Chapter 376: With Will, With Flesh

“Inverted commas” didn't work? Would explosive packs work?”

Nini shouted as she tossed with all six arms in a flurry.

Mira’s response was much more unclear—her voice broke intermittently amidst the explosions.

“This... mm... should be fine.”

“Now that you’ve said it, I feel relieved.” Nini nodded and threw even faster, almost wishing she could wrap her tail around a few explosive packs and hurl them all at once.

Behind her, two Banshees were dedicated to supplying her with ammunition—with explosive packs—pulling them out from a box, lighting the fuse, then handing them to Nini. The very next second, the lit explosive pack would be flung straight into Mira’s face.

“...Could you not aim right at me?”

“Isn’t it most effective that way? You don’t want Blood Harbor to be doomed, do you? Just hold on a bit longer. I’ll blow you to bits soon.”

Mira fell silent. It was hard to tell which hurt more: the explosive packs or Nini’s trash talk.

Meanwhile, in the sea, Hughes observed the battle in real-time through the Mind Link.

Yet in his eyes, a faint concern lingered.

The battle against 【Compassionate Mother】 appeared to be going smoothly, but in truth, it wasn’t without its own set of troubles.

For colossal monsters like 【Compassionate Mother】, explosive packs naturally worked better than bullets—this was a lesson drawn from the Deep Sea War.

But during the Deep Sea War, Banshees could freely hurl explosive packs. Here, they had only just started using them.

It wasn’t that the Banshees disliked using them—it was just that transporting explosive packs was quite the ordeal.

These things weren’t waterproof, and transporting them came with far more risk than bullets. The Banshees had forcibly carried some over in sealed boxes, but the efficiency of carrying them was far inferior to bullets.

The explosives produced in Castel had rather volatile properties. Hughes knew several methods to stabilize them—like the classic use of diatomaceous earth—but in practice, he had run into repeated failures.

Even now, Castel hadn’t developed fuses reliable enough, which meant that the technological progression toward cannons remained stalled. Explosive packs, as an interim product, had stayed in use for far too long.

It was still manageable to use them near the islands, where there was no need for long-distance transport. But once transported elsewhere, all sorts of unpredictable issues arose, making them extremely restrictive in application.

Hughes suspected this might have something to do with Castel’s obsession over explosive yield.

Nini seemed to be pressing 【Compassionate Mother】 hard, but the supply of explosive packs obviously couldn’t keep up with her rate of consumption. Hughes had dispatched Banshees to transport more before arriving, but the total amount still wasn’t enough.

If they couldn’t kill 【Compassionate Mother】 before the next round of devouring...

On the battlefield, Mira began to sense that something wasn’t right.

Nini hadn’t run out of stamina—her throwing remained fast. But now she had to wait for explosives to be delivered from the sea.

Banshees moved swiftly underwater, but carrying massive ammunition boxes slowed them down considerably—especially when these boxes needed both waterproofing and shock absorption. Much of the volume was wasted on these features, making the supply chain appear strained.

After a little while, Mira found herself locked in a wide-eyed stare-off with Nini.

“...Why aren’t you bombing anymore?”

“No, no more explosive packs left.”

Mira’s face twitched again. She glanced at the weapon Nini had just dropped: “How about... shooting me with that Gatling gun instead?”

Nini hesitated, then shook her head. “That thing doesn’t do much anymore. It’d be better to let the other Banshees keep shooting. I’ll wait for more explosive packs—once they arrive, I can throw them at you immediately.”

Mira was silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice: “What are you planning to do? At this level, it’s very hard to kill 【Compassionate Mother】. After the next round of devouring, She’ll become significantly stronger—She’ll consume the souls of many mortals. By then, your... bullets probably won’t do anything.”

A hint of worry flickered in her eyes. “It’s better to proceed with the sacrifice as soon as possible. 【Compassionate Mother】 cannot be killed—only resisted with will.”

“Please trust me—this disaster was caused by me. I truly want to end it. Once 【Compassionate Mother】 grows, there has never been a case where She was slain by external weapons!”

“Now is the best time for sacrifice. If 【Compassionate Mother】 strengthens again, it will require an even greater sacrifice!!”

Mira’s voice became urgent. Just as she was about to continue, her body suddenly froze.

Her pupils slowly moved downward.

Beneath her, the black threads had begun to contract once more!

Everyone in Blood Harbor—soldiers and civilians, nobles and commoners—were all being dragged by those black threads toward 【Compassionate Mother】!

“Why so fast!?”

Mira muttered in a daze.

“Th-this isn’t right... it shouldn’t be time for the next round of devouring yet...”

She tore her gaze away from 【Compassionate Mother】 and looked around—her eyes finally fell upon the explosive pack in Nini’s hand.

“So that’s it. That’s it... you inflicted massive damage on 【Compassionate Mother】, forcing Her to begin the next contraction early. It’s over, it’s all over!”

People were being dragged toward the evil god at the pier. In the previous round, the dragging barely moved them a step—but now, people could barely stand. Many were directly pulled away, leaving behind strings of screams in the air.

【Compassionate Mother】 stood rooted in place, mouth agape, continuously swallowing the pulled-in victims. The pulling force only grew stronger!

Suddenly, She staggered—nearly toppling—as if something had yanked Her.

On the other side, The Prince clenched his teeth, jamming his sword into the cracks between bricks, bracing his body as he struggled against the evil god on the other end of the black threads. His face was twisted with effort.

It wasn’t just him—Galahad, Granny, Josh, Zoe, Kyle, and even The Prince’s soul suspended in mid-air had all tensed their bodies, pulling the black threads in the opposite direction of 【Compassionate Mother】.

Each one gritted their teeth, squeezing out every ounce of willpower to resist the distant evil god.

Combined, they made it extremely difficult for 【Compassionate Mother】 to drag anyone.

“Let’s all pull together!” someone shouted, and everyone gave a mighty tug.

【Compassionate Mother】 seemed to have her throat choked, stumbling back several steps under the counterforce.

So-called confrontation of will—it meant that if the will was strong enough, even the evil god could be pulled down!

And the people of Blood Harbor—those who had struggled to survive upon this chaotic land—they lacked everything but will.

The Followers of the Mother Goddess built high walls with their flesh, and the people of Blood Harbor—their will was like hardened steel!

The Mystics, the Church Guard, the Harbor Guard—people from all walks and factions—set aside their divisions at this moment, united together. Their shouts grew louder, and more and more joined the tug-of-war.

At this moment, there was no more nobility or lowliness, no more rich or poor—they all stood as humans, and with courage, with will, with everything they had, they roared in defiance of the evil god!