehee. Fine, I’ll just slash sideways! Strong sideways slash! Fast sideways slash! Hiya! Hiyaaa!!!"

Each time Charlotte swung her ominous black sword, dark streaks of light sliced through the night sky.

Just the sight of it was enough to make anyone’s legs go weak.

The black energy surged forward, cutting everything in its path, splitting the monsters that had just climbed the walls into pieces.

And there she was, wielding a cursed sword while a girl controlled an earthquake-inducing evil god!

There was something strangely familiar about the evil god’s silhouette, but I was too afraid to look closely.

‘Dark magic, necromancers, and now a dark knight...!’

The Count of Arient’s pupils shook violently.

Just a few months ago, Vermont had been considered corrupt, its economy in shambles, and its military power nonexistent.

Now, Vermone had the strength to go toe-to-toe with this massive army of ant monsters.

Where did they find such talent?

The powers of necromancy and dark knights aren’t common by any means.

They must’ve taken in countless orphans and subjected them to cruel experiments to create this force!

‘My younger brother is truly terrifying!’

They say evil people take good care of their own, and it seemed to be true.

Ah, my dear younger brother.

I won’t defy you ever again.

I’ll grovel at your feet for the rest of my life.

I’ll pay my interest on time, every month, without fail.

The Count of Arient felt his loyalty to Vermont surging within him.

"But even at this rate, we’ll be fighting until dawn..."

"My lord! The monsters are retreating!"

"What did you say!?"

What on earth does that mean?

Count Arient hurried to the ramparts and looked down below.

Rumble, rumble.

The ant monster army, indeed, was raising a cloud of dust as they fell off the ramparts and headed somewhere.

"Did my younger brother use some trick?"

We’re really saved now! We’re saved!

Count Arient was overwhelmed with the joy of having finally escaped a near-death experience.

"Ah? Could it be?"

It’s a sudden appearance of the monster army.

It was exactly at the right time to receive help from the staff stationed in Arient’s territory.

It was also Count Vermont who arrived at the perfect timing to rescue them.

Everything seemed so contrived.

"I’m thinking nonsense!!!"

"Ah, Father! Why are you suddenly banging your head against the wall!?"

Count Arient quickly succeeded in clearing those thoughts from his mind.