Boom—!
The earth trembled visibly, and the knights' horses began to panic.
The stability of the entire army was thrown into chaos.
All of this was because... just at the edge of their vision, a massive protrusion rose from the distance and surged toward the battlefield at high speed.
The bulge in the earth formed a long, winding shape, and though it twisted and turned, it looked like a massive snake.
Or perhaps some kind of gargantuan worm.
Was this the Demon Emperor's trump card?
Watching this, I couldn't help but knit my brows. If whatever was beneath that rising mound of earth was a living creature, then that creature... its diameter alone had to be at least a hundred meters!
Did such massive creatures really exist in this world?
I didn't find a golden dragon with a five-hundred-meter wingspan all that strange.
But... where did the demons get a creature this large??
"Lancelot! Fly in the opposite direction!"
"Understood!"
Lancelot complied, patting Mr. Momo's neck with both hands and letting out a low growl.
Mr. Momo nodded, banked his body, and flew directly toward the distance.
I held the Moon Banner high in my hand.
Once the knight regiments below saw the banner moving, they began to steady their mounts and followed the banner's lead.
As the distant mound of earth drew closer, the tremors in the ground grew even more violent.
The Beast Sovereign stared intensely at the direction of the vibrations while remaining wary of the Demon Emperor.
"How strange, this vibration..."
The Beast Sovereign glanced at the Demon Emperor.
Asacreus had a faint smile on his lips and even offered a considerate explanation.
"This is... the welcome party I personally prepared for you all. Beast Sovereign, are you ready?"
The Beast Sovereign glanced at Asacreus and hesitated for a moment.
"Can I say I'm not ready?"
Asacreus's expression immediately darkened.
"I'm afraid not!"
"Oh..."
Ricardo furrowed his brows but said nothing more, watching as the heaving earth approached rapidly.
It took less than a minute for it to reach their immediate vicinity.
Throughout this process, the Demon Emperor, Asacreus, simply watched the Beast Sovereign and me with a smile.
He looked completely confident, no matter how you viewed it.
What was it?
What gave him such immense confidence?
To the point where he could look down on a Beast Sovereign?
The alarm bells in my heart were practically deafening.
Then, the trembling of the earth finally... stopped at that very moment.
At the same time, Asacreus suddenly raised both hands and began to chant loudly.
"O Demon God! Hearken to my voice..."
This is bad!!!
As for why it was bad, did that even need to be said?
Previously, the Demon Emperor hadn't used a single skill that required a long incantation.
And now, when that vibrating sound suddenly stopped, he actually started chanting!?
"Ricardo! Stop him!!"
"Got it!!"
Ricardo's brow was already tightly knit. Hearing my voice, his figure blurred and he appeared instantly in front of the Demon Emperor.
However... at this moment, Asacreus completely ignored Ricardo, who was right before his eyes.
He continued his chant.
"Your child is about to awaken, please..."
"Shut your mouth—!"
Seeing that the Demon Emperor had no intention of stopping, Ricardo let out a roar, his fists erupting with power as he slammed them into Asacreus.
In that instant, I could clearly see a visible hole appear in Asacreus's back.
His internal organs were practically pulverized into dust in that single moment!
Even for a level seventy powerhouse, that was a fatal wound.
Yet, the smile remained on his face.
"Accept my sacrifice and emerge—!"
"Son of the Demon God!!"
Boom—!
Along with that call, the earth exploded upward. With a thunderous crash, something that made my sanity plummet emerged from beneath the ground.
The moment I saw that thing, my scalp went numb!
Have you ever seen the Demon God Pillars from those mobile games?
The kind that are massive tentacles covered in eyes.
I think... any girl would feel their scalp go numb seeing something like that.
But at least a Demon God Pillar was just a pillar!
The thing before me was completely different!!
It wasn't a pillar, but a... massive tentacle with a diameter of a hundred meters!
And from this massive tentacle, countless smaller tentacles had sprouted.
Every single tentacle was covered in a disgusting, thick, and murky mucus that looked like egg whites!
That revolting slime was smeared all over the gargantuan appendage.
But what made my skin crawl the most was...
At the front of this massive tentacle, there were many people hanging from it!!
