How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 195

217. The Best Strategy is Annihilation (10)

That was the most powerful attack I could unleash with Sprite right now.

And it hit her directly.

“…Normally, that would be the end of it.”

Without letting my guard down, I took out a potion and casually drank it, looking around.

There was nothing left where my attack had struck.

Only the heat remained, so intense that the ground was glowing red and melting from the lightning’s high temperature.

‘I guess that’s taken care of for now.’

Then, I looked around at the scattered demi-humans and sighed.

“…Thankfully, no one died.”

It was reckless.

They could have died, and it wouldn’t have been strange.

As I was relieved, Dires approached me.

I had to put aside everything else and say this first.

“…Dires, and everyone else, that was reckless.”

Instead of saying ‘Thank you for your hard work,’ I started by scolding their actions.

“What were you going to do if you died?”

I was grateful for their help, but.

That doesn’t mean I like someone helping me and sacrificing themselves.

If that happens, I’m just going to be depressed.

Dires and the other demi-humans didn’t have anything to say in their defense.

Instead, they let out a slightly relieved breath and relaxed.

“But thanks to you, it was helpful.”

That was also true.

I don’t think I would have lost to that executive even if they hadn’t helped.

However, it would have only been decided after a desperate brawl.

Thanks to their help, I had some leeway and finished without overdoing it.

I should express my gratitude honestly for that.

“Anyway, thanks to you, I was able to defeat the enemy more easily.”

Only then did their expressions brighten a little.

I guess they were relieved that they were helpful.

“Anyway, let’s check the surroundings and retreat.”

After that, I looked around the battlefield where the battle had taken place several times.

Zillon, the beastman who accompanied me, saw my actions and asked, puzzled.

“Hey, Aileon, aren’t you done with that monster woman? Why are you so wary?”

“…Who knows? Maybe she’s still alive.”

“Hahaha. Your jokes are too much. …No, you’re serious.”

Seeing the look in my eyes, he realized it wasn’t a joke and pretended to look around awkwardly.

I didn’t say that to give him a sense of alertness.

‘Well, I’m 100 percent sure that woman isn’t dead.’

I couldn’t defeat her.

The reason I’m sure of that is that the unique message still doesn’t appear.

‘There’s no way I wouldn’t get points for defeating an enemy with a role.’

She’s a minor character, but still an executive.

The fact that there is no notification of point acquisition means that it has not been resolved.

At first, I thought she might launch another surprise attack, but there was no sign of that.

‘Did she run away then? Her skills are still considerable. I guess it’s not easy to catch an executive.’

I thought about chasing her, but I gave up.

I was tired too.

I don’t know what that woman will do during the chase.

If I chase her, a battle will definitely break out in the city, causing massive damage to the surroundings.

Even I would have a hard time dealing with it if it got that bad.

‘Should I just use this as an opportunity for the next time?’

I stopped thinking there for a moment and gave everyone my opinion.

“…Anyway, let’s hurry up and clean up the traces and go back. It took longer than expected. We need to discuss how to deal with it in the future, so let’s hurry.”

* * *

“…That was close… Ugh.”

Continental Integration Council executive Pemalt staggered through a secret passage dug underground.

It was dangerous.

She barely managed to escape into this passage before the lightning that the spirit caster unleashed struck.

If her judgment had been a little late, or if she had been unlucky, she couldn’t guarantee what would have happened.

“…Kugh.”

The damage she sustained in return was by no means minor.

The spirit caster’s skills were extraordinary.

Looking back calmly, she didn’t know what would have happened even if those demi-humans hadn’t interfered.

‘Where did such a person come from… No, more than that, this will cause problems with the plan.’

Pemalt’s goal was the grimoire [a textbook of magic] sealed in that relic tower.

It had been quite a while since she had received information that the grimoire, which must be recovered for the organization’s rise, was sleeping there.

However, even she could not easily obtain the grimoire in that relic tower at this stage.

