Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Purging the Infested Caves
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We roamed this godforsaken cave relentlessly. Truth be told, it wasn't pleasant at all. The cave was damp, reeking of rotting corpses.
The walls crawled with cockroaches and all sorts of grotesque bugs clacking their pincers, wriggling their long, skinny, hairy legs every which way, and waving their filthy antennae around.
"Things are running smoothly."
From the darkness that had settled over the cave, groans wrung from decayed vocal cords echoed loudly. Dozens of yellowish glowing eyes pierced the gloom, staring right at us.
"Watch out there."
I said that as I thrust my spear toward Han Sang-ah. The spear shot out straight, stabbing into the wall. A screech like metal being scraped rang out as the cave wall itself screamed.
And then, a massive bug that had been disguised as part of the cave wall plummeted to the floor, writhing before breathing its last. Bugs using camouflage to fool the eyes was par for the course.
"...Thanks."
"If you've got time to thank me, kill one more. And don't make the same mistake twice."
With that, I glanced at the holographic map projected by the crystal and issued orders to Ramin.
"Reinforce outer wall guard tower 3 on the east side with archers and mages—300 archers and five mages. And rotate out the troops guarding the west wall with the reserves."
The battle up top had dragged on for about 40 minutes now. I'd gotten a solid read on the capabilities and limits of Ramin's forces.
The more cluttered my mind got, the drier my orders had to be. In war, a commander's true role boiled down to weighing lives on the scales.
I smashed the twisted skeletons of the charging monsters, caved in their skulls completely, and replied.
"Reinforcements are coming soon. Execute anyone who retreats without orders."
Once one guy starts falling back, the soldiers nearby start wanting to do the same. It all traces back to that first one.
The first penguin effect kicking in the worst possible way.
Take training, for example. Everyone's grinding hard, but if one guy falls out, all the ones who were holding back their own urges suddenly bail en masse.
To keep the chain of command intact, you have to make an example out of that first deserter.
Ramin responded in a panicked voice.
"But? What bullshit. If you won't follow my orders, handle it yourself—and go die embracing your soldiers."
I've never been called a benevolent general. Ferocious commander? Sure. Master strategist? Yeah. But benevolent? No.
Monsters dropped here and there, struck by Jeong Oh-hoon's bullets, seared crisp by Han Sang-ah's lightning, incinerated by the Paradox Flame I ignited.
"It's not like we're stubbornly refusing retreat in a hopeless battle."
This wasn't a lost war. It was winnable. I wasn't about to let it turn into a loss because of soldiers running scared.
"Should I set up a counseling station in the middle of this mess to chat with every fleeing soldier one by one?"
That's straight-up comedy gold at this point.
After cutting comms, I turned to Han Sang-ah and Jeong Oh-hoon.
"Let's split up."
We needed to speed up the cave sweep. I'd banned retreats for the soldiers, so it was on me to create a situation where they wouldn't need to fall back.
That was a commander's duty after issuing harsh orders. Not trying to get everyone killed—just find and smash the teleport blockers as fast as possible.
"Splitting up will be dangerous."
To Jeong Oh-hoon's words, I slung my spear over my shoulder and replied.
"What, you think we're selling walnut pastries inside the Erosion Core?"
We'd dived into a grade-1 Erosion Core. Facing danger was a given if we wanted to clear it.
"I prefer buttered baked potatoes."
I glanced at Han Sang-ah for a second, then said,
"Split up. We can stay in touch via in-ears anyway. Clear out monsters, report any finds. Leave marks every 50 meters along your path."
Spear marks from me, bullet marks from Jeong Oh-hoon, sword marks from Han Sang-ah. No mistaking them.
When a call came in, backtrack to the spot, then follow the reporter's marks to link up.
"Got it. See you."
We split off right away. The filthy cave was packed with corpses and bugs. No clue where they kept coming from, but they poured out endlessly.
I stomped the ground. A massive boom shattered the floor as my body rocketed toward them like an arrow. Black flames spread along my sprint path.
Mid-stride, I grabbed one monster and hurled it. It thudded and bounced like a tennis ball off walls and other monsters, ricocheting everywhere.
"Ah, there's one."
I'd reached a chamber with a blatantly suspicious obelisk. I'd told Han Sang-ah and Jeong Oh-hoon to report finds, but...
No need for me to bother.
A corpse riddled with yellowish pus tumors all over lunged at me, gripping a sword slathered in green slime, trying to block my path. Some kind of guardian, huh?
I like a good chat, but today...
"No time."
Before it could get another word out, I swung the black flames. Paradox Flame raced along the spear embedded in its body, engulfing it in an instant. The thing couldn't even keep its balance and fell flat on its ass.
