Chapter 108: Japan (16)
Chapter 108: Japan (16)
When the Dark Lightning struck the ground, the shockwave reached Han Shin’s party, even though they had evaded it by a hair’s breadth.
Han Shin knew instinctively, without anyone having to tell him, that he wouldn't emerge unscathed if he took a direct hit from such magic—even if he was the Proxy of Tiamat wearing the full body armor she had bestowed upon him.
Mages. I have to find them.
Naturally, his first thought was to locate and eliminate the ones casting such threatening spells: the Orc Mages.
However, Laysia had reshaped the terrain, causing jagged rocks to thrust up everywhere. With Orcs scrambling over one another to rush in, his line of sight was blocked.
I need to move to higher ground.
Han Shin’s gaze shifted diagonally toward the tallest rock pillar in the vicinity.
There.
He decided he needed to climb it to get a proper look. He called out to Grace, who was busy cutting down Orcs beside him.
"I'm heading up there!"
"Understood!"
Grace immediately grasped Han Shin’s intention to secure the high ground and gain visibility. As soon as she answered, she matched his pace, helping him break through the Orc lines as he hacked and stabbed his way forward.
The Orcs had been unable to handle Han Shin and Grace even in an open field; now, with the terrain cluttered and their ability to surround the pair hindered, they were being picked off one by one.
As the terrain became increasingly cramped for a spear, Han Shin reverse-summoned his polearm and drew his sword and shield.
Clang!
A metallic ring echoed as he blocked an Orc’s axe with his shield. Han Shin felt a heavy impact travel up his arm.
But it was manageable.
Han Shin’s body was brimming with the Power of the Dragon derived from Tiamat, making him the physically strongest being on this battlefield. He immediately swung his sword, severing the axe-wielding Orc’s arm and sending a spray of black blood into the air.
"Kuaaaagh!"
He silenced the screaming Orc warrior by taking its head, then scrambled up the rocks without hesitation.
Spears, axes, and arrows flew toward him, but they posed little threat. As Han Shin grew more accustomed to combat, his field of vision expanded; he perceived these attacks instantly, dodging them or blocking them with his shield without issue.
Having climbed only a short distance, his view cleared, allowing him to see the Orcs swarming in from all directions.
Han Shin scanned the area rapidly, searching for the group of Orc Mages. About 200 meters from his position, he spotted a massive Orc clad in ornately decorated armor.
That guy is the boss. And... are those the ones near him the mages?
Seeing Orcs draped in what looked like animal hides, Han Shin concluded they were the mages. During his training with Grace, he had studied books at the Sanctuary to build his knowledge of monsters, and he remembered that Orc attire varied based on their roles and abilities.
Though he had found his primary targets, the Orc Mages, Han Shin’s gaze remained fixed on the Orc Chieftain.
From his experience fighting other humanoid monsters, he knew that taking down the central leader caused far more chaos than it did with other monster types. He had known he needed to kill the leader to clear the dungeon, but with the sheer number of Orcs, he hadn't expected to find him so quickly.
It was only natural, as the wave of Orcs mounted on Warboars across the open grasslands had previously blocked his sight.
Someone needed to use magic or reach a high vantage point to see the whole field, and Han Shin had happened upon the leader while searching for the mages. He was satisfied with having gained much better intelligence than he had anticipated.
Han Shin hurried back down to Grace. Laysia, who had been fighting a short distance away to draw aggro, had also rejoined them.
He was glad to find the two of them together. He quickly relayed what he had seen from above.
"At eleven o'clock, there's a large Orc in ornate armor and some mages draped in hides."
At his words, Grace and Laysia turned their eyes in that direction.
Grace’s eyes flashed as she began to radiate a more intense silver sword energy.
"I will open the path," she declared.
They couldn't spend forever fighting common Orcs in a situation like this. While they were capable of suppressing the horde, it would take too long. As the battle dragged on, the limit of the Divine Power of Tiamat they could draw upon would eventually put them at risk.
