190th Episode
“If you hadn’t come with us, we’d have been in serious trouble! Ohoho, from now on, I’ll only rely on the mages!”
Leoni raised her thumb toward Ray while bouncing her shoulders.
The Silver Cross Knight Order members also smiled brightly and chimed in with Leoni.
As Ray waved his hand with a somewhat troubled expression, a small cheer erupted.
Despite having engaged in several battles since entering the Forbidden Forest, the atmosphere remained warm and friendly.
The originally hardworking Silver Cross knights couldn’t help but laugh as they discovered that the skills of Ray and Luna, who joined them by chance, far exceeded their expectations.
Just as they approached the ‘limit line’ set by the mercenaries.
Another group of demons appeared.
There were quite a number of them.
If they carefully handled the situation, they could defeat the demons without any casualties, but it would inevitably take some time.
While the knights were contemplating an array to conserve mana and stamina, Luna glanced at Ray.
Ray’s eyes carried a hint of fatigue.
Luna didn’t want Ray to strain himself by imitating a mage unnecessarily against the demons, so she simply manifested a magic circle.
Hooook!!
Mana flowing through the magic circle condensed into a single point.
A sudden burst of heat radiated from the highly dense lump of mana.
The knights were startled and looked at Luna due to the unexpected heat.
Unbothered, Luna proceeded to manifest the magic.
From the center of the magic circle, a superheated beam shot out.
AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!
4th Circle Hybrid Magic, Red Ray.
The superheated beam swept horizontally, igniting a massive blaze.
As part of the forest boiled and burned, the group of demons instantly turned black and melted away.
Though the superheated beam disappeared quickly, the path it had traversed was already reduced to ashes.
“…”
The knights stared blankly at the charred landscape.
At least the knights were still able to see, whereas the mercenaries had buried their faces in the ground and were trembling.
Ray turned to look at Luna after hearing the sound of burning trees.
Ray’s gaze carried a slight reproach.
After pondering for a moment, Luna replied.
“…It’s a 4th Circle magic.”
Though its power wasn’t typical of a standard 4th Circle spell, it was classified as such nonetheless.
So what if it was?
Confidently asserting this, Luna looked at Ray, who glanced around and then rubbed his brow.
“Ahh, well, yeah, it’s 4th Circle magic. I get that it’s 4th Circle… but didn’t using that much firepower all at once leave you short on mana and physically exhausted?”
“…Huff, huff.”
Luna panted slightly afterward.
Her breathing was labored, yet her expression seemed rather apathetic.
At that moment, Leoni loudly shouted for everyone to hear.
“Bravo!!”
Leoni started clapping while pretending to wipe away tears.
As Leoni openly made a scene, the other knights followed suit by pulling out their swords and clapping along.
With such a remarkable mage offering assistance, clapping was the least they could do.
Of course, Ray didn’t appreciate it at all.
While Ray muttered about Leoni’s antics, Gilland signaled the members.
“We continue advancing.”
Not long after, the guide leading the way shook their head.
“It’s too dangerous to go further.”
The mercenaries’ designated ‘limit line’ was right before them.
The concentration of corrupted mana had become so thick that ordinary people wouldn’t be able to endure it for long.
Understanding the situation, Gilland dismissed the guides and other mercenaries.
From here on out, it was the Silver Cross Knight Order’s responsibility.
“Hooofff…”
Breathing sounds could be heard everywhere.
The tension that had lowered while dealing with trivial monsters began to rise again.
Gilland stood at the forefront and entered the area known among mercenaries as the ‘Forbidden Zone.’
The deeper they ventured, the more bizarre the forest became.
Tree roots were dried and twisted, while branches swelled as if ready to burst, emitting foul odors.
Looking at these deformed plants, Ray understood why the Alimo Kingdom failed to discover the underground city when exploring the forest in the past.
Given the environment, no matter how many resources were invested, it was impossible to thoroughly search this vast area.
Hwaack!
Two Holy Knights unleashed divine energy.
The surrounding corruption was partially purified, making it easier to breathe.
However, even with the help of clerics, staying here for too long was not possible.
“Three days? At most four days…”
If they stayed longer, non-combat losses would drastically increase.
Gilland, aware of this, quietly ordered,
“Advance quickly.”
Everyone moved as fast as they could while searching the forest.
Since they were heading straight toward the suspected destination, they frequently encountered demons.
The demons within the Forbidden Forest had grown fiercer and more savage, with enhanced physical abilities.
Still, they were no match for the knights.
“Quiiiieeek!!!”
A knight slashed off a Wildboar’s leg, causing it to stagger. Ray angrily struck its head with his staff.
With a ‘ploof’ sound, the Wildboar’s skull shattered upon impact with the staff.
The red streaks emanating from the Wildboar’s eyes faded as its skull broke.
Ray wiped the blood off his staff and privately frowned.
While demons like these weren’t problematic, the situation would change if a Dark Wizard or Demon appeared.
Even a Black Wizard easily defeatable on the continent would require a struggle here.
‘If things get tough, I’ll just ask Luna to unleash some magic and make a run for it.’