Without exception, they were all women!
These women looked as if they had been embedded into the tentacle, their limbs completely fused into its interior.
As for those smaller branching tentacles, each one was as thick as a normal person's thigh.
Even more chilling was that on these thigh-thick tentacles, there were countless even smaller, finer tentacles!
A hundred meters in diameter... a tentacle that looked like a piece of soft, squishy meat.
Countless small tentacles on the branches, and even more tiny tentacles branching off from those.
Seeing this scene, almost everyone's expression turned grim.
Because the women fused into this massive tentacle... belonged to almost every race.
There were giants, beastmen, half-beasts, humans, dwarves, elves, and even the most unsightly gnomes were among them.
Their eyes were almost all hollow, devoid of any light.
A scene like this that only appeared in eroge... was actually happening right in front of me!
The key point is that I'm a woman right now!!!
Just as the massive tentacle emerged, the smaller tentacles that were merely fused to the surface seemed to want to protect these breeding beds. They quickly pulled the women beneath the skin, and in an instant... all that remained before us was that massive, disgusting tentacle!
Dammit... how are we supposed to fight this??
Men would find it revolting, and women would lose their sanity instantly!!
Just like me right now, goosebumps covered my entire body, ignoring my attempts to stay calm.
They crawled over my skin like mushrooms after a rain.
The moment I saw this thing, I knew... this was definitely one of the demons' trump cards.
It might even be... the very foundation of the demon army's power right now!
Asacreus hadn't lied to me; this truly was a grand party.
No, this was a grand ceremony for the demons!!
"Knights!!"
I turned to look at the knights below. Staring at the massive tentacle with a hundred-meter diameter and unknown length, everyone was filled with dread.
I couldn't let morale drop any further.
"Everyone, eyes on me!!!"
I drew the Holy Cross Sword from my waist and pointed it at the massive tentacle!
"Everyone, stay calm!!"
Countless knights looked up, their gazes nearly filled with despair as they watched me.
"Listen to my command—all female knights retreat! Leave the battlefield to the male knights! Not a single female knight is permitted to step forward!"
Facing such a massive demon trump card that likely existed specifically for procreation.
Women going forward was basically like offering themselves up as sacrifices; every one who went would be lost.
Although my understanding of this world's mechanics was only surface-level.
Asacreus hadn't used this thing from the start, so there was definitely some kind of restriction.
What method did he use to summon this thing here?
Wait... did he say sacrifice?
Did he have to use himself?
My gaze instinctively turned toward the Beast Sovereign.
But where Asacreus's corpse should have been in front of Ricardo, there was nothing.
Only black blood remained on the ground, and that blood... was being absorbed by something, constantly seeping deep into the earth.
Ricardo, being the closest, had obviously noticed this as well. He looked up at me.
"Withdraw from the battlefield!!"
Withdraw?
Right now?
If we retreated now and were pursued, the only outcome would be the total collapse of the army!
But if we didn't retreat, would a few tens of thousands of knights really have a way to fight something that massive?
"Withdraw? Do you think I was simply trying to stall for time earlier?"
A terrifying voice suddenly came from behind me.
Asacreus!!
How... how did he get onto Mr. Momo's back?
I instinctively whipped my head around, and the one entering my sight was... undoubtedly, the Demon Emperor Asacreus!
And Lina was already being choked by him, struggling incessantly.
Unfortunately, facing a level seventy powerhouse, Lina, who was already exhausted, was no match for him.
Even her struggling... seemed so futile!
There was still a gaping hole in his chest, but that part was constantly repairing itself.
I could see new granulation tissue sprouting from the gaps in his body, connecting and supporting each other.
At this rate, his body would be completely restored in less than two minutes.
"Lancelot!!!"
I let out a sharp shout. At the same time, I lunged backward, letting my body fall freely.
I was only a few dozen meters above the ground; I wouldn't die from this height!
But if I fell into his hands, I wouldn't have a second chance to escape!!
"Your servant is here!!"
The response from behind put my heart at ease.
Although Lancelot was only level sixty, Asacreus was clearly in a state of heavy injury right now.
