Chapter 147: Iron Cavalry
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 147: Iron Cavalry
Sentry Relocation Bracers.
A ranger’s helm.
A bow enchanted with the Magic Arrowhead skill.
Sturdy, flexible boots.
Light yet tough armor.
A spacious quiver and scrolls for casting magic arrowheads.
“Good.”
Yernil checked her equipment, then gave Clorence a light pat on the shoulder.
“I’m heading out.”
“I’ll come help as soon as I can move.”
Five toes were already bulging from Clorence’s severed ankle, thanks to a regeneration potion. But he was still a long way from being able to move.
“Hoo.”
Yernil took a deep breath, steeling herself.
She was now on her way to hunt the Glutton.
A group of adventurers, new to the 5th floor, raiding a 7th-floor boss—and not even the exit boss, but a special one.
It was, quite literally, insane.
But there was no way to retreat.
All they could do was trust in Caleb’s plan.
*
Crafted Potion, ‘Staunch Faith.’
When consumed, it hardens muscle fibers and skin tissue, making them resistant to damage.
In game terms, it meant Defense +3.
Crafted Potion, ‘Wondrous Movement.’
When consumed, the body becomes light as a feather and the nerves sharpen, granting superhuman reflexes.
In game terms, it meant Agility +3.
Crafted Potion, ‘Blessing’s Gild.’
This wasn’t for drinking, but for sprinkling on a weapon. It imbued the weapon with Nathaniel’s divine power.
In game terms, it meant Holy Damage +20.
Crafted Potion, ‘Magic Sight.’
When consumed, it granted magical sight, allowing one to see through invisibility and disguises, and to spot enemies behind cover.
In game terms, it meant the same thing.
Although this wasn't a game, Kudrum's explanation was somewhat similar.
“These are Dorothy’s final gifts, crafted from beyond the iron door. You should use them.”
The Dwarf Puppeteer handed all the potions to Aimus.
“Are you sure?”
“They’ll be more useful in your hands than mine, anyway. I’ll do what I can, of course, but if my spare doll is destroyed, I’m not sure what else I can do…”
“Understood.”
Aimus took the potions and placed them in the potion pouch on his belt.
“Shall we go, then?”
The Monk and the Puppeteer descended the moss-covered path, following the high-water marks left by the flood from Cumulonimbus.
There, they would meet Caleb and Back Attack.
“We only get one chance.”
Even Caleb was visibly tense.
The success rate was fifty-fifty.
If they failed to seize this single opportunity with perfect coordination, their adventure would end here.
“Let’s go.”
*
A wizard’s tool floated before Bearhim’s corpse.
The Watcher.
With our best means of detection, we watched the situation unfold in silence.
The Glutton and a subjugated Richard were now approaching the area.
It was because of the Gardener.
That special boss, the caretaker of Bearhim’s garden, had been powerless to resist Back Attack, who had easily taken its staff and shears.
It was completely drained of strength.
Incapacitated.
The Gardener had just dragged itself across the ground, returning to Bearhim’s side.
It glared at the Glutton, panting for breath.
“Tsk.”
One of the Glutton’s tentacles squirmed forward and tapped the Gardener’s shattered mushroom cap.
The Gardener clung tightly to Bearhim’s body.
As the tentacle crept closer, an intense light erupted from Bearhim’s corpse.
Fweee!
The Aether Mushrooms had begun to glow.
To be honest, I didn’t know the exact principle behind it.
I’d seen similar phenomena a few times in the game.
The Aether Mushrooms showed no reaction when touched by the 6th-floor mushrooms, the Gardener, or adventurers, but they would light up when monsters from other floors made contact.
It had been the same when the Glutton stole Clorence’s mushroom with Void Devour.
The Aether Mushroom, caught in its tentacle, had pulsed with light as if it were struggling.
Perhaps Bearhim was still fighting the Labyrinth.
The mushrooms’ glow was like a warning light.
“…”
The Glutton was a cautious and wary monster.
Upon seeing hundreds of mushrooms light up, the Glutton quietly withdrew its tentacle.
The light from the Aether Mushrooms faded.
Snatch.
Instead, Richard stepped forward, grabbed the Gardener by the ankle, and dragged it before the Glutton as an offering.
“Tsk, tsk.”
The Glutton didn’t kill the Gardener.
It’s waiting for the cooldown!
It intended to subjugate the Gardener with Void Domination.
That spell had a long cooldown. Having wasted such a precious cast on Richard, it was inevitable that recruiting the Gardener now would face a delay.
Whirr.
The Watcher’s view panned down.
It was time.
My tense hands grew sweaty.
Right now.
There was only one chance.
Please, let this work.
Thud-thud-thud!
The mushroom thicket opposite them collapsed as heavy tremors shook the ground.
The strongest vanguard on the 6th floor, the Iron Cavalry, had charged.
*
A Puppeteer’s Tier 1 and Tier 2 skills were primarily focused on strengthening their combat dolls.
Echo of Steel.
Carbon Hardening.
Soul Alloy.
These skills provided a defensive buff to a combat doll, giving it tanking capabilities superior to most vanguards.
If soul-linked to a person, they could be used on them as well.
Especially if that person, like Aimus, wore steel armor.
Or if that person, like Aimus, possessed a steel bloodline.
CRASH! CRASH!
The scene resembled a medieval heavy cavalryman clad in steel.
His solid armor was enhanced with Kudrum’s buffs, Dorothy’s potions, and even an Electrostatic Coat.
A monstrous Monk rode a true monster.
Verdure.
The monster with the best charge, defense, and resistance on the entire 6th floor.
Already dead, its eyes were unfocused, and a mushroom was embedded in its chest.
