Chapter 296: An all-purpose Pandemonium and a broken war horn

On the battlefield where Vandalieu and his allies were clashing with demigods, and the sounds of majestic war horns and drums could be heard, perhaps the busiest were Knochen, Zozogante, and Legion.

Several of the demigods and a portion of the monsters were targeting the fleet, including Cuatro.

“Now! Destroy the ship!”

“It doesn’t matter if they’re fakes!”

Even Gorn and his allies had realized that the flying ships, though they were a base and a means of transport for Vandalieu and his companions, were not that important.

But all of the fake Cuatros had a means of attacking; they were weapons that were dealing great damage to their forces.

Thus, as Brateo had drawn Vandalieu away and the other enemies were fighting elsewhere as well, the demigods had decided to sink as many of the ships as possible while they were occupied.

Of course, Cuatro and the two remaining fake Cuatros were not just sitting targets. They screeched as they made evasive maneuvers to evade the demigods’ spells and Breath attacks while counter-attacking with cannon-fire.

And Knochen groaned as he used his body to stop the attacks that couldn’t be evaded as well as the fast-moving monsters that were trying to approach.

“Damn it, it’s so solid! Even flames and lightning are having little effect! What in the world is that swarm of bones?!” one of the demigods shouted in frustration.

Knochen, who had awakened ‘Long-distance Control’ into the ‘Bone Swarm Control,’ had separated the swarm of bones that comprised his body into multiple groups.

His main body had gone to support Bone Man and Luciliano, while three of his split entities remained to defend Cuatro and the fake Cuatros. Each of them was about as large as one of the hundred-meter-tall demigods.

The monsters that flew into Knochen screamed as they were crushed by the storm of bones, and their bones became a part of him. Knochen had apparently acquired the ‘Dismantling’ Skill recently, which had improved the speed and precision with which he extracted bones from enemies on his own.

“Ah, you are of much help, Knochen-dono!” said Zozogante in thanks as the countless eyeball-like fruits hanging from his branches fired black beams of light, keeping the demigods at bay.

Knochen gave a questioning groan.

“I am not so good at close-quarters combat!” Zozogante explained. “My strength and defense are weaker than they look! And those guys know that! After all, we fought against the Demon King together a hundred thousand years ago!”

The Evil God of the Dark Forest Zozogante had been considered among the weaker gods of the Demon King’s army, like the Dragon God of Five Sins Fidirg. He had the repulsive appearance of an enormous black tree with eyeballs hanging from its branches like fruits, and one might think that he had a lot of Vitality, like plant-type monsters.

He did indeed have a lot of Vitality. But his strength and defense were weak for a god, and close-quarters combat was his weak point. That was true even for this vessel, which he had made after his complete revival, as it was almost identical to his main body.

“Don’t let your guard down just because it’s a weaker evil god! Keep your distance!” one of the demigods shouted in warning.

“He might power up like Fidirg did. Let the monsters stand in front!” said another.

“Gah, to think that we would need to be so wary of the likes of him! That cunning fox, borrowing the Demon King’s power!” muttered a third in frustration.

The demigods had received word that during the battle against the forces defending Peria, the Dragon God of Five Sins Fidirg had summoned a familiar spirit upon his vessel, powering up greatly, and defeated a demigod with a single attack.

Thus, they did not let their guard down against Zozogante, who had been revived like Fidirg, and several demigods took aim at him from afar.

This did result in the fleet behind Zozogante being protected, however.

“Curse you! Saying whatever you want! Even if it is true, I shall not forgive you!” said Zozogante, irritated at the demigods’ insults.

Knochen groaned in warning.

“I know! I will not lose my mind from their provocations and go closer to them! Here, catch!”

Zozogante was not rash like Brateo. He extended his roots to grab an approaching black Giant that was significantly smaller than the Satan Giant, then tossed it into Knochen’s whirlpool of bones.

He aimed his black beams of light to destroy materialized spirits that had been driven mad by the miasma of the Demon King’s continent… these monsters had temporarily been named ‘Evil Spirit Berserkers.’

There were more of the eight-legged bear-like monsters like the one that the ‘Heart Warrior Brigade’ had defeated… These monsters had temporarily been named ‘Satanic Grizzly.’ Zozogante deliberately cut his roots and vines to cover the monsters in his sap, which dried and became as hard as Adamantite. Once they were immobilized, he threw them into the air with his branches, exposing them to the cannon-fire of the fake Cuatros.

