324th Chapter: You Can Do It. (3)
[Later, it was discovered that… the Grexes had formed an unbelievably enormous underground kingdom. Queen Grex lays dozens or even hundreds of eggs every day. Those born from these eggs devour the land-dwelling monsters and beasts, and when food runs low, they even resort to cannibalism among themselves. We were unaware of this.]
Kwaaaang!
Blood from the Grexes scattered in all directions like a storm. Giselle didn’t hold back her strength at all.
“We just need to go a bit further! Keep pushing!”
At some point, the area became densely packed with Grexes. They frantically swarmed around Giselle and her companions to rescue Queen Grex.
“Kieeeek!”
Queen Grex kept screaming, making the forest shake. Kaor shouted in response.
“Can’t we just shut that thing up?”
“That’s useless. It’s not calling them with sound.”
In my previous life, the Duke’s knights had tried to silence Queen Grex’s mouth as well. However, the Grexes continued to swarm regardless of her cries.
This meant there had to be another way to gather the Grexes, but even the Duke’s faction hadn’t figured it out.
Anyway, the abilities of monsters were so bizarre that it was nearly impossible to know their exact structure.
Belinda urgently offered another suggestion.
“Why don’t we just kill her? Throw her at those monsters, and use the troops to gradually wipe them out.”
Giselle shook her head with a serious expression.
“That’s not going to work. It would lead to a bigger disaster.”
[We couldn’t stop the swarming Grexes with our strength. The camp was swept away in an instant, and countless soldiers died. Even the excellent knights and mages couldn’t handle this overwhelming number. Ultimately, we decided to retreat and killed Queen Grex to block the Grexes’ movements.]
Kwang! Kwaaaang!
Every time Giselle swung her sword, dozens of Grexes burst apart.
Yet, the number of Grexes showed no sign of diminishing. Belinda asked, hiding her disgust.
“Why? What happens if we kill her?”
“Perdium will fall.”
[Killing Queen Grex was the worst mistake. The Grexes, having lost their queen, went completely mad. They scattered in all directions, seemingly looking for the humans who had killed their queen. The number was staggering. It was as if every last one of the underground-dwelling Grexes had emerged. The Grex tsunami swept everything away without mercy.]
Belinda looked dumbfounded for a moment. Fighting in the Forest of Monsters, what did Perdium have to do with it?
“What do you mean by that?”
“They’re going to head outside.”
[The Grexes eventually broke free from the Forest of Monsters. They quickly turned Perdium, closest to the forest, into a wreck. Countless people died, and facilities were destroyed. Yet, the Grexes showed no signs of stopping, beginning to scatter everywhere.]
Giselle gritted her teeth and shouted again.
“We need to get to the fortress! We have to trap Queen Grex there and hold them off! That way, the Grexes will keep attacking the fortress instead of going elsewhere!”
[We were utterly unprepared and could not stop them. Eventually, Duke Harold Desmond led the northern army, and only after the Commander Arel Haidun, who was facing the barbarians at the Northern Fortress, brought the fortress troops were we able to quell the Grexes.]
At Giselle’s shout, the party dashed through the Grexes in a frenzy. They wanted to ask more questions, but there were far too many attacking.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
“Kieeeek!”
Everyone was using their mana without restraint. The number of Grexes piling in had surpassed thousands. Even now, more kept bursting forth somewhere, charging towards the party.
If they got surrounded, they would be torn to shreds in no time.
This area belonged entirely to the Grexes. The monsters understood that and didn’t attempt to seize this place.
“Ahhh! Damn it! I’m gonna get caught again!”
Gordon, trailing at the back while leading the Grexes, screamed. With the Grexes sticking to him, he was slowing down.
He had a trauma from having been caught by monsters before. He swung his sword with all his might, not wanting to be dragged off again, but there were just too many rushing Grexes.
The knights accompanying him fought fiercely, but it was no longer enough.
Swoosh!
“Kuh!”
The Grexes began to latch onto the knights’ armor one by one.
Even if he tried to shake them off while running, new ones would just cling on again. If this continued, they would be swallowed by the Grex tsunami.
Giselle, observing the situation, shouted.
