I Obtained the Final Boss' Power-Chapter 39 : Trap (1)

Trap (1)
News of the stampede at Paruzan Fortress quickly spread throughout the entire legion.
If left unchecked, the fortress's defenses could collapse, causing monsters to flood into the outside world—an unprecedented disaster.
Each legion hesitated about whether to send reinforcements to Paruzan Fortress.
It was good to bolster Paruzan's defenses, but nobody wanted to throw away precious soldiers into the blazing pit known as the demon realm.
No one cared how many lives of the convicts were lost.
Sending troops to support wouldn't guarantee the stampede would be eased.
No, from the beginning, they didn't truly intend to fully support with military strength.
"How's the stampede situation at Paruzan Fortress?"
Alber Bisted. In response to his question, a knight acting as his aide answered.
"It has been ten days since the stampede began. The number of soldiers dead or missing is estimated to be about 90 to 100."
Ninety to a hundred?
Upon hearing this, Alber felt puzzled. The number of casualties was lower than expected.
"So, there's no point in expecting many monsters to have been taken down."
Since the situation wasn't looking good, Alber bit his lip.
A low number of casualties meant they hadn't fought that many monsters.
For the fortress soldiers, the stampede was hell, but to outsiders, it was an enormous opportunity.
Although there was the accompanying risk of monsters flowing out, those monsters have considerable value for merchants and nobles.
Especially, the corpses of monsters from the demon realm are extremely useful.
Their sturdy hides could be used to make armor tougher than steel, and their teeth or horns are favored as decorative materials.
Particularly, these materials were perfectly suitable for magitech, so even Zodiac was desperate to get their hands on them.
While the demon realm and its monsters were a threat to humanity, they also offered great gain.
In reality, the demon realm could justifiably be called a massive mine.
'The more fighting, the better.'
For the Bisted family, the stampede was an opportunity not to be missed.
Recently, the youngest son, Rejir, had caused an incident and lost the trust of Zodiac.
As a result, all magitech support was cut off, and relationships with various mage guilds and clients were faltering.
The family was barely holding out, thanks only to its status as a close imperial confidant and its founding by a historical hero.
At this point, the only thing Bisted could rely on was the stampede.
'Rejir... that damn bastard!'
The reason for all this turmoil was Rejir.
If he hadn't been caught collaborating with a demon, things wouldn't have come to this.
'May he rot in hell.'
He was useless compared to the other children. Because of him, even the Holy Nation was now eyeing Bisted with suspicion.
The pressure piled on the family was immeasurable.
"Excuse me... Family head."
The aide knight spoke to Alber, who was lost in deep thought.
"About the number of monsters exterminated..."
"So, it's not good news, I'm guessing."
With few casualties, there probably hadn't been many battles either.
But somehow, the death toll seemed too low for a stampede. Could it be that the monsters simply passed by the fortress by sheer luck?
"They say it exceeds a thousand."
"Yeah, it's still few—wait, what?"
At the knight's answer, Alber's eyes flew wide open.
"A thousand, you say...?"
"Yes. Some s say one thousand five hundred. But even at minimum, it easily exceeds a thousand."
"Is that true?"
The monster numbers themselves weren't surprising. It would be normal for that many to swarm during a stampede.
The real issue was that, given the low number of soldier casualties, the number of exterminations was far too high.
Even if over a thousand monsters came, the soldiers wouldn't be strong enough to hunt them all down.
Commander-ranked officers couldn't step in directly, as they needed to save their strength to face higher-rank monsters.
"Even officers wouldn't be able to handle that many at once."
Was it possible that a high-ranking mage from the fortress had performed outstandingly?
Even so, a mage wouldn't have enough magic power to hunt a thousand monsters in just ten days.
No matter how little magic power a spell uses, if they faced an army led by higher-rank monsters, it would be useless.
How on earth did they manage to hunt that many creatures?
"Family head, this is clearly an opportunity."
Alber snapped back at the knight's words.
He didn't yet know how so many corpses had piled up, but that could be figured out later.
"You're right. We need to move quickly to Paruzan's side and secure our share first."
If the stampede inside the fortress was all-out war, the battle outside was a race against time.
No group wanted to miss out on the demon realm monsters' corpses, so everyone scrambled to claim them.
They would lie in wait until the fortress soldiers finished the extermination and piled up the corpses—the fast-takers would claim them.
"In any case, there is no need for concern. The Imperial Court has likely already given us priority."
"Now that I think about it, you're right."
Fortunately, Bisted was confirmed as a priority.
As a confidant of the emperor, it was possible to gain any advantage quickly.
With luck, they could gain the entirety of a thousand monster corpses.
"However, the stampede is edly not over yet."
"Yes, of course."
A stampede wouldn't simply end in ten days.
As long as it was ongoing, the soldiers would have no choice but to keep fighting the monsters until they collapsed.
"So, that means Rejir is dead."
"..."
As Alber smiled, convinced his son had died, the knight wore an awkward expression.
"And the survivors from Seifert...."
Alber had sent a letter to the assigned officer, instructing them to kill both of them.
With a stampede overlapping and a threat from an officer, survival would be all but impossible.
Not just any officer, but the highest-ranking officer in charge of Paruzan Fortress's achievements.
'There's no way they survived.'
With the demon realm outside, there was no way to know what was happening within the fortress.
