The Thunder Lord’s blow reduced the mages to ashes, and the Spear Saint was seen bleeding and blocking the emperor’s path.
However, the Emperor remained unscathed.
As the distance closed in and the Emperor entered my range, I jumped from Ti-Yong’s back using [Space Leap], teleporting one after another.
And just before the blood I shot from close range made contact with the Emperor...
Ah!
A black current surged and swirled around the Emperor like a barrier.
Damn it...!
After narrowly missing contact, I blocked the shockwave with a [Floating Veil] and stepped back.
This time, an attack came from the side. It was the Spear Saint’s attack.
But he was hit squarely by another bolt of lightning from the Thunder Lord and bounced off into the distance.
Kwaaarung!
Immediately after, the Thunder Lord descended from the sky, once again unleashing a tremendous lightning bolt upon the emperor’s head.
But the barrier covering the Emperor seemed unaffected by the Thunder Lord’s attack.
“What is this...?”
She couldn’t continue her words, surprised by how easily her attack was blocked.
...It seemed like it’s too late.
The Emperor has begun to fuse with Fogwigg.
All I could do was watch that spectacle in a daze.
Grrrrrrr.
In an instant, the mana expanded into a massive entity.
A creature resembling a slime covered in black flames all over its body began to wriggle and move.
Its size was so colossal that it could be compared to a small mountain.
I stared blankly at the scene and used my [Blood Art]. The droplets of blood landed on the creature’s body.
'...It’s not effective.'
However, the [Instant Kill] didn’t activate.
The black mass was not his body, but merely a clump of mana.
I knew that the Emperor’s body was buried in the innermost part of that magical mass. Because that’s what the game said.
“Fogwigg... How is the Emperor?”
The Chief of Staff muttered.
He seemed to have realized the creature’s identity.
“Fogwigg? Is that what it’s called?”
“It seems so. It perfectly matches the calamity that invaded Adessa during the Great War. It appears to be slightly smaller, though...”
At that moment, the Spear Saint, who had been knocked away by the Thunder Lord’s attack, walked toward us.
He was in a pitiful state. Our gazes turned towards him simultaneously.
“It’s all over. I don’t know how Calderic sniffed it out, but you can’t stop it.”
I spoke out of frustration.
“You foolish bastards, do you really think this is what’s best for humanity?”
“Keep talking, Seventh Lord. You don’t know anything...”
“No, I do know. That he will consume the World Tree from here, and that he will march straight to Altelore afterward.”
The Spear Saint seemed surprised that I knew all about their future plans. He momentarily lost his words.
What the Emperor desired was the destruction of all races except humans.
A world where only humans existed.
He held the ridiculous ideal that a world exclusive to humans would be more peaceful than it was now.
Just by hearing it, one could tell such a thing was fundamentally impossible.
The Emperor would absorb all the power of the Great Forest through the World Tree, and then head for Altelore, where he would self-destruct.
It was a plan to completely annihilate the Adessa and Altelore factions.
Even if it meant sacrificing everything. And then, the only remaining Calderic would gradually be pushed aside by Santea.
As long as the hero still lived, the balance of power would fully tilt towards Santea.
The reason he intended not to attack Calderic and leave it be was also because of humans.
The races that were most dominant in Calderic were humans, elves, and beasts.
It was to avoid slaughtering them.
In time, all races but humans would be exterminated.
The Emperor was such a madman.
And I also knew very well that his plan would never succeed.
“You know nothing. Did you really think that resurrecting Fogwigg would be enough to destroy Altelore?”
The current leader of the demon clan ranked first among the Four Great Demon Kings.
The most fanatical follower of the Demon King.
The power of Azekel, who even hid himself under the shadow of the Demon King during the Great War, was beyond imagination.
No matter how powerful Fogwigg was, if the demons were a race that could be destroyed by just that, the hero would have annihilated them long ago.
“...The ones who will be victorious are us humans. Glory to humanity and Santea.”
With those last words, the Spear Saint aimed his spear at us without saying another word.
But he had been gravely wounded earlier, when he had blocked the Thunder Lord’s attack from the front, unable to dodge it.
Thunder Lord snorted and unleashed a storm of attacks.
One strike, then another, then a third, and the Spear Saint was no longer able to block or dodge, and was charred to a crisp.
It was a futile end. I averted my gaze from the Spear Saint’s corpse.
I had hoped that one day Asher would be able to take revenge on him in person, but now was not the time to worry about that.
“Chief of Staff.”
“Yes, Seventh Lord.”
“We must stop that. You don’t have any objections, right? If Adessa falls and the balance is disrupted, everything will turn into chaos.”
The Chief of Staff remained silent and nodded.
“It seems like that’s what we have to do.”
“Can’t you go and call the Overlord?”
The Chief of Staff could teleport straight to the Overlord’s castle and tell her what was happening.
But he shook his head.
“The Overlord is currently away.”
...Of all times, even the Overlord? It’s impossible.
If only there was an Overlord or a hero, we would have been able to stop it easily.
Of course, I had no way of contacting the hero either.
Could we really stop that monster with just us?
While looking at Fogwigg, which was gradually moving further away, I spoke to the Thunder Lord and the Chief of Staff.
“For now, let’s pursue it.”
We climbed back onto the Wyverns and chased after the Fogwigg.
