“Oh?”

Some time had passed since the explosion in the north, and the battle unfolding beneath my feet had begun to shift.

Until now, we had been holding our ground, but overall, we were gradually being pushed back by the monsters.

Whenever a position was about to collapse, I would step in as needed. However, there were simply too many enemies, and in this situation, there was only so much I could do.

I couldn’t give effective commands, and my role was limited to distributing potions and providing support by taking down monsters where necessary.

Of course, I figured that was enough, but still… it was a harsh battle.

However, now the collapsing positions were decreasing, and our pace of defeating monsters was increasing.

Furthermore, whereas before, the monsters would continue attacking even when wounded, now they were starting to retreat into the depths of the forest.

I wondered what could be causing this… but I had one idea.

“Oh, did we take it down?”

I mean, it had to be that.

I ascended for a better view of the battlefield.

The fighting was still ongoing in various places, but all fronts seemed stable.

Moreover, none of the monsters still fighting appeared to be affected by the Demon King Type.

Even in the chaos of battle, we had been able to hold our ground thanks to the skilled adventurers assigned to this area.

The points where they struggled were mostly where monsters had been enhanced by the Demon King Type’s influence.

But now, those monsters were gone.

Because of that, the adventurers had gained the upper hand.

“Hey!”

I descended and approached a group where multiple parties had gathered.

I called out to one of the leaders.

“Yo, Sera Vice-Captain! I think we did it, huh?”

“Yeah! I think it was taken down earlier… I’m heading north to confirm!”

“Got it! Leave things here to us!”

I received an energetic reply.

It wasn’t just him—everyone around him seemed to share the same enthusiasm.

Maybe they hadn’t seen as much of the battle as I had from above, but they must have felt it while fighting.

Even after a long battle, their morale was at its peak.

At this rate, they could handle another one or two fights without issue, so I decided to head north.

◇

“…Whoa.”

The northern battlefield, high above.

Since joining the battle, I hadn’t approached this area… and that had probably been the right decision.

This region was a vast grassland—unused land in Riana for now—but it was utterly devastated.

The destruction bore the marks of Zighart’s magic.

Yet, despite the destruction, the damage seemed oddly uniform. The knights had likely established a controlled magic bombardment line to prevent their horses from being hindered.

Wind and shields could block most things, but if I had flown too close without thinking, I would’ve been in the way.

Even so, there were no monster corpses.

Just how much firepower did that old man use…?

“Oh, there they are.”

As I flew, still stunned by Zighart’s destruction, I spotted a group gathered near the forest.

August and the others were with them, seemingly surrounding something.

“That’s huge!?”

As I approached, I realized they were gathered around a corpse.

A head-like object lay nearby, suggesting this was the boss that had led the horde.

I wondered why this was the only corpse left… then it clicked—it had been taken down differently.

August had probably decapitated it to finish it off.

Still, it was massive… about the size of a small truck.

The men surrounding the body were all large, yet next to it, they looked like children.

Even though it was clearly dead, approaching it still took some courage.

Well… no use just hovering here.

Exhaling briefly to brace myself, I increased my speed toward them.

◇

“Good work, everyone.”

As I landed and greeted them, they responded without surprise—they had noticed my approach.

“Yo.”

“Good work, Princess.”

“Well done, Vice-Captain Sera.”

Though the surrounding soldiers were exhausted, the three who had likely fought the most seemed completely fine.

Seriously, what’s with these people…?

As I hesitated on what to ask first while glancing at them and the corpse, August spoke up.

“That wolf was likely the leader of this attack. A Heavenly Wolf Demon King Type… quite the formidable one.”

“…Oh?”

I had seen Heavenly Wolf pelts before, but this was my first time seeing one in the flesh.

Its fur was black yet shimmered with an almost mystical luster. Even in death, it radiated an extraordinary presence.

I’d heard that, despite not being monsters, they were far stronger than most.

Now that I thought about it, could normal beasts also become Demon King Types?

“I sent a messenger, but it seems we missed each other.”

He must have realized from my fixation on the corpse that I had no idea what had happened here.

He briefly explained not just this battle, but also the situation at the central battlefield.

Looking at them now, I couldn’t imagine the intensity of the fight, but it had apparently been brutal.

From what I heard, 【Red Sword】 had played a key role in the battle.

Even though they hadn’t had time to test or adjust their gear, they still performed exceptionally well… impressive.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garb】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】・15 cards

Seriana・【Range Identification】・【】・33 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・9 cards