Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Drive Hunt (5)
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In a situation where thousands had formed a circular formation like now, wyverns were an even trickier breed of fiends.
The circular formation was arrayed in a round to respond to attacks from any direction, but if you isolated any one section, it was ultimately structured to deal with enemies coming straight at your assigned sector.
Wyverns dropped right from overhead, and they could even strike inside the circle where it was supposed to be safe.
And what about their individual specs? They flew fast, making them hard to catch, and even if you grabbed one, their scales were so tough that without Silver-rank warrior strength, you couldn't land a proper hit. Plus, with their massive size, a single thrash could sweep away several people.
Among the formation's 2,200 members, there were fewer than thirty Silver-ranks, while over fifty wyverns were swooping in. From the mercenaries' perspective, it was a disaster.
'They must have been aware of me too.'
The sirens had no neural network or whatever to automatically detect the deaths of their kin. They would have learned of the legion's wipeout through scouting.
And if they'd scouted, there was no way they wouldn't recognize the Vanity Inferno, even if they missed other magics. Burn marks were too easy to spot.
So they must have come up with some countermeasures against fire mages.
The wyvern assault was surely part of that.
Fire magic was generally better suited for igniting things on the ground than empty air.
Even if you somehow managed to burn a wyvern to death, that came with its own problems.
The spot where it burned up would be right over the mercenaries' heads, and given the fiend's bulk, it was no different from a flaming boulder crashing down.
In short, whether the wyverns lived or died, the formation would take damage. It was a no-win choice.
'Pretty clever for evil spirits.'
Of course, no matter how much the sirens racked their brains, it was useless against power that shattered common sense.
Galen smirked and tracked the wyverns' movements with his eyes.
The wind swirling around him was a mere breeze compared to the mana he'd invested—deliberately so, as he caught his breath.
His will, riding a massive yet subtle flow of mana blended equally from Spiral Eddy and stellar power, slowly spread out. Then, the moment the first wyvern dove toward the ground, it sharpened to an edge.
"Uwaaa... aaah...?"
The mercenary, about to scream in terror at the wyvern's grotesque maw rapidly growing larger, could only trail off awkwardly.
Whooooosh!
The wyvern plunging fiercely was shoved upward by a fierce updraft, losing balance and flailing wildly.
That moment became the trigger.
A typhoon began raging over the mercenaries' heads.
Whiiiiiir!
Not literally right above their heads, of course—it meant the high sky that even a Silver warrior jumping with all their might couldn't reach.
Yet the wind's roar was so deafening it sent eerie chills straight to their ears.
"Kieeeek?!"
"Kiaaa?!"
Wyverns could usually bulldoze through ordinary gales with their mass, but this was no ordinary gale.
Wings meant nothing. Their bodies were lifted and hurled about; no way could wings hold against that.
Kwaaaaa!
A point in the sky Galen had designated. Mana rotated around it as the focal point.
The moment start and end linked into a loop, forming a vortex—the Spiral Eddy's true form revealed itself.
An insatiable whirlpool devoured the heavens, unrelenting until the mana ran dry.
Thud! Thunk! Thud! Thwack!
The wyverns couldn't even scream anymore. Or rather, they were screaming, but the sound didn't reach outside the vortex.
Forcing their wings open only tore them to shreds, and even without wings, they didn't fall. The wyverns' hefty bodies tumbled like leaves.
They crashed into each other, bounced off, collided again, flailed helplessly and smacked their own tails.
Galen suddenly thought of an Earth washing machine. The laundry inside spun more gently than that.
"Mi... m-madness..."
"W-what the hell is that...?"
Mercenaries inside the formation trembled in voice, while those on the outer edge facing the fiends kept glancing upward.
No explanation needed to know whose handiwork it was.
There wasn't a single mage among the fewer-than-thirty Silver-rank mercenaries. A few Bronze ones, maybe, but if Bronze could do that, mages would be deified.
"A wind mage?"
"I thought it was fire..."
