Ch.340340. Destiny (6)

The eyelids that touched my fingers were moist and warm.

And the soft thigh skin cradling my head instead of a pillow was hers. Likewise, the sensation of being gently pummeled by her cotton-soft fists, releasing all the worry she had been holding back, was also hers.

This time, it wasn’t a dream.

While wiping away the tears clinging to Renias’s eyes, I asked softly.

“How long… was I out?”

“It’s been days.”

“Two days? Maybe three?”

“A week. Not three days or four, but a full week.”

“…A week, huh.”

The time I spent in the dream seemed to be less than a few hours, but in reality, that much time had apparently flown by.

What had happened during that time?

How was the Imperial army holding up while I was lying here?

Were the preparations I had made in advance properly handled?

There was so much I needed to find out immediately.

“I need to get up quickly. I’ve been away for too long… Oh.”

But my body still wouldn’t listen to me.

Having been asleep for a week, not just a few hours, my body had stiffened like cardboard, refusing to move easily and lacking strength.

However, there was a different constraint at work.

On my mana circuit.

“You shouldn’t move yet. Your mana circuits haven’t fully recovered.”

“I still need to move.”

Renias asked if I really needed to push myself so hard, but there was no choice.

A commander, by their very nature, can restore fallen morale simply by showing their face to the soldiers they lead.

She sighed deeply before secretly releasing the control formula she had placed, also loosening my tangled mana circuits that hadn’t yet recovered.

As soon as the control formula was released, my body felt somewhat better. Like going from stiff cardboard to at least the flexibility of paperboard.

“But I won’t tolerate… you getting hurt again.”

“Understood.”

Renias still looked worried but soon supported me by the waist to help me outside. This was probably meant as a warning.

And… when the door opened.

—Uuugh…

The groans of soldiers echoed around the infirmary.

***

‘So many? Wounded?’

The place was filled with injured soldiers. The infirmary was so overcrowded that medical teams had to set up mats outside, and even that wasn’t enough—there were people who appeared to be doctors brought in from the village.

“After you defeated Ashpern, the monsters stopped attacking.”

“They stopped attacking?”

“Yes. I didn’t see it myself since I had to come get you… but they say the monsters turned around and headed somewhere else. The Imperial army didn’t have the strength to pursue them after eliminating all the monsters. But at some point, the monsters started appearing again…”

So that’s why there were so many new casualties.

Junon had hoped that with separate orders to Senia, Cain, and Lumia, they would support the second front line with supplies. Without Ashpern, the monsters would likely be unable to properly carry out their orders, so he wanted them to take advantage of that gap to secure supplies, prepare for a prolonged battle, and eliminate all the monsters.

Because to eliminate Feltiburugos, those monsters couldn’t be allowed to live.

‘But if this many troops have been injured…’

It meant there was a monster legion large enough to threaten the main force. In other words, the damage was consistent with what Renias had described—the monster legion attacking all at once again.

That’s why it made even less sense.

Why would the Imperial army, which should have replenished its strength through supplies, be pushed back this much?

“Renias, take me to the office quickly.”

“Alright.”

While I had confirmed the current situation of the Imperial army through Renias’s testimony, it was merely scratching the surface.

To resolve these questions, I needed to thoroughly examine the organized reports and logs.

Upon arriving at the office, Junon’s eyes fell on the piles of documents stacked high.

All those papers should have been checked and processed by him directly… but now they didn’t even seem properly sorted.

Nevertheless, he could roughly grasp the situation.

Senia had handled the approved and rejected documents, while Charlotte had a firm grip on supplies and records. The combat rosters seemed to be organized by Tembris based on Cain and Lumia’s handwriting.

Based on previous memories and applying the habits and patterns of the Tembris members, he sorted through them. Documents that weren’t needed were immediately thrown into the trash.

He just needed to check which matters had been approved, which meetings had been rejected or concluded, and what measures had been taken so far.

‘Found it.’

After a short while, he discovered the meeting minutes. They contained operation instructions, response methods for this situation, and information about the monsters they were facing.

But then.

-Crumple.

His hands clenched involuntarily.

“…Don’t tell me.”

“Brother…?”

“Why. Why is he now…!”

【 Meeting Agenda 1. Monsters That Revive Over Time 】

……….

……..

…..

【 Conclusion. According to Evidence 1, even when appearing dead, the monster regenerates except for severed parts that were stored separately. 】

【 According to Senia’s mana vision, they seem to revive by absorbing magical energy over time by relocating their core even after being killed repeatedly. The only way to eliminate them is to completely destroy their core. There is a method of shattering them before they turn into a diluted liquid, but in a wide area, casting spells indiscriminately is useless as the core’s location cannot be specified, and when trying to stab weapons into them, the core cunningly avoids the places that are cut or stabbed. 】

【 According to Evidence 2, there is a formula inside them. This is completely identical to Feltiburugos’s formula, so until the army finds a way to counter it, please continue to rotate troops to delay the enemy’s recovery. 】

Monsters that revive again and again no matter how many times they’re killed. They appear to die, but in truth, they scatter into liquid and then absorb magical energy to return to their original state—Feltiburugos’s formula.

