Ch.1188Central Expedition

In the central region of Naraka, at the Dreng Gorge Fortress.

“Charge! The god watches over us!”

“Hold! Soon, He will come!”

A fierce siege battle between two forces was raging in front of the massive stone fortress that blocked the gorge like a gateway.

Surprisingly, those defending the fortress with guttural shouts and awkward speech were trolls and ogres—creatures treated as mere monsters on the surface world.

Unlike their dim-witted counterparts trapped in dungeons, these showed surprisingly coordinated and systematic movements, like trained soldiers.

They even wore standardized weapons and formal armor, showing a difference comparable to that between primitives and imperial soldiers when compared to dungeon trolls.

“That wall! They’re coming! You go block!”

“Which side? Speak clearly!”

“That side! Thaaaat side!”

Of course, training couldn’t raise their intelligence much, as they still struggled with conveying orders and reports.

“Found them! I throw rock! You throw too!”

“Don’t waste them! Only throw three!”

But such difficulties were trivial drawbacks they didn’t even need to worry about.

Thanks to their innate monstrous strength—a characteristic of their species—their military might easily surpassed that of most elite forces, even in their clumsy state.

You know how they say if you’re strong enough, you don’t need to trouble your brain? Something like that.

With a whooshing sound, massive boulders several meters in diameter were hurled like marbles, cutting through the air with ominous sounds.

“Dodge! Hurry and dodge!”

Monsters that had been clinging to the high cliff walls on either side of the gorge as if they were flat ground hurriedly leapt away to avoid the flying rocks.

With a thunderous crash, the impact shook the gorge. Stone fragments rained down like hail, and crushed flesh sprayed blood everywhere.

“Keeeeek…!”

Monsters that failed to escape in time fell with shrill screams. Their moans were like those of crushed insects.

Well, they were half insects anyway.

The attackers besieging the gorge fortress were the species commonly known as Arachnes—monsters with human-like upper bodies and spider legs.

Honestly, when I first saw them, I thought they were hybrid demons, but when I asked, I was told they weren’t.

Like how kobolds and trolls act similarly to demons but are classified as low-intelligence, ferocious non-human races rather than actual demons.

“Attack again! Charge with spacing between you!”

Anyway, these creatures climbed the cliff walls on both sides of the gorge as if they were flat ground, charging toward the fortress, or hanging from the walls while spitting venom and spider webs.

“Argggh! My arm! My arm is melting!”

“Don’t block it! It’ll splash on you!”

While spider webs could be torn away with brute force, the venom that could melt even rocks posed a significant threat even to trolls and ogres.

Since their armor didn’t completely cover their bodies, if venom seeped through the gaps, they were helpless.

“Shaaaark!”

“Groooooar!”

Shrieks and roars filled the air.

“They’ve infiltrated! Heading for the food storage!”

“Over here! Spider got in! Kill it!”

Arachnes were crushed by giant hammers, exoskeleton and all, while trolls collapsed spewing blood as eight legs pierced through every opening in their faces.

An ogre warrior grabbed an Arachne’s leg and swung it like a club until it burst, only to collapse screaming when hit by venom sprayed from behind.

A spectacle of spurting blood and scattered flesh. The bloody battle between the two monster armies for the fortress was truly magnificent and grand, as well as desperate and fierce.

To the point where mangled and burst corpses filled the areas in front of and behind the high walls.

“…They’re killing each other quite enthusiastically. That’s good.”

It was very fortunate for us. Both sides were our enemies, and they were killing each other on their own. Quite rapidly, too.

“Ophelia, prepare to seal off the battlefield.”

In other words, it was almost time for us to make our move.

I instructed Ophelia to deploy a barrier around the battlefield to temporarily isolate this area.

A grand magic and sorcery that distorts space, blocks presence, and even binds souls in place temporarily.

The barrier, enhanced by Ophelia’s magic and the Naga’s sorcery, would not only perfectly conceal what happened inside but was also sturdy enough to withstand even a demigod’s first strike.

This meant that even if the “god” of the Arachnes or the being the trolls called “Him” arrived late, we could block the first attack and gain time to notice and respond.

The problem was that it consumed so much power that, for a barrier-type spell, its duration was extremely short.

“You know we can’t maintain it for more than 5 minutes, right?”

Even with the power of Ophelia, who had absorbed a dragon’s inner core, and the Naga sorcerers who had honed their craft through multiple reincarnations, the limit was just five minutes.

It was a spell that required precise timing to use in actual combat.

“That’s enough.”

Like now.

“What about Turankai?”

“They’re ready. Said they’ll start as soon as we signal.”

The rock monkeys had also completed all preparations and were ready to enter battle at any moment.

There was nothing more to wait for.

“Good. Lena? Watch from here and heal any serious injuries. Don’t get too close—it’s dangerous.”

“Yes, sister!”

“Nigel, you protect Ophelia and Lena. With your ability, you can still provide support with javelins while doing so, right?”