At the very top of his body was an area that emitted a blackish-red glow mixed with a faint purple aura. I pointed at it and said,
“That’s probably its weak spot. The Emperor’s body must be buried inside there.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’m sensitive to energy. I can clearly feel where he is.”
Of course, I only knew that because of the game.
Since I was the one who knew the Emperor’s plan from the beginning, the Thunder Lord seemed to believe me.
“Second Lord, if you can pierce through even a small part of the Emperor’s body, I can definitely cut off his breath. Is it possible?”
The Thunder Lord stared silently at the purple area and summoned the spirits once again.
With a thunderous sound, a giant bird-shaped entity appeared above her head. This time, it was a complete summoning.
“I will help.”
The Chief of Staff also exerted his mana.
To be honest, it didn’t seem like the Chief of Staff’s level would be of much help, but it was better than nothing.
Kurrung...
A massive sphere formed, with a blast of processed lightning energy that was nothing compared to the previous attacks.
Before the Thunder Lord’s attack could land, the Chief of Staff fired a red magical beam first.
The magical beam hit the purple area accurately, but it seemed to have no impact at all.
Flash!
Next, a flash engulfed the surroundings, and the massive lightning sphere created by the Thunder Lord crashed down.
I looked on, squinting my eyes due to the brightness.
At first glance, the attack seemed to have worked, as the Thunder Lord’s destructive power wiped out an entire vegetation of trees in an instant.
The purple area was deeply dented, and even the movements of Fogwigg stopped momentarily.
...Ha.
But the wound healed in the blink of an eye.
Seeing Fogwigg start moving again as if nothing had happened, the Thunder Lord let out a small groan.
“It’s impenetrable. With unbelievable defense and regenerative power.”
I wonder if that’s all the Thunder Lord could do, even at full strength.
If that’s the case, then the power we have here was indeed insufficient.
The chief of staff turned his gaze to me with an expectant look, but I could only avoid his gaze.
'Please don’t look at me like that.'
There was nothing I could do unless the Emperor’s body was revealed.
“Fogwigg is accelerating.”
The chief of staff said.
True to his words, the speed at which Fogwigg was moving was increasing, contrary to its size.
At this rate, he would reach the World Tree in no time, and then it’s over.
“It seems we need more power.”
“Yes, we must inform the elves and beastmen of the situation.”
From the beginning, they were the ones who would be the most affected by this, so we could immediately gain their cooperation.
“Then I will go to the leader of the elves.”
The Thunder Lord said.
Considering her family’s amicable relationship with the elves of Adessa, there shouldn’t be any problems.
I nodded and said.
“Understood. The chief of staff and I will go meet the leader of the beastmen.”
We split up and headed towards the Eastern and Western forests separately.
***
We traveled day and night without stopping.
Once we entered the territory of the beastmen, we increased our altitude significantly to move.
If the beastmen spotted us on the ground, they could attack us first.
“We’re almost there.”
And in the middle of the land of the beastmen, as we entered the territory of the Gonak tribe, we gradually decreased our altitude.
Although approaching in this manner could be seen as an invasion from their perspective, there was no time to leisurely seek permission to enter the place.
Hmm.
As expected, a warm welcome awaited us from below.
The beastmen were already gathered in full force, observing us.
However, they did not launch an attack.
“Let’s descend around here. Let’s go, Ti-Yong.”
I tapped Ti-Yong’s neck lightly.
On the ground, the Chief of Staff and I landed in the midst of a camp of beastmen warriors.
With hostility pouring in from all sides, a beastman stepped forward and shouted.
“Calderic’s Chief of Staff and the new Seventh Lord. Do you know what you are doing?”
The beastman seemed to have guessed and figured out who I was.
After all, they were not oblivious to external affairs. The Chief of Staff spoke up before me.
“We apologize for this rudeness, but the situation is dire, and we had no choice.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It means that the existence of Adessa is in great danger. We have come to assist you. We don’t have time for this, so I hope you will guide us to the High Chieftain.”
There was commotion among the beastmen at his words. The Chief of Staff spoke again.
“We don’t have time for this.”
“Explain in detail. We have no reason to blindly follow your words...”
I interjected, speaking in a chilling voice.
“It seems you don’t understand what we’re saying. This matter is not for you to judge. Shouldn’t you inform the chieftain? Or should I summon them here?”
“...”
As they exchanged words among themselves, some of the attendants left the place, while the rest continued to confront us.
After a while, a group of individuals appeared.
I checked the level of the hulking figure standing in their midst.
[Lv. 96]
Udakbat, the high chieftain of Adesa’s beastmen tribes.
Even without my insistence, it seemed like they were already on their way as they quickly appeared.
“What do you mean, Adessa’s existence is in danger? Explain yourself.”
Approaching closer, he immediately went straight to the point. I thought that was very cool of him, so I answered.
“Literally. Didn’t the Fifth Lord come looking for you?”
“Yes, she said the Emperor of Santea was up to something nefarious in the Great Forest.”
I nodded.
“Well, this will be quick. Those concerns have become a reality.”
“...What is the Emperor up to?”
“That guy resurrected Fogwigg. That monster that almost destroyed Adessa during the Great War.”
The chieftain’s eyes widened, and the other beastmen also showed signs of shock.
At that moment, another voice interjected.
“What nonsense is that, Seventh Lord? Fogwigg?”
I turned my gaze towards the owner of the voice.
The Beast King was striding toward us, her face twisted into a fierce grimace.
