Chapter 215
Elsewhere in Orario, a high smith rushed over to the commander, defending the area.
“Captain Tsubaki, the adventurers are demanding more magic weapons!” he exclaimed, exhaustion etched on his face from running around to meet various requests.
“Let them have it all; weapons are meant to be used, aren’t they?” Tsubaki replied without hesitation.
‘Hmm, that doesn’t seem right,’ she thought, her gaze falling on some individuals who looked suspicious.
Swoosh!
Without a moment's pause, Tsubaki drew a magic sword and swung it, unleashing a wave of flames that engulfed the suspicious figures.
Boom!
The flames ignited the bombs the individuals carried, causing them to explode prematurely.
Shock rippled through the workshop, as the hardworking smiths had not expected the evilus to target them in such a brazen manner.
“Tsk, they have even begun disguising themselves as adventurers,” Tsubaki muttered in annoyance.
“Everyone, be careful! Not everyone approaching the forge is an ally. Don’t be deceived by familia crests; they can be forged,” Tsubaki warned.
“Captain, what do we do then?” a frightened smith asked.
It had become increasingly difficult to distinguish allies from enemies, creating immense pressure on the smiths who believed that helping from the backline was safe.
“Well, just look them in the face; if they seem evil, attack immediately,” Tsubaki instructed.
“Captain, you can’t be serious!” the man protested, dismayed.
Although Tsubaki was an extremely skilled smith, she was not the best commander.
As she and the smiths bickered over a solution, a new wave of evilus soldiers appeared.
Pulling out the magic sword she had just used, Tsubaki launched another wave of fire.
“That aside, Captain, we don’t have many magic weapons in stock,” the high smith complained.
The distribution system was a mess, and with the added deception from the evilus, it had become even more chaotic.
“Aaaaah! Enough with the complaints! We’re already short-staffed here. You know what? Let’s just head to the battlefield and fight. We’ll leave the distribution to Hephaestus,” Tsubaki declared.
Hephaestus, as a goddess, could easily see through mortal deceptions, making her the better choice for the task.
“Captaaaain…” the smiths cried in unison.
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At that very moment, the goddess Hephaestus was in her home, known as Valka’s crimson chamber, or as some called it, Etna Volcano.
“Our store is open; bring out all our inventory,” Hephaestus commanded.
“Lady Hephaestus, are you sure about this? That’s most of our fortune,” one of her children protested.
“Well, it won’t be of much use if the entire city is destroyed. I will personally hand them out to adventurers. That way, if they are not who they claim to be, I can signal for you kids to capture them,” Hephaestus replied.
The young worker was taken aback by her clever plan and only began moving when Hephaestus urged him to.
After he hurriedly left the room, the goddess turned her gaze to two dragon gods who had been glaring at each other menacingly all day.
Ignoring them, she addressed an old-looking god at her right.
“So, what do you plan to do, Goibniu?” Hephaestus asked.
“I doubt I would make it to my forge in one piece. I hope you will let me stay for a while,” Goibniu requested, reluctantly.
He judged that the evilus were likely to kill him faster than staying close to two scary dragon gods.
Goibniu usually resided at his forge in the northwestern part of the city, but he had visited Hephaestus to discuss logistics when the war suddenly erupted.
Hephaestus nodded in acceptance of his request, understanding how dangerous the city had become.
“Can I use a forge? I might as well put my skills to good use while you attend to the customers,” Goibniu suggested.
“Please, go ahead. That would be much appreciated,” Hephaestus replied, in gratitude.
Leaving Goibniu to one of the forges, Hephaestus turned her attention back to Bahamut and the other dragon god.
“Are you going to keep glaring at each other for eternity?” Hephaestus asked.
“It’s not my choice to stare at this creep who reeks of death. Who knows what underhanded tricks he might pull if I turn away?” Bahamut replied.
“Now, now, I’ve told you for the nth time not to be so wary. I will keep my word as long as you keep yours,” the other dragon god interjected.
This was Faluzure, one of the most notorious evil dragon gods.
For the past week, Bahamut had been collaborating with Hephaestus to craft a weapon as a present for Draco.
This was why she had been away from home almost all day.
However, on this particular day, an unwanted guest had appeared at the Hephaestus familia home.
Around 3 PM, while Hephaestus and Bahamut took a break to have lunch, Faluzure had suddenly materialized out of nowhere.
Upon sensing his presence, Bahamut prepared to attack, but Hephaestus quickly intervened.
A scuffle between dragons could wreak immense havoc, and Hephaestus wanted to protect her forge.
Bahamut had assumed he was interested in Draco; if that were the case, she intended to return him to heaven immediately.
Sitting down to talk, Faluzure explained the reason for his visit.
He was there to prevent Bahamut from directly interfering in the war, and in return, he would not intervene either.
After stating his objective, Faluzure asked them to pretend he didn’t exist as he settled into a corner of the room.
While Bahamut and Hephaestus were skeptical about the truth of his words, by evening, a war between the evilus and the city indeed erupted.
Bahamut wanted to leave immediately to search for her children, but Faluzure restrained her.
Gritting her teeth in rage, Bahamut took a seat, knowing the potential devastation a fight between them could cause, one that would definitely surpass the damage inflicted by the evilus.
Seeing her compliance, Faluzure smiled, having accomplished part of his objective.
With no choice, Bahamut chose to trust in her children.
But if, by any chance, any of them were to perish, Faluzure—and all the gods supporting the evilus—would feel her wrath, she swore.
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Not long after Hephaestus opened shop, a certain girl managed to grab a few magic weapons and was on her way to her allies.
“Captain, I managed to get some magic weapons from Hephaestus!” a young girl shouted.
“Nice job, Filvis!” her captain replied.
Hearing the praise, the young elven girl dragged a sack filled with various magic weapons poking out from the sides to her familia’s hiding place.
She and her fellow familia members were covered in soot and dust from the ongoing fires, crouched behind rubble, hiding from the frenzied evilus soldiers.
Grabbing the weapons from her, the captain quickly began distributing them among the familia members, who were preparing to launch a surprise attack on some evilus soldiers at the street’s end.
“Not you, Filvis,” the captain said, seeing how tired she was.
“No, I can still fight! Let me fight!” Filvis pleaded.
Despite being an adventurer, Filvis was only twelve years old; for an elf, that was extremely young, and to other races, she appeared to be merely a child.
However, the determination in her eyes was greater than that of her adult peers.
With jet-black hair and eyes like rubies, there was no doubt that her matured figure would be enviable.
Dressed in long white battle cloth like a priestess, she carried a wand made of wood from the sacred tree in her hometown.
“The very fate of Orario hangs in the balance. I cannot sit idle and do nothing. I am prepared to do what it takes to soothe Lord Dionysus’s fears, whether it’s ferrying supplies, maintaining barriers, or anything else,” Filvis declared.
“Sigh, why do you have to be so cute?” the captain muttered, feeling himself giving in to Filvis’s pressure.
“Fine, you can come with us,” the captain relented.
“Thank you! I will do my best!” Filvis exclaimed, delighted that he had agreed.
“You really do spoil her a lot, Captain,” another member of the Dionysus familia commented.
“Look at that cute face! Can you refuse?” the captain pointed out.
“Guuuh, so bright,” the familia member muttered, also relenting.
With the weapons distributed, the Dionysus familia prepared to move, ready to defend the city and ease their god's worries.
If only they knew the true nature of their god, would they still want to act the same way?
They likely would, even if not for their god, they would fight because it was the right thing to do.