Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Herding Hunt (3)
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The fiend legion was structured such that, unless the commanding Siren specified otherwise, the outer edges were occupied by the rabble of lesser specimens.
Since individual weaklings typically banded together to compensate with numbers, it was only natural that the swarms of them formed the perimeter.
From the Siren's perspective, who treated the fiends as convenient tools, the most efficient tactic was to throw in the weak ones first—whether attacking or defending—to wear down the enemy before deploying the stronger ones.
But that only applied to ground-based battles.
If you didn't want to waste stamina on the outer trash mobs, you could simply bypass them by descending from the skies straight into the heart.
Few could fly, but Galen and Lilia were among that rare breed.
Shiiik!
The wyvern leisurely soared over the fiend legion's heads, slowing to drop off a single cleric.
Lilia bent her knees to form a foothold at just the right speed, then leaped from the railing like she was jumping down steps, repeating the process in a controlled descent.
She'd only practiced once after lunch and once in actual combat moments ago, yet she already handled it with expert finesse. Galen, watching from above, let out an admiring whistle.
Thud!
Thanks to her skillful control of her fall, Lilia landed as lightly as a cat.
The nearby fiends, who'd been spacing out, suddenly turned hostile toward the human who appeared out of nowhere.
"Grrr..."
Yet they were surprisingly restrained. Sure, the initial drop from the sky might have startled them, but even after registering her presence and baring their enmity, they didn't charge right away.
Lilia slowly advanced, observing their movements.
She hadn't taken more than a few steps.
"Kwaaah!"
A fiend finally couldn't stand the closing distance and lunged. A troll led the charge.
Crack!
The price for going first was having its skull shattered first. With its head turned to mush, regeneration was out of the question.
Thwack! Thud thud! Thwack thwack thwack!
The next wave of fiends, on par with the troll, met the same explosive end in unison.
They might have been elites by fiend standards, but before an archbishop, they were just trash mobs—one-shotted equally.
In a flash, over a dozen fiends were pulverized, clearing a no-man's-land around Lilia.
"Hmm."
A bloodbath like that should excite fiends with their keen senses.
But the ones a bit farther away merely flinched—they still wouldn't charge first.
Once more, Lilia took the initiative.
Crack! Crunch! Crack crack!
After smashing another batch, she nodded and lightly leaped upward.
Bouncing through the air as if on invisible stairs, she swiftly returned to the wyvern.
"They basically stay put unless you get too close, then they attack!"
"I see."
Galen nodded at Lilia's report.
Sirens commanded, and fiends obeyed faithfully.
If the Siren died, the command chain broke, and the fiends ran wild.
So what if the Siren was just unconscious and still?
"They don't stay completely still without specific orders."
"Isn't gathering here itself a command?"
"True, but I doubt she gave them something as detailed as 'stay put here and only attack if enemies get close.'"
"They can't be fully tamed, huh? The Siren freaked out when we asked about demons too."
"Yeah. Best to corral them only when needed. For the next test... we'll do it together."
"Huh? I can handle it alone."
"No. Even against fiends, asking a cleric to tank feels a bit off ethically."
"I'm really fine."
"I'm not."
Using a vengeful spirit as a shield against charging fiends? Even demons would weep at the idea. He didn't want to put Lilia through that.
The wyvern descended briefly to the ground before ascending again.
Galen personally slung the Sixth over his right shoulder. Lilia stuck close beside him.
They landed deeper in than before—the core of the legion, teeming with fiends stronger than trolls.
The fiend greeting them this time: a direwolf.
The massive wolf, big enough to swallow a human whole, slowly rose at the sight of the approaching pair.
Then it belatedly spotted the Sixth draped over Galen's shoulder.
"Grrr?"
The direwolf, poised to leap, visibly hesitated. It growled, shifting sideways bit by bit.
"It recognizes its master, at least."
"Yeah. It's veering... toward the side without the Siren."
"Lilia, if it charges, could you hang back a bit? I want to see its reaction through."
"It won't be... dangerous for you, but are you sure?"
"Don't worry. It's just a direwolf."
Whether annoyed by their casual chat or simply out of patience, the giant wolf suddenly launched itself with speed belying its bulk—from the left.
As planned, Lilia fell back. Galen, with thought acceleration active, tracked the wolf and twisted to thrust the Siren forward like a shield. His body wasn't as fast as his mind, but this was child's play.
Then, an unexpected turn.
Kwajik!
Shield or no shield, the direwolf chomped down on Galen and the Siren whole with its massive jaws.
"Kwaaaagh?!"
The Sixth, regaining consciousness only to find herself caught in its teeth, screamed horrifically.
Ironically, Galen had saved her from being bisected—his constant Earth Bind protection shattered the wolf's remaining fangs.
Crack!
Lilia's mace immediately pulverized the direwolf's skull, sending it and the Sixth flying sideways together.
"What if it had actually bitten you?!"
"Just a nibble. I'm unscratched. You know my defense."
"Still! I thought it was just a light hit!"
"Hit or bitten..."
Galen, about to say it was no different, caught Lilia's rare sharp glare and wisely shut up.
Eyeing her pouting face, he mumbled an excuse.
"At least we confirmed something..."
"What?"
She still replied. Galen cautiously added,
"No need to keep the Siren alive."
Without commands, fiends weren't idiots, and she made a poor shield anyway.
From the direwolf's reaction, they minded her but wouldn't proactively protect her sans orders.
True to their magical hierarchy, genuine loyalty was impossible.
Except when info-mining, better to kill her and let the fiends infight.
