episode_0080

There are a total of 7 artillery weapons capable of shelling the inner fortress.

We’ve already used them twice, so only 5 uses remain.

First, what we agreed upon was to quickly unleash 7 rounds of shelling, weaken Gallius, and then begin the raid.

Fire support via shelling during the fight is impossible.

Because the range is so wide, we could get hit by the shelling.

The shelling immediately pours down.

Clan members hide behind the pre-made terrain and barricades, waiting for the shelling to pass.

After the world-shattering shelling is fired.

A moment of quiet atmosphere.

But no one thought it was over.

The thickly layered killing intent.

And a crimson aura was violently spreading around.

A black shadow appears from within the dense smoke.

Gallius slowly walked out.

His red eyes glared at us.

『Battle Start. Draw 3 cards.』

『Energy 4/4』

[Pyre(3)] [Flash(0)] [Rain(0)]

The hand isn’t very good.

Furthermore, in a battle situation where it’s more important where the reinforcement from the 『Cat’s Hand』 artifact goes, I can’t carelessly use low-value cards.

Fortunately, I have 3 magic circles stored, and I have no choice but to trust my allies and fight.

[Where do you think you are going, to the Ruler!!]

Gallius’s voice echoed.

But unlike the intensely powerful voice that instilled fear, his appearance wasn’t good.

Was it because he was exposed to the large-scale shelling? His right arm was melted and dangling loosely, most of his flesh had melted away, and his skin had rotted.

He looked similar to when we first entered this hidden dungeon and met him as a boss monster.

He was more injured and looked weaker than back then, and even his greatsword had vanished due to the shelling.

But despite that, victory doesn’t seem easily achievable.

The difference in level clearly seems to exist.

Everyone couldn’t easily approach him.

In such a situation, the one who starts is always Kairek.

An arrow that kills giants flies and strikes Gallius’s body.

Snap-

The arm that was barely attached completely falls off, and Gallius retreats greatly.

He wasn’t pierced by the arrow. But as if struck by a giant hammer, Gallius was pushed back heavily.

“Attack!!!”

As soon as Kairek’s roar echoed, the slightly stiff clan members began to move.

Perhaps Gallius showing a bit of weakness had some influence.

The vanguards quickly run forward, and the rearguards unleash attacks.

From now on, it’s a speed battle.

Since we don’t know what tricks he has, we must pour out everything we have.

I open all 3 stored magic circles.

[Shatter] [Thunder Shock] [Rupture]

These 3 spells are excellent among my spells in terms of power.

More than anything, among my spells, most of which have wide areas and can harm allies, these are spells that deal strong damage to a single target.

First, [Shatter] flies away and shatters Gallius’s body far away.

Black blood spurts from Gallius’s mouth, and his abdomen caves in.

Next, [Thunder Shock], a powerful surge of electricity extends and runs through Gallius’s entire body, electrocuting him.

Luca’s sharp claws, which have already approached, pierce Gallius’s trembling body.

Finally, [Rupture] travels inside Gallius’s body, tearing and cutting his organs.

Black blood spreads everywhere, and Gallius’s body staggers.

Gallius is too easily dealt with. Thanks to this, hope begins to dawn on everyone’s faces.

They take turns unleashing attacks on Gallius, who hasn’t regained his senses.

Flesh was torn, a leg was broken, and his remaining arm was also severed.

It was truly the moment when victory seemed within reach.

But no one let their guard down and continued to pour out attacks.

Crossbow bolts and arrows pierce his body.

Giant throwing spears cut his side.

Weak but deadly magic binds his feet.

Axes, greatswords, swords, etc., hack and butcher his body.

“Uwaaaaa!!!”

Finally, as Luca cuts off his neck, the severed head covers the sky, and black blood shoots up into the air.

Have we really won now?

No.

Because the status window hasn’t announced victory yet.

My gaze continues to be directed at his head.

Gallius’s head, which decorated the sky, began to rise higher and higher just as it was.

His collapsed and torn body, having already lost its owner, was slowly disappearing.

But that face, filled with fury, was still rising.

“What…?!”

The world began to darken, and a full moon rapidly started to rise.

Just as we were bewildered by the sudden change in the world.

Moonlight poured down on Gallius’s head.

Was it because of that intense moonlight?

His body was slowly regenerating.

But his appearance was different from the beginning.

