Chapter 424: Welcome to the Land of Struggle.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 424: Welcome to the Land of Struggle.
“This operation is important.”
“We know.”
“You should all be aware by now that forces for the siege are gathering at the Wasteland Forward Base, and troops for the reclamation are assembling from all over at the Thornbush Valley Worksite.”
“Yes.”
“Our destination is the mine located in the upper levels of the Blackrock Mountains. We cannot confirm the exact number of troops stationed there, but analysis suggests the enemy's scale won't be that large, as the number of soldiers that can enter at once is limited.”
“.........”
“The number of troops ordered from above is exactly 500. You, who have been conscripted from various clans and guilds, will make a name for yourselves if you survive the conquest of the Blackrock Mountains. As soon as we reach the entrance, we will split our forces in two and descend. 250 will head for the passage to the prayer room, and 250 will take the main path. After completing our reconnaissance, we will rendezvous at Worksite 1, secure a foothold, and await the arrival of reinforcements while reorganizing our troops. Any questions?”
“The objective of this operation is...”
“The complete annihilation of the enemy. The order came down to handle this as quickly and swiftly as possible.”
Mark nodded. He felt like he understood why they were trying to move so quickly. Not many people knew that the country was currently in a state of considerable chaos. Rumors that a race called the Green Skins had arrived, established nests in various regions, and were hunting humans had already spread far and wide, but the fact that strategic footholds and worksites had been occupied was a truth only the clans and guilds involved were aware of.
'They must be in a hurry.'
The war hadn't even started yet. Nevertheless, the implications of these events were immense. It meant the enemy possessed mobility and a military strength that surpassed their expectations. Fostering anxiety was not a good thing.
Rumors were spreading that an army of humans and elves had already begun to advance, as if they had been waiting for a war to start. So, he could understand their desire to clean up the internal situation as quickly as possible.
'And production activities will become a problem, too...'
Mark muttered to himself without realizing it.
“Still, 500 men is...”
“That's not such a small number.”
“Ah. Jane!”
After the general briefing ended, he saw a familiar face on his way back. It was his friend, Jane.
“Why, Mark? You look a little anxious. Is something wrong?”
“No, it's not that.”
“Don't worry. The first attack wave's primary role is to clear the path to Worksite 1 and secure a foothold for the next wave of troops. Are you anxious because you might be on a different team than me?”
“Ah... it's not that, Jane. I just have a bad feeling...”
“Should I pull some strings for you?”
“There's no need. I don't want to hear any more gossip... Anyway, are you okay?”
Mark looked at Jane and spoke. He was extremely worried that something might happen to her for volunteering for a mission like this. Although they had been friends for a long time, there was an invisible gap in status between them. The Golden Saintess, revered as the greatest priestess on the continent. That was her station.
Normally, priestesses of her standing rarely participated in missions like this. Due to the continent's shortage of the priestly class, they were reluctant to deploy those with high divine power. Especially for such an unstable mission. Despite that, he never imagined the woman before him would so readily accept the proposal.
“It can't be helped. The entire continent is on edge, and I can't just hide away... Maria asked me personally... Besides, the nature of this operation requires a small group to be sustained for as long as possible, making a priestess essential. With several operations running simultaneously, it was probably an unavoidable choice.”
“Even so...”
“It'll be fine.”
Mark bit his lip slightly at Jane's smile. He was worried something might happen to her. But seeing her look so genuinely unconcerned, he began to feel the anxiety in his heart subside.
It was because he remembered who he was moving with. It wasn't just Jane, the so-called Golden Saintess. The expedition included promising talents from each clan, warriors who had already distinguished themselves on numerous battlefields, famous mercenaries, and celebrities whose names alone would make people nod in recognition.
'Though half of them are probably here because of Jane...'
He could probably say that more than half of them had signed up for the expedition with the goal of somehow forming a connection with Jane.
But there was no doubt that the skills of everyone here, including himself, were the real deal. He too was a veteran warrior who had rolled through many battlefields. A dungeon-clearing specialist, at that. The number of dungeons cleared under his name was already five. Looking at the lineup alone, it was by no means a weak one.
“So... are you going through the prayer room side, Jane?”
“Yes. It seems inefficient for 500 people to move at once. The entrance is too narrow, after all. I think so too, and both entrances aren't that far from Worksite 1. We should be able to meet up soon, Mark.”
Mark nodded at Jane's words. They were already at the very entrance of the Blackrock Mountains. After the final briefing, they would enter the worksite immediately. His mind needlessly filled with thoughts, he glanced up and saw the spire built from human corpses.
'Psycho bastards.'
To commit such an act, he couldn't help but feel that these creatures were not people, but monsters. It was only natural to think that the humans from the neighboring continent who allied with such monsters couldn't possibly be sane either. He felt he could understand why this country's leader had decided to launch this campaign.
“Well, I'm heading off first. See you in a bit.”
“Okay. Don't push yourself too hard.”
“That's what I wanted to say to you.”
