Chapter 263: Chapter 263: Good News (3)

Even Iona couldn’t teleport directly to Solaris in one go.

So she drank my blood in between teleportations, and thanks to that, we arrived at a point where we could see Solaris in less than 30 minutes.

“…I was wondering why we teleported to such a distant location, but now I see why.”

I gently stroked Iona’s head as she clung to my neck like a cicada, and looked straight ahead.

A green wave filled my vision. Amidst the mass of greenskins, there were scattered figures of large monsters.

Ogres, minotaurs, and cyclopses. Huge monsters, each as tall as at least a two-story building.

These brutes were already extremely tough, but with the power of Reckless Roar augmenting them, they must have become even more terrifying.

There were dozens, if not over a hundred of these massive monsters, each equivalent to a siege weapon.

There were even more medium-sized monsters like trolls and mutated orcs, and though the smaller monsters were only “small” in name, there were tens of thousands of orcs, all stronger than an average adult man.

Of course, it would be impossible for us to wipe out those repulsive creatures alone, but… our goal wasn’t that to begin with.

“We need to get over there.”

Beyond the mass of monsters and the ruins of the settlement, we could see the Great Church, protected by a pure white dome of light.

Solaris’s lower village and the Great Church weren’t military facilities; they were religious buildings and residential areas.

Even if they erected a barrier, there were no walls, so I was wondering how they managed to use the Great Church as a fortress… turns out they’d done something massive.

They had enveloped the entire Great Church in a barrier.

Well, that made sense. The Great Church was connected to the sacred grounds of Righteous Radiance. It must have a decent defense mechanism.

More importantly, inside that church were Helena, who could infinitely draw upon the divine power of the Righteous Radiance, and Clara, who was a master of barriers.

Even though Clara was in a spirit-like state, her advice alone would be invaluable in this situation.

If nothing major happens, the Great Church should be able to withstand the assault for quite some time.

That’s probably why other nations and the Divine Orders are taking their time organizing reinforcements.

Since Solaris could hold out for a while, they likely wanted to send a force capable of decisively driving out the Evil God’s army rather than rushing reinforcements.

It was a good judgment. But that only holds true if the situation doesn’t change drastically.

I frowned as I watched the red curtain slowly creeping over the white barrier.

“That thing… it’s going to be a problem, right?”

“Pwah! Most likely? Most likely? I mean, just look at it—it’s obviously not normal.”

Iona, having recovered her condition by drinking my blood, nodded in agreement.

She’s right. I don’t know exactly what that is, but I can feel it—it’s something meant to neutralize the barrier.

Elisha, whose face had paled at the sight of the monstrous horde, asked nervously.

“You. Even if you manage to clear a path there, what’s your plan after that? It doesn’t look like that curtain will be easy to break…”

“We don’t need to break the curtain itself. We just need to take out the cultists who are running the ritual.”

Even if we couldn’t kill all of them, it’d be enough to deal them a blow that stops the ritual from continuing.

For a ritual of this scale, there must be a central altar somewhere. Destroying that would be a good approach as well.

Even if the ritual doesn’t collapse right away, it would prevent it from proceeding any further.

Once again, our goal isn’t to annihilate the enemy. It’s to help the Great Church hold out until reinforcements arrive.

“There’s no need to overthink it. Even if we fail completely, we’ll have at least disrupted them. Then we can just come back tomorrow and disrupt them again, right?”

“I understand…. But you be careful.”

“Worried about me?”

“Of course. I’ve already chosen you as my mate. Think about how significant that is for an elf.”

I know very well.

Elves, due to their naturally strong sexual desires, have developed a culture that emphasizes chastity and restraint.

Like other races, they value maintaining purity over long periods or staying with a single partner for life.

But elves’ lifespans are incomparable to other races.

If humans call marriage a ‘vow of a hundred years,’ elves call it a ‘vow of a thousand years.’

Though only a handful of high elves live for a thousand years, the sentiment is the same. Humans rarely live for a century, after all.

What matters is that elves are extremely careful when choosing a lifelong partner, seeing it as a decision that could last a thousand years.

And once they make that decision, they don’t reverse it.