Although he hadn’t anticipated this situation entirely, experiencing it firsthand felt different.
The Silver Cross knights grew increasingly grim as they continued fighting.
After advancing for hours, covered in blood, they finally reached their target location.
“That place.”
Gilland wiped the blood off his sword and looked ahead.
A temple-like building, almost completely ruined, came into view.
Ray moved forward under the knights’ protection while examining the blueprint given by Leoni.
If ancient Dragons and humans truly built an underground city here,
while the dragons might not need it, humans would certainly require something akin to an elevator to travel between the city and the surface.
Such a structure was clearly marked on the blueprint.
‘That temple-like structure must be the one drawn on the blueprint… There should be an entrance to the underground city there.’
Everyone approached the crumbling temple with maximum tension.
The knights scanned the interior of the temple with sharp senses but detected no signs of life.
They cautiously entered the temple one by one.
“…There’s nothing here.”
“It seems empty.”
The temple was completely vacant.
There wasn’t even a single hostile entity or demon in sight.
Ray surveyed the inside of the temple.
At first glance, it was just an ordinary stone temple with nothing special about it.
Before activating his powers, Ray asked Gilland first.
“This seems to be our destination. You’re not thinking of digging, are you?”
“Wait.”
Gilland approached a pillar located in the center of the temple.
After tapping the pillar a few times, Gilland swung his fist forcefully at it.
POW!!
The old stones protecting the pillar crumbled, revealing machinery inside.
Although Gilland had no idea how the machine worked, he knew from scholars who studied the blueprint how to activate it.
Gilland removed the dimmed mana stone from the machine and inserted a new one.
“…”
Nothing happened immediately.
But soon enough,
BOOM—!!
The ground trembled, and most of the temple that was still standing collapsed.
Due to its age, the building wasn’t functioning properly anymore.
Fortunately, its core functions hadn’t been entirely lost.
CRACKLE!!!
Part of the building’s floor sank slightly in a circular shape.
Everyone instinctively realized this was the entrance to the underground city and the elevator.
Some knights sighed.
No one was foolish enough to think that if they entered the underground city and got chased by enemies, escaping would be easy.
A battlefield where retreat is either impossible or extremely difficult was no laughing matter.
A brief silence fell.
Ray spoke to Gilland.
“At least we won’t have to dig.”
“…Yeah, lucky us.”
“If we enter… and end up in a situation where we need to retreat, we’ll have to accept significant sacrifices. Are we going in?”
“…Please send a message.”
Gilland handed Ray a small communication artefact.
This artefact could only send one-way messages over short distances.
Messages sent via this artefact would be received by the remaining Silver Cross knights in Rioshuko, who would report it to their superiors.
Ray passed the artefact to Luna and crossed his arms.
The knights anxiously watched Gilland, suppressing their impatience.
Gilland spoke.
“Confirmation of the existence of the underground city in the blueprint. Entrance and elevator secured. …We will enter the underground city.”
Leoni tightly shut her eyes and then opened them.
The reactions of the other knights weren’t much different.
After Luna activated the artefact and transmitted the message, she returned it to Gilland.
Gilland, lips firmly pressed together, looked around.
All the members were watching Gilland.
Gilland felt his chest tighten.
He had resolved countless times, but even so, conflict arose at the last moment.
Am I leading them to certain death? Is this truly the right path?
Will my stubbornness lead to meaningless sacrifices?
Is this choice really the best?
These were questions without answers.
After deep contemplation, Gilland concealed the trembling in his voice and offered the members a late option.
“In preparation for unforeseen circumstances… If anyone wishes to return to Rioshuko…”
CRACK!
A dull sound rang out.
Gilland turned around in confusion.
Ray’s staff had been blocked by Gilland’s raised scabbard.
Ray pointed the staff at the perplexed Gilland.
“Hey, Captain of the Silver Cross Knight Order. Stop talking nonsense and snap out of it.”
“What do you mean…”
“You’re the leader of the knights.”
That single sentence from Ray pierced Gilland’s heart.
Ray stared directly into Gilland’s conflicted eyes and continued his reprimand.
“You should’ve finished your worrying before we set out, and once you’ve made a decision, you should inspire the members with resolve, even if it means putting on a steel face. If you keep wavering like this, we’ll lose battles we could win.”
“…”
“And if there were any knights you wanted to dismiss, wouldn’t you have done it already? Do you really need to ask?”
Some members grumbled that they had thought about returning but soon laughed and playfully pounded their chests.
As Ray said, no one here was going to back out in fear after coming this far.
Everyone looked at Gilland with determined eyes.
Realizing his mistake too late, Gilland gritted his teeth.
Suppressing all sorts of emotions that tore at his chest, Gilland roughly drew his sword and pointed it at the sky.
“As the glorious Silver Cross Knight Order of the Alimo Kingdom… We shall fulfill our mission.”
BOOM!!!
The knights simultaneously stomped their feet and placed their fists over their left chests.
Gilland pulled the lever on the machine near the pillar and gave the order.
“We’re going in.”
Decision (1)
