Chapter 186

<Sogou Ayaka POV>

Ogre Soldiers began surging from the north gate .

My allies became restless from their pincer attack together with the monsters from the south .

It was at that time when I was about to be forced to make a prompt decision .

[Just this amount of Ogre Soldiers isn’t an enemy for my Neia! Knock them down!]

A chivalrous voice loudly rang out .

Following her command are cavalries in white armor .

The Holy Knights of Neia began crashing down from behind the Ogre Soldiers .

The Ogre Soldiers who were pounced from behind were cut down one after another .

At the head of the cavalry was a woman in luxurious armor .

She is Cattleya Stramius .

[Hey, that’s Neia’s princess!]

The surviving soldiers pointed towards Cattleya .

[There you are, Heroes from Another World . ]

Cattleya points the tip of her sword towards me .

[We’ll be in charge of the horde from the south for now! Those of you who aren’t affected by the Tyrant’s Miasma, deal with the Ogre Soldiers!]

——That’s right .

The Ogre Soldiers belong to the Great Demon Emperor’s army .

There must be some Tyrant’s Miasma residing within them, even a little bit .

A mysterious energy that weakens the people of this world .

However, there are people present here that aren’t affected by it .

It would be us—– the Heroes from Another World .

The cavalry in white armor passed by me and the others and charged at the approaching monsters from the south .

These Golden-eyed monsters, born from the previous Root of All Evil, don’t possess any Tyrant’s Miasma .

In that case…

(Even Cattleya and the others can fight without being weakened……)

Passing by the cavalry, I ran towards the north gate .

Spear in hand, I charged towards the Ogre Soldiers that had broken off their formation .

[Heroes of 2-C, follow me! Us Heroes aren’t affected by the Tyrant’s Miasma, so we can fight against these Ogre Soldiers without being weakened at all!]

Nihei is in high spirits as he said that .

Kayako started moving a little later while giving instructions to everyone .

That’s when it happened .

Dragon’s voices broke through the peaceful sky .

The Black Dragon Knights excitedly flew towards the north gate .

[It’s the Black Dragon Knights!]

A young knight clad in black, a man called Gus, rode his black dragon as he lead the others .

If I’m not mistaken, he’s one of the Three Dragon Warriors .

[All of you, support the Heroes from Another World! Follow me!]

Holding a magic tool in his hand, Gus raised his voice and released magic from the skies .

A fireball burst a flock of monsters far opposite from the Neia’s Holy Knights into flames .

[Reinforcements! Everyone…… W- We’ll also go!]

Their morale increased, Nihei and others rushed into battle .

Absentmindlessly watching the series of events happening right in front of her, Murota began muttering to herself .

[……What the heck is with you people . Even though you’re just low ranks, you’re too enthusiastic…… Ayaka also really looks like a hero now……]

(T/N: Hero was said in english here . )

[Murota-san!]

I called out to her .

[Fight for your life! And if you can, lend us your strength! Our past doesn’t matter right now!]

Sweeping away the Ogre Soldiers with my magical blade, I requested her .

[So that we will still have a future, fight!]

[S- Sh*t…… Since we’ve come into this other world, you’ve really become much more like a President…… Sh*t! We just have to do it, right?! Then, let’s do this! L- Like hell we’ll die in this place…… Just like Ikumi…… Like hell we’re dying here!!!]

She may look desperate, but Murota had at least regained her morale .

It appears that the other members of Kirihara’s group let out their hidden courage .

They, too, followed behind Nihei .

[They’re fighting even when they’re lower ranked than us…… I- In that case, there’s no reason why us higher ranked Heroes can’t fight! If you’re finished with your preparations, let’s do this!]

[And if push comes to shove, we still have the “Human-Faced Slayer”, President with us!]

Looking at them behind me, I think to myself .

(My appearance as I fight——- It seems that defeating the Human-Faced showed everyone that there’s hope . That’s what I think……)

Perhaps, because of their level ups on the battlefield, the Heroes showed a better fight than I expected .

Could it be because they’re not affected by the Tyrant’s Miasma?

The amount of Ogre Soldiers who came in through the gate was quickly dwindling .

Most of all—— the Ogre Soldiers who were facing me can’t do anything faced with my unstoppable onslaught .

