Chapter 163
Chapter 163
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: Roundup Hunt (4)
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Half of the legions that had been surrounding the pioneer zone from six directions had been wiped out. If you compared it to a clock, that would be the positions at 6, 8, and 10 o'clock.
The remaining legions at 4, 2, and 12 o'clock were being commanded by the Second, Third, and Fourth Sisters respectively, and the surviving Siren sisters had gathered by the shortest route. With the Third in the center, they converged on her position.
Thanks to moving as quickly as possible without any more leisure, the Second and Fourth were able to join up right away the next afternoon.
"We didn't see a single human nosing around on the way here."
"You too? Same on our side. They'd all fled completely."
The Second picked up the Fourth's words. The Fourth made an uncomfortable expression.
"They were the type to hold out and avoid evacuating as much as possible before. The fact that they all bolted before we even arrived means there must have been a strong order from above, right?"
"Probably the Holy Knights' command. They have that much authority. Even so, we can catch up in a day or two."
"Assuming we don't run into any interference."
"It'll be decided by tomorrow."
The Third said this as she walked toward them. While her sisters rushed to join her, she had been making maximum use of aerial reconnaissance.
"The humans are gathered about half a day's distance away."
"You mean their army?"
"If you can call a ragtag bunch of mercenaries an army."
"How many?"
"Over two thousand, it looks like."
"That's a lot."
Of course, the total number of mercenaries operating in the pioneer zone was far higher, but it wasn't realistic to scrape together every last one without leaving any behind.
You had to leave minimal forces for base defense and VIP protection, especially since this wasn't a safe rear area.
The sisters didn't know the humans' internal affairs inside out, but by rough calculations, two thousand seemed like they'd mobilized their full operable forces.
"Did you spot the Holy Knights by any chance?"
"Hardly any in white armor. But who knows. They can just change clothes."
"True. They wouldn't exclude the Holy Knights while scraping together every soldier. They're probably hiding."
"They must think they have a shot and are gearing up to block us."
A few days ago, they would have scoffed that the humans were making their last desperate stand, but not now.
In just a few days—before they even knew it—three legions had been obliterated, and more than half their sisters were dead.
By simple math, they'd already lost more than half their forces.
To be cold about it, even gathered like this, they couldn't confidently claim victory. Tomorrow might be their last day.
Still, the Siren sisters didn't even consider retreat.
There was no order from their master to do nothing and fall back.
Even if their legions were annihilated, they had to inflict comparable damage on the enemy first. Only then could they pull back briefly to rebuild.
"Actually, this works out better. If they've gathered their full forces, crushing them means no more obstacles."
"Even if we win, if we force heavy casualties, recovery will be tough for them."
"We can only hope the minions haven't recovered enough. Though if they had, we'd have dragged this out longer."
"One day of rest should be enough for our legions, right?"
"Plenty."
"Good."
The three sisters nodded almost in unison.
"Let's go."
"They're here."
Lilia said calmly.
A few who heard her startled and looked toward the horizon, but their eyes could barely make anything out.
But since the archbishop's eyesight was overwhelmingly superior, no one raised any objections.
"Right on the estimated time."
Galen muttered, glancing up at the sun.
It was around two in the afternoon. Lunch was already done. It matched almost exactly the timeline calculated from the scouts' reports.
The forces arrayed in a somewhat loose circular formation atop the gentle hill numbered about twenty-two hundred.
If this had been a regular army, relaying orders to a few commanders would suffice, but this was a patchwork of dozens of mercenary bands and groups, so all the captains and leaders had to be gathered.
Honestly, asking this lot to fight a full-scale war might make even a master strategist shake their head. Individual combat prowess aside, the chain of command was a mess; no way it could function properly.
But fortunately, what Galen intended wasn't a "war." It was a "hunt."
"Alright, everyone. One last rundown."
Galen clapped his hands lightly. Dozens of gazes focused on him instantly.
"I don't ask much of you. Just hold your assigned sectors a bit, and when you see signs of the enemy faltering, lead your men in and smash them. Judge the timing yourselves. Got it?"
"Yes!"
"I'm not telling you to fight to the death. But if someone drags their feet too much, that'll hurt my feelings too. I trust you won't make me catch thousands of fiends one by one."
"We'll give it our all!"
A vigorous response laced with determination came back.
Part of it was that in a place without even Gold-rank mercenaries, a Gem-rank's prestige bordered on idol worship.
But the more direct reason was that the exploits of those two were already well-known.
Not just the annihilation of the 6 o'clock fiends upon their dramatic entrance—the scouts had confirmed the literal pulverization of the advancing forces at 8 and 10 o'clock too.
From the mercenaries' perspective, who had repeatedly retreated because even one legion was too much, those two who crushed three seemed superhuman.
That was why these free-spirited mercenaries were behaving so meekly. Even if all twenty-two hundred piled on, they'd get shredded by the pair—naturally, they were deferential.
And there were practical reasons too.
Most of the mercenaries gathered here had inevitably breached their contracts.
Hired to defend farmlands from fiends or clear new ones by subjugating them, they'd just kept getting pushed back.
It was such an act of God—like a natural disaster—that the employers couldn't outright call it a contract violation.
But if they twiddled their thumbs until Galen and Lilia handled everything alone, they'd eat endless shit for it. They had to show some effort at minimum.
Galen sent them back to their positions, steeling their resolve.
Only Lilia remained at his side.
Their position was separate from the hill's circular formation, protruding a bit forward from the front.
He'd told the mercenaries to fight smartly because the two wouldn't sync with them—they'd act independently.
They held the highest status but weren't commanders. They were walking tactical weapons.
"Man, there's a disgusting number of them."
