We’ve identified the things that need to be done, but that doesn’t mean we can move immediately. From that day on, we were each caught up in various preparations.
Even so, all I did was procure supplies wherever we went. Fortunately, there was still a large amount of preserved food left over from the foolishly large purchase I made in Canal’s world for unexpected needs, so I mainly stocked up on miscellaneous goods.
In particular, clean clothes are never too much to have and they don’t spoil, so I bought a reasonable amount without burdening the market. Many people were still able to purchase without any urgency… No, they were able to purchase without realizing the situation was urgent, but if this operation failed, we might only be able to shop with money for about a year at most.
At the same time, Tia went around the elf villages recruiting helpers. It was then that I realized that the situation of the elves in this world was quite bad. Their sanctuary, the Spirit Trees, where the power of the spirits is concentrated, is a very dense place of the world’s power.
It had become a target for the Winged, and except for a few that had successfully concealed their power, there are no more Spirit Trees left in this world. Well, I know that Spirit Trees are not a specific type of tree, but just trees where many spirits gather, and it’s a relief to know that Spirit Trees will be reborn once the Winged are gone… but still, the elves, who had lost their sanctuary, were living even more uncertain days than humans.
And that’s why the elves were enthusiastic about cooperating. We only visited five nearby villages, but when we returned to the place promised with the Black Knight, the number of elves we were bringing with us had reached 100. I thought it would be fine if we could gather about 20 or 30 people, so I was worried that this might be a bit too many…
“Oh, you’ve come!”
“…… No, no, no, no.”
The Black Knight greeted us as we arrived at the meeting place. That was fine, but the problem was the people behind him.
“Wait a minute, what’s with that number? You’re not planning to take all these people, are you!?”
“Hm? Take them?”
“Are you crazy!? How many people are there!?”
I yelled involuntarily, facing a ridiculously large crowd of people. But the Black Knight remained calm in response to my pointing out.
“About 500. I’ve cut down, you know?”
“That’s too many! What are you planning to do with all these people!?”
“That’s what we’ve already discussed, right? Of course, it’s an experiment to revive a part of the devastated area. And that’s why we need this number of people.”
“………… Let’s hear it.”
I have 100 elves behind me, but an additional 500 is just too much. The Black Knight explained to me as I held my head.
“First of all, the experiment we’re conducting now. It’s something of great value whether it succeeds or fails… but I want to put all our effort into the first attempt. Going into the devastated area is difficult enough. Taking only a few people there, and if it doesn’t work, bringing more next time… We don’t have the luxury of doing that leisurely. That’s why we’re going all out from the start. What I’ve gathered are people who have considerable power even among inferior humans. If this doesn’t work, we probably won’t be able to revive the world with human hands forever. To make that judgment… we needed this scale of personnel.”
“… I see?”
It’s like the difference between injury and death. If the attacks of the Winged only injure the world, and humans have the power to heal it, there will be more options. But if it dies and never revives, we must desperately protect what we have now.
Certainly, that distinction is extremely useful. Since success is not guaranteed, the method of investigating the failure’s lower limit seems reasonable.
“There are other things to consider after the actual revival of the land, but… I’ll explain that later. First, let’s move. Since we have many people, it will take time. Ah, we have prepared additional water and food, so please store it.”
“Haa, got it. But since you brought them, you take care of the group, okay? I can’t handle it if you throw it at me.”
“Of course. Don’t worry; I’ve commanded far larger numbers in the Demon King’s army.”
“Oh, now that you mention it, that’s true.”
I have neither the ability nor experience to command a large army, but the Black Knight had ruled over tens or even hundreds of thousands of his troops as the Demon King, so managing around 500 people might be a breeze in comparison. With that in mind, I can probably trust him and feel at ease for now.
With the management of humans left to the Black Knight and the elves to Tia, I start storing the piled-up wooden boxes and barrels behind the people in the [Stranger’s Box]. Someone who saw the process let out a surprised voice, but I don’t have any intention of hiding my ability this time, so there’s no problem.
Once the preparations were in order, we finally began the large migration. Traveling becomes more difficult as the number of people increases, so I thought it would be a great struggle with as many as 600 people, but the movement was quite smooth despite the large group.