“Yes, I won’t let a single grunt approach.”

First, I asked Lena to heal our allies, and I ordered Nigel to guard Ophelia and Lena while providing ranged fire support.

With her Tale of Heros, she could act like a fixed artillery position, throwing and retrieving her javelin without directly entering the battlefield.

“Leonore, Jahan, watch the situation and join in at the end. Be careful not to get hit by stray attacks.”

“Don’t worry, miss. You think I can’t dodge something like that?”

“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind!”

Finally, I deployed Leonore and Jahan directly to the battlefield.

Being in the middle of the melee would be quite dangerous compared to the others, but if they could perform well without getting hurt, they would grow stronger that much faster.

Still, just in case, I ordered them to enter last, after the rock monkeys and Naga.

Though I phrased it differently, I was essentially telling them to use the others as shields. I’ve made it clear enough, so they should handle it well. Probably.

—-

After giving all the orders.

“Now, deploy the barrier!”

Once I confirmed the enemy forces had been reduced to a manageable level, I immediately gave Ophelia the order to begin.

“Give me 10 seconds!”

Following my command, Ophelia and the Nagas mumbled incomprehensible incantations for about 10 seconds, causing the air to vibrate softly and distort bizarrely.

With a deep rumbling sound…

A dark blue mist enveloped the entire gorge, distorting the visible landscape.

That was the manifestation of the space isolation barrier and the signal for Turankai to begin.

“The signal has come! Let’s begin!”

Turankai stood up and shouted upon seeing this.

“Kee-kik! Begin, it begins! Let’s break the stone walls!”

The rock monkeys who had been hiding in caves on both sides of the high cliffs activated their powers at their king’s command.

With a rumbling sound…

The ground shook violently. The entire fortress trembled as if hit by an earthquake, scattering stone dust.

“W-what’s happening! The ground is shaking!”

“Grab the wall! We’re falling!”

“An earthquake…? Why now, of all times…?!”

“Fall back for now! Something’s not right…!”

The trolls and ogres staggered in confusion at the ominous vibrations, and the Arachne horde also stumbled with dismayed groans.

Of course, that resistance lasted only a moment.

With a cracking sound!

Starting with a deep crack in the center of the wall that had stood firm for hundreds of years, the entire fortress split into a complex web of fractures.

“N-no! It’s collapsing!”

“This is insane…!”

With a thunderous boom!

Before those standing on the fortress could respond, it collapsed with a deafening roar.

[What a spectacular sight.]

‘Indeed.’

Befitting a facility used by ogres and trolls, the gorge fortress was three or four times larger than a human fortress, making its collapse comparable to a landslide.

A literal catastrophic collapse.

Broken rocks swept through the area like a tidal wave, blood-mixed stone dust rose like an explosion, and screams were completely drowned out by the sound of the collapse.

‘Won’t this kill all of them?’

[I doubt it. Look, even over there, some are managing to escape.]

‘Ah, you’re right. Maybe having many legs helps them escape well.’

I thought we might be able to wipe them out without even fighting, but from the looks of it, it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Kuk…! You think I’ll die like this?!”

Some quick-witted and fast-moving Arachnes were rapidly escaping by using spider webs shot toward the cliff as ropes.

As if they were some poor spider-man from an old hero movie I once saw.

Of course, unlike that spider-man, they shot webs from their rear ends rather than their wrists, making them look ridiculous and ugly rather than cool.

[Besides, their capabilities vary greatly, so some won’t die just from being buried. If they protect their heads, they can probably survive.]

‘I guess you’re right. After all, they have nothing going for them except toughness and brute strength.’

The Arachnes weren’t the only survivors.

Trolls could survive anything except having their heads crushed thanks to their regenerative abilities, and ogres’ monstrous strength allowed them to stand up even after being crushed under boulder-sized rocks.

“Grr, grwooooar!”

In other words, those who died in the fortress collapse were only the unfortunate ones who were right against the walls and took the full brunt of the disaster.

The Arachnes, trolls, and ogres who were a bit farther from the walls suffered only minor to moderate injuries and somehow survived, emerging from the rubble with fierce roars.

Sending them to join their fallen comrades was the job of our warriors who followed.

“Khahah! There’s an abundance of prey!”

Turankai jumped down the cliff, lifted countless rocks into the air, combined them, and smashed them down like small meteorites, while his rock monkey subordinates picked up rocks of various sizes and swept the battlefield with a rain of stones.

“Warriors, charge! It’s time to prove the might of Nastaria!”

From the opposite side, Hyalbajer and the Naga warriors who had rushed through the river at the rear of the gorge slashed, stabbed, and butchered the ogres and trolls who had just emerged from the rubble.

A surprise attack immediately following a sudden and shocking disaster.

Enemies caught in this—whether Arachnes, trolls, or ogres—screamed and roared in desperation before dying like ants swept away by a wave.

It was a complete victory. For now, at least.