Chapter 47
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Kueberberg Subjugation (2)
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The Riotis region, Barony of Revart.
There, with the fortress at his back, Gedur surveyed the Cloud forces he had arrayed.
The subjugation force, gathered around the Riotis branch, had grown to over two hundred members.
Each and every member of the force was not some common soldier, but an elite who had passed Cloud's entrance examination.
Their opponent was a monster of colossal size.
Sheer numbers would not be enough to win.
The members of the subjugation force needed to be strong enough to match it.
"...I don't like this."
Despite this, Gedur clicked his tongue as he looked at the two-hundred-strong force.
In the eyes of Gedur, the force's commander, the number of mages seemed sorely lacking.
Of all who had joined the Kueberberg subjugation force, only about thirty were mages.
Gedur had gathered them together to form a mage corps.
However, he had his doubts about whether they could produce enough firepower.
He reasoned that since the enemy was so excessively large, its durability would be equally immense.
"What's there to worry about? If things get dicey, you can just step in yourself, Branch Manager Gedur."
Another branch manager standing beside him responded to the grumbling Gedur.
He was right. Gedur was indeed the strongest asset here.
Whether in terms of achievements or skill, he was a man approaching the special grade.
If the worst came to pass, it was only natural that Gedur would take action.
But Gedur wanted to handle things as cleanly as possible.
Failure to stop it would not only mean the destruction of the barony, but it would also create complications for his promotion.
"Certainty is always better."
"That may be, but if you or I step in, won't this be over in a flash?"
"Don't get too complacent."
"Don't you worry. I'll be sure to report your heroic deeds to the higher-ups."
Gedur suppressed his anger at the other branch manager's lax attitude.
He couldn't very well beat up the man who was promising to give him a glowing report.
How did a guy like that ever get into Cloud?
As Gedur, feeling displeased, tightened his grip on his axe, a strange sound reached his ears.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
An unidentified booming sound began to echo from somewhere.
Turning his gaze toward the source of the sound, he saw a colossal body approaching the subjugation force.
"...!"
Kueberberg, the Lord of the Abyss.
The moment he finally came face to face with the long-awaited monster, Gedur felt his breath catch in his throat.
Ominous. And repulsive.
Its grotesquely distorted form made him feel as if he were gazing upon something forbidden.
That was a creature that should not exist in the mortal realm.
If one were to weave together all the unpleasantness in the world into a single mass, would it look like that?
Watching the thing approach, Gedur felt a wave of nausea wash over him.
The eyes of the subjugation force members facing Kueberberg began to glaze over.
At that, one of the members on the front line shouted at the top of his lungs.
"The monster is coming!"
BWAAAAAAH!
At the resounding cry, the trumpeters who had joined from the barony began to blow their horns.
An unidentified monster was approaching.
No matter what the enemy was, there was no time to stand around dumbfounded.
The sound of the horns ringing in their ears brought the members of the force back to their senses, one by one.
Gedur, having calmed his own stomach, looked at his troops and issued a command.
"First squad! Prepare barrier scrolls! Mage corps, prepare your spells as planned!"
Kueberberg's bulk was reminiscent of a small hill.
If they used conventional shields, they would be crushed to death by its mere advance.
That was why Cloud had prepared a massive quantity of scrolls for this battle.
It was to avoid direct confrontation with Kueberberg as much as possible.
If the worst came to pass, Gedur would draw his aura and step forward himself, but until then, he intended to maintain as much distance from Kueberberg as he could.
As the distance to the approaching Kueberberg shrank, everyone tensed and prepared for their roles.
"The enemy is closing in!"
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
With its countless dangling tentacles, Kueberberg advanced toward the fortress, moving them at a rapid pace.
It was a remarkably agile movement, belying its enormous size.
If it continued to approach at this speed, it wouldn't be long before it collided with the entire force.
The moment the swiftly moving Kueberberg passed over the mark set by the subjugation force.
Gedur raised his axe high and gave the command to the mage corps.
"Activate the traps!"
"Dig!"
Following Gedur's order, the mages began to activate the magic circles they had set up in advance.
KABOOM!
With a tremendous explosion, the ground beneath Kueberberg collapsed.
The magic circle the subjugation force had prepared had created a massive pit.
Due to the hole that had suddenly appeared in the ground, Kueberberg's advancing body tumbled forward.
CRASH.
A heavy sound echoed as a thick cloud of dust rose from where Kueberberg had fallen.
"Tch. They made it too small."
Gedur's gaze pierced through the dust.
He could see Kueberberg's body caught on the edge of the enormous pit created by the magic circle.
Gedur clicked his tongue as he saw Kueberberg stuck in the trap.
Because Kueberberg's body was so immense, the plan to drop the enemy into the pit had failed.
"The enemy has stopped moving!"
"Activate all remaining traps! We'll lock it down so it can't move, then bombard it!"
"Stone Spike!"
Nevertheless, the trap they had just activated was not entirely meaningless.
Startled by the sudden trap, Kueberberg had paused in its tracks.
Gedur ordered the activation of the remaining traps they had prepared to immobilize Kueberberg.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
The earth where the magic circles were inscribed began to vibrate as enormous rock spikes started to rise.
The intermediate-tier earth magic, Stone Spike.
The spell, which created spikes of rock, activated, and countless thorns shot out from the ground.
The protruding spikes layered over Kueberberg, sealing its movements.
- Guooooooooh.
Some of the spikes pierced Kueberberg's body, but they shattered without being able to penetrate its skin.
It was proof of just how tough and durable Kueberberg's hide was.
It was highly likely that ordinary weapons wouldn't even be able to scratch its surface.
