The Kingdom of Rakia's army is advancing.
That news spread like wildfire through neighboring nations.
Warriors clad in thick metal plates, as well as thousands of armored horses,
traveled beneath partly cloudy skies, ranks of spearheads glinting. Many
merchants and travelers caught a glimpse of them in long columns as they
passed beyond the outer limits of their territory.
The Kingdom of Rakia.
A monarchy that was situated on the western side of the main continent. It
was said that at least 600,000 people currently lived under its rule. A large castle
loomed at the center of its largest settlement, complete with its own castle town
surrounding it. Lush and green, Rakia possessed a great deal of fertile land but
very little culture, its people living under constant martial law.
Everything went according to their king's wishes, which were one and the
same as their only god's divine will.
Ares, the God of War. He sat at the very top of Rakia and controlled every
part of the country.
Ultimately, the Kingdom of Rakia was actually much like the many other
familias but on a completely different scale of size and complexity, operating as
its own country.
Every Rakian soldier had been blessed with Ares's Falna. The subjects of
Rakia who were tasked with running the industries of the kingdom were the
equivalent of noncombatant members of other familias. Being the one and only
deity, Ares had chosen its king—the leader of the familia—throughout the
country's history.
A familia that started with Ares and only a handful of followers had
overcome many struggles to become its own country and now stood as a
powerful nation with a rich history.
Due to their god's love for war, the Kingdom of Rakia had been the aggressor
in many wars over the centuries. But the idea that this conflict was caused by
Ares's warmongering was solely the opinion of the other nations watching these
events from the outside.
The advancing troops numbered around 30,000.
This army was once called invincible when armed with a certain type of
magic sword, and now their target lay even farther to the west, on the periphery
of the continent. A city that held the world's only Dungeon and had therefore
come to be known as the "Center of the World": Orario.
High walls and a white tower that looked tall enough to pierce the heavens
appeared on the horizon. The heavy footsteps of fully armored warriors drew
ever closer. The plate armor that encompassed their bodies was decorated with
an extravagant, larger-than-life emblem as crimson-red flags rippled in the air.
It wasn't long before the army advancing straight west entered the lands
surrounding the city.
Rakia's army arrived unannounced on their doorstep, but inside the city itself
—.
"You won't believe your eyes! An entire dodobass for only two thousand
valis! That's right, two thousand valis!"
"From weapon repairs to custom orders, we do it all!"
"Would someone please join my familiaaaaaaaaaa?!"
"Excuse me, young elf maiden. I see you're an adventurer. Please accept this
potion as a gift from me. It would be tragic for your beautiful face to be
burdened with a scar."
"Th-thank you…!"
"Miach's making girls fall for him without realizing it again…!"
"""It's Miach, what do you expect?"""
—Nothing was different.
No citizen of Orario showed even the slightest concern. The sky over the city
was bright and clear, as opposed to the dark clouds approaching from the east.
Amid their normally busy days, there was one thought that they all shared
during the time before Rakia's arrival:
Ahh, it's happening again…
While the citizens were going about their daily lives inside the city walls,
yells echoing from outside the wall signaled that the battle had begun.
The cries of horses were thunderous.
But that sound was drowned out almost immediately by thousands of hooves
slamming into the dirt as they charged across the plains.
The open grassy field expanded thirty kirlos east of Orario. Thousands of red
flags whipped about in the air as the soldiers carrying them raced forward.
It's said that knights are the roses of the battlefield. Armed with lances and
shining armor, mounted on horses as heavily armored as their riders, the knights
charged forward, trampling everything in their path. The tips of their weapons
thrust forward, their formation could carve a path through any battlefield.
A wall of silver lances raced across the plain, the weapons glistening in the
sunlight.
It was a sight that would make any foot soldier on the same battlefield weak
in the knees. But—this particular unit of cavalry was shaking in terror.
The color drained from their faces beneath their helmets.
Every set of eyes was wide open and locked on the single dwarf who stood in
their path. Every muscle in his stout figure bulged beneath layers of thick armor.
A cape hung from his shoulders.
His helmet sat low over his eyes. An incredibly large battle-ax rested on his
shoulder, just waiting for action.
The dwarf swung the ax into position the moment echoes of the horses'
hooves reached his ears. Then, as soon as the cavalrymen came within ten
meders of his position, he charged out to meet them head-on.
Holding the ax out to his right, the dwarf tensed every muscle in his body to
bring it forward.
"Ngahhh!"
A moment later, the "invincible cavalry" was launched skyward.
"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Airborne knights and horses dotted the horizon. The unbelievable spectacle
could be seen from all around the open plain.
Tears fell from the knights' eyes as their helmets and pieces of their armor
fell away from their bodies in midair. What's worse, the expressions on their
now-exposed faces revealed they knew full well this was going to happen.