There were monsters of an unknown kind, resembling one-eyed tigers that were covered in scales… These were presumably a superior race of the Raptor Cats that lived in the Devil’s Nests and Dungeons around Talosheim. Zozogante drove these monsters away by throwing his eyeball-fruits and making them explode.

All of these monsters were Rank 10 or above, and Zozogante, who was equivalent to Rank 13, would normally be able to defeat them with certainty – in one-on-one combat.

Knochen groaned again.

“Indeed, if I were alone, I would have been overwhelmed by their numbers and unable to prevent them from approaching, and then the demigods behind them would have finished me,” said Zozogante.

He could defeat these monsters with certainty, but that didn’t mean that he could do it in a single instant. Compared to Fidirg, he had better defense, durability, and most of all, regeneration. But his attack power and speed were inferior.

That didn’t change even after summoning Vandalieu’s familiar spirit upon his vessel. If he didn’t have the familiar spirit and the support of the fake Cuatros and Knochen, he would have been defeated quickly, just as he said.

Indeed, even as Zozogante defeated the monsters, the demigods were continuing their long-range attacks. Zozogante could regenerate the damage from one or two of these attacks quickly, but without the support of Knochen and the fake Cuatros, he might have met a watery grave without being given the chance to regenerate.

Fidirg had gotten carried away and fought at full strength, causing the enemy to be on maximum alert.

I’ll give him a punch when I return, Zozogante thought.

Knochen groaned three times in succession.

“Yes… I shall continue to buy time and wait for the next stage. I know,” said Zozogante.

Knochen groaned again.

“Yes, now that you mention it, I do feel some pity for them.”

Once the second stage of the plan began, those demigods would be slaughtered by Vandalieu when he fought all-out, and their meat would be used for food and their bones would be used to make stock and then added to Knochen. It was not even worth holding a grudge against them.

Incidentally, Zozogante was able to understand Knochen’s groans because Vandalieu’s familiar spirit inside him was performing simultaneous interpretation.

The demigods fighting Zozogante and Knochen were not the only ones targeting the three remaining ships in the fleet.

A group led by the Great Ocean Dragon God Madroza, who was burning with a desire for vengeance like Brateo, was also aiming for the fleet. But unlike Brateo, who was acting on his own, this was an order from the Boulder Colossus Gorn.

“We must not allow any more of them to self-destruct or release that mist of blood! We must bring them down at all costs!” Madroza shouted.

At her command, the demigods unleashed a Breath attack of compressed water. This was followed up by attacks from the Ice Colossus Mugan, the Crab Beast-King Gabildes, and the Light Dragon God Ryularyus.

Following that, the demigods sent the monsters that were riding on their backs towards the ships. They had been reluctant to carry the monsters on their backs, but the monsters lacked the mobility to get past Zozogante and Knochen to attack Vandalieu’s fleet, so they had no choice.

The real Cuatro, as well as the fake Cuatros that looked identical but were actually being steered by Demon King Familiars, creaked as they began making evasive maneuvers.

But perhaps deciding that it was impossible to keep evading, one of the ships did a hard turn and positioned itself as a shield for the other two.

Breath attacks of compressed water, icicles, acidic bubbles and light exploded against the side of the ship.

One ship down, Madroza thought.

“Impossible!” she shouted in the next moment as he saw through the light and water sprays that the fake Cuatro was unscathed. “Why is it not sinking after our attacks landed?! Fakes like the ones we have seen so far should fall apart easily, or explode!”

“Madroza-dono! Look at the side of that ship! It’s made of Orichalcum!” said Mugan, pointing at the fake Cuatro’s side.

Its wooden exterior had broken apart, revealing the Orichalcum beneath.

“I didn’t think I’d have to end up showing the Orichalcum ship that I built just in case,” said the Demon King Familiar that was steering the ship.

Vandalieu and his companions had acquired a large quantity of Orichalcum by capturing the Orichalcum Golems used by the forces defending Peria. Vandalieu had armored one of the fake Cuatros with this god-created metal that could trade blows with fragments of the Demon King.

His companions that were taking part in this plan were already equipped with equipment made from Demon King fragments. Thus, he had decided to use the Orichalcum to build a ship to act as a shield for the other ships, and it had been a great success.

“With this, even our long-range attacks will not work!” Madroza muttered.

Orichalcum was magic-repellant, but it was also exceptionally hard, and possessed an elastic property and shape-memory. Thus, the attacks of Madroza and the other demigods had almost no effect on it. And with its elastic property and shape-memory, the small scratches and dents they did make were erased as the Orichalcum returned to its original shape.

“Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to leap into the fray!” shouted Madroza.

