In the Dragon Mountains, Noark's troops and palace army had formed a long battle frontier as they engaged in a full-scale power struggle.
«There is a report that the Traitor has appeared on the Western Front!»
Eltora Tercerion, commander of the Third Corps, frowned upon receiving this report from her subordinate. The man had not been seen for a long time. «Traitor, huh? Alright, you can go now».
«Yes, sir!»
The subordinate believed that the Traitor's presence had upset his superior, but the real reason for Eltora's frown was another.
Has the traitor reappeared, huh?
Eltora was no idiot. A few days ago, Noark's western troops were seen heading north. It was very likely that they had redirected their forces to pursue the expedition team trying to escape on their own.
Does that mean the chase is over?
Eltora clenched her fists unconsciously.
Father... Damn, what the hell is the marquis thinking?
Just before leading the army towards the labyrinth, Eltora received two secret orders from her father. The first was to ignore the squadron's ransom demand. And the other...
«If they come back alive anyway, kill them without anyone finding out».
He didn't know if he should be relieved by it, but Eltora at least hadn't had to carry out the second secret mission. The squad had gone in the opposite direction to the one they were going.
Are they all really dead?
It was a really contradictory feeling. Eltora had helped abandon them. He would also have been in a bind if the expedition returned alive.
¡Pum!
But I couldn't believe it. Were they really dead? The same Bjorn Yandel who somehow returned from the Crystal Cave? Eltora closed her eyes, lost in thought. He tried to imagine what he would do if he were the squadron commander.
The reason they fled north instead of south, where their allies were, must have been to catch the enemy off guard.
It wasn't a bad move, especially because it allowed them to dodge two bullets at once.
Did he know?
Well, Eltora had no way of finding out. But, even if Yandel knew it somehow, that did not change the result. There didn't seem to be an escape route in the north.
In enemy territory, with no hope of reinforcements arriving, with an approaching army and a tired crew... If it were me, what would I decide? No, if I were Bjorn Yandel, that ridiculously decisive man, what would I choose?
...Ice Rock.
Suddenly, his thoughts ended there. If they intended to continue fleeing and not give up, there was no other option than that.
Even if they really went there, they wouldn't come back alive.
No matter how many theories he came up with, none seemed to have optimistic prospects. That was not at all because Eltora underestimated Bjorn Yandel's abilities. Ice Rock? Glacier Eye? He could certainly overcome those obstacles. Considering the competence he demonstrated in the Crystal Cave, it made no sense for that man to be overcome by difficulties like that. However, he had encountered the wrong enemy.
It was impossible for the marquis not to know that he could do this.
Anyone would consider heading to the Ice Rock to be an unconventional move. But ultimately, it was a move that even Eltora could think of. Of course his father would have prepared for that possibility. That man prepared himself for any situation to the point of exaggeration.
The chances of Bjorn Yandel returning alive... are non-existent.
This is what Eltora Tercerion concluded as she tried to ignore her inexplicable heartbeat.
¡Pum!
***
Our current training was simple. There was a narrow side road wide enough for about four people to stand on.
«Schuitz, are you sure about this?»
«I told you. It will be too narrow if you are all here too».
Our first line of defense against the enemy was me and only me. This was the solution I had come up with to the problem of how to bring as many people back home as possible.
«Don't run to the ground. We are right behind you.»
«That calms me down. I will trust....»
Just then, a bloodthirsty cry from the Dragon Slayer bounced off the walls. «Bjorn Yandel! Is this where you've fled?» Judging by the confidence in his voice, it seemed that he had not yet realized the situation he was in.
Unfortunately, not everyone was as airheaded as him. «Lazy, calm down». An adventurer extended a hand in front of the dragon slayer, who seemed ready to run forward at any moment.
Squeeze.
Someone behind me gritted their teeth at the sight of his face. I understood the feeling.
«That bastard killed Miss Naria...».
Whether Troll Summoner Milburn Naria was an evil spirit or not, she was a woman whose only wish was for us to return home alive, even though she herself was at death's door. And this man had killed her.
«Bjorn Yandel, right?» The guy who stopped the Dragon Slayer came forward and spoke to me.
Is this guy the real leader?
The way he behaved was confident enough to justify that question. Normally, if you had no authority, you would be worried about what other people thought when you do something like that. But it seemed like even that bastard Dragon Slayer kept his mouth shut and let this guy talk.
After some thought, I decided to accept the conversation request. «Yes, I'm Bjorn Yandel». I was curious too. «And who are you?»
He responded without much hesitation. «Manua Repels».
I intended to cross that name off my murder list.
«I'm going to kill that bastard...»
No, the name would be written on all our murder lists. The moment the guy started talking to us, killing intent started radiating from the members of my squad behind me. But no one did anything hasty.
