Chapter 324
Chapter 324
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 324
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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Rumble...
Bron's water orb gradually swelled in size.
"Run! It's coming!"
"We have to hide in the ground!"
"That one! That one!"
Bron giggled as he spread his palm wide.
"This is your welcome gift, you moles!"
"Squeeeeek!"
"It's coming! It's here!"
"Hide!"
[Bron uses Waterfall Sorcery: Concentrated Downpour.]
[Creates water arrows using moisture and strikes the target point.]
[The penetrating power of the water arrows is influenced by wisdom, intelligence, and the number of water arrows.]
[Can be maintained for up to 1 minute.]
[The sorcery is canceled if moisture runs out.]
Splashhhh!
Arrows formed from the water orb shot toward the moles like writhing tentacles.
"Squeeeeek!"
"Squeak! Squeeeeek!"
"Scary! Scary!"
"Hide!"
Pffft...
"Squeak..."
Splash!
"Ugh..."
The water arrows pierced holes straight through their bodies in an instant.
Having massive holes torn into their bodies was bad enough on its own, but Bron's sorcery exerted even greater effects in this polar wasteland.
Crackle...
"Aaaaaah!"
"It's freezing! Freezing!"
"Cut it off! S-save me!"
"N-no! Scary!"
"Squeeeeek!"
The pierced wounds froze solid and expanded from within.
The result...
Crunch...
"Squeeeeak!"
The moles' once-intact muscles and bones tore apart in shreds. The number of severely wounded moles exploded.
'This is the Bron of the Great Sea...'
It was my first time witnessing his power firsthand, but just one move made his strength crystal clear.
'...A monster.'
He might be the strongest troll I'd encountered yet.
Especially in situations like this, facing massive armies—he handled the moles with the ease of someone who'd done it countless times.
"Missed!"
"Not hitting!"
Moles who hadn't made it to the fortress or burrowed into tunnels mocked Bron.
After all, once you escaped open ground, dodging his water arrows was simple.
This was the blind spot of wide-area sorcery—no, abilities specialized in area effects.
Abilities with any real lethality consumed massive amounts of mana, but their effects weren't consistent.
Wide-area abilities maximized efficiency by achieving kills with minimal mana, but stray even slightly, and you couldn't even scratch the enemy.
Terrain, weather, elemental matchups, positioning, soil quality, resistance...
Unlike single-target decisive abilities, every environmental factor was an obstacle.
The current situation was a perfect example.
As the moles hid behind cover, casualties plummeted.
'I'll have to step in.'
Bron might have other options, but the simplest was for me—Kang Seol—to assist him.
Step...
Crackle...
Having taken in Jamad, I placed my hand on the ground.
The pillar of the Great Sea had flexed its might, so the pillar of the Earth, Jamad, had to show some power in turn.
[Earth Sorcery: Explosive Mining is used.]
[Emits shockwaves through the earth toward the target.]
[Upon reaching the target, unleashes powerful shockwaves to destroy the terrain.]
[If ore exists in the destroyed terrain, damage is applied at 150%.]
Rumble rumble rumble—
Like an earth dragon writhing underground, snow and rocks erupted from the snowy mountain.
Rumble rumble—
"Squeak!"
"Over here!"
"Dodge!"
KABOOM!
"Squeeeeek!"
"Graaaah!"
With an ear-shattering roar, the moles hiding in the rocky zones exploded outward in groups.
The same happened simultaneously in multiple spots.
KABOOM!
KABOOM!
"Heh heh... No need for our guest to join in."
Bron sauntered over, cracking a joke. I shrugged in response.
"I just wanna rest soon."
"Then bear with me a bit longer."
KABOOM!
A symphony of sorceries echoed across the land.
Just as I'd been overwhelmed by the sights of Little Heaven, this alien spectacle brought unfamiliarity laced with terror.
"This is... Kang Seol?"
"The Glacier Fang... is this strong?"
Ishii and Yeba might have been the most rational ones gathered here. They had a rough idea of average vanguard levels, as well as the strengths of Northern Federation figures.
