“Elise couldn't possibly be unaware that a servant who has received divine protection is different from an ordinary human. She must have some kind of plan, right?”
Lin Miao simply trusted his vassals and watched quietly.
For they had always been this way; even if their premises were mistaken, they would never act without a solid basis and a clear reason.
Thus, when the Great Devourer accepted Celia's suggestion and formulated a plan to win Lisette over, he did not deliberately intervene.
The Great Devourer always pursued highly efficient combat.
As the leader of the Great Devourer, Elise possessed an exceptionally strong greed for new genes and technology.
If there was a simpler and more profitable way than merely clashing with enemies, knocking them down with brute force, and devouring them,
then there was no reason to avoid it. Coincidentally, in Lin Miao's eyes, the Great Devourer also needed more knowledge and experience at this stage.
Knowing this, Lin Miao chose to trust them and wait.
He did his best not to interfere with the Great Devourer's own ecosystem, as it would function perfectly well on its own. This was practically his first principle.
This trust of Lin Miao's was also directly conveyed to his vassals.
Fortunately, that Great One has not given any orders yet.
As the plan she formulated proceeded, Celia had been keeping an eye on Lin Miao's reactions, and she grew increasingly confident in her strategy.
The great deity trusted her.
For a vassal, nothing was more reassuring than this.
“There is no need to completely suppress her from the very beginning. It will be enough if we can confirm that she has the desire to break free on her own.”
After destroying a small supply base in the rear and driving away all the stationed forces, Celia informed the troops waiting in the hastily prepared traps that they were not to fight with all their might.
At the same time, she saw someone flying from the distant sky at an extremely high speed.
The plan was proceeding as expected; Lisette had set out the moment she appeared.
“Witch!”
Lisette broke in with her longsword in hand, landing on the ground with a loud crash.
Unlike before, Celia did not wear her mask from the start.
Her goal this time was not to fight Lisette.
Rather, it was to verify her analysis and prove that Lisette had the potential to turn against her masters.
At this moment, the Great Devourer's nests were still being destroyed.
Once the invasion colony nests used internally to keep the Elven Empire in check were entirely destroyed, the elves would inevitably turn their forces northward to launch a full-scale northern expedition.
Once the high-spirited elves invaded, the Great Devourer's losses would expand even further.
Therefore, Celia's current actions were nothing short of a desperate gamble for the entire colony.
“The report clearly said there were many of you, yet you are alone?”
Lisette used her senses, which had been enhanced before setting off, to look around.
Contrary to the reports of a raid by a small enemy force, she could not sense anyone's presence in the ruined supply base.
The senses of the Holy Warrior Lisette had become exceptionally sharp due to her enhancements, but even so, she could not detect the Great Devourers that had entered a state of hibernation, deliberately hiding themselves like the dead. Seeking only the enemy's presence, she detected absolutely nothing.
“Attacking the supply base was merely a pretext. I only wanted to meet you and talk. I am here to answer what you asked me that day—why I offered my body to the Great Devourer.”
“Wh... What?”
Lisette was bewildered by Celia's sudden declaration of wanting to talk.
She had expected a fierce, decisive battle, which was why she had traveled all this way, making Celia's words entirely unexpected.
“As you know, I was originally just an ordinary human.”
Celia calmly began to tell the bewildered Lisette her story—what she had experienced and what she wanted.
And what she had given up to achieve her goals.
Isn't the Witch of the Great Devourer just a madwoman who offered her body to monsters to destroy the world?
Lisette was astonished to hear of the people of the former Holy Kingdom and the Lucadia Empire who had chosen to survive under the Great Devourer to fight against the divine protection.
In her mind, the Great Devourer was a harbinger of doom, a creation of an Outer God intended to wipe out all living things on this land.
The only thing Lisette could accept was that she was facing absolutely evil monsters intent on erasing all life from the world, and now that belief was being shattered.
“So please tell me one thing. Lisette, are you truly fighting for your master of your own free will?”
Celia's question struck straight to the heart of the matter.
Lisette, who was still deeply conflicted, found herself completely unable to answer the moment she heard the question.
[Elven God: It is all lies. Kill the enemy immediately.]
At that instant, the spell formula engraved on Lisette's body glowed, and her body was forcibly driven into motion.
For the Elven God, who was watching over Lisette, could not stand by and watch the servant waver.
“Just as I thought.”
Celia quickly put her mask back on and gritted her teeth. Watching Lisette lunge at her while unleashing waves of sword energy, she soared into the air.
“Everyone, suppress the enemy.”
At the same time, all the hibernating Great Devourers around them woke up, surrounding Lisette and launching their assault.
“A trap!”
In a panic, Lisette swung her sword, decapitating a gladiator ant that charged at her.
Immediately after, Celia activated the magic she had prepared beforehand, firing it at Lisette.
If a grand mage of Celia's caliber had prepared magic circles and other traps in advance, even a binding spell of grand magic level could be activated instantly without any delay.
The massive magic circle hidden in the ground lit up, exerting a powerful gravitational pull on Lisette.
Lisette, who had intended to fly into the air to escape, was forcibly dragged back to the ground as if a powerful gravity meant solely for her was pulling her down, forcing her to fight with a heavy body.
In the blink of an eye, the Great Devourers surrounding her piled up into a small mountain, completely burying Lisette without leaving a single gap.
Terrified by the Great Devourers' antennae and legs wriggling from all directions, Lisette swung her sword to resist. Yet, even as the Great Devourers and their kin died in droves under her sword energy, they did not loosen their suppression on her in the slightest.
“Ah...”
The spider ants hidden among them began firing their tentacles and webs wildly, binding their own bodies to hers. Lisette's face turned pale at the sight of the legs and antennae squirming all around her.
No matter how she channeled her magic power to burn them away, the Great Devourers sacrificed their bodies and lives to seal Lisette away piece by piece.
Even the corpses of the dead Great Devourers were used as components; with countless living units piling on top of them, they only formed an increasingly solid tomb.
[Elven God: Self-destruct.]
In the end, Lisette received her final order.
Even if it cost her life, she had to kill these Great Devourers.
“Ah...”
Lisette felt the magic power within her begin to surge violently. Regardless of whether her body would be destroyed in the process, she fell into despair.
She foresaw her end; from beginning to end, she had only been a tool to be used.
“We can't have that.”
But just then, Celia broke through the tomb piled high with the bodies of the Great Devourers, rushing inside and pressing her staff against Lisette's chest.
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