With just two days left until the start of the stage, the morning had come.

I brought all four parties of my retinue to the Lake Kingdom Dungeon.

Over the past week, we had cleared two dungeons in Zone 4 - the [Library] and the [Court].

The dungeons were swarming with ghouls and Fallen Bloods, each having a vampire as a boss monster.

In the Library, the vampire specialized in blood magic, and in the Court, the vampire excelled in melee combat.

There were dangerous moments, but we managed to clear them safely.

By now, all the party members had gathered enough experience dealing with the bloodline.

So, today, we came to the last dungeon in Zone 4, the [Grand Park].

It's a wave-type dungeon, where we had to fend off monsters pouring from all directions in a large open field with hardly any obstacles.

‘It requires at least 20 people in 4 parties.’

Currently, we have exactly 4 parties in the First Army. Twenty people.

I brought everyone along, judging we were more than capable. And indeed, my judgment was correct.

Grrr! Grrr!

Monsters flooded in from all directions,

Thud! Thud! Wham!

Our tankers, arranged in a circle, swept the monsters off their feet with their shields,

Whoosh! Whoosh! Ping!

Rumble... Boom!

Our archers and mages poured their attacks from all directions, grinding down the monsters.

The party members perfectly and effortlessly defended against the recurring monster waves. Brilliant.

Among them, the performance of the newly joined party was particularly dazzling.

Old Hunters.

A party of middle-aged mercenaries led by Jupiter, with a solid composition of three tankers and two mages.

The two veteran mages alternated in launching attack spells.

Jupiter's fellow mage was an ice wizard, and a rain of ice and lightning constantly poured down on the monsters' heads.

"Urgh!"

Occasionally, Jupiter coughed, and her magic power was weaker than before.

Nevertheless, she was effectively frying the monsters. It was obvious that she was pushing herself...

"..."

Junior occasionally glanced at the old woman.

Unbeknownst to others, Junior was secretly casting spells while coughing blood into her handkerchief.

A grandmother and granddaughter, both doing well.

Anyway, we easily annihilated the regular monsters.

The last wave was four Fallen Bloods. They ran towards us one by one from all directions.

I instructed each party to deal with one each.

Clang! Clang! Crunch...!

After about 10 minutes,

The level of the Fallen Bloods was quite high, and everyone struggled, but in the end, we defeated all of them without a single injury.

"We, we did it..."

Dion, who had stabbed a silver dagger into the neck of the last Fallen Blood, gasped and mumbled.

"We really did it. We...!"

The other three parties also had a tough time, but none as much as the Dion Mercenary Group.

The group consisted only of N-tier heroes.

The Dion Mercenary Group was basically all melee characters, that is, all close combat heroes, and there wasn't even a magic attacker.

However, they had diligently trained and combined their defense and attack against the Fallen Blood, and finally succeeded in the kill.

"It's impressive to see so much growth in such a short time."

I patted Dion's shoulder. Dion nodded his head gratefully.

"Thank you, Your Highness...!"

"There's nothing to thank me for. It's the fruit of your efforts."

And it was sincere.

These were five ordinary N-tier characters who I wouldn't have bothered with during a game walkthrough.

I never thought they would grow into reliable mainstays.

'Human beings have potential that cannot be seen by looking at the stat window.'

While looking over the Dion Mercenary Group, who were hugging each other and high-fiving, I thought to myself,

'As a commander, as a lord, I have to look at real humans, not the system window.'

The Dion Mercenary Group taught me that obvious but valuable realization.

I need to look at the people in front of me who are alive and breathing... I need to observe them with my own eyes, not through the system window.

The battle was over. The dungeon was cleared.

After taking a brief rest and collecting all the loot,

I gathered the party members and finished preparations to return to Crossroad, raising my voice,

"We have cleared all the sectors in Zone 4 of the Lake Kingdom Dungeon."

We had cleared all three dungeons in Zone 4.

In other words, we had conquered all the dungeons that could be cleared. We had squeezed out all the experience points that could be obtained.

'We've done everything we can.'

The equipment settings were finalized, and we had installed all the traps and artifacts on the castle walls.

Now all we could do was leave the results to the heavens.