To them, the pillars' power bred an incomprehensible fear.
The fear that these weren't beings like themselves.
"Glacier Fang! Time to reclaim the fortress!"
Burtul wasn't idle either.
"Waaaaah!"
"Exterminate the moles!"
Here weren't just Bron's Glacier Fang—there were the original Glacier Fang too.
The sudden alliance of two pillars and a well-trained elite army was shocking, but priorities came first: deal with the immediate threat.
Drive out the moles from the fortress.
"Squeeeeek! Squeak! Fire!"
"Fire! Fire! Arrows!"
"Aim! Hit them!"
Harsh voices shattered the night air.
Even sycophantic tones could sound majestic when united, as the moles proved.
Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh—
Thanks to the two pillars' exploits, we'd advanced unhindered to the fortress outskirts when arrows blanketed the sky like they'd been waiting.
"Block them!"
Both pillars were unleashing offensive sorceries, so switching to defense on the fly wasn't feasible.
"Erect ice walls!"
"Yes!"
That was when the Glacier Fang's grand sorcerers stepped up.
Powerful figures absent from Burtul's side.
[Group: Glacier Fang Sorcerers use Glacier Sorcery: Freezing Zone.]
[Selects a direction from the caster's center to defend a wide area.]
[Projectiles colliding with the barrier take 50% damage, but magic takes double.]
[The barrier moves centered on the caster.]
Thud thud thud thud!
Arrows rained down on the barrier like it was a porcupine. Ishii and Yeba, who'd flinched at the launch, now felt like they were dreaming.
It was their first large-scale battle, and the scale was nothing like they'd imagined.
"Charge! Reclaim the fortress!"
"Waaaaaaaah!"
No one could ignore the Glacier Fang charging behind their barrier.
"Squeak! Squeeeeek! Let it out!"
"Yes!"
Rumble rumble...
A massive hole yawned open before the fortress, revealing a mole rivaling an ogre in bulk.
"Grrr..."
It drooled madly, a steel muzzle clamped over its jaws.
"What... is that...?"
"Monster..."
Ishii and Yeba shuddered in dismay.
Even an ogre would be mush against that thing—an ominous premonition.
They instinctively backpedaled.
Rumble...
Rumble rumble...
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two more of similar size burst out, dimming hopes of reclaiming the fortress.
"My god..."
"Squeeeee!"
"Release the restraints! Order them to kill!"
Atop the fortress, a mole general overlooked all, identity unknown but no ordinary foe.
"ROOOAR!"
The massive moles bellowed.
As Kang Seol stepped forward to intervene, Bron extended a hand to stop him.
"...Let me warm up."
"......"
Bron turned and bellowed.
"What are you gawking at!"
"......"
"Kill it quick! It's a mole!"
In that instant, the Glacier Fang tribe surged forward like boiling lava.
"UHAHAHAHA! I'm first!"
Whoosh!
A mole's claw lashed out.
The first Glacier Fang slid across the snow to evade, passing the baton to the next.
Clatter—
"Throw chains!"
"Big or not, it's still a mole!"
"UHAHAHA!"
A scene from the illusion.
Kang Seol witnessed it once more.
Savagery bows to greater savagery.
"Over here! This one!"
"HAHAHA! Slow! So slow!"
Crunch!
Crunch!
A Glacier Fang mounted the mole's head, raining down axe blows.
"This side's nice and tender!"
"No poison! Dinner!"
"Hee hee hee!"
Screeech!
Crunch!
Naturally, some were flung off.
"Gahk!"
"Hey! You down?"
"Pfht... Down? Me?"
"UHAHAHA! Keep up!"
Madness.
This explained why the Glacier Fang had long ruled Whigeltung.
They knew how to wield madness.
Perhaps only this frozen Whigeltung could cool their boiling blood.
"Squeeeeek! Th-these guys are nearing the fortress!"
"Fire! Fire! The fortress is invincible! They have no siege weapons!"
True enough.
The ice fortress had fallen once to mole schemes, but it was an iron bastion long infamous in Whigeltung.
