Two days later, our Monster Allied Forces arrived at the wetlands to execute an encirclement and annihilation strategy against the Great Blue Dragon, Cetus, who was marching southward. The wetlands were a vast, empty expanse.
Hidden within them, however, lay a massive mire. Its exact location was impossible for anyone other than the lizardmen to discern. If it stepped into that quagmire, not even the Great Blue Dragon, Cetus, would be able to break free easily. Our plan was to launch a concerted all-out assault the moment it became trapped. It was a simple strategy, but provided a few conditions were met, we could certainly bring it down with virtually no casualties on our side.
Condition one: Cetus had to fall cleanly into the mire.
Condition two: Our attacks had to actually harm Cetus in the first place.
Condition three: There had to be no way for Cetus to escape the mire.
All of these were obvious requirements, but if even one failed, subjugating the Great Blue Dragon, Cetus, would be impossible.
Of course, as for condition two, we had Mr. Lou, and I had plans of my own for conditions one and three. I believed we could manage somehow.
Just as we were moving into our designated positions across the wetlands—
"Why the hell is a human taking part in this operation?!"
Crocodus pointed the twin prongs of his spear at me, his voice thick with malice.
"Lord Crocodus, please stop, not at a time like this!"
A crocodile-headed monster who appeared to be his subordinate spoke up to restrain him, but the butt of Crocodus's spear drove squarely into his solar plexus, leaving him writhing on the ground in agony.
"Don't you dare order me around!"
Spitting on his subordinate, who was foaming at the mouth with bloodshot eyes, Crocodus leveled the tip of his spear back at me.
This was bad. Looking at his bloodshot eyes and the murderous air about him, he was dead serious. He genuinely meant to kill me right here and now. The situation had turned explosive before the battle had even started.
I had harbored a bad feeling from the very beginning. What this operation required above all else was coordination. If this was how things were going to turn out, I never should have joined this mission, even if it had been Mr. Lou's order.
"You bastard—"
Beside me, Chato's face contorted in fury as his hand moved toward the hilt of the dagger at his waist, but—
"There are fools in every world, it seems."
Standing nearby, Mr. Lou pushed Chato's weapon back down into its sheath and spoke with a weary sigh.
"Huh?! What did you just say?!"
Veins bulged on Crocodus's forehead as he glared at Mr. Lou and shifted his spear toward him. Kiji, who would normally step in to defuse such moments, merely stood by with a twitching cheek.
"Fool..."
Bū shook his head and muttered under his breath. Anyone who truly knew Mr. Lou would never do something so idiotic.
Crocodus had clashed with Bū's clan in the past and suffered a crushing defeat. Because of that, Crocodus knew how terrifying Bū was, but he remained completely ignorant of the horror Mr. Lou was capable of.
At a glance, Mr. Lou seemed gentle and rational, but that was strictly outside of combat. Once bloodshed began, this man showed no mercy whatsoever. In fact, when a demon race warrior slaughtered cyclops parents right before their child's eyes, Mr. Lou had slowly carved him to pieces while he was still alive. Watching him butcher the enemy with a faint smile, treating the dying screams as a lullaby, everyone had realized that something inside this man was broken too.
That was precisely why even Cyclone, the leader of one of the Three Great Combat Tribes, gave Mr. Lou a wide berth. No, he feared him from the very bottom of his heart.
"My apologies, my apologies. You see, in my dictionary, those who do not know their place are defined as fools."
"Are you saying I'm weak?!"
"Yes, weak. The world is overflowing with the strong. Compared to this world, your current self is undeniably weak. If you continue rushing forward without any self-awareness, you will not only lose your own life, but drag down your precious comrades with you, you know?"
"I've had enough of you... I've had enough of your damn mouth! You've pissed me off from day one. Acting all high and mighty when you're nothing but a damn dog!"
Crocodus leveled his spear at Mr. Lou and barked.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Crocodus had never seen Mr. Lou fight. Had he witnessed Mr. Lou in combat even once, words like "nothing but a damn dog" would never have crossed his lips, not even if they tore his mouth open.
"Stop it, Crocodus!"
Cyclone shouted in frantic desperation, but—
"Don't stop me, Cyclone! I'm gonna teach this mutt what real strength looks like!"
Just as Crocodus bellowed and tightened his grip on his spear's shaft, Mr. Lou clicked his tongue softly and shifted his gaze off into the distance.
(It's already here...?)
Murmuring under his breath, he drew his greatsword, rested it over his shoulder, and turned toward the direction of his gaze.
"Hey, where the hell are you look—eep?!"
Crocodus grabbed Mr. Lou's shoulder and yelled, but the instant his eyes followed Mr. Lou's line of sight, he let out a pathetic shriek and collapsed onto his rear.
And no wonder. Standing in the distance was a humanoid figure wearing a stark white mask, enveloped in an aura so pitch-black that it warped the very air around it.
(This is bad! That thing is an absolute monster!)
From its aura alone, the moisture from the wetlands and the very soil beneath it were lifting into the air, dancing in suspension. That thing was on a whole other level! It exuded the majestic pressure of an absolute powerhouse that made the delicate-looking, blue-haired youth from before seem trivial by comparison.
Why did we have to run into a nightmare like that at a time like this? If things went wrong, it might be an even greater threat than our intended target, the Great Blue Dragon, Cetus—
"Listen to me. Handling that thing is impossible for the rest of you. I will deal with it. You make sure you handle Cetus on your own."
With his greatsword resting on his shoulder, Mr. Lou strode slowly toward the monster radiating the pitch-black aura.
The next instant, the two collided.