STGB Episode 409

Dilemma (6)

Luring out the Dragon Slayer and his subordinates was very easy.

Well, there’s a saying that the enemy within is the most terrifying one, right?

Noark’s explorer, Gwang Myeong, who had been converted to our side and found enlightenment under Jun’s influence, provided false information to them, and they took the bait immediately.

[“So, around thirty royal explorers are out there?”]

“Yes! It seems they crossed over from Ice Rock!”

[“You mentioned they’re trailing us in secret? Keep things steady until I arrive.”]

“Understood!”

Heh, fell for it again, fool.

I sensed this back in Larkaz’s maze—there’s a strange naivety to the Dragon Slayer.

If he hadn’t given up his “Restrained Desire” back then and given me time, he wouldn’t have been cornered to the point of having his sword taken away.

“Well, then, let’s move.”

After luring the Dragon Slayer, we headed south toward the Dragon’s Depth.

Our paths wouldn’t overlap, so there was no worry of encountering them en route.

Because we had Gwang Myeong with us.

[“What’s your current position?”]

“We’re in the western area of the Dragon’s Depth.”

[“You’re moving west. Heading toward ‘Iron Falls’?”]

“Seems that way for now.”

[“Understood. We’ll head that way too, and if they change direction, inform me immediately.”]

“Understood!”

At this pace, by the time the Dragon Slayer reaches the west’s “Iron Falls,” we’ll have arrived at his base.

Even if he rushes back, by the time he returns, we’ll be long gone.

“There’s a group of Noark scouts ahead.”

“Stop. We’ll hide here and wait until they pass by.”

Continuing to minimize battles, we pushed through two days of forced marches until we reached a vast wilderness.

Well, our field of view was limited because of the dim surroundings, but that’s not important.

“Finally, the Gray Plains.”

The Gray Plains.

A middle region between the Dragon Mountain in the continent’s center and the northernmost Dragon’s Depth.

It’s also the starting point for the Noark faction’s direct access to the 7th floor.

“It’s unexpectedly quiet, I thought there would be more people wandering around since it’s a base.”

“I guess the main unit is keeping them busy.”

Our entire plan for this expedition is a kind of feint operation.

While the royal army, which entered the Dark Continent via the standard route, engages with Noark’s main forces along the Dragon Mountains, we strike them from behind.

“From here on, we move as quietly as possible, even if we have to slow down.”

“I’ll order the scouts to widen the distance from the main unit, so we can detect the enemy from further away.”

“Yes, I’ll leave the detailed troop deployment to you.”

Even after entering the Gray Plains, we moved very cautiously, but we still had to engage in continuous battles.

It’s the labyrinth after all, filled with monsters everywhere.

It’s impossible to avoid monsters even if we can avoid humans.

[You have defeated a Void Ant. EXP +4.]

[You have defeated a Dark Crystal. EXP +6.]

[You have defeated a Mainum. EXP +5.]

[You have defeated a Hell Ghoul. EXP +4.]

[You have defeated a Jambet…]

[…]

Various monsters crawled out of cracks in the ground that resembled a drought-stricken rice field.

Among them were some Level 3 monsters.

“It’s a Bol-Herchan!”

The very monster that belongs to the final growth path of my Shield Barbarian.

Of course, the battle itself wasn’t particularly difficult.

“What are you all doing? Is this your first time fighting one? Spread out!”

“Warriors, just defend! The mages will deliver the final blow anyway!”

We fought three Level 3 monsters at a time in Ice Rock, so taking on just one isn’t a big deal.

And our bellies are full right now.

Boom!

The Bol-Herchan, with its highest-level defense, withstood for a long time, but it eventually collapsed to the ground, disappearing into light particles.

「You have defeated a Bol-Herchan. EXP +7.」

It didn’t drop an essence, but I wasn’t particularly disappointed.

I already had its essence anyway.

‘This is kind of ironic.’

In the game, I never imagined I’d acquire the essence of a monster before actually defeating it. But reality is different from the game, and things seem to be happening out of order.

‘Is this some weird snowball effect from getting the Ogre Essence in the early to mid-game?’

I briefly considered that possibility, but thinking back, this abnormal growth probably started with the ‘Corpse Golem’.

If I hadn’t gotten that essence, I wouldn’t have been able to kill Vampire Duke Camboromire either.

“Schuiz, the scouts have reported that they found the enemy’s base.”

After traveling through the Gray Plains for another day, we finally arrived near our target location.

A massive tower structure stood there, guarded by around a hundred explorers, confirming this was indeed the place.

However, there was one puzzling detail.

“…That’s far fewer than we expected.”

“It seems Regal Vargos took more troops than anticipated to chase after us.”

“Is that so? Then that’s good news, but we can’t be certain, so let’s gather more intelligence on the surrounding area first.”

“Then I will dispatch the scouts again.”

“What should the rest of the troops do?”

