Day 121

Well, after we had arrived back to the settlement, we were quite amazed to see the changes made to the settlement. The Mine had become a Fortress. When we moved closer to investigate, we saw the numerous changes that had been made to the old base.

I personally decided to make changes to the prison after we returned, but I also wanted to analyze the current situation and make changes to other areas as needed.

First, I suppose I’ll describe the changes in personnel that have occurred as of late.

Before our departure, the members of Parabellum, referring to those members, which had joined willingly and had either evolved or participated in some form.

Those who evolved constituted at least a [Rank-up] such as myself and Minokichi-kun. That also includes our pets, such as Kumajirou and Kurosaburou.

The members of the community from back then included:

Lords: [2]

Half-Lords: [4]

Minotaur: [1]

Vampire Noble: [1]

Ogres: [7]

Ogre Mages: [2]

Ghoul: [1]

Dodomeki: [1]

Hobgoblins: [8]

Hobgoblin Mages: [3]

Hobgoblin Clerics: [2]

Hobgoblin Shaman: [1]

Goblins: [10]

Old Goblins: [8]

Elves: [13]

Humans: [98]

Kobold Samurai: [2]

Kobold Footmen: [10]

Kobold Ninja: [3]

Kobolds: [12]

Elder Kobolds: [3]

Triple Horned Horses: [4]

Crimson Horned Horse: [1]

Hind Bear: [1]

Oniguma: [2]

Orthrus: [4]

Black Wolves: [25]

It was more or less around 229 individuals by my last count. There was the case of Fire Lord-kun and the Dragonewts that desired to return home after they had been freed from the human slave army, so they haven’t joined us officially yet. I’ll count them as part of the pending set.

Pending set:

Lords: [3]

Half-Lords: [5]

Dhampir: [1]

Ogres: [10]

Troll: [1]

Redcaps (Gnomes): [3]

Dragonewts: [4]

Half-Dragonewt: [6]

Lizardmen: [5]

Dwarves: [5]

Dullahan: [1]

Apemen: [3]

Tigermen: [2]

Centaur: [1]

The total is roughly 50 people, for a total of 279 people before we had left the base.

There was the situation with Fire Lord-kun and some of the others, though I've decided to not remove them from the formal number just yet. Therefore, although there are some serious changes to the overall order of the community, the issues can be dealt with in time.

The strong are obviously what makes up our hierarchy, it’s a perfect set up because if the lower ranks hold an issue to how I do things, I can put them back in their place.

It’s also useful to just have a system to determine the ranks and status of anyone and everyone at any given time.

With the large amount of people present at the fortress though, we might need to rearrange the ranks again.

The main issue is that the official count of membership is not actually 279 due to the children being born, evolved, or arrived after we had left.

Those are:

Ogre-Mixblood: [2]

Humans: [14]

High Ogre: [1]

Ogres: [3]

Goblins: [5]

Hobgoblins: [7]

Hobgoblin Mages: [6]

Hobgoblin Clerics: [3]

Hobgoblin Shamans: [2]

Hobgoblin Riders: [4]

Kobold Footmen: [2]

Kobolds: [6]

Dragotaur: [2]

Apemen: [11]

Dwarves: [5]

Leprechauns: [6]

Battle Insectoids: [7]

Stickbug Insectoids: [2]

Mika Atamaon’na: [1]

Porevikus: [3]

Plant Men: [2]

Cat Fairies: [23]

Nail Cats: [2]

Werewolves: [3]

Black Skeleton Commanders: [5]

Black Undead Knight: [1]

Boruforu: [1]

Falaise Eagles: [30]

Stamp Boars: [4]

Triple Horned Horses: [3]

Hind Bear: [1]

The added members totaled at 167 which brought up the original population to an amazing number of 446 members.

Though given that not all of them are combat-ready assets, this number fairly equals a force of one or two complete infantry units, if not more.

I suppose I’ll need to explain step by step how and why the number of members has increased besides those already mentioned.

The increase in births is mostly coming from the human women. Aside from the girls that I saved back at the Orc’s mine, we now also have the humans, Avenger, Nicola, as well as six other human children as well. That makes for quite a few humans. Some of them have even given birth twice now!

Among those that gave birth to a child, all of them apparently received [Job - Demon Child’s Holy Mother].

I would expect that in the future the number of women who bear this [Job] will undoubtedly increase. Their children will be blessed with powerful abilities, strength and other qualities because of it as well.

However, if the current birth rate continues as it is, the future generations will face various complications. The most possible would be food shortages, insufficient tools and living space are also possible. These are just a few of the most prominent that I can think of, however, there will probably be more facing us if countermeasures are not put in place.

On the other hand, there hasn't been a single birth from the elves yet. This really does show that the elvish pregnancy rate is very low.

I think that this is a special characteristic that they’re born with that contributes to preventing a major population boom when they hold such long life spans.

With this at least, I can have some peace of mind. After all, the elves are quite popular with the masses in certain regards.

Now, I suppose I’ll move onto the Dragotaurs and the Insectoids.

These are people who were among the previous human slave army. Once they were freed, they had left to return to their own tribes. This, however, was not to be, because they had discovered that their homes had already been destroyed or had been moved to another location that they are unaware of.

Due to this, they returned here because they had no where else to go.

Losing their homes is the main reason why many people have come to join us, but there are other reasons as well.

In particular, there is the case with the Cat Fairy tribe. They still actually have their own home somewhere in the mountains.

Their reasoning, however, is that the humans still view them as simple animals, something cute, and are in danger of being captured and being made into slaves for some noble’s daughter. Since the risk is very high, they choose to bring their tribes here to seek protection.

In actuality, only the two Nail Cats had belonged to the Human slave army, just a small portion compared to the Cat Fairy tribe that had arrived here. For that reason, I’m not certain about their combat potential.

<<Parabellum>> is a mercenary troop anyway, so I decided to draft and train all 25 of them to find out more about their combat potential for war.

As it would turn out, the base rank of the Cat Fairy is roughly the same as a Goblin, while the Nail Cat is roughly equal to a hobgoblin.

Because of that, they are not able to join our main combat forces.

After some more observation, I discovered that they are quite good with their hands. Especially when they are doing their chores around the settlement.

As such, I designated them as the caretakers of our base. Their tasks generally including cleaning, organization, light labor and so on.

Then there is a beautiful flower headed woman (Dorian), she’s actually ‘that’ Dryad.

When I had left the base, I had left behind one of my clones to keep her company and keep her safe while I was out.

It turns out that she kept on absorbing his life energy and the clone had become mummified. But, because of that, she had ranked up.

She now belongs to the [Dorian] race, which unlike the tree-bound [Dryad], she is able to move freely. The appearance of the Dorian race is similar to what the name implies; the Dorians look different than the Dryads as they have flowers growing on their heads.

The Dorian’s flower is similar to that of a hibiscus with pink petals.

As she was no longer tree-bound, she came to seek me out after my clone had perished. When she appeared at the base, I gave permission for her to remain there. Rather, I had to take responsibility and take her with us. With her gaining the title of [Consort of Demon ■■], it was rather that she had come to stay with me.

Since it cannot be helped, I’ll accept her decision.

Next is explaining why the Black Skeleton Commander and the Black Undead Knight were mentioned in the current population.

These are the results of my little experiment into the history and potency of the Black Skeletons using the [Kodoku] method. Basically it’s an ancient practice of necromancers since ancient times wherein I’m allowing the Black Skeletons to [Rank-Up].

Creating them is actually quite simple.

First, I dig several big holes in the ground, then I put in several Black Skeleton Knights and Black Skeleton Axemen that I’ve been creating since long before I left the base.

For each hole, I put in a total of twenty or so Black Skeletons of any type I feel like and lastly throw in a Black Skeleton Summoner.

The last part is actually quite troublesome to generate.

Then, I put a lid on the hole so they don’t escape and I order them to destroy one another.

The total number of Black Skeletons sealed in each hole is a total of twenty one. To arise as the victor, not only does the Skeleton need to defeat the other twenty Black Skeletons, but also the [Grey Skeletons] that the Black Skeleton Summoner can create.

In actuality, the Grey Skeletons are quite weaker than any version of the Black Skeletons, but since they are continuously spewing forth, there will be quite a few of them and as such they produce quite a fair deal of experience for any of the Black Skeletons that manage to destroy them.

Well, this scheme won’t work as well in the case that the Summoner is destroyed early on, so I ordered that the summoner cannot be killed until there are no other Black Skeletons remaining at the very end of the fight.

The efficiency of this scheme is actually pretty good. As an added bonus, the remains of the Grey Skeletons that are being destroyed en masse are quite delicious to me.

Through this method, Black Skeleton Commanders and Black Undead Knights emerged.

To briefly describe their capacity, the Black Skeleton Commanders are able to use the ability [Summon Lesser Skeleton] which grants them the ability to call forth Black Skeleton Elites as their own servants. This allows them to create Black Skeletons for use in their own group tactics without my assistance.

The Black Skeleton Commander is quite valuable in that sense. Even if you strip away the ability to summon, they still have the combat potential equal to that of at least three average Black Skeletons. This makes me wonder if, by any chance, the Black Skeleton Commander is actually a combination of the Black Skeleton Knight and the Black Skeleton Summoner.

Unlike the Commander version, the Black Undead Knight doesn’t have any summoning type ability. But on their own, they display quite the astounding combat capability. The Black Undead Knight stands taller than any common Ogre at about three meters tall. It has eight arms. The usual pair at the shoulders and then another set below them. The other two sets are behind the previous two sets. Its eye sockets are empty with the usual luminous orbs in the place of its eyes, colored a deep red similar to blood. From its joints emanates a black sinister aura that wraps around its entire body.

Summoned Skeletons are basically just bones. They have gaps between their bones to allow facilitated movements, but unlike the normal joints of the living, their joints are just empty gaps. They are moved magically, this structure is responsible for their inhuman defensive capabilities. Since their bones are rigid and lack flesh, the Skeletons are quite resistant to slashing and piercing attacks, but they are quite brittle. If they are hit by something with plenty of force, especially when directed towards their joints, they can be made to crumble.

This, however, is no longer the case with the Black Undead Knight. Each of them have something like skin that fills in the gaps of its joints. Moreover, it has muscles and its bones are quite thick, making it far more resistant to smashing. As if its corporeal cushion is not enough, there is still another layer of defense in the form of a dark aura that is shrouded over its entire body.

This aura also serves as its specific defense against the sunlight. Common Skeletons and Undead are especially vulnerable against the sunlight and often weaken and perish when exposed to sunlight or attacks of the same attribute. But, with the dark aura, the Black Undead Knight is no longer destroyed by the sunlight alone. Of course it is still weakened by the sunlight, but it won’t ever perish from it.

In the category of strength, the Black Undead Knight can take on five of my created Ogres at the same time. If it’s pitted against the average Black Skeletons, even a dozen of them don’t seem to be able to match its might.

