Strategy game? Then I'll have to control you properly.

"What did the letter say?" Mista asked.

"According to divine will, the construction of the western stronghold will continue, and the conquest mission will be our responsibility. That's what that lord said." Lillie read the contents of the letter sent by Attila to her illiterate companions.

Everyone nodded with expressions of "I knew it."

This also includes the Southern Kingdom magicians who ultimately survived.

"Perhaps we shouldn't have let that person leave?" Mista murmured to himself, staring at the empty spot among the magicians.

Lillie shook her head and said, "As long as Paul can return to his hometown safely and make them realize the reality and stand on our side, they will become a powerful force."

In the end, they let Paul go.

Because in everyone's eyes, this man who stood shoulder to shoulder with them, crossing the line between life and death and fighting against the Zerg, was a man of unwavering will and trustworthy.

More importantly, the guardian deity did not stop it but tacitly approved of it all.

Therefore, Paul's task was not only to report on the current situation on the northern border.

He also had to personally deliver Attila's handwritten letter to China.

This was the first moment when the name of Cinta, which claimed to be a superior civilization outside of the northern barbarians, was transmitted to their world.

"What if they don't even believe the testimony of their own kinsman Paul?" a magician asked worriedly.

"Then... one day they will repeat the same mistakes and be judged by the gods. Either they will give their lives and their land to the black monsters," Lillie said.

"The latter would be a disaster for us too, we really have no interest in it," Mista chuckled.

Not only them, but if they ignore the Zerg and are trampled by that terrifying power, in the end only those who remain will suffer.

"Whether we like it or not, we must stand together. Because we must fight." Lillie fiddled with her sword and looked around.

Thousands of troops have completed their preparations for the expedition and are awaiting orders.

The goal is to completely eliminate the Zerg lairs that exploit their power to attack them.

Since they'd been bitten once, they'd have to repay the favor tenfold. That was their rule.

"Based on our reconnaissance over this period, there is a large river behind these five nests, which the dwarves call the Mother River. The river itself is a natural barrier, and as long as we can control this area, it will be much easier to stop them," a scout reported.

"In other words, this expedition must succeed no matter what. Let's go!" Lillie ordered.

Having confirmed the importance of this expedition, they rushed out of the fortress together.

They began traversing the plain in front of the fortress, which had been piled with tens of thousands of corpses just days before, and split into three groups heading toward the mazes they were responsible for.

"Big Brother's left flank is fine, after all, Lady Lillie is there," Bruno said to Mista.

"I know about that kind of thing too." Mista shuddered, then nodded.

As the central army commander Mista frequently turned his head to look at the collapsing left flank, Bruno, who was riding alongside him, suddenly spoke.

"What an oblivious guy," Rose sighed as she ran alongside him.

"Huh?" Bruno scratched his head, not understanding why the people around him were reacting this way.

"That person always shines like a star," Mista thought to himself.

Even when her naive younger brother pointed this out, her feelings remained unchanged.

After witnessing those who follow the gods in the game, Lillie began to contemplate faith, gradually developing an aura that made her unapproachable to ordinary residents.

While this was certainly due to the oath she had taken, the power she herself possessed should not be underestimated.

This power is enough to transcend the mundane, just as Lillieen gained such growth after meeting someone.

Now there is no one who is afraid or hesitant, and they bravely charge forward to annihilate the enemy.

She firmly believes in the miracles they experienced together, and she also firmly believes in this victory.

"Mutant, mutated!" a soldier exclaimed.

"Do not be afraid, and do not retreat," Lillie said.

【New Moon Slash】

Lillie was the same. No matter how powerful the enemy, she would not hesitate to draw her sword.

Accompanied by the dazzling golden light of their former companions, they cleaved their much larger enemy in two with a single, resounding slam, causing it to crash to the ground.

……

On the other side, within the Dragon Kingdom.

Monsters suddenly appeared in the peaceful city center.

This monster, resembling a giant beetle and the size of a bread van, tears through reality and descends along with the slightly smaller malfunctioning entities.

As soon as it crawled out of the crack, it lunged at the terrified onlookers with its powerful jaws.

Although the young man dodged hastily, causing the first attack to miss, the jaws, capable of easily slicing through a car's steel plates, attacked again.

"Waaaaah! Help! Someone save me!!" the young man screamed in despair.

The monster relentlessly extended its tentacles, binding the victim tightly.

Bound by the tentacles, the youth could only let out desperate screams.

The crowd, busy avoiding the malfunctioning vehicle, had no time for rescue.

"I'm doomed." When he met the indescribable eyes deep within his carapace, he instantly understood his fate.

The next second, his body will be torn in two by the monster's jaws.

"You bastard!" A series of gunshots rang out, accompanied by a roar.

A policeman mustered his courage and fired his service pistol at the malfunctioning device.

"Die! Die..." But the policeman who was frantically pulling the trigger quickly froze.

He saw that the pistol magazine was empty.

Fortunately, the bullet hit the area between the exposed abdominal and carapace plates.

The splattered bodily fluids embedded themselves deeply into the insectoid's body.

But the enormous beast didn't even flinch.

He merely rolled his eyes and glared disdainfully at the police, as if the injury was not fatal at all.

"Ah." The next second, the policeman staggered back as he looked at the tentacle piercing through his abdomen.

Before the arrival of an army equipped with various firearms, no one in the vicinity could stop this insect monster.

