Chapter 142
Surviving With An Sss-Rank Inventory Chapter 142
Episode 142
: Push!
As the giant ogre’s head exploded, ominous black blood splattered across the sky.
The appearance and strength of the ogre that had just fallen was quite different from that of ogres from other regions.
Aside from the dark-purple skin that seemed to have decayed, there was another pair of arms attached to his back.
It was an ogre that had been mutated and reborn by the power of Acrich.
It is said to be five times stronger than an ordinary ogre.
thud!
However, even these mutant monsters fell to Dio’s sword in an instant, and the spirit of the Allied Forces who watched this was sky-high.
“The commander conveys. “After dealing with the remnants of the center, we support both sides.”
“Waaah!”
“Die, you demon beasts!”
At Dio’s words, the commanders leading the coalition’s troops began defeating the neutralized demon monsters one by one with their soldiers.
In the meantime, Dio was able to take a breather.
‘Phew, we’re halfway through now.’
There were endless battles, large and small, to the point where a battle had just begun in the depths of the Demonic Realm.
You still have to travel half way to reach the place where the Deathcruger is.
Until then, the Eastern Allied Forces had fought several battles, and each time, Dio took the lead with his party members and defeated them.
It wasn’t an action to protect the Allied Forces, but rather to monopolize experience points, but there was no way people would know what he was thinking.
I just think of him as a brave commander who risks death and fights ahead.
Maybe that’s why the deeper they got into the demon world, the more the soldiers followed Dio’s orders without saying anything.
Although Prince Prian was nominally leading the Allied Forces, the Allied Forces took it for granted that Dio would naturally assume overall command at some point.
The five swords also followed Dio’s instructions under Prian’s watch and helped clear the way by subduing the demonic beasts.
This was because everyone considered Dio to be the general commander and they could not treat him carelessly.
‘The mutant was mobilized faster than expected. He must have noticed by now.’
Dio thought about Deathcruger’s behavior and received reports of damage to his allies.
By the halfway point, the damage suffered by the Eastern Allied Forces was very light.
Although it was partly because Dio, an old man, was leading the front line, it also played a role in the quality of the soldiers.
Dio’s companions armed with swords and named NPCs including five swords.
The Eastern nobles and the knights under them, along with the Bertio Knights, the best knightly order in the East.
In addition, the actual combat experience of the empire’s regular army was on a different level from that of ordinary soldiers.
In particular, Prince Prian’s soldiers who participated in this expedition were the main characters who had recently suppressed a military rebellion and achieved great achievements.
As a result, even the demonic beasts and undead sent by Descruger were unable to cause any significant damage.
Of course, among these, the damage to the Allied Forces was minimized the most thanks to Dio’s efforts to understand the characteristics and weaknesses of monsters and lead the military by deploying troops in the right places.
There was no need to tell us that the arrangement according to the right place was also Dio’s desire to monopolize experience points.
“Broken bones are glued together!”
“Now it’s easy!”
“Solari. “I believe it!”
No matter how greedy Dio is, he cannot stop the Demon Lord’s monsters alone.
Although it was said to be weak, damage to the soldiers was inevitable, and Sepia treated them with sincerity.
Normally, casualties are bound to occur in such large units, so some clerics are dispatched, but is it because of the orders of the Luna Church?
Except for the five swords, not a single priest of the Luna Church participated in this expedition.
Because of this, Sephia was treating the wounded alone, and Dio saw this as a golden opportunity to raise the soldiers’ faith.
“The sun is with us.”
Sephia followed Dio’s instructions and carried out the healing ceremony as methodically as possible.
Of course, Sephia did not use heal skills like regular priests.
A bundle of light swirling around her.
It looked like a nature spirit called a ‘wisp’, but it boasted a brilliant light that a spirit would not dare imitate.
It was no exaggeration to say that this was a small sun.
This skill, named [Healing Sun] after talking with Sepia, is a dot-based skill that continuously heals allies within a certain range.
Fortunately, there were not many people injured and no one was fatally injured, so this skill alone was sufficient.
Whenever the battle ended, the wounded went to Sepia on their own, and many of the soldiers who chased after her were still healthy.
“Isn’t the saint pretty? lol.”
“You bastard are not someone to be trusted.”
They seemed simply fascinated by Sephia, as if they were worshiping the Solari.
‘So far so good.’
With the addition of Sepia’s treatment, the Allied Forces’ situation was at its peak and could not have been better.
There is almost no power loss at all.
There is no way the Allied Forces would not welcome the fact that they had advanced to the center of the Demonic Territory.
So far, the only incident that can be called a minor problem is the large-scale battle at the beginning.
Since then, Descruger has mobilized additional troops and mutants, but the Allied Forces are still in good shape.
So Dio became even more wary.
If things proceed without any incidents or incidents, something big will eventually happen later.
In particular, on the order board, D.O. experienced more such incidents than anyone else.
The reason D.O was able to become the best output on the order board was because of his constant vigilance.
And as expected, Dio’s prediction was not wrong.
In the end, a problem big enough to stagger the Allied forces arose.
* * *
Descruger created a big wave from scratch with the determination to destroy the first battle.
This was an issue that Dio had assumed, but there were no major problems in resolving it.
Rather, what D.O. had to watch out for was internal divisions and individual arbitrary actions.
Fortunately, Prince Prian joined the Allied Forces, and Dio used him to solve the problem.
Thanks to this, the Allied Forces remained as strong as before and were able to easily deal with the swarms of Descruger’s demons that they encountered afterwards.
However, the fact that the Allied forces’ losses were minimal was actually an obstacle.
This is because Deathrugger started sending ‘plague-type undead’.
“Cough! Cough!”
“Why am I so tired?”
