Ch.169Paelm Gorge++

# 169. Faelm Gorge++

“Fall back! Those things are a headache if you get hit by their attacks!”

What makes monsters monstrous? They’re bizarre, strange creatures. And the monsters we’re facing now, regardless of their strength, could truly be described as “monstrous.”

Though their appearances lacked any discernible pattern, they were uniformly disgusting, instinctively triggering revulsion and disgust.

In terms of appearance alone, the giant pufferfish I once fought alongside Seyeon and Yuri was repulsive, and the chimeras in the Magicant Tower or that giant eyeball monster we faced with our current members also triggered deep instinctive aversion.

But the monsters before us were different. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what it was, but they gave off the feeling that they should be eliminated from this world as quickly as possible… that kind of sensation.

“We have a priest over here too!”

“I can see that, but I’m telling you it’s still a headache! Just fall back!”

“Then what should we do?!”

“Goddammit, I said fall back!”

Lord Delton’s attitude was as startling as the monsters themselves. While I wasn’t completely ignorant about Faelm Gorge, I decided to follow his instructions, and we retreated quite a distance while keeping our eyes on what lay ahead.

“Huff… those rotten things have already pushed this far in.”

“Um, Lord Delton.”

“Ah, right. I was in a rush earlier. Whew… I’ll explain, just let me catch my breath. Retreating in such a hurry really drained me.”

Lord Delton leaned against a nearby rock. I discreetly signaled the raid members to stand guard, but seeing this, he waved his hand dismissively.

“Your attitude is commendable, but it’s fine. There’s a reason we retreated this far.”

“A reason?”

*Gulp- gulp-*

“This is roughly the boundary line. Anything with even a trace of demonic energy can’t enter here. More precisely, nothing has ever entered.”

“Is it a barrier? I didn’t feel anything.”

“I don’t know the exact mechanics either. I’m just a knight who knows how to swing a sword. Anyway, what was it… the more demonic energy a creature has, the stronger the repulsive force it experiences? But that also puts more strain on the barrier, so if too many accumulate, it might weaken or even break. That’s why we patrol almost daily. If this barrier breaks, we’re truly screwed.”

I had thought the barrier only covered the fortress and its immediate surroundings, but its range was wider than I’d known.

“Those things—the best approach is to drive them away or kill them with concentrated fire from a distance. If you get hit even slightly, the wound starts rotting instantly. That rot doesn’t heal well even with priests’ healing arts. Though there are individual differences.”

“How have you dealt with them until now?”

“Many became disabled or died. Before the barrier was expanded, or before proper countermeasures were established.”

Lord Delton gazed into the distance as he spoke.

“Truth is, if you’re determined to fight, it’s not impossible. Wearing full-body armor with no gaps, getting blessed by priests and mages with various protections and resistance spells before battle—you could handle anywhere from a few to dozens of them. But it’s terribly inefficient. Knights get exhausted, we have few mages and priests, and the monsters are numerous.”

His tone conveyed deep fatigue.

“This might seem random, but how many years have you been stationed here, Lord Delton?”

“Me? I’m on my way to becoming a god beyond legend.”

“Oh.”

“What good does that do? I still have to run away all the same. No, actually, I’m better at running and surviving than the first-year rookies, so I guess you could call me the god of escape and survival… ugh.”

Rising from his seat, Lord Delton gestured ahead with his chin.

“Let’s go back once more. Those creatures seem to have some learning ability—they don’t linger long when they come to this area and tend to disperse quickly.”

“Has reconnaissance always been like this?”

“Of course. Here, every person is precious because we never know when reinforcements will arrive, so survival is the top priority. If you make it to the barrier, you have a 90% chance of survival, and if you can reach the fortress, you’re guaranteed to live.”

We returned to where we had fled from. As Lord Delton had said, only traces of the monsters remained. Instead of speaking, he pointed in a direction and whispered:

“You remember the hand signals I taught you on the way here. From now on, we communicate with those. We can’t help if creatures sensitive to smell detect us, but we can prevent being detected by those sensitive to sound. And there are quite a lot of sound-sensitive ones.”

From then on, we carefully followed him. Trying to move without making footsteps or even breathing sounds while staying vigilant made me break into a cold sweat. Danya, walking beside me, nudged my shin reassuringly, which helped a little, but I couldn’t help the tension in my body.

– Stop.

