Volume 9 Chapter 12 (1/2)

The defensive battle of Avalon had begun.

The first room, a [Stone Corridor], was valued for its might. Even if enemies were to get past it, it at least had taken many enemies down. This time though, one monster was all it took to break through.

While making a displeased face, Duke dashed toward the [Graveyard] area along with his escort Darkness Dragons as well as Kohaku, who came just in case.

The first room being unable to shave away some of the enemies' war potential was vexing, but not unexpected.

Such an outcome had always been assumed to someday come up. After all, even among the monsters of Avalon, there were quite a few that could break through unharmed. The appearance of enemies that could do the same was inevitable.

Duke had left the Dwarf Smith temporarily in charge in order for him to go to the [Graveyard] area and command directly from the frontlines. This way, he could give more detailed instructions faster.

Above all, by being there, he could use his [Ruler of the Dead] skill to strengthen his undead troops.

A [Graveyard] was obviously a very advantageous terrain for undead monsters, thus many undead monsters were stationed there. Factor in the Darkness Dragons that were on their way, and Duke's presence would make a significant effect.

The enemies posed a threat not only in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality in the form of the monsters that could strengthen the rest of the fighting force, the Goblin General and the Orc King for example. If Duke didn't do at least the same, Avalon's defeat would have been clear.

”It might be best to ask my lord to improve the first room in preparation for future wars against other Demon Lords. Avalon-Ritters equipped with their new model heavy machineguns should do great, I think.”

The damage a weapon could do was influenced by the user's stats.

Even if the Avalon-Ritters and the Mithril Golems were to wield the same gun, the damage inflicted would be totally different. Following this, an Avalon-Ritter equipped with a newer, more powerful heavy machinegun model would deal damage an order of magnitude higher than a Mithril Golem equipped with the standard heavy machinegun.

Considering even the latter had dealt enough damage to bring the monster that defeated them to the brink of death, the former would have no trouble at all with said monster.

All of this seemed sound to Duke, so he had no doubt the person he revered would give an approval to his idea.

◇

Duke reached the [Graveyard] area.

True to its name, it was a gloomy area that had countless tombstones.

Upon arriving, he activated his commander abilities.

Because of that, he was able share senses with the allied monsters that had the death attribute. They became his eyes and ears.

For the moment, he instructed them to remain out of sight.

”So, they're finally in formation and are about to start their advance in the 2nd room.”

Through Duke's eyes, he saw a Goblin General and an Orc King leading countless goblins and orcs.

”If only the High Elves were here, I would have asked them to take down enemy elites starting from the leaders… I guess I should also ask my lord later to deploy the same number of High Elves for both the attacking and defending forces. As it is, we don't have anything as powerful and convenient as the elves' sniping.”

Once the goblin and orcs were done falling into formation, the enemy army began to advance through the labyrinth formed by the countless gravestones without breaking their formation.

Just that was enough for Duke to tell how proficient the enemies were.

”Hmm, they seem tough. It would be foolish to engage them without reducing their numbers first. Alright, let them advance a little more. Once escape becomes no longer possible, we begin.”

Duke relayed that order to a group of subordinates he shared senses with: the thirty Darkness Dragons.

Because Procell said they didn't have to hold back on the use of explosives, most of the Darkness Dragons carried a container full of said explosives.

Usually, the bombardment would have started once all of the enemies had entered the dungeon room, but the white-winged birdmen—monsters that had the head of a bird but the body of human covered in feathers—guarding the goblins and the orcs gave Duke pause.

At a glance, these birdmen could be mistaken for angels, but further inspection would quickly reveal they were too ugly and detestable to be angels and were much closer to being birds.

They weren't particularly strong, being just C rank monsters. As such, the Darkness Dragons could probably even deal with them while still carrying the containers.

However, something about them gave Duke a bad feeling.

”Kohaku-dono, those ugly, C-rank-looking birdmen flying above the goblins and orcs, is there anything you know about them?”

Duke asked so to Kohaku the advisor.