In order to complete the chant for his skill, he had taken a direct hit from the Beast Sovereign, Ricardo.
But... Ricardo, you idiot!
Why didn't you aim for his head? Why did you have to hit his stomach!
A tall figure flew out from behind me, instantly blocking my view. A massive boom erupted from Mr. Momo's back.
Even if Mr. Momo was a skysoar dragon, he could hardly withstand the shockwaves of such a close-range collision!
'Pfft'
Mr. Momo opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of dragon blood.
He seemed to realize the situation was bad as he suddenly folded his wings and plummeted along with me.
At the same time, in order to block Lancelot's strike.
The heavily injured Asacreus was forced to release Lina, and she fell as well.
In the sky, Lancelot and Asacreus grabbed each other's hands.
However, there wasn't a shred of affection; there was... only relentless punching!!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
To prevent themselves from being blown away, they both grabbed each other's shoulders, trading blows even as they fell.
Every collision of their fists produced a thunderous boom.
Enduring the shockwaves of two people clashing at such close range, I was already at my limit.
Aside from a constant buzzing in my ears.
I couldn't hear any other sound at all!!
Every shockwave made me feel like my brain was sloshing around in an ocean.
Everything before my eyes began to blur, and with every clash between the two, my head would feel a sudden 'vwoom.'
It's over!
If I keep falling like this, I'm really going to end up as a 'tragic ruin' of a Saintess.
But I couldn't flip my body, and I couldn't even tell which way was up or down.
It seemed... I had a concussion.
Even though I wanted to control my body, my nervous system's sense of balance had temporarily ceased to function due to the shockwaves.
Even if I could move, I couldn't distinguish which side was the sky and which was the earth.
I had... completely lost all external perception!
The Saintess dies from a high-altitude free fall?
That really would be a ridiculous way to go.
What a pity, to fall in the middle of my grand ambitions.
Get ready to endure the pain of death one last time!
I hope I don't reincarnate again. If I do, don't you dare turn me into a girl again, or I'll kill myself just to spite you!
As I thought about it... why haven't I died yet?
Not only was I not dead, but even the sounds in my ears were starting to become clear again.
The rumbling of the earth, people nearby shouting 'retreat'—it sounded like Lina's voice.
But it seemed far away.
Retreat?
Retreating at a time like this is practically a death sentence!
Who would cover the rear? If no one covered the retreat, wouldn't the entire army be wiped out?
My vision gradually returned, from blurred... to clear.
From a massive dark shadow, to a giant tooth, and finally... a golden vertical pupil several times larger than my body.
It was large enough to be a bathtub for me, and it was staring right at me.
"Luo Li, are you awake? How did it feel to experience a collision between experts firsthand?"
This massive creature didn't make a sound.
Instead, the voice was simulated through the vibration of the air.
Seeing this giant eye, I couldn't help but take a deep breath.
I pushed myself up by leaning against something nearby and looked down at the massive golden dragon claw beneath my feet.
I looked up at the giant eye.
"Not great. My head still hurts a bit..."
A smile involuntarily appeared on the corner of my mouth.
I... won!!
"Long time no see. How have you been, King Asfield?"
"Still able to smile, good. It seems there's no problem. Will you marry me?"
"...Hehehehe, the Dragon King sure likes to joke."
My smile stiffened slightly.
As expected of an eroge!
Why do these male creatures think about this stuff all day and night?
I know it's instinct.
But you can't just keep it on the tip of your tongue all the time!
Give me some other pursuit, you bastard!
Right, there was something important.
I looked up and stared into that massive golden pupil.
"Dragon King, since you are here, then I assume that person..."
"She didn't come. She went to intercept the demon reinforcements. Don't worry... the elven archers are beings that even my dragon race fears!"
Asfield raised his massive dragon head, his golden pupils gazing at the distant battlefield.
My gaze followed, turning toward the center of the battlefield.
The protagonists of the battle had shifted from knights to dragons!!
Dozens of purebred dragons were facing that massive tentacle, and they were in a state of absolute dominance.
The constantly erupting dragon breath was like a storm that swept away everything.
In an instant, it could leave a deep, massive hole in that gargantuan tentacle!
Rate on N.U.
