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

But in any case, the situation has indeed changed.

"The Freya Familia still retains half of its fighting strength... That's a bit of a stretch! Even if you exclude the 'Black and White Knights' from their ranks of first-class adventurers, their main fighting force is still intact! But the valiant warriors and the soothing gray-faced ones have all been defeated, which means that Goddess Freya has no way out...!"

Amidst cheers and curses, Hermes, gazing at the "Mirror of God," involuntarily leaned out of the Tower of Babel.

With several main gods eliminated from the faction alliance, only four factions remain: the Hestia Familia, the Mih Familia, the Hathor Familia, and the Plutos Familia. The number of combat-ready members has dropped to thirty, making the alliance virtually defunct and on the verge of collapse.

However, the Freya Familia fared no better. Apart from the troops led by Eren who went to attack the eastern flank and the guards of the "House of God," almost all the remaining valiant warriors were wiped out. The members under the Jariba brothers were now also being bombarded and were fleeing in panic.

In short, if the remaining forces of the faction alliance can help hold back the Tier 1 adventurers (Ota and others) and spare some manpower to attack the "House of Gods", there might be a way to reach the Queen.

"The situation is different now! There is indeed a sliver of hope for victory!!"

The god cheered loudly as he looked at the white elf's profile reflected in the "divine mirror".

On the other hand, Finn, located at the Loki Familia's headquarters, shared the same sentiment.

"O'Neal and Allen are too far from their team, this situation is critical...!"

Sitting on the sofa, his words were filled with excitement.

Once the leader (No.1) and vice-leader (No.2) of the Freya Familia cooperate, even if Hedin defectes, he should be suppressed. The combination of the strongest and fastest in the city's "power" and "speed" can produce such a terrifying effect.

However, due to Hedin's instructions, Allen is now located on the east side of the island.

In terms of the overall military configuration, the army's battle lines have been stretched to an extremely long length. In addition, Ota is currently fighting in the northwest of the city ruins, a distance that even the fastest city could not cover in an instant.

"By sending Allen to attack the gods, they successfully bought distance and time! It was thought that Lilyluka Erd's battle plan—'letting others cut off their own flesh to sever the enemy's bones in one fell swoop'—had failed... but Hedin actually turned the tables on her!!"

Finn's observation of the game from the outside of the board suggests this "turning the tables" tactic.

However, the person whose battle plan had been completely exploited was filled with righteous indignation and cursed, "Don't joke around."

"Oh dear! What the hell?! All the good stuff was taken away!!"

Lily, who was in the cemetery, was absolutely furious.

It's understandable that Lily would react this way. After all, she was almost overwhelmed by tension and burden, and her carefully crafted plan was easily taken advantage of by someone else; in addition, her opponent easily accomplished what she couldn't. Frustration and inferiority were constantly interacting within her small body, and finally, they erupted.

"What kind of elf is this, with virtues bordering on obsessive-compulsive?! She's a super mean and cold-blooded elf—!!"

Lily stomped her feet in frustration and even waved her limbs wildly.

Just as she was crying and making a scene with tears in her eyes—

"—You'd probably complain like that, but don't get me wrong."

Having already seen through the little girl's resentment, Hedin whispered this.

"This is all your credit; your command was truly outstanding. You have every right to be proud of it, because your plan is worthy of my use."

Thanks to Lily's brilliant planning, command, and tactics, Hedin was able to turn the tables on her plan. Strictly speaking, it was Hedin who believed the plan was worth using.

It is because of Lily that we have been able to achieve this excellent situation.

"Roar! Lady Haruhime, Lady Aisha! Please retreat as far as you can with the battle prostitutes! Ignore all enemies along the way, pretend you didn't see them! Otherwise, you'll be used as meat shields to dodge their artillery fire!"

"Ah, yes! Lady Lily!"

"I know! Being affected by such unprecedented magic would be unbearable!"

The best proof of this is that Lily has given the correct instructions through the communication magic tool.

Moreover, this was done before Hedin really defected.