Duke was a prudent individual. As much as possible, he wouldn't execute a strategy when so many details were uncertain. To that end, he wasn't afraid to ask about these uncertain and unknown things.

After giving a big yawn, Kohaku spoke.

”Yeah, I know about them. If I recall correctly, they're called Holy Cranes. As you guessed, they are indeed just C rank fodder monsters… though not for monsters that's of the Death attribute. They deny it, not permitting anyone with that attribute to exist near them. If such monster enters their territory, that monster will be enfeebled until, finally, it falls.”

”I see. Then, they should be doubly as effective against the Darkness Dragons, since those kids have both the Death and Darkness attribute. It might even be appropriate to say they are the Darkness Dragons' natural enemies. The fact that they were reserved until now means they've studied us and our strategy with the Darkness Dragons… interesting.”

At this point in time, Duke had thought up of three strategies.

The first was to trash those white winged monsters himself. They might have an attribute advantage, but an S rank monster that had become a true [Dragon Emperor] like himself should be able to overpower them.

The disadvantage in this strategy was that the strongest in the defense force, Duke, would be gravely exhausted. This early in the [War], such wasn't ideal.

The next strategy was to make the Darkness Dragons fly at an altitude high enough that they wouldn't be affected by the birdmen's special powers. Once they were flying that high, bombardment would then commence.

The flaw to this was that bombarding from such an altitude would cause the accuracy to drop tremendously, which then might lead to some enemy monsters not being hurt as much as they were supposed to be. Some might even come out not hurt at all.

The last one was to make use of the monsters his lord Procell had received from his close friend and ally. Those monsters were just as capable as the Darkness Dragons. Furthermore, Duke could also strengthen them via his [Dragon Emperor]. As an aside, it didn't appear like the C rank birds were receiving any effects from the strengthening skills of the Goblin General or the Orc King.

The demerit to this strategy was… none.

”It's decided then. Kohaku-dono, thank you for your guidance.”

Duke then closed his eyes and drew out his power.

Right then, the middle-aged dragonewt grew bigger and bigger.

His whole body became covered with black scales and dark miasma.

He had exposed his true form as death incarnate, as the strongest death dragon: a Black Dragon of Death Siegwurm.

Apparently, to be able to use his power as a true [Dragon Emperor], Duke first had to assume this form. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry anymore about the time limit caused by his [Berserk].

”GRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY”

Duke roared loudly.

It was his imperial command.

It was so powerful that it reached through the other dungeon rooms as well even though it originally shouldn't be able to.

And so, when they heard the emperor call, they flew with all haste. A few moments later, jade green dragons appeared in the [Graveyard] area. All in all, there were ten of them.

These ten were the monsters two ranks below the Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut in the same lineage. They were the Tempest Wyverns.

Much like the Darkness Dragons, these dragons held top-end power for B rank monsters. What's more, these wind-controlling dragons could fly in the sky at speeds beyond human imagination. In terms of dogfighting capabilities, they probably held the most potential among B ranks.

Procell didn't make these dragons, but were rather obtained through the deal he made with Stolas.

The Darkness Dragons and Tempest Wyverns were both undoubtedly powerful monsters, but even so, they still had weaknesses. For that reason, Procell and Stolas had decided to exchange monsters made via [Maelstroms] so that they could each form a mixed corps whose members would make up for the others' weaknesses.

In other words, they did so for times like these.

”GRYYYYYYYYYYY”

Duke roared once more.

This time, it was to use his true [Dragon Emperor] and empower the already strong wind dragons even more.

Flying at over twice the speed of sound and without slowing down at all, the wind dragons clashed with the group of Holy Cranes and began their attack.

Many Holy Cranes were instantly torn to shreds, while twice more received damage without seeing what did it. In fact, they didn't even realize they had received damage. It was only a few moments later that they cried out in pain.

After that, the wind dragons charged once more and tore many of the enemies to pieces again, still without them knowing what hit them.

By no means were the Tempest Wyverns doing anything special.