This was because everyone here had been driven out of the town by the winged ones and was used to moving long distances as a group. There’s plenty of water and food, and there are hardly any demonic beasts in the devastated area, so we won’t be attacked. Plus, the Demon King is here, so there’s no chance of being ambushed by the Demon King’s army, which was a threat to humanity.
So the only hardship was continuing to walk, but their spirits were extremely high, thinking they might strike back at the Winged that were destroying their world, and perhaps reclaim the ravaged land.
Thus, without any major trouble, taking about a month, we safely arrived at a deep part of the devastated area.
“Hmm, this should be a good spot. Let’s use this land as the experimental site. Everyone, take your designated positions.”
“Yes!”
Following the Black Knight’s instructions, the people begin to move. First, a hundred magicians line up, forming a giant circle with a radius of about 200 meters. And standing in the center of that circle is… me. I, a pitiful sacrifice, am destined to be beaten up here.
Of course, it’s not bullying or harassment. This is precisely where I should stand.
“Um, Black Knight-sama? Are you really sure this is okay?”
“It doesn’t matter. If he dies from this, then so be it.”
(I can hear you, you bastard!)
My banishment skill [Leak the Talk] caught the casual conversation between the Black Knight and a male magician in the distant corner of the circle. I glare at the Black Knight, but he doesn’t even glance at me. Tch, he’s definitely noticed… I’ll pull his beard later.
“Is everyone ready? Then begin the incantation!”
“””OOOH!”””
At the Black Knight’s instruction once again, the hundred magicians begin their chanting. Confirming this, I too braced myself and get ready. I can see Tia in the distance, staring at me with a serious expression. I want to signal that I’m okay, but… it might be a bit impossible right now.
“The time has come! Now we’ll commence the first phase of the ‘Winged Annihilation Operation’! All members, fire!”
The Black Knight, pulling out the sword from his waist and raising it to the sky, brought it down with force, signaling the start of the operation. At that moment, attack magic was launched from all the magicians surrounding me, and all of it directly hit me.
We’ve identified the things that need to be done, but that doesn’t mean we can move immediately. From that day on, we were each caught up in various preparations.
Even so, all I did was procure supplies wherever we went. Fortunately, there was still a large amount of preserved food left over from the foolishly large purchase I made in Canal’s world for unexpected needs, so I mainly stocked up on miscellaneous goods.
In particular, clean clothes are never too much to have and they don’t spoil, so I bought a reasonable amount without burdening the market. Many people were still able to purchase without any urgency… No, they were able to purchase without realizing the situation was urgent, but if this operation failed, we might only be able to shop with money for about a year at most.
At the same time, Tia went around the elf villages recruiting helpers. It was then that I realized that the situation of the elves in this world was quite bad. Their sanctuary, the Spirit Trees, where the power of the spirits is concentrated, is a very dense place of the world’s power.
It had become a target for the Winged, and except for a few that had successfully concealed their power, there are no more Spirit Trees left in this world. Well, I know that Spirit Trees are not a specific type of tree, but just trees where many spirits gather, and it’s a relief to know that Spirit Trees will be reborn once the Winged are gone… but still, the elves, who had lost their sanctuary, were living even more uncertain days than humans.
And that’s why the elves were enthusiastic about cooperating. We only visited five nearby villages, but when we returned to the place promised with the Black Knight, the number of elves we were bringing with us had reached 100. I thought it would be fine if we could gather about 20 or 30 people, so I was worried that this might be a bit too many…
“Oh, you’ve come!”
“…… No, no, no, no.”
The Black Knight greeted us as we arrived at the meeting place. That was fine, but the problem was the people behind him.
“Wait a minute, what’s with that number? You’re not planning to take all these people, are you!?”
“Hm? Take them?”
“Are you crazy!? How many people are there!?”
I yelled involuntarily, facing a ridiculously large crowd of people. But the Black Knight remained calm in response to my pointing out.
“About 500. I’ve cut down, you know?”
“That’s too many! What are you planning to do with all these people!?”
“That’s what we’ve already discussed, right? Of course, it’s an experiment to revive a part of the devastated area. And that’s why we need this number of people.”
