“That is impossible. The spiritual energy sensor detected the residual thoughts of the crew,” Grevanas said.
“So they’ve skillfully been buying time... The more time passes, the more advantageous the situation becomes for them.”
He slammed the armrest of his chair in frustration. They hadn’t been able to escape, as a new fleet from the Imperial Army had arrived. They’d also confirmed that a ground force had descended to the crash site, so their targets hadn’t gotten to safety yet. That meant they were still active on the surface. The reinforcements were probably a rapid reaction force, and once a little more time passed, normal soldiers would be deployed in numbers that far surpassed the current ones. That would be the end of the Liberation Army’s hunt for the girls. The tables would turn and it would be they who were being hunted.
“We probably have less than two hours,” Grevanas concluded.
The rapid reaction force had arrived after four hours, which must have been a rather reckless journey. If they traveled using the ordinary method, it would take six hours, so there were less than two hours left before more soldiers arrived. They needed to kill their targets before then.
“We have to be bold here, Grevanas,” said Maxfern.
“I agree. But we will need to do something beforehand.”
Healthy girls could walk around sixteen kilometers in four hours, but given the wooded terrain, they’d probably made half of that distance. Even if they put real effort in, they would have gotten ten kilometers at most. It was a wide area, so a bold move—such as using the waste—required narrowing down that area a bit more.
“Do you have a plan?” Maxfern asked.
“I am thinking of summoning magical beasts to chase them down.”
His idea was to use wave tactics by summoning a vast number of weak magical beasts to search for the three. There was no need for the creatures to actually kill them. All they needed to do was find a trace so that a human squad could be sent in to finish the job.
“I will use fairies,” Grevanas said. “They are smart, fast, and cost little mana.”
Fairies were small humanoid creatures ten centimeters tall with wings growing out of their backs. They were the perfect fit for what Grevanas wanted. Moreover, they could also use simple magic, making them highly useful pursuers.
Maxfern shook his head. “That won’t work, Grevanas.” He didn’t think the fairies could chase the three down.
“Why is that? They can hardly be called diligent, but they are ideal for this situation...”
Fairies had a clear weakness, which was that they couldn’t take a hit. An even bigger weakness was that they were very talkative. They would always be chatting with each other. So Grevanas would ordinarily never summon them. But he couldn’t think of a magical beast better suited to the situation.
“Fairies would be fine against a normal enemy,” Maxfern explained. “The problem is that our targets have fought plenty of these kinds of battles.”
Maxfern didn’t think the idea was wrong. Fairies were suitable for searching a large area, even if they could be noisy. But Kiriha and the others had used similar methods.
“They have fought using all kinds of techniques and technologies,” he continued. “They should easily be able to surmise what we are trying to do and will have countermeasures for science, magic, and spiritual energy—countermeasures that we won’t even notice.”
Sure, Maxfern’s side had caught up in techniques. They also had access to spiritual energy and the latest science. But what about using those things in battle? Two thousand years had passed since the Blue Knight had assumed the mantle of hero. In the current age, he would no doubt have tried all kinds of combinations. Meanwhile, Maxfern and Grevanas had little in the way of that sort of knowledge, so Maxfern didn’t think it would be wise to challenge them to their own game.
“But if we don’t do something—”
“Naturally,” Maxfern interrupted him. “That is why we will use a method that they have never used, Grevanas!”
“And what would that be?” His wrinkled face twisted. Despite his intelligence, he couldn’t read Maxfern’s intentions.
“You will summon magical beasts that systematically hunt. Magical beasts that hunt in a pack and don’t rely on mana, but vision, hearing, smell, and a high degree of intelligence, and can communicate as well. They’ll be harder to use than magical creatures or corpses, but in this situation they will be the most reliable.”
Maxfern was telling Grevanas to use the power of wild beasts to hunt their targets. Even if their targets used all means to protect themselves, they couldn’t completely block out all five senses. Especially not against beasts with stronger senses than theirs. The beasts’ power would be even greater when they worked together. Wild beasts didn’t have much in the way of intelligence, making it difficult for them to communicate with Grevanas. They would also be slower than fairies that could fly too. But the merit of not fighting on the same stage as the Blue Knight and his allies was big.
“I see!” Grevanas exclaimed. “As expected of Maxfern-sama!” With that, he finally understood Maxfern’s intent.
Maxfern-sama is right. By putting a pack at multiple points, we’ll flush those girls out!
“How about it? Can you do it?” Maxfern asked.
“Please give me a moment...”
Grevanas thought hard about the plan. After considering how many creatures he could summon, how much land a pack could cover, and all other kinds of factors, he reached a conclusion.
“Maxfern-sama, I believe it is possible.”
“Then put it into action right now,” Maxfern ordered.
“After this, however, I will not be able to use magic for a while,” Grevanas added. Beasts required more mana than fairies. Even if he used all of the gems he’d stored mana in, it would just barely be enough to summon all of the necessary beasts. After using up all of his mana, Grevanas would be nothing but an old man.
“That’s fine! This will all have been for nothing if we don’t find them anyway! Do it!”
“At once!” Grevanas nodded and immediately departed the control room, while thinking, Maxfern-sama is as reliable now as he was two thousand years ago... He is the one most suited to rule the world!
With those emotions in his heart, he left to carry out his big job. He was more determined than ever to use his powers to bring Maxfern to the top.