Galen said. Now even his eyes could make out the thousands of fiends swarming, blackening the horizon.
"I wish they'd been a little lazier."
They'd gotten info from interrogating a Siren that the demon was somewhere southeast, but no guarantee it wouldn't pop up suddenly—like how Galen and Lilia had for the Sirens.
So for contingencies, Lilia had held back plenty of holy power, and Galen had conserved Water Flow Manipulation.
Excluding those, his other magics were at the tail end of Gold rank, but still Gold.
Peak Gold was strong enough, but not enough to sweep thousands of fiends.
If it were, they'd have shelled out big to mobilize Gold mages and clean the whole mountain range.
Galen could tidy the 6 o'clock legion with Vanity Inferno alone because the fiends were densely packed, the spell was an outstanding AoE, and his mana was double others'—a perfect combo.
In short, sealing Water Flow Manipulation meant he couldn't wipe all six legions in one go. With Lilia's help, three was the limit.
Of course, a few days' rest would restore his mana, letting him handle the rest the same way, but the Sirens had clumped together.
"Still, it's good they showed up instead of running forever! Though I doubt they'll stick it out to the end."
"Can you chase down three?"
"Two, maybe? If all three mount wyverns and flee different directions, it'll be tough."
"Then we need to draw them all to one spot."
"How?"
"If we slowly pressure one, won't the other two come to help?"
"Ah."
"Let's see how the enemy moves first."
Galen briefly outlined the scenarios, and Lilia nodded.
While they chatted casually, the fiend horde arrived, filling the base of the hill.
The circular formation's hilltop offered no major defensive edge. Humans might get a bit winded climbing, but for beasts, this distance was nothing.
Glancing back, tension etched the mercenaries' faces. They knew Gems were with them, but they hadn't "seen" combat up close yet.
"Kill them all, leave none."
To make matters worse, the Siren's voice carried on the wind.
The fiends were so numerous her position was buried, but her unique timbre faintly reached even Galen's ears.
So the keen-sensed mercenary warriors certainly heard it. Especially the few Silver-rank elites mixed in.
"Uh, what?"
"D-did you hear something?"
Mercenaries unaware of the Sirens panicked. The eerie voice, clearly not human, stirred unease.
Then Lilia poked Galen's side.
He turned curiously, and she smiled, miming plugging her ears.
Galen covered his ears. Confirming it, Lilia opened her mouth.
"Battle stations!"
Her volume was immense—even muffled, it rang in his ears.
Her voice thundered across the entire hill of twenty-two hundred.
All the mercenaries jolted. The budding unease vanished instantly.
"Fiends incoming! Crossbows up!"
A simple command, but perfectly timed. The fiends were already charging up the hill as her voice carried.
"Kyaaa!"
"Kieee!"
The alert mercenaries aimed their loaded crossbows swiftly, and captains—stung by her words as a rebuke—shouted in unison.
"Sighted?"
"Yes!"
"Loose!"
Only seasoned mercenaries bothered carrying crossbows useless after a shot or two against fiends.
Not all twenty-two hundred had them, but the elite ratio was high, so it was still a solid number.
Shwick-shwick-shwick-shwick!
Hundreds of bolts fired from spots around the circle.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Hardly aiming needed. Even random shots would hit with the fiends surging like that.
"I'll fall back a bit."
"Yes!"
Galen stepped rearward slightly. Lilia advanced to match.
"Hiyah!"
Deliberately shouting with gusto, she swung her mace.
Bam!
The frontline Noils and such were utter weaklings.
She could kill them by poking with a finger.
A drum-like boom, and the near-shattered Noil corpse flew, slamming into trailing ones.
Krunch! Boom!
One mace swing sent two or three fiends airborne, turning them into projectiles.
Lilia's flashy frontline rampage skyrocketed nearby mercenaries' morale.
Then fiends began assaulting from sky and ground alike.
"Coming from all angles."
Galen muttered, eyeing above. Part of the sky darkened like a migratory flock.
Lilia glanced at him briefly. Galen nodded calmly, channeling mana.
Two handfuls of Spiral Vortex mana into Annihilation Mist.
Whoooosh—
Gloomy mist-shaped mana stretched skyward with wind's aid.
Dozens of diving fiends got engulfed mid-air.
Wingless freak birds tumbled powerlessly downward.
"Just handle the falling ones!"
Lilia called at the perfect moment. Mercenaries, eyes drawn skyward, seized the chance to cut them down.
Annoying flyers aside, once grounded, they weren't that tough unless elite.
The skirmish continued awhile.
Lilia crushed the ground vanguard; Galen sealed the air.
The other mercenaries held without much strain. They weren't weak enough to fold to mob rushes. And they had numbers too.
Of course, everyone knew the real attack hadn't begun.
Thinking they'd whittled some stamina, stronger fiends now appeared.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
On ground, trolls and such—beyond what most Bronze- and Scrap-rank mercenaries could block—mixed in sporadically.
In sky, wyverns burst through freak birds, asserting dominance.
"Th-this..."
A Silver warrior groaned unwittingly.
Even average Silvers struggled one-on-one with wyverns.
Wyvern numbers far outstripped Silvers among the mercenaries—not counting ground fiends.
"Ignore the sky! Eyes front!"
Lilia shouted nonchalantly.
But how could they?
They'd seen the mystery mist drop hundreds of birds, but birds and wyverns weren't the same. Wyverns would crush them.
The mist had slyly dissipated too.
As wyvern shadows loomed over all, doubts crept into every mind.
"Hm, about everyone gathered?"
Galen, calmly scanning the sky, extended his right arm.
Stellar power from the bracelet mingled with Spiral Vortex mana.
Whiiiine!
The wind began to blow.
Typhoon's prelude.