'Whether we succeed in clearing and survive, or...'

Or...

Swallowing the words that rose within me, I began clapping.

“The siege is in two days. Rest up until then.”

Everyone looked tired from the forced march over the past few days, but their faces were filled with pride and accomplishment from safely clearing three dungeons in a row.

I also rewarded them with a quiet smile.

"Everyone did great! Let's head back!"

***

[Free exploration has ended!]

[Leveled-up Characters]

>Main Party

- Ash(EX) Lv.36 (↑1)

- Lucas(SSR) Lv.41 (↑1)

- Evangeline(SSR) Lv.41 (↑1)

- Jupiter Junior(SSR) Lv.39 (↑1)

- Damien(N) Lv.38 (↑1)

>Sub-party 1

- Godhand(SR) Lv.38 (↑1)

- Bodybag(R) Lv.33 (↑1)

- Oldgirl(R) Lv.33 (↑1)

- Skull(N) Lv.30 (↑1)

- Burnout(SR) Lv.29 (↑1)

>Sub-party 2

- Dion(N) Lv.27 (↑2)

- Ayla(N) Lv.26 (↑2)

- Lark(N) Lv.25 (↑2)

- Hessen(N) Lv.25 (↑2)

- Chae(N) Lv.25 (↑2)

>Sub-party 3

- Jupiter(SR) Lv.42 (↑1)

- Yenichi(R) Lv.32 (↑1)

- Free(R) Lv.31 (↑1)

- Sentens(R) Lv.30 (↑1)

- Viole(R) Lv.30 (↑1)

[Dead and Injured Characters]

- None

[Acquired Items]

- Lower Class Blood Stone: 120

- Middle Class Blood Stone: 38

***

I looked at the long list of twenty names one by one.

Not knowing how many would survive in the next settlement window.

Carefully and dearly I looked at each one.

Repeating everyone's name in my mouth, I murmured with a prayer.

Survive.

Stay alive.

***

Mansion. My room.

Taking a break alone, I was looking at the system window.

I activated the [Dark Event Tracker] by manipulating the system window.

To know in advance what terrible event it would mess me up with next.

But then.

[No dark events will be triggered in this stage.]

“Huh?”

Wondering what this was about, the reason was outrageous.

[The maximum applicable difficulty is already in place. The difficulty cannot be increased further.]

The reason was that it was already so difficult that it couldn't be made any harder.

What a crazy world. Should I say this is with or without conscience?

Just as I was blankly taking a break,

Bang!

"Young Master! The pigeon we sent to the capital returned with a reply!"

Aider, who suddenly entered my room, said so. I sprung up.

This time, I had sent the pigeon with various errands to be run at the capital.

So it took longer for the round trip than usual. Still, it returned before the start of the stage.

"What did they say? Are they sending reinforcements?"

I asked without any real expectation.

As expected, Aider shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Their stance remains the same. They say they can't send any."

"Those bastards... I clearly told them, it's a final warning... If they don't send reinforcements, I'll show them a hell of a mess..."

I growled, grinding my teeth. Really, this was how it was going to be till the end...

"Sigh... Okay. I didn't even factor that into the calculations anyway."

Shaking off my irritation, I calmed myself down and looked at Aider.

"What about the other tasks?"

"Yes. On the way to the capital, the pigeon contacted the tradesman and the architect, as you instructed."

The tradesman to take over the blood stone circulation, and the architect for the exterior of the hotel to be built in Crossroad.

I had asked the pigeon to contact them and deliver my letters.

'Those are all matters for a very distant future...'

It feels like playing chess in the fog, laying traps for the future while not knowing how the imminent defense battle will turn out.

Aider read out the replies from the tradesman and the architect.

"They all say they'll consider it positively, but again, because of the unstable situation in the southern front, it's difficult for them to come easily."

"Well... I expected such a reply."

He sounds like he's giving a positive review. He's beating around the bush to refuse my request in this wilderness.

I let out a deep sigh.

"I guess I have to go to the capital myself to gather everyone."

"You, my lord, are going all the way to the capital? Aren't you too busy with defenses and other matters?"

Without bothering to answer, I gave a wry smile and got up.

