Ch.1266Everything’s ruined.
by fnovelpia
The bombardment of rocks that had seemed eternal gradually weakened and eventually ceased completely.
“…Is it over?”
Someone looking up anxiously at the remaining barrier wall muttered in a trembling voice. That soliloquy sparked murmurs spreading in all directions.
“Are we alive? Did we survive?”
“Mother Earth, Goddess, thank you…!”
Unlike the fearful commotion when they fled to the shelter, the spreading voices were filled with relief, joy, and gratitude toward the gods.
“Long live Lord Median! Long live the Dawn Star Goddess!”
In other words, praise directed at me, the goddess who protected them from very close by.
“…I did more of the hard work, but you get all the praise. Isn’t that a bit unfair?”
Ophelia, wiping away her sweat with a handkerchief, grumbled quietly with a sullen face.
She had completely forgotten her noble dignity and was sitting on the dirt floor like a construction worker taking a short break.
Well, she had a point. The final barrier wall remained intact entirely thanks to her.
The Turankai and rock apes who had been gritting their teeth to restore the walls each time they broke, as well as the Naga sorcerers, had all reached their limits and collapsed.
To protect the final barrier that would shatter with just one impact, she had endured by consuming an enormous amount of mana to the point of depleting her dragon’s inner core.
As a result, she had exhausted all her mana and physical strength, unable to even stand and just sprawled there sweating profusely.
After all that effort, the Naga and rock people were praising only me, saying they survived thanks to the goddess, so I could understand why she felt wronged.
“If you’re upset, you should become a demigod yourself. There’s a saying that it’s better to be a snake’s head than a dragon’s tail, you know?”
Since she had spoken half-jokingly rather than out of genuine resentment, I understood but had no intention of sympathizing.
“What? Dragon’s tail? What kind of comparison is that?”
Ophelia snorted.
“Even a tail is still part of a dragon, so it can’t be compared to a mere snake. I don’t know who said that, but they clearly never touched a dragon’s corpse.”
Few people have touched one, I’d say. Not only in the original world where that saying came from, but even in this world, those who have touched a dragon’s corpse could be counted on one hand.
—-
After confirming that the falling rocks had completely subsided, we sent several scouts up above the barrier wall to assess the situation.
Since almost all the underground barriers had been destroyed, there probably wouldn’t be much left, but we still needed to check just in case.
“Everything’s destroyed?”
“Yes. Nothing remains….”
Of course, there were no surprises.
As expected, all structures on the surface had been completely demolished, reduced to piles of debris from shattered foundations.
Not just the walls and barracks, but also the supply warehouses and even my quarters. Everything had been broken and crushed, scattered across the ruins.
I’ve suddenly become homeless. Though losing a home is nothing compared to those who lost their lives.
Whether it was a natural disaster or someone’s doing, I wonder how many died in this catastrophe.
While I needn’t worry about the heteromorphic races in Naraka as they’re mostly potential enemies, judging by the sunlight streaming in, this disaster must have affected the surface world too.
If it had just been plains or mountain ranges, that would be one thing, but if the ground in the middle of a major city had collapsed, the casualties would be unimaginable.
If this wasn’t a natural disaster, the culprit should be found, skinned alive, and salted—that’s what I mean.
“Has the rockfall completely stopped?”
“Well…that’s somewhat ambiguous.”
Anyway, the immediate disaster had stopped for now.
“Ambiguous? What does that mean? Explain properly.”
“The…falling rocks from the ceiling cracks have formed an unstable balance, awkwardly interlocked. So while they’ve stopped for now…”
“You mean they could collapse again if disturbed.”
“Yes, probably.”
As the scout said, it wasn’t completely over, but rather precariously paused.
Even a minor impact to the ceiling could trigger another avalanche of rocks.
And this time, we probably couldn’t block it perfectly like before. Our sturdy temporary stronghold had been completely destroyed except for its foundation stones.
“Hmm…then restoration work would be meaningless.”
Once the rock people regained their strength, rebuilding the fortress wouldn’t be too difficult, but it would be pointless if more rocks came crashing down again.
The rock people’s power could only roughly restore the fortress’s form, but perfectly restoring the magical protection that had been placed on the original fortress was impossible.
That would require the indispensable assistance of Naga sorcerers, and even with their help, it wouldn’t be completed overnight.
In other words, restoring the fortress would only give us an empty shell that couldn’t withstand a second rockfall.