– What. Situation.

– Front. Enemy. Small. Three.

Lord Delton and Arang, who were at the front, signaled. Lord Delton frowned and moved his hands rapidly.

– Self. Cannot. Confirm.

– Truth.

– Trust. Possible?

– Possible.

I didn’t mean to disregard Lord Delton, but I trusted Arang. If Arang detected enemies, then enemies were definitely there. The raid members, including myself, were already preparing for battle, even though we hadn’t drawn our weapons yet.

– Retreat.

– Enemy. Three.

Unlike before, it wasn’t more than ten monsters—just three. Lord Delton’s expression soured.

– Retreat. Recommended.

– Now. Retreat. Reconnaissance. Meaning. Negated.

At that, Lord Delton approached and tried to grab my collar but was stopped by Yuri and Seyeon. He looked at me incredulously, then moved his hands again.

– Combat. Enemy. Reinforcement. Possibility.

– Self. Responsibility.

At my signal that I would take responsibility, Lord Delton squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. His reaction suggested he thought we were stepping in shit, and while I felt sorry, I didn’t want to retreat here.

‘This isn’t just simple recklessness.’

If we retreated now, what would I report to the Vice Commander?

– Ah, we encountered monsters during reconnaissance, fled to the barrier once, then encountered them again and safely escaped back.

– I see. So what about the reconnaissance?

If safety were the only concern, following Lord Delton and retreating would be enough, but the Vice Commander would want meaningful results. Moreover, this situation was clearly abnormal, so I thought our job on this reconnaissance was to shed light on the cause, even if just a little. If we couldn’t do that—if we couldn’t at least gain the Vice Commander’s interest, if not his favor—I didn’t think we’d be able to help clear this floor’s quest.

So if we fled from just three small monsters, I didn’t think we could conduct meaningful reconnaissance.

‘He might not know our capabilities. As for reinforcement possibilities… we just need to take them down quickly and withdraw quickly.’

Lord Delton had completely distanced himself from us. With one hand on his side and tapping his foot, he seemed to be saying, “Go ahead, do as you please.”

I nodded to him once and began giving orders to the raid members. Using hand signals, of course.

– You(Yuri). You(Seyeon). You(Arang). Three. Possible?

– Possible.

– Possible.

– Possible.

– Rest. Standby. Three. Attack.

– Method.

– Individual. Takedown.

– Confirmed.

There was no need for everyone to engage. Honestly, even three was overkill. But for swift and overwhelming elimination, I decided to send all three melee fighters at once.

At my order, the melee trio began to advance stealthily.

I glanced at Lord Delton, who still looked indifferent. He seemed ready to flee at any moment.

‘I wonder how his expression will change.’

Midway, Arang gestured, and the formation shifted from a horizontal line to a triangle with her at the point. It seemed she, being the stealthiest, wanted to test the detection range to its limit.

I was right—after advancing about 10 meters further, Arang stopped the other two. Then she proceeded alone.

– Now. What. Action.

– Observation.

If you’ve entrusted it to us, just watch, Lord Delton.

I watched the melee trio with confidence. And naturally, my confidence was not betrayed.

– Keeee… grrrrrk…

Approaching to the limit, Arang launched a surprise attack, taking the position behind the middle monster in the blink of an eye, piercing its neck with her dagger and twisting. Immediately after, she threw nooses to both sides, catching the necks of the other two monsters and momentarily immobilizing them with her full weight and strength.

During that brief moment, Seyeon and Yuri, who had been waiting, explosively leaped forward and each struck a neck, splitting the skulls down to the neck. The battle ended before the monsters could even scream.

Of course, they weren’t injured at all, not even a single drop of monster blood on them.

– Processing complete.

– Confirmed. Withdraw.

– Confirmed.

I lightly commended the melee trio, who returned several times faster than they had advanced. I glanced at Lord Delton again, and his expression was worth seeing.

“So your claim about killing a demon wasn’t just empty boasting? Not only do you not boast, but your skills are at this level—I’ve truly lived in vain.”

“Um, are we allowed to speak now?”

“What I thought was shit turned out to be gold.”

“Pardon?”

“This changes things.”

Lord Delton placed his hand firmly on my shoulder and said:

“I’ll guide you properly, so let’s scout a bit deeper.”

For the sake of my drinking buddy who was rejoicing that he could finally return home next month.

I simply nodded.