Chapter 159

In an instant, Meterion's gaze, who had been frowning, swiftly shifted to the side.

"While coming from the northern border zone to here, there were two huge plains. If the monsters want to escape from this peninsula through land routes, they must pass through those plains. But honestly, the Parren Army and the Knights of Hareth are a step ahead of the Council in terms of monster herding and mobility on the plains."

The commanders, whose attention had been diverted, also turned their eyes.

"So request support from them. Ask them to install barrier stones and defense lines on those two plains, and if there are any creatures trying to escape, ask for their help to drive them inward."

Hugo stared at him with a puzzled face. It was because he hadn't expected Leonardo to speak at this meeting. Leonardo, whose eyes met Hugo's for a moment, continued speaking without minding.

Leonardo cited the fact that when the first huge roar that shook the entire peninsula occurred, he had witnessed numerous hordes of Dermocas crossing the plain with Hugo, arguing that even the creatures that crawled underground had no choice but to pass through the plains for fast movement.

In other words, he mentioned again the necessity of a joint operation between the two countries, saying that if they just block these plains well, half of the defense would be successful.

However, at the same time, he said that the defense lines installed on the plains were ultimately for contingencies, and another countermeasure was needed to actually confine the monsters gathered around the mother body.

And as that countermeasure, he suggested the method of using the barrier stones possessed by the Council to create a circular formation surrounding a certain section around the mother body and encircling it. In short, it was to borrow the wisdom of the ancestors engraved on the stele and create a new "huge, everlasting circular formation."

"And whether the Dermocas will react to the queen's... no, the mother body's pheromones or not is not even a concern, because this is just a matter that can be solved by capturing a few Dermocas and dragging them in. In the first place, they always react to the ultrasonic waves of their own kind."

Isabella Roslin, the 12th Battalion Commander who had been listening while rubbing her chin, let out a small exclamation of "Oh ho" at his words. Everyone had been focusing only on whether the mother body could attract the monsters or not, forgetting the most fundamental fact that the Dermocas could call their own kind.

Afterwards, regarding the previous concern that the flying creatures might be the first to escape the peninsula, Leonardo added that there would be no need for them to break through the barrier because he had recently wiped out all the nests of the winged mutants.

At that, Hugo recalled the brutal sight of him grabbing the necks of the avian mutants and swinging them around, and remembered the fact that similar individuals had not been found since then.

Soon, as he looked around, he noticed the commanders already absorbed in Leonardo's words and listening attentively. What came to mind next was the confident face that said he would also join in on that adult conversation earlier.

Leonardo's appearance, not just joining in but dominating the audience, gradually made him feel a certain ambition inside.

Even if Flynn were to be placed in this position and told to express his opinion, he would show signs of nervousness to some extent, but although Leonardo seemed uncomfortable for a moment, there was no trace of tension at all when he actually spoke. As he had thought before, his spirit was exceptional in the first place.

'Is it because of the environment he grew up in, or is it innate?'

Although he didn't like the gazes, when it was actually necessary, he put on a perfect mask and presented excellent strategies.

When explaining previous events as the basis or example of an argument, he showed outstanding memory and observation skills, and his ability to apply it to the situation, along with his judgment, were all good. Lastly, he even had the noble spirit of throwing himself into danger to save others in moments of crisis.

In a way, he was a more excellent commander than anyone else present.

After finishing his speech, Leonardo naturally looked at the final decision-maker. Then, Hugo patted his back a couple of times without saying much. Leonardo had a dumbfounded expression as if that wasn't the reason he had looked at him, but Hugo, who had been passed the timing to speak, turned his head to Meterion.

"It seems we have sufficient countermeasures."

"..."

"Any other opinions?"

No one wanted to open their mouth because if they raised an objection in this situation, they would have to come up with a countermeasure equivalent to what had been presented so far.

However, usually even in such situations, it was Meterion who raised objections, but this time, he also remained silent. Everyone was dumbfounded, but they seemed to generally agree as it appeared the most concrete and positive among the opinions presented earlier.

Eventually, Hugo, who had examined the audience, turned his eyes to Bruno. Bruno, who had been observing the situation, opened his mouth to summarize when his eyes met the Commander's.

"Then, let's confirm the big framework in the direction we have discussed so far, and after wrapping up the meeting, I will separately send letters to the border garrison of Parren and His Grace Hareth through liaison officers. The next topic is related to the designation of troop deployment locations and the allocation of troops based on the contents discussed earlier."

