"Hold the city for me, adventurers! Hold for my, no our Orariooooo!"
Royman, let out a heartfelt roar that echoed through the entire street.
The adventurers and Guild employees all showed stunned expressions, then one after another broke into smiles.
Looking at the monster horde before them, their morale inexplicably rose.
Fron probably never expected this, that such a dramatic scene would unfold on the surface , that the guild head could actually possess this level of influence and rallying power. Truly unbelievable.
Seeing that same Royman, whom they usually despise and accuse of nothing but exploiting his employees, now drenched in sweat, disheveled, desperately pleading while glaring at their fellow citizens whom they normally look down on…
It seemed that, in front of something so big, the adventurers of all Orario really did know when to set grudges aside. The naturally rebellious ones… were ultimately the minority.
Part of this also has to do with the standards set by the gods when choosing their children. One must not forget… this is the center of the world, Orario, the land where the gods dwell, the residence of many Gods, the paradise of adventurers!
Whether merchants from outside, regular civilians, or local residents , when dealing with adventurers, everyone must interact with the gods.
And mortals in the Lower World cannot lie in front of the gods!
This alone proves the strictness and prestige of all of Orario.
...
"Heh, a battle that drags all of Orario into it… it's been a long time."
"Yeah, yeah, the last time we saw something this grand was seven years ago, during the struggle against those Evilus."
Thanks to the combined efforts of adventurers, Guild personnel, and the various Familias, in this short span of time people were quickly and efficiently gathered to the central plaza that had been opened as a shelter, while the wounded were transported to safe distance.
This rare scale, even more intense than a War Game, naturally attracted the gods as well.
One after another, the gods also joined, none willing to miss what they considered an extravagant "feast."
As "all-knowing but powerless" gods, every one of them had noticed: the outcome of this battle would influence the future direction of the Lower World. And at the same time, their own futures as well.
Would they be respectfully sent back to the heavens, or… because of their children's efforts, allowed to remain in the Lower World?
At this moment, the mortals of the Lower World were influencing the future of the gods themselves!
"Never thought… things would escalate to this level. So it turns out, all because of the sea, I unknowingly got myself involved in such a troublesome matter…"
Regret seeped onto Njord's face. He looked over the scene within the city, then shouted:
"The mess on the surface will be handled by us! So… Loki! You must win!"
...
The magic attacks and the adventurers' figures intertwined in the grand hall.
Finn swung his war flag, sharply detecting a certain stutter in the enemy's attack as it operated, and faintly… a massive drop in attack intensity.
"The drop in attack strength… is this from Fron's side? Six pillars, since one pillar was destroyed, the remaining pillars must divert large amounts of magic power to repair it. And since the ritual cannot be interrupted, they can only pull magic from themselves to patch the gap…"
As expected of Orario's greatest brain, Finn analyzed the situation to almost perfect accuracy within moments.
"And with that stutter, it means the magic nodes were damaged by Fron as well! As long as we maintain pressure on that pillar and obstruct its repair, we can create opportunities for the other units!"
"Patching to regenerate the sixth pillar, it's never a long-term solution! This battle… we've finally caught a glimpse of victory!"
A glint flashed in his eyes.
Then, through the Communication Crystal, Finn relayed his command to all units:
"Hold nothing back! Take advantage of the opportunity Fron has created, and in one breath, crush the pillar!!!!!"
"Uoooohhhhhhhhhhh."
...
Standing in a remote passage of the 14th Floor, Fron could hear the shouts and battle cries coming from various directions.
The corner of his mouth curled up slightly, a smile appearing.
Morale has risen. Finn decided to push for an all-out assault. Indeed, it was about time.
He narrowed his eyes, staring at the massive twisted silhouette at the end of the passage, that body swelling and contracting like breathing, belonging to one of the top-tier creatures even within the Dungeon, his gaze deep and meaningful.
"After scheming from the shadows for so long, it's finally time to step onto the stage and perform a little clown show for us poor, exhausted spectators."
Looking at Fron now, there was no trace of the sharp glint or profound gaze. It was all pure mischief.
On the surface he acted bright, cheerful, and knowledge-seeking.
But in truth, as a pure-blooded transmigrator, deep inside, Fron was someone who hid his nature extremely well: a chaos-loving troll.
He hadn't acted as the mastermind earlier simply because the time wasn't right.
But now that all the actors were on stage, delivering a big slap right when the show reaches its climax, wasn't that just perfect?
Thinking of the grand performance to come, Fron quickened his pace, this ticking time bomb needed to be taken care of before anything unpredictable happened.
...
While Fron hurried to deal with unstable factors, in a hidden base outside the city,
The blond god Hermes was confronting another familiar goddess face-to-face.
"No… no! Hermes! I'm Enyo, I really am Enyo!!!"
Under the moonlit night.
On the mountain, the beautiful goddess with honey-colored shoulder-length hair and a graceful figure shook her head wildly, her hair whipping messily through the air.
Hermes was unmoved by Demeter's shouts, he cut her off without mercy. In this moment, he no longer showed even a trace of the cheerful demeanor he had during the Festival.
"Don't tell me even you were force-fed God Wine? I don't believe it."
"No, it's all because of him! It's his fault!"
"Demeter." The god called her name once more, his gaze calm.
With a tone free of doubt, he covered her words: "Please… let's stop here. I don't want to insult you any further."
Hearing Hermes' words, Demeter finally collapsed completely.
Her eyes filled with tears, her knees gave out, and she fell to the ground…