Chapter 5:
The Third Day of Corruption and My Challenge
THE ALARM ON MY PHONE rang three times before I stopped it. I checked the time, and, sure enough, it was midnight. The Day of Corruption was here. I’d only slept for three hours, but my head felt strangely clear.
The last two times the attack hadn’t begun until after sunrise, but anything past midnight was fair game. I knew who I was dealing with this time; I couldn’t underestimate them. Habatake and the punk were ruthless people. It was safe to assume they had a fair amount of knowledge about my village. I wouldn’t be surprised if they attacked at night to take us off guard.
I changed out of my village clothes and back into the ones from my world.
“These fit way better.” This was my last day acting as the God of Fate’s disciple. I wanted to look presentable.
I covered the statue in the tent with a large cloth. We couldn’t risk it getting damaged—it was our trump card.
I did some light stretches before stepping out into the night to wander the village. Kan and Lan were up on the watchtower. They were both nocturnal, with good night vision and thick fur to protect them from the cold. The best choice for night watch by far.
Two of the young newcomers patrolled by the gate. I recognized their faces and stepped up to greet them.
“Pretty dedicated, doing night patrol,” I said.
“Sir! What are you doing out so late?”
“Just out on a walk. I’m a little too anxious to sleep, given what day it is.” I scratched my head awkwardly.
I was trying to put on a clumsy act to make myself more approachable. I’d gotten that advice from a website about how to bond with your subordinates, back when I was researching how to be more godlike. “Don’t work too hard, okay?”
“Thank you! We won’t!” They bowed and carried on their patrol, following the line of the fence back toward the center of the village.
My phone would notify me when the Day of Corruption actually started. I probably didn’t need to be so cautious, but being here in the flesh was way more nerve-racking than just waiting in front of my computer. The air was tense with the village’s anxiety, and it made my body stiffen. I kept reaching for my phone for a distraction, but I couldn’t risk draining the battery. I looked up at the night sky.
Stars, stars, and more stars filled the darkness. I’d never seen so many stars before in my life, and I didn’t know enough about astrology to tell whether they were different from Earth’s. Their sheer beauty was undeniable. This would be the last time I saw them, so I burned them into my memory.
The sun rose, and still no sign of attack. A sleepy Destiny crawled out of my tent with a towel on its head, climbing my legs and slipping into my coat. I didn’t mind—the warmth of the hand warmer was pleasant against my chest.
The villagers were waking up and coming out of their tents, too. Everyone got together to eat, the food strictly portioned out. The women hurried to prepare everything as quickly as possible.
I wasn’t hungry, but I had to eat. I made my way to the kitchen, when a siren sounded from my phone. The surrounding villagers stared as I checked.
“The Day of Corruption is here!”
The letters flashed in red, bleeding across the screen.
“Everyone, the Lord has let me know that the monsters are about to attack!” I called.
Gams immediately dropped his bread to his plate. “Take your positions!”
“Enemies in the east!”
“Lots of them!” Kan and Lan called from the watchtower.
“Women and children gather together and take shelter!”
“There’s no need to rush! Just remember the drill!” Lyra and Rodice collected those who couldn’t fight and led them to the safety of a tent.
“Don’t worry! Gams is really strong!” Carol was reassuring some of the other children, leading them by the hand.
I knew I could count on my original villagers, but I was determined not to let them show me up. I climbed up an empty watchtower to look over the fence, immediately spotting a pack of black wolves careening through the grass. I counted more than twenty.
That seemed like a lot, but…
“Ready your bows! Shoot!”
Arrows rained down from the watchtowers at Murus’s command. The elven archers had perfect accuracy, every arrow hitting its target. I knew they were good archers, but I’d never imagined they were this good. Their skills rivaled even Murus’s. Every last wolf was dead before they even reached the fence.
“Incredible…”
They’d used a lot of arrows for their attack, but we had plenty more saved up. Just last month, this many black wolves would’ve meant serious trouble, but now they were nothing. I felt hope rising in my chest.
Another attack came thirty minutes later. It contained only a few more black wolves than last time, and the whole pack went down in another shower of arrows. Gams and his fighters didn’t even need to do anything. Fingers crossed that the whole day went like this.
Thirty minutes, one hour, an hour and a half, two hours…
The afternoon came with no further attacks. This was a similar pattern from the last Day of Corruption. Back then, Yamamoto-san prevented me from helping my villagers, but this time my enemies couldn’t lay a finger on me. I was a world away.
“Are they saving up their forces for one big final attack?”
I doubted that the two persistent and calculating corrupted god players I met in Hokkaido would go for a straightforward frontal attack. I pulled out my phone and checked the village and surrounding area from above. If I couldn’t fight, I could at least do reconnaissance.
There were no monsters near the fence, but when I looked deeper into the forest, I saw something wriggling between the trees. Zooming in, I saw countless creatures. Not just black wolves—there were green goblins and a one-eyed red goblin. And yellow goblins, which I’d never seen before.
“Murus!” I called up to the closest watchtower. “There’s monsters hiding in the forest!”
Murus put her hand to her forehead and squinted out into the distance. Her suspicious frown turned to surprise, and she started ringing the bell that hung from the tower’s ceiling as loudly as she could. “Enemies! They’re closing in! Everyone take your emergency positions!”
The villagers burst into action, no longer idling about. Elves climbed the watchtowers, and Gams and the close-ranged fighters took up their station in front of the village gate. The villagers who couldn’t fight returned to the designated shelter tent. The elves readied their bows, and Gams handed out spears. He crouched and looked out one of the spyholes in the fence.
The message, “The Day of Corruption’s final wave!” flashed up on my phone.
I turned away from the village gate and rushed back to my tent. Two villagers stood by the entrance, glancing around warily as they started to go inside.