Even though she, an executive, had personally stepped forward, it was a seal that could not be easily deciphered.

In the meantime, she found the only way to do it, and tried to put it into practice using those demi-humans, but.

That, too, has now suffered a serious setback.

‘…Is there no choice but to fail in this state?’

That fact is a bigger problem than the injury.

The plan must succeed.

To do that, she needs that grimoire.

‘…I need to come up with a plan quickly…’

However, she can no longer move with her injured body.

Of course, she can heal this level of injury in half a day.

But the spirit caster boy will still be standing there, so it won’t be easy.

There is no chance of winning even if we fight again.

‘Even if I don’t defeat that boy, I need to at least drive him to some extent.’

What method should I use?

She no longer chose means.

It can’t be helped even if her identity becomes known to the world.

Pemalt, recalling the best method possible now, came out to the center of the city through the passage.

It is still dark, but already a considerable number of people are gathered there.

Who can ignore the flashing lights and explosions constantly ringing from the lord’s castle?

Looking at them trembling with anxiety, she smiled as if it was a good thing.

‘I’ll have to use them all.’

There is not enough time, conditions, or anything to call in the organization’s main force now.

It is possible to bombard the tower, but if the tower is destroyed, the grimoire will be destroyed as well.

First of all, I have to drive them into a corner.

Pemalt approached the crowd.

Perhaps they had discovered her, as they were startled and approached.

“Wh-What’s going on?”

In their eyes, she must look like someone who was seriously injured and ran away.

She smiled gratefully at the misunderstanding.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. Before that…”

She carefully cleared her throat as if to refine her voice, and slowly and clearly spoke.

“…Would you be willing to listen to me for a moment?”

Raising ominous magic power, she spoke to them.

It won’t be long before she goes on the next attack.

* * *

First of all, I achieved the immediate results.

Because I succeeded in rescuing the hostages the lord was holding.

By now, everyone must be having a tearful reunion.

Leaving the heartwarming scene behind, I locked myself in my room and quickly checked the things I had brought.

Unfortunately, there are no treasures.

Perhaps that lord was just a low-level figure, as he didn’t possess any worthwhile treasures.

Instead, I took the piles of paper and parchment that were on his desk.

In fact, when the executive Pemalt first launched the surprise attack, I reflexively swept them into my subspace [a personal dimension or storage space] while dodging.

‘I didn’t expect anything, but….’

As I read through them one by one, I couldn’t help but frown.

It seemed like they were some kind of instructions.

“…Confine the different races in the tower? And kill them only there? The required estimated number is about 100? A special ritual? What is this about?”

Only such instructions.

From the looks of it, the captured different races were also going to be taken to the relic tower and disposed of.

‘I don’t understand the reason?’

How troublesome.

If the purpose is simply massacre or execution, there’s no reason to go to such lengths, is there?

‘It seems like there’s some kind of purpose.’

As I was wondering, I noticed the ghost girl floating near the ceiling.

It’s the ghost of Asilla, the owner of this relic tower.

[Yeah, yeah. I saw something good… It was a touching reunion.]

It seems she went to see the different races reuniting.

That ghost really has nothing better to do.

[Oh? But what are you looking at?]

“It’s nothing much.”

I explained to her.

Everything that happened there, and even the fact that I was contemplating while looking at the secured clues.

[Hmm~ So that’s what happened?]

“But I don’t understand the purpose at all. Why do they have to come all the way here to be killed….”

[…Ah.]

The reason I realized her reaction was strange was because she became extremely quiet after hearing my explanation.

She’s pondering something.

[Aileen, can you read those things over there for a moment?]

“…Yes?”

[I have a guess. You said the suspicious person you fought was a magician, right? And that the organization is full of many magicians besides her, too?]

“That’s right.”

[Okay, tell this genius.]

Anyway, as Asilla requested, I read all of them.

After agonizing for a long time, she scratched her cheek as if she had sorted out her thoughts.