Just as the Ogre Soldiers’ momentum stopped, Cattleya and some of the Holy Knights arrived .

There were still some monsters remaining, but the chaotic stream of monsters has been suppressed for the time being .

Incidentally, I can see that the Neia army and the Bakuos army aren’t coordinated .

It probably can’t be helped, considering the relationship between these two countries but……

Still, their movements were many times more sophisticated than my group .

They could even handle large monsters well .

[Ayaka Sogou . ]

Still on her horse, Cattleya called out .

[Y- Yes?]

Cattleya shifts her eyes towards the disastrous spectacle within the walls .

[I didn’t expect things would get as bad as like this . ]

I briefly explained what happened here .

Looking serious, Cattleya places her snow white gauntlet to her well-shaped chin .

[All of the Four Revered Saints aside from the eldest brother were killed…… One of the Three Dragon Warriors, Bach-dono, and Guira-dono were killed in battle huh . However, I never expected that even that “Blazing Arm” Abyss Angoon would fall… . . Moreover, we still don’t know whether the eldest brother and the Dragonslayer are still alive or not……]

[Umm, what happened outside the wall?]

Cattleya shifts her gaze outside the wall .

[We’ve been ambushed by the Great Demon Emperor’s army . In terms of numbers, we have an overwhelming advantage against them, but there’s a powerful Confidant among them, and that’s way too much for us to handle . ]

[Confidant……]

The name given to the powerful subordinates under the Root of All Evil .

I’ve been told about them before .

[The enemy’s Southern Invasion Force was moving so slowly that we would still have some time before they could reach their destination, Magnar’s royal capital . However, it appears that the slow movement of the Southern Invasion Force was to deceive our eyes . Perhaps, the Southern Invasion Force’s main target would be us……]

Joining the Magnar army waiting in the royal capital .

Before we could join them though, the enemy had made a plan to cut off half of the Southern Army first .

Or perhaps—– they were planning to kill the Goddess here .

I don’t know what their real target is .

However…

[……They splendidly conducted their plan . ]

Looking down, Cattleya exhaled .

[Yeah, they’ve got us . ]

[Umm, as for the situation outside the wall right now……]

[For now, Duke Polarie and Walter-dono are in charge and they have managed to bring the troops together, and they’ve somehow been holding their ground . However, there’s nothing we can do about the Confidant . Even if we outnumber it, I don’t think that’s an opponent that we can just defeat through human-wave tactics . You should now understand…… why we are here, right?]

[A Hero who isn’t affected by the Tyrant’s Miasma, we don’t have any other choice but to deal with it ourselves……]

[That’s right . We’re relying on you, Hero Ayaka . ]

Incidentally, during our conversation, Cattleya’s gaze was fixated on something .

It’s the corpses of the Human-Faced I killed .

Cattleya’s eyes were filled with surprise and a glimmer of hope .

[Perhaps, only you Heroes can stop that Confidant . We should be able to manage the monsters from the Demon Zone as long as we leave some of our troops here……]

(Even the Human-Faced could be defeated by my inherent skill and my limiter release……)

That means…

[If it’s someone who’s capable of defeating the Human-Faced…… It’s possible that even our current problem——]

—is the only person who could deal with the Confidant .

Thinking about the future, I don’t want to cause any further losses among the soldiers outside the walls .

The only way to do that—– is to defeat that Confidant .

Taking a deep breath, I arrange my breathing .

[Let’s go . ]

I coldly stare at the north gate .

[Let’s open up that path . ]

▽

As soon as we crossed the north gate, Ogre Soldiers came rushing in .

Leading the way, I swiped my spear from atop my horse, putting the Ogre Soldiers to their deaths .

The horses we’re riding on were borrowed from Neia’s soldiers .

To my sides were the other Heroes, reinforcing our formation .

And the scene that we arrived at as we passed through the north gate was—–

[What… is this… . . ]

For a moment, I feel overwhelmed .

The battlefield had turned into melee battles .

[Shigiiiaaaahhhhhhhhhh!]

An Ogre Soldier holding a sword leaped at us from the sides .

However, it didn’t manage to do anything as I pierced it in between its brows with a single thrust .

(Ugh…… This isn’t the time to be overwhelmed!)

