Chapter 679 - Chapter Two: The Demon Realm of Former Septanaquila ④
The second stage—is it something like a mopping-up operation? We searched by flying near the ground in three medium-sized bowls, and when we found magic beasts, we exterminated them. Because the flying types were gone, we ended up with plain exploration. It just takes time. In two sorties, morning and afternoon, we only found three in total. I wonder where they are hiding.
"What do Cerberus and the like eat, I wonder?"
If we knew what they ate, we might be able to lure them out with that as bait.
"At that level, I don't know. I suspect it's bears and wolves, though."
Harold-sama doesn't seem to know well either. After all, C-ranks aren't just anywhere. They are limited even within the Demon Realm.
I'm hunting, but I don't even know what they target for hunting.
"Why don't we just catch a bear and use it as a decoy?"
I'm confident I can hunt a bear immediately. I have the monster restraint ropes I learned from Harrison-san, so if I tie one up somewhere, wouldn't a Cerberus come?
"Hmm. It's worth a try."
Henry-sama agreed. We also consulted with James-sama and decided to experiment the next day.
We had the bowl flown to the outer edge. There should be bears at the edge. As a result of setting up a pot immediately, one bear appeared. I fired lightning magic to knock it unconscious and put it to sleep with Sleep. By tying it with monster restraint ropes, one decoy is ready. With the cooperation of the main force and Price-sama's monster extermination team, we caught seven bears over a whole day. We stored them in the fortress warehouse. Since I wrote many Sleep magic circles like the temporary magic beast breeding site I saw at the Fire Dragon's volcano, they should last for two weeks.
We left two of the bears caught that way rolled in the narrow pass of the Trident Mountains with their limbs strictly tied. It was easy because we jumped them with a Simple Teleportation Magic Circle.
When I deactivated Sleep, they woke up and started roaring grandly. They might be angry, but it's as intended. Before long, four Cerberus appeared.
The bears' voices changed. Their angry roars turned into screams. They seem to have understood their situation. They are struggling to escape while looking around. In contrast, the Cerberus—is it a long-awaited prey? They are already drooling.
The bowls waiting in the air have decided to deliver the finishing blow with Holy. This is because we have to secure the gains and thought it better not to make a loud noise. I didn't think I would fight a battle to protect bears.
The Cerberus, which approached the prey while slowly guarding the surroundings, surrounded the bears. The bears are barking desperately, but they have no impact because they can only move sluggishly.
"Now!"
"Yes! Holy Lance!"
The four Cerberus, which were about to pounce at any moment, were pierced by many Holy Lances and fell to the ground.
Whether they would have their throats bitten and die at any moment... I don't know if the bears thought that. The bears, which had a narrow escape, are looking around restlessly. Before long, they let out roars in a clearly happy manner. Could it be they intend it as a victory cry? If so, they are quite opportunistic.
"It went well."
"Bishop Jeanne. Splendid."
"A wonderful idea. I didn't think we could defeat Cerberus-class magic beasts so easily."
"Thank you very much."
Prince Charles and the Engrio monster extermination team praised me. This time, the formation changed significantly. The warriors, mainly the heroes, are the ground team. They are huddled in snow caves dug near the bears. In the unlikely event that flying and walking types come at the same time, their role is to protect the bears in ground combat. The aerial team, for each group, consists of two bowl users, one scout, and several people who chant Holy or attribute magic. By the way, I'm riding in a small bowl handled by Harold-sama and Beatrix, with one monster extermination team member, Prince Charles, Bonnie, and me. When attacking, we are supposed to fire Holy first. It's also a group that assists Prince Charles, who fights with basic Holy. We guard and attack magic beasts coming from the north of the bears. Actually, there are five bowls in total in the air, placed directly above the bears and in the four cardinal directions. By the way, the one placed directly above is a medium-sized bowl operated by James-sama together with Medioland magic soldiers, scouts, and the monster extermination team, and it plays the role of being the first to intercept if flying types appear.
Watching the situation, the warriors who were supposed to be huddled in the snow caves jumped out. They scattered around the bears. The ground team protects the bears... magic beasts had already approached.
