IGTL Chapter 60

Chapter 60 – It’s Sad, but This Is War.

For now, I pulled the “Stealth Cloak” out of Item Storage and hid myself, then looked up at the Elementals, who had evolved into higher spirits.

“Y-You guys really went through one hell of a transformation…”

What was I supposed to do? If they were this huge, I couldn’t exactly walk around with the Elementals anymore.

“Um, can you all get smaller, maybe? Just asking…”

The moment I muttered that, the Elementals nodded to one another and changed back into their original tiny spheres of light.

“Oh, so you can get smaller…”

So you could do that too. You’d really gotten some convenient bodies now, hadn’t you…?

Still, if that was possible, then there was no problem.

A lot of people had seen the moment of their evolution, but it should be fine… probably.

More than anything, it felt a little late to be worrying about that now.

When I turned around and looked toward the fortress walls behind me, I could see adventurers and soldiers staring in stunned silence.

Right. Once this emergency quest was over, I was done wearing the “Mob-Fenrir Suit.”

Having made that decision, I turned my eyes toward the monsters charging this way.

“Alright. Let’s finish this fast. Go get ’em, Elementals!”

The moment I said that, the spheres of light burst apart and manifested once more in their massive forms as higher spirits.

Well, yeah. If they were going to wipe out that many monsters, the giant forms were obviously more efficient.

The instant the Elementals reappeared in their gigantic forms, the monsters’ advance slowed dramatically.

It was like they were all slamming on the brakes, screaming, “Nobody told us about this!”

The monsters at the front were crushed one after another by the ones charging up from behind, turning into mincemeat.

Since the monsters were self-destructing on their own, they didn’t even turn into drop items.

“Y-Yeah… maybe we should just stay on standby like this…”

At my words, the Elementals nodded and remained where they were without attacking.

Amazing. Just having the Elementals stand there was enough to turn the monsters into minced meat.

It was a crying shame that they weren’t turning into drop items, but well, it couldn’t be helped.

If I went on the offensive here and showed off the Elementals’ power too much, there was no telling what would happen later…

Mainly to my life.

Should I just give up on operating inside the Central Kingdom?

…No, it was still too early to give up.

As long as I didn’t wear my identity, the “Mob-Fenrir Suit,” I could still live normally enough.

I’d thought it earlier too, but yeah, I really should stop using the “Mob-Fenrir Suit.” I’d switch to the “Black Mob-Fenrir Suit” instead.

Yeah. That was better.

Besides, the “Black Mob-Fenrir Suit” had better performance than the normal “Mob-Fenrir Suit.”

The only reason I’d stuck with the normal one was because the black version offended my aesthetic sensibilities.

Drrrraaaaaaah!

While I was thinking all that as monsters kept turning into hamburger meat by the second, one monster let out an especially loud cry.

Looks like that monster was the cause of this stampede.

Its name was Griffon.

A boss monster that lived in the forest near the border with the Ligion Empire, it had the body, tail, and hind legs of a lion, and the head, wings, and forelegs of an eagle.

The Griffon came flying in like it was driving the monsters forward, but the moment it laid eyes on the Elementals, it let out another cry.

D-Drrrraaaaaaah!?

Whether it was trying to threaten them or whether it had simply seen the Elementals and screamed in shock, I couldn’t tell.

But there was one thing I did know.

Namely, the Elementals were overwhelmingly stronger, and to the monsters, they were the far scarier existence.

The Griffon drove the monsters onward, the monsters in front of the Elementals slammed on the brakes and turned into meat paste, and even after the Griffon appeared, that scene didn’t change.

At this rate, it almost felt like taking down that one Griffon would end the emergency quest outright.

I aimed the “Mob-Fenrir Bazooka” at the Griffon and fired.

With a totally unserious “Waooon” sound effect, the shell blasted out, hit the Griffon directly, and turned it into a drop item.

“Oh… I took it down more easily than I expected…”

A level-150 stat line wasn’t just for show.

Or rather, was the “Mob-Fenrir Bazooka” just absurdly strong on its own?

Well, whatever. This wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

The Griffon was down.

All that was left now was to eliminate the remaining monsters.

“Hm?”

Then, beyond the monsters that were slamming on the brakes and getting turned into meat, I spotted a flag.

That was… no way!?

The moment that thought crossed my mind, bells began ringing from behind me.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

“The Ligion Empire bastards are attacking!”

It was a soldier’s voice, probably amplified through some kind of megaphone.

One thing after another… Oh right. Right, this was a thing too!

This was that one.

Emergency Quest “Ligion Empire Invasion.”

The Central Kingdom and the Ligion Empire had territorial disputes.

It was a low-probability emergency quest that could trigger after Emergency Quest “Monster Interception Battle” ended.

Put simply, it was a multiplayer event where a large number of players worked together to stop the Ligion Empire’s invasion while also fighting over slices of the border territory.

The soldiers of the Ligion Empire were drawing closer in a cloud of dust.

