Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

Therefore, Lily waited patiently.

Waiting for the moment when friendly forces obtain intelligence.

And the moment when friendly forces screamed and were killed.

She waited patiently, waited, and waited some more, and then—

"……………………?"

Lily noticed something was "off".

The current situation...

It's so quiet.

"Lily, Lily Luca Erd... We've already invaded half of the enemy territory."

As if confirming Lily's prediction, the elf Luvis gave a perplexed report.

Half of the enemy's territory—

This means that the faction alliance should have already controlled three-quarters of the island.

But let alone encountering enemies, they didn't even run into a single enemy.

This is so strange, it's unbelievable.

Does the enemy really have troops deployed on the island?

Does the enemy commander (Hedin) really understand the purpose of the "Gods' Game"?

"Lady Lily...we...we haven't found any enemies..."

"Hey, Riko, what's going on?! There hasn't been a single battle yet!"

"Because we also have the magical artifacts of the Omnipotent One (Asphie) to create an inescapable net, they will have nowhere to hide. Whether they are invisible or have vanished without a trace, they will never be able to pass through our surveillance network."

As Lily's thoughts were shaken by doubts and unease, her eyes flickered incessantly, creating a concerto of confusion.

No enemies? Nonsense, how could that be?

This unprecedented situation completely shattered Lily's predictions.

Aisha's report completely eliminated even the possibility that the enemy could completely conceal their whereabouts.

What's with this strange feeling? It's inexplicably creepy.

Have I fallen into the enemy's trap?

Despite the countless doubts flashing through Lily's mind and the constant pounding of her heart, she managed to calm herself down with an iron will.

(Is the enemy trying to lure us to the west side of the island... into their sphere of influence? But what good would that do? Is their aim to stretch our formation, luring us away from the goddess Hestia and the other gods who are hiding? Or have they set a trap to annihilate the faction alliance...?)

With trembling hands, Lily wrote in Common Language on the parchment, hoping to use the updated intelligence to assess the situation.

She considered countless possibilities in her mind, examined every conceivable element, and her doubtful mind became increasingly agitated.

Is it really a good idea to continue westward like this? Should the troops be halted temporarily?

But what's the point of halting the fighting?

Without intelligence, it is impossible to take preemptive action or any countermeasures.

When Lily's thoughts went blank due to this unbelievable situation, and she didn't know what to do—

"Is there! Enemy troops spotted!!"

"!!"

One of the eye crystals in front of me flashed.

The speaker was Luvis.

This team, the vanguard of the scout force, is the four-member "Modi Familia".

Lily trembled and grabbed the crystal communicator as if she were about to pounce on it.

"The location is!?"

"West, the westernmost part! The westernmost point of the island!"

--West side!?

Lily couldn't help but wonder if she had misheard; the report she received was the most unbelievable "battlefield frontier."

"What about the quantity!? What's the scale!?"

Lily suppressed the urge to ask what was going on, and even forgot that Luvis and the others who were sneaking around could not be discovered by the enemy, so she directly shouted the question at the top of her lungs.

But no matter how much time passed, there was no response.

Instead, a gasp came through the crystal from Luvis.

When Lily's face was filled with confusion, Lewis finally spoke.

"……all."

“…Huh?”

The elf's voice trembled as she gave the answer to the little people, whose time seemed to have been frozen.

"All members of the Freya Familia are here."

*

"What's the situation now...?"

Modo was stunned by what he saw.

“Hey, hey…”

"What are they thinking...?"

Welf, wielding the "Demon Sword," spoke in astonishment to Dorumur, who carried a shield.

"Are these people serious...?"

Perth was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat, staring wide-open his right eye, which was not covered by a blindfold.

"Deploying the entire army on the west side of the island?! Are you kidding me?!"

The vice commander (Daphne), who should have already simulated dozens of enemy action patterns in her mind, was so angry that she cursed loudly.

It is located on a steep cliff on the westernmost side of the urban ruins, with its back to the crater lake.

The Freya Familia has established its "Headquarters" here.

One hundred and fifty soldiers stood in formation within this area comprised of countless temple ruins. Clad in their faction uniforms, the "Glorious Clan Uniforms," ​​they were fully armed and defended the area as if it were an impregnable fortress.

The group showed no signs of moving, no indication of chanting incantations, and not even the slightest movement.

The enemy has seemingly built a "Goddess Castle" on the west side of the city ruins, guarded by a million soldiers.

"Where is the goddess Freya!? Is she really in the enemy's headquarters!?"

