Ch.161Chapter 161: Eastern Decisive Battle (29)

Kwagagagagak-

Valt charges fearlessly through the underground.

After moving for quite some time, Lisa shouts.

“Stop!!”

Thud!

Rumble-

Valt, who had just delivered his final punch to the underground wall, stops digging at Lisa’s cry.

“Whew! This is a decent transportation magic that doubles as exercise. So, is this the place, Lisa?”

Though no light penetrated the deep underground, Lisa could use magic, so with a faint light spell, Valt and Lisa could see each other.

“Yes! Right above us! Orc Lord’s troops are there!”

Boom boom boom!

Thud

Rumble rumble rumble

As Valt stands still, the sound of tens of thousands of troops moving can be heard even in the deep underground.

Both Valt and Lisa felt their hearts racing at this strange experience.

“Wow… This is incredible, isn’t it? The vibrations are so strong down here.”

If the vibrations could reach this deep underground, it was easy to imagine how chaotic the situation must be above them.

“How’s the battle situation?”

When Lisa covers her left eye, her right eye begins to glow as Lepion’s Eye activates.

“As expected of an artifact. To think it can be used even underground.”

Typically, magic crystal balls are used to assess battlefield conditions.

However, magic crystal balls have distance limitations.

That’s why relay stations must be placed in each area to monitor the battlefield with crystal balls.

Plus, they have the disadvantage of not being able to see through obstacles.

But Lisa’s Lepion’s Eye was different.

Only Lisa knows why she hasn’t used it until now.

“Hehe, I’m glad I can be helpful like this! I actually didn’t want to use it because it doesn’t help improve my skills at all.”

Valt knew better than anyone the advantage that reconnaissance information provides in war, even if it seemed like just a scouting ability.

No matter how strong one’s individual power might be, there’s no defense against being overwhelmed by numbers.

There are many strong people in the world, but there are also many strong people who can challenge them.

“No, it’s an incredible ability. With this, you’d never lose in information warfare. The title of adjutant suits you well, Lisa.”

“Hehehe, right? I’m the best, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you’re the best. Now then! Hnnnngh!!”

Crunch-crunch-crunch!

Valt first used spirits to wrap himself and Lisa in magic armor.

While Valt would be fine, he was concerned that Lisa might be in danger from potential impacts.

“W-whoa!? Am I getting covered too?”

“I can make any shape I want.”

“Ahahaha! This is so cool!”

‘Hmm… If I apply this, I could completely cover my friends in magic armor. I’m not sure what would happen if they move away from me, but it should work when they’re nearby.’

With that thought, Valt begins reshaping the magic armor again for more freedom of movement.

Both Valt and Lisa transform into full-body armored forms simultaneously.

“Huh? What?!”

From the outside, they look like a large robot and a small robot attached together harmoniously.

With this, Valt realized he could extend his magic armor to those around him.

“How is it? Is it uncomfortable to move?”

At Valt’s question, Lisa swings her arms around and exclaims again at the effortless movement.

“It looked so heavy, but it’s actually this light? How did you do it?”

“Since it’s wrapped in magical power, you won’t feel the weight. But if you get too far from me, it will dispel, so don’t separate from me.”

“Who do you take me for! I absolutely won’t separate, absolutely!”

“Good, hold on tight. Hnnnnnngh!!”

As Valt exerts force, his muscles bulge and writhe.

Simultaneously, tremendous magical power begins to gather around him.

“W-whoa! What is this enormous magical power?”

This is the advantage of attacking from underground. You can buy time to gather power without the enemy knowing.

Actually, using a powerful technique isn’t that difficult. Anyone can use powerful techniques if they have time to gather strength. But in real combat, enemies won’t wait for that time.

Aura users need time to gather aura, and mages need time to gather magical power, calculate, and chant.

Although Valt’s magic skipped the calculation step, he still needed to gather magical power to use powerful magic.

‘Image! There are many ways to make the ground collapse! This is it for now.’

Thinking about it, Valt realized it wouldn’t be easy to instantly collapse the entire ground at once.

To make the ground collapse and cause enemies to fall, there needed to be enough empty space underground, which required even greater power.

But making the ground sink wasn’t just about making it collapse all at once.

‘I’ll make the earth slowly ensnare the enemy.’

A new magic is born as Valt’s magical image combines with his ability to manipulate the earth through earth spirits.

“Here I go! Sinkhole!!”

And Valt’s arm swings!

Whoosh!

Thud!!