“Yes, we should abandon this position now. The surrounding terrain has been stripped away, leaving us exposed on all sides, and our supplies were destroyed along with the warehouses…”
Indeed, with the supply warehouse and its contents completely destroyed, the wisest decision was to leave this place as soon as possible.
“How many intact supplies do we have left?”
“The armory was buried in the tunnel, but that actually protected it from major damage. Recovery shouldn’t be too difficult. However, regarding food…”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it…”
Weapons and armor buried in tunnels could mostly be recovered by digging them out, but the food storage that took direct hits from falling rocks was completely devastated.
The food wasn’t just covered in dust—it was completely pulverized and mixed with dirt to the point where it was indistinguishable.
This meant that food supplies sufficient to feed thousands of people for days had been lost in an instant.
That was actually the most serious problem. Even heroes who had crossed the Wall, let alone non-human races, couldn’t survive long without water and food.
With that food storage gone, even if we rebuilt the fortress, we’d have to starve until the next supply delivery…
“…I’m concerned about Nastaria’s situation.”
“I believe it’s safe with Nagaraja there, but still…what if…”
Seeing how things were going, I wondered if those supplies would even arrive properly.
The allied forces’ food supplies were transported via waterways from the Naga Kingdom’s capital, Nastaria, but there was no guarantee that city still remained intact.
The protective sorcery of Nagaraja and the priestesses, amplified by magical inscriptions throughout the city, was certainly powerful, but could it have withstood the meteor-like bombardment of rocks?
That was something we couldn’t know until we saw it with our own eyes.
Not just me, but the Naga seemed to think the same, as Hyalbajer approached me with a hesitant attitude to express their intention to leave.
“Lord Median, I apologize…but would you permit us to return to Nastaria first? Given the circumstances…”
A more polite and cautious tone than usual. It was a reasonable request.
With the rock people at their limit, if the Naga left too, the allied forces would essentially be completely disbanded.
A request to withdraw at this critical moment could even be seen as betrayal—trying to slip away when things were most precarious.
“No need to apologize. We need to head back there anyway.”
Of course, I didn’t see it as betrayal. I had already been thinking we should return to Nastaria.
If we’d lost our supplies and future provisions were uncertain, retreat was the obvious choice.
Finding and skinning the culprit was important, but I couldn’t let my subordinates starve or become divided while searching for someone whose identity and location were unknown.
So we would first return to Nastaria to assess the situation there, and if it was safe, regroup before setting out to find the culprit.
[…Retreat, is it? Certainly, that might be the best option now…but what if that place has also been reduced to ruins?]
‘Well…we’ll know when we get there.’
As Hersella pointed out, Nastaria might also be devastated, but even if that were the case, it would still be better than staying here.
Unlike this area, which was mostly rocky mountains and wasteland, the area around Nastaria was relatively rich in forests and water resources.
If not all the forests, fields, rivers, and lakes had been completely pulverized, there would at least be more food there than here.
Hunting and gathering alone wouldn’t provide sufficient supplies even if we scoured the entire area, but it would still be far better than trying to survive here without a single grain of rice.
“Inform everyone. Gather whatever supplies we can salvage and return to Nastaria immediately.”
So I decided to cleanly abandon the ruined stronghold and ordered all troops to take whatever intact supplies they could and retreat to Nastaria.
“What about those stationed at the Second Fortress?”
“Ah, Bergelmir’s place? I forgot about them.”
I wonder if they’re okay…Did they survive with Bergelmir stationed there?
Though he had been cut in half by my sword, that giant was still a powerful being with strength nearly equal to a demigod, so he probably withstood the rockfall.
If he had moved carelessly and been exposed to sunlight on the surface, he might have turned into a giant torch…but surely he wouldn’t have died so foolishly.
“Send a messenger to relay our news and my orders. If they can hold out there, tell them to remain stationed until we return. If it’s difficult, they can act on their own for the time being.”
“I will do so. But what if, by chance, they’ve been annihilated?”
“If they’ve been annihilated…well, we’ll have to mourn them. What else can we do?”
If they died so foolishly, there’s nothing to be done.
Though they hadn’t accomplished much, they had still served under me, so I would at least hold a grand funeral for them later.
I’m sure they’d be pleased even in death if I skinned the culprit and offered it at their memorial service. That would be the best I could do for them.
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