[Everyone, prepare the formation!]

Ten different voices replied with their vigorous responses .

And thus—- we got swept into a fierce battle once again .

Soon, the battlefield became a free-for-all rumble with enemies and allies jumbled together .

The Heroes recklessly fought in the midst of it all .

Is it because we aren’t affected by the Tyrant’s Miasma?

Or perhaps, it’s because we’ve grown as we fought on a real battlefield?

In any case, we are different now from how we used to be before .

[Kill, kill, kill! Crush the Great Demon Emperor’s soldiers!]

[Don’t forget, we have the numerical superiority! If it looks strong, we’ll beat it with our numbers!]

[The children in the back of Kirihara-kun’s group…… Cover us!]

Our group has trained the way of move in formation alongside others .

We fight by leveraging my formidable fighting prowess in combination with everyone else .

Now, they were going to fight together with Kirihara’s group—- a group of B-Rank Heroes .

It was also the same case with Yasu’s group .

They too have learned how to fight in a supportive manner, thinking that Yasu will lead them sooner or later .

Both of our teams studied this together under the guidance of Banewolf .

Nihei raises his voice .

[Let’s go, everyone! Even us lower ranks have our own role for us to fulfill!]

With the support of the lower-ranked Heroes, the B-Rank Heroes furiously attacked the Ogre Soldiers .

[If you think you can kill me, let me see you try, monsters! Orraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]

[We’ll definitely get to go back home! We’re going to go back to our previous world after all!]

[Erii, Nihei and the others are being pressured! Go around and cover them!]

[U- Understood!]

At that moment, Kayako loudly spoke .

[Also, any soldiers in danger…… If you have the leeway, save them! The more soldiers that are safe to fight, the more people we will have that could face those monsters that came from the Demon Zone! There’s a chance that they will come here later!]

Turning around, Kirihara’s group responded .

Even Murota, who is unleashing her skills by being swept away by the situation slightly regained her aspiration .

[The heck…… Even that iron-mask character Suou is that enthusiastic! Sh*t, it’s so f*cking funny! Hey, Minamino, behind you!]

Clenching my fist in response, I felt a faint sense of joy .

It may simply be a temporary thing .

Perhaps, this is only possible because our circumstances make it so .

However, my classmates were certainly united right now .

A feeling of power surges from within my body .

Eventually, albeit little by little, the monsters around me and the others began clearing away .

The Heroes aren’t the only ones that were defeating these Ogre Soldiers .

The strength of Neia’s Holy Knights led by Cattleya was also quite formidable .

In particular, the attack from their cavalry was especially noticeable, they fought so fiercely that you wouldn’t think that they were being affected by the Tyrant’s Miasma .

Most of all…

[—–<Silver World>—–]

Even on this battlefield, my unique abilities were still outstanding .

My ability is a great way to get rid of those monsters that other people couldn’t handle .

Piles of monster corpses continuously build up in my path .

At least, if you look around near me, you could say that we’re breaking through .

However…

(There are more Ogre Soldiers here than I though……)

Did she sense the doubt welling up within me?

After she cut down a nearby Ogre Soldier, Cattleya lined up her horse beside me and said .

[If this amount of Ogre Soldiers were moving with Magnar’s territory, they must have been discovered somewhere before they could make it here…… However, they managed to reach this place without being discovered . There’s something amiss that we don’t know . Moreover—-]

Cattleya’s brows are softly wrinkled .

[I feel like the numbers of these Ogre Soldiers are steadily increasing……]

[Their numbers……?]

That’s when it happened .

Somewhere far away, a large amount of our allies were flung through the air .

Along with the sound of screams .

[Guwaaahhhhhhhhh!?]

[Gyaaaaahhhhhh!]

A sheep-headed demon with four horns raised a tyrannical storm .

That thing looks like it’s nearly seven meters tall—–

[The black dragon!]

The black dragon chaotically dances around the sheep-headed giant .

It looks like it lost control .

[It’s probably because the Tyrant’s Miasma around is so strong that the rider can’t even give it instructions!]

Analyzing so, Cattleya’s eyes strongly focused on me .

And then—- With eyes as sharp as a hawk, she stared at the sheep-headed demon .

At that moment, I felt like all the hair in my body raised .

