"But... the report says that Fried-sama is seriously injured... and—"

He swallowed back his words halfway through, specifically, he actually caused the [Gulun Great Volcano] in one of the Great Labyrinths to erupt and seal it.

Even without saying it, Daballos understood.

"This means that such a powerful enemy exists in the human camp."

"How is that possible! Our opponent was that Lord Freed!? He had the white dragon 'Uranus' and brought other monsters with him... and yet he was still defeated miserably."

Although Serleka tried to lower his voice, his eyes could not hide the hesitation.

Dabalos once again glared at Seleka with a rebuking look, and Seleka immediately swallowed her words. However, Dabalos also thought that this idea was not wrong.

In order to conquer the "True Great Labyrinth" located in the "Hartrina Forest", the special team of the "Magic Kingdom Galant" led by Dabaros set out from their home country, and it has been almost two months.

The Hartrina Sea of ​​Trees is the domain of the demihumans, a secret realm shrouded in thick fog year-round. Visibility is poor, and even the sense of direction is disrupted. Only the demihumans and the monsters that originally inhabit the sea of ​​trees can ignore its natural threats.

Under the command of General Fried Bagua, the current Galant is actively conquering the Great Labyrinths. The power of the Demon Hero Fried is derived from the Age of Gods magic gained by conquering the "True Great Labyrinth."

Fried intends to make more demons like himself, users of the Age of Gods magic, thereby strengthening the demon nation's strength.

Even in Galant, Dabaros was a veteran of the battlefield, deeply trusted by the Demon King and Fried. This time, he was chosen as the captain of the Sea of ​​Trees expedition because the Demon King and Fried judged him to be a talent capable of conquering the "True Great Labyrinth."

Dabalos was filled with fighting spirit, eager to fulfill the Demon King's expectations and trust. Furthermore, confident in his own strength, he believed that conquering the "True Great Labyrinth" was not impossible.

After all, he holds a powerful trump card.

“Squeak!”

“Chichi!”

A faint sound of an animal, like the friction of metal, was heard. The sound came from the monster led and ridden by the Dabaros team.

This is the powerful combat power bestowed by Fried, which can ignore the unfavorable terrain of the forest and thick fog, and its own combat ability is also outstanding.

Those who conquer other large mazes and cities are also given powerful monsters.

With this help...

When the battle began, everyone smiled fearlessly.

They were full of confidence, convinced that the future of the demons was destined to be bright, and that all they had to do next was to let the whole world understand how great their race and the god they worshipped were.

I don’t know when.

Their confidence and conviction began to waver.

To conquer the Sea of ​​Trees, monsters capable of ignoring the dense fog are essential. Besides conquering the "True Great Labyrinth," they also have to battle demihumans, so naturally, a large number of monsters are essential. For these reasons, transporting troops with flying monsters is completely impossible.

Even if Dabalos was confident in his combat capabilities, he had no intention of engaging in a direct confrontation with a nation that was fully prepared. Therefore, a covert operation was necessary before launching the main offensive. During the march, Dabalos wanted to avoid attracting as much attention as possible.

To this end, they chose to advance by land, starting from [Galant] in the center of the southern continent, moving eastward along the [Leisen Grand Canyon], and arriving at a sea of ​​trees growing on the southern continent that stretches for hundreds of kilometers.

After reaching the sea of ​​trees, they marched northward from the outer areas of the forest.

Only then can you receive orders and communications from [Galant].

The news they received during this period should have been news of their compatriots achieving victories in various places or learning magic from the Age of Gods.

——Special Mission: Destroy the large-scale granary area and kill the goddess of abundance.

...and failed. The mission's executor, Reiss of the Special Forces, was severely injured, losing an arm and temporarily unable to return to the front lines. The monsters he had loaned him—all destroyed.

——Special Mission: Clear the Great Labyrinth of True Orcus and, if possible, convince the hero to join.

...and failed. The mission's executor, Cattleya, a member of the special forces, died. The monsters she had loaned out—all destroyed.

——Special mission: destroy the Principality of Ankaji.

...and failed. The mission's executor, Logan, a member of the special forces, returned alive. The monster he'd loaned him—lost.

Unbelievable news kept coming in. The messenger unit was originally created to share intelligence, but now, whenever they appeared, their faces were stiff, a far cry from joy.

Then, when Dabalos's troops approached the demihuman country [Feyabergen] and were about to march deep into the sea of ​​trees, they received incredible news.