Reclaiming it would demand sacrifices in kind from the Glacier Fang.
But the moles had still erred.
They forgot the Glacier Fang were a monster horde adept at battle—and that Bron of the Great Sea and Jamad, pillar of the Earth, were with them.
Crackle crackle...
"Fire!"
"Fire! F—"
Pfft...
"Huh?"
Fwoosh fwoosh—
Incoming water arrows and rock shards.
All courtesy of Bron and the Nightcrows. Their projectiles' accuracy made the moles' crude arrows laughable.
"Squeak! Squeeeeek!"
"Ow! Ow! Hole in my chest!"
"KAAAH! Scary! No!"
Wide-area sorcery was headache enough, but the Glacier Fang warriors' antics erased all mirth.
"UHAHAHAHA! Drag it here!"
"Slam it into the fortress!"
"Good boy! Shove it there! We'll stomp over you into the fortress."
"GRAAAAAH!"
They'd smash the moles into the walls to breach or use as ladders to the ramparts.
No concern for finesse or success—just do what was needed.
The mole commander sensed defeat.
He'd forgotten.
To those who'd conquered it, the battlefield was mere scenery.
"...Retreat!"
"Squeeeeek!"
"Squeeeeek! Run!"
"We can escape now!"
The commander who gave the order stayed atop the ramparts, nocking an arrow.
Twang...
"Before you go, a parting gift."
His target wasn't the Nightcrows or Bron.
One who couldn't dodge this arrow.
"Farewell, Burtul."
ZIIIIING!
A screech slicing across the field.
Kang Seol and Bron spotted its malice first.
But the shooter, firing from beyond their range, was no pushover—they couldn't intervene.
Crack!
The arrow shattered part of the grand sorcerers' barrier and burrowed through.
Weakened passing the barrier, but still deadly.
Burtul hastily deployed a defensive sorcery.
Crackle!
It shattered that effortlessly too.
Understandable—Burtul hadn't fully recovered from prior wounds.
The arrow was inches away.
"UAAAAH!"
Then, someone with a wooden shield charged in front of Burtul.
Ishii.
Bang...
CRASH!
Shield and arrow met; the shield splintered, and Ishii tumbled across the ground repeatedly.
"Tch..."
The mole commander, foreseeing the outcome, retreated with his troops.
"Cough... ugh..."
It hurt like death, but he lived.
And Burtul survived.
Burtul turned to Ishii.
"...Human."
Yeba flew to Ishii's side.
"Ishii! You idiot!"
"Huff... huff... I blocked it, see?"
"Tough bastard! Why step up! Thought you were done for!"
"Heh... Got an achievement. Jealous?"
"Die! Just die!"
"Ow!"
Bron glanced at them before turning to Kang Seol.
"...Fun bunch."
"Was just thinking the same."
Rumble rumble...
The moles fleeing the snowy mountains rumbled on for a while.
"Pathetic. Always dodging fights. Well..."
Squeeeeek...
A Glacier Fang scaled the ramparts and opened the gates.
"Homecoming."
Following Bron, the Glacier Fang army marched into the ice fortress.
BOOM...
Moments later, the gates shut as if nothing happened.
Only the snow-buried mole corpses told of the battle's end.
Whigeltung.
The land where blood freezes.
Its long ruler had returned.
...From death.
Squeak...
The seat of the fortress lord was adorned with bones of massive beasts hunted in their reign.
Bron eyed them briefly before sitting.
Whoooosh...
An emperor's dignity filled the hall as he took his throne.
Glacier Fang high warriors and Burtul's group awaited his thoughts.
Elbow on throne arm.
Forehead on hand.
A natural motion.
He was the fortress's true master.
"Well... time to clean house?"
The polar terror, the Glacier Fang's first act...
"Let's start the mole hunt."
"WAAAAAAAH!"
The blood-hungry Glacier Fang roared.
[Faction: Glacier Fang maintains robust state.]
[If no hostile factions nearby, the faction enters a golden age.]
……