If you know an attack is coming, it’s not particularly difficult to prepare for it.
After all, Captain Susanna is Rank A with a level of 270, while the other two temple knights—Persina, at Rank B with level 262, and Metina, at Rank B with level 261—are equally formidable.
Moreover, Ben and Charmy are both Rank A, with their levels surpassing 290.
Captain Susanna and her temple knights stand guard outside, while the rest of us wait inside the container. Sitting on a bed, I use terrain mapping to monitor the surroundings. The two hidden assassins barely register visually, suggesting they have excellent stealth skills. There’s no doubt their abilities as assassins are top-notch.
“They’re moving. The two hidden ones have started to make their move,” I announce.
“Got it. I’m heading out,” Ben replies.
“Be careful,” I say.
“Don’t worry about me!” he responds confidently.
Ben, fully equipped, exits the container. That’s the signal that the enemies are closing in. Captain Susanna and the temple knights exchange silent signals with their eyes.
“One, two, three, four!”
Ben starts doing radio calisthenics. It’s something I taught him, and it seems he’s unexpectedly taken a liking to it.
“The two assassins are creeping along the wall, their presence barely detectable,” I report.
“Well then, it’s my turn,” Charmy says.
“Alright, I’m counting on you.”
When Charmy leaves the container, it’s a sign the enemies are very close.
“Well, time for me to step in too.”
Using Transfer—Level 3, I teleport to a position behind the two assassins. They haven’t noticed me yet. With the ability I acquired at Level 5, I lower both their ranks to F in an instant. Earlier, I tried reducing their ranks remotely through terrain mapping but couldn’t do it, so I had to get closer.
Their original ranks were B and C, meaning I had to reduce their ranks by a total of seven levels. Surprisingly, it only cost 52,500 mana points. Previously, reducing a single rank consumed 15,000 mana, so I’d expected seven ranks to cost 105,000. I was shocked that it only took half.
It seems that reaching Level 300 has halved my mana consumption.
Teleportation, too, now requires far less mana. Given how mana-intensive it used to be, this reduction is a huge relief.
Both assassins collapse to their knees, large beads of sweat dripping from their foreheads.
“What the…?! Hey, your presence is showing!” one stammers.
“Look who’s talking!” the other retorts.
I teleport back to the container, then step outside. Those two won’t make it out of this dungeon alive. If by some chance they do, they’d better consider themselves lucky and turn over a new leaf.
“Captain Susanna, subdue them.”
“Yes!” Captain Susanna replies crisply.
Susanna, Persina, Metina, and Ben advance on the Overlords, weapons in hand.
“Enemy attack! Ashtent has launched an assault!” shouts one Overlord (Overlord A).
“Silence, heretics!” Susanna counters.
“Damn you, Ashtent!” (Overlord B)
“Death to the heretics!” Persina exclaims.
“How dare Ashtent—” (Overlord C)
“Divine punishment!” declares Metina.
“You bastards—” (Overlord D)
“You’re too late!” Ben interrupts.
“GYAAAAH!” scream the four Overlords in unison.
The Overlords are neutralized in less than a minute. Stripped of their equipment, they are bound with ropes. Like Bishnu, they had poison hidden in their mouths, so all four had their back teeth removed.
“You intended to target Lord Toma again, didn’t you?” Susanna interrogates them.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” one responds.
“We know you’re Overlords. The other two were dealt divine punishment by Lord Toma himself,” Persina accuses.
“Shut up, heretics!”
“Don’t call us that!” Persina retorts and punches one of the Overlords. His upper and lower front teeth break, giving him a ridiculous look. It’s not the time to laugh, though I suppress the urge. Without front teeth, eating will be tough, but they deserve to taste the consequences of their actions firsthand.
The Overlords’ screams echo through the dungeon.
Torture is about breaking the spirit, something I understand well. Breaking someone’s spirit doesn’t always require fists—it can be done with words too.
I decide to test a certain ability: Event Conversion, which I acquired at Level 4. Perhaps I can leave a deep scar on the Overlords’ minds.
“What are you doing?!”
“Don’t worry, this won’t hurt. I’m just going to kill your spirits a little. Hehe.”
“N-no, no, no, no…”
Ah, it worked. The light fades from the Overlords’ eyes.
“Why did you target me? Is the Catriais faction still after me?” I ask.
“Yes… Archbishop Arthur’s… orders…” one murmurs.
“Shut up! You’ll get us all punished!” another snaps.
“You shut up!” Ben silences the man with a punch. After all, the mouth is the gateway to disaster.
Interrogation reveals that the three archbishops of the Catriais faction each command groups of Overlords. However, most of them have already been wiped out by the dark forces of the Bayerlein duchy and temple knights. Both groups serve Lord Deuro and have enhanced their ranks, greatly bolstering their strength.
The six we faced today were the last remaining Overlords in this country. They had followed us into the dungeon, believing it was their final chance.
“How many Overlords remain in the Catriais Holy Kingdom?” I ask.
“The full extent of the Overlords… even its members… don’t know… But… few remain,” one admits.
“Captain Susanna, what do you think of that statement?”
“I believe it’s true. The temple has been actively working to eliminate the Overlords.”
With this, the Overlords in this country have been eradicated. Even in the Catriais Holy Kingdom, their numbers are dwindling. However, some Overlords remain deployed in other nations.
That’s the current state of things.
Still, isn’t it possible this man simply doesn’t know? There might be more Overlords left in the Catriais Holy Kingdom than he realizes. If this information is accurate, then the three archbishops of Catriais are fools. Their intelligence network must be in shambles by now.
I should inform my grandfather that the Catriais Holy Kingdom’s intelligence network might be severely compromised.
