[—————This is Guildmaster Verteran speaking! Sorry for rushing you all into this, but let me explain to you about our Emergency Quest against the <Killer Ants>!]
As soon as the raid on the town was safely contained, the Adventurers gathered in the Guild’s training hall, with the town guards taking care of the situation
Standing in front of the board he brought from the conference room, Verteran raised his voice.
[First of all, it wasn’t just Frelia that was attacked. At the exact same time, the Royal Capital and Niebuhr were also attacked by ants.]
Verteran’s announcement caused a stir among the Adventurers.
However, as if to cut that clamor in half, Verteran spiritedly shouted.
[However! Thanks to this information, we’ve broken into the enemy’s stronghold! Frelia, Royal Capital, and Niebuhr, all three of these places belong to separate regions. If there’s one place where they can attack from all at the same time, they would only come from one place! A great mountain range that spans all three regions, from the <Tempest Mountains>!!!]
With a bang, Verteran taps the mountain in the center of the map on the board.
[We believe that the enemy is based underground in the <Tempest Mountains> and is digging huge tunnels toward the three town and cities. Hereafter, these tunnels will be called the <Great Hollow>, and in cooperation with the Guilds from the Royal Capital and Niebuhr, we hereby issue the <Ant Queen Subjugation Operation>!!!]
As soon as Verteran spoke these words, the Adventurers let out a ground-shaking cheer.
(Seriously, people here sure are a good-natured bunch.)
Well, it may just be for the convenience of the story, but the inhabitants of B&B are overwhelmingly good people, with the exception of in-game Lily.
It’s nice to know that there are no twisted people stirring up trouble at times like this.
[The <Tempest Mountains> act as the dividing line between the regions. It would take us 3 days to go there by horse-drawn carriage. In that case, we’ll invade through the entry route the ants used and spend ten days advancing to the base of <Tempest Mountain> ……or so it would normally have been.]
Thereupon, Verteran meaningfully looked at me.
[Through the help of a certain Adventurer, we have found a way to reach the mountains in one day. Yeah, a path that might even allow us to reach that place today.]
Once again, the training grounds were engulfed in a ruckus, and in the midst of it all, Verteran smiles.
[……Hey, you lot? Don’t you want us to take down these d*mned ant Boss faster than those in the Royal Capital and Niebuhr?]
※ ※ ※
An hour after the start of the mission……
We were at the foot of the <Tempest Mountains>.
[I never thought you’d actually shorten the distance from 3 days to 1 hour…..]
As he stood in front of a large ant hole at the base of the mountain range, Radd muttered to himself.
[Old man! What the heck were you thinking when you came up with this idea!!!?]
[Well, I remembered there was an ant burrow here.]
I replied, subtly averting my gaze.
Immediately after that meeting, Verteran asked for anyone who wished to raid the ants’ nest.
Surprisingly, almost all of the Adventurers present volunteered, but as expected, we couldn’t bring them all.
We needed people to defend the town, and unlike those who had invaded the town, the ants underground were of a higher level.
If we took the novices with us just because they’re motivated, it would be no different from bringing them to their deaths.
With Verteran and my <Inspect>, we selected the best of the best and formed an assault team.
Without much preparation, we all went to that abandoned house, the biggest ant entryway in town, and plunged into the <Great Hollow>.
—————And there, we all used the <Recall Plume>.
This <Great Hollow>, as it turns out, is the result of an Event that expanded and merged the <Ant Burrows>, one in each of the attacked areas.
Even though they have merged to form the <Great Hollow>, they are still three <Ant Burrows> according to the system.
In other words, if you use a <Recall Plume> at the moment you enter the <Great Hollow>, you will warp to the original entrance of the <Ant Burrow> in Frelia region, not to the entrance of the hole you entered.
(And the burrow in the Frelia Region is the closest to the mountain range.)
The other two <Ant Burrows> are relatively close to the respective cities.
Only in the Frelia area can this warp shorten the distance significantly.
Compared to the other cities, we can save 9 days of time, which will give us a big advantage in our Quest to defeat the Queen.
(And by defeating the “Queen” here…… I may be able to find the “Hero”.)
In this <Ant Queen Subjugation Operation> Quest, you get a reward for each ant you kill, but defeating the Queen gives you a big reward and a grand award ceremony.
However, the “Hero” would normally not be well-trained enough to defeat the Ant Queen here, and there are no strong characters in Frelia, so either the Royal Capital’s Elites led by Ain or a team of Star Adventurers from Niebuhr will defeat the Queen.
That’s why, watching those who subjugated the Queen be commended and gain public recognition, most “Heroes” will be thinking about how they’ll like to be Adventurers like them someday……
Within the award ceremony, there’s a presentation where the Adventurer who won the recognition would throw a flower bouquet, just like those bouquet tosses in weddings, and it would fall to the “Hero”.
