An Evil Trap

When the allied forces army received information that Dream Maker fired their blast cannon, they could not hide their surprise. They didn’t expect a battle so soon.

Of course, it was just a single shot, but anyone could tell that doing so meant negotiation was no longer viable. The army could not comprehend just how important Dream Maker was to its residents.

「What do we do? I didn’t think they’d fire at us all of a sudden…」Forestia’s Army Minister said, panic in his voice.

Arms folded and knees propped on the table, Quinbland’s vice commander replied.「We have no other choice but to fight.」

「But in our prior discussions, we agreed that given the difference in our numbers, Dream Maker would open their gates…」

「There are always irregularities in battle. Dream Maker may be terrifying at sea, but on land, we are superior. Prepare for attack. I trust you don’t have any problems?」

「N-No.」

「…None at all.」

The Army Minister and Bios’ Battalion Commander nodded in agreement. But just as they were about to issue orders to their men, another messenger barged in.

「Reporting! There’s dust clouds up north. We don’t know their affiliation.」

「North?」

The vice commander, the Army Minister, and the Battalion Commander exchanged glances. They then rose at once and walked out of the tent.

「I’m going up the watchtower!」

Since they were camped in the middle of the woods, the view of the surroundings was poor. A watchtower was built near the tent for lookout.

The vice commander climbed up the ladder easily. Above the sea of trees was a platform big enough for three people. The lookout handed the binocular to the vice commander.

「Where?!」

「Over there, sir!」

The vice commander didn’t even need the binocular to see it. A few kilometers up north, a cloud of dust was rising. Giant birds, numbering thousands, were gliding above it.

「That’s not an army… Those are monsters!」

The vice commander hurried down from the watchtower.

A monster attack right at this time? he thought. Dream Maker have closed the gates, and we’re in the woods. We’re in too much of a disadvantage. Who do we even fight?

Going to them and saying something like “Monsters are coming! Let’s fight them together!” would not work. They won’t open the gates after what we’ve done.

Retreating would take too much time. We haven’t built any defensive structures either. What are our options?

「Monsters are coming from the north!」the vice commander said as soon as he made it to the ground.

The Army Minister and battalion commander were stunned.

「Monsters? Why here?!」

「What do we do if Dream Maker takes advantage of this and attacks?!」

The vice commander gave the battalion commander a grim look.「I doubt that would happen. Once the monsters arrive, Dream Maker itself will be in danger.」

「You seem to have forgotten one possibility, vice commander. Dream Maker might’ve summoned the monsters themselves.」

「What?!」

What if it was all a trap? the vice commander wondered. It’s definitely possible. That means we’re doomed. A chill ran down his back.

「Either way, we can’t defend against both. All Dream Maker can do is fire a few blast cannons at us. We’ll just have to ignore them. If they’re going to open the gate to strike, we can use that to enter the city instead. We can fight much easier then.」

「Understood. Then the Templar Knights will watch Dream Maker.」

「…Very well.」

The vice commander held back the urge to click his tongue. If the Temple Knights were to watch Dream Maker, it would mean that they would barely be able to fight monsters. In other words, they just escaped to safety.

If Dream Maker decided to attack, the Templar Knights would have to fight as well, but the odds of that were low. There was no reason for Dream Maker to come out of their haven.

「Send word to all troops! The enemy is coming form the north!」

They had to prepare for the worst. A battle of life and death would be upon them soon.

『A monster attack?! Why now?!』Grucel, the calmest among all of Dream Maker, shouted, his clean-cut features twisted.

He was in the middle of pinning down the officer who fired a shot at the allied army. Grucel and the other commanding officers wore looks of discontent.

It was then that Gin returned with information about a cloud of dust up north. A lookout in one of the bell towers corroborated his statement as well.

『What do we do?』Gin asked.『Now’s not the time to deal with the allied army. If you want, I can go over there and tell them to get inside the city walls.』

The officers who didn’t trust the army stirred.

『Nonsense! I hope the monsters eat them.』

『Maybe they brought the monsters with them. They marched their troops out in the open. No wonder the monsters noticed.』

『Maybe Gin wants to take advantage of the situation to switch sides.』

Grucel ignored the officers’ complaints. It seemed to him that they could not make proper judgment right now.

Proper judgment…? Is the reason why the allied army is being so high-handed is because they can’t make proper judgment? Proper judgment… Normal state of mind… Wait a minute!

In that moment, a thought crossed Grucel’s mind.

Silver Face said that the contamination caused by evil affected humans. He also said that it was the reason why they had no mana and couldn’t use magic.

The allied army raided many Roots and brought back dragon stones. There was no guarantee that those dragon stones were not contaminated. In fact, they must be imbued with evil mana.

They succeeded in destroying the Roots quite easily. They even brought back a huge, flawless dragon stone. What if that was a trap?

The allied army brought “evil” dragon stones casually through the barriers. What if the stones were having an adverse effect on the people, a powerful psychological effect to the point where they were unable to practice sound judgment?

『It caused this internal conflict too… Then they used this to send monsters at us!』Grucel raised his voice in anger.

『L-Lord Grucel!』

Both Gin and the officers looked in surprise at Grucel. He was furious for being made a fool, but now was not the time to let his rage get the better of him.

『Gin. You’re going to have to prepare yourself for the worst.』

『I’m already risking my life on this mission. So what do you want me to do?』

『Run to the allied army and bring them inside the walls. We should be able to save a lot of lives.』

The officers turned red in rage.

『Open your eyes, fools!』Gin bellowed.

The officers shuddered. The commander-in-chief was feared even when he was calm. Only rarely did he display such anger out in the open. What’s worse, his rage was directed at them.

『This is a battle between humanity and monsters! We humans must join forces!』He turned to look at Gin.『Go. Thousands of lives are in your hands.』

『Yes, sir!』

Gin bolted. The rest of the scouting team followed. They all wore serious looks, not doubting the task they were given one bit. They didn’t falter, even when they knew that the army could open fire at them.

The monsters weaved their way southwards, occasionally mowing down trees in their path. There were big boars, big snakes, and of course small monsters like goblins. Those on this continent, however, had brown skin and possessed abnormal strength.

The monsters screamed and howled, marching southward like madmen. Like they had lost their minds. The monsters in the lead spotted hastily-constructed barricades.

At the same time, their eyes caught sight of humans positioned among them.

Monsters howled.

「Mage Unit, fire!」

Spirit Magic crashed into the monsters. The battle had begun.