She knew that she would be subject to some attacks, but she believed that there was no other way. Orichalcum was not indestructible. She was one of the most skilled demigods, and with her close-quarters fighting ability, it would not be impossible to sink this ship.

But at that moment, a voice accompanied by the sound of a horn reached Madroza’s ears.

“Wait! Don’t focus solely on that Orichalcum ship!” it said. “Our objective is the ships that explode or release ‘Bloodlust.’ The Orichalcum ship is a shield to protect the others. Spending all of our strength to break that shield is foolish.”

“… Mugan, you and the monsters pin that Orichalcum ship down. The rest of you, we will be aiming for the other ships,” said Madroza, regaining her composure and giving orders. “Let’s go!”

With that, the demigods began attempting to take down the fleet of ships once more. The fake Cuatro made of Orichalcum attempted to stop them, but as Madroza had ordered, the Colossus Mugan equipped with weapons and armor made of ice, along with the monsters at his command, kept it at bay and limited its movements.

The Demon King Familiars, which were split entities of Vandalieu, realized that something was amiss as they saw Madroza behaving more like a proper commander than she had previously.

“Oh. I was sure she was going to come charging in.”

“I thought she’d at least realize that the Orichalcum armor makes the ship too hard to explode.”

They immediately activated the ‘Super Rapid Thought Processing’ Skill, then began a discussion through ‘Group Thought Processing.’

At first, Vandalieu had thought that Madroza had learned from her past mistakes. Although Elder Dragons rarely spent time among others, perhaps she had come out of her shell and developed as a commander. But even if that was the case, her behavior was odd, and Brateo’s remaining just as he was before was also odd. Vandalieu felt that if Madroza really had developed, then she would have cooperated with Gorn to keep Brateo in check.

So Vandalieu wondered, what was it then? … And then he realized something.

Just now… Just as Madroza was about to say something, I have a feeling that there was an unnatural change in the sound of the war horn.

The Vandalieu of the past would likely not have paid much attention to the sounds of the war horn and drums playing on the battlefield. He would simply think that this was the God of War Horns and the God of War Drums supporting Gorn and the others.

Considering the tune up to that point, it was a little unnatural.

He tried to cover it up, but it wasn’t in harmony. Remembering all of the notes that came before, and comparing them, it’s definitely strange.

Come to think of it, the melody changed when Brateo came leaping in as well.

The current Vandalieu was a performer of instrumental music himself, and had learned dancing from Kanako. That didn’t mean that his talent had bloomed. He’d never had a talent for music.

However, he had acquired ‘Perfect Record Technique.’ He could accurately record all information he perceived through his sensory organs, essentially giving him an artificial absolute pitch.

It was artificial, so it was dubious to compare it to someone with a true absolute pitch, but… it had allowed him to sense that something was off.

If the God of War Horns Sirius is giving commands in Gorn’s place, that’s troublesome.

It’s not exactly a fatal problem to the plan, but it’ll catch us off guard if we leave him be.

But with that said, I don’t know where he’s hiding. It would be too sloppy to just fire ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon’ like I did before… Let’s have someone investigate.

Having finished the discussion with himself in his head, Vandalieu ordered Kimberley and the space-attribute Ghosts to search for the God of War Horns Sirius.

“… ‘Soul Destruction Fighting Technique,’ ‘Monster Flesh.’”

Naturally, Vandalieu was continuing to fight a fierce battle against Brateo at the same time so that his plan would not be noticed by the enemy. With his fist expanded and covered in an armor created by using ‘Materialization’ on his soul, he struck Brateo hard.

“You bastard… Do you not fear my counter-attacks?!” Brateo snarled in frustration.

“No. My limbs grow back right away, after all,” Vandalieu said in reply.

Brateo’s fist, covered by his bronze gauntlet, had broken through Vandalieu’s thin, extended soul armor and pierced through his arm. Brateo’s electricity was passing directly into it, scorching it from within.

But it was all for naught.

“You bastard! You cut off your own arm before attacking me?!” Brateo shouted as he came to that realization.

Vandalieu had chopped off his own arm before activating ‘Monster Flesh.’ Brateo’s counter-attack on his arm, which was being controlled through ‘Group Control,’ didn’t cause Vandalieu so much as an itch as it was no longer connected to him.

He just needed to recover the part of his soul that was covering its surface afterwards.

The black pieces of Vandalieu’s soul stripped themselves off his now-shrunken arm and reattached to his newly-grown arm. Seeing this, anger and panic flashed in Brateo’s eyes, and he gathered even more Mana for his next attack. But in the next moment, a particularly loud note from the war horn echoed across the battlefield.

