Volume 3, Chapter 29 – Ariel’s Plan

“A monster, but with the intelligence to feign an attack.”

In Ragnarøk, only monsters over level 100 would feign an attack, but here in this other world, a mere level 34 Earth Dragon already had such intelligence.

“But if you were truly intelligent, you should have calmly hidden and assessed my strength.”

The Earth Dragon’s tail whip was as slow as a motion in slow-motion film to Yisi. Yisi extended her hands, covered in a transparent crystal, and the moment the dragon’s tail hit her, she hugged it with her arms.

But she miscalculated one thing.

Due to her light weight, although Yisi successfully hugged the Earth Dragon’s tail, she was sent flying with it, breaking countless trees due to the inertia.

Tsk.

Affected by [Skin Crystallization], the impact had no effect on Yisi, but the frustration of her plan going awry still made her quite annoyed.

[Wings of Hermes]

Two pairs of blue wings appeared on her feet.

As an advanced form of [Flight] magic, [Wings of Hermes] had the advantages of more nimble movement, faster flight speed, and the ability to use the sky as a fulcrum ¹ the point on which a lever rests or is supported and on which it pivots.(basically a place to stand not floating) .

Injecting strength into her feet, Yisi, who had been flying chaotically like a sandbag, suddenly stopped. If someone had been there, they would have noticed a water-like ripple appearing under Yisi’s feet.

Rеaԁ oո ΚatRеаԁіոɡCаfе

“Now it’s my turn!”

Being dragged around in the sky by a monster was not a pleasant experience. With a fulcrum, Yisi clamped the end of the tail, which was as thick as a bucket, with both arms and pulled hard in the opposite direction of the whip. To everyone’s astonishment, the Earth Dragon’s massive, twenty-meter-long body was instantly lifted off the ground, then, with Yisi’s position as the fulcrum, its entire body was sent spinning counter-clockwise.

It reminded her of a windmill in a storm.

For a time, the entire base of the snowy mountain echoed with the Earth Dragon’s wailing.

After having her fill of fun, Yisi slammed the Earth Dragon onto the ground, leaving a dragon-shaped crater. She ended its life with Gungnir. The Earth Dragons living at the foot of the snowy mountain often preyed on people traveling between Antonio City and Hermion City, so Yisi showed no mercy when she ended it.

With her hands on her hips, Yisi sighed softly, her battle over.

“You have no one to blame but yourself for not staying quietly in the mountains.”

Putting the Earth Dragon into her storage, Yisi opened the Omniscient Map again to look for her next target.

“Ice Ape group, Lava Fairies, Stone Golems, Swamp Pythons… Aren’t there a few too many monsters over level 30 in this area? Not to mention the Lava Fairies who live inside the volcano and the Stone Golems from the forest, why are even Swamp Pythons, who live in a swamp, here on a snowy mountain?”

It was as if someone had intentionally lured them here.

“Well, I’ll just clear out as many as come.”

Rеаⅾ оո KαtRеаԁіngСаfе

Her principle was not to let her children get hurt. Besides, collecting monster materials was also a good choice. Since she couldn’t use the overly powerful materials from Ragnarøk, high-level materials from this world would work just as well.

“I don’t know why they’re all gathered together, but it’s a huge help.”

Under the moonlight, Yisi’s lips curled into a slight smile.

◇

Sometime later.

The top floor of the Tower of Hermion.

Fallen Angel Ariel—now known as Mr. Lia, a magic caster from a foreign land—was seeing off Count Hermion.

“It seems you have fooled him, Master.”

If Count Hermion were still standing here, his mouth would surely be agape in astonishment, for the speaker was a pet crow perched on Fallen Angel Ariel’s shoulder.

Only the Fallen Angels knew that this crow was actually Ariel’s familiar. With this crow, Ariel’s magical power would be enhanced by a full fold.

Ariel, hidden beneath his cloak, stroked the crow on his shoulder and sneered in a hoarse, deep male voice.

“Of course. He’s just a greedy, lustful fat pig. Compared to his father and grandfather, he’s a cheap imitation made from leftover scraps, without a shred of intelligence.”

