***
At that moment when Jin and Diphus teleported out of the battlefield, the remaining comrades in the center of Rikalton were rescuing the prisoners.
"Ahh!"
"Thank you, thank you!"
Screams and cries echoed along with words of gratitude.
For every fruit that was plucked, approximately 50 people were saved. Although a majority of the fallen fruits on the ground contained only about 30% surviving prisoners, there were still a considerable number of trapped fruits that showed no response even when peeled.
"I am Alisa Badger, the commander of the Tikan defense forces. Come out and head towards the direction where you see the light!"
"I am Gilly McRolan, a member of the Vamel alliance. Go towards the direction where you see the light. Those who are unable to move will need your direct assistance. It will be difficult, but please move calmly."
"Hey there! It's Nodaav Sargent. Any members of our fan club here? Oh, now is not the time for that. Go there, over there. We came to rescue you!"
"I am the leader of Ghost mercenaries, do you see the blue light over there? Find a way to get there. Our mages and knights will protect you once you reach that place..."
Hell was right here.
With such thoughts in mind, Jin's comrades were running tirelessly.
There were already hundreds of fallen fruits on the ground, and the trees near the castle were still shedding more.
The blue light gathering the prisoners was the colossal record window opened by Valeria.
She, along with Qwaul, Enya, and Hedo, were tasked with protecting the gathering prisoners and collecting information instead of directly participating in the rescue.
"Valeria, as soon as the signal flare went off, Jin's energy suddenly disappeared. Is there anything appearing on the record window?"
"She's currently focused, so she can't answer! Wait a moment, let me read the record window and find out."
As Hedo relayed the message, Qwaul examined the record window. Just as he said, Valeria was in a state where she couldn't hear anyone else's voice as she extracted the records of the entire battlefield.
"I found it. Through the power of Diphus Runkandel and the Authority of evil god, Jin has moved to... Hmm, the name of the area he moved to hasn't appeared yet. The letters are faintly trying to form and will likely show up on the window as time passes."
Hedo felt a little uneasy about Jin leaving the battlefield, but he didn't worry too much.
Unless Evil god itself moved, there should be no entity in Huphester capable of killing him.
'The fleets of Zipfel and Kinzelo are being delayed. That means they are also facing the forces of Evil god, including superhuman-class powerhouses... It's unlikely that Jin can handle all of them. Is the Fourth flagbearer luring him into one-on-one combat?'
Already, more than a hundred prisoners had reached the record window, and many more were crossing the distant field.
[It seems like things are going too smoothly, Hedo. The Chaos Army doesn't appear as formidable as expected,] Cuicantelle said as he carefully placed a fruit on the ground.
"Just saying that might cause problems, Ms. Cuicantelle. Just like now..."
Hedo drew his sword as he spoke.
What he was looking at was the main gate of Rikalton Castle. A woman dressed in black robes was walking out from there.
The Prophet, Ilina Runcandel.
Hedo immediately spread his sword energy in her direction, but Ilina dissipated like mist and reformed, shaking off her clothes.
Hedo shrugged as if he had expected that and lit a cigarette.
[Damn, so it is her. Judging from the situation, she seems to be the Prophet.]
The problem wasn't their combat power, but rather the disadvantageous situation they were in.
They had to protect the prisoners while fighting, and there were still many unknowns about llina's abilities.
[Heroes of the human world who came to rescue Rikalton. Are you enjoying the rescue mission?]
Illina's amplified voice lightly echoed through the battlefield.
Hedo fixed his gaze on her as his comrades struggled with the frightened prisoners, causing the rescue progress to slow down.
[It seems you don't have a good answer. Well then, I have prepared a gift for all of you!]
Clap, clap!
As Illina clapped her hands, a circle appeared in the midst of the trees that had bound the prisoners.
It was 'eyes.' Then, the trunks of the trees opened sideways, revealing grotesque figures with arms and legs.
[Insane... So those trees were not just trees, but some kind of monsters?]
As the bodies of the creatures, which had appeared to be trees, straightened up, it became evident that each of them had a more gigantic figure than the Rikalton Castle itself. The parts where the fruits were attached resembled heads with hair-like strands, and when the legs, which had been rooted in the ground like roots, stretched out, the monsters had bodies even larger than those of the cemetery giants.
[They are beings created with the help of the matriarch. You've encountered the cemetery giants, haven't you? They are similar to them, except they have humans hanging from their fruit heads. You could call them a kind of talisman.]
In other words, there were limitations to attacking the giant creatures. If they made a wrong move, their attacks could also destroy the fruits of the giant creatures.