It’s pointing towards this way .

The sheep-headed giant—– is pointing towards me .

[I suppose it hast to be thee . ]

A heavily distorted voice cut through the battlefield and pierced through my ears .

————Ba-dump————-

My heart lurched .

A heavy pressure as if I’ve encountered a repulsive dark vortex .

It was as if something was tightly gripping my heart .

[The only person who can hinder my most ideal “harvest” is thee . ]

The sheep-headed giant started running .

[The Hero from Another World . ]

Stomping on the ground, it roared as it drew closer .

That’s also while it blows away the battle formation of the helpless Alion’s soldiers .

[I am the Great Demon Emperor’s Second Oath, Zweikzeed…… I will now commence elimination of the greatest hindrance to my ideal “harvest” . ]

Splat!

The sheep-headed demon—- Zweikzeed suddenly did something incomprehensible .

With its huge claws, it slashed its own chest .

Blood vigorously gushed out from its wound .

The blood he spilled turned into a blood-colored mist and floated near Zweikzeed .

In the next moment…

Its blood took on a new form .

The blood became thicker and eventually took the form of a huge curved sword .

As he kept on running, Zweikzeed clutched the hilt of his blood sword .

The ground echoes as the Confidant draws near with the huge blood sword in its hand .

It’s going to come at me in a straight line .

I dismounted from my horse .

Taking a deep breath—– I promptly “released my limiters” .

Then, raising my right hand to the side…

[——-<Silver World>——–]

A huge silver sphere appears beside my right hand .

Then, I heard a loud voice coming from behind .

[They’re here! From within the castle, the Golden-eyed monsters from the Demon Zone suddenly appeared!]

It seems that the monsters from within the ramparts have finally reached them .

[We must brace ourselves! Go for it, everyone!]

Nihei, who suffered a minor injury and is bleeding from his forehead, hurls out his declaration .

As for that side, I—-

(All I can do is to rely on them……!)

Not showing any sign of stopping at all, Zweikzeed brandished his blood sword with the momentum of his charge .

The closer I look at it, the more intimidating this monsters becomes, probably because of its huge body .

However, I—- choose not to evade .

Creating a double-edged inherent sword in my hand, I took a stance to intercept his incoming attack .

Swooossshhh!

Zweikzeed’s blood sword swung down .

And then, I received his large swing with my sword .

Matching the size of my opponent, my inherent sword became larger .

My silver sword, imbued in my oni ki, strikes back…

Klaaaannnngggg!

With the clash of steel ringing out, I flicked back the demon’s blood sword .

[——–!?]

With the power of my attack, Zweikzeed slightly recoils back as I repelled his blood sword .

I could see surprise appearing Zweikzeed’s face .

It seemed that my attack was heavier and faster than he had imagined .

On the other hand, I was almost blown away by the power of my opponent .

However, I managed to hold on .

And then—– I tried pursuing him for more attacks .

The Demon’s blood sword which was shaken from the recoil, returns back a counterattack .

And once again…

Klaaaaaannngggg!

A high-pitched sound rang out as our blades clashed and bounced away from each other .

My body was once again pushed backwards .

(What a heavy strike……! And for a guy that big—- he’s fast!)

Just as if I turned numb, I felt a shiver running down my spine .

Meanwhile, Zweikzeed squinted its golden eyes .

[To be able to compete with my physical strength…… As I thought, thou art their hope . ]

Not responding to his words, I launched another attack .

Clashing for the third time, our swords look like it’s making the air tremble .

I then clashed my blade with his once again, for a second, a third, and a fourth time .

However, we weren’t able to deal the deciding blow .

As our blades clashed, I took a brief glimpse around the battlefield .

I wonder if it’s because I’ve been holding off Zweikzeed here?

Our local allies, who were taking a distance away from us, seemed to be moving around now with almost no problems .

It appears that they were now outside the range of Zweikzeed’s Tyrant’s Miasma .

And then…

(I guess the Tyrant’s Miasma of the Ogre Soldiers aren’t that strong? That means…… If I can hold off this Confidant, Cattleya-san and the others will be able to fight without losing much of their strength……!)

I don’t plan to let the other Heroes participate in my battle .

With Zweikzeed as our opponent, their life will be in danger .

