Chapter 108

Episode 108: Raid

Asha explained in more detail about the difficult task of attacking the Tentacle Lair underground.

“It would be difficult for the Soldiers to dig in for days. Of course, I could make a Tunnel that far, but if I use that much power, it will be difficult to cope in dangerous situations.”

“So, it’s either taking the risk and pushing ahead, or taking the time and slowly attacking.”

Asha nodded at Maximilian’s summary. The Count thought for a moment and then gave his opinion.

“I think it’s right to thoroughly attack, even if it takes more time. We don’t know what the situation is underground, so it’s dangerous to rashly take risks.”

It was a cautious argument befitting a commander. However, the Prince, who had been agonizing, raised an objection to his words.

“Hmm… no. The situation here alone is this serious, I can’t even imagine how chaotic the capital must be. Taking more time here will ultimately be suicidal. I’m sorry, Count, but we have to push ahead.”

The Count agreed with Maximilian’s opinion.

“If we look at the entire kingdom, not just this place, that would be the case. I will follow the Prince’s words.”

As the decision to force a breakthrough was made, Asha looked at the Prince.

“You have to protect me, okay?”

“Whose safety would I neglect?”

Maximilian grinned.

As the attack on the Tentacle Lair was decided, Asha began to dig the Tunnel in earnest. She drew water from a nearby water vein and mixed it with the soil, then slowly began to part the soft earth that had become mud.

“Hoo…”

Centered on Asha, it was as if a gate to the underworld was opening. Everyone knew it was the result of Magic, but they couldn’t hide their admiration.

“Huu…”

Using both Water and Earth Spell, she continuously sweated, and after digging the ground to a wide width and even creating stairs with a gentle slope, she finally breathed out. Even if a path to the Lair was made, it would be in vain if the Soldiers couldn’t properly fight there. Asha meticulously trimmed the entrance.

She had accomplished an enormous construction project in an instant, but there was still a long way to go before entering the Tentacle Lair. Maximilian stopped her as she was about to dig the passage further.

“Now, don’t overdo it. Even if time is of the essence, it’s not to the point where we can’t afford to take about a day.”

“Yes…”

At his words, Asha controlled the fatigue that enveloped her entire body and took a breather.

After that, it was a repetition of the same work. Asha continued to dig and compact the earth to create a passage, and the Soldiers frowned as they watched the Tunnel getting deeper and deeper. Even those who had experienced all sorts of hardships couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the unknown space leading underground.

“Huu… that’s it.”

A day and a half later, Asha finally succeeded in creating all the passages. As Maximilian had said, she had dug the ground with a little extra room, so she was tired, but she had not exhausted all her strength. Asha, with a small flame floating on her hand, looked back at the Soldiers waiting behind her.

The Soldiers were already holding torches and were fully prepared with shields and short weapons in both hands.

“Okay, let’s go… follow me carefully!”

Asha, leading the way with Maximilian, entered the passage. Her figure disappeared into a place where only darkness was visible, and then the Soldiers, with tense faces, entered one by one.

“It’s humid…”

Asha, who had once lived in the jungle, felt that the humid air here was different from that of the jungle. It wasn’t just humid and hot, but a more sticky, nerve-wracking feeling. Maximilian also couldn’t hide his unpleasant expression.

“It’s an unpleasant place…”

Dedeudeuk–

Asha’s footsteps stopped at the sound coming from somewhere.

“This sound… from where?”

“It’s next to us!”

With Maximilian’s shout, the wall next to them collapsed and Tentacles poured out. Thanks to the Prince’s quick reaction, Asha was able to react in time.

“Hup!”

Causing an explosion in the Tunnel was nothing more than a suicidal act of being buried in the Tunnel. Instead of the flame floating on her right hand, Asha finely shredded the Tentacles with Sword Aura-like Wind Magic.

Flesh and Body fluid splattered, and the attacking Tentacles fell helplessly to the floor. Thanks to her tearing them apart more than their regenerative ability, the Tentacles could no longer move. Only after confirming that the Tentacles were completely dead did Asha put her hand on her chest and sigh.

