Rendezvous

“Are you really going in person?”

Before setting out, Celia, who had made all the necessary preparations, nodded calmly to the worried Sebas.

“Our Holy Kingdom’s soldiers are facing the threat of total annihilation. And Marianne is in danger too. I must go rescue her.”

In the end, Sebas did not try to stop her any further.

He knew that Celia had completely opened her heart to Marianne, and the two had become lovers.

Lately, Celia seemed to have become much more cheerful.

Though the world was unpredictable, who could blame them in such a chaotic world?

Moreover, in the entire Holy Kingdom, no one dared to gossip about the two most powerful women.

“You must be careful.”

“Although a new mutated species has appeared, which is a bit troublesome, based on our current intelligence, we should be able to deal with it. Besides, they can't possibly have many forces left at this point.”

Celia saw through it at a glance; the ant colony was actually at the end of its rope.

The only reason they could trap the main force in their nest and nearly wipe out the support unit was that they had concentrated all their mobilizable forces to ambush the support unit.

Because of this, the current situation was actually still within controllable limits.

Most importantly, she held a completed magic scroll in her hand.

This was the culmination of all her painstaking efforts recently, researching the worker ant they had captured alive.

Although she hadn't had time to perform a final test, she resolutely brought it with her anyway.

...

“Hurry! They’re still chasing us!”

“We can't! Hundreds of people have already fallen behind!”

In this northern land that had long been ruled by the ant colony, no one knew how many enemies were hidden.

No one knew if a new mutated species would burst out from underground in the next second.

This bone-deep terror weighed heavily on everyone, making it hard to breathe.

Driven by fear, the commanders, including Marianne, desperately urged the troops to pick up the pace.

But the more they did so, the more people fell behind.

Those left behind would ultimately only be devoured by the pursuing ant colony.

And while the survivors trembled at the sight, they secretly felt relieved in their hearts that those abandoned souls had bought them time to escape.

To make matters worse, they also received an emergency communication that the main force was trapped.

If they could share consciousness like the ant colony, they would have known that the trapped main force hadn't actually suffered major losses, and that the pursuing ants behind them weren't actually that numerous. But now, all communication had been completely cut off.

“No matter what, we must reach the designated high ground. The reinforcements will definitely be waiting for us there!”

However, unable to learn the truth, the battered remnants of the Holy Kingdom had been completely broken by the terror of a single ambush.

Even though they would have stood a fighting chance if they just rallied their forces, they didn't even have the courage to fight. Instead, they constantly exhausted their physical strength and supplies, desperately fleeing backward.

“These damn things!”

Marianne slammed her empty waterskin onto the ground, staring up at the sky with gritted teeth.

Winged scouting ants were circling openly overhead, monitoring their every move.

By military regulation, any spotted ant scout had to be eliminated immediately.

But now, they didn't even have the energy for that.

【Elise confirmed that the enemies were exhausted】

Looking down on all of this, Elise clearly saw that the humans were walking toward self-destruction step by step, exactly according to her plan.

In truth, if the ant colony wished, they could have caught up and wiped them out at any moment.

They refrained from doing so not out of mercy, but because they were patiently waiting for the humans to completely exhaust their strength.

The ant colony had worker ants taking turns supplying food to the combat ants.

But the Holy Kingdom's soldiers, who had abandoned all their supplies and fled in panic, were now enduring thirst and hunger on their desperate forced march.

【Elise knew very well that exhausted humans were nothing but dead weight】

Humans were different from the ant colony; they rarely abandoned their exhausted companions.

Unlike ants, who would end their own lives to avoid becoming a burden to the colony, humans would desperately struggle to survive even if they knew they had become dead weight.

With such a group of exhausted liabilities, whether their combat strength would increase or decrease after joining up with reinforcements remained to be seen.

“We're here! That's the spot!”

Finally, the fleeing remnants arrived at the designated high ground agreed upon with the reinforcements.

At the same time, a signal flare cut through the sky.

“It's the reinforcements! They're heading toward the high ground too!”

A mage sharing a vision with their familiar shouted excitedly.

On the opposite hillside, a troop was rushing to rescue them.

To those who had been hunted for days, watched their comrades die one by one, and fallen into deep despair, the signal flare fired by the reinforcements was like a beacon of hope.

“Confirmed. Marquis Lumiere and Apostle Marianne are both still alive.”

“That's wonderful...”

“However, they look to be in very bad shape. Only a small fraction of the original support unit is left, and their supplies are almost completely depleted...”

Brandt, who was both an Apostle of the Goddess and a high priest, couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the survivors who had barely escaped with their lives.

Let alone the ordinary soldiers, even their commander, Marquis Lumiere, and Marianne, who usually held her head high with pride, had lost their former luster. Haggard and hollow-eyed, they merely stood there blankly, waiting for rescue.

“Let's go and meet up with them.”

Celia, who had also confirmed Marianne's safety through her telescope, bit her lip tightly.

Celia had originally planned to organize a counterattack immediately after meeting up, but it seemed she would have to change those plans now.

These remnants had completely lost their combat effectiveness. The top priority now was to feed them and let them get some proper rest.