This is mostly due to a special feature of its body. The Black Undead Knight has two well-supported skulls that provides it with a very wide field of view, negating most of the usual blind spots.

Furthermore, its skillful handling of its own biological weaponry makes it even more deadly. In seven of its eight hands, the Black Undead Knight wields various weaponry.

These include:

[Fishbone Greatsword]

[Executioner Greataxe]

[Crusher Morningstar]

[Right Tower Shield]

[Left Tower Shield]

[Scorpion Pike]

[Composite Longbow]

All in all, the Black Undead Knights are powerful entities in both offensive and defensive capabilities. It... really makes me want to eat it.

If I was still in my old Ogre body, I’m certain that I would have secured one or two abilities just by eating one of them. That’s how powerful it is.

Though, since the [Rank-Up], securing new abilities is quite difficult. I would need to eat quite a few of them before I gain even one ability.

On the other hand, I can create it even more easily given my current body’s capacity. That pretty much means that I only need to wait a little bit, so I plan on doing just that.

Ah right, by the way, because the Black Undead Knight is basically an elite Black Skeleton Knight, they lack the training to serve in an officer’s role. Their usability is rather good because the intelligence that they have is slowly increased the longer they are active. With two skulls instead of just one, the level of combat awareness is quite high. These Black Undead Knights are certainly what Minokichi-kun will be training with when I’m not present.

Those with higher intelligence are given marks on their skulls and are given the nickname [Scarface].

It’s always great when you gain a powerful and obedient new pawn.

In the end it’s greatly useful to be able to produce these new Skeletons.

The last group to mention is the new Hobgoblin Riders that seem to have gained the ability to successfully tame a monster and turn it into their pet.

Now, for the base there are several things worth mentioning.

The current base, in addition to the <<Original Mine>> which has since become a residential area, there are 6 new facilities:

<<External Training Grounds>>

<<Farmland>>

<<Ranch>>

<<Workshop>>

<<Clinic>>

<<Hot Spring Facilities>>

Each of these has been expanded and put to use in their own ways. I’ll briefly go over their purposes.

<<External Training Grounds>>

Due to the vast increase in the number of members, I had already generated a vast space for the purpose of large-scale combat drills and other purposes. I had created nearly a [200 x 200 x 300] space for the purpose, though while we were gone it has been equipped far more efficiently. The rest of the room had been flattened, and rough terrain had been placed in certain areas. The reason I had created this room had been previously for the sake of bad weather, but now more intricate training scenarios can be implemented.

<<Farmland>>

The lands around the settlement had been cleared for the purpose of growing vegetables. This is Mika’s preferred residence. As a Dorian, she is quite well suited for farming and working with nature. As a matter of fact, plenty of other races, such as the Plant Men, and many humans with [Job - Farmer] have set themselves up working the farmland. With them working as they have, they aid in supporting the current food supply for the rest of the settlement. At the same time agriculture techniques have been developing quite nicely to work in line with Mika’s nature abilities. Some of these are creating fine, mineral rich soil where various crops can be planted and grown in a very short period of time.

Not only that, but it has also been found that through the use of several abilities, the growth potential can be greatly changed. There is a growth factor for vegetables of this world, though there are some similar to my world, such as potatoes that are planted in the <<Farmland>>. The Spirit Stones that aren't of much use to the dwarves and blacksmiths can be used as domestic water now in the form of the Water Stones. In various ways, it has made life far easier. I think this many times, but I seriously cannot help but feel inspired when thinking of what an amazing individual Velvet must have been for his Dungeon to create such a diversity of Spirit Stones. I cannot even begin to be grateful.

With that, I offered a silent prayer.

Though, with the number of people that require food increasing, it would be a little cumbersome if there weren’t any spirit stones.At least for me, Spirit Stones have become a universal elite dinner.

<<Ranch>>

With the growing number of familiars and pets we required a place to allow them to stay outside of the living quarters. Since it was already meant for storage of the combat animals, it seems that it wasn’t that much more effort to expand it slightly for the sake of free-ranging edible monsters that are captured. Since hunting requires substantial quantities of time as well as the possibility of thinning populations, this is undoubtedly a necessary source of food in the future.

Ah yes, Kumajirou and Kurosaburou, my personal pets, quite enjoy running around here.

<<Workshop>>

This is the result of the constant expansion of the Dwarves and Leprechauns who have significant work focus. Since the Leprechauns are quite adept at making things such as superior armor and clothing made of leather, they have created an entire area for the sole purpose of the task. The other side of the <<Workshop>> is where the great noise of the Dwarves in the smithy can be heard. Here the Dwarves have already installed great dwarven furnaces where ore and other materials are refined. The Dwarves have already taken safety precautions beforehand and properly installed the furnaces, so there shouldn’t be any future complications from it, though the size is a bit excessive.

By the way, the furnaces use a large amount of Fire Spirit Stones to function. The Dwarves seem to have a way of maintaining the Spirits by creating a natural dwelling place of nature for the Fire Spirits. It’s quite unexpected, but convenient in itself.

<<Clinic>>

Injuries are a constant through our rigorous training sessions and illness is an always constant threat to any settlement. As such the medical unit «Prière» decided to centralize its workings. «Prière», led by Seiji-kun, is a necessary existence for the future of this settlement and <<Parabellum>> as a whole.

Since there is a tendency for differences to arise between the different divisions, each division has its own dedicated rooms for their personal use. The labor requirements for the task was quite large, but there wasn’t anyone lamenting over the great level of labor generated to expand the base. It helped with dealing with management and organization anyway.

<<Hot Spring Facility>>

Finally, there are the Hot Springs.

This is more or less a major money generator from the elves. I mean, it’s more or less an inn for the enjoyment of personnel and tourists.

There have been great improvements to it using the funds generated from the elves. There are now sources of entertainment and all manners of luxury.

When I visited the hot springs, I found myself bathed in luxury and relaxation. I have to mention that, when I arrived there, I found a host of elves going to and from the hot springs.

The sheer success of the hot springs is certainly higher than expected. There is probably a possibility to expand the advertisement to other races, but for the moment there are no other targets besides the elves in this forest.

The great Oaks served as building materials for all of the projects. There was surely no shortage in this regard.

Oh yes, quite a few major changes have presented themselves to us on returning indeed.

Today I went around inspecting the new facility with Kanami-chan. It was around noon when I observed the training bouts of the members for the first time in quite some time.

I watched over the new recruits and gave instructions when necessary, though a good portion of my time was invested in watching over Redhead’s bout with the Rusty Iron Knight, who was serving as an instructor.

I had several bouts with the new members, then tested old veterans of the group who had shown good growth since I had left.

I listened in on several good stories and spilled out a little smile at the overall changes I've observed.

After the training was over and I had inspected several other things, I went over to the location of the <<Workshop>> where the personal workshops of Blacksmith-san and Alchemist-san were located. There were children playing who had been allowed to participate in the training, with a certain little baby earning a hug, a certain Nicola.

The Kitchen had increased greatly in both scale and human resources with the Sisters serving as the ones standing at the helm.

After eating dinner, I observed the extensive makeover that had been done to my personal quarters.

I took several items out of my item box to decorate and personalize slightly, but overall the work done was impressive.

Well, you can certainly say that it was a meaningful day indeed.

Before going to bed, I wanted to enjoy the pure night sky overshadowing the settlement. For this purpose I went on a date with Kanami-chan and enjoyed many things...

Today’s Synthesis results:

【Wrought Iron Shell Armor】 + 【Indestructible Castle Shell】 = 【Indestructible Armored Castle Shell】

【Rapid Recovery】 + 【High Speed Regeneration】 + 【Strong Vitality】 + 【Vitality of the Mysterious Giant】 = 【Hyper Speed Regeneration】

【Familicide】 + 【Demon Slaying】 = 【Tyrant of the Demon Slaying Demon Army】

【Lord of the Mountain’s Piercing Roar】 + 【Black Ogre's Roar】 = 【Black Demon's Roar】

【Bristle Guard】 + 【Strong Body】 + 【Lord of the Mountain's Stout Hide】 + 【Giant King's Flesh and Blood】 + 【Giant King's Body】 + 【Black Ogre's Strong Body】 = 【Illogical Adamantine Strength】

--

Day 122

It was another cold morning.

I equipped the exoskeleton [Jade Eagle King's Flight] version, made of the same material the Jade Eagle was made of.

Alone, I set off into the sky heading towards the current position of our second group led by Minokichi-kun.

As it would seem, Minokichi-kun had finished his boss hunting in the deepest parts of the dungeon he was in. According to him, he was heading out towards the exit of the dungeon, but ended up running into the 'Boss' of another party of adventurers.

It would seem that a Minotaur was not particularly common in that dungeon and it ended up resulting in Minokichi-kun being mistaken for a Boss. Given his size and status as a subspecies of the species Minotaur, I can't say I blame the adventurers that much. Needless to say, Minokichi-kun had caused something not so easily considered as 'just' an uproar. It would also seem that I was inadvertently forgotten initially during this situation.

This would seem to be due to Asue-chan believing that there wouldn't be an issue, but it seemed to be that the adventurers, especially the Adventurers of Nigeashi, were far more persistent in the complex structure than expected.

Given the situation, they had to flee before much could be described. As it would turn out, they did end up passing quite a few other groups on their way out, though nearly all of them fled the moment they saw his figure. For the moment there aren't any groups giving chase, but it's unknown whether or not a greater situation will arise as the story reaches the numerous adventurers on the outside.

It certainly is a dangerous situation in the current state, so they decided to contact me before attempting anything else. Minokichi-kun was certainly not helpless in this situation and planned to simply use force to solve the issue and leave the city.

Of course I ordered a drastically different behavior for the group through the cuffs by ordering the group to wait. It was decided that I would be necessary to solve the problem without causing a diplomatic incident.

While this was going on, Asue-chan had already left to explain the current situation to the guild and other adventurer parties that she came across. It's highly unlikely that it will solve the situation, however, and I'm convinced that there is an even lower chance of anyone believing the story.

Since I'm currently carrying the [Proof of Belonging to Royal Authority] that was received from the Tomboy Princess, I'm hoping this problem can be solved without further complication. Nevertheless, whether the [Proof of Belonging to Royal Authority] can be useful in this city remains to be determined.

As it stands, the Labyrinth city is not in an area I'm too familiar with. If it were closer to the Royal Capital, I'd be more certain, but the Sternbild Kingdom's borders do have limits.

If the situation goes sour, I should just be prepared to destroy the entire city with one of my most devastating methods, [Pandemonic of the Black Apostle].

In all honesty, it's surprisingly not that bad of an idea...

There are a great many adventurers who would be decent for eating because it's a Labyrinth city. It's also even a possible base that is surrounded by high walls that could become a training area.

Though, I'm preferring the idea of keeping that to a last resort for the time being.

Since Minokichi-kun wants to be out of the city by noon today, it's best to clarify things before that point. There are limits to a berserker's patience, something I'm keeping in mind as I increase my current speed.

