Ch.123123. Plague Wind (5)

“Is it all taken care of?”

“Yes!”

Following orders to maintain vigilance proved helpful, and dealing with the rats that popped out from underground wasn’t a major problem for the main force.

The concern was for those behind them who might not have noticed the strangeness of this earthquake—the Academy students.

I immediately tried to turn back to support the students, but…

“It’s impossible! Not only has the mountain collapsed, but the bedrock supporting the entire tunnel has sunk, completely blocking the path!”

“Damn it… completely split apart, huh.”

If we take time to gather everyone who falls behind, the subjugation force will become a breeding ground for the Lemtert Plague.

Taking that into account, we tried to create a path with the widest possible formation, but these predatory spirits being tunnel-dwelling rats was the obstacle.

“How many are isolated from the main force?”

“Roughly… mostly the students who were guarding the rear. Based on reports of team members being separated, it’s definitely more than before…”

“Breaking through on their own would be impossible. That’s what you’re trying to say, right?”

“…Yes.”

Retreating from here would consume time, but they don’t have much time either. Both sides are racing against the clock.

Once again, a moment of choice approaches.

Should we rescue the Academy student unit who cannot break through on their own, or prioritize the main force out of concern for the spread of the Lemtert Plague?

Normally, this would be a difficult balance to strike. Nevertheless, his choice adds weight to one side of the scale.

“Run as quickly as possible to Shute Province, and after regrouping, we’ll go rescue them through another route!”

Once again, placing hope in one person.

***

This is behind the mountain.

Combat continues with a mix of a few soldiers from the main force and most of the Academy students who were responsible for the rear.

Though the battle began suddenly, the confusion didn’t last long.

Unlike those who nervously and awkwardly gripped their weapons, it was because of one person who first confronted the monsters.

Once someone sets an example by breaking through the starting point, what follows is predictable.

Everyone, without exception, puts their full effort into facing the monsters with proper stance and formation.

‘Is this possible with just the power of a frontrunner…?’

What’s even more surprising is that most of these people are Academy students. If people from the main force witnessed this situation, they would all say:

How was this formation completed without even coordinating positions or exchanging a single word?

How can they respond so calmly with Academy students who likely only had one previous experience?

Though isolated, they were displaying combat power far different from what was expected.

“Amazing, isn’t it? That the battle proceeds this way without any prior coordination.”

Senia, who was catching her breath during her rotation, answered Cain who was right beside her.

“Everyone would have seemed to move forward without exchanging any questions, requests, measures, or any verbal cues. Right?”

“…That’s correct. At first, that’s how it looked to me too, which is why I tried to step in. Until you stopped me, senior.”

But even without Cain’s intervention, the formation gradually took shape, like scattered puzzle pieces finding their proper places.

It seemed like if he had intervened, he might have actually been a hindrance.

“That’s a certain someone’s specialty here. It looks like they’re acting first, but they’re subtly adjusting the combat rhythm and positioning as they join in.”

“Without any prior agreement…? Is that even possible?”

“Yes. Hard to believe, right? I didn’t notice it either until I looked closely.”

As Senia said, it was hard to believe. Even with power control and tactical strategies communicated in advance, problems frequently arise—how could this be done without a single word?

And there’s someone here capable of that?

As this question arose, Cain’s gaze turned toward one person.

“Wait, you want me to step back? Why?”

“Because of the wound visible on your left arm.”

“Why my left arm… Huh? When did I start bleeding…?”

“I’m not sure if you remember scraping it on the tree earlier. Anyway, the monsters are constantly drawn to you because of that blood. Wait in the back for a few minutes while you recover, until it clots.”

“I could have been seriously hurt if you hadn’t told me. Thanks, Junon.”

He pulls back one person who was attracting frenzied monsters due to blood, correcting the formation.

Soon, the imbalanced situation diminishes, and monsters no longer target just one person.

It was perfect handling that fixed a formation that might have collapsed from a minor issue.

As Cain stared blankly at Junon with his mouth agape, Senia added another comment.

“And remember how I said that when fighting these Scourge, we should mainly use physical attacks, with exceptions like Michelle or Erika?”

Cain, who had received this information from Senia, certainly knew this.

But only now did he notice the fighting style of those before him. It had been so natural that he hadn’t even realized it.

Could it be?

Could it be that even this…?

Was he guiding this attack method to prevent the spread of the Lemtert Plague by blocking the infection route caused by the self-destructing attacks that splatter the Scourge’s bodily fluids?

“Now you understand why I’ve been keeping quiet all this time? I’m certain that if we follow him, everyone here will make it out alive.”

Gulp.

This was no mere joke.

Cain’s Adam’s apple moved up and down significantly as he tried to calm the goosebumps rising all over his body.

“Now it’s time for us to lend our strength. Let’s go, Cain.”

“…Yes.”

***

The students who were startled by the sudden attack took proper positions and faithfully repeated the methods they had practiced, following the frontrunner’s example.

Thanks to this, none of the rats exploded. Though it was close, they actively adjusted their power control to maintain the battle line, preventing them from running out of strength before the monsters.

As a result, the monsters’ offensive was weakening. Very subtly.

But not many people could notice this subtle change.

“If we hold out like this, we’ll be fine, right? Support will come…?”

