One-way traffic

Their pawns.

"These are orcs, and these are forest elves."

"This is a goblin, this is a dragon spirit, this is a fairy, this is a vampire, this is..."

A whole series of races they knew were recorded.

"To us, all races in this world are just pawns."

They are clearly the weakest race in the world, and they are doing things that are simply impossible to accomplish.

Rick replied without hesitation.

"According to the latest intelligence, the Forest Elves have rallied the Fairy Elves and formed an alliance with the Dragon Elves, creating the so-called 'Forest Elves Alliance.' The Goblins, on the other hand, have united with other races, forming the so-called 'Goblin Alliance.'"

At this point, Rick used a tone of surprise, which was rather uncommon for him.

"To be honest, these situations shouldn't have happened at this time."

According to his calculations, a large portion of the intelligence should be something these races shouldn't possess, yet they have inexplicably learned of it.

It cannot be ruled out that a "third party" may have separately informed the Forest Elves and the Goblin races.

However—this actually made things more in line with their intentions.

"What we need to do is to further enhance the strength of these two alliances."

"Because, very soon... they will be facing off against the strongest faction in the world right now."

then--

The strongest piece, the white queen, was moved up by Rick.

"This is a Skywing species."

He continued.

"At the same time, this also means they are the strongest of all races."

"...Skywing race? Boss, I remember these guys weren't dealing with the Dragon Spirit race—"

"That's right. The Dragon Spirit Race and the Giant Race can be said to be even more powerful than the Skywing Race."

That was an undeniable fact, and everyone present knew it.

But Rick continued.

"However, within the Skywing race, there exists a true 'strongest' that no one can defeat."

Hear this.

Leaving aside the reactions of others, Hughie's reaction was the strongest.

"—Rick, are you talking about... Althu?"

"Ah, yes, that's him..."

When it comes to the strongest and most practical combat power in the world, many people would consider the Dragon Spirit race, the Giant race, or the Skywing race.

But it shouldn't actually be a race, but a real, existing individual.

The Divine Race – God of War, Artesius.

That was truly hailed as the strongest being; there could not possibly be a creature in this world stronger than him.

"The forest elves and the goblins, once their faction is formed, they will inevitably launch an attack on Altshu."

That's because Althu possesses a technique that can gather all power, making it unstoppable.

"God's Strike".

Legend has it that no one has ever truly witnessed Althu's divine strike, because no one who has seen it has ever survived.

Its power is said to be able to shatter continents, devour mountains, and even—enough to destroy this planet.

If that were the case, then there truly wouldn't be any other race or deity in the world whose power could withstand it.

In that case, the alliance would become a coalition of goblins and forest elves to fight against the Skywing race, to which Altshu belongs.

In this way, the two sides will be locked in a fierce battle, fighting to the death.

That's not the result Rick wanted.

"I've said that before."

Rick continued speaking while looking at all the "ghosts" in front of him.

"All the gods on this planet, their proud battles are for one purpose only..."

"That is the power that allows one to become the only god in an instant."

Omniscient and omnipotent, capable of accomplishing things as vast as the universe.

"That is the 'Star Grail.' As long as the last surviving god with the strongest power exists, the 'Star Grail' will fall into his hands, making him the absolute and only god."

This is precisely the truth behind this absurd war.

However—there is actually a huge flaw in this.

Something that no one noticed, and that remained unnoticed for countless years.

This "Star Cup".

You don't need to kill anyone to get it.

"All the divine species were created by the Elven Corridor, and the Elven Corridor itself originates from the energy of this planet..."

That is to say-

The power possessed by the planet is greater than the power of these divine beings.

"In that case, all we need to do is destroy this planet, causing its energy to leak out—wouldn't the 'Star Cup' then appear?"

It's a very simple fact.

No one said that the power of an "existence" must be manifested for the Star Grail to manifest; rather, it is enough for a sufficiently great power to exist.

Since all things are born from within the planet, including divine beings, no one can possess greater power than this planet.

Therefore, as long as the planet is destroyed, its internal energy will leak out.

The "Star Cup" will then manifest.

In that case, if the Star Cup itself were obtained at that time, the planet could be healed.

"In that case, death is inevitable."

"But, but wait a minute, boss! If that's the case—"

"How exactly can such enormous power be used on the planet itself... I knew you were going to talk about this."

Rick then looked at Shubi beside him.

"We have a special method here that can concentrate the combined forces of those guys' attacks in a precise direction."

"Huh? Huh—?!"

"In that case, even planets could be penetrated, but—what exactly would be the method? Let's not discuss that for now, because we still lack the necessary information to accomplish that, which will require everyone's efforts."

then.

Rick then turned his attention to another piece.

The black king represents the planet itself, while the white queen represents the Skywing race to which the strongest Altshu belongs.

—But there is another piece besides that.

An exception to the rules, completely absent from the rules of chess.

The queen in black and white.

"this…?"

"To be honest, I don't want to include it in our plans at all."

All the "ghosts" were stunned, because—Rick was at that moment.

The gaze directed at the black and white queen was heavy.

"I don't know if he's a white piece or a black piece. Even I can't predict his exact moves... and after that, he seems to have disappeared."

"No way, could it be that what you're saying, boss—?!"

The "ghosts" were suddenly at a loss for words.

That white-haired, red-eyed being who appeared near them back then.

This is the true form of the black and white chess piece.

"At that time, the attacking force consisted of a goblin fleet and a six-headed dragon elf. Even in today's context, such a force would still be very strong."

"But that guy—he single-handedly took down that group of monsters in just a few minutes! Think about it! Is it really possible that this guy—is human?"

Based on the time of the disaster and precise calculations, the time from when the white-haired, red-eyed being dealt with the monsters to when he left was no more than ten minutes.

Even the Skywing species requires dozens, or even around a hundred, to defeat a single Dragon Spirit species.

Six of them were easily killed by the opponent.

This means that the opponent's strength far surpasses that of all the Skywing monsters.

The Queen possesses the strongest attacking power in chess; she is equivalent to... the Queen of the same rank as Althu.

However, Rick had no way of predicting which side the other party was on.

That's why a black and white queen piece was created to represent the opponent.

That's why Rick couldn't include him in his plans.

We will definitely not use any factors that are unclear.

And so, the Ghost Chief placed that black and white chess piece outside the chessboard.

The white-haired, red-eyed monster, that unidentified being, cannot be used in this game.

At least that's the case for now.

"So, now... huh?"

suddenly.

Just seconds after Rick finished explaining his plan.

A violent shaking sound came from outside the cave that served as the base.

"What, what happened?!"

——————————————————————————————————————————

Accelerator is near the cave.

After having a quick breakfast with Hatsune Miku, it was finally time to officially begin our exploration of this world.

He first put Hatsune Miku in standby mode, and the two communicated with each other via mobile phone. In this world, even without a signal, they could still make contact with the help of the system.

then.

Something suddenly fell from the sky.

"…ah?"

Even Accelerator was stunned.

Those were arrows—like a torrential downpour, constantly pelting forward.

An arrow of destruction wrapped in aurora.

Boom! The arrows struck the ground indiscriminately and over a wide area.

And Accelerator clearly saw the faces of those who shot the arrows.

With a magic circle above its head and wings on its back, it was like an angel.

"Those guys...?"

The first person made a decision immediately after confirming the matter.

He soared into the air like lightning, rising hundreds of meters into the sky.