After only a short period of time, I arrive at the Labyrinth city where Minokichi-kun's team is present.

I managed to arrive there within an hour due to the sheer speed I was traveling at. Since it would probably cause trouble if I flew in over the walls, I knew that I would simply have to enter officially through the front.

After I showed the middle-aged gatekeeper the [Proof of Belonging to Royal Authority] the gate was raised without wasting a second.

Once I entered the Labyrinth city, the figures of the rest of the individuals within Minokichi's party who were split off of Minokichi-kun's main party. These were the ones that were ordered to wait at the entrance of this particular Labyrinth city the moment they arrived to wait for me.

It's still morning, so given that it's a vibrant-ish Labyrinth city, there is quite the dark atmosphere drifting around currently. When I used [Wiretapping] to catch the topic of the situation, it was none other than Minokichi-kun.

Hearing this, my speed increased considerably.

After a few short minutes, the three hotels of the <<Guild>> came into view. Currently, there was a turmoil of people hurriedly taking measures and scurrying to and from the building.

Well, now that we've arrived at the building, I enter through the front door and trigger [Black Demon's Dignity], in only a moment, only the sound of flies could be heard.

The galvanized clashing of iron armor disappeared.

Taking a short look around, a great number of people had collapsed and fainted, the few still conscious had pointed their full attention on me. I chose to just ignore the staring eyes of the few remaining and call for the guild's employees.

The one who approached was a cat-eared middle-aged man who trembled with a blue face. I asked him to call the guild master, the highest authority of the <<Guild>>.

Even though the man before me was middle-aged, he ran with lightning speed through a door and I chose a chair to sit down and chat with the other members of Minokichi-kun's party. After a short while, the man returned and I was asked to follow him into a back room.

The room was quite luxurious, decorated with items most likely brought back from the labyrinth. It was quite the expensive looking room.

As I waited, I was presented and drank a coffee-like beverage as a tiny man with a jolly belly entered the room.

He was younger than I expected, only around forty years of age. With him came a woman with glasses that looked to be his secretary.

The plump little man sat down on the sofa across from me with the secretary women standing silently behind him.

After a brief self-introduction, it would seem that this plumb man is the Guild Master. The previous guild I had met with, [Purgatory Guild Branch], the Guild Master had been an old man. It was because of that I had created the assumption that most Guild Masters are old men.

Since this was the case, I was a bit surprised, but what really matters is a person's ability and wisdom.

In the conversation with the Guild Master, I explained to him the matter which had brought me to the city.

I explained that the Minotaur that had created quite the disturbance was in fact, my companion and that there was no need to be so vigilant.

At first, they had doubted the story a bit, but they soon began to understand.

Though, I seem to have been slightly late in my arrival...

Eighteen people from three of the more highly skilled adventurer parties within the city had banded together and formed a [Raid Party] in order to subdue the inbound Minokichi-kun and his team.

The misunderstanding that had arisen about Minokichi-kun's team had been more or less half settled with the Guild Master-- the other half has to be proven-- but things will become troublesome if the Raid Party ends up murdered by Minokichi-kun and his team.

Basically, inside the labyrinth, killing non-monsters is a pretty major taboo. If the homicide is discovered, an appropriate punishment is dealt.

All in all, this is a pretty delicate situation, especially with the Raid Party seeing them as monsters.

In any case, if Minokichi-kun and his team kill the Raid Party, a penalty will be demanded.

The penalty for those who are found guilty are generally such things as the collection of materials within dangerous locations, through various means, and of course without any payment for a predetermined period of service.

Even though this was not set into law, it was commonly agreed upon by all publicly.

On the other hand, this penalty would not occur for the Raid Party, even if they manage to kill Minokichi-kun and his team.

It's downright unreasonable, but according to the Guild Master, the problem more or less rests with recognizing Minokichi-kun.

Naturally, I seriously wanted to complain, but there is no helping it due to how unreasonable the world itself is.

I would like to kill the adventurers and take their equipment, but given the circumstances and the impossibility to avoid blame, I contacted Minokichi-kun and the others to inform them to not kill the Raid Party.

He was stunned to hear he wasn't allowed to kill them and that he had to surrender a portion of the equipment.

Because the whole situation was an accident, some of the equipment could be taken and there was no helping it. Regardless I set up precautions.

I killed some time doing some minor business with the Guild Master, the material that we produce in the forest sells for quite the high price, something that I did not expect. Then, after completing various procedures and documentation, I contacted Minokichi-kun again and told him that they will be able to depart at noon as planned. Because we were waiting at the entrance of the Labyrinth, we managed to meet Minokichi-kun and his team as they came out.

With me there to confirm the story was the plump little Guild Master, the secretary woman, the Raid party, and more than thirty guards that were under the employ of the Guild.

It could probably be said that the number of people that came to confront the present Minokichi-kun was far too low in both number and skill.

As soon as they saw him come out of the Labyrinth, all of them took a step back unconsciously.

I can more or less understand it, before such an imposing figure standing before them, even the tough-looking and robust men took such an action.

By the way, the townspeople looked at Minokichi-kun from a distance as he left the Labyrinth. There's a bit of confusion amongst the people as expected, but there was no panic breaking out within the Labyrinth city.

Even though I knew, it was really quite something to actually see Minokichi-kun in person.

He. Is. HUGE!!

As of now, Minokichi-kun is more than twice my current size. He stands five meters in height and I need to look up just to see his face. The massive figure that I'm seeing is intimidating just by itself. It's not just the size, but each part of his body is pretty flashy. Each time he takes a breath, thunder and flames come out of his big mouth. His lower body is completely covered in a golden fur that emits a crackling sound similar to thunder. The color of the upper masculine body was brown and didn't really change too much from before. His tattoos resembled mine and were both black and gold in color. He had a new [Divine Protection] which drew quite a bit of attention, but it's not something that can be helped. On his shoulders were the Raid Party members, groaning in pain.

Yeah... it's a pretty surreal sight to behold. Next to him stood Asue-chan who also played as another factor to this unique atmosphere.

It's such a great feeling.

All of the Raid Party members were injured. Most of them were heavily injured, though a few were gravely injured and one only had some minor burns. Some of them had complex fractures or missing limbs, but none of them had died nor were they in danger of such.

As such, no penalty followed the situation.

I even decided to heal them. As I was healing them, some of the party members looked as if they wanted to say something, but I cast them a serious look and they shut up real quick.

There weren't any further problems due to the intermediation of the Guild Master himself, but if the Raid party intends to attempt a night raid on us, I will gladly partake in devouring them.

Since there was no further business to be taken care of, I informed Minokichi-kun to return to the base as soon as he saw fit. Afterwards, I departed quickly after collecting almost all of the items that Minokichi-kun had gained.

Even though I had the [Proof of Belonging to Royal Authority], it was quite the troublesome and time consuming process to get them out of the city. Minokichi-kun even acquired a [[[Spirit Stones|Spirit Stone]]]. Ah, he is such a good guy. Hmm... Still, I wonder how to best use this [Spirit Stone]...

It's a real problem, would it be best to synthesize it with my silver arm or just eat it? Is it good to use it as material for a magical item?

Ahh, I don't understand them well enough so I decided to keep it in my Item Box until I collect some more information about them.

Today's Synthesis results:

【Left Arm of Penetrating Rain (Parjanya)】 + 【Right Arm of Roaring Thunder (Illatici)】 = 【Echoing Arms of the Thunderstorm (Nuhualpilli)】

【Peerless Heavy Strike】 + 【Consecutive Raging Strikes】 + 【Wild Dance of Heavy Blows】 = 【Surging Destructive Fists of Flesh Crushing】

【Grand Cross】 + 【Cross Slash】 = 【Grand Cross Smash】

【Silent Stab】 + 【Stab】 + 【Armor Pierce】 = 【Silent Pierce】

【Storm Wind】 + 【Slicing Wind】 = 【Heavy Storm Wind】

【Aura Slash】 + 【Heavy Slash】 = 【Heavy Aura Slash】

--

Day 122 Sidestory Guild Master's POV

Oh, Good morning Ririchia-san! There's something tight under my waist today. It sure does look funny with my belly sticking out.

What? Sexual harrrassment? You don't hate it though. This is just skinship between a superior and his subordinate. It's just a simple physical contact. Nothing malicious about it.

How about you resheathe the knife you got there. Dont you have a duty to protect me? What a shame, you're just nice to look at. Is that knife coated with poison? Please don't come close to me with that. Since I'm low level, a small cut will kill me instantly.

Ah there we go thank you for putting that away. Ok, so it might have been slight sexual harrassment, but you frowning is such a shame. I like it better if you smile. You're a lot cuter when you smile. You really should laugh more as well; you're beautiful when you smile.

Oh, are you blushing? Or are you just tired? If you think you're going to catch a cold, try and rest today. After all, the situation with the Minotaur has been a stressful and unsual circumstance for you Ririchia-san. Rest well okay. In order to slay the Minotaur, I sent a Raid party in the morning, if I sent them in the afternoon, people would just make more unnecessary commotion.

What? You're not tired? Well, okay then, I guess we need to finish our work. I sure hope I survive you forcing me to work. So what do we have to do today? What? Accumulated paperwork? This sure is hard work.

Someone wants to see me? Well, I need to show that I'm a good Guildmaster. My intuition has served me well over the years of being a Guildmaster, and I've never felt anything like this before. As I greeted this demonic creature before me, I tried apprasing him and could not even begin to comprehend such a creature. He seems like a very high level creature, I don't know if he's concealing his strength, but there are a lot of factors to this.

Well, this situation just became a lot more complicated. Hearing the details about this Minotaur who's not a Dungeon boss, but a creature who leveled up to a minotaur. If this Aporou is telling the truth, then this has really become a hassle. To be truthful about it, I did not even consider the possibiity that it was a Rank Up (Evolution) rather than a dungeon boss. I forgot that it was even possible since such an occurence was so rare. This blunder will land the blame on me.

I don't know how he found out about this incident so quickly, according to my information network, Aporou did not stay in this city yesterday. He just got here. But now there is someone who cares about this minotaur. This information saying that it did not come from the dungeon but from outside the city is an apparent problem I have to deal with. It seems that he is telling the truth about the matter.

The real problem is what happened to the Raid party sent to subdue the minotaur. Maybe some of them survived, though I doubt it. Processing the deaths will be a hassle.

By noontime, everyone was waiting around the exit of the Labyrinth. This is because not a lot of people have ever seen a minotaur before. I have heard that these things were huge. And according to the report, this creature was bigger than expected. Expecting this creature to be a product of a rank-up does not fit the normal common sense. This is not considered to be standard. This is very intimidating. I hope we won't have to fight this creature with the escort squad we've gathered here. Even the strongest Richia-san wouldn't be a match. Everyone was surprised. The Raid party was composed of 16 skilled adventurers. The way they lost was incredibly discouraging. It was really surprising that no one died. Though they all had some very serious injuries. This has been a rather exciting day. Well, regarding me and Aporou, we seem to have built a friendly relationship. I feel that it's in our best interest to keep this relationship...friendly.

