Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Ice Queen's Paradise
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She truly looks like a fairy.
‘Of course, holding this fairy’s hand won’t be easy either.’
The conclusion is always the same, as ever.
I need to earn more money.
‘Ah, just how long do I have to keep earning...’
Even as I agonize over the sudden comedown, the situation progresses smoothly. Hayes has completely driven out the monsters from the south gate, and the army of 30,000 enters the castle.
I named the new castle [Hometown].
‘Because no matter what, it’s the place where my forces began.’
The soldiers who arrived at the castle move in perfect order according to the prearranged operational plan. Designated personnel bustle about, preparing the defenses and distributing the supplies they brought.
While they’re busy at work, I install watchtowers, mana cannons, and a large fountain for drinking water in Hometown Castle.
‘Fountains aren’t originally meant for this... but there are no wells or similar facilities.’
Pots line up in the central square, and everyone gathers to eat dinner. Afterward, the soldiers head to buildings assigned by squad and settle in there.
Even the basic buildings constructed in a heroic-grade castle are made of clean bricks and boast excellent insulation, so no one has to suffer in the biting chill.
And so, a day passes.
Hometown’s south gate opens, and soldiers pour out in droves.
“March out!”
“It’s the march! Stay sharp and move!”
The 2,000 archers and mages advantageous for siege warfare, along with 10,000 regular soldiers, remain behind to defend Hometown.
They’ll handle the ice monsters attacking through the west gate, preventing them from piling up, and use Hometown Castle as a forward base of sorts.
Then, subsequent units trained in Wild Boar Castle and Starting will keep linking up there.
“Monsters ahead!”
“About 1,700 of them.”
“Prepare for battle!”
The 8,000 elite soldiers and 10,000 regular soldiers departing from Hometown spring into action.
Needless to say, the elites form the main force. The regulars handle transport and combat support. They must gain experience through military service and rack up merits to become sergeants or corporals before transferring into the elites.
Boom boom boom!
The front lines clash. The tankers holding large shields charge into the ice elementals without a hint of fear, throwing their full body weight behind it.
Having stacked up the Goddess’s blessings by clearing dungeons and secured ample levels and stats, the tankers’ defenses are nothing short of impregnable.
‘And they have skills on top of that.’
The nine rare skills unlocked at guild level 6 are all stat-related passive skills, with one granted to each of the nine basic classes (three warrior, three rogue, three mage).
The skill given to the tankers—more precisely, the shielders—is this one.
Tank Body (Rare) (Passive)
You have gained tenacious vitality through experience on the battlefield.
[Detailed Effect]
Vitality +50
A simple effect, but one of immense power.
Every tanker on the front line has mastered this skill, and they’re even equipped with +6 rings of cold protection. As the unit that’s received the most investment among all, they won’t crumble easily.
“Thrust!”
“Push!”
It seems all that daily training as professional soldiers has paid off, as the troops show no sign of wavering under the monsters’ attacks.
Instead, swords and spears thrust out from between the shields to sever the monsters’ throats.
Occasionally, elite monsters—particularly ones like ice golems that even the shieldbearers struggle against—try to rampage.
Pew!
A bone longsword slices through the air, shattering it and sweeping away not just that one but dozens of monsters behind it.
“The lord is with us!”
“Waaah!”
The soldiers shout with renewed courage.
I hurl the bone longsword while carefully moderating my power to an appropriate level. I have no intention of retrieving it.
‘There are plenty of bone longswords anyway.’
They’re being mass-produced in proportion to the wild boar meat from Wild Boar Castle. They’ve become so commonplace there that they’re used as furniture or construction materials—what more is there to say?
“Impressive. Zero casualties.”
“With this difference in numbers—and cutting down all the elites to boot—there shouldn’t be any casualties.”
Soldiers equipped with classes, skills, and gear have long surpassed the level of what’s typically considered a [strong soldier] in this medieval land.
No exaggeration: each one matches a fresh knight in combat power. Even without me, they could have pressed on to the objective with minimal losses.
“Combat end!”
“Combat end!”
“Gather the drop items in one place and depart again in one hour!”
The army continues marching south.
They smash through the occasional scattered groups of monsters and pause midway for meals and rest.
There’s no rush. They fight taking their time and rest fully. Thanks to that, both the troops and I can maintain peak condition.
-Roaaar!
At the heavenly dragon roar, the soldiers setting up camp sneak peeks my way.
I clap my hands.
“You pick it up quick. As expected of someone who’s reached that realm, huh?”
At my praise, Hayes—dressed in light attire—gives a wry smile.
“Some of the formulas you taught me back then overlap with this. But even so... isn’t this just too good? You really taught this to actual soldiers? It makes the Starlight training method feel like garbage.”
“Frankly, it is garbage.”
Hayes pouts at my teasing words and grumbles.
“You’re awful... Sigh. I can’t even deny it, which makes it worse. You’re just brute-forcing it with your realm, right? You haven’t grasped the essence of the sword art at all. A training method this profound...”
I ponder for a moment as I watch Hayes marvel.
“Hm. You thinking of learning the Heavenly Dragon Sword Art?”