Lily, who was located on the eastern side of the market ruins, shouted anxiously at the crystal.

She was caught in a web of turmoil, shock, confusion, and anxiety, along with the worry of "Could this be what I'm thinking of doing?"

Lily, hoping it was just a trap or a smokescreen, kept urging Lewis to confirm.

"Wait, wait...! No, she's inside too! Goddess Freya is in the main camp! She's in the temple at the deepest part of the lake, facing away from the water!"

Luvis arrived at the southwest side of the ruins and stood on the site of the island's highest watchtower, unable to maintain his composure as he answered loudly.

As the elven archer squinted ahead, he could see the goddess residing in the great temple—the "House of Gods"—where most of the ceiling had fallen away.

She sat on the throne that had been moved there, idly resting her chin on her hand.

Then she suddenly looked up, and after making eye contact with those silver eyes, the elf (Luvis) was so frightened that her face changed drastically.

"Is the enemy attacking from multiple directions?! Could they be using a large force as bait, actually planning to ambush the level 1 adventurers (monsters) from behind?!"

"...No, they're all here, at least the main force is inside the positions. [Vana Freia], [Bringar], [Dainsleif], [Hildr Slave]...even O is here."

The scene shifts to the west side of the urban ruins, within a giant cemetery located in the center of the area.

Aisha, who had moved to the roof of the tomb, was taken aback, while Tsubaki, who was carefully observing the configuration of the Freya Familia, wore an expression of utter dismay.

"No wonder we didn't encounter a single enemy along the way..."

Since the start of the war, the enemy has not left its "headquarters" even for a moment.

Not only Chun and Aisha, but also the adventurers who received the news from the scouts and rushed into the western area were all speechless with fright at the sight.

"The cave bear tactic...?"

Fate whispered in astonishment.

Upon seeing the enemy's formation, she couldn't help but think of a tactic from a board game in the Far East.

This tactic involves surrounding the commander-in-chief and having the soldiers guard the perimeter, creating a "fortress".

"No, it's literally 'a desperate battle'...!"

Takemikazuchi pondered for a moment.

On the eastern side of an island far from Destiny and the others, he understood when he saw the images projected from the eye crystal held by the goddess (Hestia).

The enemy decided to cut off its own retreat, abandoning any underhanded tactics and intending to confront the faction alliance head-on.

"Huh? Huh!? What's going on!?"

"The other side is completely ignoring the rules of the game...!"

Inside the labyrinth city (Orario).

Tiona was still confused about the situation, while Ais, who was next to her, gasped.

"They did just that."

Finn, also in the main camp's reception room, narrowed his azure eyes.

"Hermes, this is...!?"

"This action did not violate the rules of the game; it simply ignored the 'norms'."

As the city descended into chaos, Asphie, located in the Tower of Babel, was horrified, while Hermes responded calmly as if he had already seen through the "tactic."

"This is a tactic that our faction alliance cannot emulate; it's a tactic that only the Freya Familia can employ...!"

The scene returns to the island.

Hestia, holding the eye crystal in her right hand, muttered to herself with a stiff expression.

"...! Master...!"

Finally, Bell, who was acting alone to avoid being discovered by either side, confidently immediately connected the idea to the person who proposed the operation plan.

"Only a fool would follow those boring rules of the game."

As the battlefield and the labyrinthine city on the other side of the mountains were thrown into turmoil by this sight—

Located in a corner of the Freya Familia's headquarters, Hedin arrogantly uttered these words.

He stood atop the temple, where he could see his entire army at a glance, adjusting his glasses with his right hand.

"Let the warriors faithfully carry out my orders within range of my voice. That's the most efficient way. This formation is the most formidable."

He let the breeze caress his golden hair as he made this assertion.

Not only the silent, fierce warriors below level two, but even the level one adventurers who looked dissatisfied or wanted to smack their lips silently exuded an atmosphere of agreement.

"Respond quickly, you only have two paths left to take."

Hedin's operational plan was very simple.

Concentrate your forces in one place—ignore the victory conditions of the "God-Seeking Game".

This perfectly aligns with the principle realized by the goddess (Hestia), a tactic that only the Freya Familia can execute.

This is a privilege reserved for the absolute strongest; if factional alliances adopt the same tactics, they will only be crushed by the enemy.

It is precisely because it can realize the "frontal war" that the God of War (Takemikazuchi) spoke of that Hedin took this tyrannical step of forcibly turning the "God-Seeking Game" into a "full-scale war".

This overbearing act was precisely the answer the faction alliance had been trying to find out what formation the enemy would adopt.

(This demon—)