~VformynameisCarl

--

Day 123

After morning training, I had asked for an increase in the production of Ghouls generated by Kanami-chan, but the process has been quite slow.

The production through the ability [Intermediate Summoning: Undead] produces higher quality products compared to [Lesser Summoning: Undead].

Although there are some control issues with Ghouls, with Kanami-chan, absolute obedience is displayed to the extent they would commit suicide if ordered.

I decided to invest some time into working with reinforcing the production of Black Skeletons. I ended up working without any rest for roughly seven hours and ended up generating nearly three thousand Black Skeletons. The result produced thirteen Black Skeleton Commanders, four Black Undead Knights, and a new creation of six Black Skeleton Horse Soldiers that represented something similar to a Skeleton Centaur.

Though, the process was only really to produce the thirteen Black Skeleton Commanders and the Black Undead Knights. Out of the Black Skeleton Horse Soldiers, I decided to eat four of them.

Ability unlocked [Soul Eater (Ghost Bite)]

Ability unlocked [Stench Tolerance]

Ability unlocked [Black Undead Knight's Cloth]

Ability unlocked [Black Bone Army Commander]

Ability unlocked [Undead Knight's Lineage]

The [Soul Eater] seemed like a useful ability that i'll need to test out later.

Then after I had eaten them, I tried to modify two of the Black Undead Knights that were [Scarfaces] and the remaining Black Skeleton Horse Soldiers using [Synthesis] and [Bone Union].

I changed the upper body that was like that of a human being of the Black Skeleton Horse Soldier into a form that imitated a dragon-head type gargoyle.

There were a few gaps in the black bone that was like the splendid horse.

With the Scarface, I removed the lower half of the body and performed further remodeling of the splendid horse using the black bones of the lower body though there weren't enough to finish the product so I had to scrap a few things for the parts. I then began connecting the splendid horse and the Scarface together.

The natural weapons such as the spear types began to develop from the four pairs of arms coming from the body. The Black aura armor began to cover the body and it began to grow a bit stiff.

Currently, the Scarface gives off the feel of being something like a [Black Undead Dragoon Knight].

The upper body is that of the Black Undead Knight and the lower body is that of the splendid horse-like centaur. It's pretty intense, and above all else, it's huge.

It's height is at least four meters, maybe more and it also has excellent mobility with the lower body of the splendid horse. The eight-armed upper body and the lower body of a horse offered a large variety of attack possibilities.

The [Scarface] seemed to be far stronger.

Hmm, this might be beneficial in the long run. Since the remodeling of the Black Skeletons was more enjoyable than I thought, I think I'll give working with the Giants a try. Come to think of it, [Lesser Summoning: Undead] and [Lesser Summoning: Giant] are both summoning type abilities, I wonder if I might be able to combine them. I wonder if I might be able to create Giant Skeletons.

I'm anxious, but I decided to go to bed because I was pretty sleepy today.

--

Day 124

After the morning training and lunch, Minokichi and his group returned home.

Immediately upon his return, Minokichi-kun requested to spar and since I was highly interested in Minokichi-kun’s growth, I simply couldn’t reject it.

I quickly set up a special arena and we’ll be able to have our first match in a long time.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Sternbild Kingdom has the Four Symbolic Heroes, and the Kirika Empire has the Eight Great Knights. This forest existed on the edge of the border between these two nations.

1200 years ago, the godly existence Noboru Rank Up into a Demigod of Deep Green where he met the Fairy King Gufusuto.

Genaha was born within the temple where he lived and died.

After 1200 years had passed since the godly existence of Noburu had Rank Up, the emission of the [Divine Power] of the event was still present within the Kuuderun Great Forest.

The Elves who had their bodies far more in tune with nature than humans understood that the forest was far different compared to others and lived within it peacefully.

Because of certain circumstances of the allied forces of the Empire and the Kingdom, they invaded the forest of the Elves. But these forces were repelled by the help of the mighty and wise Ogres living deep within the Mysterious forest and peace was regained once more.

But the scars of war remained deeply carved unto several places of Kuuderun Great Forest.

Due to the presence of the Demigod of Deep Green’s remnant [Divine Power], the growth of the trees and forest material was far faster than normal. The scars of war would be healed within several months.

In one part of this mysterious forest, the ironclad stronghold of the Mercenary Company Parabellum existed.

When the sun reached the highest point, the construction of a flat External Training Field had been formed. With walls nearly twenty meters in height and a cylindrical hole within the ground with a diameter of nearly 130 meters, the zone looked quite similar to that of the Colosseum of the Ancient Roman Empire.

It was here that two great beasts would face each other.

One of these two demons was holding the red spear [Starving Impaler of a Thousand Thorns] upon his shoulder.

There, Aporou stood with his mighty silver arm, three horns upon his head, a deep black aura exuding from his presence, true to his name as Yatendouji.

Before him stood a creature of ghastly vigor and strength. In one hand was the mightly spirit axe [Scorching Acquittal Axe] and the spirit forged tower shield [Minotaur’s Thunder Flame Shield].

Before Aporou stood the mighty Minokichi-kun who stood as a new species of the Minotaur. Lightning crackled from his breath as he stood towering over his opponant, true to his name as the [Lightning Bull Emperor Keraunos].

Both of them were letting out an obvious feeling of anxiety and excitement, betraying their excitement were two awfully belligerent smiles.

“It’s been quite some time since we last fought, hasn’t it, Minokichi-kun? However, it seems just as always, you have once again become very strong.”

“That is right, I fight alone in the bottom of the labyrinth for increasing power and skill. In comparison, I see before me someone stronger. All I am in order to become equal to you, Aporou, and to beat you.”

“Oh? Equal to me?”

“That is so. That I become equal to Aporou, my true lifelong friend. Therefore, need much power.”

They exchanged words.

There were no lies from Minokichi-kun’s words, they were powerful words that let those people who heard them understand his true intentions.

Because of those good willed feelings, Aporou became embarrassed of the situation and changed his expression. Scratching his cheek with his silver arm’s finger that made a crunching sound as he did so.

“Is that right? Hmmm… Well, I’m fully motivated at this point, so let’s stop our reminiscence here and begin.”

Aporou fixed his breathing and reinforced his will, pointing his red spear towards the direction of Minokichi-kun’s heart.

On the other hand, Minokichi-kun’s axe and shield were set into motion, as the response to Aporou’s question.

“Nevertheless, as always, an admirable posture… But…”

“But?”

“This time, it shall be my victory!!”

“Ha ha! How very interesting. Then, I shall use my full power from the very start, prepare yourself!”

The two mutually reliant friends exchanged a grand and warm smile.

Then, as if the tension itself had been severed, the fight began with a great roar from Minokichi.

“The……..!?”

It was an aggressive roar like that of an explosion.

It held an extraordinarily powerful roar that caused ripples within the very earth surrounding the two. This caused weaker earth and stones to rumble and life from the ground from the tremors. The sheer intensity of the roar caused those of weaker minds to faint from just the impact of the roar, even Aporou’s movements had been dulled for the briefest of seconds.

One could have perhaps even died from fear if the difference between the two had been too great, that was the effect of the roar of such a level.

It was just then that Aporou selected the very same type of roar as the necessary counterattack.

From the various abilities that he had obtained, dozens were floating around in his brain, and the one that was selected was [Black Demon's Roar].

“--------------------------------------------da!!”

Normally, Minokichi-kun, who was basically a Minotaur, should have won in the roar confrontation easily.

As there is a limit to the volume in which Aporou’s body is capable of producing as a member of the Ogre race, the [Roar] which was treated as an attack should not have been able to defeat a Minotaur’s.

However, as it is an ability known to Aporou as [Black Demon's Roar], such common sense is shattered, and the volume that would originally have never been possible for Aporou was attained.

His roar was such that as Thunder itself.

The roars of both sides collide, negating each other and the energy escaping from both Aporou and Minokichi-kun created earth shattering crevices forming exactly at the halfway point between the two.

[Paralyze] and [Fear] are two abilities that have an abnormal invisible attack that gives a person who encounters it a bad status condition that violates the mind and body.

For the members who were watching the battle between Aporou and Minokichi-kun from a great distance, the percentage of those who fainted due to the after effects were 50%, with another 40% no longer capable of movement and were frozen on the spot.

But, a simple judgement from Minokichi-kun and Aporou suggested that such a roar was merely a greeting for them.

Aporou and Minokichi-kun did not experience any bad statuses due to both attacks having counterbalanced each other.

“Buumooooooo…..ooooo…...oooooooooooo!”

The two roars stop, and Minokichi-kun was once again the one who made his move.

While achieving a courageous shout of war and spirit, Minokichi-kun drove himself forward, placing his momentum upon his shield that dawned the head of a golden cow. His axe raised above his shoulder, he rushed full tilt towards Aporou.

The attack Minokichi-kun used, however, was an attack that Aporou was highly familiar with. The path of the attack was clear and the skill was all too well known.

The attack that Minokichi-kun was using was a simple, yet strong attack. It was a technique that Aporou taught Minokichi-kun who often chose to use it.

It was a technique that was used to rush in to close the distance between oneself and the opponent, preventing enemy attacks with a massive shield and driving one’s own body into the enemy’s space to break their stance and disrupt their posture. In the final moment, the axe is lowered and a devastating strike with all of one’s strength is delivered.

It’s a basic attack that anyone who uses a shield and axe would train to use commonly.

Therefore, Aporou was well informed of the actions required to defeat the attack presented to him.

Though, the speed of the attack was different to what Aporou had known Minokichi-kun commonly used. The weight was different, the power output was off and the scale was changed.

There were various incidents that occurred before Aporou.

Out of the Golden wool-like lower part of Minokichi-kun came a crackling sound and a golden thunderbolt with each step that crushes the ground.

Hoof by hoof, he pressed his massive figure forward, the situation that developed was just like a bombardment.

From the head of the axe that was still perched upon his shoulder, white flames began to surge forth and his advance drastically increased in speed.

Quite similar to that of a booster, Minokichi's speed accelerated explosively.

The atmosphere was torn up by Minokichi-kun, a shockwave occurred. It stood the proof that his speed had exceeded the very speed of sound. A destructive storm scattered the surroundings, a shaking tail of light that was ever expanding, the trace of golden thunder and white flames erupting from the center.

Minokichi-kun’s speed had long since exceeded the speed of sound, after that point, only the sound is left as it approached Aporou.

Because he had become a Minotaur and gained great power and the divine protection of several gods. Minokichi-kun’s attack reached the point where it was no longer visible.

“That is certainly fast!”

Currently, Aporou as an Apostle Lord has excellent perceptual abilities and with his ability [Speed Parallel Thinking] combined with Aporou’s perception and experience, the movements of the causal world was as if everything was moving in slow motion.

In Aporou’s world, if a bullet were fired out of a high powered rifle, to him, it would be the same as if it had stopped the moment Aporou got serious.

