Ch.71Chapter 71. Tunnel Devil (2)

Chapter 71. Underground Demon (2)

Soon after, the winged beetle worshippers appeared in the sky.

“Shoot them down!”

Arrows were fired toward them.

Some dodged, some were hit, and some fell because their wings got wet due to my blessing.

The insect humans who avoided everything and reached the vanguard dropped rocks.

“Light Protection skill, activated!”

Noah’s skill enveloped the vanguard.

Still, I wasn’t sure if they could withstand the rocks falling from above.

The warriors would dodge well enough. They should survive as long as they don’t take direct hits from the rocks.

We caught a few of them, but there were still many left.

How should I shoot them down?

I couldn’t tell Lakye to do a double jump.

Should I recall Tuntuni who was sent for reconnaissance?

– …!

A brilliant idea flashed in my mind.

– Lakye, get on the catapult.

The epitome of romance I’d only seen in comics.

A human cannonball.

With Lakye’s durability, she should be able to handle it.

“Ah, so I become the arrow?”

Lakye slightly raised the corner of her mouth, finding it amusing. She’s a bold woman.

Strictly speaking, she’d be more like a rock than an arrow.

– That’s right.

Lakye gave orders to the soldier operating the catapult and sat where the rock should be placed.

It was closer to a position ready to spring out than sitting.

“Fire.”

Lakye, who had Totem #3 tightly wrapped in cloth, gestured.

A moment later, with a whooshing sound, Lakye’s body rose into the air.

The propulsion was beyond my expectations.

I barely held back a shrill scream and focused on the situation.

Lakye, flying with a whoosh, caught one of the insect humans.

Then she immediately swung her curved blade and cut off its head.

Just when I thought she would catch one and fall, she leaped from the headless insect human’s shell and grabbed another nearby insect human.

Ah.

My mind wasn’t working properly for a moment due to the shock of levitation.

Kill, ride, kill, ride. So that’s how it works.

Thanks to Lakye’s superhuman physical abilities, such an absurd scenario became possible.

I watched as Lakye jumped around, slaughtering the beetle worshippers.

It’s exciting with all the speed. Like watching a blockbuster movie with VR glasses.

It’s quite enjoyable watching Lakye’s nimble movements and flexibly moving firm body… saying it like this makes me sound like a pervert.

I shouldn’t just be having fun.

– Leave the heads intact.

“Yes.”

A clean corpse was immediately created.

I controlled the body of the beetle that died with its heart pierced by Lakye’s curved blade.

This sensation of flapping insect wings… somehow both unfamiliar and familiar.

– Tell me where to go.

“Am I riding on Malak, sir?”

That’s true, but the wording sounds a bit off.

I soared through the sky with Lakye, eliminating the enemies.

“Hahaha!”

Lakye, who had become a beetle rider, burst into laughter.

She’s like a boisterous girl visiting a park.

Is it that enjoyable?

“This is the last one.”

Lakye slit the throat of a fleeing beetle.

– Good job.

We slowly descended to the ground.

There are more than ten seemingly intact beetle worshipper corpses.

I turned them all into zombies.

Perhaps because I’ve gained quite a bit of experience, I can now control about 10 of them. Flying units are useful, so I’ll make the most of them.

While Lakye and I were engaged in aerial combat, there were insect infantry that approached steadily and attacked, but Kanto and the elite warriors crushed them all.

– The target is straight ahead.

The Imperial Arena is getting closer.

Eventually, our tribal federation stood in front of a building reminiscent of a colosseum.

“There’s a disgusting number of them.”

Harry clicked his tongue. I agree.

A disgustingly large number of insect humans had completed preparations for a siege and were waiting for us.

Instead of palisades, tentacle monsters resembling flowers stood on the ground, creating what looked like a garden of death.

At the top of the arena… what is that? A biological ballista? Anyway, a monster that looked like an insect was stuck to the wall, ready to spit out the saliva it had been waiting to release.

The beetles we had faced earlier were buzzing around in the sky as well.

I wasn’t intimidated. We hadn’t come unprepared either.

– Prepare the totem.

There’s a totem we made specifically for this day, this moment.

A 2-meter dragon statue that had been hidden in the cart revealed itself.

It’s a wooden totem made by the combined efforts of Muri, Paya, and the civilized blacksmiths.

The so-called Totem (Temporary) #4.

They said it might break after the battle because this hastily made totem doesn’t have much magical power mixed in, but who cares?

It’s a totem made for today, so it doesn’t matter as long as it lasts through this battle.

“Deploy the catapults!”

The modular catapults we used during the Symphonia attack also appeared.

Good. This should be manageable. Let’s have a war.

I moved to Totem #4 and activated the healing totem.

This blessing operates with an activation/deactivation button, so as long as it’s activated, it works well even if I transfer my consciousness elsewhere.