“Of course. You expect me to keep using the Starlight training method when something like this exists? I shed my mortal body anyway, so my aura—no, my internal energy—is completely messed up. Half of it’s tied up in this class card or stat points or whatever, so I’d have to relearn it from scratch either way.”
“Then hold off for now. I’ll teach you something else. The Heavenly Dragon Sword Art is a longsword style—it won’t suit you.”
Hayes’s face fills with shock at my words.
“There’s another training method on this level?”
“I need a little time. ...I’ll let you know by tomorrow evening.”
“......”
We travel by day and rest by night, steadily pressing on. The soldiers, who had stumbled a bit at first, find their rhythm after repeating victories without losses. As for Hayes, she throws herself into the Charna Formulas I memorized from the real world, day and night without rest.
And so, four days later.
We’ve advanced 100 kilometers south and arrive at the next objective.
[Ice Queen’s Paradise (Advanced~Heroic)]
A pillar of light looms, with monsters swarming densely beneath it.
“Ugh... cold.”
“It’s summer now—what’s with this...”
Grumbling from the regular soldiers reaches my ears. They came prepared for the cold and bundled up accordingly, but abnormal temperatures have a way of grating on human nerves.
‘Still, it’s only around -5°C. Nothing unbearable.’
Of course, it’ll drop further once the sun sets—not ideal for camping.
But that doesn’t matter.
“We’ll sleep in the castle tonight. Charge.”
At my words, the flag bearer sends the prearranged signal. I could’ve handled it via chat, but since I’m not always the one commanding, we stick to established procedures.
“Silver Cross Knight Order! Raise your swords and prove your valor!”
“Ha!”
“Steel Shield Knight Order! Become the iron wall that crushes the enemy!”
“Chung!”
The knight orders begin to move. Fine words for knight orders—until recently, they were mere soldiers, farmers, and even housewives raising children. If anyone knew their makeup, they’d call it a complete rabble.
Yet their combat power is on another level even from other elite soldiers with the same classes and gear.
‘Because they’re the talented ones.’
They’re ability users who’ve awakened to aura! In a barbaric world where they’ve craved power their whole lives, they’ve trained relentlessly after every meal—what little they’ve achieved is no small thing.
Most of them train in the Quick Blade Technique, renowned for rapid growth, no less.
Having entered the mana user realm, they’ve boosted their mana pools with bonus stats to surpass the old knights in combat power. An unstoppable force, no matter how tightly the monsters cluster!
And above all...
“Ha---ha-! Hahaha! Come on, try blocking this----!”
At their vanguard is a sword master wielding a spear.
“Lucky... where’d someone like that even come from.”
A female knight even more brutish-looking than most men sweeps across the battlefield. Naturally, no monster can stand in her way. To take down Hayes, the monsters would need to tighten their encirclement and use rotational attacks to overwhelm with numbers—but with the human army right behind her, they can’t.
Thud thud thud!
Knights mounted on advanced riding pets charge ahead, followed by the infantry.
Unlike before, where monsters rushed at them, these ones are defending the dungeon. So the shieldbearers advance slowly, and the knight orders initiate combat with their assault.
Before the enemies and monsters collide, I hurl bone longswords at a few elite monsters, then speak to the soldier waiting beside me with a large shield.
“Shields.”
“Yes, my lord.”
At my words, four shieldbearers link their shields together into a square.
I leap lightly into the center. To activate the condition for Variant Ranger’s ability [Observer of Darkness]: [Mid-level stealth at no cost after 1 minute unobserved].
I stand motionless in the spot blocked from everyone’s view until I feel the stealth take effect.
“Open.”
The shields part at my command.
I slip through the gap and begin crossing the battlefield.
“Huh? What was that? Something just passed by...”
“Focus on the front! Ice spears incoming!”
A few perceptive soldiers sense my presence, but in the chaotic melee, it’s no issue—I reach the dungeon without trouble. Unlike the dull ice golems, yetis and snow women pick up on presences and glance around, but with Hayes charging in to wreak havoc, they’re forced to expose openings.
Pop!
[Ice Kingdom]
I enter the dungeon. It’s filled with buildings made of ice, vast and empty as an abandoned classroom. An astonishing lack of presences in the wide space.
Pop!
Then, an ice elemental materializes from thin air.
Whoom--!
A chill bursts from the elemental’s core. It dives straight into the pillar of light at the center of the dungeon.
It’s cleared the dungeon.
‘They don’t stay inside. They charge out the instant they respawn.’
Following after it, I spot a presence standing dazed beside the pillar of light.
Dull Ice Golem (Rare)
Rockstar
‘A rare-grade boss monster, huh...’
Convenient for me, but honestly a bit strange. The boss of this dungeon’s original inhabitants, the storm orc tribe, is heroic-grade.
‘Meaning an occupied dungeon is effectively one without a boss... Better than having an Ice Queen in every dungeon, but... hm. There might be some tradeoff, so I’d better stay cautious.’
Thinking that, I draw my sword.
My opponent is merely rare-grade—no need for Divine Roar.
Sword qi manifests.
Scraaaape!
The ice golem finally senses my presence and hurriedly turns.
Too late. My sword has already cleaved its core.
Thud.
The ice golem collapses. The moment our united guild federation holds a blade to the Ice Queen’s throat.