Even then, Minokichi-kun moved at an abnormal speed.

The twenty meters of space that stood between the two of them would be closed in only several steps, the massive figure ever closing the gap.

The axe was swung, lowered vigorously with a great roar. Everything would be felled before the mighty strike, anything touched would be annihilated instantly.

It was like a massive rock feel down.

Aporou used his red spear [Starving Impaler of a Thousand Thorns] to receive it while deflecting the momentum of the strike. The result succeeded in blocking the approaching overhead blow.

The axe collided with the red spear and a harsh, abnormal sound was heard, sparks scattered all across the battlefield and the glorious white flames raged out of the head as it crashed into the red spear.

Aporou’s head was instantly covered with a torrent of white flames, though this was only for an instant. While Aporou had parried the axe from where it would have normally hit the body, his head was burned from the white flames. His flesh and blood creaked from the shock of the axe creating an impact.

Though the pressure of the strike in no way managed to cut him, the hit still sunk him roughly ankle deep into the soil.

If Aporou was not equipped with the red spear but instead of the halberd created by Blacksmith-san, he would not have been able to block the strike and would have been cut.

But, since it was the red spear, the power was able to be diverted to the side without being broken.

Regardless, it was an attack far superior compared to before. Aporou was both astonished and excited about it.

“Ha ha! Excellent Minokichi-kun, as expected, you certainly are the best!”

The axe that was blocked from it’s initial target met the ground with a crash.

It crushed the ground and the surrounding shock sent rocks at the speed of bullets.

The rocks collided with his skin, but didn’t do anything in particular, Aporou simply didn’t feel any pain.

Aporou, who didn’t suffer any damage, turned to counter attack immediately, but the white flames and the golden thunder that erupted from the head of the axe burned the surroundings and the range of destruction greatly expanded.

Aporou’s movements had dulled slightly from the surprise of this instant.

Minokichi-kun now had three [Divine Protections]: [Divine Protection of the Demigod of Fire], [Divine Protection of the Demigod of War], and [Divine Protection of the God of TLightning], these were the golden thunder and white flames from the Demigod of Fire and God of Lightning which granted Minokichi-kun their power.

But because Aporou ate the Red Bear, he also received the [Divine Protection of the Demigod of Fire], though even with this, receiving such a strong flame with a [Divine Protection] alone would be difficult, even with his overlapping abilities would have caused trouble.

Of course there was a reason why Minokichi-kun was able to use such strong thunderous flames.

When he became the new variant of the Minotaur species, he obtained a factor that greatly raised the power of his axe strikes.

It was an ability unique to him and the effect was great, it was called [One who becomes an Axe] and another ability he had gained was called [Thunder Flames of the God of Murder] that greatly increases the power of his thunder flame attacks.

Minokichi-kun loves to use his [Scorching Acquittal Axe] which holds a unique ability [Fire that Burns the Sinful].

Though, the factor that aided him the most would certainly be his high affinity with the fire attribute.

The power that Minokichi-kun has obtained was something that could even equal Aporou’s strength. It was something clearly visible from that situation.

Normally, with just a single blow the battle would have been settled.

Even if one were to be able to avoid the strong swing, the combined powers of the great white flames and the golden thunder released after the mighty blow would have been enough to slay any normal enemy.

In the first place, just the strike from the great axe would have been enough to make just about any opponent pass out.

To be able to either block, or even dodge the attacks from the current Minokichi-kun, there could be no member in all of Parabellum besides Aporou himself capable of such a feat.

Even if one were to prevent being hit by the axe itself, what awaits you afterwards are the brutal white flames and golden thunder.

However, because Aporou had [Null Electric Damage] his body was not burned by the golden thunder that surged upon him. No matter how strong the golden thunder was, the [Thunder and Lightning] strike could not and would not affect the great Aporou.

But that was not to say that he was invincible. Even with the [Divine Protection of the Demigod of Fire] and [Complete Fire Resistance] the damage of the white flames of an unnaturally super-high temperature was not nullified completely.

It’s only natural since Aporou lacked any ability to fully nullify it, thus even by reducing the damage, he would still take some damage.

Aporou’s hair was burnt by the strong white flames as well as part of his cheek and forehead were severely burnt. There was the smell of burning and the sound of his left eyeball splitting from being completely burnt was heard.

Aporou’s face was in a great deal of pain from having his left eye crushed and so instinctively used [Hyper Speed Regeneration]. The skin which had festered and burnt away had been cured as if time itself were reversed.

The burnt skin and eyeball regenerated in the blink of an eye and any damage that had been dealt was negated.

But in this briefest of instances, not only did Aporou prevent the attack, but also went on the counterattack.

“Don’t just focus down on the opponent, consider the entire battlefield.”

While giving advice was his everyday habit, Aporou had started to form both water and earth spears behind Minokichi-kun.

At the same time, his silver hand collides with Minokichi-kun’s shield. The dull sound that occurred as the shield intercepted the approaching strike.

Both combatants felt the shock throughout their entire body.

Just at that moment, Aporou executes the water and earth attacks with the spears.

While considering that Minokichi-kun would be focusing on the front, Aporou’s standard attacking method was to attack at the same time with both attacks from the front, back and blind-spots to break his opponent’s posture.

It is very difficult to prevent or fight effectivily against this form of attack as it is near impossible for Minokichi-kun to see behind himself, especially considering his opponent at his front.

If it had been the former Minokichi-kun, his posture would have been quite easily broken, however, Minokichi-kun had become far stronger than he had been before.

The sheer increase of power and skill had even slighly escaped Aporou’s expectations, if even only a small margin.

Therefore..

“...The!?” (Aporou)

“BUUUUMOOOOOOOOO----------------------”

Golden thunder and white flames blew up from Minokichi-kun’s entire body.

From behind, the white flames and golden thunder burnt and evaporated the water and earth spears. The pieces blown into the air and at the same time that the silver arm was touching the shield the head of the golden bull had began to shine.

Aporou jumped back instantly to gain some distance, but Minokichi-kun’s advance was even faster than Aporou could retreat. He was caught as he could not generate the necessary distance as an illusion-like figure of the golden cow’s head was made to as if it was jumping out of the shield.

The illusion of the golden cow pierced, with it’s sharp horns, into Aporou’s flesh.

The damage was so fierce that it would gouge out one’s guts, and because Aporou, who had jumped and was now in the air, could not easily evade it to either the left or the right.

Evading would be very difficult and the hands Aporou had put out to meet the attack was quite limited in their defence.

Even so, Aporou chose to grab it, the illusion, with his silver arm.

As his flesh arm was holding to the red spear, he could not yield such a weapon during this battle.

Although one might say to just simply grab it, that would not be so easy as the sheer speed of Minokichi-kun was exceeding the very speed of sound. The distance between the two only being mere 5 meters, total point blank range.

It would be quite normal to say that one would be killed instantly getting run over by such an attack, even if you were to catch it. The power from it hitting your body would pierce it easily.

However, Aporou had managed in catching it, if only because of his previous experiences with the mighty Minokichi-kun, and the fact that the silver arm which he had used to catch it didn’t even move a millimeter from the spot.

With this, Aporou had managed to barely prevent the attack.

But, because it is difficult to keep one’s overall balance onto a single point, Aporou pushed the lower end of the right spear into the shield. The silver arm and the red spear, which are on two different points, prevent the horns of the golden cow from reaching Aporou.

However, Aporou is still floating in mid-air and Minokichi-kun was not stopping there.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--------------------------!!!”

Minokichi-kun advances with the very same speed as before, kicking the earth beneath him.

With white flames blowing out from the head of the axe, and the golden thunder surging from his golden hair, his remarkable speed was displayed.

The sound of the burst was heard, the sensation and explosion sound of the sound wall being broken, Aporou’s [Sense Area] made the massive wall approaching from behind visible.

As it seemed Minokichi-kun wanted to throw Aporou into the wall.

Aporou is thrown into the wall, and not only that, but the shield itself crushes into the wall as well.

Aporou’s body was nearly crushed by the illusion, but was narrowly stopped with the silver hand.

The damage even was passed through Aporou into the wall.

So fast and strong were the muscles of Minokichi-kun.

There seemed to be no chance for Aporou to win with only defense.

It was then that a small smile floated on Aporou’s face.

“There’s no longer any need to go easy on you anymore.”

Aporou used one of his best abilities, one that he didn’t think he would have to use, [Great Power of the Black Demon].

Because he recognized Minokichi's strength, and also because his own fighting instincts told him to, Aporou took position.

The air instantly began to fill with a dreadful intimidating air.

Even being only a single ability, one should not approach it.

It gives off the sense that you should not, nay, must not fight against it as it is simply too much for you.

Naturally, Minokichi-kun also notices the drastic change in Aporou. The moment that he noticed the change in the air, a cold sweat began to pour down from him, and in that moment of realization, Minokichi-kun chose to pay it no mind and strike to rush Aporou.

He can’t stop now, he surely won’t be able to achieve victory if he gives even a moment of hesitation. As Aporou’s body isn’t in mid-air anymore and one of his hands is occupied holding the horn, he thought it would be difficult to defend with his current body posture.

However, Aporou used [Gravity Law] allowing the tip of his foot to touch the ground. His posture was something close to tiptoeing, but it was enough for Aporou.

“Here it comes” (Aporou)

[Great Power of the Black Demon] is an ability that gave him the strength to even stop Minokichi-kun’s movements. Aporou’s body sinks, yet even so, the silver arm that was holding onto the illusion didn’t change it’s position from the start.

As a result.

“Counter!?” (Minokichi-kun)

With the flow of power changing with a sudden, yet terrific force, Minokichi-kun’s gigantic body was easily sent flying back into the air.

A voice full with feelings of surprise was clearly heard.

Minokichi-kun’s body was turning, over and over again in a straight vertical direction. Minokichi-kun was not able to recognize the difference between heaven and Earth as he was unable to regain his posture in air, with the most likely ending resulting in him crashing back down to Earth.

The energy required to move such a heavy object is enormous, but all that energy will disappear the moment that it hits the ground. In other words, Minokichi-kun will stop when he crashes into the ground.

The chance for a counterattack that had previously been impossible had now appeared, and it was not something that Aporou would miss.

“...Shaaaa”

Aporou began to unleash one ability after another.

[Aero Master] to create thirty lumps out of wind, [Gravity Law] allowed him to perform high-speed attacks using the gravity.

In an instant, all of the lumps formed of wind smashed into Minokichi-kun just as he came hit the ground, proceeding to prevent Minokichi-kun from regaining his composure. The continuous dull sound similar to a huge hammer hitting a bad chunk of meat rang out throughout the arena.

“Buuumooo!!!”

A voice full of pain began to leak out.

One of the main characteristics of the Minotaur species is their incredibly tough body wherein Minokichi-kun has a remarkably tough one.

As for the attack, it was one that was meant to be able to pierce metal armor with a single blow.