“Since there will soon be a battle, have them rest as much as possible to recover their strength.”

“What about the ‘Declaration of Annihilation?’”

“Tell them not to use it. They might detect our presence. We can’t risk losing everything for a small advantage. If monsters appear, they should deal with them as quietly as possible.”

“Understood. I’ll pass the message along.”

We sent out scouts composed of characters with stealth skills to gather intelligence around the base, the rest of us hid beneath the cliff edge and rested to recover our energy.

This applied to me as well.

“You look tired.”

While leaning back and resting, Amelia approached and handed me a piece of jerky.

In Ice Rock, she didn’t give me even a single piece of jerky, but here she has some to spare.

Chomp, chomp.

While I was chewing on it, Amelia spoke with a note of concern in her voice.

“Schuiz, things are going too well for you.”

“Dammit….”

She just had to say it out loud.

There’s a superstition that words have power. I had avoided bringing up how smoothly things were going, but she did anyway.

“…?”

“I wasn’t talking to you, don’t mind it. So, what were you going to say? Did you find something suspicious?”

“It’s not that, but…”

When I asked, Amelia trailed off.

She didn’t seem to have any concrete evidence; it was just a feeling.

“Don’t worry. Things aren’t going smoothly by chance. It’s because we’ve done all the necessary groundwork.”

“Groundwork?”

“Think of all the hardships we endured to get here, like crossing the Ice Rock. We faced betrayal from within as well.”

“That’s true. Sorry, never mind what I said.”

Even as I reassured her, I couldn’t help but remain a bit uneasy.

I continued to think quietly to myself.

‘A hundred of them…’

With this number of troops, the mission itself should be a success.

The scouts only got a distant view, but they didn’t spot anyone noteworthy.

‘This must be because they didn’t expect an attack from behind.’

Noark’s main force is out on the wide front line to prevent the royal army from crossing the mountains.

Of course, they left behind some troops led by Regal Vargos, at this key base, but…

‘Now that he’s away with his troops…’

Right now, it’s a perfect opportunity.

‘And we have Gwang Myeong on our side.’

The only concern now is any unforeseen factors the scouts might bring back, but…

“Schuiz, the scouts have returned.”

“What did they report?”

“They found nothing suspicious within a 5 km radius.”

Everything checked out. There didn’t seem to be any hidden threats nearby.

I had been worried that things were going too smoothly and that there might be some kind of trap, but I decided to push those thoughts aside.

“Tell the returning scouts they did well and let them get some rest. Well, they won’t have long to rest, but still.”

“…You’re planning to make a move?”

“Yes, start making preparations.”

It’s time to end this long expedition.

***

I stood there, alone in the pitch-black wilderness.

Although it’s hidden by the darkness of the labyrinth and can’t be seen with the naked eye…

I stare intently at the Noark’s base.

“….”

In the silence, we wait for the right time.

All the expedition members are prepared to charge forward at any moment.

Boom, boom, boom, boom-!

Soon, loud noises began to echo through the darkness.

To someone with some experience as an explorer, it would be clear that this noise was the sound of a large monster walking.

“M-monsters!”

“Everyone, come out!”

The quiet darkness beyond turned into a noisy commotion.

I can’t see them with my eyes, but I can clearly picture the expressions on each of their faces.

“Fuck, what on earth is up with these numbers?!”

Panic.

“Man, our luck sure is terrible. What are you all doing? Hurry up and draw your weapons!”

Irritation.

“Why are the monsters swarming here?”

And confusion.

Of course, among them, there were those who knew the real reason.

“Get a hold of yourselves! It’s the enemy! Someone is leading these monsters right toward us!”

As expected from the people of Noark who have studied every kind of plundering technique.

They’re quick to catch on.

It’s obvious that the waves of monsters swarming them from all sides aren’t just a coincidence.

After confirming that there was no one within a 5 km radius, I had the scouts gather all the monsters nearby.

They drew the monsters’ aggro and then used Stealth to return to us, leaving the monsters to charge at the enemy base.

“What?”

“Enemies… ?”

“Shit, are they the ones Lord Regal Vagos was talking about?”

“Call for reinforcements! Quick, request support immediately!”

Oh no, are you trying to call for support?

Even if they do come, it’ll all be over by then.

“Kaislan.”

At my brief command, Kaislan, standing beside me, raised the flag with the royal crest high and shouted:

“Fire!!”

At the same time, the mages, archers, and supporters who had finished casting spells unleashed their deadly attacks simultaneously.

Boom—!

Attacks landed amidst the monsters’ onslaught.

Part of the enemy formation was completely wiped out, creating a gap that the cunning monsters did not miss.

“Dammit! Where did that come from? Where are they attacking from?!”

“Aaaaaah!”

Monsters surged in through the collapsed battle line.

“Hold them back at that point!”

They hastily tried to re-form their line, but there was no way we’d let them do so easily.