“Me too…”
“Hey! Wake! “Call the saint!”
While Sepia was moving around the battle lines using Healing Sun.
As the units in the rear slowly began to fall ill, the movement of the Allied forces came to a complete halt in an instant.
This is why Death Luger is called the Pentagram and its strategy is considered extremely difficult.
There are too many opponents to become a strong few, and plagues and various status abnormalities are problems to become a majority.
This is due to the undead possessing a passive skill called ‘Plague’.
It was easy to defeat them, but the problems that arose afterward were something the Allies could not deal with.
For those who are not familiar with demonic energy to begin with, just entering it is fatal.
The demonic energy that fills the Demonic Sutra is like a miasma.
The poison is weak at the beginning, but the deeper you go, the thicker and stronger the poison becomes.
In this situation, the ‘Echo of Plague’ that occurs when the Plague Undead dies makes the Demonic Land, which is already full of poison, even more dangerous.
‘The pattern is different. It may be because the size of the Allied forces is large.’
It’s different from Luave.
The number of patterns was much more diverse, irregular, and flexible than Luave’s patterns.
‘He noticed. There is a lack of clergy in the Union.’
Currently, there was only one person in the Allied Forces who could be called a priest, Sepia.
Although she has shown great ability and protected everyone so far, common sense suggests that it was impossible to purify a large-scale plague on her own.
Deathcruger, who noticed this, began to operate the Plague Undead on a large scale, which would normally only be operated on a small scale.
‘They gave up on sending strong demon beasts and are creating a plague. Well, this is probably the most effective method he can think of.’
Descruger’s decision to act flexibly according to the situation of the Allied Forces brought fatal results to the Allied Forces.
Since the status ailment called ‘infection’ can only be cured by the priest’s purification, the items Dio brought could not be used here.
Of course, Sepia can use wide-area healing and purification skills in addition to Healing Sun.
However, while the five swords must also be kept in check, consuming more energy than this must be avoided.
The Allies had to make a decision.
“It is impossible to enter like this.”
“The number of infected people has exceeded half.”
Dio, who was briefed on the current situation by each soldier’s commander, immediately requested a summons order from the prince.
The leaders who gathered in this way were the five swords of Igram, including Dio, and Prion opened his mouth towards them.
“The situation for the soldiers is not so good. “What about the mercenary side?”
“Same goes for this one. The veterans are holding up well, but one-third of the mercenary group is infected with the plague. “Most of the merchant guilds that were at the forefront were infected.”
“It was my first time going this far away, so I couldn’t take any measures against the plague. “Maybe we were overconfident.”
Hearing Agram’s report, Prian massaged his temples as if he had a headache.
“What should I do?”
Prion asked everyone, but his final gaze was fixed on Dio.
With a look of secret hope that he would solve this problem.
With everyone’s attention, Dio opened his mouth.
“If we force it, the plague will spread much more strongly and quickly than it does now.”
Dio announced his plan by deliberately speaking slowly amidst all the attention.
“We are about halfway to our destination. From now on, I think it would be better to enter with only small units that Sepia can manage.”
“If it’s a small scale, to what level are you thinking?”
“The personnel here, my companions, veteran mercenaries, and the elite knights who will protect the prince.”
When Dio calculated the exact number, Prian looked troubled.
Although about half of the Allied Forces were infected with the plague, the number of people who survived it was a significant force.
It was too dangerous to say that we would turn back all of this and enter the demonic region, which would become even more dangerous in the future, with only a small number of troops.
“If I go as far as I’ve come, I can fight the lich, but isn’t that too dangerous?”
“no. On the contrary, during this half, the guy overexerted himself considerably. “The Allied Forces fulfilled their responsibility just by coming this far and defeating Lich’s men.”
In order to convince Prian and everyone else, Dio began to explain the basis for his judgment one by one.
“In order to safely return the infected soldiers, we need to bring in a corresponding number of management troops.”
“That’s right.”
“If we mobilize a large number of troops without considering the infected soldiers, and something untoward happens, there is no turning back. “Not us, but the soldiers now infected with the plague.”
“Hmm…”
Prion nodded slowly at Dio’s words.
Even if the expedition ends safely, it cannot be said to be a successful expedition if the damage is severe.
As Dio said, the Allied Forces have made great contributions so far.
So, if we survive and return like this, even if the expedition fails, we can prevent minimal losses.
“As I said, Acrich will not be able to operate a large army for the time being.”
“Besides, if we move on our own, we can move much faster.”
As if he agreed with Dio’s opinion, Agram next to him also added a word.
Dio continued speaking after Agram.
“you’re right. If that happens, we could defeat the lich before he can recover the power he used to create the army.”
From Prian’s perspective, it is a very good situation to succeed in the expedition without any damage.
If, as Dio said, the expedition was completed by sending back the plague-stricken main force and preserving their lives, the reward that would follow was sure to be enormous.
‘Stop the resurrection of the Demon King without any significant loss…’
Prian couldn’t help but find the thought appealing.
If we do that, we will be able to establish an overwhelming position among our brothers.
However, I cannot decide this important matter alone.
Prian looked at the five swords and opened his mouth to ask about their intentions.
“What do you think about the Luna Church?”
“We also agree.”
Aldur, representing the Five Swords, expressed his approval without any disagreement.
Prian was curious about this because the five swords were dissatisfied with Dio’s work at every turn, but he did not have time to think deeply about it.
Even while we were worrying like this, the plague was spreading rapidly.
“Then the decision has been made. I also agree. “Prioritize the safety of the infected soldiers and send troops to fight them. I will be selecting personnel to continue the subjugation.”
“I will follow your orders.”
Dio bowed his head in Prian’s permission.
With a faint smile that no one can see.
Survive as an SSS-level warehouse character