“Don’t state the obvious! The main force will definitely come to rescue us!”

People who had been focusing on battle without uttering unnecessary words except for situation reports or rotation mentions began to murmur.

Fear had found these disorganized individuals.

An isolated location, sudden encounter with monsters, non-existent command, delayed support.

Fear, naturally, is contagious.

“Damn it, what’s the point of fighting like this! Get out of my way!”

“Hey! Why are you pushing?!”

Simultaneously, a man shoved aside someone blocking his path.

And at that moment, the human side’s precarious formation wavered. A fiery projectile was preparing to launch toward the gap that had opened on one side.

“I need to finish this in one shot instead of dragging it out with weapons!”

As luck would have it, he was from the main force, not an Academy student, trying to take an easy approach to combat.

Complaining about why they weren’t using magic and instead engaging in physical combat, he began gathering magical power.

“That idiot…!”

“Stop right now! If you use magic now…!”

Senia and Cain turned to stop him, but the magic had already been launched. The rats gleefully jumped toward the fireball like moths to a flame, attempting to self-destruct.

But the fireball disappeared before reaching the rats.

“Wh-what? Who just…!”

There are only a few cases where launched magic disappears.

Either by using reverse calculation to touch a point where magical power flows, like a formation or magical field,

“Who the hell did it! Who canceled my magic?!”

Or by being blocked by something.

Currently, it seemed closer to being neutralized rather than being redirected upward or downward.

So it must have been blocked, not reversed.

‘The only person with such power is…’

Junon. No one else possesses the unique magic called “Magic Shield.”

But that’s not the important issue right now.

Though the worst was avoided thanks to Junon, the monsters had already gone berserk causing rapid changes, and the human side experienced a formation collapse due to an insider.

Senia struck the man’s stomach with her scabbard and grabbed him by the hair.

“Ugh…!”

“Look carefully with your own eyes. See what’s happening now.”

“We’re breaking through here! Help!”

“We can’t help either… Anyone recovered yet?”

“It’s tough… Just one more person…”

“No! We’re breaking through here too!”

“Th-this is…”

“Because of your hasty attempt to use magic, the formation that was barely holding has collapsed. Is that thick skull of yours working now?!”

He had blocked their path to survival with his own hands, just when hope was beginning to show.

“Before you gossip about others being parachuted in, take a good look at whether you’ve been living too comfortably yourself, you moron.”

When she threw away the hair she had grabbed, the man’s face was completely distorted, as if he clearly understood what mistake he had made.

Junon, who had already used a lot of power, was forcibly maintaining the formation that was about to collapse by completely supporting one side.

This unit was like a rubber band stretched to its limit, about to snap.

Junon must surely know this too.

What will be the next move? What will he do now? The life and death of this group depends entirely on his next words.

So Senia pushes back the monsters and waits. Waits for Junon to speak the words that will save them.

However, the first voice to speak wasn’t one giving directions.

“By the way, doesn’t it seem like there are others besides us around here?”

“Yeah, you’re right! It wasn’t just my feeling! The rats’ sounds seem to be coming from somewhere else too!”

At those words, Junon listened carefully and could indeed confirm that the sounds of rats were overlapping from not too distant a location.

If there’s combat going on, those facing the rats are more likely to be humans than monsters.

“Could it be… the main force? They might have come to rescue us!”

If that’s true, it’s the best scenario right now. There’s no better scenario than having the isolated group receive support from the main force to fight the rats and find a detour.

“Then let’s go check. If we split into halves and buy time, we should be able to reach there.”

Even Junon, whom the Academy students trust and follow, made the judgment to go meet them, and strength was put into moving in that direction.

However, one person has an uneasy feeling.

“Senior Senia? Aren’t you coming?”

“Oh… y-yeah.”

Senia was concerned about the lake nearby.

Surely not.

It couldn’t be.

Encountering Sirens here would not be the best outcome, but the worst.

***

The Sirens are no exception.

Those that appeared with the trembling earth were Devourers that had dug tunnels and increased their numbers from underground.

However, they were clearly facing something different from humans.

Because what was here was something that could be called the mother of the Devourers, with a body that might be compared to a small mountain.

‘How long can we hold out…’

Everyone here knows that further retreat is impossible.

The lake, if they move further south, enters human territory. Being discovered by humans is tantamount to an impending execution.

It’s not that there were no countermeasures against the Devourers.

By growing Hiplisia to maintain a barrier, the Devourers, due to the plant’s characteristics, cannot easily approach.

But this too was becoming difficult, as the Shanbereshu, with its massive body, shook the ground where the Hiplisia bloomed, making tunnels collapse with its earth-shaking presence, making the Sirens’ future look bleak.

It was in the midst of this.

“E-Elder! You must come quickly!”

“What is it? Is the Shanbereshu advancing again?”

“No, it’s not the Shanbereshu, it’s…”

Seeing the man so flustered, the Elder couldn’t help but wonder.

Curious about what had appeared to cause such a reaction, the Elder headed toward the western side of the lake.

And the Elder too stopped in shock.

“What in the world…!”

“What are those things…? Not monsters, not humans…”

“S-Sirens… you say.”

“C-come on, don’t joke around. Sirens…”

Before their eyes were the hateful humans. And they appeared to be chased by Devourers.