“Belinda! Kaor! Keep clearing the path! I’ll take care of the rear!”
“Young Master!”
Belinda gasped in shock, but Giselle moved to the back without hesitation.
Kwang!
The Grexes that clung to the knights were sent flying by Giselle’s sword strike. Only then did the knights catch their breath and dash forward.
Alfoy, who had been dragged along by Belinda, devised a plan.
‘The back is being defended by the Lord. The front is being cleared by Kaor. So I need to run faster.’
He didn’t have much mana left. He had spent a considerable amount of it entertaining Queen Grex.
Just as he thought he was getting away while resting in Belinda’s arms, he felt a fresh wave of anxiety.
‘If I’m caught, I’m dead.’
So he squeezed out all his remaining mana. Living only for construction had not significantly increased his mana, but his mana manipulation ability had improved immensely compared to before.
Zing—!
The resonance of mana spread all around. Alfoy, using every last ounce of strength, cast a spell that made people lighter and faster.
“Eh!”
“What’s this? A spell?”
“Awesome! I’m so much faster now!”
Everyone was startled when they suddenly felt light. This made it much easier to escape.
There was only Alfoy who was a mage here. His work was obvious.
Casting a spell like this on multiple people at once was no simple feat. It required immense concentration and control of mana.
For someone like Alfoy to pull this off! True, this guy can come through when things get urgent.
But Belinda glared at Alfoy.
She was skilled enough to feel the flow of mana radiating from Alfoy. So she realized.
One person was noticeably left out from the spell’s effect.
“You… deliberately left the Young Master out, didn’t you?”
Alfoy’s magic hadn’t reached Giselle, who was staunchly fighting the Grexes at the back.
As Belinda looked furious, Alfoy shook his head frantically, looking exhausted.
“N-No! I ran out of mana! That’s my limit! I barely managed to do this for the people here! Look at my face!”
Alfoy protested, looking wronged. He appeared pale and trembled, clearly drained of energy.
But the truth was known. Reluctantly, Belinda gritted her teeth and turned away.
“Young Master!”
As Giselle distanced herself, they were getting further away. Thanks to Kaor, they were breaking through the Grexes’ encirclement faster.
Giselle laughed heartily, seemingly unconcerned.
“Good job, Alfoy! Everyone, don’t worry about me! Just sprint to the fortress! I’ll catch up in no time!”
Belinda hesitated for a moment, but she decided to trust Giselle.
Giselle was the strongest among their group. Even if she went to help, she might just end up being more of a hindrance.
It would be more helpful to reach the fortress quickly and bring out the troops.
Kwang! Kwang!
The knights ahead, fighting alongside Kaor, were busier still. They had to defeat the Grexes and secure a path to lead Queen Grex.
“Damn it! This cursed forest! What am I, crazy to follow this again!”
Kaor swore as he swung his sword.
When they were blocking the Monster Wave in the Shadow Mountain Range, at least they had fought together with an army. They had never broken through like this with so few.
The lord who casually executed such a crazy plan was truly unhinged. What certainty did he have to always operate like this?
Looking back after surviving was undeniably thrilling and fun, but if this continued, he really felt he might not live out his days.
In the midst of all this, while Kaor and the knights were busy cutting down the Grexes and trees, they finally discovered a wide open space ahead.
“We made it!”
Kaor shouted joyfully. They were definitely getting close to the fortress. The watchtower of the fortress would have a clear view of the situation here.
Sure enough, up until this point, the Grexes didn’t seem to be emerging from the ground anymore, indicating it was no longer their territory.
As he ran madly, Kaor threw away his pride. He shouted the words he had sworn never to utter.
“Old man! Help me!”
Paaah!
At the same time, an immense rain of arrows poured down from the fortress.
“Kieeeek!”
The Grexes chasing the party fell one after another from the arrows. Despite still being followed by plenty behind, just the loss of the ones beside them was a significant relief.
Gillian, observing from the highest point of the fortress, widened his eyes and shouted.
“Fire! We need to secure an escape route!”
Paaah!
More arrows were launched. Under Giselle’s command, Gillian had already ensured combat readiness.
