Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

In such a dire situation, one must at least remain calm.

(Quick! Remember!! In the current situation—Lily has no choice but to "make good use" of Lord Hedin!)

Needless to say, this method originated from the mouth of a clan's "hero".

"Since you are to be the commander of this war, you have to feel 'despair' from the very beginning."

The timeline is five days before the start of the war game.

Finn said this to Lily, who was receiving guidance without sleep.

"To feel 'despair' from the very beginning...?"

"That's right. With the hand you currently have... what tactics can you execute?"

"...Lord Welf's mass-produced 'Magic Sword,' Lady Haruhime's level-up, Lord Mikoto's gravity magic, and Lord Bell's [Hero's Wish (Skill)]... As for the last resort, Lily's transformation magic might be able to scout enemy positions and create chaos..."

"Really? That's not enough at all."

Lily glared angrily at Finn for his completely unsarcastic reply—that he had only honestly revealed his strongest trump card, Haruhime, because she trusted him.

"...You've put it so bluntly, Lily is still a little hurt."

"I'm just stating the facts, and you now have to face the 'reality' that's blocking your way—the utterly unreasonable and unassailable 'power gap'."

"!"

At this moment, Finn, sitting on the opposite chair across the table, was not uttering a winning strategy.

Rather, it is the more important "mindset" of a commander.

"Liliruka Erd, now that you've decided to take on the role of commander, you must be more composed and calm than anyone else, so calm that even the rearguard mages can't compare to you."

"...And at the same time, must one be ruthless?"

"That depends on the situation, but you don't want it to turn out that way, do you?"

Lily nodded stiffly, feeling as if her innermost thoughts had been read.

Finn, understanding Lily's feelings for Bell, smiled for a moment.

"I'm the kind of person who will use anything, whether it's inspiration, natural phenomena, or even sacrificing my comrades."

"...!"

"Therefore, if you are unwilling to sacrifice your teammates, you must be even more ruthless than me. You can't think that you have no cards left in your hand; you have to try to turn even a stone lying on the roadside into a card in your hand. You have to keep thinking to find a way to win."

"I will not be on the battlefield on the day the war begins."

"You can only rely on your own eyes to find opportunities."

"Find that glimmer of light, thinner than a needle and thread, in the midst of despair, or the factional alliance will have no chance of winning."

"You must use your judgment and commands to guide everyone to victory."

Finn made this assertion while assigning Lily her assignment.

"Lilyluka Erd, I have a question for you: who do you consider your enemy to be?"

"...the entire Freya Familia."

"Your answer is not wrong, but it can't be considered the correct answer either."

The brave soul who has shared all his knowledge to this day offers further advice.

"The people you should be paying attention to are the enemy commanders who hold the same position as you."

"!!"

Lily was shocked by what she heard and her eyes widened.

"You mean—"

"That's right, your enemy is Hedin Thranduil, the strategist of the Aphrodite faction (Freya Familia), a man of great wisdom and ruthlessness."

Finn's strategy was to reduce the number of "enemies" that needed to be considered.

The implication was that Lily could leave all the other Level 1 adventurers to her companions to handle, and focus all her attention on Hedin.

"If I were to compete with Hedin in strategy, I would lose four out of ten times."

"...!?"

"The reason I was able to win by a small margin was purely due to the foul technique of 'thumb ache'."

Finn shrugged and then stated his conclusion.

Although this matter was incredibly simple, it was more difficult for Lily than breaking through to the deeper levels.

"If you want to lead the alliance to victory as a commander, you can only try to make use of Hedin."

"Utilize...!? Isn't it about seeing through and defeating the enemy's schemes from the commander's perspective!?"

"That's impossible."

The reason is that the two men have vastly different qualifications as strategists, and their adaptability and way of thinking are worlds apart.

Finn's words meant that a dwarf who had only started learning to be a commander a few months ago could never defeat an elf who had lived for a long time and was extremely intelligent.

"You must learn to utilize Hedin's tactics, strategies, and even his thinking. After deducing his purpose, don't try to outmaneuver him. Instead, guide him in the same direction, similar to letting your opponent bring about his own destruction because of his overwhelming strength."

Seeing Lily standing there dumbfounded, Finn gave her a gentle smile at the end.

"There is no such thing as a perfect battle plan, nor is there any sure-win strategy or invincible formation. Everything has flaws—you have to cleverly see through those flaws to understand Hedin's hidden 'true meaning'."

(Lord Finn told Lily the answer from the very beginning...!)

After being immersed in her memories for a while, Lily finally "truly" understood what Finn meant.

There is no such thing as a perfect battle plan. This statement is absolutely true. Even now, with all the gods on her side falling one after another, and the situation seemingly hopeless, Lily is still trying to find "a bloody path" out of the chaos.

There is no such thing as a sure-win strategy or an invincible formation.

It's just the commander's "true intention" to achieve the goal.

So now we'll focus on this point—

(—Hurry, hurry, Lily has to figure it out!! Whether it's a secret hidden in the battlefield or the last remaining fighting force!! Lily must find out the clues to Lord Hedin's true intentions in this very second!!)

Lily, who had compressed her sensory experience to the limit, felt a faint smell of blood in her nasal cavity, and then went on to work her brain even further.

(I've discerned Lord Hedin's intentions! Then I'll find a way to exploit them!! If we can throw the enemy's plans off track and manage to kill both sides—!!)

Just as Lily's chestnut-brown eyes swept across the battlefield and looked toward Hedin's unit—

The girl felt as if time had been frozen.

(That is—)

That was an incredibly subtle "secret" hidden within the battlefield.

It is the "true meaning" that only the commander (Lily) who confronts him can perceive.

