**“My Companion. You haven’t forgotten the plan, have you?”**

The Snake Queen spoke to me.

**Battle.**

In a large-scale battle like this, there are numerous variables.

It’s nearly impossible to proceed exactly as planned.

But even so, we must adhere to the main thread of our strategy.

If we don’t, we’ll merely be a horde of rabble.

“Ggegek.”

Our forces are superior.

The forces of the Snake Queen and Argen Tavis.

Moreover, the beasts that had maintained neutrality joined our side.

If we can push forward using our numerical advantage, victory should come easily.

Of course, that’s assuming the enemy cooperates.

The enemy isn’t foolish; they’ve likely arranged a way to make up for their inferior numbers.

The Bird King possesses brainwashing abilities, so there’s a chance our side could switch over to them.

While I planned to push the enemy hard enough that they couldn’t use their brainwashing the moment they revealed themselves, it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.

While our numbers favor us, that alone doesn’t guarantee victory.

This battle will be a decisive one.

In other words, it’s likely to be determined by the spirit-level beings.

The Bird King, Filbang, and Nazchal.

The Snake Queen, Argen Tavis, and Gomodo-Rania.

While the enemy may have hidden forces, this is about all the openly revealed troops.

I doubt the hastily gathered troops are stronger than those spirit-level beings.

A 3-on-3 showdown.

Whichever side wins this confrontation will win the war.

Each will take one opponent and emerge victorious.

…That would be nice, but if either side loses, our plans will fall apart.

One defeat could lead to the downfall of us all.

The best approach is for Gomodo to tie up their forces and then attack the enemy commander one by one with overwhelming strength.

Of course, they won’t just sit back and let that happen.

So, what should I do?

I’ll quickly eliminate one enemy and join another.

And, in layman’s terms, we’ll gang up on them.

“I’ll take the Bird King, but he won’t go down easily. If I could suppress him alone, the war would be over immediately.”

The Bird King is not an easy opponent.

I don’t think the Snake Queen will lose, but the Gae-chalko-atak is equally formidable. So it’s impossible for the Snake Queen to defeat him first and then help the rest.

When facing the Bird King, the Snake Queen plans to conserve her strength.

She will cautiously test the waters while enduring, then take down the enemy commander with the support of our allies to eradicate the Bird King. That’s the gist of this operation.

“Filbang won’t be easy either. The former Bird King will take him on, but if Filbang is determined to evade, he won’t be easily defeated. His attacks are so widespread that our side will suffer significant damage as well.”

Filbang is in the second-in-command position.

I could definitely tell through my wild instincts that he was at a higher level than Nazchal or Biikjo.

He looked the part as well, clearly declaring, “I am the strongest.”

“The same goes for Nazchal. Since I’ve already cut one of his wings, he won’t be able to evade. This means that as soon as I find him, we can engage immediately.”

One of Nazchal's wings was indeed severed.

Thus, he can be dealt with first.

If Argen Tavis or the Snake Queen takes on Nazchal directly, it could end very quickly.

This means I need to handle Filbang or the Bird King.

I might be able to endure, but those are flying birds.

They could disregard me, a ground-crawling lizard, and quickly rush to help Nazchal, which is why I have no choice but to deal with him.

“Your shoulders must feel heavy.”

“Ggekk.”

I’m fine.

I’m a lizard that took down a Biikjo; surely, I can’t lose to a single injured bird.

In fact, he doesn’t seem particularly combat-oriented.

“There’s a possibility the plan could go awry, but that’s better than having none at all. Even if we don’t join forces, as long as we defeat the enemies assigned to us, we will naturally win the war.”

Kugugugung.

The ground shook.

The sight of countless forces moving towards the Gae-chalko-atak's lair could be described as a spectacle.

The jungle was a place surrounded by giant trees.

There would certainly be various difficulties in moving such a large force simultaneously.

But the one leading the charge was none other than the Snake Queen.

The moment the trees were touched, they fell helplessly.

Kwaaaang!

She cleared a path, and the beasts followed the basilisk.

“Caw! It’s the Snake Queen!”  
“War, definitely war! Caw!”

Parrots flapped around in a ruckus.

Because we advanced so noisily, the beasts that had nothing to do with this affair had already fled long ago.

Yet, there were still many beasts standing in our way.  
The forces of the Gae-chalko-atak.  

There were flightless birds, including Horror Birds, and creatures like Megatherium that I had faced in the Small Dragon’s territory.

I knew very well how strong they were.

In a typical situation, it would take time to break through them.

They were specialized in stalling with their tremendous stamina and solid bodies.

But we had the Snake Queen on our side.

“Saah!”

The Snake Queen roared loudly.

Just her roar caused the leaves of all the trees to fall.

The forces of the Gae-chalko-atak were startled by her roar.  
They moved quickly, scattering to avoid her attacks.

The Snake Queen’s true form is that of a basilisk.

And that means that the moment they met her gaze, it was already too late.

Szzzzzzz!

The petrifying gaze.

Every living creature that met the eyes of the Snake Queen turned to stone.

“…Gweong?”

The sheer power of it caused even our side to hesitate momentarily.

“Kyeek!”

Cheers erupted immediately after.

Each of them was an elite force capable of countering dragon-like beings.  
With just a single glance, the Snake Queen had neutralized them, causing the rabble to cheer.

“The effect isn’t quite satisfactory. After all, there are some immune to it.”