She was the Golden Saintess. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips unconsciously as Mark began to slowly compose himself before entering.
Seeing that there was still no action despite reaching the entrance to the upper levels, the enemy was clearly waiting for them inside. It might be the instinct of monsters to create and define their own territory. Or they could simply be a race that specialized in ambushes in the dark, but one thing was certain: that kind of surprise attack wouldn't work on them.
“Mark. What are you doing? They said we're leaving soon, so hurry up and assemble.”
“Got it, Thomas.”
It was an embarrassing thought, but he found himself thinking that if this mission went well and ended properly, it wouldn't be a bad idea to approach Jane more proactively. If he could stand out by showing an impressive performance, that is.
“Alright, we will now advance. Alpha and Beta teams will begin moving into their respective passages.”
“Yes, sir.”
He glanced over to where the other group was gathered and saw Jane looking at him and waving. Naturally, his mood lifted a little. Mark gave Jane a slight nod in return and began to slowly enter the passage.
Just moments ago, some of them had been laughing and chatting, but once they actually entered the worksite, the atmosphere grew quite serious. The magical luminous orbs had all been shattered, and the worksite, with not a single point of light entering, seemed colder and darker than usual.
“Light.”
As someone chanted a spell, the inside slowly began to brighten. What came into view were corpses and blood. And sticky, dried blood.
“Damned... monster bastards...”
“Shut your mouths and move quietly.”
The low voice came from the front. It was the warrior who was making a name for himself in the North, known as the Warrior of the Iron Wall. He had wanted to meet him once, but he never imagined it would be like this.
'A little prickly, isn't he.'
It wasn't that he didn't understand. This was a hastily deployed mission without much prior investigation, and they were facing a new type of enemy, so that kind of reaction was to be expected.
The attack force began to advance slowly but steadily. Contrary to their expectation of traps or waiting troops right from the start, the entry was surprisingly easy. Then again, this was still just the entrance. It wasn't structured in a way that would allow for setting up anything or having troops lie in wait, and they could have even picked up the pace, but their speed of advance was slowing down even more.
This was because the vanguard leading the attack force was intentionally reducing their speed and moving cautiously. The reason was obvious. It was the atmosphere of this mine.
'The smell of danger.'
He was probably not the only one feeling this subtle atmosphere and magic. It was then.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack....”
A loud scream echoed out.
'Jane?'
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaack...”
“Prepare for battle! Priests... center on the battle priests—”
The voices continued to pour in. The group that entered the prayer room passage had clearly encountered the enemy. The voices were distant and faint, but this attack force was not so unskilled as to be unable to discern them.
“Dammit... Advance faster.”
The experienced Warrior of the Iron Wall couldn't possibly fail to realize that things had gone wrong. The rangers dashed forward to check for traps, and the others also began to move forward, each using their own methods to stay as vigilant as possible. Before them was the entrance to the storage area.
The plan was already set.
They would bombard the room with magic, then fire their ranged weapons. After that, they'd clear the smoke with wind magic, and the melee warriors would enter. They weren't unconcerned that the mine itself might collapse from a powerful magic spell, but if the mine was fragile enough to crumble from such an explosion, the entrance wouldn't have been so narrow in the first place.
“Ready.”
“...............!”
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!
The mage who had pre-chanted his spell unleashed it, and a massive explosion roared from within. No monster screams could be heard. They might not have been positioned inside the storage area, but to prepare for any possibility, the troops armed with ranged weapons immediately began to pour attacks inside.
“Cease.”
A deafening roar. After the attack leader's voice rang out, all that could be seen was thick smoke.
“I will lead the entry. Mages and priests, prepare the next spell. Warriors, reform your ranks and confirm the situation inside with the melee classes.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Enter.”
And so,
as the Warrior of the Iron Wall took a single step forward,
at that moment,
what Mark saw was a monster with green skin. The monster, drawing a longsword, cut through the thick smoke and sliced down the Warrior of the Iron Wall at the vanguard in a single blow.
He tried to raise his shield, but his entire hand was sent flying along with it. Watching from the side as the magically-infused shield was sliced apart as if it were tofu was utterly surreal. Mark couldn't help but raise his voice.
“P-Prepare for battle!! It's the enemy!”
'An Orc?'
An Orc, classified as a basic unit of the Green Skin race—a name he had heard countless times during the briefing. The Orc who had so easily severed the arm of the man called the Iron Wall, making a mockery of his title, stood with his sword drawn, silently staring at them.
“Wh... what...”
The thick smoke began to slowly clear.
In a situation that made no sense, everyone slowly stared ahead. It was because the creature's appearance after the smoke cleared was utterly bewildering.
'Alone?'
There were no other troops. The cavern, while not vast, was quite large, yet the only one occupying it was clearly the single Orc before them.
“A-Atta...”
Just as he tried to shout again, the creature's mouth slowly began to open.
“I am Gark, a chieftain of the Blood Dagger Clan.”
Overwhelmed by that absolute presence, Mark muttered to himself without realizing it.
“Fuck.”