Overwhelm

The leaders who faced Sei and Mako smiled wryly for a few moments at their youth and appearance, then recalled Ryou's existence and convinced themselves with the phrase "beyond standards."

Such an initial reaction was natural when facing two mid-teen girls who didn't particularly look strong.

However, those among the leadership involved in military affairs noticed the threat posed by the two. Their movements and fine gestures reminded them of seasoned warriors.

Moreover, although not present here, they were told that a high orc, dwarf warrior, and elf spirit user were also their companions. Setting aside the mysterious wandering girl and the halfling.

Those who led warriors sensed they were a force that should never be taken lightly.

In reality, that mysterious wandering beauty was the most dangerous one.

"So, in exchange for Ryou's return, the ancient dragon will protect this city as its guardian?"

The one confirming this was a man still in his late thirties. Not a martial man. But his gaze held sharpness, filled with the dignity of this city's leader.

"My master, the divine dragon Dark Dragon Reiana, has promised it. Besides, as a practical matter, the threat of evil gods should no longer be much of an issue in this area."

A rebuttal immediately came to Sei's words.

"Two of the four supreme gods still remain. Their power far exceeds that of the races."

"Their power is certainly true. However, trampling opponents with their own power is not the tendency of the remaining two pillars."

Sei had heard about the evil gods from other divine dragons through Ria.

The Violent God clearly enjoyed slaughtering the races. The Wicked God also indulged in every kind of atrocity.

Then what about the remaining Evil God and Demon God?

In fact, these two pillars had never directly participated in battles against the races.

The Demon God, even before being resurrected, had influenced the races, amplifying their desires and enjoying the path to their destruction. Quite the hobby.

The Evil God gathered followers and massacred any who resisted, but governed the races themselves. Perhaps "ruled" would be better, but he was a mentally balanced god.

He created armies and had them fight against the races' forces. Like a game, he started wars. Also quite the stylish hobby.

Both had fine hobbies, but Rana and Teru had declared they were gods without intent to exterminate the races.

And what would actually happen if these two pillars directly fought heroes?

Even former hero Ars had said that the heroes would almost certainly be defeated.

Even considering the battles against gods on the Dragon Fang Continent, while heroes were certainly powerful forces, they weren't beings superior to everything. Despite there being seven, in the end it was Irina, a divine dragon, who defeated the God of Greed.

Though there was a hero who defeated the Wicked God, so heroes were certainly beings capable of defeating gods.

"An ancient dragon… would certainly be stronger than me."

The crucial Ryou himself made that judgment.

"So, what happened?"

The ancient dragon, sprawled out on the grassland, asked Sei.

She could take human form, but the softness of the grassland seemed comfortable for her massive body.

"Yeah, they said they want to actually fight and confirm that combat power."

At Sei's words, the ancient dragon laughed with her mouth open. Sei feared she might be eaten just like that.

"Laughable. Even if a hero, unless it's Ars, one who hasn't even lived half a human lifespan couldn't possibly match me. Rather, it will be difficult to hold back so as not to kill."

"Ah, ancient dragon-san, you just need to roar and incapacitate the rank and file. We'll handle the core members."

That too had been decided through discussion with the leadership.

They would deploy the city's military forces as an army. And opposing them would be Sei's group of seven plus the ancient dragon.

Considering the numbers, there was no reason Sei's group should win. But they had the ancient dragon.

A dragon's combat power was something far too unreasonable.

Sei discussed the battle procedure with the ancient dragon. Beside them, Lavi sat like an ornament.

She didn't participate in the conversation, but was somehow naturally there.

"Speaking of which, Laverna is soon…"

As the conversation reached a lull, the ancient dragon turned toward Lavi.

Laverna tilted her head in response but didn't say anything particular.

"… A bit more."

Sei wanted to ask what "a bit more," but if it was important, the ancient dragon would surely mention it.

For Sei, who felt awe toward dragons, he didn't actively bring up topics. Solving the problem at hand came first.

Now then, the confrontation between the city's army and Sei's party.

This was set to take place on the plain where the ancient dragon was currently sprawled.

A group of nearly ten thousand functioning as an army versus a small group of less than ten. Common sense said Sei's group winning would be strange.

In the first place, since the purpose this time was to show the ancient dragon's combat power, it wouldn't mean much even if Sei's group performed well.

Even so, in the end, Sei's group would probably end up fighting.

They predicted the ancient dragon could probably win even against a hero. But she also said it would be difficult to hold back.

They were uncertain whether the Conceptual Armament could block a direct hit from her greatest attack, the breath. However, considering the opponent's Gift, they wanted to avoid close combat.

Then it would be safer for the ancient dragon to handle the masses while human-sized Sei's group fought the hero.

Now then, let's predict how the actual battle will unfold.

First, the opposing army—the majority would probably fall to the ancient dragon's roar.

Perhaps Ryou might have countermeasures, but even in that case, the majority would be blown away by the ancient dragon's wingbeat and unable to form ranks.

What would remain were roughly ten people between level 50 and 100. And the crucial hero Ryou.