If the soldiers spread out and attacked the approaching Grexes, the elves attempted precise support attacks.
“Kieeeek!”
Perrr!
A Grex that had leaped next to a knight had its head blown off.
The elves’ near-miraculous archery was clearing up the area around the fleeing party.
“Kieeeek!”
The cries of the Grexes echoed everywhere. The fleeing party was too busy to notice, but Gillian, watching the front from above, swallowed hard at the tension.
“What… what is…”
The forest was shaking. The red hue of the Grexes resembled a tide of blood surging forth.
Dudududududud!
In his life, he had never seen so many monsters swarm together. Even the hunters who survived by hunting monsters in the Shadow Mountain Range had never experienced this.
It was horrifying. That horde of Grexes looked like it could ravage the fortress in no time.
Soldiers were sweating in fear at the sight of the approaching Grexes.
“W-where are all those monsters coming from?”
“Shouldn’t that many have already been spotted in the forest?”
“It must be the Lord…”
Everyone nodded at someone’s last words. If something strange was happening, it was probably all the Lord’s doing.
Thank goodness they had built a fortress. If they had to face those monsters without it?
A hell would have unfolded right here.
Of course, they couldn’t let their guard down even with the fortress. Looking at the numbers, it seemed they wouldn’t be able to hold up for long against such a crowd.
“Lower the ropes!”
As Gillian commanded, the remaining knights dropped sturdy ropes. Those who reached the fortress quickly climbed up, grabbing the ropes.
“Kieeeek!”
Queen Grex, being pulled up to the fortress, screamed and struggled.
Seeing the sight, the soldiers grimaced in disgust, but they didn’t attack Queen Grex.
They had already received the message that the monster was the critical target of this operation.
“Where is the Lord! Where is the Lord!”
Gillian shouted desperately as Belinda, covered in blood and a mess, spoke up.
“Get the knights ready! We need to rescue the Young Master now!”
Gillian hastily turned his head. More Grexes were flooding in than before.
The soldiers were shooting arrows diligently, but instead of diminishing, the numbers seemed to be increasing.
It appeared the count might exceed tens of thousands. The ground trembled and the forest shook with the Grexes’ movements.
Only then did Gillian clearly grasp the meaning behind the order he had received from Giselle before she left.
― Just in case I’m saying this, under no circumstances should you come out. Do your best to hold them off from the fortress. If the fortress falls, Perdium will surely be doomed.
Crack.
Gillian bit down hard enough to break his teeth. If the likes of those monsters escaped the Forest of Monsters, then Perdium would certainly fall.
Perhaps they would need the help of not only the Crown Prince faction but also the Duke faction.
He needed to uphold the lord’s command. But he couldn’t leave the lord alone among those hordes of monsters.
Even a Swordmaster would surely be worn out and die trying to face such numbers.
Seeing Gillian hesitate, Belinda shouted.
“Gillian! Get the knights ready right now!”
Gillian looked around.
The soldiers were already wearing expressions filled with fear at the absence of their Lord.
The knights who participated in the operation were collapsed on the ground, covered in fatigue, simply gasping for breath.
‘My Lord…’
Gillian turned his head and glanced at Vanessa, who was waiting at one side.
She had already inscribed a magic circle on the ground and was standing ready with the mages. Everyone had completed all the preparations Giselle had instructed.
However, the Lord needed to be present to cast the magic. If they used magic now, the Lord would surely be dragged into it.
“Kieeeek!”
Dudududududud!
The Grexes had now gathered to completely fill the area in front of the fortress. The soldiers and elves were shooting arrows without rest, their faces full of dread.
Gillian sighed deeply, raising his voice.
“Everyone, hold your ground! With all your might, we will resist the incoming Grexes! Not a single person is allowed to leave their position!”
“Gillian!”
Belinda shouted, her eyes ablaze. She glared at Gillian while shedding her robe and pulling out her dagger.
She intended to go save Giselle even if it was just her.
At that moment, Gillian grasped two enormous axes with both hands and declared.
“I will definitely bring the Lord back. Just hold on until then.”
Kuwung!
He left those words behind and leapt down from the fortress.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.