And when I looked carefully, there were adventurers mixed in among them too.

When multiplayer events became reality, they were a pain in the ass.

My crotch might have been on fire, but I had absolutely no resolve to kill another person.

It’s sad, but this wasn’t a quest anymore.

This was war.

What the hell was I supposed to do?

As I stood at the very front line, agonizing over that, the advance of the Ligion Empire’s soldiers suddenly seemed to falter just a little.

“Huh…?”

When I noticed the change and looked ahead, I saw that the monsters that had been driven this way by the Griffon were now turning around and stampeding back toward the Ligion Empire instead.

“W-Why are the monsters coming this way!?”

“The Griffon’s gone!? We definitely drove it this way!”

“S-Stop! Don’t shove! I said don’t shove! Stop!”

Judging from the screams coming from the Ligion Empire’s side, this situation was completely unexpected for them too.

Apparently, the monsters had decided they had a better chance of surviving against the Ligion Empire’s soldiers than against the Elementals.

They spun around all at once and charged straight for the imperial soldiers.

“O-Ohhh…”

From what the Ligion Empire soldiers were shouting, it sounded like the empire had driven the Griffon, the forest’s boss monster, and caused the stampede in the first place.

I see.

So that was what had happened.

In other words, this was a case of pure self-inflicted blowback.

The one who curse someone else, dig two graves.

It was the perfect example of how trying to harm others would eventually come back around and harm you too.

And if that was the case, then there was only one thing for me to do.

Guide the monsters’ advance and force the Ligion Empire’s soldiers into a full retreat.

It would be fine. I could do this.

All I had to do was ride on Behemoth’s back and keep the monsters driven forward without letting them turn around.

“Alright. Phoenix and Kraken, flank them from the sides and drive the monsters forward. Djinn and Behemoth, you’re with me. We’re pushing them from the front!”

With the help of Djinn, the higher wind spirit, I got onto the back of Behemoth, the higher earth spirit, while Phoenix, the higher fire spirit, and Kraken, the higher water spirit, floated up and began driving the monsters onward.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but the monsters seemed to start running even faster.

Excellent. Truly excellent herding work, Elementals.

It was the kind of pressure that would make even debt collectors turn pale.

Not that I was a debt collector, mind you!

“G-Gyaaaaaahhh!”

“S-Somebody help us!”

Well, in reality, the soldiers were the ones running away with pale faces right now.

Good job, Elementals!

The monsters being chased by the Elementals were desperate, but the Ligion Empire’s soldiers and adventurers were desperate too.

After all, the monsters they had meant to sic on the Central Kingdom were now charging at them instead.

But I wasn’t about to hold back.

This was your punishment for dragging me into this mess.

Do your best to run around in terror without actually dying.

While I was at it, I might as well force a reverse invasion right into Ligion Empire territory.

It’s sad, but this is war.

After chasing the Ligion Empire’s soldiers and adventurers alongside the Elementals for twenty minutes, the first one finally dropped out.

“A-Ahhh!?”

“Are you alright!?”

“C-Captain, run! I’m done for…!”

“D-Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Just leave me behind and run!”

An officer trying to save his subordinate after the guy collapsed from being chased by monsters.

Yeah. It was moving, honestly, even if they were the ones who had invaded the Central Kingdom.

Wearing armor, carrying a huge shield and a sword, and still managing to sprint for twenty whole minutes… I couldn’t help being impressed.

If it had been me, I probably would’ve been dead tired in about five minutes.

“Kraken. Capture the ones who fall behind.”

The moment I gave that order, Kraken nodded.

Just before the fallen soldiers could be trampled by the monsters, the higher water spirit Kraken’s tentacles snatched them up, and the soldiers screamed.

“G-Ghyaaaaaaaah! Aaah…”

And then they passed out on the spot.

Heh heh. Rest easy.

Unlike you guys, I wasn’t a total monster.

You might be left with psychological scars, and you might not be able to eat octopus or squid for a while, but at least I’d spare your lives.

To be blunt, it would’ve left a bad taste in my mouth if you got flattened by monsters because of me.

That said, you were absolutely going to pay for using a Griffon to trigger a stampede.

Run, run!

The Ligion Empire was right in front of us now.

“I-I’m done too… Gyaaaaah!”

“Me too… Guaaah!”

One after another, Ligion Empire soldiers and adventurers dropped out, and I had Kraken capture each of them.

For the record, I hadn’t touched the monsters at all.

They were just trash mobs, and honestly, I couldn’t be bothered.

More importantly, if we killed them, they’d turn into drop items.

After driving the soldiers onward for another hour, I finally saw the Ligion Empire’s fortress walls.

“Alright. I can see the walls now. Kraken, leave the monsters alone and bind every last soldier!”

The moment I gave that order, the higher water spirit Kraken’s tentacles coiled around the soldiers and bound them without discussion.

Then, after driving the monsters all the way up near the Ligion Empire’s fortress walls, we decided to return to the Central Kingdom.