“Kaislan, one more time.”

We continued to fire all of our ranged attacks whenever casting was complete. In response, the enemy finally located our position.

But…

“There they are!”

“They’re over there!”

Even if they know, what can they do about it?

They’re too busy fighting off monsters to be able to do anything about us.

Kwaaaaang-!

Kwoom!

Whooooooosh!

We continued our ranged bombardment for quite a while.

Zzzzziiiing-!

Suddenly, the message stone I kept in my pocket started vibrating.

There was no need to guess who the sender was.

After all, the only person who’s been contacting me so frequently with this message stone since we arrived here was a single individual.

Click.

Since there’s nothing else to do but watch the battlefield, I connected the communication without hesitation.

[You! Where the fuck are you right now?!]

The furious roar came the moment the call connected.

Oh, that’s right—the last report said we were at the edge of the continent, and they had to come all the way over there, right?

[We’ve arrived where you said, but no one’s here! There are also reports that a battle has broken out near the ‘Eye of the Sky’.]

The “Eye of the Sky” is the name given to the magic device that acts as a communication tower.

“Tsk, so the news has already reached them.”

I can understand why the palace is so desperate to destroy the Eye of the Sky. They must have suffered countless losses due to this extensive communication network.

[Are you ignoring me right now?! Answer me! Where exactly are you?!]

There’s no need to lie anymore, so I answered honestly.

“Me? I’m right in front of your house.”

A bit of trash talk is a legitimate part of warfare.

After saying that, I waited to see how he would react, but surprisingly, there was silence for a long time.

I checked to see if the call was disconnected, but then I heard his voice again—though nothing particularly amusing.

[…Who are you?]

What’s wrong, cat got your tongue?

Trying to sound all heavy and ominous, are we?

“If you’re that curious, why don’t you come and find out?”

[…From the beginning, this was all your scheme, wasn’t it?]

“Well, obviously. But hey, enjoy the scenery while you’re there. It’s not every day you travel so far.”

[I don’t know who you are, but don’t think you’ll die easily. Even death won’t save you from what’s coming.]

His voice was dripping with malice, but I casually cleaned my ear and shrugged it off.

Death won’t save me?

Heh, wasn’t that the same line he used last time?

“Sure, good luck with that.”

[What? Do you think this is a joke? I will ensure—]

But before he could finish, I cut the connection. It was time to move on.

***

Just then, Akuraba’s voice came through with an urgent report.

“Schuiz, the monsters are almost all dealt with!”

The enemies had fought back in desperation, and most of the monsters had been killed.

Therefore…

“Formation! Charge forward!”

“Front line, forward…!”

We charged into the battlefield before they had a chance to re-form their lines.

“Chaaaarge!”

Our veteran warriors led the combat formation from the front.

Noark’s forces also formed a wall of warriors to block our advance.

A basic shield-wall formed by warriors during large-scale battles.

“Block them!”

“Kill them all!”

Soon the warriors at the front clashed, and a full-blown battle for strength began.

And…

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The victor of this power struggle was, of course, us.

Our warriors are far superior in average skill level compared to theirs and…

Most decisively:

[Niarro Cambell casts [Wave of Healing].]

[Benjamin Orman casts [Moonlight of Regeneration]…]

[…]

They have no healers!

How can they stop our warriors who charge aggressively even at the cost of injury, when they have no way to heal their own injuries?

“They’ve broken through!”

Our warriors, pushing through with the strength of a hundred men, broke through the enemy line, and our expedition forces quickly exploited that gap.

The center was not completely empty, but it was open enough.

“Shield wall!”

We changed formation into a circular defensive formation.

And then…

“Advance while maintaining this formation!”

Now the situation changed: we advanced towards the center while defending against enemies attacking from all sides.

After all, our goal isn’t annihilation, but to strike a decisive blow.

“T-those bastards are heading for the Eye of the Sky!”

“Stop them!”

Realizing our goal, they rushed at us even more fiercely, but it wasn’t enough to break the unity of our forces that had formed after crossing Ice Rock.

Additionally, we have a lot of priests on our side.

“Halt!”

While dealing with the enemies as we moved, we soon arrived in front of the ‘Eye of the Sky’.

We stood with our backs against it, desperately holding off the enemy.

Because there’s something we need to do first before destroying it…

“Schuiz! Come over here quickly.”

It was then that Akuraba shouted for me, her voice booming over the chaos.

“Hurry! There’s a problem!”

A problem?

“Gregson, I’m leaving this to you.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it! Go!”

I hurriedly left my position to a warrior next to me and headed to the rear.

Akuraba was waiting for me with an uncomfortable look in front of the ‘Eye of the Sky’ that we had surrounded.

“What’s going on?”

“I-I’ve entered the communication coordinates several times and tried to contact the main army, but I can’t connect at all!”

Tsk, this is a bit of a problem.