I didn’t pay much attention to this aspect in the game, but if the game proceeds just like it was in the game, it’s possible that this will reveal who the “Hero” is.
—————This is the main reason why I triggered the <The Ants’ Grand Raid> instead of the Bees’.
One factor that might be an obstacle in this case is whether or not the “Hero” is participating in this <Ant Queen Subjugation Operation> Quest in the first place, and since the actions that the one who subjugated the Ant Queen at the award are random, whether or not they will successfully throw a flower bouquet……
(First of all, if the “Hero” is an Active Adventurer, it’s quite unlikely that he will not show up for this event.)
The Royal Capital, Frelia, and Niebuhr have many low-level hunting grounds.
The probability of the “Hero” being in these three areas at this time of year is quite high.
And the solution to the question of whether the one who subjugated the Ant Queen would throw a flower bouquet is simple.
(We can just subjugate the Ant Queen ourselves.)
I think that if I ask Radd, who knows nothing about the situation, to throw the flower bouquet…… The Event Correction will be applied and the flower bouquet will end up in the “Hero’s” hands.
(Then again, I wasn’t wasting my time taking on Guild business either.)
According to the plan I made when I first came to this world, only our party would rush toward the Ant Queen.
I never thought that such a game-like plan would be accepted by others.
(And for all the Adventurers to be rushing with us here……)
The biggest reason may have been because of my connection with the Guildmaster Verteran, but it seems that I myself have gained the trust of the other Adventurers in town, as they carried out my ridiculous plan without complaining.
(I’m feeling kinda guilty because I had an ulterior motive, but well, how should I say this…… This doesn’t feel too bad.)
As I was sitting alone thinking this, Radd’s flustered voice jolted me awake.
[O- Oi, Old man! They’re all heading inside the Burrows already! We have to take the lead and defeat the Queen, don’t we!? You can’t be this laid back!]
Even though this guy was dumbfounded just a while ago, thinking that he sure is active, I waved him away.
[It’s alright. I told you I’ve got it all figured out. We don’t have to go heading straight. We’ll take a “special path”.]
※ ※ ※
(……Unnn. It looks like the other Adventurers are doing a good job of attracting the enemy.)
As we continued through the almost empty <Great Hollow>, I nodded to myself.
I apologize for using the Adventurers who have gone on ahead of us as a diversion, but the fate of the world may depend on whether or not our party can defeat the “Queen” here.
Of course, if we defeat the “Queen” here, this ant raid will stop all the same, so I’d like it if you please excuse me from all the complaints.
[I- Is this alright? It looks like we’ve already gotten quite a distance from the leading group though……]
[This way is better. It should be around here…… Found it. Here it is.]
In response to Nuku’s question, I pointed to a strange hole that had formed at the edge of the ground.
The hole, which could only be found if you look closely, looked like lips made of soft and flabby material, and to be frank, it looks disgusting.
[W- What is that thing?]
I replied to Mana’s words, who was clearly repulsed like I am.
[It’s an exclusive transportation route for “food” to the antlings.]
[O- Oi! You talking about “food” for ants here, don’t tell me……]
[As you can imagine, I’m talking about “humans”.]
As this is a large-scale World Event that most players will be experiencing for the first time, the event is designed to be enjoyable for players of all levels, and the penalties for failure are quite cordial.
Players who have not yet developed their skills can earn money just by killing weak ants at the entrance of the <Great Hollow>, while those who have developed their skills can get huge rewards by defeating the “Queen”.
And even if a player gets to the center of the <Great Hollow> and loses, they would still have a way out.
If defeated by a high-level ant, the ant will not immediately kill the “Hero’s” party.
When his HP reaches zero, the “Hero” will be knocked unconscious, carried by ants as “food”, and thrown into this hole.
Of course, after the “Queen” is defeated, he will be rescued by the skilled Adventurers, but the place where he will be rescued is right in the center of the <Great Hollow>.
[In other words, this “food” transportation route will be a direct pathway to the Queen.]
The moment I proudly said that……
[————I see, so that was the case.]
Something is suddenly thrown on the ground, and a cloud of smoke rises.
[W- What the heck is that!?]
Radd’s shaken voice.
As if to overshadow it, a man’s voice echoes.
[For you who had come up with this amazing strategy, your movements have been rather slow. This being the case, we were wondering what was going on, but it seems like it’s right of us to think you had come up with something again.]
This voice……
A faint memory rings an alarm in my mind.
[Nii-san, duck! Wind Thrust!]
Before the fragments in my memories could take shape, Resilia instantly made her move and blew the smoke away.
When the smoke cleared, there stood Adventurers I had seen in the game.
[————–Uncharted Explorer Team, <Hounds>!]
When I exclaimed, one of the three Adventurers’ lips quirked up a grin.
[I’m glad to see that the well-known Rex-sama remembers our name. But well…… We’ll get ahead of you this time!]