Gallius’s body, which was no different from a corpse filled with disagreeably rotten skin and oozing pus, became astonishingly solid and magnificent.

A werewolf with muscles and size twice that of Kairek.

That was the true form of Furious Gallius.

Gallius, who had completely revealed his true form, slowly descended bathed in moonlight.

Among the clan members staring blankly, Kairek shot an arrow and shouted.

“What are you doing?!!!”

Seeing the clan members beginning to focus on his voice. I also realized the time had come.

『Until next draw 0』

Now that it was certain the battle wouldn’t end quickly.

At the very least, the reinforcement should apply to a usable card.

Therefore, I don’t use the 3 cards I’m holding and move to the next turn.

『It is your turn. Draw 5 cards.』

『White Storage Box – Preserve 1 card at the end of the turn.』

The card to keep is [Flash]. Preparing for any unexpected situation, I draw 5 cards.

[Flash(0)] + [Freezing(2)] [Shield(1)] [Smash(1)] [Infinite Hand(2)] [Reversal(3)]

The hand is not very good.

But can we wait another minute?

Maybe it would be better to burn through them quickly?

Various thoughts were swirling.

Meanwhile, Gallius had already descended to the ground.

Thwack!!

He drove his fist into Luca’s body, who had approached him, and simultaneously dodged Dayback’s sword.

Fortunately, Kitra’s divine shield protected Luca’s body, but it seemed it couldn’t absorb the received kinetic energy, as Luca was sent flying far away and rolled on the ground.

“This bastard!!!”

Dayback quickly moved his sword.

Countless sword trajectories splitting infinitely.

True to the card [Quiksword], the fast sword repeatedly stabs Gallius’s body indiscriminately. But he doesn’t die from just that.

He doesn’t even have deterrence, so Gallius’s sharp left hand tries to attack Dayback, but Chloe, who was next to him, blocks it with the shield on her back.

Crack!! The shield breaks easily. At the same time, Chloe’s body is slammed into the ground and rolls away, kicking up dust far away.

Checking if Chloe is alive can wait.

I took out a goblin from the sub-space of my bracelet and stabbed its neck with a dagger.

『[Slaughterer’s Gloves] drinks blood.』

『Energy increases by 1, and you draw 1 card.』

I checked the added card.

[Terrain Manipulation(3) – Power]

A 3-cost Power card, huh.

Honestly, for me who was hoping for Ifrit or Incarnation, it’s a bit disappointing, but I have to use this nonetheless.

I immediately use Terrain Manipulation.

The power of Terrain Manipulation, reinforced by the Cat’s Hand, is imbued in my body.

The movement of countless earth masses, moving faster and stronger.

It assists the clan members.

Bruno, a vanguard of the 3rd army who couldn’t keep up with the fast tempo of the moving Gallius, takes an attack.

Bruno was sent flying far away with his shield torn. The terrain was made soft to receive him, but it was clear his condition wasn’t good.

“Kitra!! Bruno is in danger!”

“Yes!!”

Seeing Kitra run, I continue to move the terrain.

My purpose is solely to help impede his movement and assist my allies.

But Gallius displays an unbelievable performance, dodging and blocking the quickly moving terrain and the clan members’ attacks, while also attacking.

Is it because of that fast tempo? Or is it because he was flustered by the somehow changed situation?

It began to show that we were being pushed back.

And a bad situation creates worse results, causing a vicious cycle to roll.

With all the miscellaneous vanguards having left the battlefield, only Luca, Adel, and Dayback, who had returned, remained.

Moreover, the decreasing number of vanguards means the burden each person has to bear increases.

“No…!!!”

A direct hit fist landed on Dayback’s body, blood spurted from his mouth, and he was sent flying far away.

He flew so far away that he was out of sight, and dust rose high.

“Does that mean we can’t allow even a single hit…!”

Mark’s face, who was throwing a spear next to me, crumpled.

At that moment, my expanded senses read Gallius’s movement.

[You are the core!!!]

Gallius rushes towards me at high speed.

I check the remaining time out of the corner of my eye.

『Until next draw 5』

I was surprised by the fact that not even a minute had passed yet. It felt like almost 5 minutes had gone by.

But there is a way.

[Freezing]

The cold energy flew towards Gallius, who was approaching.

But Gallius immediately twists his body slightly sideways and dodges it.

[Flash]

I immediately put as much distance as possible.

As my brightly lit vision returned, I saw Mark, who was far away, charging towards Gallius like a spear.

