The first light of day started to stretch across the horizon.
The fortress, once bathed in the cool tranquility of night, began to glow with the onset of the morning sun. I stood atop its battlements.
In the distance... I could see the horde of spiders that had encircled our forward base.
The spiders, having remained as still as stones throughout the darkness, started to rouse with the daybreak.
The sight of countless creatures stretching their long limbs in unison was a terrifying spectacle.
Separated by the monitor, through the game screen, I was far removed from the terrifying dread that lay within.
With a hard swallow, I forced down a dry lump.
Could we really vanquish them? These monstrosities? With our depleted troops and low-level characters?
"Your Highness."
A voice summoned me from behind.
I turned to find Lucas, the blond knight who served as my escort. I acknowledged him with a slight nod.
"Lucas."
"It's chilly out here. We should retreat inside."
"No, I need to understand their formation. This is how we'll determine our own positioning."
This wasn't merely grandstanding. I was genuinely assessing their configuration.
More specifically... I was trying to pinpoint the 'queen' among them. Desperate to identify her.
Lucas, observing me from a distance, lightly shook his head.
"Your Highness is truly an enigma."
"Huh?"
"Just days prior, you appeared exceedingly vulnerable."
Worry marked Lucas's well-groomed visage.
"It was as if you were seeking your own destruction."
"Did I?"
"Yes. Since I began serving you... you seemed unsettled, as if yearning to self-destruct somehow...."
Soon, a smile tugged at Lucas's lips.
"But now, you're different."
Feeling awkward, I averted my gaze with an uneasy chuckle.
"Ha, I'm a madman afflicted with madness. Rapid mood shifts shouldn't be surprising, right?"
"...I'm unsure whether your transformation is a response to the threat to your life or some other factor."
Lucas murmured in a contemplative tone.
"I prefer you this way, Your Highness."
"..."
"Please continue to be like this, Your Highness."
Laughing heartily, I clapped Lucas's shoulder.
"Let's give today our best for the sake of that 'future', Lucas."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Lucas replied with enthusiasm.
Having sufficiently analyzed the enemy's formations, I retreated to the base with Lucas.
"Lucas."
Strolling side by side in silence, I disrupted the quiet.
"If this operation fails... don't concern yourself with saving me, escape alone."
"Beg your pardon?"
"You have the skills to survive."
Because you're the protagonist.
Even if I falter, you have to safeguard this world.
With that in mind, I spoke earnestly.
"Your Highness."
However...
"A knight never abandons his lord."
Lucas replied with a smile. I responded with a light chuckle.
"Even if that lord is an incompetent madman?"
"You've never been incompetent or mad, Your Highness. I've always held that belief."
"..."
"I shall now depart to rally our forces. I'll see you shortly."
With a bow, Lucas sped off towards the barracks.
"...Thank you, Lucas."
To my protagonist, who'd assisted me through the Hell's Ironman difficulty, and who was still with me here, I whispered my thanks.
***
The strategy was simple. No, it was so basic it was almost embarrassing to call it a strategy.
"The Black Spider Legion, there's no need for me to explain, but at this stage, we can't defeat them with regular tactics."
I gathered my party members and outlined our final plan.
"So we'll have to resort to dirty and underhanded methods."
With a cunning smile, I pointed towards the exterior of the fortress.
"Do you know the biggest weakness of those spider bastards?"
The party members appeared clueless. I continued to explain.
"These bastards act as a swarm. The individual creatures lack the ability to think. So who gives the orders?"
Lucas offered the answer.
"The Queen, right?"
"Correct. In this monster swarm, there's an entity that gives orders, the Queen."
"But the Queen..."
I knew what Lucas was trying to express. I nodded.
"She stays out of reach, far away, just issuing commands to her offspring."
"..."
"Under normal circumstances, it's impossible to hurt her. Finding her is difficult, and even if we locate her, attacking her is also tough."
-Snap!
I clicked my fingers.
"But I have the ability to pinpoint the location of the Queen."
The skill, Map Making.
A skill that lets me detect the enemies' positions through a dot-style mini-map.
"And Damien."
I turned to Damien.
"Has the capability to snipe that beast."
The skill, Far-sight.
A skill that ensures a hit once a shot is taken.
I observe, and Damien shoots. With this, I planned to snipe the Queen and end this.
"But, Your Highness."
Lucas was sweating profusely.
"While the Black Spider Queen isn't a combat entity, she's still not so weak that she can be killed with ordinary arrows. Even if he can snipe her..."
"Mana Cannon."
I pointed above our heads.
"We use the artifact installed at the highest turret of this forward base, the Mana Cannon."
When we first scoured the forward base for usable items, the first thing we discovered was this Mana Cannon.
A mighty SR-grade artifact. It was certain to inflict significant damage on the Queen.
"The Mana Cannon is indeed a potent artifact. But its range isn't very far..."
"I've already factored that part in. I'll cause the Mana Core of the cannon to overload and increase its range."
