299. Growing from the Ruins (3)
299. Growing from the Ruins (3)
- 1 -
At dawn, the port of Tremilite, hemmed in by rocks, lay wrapped in silence.
Sea mist rose from the water's surface and blanketed the entire harbor.
'If this keeps up, they'll have no livelihood left.'
Sonia murmured regretfully.
There was no sign of the fishermen who should have been out working since early morning.
The monster raids from Astaroth had grown so frequent that those who lived off the sea had long since begun laying down their nets, one by one.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the only thing different about the stillness that day was that it was not peace but the silence before a storm.
"Something has been spotted!"
A shout from a merfolk soldier standing watch atop the coastal watchtower split the quiet harbor.
The gills attached to his neck flared with tension and moved rapidly.
A people of the water. Their ability to sense subtle shifts in the currents, even through the fog, was unmatched.
"Is it the enemy?"
Jarax asked, approaching the watchtower.
His blue scales caught the light of the eastern sky where the sun was beginning to rise and glimmered darkly.
The rough breath unique to lizardmen stirred the air around them.
"At least three digits... It's a large-scale attack!"
Sonia, standing beside Jarax, was also listening to this exchange.
Her gray hair fluttered in the cold wind.
"Just as we expected. Maria, unni, and Remi. Are you ready?"
"Of course."
Maria answered, adjusting her grip on her sword and shield.
Beside her, Artemis, who went by the nickname Remi, nodded as well.
"A bridgehead to reach the royal castle. Let's build it properly."
"Prepare for the enemy attack - !!!"
Jarax's booming shout awakened the dawn harbor.
Cheolkeok!
Echidna's mercenary corps began moving to their positions.
The human soldiers and the monsters whose physical abilities fell short lined up along the shoreline and readied ballistae and catapults, while all manner of aquatic monsters and spirits moved to their pre-assigned positions in the water.
Just as they finished preparing, the first enemy emerged from the fog.
A colossal shark, its body shimmering with a dark light. To be precise, a 'dead shark'.
And behind it, an endless horde, with ghost ships slithering closer beyond them.
It must have been a nightmare scene for the people of this city.
'But starting today...'
Sonia murmured, and stretched her hand out toward the empty air.
A bluish mana rippled out from the tips of her fingers, and wherever the mana flowed, the air and water quivered imperceptibly.
"Alaaaak Shhhhhhaa!!"
With Jarax's cry in the lizardmen's own tongue, Echidna's underwater troops charged toward the enemy.
Water sprayed up at once as the two forces collided.
Chaang!
Kwajik!!
Eudeudeuk!
The sounds of metal and fangs clashing.
The sounds of flesh being torn.
Screams and battle cries tangled together and reverberated across the entire harbor.
"Forward!! Do not fall back!!"
The stench of blood began to seep through the sea mist.
"Archers, ready! Aim!!"
Artemis commanded the marksmen from atop the harbor breakwater.
Her dark blue armor glinted in the morning sunlight and bolstered the soldiers' courage.
"Fire!!"
The moment Artemis's massive longbow loosed an arrow forged from moonlight mana—shooting it like a beam of blue light—
Tututung!!
Gigantic arrow-shaped projectiles and massive siege weapons meant to restrict the enemy's movements underwater began raining down on the rear of the monsters and ghost pirates.
- Kuwaaak!!
- Kieeek!!
Timing and aim were precisely coordinated. A considerable number of monsters fell in the first strike.
But that was only the beginning.
"So this is what it feels like to face the undead as an enemy, huh..."
Artemis muttered to herself, having loosed a few more of the enormous blue arrows.
Even more monsters revealed themselves from within the fog, and among them were humanoid ones as well.
- Kekekekeke - !!
- Make every last one of them just like us!
Pirates clad in rusted armor, their flesh rotting, swam ashore with cutlasses and an assortment of weapons clenched between their teeth.
Astaroth's undead crew. They were pouring endlessly from the ghost ships.
"Hoo..."
Sonia stepped forward and focused her mana.
Blue circles and runes floated up around her, and inside those circles, violet-blue mana began to glow.
Sonia's hair reacted to the air currents and lifted upward even without any wind.
And then, frost formed.
"「Wendigo's Thirst」"
As soon as the incantation left Sonia's mouth, the guards standing nearby shivered in the sudden chill.