Valt’s massive arm strikes the earth vertically, and after instantly releasing the magical power he had gathered, he immediately changes direction and leaves the spot.

Curious about the power of the sinkhole Valt mentioned, Lisa focuses on its effects as they move away.

But there was still no sign of anything happening.

“Valt, did something go wro— Whoa! Waaaah!!”

Just as Lisa was about to voice her doubt!

The earth suddenly begins to convulse.

Rumble rumble rumble!!

Crack crack crack crack

Thud! Boom! Thud! Thud!!

The earth is heavy. That’s why it can firmly support the world and embrace all life.

But because of this, when the ground beneath your feet collapses, its weight causes a chain reaction of destruction.

Earthquakes are terrifying for a reason. The ground splits, crevices form, living beings fall in, and then they’re crushed by the weight.

Valt had created many empty spaces with his Earth Tunnel transportation magic in the area Lisa had indicated, making it easier to collapse. The earth, shocked by Valt’s powerful punch, slowly begins to sink due to its own weight.

Rumble rumble rumble-

“Eek! Eeeeek!! V-Valt!!”

“Don’t shout while running!”

A vibration of a completely different dimension from when the enemies were fighting on the ground earlier.

It feels like a giant is grabbing the world with both hands and shaking it.

Rumble rumble rumble rumble!!

“Damn it! It’s too powerful!”

“Run! Ruuuun!!”

Due to the power exceeding his expectations, Valt and Lisa begin dashing through the underground at lightning speed to escape.

“We need to get to the surface!! Going up!”

“Okay!”

And so Valt began moving upward toward the point where Lisa indicated their allies were located.

***

The moment Valt cast the sinkhole magic underground.

Everyone fighting on the surface could feel it. Something tremendous had just exploded.

But despite the impact being too significant to ignore, they couldn’t see anything happening around them.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves!! The orcs might be up to something!!”

“Damn it!! What are they doing now?!”

The Kingdom Alliance forces on the surface were in tatters.

They were holding their own against the Orc Lord and Orc General’s troops, but anyone could see it was only a matter of time before they collapsed.

“Where are King Jerdin’s troops!! Why haven’t they arrived yet?!”

“They might have gone to eliminate the Orc King during this chaos! We just need to hold on!”

Various opinions and desperate attempts to resolve the situation continued everywhere, but even that wasn’t easy in the face of the Orc Lord’s overwhelming power.

Orc Lords are typically evaluated as Master-level, but this Orc Lord was a bit different.

Orcs tend to become stronger, as if receiving a buff, when powerful individuals are nearby, and even Orc Lords have this tendency.

Because an Orc King had been born, even the Orc Lords possessed strength beyond what was known about them, a level higher than before.

“Arrrgh!!”

A blue-marked knight who was single-handedly blocking an Orc Lord screams.

Judging by the clear aura on his sword, he was definitely Master-level, but he had just lost an arm to the Orc Lord’s attack.

“Ugh!! Just an arm!! My country and family are behind me! I will never retreat!!”

Though he lost an arm, his fighting spirit remained unbroken.

While some people recklessly called for orc subjugation to gain merit, there were clearly those who stood here based on chivalry to protect their homeland and families.

Sizzle-

“Urrrgh!!”

The blue-marked knight hurriedly took out a potion and sprayed it on his wound. After confirming the wound was cauterized, he put all his strength into infusing his sword with aura to block the Orc Lord’s second attack.

But it wasn’t easy to block the Orc Lord’s attack with an injured body.

‘Is this as far as I go… Damn… If only I had more strength! No! If only we had fought tactically!’

Just as there are knights who risk their lives for their country and people, there are nobles who rampage for their own desires. This blue-marked knight ended up in this state because his commander, the crown prince, demanded a reckless charge.

They had penetrated deeper into the orc formation than other units.

Just as he was about to give up everything and accept death.

Boom!!

A massive vibration shakes the ground, and the Orc Lord’s attack narrowly misses the blue-marked knight’s head.

“Take this!”

Not missing that moment, the knight achieved the feat of plunging his aura blade into the Orc Lord’s abdomen, but the creature was too sturdy and thick to fall from just that.

Still, the knight thought that heaven hadn’t abandoned him yet, as the sudden tremor had saved his life.

And in the next moment, after catching his breath.

The knight revised his thought that heaven had abandoned him after all.

“Ugh!? W-what is this?!”

Rumble rumble rumble!!

The world he was looking at began to shake.