Having Sei's party handle everyone except the hero, the question was how many to allocate to that.

Incidentally, Kukuri would be under the ancient dragon, giving instructions on what they wanted done.

Of the remaining six, they wanted Sei and at least one other person on hero countermeasures.

"Close combat is dangerous."

As befitting Conceptual Armament, Ryou's Gift apparently often granted concepts to weapons and armor.

Then Gantz and Bungol shouldn't engage, but hold back other strong opponents.

They also wanted to send Laila's spirit arts to counter the opponent's mages. Considering the number of mages, should they send Lavi there too?

Then it would be him and Mako together against the lone hero. Considering levels, they'd probably win, but would the other side complain about them winning two-on-one?

While thinking such things, preparations for the mock battle proceeded.

Under rain postponement conditions, on that brightly sunny morning, armies were gathering in the hilly area where Marana's walls could be seen in the distance.

Perhaps it could be called unsportsmanlike—since they were facing an ancient dragon, they'd even prepared siege weapons. Well, ballistas and catapults wouldn't do anything to an ancient dragon anyway.

When the army finished forming ranks, the sun had just reached its zenith. A signal trumpet sounded from the Marana army, and infantry deployed across the front advanced.

The long-range attacks with bows and guns that would normally exist weren't there this time. Instead, massive rocks and spear-like arrows flew from catapults and ballistas.

"Hmph."

Both rocks and spears were blown away by the ancient dragon's snort.

Before the ancient dragon's massive body extending one kilometer, the Marana soldiers' discipline was high just for advancing. But there were things that training and morale simply couldn't overcome.

Basically, in dragon-slaying legends that remain in history, dragons were defeated entirely by small elite forces.

A large army confronting a dragon was rather only a hindrance. The Marana army would be made to realize this immediately after.

The ancient dragon roared.

The soldiers endured—one strike. Probably because of Ryou's bestowal. There might have also been magic granting mental resistance from mages.

But the second strike. The breath released by the ancient dragon was unleashed on the ground just in front of the soldiers.

In an instant, the ground melted and exploded.

"Whoa～, it's like, 'Burn it all away!' huh?"

Mako said so leisurely. Was the ancient dragon some kind of giant god-warrior or something?

"Well, she certainly seems capable of destroying the world in seven days."

If a divine dragon got serious, one pillar could collapse the world. Knowing this, Sei smiled wryly.

More worrying was whether anyone had died in that attack, but with the effects of Gifts and magic, it seemed they'd somehow managed to block just the aftereffects.

However, the mental damage appeared significant.

At the ancient dragon's roar once more, the army could no longer endure.

As soldiers fled every man for himself, commanders who had withstood the roar's intimidation desperately tried to restrain them.

But they apparently judged that impossible soon enough. Running opposite to the soldiers, they spurred their horses toward here.

Among the foot soldiers, there were those whose spirits hadn't broken. Probably adventurers.

A group of roughly twenty crossed the still-scorching boundary line and came toward Sei's group.

"Well then, as planned."

At Sei's brief instruction, his companions nodded.

Twenty people—that number was more than expected.

Just the number serving purely as vanguard was over ten, with both foot soldiers and mounted warriors among them. He didn't know why the horses withstood the roar, but perhaps they had that much magical protection.

Bungol and Gantz would go to the front to stall the warriors, while Laila's spirit arts would neutralize the opposing mages. That was the original plan.

Lavi joined in that.

Lavi held in one hand a great shield that seemed impossible to carry with those slender arms, leaving the other hand empty.

And Lavi's attack became the first strike from Sei's group.

Stone throwing.

The most primitive method imaginable was the attack Lavi performed.

At first, they'd considered using a weapon sling, but Lavi was clumsy to begin with. Besides, adding weapon power might result in overkill.

The kinetic energy generated from monstrous strength dealt damage to warriors over their armor, destroyed magical barriers, and even reached the mages.

(Don't die on me now.)

While worrying about the opponents, Sei had dispatched two warriors in passing. Not something as gentle as striking with the blade's back. He severed arms or legs. They could heal them later.

Mako similarly neutralized two. Whatever concepts the opposing warriors had been granted by Ryou, they went down easily.

They approached Ryou, who was slightly behind the vanguard. The rear-guard mages attacked with various spells.

Using Sei as a shield, Mako ran behind. Because Sei's resistance to magic was far higher than Mako's.

Truly a shield class.

"That's absurd!"

Ryou shouted at Sei, who charged in completely ignoring the magical attacks. Even if told that, it couldn't be helped since this was the strategy.

Ryou's spear blocked Sei's katana. Since it was a cross-bladed spear, it skillfully stopped Sei's katana.

"Why won't it break!"

Apparently, he'd granted a special concept to the weapon, but Sei's katana was created at full power by the divine dragon Ria. It was natural for a divine dragon's power to surpass a god's Gift.

Mako passed by the side of those two. Her role was to neutralize the rear-guard mages.

For a moment, Ryou followed Mako with his eyes, but before Sei, that was a fatal opening. Sei's katana was swung to sever an arm.

But it was deflected by his gauntlet.

