34. The Gardener (2)
34. The Gardener (2)
Reportedly, the battle began not at the entrance of the dungeon said to be on the mountainside, but at an old mountain hut near the path leading up to it.
An old mountain hut that might have housed bandits long ago, but now held only dungeon zombies and the remnants of those they'd already reduced to a meal.
There, the vanguard of the subjugation army had apparently encountered a force of feral Greenskins and zombies.
Monsters whose eyes were all burning bright red.
"It hurts... here... if you can't treat it right now, at least give me medicine...!"
"That much won't kill you! My guts are turned inside out here!"
As a result, half a day later, the support camp was already filled with wounded arriving from the vanguard.
Though their side's capabilities were superior, they had fought without restraint, so casualties were inevitable.
"Those bastards were waiting for us... I'm certain of it!"
'Hmm. I wonder about that.'
In my opinion, they were probably just panicked by the sudden situation and injuries, their perception skewing to make them think it was an army, when in reality it was simply a 'horde'—not even comrades.
Anyway, the numbers were apparently far beyond imagination. Even a simple count put them at several hundred just at that mountain hut.
This overwhelming number far exceeded the reconnaissance party that had gone up as vanguard. Listening to the administrators' conversations, I could guess the reason for such numbers.
"Where on earth did so many monsters appear from..."
"They were always there."
"Always?"
"Did you not know? Just because a dungeon is gone doesn't mean all the monsters vanish."
Ever since Dungeon Lords first appeared in this world 200 years ago, countless dungeons—over a hundred thousand by recorded scale alone—had appeared and vanished.
So many humans had died that one might wonder 'how did they even survive,' nations had fallen, and yet, in the end, they had overcome this calamity.
However, some powerful Lords' dungeons had become demonic domains and settled into the world, and for other dungeons, even though the Lord and core had been erased, they had not succeeded in killing all the monsters.
"We simply failed to notice them, but many monsters hide and live like wild predators without attacking humans. Those must have been drawn by the mana of this rampage."
"Peace is still a distant dream..."
"We must strive for the sake of future generations."
Thus, monsters no longer needed in the demon realms, or those that survived from extinguished dungeons, had spread into the world and begun to breed.
Those monsters that multiplied in the mountains and rivers had, at times, attacked humans or devoured each other and wild animals, steadily increasing their numbers.
These monsters were apparently a major reason why public safety was so poor outside the cities of this world.
'Hmm. If there are that many, isn't that just a new ecosystem?'
The people of this world seemed to think of monsters as targets to be eradicated, but my thoughts were different.
Those feral monsters had already become something like the 'mosquitoes' or 'freshwater snails' of this world. Just with overwhelmingly larger bodies and far more ferocity.
'If all the manpower of every continent were concentrated on killing monsters, maybe someday they could all be hunted down.'
But how long would that take?
100 years? 200 years?
Monsters bred quickly, and those that had already gone feral were skilled at hiding, recognizing humans as apex predators.
Near my dungeon too, there were surely far more feral monsters than I had taken in or killed. They had simply learned that forming large packs led to subjugation, and as a result had fragmented and scattered.
'Oh...'
Then perhaps there was a way to lure them by scattering individuals that would trigger artificial monster waves. An unexpected benefit.
I would have to keep this in mind.
Anyway, I had digressed a bit, so let me return to the main topic.
- Kiyaaaak!!!
- Kuwaaak!!
Right now, the sight of Copherin's main force being pushed back was entering my field of vision—pushed back by the monsters rampaging down from the mountain, their aggro drawn by the battle at the mountain hut.
It looked like a scene where waves of green and gray were overturning a metallic tide.
"Ranged support! We can't join the front line from here anyway! Mages and anyone with a bow, all of you come out!!"
Naturally, chaos erupted in this mid-camp as well.
Because if the main force was pushed back and manpower losses grew, the chaos and casualties on this side would spiral out of control too.
"「Branding Spear」!!"
"「Flame Sphere」!"
"「Hand of Protection」."
"Wait a moment! Now!! Fire - !!"
Those with slightly less ability had been pulled aside for support, but even their magic and arrows could still wound the enemy.
As the reserve mages waiting in camp displayed their respective traits and cast magic, and the bow-wielders loosed arrows in unison at the signal, the retreating main force began pushing the monsters back up the mountain under that ferocious momentum.
"Should be fine now, right?"
"You brat! You're gonna jinx it!"
The people in camp watching that scene regained their composure.
The very fact that the main force, which had been pushed down from the high ground, could now push the enemy back proved the superiority of their side's combat power.
'Should I stir things up?'
I was just looking for a way from this side to slightly demonstrate the dungeon's weakness, when—
- Kuwaaak!!
- Kreuaaak!!
A bizarre roar came from over there.
It was the roar of two giant zombie monsters, massive enough to be recognized even from afar.
"Abominations."
"You know the name of those hideous things, my Lady."
Abomination. Literally translated, a hideous thing, or a monstrosity.
Giant zombies created by using one massive creature's corpse or by magically melting and fusing together several smaller corpses. On the current battlefield, one monstrosity of each type—the former and the latter—had burst out and was upending the battlefield.
When I inadvertently murmured the name, the administrative knight Elias approached from beside me and spoke.
"I have a keen interest in dungeons."
"As in treasure?"
"Wouldn't it be stranger for a merchant to have no interest?"
"Haha. Indeed. However, it seems that is not all there is to it."
