Chapter 204
Chapter 204
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: Chapter 60. Centaurus King (4)
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9.
The moment he confirmed the Centaurus King's presence, El Pam didn't hesitate.
'Run.'
El Pam began fleeing in the direction opposite from the Centaurus King charging at full speed.
Of course, El Pam knew.
'But the Resistance will fight.'
That the remaining Resistance members wouldn't be able to run.
That in this situation, choosing to flee was next to impossible for them.
'They'll run only after they've been utterly crushed.'
And he could fully anticipate just how gruesome the aftermath would be.
Even so, El Pam ran.
'Even if I stayed, it wouldn't change the outcome much.'
After all, even the great El Pam couldn't properly perform against the Centaurus King.
That was the kind of existence the Centaurus King was.
A being capable of dominating an entire region of Minar Forest!
An entity so formidable that it rejected comparison to ordinary boss monsters!
Above all, there were tens of thousands of Centaurus here right now.
If they won this battle?
The real problem would come after.
Catching the Centaurus King here wouldn't be an issue, but that possibility was nonexistent.
Moreover, the Centaurus King was an intelligent monster.
The moment it realized it was being pushed back, it would flee without hesitation.
And then?
'If we win half-heartedly, it'll just gather an even bigger horde.'
It would rally the surrounding Centaurus and return with an army beyond comparison to this one.
And it wouldn't stop there.
'It'll hunt them down to the last.'
It would pursue and slaughter every last Resistance member and adventurer in this place.
That was the Centaurus King.
Not just a simply powerful monster, but one that knew how to rule its territory like a king.
El Pam knew the terror of such a Centaurus King better than any adventurer in the world.
'Thanks to it, I survived.'
One reason El Pam had chosen Minar Forest as his final battlefield was precisely that Centaurus King.
It had blocked the oncoming monster hordes with its strength, cunning, and tenacity.
And El Pam—no one else—had watched that process up close, even to the very end.
That knowledge was why El Pam fled without a shred of hesitation.
On top of that, El Pam knew.
'Survival is the top priority now.'
Hunting the Centaurus King at this point was impossible, leaving only one choice.
'I need to get out and report this.'
Moreover, surviving here wasn't just about saving his own skin.
The Resistance believed right now.
That the information they'd received from someone was perfect.
Even if this Resistance force failed, that belief wouldn't shatter easily.
Then?
They'd repeat the same mistake next time.
In other words, someone had to escape and inform the Resistance of what happened here, the situation.
'All I need to do is hold out.'
The silver lining was that this Mystic Gate's clear condition wasn't hunting the boss monster, but survival.
In that regard, El Pam had more confidence than anyone.
With that, the situation was settled.
El Pam had no intention of fighting the Centaurus King horde alongside the Resistance.
'This should buy some time.'
He would merely lend a hand.
“Chain Lightning!”
10.
Thud thud thud thud!
Around three thousand Centaurus charging with the Centaurus King at the lead!
The Resistance finally snapped to their senses only when the distance closed to point-blank range.
'We'll all die like this!'
Their survival instincts shook them awake.
In that moment, Albi shouted.
“Mechanics, open fire!”
Albi chose battle.
They couldn't just take this lying down!
“Everyone, full frontal assault!”
But it was far from the best choice.
Even if they fought and won, unless they could definitively take down the Centaurus King, it was a meaningless battle.
So if they had to fight, it shouldn't be a full frontal clash—they needed to target only the Centaurus King, even at the cost of casualties.
But as mentioned, it was a choice driven by survival instincts.
Which meant their lives were in immediate peril, and decisions made in such straits were rarely optimal.
The problem was that everyone shared Albi's situation.
Thump thump!
Not their heads, but their hearts pounding like mad issued the orders.
“Engage!”
“Fight to the end!”
Just as everyone prepared for full frontal war, that was the moment.
Zap!
A single bolt of lightning struck the charging Centaurus horde.
It was, in truth, a laughable attack.
The sight of thousands of Centaurus charging was like the earth itself upheaving!
Against that spectacle, one lightning bolt was akin to lighting a lamp next to the sun.
So at first, no one paid it any mind.
Zap!
But the instant that lightning chained from one to others.
Zzzzzap!
And in one breath, over a hundred Centaurus were electrocuted and froze solid—that changed everything.
'What?'
The Resistance was stunned by the attack.
But the situation didn't end there.
Neigh!
The electrocuted Centaurus let out screams.
Normally, some would have collapsed or foamed at the mouth.
