Chapter 265
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 265
Chapter Title: Manri Gorge Chase (3)
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The superior spirit of ice, Glacial.
She began to manifest a colossal body resembling an iceberg.
Through the pristine white mist, her mana glow turned toward Jun.
"This place is still so chaotic."
A beautiful woman's voice tickled his ears.
But what exactly did she mean by "chaos"?
'At least it doesn't seem to refer to this situation itself.'
"Unlike our dull dimension, this place always sparkles. Joy, sorrow, anger, despair, hope. To those without it, it's a brilliance that could blind them."
"...Then how does this place look to your eyes?"
"Right now... yes. Desire, anger, fear. And finally..."
Where did that crystal-like sparkling mana glow finally point?
"I sense a thirst for life."
"I do have a strong survival instinct."
"Hehe. Of course. Unlike us immortals, you mortals shine precisely because your lives are finite."
Jun gazed at her for a moment before suddenly speaking up.
"Is the severance between this world and the spirit realm connected to the deaths of the gods?"
"Death... Yes, from a human perspective, it might seem close to death."
"......"
"I'd love to explain in detail, but it seems your current level can't yet bear that truth."
"As expected."
This was something he'd experienced before.
The notion that he still couldn't fully grasp this world's truths.
If it was something he couldn't know or wouldn't know anyway, there was no point in dwelling on it.
Since arriving in this world, he'd grown accustomed to burying his curiosities, so Jun fell silent.
With their conversation ended, Glacial stirred.
Not by moving her massive form. She began drawing in all the surrounding natural mana—the capricious ice-attuned mana born from Manri Gorge's erratic weather.
"Haaa... This feels wonderful."
With a deep breath, the mana she'd inhaled poured back out into the world, now tinged with her own hue.
'The mana...'
Jun, who could see all the mana in this world with his own eyes, unwittingly opened his mouth.
The world had been dyed silvery-blue with just a single breath.
Within it, his [Soul Absorption], [Pure Wind], and Glacial's inherent mana blended harmoniously.
'Mana can mix that easily?'
Without any technique, simply by breathing, she freely manipulated elemental mana—a sight that imparted knowledge Jun had never witnessed before.
"You're imbuing the very space itself with ice properties."
"You have a keen eye."
The structure was similar to the high mana density of Derman that Jun had seen on Slayer Coast Isle.
Anyone whose body touched Glacial's mana would unknowingly absorb the ice mana with every breath, their body temperature dropping.
"There. That's all I can do for you."
"Thanks."
"No need. I was happy to visit this place after so long. I hope the day comes when this dimension reconnects with ours."
With those final words, Glacial's body began to scatter like mist.
Summoning her with the spirit stone had worked, but expecting more help than this was unrealistic.
'Glacial's mana should hold for just under half a day.'
Plenty of time.
It would take the enemy a while to scout their movements anyway.
Leaning against a nearby tree, Jun closed his eyes amid the pristine white mist.
For now, he needed to calm his overheated mana circuits first.
'I hope the others do well.'
"The captain's magic is always breathtaking..."
"Hah. I've seen many battlefields, but this kind of magic is a first for me."
The gorge was filled with hazy mist.
Bleeding adventurers lay collapsed around Eleanor and Bern, who marveled at Jun's spell.
Even these level 4 or 5 powerhouses hadn't detected them.
That meant they were under the spell's influence, shivering from the cold and unable to perform at full strength, only to be cut down by Aiden and Maya.
"Shall we move out right away?"
"Yeah. No need to drag this out."
As he spoke, Bern eyed Aiden, who strode ahead.
Unlike before, there was no hesitation in his steps.
Not bold, but reckless haste.
'Leaving Jun behind must weigh heavily on him.'
It wasn't just Aiden. Maya's sword carried more killing intent, devoid of any mercy.
To gain the upper hand, they'd even taken hostages without qualms, killing as painfully as possible to instill terror.
Eleanor was the same. Sometimes she'd spot enemies first and snipe them with holy magic to kick off the fight.
'I see why he recruited me.'
Their combat was near-perfect, but their hearts were rushed.
In a situation facing overwhelming numbers, such actions would surely lead to mishaps.
Jun had recruited Bern to cover those gaps.
'A captain with good subordinates, and subordinates with a good captain.'
But Bern didn't mind.
He even envied their deep camaraderie.
"I'll take point. Aiden, Maya—watch the rear."