That’s why elven love is said to be heavier than that of any other race.

Though Elisha and Iris had no choice once they were sold into slavery, they’re still my mates.

Naturally, they’re worried. But…

“I’m just as worried about Helena.”

“……”

Our time together has been short, and we haven’t spoken much or shared many physical moments.

We have feelings for each other, but I don’t know if it’s enough to call it love.

But still, Helena is my woman.

The Righteous Radiance may have played the role of matchmaker, but in the end, Helena entrusted herself to me, and I accepted.

In the happy ending I envision, Helena has a place. And who would dare to disrupt that?

There’s no way I’d allow that.

As I was steeling my resolve internally, Elisha, who had been watching my expression, turned her head away sharply, her ears flushing red.

“Hmph! Saying it like that makes it sound as if I’m telling you not to go! I never said that. We must save Helena. Absolutely. I just mean… you should come back safely.”

She grumbled about reaching the level of an intermediate magician but not being able to follow me when it truly mattered.

But staying here to protect Iris was already a big help.

Smiling faintly, I gave Elisha’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“Don’t worry. I won’t die until I’ve filled a mansion with half-elves.”

“Wh-What?! Half-elves? A whole mansion?!”

Elisha gasped in disbelief at my perfect family plan, while I chuckled and relaxed her tension. Meanwhile, Iris, who had been scanning the surroundings, tugged on my sleeve.

“Master.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“I found a good place to set up the magic circle, but…”

“Seems like there’s a problem.”

“Indeed. It seems there are already some guests.”

Iris nodded seriously, her expression grave.

If she’s calling them guests, they’re probably not monsters or cultists… so someone else got there before us and took the perfect spot?

I tilted my head in confusion and looked where Iris was pointing.

“I can’t see clearly.”

“They’re quite far away. But if you use Eagle Eye, you’ll see them right away.”

“Okay.”

In the game, Eagle Eye was just a buff that increased accuracy.

But when I use it in real life, not only does it improve my reaction speed, but it also sharpens my vision, making it easy to see distant things. Now I understand why it increased accuracy.

Honestly, I end up using it more like a telescope than anything else.

With my vision now sharper, I soon spotted a suitable flat area hidden between the trees.

From that position, one could see the entire Solaris area, and since it’s surrounded on three sides by cliffs, the monsters would have to take a long detour to reach it.

On that plateau, a group of armored figures were having an intense argument, their expressions full of frustration.

“Wait…?”

Those are the Paladins of Righteous Radiance! I think I see some priests, too.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

For a moment, I was confused about what was going on, but when I saw their bloodshot eyes, I understood.

The Eurelia Continent is vast, and teleportation magic is something only high-ranking officials and top-tier magicians can use.

They were probably stationed far away from Solaris. The Pope must have summoned them urgently, but they arrived too late.

People often imagine followers of Righteous Radiance as fanatics who charge headlong into danger… and while that’s true to some extent, they aren’t completely reckless.

Unreasonable fighting only leads to unnecessary deaths, which means fewer enemies are vanquished in the long run.

The Helena who used to charge recklessly was an exception.

These people have likely decided to fight but are still figuring out how to do it.

After all, a party of just paladins and priests might be able to hold their ground in a prolonged battle, but they lack the firepower needed for a quick breakthrough against an army of that size.

That’s why they’re standing there, sighing with no clear answer.

But that ends here. The solution they’ve been looking for is right here.

“Professor Iona, could we teleport over there one more time?”

“Mmhmm! Yandel, thanks to your thickened blood, my mana and stamina have fully recovered, so there’s no problem at all! Are you planning to join their fight?”

“Yes. Even if we don’t join the main charge, we can receive buffs, and the more people protecting Iris, the better.”

I shrugged as I said this, and Iona giggled, nodding in agreement.

“Alright, alright! Everyone, gather around!”

A brief moment later, our vision flashed, and when I blinked again, we were standing in front of some very startled paladins who immediately drew their swords.

“Who goes there?! State your identity!”

Ah.

I guess suddenly appearing like this made them wary of us.

I quickly pulled out the radiant lion dagger and raised it high.

“The Righteous Radiance has sent me here!”

Let’s just roll with that.