In reality, the valiant warriors couldn't even capture the Alliance adventurers to use as "meat shields."

Aisha and the others had somehow left the left flank and successfully rejoined the reserve force where Haruhime was, preparing to head to the front of the cemetery to regroup. That was the original location of the central force, including Tsubaki, which had now been completely wiped out.

That was a position that wouldn't interfere with Hedin's "shooting".

"You're very quick. But it's the right thing to do."

The enemy commander (Lily) foresaw Hedin's defection in advance and made preparations ahead of time.

To be precise, it was Hedin who guided Lily to do this.

He released clues from the very beginning.

For example, the Freya Familia's main force was positioned too far forward, and Hedin was near the Soothing Grayfaces—Hedin used this to hint at the "possibility of defection" to Lily through a code that only the on-site commanders could understand.

Of course, he didn't do this because he admired an enemy commander (Lily) he had never met.

Rather, it was based on her trust in the "despicable hero (Finn)" behind her.

"Since he was instructed by that hero, he should have noticed this."

Even Finn's statement at the coffee shop (Viseen) that he would go and guide Lily on intelligence—

Hedin used all of that information for his own purposes.

Hedin did not conspire with Finn; he made the decision on his own. Moreover, the "defection plan" could only be carried out by keeping both sides in the dark, so it could not be revealed to others. If Hedin secretly colluded with Lily, it would inevitably be discovered in advance by the intuitive Allen and others.

Therefore, the little human hero who saw through the whole story on the other side of the "divine mirror" couldn't help but secretly raise the corners of his mouth.

(Lilyluka Erd... I'm afraid she sensed the possibility of "defection" after seeing that I had been deliberately conserving my mental energy.)

Apart from the first bombardment that terrified Daphne and Lily, Hedin deliberately refrained from firing again.

The subsequent crushing was handled by Hegni and the others, who preserved their mental energy for this moment.

Lily had been anxiously waiting for Hedin to launch another attack, but as time passed without him launching one, she began to have doubts. After piecing together all the clues, she finally realized Hedin's "purpose".

Therefore, Lily constantly confronts immense pressure while preparing to utilize Hedin's unproven inference—though Hedin has no way of knowing—but the ultimate key to Lily's decision was actually thanks to the "advice (guess)" given by the boy (Bell) before the war—

"You passed, I acknowledge your achievement. Little man, you are indeed very talented, and your mind is much sharper than that stupid rabbit's."

Hedin pushed up his glasses and gave this most exquisite compliment, though the boy might burst into tears upon hearing it.

Not only Lily, but Hedin also took advantage of the divine will of the chief god (Freya) to temporarily order a faster pace of the attack, despite feeling deeply guilty.

Thanks to this, it was possible to get the city (Alan) away from the "main battlefield" as quickly as possible. If Hedin had given the order himself, it might have incurred Alan's resentment, and in the worst case, it might have made him suspect that Hedin intended to rebel.

Including the reinforcement [Swift Wind], Hedin never missed any of the "opportunities" that kept coming his way.

It was because he made choices from countless options that the current situation was ultimately created.

"Most of the faction alliances have been sacrificed for this moment. Judging from the extent of the damage, they are still at a disadvantage."

This is a gamble with an uncertain outcome.

Hedin was like a monarch facing the greatest challenge of his life, forced to embark on this "high-stakes gamble".

After all, the Freya Familia is that powerful.

"However, the best players are still on the field."

With the Hestia Familia at the top, all the cards that Heddin could use to decide the outcome of the battle are still in his hand.

In that case, he still has a sliver of a chance of winning.

"To fulfill my wish—to make the goddess aware of my 'wish'—I will lend you my hand this time. Adventurers, fight to the death for me!"

*

"Herdin! You bastard!!"

Alfred and his brothers were furious.

Ironically, it was this very subject—the one to whom they least expected to betray—whom, even if they harbored resentment, at least had no reason to doubt his loyalty, who became a traitor. The quadruplets' anger quickly surpassed their tolerance limit.

