Chapter 152
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: Fleeing People (2)
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“Hmm?”
In the blacksmith workshop of Frontera Territory.
Solitas, who had been deeply engrossed in his work, paused.
He set down the wooden carving he’d been meticulously shaping and the chisel.
Then he gazed outside the workshop, toward the north.
‘Something just exploded.’
It wasn’t nearby.
Beyond the northern border of the territory.
Too far for a human to sense.
But he was a dragon.
‘Just a simple explosion? No. I felt mana fluctuations.’
Before he knew it, he was on his feet.
He stepped out of the workshop, focusing his senses northward.
The lingering echoes of mana grew clearer.
‘Mana explosion. Magic. The pattern of the fluctuations. Necromancy. So, corpse explosion? But far more powerful than a typical one.’
True to his draconic nature, he accurately deduced nearly everything that had happened kilometers away.
Of course, he also knew exactly who was in that direction.
‘Lloyd Frontera. Hmm. Caught up in some trouble?’
Should he help?
What a hassle.
Still, maybe he should check it out.
As Solitas pondered this,
A sharp rebuke suddenly flew from the back of the workshop.
“Harumph! Tsk! Back when I was an apprentice, I couldn’t even cough until I finished the tasks my master assigned—I focused solely on the work.”
“……”
Solitas turned to meet the eyes of his master, the dwarf craftsman Cogidus.
The craftsman fixed him with a stern gaze.
“You—have you finished carving that wood I gave you?”
“Hmm, no. Not yet.”
“Then finish it, right?”
“……”
“Focus on the task at hand. Wood first, then plaster, then granite, then various metals. Once you’re comfortable with that, we’ll move to gravel the size of a fingernail, and finally, I’ll teach you how to handle gems. How quickly that happens is up to you.”
“Mm, understood.”
Solitas nodded in agreement.
His master was right.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
‘Haviel Asrahan. That human has senses almost on par with mine.’
His gaze shifted far off to the main road.
There, a silver-haired knight was sprinting desperately.
It was Haviel.
Racing northward.
‘As expected.’
That human must have sensed the explosion too.
That’s why he was heading north.
No need to worry, then.
‘I sensed it in our last bout, but that guy’s a monster.’
With a freak like him joining in, whatever was happening up north shouldn’t be a problem.
No, if anything, he should be the one worrying about himself.
“Whew. Wood carving. Why is this so damn hard?”
He returned to the workshop and picked up the wood block again.
He’d been carving diligently, but it still looked crooked and uneven.
The more he looked, the more he sighed.
At this rate, who knew when he’d master gem crafting enough to prepare for romance and marriage.
Future looked bleak.
‘But I won’t give up. Romance. Marriage. And revenge.’
Haviel Asrahan.
He’d pay back that humiliation decades from now.
With that steely resolve etched in his heart, Solitas picked up the chisel.
♣
“Whew.”
Lloyd picked up his shovel.
He turned his gaze south.
He could see the workers retreating into the distance.
Protecting them like a rearguard were the Engineering Corps and White Lancers withdrawing together.
Suddenly, the earlier exchange came to mind.
‘Sir Blanc is so stubborn.’
He’d said he’d buy them time here.
Told them not to confront the undead mastodon herd head-on.
To help the workers evacuate and flee together.
Naturally, Sir Blanc had strongly objected.
He couldn’t do that.
They were the king’s sword and shield.
They couldn’t turn their backs on the enemy.
He’d declared it with grim determination.
So Lloyd had shut it down with an order.
‘This isn’t a suggestion. It’s an order.’
He’d put on a stern face on purpose.
Spoke strictly.
He had the authority to command.
The White Lancers were currently dispatched to Frontera County under the queen’s orders, so the Frontera Count held practical command authority.
And the site supervisor here was him.
The count had delegated full site command and responsibility to him.
So the White Lancers participating as workers?
‘They’re under my responsibility by default. Plus, with this sudden accident putting lives at risk, I hold emergency command over the entire site. And in this urgent moment, shouldn’t we act in unison rather than waste time on pointless debate?’
Quick and precise.
Clear and deliberate.
No room to breathe.
