Chapter 82
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Invasion and Corrosion (11)
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"Agh, agh..."
The earth-shaking vibration, the house-sized beasts with black carapaces charging, filling their vision.
The sight alone was overwhelming. The charge of these unexpectedly colossal bodies shattered their formation in an instant.
"H-Hold your positions!"
"What in the world are those! Even the degenerate wyrms of Redrium, which we left behind, weren't that large!"
The commanders hurried to control their troops, but it was difficult. After all, these people had driven out the Ruin Fungus and taken control of the surface, only to be steeped in peace for a long time afterward.
War manuals from the days of fierce fighting before their migration still existed, but those who would execute the strategies had no combat experience whatsoever.
"Artillery! Fire! Magic direct-fire cannons!"
The panicked commander-in-chief, robes fluttering, directed them from atop his golem. The mage artillery battery hastily changed formation, this time aiming their magic circles straight ahead.
"Fire! Fiiire!"
The projectiles fired this way were larger and more densely concentrated magic bullets than those fired in an arc.
Their range was drastically reduced, but their power was maximized in return. They certainly had the force to shatter a thick castle wall in a single blow.
Thus, the commander-in-chief was also confident that the direct-fire cannons would inflict significant damage on those beasts.
'Insignificant creatures...'
But confidence was just confidence. Reality was different from what he wished.
"How is this possible?"
"Th-that... what in the..."
Without realizing it, he turned to look at the executive from the Stas Academy beside him.
However, the Stas Academy member, who was shaking his head blankly, was just as shocked and terrified.
"Then! What in the world am I seeing right now!"
The commander-in-chief, having lost his composure, finally erupted.
The cannonballs had clearly hit the massive beasts charging ferociously. He had definitely seen them explode with a fiery impact.
But the beasts, now cloaked in crimson-black magic and charging like a single spear, were swinging their huge, hard heads without taking the slightest damage.
That strange formation and magic. It was clearly a specialty of the Stas Academy.
"Agh, aghhh!"
"Everyone, run!"
In the end, the formation collapsed in an instant, even before the collision.
Naturally, at their current level, it was impossible to stop such monsters charging madly, no matter what they tried.
"Ah."
The commander-in-chief let out a low gasp.
Amidst the sight of people turning and fleeing frantically, what erupted from the front—spreading like a fountain with the shockwave—was a spray of bright red blood and chunks of flesh that were once human.
Just like that, the main force was ground up alive.
"Aaaargh!"
"L-Let go of me!"
In the wake of the relentless charge, those who managed to survive were immediately attacked by other beasts.
They were four-legged beasts with powerful muscles. They attacked the disoriented people, slaughtering them indiscriminately.
"S-Save me!"
But there were some that behaved strangely.
They attacked a few mages just enough not to kill them, leaving them covered in blood, then dragged them toward the rear.
"Hmph, these bastards! How dare they touch a mage!"
Seeing this and realizing the creatures were trying to abduct the mages, the enraged commander-in-chief slammed his staff into the ground.
He was from an academy that researched earth-related magic.
Stone pillars immediately shot out from the ground, sending the creatures trying to abduct the mages flying and impaling them.
'Don't tell me they also took the magic of the Stas school...!'
He broke into a cold sweat and looked around. All he could see were his screaming allies.
Only now did he realize that these monsters were not a simple pack of beasts.
On the chaotic battlefield, the super-sized species that had charged were turning their heads again.
Gritting his teeth, he straightened his back and glared at the being that had come to face him directly.
"You seem a bit special. Are you the leader?"
He aimed his staff, glaring at the superior species that had sought him out. Six eyes, glowing from the gaps in its armor, glinted indifferently.
The superior species aimed the crimson-black spear in its hand.
Its stance was now sharp and precise. Among the prisoners it had consumed were knight orders that trained in spearmanship.
"Hmm...?!"
Just then, he felt something strange and flinched.
A strange substance had spread through the air.
"Kugh...kuaargh!"
A soldier, his body covered in black veins and his eyes turned black, lunged at him.
There was no reason for the Legion not to use its most effective weapon when suppressing a large number of enemies.
"Using such pathetic tricks. So you are the successors to the Ruin Fiends!"
He jabbed the tip of his staff into the charging soldier's solar plexus, sending him flying.
Then he raised his staff, gathered his magic, and struck the ground.
A powerful storm of magic swept across the battlefield. In its wake, the infectious fungi, with their extremely weak defenses, were all annihilated.
"Even if you win this battle, you will never be victorious. Just as you were once annihilated by us, you will be driven from this land again."