Fortunately, they themselves perceived that they weren’t able to intervene, and there were no Heroes who wanted to go support me .

Everyone’s doing what they have to do—– doing everything they can do .

Amidst the reverberations of blood and silver, Zweikzeed spoke .

[This talent for battle, thou may possibly become a threat to our emperor . Before it could get out of our hands—-]

The intimidating feeling began swelling up .

[I’ll just have to nip out the bud right here, right now……!]

I wonder if it’s because I’ve always been neglected by the Goddess .

I was a little surprised by his high evaluation, that could be taken as praise .

However, I quickly discarded my surprise—– and forcefully pushed forward .

Putting all of my strength within my body, I swing my inherent sword with all of my might .

Then, Zweikzeed turns his blood sword blocking my inherent sword, to the side .

Kshhiinnnggg!

Our blades screamed and sparks scattered about .

The enemy isn’t just someone that only had power in his arsenal .

He also has the skill to use it

We continued our clash of swords, not giving each other a moment to rest .

The burden of releasing my limiters is heavy .

But without it, I wouldn’t even be able to fight against this enemy .

However, that also means that prolonging this fight for a long time is disadvantageous for me .

(I have to quickly make a decision……!)

In the midst of our clash of swords……

Zweikzeed’s blood sword suddenly transformed into a blood scythe .

Naturally, the path of his blade also changed due to the sudden transformation .

Just like a Grim Reaper, it’s trajectory of attack drew a sharp curve that would certainly spell my death .

[Ayaka-chan!]

Moe raised her voice, almost as if she’s screaming .

The sharp and wide curved blade of a scythe .

With my inherent sword, I wouldn’t be able to block it in time .

In order to cut off my head, the thick blade of death mercilessly strikes——

——- Create ——–

Klang!

[!]

Zweikzeed’s golden eyes widened in surprise .

I caught the enemy’s scythe with a scythe of my own .

Sharply staring at him like an oni, my mouth curved into a smile .

[You’re not the only person who can change the shape of your weapon……!]

Based on the shape and trajectory, I immediately judged that the same scythe could block it but—-

Somehow, I still get to keep my life .

Zweikzeed laughs .

[Interesting . ]

As if it turned into a Tsubazeriai, our weapons began to repeatedly strike against each other .

Turning a bit impatient, I shoved him away and said .

(T/N: Tsubazeriai is a situation in kendo where the two fighters got too close with each other . I guess you could say this is the kendo equivalent for clinching in boxing . )

[You mentioned something about “nipping out the bud”, didn’t you? No, rather than that—-]

Just like an arrow being pulled within the bow, I pulled my body back as I released my oni ki and transformed my scythe into a spear .

[The one who’ll be doing the nipping here would be me!]

[Well spoken, Hero from Another World . ]

Once again, his claws pierced through the skin around his chest, and Zweikzeed released a blood-colored mist .

[One’s worth is in his will to live a dignified life…… Otherwise, their life wouldn’t be a good harvest . The stronger their hope is, the sweeter will the fruit of despair become when their hope is crushed . Oh Humans, never give up and fight for thy fate with a strong will until the very end . For we are those who sincerely believe in the dignified spirit of Humanity . ]

To relish the taste of the deepest despair, he would even admire the hope that humanity embraces .

That’s insanity .

I felt shivers in my spine, almost resembling repulsiveness .

There’s no way I can have a mutual understanding with someone like this .

I have no choice but to exterminate him .

As he sonorously declared so, a huge pair of crimson swords appeared in Zweikzeed’s hands .

On the other hand, I changed the tip of my spear into a trident .

[I welcome thy presence, Hero of Hope . ]

The twin crimson blades ripped through the air, just like kamaitachis sketching my life and death .

(T/N: sickle weasel)

[If thou dost not defeat me here, there would not be any hope anymore…… All thy hope will turn out to be a great lie! All the hope will disappear! And everyone will die!]

[Yeah, that’s why—-]

The silver sheen in my weapon increasingly shone .

With a stab bearing all of my strength, I sliced the side of Zweikzeed’s cheek .

Splat!

Drawing a thread of blood from the wound on Zweikzeed’s cheek, I could feel the wind gently breezing past me .

[I’m going to kill you right here, no matter what . ]

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