"Something to watch if I ever control fiends myself."
"...Testing it is fine."
Lilia sighed softly, her expression softening.
"But could you verify it without risking your body so much? A direwolf's gold-rank. Brother's protection magic hasn't hit gem yet."
"...Fair point."
The direwolf barely scraped gold, while his Earth Bind neared gold's peak—the gap was clear, but Galen conceded.
"Clashing is one thing; getting chomped is way worse. If you'd gotten hurt just now..."
He wasn't so dense as to argue details with her obvious concern, even as she scolded.
Plus, rethinking it, this was his carelessness, not her overprotectiveness.
Mages stayed in the protected rear. Basic rule.
Earth Bind was insurance if the front line broke—not a flex to charge ahead.
The direwolf was fine, but sloppiness here could end you. Galen reflected.
"Sorry, Lilia. That was definitely my mistake. Mages shouldn't do that."
"As long as you know."
Lilia pursed her lips at his sincere apology.
"Think of my heart too. I nearly jumped out of my skin when the blood sprayed. Thought it was yours."
"Yeah, truly sorry about that."
"Getting hurt from lacking strength in battle is unavoidable. But exposing yourself needlessly? No."
"Right. I'll be careful from now on."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
With her firm vow extracted, Lilia finally relaxed. Quick admission got him off lightly.
Galen inwardly sighed in relief. First time between them, but it felt good. Her anger stemmed from worry—nothing but joy there.
"Good! Now, dropping that... "
Lilia switched topics, back to normal.
Her gaze fell on the corpse on the ground. Galen's followed.
To be precise, it wasn't a "corpse" yet, but with no revival possible, the distinction was moot.
Not fully dismembered but pierced everywhere by fangs, the Sixth's earlier scream was her last words. Blood already pooled.
"Time to clean up?"
"Yeah. Domination will wear off soon."
"Last stop for today?"
"Mana's plenty left. Water, wind, earth, and more."
"My turn then! You did morning. Can't just play."
"As you wish."
Lilia couldn't kill fiends as efficiently as Galen—had to smash them one by one, naturally.
But results were the same.
Neither cared about scattering small fry.
The core's powerhouses? Wiped clean, no exceptions.
Still hungry, the pair eyed north.
Until her first dispatch to the pioneer zone, the Third had some worries—but they proved unfounded soon enough.
Humans trying to expand farmland by driving off beasts were too weak.
She understood why their master sent only the seven sisters here. The beasts alone sufficed. Master's foresight was impeccable.
Humans mustered numbers and beasts in response, but quantity lacked quality.
Honestly, even one or two legions might've overwhelmed them—six was overkill.
Before strategy, you needed power to match fire with fire. Overwhelming force shattered lines and formations alike.
Pioneer humans were pathetic—no one even matched a troll.
Of course, ogres or tauros were herded from afar by sisterly control.
Overall, the power gap prevented real combat; humans just retreated endlessly, aware of it.
The Third let them go. With First and Seventh blocking the entrance, they were trapped. Cull at leisure later.
That's what she'd thought until moments ago.
"Third! Looks like big sis got taken!"
"...What?"
Until Second appeared in panic.
The Third's eyes widened.
"What're you saying?"
"No contact from big sis when she was due, so I checked. Signs of a huge battle."
"Impossible! Big sis had the strongest force. Could call youngest for backup."
"Hundreds of beast corpses, tons burned."
"Big sis could've escaped! These humans are weaklings!"
"Then where'd she go without a word?"
Third was stumped. Denials rang hollow; she had no answer.
Defiance was alien to them, bound utterly to their demonic lord. Deviations equaled disasters.
As Second and Third dithered, a black dot appeared in the distant sky.
A lone wyvern—likely ridden, as they flew in pairs minimum.
Indeed: Fourth slid off upon landing.
"Fourth! Perfect timing. Second says big sis went dark. Something happened."
"What now."
"Big sis's contact cut."
"...Big sis too?"
"Too?"
Third noticed Fourth's grim face since dismounting.
"No word from Fifth, got worried and checked... Sixth's legion's wiped too."
"W-What?! No way!"
"Unbelievable, but confirmed. No contact means Fifth and Sixth fell."
"...Youngest probably too."
Second muttered lowly.
"Big sis down, locals can't do it—so southern intruders breached entrance. Youngest first."
"Only three of us left...? In just days...?"
Third murmured blankly.
Half an hour ago, she'd pondered toying with survivors.
Not slacking—herding as planned, check-ins every few days sufficed.
One missed check, and they're dead? Four of them?
"What... what's going on?"
"No reason for humans to burn late—maybe fire-using half-breeds?"
"Fifth and Sixth's legions showed no fire—just blunt trauma."
"Blunt? Humans prefer blades."
"...Blunt lovers with legion-busting power."
"The minions... Holy Knights!"
"Wait—them? Heard they're strong. But how'd they know? We've been out days."
"Dunno. Bad luck, paths crossed."
"Fire half-breed too!"
"Guest, probably. Who cares? Three legions gone in days—that's key."
They could control fiends, not make them talk—so no survivor interrogations for the Siren sisters.
Deducing from traces? Already way off truth.
"Regroup first. Avoids getting picked off."
"Entrance breached, can't contain humans... No need for thorough sweeps now."
"Right. Holy Knights force-marched—can't give recovery time. Hit hard and fast."
"Map?"
"Here."
"By return time... merge here?"
"Good. Hurry."
"Lend a wyvern!"
Not stupidity—just impossible to deduce Galen and Lilia from scraps.