War Game

Kota Orario was filled with a festive atmosphere and an exuberant spirit. Adventurers, who usually busied themselves exploring dungeons, today chose to gather in bars and roadside stalls. Not only the adventurers but also other residents of Orario gathered with their friends and families, seemingly waiting for something special.

Today was a momentous occasion, as the war game between Apollo Familia and Vermilion Familia was about to take place.

Along the streets, food and drink vendors lined up, offering a variety of delicious dishes that tantalized the taste buds. The enticing aroma of food made it impossible for anyone passing by to resist. Adventurers, who typically donned armor and carried weapons, appeared more relaxed today, dressed casually, chatting with friends and other residents of Orario.

...

The gods once again gathered at the top of Babel Tower. Just like the residents of Orario, they too were eager for the war game to begin.

"It's time, Hermes-sama," Asfi reminded Hermes that the war game was about to start.

"Ouranos, allow me to use Arcanum."

Due to an agreement, the gods had sealed their powers, and were not permitted to use them except to create a transparent screen to display the war game, which also required Ouranos's approval, who managed the Adventurer Guild.

As Hermes activated the Arcanum, translucent screens appeared in every corner of Orario where people had gathered, be it bars, streets, or even inns. This allowed every resident of Orario to witness the war game as it unfolded.

"I bet 50,000 Valis on the victory of Apollo Familia."

"I bet 25,000 Valis on the victory of Vermilion Familia."

Once the war game commenced, adventurers and residents of Orario started placing their bets for the gambling.

...

A fortress that had once been abandoned was now rebuilt by Apollo Familia into a sturdy defensive stronghold.

Adventurers of Apollo Familia guarded every corner of the fortress, vigilantly watching the surroundings beyond its walls. Unlike their previous encounter with Hestia Familia, Apollo Familia was not willing to relax or underestimate their foes this time. The records of Asuna and others defeating Goliath while still at level 1 proved their strength.

"When the sun sets and long shadows envelop the earth, a new sun shall rise from the darkness. With a brighter light and unforeseen power, it will draw the old sun from the high heavens."

Daphne, who was guarding a hidden path of the fortress alongside Cassandra, suddenly spoke as if reciting an ancient ballad.

"Cassandra, what strange thing are you saying now?" Daphne sighed, tapping her forehead.

To her, Cassandra often said incomprehensible things.

"No, Daphne, please believe me, we must leave here," Cassandra said anxiously to Daphne, who did not trust her prophecy.

Cassandra possessed a skill called Seer: the ability to have prophetic dreams. Despite this ability, she could not interpret her visions directly, as her dreams were never shown clearly but through symbolism, either in the form of figurative images or poetry, which Cassandra had to decipher to understand their meaning. What made it even more difficult for Cassandra was that she could not explicitly tell others what would happen in the future.

Despite these challenges, her dreams served as warnings of significant events that could occur within varying time frames, from a few days to several weeks, sometimes allowing her to survive life-and-death situations.

Meanwhile, Asuna led Yui, Yuuki, and Mine to launch a direct attack from the front of the fortress, while Lili infiltrated the fortress as a backup plan in case Pumpkin Mine could not breach the fortress's defenses.

"Hey, what is Vermilion Familia thinking? Shouldn't they be sneaking in? Why do they seem to intend to attack the fortress directly?" Observing Asuna and others on the screen, the adventurers were baffled by their strategy.

"Hey, look, it seems there's a new member," one adventurer pointed at Mine, who was holding a Pumpkin in front of her chest.

"So what? Adding one level 1 adventurer can't change their situation," another adventurer scoffed, not optimistic about Vermilion Familia's victory.

"Noah, is that your trump card? Can you introduce her?" Freya, sitting beside Noah, asked curiously.

"Don't be so impatient, just watch," Noah replied with a mysterious smile.

Returning to the battlefield.

"Mine, is it okay from this distance?" Asuna asked Mine.

They were currently over 10 kilometers away from the fortress, and she was unsure of Mine's attack range, which made her hesitate.

"It's fine, leave it to me," Mine replied confidently as she aimed at the fortress gates.

"Hey, what are they doing? There's no way to attack from that far, right?" a god exclaimed in surprise as they stopped and aimed from a distance of 10 kilometers.

.... Swosh....

A beam of laser shot toward the fortress.

"Activate defense magic!" Hyakinthos commanded as he saw the attack approaching the fortress.

... Boommm....

Mine's attack struck against the protective shield surrounding the fortress. The defensive shield trembled for a moment before settling down again.

"I told you it's impossible to breach that fortress from 10 kilometers away, even with a magic sword."

Many believed Mine's weapon was some sort of magic sword because they had never seen a weapon that could unleash such a powerful attack aside from a magic sword.

"What a pity that magic sword was wasted," another adventurer sighed as he thought about the wasted opportunity.

"Mine, should we get closer?" Yuuki asked hesitantly.

