Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Subterranean People (3)
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[Chapter 150 - Subterranean People (2)]
The first question they heard upon meeting the underground humans, the subterranean people, was whether they were slaves of the Olmu.
Arsen responded in a calm tone.
“We’re not slaves of the Olmu. We’re their enemies. Perhaps the same as you.”
“Mister, this guy’s talking weird. Suspicious.”
One of the subterranean people picked at Arsen’s manner of speech. He was a soldier with a crossbow, and from his ambiguous voice that seemed to have just passed puberty, he looked like a young boy still.
Perhaps finding this attitude rude, Bazkal beside him bristled and shouted.
“Punk, watch your mouth! This guy took out everyone who was here!”
“Shh! Are you crazy? What if the Olmu hear...”
The knight who had stepped forward first whispered in horror.
Arsen subtly shook his head and said.
“For now, let’s talk somewhere secluded. It seems we’re both in a bad spot if the Olmu find out.”
“...Alright.”
The way he accepted so readily suggested they believed their own forces weren’t at too much of a disadvantage.
There were three knights on this side, but the other side had soldiers armed with crossbows as well.
Arsen saw no need to correct that misconception.
By the time they left the central passage and moved through the side passages, they had exchanged names briefly.
“I’m Timak.”
“I’m Arsen.”
“First off, my apologies for earlier. Apologize, Ajim.”
The boy called Ajim scowled as if his pride was hurt, but soon bowed his head with a sullen expression.
As Bazkal started to get angry again at that forced apology, Arsen stopped him with a glance.
Then, looking at Timak, he made a request.
“First, show us your tongues. We’ll show ours too.”
When meeting strangers, it was customary to check the root of the tongue first.
But at that demand, the other side replied as if it were absurd.
“Suddenly asking to see our tongues? What’s that about?”
“Raiders... I don’t know how you call them here. Don’t we need to confirm if you’re humans corrupted by drinking magic beast blood? If you want, we can show ours first.”
“What’s the problem with drinking magic beast blood?”
Arsen frowned at the incomprehensible answer, and the knight shook his head before sticking out his tongue.
“Fine, whatever. Like this?”
“You need to show the root.”
With an expression like this was some foolish game, he grabbed his tongue with his fingers and lifted it high. Then, he ordered his subordinates watching to do the same.
Since all their tongue roots were a healthy crimson, Arsen, Bazkal, and Anun removed their helmets and showed theirs as well.
“Satisfied?”
“Yes. Confirmed.”
From Timak’s expression as he asked, he seemed to treat it as some bizarre custom of foreigners.
The next question proved it.
“If I may ask carefully, your speech and customs seem quite different from ours. Even that metal vehicle. Are you perhaps from beyond the Olmu’s territory?”
“Beyond the Olmu’s territory?”
“The other side of the area the Olmu occupy. We’ve heard people live there, but I never thought it was true.”
They apparently took Arsen for underground dwellers like themselves as a matter of course.
After a moment’s thought, Arsen answered honestly.
“We came from the surface. Up there.”
At that response, astonishment spread among the subterranean people like an invisible wave.
Observing it carefully, Arsen slowly relaxed his muscles.
If they tried to turn hostile for religious or customary reasons, he planned to kill or subdue them all.
But their reaction was different from what Arsen expected. Fortunately.
“The surface really exists?”
“I heard it’s a hell no one can live in!”
“Amazing, truly amazing!”
No hostility showed on their faces as they chattered to each other.
Instead, they began bombarding them with questions, marveling as if at exotic animals.
“What’s the surface like?”
“How did you get down here?”
“Are there Olmu there too?”
“Is the sun really that bright?”
A flood of questions poured out.
Arsen subtly pushed Anun and Bazkal forward to field them instead.
Then, he asked Timak, who seemed to be their leader.
“Are you their leader?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you know how long it’s been since humans started living underground? And why they live here?”
At the question about their origins, Timak shook his head.
“No idea. Probably no one does. There used to be books recording history long ago, but they’ve all been lost. We just know there was a place called the surface and that we came down from there.”
“Why?”
“There are many stories. Some say we committed sins, others that we fled here from demons on the surface...”
His tone was like an old man reminiscing about ancient times. His face was hard to age, but at most in his forties, it didn’t suit him.
“If that’s really why, our ancestors were real idiots. Even if demons exist, could they be worse than those filthy Olmu?”
His voice carried deep fear and resentment.
“By the way, why’d you ask to see our tongues earlier? Do surface folk believe magic beast blood turns people strange?”
At that question, Arsen explained what he knew about raiders.
Timak shook his head, unable to comprehend.
“Strange. First I’ve heard of it. No reason to drink magic beast blood anyway, and even if you did, unless it’s a poisonous species, it should be harmless...”
It seemed one difference between surface and underground, though Arsen couldn’t guess why.
Mid-conversation, they arrived at the hideout where the main force was stationed.
The one who came out to greet them was Maroon.
“You’ve arrived, Sir Arsen! Oh, these are the people we saw back there...”
As Maroon revved up to chatter, the subterranean people showed an unexpected reaction.
They dropped to their knees all at once, bowed toward Maroon, and shouted loudly.
It was a startling shift from their earlier fear of even slight noises alerting the Olmu.
“We pay respects to the great mage!”
“Huh?”
Maroon asked back in a dumbfounded voice.