That attack, no different from Mark’s ultimate move, created the first wound on Gallius’s body.

It seemed to have landed properly after a long time. Gallius slightly sprinkled black blood.

The morale that had dropped was somewhat recharged.

I immediately move the terrain to make Mark escape far away while simultaneously engulfing Gallius’s legs, which had momentarily stopped.

『It is your turn. Draw 5 cards.』

『White Storage Box – Preserve 1 card at the end of the turn.』

The card to keep is [Infinite Hand(2)]

[Infinite Hand(2)] + [Body Reinforcement(0)] [Mana Overload(0)] [Psychokinesis(0)] [Charge(1)] [Fireball(1)]

I immediately use all 0-cost cards.

[Body Reinforcement]

[Psychokinesis]

[Mana Overload]

My physical senses speed up.

Psychokinesis unfortunately didn’t work on Gallius.

[Mana Overload(0)] – Energy becomes 2 times. Energy decreases by 1 next turn.

『Energy 8/4』

With enough energy, I now need cards.

[Infinite Hand(2)] – Draw cards until your hand is full.

[Charge(1)] [Fireball(1)] + [Mud Wall(1)] [Force Field(2)] [Ignition(0)] [Tidal Wave(3)] [Ripple(4)] [Ice Shield(1)] [Ifrit(4) – Power] [Darkness(1)]

I have many cards to use and plenty of energy.

But the time until the next draw is far too short.

I must use them cautiously. Calmly, if I am to survive.

Looking at Gallius who is running towards me now. I calmly begin to lift the terrain.

It’s slower to be slightly hindered than to just run in a straight line.

Furthermore, being slower also means allowing other rearguards to attack.

Luca’s claws, which had approached by now, lightly tore Gallius’s body.

He quickly healed, but Gallius’s actions paused slightly, and that opening was filled by someone else.

He barely dodged Adel’s greatsword, but Kairek’s incoming arrow pierced a hole in his arm.

When Gamel’s tough vines catch his leg, my earth engulfs his leg.

Even if the individual power of each person couldn’t possibly reach Gallius, the combined strength was enough to withstand.

And it seemed that was not the situation Gallius wanted at all.

[These bastards……!!]

His red eyes flickered even more vividly and strongly, and a crimson aura began to pour out indiscriminately from his entire body. And the red wolf spirits that attacked us began to appear one by one.

The red wolf spirits run past the vanguards towards the rearguards.

I try to block them by moving the terrain, but unfortunately, they break easily.

“Uwaaa!!!!”

Gamel is hit by a spirit, bleeds, and falls.

Fortunately, it seems he didn’t lose his life.

Liza, the wandering mage, causes an explosion to burst the red wolf spirit that was chewing on Gamel’s body, but one also approaches her.

[Charge] [Ifrit – Power]

Consuming a total of 5 energy, the reinforced Ifrit is imbued in my body.

Pouring out the overflowing mana, Ifrit flickers intensely.

It immediately shoots out fire bullets around to shoot down the red wolf spirits.

Fwooosh!!!

The spirits dodge the bullets with movements faster than expected.

In the end, I succeeded in shooting them down by forcing myself to pour out even more bullets. But.

“Ugh!!”

Due to the consecutive overuse of two Power cards, the mana in my body rapidly plummeted.

Thanks to that, I swayed slightly from dizziness.

And a sensitive hunter noticed that.

Gallius immediately turns his head towards me.

Perhaps because his neck was grotesquely twisted, I felt a slight fear.

“Huh…?!!”

Ignoring everything else, Gallius runs towards me, regardless of whether the vanguards tear his body apart.

I hastily lift the terrain, but that alone wasn’t enough to stop his movement.

Remaining energy is 1.

Over 30 seconds are left until the next draw.

And there are no tricks left to reset my hand.

Gallius is getting closer and closer.

Unfortunately, the only person in our clan faster than Gallius is Grace, but the guides haven’t returned from the city.

In other words, there is no one left to stop that Gallius.

Would it have been better to protect my own body instead of helping the clan members?

Fwoosh!!!

Even though a harpoon arrow strongly struck Gallius’s body, Gallius, keeping only his furious expression, pours out his full power as if to kill me.

Three red wolf spirits come flying.

Gallius himself is in the center of them.

No one can stop him.

‘If only Hans were here…!!’

Just as that thought crossed my mind.

I first use the card I have.