"No flying types."
"Umu. Maybe the walking types all showed up, lured by the bait."
"It feels like that."
If the two scouts' judgments agree, it's easy.
"Then we shall provide support. Let's defeat those coming from the north as planned."
Prince Charles made the policy decision, and what we had to do was decided.
Various types of magic beasts are trying to surround the warriors around the bears. In times like this, I wondered if the magic beasts would take a cooperative stance, but they are threatening each other. The sight of different types of magic beasts fighting over the same bait... was there on the third floor of the Demon Lord's cave. In the end, when they are hungry, insects and magic beasts are no different. No, there were Pretas too. Humans are the same.
The placement of the bowl units is predetermined to be behind and above the magic beasts. Taking advantage of the fact that they are threatening each other, Holy Lances—though Prince Charles used Holy—were fired all at once. The groups of magic beasts, instead of running away immediately, turned around and roared, perhaps thinking there were enemies behind them. That split second was fatal. The heroes attacked from behind, and simultaneously, the second wave of Holy was fired from the air. The magic beasts, of which there were more than twenty, were all rounded up in an instant.
When I looked at the bears, they were surrounded by ice walls. Attribute mages, including Beatrix, had fired Glaciate. The bears themselves probably don't know what's happening on the other side of the walls. It was strangely funny to see them looking restless.
That afternoon, the same development occurred in the Trident pass. We were able to defeat more than fifty magic beasts in one day. By the way, since the bears became strangely quiet once used, we used the second set in the afternoon.
By the time the day was ending, a cage and a barrier to confine the bears were completed. The bears used in the morning remained quiet as before. They had received many fish as food and had eaten them all. When we put the bears used in the afternoon into the cage, untied the ropes, and deactivated Sleep, they also remained quiet. They were sniffing the smell of the fish placed beside them, but perhaps they were hungry; when one started eating, the second one also ate, and in the end, they ate them all.
Just what are we going to do with these bears? It would be heartless to kill them just like this. Although we forcibly made them decoys, and although it was by chance, the bears' contribution is significant. They can lure out C-ranks. However, for some reason, they become quiet once surrounded. I wonder if that's how magic beasts, for whom strength is everything, are. This part is different from insects. Oh, come to think of it, a Scorpion got scared of Prince Edward and ran away. Insects might have something in common too.
"Then, if we catch a C-rank and make it a decoy, wouldn't a B-rank come out?"
Beatrix says something reckless. Behemoths only ate boars, so wouldn't it be unrelated?
"I want to experiment."
Look, Eleanor-sama has bitten. Beatrix tried to escape with a "did I do it?" feeling, but I grabbed her arm and stopped her. I don't know anymore.
"Unfortunately, no B-ranks have been confirmed here."
James-sama followed up. It can't be helped if they aren't here.
"Then, how about the southern Demon Realm?"
In the south, there is the largest Demon Realm on the White Island. At least there should be Behemoths on the third floor, and maybe something is on the ground too.
After that, Northern Gram, Morandine, and Engrio's Demon Realms were also mentioned as candidates.
"Do the heroes have the leeway to go to so many places?"
Beatrix is asking while also trying to restrain them. It might take more than a year.
"It's not like we must go."
"It's better for the one who suggested it to take responsibility. Do your best."
"Then it's the Class of 175's turn. After all, you are monster exterminators."
I was hit by James-sama, Prince Roberts, and further by Eleanor-sama. Moreover, before I knew it, it was decided that the Class of 175 would be in charge. James-sama and Prince Roberts might be joking, but Eleanor-sama is probably serious.
"I see, Jeanne has it tough too."
You're the one who suggested it!
For the rest of the schedule, the operation to use bears as decoys to defeat C-ranks was fully operational.
First, lively bears were needed, so we split into the bear hunting group—centered on the Medioland Royal Capital Great Church monster extermination team led by Price-sama. Most of the overseas support group moved here—and the trap-making group—Beatrix and I participated here. Apparently, it was Harold-sama's recommendation.
The seven bears currently present became fifteen after eight more were added by the hard work of the bear hunting group.