“Huu… it’s not good for my heart.”

“Unpleasant air, and friends who greet us so warmly. It’s fantastic.”

Asha chuckled at Maximilian’s words.

“They’re such kind friends.”

He, who had been laughing absently along with Asha, shouted to the Soldiers following behind.

“Rear! Any problems!”

The Soldiers answered his shout.

“All clear!”

“Okay, let’s go again.”

Asha quietly nodded.

Lucia, who was at the front with Asha, was lost in thought. In this situation, she would normally only think about Asha’s safety, but Lucia was already convinced that the threat here was minimal.

‘At first, I thought there might be dangers that I hadn’t noticed… no. There’s nothing else here anymore.’

With the Tentacle Nest completely destroyed, Lucia had regained her original sensory ability. She, who could already sense all directions beyond the plains, knew that there was nothing that could threaten Asha.

Even if the Tentacles that had attacked just now had covered Asha, they would not have been able to penetrate her armor. Rather, Lucia was worried about something else.

‘The Tentacle Nests from before, they were also acting as storage facilities providing meals to the Tentacles, but more than anything, they were interfering with my sensing.’

Lucia was the only one who could instinctively sense the Tentacles themselves. She felt a clear boundary against herself from the Nest. More than anything, the fact that she couldn’t control the Tentacles was absurd.

If the Tentacles wandering on the ground were like arms and legs, then the mental entity that controlled them could be said to be the head. And Lucia was an individual born from the mental entity. Lucia should have been able to control the Tentacles in places where the mental entity’s control did not directly reach, but now all interference was neutralized.

Interference with sensory ability and immunity to manipulation. From that, Lucia felt the traces of her Papa, who had given birth to her and disappeared somewhere. She had a strong sense of vigilance at the thought that her Papa, whom she had thought had already disappeared far away, was doing something in this kingdom.

‘Papa, what are you up to?’

The Tentacle Nests, which were probably built in the hundreds in this kingdom, were created solely to guard against Lucia. Lucia couldn’t imagine what her Papa was doing while being so wary of her.

After that, the Tentacles continued to attack sporadically, but Asha and the Soldiers were able to fend them off without much damage. This was because they were able to react one step ahead of the attacks thanks to Maximilian’s foresight, who didn’t miss even the slightest vibration.

The Soldiers, who had successfully repelled the attacks, looked more relaxed than when they had first entered.

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Well, we killed so many of them above, where else would they pop out from?”

As Asha continued to walk, she realized that the slope had become more gentle and was approaching a flat surface.

“…We’re here. This is the Tentacle Lair.”

Where Asha stepped, there was a place stained with purple Slime, not brown soil like above ground, as if a boundary had been drawn. Following her, the Soldiers slowly entered the Lair.

The Lair was enveloped in a strange silence. Asha, who had expected something more noisy, was a little embarrassed when her expectations were off, but she quickly looked around.

“I can’t see them here yet. We have to go deeper…”

Asha, who had entered by pushing through the unpleasantly throbbing Flesh Walls in the narrow passage, stopped in a huge cavity. No sound could be heard, but the wriggling walls were illuminated by the faint light of the flame that Asha had lit. Not sure herself, she asked Lucia, who was next to her.

“Lucy… are there people there?”

“Yes, there are people there.”

“Prince, there are people trapped there.”

He, who had followed, was delighted at Asha’s words.

“Really! We’ve finally found them!”

“But… don’t be too surprised.”

Maximilian was puzzled by Asha’s low and dark voice, but he walked towards the place where the people were trapped. The Flesh Walls, which were like partitions, were terribly tough, but they were no match for Maximilian’s Sword Aura. He cut out the Tentacle Wall as if he were opening a lid, and was horrified by the sudden sound.

“Heugeueueut♥♥♥”

A panting moan echoed loudly in the cavity that had been enveloped in silence. The Soldiers, also embarrassed by the moaning sound that was like a death throe, stopped in their tracks.

“Kuk, what?!”