The idea was straightforward, but causing the magic core of the artifact to go haywire was essentially saying you were going to destroy the artifact. If a mana engine failed, the artifact was generally beyond repair. But did the cost of the artifact matter when we were on the brink of extinction? I was fully prepared to demolish it.
"So here's the plan! I locate the queen, Damien takes her down. Meanwhile, the rest of you..."
I glanced at Lucas, Ken, and Lilly in succession.
"... keep those bastards at bay."
All three swallowed hard. I signaled Lucas.
"Lucas, you're in charge of the troops. Hold them off as long as possible while keeping the front line intact."
"Understood."
"Especially the central tower where the mana cannon is positioned. It must be protected at all costs. No exceptions!"
"I'll lay down my life for it."
Lucas asserted with a determined expression. I shifted my attention to Ken, standing beside him.
"Ken."
"Yes, sir!"
"Take this. I've gathered all the stamina potions left in the fortress."
I handed a belt filled with red potions to Ken. He took it with a trembling hand.
"Go beyond the fortress walls, draw their attention, and then hide. Keep them off balance."
"..."
"The Black Spiders are simple-minded. They attack the closest human."
I kept talking to Ken, who was turning pale.
"But their senses aren't very sharp. If you hide, they won't be able to locate you."
"..."
"Draw their attention, lure them, then hide. Repeat this process, pull as many of them away as you can, and redirect the base attack towards yourself. Can you manage it?"
Ken, gritting his teeth, nodded firmly.
"I'll give it a shot, sir."
"Thanks. Best of luck."
I patted Ken's shoulder and then turned to the next party member.
"Lilly."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"I'm afraid I must give you a challenging role as well."
I passed her a belt filled with blue mana potions. Lilly, biting her lip tightly, accepted them.
"There's only one entrance to the central tower where the mana cannon is located in this forward base."
"..."
"If the front line falls and the spiders make it all the way to the tower, you block the entrance and hold off their attack using your Flame Skin."
Flame Skin could negate physical attacks at the cost of mana. With this many mana potions, she could hold on for a good while.
Despite the difficult task of using her body as a blockade, Lilly didn't flinch, as expected.
Blood seeped from her tightly bitten lip.
"The passage at the entrance is narrow, and the spiders can't enter more than one or two at a time."
"..."
"All you need to do is... Is to endure. That's all."
I was asking Lilly, who had obtained the Flame Skin ability out of fear of being bitten, to face the bites with her entire body.
And Lilly was resilient. She slowly nodded in acknowledgment.
"I'll give it my best, Your Highness."
"Excellent."
I shifted my attention to the final member of our party.
"Damien."
"..."
"You're with me."
Damien nodded in silence. His face was etched with fear, but he didn't flee nor did he shy away from my gaze.
And with that, the mission directives were over. I would have liked to issue a few more orders, but...
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
The resonating drums from outside signaled the advance of our adversaries.
"The Black Spider Legion is on the move! The monsters are converging-!"
The frantic yell of a scout reverberated. A shiver of tension coursed up my spine.
This was the start.
The tutorial stage that would dictate the fate of us all.
***
At the central artillery.
The technician of the Mana Cannon looked at me, his face slick with cold sweat.
"Are you absolutely sure, Your Highness?"
"Don't worry, just follow instructions."
"Yes, sir!"
Gritting his teeth, the technician yanked the control sphere encircling the Mana Core of the cannon.
-Fizzzz!
Mana spewed forth from the core, sparking like electricity along the cannon's barrel.
Under normal circumstances, I would have been captivated by the spectacle of mana's movement, but there was no time for such indulgence now.
Grinding my teeth, I cast my gaze over the other side of the wall.
-Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
They were converging.
From all directions, the Black Spider legion.
Unleashing their terrifying claws like scythes, ready to exterminate every last human.
"Hold the line!"
Lucas, positioned at the front-line wall, bellowed.
"We need to buy as much time as possible for His Highness the Prince to defeat the Spider Queen!"
"Yes!"
The soldiers' unified response echoed.
Their ability to maintain their resilience and readiness for combat, even on the brink of potential collapse, was all because of Lucas.
Lucas, expertly managing the deployment of the soldiers, looked back at me and gave a nod.
I nodded in return.
There was Ken, ready to venture beyond the wall, Lilly standing firmly on the first floor of the corridor leading to the artillery, and Damien right beside me.
After one last check on each of them, I cautiously activated my ability.
'Map Creation.'
Accompanied by a sensation of the entire area being scanned, a mini-map dotted with markers popped up in the upper right of my vision.
It was a power I could only use once a day, and this was my first actual usage of it.
With dry lips, I quickly surveyed the map. Where is it? Where?
'Where is the Queen?'
But...
'What?'
I soon noticed an anomaly.
'The Boss Monster Marker...'
It wasn't showing.
The linchpin of our operation, the enemy queen.
'Isn't there?'
On the map...
She was nowhere to be seen.
-Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
The Black Spider horde had already swarmed up to the wall.