Without waiting, they acted.
The three men, the <Hounds> flipped over, and using magic to destroy the entrance to the “food” transportation route, they jumped into it without hesitation.
[Wait…… Kuh!]
The moment they jumped in, they used a smokescreen once more, not forgetting to stall for time.
By the time we managed to clear the smoke, they were already gone.
[Tsk! Let’s get after them!]
[A- Alright!]
Snapping awake Radd and the others who had been stunned by the sudden turn of events, we too darted into the transportation route.
(I didn’t even think they would show up here.)
The <Hounds> is a team of Adventurers who should only appear in the latter half of the game.
Their role, in a nutshell, is the leverage role for the Mob Adventurers.
As the game progresses, the difference in level and ability between the existing Adventurers and the players becomes more and more pronounced.
This means that there are no more Mob Adventurers to engage the players in in-game events and stuff like that, so one of the teams consisting of high-level Adventurers that are introduced in the latter half of the game is them, acting as leverage for this role.
(Of course, if this were the real world and not a game, they would obviously exist right from the very beginning!)
Their levels, I believe, should be in the 40s.
To put it simply, it’s like they’re “leveled-up Verterans”, as even though they aren’t as strong as Cheat Incarnate Sword Saint, sadly, their stats are probably better than Rex’s.
I don’t think they’re opponents I can’t win against in a direct fight, but they’re powerful enough to take on the “Queen”.
After passing through the transportation route, the place we arrived was indeed the ant nest.
Moreover, what was waiting for us in the nest was a large number of baby ants.
[T- Those guys, they pushed all the ants toward us!]
The <Hounds> may be cunning and play dirty, but they aren’t so vicious that they would aim to kill people.
They probably woke the ants up thinking that enemies like these were something we could easily handle.
[I’ll definitely beat them to tears later!]
The fact that I’m roleplaying as Rex slipping off my mind, I shouted and used Fire Magic to decimate the antlings.
I was able to exterminate most of the ants with that, but it would be troublesome if we were attacked from behind while we were on the move.
I also burned the eggs I saw on the spot.
[Old man! We have to hurry……]
[Calm down! It’s still okay!]
I’ve faced the <Ant Queen> once in my fourth playthrough, but that was almost a gimmicky battle.
The “Queen” is a monstrously durable creature, and the ants are constantly hatching from the eggs around her, giving her non-stop reinforcements, so it’s a tremendous battle of attrition.
To defeat the “Queen”, they would need the overwhelming power of Ain or Nirva class, or the ability to annihilate multiple amounts of enemies, or “advance preparations for this battle”.
I don’t think they would be that prepared for this battle.
[We’re almost at the deepest point!]
I shouted, burning down the ants that stood in our way with all my MP.
And then……
[……Voices?]
The long ears of Prana, who was running beside me, twitched,
Just a fraction of a second later, the sound reached my ears as well.
The sound of metal clashing and a man’s shout.
It’s the sound of battle!]
[They’ve already started! We should also……!]
Radd, who was running in the lead, hurriedly increased his speed.
[Wait! We need to get ready first…… Kuh!]
Even with everyone’s current strength, the “Queen” isn’t so easy of an opponent that she could be defeated without any measures.
I wanted to avoid rushing into battle without a break, but with a situation like this, it can’t be helped.
[Let’s go! Don’t let your guard down!]
With that shout, I ran after Radd, and I too jumped into the deepest part of the nest where the “Queen” awaits……
[……Eh?]
The sight that my eyes met froze me in place.
[……What the heck…… is this……]
Such words came out of Radd’s mouth as he arrived at the entrance of the room.
————–The room, which was supposed to be the site of the decisive battle between the Adventurers and the “Queen” was stained red with the blood of both sides.
The Ant Queen, who was supposed to be no match for the best Adventurers, had her limbs dismembered and her body scattered on the ground…… as if she had been torn apart……
Beside her were the three members of the <Hounds>, who should have been moving just a moment ago, lying on the ground as still corpses.
And……
[————–Ahh, d*mn weaklings. I thought I’d play around with them to pass the time until the “Hero” arrived, but fighting weaklings like this would make me bored.]
I could hear it.
A voice that should never be heard in a place like this reaches my ears.
……The center of this tragedy.
In the center of the blood-soaked room, “he” stood.
[Wha……]
As if this disastrous scene is nothing, as if he doesn’t feel our fearful and hostile stares, he nonchalantly looked back at us.
[S- Screw you! W- Who the heck are you!?]
Even as his voice trembled, Radd shouted desperately.
At those words……
[Me? I’m “The First to Visit”, the “Harbinger of Calamity”.]
The man, dressed in rags and with eyes tinged with madness that he could not hide, lifted the corners of his mouth with a grin……
[—————-The First Demon Lord <Bling>.]
I squared off against a <Demon Lord>.
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