As for learning the truth, using a contact from the 7th Legion was possible, but even that wasn't foolproof.
"I suppose it's time to contact Kadim."
For Alber to remember his name, Kadim had to be an outstanding talent.
To get the most accurate picture, he decided he ought to use him.
Knock knock knock—
As Alber prepared to summon a spirit to contact him, there was a knock at the door.
With permission to enter, the door swung open in haste.
"New !"
Another knight rushed into the family head's office in a hurry.
"From Paruzan Fortress... Th-they say a higher-rank monster has been exterminated!"
"What...!"
At that news, Alber caught his breath. Higher-rank monsters were beasts even commander-level forces could hardly contend with.
The value of such a corpse was incomparable to that of lesser monsters.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. I'm not sure if the fortress's commander did it, but in any case, it is confirmed!"
With commander-level combat power, it was possible to contend with higher-rank monsters.
With cooperation from other officers, it was certainly doable.
"That means we must hurry all the more."
But it wasn't all good news. Hunting a higher-rank monster meant that commander-level forces had taken damage.
Hearing this, the legions would send support to Paruzan's side.
But "support" was just another word for coming to claim monster corpses.
And who knows how many groups would swarm Paruzan under the pretense of "support".
"At least, we can be reassured since only our Bisted family knows this fact."
"Only us?"
"Yes. It seems Officer Kadim has taken action from the inside."
After all, it was the top officer at Paruzan, Kadim.
Manipulating internal information would be child's play for him.
"When the stampede ends, we must grant him a substantial reward."
"And Paruzan's side has made one request."
"What is it?"
In exchange for the corpse of the higher-rank monster, there was a price.
That was to send some of Bisted's knights closely connected to the Imperial Court as reinforcements.
"That's all?"
"Yes. It seems they are simply requesting backup, since the future of the stampede is uncertain."
If it was for the sake of reinforcing for the future, it made sense.
Even in the event of a higher-rank monster's defeat, sending extra forces wouldn't be a great loss for Bisted.
'But why ask for those particular men?'
While all knights connected to the Imperial Court were at the Expert level, none of them were particularly outstanding.
If he were going to ask for reinforcements, shouldn't he have requested Middle or High Experts?
Those knights were more fit for espionage and manipulation than combat.
It was those very knights who fabricated the rumor about Seifert's lord embezzling Imperial Court property last time.
"What will you do? It's the corpse of a higher-rank monster, after all!"
With such a valuable asset, the swaying family might regain its footing.
Even unreasonable terms were too valuable to pass up.
"Very well."
Since there was no real disadvantage, Alber made his decision quickly.
'With just a higher-rank monster's corpse!'
He grinned, imagining a brighter future.
****
The tenth day of the stampede. Since the Gigant Vulture disappeared, the number of monsters gradually diminished.
Though other higher-rank monsters remained, their main targets weren't Paruzan Fortress.
The monsters continued their assault, but far fewer than at the beginning.
A higher-rank monster that had been keeping an eye on them suddenly disappeared?
Nothing could be luckier than that.
If someone had made that happen, every soldier in the fortress should be grateful to them. Thus, Kelian spoke to Louis.
"As you requested, I've already contacted the Bisted family head. By now, the news should have reached his ears."
"Thank you for all your trouble."
In front of the commander's quarters, entry restricted to senior officers, Louis was gnawing on some meat.
This was not a place for an ordinary soldier to loiter, but Louis was special.
"It's good to have reinforcements coming, but why those particular men?"
In exchange for the higher-rank monster's corpse, Bisted would send knights closely connected to the Imperial Court.
Kelian wondered why Louis made such a request.
"I have personal business with those guys."
"...."
Kelian didn't press further. He'd already investigated the circumstances of how Louis had come here.
He was the one who single-handedly piled up a thousand monster corpses. Just having Louis in the fortress brought them enormous luck.
"Big Bro, would you like some?"
Flinching at being called "big bro", Kelian politely refused. He had his reasons.
"Could a human eat what was once a higher-rank monster?"
What Louis was eating was the wing of the Gigant Vulture. Tearing off a piece, he savored it as if tasting a gourmet feast.
"How long has it been since I last ate chicken like this?"
It wasn't battered or fried, but it was the first poultry he'd had in ages, and the taste was amazing.
Kelian looked at Louis as if he was strange.
Normally, monsters from the demon realm contained substances harmful to humans.
He'd never seen anyone survive after eating them.
"That's true! Young master, your cooking is really amazing!"
Sitting beside him, Victor tore into his own chunk of meat, deeply impressed.
For Victor, too, it had been a long time since he had eaten meat, and tears streamed down his face.
"You know the stampede isn't over yet, right?"
Kelian said, displeased by how carefree Victor seemed. Feeling Kelian's intensity, Victor fumbled and dropped his meat.
"You seem quite relaxed for someone who only got out due to your injury."
Victor's leg was sporting a nasty wound.
Since monsters were still attacking here and there, it was not time to let down one's guard.
"I'm sorry."
Shrinking under Kelian's pressure, Victor bowed his head and apologized.
At that moment, smoke began to rise from Victor's body.
"What is this!?"
Victor was startled as smoke poured out of him. Kelian was confused, but Louis was composed.
Then, the wound on Victor's leg healed on its own.