The Great Sword is not the Main Body!

"Ugh... huff, there’s no time to explain right now. First... ugh... huff... we need to evacuate the people. All the monsters from the ruins and the plains are gathering here... Ugh...! So hurry... ugh..."

Blood surged up from my throat, and I choked on my words.

Rubia, standing next to me, gently wiped my mouth with a handkerchief and embraced my trembling body.

"Monsters from the ruins and the plains...?"

"The flute that man just used... Ugh... that flute... it gathers the monsters in one place... and it even makes them berserk... Ugh..."

"Okay. I understand. You don’t need to say more. So, we need to evacuate the villagers first, right?"

Unable to speak, I simply nodded.

"But... since they’re coming from both entrances... we’ll block them at the entrances as much as possible, and get the villagers into their homes."

Nodding—

"Looks like... about 20,000 monsters are coming," Lucci said.

"Yeah, now that things are this bad, I’ll take care of it."

Lucci shouted at the people as he walked toward them.

"Hey! There are about 20,000 monsters coming from far away, and you’re just going to stand here?"

The villagers, hearing Lucci, merely murmured to each other but didn’t seem to have any intention of moving.

"And by the way, I’m in need of some things right now. Any merchants willing to part with their goods? I’ll pay generously."

The villagers' response remained the same.

Watching it unfold, I felt my temper flare.

Rubia, who was holding me, sighed along with me.

"Well... it can’t be helped. I’ve asked. The choice is theirs."

Lucci finished speaking, shaking the blood from his sword, and approached the villagers.

Noticing something was off, Hephaestus chased after him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Lucci. What are you trying to do...?"

"If words don’t work, I’m sure this will," Lucci said, lifting his sword slowly.

"Heh... this is madness."

I understood where that comment was coming from.

In a situation where every second counts, there’s no time to persuade anyone.

Of course, it’s true that the situation was worsened by this action...

But looking at the villagers' reactions, even if it hadn't been like this, they would have treated Lucci like a madman anyway.

So...

I had no choice but to step in. I had to force them to follow.

Just scare them.

Since I’m known as the "Red Beast that tears apart monsters," I could probably intimidate them to some degree.

I took another potion from my pocket.

Then, I stepped out of Rubia’s embrace, grabbed my greatsword, and followed Lucci.

I wondered if it would be enough to break down the building next to us.

I wasn’t sure if I could manage it in my current condition, but if I could just break the pillars...

When I gripped my greatsword tightly, recalling the sensation when I broke through the barrier of Hablon...

"Noah. Just a moment."

Rubia grabbed my shoulder.

"Ugh... Rubia. This is... I have no choice. If I don’t do this..."

"No. It’s not that. Let me explain. It’ll be much easier this way."

Saying that, Rubia passed me and quickly approached Lucci.

"Lucci, I’ll handle this. You and Hephaestus just get ready for battle."

"You, miss? Are you sure?"

"I don’t want to, but... there’s no choice. I can’t just sit idly by in a situation like this."

Having finished speaking, Rubia slowly walked toward the villagers.

She pulled off the hood of her robe, which had been pulled tightly over her head, and in a very dramatic, artificial voice, said:

"Hello, everyone. How have you been?"

"W-Wait, Priestess?!"

"The Priestess!"

"A-Ah... Priestess! It’s been a long time!"

Seeing Rubia’s face, people began to kneel one by one, bowing their heads. Rubia, after giving an elaborate greeting, immediately started explaining the situation.

"Wow... Rubia... that’s impressive...?"

"So, there’s something more effective than a sword after all..."

"This is... well, I’m relieved. It’ll be easy to prepare now. Kid, do you know which entrance they’ll come from first?"

"Since the monsters are faster, they’ll probably gather from the ruins first."

"The ruins, then. It looks like there are a lot of adventurers in the village. How about we send all of them east and block the south entrance with just us?"

Lucci looked at Hephaestus and me alternately.

"Just the three of us?"

Lucci nodded.

Hephaestus also nodded at me.

"...There’s more than 8,000 monsters."

"8,000? Well, we’ll take care of 3,000, and the weakest one among us only needs to handle 2,000."

"That’s a good idea."

Lucci and Hephaestus grinned as they looked down at me.

They spoke casually, as if they were joking, about killing thousands of monsters.

But no matter how strong Lucci and Hephaestus are, the situation still called for them to be prepared for death.

It wasn’t going to be easy.

Yet, the way they spoke, it felt like they had made their own resolve.

So, I decided to follow along.

"...I’ll kill 4,000. You two only kill 2,000. If you kill more... I won’t let you get away with it."

"Hahaha! Sounds good. How about the loser buys breakfast tomorrow morning?"

"Wow, for once you’re making a good suggestion. I agree."

