The white light was dancing around, tinting the night like a flitting firefly.
　Rene felt as if the roots of his tongue were going numb.
　It's a cleansing power that suppresses evil spirits without relying on holy spirits.

　The glimmering moonlight illuminated René and the others.
　The sudden attack blew away the tent, but that was all.
　All those present were unharmed, surrounded by a barrier of bubbling magic.

　A figure with a vague outline, like a mass of white light, stood at the side of the forest.
　The figure could be described as 'divine' by those on the side of the human race.
　It had the appearance of an elf, and carried a bow and arrow of light that had a vague boundary with its body.
　The arrows they fired ...... or, more precisely, the mass of magical power that represented the arrows blew away the tent.

"......6 body.
Should we move the troops, Princess?
No, I'd rather not get involved.

　I'm not sure if you'll be able to see the difference, but I'm sure you can.
　The details of the light figure were vague, and I couldn't even make out its expression, but I had the feeling that it was glaring at Rene. With arrows in their bows, they (they?) aimed at Rene again. They (they?) aimed at Rene again.

　The six figures all shot arrows of light at once.

"Countermagic Field".

　This time, a bubble of magical power envelops Rene alone.
　It's not that I don't like it.
　This is a simple, easy, and fuel-efficient spell that any magician can use, but if Rene, who has inexhaustible magical power, uses this spell, it will become an unbreakable shield.

　The shadows of light intercepted the oncoming Rene.
　The arrows of light flew in meteor-like tails and exploded. The light of order, poisonous to the undead.
　But Rene was unharmed. The arrow of light merely dug up the ground around Rene with its explosion, without slowing him down.

　In the next moment, Rene was already closing in on the figure of light.

　He slashed, pierced, and decapitated it.
　He turned on his heel and cleaved it off, passing it by and cleaving it in the torso, cutting it in half through the brain.

　There was no response.
　But the figure cut by the red blade scattered like a drop of water on the ground.

　The sudden attacker no longer existed in shadow or form, and the night became quiet once again.

Lovely. You've saved me a lot of explaining.

　The vine doll was stunned.
　Jivarmaguza seemed to be shaking his head because he couldn't see what had happened. He is transmitting his voice and appearance through the Visioner, so he appears to be here, but in reality, only those who are touching the Visioner on this side can see him.

　A group of skeletons skillfully set up a replacement for the tent that was blown down.
　Rene spoke to the vine puppet beneath it.

I'm sure you didn't see it on the ...... Visioner, but you saw it through your doll, didn't you?
　There are some suspicious people who have been appearing in our territory every night and attacking us.
　It seems to have something to do with the elves, doesn't it?　I would like to ask for a sincere explanation.

　There was a slight pause.
　The vine puppet came to a complete halt, while the apparition of Jivarmaguza looked surprised and frowned.
　He seemed to be receiving an explanation of the situation from the sorcerer next to him.

　Eventually, Jivarmaguza said in a strangled, bitter voice, "I'm also

I don't know ...... what's going on either .......
　I'll investigate the situation and get back to you from the Council of Elders.
Please be quick. In some cases, the Elves of the Great Forest may be considered to be harmful to our country.

　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this," said Rene with a clear face and in the most unconcerned tone possible.

　I'm sure you can understand.

　Further away from the forest, in the middle of the plain, there was a "downward staircase".
　It was a strange structure with a square hole and a staircase extending into the ground.
　This is an improvised stronghold that Everis created in the ground with his magic, and Rene added a sculptural arrangement to it as a hobby. If it rains, you're out of luck, but it doesn't matter because the place will be abandoned soon anyway.

　It's just a bunch of square rooms connected to each other, and most of them are used as storage.
　The undead brainiacs are currently compiling a list of weapons and corpses taken from the Blue Army.

"Well, I'm glad it worked out.

　In a simple conference room with a single folding table, Everis was drinking what seemed to be an unidentified wine.
　Rene is sitting on a folding skeletal throne that was used for the meeting.

Just in time, I think.
Of course. Well, the problem was that I didn't know how many would show up.
　Just because we were near the forest didn't seem to change that.

　The Chief of Staff was in a good mood.

　The shadowy figure that had interfered with the meeting earlier. Actually, that was half a setup.
　Rene and the others had learned a bit about the nature of the thing(s) through their investigations over the past few days.
　The first condition is that it must appear at night.
　The second condition is that the veins must be able to sense evil. Normally, the veins themselves should not have the ability to sense anything, but that's the only way I can describe it.

　But even if I knew that, I still didn't know what it was, or if it had anything to do with the elves.
　So I came up with a plan.
　I hung the scythe on the spot where I was going to ask for an alliance, and then I deliberately triggered the attack by diving a couple of evil spirits into the earth's veins at the right time.
　In this way, he put the elves in a situation where they had to take some kind of action, while using the power of emotion sensing to see their reactions.

How is your reaction?
It's not like they don't know each other.


"I knew it. ......
It's just that I was surprised, that's all. I mean, I had an idea, but I didn't expect it.
　When I said "attack on my country", he was really confused.
So, is it ...... unrelated to the intentions of the elves?

　I'm not sure what to make of that.
　With a face like a thoughtful bird of prey, he pondered.

The results of the geological survey so far, it seems that the appearance of that 'figure of light' is automatic.
I thought it was some kind of automatic defense mechanism against demons.
　I'm not sure why you're surprised that it appeared against the princess if that's the case.
...... Well, we'll see how the elves react to that.

　The fact that there are unsolved mysteries is worrisome, but that doesn't mean we should let it stop us.
　It's almost imperative to suppress the veins of the Great Forest of Goosenfall in order to fight the Blue Army. This forest is too good as a frontline base. This forest is too good as a frontline base. We must secure it to prevent the Blue Army from taking it.
　On top of that, I want to get the Elves' troops intact as much as possible. We're running out of time.

Let's move on.
　No matter how much pressure the Empire is under, they won't just accept an offer like this.

　On the map of the area spread out on the table, Rene thrust a red blade, pressed into the shape of a knife.
　In the area enclosed between the Great Forest of Goosenfall and the Khulkar Mountains.

　Of the human nations surrounding the Great Forest of Goosenfall, the Dothras Confederation to the northwest of the forest and the Principality of Cadenis to the northeast have already declared their surrender to the Blue Army of the Caenis Empire, which attacked from the north.
　However, the kingdom of Lugarut in the south, which has yet to be directly attacked due to its geographical location, remains in a state of limbo, with only a military alliance with the elves, and neither surrender nor war can be said.
　The Elves, who control the land veins, have been thoroughly suppressing the supply of magic power to the two northern kingdoms, while at the same time providing the Lugarut Kingdom with a plentiful supply of magic power that it does not always have, and in return they have been purchasing military supplies and other items that cannot be covered in the forest.

　This country is the key to destroying the Great Forest of Goosenfall from within.

One of the beauties of the princess is that she is always thinking about how to manipulate the masses.
"Oh, it's best if we don't have to fight.

　I think that's one of the beauties of being a princess.

It is best to let troublesome opponents destroy themselves and take the best part.