Only the high-tier magic prepared by the mage corps would be able to wound Kueberberg.
Having stopped Kueberberg's movements with the traps, Gedur immediately ordered the mages to attack.
"Mage corps! Commence the attack!"
"Giga Lightning!"
"Fire Storm!"
"Flare!"
The high-tier spells the mage corps had prepared in advance began to pour down.
They were powerful spells, activated in unison by multiple mages.
CRACKLE! BOOM!
Clusters of lightning fell from the sky, striking Kueberberg's body.
As Kueberberg writhed under the falling lightning, a storm of fire flew toward it next.
KRA-KOOOOM!
The thermal storm, which ruptured the air with a deafening roar, engulfed Kueberberg's entire body.
The powerful flames circulating around Kueberberg continued to burn its body.
Perhaps even a monster this powerful couldn't ignore high-tier magic.
Kueberberg shrieked under the barrage of powerful magic.
- Guooooooooooooh!
A rain of lightning. And a storm of fire.
Kueberberg thrashed about under the wide-area, high-tier magic that inflicted continuous damage.
Crack. Snap.
As Kueberberg struggled violently, the rock spikes surrounding it began to crack.
The magic binding Kueberberg was about to break.
Seeing the magic shatter, unable to withstand the power emanating from the massive body, the commander of the mage corps shouted.
"Prepare the next spell!"
The moment the colossal Kueberberg broke free and rampaged, it was clear this area would be devastated.
It was necessary to continuously suppress Kueberberg and accumulate damage.
That was, after all, the first plan the Kueberberg subjugation force had devised.
As the restraints began to loosen, the mage corps prepared to cast more spells to keep Kueberberg pressured.
"Stone Spike!"
"Fire Storm!"
- "Foolish humans."
If only the restrained Kueberberg hadn't revealed a new eye from beneath its skin.
Rrrrrip.
The darkness on Kueberberg's surface split open, revealing a giant eye.
The eye that emerged from the deep darkness was bloodshot.
Its pupil was a horrifying, grotesque black.
The front-line members of the force, seeing Kueberberg's eye for the first time, fell silent.
- "I shall grant you death."
The moment the open-eyed Kueberberg delivered its death sentence to the subjugation force.
Ruuuuuumble.
The very axis of the earth trembled as immense magical power began to gather in Kueberberg's eye.
Seeing the glow of mana so clear it was visible to the naked eye, all the members on the front line had the same premonition.
A powerful attack was coming.
An attack on a completely different level from ordinary magic was about to befall them.
Sensing the threat of the impending magic, one of the branch managers issued a command to the troops under his command.
"First squad! Prepare the barrier magic"
"Scatter."
But Gedur cut off the branch manager's order and commanded them to scatter instead.
The branch manager, who had been supplied with all sorts of expensive scrolls, couldn't understand Gedur's decision.
The scrolls they had received for this mission were items equipped with the latest magic from the Central Magic Tower.
"What are you talking about? Why would we break formation when we have the Central Magic Tower's twelve-layered barrier scrolls..."
He immediately countered Gedur's decision, an act of insubordination.
Cloud was an organization that had always specialized in small-scale operations.
As this was a force hastily assembled for the Kueberberg subjugation, Gedur's control was not absolute.
"That thing won't stop it, so shut up and scatter!"
With the enemy's attack imminent, there was no time to delay.
Enraged, Gedur grabbed the branch manager by the collar with one hand.
The branch manager's body was lifted into the air by Gedur's strength.
Perhaps sensing the gravity of the situation.
A nearby adjutant shouted to Gedur.
"There's no time! The attack is coming!"
"...Damn you."
"Give the order!"
"Deploy the barriers!"
"Deploying barriers!"
Pressed for time, Gedur had no choice but to order the deployment of the barriers.
At his command, the members simultaneously tore their scrolls and began to deploy the barrier magic.
Woooooom.
The ambient mana stirred as the latest barrier magic developed by the Central Magic Tower unfolded.
The thick, twelve-layered barrier looked as if it could rival the walls of a fortress.
In most situations, it was an item that would have given the soldiers within a sense of security.
If only the enemy before them didn't have the body of a hill.
Gedur's eyes, watching the deployed barrier, were clouded with deep anxiety.
"Mage corps! Deploy barriers!"
"Deploying barriers!"
At the same time as the mage corps deployed their barriers, a black beam shot out from Kueberberg's eye.
The light of ruin extended outward, vibrating the air it passed through with its wicked mana.
KRA-KABOOOOOM!
The black beam destroyed every spike it encountered and approached the subjugation force, which had deployed its barriers.
Just before Kueberberg's black beam intersected with the barrier deployed at the very front of the force.
Gedur, having thrown the branch manager to the ground, gritted his teeth and drew up his aura.
"...Huh?"
"The barrier..."
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Shatter.
The deployed barrier crumbled, and the black beam swept past the front-line members.
As the barrier collapsed in an instant, the screams of the subjugation force echoed all around.
Before the black beam fired by Kueberberg, the barrier the Empire prided itself on was utterly meaningless.
The stacked layers of the barrier shattered in sequence as the black beam tore through the subjugation force.
Some who were directly hit by the black beam vanished from the front lines without even a scream.
- Guooooooooh.
After the roaring black beam had ripped through the formation and vanished.
Gedur, who had been preparing for Kueberberg's attack, looked over the front line with dazed eyes.
Haaaah.
A sigh filled with despair escaped Gedur's lips on the battlefield.
Reflected in the eyes of Gedur as he raised his axe was the sight of the first squad, completely vaporized.