Screams of agony filled the air as they fell to the ground, crashing down one by
one next to their horses and scraps of broken metal.
The next wave of knights halted their charge in the face of the thrashing, but
the group farther back didn't notice in time and plowed straight into them. Both
the second and third ranks of knights fell off from their mounts into stunned
disarray.
The dwarf—Loki Familia's Gareth Landrock—watched the opposing soldiers
fall over one another and sighed to himself.
"Dammit, Finn…pushin' this job on me."
Two more companies of knights arrived on the battlefield but hadn't learned
from their allies' mistake. Gareth didn't even bother to sigh again as he lifted his
battle-ax back onto his shoulder. The new arrivals charged in, only to meet the
same fate. Once again, the bodies of horses and people alike decorated the
skyline, their tears sparkling in their wake.
Orario's top-tier adventurer Gareth Landrock.
Having reached Level 6, his prowess and skill with an ax were known the
world over.
Facing him in battle were companies of mostly Level 1 knights from the
Kingdom of Rakia. Their captains might have been Level 2 but no higher.
In terms of experience in strength, tactics, techniques, and the difference in
Level, Gareth was too powerful for them to overcome.
The Knights of Rakia now knew exactly how reckless their attack had been.
—The days when overwhelming numbers could win in war, especially in
battles between people, were coming to an end.
In the current Divine Era, "quality over quantity" reigned supreme.
The presence of one incredibly strong individual—a warrior who carried the
Blessing of a deity—had the ability to turn the tide of any battle. It had been said
that a small group of warriors with a leveled-up Status could take on hundreds,
even thousands of enemy troops and come out victorious.
Should a Blessed person's Status reach Level 6 in today's world, they would
be on par with, or even exceed, the ferocious monsters that had rampaged
through the world during the Ancient Times.
In other words, this dwarf—at least in the eyes of Rakia's Knights—was no
different from a dragon in the days of old.
It was also true that an army that lacked a hero could never hope to slay a
dragon.
The battle that unfolded was not much different from what happened to those
armies in stories of heroes or fairy tales: The lone dwarf mowed down the
hapless knights with little resistance. There was no way for the mounted soldiers
to continue the battle.
"Tione, sound the gong. The retreating battalion is a feint. Circle around so
that it's trapped between friendly forces."
"You got it!"
"Also, that hill over there…There's a squad of magic users firing on top of it.
Tiona, tell Ganesha Familia to surround and take them out without being seen."
"Sure, sure…Delivering messages is such a drag."
Screams of pain reached all corners of the battlefield, even to the clearing a
good distance away from the nightmarish scene unfolding at the hands of Gareth
Landrock.
The prum Finn Deimne, field general of Loki Familia, had a spear in his
grasp as he kept a keen eye on several unfolding battles from well behind the
front lines. He was quick to issue orders.
Orario had no choice but to meet Rakia's invading army of 30,000 on the
battlefield. The Guild had issued a mission—a sweeping order for specific
familias residing in the city to stop the Rakian advance before it reached the city
wall.
Their enemy had chosen to overwhelm them with numbers from the start.
Therefore, this makeshift alliance of Orario's forces had chosen Finn as its
commander. As someone who was in charge of the familia that led the way in
clearing the Dungeon, someone who possessed the insight and ingenuity to deal
with unexpected Irregular monsters and who was famous for his leadership
skills, Finn was ideal for the position on this battlefield. Even now, he was
analyzing enemy movements and guiding the flow of battle.
"General, some familias aren't listening to us…especially Freya Familia."
"Our forces are just a loosely bound coalition of many smaller groups, but we
don't have to be the most efficient of shepherds. Just give them a direction and
let them be. I highly doubt Freya Familia is worth worrying about."
"Finn, there are reports that more enemy reinforcements are arriving from the
east. What are your orders?"
"Hmm…I'm a bit more concerned about the forest to the north. Riveria, I
hate to ask you, but would you take Aiz and that group up in that direction? It's
probably the main army."
The prum issued orders to his slightly dejected subordinate and a high elf
magic user. A quick lick of his right thumb let Finn predict what was about to
happen next and provided clues to the enemy's strategy.
Many different familias, not just Loki Familia, were busy engaging Rakia's
forces on several different fronts around the battlefield. Orario's adventurers
were making quick work of their opponents. It was as if the mythical Hydra
were standing in the clearing, with each of its many heads working
independently as Orario's Alliance tore through Rakia's advancing ranks.
"How very boring…"
"Yeah, an' there's so much waitin' for me to do back home…"
Farther back from Finn's command station, the gods and goddesses of the
summoned familias watched from the top of a hill as the battle unfolded.
A tent and chair had been prepared for each of them. Sitting beneath the most
elaborate canvas and drinking wine in her equally fancy chair was Freya.
