292 Elf Village Defense and Offense②

Send the Demon King forth. Instruct the Puppet Taratects to act according to their own judgment.

If they move in unison, I will lose freedom of action.

The robots I saw earlier should be manageable by them alone.

Still, I don’t believe those are the enemy’s maximum strength—so nothing would surprise me if something worse emerges.

The Puppet Taratects are intelligent enough to recognize danger. They will retreat if they sense it.

Hmm.

Create disruption as needed.

While they do so, I will act freely.

Still, first, what to do.

First option: pursue securing the reincarnated.

Currently, the reincarnated appear unharmed, but securing them here would offer greater safety.

Second option: continue weakening the Elf forces.

Eliminate each robot or threat as it appears.

Honestly, this seems like the best option.

Non-robot Elven forces—normal troops—can be managed by the Imperial Army and Demon Army alone.

Without robots, they're just regular humans with a slight boost in magical aptitude.

Even with terrain advantage, the Imperial Army would be overwhelmed if caught off guard by a surprise attack from the Demon Army.

Besides, the Demon Army includes Vampire Child, Oni-kun, and Mel.

Just those three could overwhelm the enemy.

Therefore, I believe the best course is to eliminate the other forces—specifically, the robots hidden underground.

Once those are dealt with, victory is assured.

Reincarnates are safe for now; the gastric sisters are present.

Well then, time to begin the robot hunt.

At that moment, the ground cracked open in all directions, and a vast number of robots emerged from within.

Swarming.

Huh?

Isn't that too many?

Way too many!

Judging by appearance alone, they’re definitely in the tens of thousands!

Oh.

So the weak ones were just mass-produced general-purpose units.

If there are tens of thousands of robots with combat power equivalent to a dragon species, they’d be a threat to any inhabitant of this world.

Numbers are overwhelming.

Then, a familiar old man is under attack by those robots.

Yes.

The old man from the Empire.

That man is undoubtedly the strongest human in the Empire—indeed, among humans, counting from the top would be faster than listing the rest—but even he is clearly outmatched by robots with the combat power of a lower-tier dragon.

Hmm.

What now?

Acquaintance, yes—but nothing more than that. Not someone worth helping, really.

Oh well.

They’ll all be scrapped anyway once they emerge. Just as well, then.

Channeling magic toward the robots surrounding the elder.

This time, not the previous darkness magic—instead, selecting spatial magic.

The robot is swallowed into another dimension, then disassembled by the fragments waiting within.

Its power source—energy sustaining its operation—is consumed.

Valuable energy. I’ll reclaim it for efficient use.

Seems I’m adept at absorbing external energy.

Ordinarily, ambient energy isn’t easily absorbed, so they say.

But I can do it. So I do.

The elder had defeated a single robot, but it was nearly mutual destruction—severely injured.

It’s come to this—might as well finish it.

Quickly administer treatment.

“Ah! You are… ……………………………! ……………………………………………………!!”

The old man shouted something, but ignored it. Proceed to hunt the next robot.

Yes.

I remember now.

That old man never stops once he starts talking.

No time for lengthy conversations now.

So, ignore him. Ignore him completely.

The robots near the old man have all been dealt with. He should be able to return on his own.

One by one, toss any robot in sight into another dimension.

Rescue Kusama-kun, who was being chased by a robot.

Robots have also appeared near the Taratect group—but the queen is there. They’ll manage. Leave it for later.

While diligently eliminating the robot legion, a scene unfolds: Vampire Child and Oni-kun tormenting Yamada-kun and his group.

What are they doing, those two?

Yamada-kun is writhing, clutching his head.

What?

Isn't this bad?

The way he's suffering isn't normal. What did Vampire Child and Oni-kun do?

And now, just a moment ago, Natsume-kun's dead!

What the hell!?

I was going to punish them later for tormenting the teacher!

Why is he dead!?

Something's going off-script. Better check the situation.

Teleporting to Vampire Child and Oni-kun's location.

There, zombies under Vampire Child's control were rampaging. Oshima-kun and Kuro were fighting desperately to protect Yamada-kun, who lay collapsed and convulsing.

"Shiho-san..."

Yamada-kun groaned, recognizing me, whispering my name.

Then, abruptly, his consciousness collapsed—like a thread snapping.

Not dead, but the state he was in earlier—no room for complacency.

First, assess the condition—treatment must follow.

I took a step forward, but an obstacle stood in my way.

Behind the fallen Yamada-kun, wielding a sword pointed at me with desperate resolve, was Oshima-kun.

Hmm.

He claims to be aiding Yamada-kun, yet insists I shall not pass—even if the boy dies. That complicates matters.

I glance briefly toward the black figure beside Oshima-kun, urging action—but he ignores me entirely.

Worse, he stands beside Oshima-kun, blocking the path.

This is not the behavior of a mere black entity. This is the conduct of a Hyarins.

Hmm. Hmm.

If the black entity acts this way, it implies Yamada-kun’s condition is not critical.

Therefore, no need for urgency.

First, subdue the source of this disruption.

Why, I do feel a very unpleasant aura coming from my master… is it just my imagination?

It’s not your imagination, Vampire Child.

You’re definitely behind this nonsense.

Now, spit it out—tell me what you did!

What did you do!?

“Don’t look at me like that. I did nothing. It’s not right to immediately blame me whenever something goes wrong with my master.”

Liar!