[A dimensional portal has been created!]
[Serafina (★★★★) is requesting 'Intermediate Health Potion (B)' x4, 'Exploding Throwing Spear (B)' x2, 'Exploding Arrow (B)' x4 and 'Wind Arrow (B-)' x17!]
I reopened the portal to replenish our supplies once more.
After securing the dam, I allowed my comrades a moment to rest.
They used the opportunity to use the health potions for the injuries they suffered from the battle earlier.
[Enchantment over!]
[Party 1's agility and stamina have returned to normal!]
And just at the same time, the enchantment I put in place had worn off.
This would be a good of time as any to take another rest.
While waiting for my comrades to recuperate, I placed my fingers to the back of my ear and pictured two people in my mind.
"Zecht, Ashta, how are your parties doing?"
I called the party leaders.
[It's getting a little crowded here, Serafina. The entire eastern battlement is flooded with dead goblins.]
Zecht replied.
[There aren't many soldiers left helping us fighting on the walls. Heck, I think most of the soldiers had fallen.]
Ashta added.
[The gates are fortunately secured even with the ogres trying to bring them down. But those siege towers made the goblins ignore the gates and focus on climbing the walls instead.]
Zecht said.
[I tried to destroy as many towers as I could with my exploding arrows. But there're just too many!]
Ashta said.
[Tarran also could not get rid of all the towers coming to the walls and there are still many more coming. We would soon get overrun if this continues.]
Zecht declared.
The goblins in this Quintal Trial were not necessarily strong individually.
But they were large in numbers.
Fighting the monsters nonstop, even though they were weak, would wear Party 2 and Party 3 down eventually.
Plus, they only had limited supply of health potion. They had to be careful of choosing which injury they would like to heal.
Had the two parties each have a mage on their side, they would have access to a dimensional portal and allow them to resupply.
[How far are you from the sixth floor valley, Serafina?]
Zecht asked finally.
"We're halfway there. Can you guys hold on? Some of us in Party 1 can go back and help if you need us."
I said while recalling the beacon spear placed on the central square.
[No, don't worry. Party 2 can still handle this much. Party 1 needs all their members to reach the valley.]
Zecht objected immediately.
[Party 3 is still holding on somehow. That idiot Jyrgil managed to attract a lot of enemies to him. But I sure wouldn't mind if you guys would pick up your pace.]
Ashta said.
I nodded to their reassurances.
"Very well. Be safe, everyone."
I said, ending the communication.
My gaze then caught the sight of the grand valley below me.
Thousands of goblins were marching toward Loro.
Incidentally, there were many siege towers being pulled by the ogres just beyond the small lake, where the dam's spilling stream poured into.
An idea struck my mind.
I hurriedly turned toward the dam and walked closer to it to a cliff edge by the bridge.
I raised my hand toward the spillway gate at the bottom of the dam and concentrated my mana around it.
My comrades who were still pouring health potions to their wounds observed me curiously.
It was then that I casted my spell.
[Davah Shashanam]
I jerked my hand to the side and the great wooden construct shattered along its spill gate.
The dam tore open and huge torrent of water flowed through the steep ravine below the bridge.
The great rushing water was just a few choro away from tearing the bridge apart and swept the structure away with it.
All the water the dam had contained flushed down to the small lake at the great valley.
But the lake could not contain all the water.
The excess flowed into the great valley in the form of a raging flood.
Crash!
The dozens of siege towers pulled by the ogres were carried away by the flood and smashed them against each other, ruining all of them in the process.
Unfortunately, the great valley was vast and the flood could not drown the thousands of monsters marching toward Loro.
Some dozens died by the first impact of the flood.
But most were just strewn around here and there by the current without so much as a graze to them.
Still, by breaking the dam, I managed to destroy what could probably be what was left of the siege towers the monster army possessed.
Due to the destruction, the aqueduct running through the mountains connected to the dam had run dry. I doubted the water was needed given how empty the city was at the moment.
Having done what could be done with the dam, I turned back to my comrades.
"Let's move!"
I pulled out another enchantment stone and activated its spell within.
['Serafina (★★★★)' is casting temporary enchantment.]
[Elemental Attribute, Penetration]
[Party 1's agility and stamina has increased by 5 for the next 45 minutes.]
With their weapons at the ready, we resumed our march toward the eastward trail.
It was not long till my detection field sensed another monster obstacle in our path.
[Goblin Rider Lv.10 x86]
[Ogre Lv.17 x4]
The enemies had increased in number as expected.
But since the road was once again bordered with a huge drop to the right and boulder-jutted slope to the left, the gap in personnel did not deter us.
[Davah Shashanam]
Tens of boulders rolled down from the hills to the monsters' side.
The rocks crashed down to the road and tumbled over to the cliff, sweeping both the goblin riders and ogres with them.
Only less than a dozen goblin riders were left on the trail. Those that were lucky enough to avoid the rockslide.
My comrades did not have any problem striking them down.
Slash!
Shuck!
Pierce!
We defeated the enemies without stopping for a second.
Our sprint continued through the mountain path.
Before we could make out the hills on the crossroad we found on the seventh floor, two more obstacles were blocking our way.
Of course, given the constant terrain, we had no problem discarding them without halting our steps.
We were quickly going through the mountain path.
Every second we were nearer to the sixth floor valley.
Things were going well and it would keep that way as long as we maintain our pace and composure.
Everything was going according to plan.
We could probably clear the tenth floor without suffering any casualty.
Such was the state of my mind until we reached the seventh floor's crossroad.
"Huh? What's this?"
Jonah wondered out loud as we approached the forked road.
['Ashta (★★)' has been inflicted with bleeding. Her stamina will be reduced for a period of time.]
My other comrades and I were also putting up confused expressions as we arrived there.
On the seventh floor, the crossroad had a valleyed path going north, into the mountains.
Back then the entire trail was completely buried with blanket of enormous boulders.
Now, however, a smooth marbled road covered the whole length of the path.
The constructed road led deeper into a vast grassed opening within the mountains, which was formerly buried as well.
Bordered with tall hills arranged like a crater, a great temple sat in the middle of the grassed opening. The marbled road ended at the temple.
A peculiar existence.
Having not encountered it on the seventh floor, but now it was here on the tenth floor, inside the Quintal Trial.
That was how my comrades thought of it at the most.
But that structure was even more stranger to me.
From the peaks of Surga, I felt the temple calling for me, whispering to my mind with seductive voice.
A call I wished I had ignored at the time.