Meanwhile, Loki sat cross-legged in her own chair under the next tent over. Both
of them watched the incredibly one-sided battle while complaining that they had
nothing to do.
"It was over the moment they mounted their horses, don't you agree?"
"The kiddos with higher Statuses are still faster anyway. Don't know if
they're tryin' to look cool or somethin', but it's like tellin' everyone their
Statuses have a lot of growin' left to do."
There wasn't even a hint of tension among the deities sitting under the tents.
Their thoughts on this battle were similar to their followers'.
The only other beings around the gods and goddesses were a few members
serving as a private guard. The flags of each familia waved in the breeze next to
the tents of their god. Loki Familia's and Freya Familia's flags—which also had
a strong presence on the battlefield and among the adventurers—particularly
stood out. The sight of Loki's Trickster and Freya's Warrior Maiden emblems
sent waves of fear through Rakia's soldiers.
As a result, the soldiers' coordinated movements became sluggish as their
will to fight vanished. Even their charges lacked enthusiasm. The very presence
of those symbols dealt a serious blow to the invading army's morale.
"Puttin' it another way, us not bein' here would put a li'l more pep in their
step…Haa! Havin' the title of 'best' is such a pain in the ass."
"It's too late to complain now."
Loki leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed behind her head. Freya
watched her out of the corner of her eye, chuckling to herself.
"Oh, and by the way…Did you hear there hasn't been one casualty among
Rakia's forces? How is that possible?"
"Ain't got much choice, not with all the merchants tellin' 'em not to kill their
payday."
Loki sounded vaguely annoyed while answering Freya's question.
Looking out across the plain and hearing the pandemonium of shrieks and
groans, it was obvious that Orario's adventurers had been striking with the blunt
edges of their weapons.
"That and I don't want the kiddos in my familia dirtyin' their hands with this
pretend 'war.'"
"That's true as well."
Loki fought back a yawn as the two goddesses made light of the farce
unfolding before them.
"Ares, ya idiot, don't attack an opponent ya know you can't beat. You're
gonna lose a lot more than ya bargained for," mumbled the vermilion-haired
goddess as her line of sight moved from battle to battle.
"Hey there, fine soldier! If you buy right now, a potion brewed right here in
Orario can be yours for just a thousand valis!"
Injured soldiers were carried into Rakia's forward camp one after another,
and business was booming.
Countless tents had been raised in straight rows. The cries of the injured were
relentless as they lay on their backs in shade the tents provided. At the same
time, noncombatant demi-humans and deities were strutting around the camp.
Orario's mercantile familias saw an amazing business opportunity and
swooped in to sell their wares.
"Doesn't that hurt? Isn't the pain unbearable? Don't you want to heal that
wound right away?"
"Y-yes, I do…"
"Excellent! Let's make a deal!"
A few of Orario's deities stood over the badly wounded soldiers, smiling and
dangling potions for sale just out of the soldiers' reach.
Indeed, these deities were selling not only to their own forces but to enemy
troops as well. Their entrepreneurial spirits knew no bounds. They'd found a
market and were going to take advantage of it.
"No one can fight with a broken weapon! Come and buy a new one!"
"I'll accept a trade!"
"Ba-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! How do you like that, Miach? My goods are selling like
there's no tomorrow! Looks like I win this one, too, wouldn't you say, Amid?"
"No, Lord Dian Cecht. Lord Miach and his familia are not here."
"What was that?! Chickened out, eh, Mi-aaaaaaaaaaach?"
Weapons, armor, and even magic swords changed hands.
It was all a simple case of supply and demand, and the fact that Orario hadn't
taken the slightest bit of damage meant that demand was overwhelming.
Merchants were champing at the bit. Orario's adventurers had completely
destroyed Rakia's supply lines and means of communication; these soldiers had
no choice but to buy. The commanding officers could not go against the will of
their god Ares, and so they cried rivers of tears watching a fortune disappear.
"Tsk, no real men anywhere…All the good ones must be commanding
officers."
"Aisha! There're some really hunky knights a few rows over! It's time to
feast!"
"W-wait right there, Samira! Right behind you!"
A few of the prostitutes from the Pleasure District had also come to the camp.
Not belonging to any familia, the "free" beauties also came to conduct business.
They offered services to some of the warriors, but as soon as the fearsome
Amazons found a knight who met their standards, they "devoured" him on the
spot. Every so often the wails of pleasure would break through the continuous
moans of pain and despair.
With nothing to keep them in check, what was once Rakia's camp for the
assault on Orario had become little more than a playground for the economic
ambitions of the city's citizens and deities.
"A-a report from the front! Battalions one through five have been wiped out,
and our front lines are retreating in an all-out rout across the board. The enemy
seems to have predicted all our strategic ploys, as each one ended in failure…"
"C-curse theeeeeem…!!"