"Whoa!" The survivor who witnessed the policeman's brutal death froze.

He tightly closed his eyes as the insect-like creature attacked with its mandibles.

At this moment, no matter where you look, you can't find a way out.

"Is it too late?" That was the question on my mind.

Someone burst through the air, their massive, gleaming sword slicing through the air and severing the tendrils at the root.

He fell to the ground and curled up, clutching his body in excruciating pain.

But the insect monster had no time to spare for its prey.

Because the intruder was pointing a sword at me, and in an instant he was right in front of me.

"Leave your body to your instincts." Lin Miao was originally a complete novice who couldn't even hold a kitchen knife properly, but now he was wielding a giant blade wider than his palm with effortless grace.

The Lillie trait he obtained through quest rewards allowed him to wield the swordsmanship of a seasoned knight.

Lin Miao had already realized that the key lay in one's state of mind.

He understood that what residents who acquired skills valued most was their mindset when using those skills.

As long as you don't resist and accept it readily, the characteristics your body remembers will naturally guide you.

"Are you going to stay on the screen, you filthy bug? Why are you crawling out to die?"

Lin Miao swung his sword roughly to deflect the malfunctioning creature's attack, and then severed its tentacles and legs.

He gritted his teeth and chopped down at the head of the swarming insect.

The moment the blade cleaved the jaws and split the head in two, the burst of cold air instantly froze the lifeless insect's body.

When the giant corpse crashed to the ground, its frozen body had shattered into ice shards.

Lin Miao adjusted her breathing under the hood of her cloak, glancing around out of the corner of her eye.

On the deserted streets, where the data was abnormal, only a few astonished faces were staring at him from nearby buildings.

"Since we've started, we have to see this through to the end." Lin Miao drew her sword and charged towards the area where the abnormal data was concentrated.

All the surging emotions and worries were suppressed.

This was the situation we anticipated when deciding to take action.

"It's not that difficult; the residents have all managed to do it, haven't they?"

What ultimately calmed Lin Miao's wavering heart were the residents on the screen who shared his plight and demonstrated solutions.

◆◆◆

"The enemy is gathering!" a soldier shouted.

"Don't panic, the quantity is within the expected range," Lillie said.

While Lin Miao was battling the malfunctioning entity at the street intersection, Aurora also joined the fight.

Lillie's troops were the first to arrive at the enemy's lair.

The insect hive was empty due to troop withdrawals, and the Yarin tribe barely managed to guard the entrance with their remaining troops in order to block the counterattack.

"Breakthrough!" Lillie, clad in armor and drawing her sword, was the first to break through the enemy lines.

With a flash of golden light, as the blade burst into flames, the swarm of insects that had attacked were all cut in two and rolled to the ground.

Even the mutants were no match for her.

The simply gigantic mutants are nothing more than sitting ducks for the Arin mages and archers.

Those who launched spikes or propelled themselves with their giant jaws had all their attack methods neutralized by her sword, and instead suffered fatal blows.

She was injured during the process, but Lillie just gritted her teeth and endured the pain to move forward.

The divine power within her body consumed her magic power, instantly healing her injuries.

"Advance into the lair." Lillie transformed into a living war machine and charged into the depths of the lair.

Deep inside lies a nest of insects several times larger than the outermost ones, which is now writhing violently.

"This is the last one." Once this is done, it's over.

Both sides prepared for the final battle with this in mind.

But the swarm is now paying a heavy price.

Since the attack failed, they had to bear the consequences of a counterattack. Although the residents were on guard against any unexpected events, nothing unexpected happened.

The insect hive was eventually destroyed by them.

"Are you alright?" a soldier asked with concern.

"Our mission is complete. But we can't let our guard down yet. The central and right flanks may be in trouble. Let's catch our breath and retreat," Lillie said, shaking her head.

Seeing Lillie's slightly pale face, her comrades and soldiers all looked worried.

We must not let our guard down until the entire battle is over.

"Look over there. The right wing has completed its mission just like us, but the central army is still..." a soldier said, pointing into the distance.

When Lillie returned to the ground with her entire force, this unease immediately became a reality.

Thanks to the clear air and their excellent eyesight, they could clearly see the flags rising over the distant fortress.

As agreed, the fortress would raise flags of different colors to signal the completion of the mission.

However, only one of the three flags was raised.

Although she might have just left the battlefield like them, Lillie decided to trust her instincts.

"Something might have happened at the central government; I need to go check it out," Lillie said.

"Huh?" Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"Take only a small number of men; the rest of the troops must return to the fortress immediately," Lillie ordered.

Taking the reins from the sentries on the perimeter, Lillie spurred her horse and divided her forces, leading her personal guard as she galloped toward the central army led by Mista.

"The taste of blood..." She suddenly bit her lip as she galloped along the rugged path.

A strong stench of blood was wafting in from the darkness ahead.

"Faster!" Her intuition turned into certainty, and she urged her companions and horses to speed up.

As they sped along the forest trails carved out by the Zerg, so different from the open grasslands, they soon came into view of the chaotic battlefield ahead, and couldn't help but grit their teeth.

"Could it be that the enemy still has a lot of troops left? If not, then what could it be..." Lillie speculated about how the enemy's lair, exhausted from the siege of the fortress, could stop them, but she couldn't come up with an answer for the time being.

In that case, there is only one option left.

An unexpected, even absurd, turn of events occurred.