His hammer, now without a charge to protect, had regained its purpose.
[Report! Report! Current position unconfirmed! Visibility zero!]
[Hen position report needed!]
[Damn it, a curse has fallen!]
[Shit, one slip death here! Monster contact!]
Voices brimming with chaos flowed into Jun's ears on the wind.
Unlike before, they were laced with bewilderment and fear.
[11th Squad wiped out northwest! Support needed! Support!]
"Oh dear. We can't go that way."
He needed to interject at the right moment to draw eyes here.
[Fireball]
[Lightning Call]
[Earth Burst]
[Ice Brake]
[Ice Spear]
[Iron Fist]
A rainbow of spells rained down in an instant, linked with illusions, on a group trudging through the cold.
"Kuaaaak!"
"Where is it? Where?!"
"That damn mage bastard's here!"
Cornered mentally, enemies died or fell to the indiscriminate barrage.
Seeing that much, Jun didn't look back and shifted positions immediately.
Soon, reception noises seeped into his ears on the wind again.
[Fuck, not northwest! Mage is here!]
[What bullshit? There are corpses here!]
[You bastard, the mage just bombed us and bolted! Three dead!]
Harsh words flew amid allies' deaths and the lightning-fast assault.
'Gotta keep drawing their attention like this.'
He headed in the opposite direction from where his comrades had gone.
"Th-there! Enemy!"
"Mage bastard!"
"Why the hell is this guy here?!"
Another barrage of spells.
The goal wasn't kills.
It was chaos.
Push them to the brink, make their movements utterly unpredictable.
The more spectacularly he rampaged, the more they'd swarm like bees.
'That'll complicate their thinking. Casualties from the northbound path, and now nonstop losses from below.'
How would the enemies respond?
Jun put himself in their shoes.
Would they just watch casualties snowball?
Possible.
They treated lives like bugs.
But really?
They'd pulled ground forces down, abandoned layer 6 management, poured everything here.
'They've dragged down ground troops to form an encirclement. At minimum, they'll want to capture us alive for intel to satisfy that investment.'
High chance they'd overplay their hand to recoup losses.
And as predicted.
[Captain. Large-scale troop movement detected from the north.]
A report came from Eleanor via the World Tree's essence.
[Good. Proceed as planned.]
[Confirmed.]
"Fuck, what kind of bullshit situation is this?!"
With a crude curse, Delbarton, vice-captain of the Black Moon Mercenary Corps, slammed the desk.
A sudden blizzard whipped up.
At first, he'd thought it was just Manri Gorge's fickle weather, but even level 5 users were suffering bone-chilling cold.
It had to be that White Whale captain mage's doing.
'How the hell did one guy pull off magic on that scale?'
He couldn't fathom it, but that wasn't the priority now.
How to respond to the situation was.
'Corpses keep turning up northwest.'
Estimating death times was tough in this mad weather, but enemies had definitely climbed that far.
'But the mage keeps showing south.'
Their core asset, the mage, wouldn't come south alone.
Meaning they'd assessed the forces, deemed breakthrough impossible, and retreated.
Otherwise, the mage wouldn't rampage solo like that.
'Let them go?'
No. High command ordered capture alive for Duke Randel's intel.
That's why they'd defied the Imperial Family's gaze, committing all manpower here.
They'd judged the enemy held solid intel on the duke.
Letting them slip meant not just wasted time, but enduring Imperial punishment for nothing.
"Tch..."
No choice. Couldn't let them escape.
He contacted the Solar Guardian Adventurer Corps via crystal orb.
[Agreed. Our side's losses are mounting too.]
He shifted more elite northern troops centrally.
Real elites would stay for contingencies, but over half committed.
"Damn it..."
Something was going wrong.
An inexplicable unease crept in—why were bad feelings always spot-on?
"What..."
About half a day passed.
Over half the northern forces had moved when a strange report came.
"What do you mean by that?"
[Th-the mage! Vanished right before our eyes!]
The icy mist filling the gorge dissipated, and the mage tormenting the eastern forces was pinpointed.
No other personnel visible, but presumed nearby—pursue full force.
"Sp-spatial... magic?"
Report of the mage vanishing abruptly before them.
Then—
Kwarung!
"E-enemy!"
"Magic! Lightning strike!"
"Holy knight! Ariclotos Order holy knight!"
"Fuck, assemble now!!"
Enemies who should have been central in the gorge appeared before the northern Illusion Forest layer.