Ultimately, being vastly outnumbered meant that a war of attrition was clearly disadvantageous for Han Shin’s party.
Laysia, in particular, had consumed a great deal of strength to reshape the terrain they stood on; Han Shin might not have noticed, but Grace could tell she was growing exhausted. Laysia was feigning composure, but Grace already knew the truth.
That was why Grace stepped forward to lead the charge.
Until now, she had focused on protecting Han Shin and fighting efficiently, minimizing her use of Tiamat’s Divine Power to prepare for a long battle. She had made this choice the moment she saw Laysia expend so much energy on the terrain, even without discussing it.
Grace, Laysia, and Han Shin all knew that this was the turning point of the battle.
The three figures in silver armor began to plow through the charging Orcs.
Leading the way was Grace, her platinum-blonde bob fluttering in the wind. A female knight in silver full body armor tailored to her frame, she looked like a sharp spearhead—though her design was more elegantly curved than Han Shin’s.
The silver armor, already stained with flecks of black blood from the ongoing battle, was soon splattered with fresh gore. The silver aura that had been radiating softly now glowed with a much more intense hue.
While Awakeners who manipulated Qi had vastly different combat styles depending on their class and weapon, they all shared one commonality: by projecting Qi, they could deliver sharper, more precise attacks and strike from a greater distance than their enemies expected.
The Orcs and Warboars, expecting a standard sword's reach, had no way to react to the crescent-shaped waves of sword energy flying toward them.
The Warboars and Orcs blocking Grace’s path were cleaved diagonally through their torsos and faces, spraying fountains of black blood and spilling entrails as they collapsed. Thanks to her, the only things remaining in her path were cooling corpses.
She continued her advance, treading through pools of black blood and over heaps of meat.
The Orcs were thrown into a panic by the party’s sudden, ferocious breakthrough. They realized the destination was the Orc Chieftain’s position.
A report reached the Chieftain immediately, but Han Shin’s party was already a mere 50 meters away.
The gruesome sound of cutting flesh and the dying screams of Orcs filled the air. As death drew near, the Orcs felt a surge of terror.
The Orc Chieftain was no exception. He shouted desperately to the Orc Mages standing a short distance away.
"M-Magic! Use your magic on them, quickly!"
They had already showered the party with arrows and axes from all sides and charged them directly, but the party showed no sign of slowing down.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Amidst the din, the sound of metal deflecting projectiles made it clear that their attacks weren't landing properly. For the first time, the Orc Chieftain’s voice wavered as he barked orders, the noise of the approaching battle drawing closer.
Fortunately for him, his pathetic display didn't earn him any scorn from his subordinates. The common Orcs were even more panicked and terrified than he was. Before being subjugated by demons, they had been a powerful tribe; they had never experienced anything like this at the hands of humans.
However, the Orc Mages were also exhausted from their joint casting of Dark Lightning. By pooling their dark magic to increase its scale and destructive power, they had used what was essentially their ultimate move, and they needed time to recover their mana.
This was why no more magic had rained down even after Han Shin’s party entered the rocky terrain Laysia had created.
Though the Orc Mages were drained and their mana hadn't fully recovered, they tried to force out a spell. Like the Chieftain, they felt they couldn't just stand by. Unlike the warriors who could at least swing a sword or axe, the mages knew they were even more vulnerable in their weakened state.
"Use Poison Cloud!"
They couldn't just die without doing anything. In a desperate attempt to resist, they decided to conjure a cloud of potent venom, even if it meant their own warriors would be caught in it.
But before they could even begin the incantation, a martial artist with light red hair and silver light armor dropped from the sky.
Boom!
She landed on the ground, crushing one Orc Mage under her feet.
While Grace led the vanguard, Laysia had followed behind without expending much strength, waiting for the moment to move against the mages. The moment she sensed the flow of mana, she reacted like a bolt of lightning, using the Warboars as stepping stones to leap into the air and pounce on the mages.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the mages' eyes widened as they scrambled to cast their spells, but Laysia was not about to let that happen.