Chapter 22
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Iron Spider Onslaught
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A silver body.
Eight legs.
The name of that spider-like thing forged from metal was the "Iron Spider."
Rumble—!
With a deafening roar, chunks of stone rained down right above their heads.
Fortunately, everyone was still inside their Gigants, so there wasn't much damage.
But they couldn't celebrate that fact. The Iron Spider that had burst through the wall was steadily closing the distance.
Iron Spiders weren't particularly strong individuals, but there were a ton of them, and the terrain itself was way too favorable for the bastards.
"Get out of the way!"
Hena, right in front of Abel, shouted loudly as she raised both hands.
A blue gem had already been placed in the palm of the Gigant Hena was piloting.
As he'd seen in the mock battle before, Hena's close-quarters skills weren't all that impressive yet.
But Hena's main weapon was something else entirely.
Crackle.
The gem suddenly shattered into pieces, and a spark leaped out from it.
Whoosh!
The spark turned into a massive blaze that engulfed the spider racing along the wall.
Roooar!
"Screeeee!"
The spiders thrashed in panic. The one in front had half its body melted away.
Even in the dire situation, the sight was so striking that a few let out gasps of admiration.
*But it's not enough.*
Abel didn't dare rejoice prematurely.
No matter how talented Hena was, her limits were clear.
Right now, without a dedicated magic tool, Hena was using mana stones as a makeshift solution.
In other words, once the mana stones ran out, she'd lose her attack power.
*Even as the Del Kior Princess, there's no way she carries around that many expensive things on her normally...*
Roooar—!
As Abel stepped forward with that thought, another massive flame erupted in front of him.
*Guess not?*
Hena kept pulling mana stones from her pouch without pause.
It was an astonishing sight, but they couldn't afford to just stand around gawking.
Spiders had already appeared behind Abel and were charging in.
"Kyaaaaah!"
The spiders scaled the vertical walls effortlessly, swinging their legs at Abel and Hena.
The attacks stabbing in from unexpected angles were far more threatening than imagined.
But Abel didn't panic. He leaned back slightly and swung his arm.
Crack!
Hitting the side of the leg precisely, the sturdy-looking limb shattered outright.
"Kieeeek!"
Abel then grabbed the shrieking spider and hurled it down the stairs.
Boom!
The stairs shook ominously with the impact.
Without rest, Abel charged at another spider.
And not just him—despite the sudden ambush, everyone regained their composure and fought back against the Iron Spiders.
How much time had passed?
*How many is that now?*
Abel crushed a spider's head completely with his foot and scanned the surroundings.
His face twisted.
"No end in sight."
Abel alone had taken down dozens, yet the spiders' numbers didn't seem to dwindle at all.
New ones kept joining the fray nonstop.
At least their side hadn't suffered major losses yet.
But complaining wouldn't change anything, so Abel kept fighting while slowly descending the stairs.
Battling the spiders that came charging like mad while going down the stairs was beyond tricky—it was vomit-inducingly exhausting.
Then, at one point.
"Huh!"
Hena, running right ahead, suddenly slipped and staggered badly.
Abel immediately grabbed her Tito and pressed against the wall.
Thud!
A thick leg stabbed into where Hena had stood.
Daniel, hearing that from the front, swung his fist and smashed the spider away.
Though her face was hidden by the Tito, Hena's trembling voice betrayed her shock.
-Thanks...
-Can you keep moving?
-Y-Yeah.
-Just a bit more. Hang in there.
Saying that, Abel turned his head.
The situation wasn't bad.
These were green rookies in terms of experience, but each one had top-tier talent.
Iolin and Daniel weren't quite at Abel's level, but they pressed the attack aggressively, driving the spiders back.
Charlotte, Jun, and Rian effectively blocked the spiders slipping through gaps.
May had ditched her usual laziness and was clearing the path up front alongside Tania.
Abel took it all in at a glance, caught his breath, and shouted.
-Don't stop! Keep pushing forward!
Fighting the spiders was important, but priorities had to be set.
Their top goal right now was to get down all the stairs and out of the tower.
They were holding up fine for now, but fighting indefinitely in a place like this was insanely tough, and who knew how long the stairs would hold.
Whenever the battle felt like it was heating up too much, Abel shouted, and they managed to descend bit by bit.
Crack!
But zero damage was impossible.
Daniel's Tito was impaled by a spider's leg and flung into the air.
Abel hurriedly leaped in and yanked Daniel's machine back.
Scraaaape!
The spider didn't give up and swung again, tearing off one of Daniel's Tito's arms in the process.
If Abel hadn't stepped in in time, it wouldn't have ended with just an arm.
"Kieeeek!"
The spiders went even more berserk, as if refusing to let the opportunity slip.
-Daniel! Hang in there a bit longer!
-O-Okay!
Daniel wobbled after landing, struggling to regain balance, but soon started running again.
The spiders' assaults didn't let up.
Booom!
Abel gritted his teeth and swung his fists aggressively to cover Daniel's spot.
-Almost there!
How much time had passed?
Tania's shout came from ahead.
Just as she said, the tower's entrance was visible far below.
Craaaash!
Iolin's machine lost an arm to a spider's attack.
Despite the massive shock, Iolin swung her remaining arm like a maniac.
Boom!
Rian's machine had already taken five hits and was ragged, but he didn't stop.
Hena kept firing off spells with mana stones nonstop.
May was fending off spiders flawlessly despite one leg nearly shattered.
They'd already killed nearly a hundred spiders.
Of course, after such fierce combat, none of their Gigants were in good shape.
But they didn't stop.
Not until the last one dashed down the stairs and out of the tower.
"Hah, hah!"
As Abel exited the tower last, he gasped for air fiercely.
