Nido Tensei Shita Shounen wa S-rank Boukensha Toshite Heion ni Sugosu ~ Zense ga Kenja de Eiyūdatta Boku wa Raisede wa Jimi ni Ikiru ~

Episode 44: The Army Emerging from the Shadows and the Hunters in Pursuit

“No way… our plan has been noticed!?”

I can only think that way.
Our coup plan has been detected by someone and is currently being disrupted!

“Damn, who on earth is responsible for this!?”

I’m thinking about who could have detected my plan.
Is it the faction of the Minister of Defense? Or perhaps I have been noticed by the royal’s own intelligence agency?

“No, that’s not it.
What we should be thinking about right now is not something like that.”

That’s right, what I should be thinking about now is protecting valuable S-rank and other high-ranking monsters.
It’s to protect the forces that will help us seize control of this country.

“Why do I have to protect the monster that was prepared to be used and crushed as a pawn?”

Absolutely annoying.

“Command the monster tamer.
Utilize the monsters systematically to annihilate the adventurers.”

“What!? Are you planning to use monsters in this situation!? But if you do that…”

“The enemy has already noticed our movements.
In that case, there is no need for us to continue sneaking around.
What better opportunity than to engage in full-scale combat training with the monsters under our control? After all, our opponents are just adventurers.”

The enemy must suspect that we used magic grass to attract the monsters to the capital.
And they must believe that we plan to strategically place magic grass throughout various locations in the capital, in order to lure the attracted monsters all at once.

But our foresight was too optimistic.
We didn’t just attract monsters.
After all, there is no way we would make an entity that doesn’t comply with our intentions the key to our strategy.

Yes, we have obtained the ability to control monsters at will.
By using ancient sorcery, we have gained the power to control monsters that would normally be impossible to tame.
This not only allows us to easily gain numerical advantage, but also enables us to use powerful high-level monsters as our fighting force.

A high-ranking monster alone is equivalent to several to dozens of skilled warriors.
In other words, by commanding a single high-ranking monster, the effort of training several skilled warriors from scratch can be saved.
Moreover, they all move according to our will! Using this technique, we will command an army of monsters and dominate not only this country, but the entire world!

“And the knight order pretends to fight monsters to search for enemies who have infiltrated among the adventurers!”

“Hah!”

My subordinates have started taking action on my orders.
Well, even though the process has been expedited a bit, the tasks remain the same.

“That’s right, it would be wise to deal with the potential irregular adventurers first.”

Even though they may be few and far between, we cannot let our guard down against high-ranking adventurers.
Especially now that it seems an S-rank adventurer has come to our country.

“Now, let us show our power to these monsters!”

◆

“Freeze Boost!”

I activate the ice attribute enhancement and slash through the monsters.
Ice attribute enhancement has various applications, such as freezing enemies to slow down their movements or freezing parts of their bodies.

Also, by creating ice blades on the soles of my feet and freezing the ground, I can intentionally slide on the ice and perform fast and tricky movements.
Well, this tactic was taught to me by Rex-san.

“Haa!”

I slip through the midst of the monsters, swiftly mowing down their legs and necks with my spear.
This spear, trained by Rex-san, has shown me such incredible sharpness that it can effortlessly slice through the monsters like butter.

“You go, sis! But I won’t lose either! Flame Boost!”

Gyro-kun activates the Fire attribute enhancement and charges at the monster.
It’s quite an unusual style to accelerate his own body by releasing fire behind him instead of using it for attacks.

“Hey!”

And relying on the enhanced strength from body strengthening magic, they tear apart the monsters.
Although it may be rough, it seems they have the ability to overpower powerful monsters with that fighting style.

“You’re going to do it, huh?”

“Seriously, with such rough handling, the buyback price will decrease! Thunder Lance!”

While grumbling, Mina-chan accurately defeats the nearby monsters using lightning attribute magic.
Despite continuously using magic since earlier, her magical power still hasn’t run out.
As expected, she is indeed Rex-san’s disciple.

“Norbu, Meguri, let’s try to catch the prey as cleanly as possible!”

“I will focus on my recovery, so I leave that to you!”

Norbu, the monk, did not actively participate in battles unless it was against approaching monsters.
Instead, he focused on treating the injured.

“Yes, it’s healed now.”

“I-I’m sorry, thank you for saving me.”

The adventurers who were treated by him express their gratitude and return to the front lines.
Among them were quite a few severely injured individuals, but he had managed to heal all of them and send them back into battle.

At first glance, it may seem like a pointless and unprofitable act to heal not only our own comrades, but also others.
However, in large-scale battles like this one, a support role like him who can freely move around the front lines is extremely valuable.
After all, he can single-handedly defeat monsters, so there is no need to protect him.

With that much skill, you would be in high demand even if you left the current party.

“Ei!”

And Meguri-chan the thief, in a way, she’s the most amazing one.
She can accurately identify the weakest point of her opponents and immobilize them.
No matter how tough or fast the opponent is, her style of finding a momentary opening and taking them down is quite threatening.

Like other children, they use their powers in a way that is an extension of their basic abilities, without resorting to special techniques.
They prefer to rely on simple yet strong methods, making it difficult for their enemies to break through.
They are the kind of child who would rather not make enemies if possible.

“Yay, I did it! I defeated it!”

And because it’s such a beautiful way to defeat enemies, I imagine the buyback price would be high.
As an adventurer, I suppose this technique is what is most valued?

“I can’t let my guard down either!”

Now, where could the next monster be!?

◆

“It’s serious! Not only S-rank, but also A and B-rank monsters are being defeated one after another!”

“What happened to the monster tamer! If they were able to command monsters, they could easily massacre all those mediocre adventurers!”

“It seems that the monsters commanded by the monster user were actually defeated when they appeared in a group, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the adventurers.”

“Idiot!”

Unbelievable! Adventurers are nothing more than a motley crew of individuals who excel at showing off their skills! No matter how strong an individual may be, they are powerless against overwhelming force and sheer numbers!

And even if our enemies were among the adventurers, they wouldn’t be able to mount an organized counterattack if they were hiding their identities!

“Did anyone among the adventurers show exceptional teamwork?”

“…No, except for a few adventurers who formed parties, everyone else was freely doing their own activities, and even the adventurers who formed parties didn’t show any advanced teamwork, according to reports.”

“Why can’t the monsters win then!? …!? Could it be that they’re using Artifacts too!?”

This is a legion of monsters being commanded by a tamer.
If we are to counter them, would it be reasonable to assume that we should also use Artifacts? Did they intentionally showcase something flashy at the beginning, like that tornado Artifact, to distract us from realizing that?

“It seems that they are being defeated in a normal battle.
There are some individuals who use magic or have special fighting styles, but there doesn’t seem to be any indication of them activating an Artifact.”

Idiot, are you saying that there are adventurers who can defeat S-rank or A-rank monsters on their own?

“That’s so stupid!”

Did such skilled individuals really gather by chance!? That’s unbelievable!

“What on earth is happening, no, how are we countering it!?”

“And also…”

My subordinate seems hesitant to speak.

“Is there still something else?”

“It seems that a small, white, fluffy creature is running at an incredible speed, defeating and devouring the top-ranked A-rank monsters in the vicinity.”

“What the hell is that monster!?”