The moment I heard those words, a sense of wariness surged up from beneath my throat.
Wondering what he was seeing in me to say that, I glanced at him, and this man was looking at me with eyes dripping with honey.
The moment I saw those eyes, the wariness vanished in an instant. The problem was that goosebumps replaced it.
Ah, I see.
Even though I was short, I was pretty. Perhaps a small body worked even better on knights like this.
Wasn't there something called a protective instinct? Or perhaps it was a desire to conquer.
"For someone so beautiful to work as a merchant, and to set out in search of a dungeon on her very first trading expedition—surely there must be some other special reason."
"War is always a merchant's opportunity."
"For someone who says that, the supplies you brought were not particularly numerous. An ordinary merchant would have gone into debt to bring more wagons."
There had been a gap in my cover.
How would I know, having never experienced the position of a merchant or salesperson.
"I didn't know the situation was serious enough to warrant going into debt. If I had known, I would have done the same."
"Haha. Is that so."
The knight's expression clearly showed disbelief.
He still seemed to see me as a woman harboring some kind of 'secret.' A fallen noble from somewhere, or a noble lady who had run away.
It was a cliché of the romance novels that flooded this world.
- Kuwaaak!!
I mostly ignored him and observed the monsters that had appeared.
Abominations, as the name suggested, were the most hideous-looking among the summons operated by zombie-type vampire Dungeon Lords, yet they were one of the most cost-effective.
Since the base material was just zombies, upkeep was low, but their strength rivaled ogres, and they were easy to customize with abilities according to the Dungeon Lord's taste.
- Gonna eat everythiiiing!!!
- Killkillkill!!
Those special traits were apparent in the current monsters as well, one by one.
The giant made from an ogre's body was spraying a disgustingly filthy liquid like a breath attack from somewhere unknown, and the giant stitched together from zombies was emitting green vapor from the cracks in its body.
"Aagh! Aaaagh!! It burns...!!"
"Cough...! Fall, fall back! It's plague!"
Those hit by the liquid began rolling on the ground and crying out in agony, while those who inhaled the vapor made people retreat with their coughing.
On the skin of those rolling on the ground, boils rapidly formed and soon burst with pus and blood, while those who had been coughing continued to retch, soon vomiting liquid that had turned green before collapsing and ceasing to move.
"「Detoxification Barrier」!"
"「May the Lord's grace descend」!"
- Baaaanhaeee!!
- Gueoeolk...!!
Kwang! Kwakwang!!
Though the sources of the disease were blocked with magic and holy arts, it wasn't enough.
These elite-grade giants possessed the strength to smash through mages' barriers, befitting their massive size, and their subordinate zombies and Greenskins were charging in heedless of the disease.
It was only natural that the front line was pulled back toward this side the moment these plague giants, which rapidly spread skin and lung diseases, appeared.
Moreover, as could be seen from the fact that they spoke, they were smarter than ordinary zombies.
Kwajik!
"S-Spare me...!"
"Jason...!!"
One of them was using the wounded as a shield or club, holding them in one of its two pairs of hands.
- Naura!! Naura!!
The other was hurling nearby trees and rocks to batter the barrier.
From the perspective of the humans watching the monsters, it was a sight they could not endure without being sickened.
"Are you sure you don't need to go help?"
The tide of battle had once again turned unfavorable.
Yet despite that, the knight beside me showed no intention of moving.
"My duty is to protect the reinforcements present here. Besides..."
"Besides?"
"If I rushed over, I would instead be cursed at. Some prideful fellows are already at the front."
"Hmm."
"They are emerging now."
When I shifted my gaze back to the front line after hearing his words, those 'prideful fellows' were just beginning to come into view.
"For Hysen - !!!"
"Slay the enemies of Copherin!!"
A man wearing half-plate and chainmail covering the rest of his body, wielding two double-bladed axes.
A woman in full plate, holding a mace in one hand and a large shield so big it looked like a tower shield in the other.
A pair recognizable as 'knights' at a single glance were charging forward, leading others clad in gleaming plate mail behind them.
"Senior knights of Copherin City, Sir Jent and Lady Odelin. They are the next-generation talents of the city."
"They appear to be excellent individuals."
"...Their abilities are excellent."
There seemed to be emotion hidden between his words.
And sure enough, Knight Elias's brow was slightly furrowed as he watched them. It was not, at the very least, the look one gave dependable allies.
Seeing that reminded me of something.
'In this era, as long as you have strength, character comes second—that was probably normal.'
When it came to the worship of strength, this place would be far more intense than Earth's medieval or prehistoric times. Because this was a world where the word 'superhuman' could be used routinely, even for people who weren't exactly perfect.
That was why the nations of this world strongly emphasized loyalty to country and superiors as a virtue.
The achievements of such superhumans, heroes, and champions were, after all, strength itself. And the targets upon which to build those achievements were...
Always monsters.
'I can use this.'
I had gained two achievements just today alone.
I was in a good mood.
So I hid the smile that was about to emerge on its own and looked up at the sky ahead.
Ssssss...
"It's coming."
There, a red mist was advancing like the twilight of evening. It was not a figurative expression using color, but mist truly made of blood.
... Flash.
At the very center of that mist, I could make out a particularly red light glinting.
- There's plenty of fertilizer.
Along with someone's presence.
"Miss? What did you just say... Miss? Miss Anjelita!!"
By the time Elias turned his head toward me, I had already vanished from that spot.