Ellergest had planned something rather interesting to deal with the demons. Aside from the obvious spamming of strong long-ranged and wide-ranged holy light magic spells to deal with multiple demons at a time, there were other things that he had planned. He had thought that using the very environment like demons had shown to do was quite ideal.
Luring the demons towards traps that could shake them off and even drive their groups into separate and smaller groups could be the way they could win.
Ellergest, of course, had also considered asking for more troops from the Duke, but recently the Duke has stated he had no more immediate troops available, as the rest were being used to guard nearby villages and also the capital of the fiefdom. A Dungeon had emerged half a year ago and keeping the monsters inside of there at halt from coming out and making a Dungeon Break was as priority.
Because of this, Ellergest had to do with what he had at hand. The Villagers had approached him before he even had the idea, and he quickly realized that the "useless" spirits that many villagers had were not so useless in actuality. Many villagers had dirt-digging spirits that they used for their farms, which lacked combat capabilities.
Or well, that's what they believed rather fervently, even thought Ellergest realized they had a much better talent than they ever thought. Using his second spirit, which was also capable of digging and slowly manipulating dirt, he decided to set up a plan.
"Those Stealth Accessories you gave to us helped wonders, Lord Ellergest." Said Joan. He was one of the strongest hunters out there, after receiving a large wound and being healed by his son, Blake, he had to rest for several weeks, but now he was back up and stronger than ever before.
He had learned how to properly use his Rat Spirit, capable of digging and manipulating soil, alongside the other similar spirits that his friends also possessed.
They were given special and expensive magic accessories, often in the form of rings or bracelets, which conjured the Stealth Spell over people as long as Mana was given to the item.
The Hunters used their special hunting routes and evaded most of the demons, reaching the third layer and setting up special pits and traps underground through the usage of their spirits… and dozens of expensive Mana Potions. Ellergest ended investing a lot on them, but their work would prove to be useful!
"I had employed Joan and other Hunters and Villagers with special dirt-digging and soil manipulating Spirits, which all converged together into a team and went to the third layer using Stealth Accessories. They made countless traps and pitfalls in there, which are all marked in this map." Said Ellergest.
"I-Incredible… But even with Stealth Accessories, how come you were never attacked by the demons?" Asked Lukas. "We used them as well but at the end we…"
"It is easy, young Knight." Said Joan. "We have experience in these areas, we have been hunting monsters for years, since I was eight years of age that I went into the forest to hunt rabbits and other creatures.
All these hunters are my childhood friends, we all hunted together and learned from our mistakes… Although, many also died in the process, and recently, with the disappearance of the hunters… I felt like I had to do something other than attend my farm. For my family and my little son."
"I see…" Said Lukas. "I am happy to have such experienced people at our side. I hope we can get along in these times and in what's to come… I swear I shall do everything I can to aid this village and defeat as many demons… Even if it ultimately costs my life."
"Hahaha, don't sweat it." Said Joan, patting Luka's shoulders. "We got each other on this. I am also going. A lot of us are being given armor and better equipment… I haven't told this to my son, but knowing this, I bet he'll chase me around if I ever tell him that I am going to the forest to hunt demons and put my life on the line."
"Even the villagers…?" Asked Lukas.
Several other hunters entered the room, they were all childhood friends of Joan, strong hunters that had protected this village from wild monsters for many years.
"Of course, we might not have gone through the same training as you knights, but we surely can fight demons and monsters."
"Yeah, young man, leave it to us!"
"This is our village… There's no way we ain't going to help!"
"We are even willing to sacrifice ourselves if we can have a better chance at winning."
"We got our wives and children here… we can't just sit down and watch as you do all the work for us." Said Joan with a confident smile. Lukas and the other knights felt inspired by the hunter's words. They were all strong-willed men with iron wits, they had slain the horrors of the forest for years since they were children… Who could be more suited for this task than them?
"With that said, there are a few things that we must prepare…" Said Ellergest. He spent the next hour explaining many things to the knights and villagers, and when things finally ended, everyone quickly dispersed, to prepare for the crusade at long last.
Elizabeth remained at the side of Ellergest, concerned about her friend who had not come to see her for a week by now. She had already begun to develop strong feelings for him, but he had suddenly disappeared, it was rather obvious she would feel concerned.
"Papa, where could Blank be?" She sighed. "If we could have someone as strong as him with us… I am sure we could have higher chances of winning… But he's gone."
Ellergest sighed, fully aware that his adoptive daughter was already developing strong feelings for that mysterious and overly mature boy. He couldn't help it, she was a girl driven by her emotions, so its not as if he could force her to change how she thought.
"I am sure he'll come eventually whenever he realize what we are doing… Have some faith, Elizabeth." He said, petting her head. "He must be doing something important for now."