The power of each impact was heavily reduced because Minokichi-kun’s entire body was covered with a strong muscular armor so the attack itself couldn’t cause massive damage.

The heavy battering on the mighty Minokichi-kun had, however, proved just effective enough to keep him in one place.

Since Minokichi-kun couldn’t move, Aporou closed the distance and made a strike with the red spear.

With the tip of the spear, he cut the atmosphere and the sound of impact rang true.

The blow from the red spear that was aimed towards Minokichi-kun’s left shoulder was just barely blocked with the massive shield. The sparks rang out in a massive array, but Aporou’s attacks didn’t stop.

The spear was drawn once more, and repeatedly thrust at the target.

A red light began to emit from the tip of the red spear as the speed of the spear increased well over a hundred times.

[Aporou battle technique [Arts] [100 Blossoms 1000 Spears] was activated]

[With the battle technique [Arts] [100 Blossoms 1000 Spears] spear effectivity is increased]

Following this, Aporou activated both [Job - Master Spearman] and [Spear King].

Both are high level [Arts] which can only be utilized at the higher levels of an individual’s [Job] wherein the spear is the main combat weapon.

This originally gave humans the possibility to exceed their physical strength and speed limitations at the cost of the user’s stamina.

If it were to be used in a state where the user was near death, there would be a high chance that the user would die as a result of the backlash.

Because the technique that Aporou had used, [100 Blossoms 1000 Spears] is exceptionally strong, it goes to an even higher class of [Arts] than compared to most others.

But, due to the fact that Aporou’s body is substantially stronger than that of a human being, while using [100 Blossoms 1000 Spears] his stamina is only slightly reduced. In addition, after cutting off the technique, he only requires several seconds before he can recover to his original state with no long-standing side-effects.

The heavy red spear was thus greatly strengthened through Aporou’s [Arts] and collided with Minokichi-kun’s shield. At the moment of impact, an abnormal sound erupted with a flash of light.

This nigh impossible scene between two monsters of battle was unraveling before all of the members of Parabellum. Everyone, excluding Aporou’s children, were at a complete and utter loss for words at the spectacle before them.

The red flashes from Aporou’s red spear attacks held such enormous power that each blow would be fatal simply by itself. If it were not for Minokichi-kun’s extremely high durability, he would never have been able to endure such an onslaught.

This scene was also the very first time Aporou had ever been forced into a situation where he showed his hidden strength, his combat [Arts] and special abilities to everyone.

There was a law within this world that “Only a human can have a [Job] as one’s [Ability]”.

[Arts] allow humankind to match the great and mighty existences of the giants and dragons, it was granted upon them by the [Gods] and their greatest [Blessing].

Therefore, no other species are able to gain a [Job] or access the combat [Arts].

But now, right before the eyes of everyone in the battle arena, Aporou had just overthrown the Laws of the world that they had all known.

Such a scene was shown before them. The surprise of the scene for Rusty Iron Knight and the Female Knight was something so unimaginable they were at a total loss for words.

“””How is that possible…””” - Many began to mutter.

Those fragile voices quickly began to fade as their full attention began to seep back within the spectacle before them. The crash of sound created from Aporou’s combat [Arts] [100 Blossoms of 1000 Spears] slammed into Minokichi-kun’s shield.

“Look now Minokichi-kun, I’ll stop holding back now if only a little, prepare yourself!”

From the sheer weight of each blow, Aporou gradually began to push through Minokichi-kun’s defences through the use of the combat [Arts] [100 Blossoms 1000 Spears] combined through the synergetic bonuses of several other abilities.

As a result, the simple calculation of the situation corresponds to an approximate multitude of twice as many hits.

A red afterimage from the spear grew darker and the impacts began to start damaging the surface of the spear, because of the sheer magnitude of these strikes, Minokichi-kun’s arm holding the shield had to bear a serious load.

If it wasn’t for Minokichi-kun’s strong body, a hole would have been created within several seconds.

With too much strength invested into the attacks, the red spear could also have been damaged. This attack, however, was quickly approaching it’s end as Aporou’s endurance was approaching it’s climax. Within combat [Arts] there is a fixed limit within each technique wherein afterwards there is the slightest of openings.

Even for Aporou, who can use the combat [Arts] that none other than humans should have access to, could not change this fact.

With the end of the combat [Arts] there is a small chance to counterattack, which even the greatly weakened Minokichi-kun would never overlook.

However,

“....SSSsssssaaaaaaaaah” (Aporou)

Aporou began to use another ability [Continuation Thrust]

A constant assault through piercing attacks was created by the use of [Continuation Thrust] and [100 Blossoms 1000 Spears] which left no real opening nor chance to counterattack.

The display of attacks shown was only something possible by Aporou, who is capable of using multiple [Abilities] to create original combat [Arts].

“Buuumoooooooooooo!??........” (Minokichi-kun)

The sheer number of piercing attacks could no longer be perceived anymore, it had become a muddy stream. While enduring the attack nothing could be said, as the brutality continued, even the mighty Minokichi-kun could only release a groan.

Praising the enemy while piercing into the frame, the muddy stream of brutal piercing attacks scatters the meat into pieces. While the shield managed to block most of the attacks, some of the meat exposed around the shield was severely chipped away from Minokichi-kun’s limbs. Minokichi-kun’s leg was also greatly damaged.

Beforehand, at Aporou’s feet there was a lump of rock that had been generated. Through the use of [Gravity Law] it was broken off, the wreckage began to rise quickly into the air.

In an instant, more than 100 rock lumps had risen from the surroundings into the air. As for the rock lumps’ sizes, there were small ones and large ones of all sizes from a few centimeters to some of nearly five meters. Some could see it differently, but in reality, one could even compare it to a small gathering of space debris.

“...................!!?”

In this space in time, Aporou’s preparations had been completed and a roar similar to when Minokichi-kun had first collided with the ground was released. At the same time, white flames and golden thunder once more blew out from his entire body.

The thunder flames wrapped around Aporou’s entire body since he was near him, but there was little to no real effect this time around. Even with this, the continuous attack from the [100 Blossoms 1000 Spears] and [Continuation Thrust] had not stopped even for a moment.

The appearance of Minokichi-kun’s body had momentarily disappeared from Aporou’s view due to the thunder flames, they had more or less become a slight barrier from the piercing onslaught.

For only that instant, a small gap could be seen between attacks, and Minokichi-kun using all of his might, forced himself from his back. It was an action only possible because Aporou’s attacks had, for just that moment, lightened.

As the red spear missed the target it met with the ground and was quickly removed.

The meat from the limbs that had already been gouged from the target, remained where the red spear hit the ground.

Minokichi-kun glanced back for a mere moment to see Aporou instantaneously activating another one of red spear’s abilities.

[Unique ability [Bloody Armor of the Shuyari Tepes] triggered].

By executing the ability, dozens of red spear attacks occurred from below Minokichi-kun aiming for his legs.

It was an attack aimed for the sole purpose to, if only temporarily, reduce the great speed of Minokichi-kun that broke the speed of the sound barrier. It is considerably difficult to prevent an ability that attacks from below into a critical blind spot. Without even knowing when one would attack, it was certainly a killing move.

However, from the small glance Minokichi-kun had gained, he seemed to be able to read it as Minokichi-kun’s reaction was lightning fast.

Just as the red spear came from the ground, Minokichi-kun’s massive body had jumped nearly twenty meters into the sky. What the red spear had struck was only Minokichi-kun’s shadow.

As Aporou looked into the sky, there was Minokichi-kun who had raised his axe. It was not difficult to imagine the power that the blow could deliver. Even for Aporou, to receive such a blow directly would be extremely dangerous. Though, Aporou had no intention to be hit by it at all.

With a motion from his hand,

“Go…” (Aporou)

The rocks that had been floating in air were sent flying aimed at Minokichi-kun. The attack was similar to a flying charge, one only needed to change the gravitational pull to send the attack wherever one wanted to. There was yet another purpose for the floating rock lumps, but that is for later.

“Buuumoooooo…”

As the blaze of the rock lumps approached from all sides, Minokichi-kun angled his shield with the hoof of his leg. by changing the angle the rock lumps were intercepted by the shield on, it was as if he was surfing on a wave. The rock lumps were colliding with dull sounds, but were not able to damage the shield because the momentum of the blows were being redirected to lessen the impact.

Minokichi-kun was very dexterous to the nigh impossible point to even make Aporou astonished.

“...........ooooooooooooooooooooooooo”

The pattern of the golden cow once more began to shine and the illusion of the cow’s head appeared.

The remaining rock lumps that were aimed at Minokichi-kun were all crushed and at the same time an attack was launched at Aporou.

Because he had such terrific power, the pebbles that were thrown at him became a rain of rocks. Aporou intertwined with his golden thread gushing from his fingertips were able to prevent the pebbles as they fell by rotating the centrifugal force and once more launching a counterattack to the falling Minokichi-kun.

In order to deal a great blow to Minokichi-kun, the golden lump of rocks and thread followed an orbit that could not be blocked with the shield. Though there was a brief disappointment as the burning axe cut it open, preventing the pebbles within from delivering a strike. With that, a great deal of the damage aimed at Minokichi-kun was avoided.

“Buuumooooo!!!”

From the frustration, a strong shout filled with anger was released from Minokichi-kun.

As the massive figure of anger reached the ground, the impact felt like the release of all of the built up feelings all at once as the axe was swung down. The energy that was gained while falling, and the weight of all of his equipment that figured out to well over 1 ton, combined with the supernatural muscular strength that came from him being a Minotaur, created a grand explosion as it fell. There might be other various reasons, but at the end, the extensive destruction was created by Minokichi-lun.

As Minokichi-kun landed, the ground shook as if a meteor had landed. The shield that had been used like a surfboard sunk deeply into the ground and an abnormal dust cloud was raised.

Aporou had almost lost his footing due to the shaking ground, but quickly recovered.

It was certain that most living beings would have been killed should they have received such an impact, however, the problem was not the heavy shield crushing down upon the earth, but the attack from the axe that had buried itself halfway into the ground.

Golden white thunderous flames from the head of the axe demonstrated the full power of destruction as they blew up from the underground, creasing fissures as if several huge snakes had been summoned forth.

It might have still been alright if it had been just that.

However, from his anger, Minokichi-kun swung his axe back downward with the thunderous flames.

Even the ground being casually destroyed left Minokichi-kun seeming unsatisfied and the thunderous flames were launched forth into the heavens for further destruction.

As the cracks on the ground began to shine a golden white, they erupted. A pillar of thunderous flames blew up from the sky and ground, meeting together and exploding in a fantastic spectacle.

The range had taken up the entire arena, leaving Aporou no space for escape.

The remaining lumps of rock that had still floated within the sky were shattered by the thunderous flames and disappeared while being burned away.

Even while his body was being engulfed with the thunderous flames, Aporou manipulated the current of the air such that the thunderous flames did not inflict harm upon the nearby members.

Minokichi-kun’s thunderous flames were blown together in the center of the arena.