Brateo clicked his tongue and released more lightning, keeping himself ready for opportunities for more counter-attacks and refraining from committing to a large punching or kicking attack.

Just now, he was clearly thinking, ‘Now that it comes to this, I need to finish things with a large move.’

And yet, he’s continuing to attack in the same way as before in order to draw me in. A strange level of patience.

The war horn’s notes are giving commands after all. If possible, I would like to destroy it, but…

“Vandalieu, with the assistance of Kimberley and the other Ghosts, I would be able to find him quickly, but I will not be able to continue gathering materials. Should I?” asked Gufadgarn.

“… Yes, please. I’m fine, but if we take too long, Zozogante, Simon and the others will struggle.”

Zozogante’s mental endurance and the stamina of Simon and the others were a concern. Before the battle began, Vandalieu had intended to return Simon and the others to Cuatro if things became difficult, but… given the state of the fleet, it didn’t seem like he would be able to do that.

The fact that Madroza and Brateo were remaining calm, though not a critical factor, was making the plan considerably more difficult to carry out.

“As you wish. Excuse me for a short while,” Gufadgarn said as her presence vanished from behind Vandalieu.

Madroza, who was attacking the two remaining ships other than the Orichalcum one along with her subordinates, noticed silhouettes on the ships’ decks… and that the silhouettes were varied and different from one another.

There were silhouettes on the decks of both ships. Given that, she believed that neither was an exploding fake ship.

Though Zombie Radatel was clearly being used as bait, Vandalieu did not use those he considered his companions as disposable pawns. Madroza knew that he would not sacrifice them.

In other words, one is the real one, and the other is a fake that is for a purpose other than exploding. So, which is the real one?

The objective of Madroza and her subordinates was to take down the fake Cuatro before it could explode, in order to minimize the damage and losses suffered by her allies. But if there were no exploding ships, then the real Cuatro was what they should focus on.

If they tried to destroy the fake Cuatro and it ended up being an Orichalcum ship as well, it would just be a waste of time and Mana. So naturally, the real Cuatro was the better target.

The silhouettes on the ships’ decks were the clues needed to determine which ship was which.

One has Legion and Skeletons that look like pirates and sailors. The other has pirate and sailor Skeletons only… the latter is the real one!

Madroza was aware of the ‘Counter’ ability of Ereshkigal, one of the personalities that formed Legion. She suspected that the ship with Legion aboard was a fake for the purpose of drawing attacks and making use of ‘Counter.’

If the Undead aboard with Legion were entities that were split off from Knochen, then this would not result in Vandalieu sacrificing his allies.

“Cover me!” Madroza commanded her subordinates.

Firing a barrage of spells towards the ship she was certain was the real Cuatro, she attempted to close the distance, steeling herself for the cannon fire that she would inevitably be exposed to.

“M-Madroza-dono?! Stop her, Ryularyus!” shouted Gabildes, alarmed by the sudden change in Madroza’s tactics.

“I can’t! We have no choice but to cover her!” said Ryularyus.

With no choice other than to obey, and pressed on by the notes of the war horn, they unleashed Breath attacks of acidic bubbles and light, and forced the remaining monsters to charge.

The Orichalcum ship immediately attempted to put itself in the path of these attacks, but icebergs conjured by Mugan blocked its movement.

Much of the cannon-fire was shot down by Ryularyus’s Breaths of light, which were fast and accurate, but even so, several projectiles landed directly on Madroza’s body.

Channeling her pain into anger, she roared and let out a Breath attack at point-blank range, then used all of her strength to swing her tail at the ship that was now off-balance.

This was a combination of attacks that had repelled many evil gods during the war against the Demon King a hundred thousand years ago. If they landed, even an Orichalcum Golem wouldn’t escape unscathed.

But a moment before Madroza’s tail struck its target, a Skeleton wearing a captain’s hat leapt out from the deck. Perhaps it was trying to block the tail at the cost of its own life?

Futile, Madroza thought.

But in the next moment, pieces of meat spilled out of the Skeleton’s hat and grew larger. And then it turned into the shape of a woman.

“Got you,” said the woman… Ereshkigal.

With a violent noise, her body was brutally pulverized by Madroza’s tail.

Madroza coughed and groaned. The deafening noise of her bones crumbling and her organs being crushed filled the air, and blood poured freely from wounds all over her face as she fell towards the sea.

Ereshkigal had separated from Legion, who was with the real Cuatro, and used the ‘Size Alteration’ Skill to hide inside the Skeleton’s hat – in order to apply ‘Counter’ to any lethal attacks used by the enemy demigods.