He’d stared straight into Sir Blanc’s eyes.
Fortunately, it seemed to get through.
Sir Blanc had nodded reluctantly.
‘……You seem to have some plan in mind. Please stay safe.’
With that, he’d led the White Lancers to join the workers’ rear.
Sir Bayern and the Engineering Corps went with them.
Thanks to that, he was now left alone in this wasteland between the fleeing workers and the charging undead mastodon herd.
Correction.
The five baby mastodon siblings were with him.
“So, any complaints, kids?”
“Ppuuuuung!”
“No one’s mad, right?”
“Ppuuuuung!”
The five babies, anxious, snorted puffs of air and stomped their over-two-meter frames.
A faint, apologetic smile crossed Lloyd’s face.
“Yeah, sorry. I don’t want to do this either, but I’ll need to borrow your strength this time.”
“Ppuuuiiing!”
“Okay, okay. No licking. You haven’t brushed your teeth.”
“Ppuuuung!”
Lloyd soothed the baby mastodons for a moment.
The massive explosion out of nowhere.
The herd going berserk.
More than enough to scare the kids.
But now came the important part.
“So, from now on, stay calm and stick with me. Got it? That way, I live, and you live.”
“Ppuuuuung!”
“Good kids. Ready?”
“Ppuuung!”
Thududududu……!
The ground was shaking already.
Looking north, the undead mastodon herd was closing in to about 200 meters.
Podong, far ahead of them, was visible too.
“Come on! Podong, over here!”
“Podong!”
He mounted the huffing, arrived Podong.
Delaying the herd had left Podong’s fur a total mess.
Gratitude and guilt surged briefly.
Lloyd raised his head, committing it to memory.
Distance to the undead herd: about 100 meters.
Now was the crucial moment.
If he played this right, the herd would abandon the workers and chase them obsessively.
He had to make it happen.
For the workers to escape safely.
Steel resolve gripped, Lloyd clutched the fur at Podong’s nape.
“Let’s go! Go!”
“Podong!”
“Ppuuuuung!”
Podong kicked off.
The five babies fell in beside them.
“West!”
They charged.
Glancing back while running.
The undead herd thundering south from the north.
He bellowed at them.
“Over here!”
He raised the shovel high.
Pointed it at the five babies running alongside.
“Your herd’s babies are in my hands!”
Lloyd’s shout grew louder.
“If you don’t come save them! Guess what I’ll do! I’ll kidnap them! Drag ’em to the slaughterhouse! Then? Rip out horns and tusks! Skin ’em whole and sell every bit for top coin!”
He swung the shovel wildly.
Drew on the Asrahan Heart Method.
Infused his voice with mana.
“Can you hear me!”
His mana-charged roar shook the wasteland.
It reached the ears of the herd charging south.
Lloyd anxiously watched their movement.
‘Please. Turn west. Please.’
Suddenly, a detail from the novel *Iron-Blooded Knight* flashed in his mind.
Mastodons.
Huge herbivores roaming vast plains.
They lived in large herds.
Every calf born in the herd was communally raised and protected.
Like buffalo thundering across North American plains.
‘That’s why their maternal instinct and obsession with the young are insane. So insane that even after becoming undead, some of that instinct lingers.’
From the moment he recalled that setting.
An obsession transcending death.
A powerful instinct he could exploit.
That’s why.
He’d formed the plan in an instant.
Sir Bayern and Engineering Corps.
Sir Blanc and White Lancers.
Evacuated them with the workers.
Saw the potential to buy them escape time.
“So! Your babies are here! I’ll kidnap ’em! Abuse ’em, beat ’em, sell ’em off!”
Whoosh!
He swung the shovel viciously.
The babies flinched and wailed pitifully beside him.
“Ppuuuuung!”
That instant.
“……Quaoook?”
The herd charging south.
Their charge slowed for a moment.
Heads turned this way.
Beyond their murky gazes, faint traces of maternal instinct flickered.
“……Quaoook. Quao!”
Babies.
The herd’s babies seemed to be there.
Freshly weaned, still needing protection, care from mothers and herd—crying out there.
The moment they sensed it.
