After deciding the deployment of each party's members, Finn informed everyone present that, aside from the summoned creatures whose combat power rivaled that of Level 5 adventurers, Riezel could also provide several hundred combat-use mechanical dolls, each possessing combat power comparable to that of Level 4 adventurers.
And once again, this terrifying revelation nearly made those present faint from shock.
Forty Level 5 summons, combined with several hundred Level 4 dolls—such a force was practically enough to flatten the entirety of Orario.
It should be noted that the Freya Familia had only 157 official members. Excluding the eight First-Class Adventurers, among the remaining hundred-plus members, only a small portion had managed to reach Level 4.
Yet Riezel alone could provide combat power several times—if not more than ten times—greater than that.
It was simply inconceivable.
If the Loki Familia were to deploy this force, then even if they stood against every familia in the city—including the Freya Familia—they would still possess the overwhelming advantage in terms of combat power.
At this thought, many familia representatives no longer looked at Riezel with merely complicated emotions—their gazes were now filled with pure fear.
After today, it was certain that many familias in Orario would completely reassess the Loki Familia, realizing just what kind of terrifying power had been hidden within it all this time.
Finn was naturally well aware of this, but he welcomed such a development.
After all, this was a necessary means of showcasing the familia's strength while elevating its status and prestige within the city.
Hence, aside from true familia secrets, Finn and Loki did not mind publicizing the strength of their members and their familia—in fact, they would have preferred to publicize even more of it.
"Alright, the deployment of each party's main combatants ends here. Next is the integration of mid-tier and lower-tier members—those below Second-Class Adventurers…"
In this way, under the silent attention of the various familia representatives, Finn continued advancing the agenda, laying out all the formations, strategies, and personnel arrangements he had already planned.
To evenly distribute combat power among the different parties, Finn also separated and reassigned the supporters, healers, and mages from each major familia, integrating them into the various parties accordingly.
Additionally, he proposed the formation of one or more non-combat parties, whose role would be to secure the supply lines and preserve reserve combat power, while remaining ready to deploy as reinforcements in critical situations at any time.
"And these non-combat parties will be led and commanded by Fels. Any objections?"
After finishing that part of the arrangement, Finn shifted his gaze toward Fels, who had remained silent throughout nearly the entire meeting.
"No objections," Fels replied without much thought. "I will also provide several types of magic items I have developed myself. They will be distributed to each party according to their respective needs, and should prove useful."
Hearing this, Asfi, who was likewise a master magic item craftsman, immediately spoke up, clearly unwilling to be outdone.
"The magic items I've created can be provided as well. My god has already approved it."
The statements from these two masters of magic items noticeably eased the tension within the group.
Although their contribution could not compare to the overwhelming combat power Riezel could provide, in the current situation, any form of support was crucial. Rare magic items that were normally difficult to obtain being made available for this operation could prove just as impactful as a direct increase in combat strength.
"Well then, the general strategy for the expedition against the six Demi Spirits is hereby confirmed."
Finn slowly swept his gaze across the hall, carefully observing the expressions of every representative present.
"Does anyone have anything else to add?"
At this, the representatives present exchanged glances with one another.
After a brief period of contemplation and silent consideration, they all eventually shook their heads one after another, indicating that they had nothing further to add for the moment.
Only Riezel spoke up at this time.
"I'd like to remind everyone of three points."
At these words, everyone's expressions visibly sharpened as they collectively turned their attention toward Riezel.
Finn was no exception.
With an unchanged expression, Riezel revealed part of the information he had already organized in his mind.
"First, based on our encounters with Demi Spirits so far, it's pretty clear they decide their specialization based on the nature of their host."
"For example, the Demi Spirit my familia ran into on the 59th Floor of the Dungeon specialized in magic. Her magic power was insanely terrifying—to the point that it almost drove my familia's expedition party into complete despair at one point."
"Besides that one, we've also run into two Demi Spirits that parasitized a Power Bull and an amazoness—the former specialized in raw strength, while the latter specialized in regeneration. Their specialties were completely different."
"As for the six Demi Spirits showing up in the Man-Made Dungeon this time, there's a really high chance they're magic-specialized too, just like the one on the 59th Floor, considering they were cultivated to recreate the grand magic of the ancient great spirits."
Standing beneath the gaze of everyone present, Riezel spoke steadily.
"Demi Spirits capable of chanting such large-scale magic must possess considerable magical ability themselves. They are most likely magic-specialized types."
"My recommendation is that everyone prepare adequate countermeasures against magic—or more specifically, put way more focus on that during your preparations. Only then can we ensure the highest degree of safety possible."
After carefully considering the matter for a moment, the others found Riezel's reasoning sound and difficult to refute.
"Second..."
Riezel continued calmly, his gaze sweeping across the hall.
"Our main targets might really be the six Demi Spirits, but that doesn't mean they're the only threats lurking inside the Man-Made Dungeon."
In an instant, everyone's expressions shifted once again, and the atmosphere in the hall visibly grew heavier.
"You mean…?"
Asfi looked at Riezel with uncertainty, as though she had already vaguely guessed what he was implying.
"I mean, the enemy probably still has trump cards like the Jewel Fetuses they used to create the Demi Spirits..."
Riezel explained in an even tone.