Not quite satisfactory, huh?

What does that make me?

But as she said, there were indeed a few enemies resistant to petrification.  
After taking a Cockatrice with them, they likely built up their resistance to petrification through that ability.

However, that wasn’t a significant problem.

“Gwaah!”  
“Grrr!”

The forces ready to face them were more than sufficient.

“Some…? One… mate!”  
The one-horned beast, no longer merely called a unicorn, swept across the battlefield.  
“Oh, a unicorn has joined us. …From the looks of it, it seems they gave me the horn of that unicorn.”

Argen Tavis said with interest.

Despite being hornless, the overwhelming physical prowess radiating from its massive frame was more than enough to confront those creatures. Furthermore, enemies affected by petrification shattered upon simply colliding with it.

The Snake Queen’s wide-area attack.  
And the charge of the beasts, bolstered in morale.  
The tide of battle began to shift in our favor.

But the enemy wouldn’t simply sit back and watch.

“Uooooo!”

Suddenly, the sky brightened immensely.  
It was a mass of flames that seemed to create another sun.

Just as the Snake Queen had thinned our forces with her wide-area attack, the enemy was likely preparing to unleash a widespread attack to thin our ranks.

Naturally, that flame belonged to Filbang.

“If you had come from the start, we could have avoided unnecessary bloodshed. How wonderful would that have been?”

Argen Tavis looked up at the sky.

“Don’t worry about this side.”

Before his words finished, Argen Tavis vanished.

Szzzzzzzzzzzz!

The sound of air being torn.

Argen Tavis soared high into the sky, flapping his enormous wings.

Kwaagaagaagaag!

A fierce wind imbued with the profound energy of Argen Tavis rushed forward.

Szzzzzzzzzzzz!

A massive mass of flame fell to the ground.  
And it was enveloped by a whirlwind created by Argen Tavis.

If you add wind to fire, it would surely grow larger.  
I thought that, but soon realized that was unnecessary worry.

Argen Tavis’s whirlwind completely engulfed Filbang’s mass of flames, shooting up into the sky.

Kwaaaaaaaaang!

The enormous mass of flames naturally vanished into thin air.

“Having received the horn of the unicorn, I suppose I must earn my keep.”  
“Uooooo!”

Argen Tavis quickly flew toward Filbang.  
I could leave it to him.  
Having regained strength from the unicorn's horn, he wouldn’t likely lose to Filbang.

“The cleanup is almost done. Now, we can clear this place with the remaining forces, just as we discussed, let’s scatter.”

“Ggekk!”

I nodded.

Leading about 20% of the total forces, we headed in different directions.  
The Snake Queen to face the Bird King, and I to confront Nazchal.

Since Filbang had shown up, the enemies would undoubtedly emerge regardless of whether I stood still or not.

If three of us faced one

 Filbang, he wouldn’t last even a minute and would perish effortlessly.

But if that happened, it would no longer be a one-on-one but a three-on-three.

The Snake Queen insisted on avoiding such a scenario due to the Gae-chalko-atak’s abilities.

That’s why she separated me and the Snake Queen.

To guide the Bird King toward her and Nazchal toward me.

Of course, it was also possible for the Bird King to appear on my side and Nazchal to appear on the Snake Queen’s side.

If that happened, it could turn out to be advantageous.

As long as I could evade his attacks and buy time, the Snake Queen could join me after dealing with Nazchal.

Now that the situation had developed this way, the enemy would have no choice but to act according to our intentions.

Just as I was processing the advancing forces, it happened.

Szzzz!

A sudden barrage of black feathers flew in.

Thud!

I immediately swung my hand to swat it away.

“Ugh, it shouldn’t have hit me if I just stood still.”

As expected, Nazchal revealed himself.

“Just a greeting, just a greeting.”

…His arm should have definitely been severed.  
Something felt off.

I sensed an alien energy.

“Ugh, that Biikjo is just wasting time. Everything is completely tangled up now.”

Nazchal wore an annoyed expression.

“Well, I guess it’s my own fault for dying at the hands of the Snake Queen.”

What’s with this guy?  
Does he not know that I killed the Biikjo?  
Could he really think that after they retreated, the Snake Queen came to rescue me?  
Did he think the Biikjo had died at the hands of the Snake Queen?

“You seem a bit smaller, don’t you?”

That’s why he was standing there so nonchalantly.

I was currently in a state of shrinkage, having applied size reduction to my body.

Despite having been hit by my Gaegege Death Beam, he appeared relatively unscathed.  
This means he didn’t regard my shrunken form as a threat.

For whatever reason, it seemed that his severed arm had reattached, and with it, his strength had increased.

“Fighting feels bothersome and….”

Just like a minion of the Bird King, he’s still running his mouth.  
The appearance of that woman I saw in the Snake Queen’s mind flashed through my head.  
Once again, he had deliberately come out looking like this.  
To provoke the Snake Queen.

If I let him slip away here, the Snake Queen would see that form again.

---

**[The status: Shrink is released.]**  

**Thud.**  

**[The effect of Shrink LV5 causes the status: Growth to be applied.]**

“What, what?”  

Nazchal hastily took his stance.

**[Using Reverse Energy LV5.]**  

“Wha—? Why am I suddenly…!”  

You lack learning ability.

No use in talking.

Szzzzzzzzzzzz!

The blue beam infused with the technique of the Gaegege pierced through Nazchal's abdomen.