"I-I saw it in the first village! Burning fiends alive!"
A brief confusion arose, but simple mercenaries figured good was good and accepted it quick.
Those terrifying wyverns tumbling like toys—what was there to complain about? No matter how fearsome the magic, if it was on our side, perfect.
The wyverns, meant to be the vanguard shattering the formation, instead boosted mercenary morale. Just as Galen wanted.
'This should be enough.'
Truth be told, he couldn't do more even if he wanted to.
No matter how close Spiral Eddy edged toward Gem rank, it wasn't there yet, and wyverns were fiends that could comfortably handle top Silver treatment.
One Gold couldn't unilaterally toy with fifty Silvers. Golds weren't that strong, Silvers not that weak.
This was an ultra-scale technique possible only by pouring all mana and borrowing stellar power—leaving him exhausted after one use.
Like the colossal earth golem he'd made against the orc mage by dumping every ounce of mana from Territory Advance.
This was the decisive difference between Galen and normal mages.
A 'normal' mage couldn't gamble everything on one strike, but for Galen, 'everything' wasn't truly everything.
"Get lost."
Still with arms raised skyward, Galen muttered indifferently and flicked his hand down. Like pronouncing a death sentence.
Sweeeeeesh!
The vortex spat out a wyvern. Not just bouncing it away—a strand of mana still gripped its neck.
Already out of its mind, the wyvern plummeted to earth without control, at full ejection speed.
Not over the mercenaries' heads, but tracing a death ray over the fiends climbing the hill.
Kuuuung!
Not tough enough to survive that, the wyvern smashed into the ground and died instantly. Nearby fiends milling about were crushed or flung far.
Impressed by the fine demonstration, Galen promptly applied the same to the others.
Wyverns shot out in all directions, pulping fiends each time.
Boom! Booom! Boom! Booooom!
By the time the vortex ended and the gale overhead died down, the wyvern cleanup was complete.
Fifty launched to take down hundreds—top-tier catapult material, right?
Galen shifted gaze from the cleared sky to the ground and strolled leisurely.
Miscellaneous fiends slain charging the mercenaries numbered in thousands, and those sliced by him and Lilia easily surpassed hundreds.
Yet fiends remained disgustingly numerous. Three legions combined. Still well over half left.
But no matter. Time to thin them properly now.
"Lilia."
"Yes!"
Instant reply. Lilia, having just sent another fiend to the grave, lightly stuck to Galen's side.
They'd discussed beforehand. No need to explain; she knew what he wanted.
Galen stared ahead.
With depleted Spiral Eddy, Vanity Inferno's mana drew stellar power instead.
Kwaaaaaang!
A massive explosion where his gaze landed. Dozens of fiends burst, punching a hole in the formation.
Galen gestured at the fresh hot path.
"Let's go."
The sisters' merger hadn't fully mixed the legions.
Given their ability to control beasts by infusing mana into voices, poor mixing would cause interference from overlapping commands.
So they'd split the formation: second sister on left flank, third in center, fourth on right—squeezing humans from three sides.
That was the initial plan.
As the third began seriously considering revisions, second and fourth arrived at center first. Bringing only key beasts.
"Perfect timing. Was about to call you."
"Because of that human?"
Third nodded at second's question. All sisters shared the sentiment.
Third glared at the battlefield with displeasure.
Brief shock at wyverns—her ace strike—being swept away so pathetically.
Then the top-priority fire halfwit began advancing.
And no one could stop him.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaaang!
Relentless blasts echoed, now not so distant. He'd closed in that much.
Straight-lining toward them, incinerating or exploding every beast in his path—a madman in skill and temper.
His momentum showed no sign of waning, so second and fourth abandoned observation and rushed over.
"At least the wind halfwit isn't joining in."
"Maybe he used all his power? That wyvern sweep was absurdly scaled."
"Problem is his minion's no slouch either. Just two, and we haven't scratched them..."
The halfwit's flames were powerful but crude; dying beasts could screen approaches.
