Serenade had brought this historical record from a nearby city, claiming it belonged to the nomads of the western desert regions.
The cover was so tattered that the title was unrecognizable, and determining the exact year of publication was difficult.
Furthermore, upon opening it, it was filled with an entirely incomprehensible language... No, how could one read this?
At that moment, Dearmudin stepped forward, clearing his throat.
"I happen to have some expertise in deciphering ancient languages. In fact, I had already taken a look at it. It unmistakably contains mentions of the King of Flies."
Typical of the Ivory Tower! Invaluable assistance at a time like this.
Thus, the content of the historical record decoded by Dearmudin was as follows:
"...From beyond the eastern sea, a giant fly suddenly appeared, devouring everything in its path, and the people named it the King of Flies.
Even the sea dragons and the kings of the sea, united at the eastern shores, became prey to the King of Flies.
Its tyranny was so fierce that even the Black Dragon and the Red Dragon, amidst their great war, paused their conflict to jointly confront it.
The King of Flies was a being born from the amalgamation of countless flies, itself a veritable empire.
With each generation, the flies grew wiser and stronger, and this collective entity, the King of Flies, appeared invincible to the world.
Refugee lines stretched for miles, and anguished cries filled the skies.
Countless nations were destroyed, countless species were devoured. Even the Black and Red Dragons could not stand against the King of Flies.
However, not long thereafter, the situation drastically changed, as the King of Flies began to divide and fight amongst itself.
The historians speculate that the problem was the excessive intelligence gained by the flies over generations.
The flies, each harboring their own ambitions within the empire that was the King of Flies, rebelled, leading to a situation where they fought and killed each other for supremacy.
The flies rebelled against each other, establishing new powers, and as the body of the King of Flies and its forces split into several factions that fought and killed each other, its strength significantly diminished.
Taking advantage of the weakened state of the fly empire due to its division, the Black and Red Dragons annihilated them. This happened exactly one year after the King of Flies first appeared.
On this, the historian comments:
Truly, an emperor must be generous to his vassals and love his people, but excessive generosity will surely make the vassals arrogant, and too much love will surely lead the people to harbor different intentions.
The King of Flies shared everything with its vassals and bestowed wisdom generously upon its people, and this was the King of Flies's mistake.
Those aspiring to rule an empire must strictly maintain hierarchy, be wary of their vassals, and must not give more wisdom to the people than necessary..."
"...The conclusion is somewhat strange."
Deciding to ignore the historian's brief commentary.
Anyway, if the content of this historical record is true, then the King of Flies did not fall to a specific weakness but...
"Essentially self-destructed through internal conflict."
"Exactly."
Dearmudin nodded.
"The excessively advanced intelligence of the flies led to self-awareness, and rebelling against the existing system, they divided and fought amongst themselves until their power weakened and they vanished..."
Suddenly, it struck me how similar they were to typhoons.
Arising suddenly and sweeping through the world at will, only to naturally weaken and disappear over time...
Dearmudin stroked his beard and clicked his tongue.
"Ironically, the magic-resistant flies with lower intelligence that failed to evolve properly survived and have continued their lineage to this day."
No, even this wizardly gentleman is offering his commentary...
‘In any case, this is very useful information.’
This confirmed the strategy I had thought of after receiving a hint from Dusk Bringar.
‘If the world has been divided for long, it must unite, and if unified for long, it must divide.’
Just like the famous opening sentence of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, most empires collapse due to division among those who harbor their own greed.
If only a way could be found to incite division among the King of Flies's ranks, then defeating it might be possible.
The problem is the method of execution...
‘The history mentioned it took a whole year for such smart evolution to occur.’
We don't have the luxury to wait a year. We have only three days left... no, now just a day and a half.
We need to forcibly accelerate their evolution within this short time.
If only there was a way...
‘What about my mind control skills?’
[Gaze of Command] is a skill that forces 'actions'.
Ordering them to 'become smarter' is not only impossible but also, even if it were, would be too difficult a command and likely to fail.
[Become Mine!] can only be used on one target per stage, and while it would be great if it could be applied to the entire King of Flies...
It is, after all, a collective of numerous flies. It's unlikely to comply so conveniently.
Even if I managed to make one fly mine, there would be nothing I could do with it...
"..."
Suddenly, one method came to mind.
Not only could it forcibly evolve them, but it might also sufficiently achieve the goal of 'division' without needing to evolve them to that extent.
However, I was not confident this method would work as intended. In fact, it was more likely to deviate from my intentions.
So, I was deep in thought when...
"Your Majesty!"
A voice called out to me urgently. I looked up immediately.
The soldier who had been delivering nothing but bad news to me since yesterday was rushing over again.
'Not you again?!'
"What's the matter!"
"The, the second line of defense that was under emergency construction..."
Out of breath from his run, the soldier finally managed to steady his breathing before urgently continuing.
"The King of Flies is rapidly approaching!"
"What?"
I exclaimed in disbelief.
The second line of defense was a barrier hastily being built from the Black Lake to Crossroad, supposed to be reached by tomorrow morning. And now it's already being breached?
"But it was supposed to arrive by tomorrow morning...?!"
"That, that's... The King of Flies suddenly increased its speed and is charging in...!"
"Damn it!"
