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

While Lillie was fighting alongside Lin Miao elsewhere.

On the computer desktop that Lin Miao hadn't noticed because she was engrossed in the game.

Attila was showing Bjorn, Theodore's messenger, the horde of monsters they had just encountered: "I don't know if you saw it. That swarm of giant monsters that just attacked us is the enemy we must face in our mission."

"Th-that...how could this happen..."

Bjorn was utterly terrified when he saw the endless stream of black monsters surging towards him.

Although this was the first time Attila had encountered such a wave of attacks, he deliberately did not mention it.

How did they fight those monsters?

What shocked Bjorn even more was that he was well aware of the losses he had suffered in his battles against the monsters, while the steppe tribes were able to win with almost no casualties against an enemy several times their size, which was simply unbelievable.

Even if the grassland warriors are strong, they shouldn't be this bad.

"This is also a blessing bestowed by our guardian deity."

Is that really the case?

"Watch closely, as a soldier, you should be able to sense it, right?"

Attila, pleased with Yorn's reaction, grinned and revealed something.

Those were extra-large arrows specially made from the bones and feathers of mutated species from the hunting action game Monster Hunter.

"Unbelievable! This arrow truly possesses a mysterious power!"

Bjorn was horrified when he realized the mutated magic contained in the arrow.

He had never heard of such a weapon before. For the nomadic tribes, weapons imbued with special powers existed only in legends passed down through generations.

"It is because we believe in and follow that great one that He bestows upon us the corresponding rewards."

"oh oh……"

Attila began to gradually persuade Bjorn, who was already half-believing.

If they can successfully win over Bjorn, who is Theodore's confidant, the benefits will be immeasurable.

There's no need to worry about technology leaks. After all, all power originates from the game, and only those chosen to enter the game can obtain this power.

"It will take time to convey the clan leader's decree. Wouldn't you like to hear more of the story?"

In order to more thoroughly win over Bjorn, whose eyes were beginning to waver, Attila spoke slowly and patiently, gradually guiding him to change his stance.

"We don't know how things are progressing over there yet, but I should do my job well."

After seeing Bjorn off, Attila looked up at the towering portal in the central square of the village.

He thought of Lillie, who was currently playing the game.

Since even the guardian deity could not provide guidance in every detail, Attila understood that his duty was to use the power of Lillie and the others to reverse reality.

At this moment, Lillie is facing a fierce battle, fighting to the death against countless enemies.

"I might have been afraid before, but things are different now!"

The grotesque, swollen giant writhed its muscles, raised its massive hammer, frozen by icy frost and accompanied by a blizzard, and roared.

Although he is a mid-level boss in Chapter 3 who has been corrupted and fallen by the demon lord, his appearance is slightly different from his appearance in the game.

The jet-black blood vessels crawling all over the body writhed continuously, and even writhing parasites appeared on some of the body's surface, showing off who was parasitizing the host to amplify its power.

"As expected... my power has been weakened."

Having fought her way here, Lillie gritted her teeth, realizing that the blessing she had received was waning.

The demon lord, aided by the power of the malfunctioning entity, was able to neutralize and overcome the holy attribute power that was incompatible with him.

In the end, are the system malfunction and the game's demons both exploiting each other?

Lin Miao, who was holding a keyboard outside the screen, also sighed and confirmed this fact.

If that indiscriminate but unusually simple faulty entity directly devours the Demon Lord, then a targeted response can be taken.

The matter has now transcended the scope of tactical maneuvering; it's purely a hard-fought battle to see who is better able to fight.

"We can win if we fight together."

Lillie made her own judgment under those circumstances. With Lin Miao's magical support, they could definitely defeat the enemy.

"Well?!"

Despite each strike being an exceptionally powerful attack, Lillie managed to dodge them with great difficulty.

Awakening every nerve in her body and fighting on the brink of life and death, she also unleashed all her power.

From the early days of her relocation until now, she has experienced such battles many times, both in reality and in the game.

With Lin Miao's concentrated investment, it was inevitable that Lillie would quickly catch up with the grassland warriors who were originally ahead of her.

"Go to hell!"

Just then, the enemy's swinging hammer released a chilling aura that transformed into blades and swept across the ground.

In the game, this is a move that can only be dodged by using evasion skills with precision, but the problem is that Lillie, whose posture has been ruined, is unable to dodge it at all.

"One hit won't kill you, will it?"

As if he had known this all along, Lin Miao suddenly did a forward roll and instantly blocked her way.

Lillie stared wide-eyed at Lin Miao.

The knight, with his back to the enemy and facing her, still wore his visor, shielding her from the sweeping chill.

Her HP was dropping at an alarming rate, and she was also hit with a freeze debuff that limited her abilities, but Lin Miao drank a potion and gritted her teeth to persevere.

This mysterious knight with his face covered by a mask is just a character in a game. He can't even feel pain, so he can do whatever he wants, since he's just a character anyway.

Even though the game world is given a sense of reality, to Lin Miao, who controls the character outside the screen, her character is ultimately just a puppet made of data.

Even when exposed to the biting cold wind that could freeze flesh to the bone, Lin Miao in reality was simply typing on a keyboard with an electric fan on.

