Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

A streak of light had appeared out of the blue, stretching up high before making a sharp turn and advancing horizontally, connecting to a floating island.

From high above, next to the streak of light, what looked like a procession of ants moving through the wetlands was visible.

The small dots lined up for as far as the eye could see.

They looked like ants from that height, but from nearby they were actually carriages pulled by water buffaloes, with people and children riding in them.

They were not humans, their ears looking like fins.

Their hair was blue, cyan hair, and their foreheads, chins, and limbs were covered in patches of scales.

A thin membrane joined their fingers and toes, like webbed feet.

They were mermaids, though they walked on two feet.

Their clothing and appearance made it look like there were both city and townsfolk there.

Other mermaids in armor, soldiers, marched next to the convoy of carriages to defend it.

It looked like a thin line from afar, but it was actually more than ten people wide.

There were easily hundreds of thousands of people there, maybe even millions.

They had all left their homes, as if something was chasing them, running away towards the west.

A group of beastmen followed at the end of that long convoy, the eastern extreme.

Their leader was a tiger beastman, wearing an overcoat with red and golden accents that stood out.

She looked like a young adult, her facial features having reached maturity only recently.

Underneath the overcoat she wore light leather armor, made mainly for mobility. Her hair was blonde with black stripes, and her eyes were brown with a yellow accent.

A soldier with an enormous hammer and heavy armor rode next to her, talking with her.

He was a rhinoceros beastman, a magnificent horn growing from his head, and even while atop his horse it was clear he was at least twice as large as the tiger beastman.

"Lady Shea, we lost 42 men last night. We won't be able to hold out at this rate."

The tiger beastman he was talking to was Princess Shea.

It could be gleaned from his conversation that they had been attacked the night before, and were resuming their evacuation this morning.

After that fight, the rhinoceros beastman seemed keen on establishing a new strategy.

Princess Shea also made many questions back, trying to understand the situation better.

"I see, they perished while upholding their orders. We shall mourn them as heroes."

"Yes, of course."

"Those fiends never seem to rest, attacking under daylight or moonlight all the same. Are there any wounded, Commander Lud?"

Shea said that while looking at the streak of light above them in annoyance.

"That should be no issue. I've ordered that anyone who gets bitten reports to me directly. And we have plenty of resources from Clebeur's royal house now."

After informing her of how they were dealing with the monsters, Commander Lud spoke about the country's government.

"Oh, we sent the request last night and it already arrived. They truly work fast here. Though well, they are pressed for time, so it makes sense."

"Yes. His Majesty also wanted to talk with you, milady."

Clebeur's king wanted to talk with Princess Shea.

"I see. Take care of the troops in the meantime then."

Shea grinned, her canine teeth standing out, and sunk her heels into her horse's sides to advance through the convoy.

As she moved away from the very end of the convoy, a group of mermaid soldiers came into sight.

Amidst them a large carriage the size of a house was being pulled by around ten water buffaloes.

From afar it looked like a portable shrine being pulled along by ten buffaloes.

When the soldiers noticed Princess Shea was nearing them, they moved aside and guided her.

The carriage had a step protruding on one side, where she had to dismount her horse and get into the carriage.

Shea easily jumped off her horse and into the step, opening the door. Inside she found a strong-looking merman, who was just starting to age. There were many servants around as well.

He sat with a crown on his head, he was the king of Clebeur.

Nearby were other mermaids who were likely the queen and princess. The entire royal family was traveling in that carriage.

"Oh, you're here. Please sit here, Princess Shea."

Without moving from his seat, the king spoke to Shea.

She nodded and sat in front of him.

"While I'm here, let me express my gratitude for agreeing to replenish our arrows."

After sitting down, she bowed as a sign of respect for the king of Clebeur.

She also took the opportunity to thank him for lending resources to her, which Commander Lud had informed her about.

"There's barely anything to thank there. I heard there was a fierce battle last night."

"Yes, I also lost many of my men."

"I-I see. Perhaps I should really add more of my soldiers to your ranks then? What do you say?"

The king spoke slowly, trying to convince her to agree to his suggestion.

That had also been the reason why he had called her.

"That would be helpful, yes, but the convoy is so long that we need many soldiers here to defend the people as well. You could be in danger as well, Your Majesty. If I may be bold enough to ask this as well, I'd like to request you move further ahead in the convoy so we can fight a bit more freely."