At the second line of defense, following Junior's use of [Elemental Disassembly] to shatter the King of Flies's magical defenses, it was planned to employ a tactic where all mages affiliated with the World Guardian Front would simultaneously cast their spells at it.
"What's the current situation?"
"All the mages on-site have begun casting! They're about to retaliate!"
"Damn...!"
Whoosh!
Before I could even move, Dearmudin, his beard fluttering, had already dashed ahead.
I handed the historical record to Serenade, barely managing to squeeze her hand in thanks without properly expressing my gratitude, and then I chased after Dearmudin towards the teleport gate.
***
The temporary second line of defense.
Here, where construction was being rushed, a makeshift outer wall was being built as cover.
Given the urgency, all workers from Crossroad had been mobilized, including the golemancer Candler, who was also constructing the outer wall using golems.
Thud, thud, thud...
As she built the wall with golems, Candler glanced inside the wall.
Most of Crossroad's combat mages were gathered, drawing magic circles and preparing to use magic.
Those not present had gone to search the historical record, but it was planned that everyone would gather by the time the King of Flies arrived.
'To think so many mages have gathered...'
The Black Magician, Chain, stood in a corner with a rotten expression.
Muttering something, Chain made a gesture of swirling dark magic with his hand upon making eye contact with Candler, who simply smirked in response.
"..."
Would she have been standing there as a combatant if she hadn't retired?
It was unclear. Shaking off such idle thoughts, Candler refocused on the construction of the outer wall. There was no time to rest until the wall was completed by tomorrow morning.
Then, it happened.
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!
From the south, a soldier on horseback, his face drenched in cold sweat, came galloping and shouted urgently.
"Alert-! The King of Flies is rapidly approaching from the south!"
"..."
"What did you say?"
"That's impossible, it was expected to arrive by tomorrow dawn..."
Amidst the flustered murmurs of the mages, Junior, quickly casting her magic, asked.
"When will it arrive?!"
"At an incredible speed! Maybe within 10 minutes...!"
"Tch..."
Clicking her tongue, Junior looked around and commanded.
"All workers, return to Crossroad! Mages, cast all offensive magic! Let's proceed as planned!"
"But, not all the mages have arrived yet...!"
"We still have to stop it here!"
Nevertheless, Junior, who could be considered the linchpin of this operation, was here.
Junior began casting [Elemental Disassembly], and the mages hurriedly positioned themselves on the magic circle to start preparing the combined magic.
The workers hesitated, then one by one, after looking up at the southern sky and screaming, they began running towards the teleport gate.
Candler also looked in that direction and gasped in shock.
Whoosh!
From the distant southern sky.
A black shape flickered, and in moments, it sliced through the clouds, approaching at a terrifying speed.
"..."
Candler stared blankly at the entity with trembling eyes.
It resembled a fly, but could that really be called a fly?
With enormous wings shaped like infinity, stretching long on either side, and hundreds of legs dangling below...
Pouring out countless fly monsters from its body, turning mountains and rivers to ashes.
The monster was approaching at a fearsome speed.
'We, we must flee... escape...'
Candler thought, but her shaking legs wouldn't obey.
The nightmare of the Gorgon sisters flashed through her mind. The monster - Stheno, rushing towards her then, overlapped with the image of the King of Flies.
"Ah, ahhhh, ahhhhh!"
Unable to make it to the teleport gate, Candler ended up hiding behind the outer wall. She crouched down, wrapped her head with her arms, and trembled.
Whoosh!
The deep roar of the King of Flies shook the area.
The place was in chaos. Workers fleeing through the teleport gate to Crossroad, and mages rushing out from Crossroad through the gate in the opposite direction...
And the pouring swarm of flies.
The sky darkened as an enormous number of flies descended like a downpour towards the second line of defense.
"Huff..."
But Junior did not waver.
Click, click, clack-!
Her wand, [Rod of Crimson], transformed on its own, scattering a crimson magical glow in all directions.
"I've been waiting for you, you fly bastard."
Hundreds of meters away from the second line of defense, to the south.
Junior had pre-drawn a magic circle here.
It was a gigantic [Elemental Disassembly] magic circle.
Having stolen this magic from the Vampire King and made it her own, she had enhanced its range and effect through the magic circle.
"Though it lacks the mobility and defensive capabilities of an airship..."
The moment the King of Flies reached the airspace above the magic circle.
Junior shouted, extending her staff forward.
"Our mages have the strongest firepower in humanity-!"
Zzzzzz!
A dazzling halo of white light formed in the air, and the next moment, cracks spread through space, creating rifts.
[Elemental Disassembly] exploded across the King of Flies's body.
Even the mighty King of Flies was taken aback at that moment.
The monstrous bulk twitched as it hastily slowed down. Junior, raising her staff towards the King of Flies, shouted.
"Everyone, cast the combined magic-!"
Mages, forming circles by element, resonated with each other, concentrating their magical powers before lifting their staffs to aim at the King of Flies.
Junior screamed.
"Annihilate it-!"
Kwaaaaaaa!
As if to swallow the world whole, fierce flames, endless high tides, landslides turning the world upside down, tornadoes tearing through the sky, and blinding lightning like the dawn of creation...
All were unleashed simultaneously towards the King of Flies.
--TL Notes--
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