Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Ire Ruins (6)
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[Chapter 102 - Ire Ruins (5)]
Screams and the sounds of traps activating echoed throughout the ruins, leaving Rashka flustered.
Unlike his earlier bold declarations, now that the ruins' traps had sprung, he could no longer maintain his composure.
"Run! Chase them!"
Arsen used his axe ability to force back the blocking knights and soldiers, clearing a path. Bazkal and Maroon, following close behind, swung their weapons to widen it.
They exploited the momentary panic to tear through the encirclement and give chase once more, but soon screams began rising from the rear.
Turning back, they realized the rearmost soldiers—two or three of them—were caught in traps and dying.
"Run! If you're not next to that guy, the traps activate!"
At someone's shout, the pursuers urged their Jin and mounts to full speed with every ounce of strength.
It was no longer a chase—it was a desperate bid for survival.
The knights on Jin poured extra mana into them forcibly, while those on mounts spurred their flanks madly with their heels, demanding more speed.
Their goal was no longer plunder or murder.
It was survival.
* * *
"He's here!"
A shout came from ahead. Arsen narrowed his eyes and focused on the destination.
At the end of the narrow passage, Eloise peered out with a worried expression.
He could also make out Rino and the other soldiers, Gisharan, the mages, and Bazkal and Maroon who had arrived earlier.
'Good, everyone's safe.'
The reason he'd told them to head to the room with the bodies was clear: it had to be one of the safe zones inside the ruins.
Not every inch of the ruins interior was trapped—spaces for rest between traps were inevitable.
And a space where bodies were neatly laid out and someone could lie down to write a chronicle? Obviously a safe zone.
"Everyone, fall back!"
At Eloise's command, they cleared a path in the center for Arsen to pass.
Arsen barreled past his comrades and out of the passage, immediately halting his charge and spinning around to dig Jin's claws into the ground.
Sparks flew from the floor due to the momentum, and he skidded nearly ten meters before finally stopping.
"Hoo, haa..."
Naturally, the despicable bandits trailing right behind him were pouring through the same passage Arsen had taken.
There was no reason to let them through as well.
"Attack!"
"Kill them all!"
A one-sided assault began against the oncoming foes.
First, Eloise and the other mages unleashed their spells in unison.
Lightning, explosions, flames.
None were lethal to knights, but they were plenty threatening to the soldiers.
"Magic!"
"Block it!"
Soldiers fell electrocuted, internals ruptured by blast shockwaves, bodies charred and screaming as they tumbled from their mounts.
Ignoring their subordinates' screams, the knights gritted their teeth and charged through the passage, batting away a few incoming spells.
Just as two knights were about to emerge first, Bazkal—who had been waiting—swung his greatsword.
The head of one defenselessly charging knight flew from its body into the air.
This proved the new greatsword Bazkal had acquired had excellent cutting power.
"Nice!"
Amid cheers, the other soldiers began pressing the surviving knights emerging from the passage.
Ordinary soldiers who could never match a knight one-on-one in normal circumstances.
But Arsen's soldiers were armed with swords capable of harming knights and shields that could block their attacks.
The pharmacist Gisharan lent aid as well.
He provided the soldiers with herbs akin to stimulants—temporary boosters that drew on stamina to enhance physical abilities.
Far from knight-level, but enough to surpass regular soldiers in strength and speed.
With seven such soldiers forming ranks at the narrow entrance, even knights couldn't dismiss them as non-threats.
For a fleeting moment, the knights fumed at mere mortals daring to block them, but two ended up wounded and retreating under the unexpected assault.
"Urgh..."
"No way—how are these grunts...?"
Unfortunately, they weren't granted time to grumble and regroup in the passage.
The walls began closing in from both sides at tremendous speed.
With the distance between Arsen and the passage already grown, the trap deemed sufficient prey trapped inside and activated.
"What?!"
"The walls are closing! Push forward, fast!"