During the previous battle with Blutan, I deactivated it to reduce mental energy consumption, and Lakye almost got into big trouble when she was hit by the moth demon’s powder attack(?).

I thought it was reasonable at the time. Lakye was holding up well, and the tribal federation was under attack, so I thought I needed to focus my energy on one side. Not anymore.

Since that incident, I’ve always kept it activated.

“Let’s go! Let’s tear down their fortress! Let’s show them the true strength of the tribal federation!”

“Waaah!”

The commander, Kanto, charged on horseback, followed by the cavalry. The cart carrying Totem #4 followed behind them.

Now we’ll fight fiercely to reach the walls, while they’ll fight to stop us.

Actually, I don’t like this orthodox siege warfare.

When you have asymmetric forces, you can’t fight conventionally.

Thud! Thud!

So I’m planning to use some tricks.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The rock golem controlled by Harry grabbed a wooden pillar and charged toward the Imperial Arena.

Arena or whatever, one heavy wooden pillar will stop them in their tracks.

It’s an arena, not a castle to begin with. Naturally, its durability would be lower than castle walls.

Crack! Crackle!

The insect humans who assessed the situation tried their best to grab the golem’s feet, but they were knocked down by Lakye who advanced alongside the golem.

Nope~ Can’t stop us~! If you’re upset, bring your own lesser demons.

Kiaaah-!

They really did bring them.

Several mole-like demons emerged from the ground and attacked, only to be cut into pieces by Lakye’s curved blade.

Nope, even lesser demons can’t stop us~!

Just call the underground demon already. Let’s finish this quickly.

Meanwhile, the main force of the tribal federation led by Kanto continued to push through the enemy lines.

“Their weapons can’t penetrate our armor! Push forward!”

Noah’s skill, Light’s Grace, was proving quite effective.

Indeed, defense buffs are the best among buffs.

Whoosh-!

Tuntuni, who had deactivated stealth mode and was shooting fireballs, was also visible.

Perhaps because the battle was so chaotic and messy, attacks weren’t concentrated on Tuntuni.

The zombie beetles causing chaos in the air probably contributed to that as well.

Finally, Lakye and the rock golem arrived in front of the arena.

Crash!

The wooden pillar swung by the golem struck the arena wall.

The wall shook slightly, and cracks appeared.

The golem is slow but ridiculously strong. It’s like hitting with an excavator.

Boom!

With the second strike, the wall shook violently. The impact was so severe that insect humans on top of the arena came tumbling down.

One more hit might completely collapse it.

But the golem could no longer move.

Tentacles that emerged from somewhere and insect humans were firmly holding the golem’s body.

That wasn’t all.

Grooooar-!

Along with a roar loud enough to echo across the battlefield, a giant insect head appeared from behind the arena wall.

I could tell at first glance. This is the underground demon.

If its head is visible from here, it must be enormously large. About 30-40 meters, perhaps?

It’s a giant monster.

Its body was covered with green slime, reminiscent of a larva that had just emerged from a pupa.

Was it trying to metamorphose? Was it forced to come out because we interrupted it?

It’s definitely at the stage just before transitioning from mid-level to high-level demon.

We’re lucky.

It’s fortunate we discovered it now. If we had waited a little longer, we might have had to fight a high-level demon.

Groooo-!

It seemed disoriented, constantly shaking its head from side to side.

It didn’t look like it would join the battle immediately.

Now is not the time to focus on the underground demon.

First, let’s infiltrate the arena and secure the hidden piece.

– Lakye!

“Yes!”

Lakye rushed to the wall and performed a body slam. Right where the golem had struck twice.

With a thud, Lakye broke through, creating a hole and infiltrating the wall.

Rumble!

The wall collapsed with a sound like thunder and lightning.

A large crack appeared in the outer wall of the arena.

They’ll pay dearly for messing with the tribal federation.

“I’ll keep moving.”

Lakye, who had infiltrated inside, moved quickly.

Various weapons, armor, and underwear were scattered in places that quickly passed by.

Though covered in dust from being there for a long time, their shapes were still recognizable.

Perhaps the gladiators’ rooms?

“Enemies are coming this way. Shall we engage?”

Lakye stopped. I could hear their footsteps too.

– Let’s do that.

I looked around. Unlike the gladiators’ rooms I saw earlier, glass bottles shaped like flasks and beakers were scattered on the floor, broken.

What are laboratory instruments doing in an arena? Is this the arena’s science lab?

At that moment, a paper on the ground caught my eye.

It was slightly torn, but the large letters made the content easy to read.

[…Thus, the enhanced soldier project using gladiator test subjects has failed.

Chief Researcher J of the Evolutionist School.]

Ah, what enhanced soldiers? That’s concerning.