Maximilian, who looked inside, was speechless at the bizarre sight. A woman, with her arms and legs buried and only her face and torso visible, was being ruthlessly violated in her Yoni and Anus. In a space like a coffin containing a corpse, viscous Body fluid leaked out and soaked his shoes.

Maximilian, who had been bewildered, quickly rescued the woman. As he cut off all the Tentacles that had been restraining her limbs and took her out, she climaxed again just by having a man’s touch on her arm.

“Heuaaaaa♥♥♥”

She spewed out Love Nectar and fainted in Maximilian’s arms. Everyone was speechless at the truly miserable sight. Only Asha was not flustered and slowly dismantled the Tentacle Wall. The Soldiers, who had been hesitating, followed her lead when they saw her working.

“Damn it, everyone help!”

“Rescue the people!”

The Soldiers were outraged by the sight of people stacked in layers as if they were taxidermied, but they flinched and were embarrassed every time they took out the women.

“Huooh♥♥ Heeit♥”

A Tentacle suddenly popped out of the Yoni of a rescued woman and lunged at a Soldier, who was horrified.

“You fucking bitch! Get lost!”

The Soldier, who roughly cut off the Baby Tentacles, only calmed down after crushing the Tentacles rolling on the floor. Looking at the woman’s still bulging belly, he couldn’t hide his uneasy expression, fearing that another Tentacle would pop out.

In the end, it was an unnecessary worry. This was because the woman, who had already escaped from the Tunnel and become extremely sensitive, immediately began to give birth to Tentacles.

“Eugeugeut♥ Huaaaa♥”

Amniotic fluid splashed out of her Yoni, and Tentacles swarmed out. The woman’s appearance was more beautiful than anyone the Soldier had seen, but that beauty only added to the misery and wretchedness of the scene before him. The Soldier crushed all the Tentacles that kept popping out of her belly endlessly.

“Die, die, you bastards!”

Other places were no different. Rather, the Soldiers, suffering from even more mental fatigue than when they had entered the Lair, rescued the women who were being violated by the Tentacles, or pulled out the women who were giving birth to Tentacles with explicit wet sounds, and crushed the born Tentacles.

Maximilian, who had already rescued his 10th woman, had a disgusted expression on his face.

“I think I’ve seen at least a hundred Tentacles born since I came in here. Is that why they’re swarming on the ground like that?”

Maximilian’s expression hardened at Asha’s words.

“It’s daunting… but I’m really glad we took this step now.”

As a result, the Steel Regiment was able to rescue over 2,000 women. They had not yet properly secured even the clothes to cover them, but they had succeeded in destroying the Lair without leaving anything behind and rescuing the women.

Some Soldiers found their missing families and created tearful reunions. Although they were in a miserable state, they were happy to have met their families alive.

The Soldiers, who had learned everything about the Tentacles in the Lair, all had uneasy expressions. They revealed their confused feelings, knowing that the Tentacles were born by exploiting women, and how many Tentacles could pour out from one woman.

“Maybe my wife in Normandy is also…”

“Can we catch all of those things?”

Regardless of the success of the operation, the future outlook was bleak. The regiment commander shouted to the murmuring Soldiers.

“Well done, soldiers! We have driven out the enemies without loss! We have destroyed the enemy’s base and rescued the citizens! This Count is proud of you!”

The Soldiers, who had been listening to the regiment commander, recalled their achievements, which they had forgotten in the shocking scene. The Count continued to speak to them, who had a slightly brighter complexion.

“The enemies are powerful! But if we continue to build victories step by step like this, we will eventually win! Long live the Steel Regiment!!”

“Uwaaaaa–!!”

“Long live the Steel Regiment!”

Leaving the cheering Soldiers behind, Maximilian whispered.

“I’m really glad this operation was successful. If things had gone wrong this time, something irreversible might have happened.”

“It feels like every step forward is a cliff.”

Asha was overwhelmed at the thought of repeating this precarious task in other places. He patted Asha on the shoulder.

“I and you are here, and there are also Soldiers who bravely follow us this far. Don’t worry too much. We have to do what we can.”

“Yes…”

Asha decided to be happy with the immediate success. She smiled slightly and moved to take care of the women.