At any rate, Minokichi-kun’s attack was not only focused at Aporou, in his anger, it had been so powerful that it would have extended great damage to a majority of the crowd.

-If I had done nothing, nearly 70% of those watching would have failed to get out of range in time, if I wasn’t lucky, it could have been a severe death toll…

It was a grand scale, high level wide-range attack with an unbelievable attack power.

After several seconds, the pillars of thunderous flames finally disappeared.

Cough* *Cough* “... Oh, Minokichi-kun, have you cooled your head yet?”

Even after all of that, Aporou hadn’t gotten close to death. The golden thunder had no affect to Aporou, however, he was somewhat damaged by the white flames.

However, because of [Hyper Speed Regeneration] he had recovered immediately, so he wasn’t in any danger.

“Although it hurts slightly, i’ll endure it for now.” (Aporou)

Aporou, who had just endured Minokichi-kun’s attack, was at the limit of his patience.

As it was a fight between Aporou and Minokichi-kun, being attacked was not the problem at all. It was a rather natural thing, so one should generally not get angry. The anger, however, had not come from that.

The reason for Aporou’s anger was due to Minokichi-kun, without any thought at all, had used an attack of such a grand scale that it would have involved the other members.

Minokichi-kun, who is a commander and is in a position to lead subordinates, drew out, without thinking, an attack that could have killed his subordinates.

“Grrrrrr….. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……” (Aporou)

In the distance, Minokichi-kun had come to and muttered “What… have I done…”, at the same time Aporou, at the end of his patience, triggered [Black Ogre's Evil Eye] and [Black Demon's Dignity]. As a result, Minokichi-kun’s movements dulled remarkably.

More than half of Minokichi-kun’s large axe remained buried underground, with his massive shield completely buried at his feet.

Though, normally one might have just easily pulled them out, but because of Aporou, Minokichi-kun’s movements were exceptionally slow.

While storing his spear into the item box, Aporou dashed towards Minokichi-kun at full speed. Even after the body had jumped with [Great Power of the Black Demon], it accelerated even further. Combined with [Black Demon's Charge] his speed fully surpassed Minokichi-kun’s. Aporou arrived at Minokichi’s position past the speed of sound, the distance instantly being covered.

[Giant's Iron Hammer] appeared in Aporou’s arms and [Destructive Fists of Flesh Crushing Rage] was put into action.

In addition to two or more abilities that were used to strengthen Aporou’s fists, they vanished from Minokichi-kun’s view. Such a speed is simply impossible for mere eyes to comprehend.

He didn’t have enough time to gather his shield, and as he determined that, Minokichi-kun forcibly pulled his axe from the ground with both hands to harden his defense. It was in that moment that Aporou’s attack exploded.

The huge fist passed through Minokichi-kun’s right flank, bypassing his defenses. A ridiculous power that smashed through Minokichi-kun’s hide and broke the ribs easily.

The left arm crashed into Minokichi-kun’s chest. It was only due to Minokichi-kun’s defense that he survived, if it had been a regular human being, the broken ribs would have pierced into the lungs and other internal organs due to the sheer force of the blow.

The right shoulder defended by his axe was then hit, and even though it was largely defended by the axe, the humerus was still broken to the point of piercing outside of the skin from the sheer force.

The left side of his head that had become defenseless was hit, the brain was shaken and a crack ran along the skull from the strike.

Finally, a direct hit to the upper part of the jaw was released, one of Minokichi-kun’s fangs was crushed and scattered to the surroundings. The massive body of Minokichi-kun was whirled up off of his feet.

The massive body of Minokichi-kun flew into the sky for a few seconds, after which, it landed outside the arena and fell to the ground with an awfully dull plopping sound.

The place where he landed changed color. At the place where he landed, several bones were protruding from Minokichi-kun’s body and a large quantity of blood was flowing out.

Due to the serious injuries, as anyone could determine, he should not be able to continue fighting because of the serious damage that had been done.

However, Minokichi-kun stood up as if it were nothing. All of the members who had been observing the scene from outside of the arena, especially the human members, were astonished as to what had just happened. Thunderous flames started to blow out of Minokichi-kun’s wounds and the serious injuries were healed within seconds.

The fang that had been broken fell out and a new fang grew in it’s place. The bones that protruded from the skin crackled as they re-entered Minokichi-kun’s body and the ribs that should be piercing his internal organs crackled as they went back into place.

Even with the Minotaur race’s proud and mighty vitality, Minokichi-kun’s recovery power was simply unbelievable. It was proof that Minokichi-kun’s regeneration power was near, if not equal to that of Aporou’s.

The Minokichi-kun that had recovered, never had let go of his axe as he was beaten. He re-entered the arena and after setting his posture, he dashed onwards again.

Minokichi-kun collected his shield on the way. From Aporou’s view, it seemed as if a massive figure began pushing out his shield before him. There was still some way to go before they collided, but Minokichi-kun’s smile could be easily seen from the shadow behind his shield.

It’s only natural, looking at the shield before him, Aporou saw Minokichi-kun and received him with a smile.

The red spear was taken back out, the axe swung down, the red spear intercepted it, a clash, a flash of light and a shockwave flashed forth.

The aftermath of the scattered and indiscriminate destruction, the ground was torn to pieces, gravel being shot like arrows, the atmosphere screaming with tension.

Both monsters clashing just as before. As the axe and spear clashed, sparks flew out and the roaring sound of the battle swept through the entire forest.

After Minokichi-kun returned, we continued to spar all day.

As the battle with Minokichi-kun reached the end, the stars and moon had already reached the top of the night’s sky.

I was extremely tired. Because of the great amount of fatigue, both Minokichi and myself spent that night in the External Training Field.

Ahh, the starlit sky was beautiful.

I got slightly nostalgic for a battle in outer space...

--

Day 124 Sidestory Female Mantis Humanoid's POV

This version still needs to be looked over and edited. ~Rok

Day 124/Sidestory: Female Mantis Humanoid's POV

In front of my eyes the Leader and the Vice-Leader are fighting. The fight that is unfolding in the circular fighting arena build in the External Training Field, is so terrific that it is difficult to understand it at all.

Even for me who has superior movement vision because of my compound eyes, the exchange of attacks is too fast to be visible. The Leader who did not show his serious punches during training, is now piling them in succession and a red hollow trace is visible in mid-air.

The massive battleaxe of the Vice-Leader swung down, and with the thunder flames crushed in to the ground, blasting the surroundings. Running at an unbelievable speed for such a massive figure, making everyone looking think that the Vice-Leader moved in an instant, he clashed at the Leader with that speed, however unknowing as to what happened the charging Vice-Leader was blown away. He rotated many times and crashed into the ground. And the Leader who pursued with an attack, however I was not able to understand what was going on.

The fight as it continued even after that, was dominated by the Leader’s flow from beginning to the end. But because it was dangerous, only a small portion of the executives were able to watch it till the last minute, it was regrettable.

I too wanted to see it till the last minute, but as it turned out that way, it was impossible. We who were only watching were left half-dead because of the aftermath of the attack, speaking of the terribleness of fight that spread a little.

What did I feel as I saw the fight, after only the Leader could be seen at the bottom?

The Leader is a monster in Arts. Enough of a monster to incapacitate me barehanded even as I am wrapped in a solid exoskeleton. What would happen if such an existence used a weapon? I can easily imagine it.

Moreover the Leader has racial abilities as [Divine Protection】 that I cannot possibly explain, as he used powers that I cannot understand, even the one that opposes him is not permitted to compete. It is only possible to human beings to ever use 【Arts】, yet he used them, this was outside of my comprehension.

But as I am seeing it, my abdomen became hot, and only then it could be said that it was clear.

Wanting to leave a strong descendant, was my instinct. The Mantis began voluntary training. The Mantis is in heat. After having sex, the Mantis kills her male mate by eating him. The Mantis is not mistress material.

--

Day 125

Early this morning, while sleeping in the arena, I was awoken by a voice from the communication cuff.

It was Supesei-san and Burasato-san with a message:

“We have gained a great deal of treasure and information.”

Admittedly, still half asleep due to my exhaustion from the day before I asked,

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

It appears that they had killed some human thieves and had taken their treasures. However, it seems they had ‘invested’ it all on excellent weapons and grimoires without giving any thought to the consequences.

While swearing to never entrust the fund management of the settlement to these two, I decided to share a bit of information with them.

You remember the goblins that couldn’t accept my leadership and had previously left the group?

They were the ones that were given mythril knives as a parting gifts. At the time, I had demonstrated the blade’s sharpness by cutting my finger and using the blood that was spilled, attached a small clone to it.

While those guys were moving, I was able to fill in more and more of my mental map of this area.

At any rate, it seems that several days ago, they were finally attacked by some humans and slaughtered.

It’s unfortunate that they were not able to win, even though they were equipped with the mythril knives. They were killed by a group of fairly competent thieves, all of their treasures were taken.

I decided to feed the information about the group of thieves to the two.

Even if the information on other groups such as thieves is good, since they killed several of my acquaintances, I can’t say I hold any warm feelings for these thieves.

After I finished my explanation, I decided to go back to sleep.

The next time I awoke, Minokichi-kun approached me and requested to spar again. Because of that, I continued to spar with him throughout the morning. Despite being incredibly heavy, he’s quite fast. This, combined with the special flame and lightning attacks he continuously unleashes makes Minokichi-kun quite the formidable opponent. In addition to that, it seems that as I took more of his attacks, it became more and more difficult for my [Resistances] to defend against his onslaught.

In the afternoon, I went to Blacksmith-san and the dwarves’ place so I could start production of various items. I wanted to try to make a gun that uses gunpowder, however,due to various reasons, I decided to abandon this idea.

I’ll have to come up with something else.

Perhaps I could use spirit stones and magic to solve this problem by creating a Spirit Stone Gun or a Magic Gun, however, it would be quite troublesome if these or the mere idea of such weapons to fall into the wrong hands.

Perhaps I could install a failsafe into these items, something like “Cannot be used unless you are a member of the group.”

While I was contemplating that, I took a break at the Leprechaun’s place in order to create a special coat of arms for the settlement to use.

Well… given that I don’t really have any artistic ability… I had a women with [Job - Painter] take care of the design.

The design instructions for the work was simply to create a deformed black ogre with three horns baring it’s fangs.

Since we didn’t have the proper materials for everything we needed, I decided to send out one of the humans that displayed one of the highest levels of obedience to town on a Falaise Eagle to go shopping for supplies.

A Falaise Eagle can carry up to 2 humans or roughly 3 small Goblins.

To note, the ride is not a comfortable one through and it takes a good deal of practice to manage.

Despite that fact, I’m heavily considering capturing even more of them.

After my evening meal, Burasato-san contacted me again to inform me that their hunt on the human thieves was safely completed.

The group of bandits were completely destroyed and they had obtained quite a few precious gems.

Before ending the conversation with her, I told them to come back soon. I had already told the other groups this as well, so everyone should be returning home soon.