“Quaaaaaooo!”
Thududududu!
The entire undead mastodon herd veered west.
Charging this way with furious rage.
‘Good.’
Lloyd clenched his fist.
Aggro secured.
Now just escape safely and shake pursuit.
“I’ve got the route planned. Podong? Keep west!”
“Podong!”
They crossed the wasteland.
Whenever the herd closed in, he’d fire blasting shots backward.
But then.
Thuduck, perk!
“Quao!”
A lead mastodon took a direct blasting hit.
Head to rump.
Pierced straight through.
It tumbled, then exploded.
Thuduck-!
Corpse explosion.
The whole formation scattered briefly.
Seeing it, Lloyd felt chills down his spine.
‘Lucky we didn’t fight head-on. Good call pulling back the White Lancers.’
Seems when combat-ineffective, they auto-triggered corpse explosion magic. If the Lancers had charged blindly?
Massive casualties from the blasts.
‘Well done, me from earlier.’
Lloyd pressed the escape.
How far west had they fled?
Soon, a towering cliff loomed at the wasteland’s edge.
Lloyd pointed his shovel at one side.
“Podong, there! See?”
“Ppododong?”
“The canyon on the cliff side!”
The spot Lloyd indicated.
A narrow canyon entrance.
Like an axe had cleaved vertically into the cliff’s center.
“Into there! Straight through the canyon!”
“Podong!”
Just pass the canyon.
Beyond lay a decent-sized forest.
‘Hide in those woods. Shrink Podong again. Shake those undead easy.’
Lloyd dove into the canyon, plan solid.
But minutes in,
He realized a massive snag in his plan.
‘What? Why’s the canyon collapsed?’
Lloyd yanked Podong to a halt.
Stared dumbfounded at the blocking wall ahead.
“Damn…….”
The canyon was caved in.
Path completely blocked.
Tons of soil and rock.
Both cliff sides fully collapsed, sealing the way.
‘Spring rains maybe?’
Seemed so.
Thump, thump—heart pounded wildly.
‘Screwed.’
Behind, undead herd charging to trample him.
Canyon he’d assumed clear—landslide blocked.
Long, narrow passage.
No detour terrain.
Trapped at the dead end.
‘Shit.’
Cold sweat beaded.
But Lloyd didn’t panic.
No time wasted on hysterics.
He shouted instantly.
“Everyone, hug the cliff walls tight!”
Not climbable cliffs.
Basic Surveying skill confirmed it quick.
‘Sandstone. Crumbles easy. Botch a climb and you fall hurt. Recent rain’s left the ground wet. Worst case, trigger another landslide.’
Instant burial then.
So climbing out—especially with heavyweights like Podong and babies—was off the table early.
Calculations done, Lloyd eyed Podong.
Quick, no-frills tone.
“Listen up now. Hug those baby mastodons tight. Stick to the cliff. Don’t come near me. Not till I say. Got it?”
“Podong?”
“Got it?”
“Po……dong!”
“Good boy.”
Always the most reliable.
Lloyd patted Podong once.
Then turned.
Walked the narrow canyon path they’d come.
Far ahead.
Lead of the undead herd rounding the bend.
“Quaoook!”
Killing intent filled their eyes upon spotting him.
But Lloyd didn’t stop.
Kept walking.
Straight at them.
Raised shovel mid-stride.
Clashed three strands of mana.
Fired triple blast skyward.
Kwahak-!
‘Can’t blast them in this narrow spot. Corpse explosion would landslide us. So…… this is best way to face them.’
Full-power triple blast.
Exhaustion hit right after firing.
Dizzying vertigo—he sank to the ground.
Grinned wryly at the massive herd charging.
Resolve set.
Eyes closed.
Entered a trance.
Then, a clear alert rang in his mind.
Dingdong.
[Asrahan Heart Method skill option ⑤: Rapid Charge activated.]
[Absorbing large amounts of mana from random nearby targets.]
That’s when it started.
Kiiiiiiing-!
Undead mastodon herd charging, canyon-shaking.
Lloyd, serenely seated before them.
Now a mana black hole, began devouring everything approaching.