Chapter 30: Shattering the Illusion
'Avoid them for now.'
Hiding in the bushes with his soldiers, Aleo spotted the horde of ogres appearing from behind.
"This way."
Aleo moved swiftly.
He led his troops along the escape route he'd scouted in advance.
They ran, fleeing the ogres chasing them from the rear.
Only after running for a good while did Aleo see his panting soldiers gasping for breath.
And then, he encountered another group that seemed to have fled from monsters just like them.
The two scattered forces merged, swelling their numbers to a hundred.
"Phew, this should be..."
...enough, right?
That was when it happened.
The space around them began to warp.
CRACKLE!
Cracks began to spiderweb through the air around them.
This was bizarre.
Fissures tearing open in empty space.
The surrounding forest and trees faded away like mist.
"N-No way!"
Arthur had explained that the enemy could draw trees, grass, nature—anything—and bring it to life.
Aleo's mind raced.
The Dungeon Master had pre-drawn all these new elements before Arthur and his group climbed the mountain.
Sky, earth, trees, grass—everything!
In other words, Aleo and his soldiers had been running through a space the Dungeon Master had fabricated, believing it to be real.
And that space was nothing but an illusion painted by Dungeon Master Carman.
The illusion cracks apart!
The fissures in the empty air shattered with a deafening crash.
And what emerged was...
"...Alman."
"G-Gasp, Sir Aleo!"
Aleo's instincts screamed.
They'd fallen into a trap.
The path they'd fled along was probably one Carman had deliberately painted as a perfect hiding spot.
He'd set the stage to draw multiple forces together.
A quick glance around confirmed it—this place was utterly different from where they'd just been.
Incredible power.
He'd seen illusory ogres before, but drawing trees that looked real, grass that felt real...
An absurd ability.
"We've been herded."
Aleo spotted at least five hundred soldiers gathered in one spot.
If monsters surrounded them here...
Roooaaar!
Grrrroooowl!
Just as he'd feared.
Everyone had danced to Carman's tune.
"N-No... this can't..."
"Ooh, Julia..."
"I-I don't wanna die...! Fucking idiots. This is why you can't trust rootless bastards like them!"
Monsters began emerging around them.
The encircling horde consisted of ogres and trolls.
They unleashed ferocious roars.
The situation was on a knife's edge.
'After two hours, the monsters will spawn even stronger.'
Arthur's warning echoed in his mind.
The soldiers figured they were done for.
They wailed the names of wives, children, lovers.
Some collapsed in terror.
Aleo felt a pang of guilt.
But he couldn't break now.
"Everyone, battle stations!"
"B-Battle stations!"
"Battle staaations!"
Even in despair, they clung to a thread of hope and shouted back.
The monsters finally closed in.
Thud thud thud thud!
Suddenly, the ground trembled violently.
Aleo frowned in confusion, but with massive monsters ahead, he couldn't afford distractions.
Just as collision loomed...
Arrows rain from the sky, piercing the monsters!
A volley of arrows descended from the sky, skewering the monsters.
Aleo was stunned.
He could shoot a bow too, but this accuracy was unreal.
Not a single stray hit an ally.
He whipped his head around.
There, atop a hill, a man in silver armor emerged on a wolf with ashen fur.
"S-Sir Arthur..."
Aleo addressed him with the knightly title.
Flanking him appeared hundreds of blue-skinned warriors on ashen wolves.
* * *
Riding his ashen wolf, Arthur let out a sigh of relief.
That was close.
He didn't know how they'd been herded, but he'd made it in time.
Clop clop! Clop clop!
Arthur's ashen wolf surged ahead at the front.
"Woooah!"
"Waaaah!"
The soldiers knew it at least.
Arthur had brought reinforcements!
They cheered in awe.
Arthur charging at the lead, hundreds strong on ashen wolves.
His silver armor gleaming, cape billowing!
Aaah... Commander Arthur!
Someone cried out in admiration.
Arthur, at the vanguard, swung his spear at an ogre even stronger than the ones he'd seen from the mountain.
FWOOSH!
The ogre dissolved into mist.
Arthur plunged into the monster ranks, carving a path.
"Charge!"
Arrows rain from the sky, piercing the monsters!
The ashen wolves arriving behind him shoved the monsters back in an instant.
Monsters faded into the air.
One ashen wolf tore through an ogre.
Coltu nocked an arrow at the fallen ogre without hesitation.
It vanished.
"To think this is all illusion... unbelievable."
Coltu muttered, watching the ogre disappear without a corpse.
Arrows rain from the sky, piercing the monsters!
The arrow barrage felled monsters targeting the soldiers in seconds.
The ashen wolves pressed the ogres hard.
The ogres seemed to fight at about fifty percent strength.
Weaker than the ashen wolves!
Sir Arthur is...
Aleo marveled every time he saw him.
What was that boy?
But he chuckled wryly.
We're hiding our own secrets...
They couldn't tell anyone.
It was their punishment, in a way.