With screams, the knights smashed at the shield wall in fury.
Rashka burst from the rear, shield raised and mana focused, unleashing a shockwave that shoved Bazkal and several soldiers back.
Through the gap, Rashka and another knight leaped out.
"Don't push too hard—fall back!"
At Arsen's order, Bazkal and the bounced-back soldiers didn't strain to hold formation and retreated.
The walls had nearly closed already.
Perhaps only 2 meters left—the closure so swift that the three knights and surviving spell-struck soldiers still inside were moments from being flattened into wall stains.
Then, a thunderous roar echoed from within the passage.
"Raaagh—!"
At the same moment, the walls halted.
"What...?"
As Maroon muttered, the two knights who hadn't escaped emerged.
One knight remained behind.
The massive hammer-wielder, Moru.
"Moru, bro!"
"Get out, quick!"
Incredibly, hammer-wielder Moru was using his specialty—immense superhuman strength—to hold back the closing walls.
True superhuman strength came paired with toughness to withstand it.
Among knights, his body was on another level of durability. Bones and flesh ground audibly out of alignment, yet it resisted the trap's pressure, maintaining space.
Wounded soldiers crawled or staggered out through that gap one by one.
"Nghhh..."
Confirming his comrades out, Moru groaned in strain.
The walls began inching closed in response.
"Raaaagh—!"
A roar or scream unknowable. That was Moru's final words.
Moments later, the walls met without even a handspan's gap.
Something inside crunched crushingly.
"Moru, bro..."
One knight called out in grief, but no reply came.
Staring at the tightly sealed walls, Bazkal muttered in a drained tone.
"What a real monster that guy was."
Truly monstrous strength deserving awe, and thus an all the more futile end.
"Now, time for us to talk."
Arsen spurred Jin forward toward Rashka's group.
Of their pursuers, only four knights and three wounded soldiers had made it to this safe zone with Arsen's group.
The power gap was clear.
"I'll throw your earlier words back at you—how about surrendering?"
"...Could we talk for a moment?"
Wiping sweat from his brow, Rashka bowed his head with a servile smile, his tone pleading.
In a way, it was admirably brazen.
"Talk? Sure. Drop your weapons first and hold out your hands nicely."
"That might be difficult..."
Rashka knew full well.
Surrendering here meant Arsen wouldn't let him live.
"I won't spout lip-service about sparing you. Surrender, and I'll kill you cleanly without torture."
"You damn brat."
Perhaps confirming intentions, even honorifics vanished.
Arsen gripped his axe tighter.
They could talk after subduing him.
"Don't kill the badly wounded—capture them alive!"
* * *
The fight ended rather anticlimactically.
Two knights were already heavily wounded from the soldiers' attacks to begin with, and the soldiers were magic-ravaged and combat-ineffective.
Rashka and one other knight had to carry the fight, but even together they were no match for Arsen alone—such was the skill gap.
To get used to the unfamiliar axe, Arsen leisurely dueled the two knights.
Meanwhile, Bazkal and the soldiers nearly lynched the wounded pair.
When it ended, Rashka and his two fellow knights lay alive on the floor.
Sadly, all missing one or two limbs, it wasn't a pleasant sight.
Looking down, Bazkal grumbled.
"Why not just surrender instead of tiring everyone out? You knew you couldn't win."
"True enough. My bad—I didn't think it'd hurt this much."
Rashka chimed in cheerfully, yet sprawled with both legs gone, blood pooling.
Victim of the invisible blade attack embedded in the wind axe, severing his knees.
Arsen rested his axe on Jin's flank and asked.
"So, why ambush us? Wait, I can guess the reason... But how'd you know we'd come here?"
Perhaps resigned to his fate, Rashka confessed readily.
He'd been after Zanak's relic, the wind axe.
This powerful weapon wasn't originally unearthed by Zanak—it was Rashka's father who found it, only for Zanak to kill and steal it.