"No, if we get closer, we'll be within range of the enemy's mages and archers," Mine firmly rejected.

"It's time to try my new magic," Mine smiled and began aiming at the fortress.

"What is she doing? Didn't she already use the magic sword?" the adventurers were puzzled by Mine's actions.

Unaware of their discussions, Mine focused her attention on the Pumpkin. Her mental strength surged, transformed into magical power, and gathered at the muzzle of the Pumpkin.

"O lightning that rumbles, punish the sinners!"

.... Swosh...

A shot filled with thunder shot forth like a flash of light, piercing through the fortress before the defense magic could be fully activated.

... Boommm...

"What?!! How could that magic sword still be used, and with even greater power!!" the adventurers exclaimed, witnessing the unbelievable sight.

"Vermilion, can you explain that magic sword?" Apollo glared at Noah with a grim expression as he observed his fortress being penetrated. He suspected Noah had cheated, as there was no such magic sword. The other gods were also curious, with Loki narrowing her eyes, looking at Noah in surprise.

"Is that so?" she muttered, as if she had seen the truth unfold.

"Explain? Why should I explain? And who said it was a magic sword?" Noah stood firm under Apollo's scrutiny.

"You..." Apollo glared at Noah before sitting back down.

The war game did not halt due to their conversation.

Mine continued to fire the Pumpkin, bombarding the fortress from a distance. Unfortunate members of Apollo Familia also fell victim to her relentless assault.

Although the rules of Orario prohibit adventurers from killing each other, war games are different; injuries and death are inevitable as everyone exerts their full strength for the victory and glory of their Familia.

"Teams A, B, and C, move in and attack them up close. Teams D and E, support from the back with magic and arrows. Team F, stay inside the fortress and defend it," Hyakinthos commanded as he formulated his strategy.

Swosh.... Swosh...

A rain of arrows and magic surged toward Asuna and the others.

"Tempest!"

Winds swirled around Asuna, and she controlled the wind to sweep away the arrows.

"Holy light, come to me, create an impenetrable shield, keep darkness from my path."

Yui conjured a shield of light to protect them from the attacks of Apollo Familia.

Ding... Ding... Ding...

Yuuki's twin swords danced gracefully, each slash signifying the defeat of an adventurer.

With strength rivaling that of level 3 adventurers, they had no trouble defeating the lower-level adventurers. Although Apollo Familia numbered in the hundreds, most of them were low-level adventurers.

Mine, who wasn't particularly skilled in close combat, shot while running. With her skills honed as an assassin for years, it was easy for Mine to spot weaknesses in each of the adventurers' attacks, allowing her to evade them effortlessly.

Seeing all the members of the Apollo Familia falling one by one, Hyakinthos quickly ordered everyone to gather and defend around the wall that had been breached by Mine's attack. He noticed that all the members of the Vermilion Familia were gathered there, except for a Palum he didn't care about.

On the other hand, Lili, who had managed to infiltrate the fortress with her disguise magic, began launching stealth attacks against the unsuspecting members of the Apollo Familia. She moved with agility, knocking out the family members one by one. No one suspected that the ally they trusted to guard the fortress alongside them was an enemy in disguise.

Lili did this several times, witnessing the chaos caused by Asuna and her team's attacks. While she was at work, she noticed that the Apollo Familia members seemed to be gathering in the direction where the assault was happening. She thought for a moment and decided to disguise herself as Hyakinthos. With a similar appearance, she gave false orders to the remaining members.

Hyakinthos began to sense that something was off. The number of Familia members gathered around him was fewer than it should be. He felt something was strange, but before he could investigate further, a laser beam appeared in his line of sight. Without hesitation, he ducked down, avoiding the attack, which caused Mine's shot to pierce the wall behind him.

At the same time, Asuna did not waste this opportunity. With the wind swirling around her, her rapier struck like a bee's sting, piercing the armor worn by one of the Apollo Familia members and closing in on Hyakinthos.

Hyakinthos did not stand still. He swung his massive sword, trying to fight back against Asuna. However, Asuna's agility made it difficult for him. Each time Hyakinthos tried to attack, Asuna was always able to dodge and counter with sharper strikes. In just a moment, Hyakinthos felt pressured in the fight as Asuna managed to seize the rhythm of the battle.

...Swosh...

"Argh!!!" A laser pierced Hyakinthos's right thigh, causing him to lose his balance. In that critical moment, Asuna seized the opportunity. She lunged forward, and her rapier pierced through Hyakinthos's four limbs, causing him to lose all resistance. With Hyakinthos's defeat, the captain of the Apollo Familia, the war game ended with the victory of the Vermilion Familia.

Cheers echoed throughout Orario; they would not forget this moment where the Vermilion Familia defeated the Apollo Familia, which had hundreds of members, with just five people. However, amidst the cheers, some adventurers mourned sadly as they had lost all their Valis in the betting.