[Darkness]

Among the 1-cost cards in my hand right now, this card which I’ve barely used recently.

There are various reasons. One reason was not using it to prepare for suspicion.

There are also many better cards than this.

I don’t have even 1% thought of stopping Gallius with just this.

A last-ditch effort.

A jet-black darkness spreads around me, trapping everything around in darkness.

[……?!!]

Gallius stopped.

And he leaped up high, retreating backwards.

“Why?”

Such a small darkness shouldn’t be a hindrance to him?

But one intuition filled my head.

That high full moon up there.

Could that be the reason?

Since he received moonlight when he revived, it shouldn’t have no effect.

If so, by blocking the full moon and creating darkness.

Perhaps there might be a chance of winning.

“Hoo…”

I took a big breath and poured all the little mana remaining in my body into Terrain Manipulation.

My body trembled and my stomach churned, indicating a very bad condition, but I continued to move the terrain.

[What… what are you trying to do?!!]

Only after hearing Gallius’s voice, which sounded panicked, could I be sure.

What he fears most.

I create a gigantic dome.

Sensing what I was trying to do, Gallius runs to escape.

But I’m not the only one here.

“We have to block the wall!!!”

Gamel shoots water and freezes it to solidify the earth, and the clan members block Gallius trying to escape.

“Ugh……!!!”

Gathering all the power and mana from my dantian, I continuously lift the terrain.

If I make it thin, it’s all for naught. Perhaps because I’m trying to build it thick, it’s even harder.

Cough.

I felt blood coming from my mouth, my whole body swayed and trembled, and I was already collapsed, but the magic continued to manifest.

[No!!]

Gallius punches the wall.

Crack!!

The wall cracks and fissures appear momentarily. But.

I fill it all back in.

The speed of building is faster than the speed of breaking.

Of course, this isn’t something I can do alone.

It’s thanks to the continuous attacks and interference, and the help of Gamel and Liza.

The sky slowly closing.

The full moon being covered.

The moonlight gradually disappeared, and Gallius’s red eyes began to tremble.

[Aaaaaaaa!!!!]

Shouting, Gallius climbs the wall upwards.

He runs towards the ceiling, which hasn’t closed yet.

Knowing his objective, I stop making the wall solid and close the ceiling faster.

But the speed of Gallius, cornered, is beyond imagination.

As if trading strength for speed, he moves at a speed that cannot be caught.

‘At this rate…!’

I will fail.

It’s impossible to catch a beast that has escaped the noose again.

Moreover, if I also leave the battlefield, the game is over.

Getting out or not getting out.

At that branching point, the scale of victory seemed to tilt towards Gallius.

If there hadn’t been one variable.

“I’m hereeeeee!!!!”

A familiar and welcome voice.

Grace arrived in front of Gallius.

“Gotcha!!!”

The sharp-witted Grace hugged Gallius, immediately froze him solid, and fell together.

Crash!!!!

A massive cloud of dust billowed, and Gallius and Grace crashed together.

And I succeeded in closing the ceiling.

Thwack!!!

Grace was immediately hit by Gallius.

Fortunately, she wasn’t seriously injured and was just pushed back slightly.

“Is everyone okay?”

Why would she, who was clearly in charge of firing the artillery from the city, be here?

“We figured we could use it even with just two people, so I rushed over quickly.”

“Good… job.”

“Mr. Ivan?!”

Grace tried to quickly approach me. But at that moment, a crimson aura spread around.

The protagonist was Gallius.

He was emitting a crimson aura and returning to his original form.

His size began to shrink, and his beast-like appearance, similar to a wolf, was changing into a human form.

Of course, the speed was slow but certain.

“If we just hold out like this, will it be victory?”

“Probably.”

At least it’s certain that the odds have tilted towards us.

“Still, our party is all together now.”

Since we couldn’t make the dome massive, there are many people outside this dome.

Of course, most of them are seriously injured and receiving treatment.

“Gamel, you should go too.”

I moved the terrain to let the injured Gamel and clan members out.

Anyway, it seemed the remaining 1st army party would be enough.

Of course, I’m participating as well.

Leaning on Grace, who had approached, I slowly stood up.

With my mana completely depleted, I could be said to be close to 0 points as a mage. But.

『Until next draw 0』

I have cards.

『It is your turn. Draw 5 cards.』

『White Storage Box – Preserve 1 card at the end of the turn.』