As the commotion drew other mages over, the subterranean people prostrated themselves almost to fainting.
“No, so many mages... Truly blessed...”
Some were so moved they burst into tears, while the others’ faces showed a strange mix of awe, emotion, and fear.
It took a few minutes, and Maroon personally persuading them, to get the kneeling subterranean people back on their feet.
They had calmed somewhat, but they still beamed with joy at the dozens of mages present.
Even at the other knights and the combat puppets, for that matter.
“With so many mages and guardians too, we’ll be much safer from the Olmu threat now. This is good, truly good!”
Timak’s face looked so happy, he seemed a decade younger than when they first met.
They hadn’t even discussed cooperating or helping each other yet, but perhaps they assumed fellow humans would naturally do so.
Arsen directed a question at him.
“Are the Olmu weak to mages?”
“Of course. Our guardians hold the Olmu, and the mages strike. Basic tactic. If there are enough guardians up front, one mage can kill dozens of Olmu.”
The Olmu apparently had little to no magic resistance, or at least not much.
Considering their superior physical abilities, mages would be more effective against Olmu than knights.
While a knight slashed at one or two nearby, a mage could sweep dozens with fire and lightning.
“Do you... not feel that strange sensation when you see mages?”
“Of course we do. It’s the curse they bear for wielding power beyond humans. It’s what they must endure.”
They seemed to have overcome their instinctive revulsion by near-worshipping mages, like brainwashing.
Or rather, sublimating disgust into fear of transcendent beings.
It could be called a successful case of mages and humans coexisting, but with one side unilaterally worshipping the other, it was hardly true coexistence.
“Don’t you have many mages among you?”
“Regrettably, no. And even fewer with combat-suited power...”
Naturally, innate healers like Grum wouldn’t be much use. They needed powerful attack magic to wipe out Olmu.
The absence of mages in their raiding party already suggested they lacked combat mages.
“Anyway, thanks for the info. We’ve got two Olmu captured, so time for some experiments.”
At Arsen’s words, the expression drained from Timak’s face.
“What did you just say?”
“Hm? We captured two...”
“Where are they!?”
He bellowed so loudly it hurt the ears.
Frowning at the rudeness, Arsen replied calmly.
“We’ve got them locked in a corner. But why...”
“Kill them now! Olmu can sense the location of living kin! They’ll swarm here soon!”
Arsen couldn’t help but be startled by his words.
He whipped his head around and ordered Rino.
“Rino, kill all the captives! Bazkal, tell everyone to prepare to move!”
Knowing the Olmu’s weakness didn’t mean they were ready for all-out war.
Thousands charging while unprepared would be trouble.
Bazkal and Rino responded to Arsen’s orders.
“Got it!”
“Understood!”
Shortly after they left, a scout on a mount came galloping from another passage.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Unknown force approaching!”
* * *
The incoming Olmu numbered around forty.
Unlike those around the fixed ballistae who only had blades, these were armed with crossbows.
Given their larger-than-human builds, the crossbows and bolts were long and thick.
Seeing their numbers and armament, Arsen sighed.
A sigh of relief.
‘Good. We can handle that easily.’
Likely seeing it as a guerrilla raid, the enemy hadn’t sent many.
Timak’s group would have died without resisting against that force, so it was excessive for them—but not for Arsen’s.
Even if the Olmu resisted magic contrary to Timak’s word, Arsen could take them out hit-and-run style.
“Grr.”
“Many foes!”
After charging in boldly, they halted upon spotting Arsen’s group, apparently shocked.
Whether they could detect mages was unknown, but they could visually identify the knights towering over normal humans.
With combat puppets added, over ten knights had them overwhelmed.
The distance between them was about a hundred meters.
Knights and Olmu could spot each other, but it was a bit far for magic to reach, so ordinary warriors and mages couldn’t see the enemy.
Arsen quickly ordered.
“Mages, forward lightning strike!”
After a moment’s confusion at attacking unseen foes, the thirty-odd mages thrust their hands forward in unison.
Unlike the wide central passage, this side passage was only about twenty meters across.
That many mages firing at once could blanket the whole passage even blind.
As spells formed and light surged from their hands, the Olmu cried out in surprise and aimed their crossbows.
“Block it!”
Knights, combat puppets, and soldiers stood before the mages, forming a wall of shields, weapons, and armor to stop the arrows.
Shooting began toward that iron wall.
“Ugh!”
Like a downpour of raindrops, dozens of bolts thudded against armor and shields.
Even without penetrating, their mass delivered heavy impacts, drawing groans from some soldiers.
But that was it—no bolts tore through metal into flesh.
Someone shouted in exhilaration.
“We blocked them all!”
Fortunately, their bolts weren’t as powerful as the fixed ballistae’s.
Now it was their turn to attack.
The mages completed their spells, and lightning stormed forth.
Just like against a magic beast pack.
Unlike the beasts that mostly survived weakened, the Olmu died helplessly under the lightning gale.
Considering a few knights could trivially handle that many, it was ridiculous.
“Whew...”
“It’s over?”
After the storm passed, a half-dozen surviving Olmu at the rear turned to flee.
Timak shouted at the sight.
“Don’t let them escape!”
Even without his warning, Arsen had no intention of letting intelligent, speaking beings relay their info.
Arsen and the other knights spurred their Jins and charged.