"The Demi Spirits that parasitized the Power Bull and the amazoness we ran into earlier already proved the enemy isn't lacking extra Jewel Fetuses to make more Demi Spirits. It's just that the six Demi Spirits alone were already enough to complete the grand magic, so there was no reason for them to bring out the extras beforehand."
"If our assault really starts threatening their plans, those hidden forces might end up revealing themselves all at once."
"And those extra Jewel Fetuses could very well interfere once we begin the official assault—or even appear at a critical moment to screw up the operation and throw our entire formation into chaos."
"We need to remain wary of that possibility at all times. Don't commit all of our combat power right from the very beginning. Even if it somewhat slows the operation down, we still need to keep enough reserves prepared to deal with anything unexpected at any moment."
It was an extremely reasonable suggestion, to the point that no one present could casually dismiss it.
Even though many people wore troubled expressions—and some even let out quiet sighs at the growing pressure of the situation—they still silently agreed with Riezel's assessment and firmly committed his warning to memory.
"Finally, the third point."
Riezel narrowed his eyes as he raised the most critical issue.
"Dealing with the six Demi Spirits is definitely the top priority, but don't forget that the ones behind all this can't be allowed to walk free either."
"One's the self-proclaimed god known as the city destroyer, Enyo, while the other's a masked figure—one of the Creatures modified by the Corrupted Spirit who's still following Enyo's orders."
"If we don't take both of them out, then even if we survive this whole mess, they can just team up with the Corrupted Spirit again and start plotting against Orario a second time, a third time—or who knows how many more times after that."
"So, the key to this operation lies not only in subjugating the six Demi Spirits, but also in taking down Enyo and the masked Creature, ensuring that no future threats remain."
After laying everything out, Riezel finally eased his tone slightly.
"Well, that's all I wanted to remind you guys of. Just make sure you keep it firmly in mind—and don't end up capsizing and sinking in a ditch."
Everyone nodded in unison, their expressions heavy and solemn, while the tension in the atmosphere became increasingly suffocating.
Needless to say, the difficulty of this operation was far beyond anything ordinary.
They had to split into six separate parties and simultaneously defeat six Demi Spirits whose strength far surpassed that of a Monster Rex.
They also had to remain wary of additional Demi Spirits appearing at any moment while reserving enough strength and manpower to deal with them as well.
At the same time, they still needed to track down the mastermind behind everything and defeat the city destroyer, along with the masked Creature who served as Enyo's subordinate.
Any one of these objectives alone would already be extraordinarily difficult for an ordinary adventurer party to accomplish—yet now, all of them had to be completed together within the same operation.
If not for the Loki Familia standing firmly at the forefront, along with the powerful Liberator fighting on their side, many people present genuinely felt they might as well consider surrendering outright.
Perhaps because of such heavy thoughts weighing on everyone's minds, someone finally timidly raised a hand before cautiously speaking up.
"Should we prepare for the worst and get some familia members and citizens out of here?"
Instead of Finn or Riezel, the one who answered the question was the captain of the Ganesha Familia, Shakti.
"At this point, it's already too late to consider evacuating the citizens," Shakti said as she slowly shook her head. "And if we suddenly start carrying out a mass evacuation outside the city, it'll only trigger chaos and panic among the population. Right now, we simply don't have the manpower necessary to maintain order or safely guide that many people."
Pausing briefly, she continued in a calm but cold tone.
"Rather than risking unpredictable panic and confusion like that, it's better to act as if nothing has happened. As long as we resolve the situation before everything spirals out of control, then everything will still turn out fine."
Her words immediately drew faint grins from Tsubaki and Aisha.
"So we're just gonna let this end quietly without anyone even knowing what almost happened?"
"If we fail, innocent civilians are going to die together with Orario, y'know?"
Both of them spoke with blunt cynicism, their expressions carrying little optimism about the situation they were facing.
Unexpectedly, however, Shakti responded with a cold expression.
"If we fail, then the surface world will simply return to the ancient era once again, and monsters will begin pouring out in massive numbers."
"At that point, the entire Lower World will fall into complete crisis—there will be nowhere truly safe left in the world, and nowhere anyone can possibly escape disaster."
"In that case, we have no retreat."
"We either win here, or all survivors will eventually be slaughtered—there is no third outcome."
The harsh realism spoken by the leader of Orario's enforcers instantly plunged the surroundings into a heavy silence.
In the end, Finn finally spoke as well.
"Either way, the only thing we need to do is win. If we lose, we lose everything. Maximize the probability of victory. Everything else is irrelevant."
As Finn's words fell, Riezel gave a faint smile before addressing the crowd.
"Well, our enemies are basically just rats hiding in some filthy gutter, constantly stirring up shit, so just drag them out of there and tear them to pieces."
Riezel's words finally drew bursts of laughter from everyone present, causing the previously heavy atmosphere in the room to ease slightly.
They were all adventurers—people who had long since grown accustomed to danger and bloodshed—so there was no need for polite or elegant speeches meant to comfort others. Compared to empty encouragement, brutal words like those were far more effective at igniting their fighting spirit and steeling the grim resolve buried deep within their hearts.
"Alright, the official operation begins tomorrow night."
"Make your preparations."
"In this battle, only victory is allowed. Defeat is not an option."
With Finn's final words, everyone present rose to their feet.
—Only victory is allowed. Defeat is not an option.
Holding firmly onto that resolve, the pre-battle meeting finally came to an end.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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