——General Fried fought against the anomaly at [Gulun Volcano].

——Returned seriously injured and gave up [Gulun Volcano].

The invincible demon hero was defeated...

Upon receiving this news, Dabalos was devastated. He was truly thankful that, to be on the safe side, he had previously instructed the messenger to only pass the information to those at the captain's level.

If not for this, the morale of the team would have hit rock bottom. In fact, the deputy captain's expression revealed a profound shock.

Dabaros was also shocked, but he felt more angry.

Not only was he filled with the dark shadow that obscured the glory of the demons, but he was also furious with those foolish enough to go against the chosen race, the demons.

"Captain, there's a village ahead. We seem to be approaching demihuman territory."

After hearing Serleka's report, Dabalos nodded in response. His will burned within him, and he knew his troops had no chance of failure. He was determined to report this first victory back home.

"Brothers, listen up! General Freed is invading the Royal Capital, while Team Di Hefu is destroying the Imperial Capital and assassinating the Emperor. They will surely return home with news of victory. If we return empty-handed, it will be a lifelong shame!"

The fighting spirit of his subordinates, including Serreka, was high.

Chirping and humming in agreement—the army of powerful new monsters also increased their fighting spirit.

However, Daballos didn't know this at the time.

While the Motherland prioritizes the Kingdom's invasion, that odd individual is also heading towards the Kingdom.

Moreover, even if the anomaly did not appear, there was still a group of the strongest and most ferocious soldiers trained by him in that sea of ​​trees.

What was originally considered the most reliable strategy for conquering the forest sea was actually the biggest obstacle.

Volume 7, Chapter 1: Hao Liya greets you!

The clouds below are constantly flowing backwards.

Beneath the thick clouds lay grasslands and mixed woods. Although small villages could be seen from time to time, they were quickly left behind.

Perhaps there was some kind of barrier in place. Although the speed was quite fast, my skin only felt a soothing breeze.

Yaegashi Shizuku gazed at the scenery below, her trademark ponytail fluttering in the comfortable breeze.

Shizuku turned her gaze and looked up at the dazzling sun above her head.

Looking at the bountiful sunshine from the clouds, one feels that it is very close, as if within reach.

Shizuku, leaning against the railing, shielded herself from the sun with her hands, muttering with a complex expression that suggested both disillusionment and exhaustion from thought:

"...I didn't expect he could even create an airship... He's truly capable of anything."

That's right, Shizuku was currently on the rear deck of the large flying artifact that Hajime had built—the airship "Folnir."

This is Hajime's new vehicle, constructed primarily from gravity stone and sensor stone, and equipped with various other features. It's approximately 120 meters long and, viewed from above, resembles a manta ray. The bridge is located high up in the front of the machine, while the central section houses a living room-like hall and even a living area with a kitchen and bathroom.

As far as transportation is concerned, this airship is undoubtedly the largest and fastest means of transportation in the world.

“…It feels like a dream.”

I was flying above the clouds, and looking around, I saw beautiful scenery all around me.

Shizuku let out a long sigh. Was she really feeling like she was dreaming, as she said?

In reality, because she was dissatisfied with Hajime's decision to disregard the fate of the world, Kouki declared that she would follow Hajime to conquer the Great Labyrinth, obtain the power of the Age of Gods magic, and then save the world herself. This marked the beginning of Shizuku and the others' pursuit of power.

Having said that, she suddenly arrived in the sky at the beginning of her journey, and it usually takes three months to walk to reach the destination [Hartrina Sea of ​​Trees]. Now she heard that it only takes two and a half days to get there, so it's no wonder that she wanted to look into the distance.

Although the [Horusha Empire] exists between the kingdom and the sea of ​​trees, it can be reached in less than a day and a half.

Princess Liliana of the Heilig Kingdom also boarded this airship to discuss humanity's future strategy and request assistance. Upon hearing that the journey would only take a day and a half, her eyes widened in astonishment, an expression unbecoming of a princess.

Incidentally, the reason why Hajime had only just begun using this mode of transportation was simply because the technology was not yet mature enough.

Gravity Stone is a mineral that can be used to generate magic that adds weight. The greater its mass, the greater its ability to interfere with gravity. For example, the gravity of a cross-shaped floater can only lift the weight of one person at most.

The relationship between mass and interference force can be said to be controllability.