It was true that many of Shea's men had been killed because Clebeur's soldiers did not offer much support.

But if more of them joined the beastmen, the people and the king would be less protected.

She knew that by putting herself and her men in danger, many more people were being saved.

On top of that, she felt like the king was too exposed so far behind in the convoy, so she asked if he could move further away from the end.

"Y-you have a point, but protecting the people is the duty of a king as well."

He answered by saying that remaining behind was his way of keeping the other people safe.

"That's commendable for a king. But please don't worry about that. Three more days and we should arrive at the fortified city. My country has already set foot to help an allied nation, so reinforcements and supplies have been dispatched to the fortified city. There's little to worry about now."

The long convoy was headed towards a fortified city.

There was a reason why they were traveling along the streak of light.

If they went straight to the west, they would arrive at the fortified city.

It would only take three more days, so Shea insisted on taking care of it alone.

She also made sure to put extra emphasis on the word 'allied'.

"A-allied? But I still haven't signed an official treaty with Albahar..."

"You haven't? But my men have been shedding blood and their lives for Clebeur because we're allied?"

Shea expressed how the spilled blood of her men or Clebeur was nothing cheap.

"B-But I'm sure you must be aware that my country can't form such alliances with other countries so willfully. We don't have the authority from the Empire..."

"I realize you have different rules as a different country, and I'm ignorant of many customs. But we didn't need the Prostia Empire's permission to see you as an ally. And I don't see where in the treaty tying you two it's stated that we'd need such permission."

Shea knew the details of the treaty appending Clebeur to the Prostia Empire.

"Wha-?!"

"It's alright, I'm sure the Prostia Empire can wait a bit before they hear about it."

Princess Shea's voice whispered casually, almost like they were talking about introducing her to a friend.

"The Prostia Empire has never offered such an offer to any other country. I won't betray their trust now."

The king did not want to sour relations with the Prostia Empire by one-sidedly forming alliances with other countries, or introducing them to the empire without consulting first.

"There are exceptions to everything. Aren't things a bit complicated between you two already? In the Holy Land I kept hearing rumors that there was a lot of internal conflict here, but that the empire kept the connection since they have no other trade routes with the continent."

"W-who would spread such lies!! M-my country would never betray the Prostia Empire!!"

Hearing that angered the king in great measure, pushing him to raise his voice.

His servants reacted quickly and brought him some water to drink.

"Rest assured, I'm aware that's likely a ploy by the Evil Cult. I knew handing their leader over alive was a mistake. A priest advised me to let them judge him first, maybe that was yet another ploy though."

Shea's gaze was fierce like a wild animal's.

She left her prey alive once, and now countless innocent victims paid the price.

Now she suspected the priest that advised her was also part of the Evil Cult.

"So it really is the Evil Cult and its followers that are attacking us now."

"I believe that might be so. While they've changed appearance-wise, many of our assailants were residents of Clebeur. Your Majesty might not be aware of its extent, but many people seemed to be dissatisfied with the country."

The Evil Cult had fanned the flames of insecurity in the country, making people believe the king was trying to rebel against the empire.

That was mainly a ploy by them, but some of the residents were taking radical sides.

Then the cultists transformed somehow, and began attacking indiscriminately.

"I-is that so..."

Everyone had fallen for their traps in one way or another, and now whoever remained was desperately trying to escape the country.

The king looked disappointed in himself for letting things get that way.

The queen and princess sitting next to him looked worried as well.

"U-umm, Princess Shea."

While the king fell silent, the princess raised her voice.

"Hahah, you can just call me Shea, Princess Carmin."

They were both princesses after all.

"I truly regret the blood your men spilled for my country. Please let me express my gratitude, and that of all Clebeur by extension."

As she spoke, what looked like a purple gem on Carmin's right arm began to glow.

"Don't worry about that. The Beast King and your honored father will discuss such matters at a later time. I'm in no position to accept such a gift."

Shea smiled, saying there was no need to thank her yet, and instead they should try to relax and wait things out.

"The enemy is here! Monsters are attacking again! A large army of them!!"

Shea heard someone shouting outside the carriage, announcing the attack from another wave of monsters.