"The opposing defender and Lord Hedin... are very close...?"

*

The roars of adventurers as they fought to the death were mixed with the screams of gods and goddesses.

This is the end of the gods, and also the sound of announcing the imminent end of the war.

Although the bright sun had already passed its zenith, and dusk was still a long way off, Hegny, gazing up at the vast expanse of clear sky, slowly shifted his gaze forward.

"Alan and his men have decided the outcome of this war..."

The dark elf listened intently to the sounds coming from the east side of the island, his feet surrounded by fallen adventurers.

Sakura, Chigusa, Perse, and the residents from the inn town (Riviera).

The scene resembled an execution; the victims were covered in wounds, and their weapons were all destroyed. Those lying on the ground were almost all members of the main god's discarded retinue, so even if they managed to get up, they could not continue fighting.

Hegni glanced briefly at Sakura and the others, whose eyelids remained closed, then focused his purple-blue eyes directly ahead.

"Even so, you still insist on not giving up?"

On this "execution ground" that forces adventurers to submit without any explanation, only two people remain standing on their feet.

"Daphne...!"

"Huff... Huff...!! Cassandra! Heal me quickly!!"

Daphne, whose clothes were stained red with blood, shouted orders at Cassandra, who was standing behind her with teary eyes.

Even while reminding the healer to help with her recovery, Daphne kept her gaze fixed on the War King, who wielded a black sword. She gripped the short sword tightly with her fingers, which were covered in knife wounds but miraculously still connected to her palm, assuming a fighting stance to express her unyielding will to die.

"[Light of Thor]!" Cassandra, who had been sheltered by Sakura and the others and Daphne until now, could no longer hold back her tears and continued chanting the recovery spell in a trembling voice.

Although the magical light, like sunlight, instantly enveloped Daphne, it was still unable to completely heal her injuries.

This is an additional effect of the cursed weapon "Sacrifice Abyss" used by Hegni.

The jet-black longsword, renowned for its killing properties, can reduce healing effects and hinder wound healing.

"I'll ask you one more time, do you still want to keep struggling?"

"A dignified first-class adventurer... asking such a strange question...! I'm not... done for yet...!?"

This is the 22nd time already.

This is the number of times Hegni has slashed Daphne.

Facing a strike from a first-tier adventurer that could kill in one hit, Daphne, despite having undergone a level-up and still only being a second-tier adventurer, could still stand unshaken. This transcended the realm of mere wonder and reached an incomprehensible level. The evidence was that Sakura and the others, unable to resist, fell to the ground after only taking one or two sword strikes.

Even if part of the reason is that Hegni held back, keeping the power at a level that wouldn't take a life.

But the main reason is—Daphne's durability.

Hegny narrowed his "magical" eyes slightly and suddenly took a step forward.

“Hmm!?”

Faced with the unavoidable flash of the blade, Daphne did not raise her sword to defend, but instead blocked it with her left arm.

Then a perplexing phenomenon occurred.

The left arm, which should have been severed, actually deflected the "Sacrifice Abyss".

What followed was not a high-pitched metallic clang, but a dull thud, like a thick tree trunk enduring a blow.

Unable to mitigate the impact and falling flat on her face, Daphne, despite being panting heavily and lacking the strength to lift her left arm after the block, still managed to get up from the ground.

The surface of her severed left hand has changed into a rough, bark-like texture – "wood skin".

"Your special ability to block my attacks multiple times just now... was that 'magic'?"

"...It's a 'skill.' Because I was captured by Apollo, I gained this ability...but I think it's a 'curse'..."

After explaining in an impatient tone, the girl tried to force a wry smile, but failed, and a half-smile appeared on her face instead.

This is Daphne's rare skill, [Laurus Wreath].

The effect is that when the caster (Daphne) has greatly depleted her stamina or is near death, it can greatly increase the "Durability" stat.

The range of the skill's effect can be freely adjusted. Once activated, it will cause changes to the skin, forming a pattern resembling leaves that emits a green glow—just like the left arm, whose appearance has already changed drastically.

Daphne is like a fairy who transforms into a laurel tree to protect her body, relying entirely on this rare skill to resist Hegni's slashes.

"Once this move is activated... my skin will temporarily become very rough... so I didn't want to use it in the first place...!"

"You women's troubles are as mysterious to me as the moon; even if I hear about them, I can't understand them."

In fact, most of the skin under Daphne's combat suit, which she complained about, had turned into "wooden skin."

The overly strong body seemed unable to control the [Laurel Reincarnation], and the "wood skin" that made a constant cracking sound had already eroded to the neck, and even the left cheek was not spared.

"Daphne! Please stop! If you keep activating your 'skill'...!!"

Seeing that Daphne ignored Cassandra's sobbing complaints, Hegny temporarily lowered his sword and asked:

"If this continues, you will truly transform into a speechless, human-faced tree. Why are you willing to fall into hell to withstand my strike?"

In fact, [Laurel Reincarnation] cannot completely block Hegni's attack.

A piece of "Wooden Skin," which had just withstood the slash, was sliced ​​off, from which slowly flowed a blood that was a mixture of red and amber, looking very much like tree sap. Even her leg, which had been cleaved diagonally, her shoulder, which had taken a horizontal slash, and her body, which had been directly cut by the longsword, were not spared. Daphne, who was protected by the laurel tree, was by no means unscathed. Once she deactivated her "skill," indescribable pain would likely immediately assail her entire body.

Daphne, who had been frowning in pain, suddenly raised the corners of her mouth, looking as if she had heard some stupid question.

"The answer is very simple... it's for Lily and the others... to win this war...! We must delay the first-level adventurers as much as possible... to buy them time!"