—A god sitting under a tent at the very rear of Rakia's forces clenched his
fist in anger.
With golden hair as thick as a lion's mane, the deity was clad in stark red
armor. His masculine and robust features would rival those of a male God of
Beauty, the epitome of manliness.
He was none other than the instigator of this war, the true leader of the
Kingdom of Rakia—and the familia's god: Ares.
He ground his teeth together as he listened to the messenger's report, his
immaculate face warping into a frown.
"The forward camp has been overrun by Orario's greedy scum! Swindled by
Amazonian prostitutes, our soldiers' morals have been thrown to the wayside…
Morale is at an all-time low!!"
"Orario ! How cowardly, to use such underhanded tactics!!"
Ares's face flushed so red that it matched his armor. If Loki were there, she
would be quick to hit him with a one-liner such as, "Ya think we'd do somethin'
like that, blockhead?" Just the thought of it filled Ares with even more rage.
The god himself would call it his innate urge to fight, but the people around
him would refer to it as recklessness.
Other deities described him as having 100 percent muscle between the ears.
The young man currently at his side took one look at his god's infuriated state
and let out a big sigh. His shoulders dropped as he shook his head from side to
side, obviously tired of seeing it.
This was the god of the military, otherwise known as the God of War: Ares.
He might have been a god of battle, but he did not control victory.
An air of defeat had already filled the tent of commanding officers. All of
them fell silent. Only Ares's cries of rage echoed into the distance.
"Are you sure there's no scheme you want to put into motion?"
As a particular god was roaring in frustration…
A white cape danced in the breeze on top of Orario's city wall far from the
battlefield, as the beautiful young woman Asfi, leader of Hermes Familia, asked
her god a question.
Her god was leaning against the chest-high guard wall and watching a pillar
of smoke, most likely the result of Magic, rise in the distance. He didn't move as
he answered.
"Even if I did find a way to introduce Bell to Ares…"
The breeze ruffled Hermes's orange hair as his delicate smile thinned. He had
to hold down his traveler's hat to keep it from being blown off his head.
"That's not to say doing so wouldn't make for a great show…but I'm a bit
scared of how Lady Freya would react, for obvious reasons."
"…Has there been any communication from her or her familia since then?"
"Why, no. But that's the scariest thing. Her silence is her way of warning me
that there won't be a next time."
The frenzy after the incident that took place in the Pleasure Quarter was
starting to die down. However, that didn't mean the dandy god could do
anything he wanted for just a little entertainment when it came to Freya Familia.
Hermes closed his mouth and turned to his follower.
"The annihilation of a familia is no laughing matter," said Asfi with a stern
glare.
"I know," responded Hermes with a shrug.
"I had a few words with the Guild and made sure that there's no way the
Mission will come knocking at Hestia's door. Those children have been wrapped
up in one incident after another recently; it's time they had a chance to relax and
live a little."
Leaning with his back against the guard wall, Hermes looked up into the
clear blue sky.
"K-Kenki?!"
"It's the Sword Princess!!"
"RUN AWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!"
It was on the northern edge of the plain where the battle was taking place. A
female knight had appeared in the line of sight of a small force staging an
ambush at the perimeter of the forest. In that moment, every single one of the
ambushers lost their will to fight.
Their commander yelled at the top of his lungs, trying to rally his troops, but
it was in vain. The foot soldiers threw down their weapons and ran back into the
forest as fast as their legs could carry them.
"That was to be expected."
"Dammit, Aiz, that's why we told you to stay in the back of the formation.
Now we gotta go round them up. Gahh…"
"…"
Aiz stood ready for a fight, sword in hand. But her shoulders sank and her
mouth shut tight as soon as she heard the words of Riveria and the werewolf
Bete.
With golden eyes and blond hair, Aiz stood out like a sore thumb and was
easily identifiable even in a large battle. Rakia's soldiers feared the girl who had
once slain a floor boss in the Dungeon by herself. Aiz watched them disappear
into the forest with an aloof expression on her face but was actually feeling a
little depressed.
"Aiz, do not stand idle. Pursue. We cannot allow any harm to come to the
surrounding villages."
"…Yes."
"Let's get this over with and head back to Orario. Being out here is a waste of
time."
Riveria and Bete led the other members of Loki Familia and charged into the
forest. Aiz joined them in chasing the panicked figures darting through the trees.
Directly to the southwest, a white tower tall enough to pierce the heavens
stood as it normally did on any other day.
This attack by Rakian forces would become known as "The Sixth Orario
Invasion."
Life went on as normal for the citizens of the Labyrinth City in spite of this
war being drawn out longer than usual. Several small, unnoticed stories unfolded
between deities and their followers.