It flailed to get up, but fat chance. All the friction in that body had burned away.
Dozens of spear thrusts hammered into its slippery form. Guardian down...
"Gotta smash this too."
I swung the spear wide. With a satisfying whoosh, the obelisk exploded in a cloud of dust and crumbled.
Ramin informed me what kinds of troops I could call in for reinforcements.
Standard soldiers like archers or spearmen counted as one each. Special units like mages or knights, or siege weapons like catapults and ballistae, each had different costs.
Even stuff like arrows or catapult stones cost points if summoned via teleport.
Have to pick the unit types myself? Can't they handle the basics? I checked the map through the crystal and said,
"Five catapults, ten ballistae, 1,500 archers, plus supplies for these weapons and troops to last 30 minutes. On top of that, 20 mages, 20 priests, 150 knights. Fill the rest with infantry."
No way I'm spelling out every supply detail like you're some NPC.
"Finally, you say something useful once in a while."
I'd figured moving and setting up catapults and ballistae would eat up tons of time. Lucky break. I immediately specified the pre-scouted spots.
As I kept pushing forward, I got a call from Jeong Oh-hoon about a weird find.
Ramin's forces had dipped to 20,000, and two hours had passed. This cave was disgustingly vast.
"Ah, what the hell is that."
I linked up with Jeong Oh-hoon at the spot and pulled a sour face.
"Why not go play Batman. What riches you chasing in this stinking cave."
Clown dolls made from human skin twisted their necks at grotesque angles, emitting bizarre noises.
Every now and then, the dolls' bodies shuddered like they were being electrocuted.
Bugs burst from the clowns' mouths only to slink back inside.
Looks like the bugs packed inside those skins were wriggling around to puppeteer the dolls.
"Don't destroy the teleport device."
Jeong Oh-hoon let out a "huh?" and stared at me.
"Why?"
"We can hold with the numbers we've got right now."
If we can hold, no point calling needless reinforcements. Just racks up body counts.
Plan was to grit it out at minimal strength, only popping blockers one by one for surges when shit really hit the fan...
"Later, right before smashing all the Fallen Idols, we'll destroy every teleport inhibitor at once."
Then teleport in a massive force and steamroll.
"Whoa, the guys holding the line would be pretty bummed hearing that."
"Whether they're bummed or thrilled, it won't affect winning the war."
One funny thing about war: the info available to the grunts is always limited.
In most cases, how the commander acts can make even a losing war feel like a sure win.
"Let's just deal with these clowns. Hit 'em first."
Jeong Oh-hoon aimed his rifle at the creaking clowns.
"My gun barrel gleams, the trigger delivers judgment."
I tapped the back of his head.
"Cut the crap and pull the damn trigger, Jeong."
What kinda nonsense is this guy spouting out of nowhere? Jeong infused mana into his rifle and squeezed off a shot.
In a flash, three bullets streaked out at different angles and trajectories. They punched through three clowns' heads, hit the cave wall, and ricocheted.
The bouncing bullets collided with each other or smacked walls, stitching through the rest of the dumbstruck clowns.
Unclear whether it was laughter or screams, the sounds reverberated. The clowns with gaping bullet holes turned their gazes on me.
"What're you staring at."
So what if four of 'em glare? I dodged the flying daggers and swept my spear at them. The clowns pulled acrobatic dodges to evade.
I snagged one mid-flip by the collar, grinned, and planted a kiss on its forehead.
"You little cutie. Who you showing off for?"
Whirled it around by the collar a few times, then slammed it into the ground. It hit with a mine-like boom, bugs inside completely pulverized—yellowish goo leaked from the seams.
After finishing it off, I checked the holographic map and issued orders to Ramin.
"What the hell are you doing? Block those troops retreating to the south wall."
I replied coldly.
"No victory without sacrifice. If that's what you wanted, you should've been a diplomat, not a commander."
While bantering with Ramin, I kept shredding the endless clown assaults.
"Pitiful, huh? Then go die in their place."
I dodged the bugs spewing from the clowns' mouths as I shot back.
"That's exactly what I wanna say."
This so-called commander pulling the "what do you say at a time like this" card? What the hell is wrong with this guy?
If I were up there on the battlefield with him right now, I'd slap him in irons and toss him in a cell first thing.
"No more time. Hold the wall. These are my orders, so if it goes south, it's all on me. You bear zero blame for any screw-ups."
After ending the call, I sneered inwardly. Cowardly bastard. The lives of his own subordinates, but he doesn't wanna take the heat, huh?
That kinda guy as a commander? Pathetic. By my standards, Ramin was utterly unqualified.
Well, the world's crawling with his type anyway.