«Manua Repeles... I've never heard of you».
«Well, I'm sure. I am currently considered a secret weapon».
This added more credibility to my previous hypothesis. I began to speculate when I saw that they were armed with high-ranking essences that only appeared from the eighth floor onwards. It seemed more than likely that these guys were the eighth floor muggers.
«So what do you want?» Now that I had his name on the murder list, I decided to listen to him.
It seemed like he wasn't one to beat around the bush either, as he opened his mouth immediately. «I have a proposal for you».
«A proposal...?»
«As I said before, we are a secret weapon. Even if we manage to finish you all off, it will be a huge loss if one or two of us die in the process.»
«See you at the wheato».
At my words, he raised a hand and showed me his palm. «Five. To save face, hand over five people. If you do, we will be satisfied and leave the rest of you alone. Oh, of course, you don't have to be one of the five, Bjorn Yandel».
Haha, I was wondering what he was going to say...
There were times in your life when you ended up so dumbfounded that you couldn't even get angry. That was exactly how I felt at that moment.
«It's not a bad offer at all. If you give us only five people, the rest of you can all go home alive».
«I don't know, that sounds like a suggestion I should be making instead. Give me five of your heads and I will send the rest back alive. Oh, of course, you and Regal Vagos have to be included in those five».
«So you choose the punishment», Repeles said. «I hope you don't regret it».
What is this idiot son of a bitch talking about? Alcohol is always alcohol no matter how mild it is, and poison is always poison no matter how sweet it is.
«Regret is something your mother does.»
«...What?» The man blinked. It seemed like he had never heard that kind of insult, not even from the foul-mouthed Noark.
It wasn't the time to laugh, so I lunged at him, looking at his bald head as he turned red under the sparkler light. «After all, your mother probably didn't know that the son who went to the trouble of giving birth would end up being a coward who did nothing but talk in front of the enemy. Did you pee on yourself when you saw us? You smell so bad I don't realize it. Why don't you say anything? Ah, it's because you don't have a mother...»
«¡Bastard!»
«Wow, I guess you don't really have it, considering how upset you are. Don't be so angry. I understand. The reason you became a coward is probably that you didn't have a proper education when you were younger. And the reason you lost all your hair was probably because of all the pain...»
God, why do you keep interrupting me? Now I see that he is not only reckless but also rude.
I was a little upset, but I had achieved my goal. After all, that was how the world had always worked.
«Yes, no, I'm not going to die.»
«...¡You...!»
He who gets angry first loses.
The fact is that Calvo Repeles attacked my very provocative comments and went to the ground with a kick.
Surprisingly, the Dragon Slayer lunged forward to grab him. «Repels! He is like that, don't get upset! If you fall for his manipulation, you will only be doing him a favor».
Smile.
Do you think that's going to work? When is your bald head so red?
Run.
Soon, the guy separated from the Dragon Slayer and ran towards me with his fists clenched. His class was Boxer. This was a rare class in the maze. Although useful on the lower floors, this class did not have basic essences that were particularly beneficial once you reached the middle floors. However, they did have some good active skills later on. A good example was the one I was using now.
[Manua Repeles has launched Iron Fist.]
Iron fist could be obtained in the eighth floor Rift. Its effects were simple.
Star.
It provided the user with the ability to perform a five-meter run that bordered on teleportation and a hit that ignored the laws of physics.
¡Kwaaaang!
[A fixed amount of damage was dealt proportional to the caster's Strength and the target's Physical Stamina].
The damage was more painful the stronger you were. This ability was the cause of everything going wrong for us in the last battle. Our mana shield had shattered after a few blows, and our battle line collapsed as it was knocked down. Meanwhile, having to choose to dodge rather than defend myself meant that I was unable to properly execute the tank's main mission of stopping the enemy in its path. But this time, things were different.
«…Ugh.»
A blow so hard I could feel my intestines shaking? Although the pain was unbearable without a mana shield... so what?
[Roita Mamander has launched Emergency Regeneration.]
A healing came immediately afterwards.
[Benjamin Orman has launched Moonlight Sanctuary.]
The border between augmented Natural Regeneration and Glacier's Eye hellish state effects was right between the enemy and me.
Deslick.
I looked at the fist embedded in my abdomen and shouted: «Behel-aaah!».
The man shuddered at the sudden scream. When I dropped my hammer on him, he backed away. He was definitely going to use Iron Fist again as soon as he put some space between us. That ability was good and had no cooldown, but it was only effective if you lunged from a distance.
Do you think I'll let you do it?
I immediately connected Transcendence and Eye of the Storm. Before, the battle line had collapsed, and numerous enemies had passed me, so I had not been able to use this combo.
¡Saaaaaaaaa!