That was… nothing less than a sign that he had already revived.

“Damn it!!”

“Brother!”

With his body still not recovered, he kicked open the office door and rushed out, heading straight for the battlefield.

And shortly after.

Two people who had heard the news arrived at the office.

“Commander, where are you?”

“He seems to have left already. Judging by the scattered documents. And his direction… appears to be toward the first front line.”

The officer spoke quietly, looking at the crumpled document that had fallen to the floor.

The soldier lamented loudly about how their paths could have crossed like this.

“What should we do? Even if it’s the battlefield, which direction…”

“We have no other choice. We must find the commander before anyone else!”

***

The first front line was in a precarious state.

The monster legion’s retreat had seemed fortunate at the time, but even after receiving supplies, the situation was strained with casualties continuing to mount.

The reason was quite chilling.

“Kuhup…”

“Recovery can’t keep up! Their magic is too fierce!”

Enemies, not even Ashpern, were firing off spells.

Those gurgling bodies speaking human language and using human magic.

They were liquid monsters in human form, not the monstrous shapes they had seen before.

“L-left side! We’re being breached! If we get hit by those liquids…”

“Where is the interception unit?!”

“They’re still far! We need more time for them to complete casting…!”

-Let’s… become… one body…

-Let’s be… absorbed… together…

“Captain! The chalice is…”

“Damn, is this the end?”

A giant cup tilting. The humans call it the Chalice of Corruption.

After the human-shaped enemies exhaust the unit’s strength by pouring out all kinds of magic, that chalice always tilts, spilling gurgling dark green slime.

Humans covered in the slime… become Feltiburugos’s minions. They become monsters that don’t die no matter how many times they’re killed, absorbed into the enemy’s army.

Splash!

At that moment, the unit captain breaks from formation and takes down one enemy operating the Chalice of Corruption. It would soon rise again, but that didn’t matter.

The reason was to buy time, if only briefly.

“Ugh, those of you who are still able-bodied… support your comrades next to you and flee as best you can!! Don’t look back!!!”

“Captain…!”

“I told you to run!!!”

The soldiers gritted their teeth and stood up. Then they ran. The monster legion’s mobility itself was slow, so they wouldn’t be caught.

Except for one person. Dusen, who was captured after trying to stop the chalice’s operation.

“I was a dead man anyway. If possible… I won’t give my body to become your soldier!”

The very reality that the Imperial army was still alive was a miracle created by that young commander. And his own life was the same.

So, he chooses death for himself.

-Du, sen. You too, will become, one with, us…

“Baron Flocan, you crazy old man. A human who lived such a filthy life, isn’t it wrong to remain in such a disgusting form even after death? So I’ll personally take you with me. Just you alone!”

-Click.

-KWAAANG!!

A huge explosion echoed.

***

-KWAAANG!!

“Northwest… not far.”

This was the first front line, established to isolate Ashpern and guide the monsters to the second front line. If a battle was still raging, it wouldn’t be impossible to join.

But by the time his footsteps arrived… he had to witness the blackened remains of the former Royal Guard Captain.

“Is this…? Could it be…”

“Yes. It’s Lord Dusen.”

All his limbs were gone. His chest and head remained intact, as if he had been embracing something, but he could no longer be considered a living human.

A death he chose himself, to avoid turning his sword against allies. And a sacrifice to save other allies. He was a man devoted to the Empire to the bone.

“You’ve worked hard, Lord Dusen.”

Junon closed Dusen’s eyes, which hadn’t fully shut.

-Gurgle, gurgle.

Meanwhile, other entities that hadn’t died despite Dusen’s self-destruction were rising with gurgling sounds.

Wearing the face of someone who had once tormented the Empire to the point of disgust.

-Whirr.

A single magic circle charging. Dozens more magic circles were aimed in this direction.

“…Renias. Just neutralize the spells.”

“Yes. Understood.”

The spells aimed at the living humans came this way, but Junon leapt out from the thick smoke.

And before another spell could be charged.

Splash!

In an instant, with a keening sound and a shattering noise, the human with a hole blown through its chest didn’t return to liquid but crumbled away.

It didn’t take long to deal with the remaining stragglers.

Junon spoke to Renias with a trembling voice.

“Renias. Signal number 15.”

“Signal number 15…”

That was the signal for a full-scale offensive.