“………… Let’s hear it.”
I have 100 elves behind me, but an additional 500 is just too much. The Black Knight explained to me as I held my head.
“First of all, the experiment we’re conducting now. It’s something of great value whether it succeeds or fails… but I want to put all our effort into the first attempt. Going into the devastated area is difficult enough. Taking only a few people there, and if it doesn’t work, bringing more next time… We don’t have the luxury of doing that leisurely. That’s why we’re going all out from the start. What I’ve gathered are people who have considerable power even among inferior humans. If this doesn’t work, we probably won’t be able to revive the world with human hands forever. To make that judgment… we needed this scale of personnel.”
“… I see?”
It’s like the difference between injury and death. If the attacks of the Winged only injure the world, and humans have the power to heal it, there will be more options. But if it dies and never revives, we must desperately protect what we have now.
Certainly, that distinction is extremely useful. Since success is not guaranteed, the method of investigating the failure’s lower limit seems reasonable.
“There are other things to consider after the actual revival of the land, but… I’ll explain that later. First, let’s move. Since we have many people, it will take time. Ah, we have prepared additional water and food, so please store it.”
“Haa, got it. But since you brought them, you take care of the group, okay? I can’t handle it if you throw it at me.”
“Of course. Don’t worry; I’ve commanded far larger numbers in the Demon King’s army.”
“Oh, now that you mention it, that’s true.”
I have neither the ability nor experience to command a large army, but the Black Knight had ruled over tens or even hundreds of thousands of his troops as the Demon King, so managing around 500 people might be a breeze in comparison. With that in mind, I can probably trust him and feel at ease for now.
With the management of humans left to the Black Knight and the elves to Tia, I start storing the piled-up wooden boxes and barrels behind the people in the [Stranger’s Box]. Someone who saw the process let out a surprised voice, but I don’t have any intention of hiding my ability this time, so there’s no problem.
Once the preparations were in order, we finally began the large migration. Traveling becomes more difficult as the number of people increases, so I thought it would be a great struggle with as many as 600 people, but the movement was quite smooth despite the large group.
This was because everyone here had been driven out of the town by the winged ones and was used to moving long distances as a group. There’s plenty of water and food, and there are hardly any demonic beasts in the devastated area, so we won’t be attacked. Plus, the Demon King is here, so there’s no chance of being ambushed by the Demon King’s army, which was a threat to humanity.
So the only hardship was continuing to walk, but their spirits were extremely high, thinking they might strike back at the Winged that were destroying their world, and perhaps reclaim the ravaged land.
Thus, without any major trouble, taking about a month, we safely arrived at a deep part of the devastated area.
“Hmm, this should be a good spot. Let’s use this land as the experimental site. Everyone, take your designated positions.”
“Yes!”
Following the Black Knight’s instructions, the people begin to move. First, a hundred magicians line up, forming a giant circle with a radius of about 200 meters. And standing in the center of that circle is… me. I, a pitiful sacrifice, am destined to be beaten up here.
Of course, it’s not bullying or harassment. This is precisely where I should stand.
“Um, Black Knight-sama? Are you really sure this is okay?”
“It doesn’t matter. If he dies from this, then so be it.”
(I can hear you, you bastard!)
My banishment skill [Leak the Talk] caught the casual conversation between the Black Knight and a male magician in the distant corner of the circle. I glare at the Black Knight, but he doesn’t even glance at me. Tch, he’s definitely noticed… I’ll pull his beard later.
“Is everyone ready? Then begin the incantation!”
“””OOOH!”””
At the Black Knight’s instruction once again, the hundred magicians begin their chanting. Confirming this, I too braced myself and get ready. I can see Tia in the distance, staring at me with a serious expression. I want to signal that I’m okay, but… it might be a bit impossible right now.
“The time has come! Now we’ll commence the first phase of the ‘Winged Annihilation Operation’! All members, fire!”
The Black Knight, pulling out the sword from his waist and raising it to the sky, brought it down with force, signaling the start of the operation. At that moment, attack magic was launched from all the magicians surrounding me, and all of it directly hit me.