The cold that had begun at the tips of her slender, long fingers grew denser.
The sight of the blue-tinged chill whirling and spreading outward resembled a living creature.
This was a curse spell personally bestowed by her teacher, Libertas.
'Please watch...'
The dark blue frost spread toward the sea.
And for a moment, nothing happened. As if the spell had failed.
But...
Kwajik - !!
The surface of the sea began to turn crystalline, like glass.
Sharp pillars of darkness shot up around the undead crew's boats.
- Kyaaaak!!
- M-my strength is draining...!
They moved slowly, as though time had stuffed and preserved them, until finally they could no longer bear their own weight and sank beneath the sea.
Countless pirates reverted from undead back into ordinary corpses.
The mana that had composed their bodies was plundered in an instant.
Rather than swallowing the stolen profane mana herself, Sonia used it in yet another way.
"「Crystal Storm」"
Sonia extended the fingers of her left hand, pointing at the sky.
Immediately after, the air around them, already grown chilly, grew even colder.
Kureureureung...
"Use the artifacts!!"
At Jarax's order, the monsters susceptible to external temperature, such as the lizardmen, began activating the artifacts they had been issued in advance.
Pulling hoods over their heads, twisting bracelets.
Magical tools imbued with the function of keeping one's body warm.
All of them made by Libertas.
Or more precisely, made by her undead mages.
Hwioooo...!!
The wind that blew down from the sky was like a blade. It felt as though it would slice through skin and flesh.
A storm mixed with crystal-clear ice crystals swept over the monsters that had come up onto the harbor.
The sharp ice shredded their skin to ribbons and froze their bodies solid.
Their faint screams were carried off and swallowed by the cold wind.
"This, this is..."
"To think you were such a mighty mage...!"
- ...
For an instant, silence descended on the battlefield.
The enemy, of course, but the allies as well—including the Uland army—were just as stunned by the curse and spell Sonia had unleashed.
The monsters had shown her respect as Libertas's disciple, but Sonia had always treated everyone with a gentle and soft smile.
Just like her teacher.
Yet even wearing the same expression, the way people treated a dungeon lord and an ordinary human could not help but be different.
The respect for Sonia had stemmed not from her strength but from her position.
The position of 'one entrusted by Libertas with her own dungeon'.
Now, however, Sonia had proven for herself why she was the disciple of the 'Great Master' and the 'Queen of Queens'.
"Let's go! We can't just stand idly by either!"
"Lady Sonia is behind us!!"
But the silence did not last long.
The hot-blooded mercenaries, unaffected by the cold, charged straight ahead.
Colossal warriors with green skin swung axes and clubs against the monsters that had come ashore.
Among them, humans mingled just as naturally, slaughtering the enemy.
"Every - one! Make sure none of them leave this land alive - !!!"
Kwang!!
Jarax's majestic roar shook the entire pier.
Under his hand, the head of an ogre zombie pirate was split open.
Gripping a greatsword in each hand, he was battering down every monster and undead that crawled up.
"Over there."
Amidst it all, Maria was looking for an opening.
The place our allied mages had precisely pinpointed—there was the enemy commander.
"Let's go!"
""Ha!!""
With a longsword in one hand and a shield in the other, she took the lead, and a dozen elite knights and warriors followed behind her.
Maria flung herself toward the sea.
It looked like an incredibly reckless act, as if she would sink to the deep seabed at any moment, but the moment light burst from her shield, the situation changed.
Teoong!!
- Kieek!!
After generating a light like that of the sun from her round shield, Maria slammed it against the water's surface.
With precise manipulation and superb mana control, the rebound launched her into the air once more.
It also crushed the heads of the sea beasts that were lurking below, of course.
Sswaaaak!
Rising high into the air, Maria set her shield squarely in front of her and straightened her body into a single line.
She became a meteor falling from the sky.
Kwang!!
The ship's deck exploded and scattered.
Landing on the largest vessel among the pirate ships—the one at the very center—Maria sensed the presence of the elites following right behind her and charged ahead first.
- To come all this way! You fools, what are you doing...!
"Too late!"
- Do you think just climbing aboard means you've won?!
A fierce clash unfolded on the shattered deck.
The zombie captain's cutlass clashed with Maria's longsword, shield against axe, again and again.
Maria, with sunlight gathered in both hands, fighting atop the pirate ship, was a sight that drew the eyes of the entire battlefield.