"No, that won't do!"

But she was different. To Lillie, who didn't understand the concept of game characters, Lin Miao's character was his alter ego.

After all, the manipulator is Lin Miao himself, and this character, who directly or indirectly reflects his psychological state, is difficult to regard as a simple puppet.

So when Lillie saw him stand up to protect her, she couldn't help but scream.

Although the game is different now, Lin Miao had saved Lillie in the same way once before.

Although Lin Miao's character was quickly resurrected, the fact that someone was willing to take a knife for her still left Lillie feeling bewildered.

"They seem quite uneasy."

Lin Miao watched her HP plummet rapidly, frantically pressing the potion hotkeys while taking the BOSS's attacks head-on.

Seeing Lillie's undisguised worry on the screen, I couldn't help but chuckle.

Seeing that she was overly worried, Lin Miao was thinking of ways to comfort her when she suddenly had a flash of inspiration and used the facial expression function as usual.

Lin Miao's character used her body to block the flashing swords while giving her a thumbs up, a gesture that looked as casual as everyday life.

"This...this guy actually dares to do that!"

The problem is that this action is seen by others as an unimaginable humiliation.

The BOSS, who was originally grinning as he unleashed his ultimate attack, was so angry that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he saw this guy not only take the attack head-on with his bare body but also act nonchalant.

So he swung his giant hammer, which was spewing ice, and charged forward, determined to deliver the fatal blow.

"Now it's my turn to repay your kindness."

Taking advantage of the moment the frost storm dissipated, Lillie stomped the ground and launched a charge.

Although Lin Miao had no intention of doing so, the action she made to appease her, while enraging the enemy, also gave Lillie unparalleled confidence.

When someone is willing to risk their life to protect you, there is no reason not to believe it, and your heart, pounding with excitement, is already burning with fighting spirit.

"Divine power!"

That unwavering faith was the true source of her strength in the world of Dark Souls.

In this game, Lillie naturally learns how to transform her faith into magic.

The BOSS, which had been roaring and charging forward, did not retreat. Instead, as the dazzling light emanating from the girl rushing towards him grew stronger, it revealed an expression of disbelief and horror.

Those glitch entities that invaded the game to kill them, and those created as weapons against the divine after their power was identified, but at this moment this power was so strong and pure that it was enough to crush them.

The BOSS hurriedly raised its giant hammer, but when Lillie, whose eyes had turned gold, swung her longsword, the burst of energy cleaved the chilling hammer in two, and with its remaining force, sliced ​​off the BOSS's neck and part of its upper body.

"Well."

Lin Miao, who witnessed this scene on the screen, couldn't help but squint, after all, the burst of light was too dazzling.

This holy light was so intense that it instantly melted the surrounding land that had been corrupted by evil magic.

"Ugh, disgusting..."

But the enemy had not fallen. When the flash disappeared, Lin Miao, who was staring at the screen in astonishment, saw that the enemy, whose torso, including the head, had been severed, was actually standing up unsteadily.

This is a reality more real than any realistic depiction.

There were two enemies from the very beginning.

Although the demon has been purified by the holy light, there is still another enemy.

Those were monsters that even divine power disdained.

"It's no use, these guys never seemed alive to begin with."

They have no distinction between good and evil. They have no reason, nor will.

Like pre-written program code, it acts only for its own purposes.

How could a solemn oath possibly work against a guy like that?

"let me!"

Lillie gritted her teeth and charged at the wriggling parasite once more.

But this time, even Lin Miao, who controls the character, joined in.

Seeing the two's actions, the parasite that had been controlling the boss's body twisted its dark body as if it had been waiting for a long time, and manipulated the corpse to throw punches at them.

"If this were a real game, there shouldn't be any elemental weaknesses or strengths."

After witnessing this scene, Lin Miao activated her skill after some thought.

Although the original game allowed the use of various elemental magics, there were no attribute restrictions.

After all, even if you use water or ice magic on a demon that is engulfed in flames, it will not cause any additional damage.

But this changed after the game became reality.

"lightning!"

Lillie exclaimed in amazement as she watched Lin Miao's lightning strike the enemy.

The crackling electric shocks disrupted all targets that relied on bioelectric signals to move, including the corpses controlled by the malfunctioning entity.

Taking advantage of the moment when the enemy was in a state of near-dizziness, Lillie severed its body with a single strike.

Despite the opponent's desperate struggle, spewing out bone-chilling cold air, her sword still precisely sliced ​​the massive body into pieces.

"Don't even think about it."

Driven to the brink of despair, the parasitic black worms swarmed out of the boss's corpse, stretching their bodies and lunging at Lillie.

Faced with this disgusting sight, Lillie did not retreat but advanced, gripping her sword in a backhand and spinning to slash, cutting down all the attacking swarms of insects.

As the parasite died, the mangled remains that had been barely standing finally collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The battle was over.

What if these parasites appear in the village?

When Lillie discovered the wriggling worms crawling up her leg, she immediately stomped on them with a grimace.

Only then did she realize that these malfunctioning monsters were not simply rampaging through the air with their enormous bodies.