ALL NOVEL Chapter 386
“I’ll be back.”
“Grandson, take care of yourself and have a good trip.”
“Johann, have a good time!”
“Have a good trip!”
“See you later…”
I left Yeomyeong-gwan, waved off by a crowd of people. Of course, I was on my way to request reinforcements from the Elves.
It wasn’t exactly polite to drop by unannounced, but now wasn’t really the time to worry about manners.
The city that suffered direct damage from the Outsiders was none other than Yggdrasil, so they probably wouldn’t refuse my request. After all, they had already experienced the incident of the World Tree being poisoned, which made them wary of further harm.
By the way, what were those creatures?
As I walked towards the portal, I recalled the monsters that had tried to poison the World Tree. At the time, I hadn’t given it much thought, but now it seemed strange in more ways than one.
First, they weren’t gods.
It’s one thing to say they were a peculiar form of a god, but those creatures felt closer to alien life forms than anything divine.
From their speech, they seemed to be originally from this world, but… they were too alien to be considered native beings. I couldn’t help but wonder if they had undergone some transformation while being exiled.
Considering their swarm-like nature, perhaps…
Nah.
Let’s not go there; it’s too gruesome to think about.
It seems certain that an Observer was up to no good, but while I was pondering this, I arrived at the portal. Thanks to having informed the headmaster in advance, it was already activated.
I approached Headmaster Merlin, who was sitting next to the portal, and greeted him.
“Headmaster. Thank you.”
“Not at all. Since you’re undertaking such an important mission, it’s only right that I lend a hand.”
The headmaster, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, looked up at me while stroking his beard like a sage. Our gazes met, filled with his concern.
“Are you going to meet the Elf Queen this time?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I wish I could go along, but it’s not permitted for me.”
“If you come with me, you might be admitted.”
“No need for that. It’s no pleasure trip. Visiting the Elf city is… something to do after your work is done.”
“I’d like to bring my loved ones if possible, as the Elf village is quite a nice travel destination.”
“Ha ha, I will be waiting for that day.”
I stepped into the portal.
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The way to Yggdrasil was a free pass.
Just like last time, I flew straight ahead with the wings of a Phoenix, without any need to rest. Since I held the favor of the World Tree, not a single Elf would stop me from entering Yggdrasil this way.
While soaring towards the World Tree, I suddenly stopped flying and landed right in the middle of the village. It was the classic superhero landing. As I rose, a startled Angry Wolf pointed at me and shouted.
“Enter through the proper route! If I hadn’t known you were here, the village would have been in chaos!”
“Isn’t it better that chaos didn’t occur? That aside, I wish to request an audience with Her Majesty the Queen.”
“Ah, is that what this is about?”
“You know.”
The Angry Wolf turned to guide me toward the palace where the Queen was. As she walked, she seemed inclined to chat.
“Since the World Tree was poisoned, we’ve been conducting various investigations on our side. Strange incidents have been happening frequently lately…”
So they were monitoring the situation on the Elf side as well. Given that the Outsiders had caused damage, it seemed they had been keeping a watchful eye.
If you had been aware, a little help would have…- well, the World Tree had already poured its support into me anyway.
Not to mention, unless it was a High Elf Queen, it wouldn’t be practical to utilize them in battle. It would be enough for them to quickly assess the situation and move the discussion forward.
“You’ve arrived. Her Majesty is waiting, so I will open the door immediately.”
Wow.
Free pass.
It seemed they knew I was coming. After all, I had made quite an entrance into the city. I was guided directly to the audience chamber.
Upon seeing me, the Queen greeted me with a warm smile.
“It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Don’t you know?”
“Well, asking if you’ve been well while you’re fighting those creatures might not make much sense. So, are you here for support?”
Straight to the point, huh?
I nodded in agreement with the Queen’s brisk approach.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Got it. I will send you my carefully trained elites. They may not be many, but each one is worth ten men, so they’ll be of help.”
“Thank you very much.”
“It’s nothing, didn’t we promise each other? We never forget our promises.”
I was glad things went smoothly. Although I had expected this outcome, I couldn’t help but worry about the slim chance of a refusal.
With a lighter heart, I said, “I’m relieved that the conversation ended so easily.”
“What difficulty could there be? We are merely fulfilling our promise to a benefactor.”
That’s what I like to hear.
“Where should I send the troops?”
“I’ll need to discuss it a bit. It wouldn’t be good to put the Elves in the same places as the humans.”
“…If necessary, I can consider that, but I’d prefer if they were separated.”
“Understood.”
Separation is easy enough. Just dividing up some temporary living quarters will do the trick.
“How many troops do you have?”
“Unfortunately, not that many. As you know, elites are usually scarce, and compared to humans, our Elf numbers are negligible, right? Including a few who are slightly lacking, there’ll be around 100.”
That’s certainly not much.
Well, the human side can handle the numbers, at least… as long as we can pull in the Empire’s elite troops, we should be okay.
In effect, they’re more of a numbers game than anything else.
“That should be sufficient.”
“I hope they return as many as possible. It’s a battlefield where death is part of the deal, but… it’s better to save as many lives as we can.”
“I’ll do my best to ensure that.”
Whether that’s feasible remains to be seen.
The battle with the Observer, or rather, the war, will not end easily.
“You don’t need to bear too heavy a burden from my words. The elites I send also understand that they might return home with great difficulty.”
Still, I couldn’t shake the concern.
Saying such things as the leader sending their kin into such danger must have been tough for her, too. I accepted her worry with a smile.
“I will do my best.”
“Thank you.”
And with that, I left the audience chamber.
————————
Ascending into the sky from the heart of Yggdrasil, I took a moment to survey my surroundings.
Should I just fly straight to the palace?
Of course, they’d probably be a bit flustered there, but given the current situation, there’s no time to worry about formalities. I need to get in, finish the discussion quickly, and start preparations as soon as possible since time is tight.
War requires a tremendous amount of preparation.
We need to mobilize a certain number of troops, provide food, armor, weapons, determine the commander, and know the route of advance…
Every single task is a hassle, but luckily, I have various tricks up my sleeve to double our deployment speed.
After all, it’s far better for me to create the armor and weapons myself.
There’s no way we could fight the Outsiders with a mere ordinary suit of armor. At least with World Tree-provided equipment, we can buy even a second of time.
Come to think of it, the demons wouldn’t be able to utilize World Tree equipment anyway.
I mean, at their level, what’s the point of gear? Yet demons do tend to forge decent equipment with materials, so there’s no need for me to fret over them.
I just need to use them as meat shields.
I never expected much from them in the first place.
During the fight, they’re likely to pull some tricks to preserve their own forces. It’s an unfounded suspicion, but I had my gut feelings about that.
They’ve always behaved that way.
If they feel they’re in trouble, they may cooperate, but…
“…I guess I’ll just fly straight to the capital.”
Too bothersome—let’s wrap things up quickly. I need to create a scenario where the reinforcements can gather and prepare as soon as possible.
Thinking about the Observer’s actions thus far… no, I shouldn’t be too confident.
The most dangerous situation is misjudging the opponent’s tendencies and firmly believing it.
In a situation where information is sparse, it’s wiser to plan the operation with minimal judgment basis.
I can at least improvise to some extent on the spot.
“I hope the Emperor will speak as straightforwardly as the Elf Queen.”
With that trivial concern in mind, I flew toward the capital.