[My head hurts. By the way, Hedo. That Prophet… does not seem to have the power to kill us.]
"I also had the same thought."
While most of their comrades were engulfed in a sense of growing urgency, Hedo and Cuicantelle calmly assessed the situation.
"It seems like she is trying to buy time with her maneuvers, making it difficult to rescue the prisoners. That's probably why the Chaos Army is relatively small. If they engage us with overwhelming numbers and chaos, the rate at which the prisoners are consumed would be too fast, and they know that we would have no reason to fight cautiously."
[It's not about buying time for the recovery of Diphus, who is already engaging in battle with Jin. But it seems their purpose is to disrupt the prophet's execution. She must feel a sense of crisis, given the obvious show she is putting on.]
"Tactically, it would be better to immediately abandon all prisoners and advance to disrupt the her intentions. But that wouldn't be Jin's style, right?"
[You're already speaking like a true member of the Vamel Alliance. You adapt quickly.]
"Because I'm concerned that if Jin suffers, Lady Sandra might go berserk. It's also a risky move to charge forward and potentially fall into a trap. It would be best to respond calmly until the temporary allies arrive. The numbers have come to mind roughly."
Gooong!
The giant beings began to move forward. Each time they moved, a dark low-pitched moan and an unpleasant sound of the trees twisting filled the air.
One of them raised its fist towards the ground, targeting Lata. However, Lata easily dodged the attack and showed the scene of rescuing several prisoners who were bounced off by the shockwave.
But not everyone could do what Lata did. Those who lacked relative agility, like the youngest division, had to prepare for fatal injuries every time they dodged the gaint beings' attacks.
[Well, it seems that the encounter with the giant beings will provide you all with more thrilling enjoyment. I will take my leave now.]
With those words, the Prophet returned to Rikalton Castle.
"Ms. Cuicantelle, please bring Yulian and the leader of Black King mercenaries."
Cuicantelle swiftly found them, as they were already on the battlefield.
[Yulian, you will be excluded from the ground prisoner rescue from now on. Instead, move with the leader of Black King mercenaries and harvest the fruits attached to the giant beings."
Yulian dropped the fruits attached to the giant beings using his bow, and Valkas moved them near the record window.
Hedo planned to rescue the prisoners attached to the giant beings in that manner, utilizing Yulian's marksmanship and Valkas' strength.
"Leader of Black King mercenaries, you don't need to bring the fruits all the way here perfectly. If you throw them from a considerable distance, I will catch them all. Also, there's no need for them to be too accurate. Even if you throw them slightly away from me, I can use the Sword Wind to catch them."
"Understood."
Valkas momentarily doubted if it was possible, but considering Hedo's incredible power, he nodded.
[Valkas will have a particularly tough time. While securing the fruits from the giant beings, he also need to pay attention to protecting our allies.]
Except for Hedo, who was an extraordinary being, Valkas was the only 10-star among the group, so he had to take on a significant role in protecting their allies as well.
"Of course, but it won't be too difficult for the leader of Black King mercenaries. Because..."
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, Hedo took a step forward and swung his sword through the air. The shining sword struck the wrist of the giant being that was originally targeting Mesa Milcano, causing it to miss its punch and stagger backward.
"This is why I will cover the entire battlefield while protecting our allies, right here."
Hedo couldn't leave this place. Once he moved, the lives of the prisoners gathered here would be forfeit.
Furthermore, if the rescued individuals lost their gathering point, it would create disruption in Valeria and Qwaul's analysis.
[It's true that you're a monster, Hedo. I suspected something when you immediately came up with a response, but you're just unstoppable.]
While their comrades marveled, Hedo felt a sense of regret. He thought that if he had faced Diphus and Jin had been here, the Prophet wouldn't have been able to pull off such a scheme.
'They must have calculated such factors from the beginning and diverted Jin.'
There were a total of eight giant beings. Hedo didn't miss a single move they made.
"Being unstoppable has its limits since it's just pure power. There will come a moment when I reach my limit. Until then, we should hold out as much as possible while rescuing as many prisoners as we can until our allies arrive. We also need one person to infiltrate Rikalton Castle. I believe Mary Runcandel, the 7th flagbearer, is suitable for that."
[I will pass on the message.]
"Ms. Enya, from now on, focus only on the rear. I feel like I won't be able to pay any attention to the rear at all."
"Don't worry. Sir Hedo!"
As Hedo provided long-range support several more times, the comrades could once again focus on rescuing the prisoners.
Hedo's sword aura continued to spread like a shining thread between Rikalton Castle and the gathering point.
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