But those approaching beasts all met the minion's iron mace.
Breaking through here alone already made her too strong for mere bodyguard.
"We've been too swayed by those two. Should've hit them with top forces from start, rest on hill. Humans barely damaged so far."
"Who knows. They might not have left the hill then."
"Whatever. Water under bridge. Beasts lost hurt, but we drained their mana and holy power. Those two worth more than thousands on hill."
"Yeah. Not too late."
The sisters' core beasts totaled eight. Rarest sorts, hard to even find to control.
Ogres could eat average Golds; tauruses, direwolves matched Golds decently.
The halfwit, depleted coming here, was surely on fumes. Winnable odds.
"Go kill those two."
The sisters sang. Beasts advanced majestically.
How would those two react? Close enough to recognize faces, though apart.
"Huh...?"
Soon wrinkles creased third's brow.
They should've spotted the approaching beasts by now.
Yet humans showed no despair, no calm.
The man was delighted; the woman grinning.
Thought she mis-saw, blinked—then expressions became moot.
"W-what the hell?!"
Man pulled woman close—
Then ground at their feet erupted upward.
The rising earth mound soon took humanoid shape.
Not human-sized, of course. Bigger than an ogre. The two stood on its left and right shoulders.
Beasts faltered slightly in shock, but kill order stood.
"Uwooo!"
A slightly dim tauruses bravely charged the mystery monster.
True to bull-head form—ram first into bigger foe.
Kwajik!
Taurus horn pierced golem, cracking around. Shock rippled.
That was it.
Not alive, uncaring of damage, golem swung arm down.
Paak!
Nape struck, taurus body jerked wildly.
Golem fist smashed again regardless.
Ppak!
Neck snapped; taurus flopped dead.
Dumb death, but two hits downed a taurus.
Then direwolf lunged like wind. Leap impressive.
Smart: targeted shoulder man, not golem.
Ppeok!
Alas, forgot woman too. Mace battered wolf airborne.
Kwaaang!
Midair, flames engulfed—exploded. Charred corpse rolled.
Watching till then, second spoke gravely.
"Fall back."
"W-what?"
"Throw all remaining beasts, then retreat. Can't kill with current forces."
"B-but ogres still..."
"Sister's right. No time to watch."
Fourth gritted teeth in support.
"Can't see? Halfwit's using two skills at once. Flames still going, now pulling golem from earth!"
Hesitant third snapped alert. Forgot amid easy deaths, but fourth nailed shock's root.
"Maybe even earlier wind was his. Mess up, even wyvern mount won't escape."
"Damn, a mere human..."
Frustrating, but sisters right. Had to concede.
Three wyverns reserved as mounts remained. Sisters hurriedly mounted one each.
Wings flapped. Beast bodies floated.
That instant.
"Ahead!"
Second yelled urgently. Third reflexively looked.
The minion, moments ago on golem shoulder, raced at terrifying speed.
Beasts to block? Useless.
Minion dashed over their heads in air steps.
"What now?!"
"Scatter! Scatter!"
In scream-like cries, three wyverns turned different ways.
But fresh flaps couldn't build speed yet.
Ppeoeok!
Before true flight, minion arrived—smashed first prey mercilessly.
"Fourth siiiister!"
"Run, I said! Hurry!"
Third screamed at mangled, unrecognizable fourth flying off. Second bellowed.
Wyverns whipped wings in panic.
Still, caught in seconds. Soon second too met iron mace demise.
Only third's wyvern gained speed during sisters' falls.
"Ah, aah!"
Alive, but no joy. Battlefield receding, third shed bloody tears.
"I'll kill... definitely... k—"
"Me?"
Viscous curse-filled voice cut by bright one.
Before third fully registered.
Ppeok!
Stunned impact flung her from wyvern back.
Body floated briefly, then plummeted mercilessly.
"Keeps making you look like pitiful victim."
In fading consciousness, minion's sneer last heard.
"When you're the perpetrator."