In other words, the larger the mass of the gravity stone, the more difficult it is for the sensing stone to control it.

The idea of ​​a romantic method of transportation like an airship had been in Hajime's mind for a long time, but due to his limited proficiency, he had not been able to use it before.

That being said, perhaps due to the nature of an alchemist, Hajime never compromised when it came to crafting and utilizing items. He continued to practice in his spare time, and recently, he had finally managed to overcome the obstacles that had hindered his skills.

When setting out from the capital, Hajime revealed Fornil in the grasslands near the capital.

"Learning flying-type locomotion at the end of a journey is common sense, right?"

Shi said it calmly...but he couldn't hide his smug expression.

Light and the others warmed their expressions at Hajime's childishly smug look, while the others were stunned, surprised that Hajime had such a side to him.

In addition, even if Fornir is just floating in the air, it consumes a lot of magic power. If it flies at high speed, it requires a huge amount of magic power, or even a monstrous amount of magic power and recovery ability, so the number of people who can use it is very limited.

"The sky is so blue..." When Shizuku was half escaping from reality, someone suddenly called her.

"Shizuku... So you're here."

“Glory…”

Shizuku turned around and saw Guanghui opening the hatch and sticking his head out.

Guanghui walked over to Shizuku, put his hands on the railing, and looked at the clouds in the distance.

After a period of silence, Guanghui finally spoke:

"This thing... is truly incredible."

"Yeah...I'm too lazy to be surprised by each and every one of them anymore."

Of course, Guanghui was talking about Fornil, but there was no admiration in his expression, just a bit of frustration and unwillingness.

Shizuku vaguely sensed Kouki's mood and deliberately changed the subject.

"Kyouki, are you alone? Where are the others?"

This time, besides Liliana and her personal maid, and dozens of guards knights who were responsible for protection, the only ones who came with Hajime this time were the brave team led by Kouki and others.

Aiko, unable to bear the thought of the students unable to fight, chose to stay. While Kouki and the others were away, Nagayama's team and Sonobe and the other members of the Ai Guard stayed behind, worried about the students who stayed behind, and unable to ignore the capital's weakened strength, so they all stayed.

However, inspired by the ultra-long-distance transfer mechanism left by Freed in the royal capital, Hajime installed a divine tool in the royal capital that could allow for immediate return at any time. Therefore, as long as Hajime asks for help, Kouki and the others can return to the royal capital in an instant.

"Ryuutarou and Konoe are enjoying Shia-san's cooking, Suzu is talking to Lily, and Nagumo... is acting like a boss on the bridge, flirting with women..."

Shizuku sensed the sting in Kouki's words and stole a glance at him.

Then he saw Guanghui's profile with a complicated expression.

Shizuku didn't know what was wrong with him, and a wry smile appeared on her face.

"What? You seem unhappy? Are you upset that Nagumo-san is so popular with the girls?"

“…How could I possibly think that?”

Shizuku half-jokingly said this, but Kouki immediately showed a clear displeasure on his face and replied coldly. He then confided his inner dissatisfaction to Shizuku.

“…He was able to create something so powerful…it’s so absurdly strong…why did he take it so lightly…why did he so easily let others die…”

"..."

It seems that Kouki still finds it difficult to come to terms with Hajime's decision not to fight against God and to allow the world to perish without help.

If she had such strong power, she would definitely defeat God and save the world... Shizuku knew very well that Kouki had such thoughts.

"...Because he made his choice."

"choose?"

Kouki turned to look at Shizuku and asked back.

Shizuku stared into the distance and spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully:

"He...isn't as relaxed as he appears? Even if he seems nonchalant, I think he's always 'trying hard'. 'Desperately' trying to live with the people he cares about."

"..."

"He also said that, didn't he? It's not because we have power that we do something; it's because we want to achieve something that we acquire and use power."

Guanghui frowned even more tightly and turned his head away again.

"If I have this kind of power, I must use it to save the world" - Kouki's idea seems similar to Hajime's, but it is actually completely different.

"The 'gap' in power Kouki feels now wasn't something he possessed from the beginning. It's the power he gained by climbing from the bottom despite being called 'incompetent' and 'useless'... It's a power truly gained through unwavering will and determination. It's not for defeating gods or saving the world, but for the more practical use of those around him..."

Shizuku stared straight at Guanghui's profile. Under normal circumstances, this childhood playmate would definitely look back at her, but Guanghui did not face her and still turned his head away.

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