FWOOSH!
Arthur drove his spear into an ogre's throat with full force and yanked it free; it dissolved.
Kuheeeek!
A savage roar.
A Twin Head Ogre appeared.
Coltu and Arthur locked eyes.
"Let's go!"
"Hup!"
Their two ashen wolves darted through the monster lines.
Arthur's wolf leaped high.
Rawr!
Arthur vaulted from the wolf's back.
The Twin Head Ogre's fist cleaved the space between them.
Please... please...
Arthur prayed desperately.
Twenty percent—hit critical!
SPLURT!
Arthur grinned.
Roooaaar!
Coltu arrived moments later.
Coltu, the Barta tribe's greatest warrior!
He yanked the spear from the Twin Head Ogre's body and tossed it to Arthur.
"Don't you have more important business?"
Arthur nodded.
Contribution reaches 140%. Absolute Monarch Akan grants additional privileges to Carman.
Dead monsters respawned, refilling the area.
But the new ones fell just as easily.
'The Barta don't love fighting, but once they start, they rival any race.'
They were that strong.
Privileges or not, the monsters crumbled pathetically.
"Woooah!"
"Waaaah!"
"We'll help too!"
Soldiers emerged from hiding spots everywhere.
They'd received Kalser's orders from Arthur's messenger and come to assist.
No worries here.
Even with extra privileges, Carman was finished.
Arthur broke from the pack and raced off.
Ashen wolves rivaled fine steeds in speed.
And unlike horses, they could fight—utterly versatile.
Clop clop! Clop clop!
Especially their knack for mountains.
Upon reaching the slope, Arthur and his wolf turned invisible and vanished.
Thud!
The Silver Wing Set's stealth activated.
Only the wolf's pawprints betrayed their swift ascent.
* * *
Carman clutched his thinning hair.
"B-Barta tribe?! This is cheating!"
Impossible!
Why were they here?
And why helping that brat? It made no sense.
Arthur achieves 150% contribution.
Absolute Monarch Akan grants you privileges.
Carman frantically grabbed his brush and painted.
Monsters now at sixty percent strength.
Gold fulfilled too.
But the Barta slaughtered them on spawn.
Sixty percent or not, each Barta was born superior to humans or orcs.
"Damn it!"
Contribution reaches 160...
Another alert.
Fine, keep granting privileges! At full strength, the ogres might stabilize things.
He didn't know why Absolute Monarch Akan favored him, but he was grateful.
Then.
"Freeze."
A chill ran down Carman's spine.
A razor-sharp spear tip kissed his throat.
In his excitement, he'd missed the approach.
Arthur materialized from thin air.
"I-Invisibility?"
The apprentice lord he'd mocked as a kid.
Carman swallowed dryly, disbelieving.
No, this made no sense.
He'd predicted everything, pulled off impossibilities, brought the Barta.
Absurd.
Worse, he was just an apprentice lord.
"I-I can't believe it... unbelievable...! You cheated, didn't you?! Huh?!"
Carman yelled hysterically.
Regression isn't cheating.
Arthur swallowed a bitter smile.
Carman's ugly face flushed red.
Eyes bloodshot with rage.
"I'll chew you up and... swallow you..."
SPLURT!
Carman stared at the spear in his chest.
Arthur yanked it free without hesitation.
Commander Arthur has hunted Dungeon Master Carman.
Arthur wins the war.
Arthur watched Carman crumple with a blank expression, then mounted his ashen wolf without pause.
He descended the mountain swiftly.
* * *
Fade...
Fade...
"Woooah!"
"We won!"
Humans and Barta mingled, celebrating victory.
Coltu knew Arthur had slain the enemy commander.
That image lingered in his mind.
'Not a word of a lie from me. If it is, kill me on the spot.'
Arthur had spoken with unshakable eyes.
Coltu had decided then.
Brought him to the village, ground Barakku petals and Hylon grass 7:3 as instructed, fed it to his child suffering Lukelmas plague.
Lukelmas killed within days of vomiting blood.
Coltu, the tribe's top warrior, tried it to save his kid—and in five minutes, color returned to the child's face.
Coltu was shocked.
Proclaimed it to all.
Barta valued honor fiercely.
They shunned other races but repaid favors tenfold.
Some Barta had fallen in battle, but could they grudge after the plague cure?
"Colrod was meant for the warrior to succeed me. I hope my choice brings no regret..."
He muttered to the air, mounted his ashen wolf, and turned.
The Barta followed, leisurely heading for the hills.
Deal done, time to go.
Then Arthur arrived.
He paused atop the hill, eyeing Coltu.
"Not taking the wolf?"
Arthur tilted his head at the abandoned ashen wolf, then understood.
A gift, huh?
Arthur smiled, satisfied.
The Ashen Wolf Prince recognizes you as its master.
Synchronization with the Ashen Wolf Prince begins.
Please name the Ashen Wolf Prince.
"Ashen Wolf Prince... huh?"