Chapter 33
The legion marched in silence.
It moved at a pace that kept it ready for battle at any moment, yet never hurried. And the closer they came to the point they believed to be their destination, the quieter everything became.
Too quiet.
There were no insects. No wind. Only plants and trees gone yellow with sickness, their color drained as if the life had already been sucked out of them.
It’s dying.
"Kko-kko... bad."
Gyetoo’s gaze halted for a moment on a flower with its head bowed low.
It was withering.
Then plant it again.
If the source was removed, it would return to the way it had been.
Then a wolf’s howl rose through the forest.
Auuuuuu—
With it, the woods seemed to grow even more desolate.
Even under that bleak air, Dohyun’s mind worked with cold clarity.
...Something is influencing the outside.
There seemed to be something here meant to kill the forest.
Enough. This is still manageable.
He steadied the wavering edge of his thoughts.
By the time they reached the place where the withering plants had grown worse and the trees stood as dead trunks with no grass or flowers left at all, Dohyun narrowed his eyes.
There were lines here.
It was unnatural.
Layered.
...A formation.
It was more complex than the formations he had seen before, and more advanced as well.
This is the entrance.
Looking at it and weighing it, he understood that entering would require something that had not been needed before.
Human craftsmanship...
It was impressive.
But not enough to keep him out.
It was only sturdier, harder to overturn in a single stroke.
Step back.
At Dohyun’s command, Geoung and the leader goblin at the front withdrew to the side.
He moved straight ahead and laid a hand on it.
Woom—
The empty air let out a groan and shuddered.
I can’t open this the same way as that monkey.
Crude though it had looked, the way he had casually swung the jade bottle to open the door had concealed a principle far from ordinary.
Still.
Woom—
The void groaned.
There was nothing there.
And yet it was clearly resisting him.
Dohyun’s five claws sank into the air.
Woom- woom- woom-
The air began to vibrate violently.
Dohyun, one hand pressed against the void, extended the other as well.
Woom- woom- woom-!
It sounded like a warning.
Crackle, crackle.
Sparks burst along Dohyun’s claws, threatening him in return.
"Geoung!"
Geoung swung an arm at the sight, only for it to pass straight through the empty air.
The goblin leader gripped his spear, a bead of sweat sliding down his forehead.
Shhhk, shhhk!
The formation fought back as though rebelling against him.
Open.
With the ten claws on both of Dohyun’s hands...
Krzzzzzt-!
He tore it apart.
Hah-
Pain rose along his fingertips, and he exhaled sharply through his teeth.
Hot breath spilled from his mouth.
Pain.
It was actually kind of exhilarating.
...We’re running out of time.
They had to take this place within the time limit.
He had come here at the mathematically optimal point.
From here on out, they would push through.
Go.
At Dohyun’s words, everyone lowered their heads and entered the torn opening where the interior was now visible.
It was not the swamp-like landscape of the nests.
Inside the formation was... black earth.
Fog hung thick everywhere.
A poisonous miasma that felt as if it could melt the lungs drifted through the air, and the stink of rot worked its way into the nose.
At least the legion and Gyetoo had done one thing right: they had checked their masks thoroughly before coming in.
Geoung took the lead.
"Geoung!"
He had taken only a few steps when he looked into the fog and...
Paused.
The air had changed.
It was hard to breathe.
The fog moved.
Inside it stood a shadow.
So large that its shape could not be made out.
Geoung’s hand froze around the stone pillar-like club.
He could not swing it.
Dohyun, still standing outside the fog, looked at the being that seemed like some enormous structure and understood.
Great demon...
It carried an overwhelming presence.
A presence strong enough to stop Geoung cold.
Cold sweat broke out along his back.
Great demon... was it?
Just as he was about to swallow a low breath, Gyetoo moved with a shout.
"Kko-kko... fake!"
He shot forward like a flash of light and split the fog apart.
With a bang, a striking sound rang out in the empty air, and a moment later Gyetoo’s body was hurled backward.
Catch him!
At Dohyun’s command, Geoung caught the falling Gyetoo and saw the silhouette flickering through the fog.
...A mechanism?
The center of the energy they had judged to be a great demon was actually some kind of massive facility.
Something built from flesh.
The force and momentum spilling from it were powerful.
...But empty.
...Without will.
...Not a great demon?
...Then—
He froze for a moment.
Then Gyetoo, still half-supported in Geoung’s arm, opened his mouth briefly.
"Kko-kko... fake. No will, only production, cannot fight."
Fortunately, Gyetoo had only been knocked back.
It was not a fatal wound.
...Adjust the calculation.
He looked at Geoung.
...Geoung, advance first.
At Dohyun’s command, Geoung moved.
...All we have to do is break that thing.
Geoung walked forward.
"Geoung, go."
Watching him stride ahead with courage, Dohyun widened his eyes and studied the scene carefully.
...Something is wrong.
Gyetoo had been thrown back.
There was something there.
Even Dohyun could not see it.
All he could see was black earth.
And yet...
It was definitely there.
Confirm it.
Geoung. Slowly.
Geoung took one step.
He reached the same point where the mechanism had been visible once the fog had thinned, about a hundred paces away.
...The same place.
The spot where Gyetoo had been thrown back.
Woom—
The black earth groaned.
Crackle—
The black earth began to rise.
Under Geoung’s feet.
...Then burst.
Kraakk-
The ground tore open, and a black mass surged upward.
It climbed out of the black soil and took shape.
Wings.
Legs.
Segments.
"Kko..."
Gyetoo’s eyes narrowed.
Moth.
Spider.
Centipede.
Three forms.
At once.
They lifted their heads.
And then they lunged.
"Geoung...!"
Geoung hastily raised his club.
And swung it with all his strength in a windmill arc.
At that instant, Dohyun’s eyes flashed.
