Chapter 103

“Don’t!”

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Under the command of Head of the Gallery, most of the hidden monsters were hunted.

In the midst of despair, he became our eyes.

As hope grew that we could reclaim the World Tree soon,

-Bang!

The drone exploded right in front of the Frog Variant Monster.

A wave had begun.

“Aah…”

I lost the drone.

The elves’ sole eye vanished.

The elves, witnessing the sight with a sense of futility, fortunately collected themselves quickly.

They immediately drew their bows and launched arrows at the monsters crawling out of the rift.

The moment they were most vulnerable, when their positions were fully revealed, that was the last hope.

-Ting!

“Uh?”

Before the arrow could helplessly fall beneath the transparent barrier.

“Melang, use your magic!”

Eliana shouted at the bewildered Deputy of the Gallery, Melang.

Though Melang, the Deputy and a master of magic, immediately cast a spell…

-Kwaang!

“Magic doesn’t work either!”

Magic was useless beneath that shield.

It had been substituted for the mana absorbed from the elves by the fog until now.

Neither attacks nor observations were feasible.

“What… do we do…”

Eliana’s mind was turning blank.

-Wiiiing.

A familiar fluttering sound came from somewhere.

When Eliana turned her head, she saw something flying that looked just like Head of the Gallery’s familiar.

“Huh?”

Didn’t it just explode?

*

Drones are cheap.

In fact, they are inexpensive and perform well.

They have no fear and are easily controlled.

It’s no wonder they use more drones than people in wars.

Using the new drone, I approached the World Tree once again.

-Grrrr!

The large Variant Monster stretched its tongue, but I didn’t fall for it this time.

“Too slow.”

Having mastered drone control, I could now dodge that simple linear attack with ease.

[Notice: Must Read for Elves (Retake, Refix, Refix)]

Author: Head of the Gallery*

31. (Meme of the fog creeping near the roots of the World Tree)

32. (Meme camouflaged against the trunk of the World Tree)

[Recommended 9999+] [Not Recommended 0]

– Kya;

– I saw it in another post, but what’s that flying in the sky?

– It looks like Head of the Gallery’s magical sight-sharing.

– Isn’t it a familiar?

– No, no, no, familiars have emotions and wouldn’t do acrobatics mindlessly like that.

– It doesn’t even seem like a living being.

– Weren’t the research subjects for the bombing goblin’s magic golem?

– Lol, over there they can barely move one arm, while here it’s doing acrobatics in the sky.

– ZL Storm Magician) What now?

The Variant Monster was untouchable thanks to the shield.

In a hurry, I continued to share the positions of the remaining normal monsters.

As a result, I succeeded in eliminating most of them, but the situation didn’t improve significantly.

“In the end, we have to capture that thing.”

It was clear that without capturing the Variant Monster, which could be seen as the boss of the wave, there would be no solution.

But time was an issue.

– Wow, it’s already right in front of us.

– While we’re grumbling, this is a real crisis, isn’t it?

– Um;

– How do we stop that?

Even in war, there’s a standoff state.

However, since the Variant Monster emerged, there has been no standoff.

There was simply no way to avoid the endlessly generated fog, using the empty World Tree as a base.

The fog was rapidly growing larger, threatening to engulf the Elard Forest.

[Title: Situation in Elardrien…jpg]

(Meme of fog pressing into the city entrance)

(Meme of monsters advancing close due to the fog)

– Wow, we’re done for!

– Seriously, what do we do?

– But isn’t there no way to stop that even if you’re not an elf?

– Damn it, they’re attacking with everything.

Elardrien was hidden deeply within the forest.

The entrance was narrow, and it was truly the elves’ fortress.

But the fog nullified all of that.

We had no choice but to retreat helplessly and quickly gave up the entrance.

– But don’t the elves have guns?

– Oh!

There were land mines and guns given during the grand invasion of Elard, but that was also an issue.

Ultimately, they would serve only to temporarily repel the incoming monsters.

[Title: Remember Us!]

(Meme of the Elf Knight Order holding guns and swords)

(Meme of elves approaching the fog via a back road)

(Elf giving a thumbs up)

In the end, there was no choice but to move closer.

No matter how monstrous the Variant Monster or protective the shield, they would be powerless against guns.

Taking out the firearms I had reserved as a last resort, the elite Elf Knights formed a team.

– (I’ll remember you! Knight Meme)

– X

– Are you really going to go in with this?

– But without some method, what else do we have?

– Even if we go, we’ll most likely die, damn it;

A reckless task force, akin to a suicide squad, entered beyond the fog.

Leading them was my slave, no, the Full-Peel Elf named Pa-Dak.

As I took in the sight of the elves disappearing beyond the dense fog, I stood up.

And with a smile, I leisurely tore open the boxes I had stacked in a corner of the room.

“Now, shall I do my part?”

As I opened the packages, countless drones began to emerge.

These drones were entirely different in size and appearance from the previous ones.

They had all been designed to carry heavy loads while serving me.

[LMAMS]

[Ratchet]

“It’s time for the self-destruct drones to shine.”

Without knowing much, I’d bought all sorts of things.