Knochen let out a satisfied groan.

The Undead sailors on the ship with Ereshkigal were all split entities of Knochen, so Madroza’s analysis of the situation had not been completely wrong.

She had simply mistaken which was the real Cuatro and which was the fake.

“Madroza-dono!”

Moving faster than his appearance suggested was possible, Gabildes rushed forward to aid Madroza, while Ryularyus kept Cuatro and the fake Cuatro in check with continuous Breath attacks.

“Wait, isn’t that one of the ones we were supposed to leave alive?” said Pluto. “Do you think she’s okay?”

“She seems to be heavily wounded and on the verge of death, but I don’t think it can be helped. If Ereshkigal hadn’t used ‘Counter’ there, the fake Cuatro would have exploded at point-blank range,” said Shade.

“It’s important not to mistake boldness for recklessness!” said Valkyrie.

Even as this conversation was taking place, the war horn sounded multiple times.

It seemed that Gorn and Sirius were shaken by Madroza’s critical state as well.

And from the war horn’s notes, Kimberley and Gufadgarn were able to successfully locate the pseudo-Divine Realm where Sirius was hiding.

“We’ve found where the target’s hiding!” Kimberley said.

“I can… make a connection, at a moment’s notice. Just give the word,” said Gufadgarn.

“Then let’s destroy him and then leave,” said Vandalieu, gathering Mana to cast a spell.

“I won’t let you!” shouted Brateo, taking notice of this and using the opening to unleash a lethal attack.

It was a maximum-speed punch, with his muscles and nerves forcibly strengthened by lightning.

Brateo’s fist broke the sound barrier and crashed into Vandalieu head-on, and Vandalieu was sent flying away, unable to resist the force at all.

But in the next moment –

“‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon.’”

A jet-black ray of light that was capable of destroying even a god appeared from behind Brateo.

“Wha – ?! You used the arm that you cut off?!”

The arm that Vandalieu had cut off to prevent Brateo’s counter-attack earlier – Vandalieu had recycled it by using ‘Group Control’ to manipulate and regenerate it.

And the ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon’ passed through a ‘Teleportation Gate’ that appeared in its path, altering its trajectory.

The sound of something breaking could be heard, along with a dying scream.

“I-I leave the rest to you…” a voice groaned.

And with that, the sounds of the war horn ceased.

Monster explanation (Written by Luciliano):

Bone Pandemonium Gigant

Likely the largest Undead in the world. If all of his bones were gathered in one place, he could create a room in which even the Sun Giant Talos could relax in.

Perhaps due to his ‘Construction’ Skill Level increasing, the quality and designs of interiors and furniture of the rooms he creates has improved (although they are all made of bone).

And as he has acquired the ‘Size Alteration’ Skill, he has become able to reduce his size, and this allowed him to be carried inside Cuatro in order to participate in this battle.

As for his strength in battle… he could crush a human army simply by advancing forward. Fighting him would be like trying to fight a mountain that is capable of flying at great speeds. A-class adventurers are capable of splitting small hills, but… using a single attack against a mountain of bones with a Level 10 ‘Physical Resistance’ Skill and turning them all to dust would likely be impossible even for Master – though he would be able to do so with multiple attacks.

Monster explanation (Written by Luciliano):

Phobia Ghost War Battleship

A monster that was a Rank 8 Terror Ghost Chimera Battleship, a Rank 9 Phobia Ghost Battleship, and a Rank 10 Phobia Ghost Warship before reaching its current state.

Perhaps due to experiencing battles against demigods, Cuatro’s growth has progressed at a spectacular rate. Its rapid evolution makes it difficult to believe that it started out as a collection of inorganic matter.

And because it has acquired the ‘Space Expansion’ Skill, it has become capable of housing a great number of objects and personnel.

Like Sam, any nation that learned of Cuatro’s existence would desire it as a means of transportation… though unlike Sam, it is crewed by Undead sailors, making it rather undesirable to the Amid Empire.

Incidentally, ‘Ship of Despair’ is thought to be a Title that the forces defending Botin and Peria created. Well, I cannot blame them. The exploding fake Cuatros had the same appearance as the real one, after all.

Skill explanation (Written by Luciliano):

Strengthened All Attribute Values

A Skill that strengthens Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intelligence. Despite stating ‘All Attribute Values,’ Vitality and Mana are not included.

Apparently, many who attain the status of S-class adventurer possess this Skill.

Incidentally, Master has acquired this Skill while retaining his ‘Monstrous Strength’ Skill, but… one has no choice but to accept that such a thing is possible.