Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Monsters Unleashed
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BOOM!
"Arghhh!"
With a single blow from the troll that had awakened from the stone coffin, another mage screamed and slammed into the wall.
The violent rampage of the monsters stirring from their semi-dormant state transformed the once peaceful(?) research lab into a hellscape of pandemonium in the blink of an eye.
As the monsters thrashed about and shattered nearby stone coffins, sleep fluid burst forth, awakening yet more monsters in a vicious cycle that made controlling them increasingly arduous.
'No need for me to smash the coffins myself anymore.'
Misha, watching the chaos unfold through her gnome, quietly slipped out of the lab.
"Uncle Saladin, you're way smarter than you look. That's why Young Master Jerome keeps you around, even if he rags on you all the time."
This incident made it crystal clear to Misha why Jerome had sent Saladin off on his own.
Saladin might not have reached the insane heights of Lampang with his Heterogenous Power yet, but he wielded a talent Lampang lacked.
No—a weapon none of their group possessed.
Improvisation.
His quick thinking was downright impressive.
Slipping naturally into the enemies' midst was skill enough, but what truly stunned her was the strategy he'd cooked up on the spot after spotting the gnome she'd planted.
'Who'd think to wake the monsters?'
Misha had planned to wipe out every last monster. Using them to wreck the lab? That hadn't crossed her mind for a second.
What if the awakened beasts obeyed the mages' commands?
They'd be stripped to bone and meat, swallowed whole in an instant.
It was a gutsy call, trusting Jerome's word that the monsters' research was incomplete.
"Arghhh!"
Even as Misha reevaluated Saladin, the mages' numbers were plummeting at a furious pace.
More monsters awakening by the minute, fewer mages to fight them—it was inevitable.
"Uncle Saladin, hurry up! Any later and we'll be in trouble too!"
Recalling her gnome, Misha muttered while glancing upward without thinking.
Her eyes fixed on the pinnacle of the central spiral tower.
The chamber of the chief mage, Gildre.
Squelch!
A grotesque arm of slime, dripping viscous fluids, writhed and shot forward.
"Eek!"
Saladin's hand darted in panic.
Whirr!
Gildre's elongated arm spun like a top, grazing Nene's body by a paper-thin margin.
Sizzle!
The wall where Gildre's arm had brushed melted away like ice cream in midsummer.
"Well, aren't you something. Physical resistance, acid too—a slime through and through... Whoa!"
No sooner had he spoken than a barrage of magic missiles flew at him. He maneuvered Nene to block them.
"Damn, you're one filthy annoying puppet! Ice Spear!"
Whoosh!
An ice lance, condensed from moisture and deadlier than any spear, targeted the tiny gap Nene couldn't cover.
Clang!
Perfectly timed strike—but Nene's left hand swatted it away with mocking ease.
"Hmph. Not a toy that shatters so easily."
Saladin's smug look made a vein bulge at Gildre's temple.
"Today, I'll pickle you and that cursed puppet in formalin, mark my words."
"Hmph, you think you can? No time for posturing now, is there?"
"...!!"
Gildre tried to mask his unease at Saladin's grin, but the perceptive puppet master wasn't fooled.
Anyone would sense Gildre's desperation in this mess—their long-researched projects crumbling live before their eyes.
Of course, Saladin wasn't exactly lounging either.
'Damn. Fine needles nearly tapped out.'
Nene was a poison-centric puppet by design.
Normally, running low on fine needles wouldn't be a crisis.
But her venom stock—the key to her poison arsenal—was bone-dry too.
Saladin, wielder of deadly puppets laced with toxins and hidden blades.
His signature marionette had earned him the moniker "Puppet" and struck fear across southern Ikenia Kingdom.
With Shield Family aid, both Nene and Mimi had been upgraded repeatedly, letting him dominate duels with flashy flair.
Yet one fatal flaw persisted, rearing its head now: when his puppets ran out of ammo, Saladin was done.
'...Time for 'that'?'
Gritting his teeth behind Nene, Saladin debated secretly channeling energy—but released it with a sigh.
He wasn't an idiot. He'd trained counters for his weakness, but...
'Escape becomes impossible.'
The technique was unfinished.
Using it would flood his body with exhaustion, leaving him helpless.
'No choice. Second-best it is.'
Ching!
Saladin's fingers danced like a virtuoso on strings.
Clunk! Puff!
Nene's mouth gaped, belching a fresh cloud of green haze.
"As if your petty poison fazes me! Shield!"
A triumphant smirk curled Gildre's lips.
After relying on direct venom sprays, now burning it into toxic smoke?
Meant his liquid reserves were kaput.
'Hold still. I'll gut you alive, impregnate you with goblin spawn—one experiment at a time.'
Gildre savored grisly visions, waiting out the fumes.
At last, the haze cleared from his chamber. Visibility returned.
