The demon lord's massive army was already at the city walls.
Before they could begin their attack, all the villagers quickly gathered on the wall, and Allen began giving instructions.
One of the adventurers standing nearby asked why there were civilians up there, and her friend told her to look at them. They were holding something strange.
Allen explained to the townspeople how to use the flare gun, and Hina and Naoki were in great anticipation, so happy that they would finally get to shoot one because of this.
Allen told them just not to drop it, and the adventurer noted with a smirk that the two of them were indeed excited. She wondered what kind of pathetic clan they were from. Seeing that the three of them were from the Holy Guardian clan, she was very surprised and exclaimed, wasn't that a super large clan?
Her friend said that even if it was a large clan, the members were all of different levels. If they were sent to such a remote place, they must be some kind of scum. The spearmen were okay, but this craftsman annoyed him. He was only level 28.
Allen finished his briefing at that point. He turned to the demon lord's army and thought: is this just the remnants? There were an incredible number of them, apparently around level 50.
The soldier captain raised his sword and warned everyone that the remnants of the demon lord's army were approaching, and they should prepare long range attacks and take positions.
The civilians prepared themselves, as did the adventurers. As soon as the captain gave the order, they opened fire.
Numerous flares flew into the thick of the demon lord's army, and a huge wall of flame rose into the sky.
Naoki cleared his throat and exclaimed that this explosion was so incredible, and Allen's level immediately increased to 30.
When the smoke cleared, the soldier captain was shocked by what he saw. Half the enemies had been destroyed in an instant.
After this volley, the reloading began. The civilians worried that they wouldn't be able to use their flare guns again, and Allen told them to just wait a second. The reload was complete, he warned, and they immediately opened fire again, smiling as they said there was nothing to fear with this weapon. It was so satisfying to see enemies being blown away all at once.
Watching the incessant explosions, the adventurers were amazed. They had never seen anything like it. The soldier captain even became nervous. He had known the power of the weapon this man created was immense. But just imagine it, used by a large group. The clearing power was so great.
Allen approached him, warning that the enemies who had escaped the attack were getting closer, and that his orders were needed.
The man glanced down. Some demons had already begun to dismantle the walls, and he ordered the villagers to retreat. They could handle the rest. He ordered the archers to prepare, after which they opened fire, while the hired adventurers simply sat idle.
One of them somewhat disappointedly noted that their turn wouldn't come, and his friends said that apparently the Artisan from a large clan really was something completely different.
After a while, the soldier captain victoriously punched the air and exclaimed that the remnants of the demon lord's army had been destroyed. The battle had ended without casualties. A historic triumph.
A joyful roar was heard from the city walls, and everyone immediately rushed to praise and thank Allen for his help, because thanks to him, the battle had been over in the blink of an eye. Now he was a hero.
Hina approached him and asked if something was wrong. He didn't look happy at all.
He told her that he had missed a rare chance to level up, and she asked in confusion, hadn't he leveled up to 30? He had leveled up during this battle.
He replied that given his level and the number of enemies, he should have leveled up at least ten levels, if not for the restrictions.
She understood what he was talking about. The novice trial. When an adventurer reached level 30, they could take the novice trial at the royal capital's Adventurers Guild. The system was designed so that you could not raise your level above 30 until you passed this trial.
Barring this event, the opportunity to destroy a huge number of enemies at once would most likely not appear again. If the attack by the remnants of the demon lord's army had happened just a few days later, he would have raised his level much further.
Lady Olivia climbed the city walls and applauded Allen, praising him for his excellent work. The adventurers were already starting to drool over her. One of them said that this woman was truly beautiful, and his comrade called him an idiot, which she could hear.
Olivia looked at the battlefield and said that she had come to see the power of firearms with her own eyes, but was shocked when she heard that the battle was already over. Besides, the weapons he gave out were different from the one she had received, right?
He replied that given the situation, he had specialized the weapons for area attacks. Was that a mistake?
She replied that it was not so at all. Thanks to him, defense by the citizens had become possible. Though from now on, they would be terminating contracts with all defense clans except the Holy Guardians.
The adventurers' faces immediately turned worried, and she added that as for the Holy Guardians, they would triple their contract fee as payment for the use of the created weapons.
Naoki and Hina were very happy and began praising Allen, and one of the adventurers went to the lady to voice his complaints. Wasn't terminating contracts with them too much? If she did this to them, small clans like theirs wouldn't be able to survive.
She asked coldly what that had to do with this city. They had sacrificed a lot to maintain contracts with the defense clans, and if those clans were no longer needed, terminating the contracts was only natural.
The townspeople agreed with her. They were barely making ends meet because of the costs of maintaining them. The only reason they'd had to fight themselves was because those clans were useless. They started calling them tax thieves and ordering them to leave the city, and so on.
Olivia raised her hand, and everyone fell silent. She said that she couldn't claim they felt no guilt. So, as a small apology, they would pay their teleportation costs. She thanked them all for their service.
That adventurer's face darkened. He became very nervous.
Hina worriedly asked whether they had just taken their colleagues' jobs. Naoki confirmed it, and Olivia asked them, they had nothing to worry about, right? It was true that because of Allen, other clans had lost their contracts. But thanks to him, all the residents of this city had found peace. Just look at their faces. They had brought smiles back to the city, so they should be proud of that. Let them continue like this and bring smiles to all the cities, fighting against the remnants of the demon lord's army.
Her words encouraged them.
And that adventurer heard her, and thought: if Allen spreads the weapon he created to other cities, then we really will be out of work.