The trap-making group discussed various things and took a method that would save as much effort as possible. To make it okay even if the bears became quiet, we stopped completely restraining their four limbs. Just wandering around should be meaningful. Surely, even for a bear, it wouldn't just hold its head and lie on the floor, simply trembling, just because it was surrounded by C-ranks.
What was prepared instead of monster restraint ropes was a cage with magic circles drawn to confine monsters. The ceiling and floor are iron plates. It's connected by many iron bars. A sealing magic circle is drawn on the floor. A Teleportation Circle is drawn on the ceiling, and while they are asleep, it's deactivated and they are jumped just like that. The bear will probably be angry and make a fuss because its sleep was interrupted and from the impact of falling from the ceiling to the floor. That's all. When returning them, they just need to be knocked unconscious with lightning and put to sleep with magic, then the Teleport on the ceiling should be activated. Because it's simple, it was fast to make, and two were done in one day. If we understand the knack, mass production should be easy. Since it's one per bear, if it goes well, we just need to mass-produce the cages.
Since they didn't get caught in the Trident pass, we set them in a canyon in the southern mountain zone.
The bear that was jumped there woke up from the impact of falling with a thud and started barking, but since it couldn't get out of the barrier, it was barking forlornly while standing and sitting. Hearing that, magic beasts gathered. This time too, the ground team is surrounding the cage. The bear's barking became a scream, but when the magic beasts were struck down one after another by the aerial attacks and the hard work of the ground team, it seemed to realize it was in a safe place and gradually became energetic. It's standing up and barking at the magic beasts. It's a truly opportunistic creature. Before long, it noticed an approach before we found the enemy's figure and started barking in 그 direction. The heroes also noticed that and changed their formation, and the aerial team was able to look for an opportunity for a preemptive attack. As a result, we were able to exterminate ten in one place. It's a splendid lure effect.
"This is wonderful. Let's definitely spread this method to each country."
As for Price-sama, since an effective operation for the Demon Realm conquest, which became the church's policy, was found, he seems to plan to summarize it in a report, distribute it to the Royal Capital Great Churches of each country, and then announce it at the Council of Lords. Beatrix probably said it with the intention of sharing opinions among ourselves, but as a result of several people becoming serious, the story became big.
"Beatrix, you are the proposer regarding this matter. Please, give us your cooperation in the future. As for the reward, I will guarantee it myself."
Look, she's caught. You can't go against the church's Number Two.
However, there is one problem with this method. What to do about the presence of the hidden bowl? The nations of the Northwest Coast Treaty are fine. We haven't told Engrio and Morandine.
After various experiments, it was found that even C-ranks wouldn't notice with just Camouflage. However, placing a ground team is absolutely impossible. So, the bear will have quite a scary experience. If the bear doesn't bark, C-ranks might not come.
"Why don't we just blindfold it?"
"Blindfold, you say?"
Beatrix also seems to have braced herself and is interacting directly with Price-sama.
"We'll stretch a cloth over the bear's cage so it can't see outside. For the smell, well... how about hanging some bear fur?"
Hmm. It might be good. The Cerberus and others that come near will also wonder what's inside and take a look. The bear will sense something is wrong, but it can't see outside and the smell will be somewhat disguised by the fur. It might be fine even if surrounded by many Cerberus. Additionally, if we cast Loud on the bear, the volume of its barking will increase, so its voice will reach magic beasts far away.
"Let's experiment."
Price-sama also agreed, and when we tried it, it was quite good. When the bear's volume is loud, its voice reaches even when we are in the air. If the feel of the voice changed, we just had to counter-surround and attack the monsters surrounding the cage. With this method, we don't have to mobilize heroes. The only essential is the bowl user. In places where there are no B-ranks or higher, the army of each country and the monster extermination team belonging to the church can do it.
"If there's a Demon Race, a bowl with a lid can prevent lightning. If we just prevent the first strike, we might manage somehow."
"I understand. Then I will summarize the report along those lines."
"With this, is the cooperation I mentioned earlier over?"
"Yes. That's fine. Thank you very much. After that, let's have Jeanne do her best."
Why does it turn out like that?