Chapter 173

Chapter 174: Worried About Insufficient Firepower? (Second Update, Please Subscribe!)

Be it the Hermes Familial Group or the Artemis Familial Group, they were both factions accustomed to living rough outdoors year-round, with every member being an expert in wilderness survival.

Breakfast preparations were swift and orderly. From the head chef to those responsible for lighting fires, everyone played their part, showing off their skills, with Izay lending a hand on the side.

However, for some reason, aside from him, all the personnel responsible for the early morning preparations were girls.

As mealtime approached, the male compatriots who had been riled up by the organization last night finally began to appear.

After breakfast, everyone’s expressions turned solemn as they began to prepare their weapons under the instructions of Letsha and Asfi. Not just armed equipment and backup arms, but also consumables like spiritual medicines and magic swords, along with the high-grade magical artifacts crafted by Asfi.

For those not part of the main extermination team, what they would face next was undoubtedly a massive wave of monsters, and they needed to make the best possible preparations.

While distributing the supplies, Letsha and Asfi suddenly huddled together, seemingly discussing some sort of error.

Noticing this, Izay walked over to them.

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s you, Izay… indeed, there’s a problem. The number of magic swords might be insufficient…”

Letsha glanced at him, explaining her concerns with a troubled look.

“This time, due to the suddenness of the matter, we could only buy so many magic swords from the Far East region. We apologize…”

Asfi sighed too, revealing the cause of their worry.

Since this commission was personally issued by Uranus himself, Hermes took it rather seriously, especially regarding prior preparations.

They had considered issues of manpower and firepower shortages, so Hermes specifically sent Asfi and her team to procure magic swords, virtually buying out all the magic swords available in the Far East market.

Even so, they managed to acquire fewer than ten.

This made distribution quite inadequate.

Soon, everyone would split into two teams. A larger group of forty-odd members would act as decoys to lure the enemies, facing hundreds or even thousands of monsters. Magic swords were essential for them.

The other team, however, would delve deep into the ruins to slay the ancient monster Andarius. Facing such an ancient beast, caution was paramount, and contingency measures included preparing magic swords.

With both sides requiring them, how to allocate became an issue. Taking care of one side might leave the other with insufficient firepower.

It was akin to having only one glove when winter came—whether to wear it on the left or right hand.

“If that’s the case, I can help a bit.”

After hearing their worries, Izay smiled indifferently.

“I’ve brought magic swords too.”

“—!!!”

In an instant, the eyes of the two leaders lit up as if they might pounce on Izay any moment.

Under their expectant gazes, Izay returned to the tent he slept in last night, retrieved his backpack, and pulled out two magic swords from inside, plus ten more from his system space.

A total of twelve magic swords, all top-tier ones worth millions, whose power and durability far surpassed those from the Far East region.

Izay had once said that when he had money, he would buy magic swords to fill his warehouse. It wasn’t just idle talk; he truly acted on it.

Whenever he passed by, he would purchase magic swords and spiritual medicines, these consumables, without draining his personal treasury.

Considering potential troubles en route, he had taken some stock this time, which proved useful indeed.

Thanks to Izay’s contribution of twelve additional magic swords, the previously tight supply became abundant, resolving the firepower insufficiency issue.

“Ah… I never thought there’d come a day when I’d carry magic swords into action. This feeling is certainly novel~”

Fiddling with the two magic swords strapped to his waist, Hermes sported his usual pretty-boy smile despite the bruises still visible on his face.

“Hermes-sama, could you hold this for me~”

“—?”

Perplexed, Hermes took the backpack Izay tossed at him. Hefting it, he could faintly hear the sound of glass clinking inside.

“Izay-kun, what is this?”

“Spiritual medicine, mental recovery potions, all of them. Later, I’ll trouble you, Hermes-sama, to play the role of a supporter.”

???


Hermes stared blankly at Izay, utterly confused.

He didn’t mind playing the support role.

But if all these were mental recovery potions, then where were the panaceas and regular recovery potions for treating injuries? Weren’t those necessary?

Seemingly perceiving his great confusion, Izay explained.

“I possess high-level healing magic, so therapeutic potions are unnecessary. Mental recovery potions will suffice.”

As long as his spirit holds up, everything’s fine.

nearby, Asfi was already overwhelmed upon hearing this.

Is this human speech?

Within Orario, the only person known to possess high-level healing magic was Amide, the Holy Maiden of Battle. (Checked character profiles, indeed, others like Riviria and Fels belong to “restoration magic.”)

As a warrior and mage, Izay was already strong enough, yet he could heal others too?

Asfi’s exquisite face immediately turned expressionless. Her pleasant deity’s reaction mirrored hers—so astonished she didn’t know what to say.

…

Preparations before battle didn’t take too long. Artemis conducted the final team arrangements.

The extermination squad centered around Izay and Asfi as the output core. Izay was the undisputed vanguard, Asfi held the center position, followed by someone capable of keeping up with them as a supporter while also protecting Hermes.

Level 3 dog-person Lulune honorably secured this spot.

“I didn’t want to go into ruins like this kind of person ya know, waaahh…”

Lulune complained with a gloomy face, having two magic swords strapped to her waist and two more in her small backpack.

“Don’t worry, Lulune~ I’m a supporter too! Let’s take good care of each other from now on~”

Hermes smiled, patting Lulune’s shoulder.

“Well… Letsha, it’s your turn next.”

After the pre-battle morale boost and rallying cries, Artemis looked at Letsha, who nodded confidently with a chest-thump.

“Please leave it to us! Lady Artemis.”

Due to Izay’s bizarre monster-attracting trait, if the extermination team didn’t want to step into the Ersos Ruins only to be surrounded immediately afterward, the decoy team had to lead away most of the monsters first.

“Everyone, stay safe above all else. No need to kill, just holding them off is sufficient.”

Watching the backs of the forty-odd adventurers depart, Artemis gave her final instructions.

“We got it!”

As their figures entered the uncle sea’s inner circle and started approaching the perimeter of the Ersos Ruins, the five-member extermination team also set off.

Led by Izay, they broke through heading in the opposite direction of the decoy team, bypassing the large force of black scorpion monsters. The five entered the Ersos Ruins via the only remaining stone bridge.