"That damn idiot with glasses!!"

"How crazy does he have to get before he stops?!"

"Eliminate him!!"

"We must take his life!!"

The threatening lightning has not stopped until now, and more importantly, it has wiped out the faction's main lifeline, the Grayfaced Consolationists, in one fell swoop.

The scales have begun to tip; the heinous crimes Hedin has committed are beyond measure. The four brothers let out a roar that terrified both sides, completely ignoring the remaining forces of the faction alliance, and prepared to launch an attack on the hateful white elves.

But—

"Oraa ...

A sudden booming sound, caused by a powerful punch, rang out.

"Ughh ...

This powerful blow that tore the earth apart sent all the fierce warriors who had been blasted away by the lightning bombs flying.

The shockwave from behind forced the four Jaliba brothers to stop in their tracks.

"What is it this time!?"

Several figures standing there answered the questions that the four brothers had suddenly turned around and asked in a sharp voice.

"Cats, huh? Of course, they're the messengers of justice, meow! Trying their best to hitch a ride on the righteous familiar (Ryu)'s coattails!"

"Where in the world is there a righteous messenger like you, you black-hearted cat?"

On the other side of the swirling sandstorm, one can see the figure of an orc twirling and playing with a dagger in his hand.

And the human figure who slowly stood up as he withdrew his fist, which had left a huge crater in the ground.

The strong wind that swept into the crater dispersed the smoke, revealing the true nature of the group.

"You four short brothers! Let's settle that score from before!!"

"Meow────────────────────!!"

Runova Fast shouted and punched her left palm with her right fist.

Following her "declaration of war," the cat people, led by Chloe, also roared.

"That's...! Lady Lunova and Lady Chloe!?"

"They're... from the tavern, aren't they!?"

After Haruhime, who was still invisible, exclaimed in surprise, Aisha reacted in the same way.

"A bountiful mistress!!"

The four Jaliba brothers spoke out angrily.

All the staff of the tavern "The Abundant Mistress" are present, but instead of wearing leaf-green uniforms, they are dressed in their own battle gear. Lunova is wearing a camisole that reveals her slender waist with a scarf, while Kroy is wearing a short cape with a hood. The other staff members also display high morale, each wielding weapons that are clearly not for ordinary people.

"Are they... reinforcements following Lady Ryu!?"

Lily also recognized the various employees of "The Abundant Mistress" who appeared in the southeast of the "main battlefield".

Aside from Lunova and Chloe, who were already known to be Lv.4, the aura emanating from the other shop assistants was comparable to or even surpassed that of high-level adventurers.

The staff of the "Strongest Tavern" in the labyrinth city of Orario have come to help.

"Wow~ Both sides have suffered heavy casualties, meow~ But the cats rushed over without stopping, meow~"

"We were way late, okay? It's all because of that stupid cat."

After leisurely observing her surroundings while wagging her tail, Krooi finished speaking, and Lunova gently raised the corners of her mouth.

Then a cat-person emerged from behind the group.

"--The cat is back, meow, the cat's old home (Freya Familia)."

The man wore gold shoulder guards that reflected sunlight and held a long spear designed entirely in gold.

The remaining valiant warriors couldn't help but stir when they recognized that familiar figure.

"It's [Vana Alfie], the clone of the chariot..."

"Ania Fromo!"

The surprised voices were all directed at the former member (Anya).

Furthermore, this chaos spread to the eastern side of the island, which is far from the "main battlefield".

"Lord Allen! There have been continuous flashes of lightning since just now. Lord Hedin is indeed attacking our members—!!"

"That stinky fly...! What is it thinking!?"

Allen and his valiant warriors, who were hunting down the gods, noticed something amiss in their group and quickly returned to the central area of ​​the island. Upon hearing the urgent reconnaissance report, Allen was furious, and his expression changed drastically upon learning of the next report.

"Also... 'The Bountiful Mistress' has arrived to reinforce the faction alliance! [The Chariot's Clone] is also among them—"

"What!?"