"Push them so they can never return!"
At Sonia's single command, Libertas's forces began to press their attack with even greater ferocity.
Just the fact that Sonia was present kept anyone from entertaining the thought of retreating.
It was because the words 'disciple of the Great Master' had raised the morale of every soul in Echidna's army.
That was possible because the Great Master, Libertas, had never neglected to visit every force and encourage them whenever she had a spare moment.
That 'encouragement' was given routinely, and always accompanied by rewards, so no one felt burdened or reluctant about her visits or her presence.
They only cheered and welcomed her.
And now that Sonia herself had proven her own skill on top of that, the army's morale soared even higher.
It was after Maria and Artemis had taken down the captains of the three pirate ships, and Jarax had slain the shark-headed beastman that had come ashore.
- We cannot retreat like this. Our Lords are watching! You fools!!
At that moment, from deep beneath the sea, the final commander—a colossal Naga—revealed itself.
The soldiers faltered at the sight of the snake beastman with four arms and flashing purple scales.
Staring straight at it, Sonia stepped forward again.
"「Cocytus Prison」"
As she drew her mana to its limit, frost settled on her gray hair and turned it a cold silver-blue.
She stretched out one hand and unleashed it toward the Naga.
Jjeojeong - !!
Black ice crystals surged up from the sea and coiled around the Naga.
Its body froze over in an instant, and a groan echoed as though even its soul was being sealed away.
"You came out far too late."
Her teacher would not have waited so long. She always stood at the front with the greatest power.
Though Sonia could not follow that to the letter, she could inherit that attitude.
Taak!
Frost supported the soles of Sonia's feet as she kicked off the ground and soared.
The closer she drew to the Naga, the harder the ice crystals grew.
- This cannot...!
Kwang!!
The Naga smashed part of the crystal and swung three of its four arms toward her, but she evaded with movements that looked almost elegant.
Truth be told, cold sweat beaded on her back, but Sonia once again kindled mana in her hand.
- Kyaaaak - !!
"The enemy commander is dead!!"
- Waaaaah!!
The long battle, which had lasted a full two hours, came to an end.
"There's no time to sit yet! Check the wounded and the casualties!"
But Sonia did not slump down on the spot or go to deal with the nobles; she stepped to the very front and spurred on the exhausted monsters and humans.
'This is Master's army.'
Sonia's eyes shone resolutely.
'Not a single one can be lost in vain. Absolutely not.'
She swore deep in her heart.
She would remember every sacrifice of this day and, someday, she would surely collect the price for them.
Be it from a queen.
From Astaroth.
Or from anyone at all.
"Incredible...! Truly incredible!"
About twenty minutes later, Lord Oscar came running to the shore himself.
He had already been nearby, having heard the news that a battle had broken out at dawn.
"I've fought these things my whole life, but I've seldom seen such a complete victory!"
Sonia bowed her head humbly.
"It is because they are Countess Echidna's troops. We have faced these situations time and again."
"Oho... This will surely be welcome news for all of Uland."
The lord's eyes were full of awe.
There was no selfish intent to be seen in his act of clasping Sonia's hand with both of his.
"There will be no need to wait even a month. Once Her Majesty the Queen hears this news, she will certainly wish to meet you. I will make contact at once."
Sonia nodded with a smile.
"It would be an honor."
Beyond her gaze, the citizens of Tremilite were beginning to gather.
"Good heavens. It's been ages since a battle ended without the pier being completely smashed..."
"I was worrying about when we'd ever repair that..."
The light of hope had returned to their faces after a long while.
Some still eyed warily the mercenary corps that fought alongside monsters, but most did not hide their gratitude.
Sensing their gazes, Sonia walked through the crowd.
With one hand she gathered up the remaining chill, and with the other she lightly touched the shoulder of a wounded mercenary as she called out to the citizens.
"I need your help! If you can assist us in making space for the wounded to rest, we will provide compensation!"
She directed them to set up treatment tents for the wounded and had a list compiled of those who had fallen in battle.
'This seed of hope that has been scattered will spread throughout all of Uland.'
And behind it...
'Master.'
Libertas's shadow, too, would quietly follow.
Sonia's eyes were now fixed on her next destination: the royal castle of Wolfsaehir.
There, she would advance her teacher's plan one step further.