The fourth group, which had been having problems with cooperation seems to have finally been able to work together more or less. So that’s one problem solved.

As expected, sharing meals with each other and overcoming diversity through life and death situations together are helpful tools to forge strong bonds between one another.

--

Day 126

Recently it has started to feel like the weather’s becoming a bit more chilly.

It seems that a season similar to either fall or winter has finally come.

According to Gobujii’s stories, it doesn’t seem like this region is likely to experience snow. However, because there are plenty of children and newborns around, I passed off instructions to the leprechauns and their human helpers to start manufacturing some clothing for the cold weather.

In the morning, myself and Minokichi-kun shed plenty of sweat and blood in the [External Training Grounds].

Then in the afternoon I decided to give Auro, Argento and Oniwaka some training.

My eldest daughter Auro and eldest son Argento seem to have inherited both the blood of a human and that of an ogre, making them [Half-Ogres].

They were given names based on the gold and silver orbs they have.

Under normal circumstances, it would be unusual for them to have Ogre orbs, however, I don’t think it’s that strange considering that they’re MY children.

When Auro, uses her orb, a golden longbow appears that uses halberds, of the same color, as projectiles.

When Argento uses his orb, a silver longbow appears that uses partisan pole-arms, of the same color, as projectiles.

It seems that they are both naturally talented with long-distance weaponry such as bows.

With a little training and good effort, they should be able to easily hit their marks.

Their arrows aren’t even ordinary arrows either, I don’t really understand how they work, but both the halberds and partisans flew like normal arrows.

So, regardless of whether or not they were actually arrows, I decided to just refer to them as such.

Their power output was rather high as well.

It seems they create these arrows as they draw their bows, and since this is the case, they aren’t likely to run out of ammunition.

Given this fact, I could probably take them out into battle pretty soon.

Taking this into account, I decided to teach them plenty of close combat skills for the purpose of defending themselves, even if they were ranged fighters. It is sometimes necessary for an archer to defend themselves should their opponent close the distance on them.

Of course, the halberds and partisan pole-arms could also be used as normal weapons should the need arise.

As for Oniwaka who is a [High Ogre], he’s already cleared over 180 centimeters tall.

On top of that, his muscles seem to have developed to such a degree that he’s already gained the muscular strength of an adult [Ogre].

Because of that, I decided to teach him close combat techniques along with the other two.

I also called in Minokichi-kun to aid in their training.

Oniwaka’s weapon of choice is a Kanabo, a large club with spikes of pure mithril alloy.

A lot of his equipment resembles Minokichi’s initial equipment.

It would seem that he also greatly respects Minokichi-kun which made me feel a bit lonely as his father.

I have to say, it’s a really satisfying feeling to see your children grow stronger as the days pass.

In the evening, the remaining groups that had gone out finally began returning.

Aside from a male human I had stay out to spy, the rest of Parabellum had finally assembled once again.

--

Day 127

This morning I decided to host another fighting tournament to decide the current standing of our hierarchy.

However, this time, there was a distinction between official members and provisional members. Also, because these battles were between combat personnel, not every one of our members was required to participate. That being said, because it was a great source of entertainment that our settlement generally lacked, there wasn’t a single soul that overlooked the tournament. This created far more activity around than there had been seen up until this point.

The results:

1st Place: Aporou

2nd Place: Minokichi

3rd Place: Kanami

4th Place: Avenger

5th Place: Asue

6th Place: Burasato

7th Place: Supesei

8th Place: Fire Lord-kun

9th Place: Wind Lord-chan

10th Place: Scarface *One of the Black Undead Knights from Day 121, he had greater intelligence*

11th Place: Rusty Iron Knight

12th Place: Suputo (One of the Thunder Dragonnewts)

13th Place: Gurufu-chan

14th Place: The Boss Monkey

15th Place: Redhead

16th Place: Illusion Lord-kun

...etc.

It was a pretty emotional spectacle.

From fighting affinity you had towards your opponent, as well as the changes between battlefields and the changes of various factors that could have affected the outcome of the battles, it drummed up quite a bit of excitement from the members.

That said, it ended up like this this time.

It’s important to note that the commanding officer of Prière didn’t make it into the higher rankings.

Seiji-kun’s race and orientation isn’t combat oriented, so it can’t be helped that he wasn’t able to rank higher.

However, it’s a given that the remaining commanding officers were all able to score within the top 10 of the rankings. The rest of the influential members scored themselves within the top twenty.

Although there were various options for assessing people, I omitted them this time, more or less because it’s just plain troublesome.

That night after the tournament was over, there was a grand banquet. The meat for the banquet came from several Black Fomorians that I generated.

Yeah, festivals are great after all. The Black Fomorian meat was delicious as well… They were seriously delicious!

--

Day 128

Today, a request came from the Tomboy Princess .

When we had parted ways with the Princess, I had secretly given her a communication cuff to use whenever she had the need of me, regardless of the time of day. As a result, we’ve had plenty of conversations, taking place during the morning, afternoon and even at night. However, this is only the second time that she’s making a request.

That being said, when the Princess said “I wish to make a request,” I sensed some trouble looming.

Is it just me… Or does trouble always come whenever the Princess makes a request of me…. No.. no that can’t be right…

Well, to summarize, it seems that the request this time is just to help train the royal guards of the Amber Palace.

Well, we did become acquainted with the palace guards last time when they had joined in the training I was having with Fire Lord-kun and the Boy Knight .

They seemed like decent individuals and they were even able to overcome the human racial barrier to ask to join in on the training of a ‘lesser race’.

That said, it’s not really a job i’m really looking forward to do.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible, nor will I be refusing.

The reason is just that i’ve heard that the First Queen is a deeply zealous individual and I may end up having to take meals with her as well as being held in audience with her at several points.

It’s because of this I felt there might be an ulterior motive behind this request.

Moreover, according to my clones, it seems that there may be some big plan involving the Princess that might be about to go down.

I’m guessing she’s intending to get me involved in that.

Although I don’t have the specifics yet, this is probably the case in this situation.

That’s more or less why i’m worried about whether it’s alright for me to take this request.

Our numbers are now past a total of 400, but a majority of them still need more training and to acquire better equipment.

If a troublesome situation occurs and I have to mobilize the entire group, I’m concerned about whether or not we will be able to overcome the crisis. It’s still unclear and that’s what has me worried.

The reward, however, is not going to be an issue. The reward is a rather extensively large sum after all. Given that it’s royalty, that’s a given.

The reward this time will be less than what we had received from the escort job, however, it’s still considerably higher than the market price for the service requested.

The Princess is certainly our best paying customer to date.

It’s not all that surprising though since we haven’t had many other clients.

I think i’ll wait a little before I decide whether or not to take the request or not.

I ended up spending the rest of the day having another sparring match with Minokichi-kun .

In the evening, since we both had free time, Father Elf and I decided to drink some Elven wine and Labyrinth liquor while soaking in the hot springs.

Although I said we’d drink upon our return, a week had already passed.

Since we both had our own business to take care of, it really couldn’t be helped much.

That being said, since the promise seems to have been fulfilled, there shouldn’t be any problems.

However, i’ll stick with it when I say that Elven wine is the best.

It really is after all…

That said, you can’t take Labyrinth liquor lightly though.

It’s a bit unfortunate that it costs quite a bit since it’s quite hard to get.

For that reason, i’m sorry to say that Elven wine will remain my favorite.

Hmmm…… It might be a good idea to challenge the labyrinth sometime in search of some seriously high quality liquor. While considering this, I merrily continued drinking with Father Elf.

After some time had passed, Minokichi-kun and Rusty Iron Knight had joined us. The situation had turned into a rather unique drinking party for the higher ranking men. Since the drinking party with the men continued well into the night, Father Elf decided to stay over rather than traverse the forest during the night after drinking a large amount of alcohol.

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Day 129

This morning after seeing Father Elf off, I decided it was finally time to get back with the Tomboy Princess.

In the end, I ended up deciding to accept her request.

Currently the financial situation with Parabellum is in a rather delicate state, it’s neither good nor bad. Certainly, there’s money from the escort job for the Princess that we had done, the selling of monster materials as well as the money we receive on a regular basis from protecting Clute Village and it’s residents when they go out to harvest lumber from the forest.

In addition to that, Burasato-san and Supesei-san had returned with quite a bit of treasure that had included quite a bit of money they had appropriated from the group of thieves.

There was certainly enough money here to support our current personnel.

Since we are self-sufficient for the moment, earning more money isn’t a necessity, however, we should earn it when we can since you will never know when you can get work in the future.

On top of that, it also seems wasteful to miss out on the large reward from this request. If some sort of commotion happens, I may end up losing out on my commission, but it could still be turned into a profitable situation given the right actions.

It will also give me a chance to lightly probe around the Princess which might allow me to pick up some important information that might otherwise escape me. There are more advantages than disadvantages in this situation.

Assessing the information I collected with [Intuition] I ended up deciding to accept the request. However, if we’re going to end up taking the carriages to the Royal Capital, it will take some time to prepare them for the journey. Although we could also just travel there by air now, we certainly don’t have enough Falaise Eagles for everyone. The Royal Capital is also too far away from where we are currently located.

If I were to think about it, heading out with enough carriages would end up being more convenient anyway.

I also have to consider what members I should bring with me. Of course I will be bringing Kanami-chan with me as well as Auro and my other children.

While they are still in their growth period, they will still be a great help in any given situation. Hmmm, given the current task, I think I’ll bring around twenty people in the case something happens. Those that stay behind can continue training their bodies. It might also be a good idea to let them head out into the forest to gain some rather needed experience on the hunt.

I spent a good amount of time today selecting the members that I would bring along with me to the Royal Capital.

--

Day 130

In the end, I decided on having several groups head out again. For that reason, I produced ten carriages and strengthened them using various abilities.

My group consists of 24 people and will be taking 4 carriages.

Minokichi-kun and Asue-chan’s group consisting of 20 people with 3 carriages and will head for the Labyrinth City Purgatory in order to train and gather more materials.

The final group consisted of 22 people and were put on guard detail using three skeleton centipedes. Although the carriages can carry more members if I alter their size, this number is just fine for the time being.

Since we’re departing tomorrow, I instructed each person to get their luggage together.

Blacksmith-san and the sisters are going to stay home this time around. There are four people staying since they seem to have things to do.

Sigh… Well, nothing more than to get ready and prepare for the best and the worst. Though I’m looking forward to the trip, I won’t lie when I say I also feel a bit uneasy. The feeling is only subtle though.

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Day 130 Sidestory Gobujii's POV

【Gobujii’s aspect: The 130th day 】

Recently, the body movements, became completely bad. The eyes became hazy, the joints are aching, and the sexual desire faded away too.

Steadily, I will possibly also go (die).

Give me a little bit more, as I look at me burning away, to everywhere I can see (look).

I would like to soak in the hot springs, soak in them again and work hard.

Gobujii’s life span = ■■ Day

Gobujii is Flagged