From self-destruct drones used in warfare to regular drones and explosives.

That’s the terrifying thing about drones.

As long as they can bear a suitable load, any drone can be turned into a self-destruct drone.

All you need to do is equip any drone with explosives.

[Title: They’re all going to die!]

(Meme of cornered elf knights)

I found this post, but no matter how I look at it, it seems to be over…

Damn, even though I didn’t like the elves, this seems a bit much.

With my eyes glued to the live-updating posts, I slowly lifted the drones.

[Item delivery successful!]

“Alright, let’s go.”

It was time to see what they could do.

*

“Shh, wait here.”

Eliana quickly lowered her body behind the fallen tree debris.

The elves following her held their breaths.

Each of them held long swords and guns.

Eliana peeked out cautiously to look at the Variant Monster perched up near the World Tree.

‘If it’s Head of the Gallery’s magic, it should be effective…’

The problem was how to hit it.

Surrounding the Variant Monster were numerous frog-like monsters as if they were on guard.

It was all too apparent that if we fired, they’d take the hit for it.

Though I was well aware of the power of our weapons, they were strong against single targets.

Thus, Eliana’s plan was simple.

“While the front line takes down the minor monsters, aim for the Variant Monster!”

“…Understood!”

A surprise frontal assault it was.

Plus, I had asked Head of the Gallery for some grenades.

In that dire moment with no other options, I had brought them to be delivered to the Variant Monster.

Yet, all the elves here knew.

‘Even if by some stroke of luck we manage to capture the Variant Monster…’

The fog wouldn’t simply vanish.

For the time being, it was holding on with mana, but once that ran dry, they’d all fall asleep.

The moment we fall into a vulnerable sleep in the middle of enemy territory, the outcome was painfully obvious.

“We have to do this.”

But there were no alternative methods.

No, there was not even time to contemplate.

Even as I think, the fog was consistently seeping deeper into Elardrien.

Taking a moment to breathe, Eliana swiftly sprang from her spot behind the tree.

“Now!”

With Eliana’s shout, several elven knights suddenly revealed themselves.

-Taang!

And just about simultaneously, they opened fire, but regrettably, it was ineffective.

-Grrrr!

The monsters shielding the Variant Monster had absorbed the shots with their bodies.

“Don’t stop!”

Eliana threw grenades at the swarm of Variant Monsters.

-Kwaaaang!

The elegantly arcing grenades turned the area’s monsters to ashes.

But even that wasn’t enough.

-Grrrr

-Grrrrr

Other monsters quickly filled the gap.

The monsters spawned this wave didn’t venture into the kingdom.

They merely nested around the Variant Monster, providing protection.

-Crack, crack!

At that moment, the mana was rapidly escaping.

Eliana performed acrobatics in nearly a spectacular manner, slicing the monsters in half.

The following elves closed in on the Variant Monster quickly, but that was all.

“Captain, ahead is…”

“Ugh…!”

Using overwhelming numbers, the monsters constructed a living wall.

Ultimately, the breakthrough was blocked much quicker than anticipated.

‘There’s no escape.’

Eliana quickly whirled her mind amid the fog and monsters.

But everywhere she looked was filled with monsters.

Just when her mind was racing to find a way out, it happened.

“Ahh!”

“Captain!”

The monsters blocking the front fell with exploded heads.

In the midst of the sudden chaos, a tongue from the Variant Monster shot like a blade toward her.

The Variant Monster had attempted to use other monsters as sacrifices to attack.

Eliana’s leg was sliced, making her collapse.

“Gahhh…!”

Blood streamed down her leg.

Gritting her teeth to support herself with her sword, it was the extent of her strength.

The speed at which her mana was drained accelerated due to the injury, and the fog thickened further.

‘Could it be that I die like this?’

All Eliana could envision was a horrifying future.

As the death looming in front of her painted her previously calm expression with dread.

-Wiiiing.

“Uh?”

A cool, yet alien sound of fluttering.

The drone that should have been flying above had somehow arrived beside her.

“Steel Fairy?”

No, something about its appearance was oddly different.

It looked slightly larger and appeared to have something attached beneath it.

And it flew leisurely past the elves, heading straight for the Variant Monster.

-Grrrr!

The Variant Monster reacted with extreme sensitivity to the drone’s appearance.

All the large and small waves that had been nullified due to Head of the Gallery wouldn’t have occurred without that one thing.

Although it appeared to be mere reconnaissance, the Variant Monster was on high alert.

-Quad-deuk!

The swift tongue of the Frog Variant Monster pierced the drone completely.

But that was a fatal mistake.

The despair was about to cloud Eliana’s expression as another drone fell.

– Head of the Gallery*: Absolutely do not duck to avoid the explosion.

A notification appeared before her eyes.

“Absolutely…?”

Eliana blinked in confusion, but then quickly pressed herself against the ground.

“Duck!”

“!”

At Head of the Gallery’s shout, the skilled elf knights all lowered themselves just in time.

In an instant, there was a bright flash from the drone.

A brief flash flickered before…

-Kwaaang!!!

With a tremendous explosion, the ground shook.