But its horn was still sharp, and its legs were sturdy.
CRASH! CRASH!
The garden trembled under its ferocious hooves.
They had to break through in one go. Richard had already moved to protect the Glutton. With him acting as the vanguard, any half-hearted attempt would fail.
If the confrontation dragged on for even a moment, the Glutton would unleash a barrage of damage and wipe them out.
They had only one chance.
They had to use the Iron Cavalry’s massive charge to get past Richard and take down the Glutton.
Conversely, from the Glutton’s perspective, it had to block this attack at all costs.
“Ankle Slash!”
Richard lunged forward, raising his Zanbato.
His posture, low to the ground, brought back the tragic scene from before.
But this time was different.
CLANG!
If Richard could have taken down Verdure on his own, wouldn't he have done so back inside the iron door?
He was one of the top vanguards on the 6th floor, but the power of an exit boss was on a level that required a four-person party to raid, creating a massive gap between it and any single adventurer.
“…!”
Even in his subjugated state, Richard’s expression was visible. A look of bewilderment flashed in his eyes as he stared at the tip of his blade.
He had torn the hide and sliced the muscle, but Verdure’s bones were as hard as Aimus’s iron staff.
And then…
CRRAAASH!
The impact was like being hit by a giant dump truck. Caught between the two heavyweights, Verdure and the Glutton, Richard was sent flying. Verdure’s horn shattered the Glutton’s center of gravity.
CLANG! CLANG!
Heavy metallic sounds. Dust kicked up from the ground. Mushroom spores and moss scattered everywhere.
Fweee!
The Aether Mushrooms that came into contact with the Glutton’s shoulder burst into light.
With shocking strength, the monster grabbed Verdure’s horn and held its ground. Despite being a mage-type monster, its ‘Giant’ classification, overwhelming level, and unique boss stats made such an outcome possible.
But our team’s charge didn’t end with Verdure.
“Rhino’s Horn!”
Aimus, who had leaped off just before the collision, still carried all of Verdure’s momentum.
Like jumping out of a moving car, he took a few steps in Verdure’s direction of travel, his iron staff aimed at the Glutton.
KABOOM!
It was like a chain-reaction pile-up on a highway.
Rhino’s Horn, activated at point-blank range, didn’t get a damage bonus from travel distance, but its sheer velocity meant the physical force was immense.
Struck squarely in the head by the iron staff, the Glutton’s body tilted backward.
It was…
Going down.
It toppled completely over Bearhim’s corpse, its head slamming into the ancient god’s thigh, its eight tentacles flailing like an overturned skirt.
Fweee!
The Aether Mushrooms bloomed in a brilliant display of light.
*
Glutton.
You made a fatal mistake.
If I were you, I would never have used Void Domination on Richard.
If I were you, I would have taken the Gardener, even if it meant my life depended on it.
Even if it meant losing the mushrooms, that should have been the priority.
We’ve effectively swapped vanguards.
And what was the result?
Richard can never stop Verdure on his own.
A vanguard is a wizard’s shield. If you’re a wizard, you should have paid more attention to your own lifeline.
That’s why I invested so heavily in our team’s vanguard.
CLANG!
Richard, rushing in late, brought his Zanbato down, but Aimus didn’t even flinch.
Steel Bloodline, Echo of Steel, Carbon Hardening, Soul Alloy, Staunch Faith, and an Electrostatic Coat.
BZZT!
Instead, Richard staggered back from the discharged electric current.
“Subdue Richard!” I yelled to the three “infantrymen” charging in behind Aimus.
‘Leaping Ambush!’
I saw Back Attack leap onto Richard’s back.
‘Sleeping Gas.’
He enveloped Richard’s mouth with magical gas.
‘Marking Arrow!’
The arrow Yernil fired split the sky, heading for the overturned Glutton on Bearhim’s corpse.
The moment that arrow hits, we will have passed the crisis point of this battle.
“Caleb! Are you okay?!” Aimus shouted.
“Yes!” I yelled back with all my might.
I was on the other side of the Glutton, which was sprawled over Bearhim on his massive throne.
We were on opposite sides, with the colossal bodies between us.
“Just focus on Richard now!” I shouted, raising my wand.
I hadn’t charged from the same direction as Yernil, Back Attack, and Aimus.
We had arrived here a step ahead of the Glutton. Unlike it, I knew the Gardener would head for this location.
And Glutton.
You made another fatal mistake.
You spread your Void Ink across the field.
You didn’t retract it. You didn’t use it in Bearhim’s garden.
Probably because you were looking down on us all. You must have thought killing us was just a matter of time. Yes, you’re a smart monster. You would have finished analyzing our combat strength long ago.
So you didn’t bother with us, keeping your ink spread across the 6th-floor field to track the location of any other adventurers who might be around.
That was your downfall.
You should have brought it here to scout the area around Bearhim’s corpse.
‘Universal Camouflage: Chameleon.’
Then you would have known I was lying in ambush.
You never would have guessed I had something like this.
[Wand-Mounted Condensing Lens]
Edward, the wizard who leads Bertenga, is truly a remarkable man.
To think he had something this awesome.
Click!
The wand, fitted with the lens, began to absorb light.
Its original purpose was to absorb the intense ultraviolet rays pouring down from the 5th floor to prevent sunburn.
The lens amplifies the wand’s magic damage in proportion to the absorbed luminosity.
Fshooooo!
The light from the Aether Mushrooms blooming all around us died out.
And then.
Crunch!
I swallowed the Aether Mushroom I had been holding in my mouth.
[It is your turn. Time remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■■]
As I flipped the hourglass.