...A trigger.
It reacted to approach.
A production-type defense structure.
It’s linked to the mechanism.
The ground had not risen by itself.
It had been generated the instant that great-demon-class mechanism reacted.
And the great-demon-like momentum had drained away considerably.
How many times?
The limit was already visible.
We’ll break them apart.
Scatter them.
Then cut them down one by one.
"Leader. Right side."
"Gyetoo. Bind the left."
Short commands fell.
The legion split.
Geoung remained at the front.
The goblin leader drove into the right side, and Gyetoo shot to the left.
The goblin leader saw the moth in front of him.
A gigantic moth with eyes all over its wings.
"Kyeek-"
He warned the goblins following behind him to be careful and ran.
His muscles bulged as power flooded in, and he raised his spear.
Flying Swallow Spear Art.
It was one of the three great spear forms he had mastered, and the spear technique he had designated as the goblin warriors’ standard style.
A spear art that flew low and elegantly, like a swallow skimming over water, and stabbed straight into an enemy’s weakness.
Shhhhh—
Just as the spear was about to fly, the moth spread its wings.
Powder scattered.
Mixed with the fog, it erased distance...
blurring his vision.
...?
Before the goblin leader’s eyes stood his master.
A noble dragon.
A dashing dragon.
A benevolent dragon.
"Set down your spear and come here."
Smiling, he said the fight was already over.
The goblin leader hesitated.
Then he shook his head.
KIIIIIYAAK-!
With a shout, he bit deeply into his own cheek.
Along with the taste of blood in his mouth, a hot surge rose from the depths of his dantian and wiped away the false image before his eyes.
Illusion.
The goblin leader knew it.
The lord is someone who entrusts work to us and believes in us.
His eyes flashed.
They no longer wavered.
The moth was there.
Thousands of eyeballs shifted.
Squirm, wriggle...
An illusion.
But he erased it with a battle cry and threw his spear.
Shieeek-
The swallow-like spearhead struck the butterfly-like wing.
The spear bit in.
The moth’s body shuddered.
At that moment, the goblin warriors behind him came to their senses.
Thud-!
The goblin leader struck his chest and shouted at them.
Kyeek-
Charge.
Kieeek-!
Kyeek-!
As if answering, they spread their own footwork and darted in like falcons, leaping onto the moth’s body.
Kieeek-!
Meanwhile,
Swish—
The centipede moved as though sliding across the ground.
Fast.
With a speed unlike anything they had seen before.
Pwoooah-!
Foam shot from the centipede’s mouth.
Round clumps.
"Geoung! Hit it!"
The pillar-like club slammed into the foam.
Thwack-
The clump burst and splashed over Geoung’s body.
Fssss-
The smell of burning flesh began to rise.
"Geoung... stings."
His flesh was burning.
Still.
He did not stop.
Geoung roared in fury and swung the pillar, but...
Whoosh—
Swish—
The centipede never gave him distance.
It moved at a speed that made it seem untouchable.
"Geoung, angry."
If Geoung had been alone, it would have been impossible.
"Geoung, need help."
Geoung listened well to the dragon’s words.
If it was hard, then doing it together was enough.
"Understood. Geoung gives help."
Two-meter-tall brutes with green skin stepped forward.
They were smaller than Geoung, but every one of them carried a heavy weapon.
Orc warriors.
Haaah-
Their breath spread rough across the battlefield.
The giant, mobile centipede moved even faster when it saw them, but...
"Rope throw!"
At that moment, a rope flew out and bound one of the centipede’s legs.
"Caught it!"
The orcs carried all kinds of equipment, and one of those things was rope.
It was too heavy for goblins to use.
And cumbersome for goblin warriors.
But for warriors like orcs, who used heavy equipment, each one carried some.
Warriors and hunters of great skill.
Thunk-
As ropes began to catch one after another around the centipede’s body, it slowed.
Swish!
It spat foam again, but...
"Hit it!"
The orcs joined forces and knocked it aside.
Though few in number, each of them was a strong fighter.
If there were ten orcs and Geoung...
"Geoung! Hit it!"
The earth shook as the centipede’s body began to tear apart.
And meanwhile—
Gyetoo looked at the spider in front of him.
"Kko-kko... enough, weak."
The bird-yokai warriors did not fear the insect-yokai.
Because—
Slash-
Webs flew toward him.
He twisted in the air and dodged.
Too slow.
The spider was so massive that even one of its six legs was bigger than Gyetoo himself.
But the web had been thrown out as a gigantic net, and he could see it coming.
His claws burned red as qi flowed through them.
Shrrk-!
The crimson claws flashed like lightning and tore the net apart in a single stroke.
"...Weak."
It was big only in size; in battle it was no different from a child.
It had never learned how to fight, only how to grow larger.
He became a single point in the air and charged at the spider yokai.
A web flew to intercept him.
Gyetoo’s body wavered.
Afterimages bloomed.
He bent left and right—
Then broke through.
The web brushed him,
leaving only a minor wound.
Only a drop of blood came away.
And when Gyetoo grew angry and moved even faster,
he vanished completely from sight.
For the spider, interception was impossible.
By the end of it, Gyetoo had landed on its head.
He pressed down with his foot.
Crkkk-
Its shell was clearly tough.
His claws flared red again.
Krkkk-
The sound changed, and the spider’s shriek rang out.
The red edge of his claws drilled into its brain.
"Kko-kko. Is that all?"
The spider shook its body and tried to move.
But—
Pook-!
His claws sank deep.
A hole opened, and a gray-white fluid spilled out.
"...Flower. Want to see."
He shook his foot as if he had touched something filthy.
It was not easy.
He had nearly lost several times.
And yet.
In the end, he had won.
Dohyun murmured softly.
It’s over.
...That was what he thought.