476 Biding their Time
"Ember!"
Now that we've been discovered, it's better to escape before they come to us. After all, we have no idea about the enemies' forces. If they come and surround us in full force, then we'd have a bitter battle handed to us!
Without saying another word, Ember quickly pulled everyone into her God Kingdom, letting us escape at once. Thankfully, spatial movement wasn't hindered in that place.
"That was close..."
Fina fell to the grass on her buttocks.
"You felt that too, Will? That powerful energy, that's the leader of those church b*stards!"
Julia, on the other hand, was seething with anger as she recalled the face of the owner of that intimidating aura. I was hoping for her to say that the powerful aura was the person they were calling their Village Chief, but unfortunately, it wasn't.
"So we have a beyond-god-level enemy..."
I'm suddenly having flashbacks of the time we were fighting those Void Beasts... I wonder, can we handle this one with just us?
Unlike before, we can't call for backup. I guess we can summon Azrael once more, but I'm afraid something bad will happen. After all, those angel-like things were roaming around the vicinity of the hills.
"So, Leader, what's the plan?"
Fang asked as we started to settle down. I started to recall the enemies' forces and frowned.
"They have someone at the beyond-god level, so we can't just rush in willy-nilly. Furthermore, a lot of them possess god-level power, so honestly, we're at a disadvantage..."
During the previous battle against the Demons, we did manage to eliminate swathes of god-level and 9th-stage demons. However, that's because, compared to tamers, demons are just moving targets. They could fight back, but not as precisely as a human or monster could.
Humans are more crafty, making it a lot harder to fight them.
"I guess our only hope is to launch a preemptive attack and reduce their numbers before they can respond."
Fatima also chimed in while having a complicated look on her face. I guess she's also worried about that beyond-god-level enemy lurking in the middle of the castle. After all, if that one detected our attack, then he or she could defend against it easily.
"If only we could unseal our Village Chief, then she could provide us with support..."
Fina muttered with a hint of melancholy.
"Where is that Village Chief sealed, anyway?"
Curious, Ying Yue, who was quiet the entire time, finally spoke.
Right, I was also curious about that. I did feel several weakened energy signatures, but there was nobody there that was roughly god-level, even as an exaggeration.
"The castle."
Fina answered, smiling wryly.
"... Genius. I was asking where. I know it's in the castle."
As usual, Ying Yue's attitude was still prickly. However, there were already signs of improvement for her. I guess being a tsundere is hard to fix.
"No,"
Fina shook her head, emphasizing her answer once more.
"That crystal castle IS the Village Chief Ansael's seal."
"""..."""
Everyone went speechless after hearing this. So that beautiful castle was nothing but a byproduct of her seal? That's honestly amazing. Her being an honorary Goddess of Seals might then be true.
"So, how do we unseal it?"
As if trying to bring the talk back on the right track, Wan Er raised her hand and asked. To this question, Fina and Julia looked at each other for a few seconds, nodding their heads, and smiled.
""We have no idea!""
They confidently declared in chorus.
Again, silence spread. But this time, for a different reason.
Since our guides have no idea how to undo Ansael's seal, we'd need to figure that one out on the fly too.
Thus, our task would be to launch a surprise attack, trimming down the enemy's numbers, then decoding the Village Chief's seal while fighting the beyond-god-level person, and making sure that everyone's safe... That's a lot.
"Sir Will, I think I can do something about that seal."
Minerva raised her hand with a serious expression, confidence present in her eyes.
"Really? Then I'll leave it to you."
She declared that she was going to undo the seal, so as her tamer, I could only believe in her. With that, I finally had a plan in mind. I turned to the girls and dictated their posts, one after another.
"Ember, Hekate, Wan Li, Wan Er, and Ying Yue. You all should go with Minerva and make sure to protect her."
"""Roger!"""
"Fang, Igni, you two would act as a distraction. Run wild at the foot of the hill!"
"As you command, My Lord!"
"Got it, Leader!"
"Fina, Yorm, Judy, Julia, and Fatima. You all will be coming with me. We'll handle the most troublesome enemy."
"As expected..."
Fina sighed, showing an exasperated smile.
"My bullets are one of the very few threats to that beyond-god-level enemy, so taking me with you is the right choice."
She then turned to the rest with a flat smile on her face. I can't read minds, but I can guess that she's wondering why I'm bringing them into such a dangerous fight.
"They're extra hands..."
I explained it immediately.
The place where the beyond-god-level enemy was was also where the presence of the other villagers was. In short, if I and Fatima were to focus on our battle, we couldn't handle moving the sealed villagers to safety.
"And I'll probably be needing their buffs either way."
I'm not arrogant enough to think that fighting a beyond-god-level human would be easy. The Void Beast already gave me a run for my money, after all. If possible, I would like as many buffs on me as possible before the fight begins, so taking the four of them, with their numerous buffs and debuffs, would be a great boon.
With that, everyone was accounted for. Now, all that's left is to find the right time to return and launch our attack.
"Right... Ember, let's use that as a greeting!"
With a mischievous grin, I pointed toward Ember's back. She quickly followed my fingers and saw what I was pointing at before she smiled.
"Nice idea, Master!"
She exclaimed, a similar, mischievous smile crossing her face.
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SeraphWedd
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