"Yes, that's right. As busy as I am, I should rest and then get back to work."

"Oh dear, then I shall prepare the carriage. Where will you be going?"

"The Temple."

I opened a drawer in the cabinet and pulled out a money bag I had prepared in advance.

"There's one more person I want to recruit for this defense battle."

***

The Temple.

When I arrived late at night, the high priestess, Saintess Margarita, looked quite surprised.

"Your Majesty? What brings you here at this hour?"

"People come to the temple for a variety of reasons, but ultimately, isn't the goal the same?"

I put my hands together in front of my chest.

"They're praying for salvation in the future."

I don't have a religion, but shamelessly, I do want salvation.

I hope for a victory in the next defense battle.

I hope that as many people as possible survive.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them and put the money bag I brought into the donation box.

Thump! The heavy money bag dropped to the bottom of the donation box with a sound.

Margarita looked quite flustered.

"There's no party member who needs treatment today... Why the donation?"

"Saintess. No, Margarita."

I slowly turned my head and looked at Margarita.

"You said it before. This fight here is a holy war. Battling monsters to protect humans is a sacred task."

"..."

"I humbly ask you not to neglect this holy war, but to throw yourself into it."

Margarita's eyes trembled violently.

The conditions for recruiting Saintess Margarita.

Use the temple and make regular donations. Reach a certain amount with the donations.

And just now, I filled up that last amount.

Hospitals are always places where money leaks out like water.

In such a remote place, Margarita's temple, which operates on small donations for poor mercenaries, is even more so.

The donations I've been pouring into this financially struggling place must have been like a lifeline.

I supplemented the hospital beds, laid new blankets and sheets, and stocked clean bandages and gauze.

Since I took office as a lord, the facilities of the temple have been improving day by day.

Like it or not, this temple relies on my donations for its finances.

Now Margarita is in a position where she can no longer refuse my request.

"This defense battle will be more brutal than any other this city has ever faced. The soldiers who received treatment from you just a few days ago may not be able to return anymore."

I spoke plainly, but brutally, about the events to come.

"Moreover, the wall itself might be breached. If the vampires get over that wall, there will be a festival of blood here."

"..."

"All the citizens of Crossroad might die. And if Crossroad collapses, the entire human world will be in danger."

I nodded heavily.

"Please lend us your strength, Margarita. We need your healing abilities."

After a moment of hesitation, Margarita finally uttered.

"I'm... nothing but a country woman with no ability other than taking care of the wounded."

"..."

"I don't have the power to repel enemies. Why me..."

"Margarita."

I took a big step closer to Margarita. Margarita shuddered.

"The quicker way than treating patients is to prevent them from getting hurt in the first place."

"..."

"You can do that if you're on the field."

A skill set focused on healing and shielding.

The game's best area healer. A leading candidate for tier R hero, Saintess Margarita.

She looked up at me with trembling eyes for a long time, bit her lips, and then asked in a thin voice.

"What... should I do?"

***

And so, Margarita was recruited.

For now, she's a guest character limited to this stage, but in fact, she can be called up as a party member whenever needed in the future.

If a healer is needed, she can be used conveniently.

On this occasion, I organized two reserve parties, combining Lilly, Margarita, and eight newly recruited N-R grade heroes who had been enhanced in the meantime.

The party leaders were Lilly and Margarita.

Lilly's party was tasked with forming the last line of defense from the rear, while Margarita's party was responsible for transporting and treating the injured.

Having organized the reserves, I returned to the mansion and sat down at the office desk.

Traps set up in front of the castle walls, repaired artifacts, the readjustment of the kill zone, evacuation of the citizens...

The pile of tasks that needed to be handled before the defense battle was mountainous.

As I worked through them, the surroundings became bright before I knew it.

When I looked out the window, the sun was rising. I had stayed up all night.

"..."

I blankly stared at the eastern sky, where dawn was breaking.

'Sun, can't you slow down a bit?'

Of course, my wish was completely ignored, and the sun rose brightly above the earth.

Everywhere became dazzlingly bright.

[STAGE 5]

- Time until start: 24 hours left

One day left until the next stage.

Only a single day remained.