Yet the Centaurus, empowered three times over by the Centaurus King's presence, neither died nor fainted from the attack.
Still, they couldn't help their legs tangling from the shock.
Splat!
Naturally, the electrocuted Centaurus toppled right where they stood.
The issue was that the ones at the forefront of the Centaurus charge collapsed in a perfect line, as if by design.
Neigh!
With the leaders suddenly crumbling, the entire front line naturally fell into chaos.
The Centaurus horde's charge halted momentarily.
'Wh-what?'
The Resistance wore even more shocked expressions at the sight.
'What just happened?'
'Chain Lightning?'
Some recognized it as the Chain Lightning spell's effect.
'But in a straight line?'
Yet the Chain Lightning they knew was a spell with zero control, one left entirely to luck.
Hitting exactly one line like that was utterly impossible.
Luck? Even less likely.
It was a bizarre situation all around, and that's what made it click.
'Ah!'
Albi's cooled head screamed.
'We can't fight!'
They had to avoid an all-out battle.
“Halt!”
She shouted in that instant.
“Everyone, run! Have the Wild Hunters and Battle Mages buy time while the Mechanics evacuate!”
11.
Resistance.
Their forces, gathered to reclaim Edelstein's freedom from the Black Wings, were stronger than one might expect.
But the Black Wings were even stronger.
So those in the know wondered.
“How the hell is the Resistance supposed to take on the Black Wings?”
The answer was simple.
“Because the Resistance excels above all at running away. Hit-and-run? They're the best at it.”
The first thing Resistance recruits learned wasn't how to fight, but how to flee.
Of course, adventurers learned to flee too.
But more important than learning was experience.
That's where the difference lay.
Adventurers didn't need to flee as often as one might think.
After the Mystic Gates appeared, most pursued feasible adventures over reckless ones.
The Resistance was different.
They always had to run, and in fleeing, they surpassed any adventurer or group in the Maple World.
That was why.
“Even the Centaurus King alone can't catch all those rat bastards from the Resistance.”
Gelimer.
He who manipulated the Mystic Gate to summon the Centaurus King didn't think that alone would wipe them out.
“There'll be decent casualties, though.”
He knew better than anyone in the Maple World how well the Resistance could flee.
“But it doesn't matter.”
In other words, even that was within Gelimer's calculations.
“It'll just take time. Their suffering drags on a bit longer. The Centaurus King will methodically hunt the rats invading its territory.”
Moreover, Gelimer knew.
“What if they run for a week? It's possible. Rats are easy to catch in large numbers, but harder when they're few.”
That the clear condition there was surviving a week.
That the Resistance could potentially manage it.
“But no need to worry about that either.”
Naturally, he'd prepared a countermeasure for it too.
A very certain one.
“I've removed that condition.”
By perfectly eliminating their one sliver of hope.
That's why Gelimer was certain.
“When that week ends, when the moment they've awaited arrives, the rats will learn. That there's no rat hole.”
That clearing was impossible.
“Of course, it's not absolutely zero. Nothing in the world is perfect, after all.”
But there was one method.
“Akaizer, when he created the Mystic Gate, set a base condition even I can't change. There must be some way out. All I did was alter that way.”
Use a different method.
“Hunt the boss monster.”
With that, Gelimer was convinced of their failure, their total annihilation.
“But for rats risking their lives to survive a week by fleeing, that's not an option.”
If they'd known hunting the boss was the way, they'd have clashed with full force, win or die.
But the Resistance that entered now would only realize it after exhausting every other option and bleeding out.
“Still, if they find a method, well, there is one.”
Of course, Gelimer knew every possibility here too.
“Hyperion's Helm. If they find that.”
But as he spoke of that possibility, the faintest smile played on Gelimer's lips, fainter than ever.
“In a situation chased by the Centaurus King, where they must flee. If they can find that special tree.”
He knew.
“If they find Hyperion's Helm hidden inside that tree.”
Just how difficult realizing that possibility would be.
“If there's a mage exceptional enough to even wear Hyperion's Helm obtained that way.”
No, it wasn't merely difficult.
“Truth is, most would lose their minds the moment they put it on. Hyperion's Helm changes a mage's nature.”
It was impossible.
“An item that summons a god from another world. An item the Black Mage obtained to weaken the Overseers.”
Not something a Maple World adventurer could handle.
“Only the Six Heroes, or those of comparable talent who've experienced death, could wield it.”
No adventurer present could use such an item on the spot.
“So, no possibility.”
12.
Kyuu!
“Mano, what's that over there?”