His white beard fluttering, he pointed a finger at the superior species, his eyes flashing, and spat out the words as if chewing them.
It was as if he knew that behind the superior species' eyes, a mastermind—Eve—was watching.
Eve's lips twitched slightly, having received such a taunt—not the desperate thrashing of a dying foe—for the first time in her existence.
"Come, monster. Do you think the magic I, Austin Schultz of Seklad, have trained for eighty years can be stopped by the likes of you?"
He swung his staff and began to cast a spell.
The superior species, of course, gave him no opening, moving quickly to thrust its spear at his neck.
As if expecting it, he instantly canceled the spell and tilted his head back to dodge the spear.
At the same time, he cast a shield spell that could be deployed quickly.
A triangular blue shield materialized and collided with the superior species' crimson-black barrier.
"Even if I die here, the Academy and the Council are filled with those stronger than me. And you are weaker than I am. Do not underestimate magic."
Beyond the shields that shattered as they canceled each other out, he fired a condensed rock bullet, gathered at his fingertip, at the superior species' exposed chest.
The anti-personnel magic, focused on penetration, broke through the armor and instantly destroyed the superior species' power core.
"Hah."
He staggered as he looked at the fallen superior species' corpse. The mental toll had been too great.
If his judgment had been even a little slower, if his opponent had possessed even the slightest knowledge of proper magical combat, his neck would have been pierced on the first strike.
"...Still, I have to take down at least one more."
He muttered blankly and turned his body.
He had already given up on surviving. It was because of the giant beasts now charging toward him.
No matter if he was a sage-level mage, he couldn't face all of those massive creatures—whose very mass was a weapon—by himself.
'Just one more.'
So, with the sole intention of reducing their numbers by at least one, he cast a spell.
No matter how powerful a spell he cast on those colossal bodies, it would be ineffective. Therefore, he would attack a different part.
This was his thought, and the magic to realize it shot from the tip of his staff.
"That's it."
One of the giant bodies teetered, then began to tilt and collapse.
He had used his magic to turn the ground where the super-sized species was about to step into a thick swamp.
Thanks to its immense weight, the super-sized species fell into the trap instantly, flailing as it sank into the earth.
"With this... I hope it's enough."
His trembling legs gave out, and he collapsed, closing his eyes.
He had only dealt with one. Now, he and the remaining survivors would be trampled.
Feeling the immense vibrations drawing closer, he gritted his teeth.
"You can't!"
"Kuhk..."
Just then, someone rushed in, tackling him like a shield and saving him just as he was about to be crushed to death.
"You can't! The truth! We have to reveal the truth! We need your strength, Councilor!"
"Keuk... keoheok..."
After the super-sized species had passed overhead, Reina, who had jumped in at the opportune moment, excitedly shook his body.
"S-Stop..."
"The vice-chairman of Blakele, Roses Leblanc! He's the cause of this whole mess!"
"Stop shaking me!"
Finally, Austin, who had been coughing and clutching the chest she had rammed with her head, smacked her on the head with his staff.
Then, beside her as she groaned and held her head, he hastily got to his feet.
"Say that again. What did Leblanc do... no, first we need to get out of here."
Clicking his tongue, he cast a basic amplification spell and issued the order to retreat.
Reina supported him, using all her strength to help him escape.
Fortunately, the super-colossal species was as slow at turning as it was fast at charging.
Having gathered a very small fraction of his forces, Austin led the survivors in a hasty retreat.
The Legion soldiers stood there blankly, watching them go.
"What a shame."
[...Why not pursue? Using Rapid Growth, you can create enough forces for a quick pursuit.]
"Annihilating all of them would be difficult anyway, and more importantly, he dared to insult me."
Watching them retreat, Eve did not give chase.
[Strange. If the insult displeased you, shouldn't you pursue them?]
"No. If I do that, I can't pay him back in full. I'll fight him again when he's back at his full strength and crush him. And it's not simply a matter of emotion. I'm going to provoke them further to draw everything out of them."
There are many ways to gain experience besides capturing and torturing prisoners. Eve had already gained sufficient experience from this battle.
From that, she concluded she would push her opponents to their limits to extract information. After all, an opponent in a crisis will literally squeeze out every last bit of their strength.
And Eve's plan was to end their lives using the very techniques and tactics she acquired from them.
[Do you not think that is arrogant? Are you underestimating them?]
"It's not arrogance, it's calculation."
While she still showed torrents of emotion from time to time due to her immaturity, Eve's foundation was thorough calculation and prediction. She never would have started a fight she had no chance of winning in the first place.