Reaⅾ оո ΚаtReαⅾіոgCαfe

“Hehe, that’s why your plan was successful, Master. Fooling that fat pig into lending a portion of the Tower of Hermion’s usage rights, then secretly changing the formulas to make the dormant volcano erupt again.”

“Shh—don’t say such things so casually.”

Ariel made a shushing gesture to his familiar.

His goal was not to occupy the Tower of Hermion, but to change its magical formulas. First, to cause a massive avalanche to destroy Hermion City, the closest city to the tower, and then to reawaken the dormant volcano to flood Antonio City below.

Of course, directly destroying the Tower of Hermion would create an even more spectacular fireworks display, but Ariel’s own strength was not enough to forcibly destroy it. First, a fully operational Tower of Alexia could withstand even the full-power attack of a Demon Lord without a problem. Second, no unauthorized person could get within a kilometer of the Tower of Alexia.

That was why he had to gain Count Hermion’s trust and gradually get closer to the Tower of Hermion.

This seemingly simple plan was originally difficult to implement. Gaining Count Hermion’s trust was easy, but anyone who brought up entering the Tower of Hermion would be met with immediate suspicion. To this end, Ariel had long ago requested a virus from the Demon Lord with an extremely high fatality rate and a high infection rate.

This virus was the true form of the Calamity. This magical disease made everyone immune, and unless they drank the Winterbloom antidote, they would almost certainly die.

Ariel’s initial plan was to spread the Calamity within the city, then use his identity as a pharmacist to enter Count Hermion’s view and gain his trust. In fact, he had succeeded. All he had to do was bide his time and at the right moment, say that he needed to use the Tower of Hermion’s power to eliminate the Calamity. That way, he could enter the Tower of Hermion.

But something that both surprised and worried Ariel happened after he got close to Count Hermion.

The variable was the Flame Giant.

The monster that descended from the sky left all the soldiers and adventurers of the Hermion domain helpless. Nothing could stop its advance. Ariel had observed the Flame Giant from a distance; its very existence was something he feared. To destroy the Flame Giant, it would probably take all the magic power of both him and his familiar.

Rеαԁ oո КαtRеαԁingCаfе

Ariel’s original thought was to wait until Count Hermion was in despair, and then he would destroy the Flame Giant in exchange for his final trust. As for why he didn’t let the Flame Giant directly destroy Antonio City, it was Ariel’s conviction that no one else should steal his prey. It was like a hunter who had worked all night to chase down a lion, only for another hunter to shoot the lion dead at the moment he aimed his rifle. Ariel never wanted to experience that feeling.

Unfortunately, the Flame Giant ended up destroying itself with Antonio Lake, which made it take a little more effort for Ariel to gain the Count’s trust. Well, all that could be ignored; he was finally standing on top of the Tower of Hermion.

“The magic formula is almost complete. In a few days, I’ll be able to witness the most spectacular scenery since the ‘Genesis’. A volcanic eruption after an avalanche. What kind of despair and suffering will that be? Ah, just thinking about it makes my blood tremble.”

Ariel covered his face, suppressing the urge to yell at the snowy mountain.

The crow on his shoulder gently pecked him.

“But Master, where did that Flame Giant come from? Is it really as you told Count Hermion, that the Flame Giant’s body is a mutated giant Flame Slime, and there’s a Slime King controlling it?”

“Hmph. That was just something to fool Count Hermion. How could I possibly know where the Flame Giant came from? We must be vigilant. Samael hasn’t sent any information in a long time. Although I haven’t sensed that he’s dead, he can’t be doing well either. The only force capable of such a feat, I can only guess, is someone from the Outer Continent who has entered the Inner Continent.”

“Is it that group of people…?”

The two, who knew the inside story, fell silent.

“In any case, we must speed up. If we continue to delay, there will be danger. Hide the modified formula well, and have the Imperial people prepare to attack Antonio City. Tomorrow, I will go to the snowy mountain with the strongest forces in the city. The monsters I’ve lured to ambush the mountain will annihilate them all.”

“Yes, Master.”