[Ah… This is troublesome. I never thought someone would go this far. I didn’t know there would be such an idiot even as times change.]

“Wait a minute? Please explain? Do you have any idea?”

[Aileen, do you know what a burnt offering is?]

Burnt offering.

Well, I’ve roughly read about it.

It’s offering sacrifices.

It’s an act that exists not only in novels but also in reality.

However, the burnt offering mentioned here is different from the suspicious sorcery mentioned in reality.

“I know. And I also know that it itself is a systematic ritual.”

[Oh ho… Usually, people tend to ignore it because it’s troublesome.]

Offering livestock is an extremely powerful act here.

It amplifies mana and creates an efficient flow to see greater effects.

However, I know that there are not many who skillfully use it because the preparation is cumbersome and many magicians are reluctant to take the lives of livestock, even if they are just animals.

And I have no interest in it, so I have no intention of learning it.

But why are you bringing up the story of burnt offerings now?

Having thought that far, an unpleasant imagination came to my mind, and I frowned.

“Could it be….”

[It’s as you think. Well, this is just the opinion of an expert like me, though.]

“Does that mean that burnt offerings are also effective in 解除封印 [jiěchú fēngyìn – releasing seals]?”

[Judging by your reaction, it seems like it’s not commonly used these days.]

There seems to be a dedicated ritual for releasing seals.

[However, it seems they have modified the ritual much more cruelly than I know. The idea is not good.]

“Does that mean that killing the different races here is itself….”

She didn’t say anything and just nodded.

Damn it….

I clicked my tongue and gritted my teeth.

It’s not a pleasant sound to hear.

The lord’s purpose in attracting and betraying the different races.

It’s all a strategy to get the grimoire in hand.

“If it’s just a burnt offering, you’d usually use livestock, right?”

[Human sacrifice is a very effective method. It’s often used to ward off curses or repel disasters.]

Putting aside ethical issues, is it cost-effective?

“Even so… Why them of all people?”

[Beastmen or elves tend to have a higher affinity for magic power than humans from birth. There is no more efficient being to sacrifice than them.]

“….”

[It’s just a guess, but the reason they tricked them into coming here is probably to elicit a greater effect from resentment or frustration, right?]

“That’s something only a devil would think of.”

[Devils don’t think like that. Humans are the ones who always think like that.]

A sharp criticism.

Anyway, it means that they intended to lure the different races who became refugees to the relic tower and sacrifice them.

She said it was just a guess, but it’s highly likely to be true.

Moreover, even an executive directly intervened.

[But still, that would have failed.]

She asserted.

[The idea is naive. To think that a seal would break just by shedding a little blood. It’s completely underestimated.]

“Well… I agree.”

Come to think of it, the grimoire was rampaging and wandering around in the original work, volume 11. That’s the original development.

I can’t help but think that it’s related to the incident that happened here.

‘Then, was saving them the right answer from the beginning?’

If I save them, the enemy will not achieve their goal.

But that’s all.

“…There’s one more thing I’d like to confirm.”

[I don’t mind, but what is it?]

“If it’s a ritual that gains effect by massacre, how many people would it require if it targeted human blood instead of different races?”

[You’re asking something strange….]

Even though she felt uncomfortable, she seriously calculated as if she was willing to answer my question.

[I don’t know who that magician is, but it seems they calculated that sacrificing 100 different races here would be enough, but it’s naive. It can’t be broken that easily.]

“So, what about humans?”

[…It’s unpleasant, but according to that theory, 100,000 people? Of course, it still won’t break. I guarantee that.]

Whether it’s effective or not, it doesn’t matter.

It’s just to seriously consider one possibility.

“100,000….”

Come to think of it, what’s the total population of that city?

Was it around 70,000 to 80,000?

The thinking of a villain is extremely simple.

If they don’t care about the means or methods, it’s easy to calculate what will happen.

‘Then, there’s no time.’

A battle will soon break out again.

So, I must hurry to prepare to settle things.