Probably the effect of a concept.

"Too bad. This gauntlet has been granted the concept of iron wall. It's not something that can be cut by a katana like that!"

"Iron wall, huh…"

Opening a slight distance, Sei faced off with Ryou.

"Iron wall is a common term, but what kind of defensive power do you think it represents?"

At that question, Ryou made a dubious face.

"… Well, since it's called iron wall, it should withstand any attack…"

"Huh, in Japan, phrases like 'iron wall defense' pretty much existed just to be broken through."

In manga, anime, not just battles but in sports and other fields too, it was overused.

"If it's really only as hard as iron, my katana can't be stopped."

Sei moved.

But Ryou couldn't sense it. Before he could, Sei had slipped into his guard.

Ryou's weapon was a short spear. Even so, its reach was longer than a katana. And with the acceleration concept, his reaction speed was enhanced.

Despite that, Ryou couldn't completely evade Sei's katana. And Sei cut Ryou's armor shallowly.

Intentionally, shallowly.

"A concept at the iron wall level can't stop my katana that even cuts through orichalcum."

Sei grinned broadly, and Ryou's face twitched.

This was supposed to be a mock battle.

Saying it in past tense was strange. In reality, no one had died yet, and the injuries were within the range that could be healed by magic.

But what was this overwhelming difference?

Begil, who was participating in this battle as an adventurer, felt discomfort stemming from his years of intuition.

First, the ancient dragon's existence. Naturally, he'd thought the dragon was the opponent's greatest force, but after initially making the filler soldiers flee, she was just watching the battlefield.

The high orc handling their front-line warriors was skilled. Together with the dwarf beside him, they completely protected the elven spirit user.

Only two were attacking their side—that Earthling they'd met before, and the hero.

The warriors left as escorts were holding off the hero attacking the rear. But they were quite disadvantaged.

Their greatest force, Ryou, was fighting one-on-one with a girl, and the battle didn't seem like it would conclude soon.

And then, that white-haired girl.

At first, he'd thought she was a mage. Specifically, specialized in healing.

To come this far across the Dragon Claw Continent with few numbers, they'd need a well-balanced party. Well, aside from the halfling man.

However, the white-haired girl was simply throwing stones, disrupting their coordination.

And yet when approached and attacked, her physique concealed heavy armor inconceivable from appearances, preventing damage.

(Is she the irregular one?)

Her movements were amateur. Her stats were probably high, but she didn't seem proficient in close combat.

First eliminate the unstable factor. So deciding, Begil circled the battlefield with his companions and launched close combat on Lavi.

A giant, ogre, and dwarf were coming toward her.

Even while sensing this, Lavi felt no sense of crisis.

Her role was reserve force. If warriors broke through Gantz and Bungol's shield, her job was to strike them down before they reached Laila.

But the three had clearly targeted Lavi. She honestly hesitated how to respond.

So even when the giant swung down a war hammer, she didn't particularly think anything, blocking with her shield while watching the other two.

(Impossible!?)

Begil was shocked. An attack swung down from the massive body of a giant species exceeding three meters was blocked by the shield.

His two companions attacking from Lavi's left and right. One had their attack blocked by Lavi's bare hand, and the final attack struck her torso but didn't even make her move from the spot.

These were attacks from dwarf and ogre warriors, races superior in physical strength. Of course, they'd held back, but she hadn't budged an inch.

A delicate girl withstood the attacks of heavy warriors exceeding level 80 without resistance. Even for adventurers whose appearance and abilities didn't match, this was abnormal.

(She looks human. No, a vampire? If a progenitor… no, it's daytime now?)

Leaving Begil's confusion aside, Lavi was brawling bare-handed against weapons.

Ryou was also panicking.

First, the enemy before him was strong. He understood from his own example that appearance couldn't be judged, but what was this combat ability despite not being a hero?

Unintentionally seeking help, he extended the 'grasp' concept across the battlefield. And was appalled.

First, the rear guard was on the verge of collapse.

The warriors guarding the mages were originally scouts. Mako was slowly and steadily neutralizing them despite their inferior pure combat power. Even though this was a mock battle so they weren't using means like poison—one of the scouts' combat tools—it was far too one-sided. While he was grasping the situation, one of the mages had finally been defeated.

And the front-line warriors—their attacks toward the rear were being blocked by the high orc and dwarf warriors. Most abnormal was that companions Ryou knew well were being stopped by a single girl.

No, rather, the girl was overwhelming Begil and the others. Going bare-handed against forged masterwork weapons in a brawl—impossible for the races.

Impossible situations were happening to him, the rear guard, and the vanguard.

At this rate, they'd lose. Ryou judged so. After all, even just the girl before him was simply superior in combat technique.

Therefore, Ryou took a gamble. For him who manipulated concepts, he could transform vague imagery-bearing words into power.

It was a layered application of the concepts of 'strongest,' 'invincible,' and 'undefeated.'

With this, he'd defeat the enemy before him as quickly as possible and head to the other battle lines.

That was the only means to overturn this battle situation. At least, Ryou thought so.