"I’ll make sure to buy all the jelly in this village... You two go to the south. I’ll catch up with you in a moment."

I turned my back on the dark-faced men and walked toward Rubia.

"Rubia...!"

Hearing my voice, Rubia stopped and turned back slowly.

"How is it...? Are you alright?"

"Ah, Noah. The explanation is over. Now, they’ll give us the items we need. But... they’re trusting me a little too much. It’s making my shoulders heavy."

Rubia sighed deeply, rubbing her arm.

"Everyone... I don’t think they realize how serious the situation is. But I guess that’s normal... Still, I feel a bit uneasy."

"We can’t help that. As long as the villagers stay inside their homes... it should be fine. The villagers are taken care of... What about the adventurers?"

"The innkeepers have woken all the adventurers and are gathering them in the plaza. The merchants are also gathering the items we need in the plaza."

"Hmm... then, please bend down for a moment."

"Alright. I understand."

Rubia gently bent down.

I stood on tiptoe and whispered the needed items.

I made sure to add that it should be kept a secret.

I didn’t mind if the villagers found out, but it would be more comfortable for them not to know.

I whispered very quietly.

"I’m not mistaken, am I?"

"No, Rubia heard it correctly."

"So... all of them—ugh?!"

"Ah, no! Shh...! I said it’s a secret...!"

I quickly covered Rubia's mouth with my hands.

Silly Rubia...! I just asked her to keep it a secret!

"Ugh...!"

Only after Rubia nodded and agreed did I remove my hands.

"Alright, I understand. I’ll get them for you."

"Yes. The more we have, the better. So, as many as possible."

"But... why are they needed in the south? Why not split them up between the two sides?"

Rubia tilted her head in confusion but paused for a moment.

"Noah, could it be..."

"Hmm... Yes. You’re right. Hephaestus, Lucci, and I will block the south gate. Please take the items I mentioned to the south gate. Also, bring 10 greatswords and... one more potion."

"Just the three of you at the south gate?"

Rubia's voice became sharp.

"Yes. Rubia... you’ll go to the west. Stick with the adventurers to make sure the formation doesn’t fall apart. If the adventurers in the village work together, they should be able to handle it. Oh, and also, please set up the thing we used in the forest to block the scent... you know, that thing."

Rubia’s trembling hands gripped my shoulders.

"Don’t say something crazy. What do you mean by that...?"

I firmly grabbed her trembling hands.

"It’s fine. Please, just listen to me. After all this is over... we’ll go eat together, okay? The one who kills the least will buy the food. But I’m pretty sure it won’t be me, so eat as much as you want."

"How are the three of us supposed to handle all those monsters... It doesn’t make sense. Even with Lucci and Hephaestus being Platinum-ranked..."

"Rubia. Please trust me. We don’t have time to talk anymore. Let’s go. And I’m counting on you to get those items."

I pulled Rubia’s hands off my shoulders.

"Alright, see you later, Rubia."

With a light farewell, I turned my back and headed toward the south gate.

But... did I just set myself up for certain death...?

"Wait, wait... Don’t meet me later...!"

"What did you say?"

"Ah... No, nothing! Goodbye...!"

"Ha, this is something... Even though it’s the middle of the night, I can clearly see the monster packs gathering like a pack of dogs."

"Lucci, you see it too? I thought you couldn’t see with only one eye."

"Thanks to your blindingly bright skull, I can see just fine. Don’t worry about it."

Listening to the meaningless chatter between Lucci and Hephaestus, I expanded my Giga Sense.

The vanguard, the first group, consisted of six packs.

About 1,200 monsters.

"As expected, six groups. Are we going with the plan?"

"Of course. We’ll hold off on using those for now."

"Mm. Good idea."

Lucci drew his sword.
Hephaestus gripped his halberd.
I stuck the 10 greatswords into the ground in all directions.

"Make sure you don’t lose count. Especially you, Hephaestus."

"This time, I’ll keep track. But, is the leader not getting any extra rewards?"

"If we add something like that... Hephaestus will get confused, so no."

"Heh heh... Noah’s right."

"Mm... that makes sense."

All three of us fell silent.

The vicious howls of the monsters.
The earth’s tremor.
The trembling air.

"Let’s finish this and go eat, once we’re done."

"Hahaha! Of course!"

I nodded at their words, opening my eyes.

[The targets are game characters.]
[The targets are game characters.]
[The targets are game characters.]
[The targets are game characters.]
[The targets are game characters.]
[The targets are game characters.]
[The targets are game characters.]
[The targets are game characters.]
[The targets are game characters.]
[The targets are game characters.]
[The targets are game characters.]

Yeah.
They’re game characters.
It’s not real.
It’s just a game.

So.

Don’t be afraid.

Just do what you’ve done in the game.

You can do it.