I made sure to sync it well and threw the hammer at the guy approaching me with a confused face. Unfortunately, I couldn't have much fun. This guy was also a tank.
[Manua Repeles has released Invincible].
He crossed his hands over his head and blocked the hammer. As soon as the brief exchange ended, those behind him also began to run.
[Ricky Aymond has released Thunder Target.]
[Kayle Elbad Zenegger has released Thorn at the End of the World.]
I was shot with skills. Some evaded my Physical Resistance and crashed into my body, but I recovered quickly thanks to the concentrated healing of our priests.
[Anne Parvela has released Burst of Thunder.]
Between moments, a hand-to-hand fighter ran over me before I could stop her.
[Anne Parvela has launched Reunir.]
This combination of skills has allowed her to teleport two companions who were at a certain distance from her.
[Puran Cullen has released Possession.]
[Marione Trider has released Dance of the Cataclysm.]
They were like a kind of tactical assault unit. Well, their logic was probably that if they got here, at least the field effect would rise. They probably thought it would be better to fight here, even if it was in the middle of enemy territory.
It seems like they are underestimating us a lot.
Even if their abilities were a little better than ours individually, did they really think that three of them could take us down alone?
«Don't worry about things on this side! I won't let anyone else pass!»
I decided to leave the assault unit to my comrades. Even if they managed to stab me in the back, I hoped I wouldn't die as long as I stayed on the healing side of the barrier. I didn't think they had a chance to hit me in the first place.
«Kill them! It's time to brandish the sword of revenge!»
«Do you think we will be defeated like last time?!»
«¡Rahhhh!»
Melee began. Enemies beyond the border, including Calvo, ran forward to try to get through me. The three who crossed the border had their backs to each other, with the intention of somehow breaking our formation.
¡Shaaaaaa!
The priests situated on a safe hill a short distance away cast divine spells indiscriminately, healing and dealing damage at the same time.
«Get rid of the priests first!»
As a result, the enemy tried to target the priests first and fired several skills.
¡Shaaaaaa!
However, none of their attacks were able to reach the hill where the priests and wizards were, but instead vanished into thin air. That was due to the magic circle they had made an effort to draw as soon as they got up here. As long as the priests were protected, we could not lose this fight.
«Magic barrier...!»
Realizing that his projectiles were not working, the enemy began to devise other methods.
[Mike Roymus has launched Slime Walk.]
[Lia Andes has launched Path of Flames.]
The enemy used their skills to try to climb the cliff on their own.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has launched High Speed Fire.]
Of course, they were stopped by our rangers.
As the battle progressed, the tide was much more in our favor than I expected.
«...Despicable bastards!»
The three people who had come with such enthusiasm were unable to overcome their lack of numbers and were taking a beating. I stood firm as an iron wall to prevent the rest of his group from crossing and providing us with reinforcements.
«Damn sea...!»
«Why doesn't that monster ever get tired?!»
«Kill him! Kill him somehow!»
The more unfavorable the situation became, the more aggressively our opponents attacked us. The reason was very simple. Everyone, including them, was injured. They realized that if they retreated now, they would not have another chance to win this fight.
«Don't hold back!»
«No matter how much they hurt you, if we win this battle, it's over!»
The attacks became even more intense as the wounds built up. Like those of the Dragon Hunter, who was brandishing his sword against me in tandem with Bald.
«Hey, let me ask you a question. Just out of curiosity, but when will it arrive? That moment when not even death can save me».
...Tighten.
Finally forced to face the facts, the bastard stopped trying to stab me with his knife so he could take a step back and glare at me. «You've always forced me to make sacrifices», the cocoon murmured, and then took out his ultimate weapon with a determined look.
[Regal Vagos has released Dragon Speech: Silence of the Soul.]
You finally use it.
[Your Soul Power is insufficient. Gigantization has been disabled.]
My body shrank in an instant. The hammer and shield that once seemed as light as a feather to me now seemed as heavy as a thousand kilos.
[You have fallen into a state of soul exhaustion. All your stats have temporarily decreased by 70%].
It was the same effect I experienced in the Labyrinth of Larcaz.
Wow, this reminds me. At that moment I thought it was the end.
¡Tos! ¡Tos! ¡Karrrgh…!
What the fuck? Why is he coughing up blood suddenly? Ah, did using the Dragon Speech just now put a strain on your body? Huh, it's like a bee that dies after a sting.
«Regal Vagos! You're OK?»
«I'm fine... kill him... Hehehe...» It was strange to see him give me such a hateful look even as he staggered like that.
[You have launched Soul Immersion. Your Soul Power will regenerate at a rate proportional to the amount of Soul Power you have consumed].
Would it be strange to say that I feel sorry for you?
[Your state of Soul Exhaustion has risen].
He could deal with this with just one skill.