No one in sight. Just Gildre alone.
He'd bolted in that fleeting moment—after fighting tooth and nail.
"...That damned bastard!"
Face flushed with rage at being toyed with, Gildre kicked the door open.
Glancing down, he spotted the intruder fleeing pell-mell below.
"Think you can escape? Lightning—?!"
His vision darkened as something hurtled in with terrifying speed.
BOOM!
"Guh! What the...?"
Gildre scowled at the heavy impact rattling his hasty shield. A jagged rock slid down its surface.
"A... rock?"
-Kroooar!
Only then did Gildre take in the scene below.
"Ch-Chief! Save us!"
The surviving mages lit up at his safety, shouting desperately.
Of the horde that once filled the lab, barely ten huddled together, projecting a shield against the beasts.
Monsters fixated on the glowing barrier meant none spared a glance for the stealthy intruder—as when he'd arrived.
And he'd nearly announced himself with a flashy lightning spell.
Gildre's gaze shifted back to his mages.
The situation was far worse than he'd imagined.
Most lab mages had long been monster chow. Fewer than ten remained.
With most stone-coffin monsters awake, charging in to save the cluster at the center would doom him too.
True to his rational mage nature, Gildre's mind cooled to ice.
The verdict came swiftly.
What he must do right now.
"Ch-Chief...?"
Instinct screamed danger at his demeanor.
The mages' eyes trembled with dread as they pooled power for the shield.
"...Sorry."
"Ch-Chief? Chief! Please! Don't abandon us! Save us! You bastard!!"
Their frantic howls drew even more monster eyes—convenient for Gildre, ultimately.
Click!
-Aaaarghhh!
Door locked, mages' agonized screams pierced his ears.
Gildre squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring them, and yanked open a drawer. A gleaming magic stone lay within.
Infuse it with mana, and it teleported to Duke Camille's office at Ballista Fortress's heart—anti-leak wards everywhere else.
The lab mages' only exit, denied by teleport-scrambling runes.
That's why they'd die trapped in this inferno.
"Damn it all... Years of research, mostly ashes now..."
Gildre gnashed his teeth.
Monster troop studies weren't his alone.
Every mage here had piled papers atop papers. Saving results meant grabbing each one's work.
But Gildre couldn't fathom retrieving them amid monster swarms outside.
In the end, he snatched only his own notes and Gandalf's tome before charging the stone with mana.
Flash!
It glowed, etching a bizarre rune circle beneath his feet.
'Just you wait, intruder. You will die by my hand. No mercy.'
Gildre's vengeful glare lingered—but soon, the room stood empty, furnishings alone.
As if no one had ever been there...
"Uncle Saladin!"
Misha gleefully welcomed Saladin as he stealthily emerged from Gildre's room.
"Sorry, sorry. Kept you waiting."
"You nearly got us killed! A little later and..."
Misha's eyes flicked to the spiral tower's midpoint.
-Arghhh!
A moment when shield-wielding mages were being brutally culled by monsters.
"We can't stick around. Dawdle and we'll end up as mountain fodder. Let's bolt!"
"Mm..."
But Saladin hesitated, lost in thought, feet rooted.
"Uncle! Move it—we're out of time!"
Flash!
As Saladin dawdled, a belated purple gleam erupted from Gildre's room. Presence vanished.
"...Figured he had a bolt-hole."
-Krooar, krooar.
-Kuh... oar?
All human scents gone, the bloodthirsty monsters milled like lost lambs.
They'd raged blindly against their tormentors—but now, no traces remained.
Confused for now, sans infighting. But hunger would spark cannibalism, self-destruction.
'Too wasteful.'
...A brilliant idea struck. Perfect for fortress escape: sow chaos, rampage, ease getaway.
Smirk.
A villainous grin split Saladin's face.
Misha's eyes quaked like earthquake at that predatory gleam.
"...Y-Young Master? You're not thinking something crazy, right?"
She'd switched to "Young Master," not "Uncle."
She'd sniffed out his scheme.
"Misha, Sylph boost our speed, right?"
"...Please. Don't. Young Master—no, big brother. Please, please..."
But Saladin ignored her pleas, deploying unslung Mimi to slam Nene's torso hard.
CLANG!
"!"
The sharp metallic ring echoed through the quiet cavern.
More than enough to snag monster attention.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
-Kroooaaar!
-Kyaaaah!
Repeated clangs turned monstrous fury toward Saladin and Misha. Satisfied, Saladin halted the beatdown and yelled.
"Run!"
"Kyaaaah! You madman! I'm coming too!"
Saladin and Misha bolted for dear life, a monster tidal wave thundering in pursuit.
-Kuaaaargh!!
Unleashing long-dormant savagery at full gallop.
On their own legs, fleeing the site where they'd slumbered, borne in slumber.