At that moment, Javier Crow, the 7th Battalion Commander of the Southern Branch, raised his hand and spoke.

"I apologize for interrupting, but let's say we succeed in creating a circular formation with barrier stones and confining the monsters. Then, which unit will remain inside to eliminate them? Attacks from the outside won't work because they will be blocked by the barrier, so to eliminate them, we have to be trapped inside together, but wouldn't it be too dangerous if the monsters that were distributed throughout the peninsula are concentrated in one space?"

Generally, barriers had a bidirectional nature, so if one couldn't come out from the inside, one couldn't go in from the outside either. Moreover, the stronger the barrier, the denser the weave, and it was so solid that it could even block air, so attacks from the outside had no chance of working.

In other words, if this operation went as planned, someone had to stay inside and deal with the monsters. Some commanders, realizing the situation at Javier's point, belatedly raised their hands in agreement.

"...I have the same thought."

"Me too-."

Leonardo looked at the commanders' actions, which seemed like a game of wits, with displeased eyes.

'Cowardly bastards, you just don't want to go in yourselves, right?'

However, it was actually a dangerous task, and quite a few people raised their hands, more than expected, so Hugo, who had been scanning them with his eyes, rubbed his brows as the possibility of reconsidering the decision appeared. At that moment, Gray Scott, who belonged to the Operations Department and was the Deputy Commander of the 12th Battalion of the Southern Branch, raised his hand and spoke.

"Don't we have explosives brought for the purpose of setting traps? Rather than having a specific unit remain, if we install traps inside the barrier and detonate them, we can expect quite an effect, if not annihilation."

Then, another commander raised his hand and refuted.

"But didn't we agree to install barrier stones only in some sections since we can't install them all over a wide area? Even if we only lay traps inside the barrier, it will take a considerable amount of time to fill the entire area of the circular formation. Also, if the troops accidentally trigger them while moving, a chain explosion accident could occur. There's even a possibility that all the installed traps could explode..."

Leonardo frowned at the endlessly linked negative possibilities that were being raised.

It won't work this way, it won't work that way. Sitting and discussing as if they would stay up all night, it would be fortunate if a conclusion was reached today. He newly felt how amazing Agrizendro was for having such meetings almost every day.

While he was trying to take a peek at his expression out of curiosity, he suddenly felt a persistent gaze, and his head naturally turned in that direction. Then, he immediately regretted looking.

It was because Meterion was looking this way.

"..."

He always had his brows furrowed, so he didn't have a pleasant impression in the first place, but it was a very ambiguous gaze, whether he was just staring or glaring. Although his policy was not to avoid it if someone engaged in a staring contest, he judged that it was better to just avoid it now.

Leonardo threw his gaze far away, pretending not to meet his eyes with a hazy look. Nevertheless, he felt it persistently piercing diagonally.

At that moment, while trying hard to ignore it, a towering peak that he had accidentally cast his gaze upon caught his eye. Unlike other peaks with greenery between the rocks, it was desolate and dull, with thick red lava flowing down.

Seeing that, Leonardo narrowed his eyes. It seemed like he had found a way to put an end to this suffocating meeting.

"You know."

At the casually spoken voice, Hugo, who had been staring straight ahead, turned his head. Leonardo, who confirmed that he had turned to him, pointed his finger at the void where his gaze had last fallen and said,

"Can't we just blow up one of those?"

At his action of suddenly pointing during the meeting, the commanders sitting close to him all looked at the tip of his finger. Hugo and Meterion, who had been staring at Leonardo, were no exception.

Eventually, they matched what Leonardo had said, "one of those," with what was visible in the distance and fell into silence, at a loss for words.

"..."

Perhaps everyone felt a similar emotion, as the flow of the meeting was cut off and an embarrassing silence lingered. Someone expressed disapproval in a small voice, saying, "That's a bit..." Soon, what followed were murmurs of absurdity and chuckles of disbelief.

As everyone dismissed it as just a foolish story, Leonardo looked around in puzzlement. At that, Hugo cleared his throat and gave Leonardo a small smile.

While Leonardo was blankly looking at him, unable to understand the meaning of that smile, Delua, who had been looking into the distance and pondering his words, suddenly clapped her hands together at a thought that had occurred to her. It was a faster and more definite method than installing traps.

"It might actually be a good idea!"

At her excited voice, Meterion, who had turned his head to the front, looked at Leonardo, the initial speaker, and Delua, who was advocating for him, once each.

Then, he recited in a cold voice,

"They've gone mad."