After long grueling hours of carriage travel and as the sun set, it finally stopped, allowing the group to get out and stretch their stiffened bodies.
They were in a space clear of trees, with several rocks sticking out of the ground and a view of the towering mountains nearby.
"We'd better start settling in." -Zoe said.
The others agreed and began to pull out the things they had brought for the War Game and take them to the tent that stood in the center of the vacant area they were in.
"I see you have arrived."
Coming out of the tent was a boy with a strong build, surpassing even Welf in height. He had black hair and eyes and a robe with purplish-black colors, typical from The Far East.
"Ouka-dono, you could have come along with us." -Yamato said when she saw him.
The boy was Kashima Ouka, captain of the Takemikazuchi Familia and the additional member who would join them in the War Game.
"I preferred to come early and start setting up together with the helpers." -He said, pointing to the various people who were finishing setting up camp.
"Zoe why are you hiding behind my back?" -Welf asked confused by her casting.
"You didn't forget the punch I threw in his face, did you?" -She said embarrassed.
When they reencountered the Takemikazuchi Familia on the 18th floor after they were used as monster parade bait by them, it was true that they sincerely apologized, and even if it was true that they accepted their apology, Zoe had to have at least a little revenge for almost dying.
"Indeed, it was quite a punch." -Welf nodded.
"True."(Others)
It seemed that the talk between Welf and Zoe had been heard by the others, making her even more embarrassed, but Ouka gave the coup de grace.
"It was a perfect punch, if you were not a sorceress, I would say you would have a natural gift in the box."
He said, trying to cheer her up, but it only ended up making things worse, causing Zoe to cover her face in shame and the others to laugh in clear-headedness, so much so that it seemed like they wouldn't even have to fight in a fully disadvantaged battle.
---Camp of the Apollo Familia---.
On the other side of the forest from the Hestia Familia, a large number of tents were finishing being set up, while the various adventurers went about their respective tasks.
"Hurry to set up the tents."
"Luan carry this cart to that area."
"Another one?! It's already the third one today!" -said the exasperated pallum boy.
"Less talk and more work, it's not like you'll be that useful in a fight."
"Hahaha!"(the others)
Luan, or rather Lili in disguise, muttered annoyed, but even so, she began to carry the cart. She had done a good job of imitating Luan's character; in fact, no one seemed to suspect her.
When she reached the area where she was to leave the cart, she looked around to see if anyone was watching her, and then headed for the tent where they were preparing dinner.
"What are you doing here?" -A kitchen worker asked.
"They told me to come and help out." -Said Luan(Lili)
"...Well, actually we are a little late, help cut these potatoes."
As soon as he gave Luan the task to do, the attendant went off to do other tasks.
As Lili carried out her role, she was analyzing the environment to decide which was the most appropriate place to put the potion Zoe had given her, when she saw a large pot where the ingredients were put, making it her target.
She checked the other people, and when she saw that no one seemed to be paying attention to her, she took the small bottle she had inside her bag, removed the cap, and slipped it into her sleeve, making sure that the liquid inside did not fall out. At that point, she began to carry the potatoes she had cut toward the pot, and as she dropped them in, she lifted her arm slightly so that the potion would also go inside.
When she saw that the liquid no longer flowed out and that no one noticed anything, she casually walked away and approached another attendant to receive his next job.
'Now I just have to wait.' -Lili thought as she was forced to clean the dishes.
Meanwhile, in the tent that stood in the center of the camp, there were three people. The one sitting with his arms crossed and with a bored expression, had a lanky appearance, with long brown hair put up in a ponytail and grayish blue eyes, was the captain of the Apollo Familia, Hyakinthos Clio.
"Is that all you had to tell me? To be the ones to attack when we don't even need to?"
"E-eh, w-what I wanted to say w-was..."
"Enough, you're boring me, get out and don't bother me about such stupid matters."
Hyakinthos did not even give the girl time to express herself, signaling for her and the other to go outside.
"Huue, m-I'm sorry Daphne, because of me-"
"Forget it, it's not like I had that much desire to talk to him." -said the other girl.
The two girls although they were friends and both beautiful young Level 2 women, they looked like complete opposites. The first, Cassandra Ilion, who specialized in healing magics, had a shy and awkward aura, and her long blue hair, which covered part of her face and one of her light green eyes, emphasized her disposition even more.
The second, Daphne Lauros had a calm and serious disposition that naturally instilled trust in others, and her short dark red hair and sharp light yellow eyes made her easily noticeable compared to others.
"But I can understand the reason behind her annoyance with your proposal, after all, it makes no sense." -Daphne said.
"I told you about my dream in which we lost, why won't you believe me?" -Cassandra asked depressed.
Cassandra could see visions, and although she had tried to convince others, it seemed that no one believed her because most of the time they turned out to be wrong, but that was not Cassandra's fault. Her visions were a set of images, symbols, or poems, which she had to decipher to understand what it was referring to.
Watching how Cassandra was on the verge of tears, Daphne sighed and turned to her.
"Cassandra, try to think, there are 100 of us and 6 of them, which means on average each of them should fight 16 of us, does that seem possible?"
"No, b-but-"
"Besides, they don't even have a level 3, their chances of victory are zero."
Interrupting Cassandra, Daphne finished explaining and left, since she had other things to do, leaving the poor Cassandra to mope even more.
"The whole thing would make sense if we didn't have a trojan horse in our camp, hueee."
Time passed as the last things were finished being arranged when a large screen appeared above the camp.
"I AM G-"
"Ganesha, everyone knows who you are, get to the point."
From the screen could be heard the voices of the various gods, who had run out of patience at hearing Ganesha's exclamations.
"Cough, good. We've given both Families enough time to settle down, so from now on, let the War Game begin! But remember the most important thing, I AM-"
Before he could finish speaking, the screen disappeared, signaling the start of the games, but no one from the Apollo Familia seemed too worried, since they knew it would be rather difficult for the opposing Familia to strike now that it was getting dark. According to the hypothesis, they would start attacking in the morning when they were more tired after the guard shift.
Even so, there were still sentries scattered around the camp, checking the state of the forest, where the enemies would arrive. So time began to pass and the sky, which was already orange, began to get darker and darker, but the area around the camp was well-lit thanks to the various flashlights there.
"Hahaha, I win this round."
"Tch, you lucky bastard. Man, it's your turn to draw."
Three people were playing cards near a bonfire, and when one of them touched the other to keep him playing, the latter fell to the side while snoring heavily.
"What the... 'huaaa' why do I feel so tired?"
The man's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, collapsing shortly after into dreamland, along with the other person who had won the previous round.
"I think it's time."
Lili, who until then had remained hidden in the tent, watched the affair, making sure that the narcotic had begun to take effect, in fact, she could see the other adventurers had begun to yawn and struggle to stay awake.
She took a torch and lit it with the campfire, and then began to slowly walk away from the camp. As she walked away, she could see some of the sentries already collapsed on the ground, so she had better hurry. Turning toward the direction of the forest, she began to move the torch circularly a couple of times, when from the forest she saw a light flickering on and off.
Seeing the signal, Lili turned off the torch and moved even further from the camp, not wanting to end up in the range of Zoe's magic.
'I've done my jobs guys, now it's your turn.'
It was time for the Hestia Familia to begin their attack.