He wanted to collapse right there on the ground, but he couldn't.
*As expected...*
They'd barely escaped, but the atmosphere wasn't great.
Corpses of annihilated soldiers and wrecked Gigant remains littered the area in front of the tower.
* * *
No reinforcements.
The tower's garrison was wiped out.
And one more thing.
"Something's blocking the way."
An invisible wall-like barrier stood before them.
Tania had smashed it with full force, but it remained unscathed—tough as hell.
Already desperate from those two facts alone, things got worse: outside the tower, even more Iron Spider swarms awaited than inside.
So many spiders clung to the outer walls that the tower looked naturally silver.
They didn't charge Abel and the group right away but approached slowly.
Casual, like toying with rats in a trap.
Abel watched with a slightly queasy expression, thinking to himself.
*The whole Empire's gonna be shocked.*
He knew.
This incident would shake not just the Empire, but the entire continent.
The Empire was one of the continent's top powers, and the Glory Wall had never been breached—not by periodic Gigadeus raids, nor during the last Great War. It was an ironclad shield.
And today, for the first time, the Glory Wall had been pierced.
*I already knew this would happen.*
He alone had known in advance.
But knowing didn't mean Abel could do much about it.
Because he was just a 16-year-old boy.
Who would believe him if he spoke up?
Sure, if things unfolded exactly as he said, minds might change.
Hit it right a few times in a row, and they might hail him as a prophet.
But then what?
*The future changes.*
If Abel stepped up and altered the future into something unknown, what then?
His foresight would fail?
That wasn't what he wanted.
To clear this game, that wouldn't cut it.
He needed power no one could ignore.
Influence and achievements no one could dismiss. And comrades and subordinates to back him up.
All of it.
"Whew."
Abel steadied his breath and dumped the remaining mana amplifiers into his mouth at once.
Not meant for this use, so he'd suffer major aftereffects, but it was the only way to save everyone.
Abel slowly moved his Gigant.
Even as he thought, his eyes darted around searchingly, and soon he spotted his target.
-Hold on just a bit longer.
-Huh?
-I have a way.
Tania, who had been scowling fiercely, looked at Abel with an odd expression.
Words from a mere freshman like Abel lacked conviction. Or they should have.
But in this situation, there weren't many options anyway.
-Fine.
She didn't know what Abel was aiming for, but her job was to protect her cadets safely. Adding one more thing was whatever.
-Everyone, grab suitable weapons from the ground and form up around Abel.
Tania said that and stared down the spiders massing at the front.
The cadets picked up fitting weapons from the scattered debris. Abel grabbed a spear.
"Huuuuh."
Abel took a deep breath and assumed position.
The barrier enveloping the tower was the special individual's ability.
The ability itself was top-notch, but its own combat prowess was pathetically weak.
Thus, it was thoroughly "protected."
Normally, he'd have no clue about such an individual's existence or location, but Abel was different.
He'd played the game dozens, hundreds of times, memorizing the spot perfectly.
Of course, reality didn't match the game perfectly.
So as soon as they got out, Abel looked up at the tower. To find it.
And finally, he saw it.
*A bit above the middle.*
Spiders clustered unusually thick on one side of the tower.
Hard to notice without prior knowledge, but Abel never missed that tiny difference.
*One shot.*
If he was wrong, it'd be a boneheaded mistake. No second chances.
Yet instead of hesitating under the pressure, Abel drew up even more mana.
*Just a little more.*
He waited in that state.
He itched to hurl the spear right now, but what he needed was patience.
-Left! Block the left!
Spiders had closed in, hammering Tania and the cadets' Gigants viciously.
How long could they hold? Five minutes? Four?
Probably not long.
Impatience surged. But Abel waited and waited.
Only one chance.
"Kieeeeeek!"
Waiting for the gap.
A tiny gap.
Boom—!
Iolin's Gigant was knocked back.
With its lower body gone, it couldn't fight anymore.
Crack!
Rian's Gigant had its head pierced.
Damage was mounting. The spiders, thinking it was nearly over, charged even harder.
That was the moment.
The clustered spiders began to shift slightly.
Vrrrrrm!
Spotting it, Abel surged mana through his body.
The overdosed mana amplifiers made fine control tough, but his past experience dumping all mana into attacks helped big time.
He seized the mana trying to scatter and directed it to one point.
Grindgrrrr.
The spear trembled unstably, blue sparks flying from mana packed to the limit.
He visualized in his mind.
A single bolt of lightning piercing the target.
At this instant, the Gigant was just a tool to launch it.
*'Thunderbolt Spear.'*
The moment he named it inwardly.
Rumble!
With thunderous roar, the spear cleaved the air.
Spiders tried to scatter in panic, but the spear had already struck its mark with a boom.
Booooom—!
One side of the tower collapsed outright.
The Tito that fired the spear spewed smoke from its whole body and slumped.
*Did it work?*
Wincing from the oncoming headache, Abel kept eyes on the tower.
Smoke cleared, revealing the pierced spot clearly.
Abel's face lit up brightly.
Tap tap tap!
The spiders that had charged death-defyingly suddenly fled.
-Huh!
A surprised voice came from behind Abel.
He barely mustered strength to turn. The others stared at him in shock.
"A-Ambush! It's an ambush—!"
The barrier dissolved.
Then a message appeared.
[Sudden Quest 'Escape' Cleared!]
[No casualties during escape! Additional reward granted!]
[In a few days, the 'Reliable Patron' event will occur!]
Only then did Abel relax and smile.
* * *
A garden under the blazing sun.
There, Abel faced a middle-aged man glaring fiercely with a tense expression.
The quest's extra reward was completely unexpected.
"Nice to meet you."
The Del Kior Duke greeted Abel.