Ever since, Rashka had stalked Zanak to reclaim the axe, but Zanak himself died dueling Arsen and lost it.
"So you did all this for the axe?"
"You wouldn't just hand it over. Can't buy it either."
True—such an axe wasn't for sale at any price. Who'd casually sell such a treasure, unless for an astronomical sum?
Even if willing, Rashka lacked the wealth or goods to pay.
For one without trade goods, the swiftest path to acquisition was theft or plunder.
"By that logic, didn't I avenge your father? Makes me your benefactor."
At Arsen's incredulous question, Rashka laughed merrily.
"I wanted my father's axe, sure. But no regrets over his death! He wasn't much of a dad."
Seemed a complicated family history.
Uninterested in details, Arsen changed tack.
"Anyway, how'd you know I'd come here?"
"Right after the duel, I put people on it gathering intel. You're tight with the Dawn Excavators, targeted the Mirror Ossuary, and linked with Tiger Claw—who'd visited Ire Ruins. Plenty to deduce from."
Impressive intel network.
The connections of the criminal underworld? Arsen listened, momentarily impressed.
Rashka coughed dryly, throat parched.
"Old unexplored ruins pique your interest? Next candidates: here or Wigon Ruins. I planted watchers for your departure, confirmed direction, called friends, then followed."
"Quite clever of you."
At Arsen's sarcasm, Rashka grinned proudly.
Exasperated, Arsen sighed.
"And from your earlier words, seems you had some personal grudge against me too?"
"Didn't like you. Here I am, scraping bottom at this age doing dirty work, and some kid's born with insane talent to beat Zanak? Jealousy, plain."
Arsen shook his head at Rashka's worldly gripe.
No point explaining. That he'd bled for this power, faced death multiple times? To the envious, success stories rang as boasts and lies.
Arsen asked more.
Anyone else knowing of the raid? Survivors at the entrance? Total numbers?
Rashka explained freely, resigned. Cross-checked with other prisoners, no discrepancies.
With all intel secured, Arsen gripped his axe and asked.
"Any last words?"
"...Can't you spare me?"
"Guess not."
Arsen raised the axe.
No qualms killing defenseless foes who deserved no mercy.
Rashka closed his eyes, murmuring. Arsen's keen senses caught tears pooling beneath the lids.
Irrelevant—he dismissed it.
"Ah, I wanna live..."
A skull-cracking thud, and Arsen's axe cleaved Rashka's head in two.
The other prisoners screamed and begged, but brigands earned no mercy.
Arsen nodded curtly, and executions began.
Soon, screams and groans filling the room fell silent.
Wiping blood and brains from the blade, Arsen glanced at Bazkal.
"Come to think of it, our first meeting was pretty similar, no?"
"Huh? Oh, well..."
Bazkal too had come for Arsen's longsword initially.
"Still, at least you were honorable."
That was the key difference.
Bazkal had challenged fair and square—"Winner takes all"—paid cleanly upon defeat.
No sneaky ambush.
Bazkal scratched his head sheepishly.
"Always felt bad about Rino."
"Good enough. Let's patrol and tally numbers. Everyone, assemble!"
Couldn't disarm traps lest survivors flee.
Two tasks remained.
First: circle the trap zone, count dead to confirm no escapees.
Second: loot the corpses for victory's spoils.
First doable now.
"Grab everything they had first. Distribute later outside."
"Got it!"
Issuing orders, Arsen eyed Maroon's stiffening face from moments ago.
Guessing his thoughts was easy.
'Trouble...'
Maroon might act the fool usually, but he couldn't miss that Arsen had manipulated the ruins to crush invaders. Anyone not a child would see it.
Without a truth-laced-with-lies explanation of how, Maroon's trust would shatter.
Losing that meant losing Starburmi detachment support—about a third of forces.
Worse, the Starburmi backers entirely.
"You look like you have questions, Sir Maroon."
"Yes. A bit..."
"Let's talk privately."