◈ Episode 301 Uncomfortable Accompaniment (2)
‘This.’
Rudger sighed inwardly as Casey stared at him in disbelief.
I heard the sound of fighting, so I moved quickly thinking of joining because the distance wasn’t too far, but I can’t believe it was Casey and Terrina.
Belatedly, Bellaluna and Chris, who were walking out through the passage Rudger had pierced, also found two people.
The two of them seemed quite bright at the thought that they had a new party.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Since we have already met, we have no choice but to move together even if it becomes a little uncomfortable.
“This is how we meet.”
Rudger opened his mouth first because he couldn’t just stand still and stare.
Casey didn’t answer that, just stared at Ludger.
Instead, it was Terrina who spoke up.
“yes. I didn’t expect to meet you in a place like this. Mr. Ludgar Celish.”
“They said it was Captain Terry or Ryan Howl. Neither do I.”
“Didn’t the analysis team withdraw right after analyzing the World Tree?”
“I was going to do that, but the road was blocked. It was a yard that was confined here, so I had to move inside inevitably.”
“I see. I’m glad though. It’s because I can join like this without anyone getting hurt.”
Terrina stared at Bellaluna as she said that.
Apart from Ludgar and Chris, that elf woman was at least not in Terina’s memory.
“Who is that?”
“My name is Bellaluna Petana, who will accompany us this time. I was called as an expert on the World Tree.”
“Aren’t you an outsider? Besides, the research on the World Tree should have been done by Mr. Chris Benimore.”
“There’s nothing wrong with having at least one more. And you don’t have to worry because he’s an elf that the princess guarantees her identity.”
Ludgar gave Terrina the name of the first princess, just as he did with Chris.
Terrina narrowed her eyes at those words and wrinkled her forehead.
‘Princess Eileen?’
Among them, if you ask who has the closest relationship with Princess Eileen, it would definitely be Terrina.
However, if someone asked if even Terrina had complete knowledge of the first princess, she had no choice but to answer that she did not.
Eileen was a difficult person to understand.
As Ludger said, there was nothing strange about suddenly adding an elf to the existing staff.
Considering that Aileen’s personality rather likes to hide something and doesn’t reveal her plans even to those closest to her.
Rudger’s words left no doubt.
‘Besides, considering the story I heard in the barracks, it seems that the princess had a meeting with Ludgar Celish-sensei beforehand.’
Terrina nodded lightly, dispelling her doubts.
“So, did you learn anything from the analysis team?”
To Terrina’s question, Ludger answered yes and explained what he knew to Terrina and Casey.
It is even said that the power of demons is sealed inside the World Tree, and that warlocks are trying to use it.
“indeed. I wondered why the Liberation Army’s test subject turned into a monster like that, but it was the power of the devil.”
Casey, who had been listening quietly until then, also opened his mouth.
“I didn’t know that demonic power existed in a place like this. How much more can the enemy try to use it.”
“If you think about it that way, it’s strange that there’s such a huge, secret facility underground in the capital city, and even the roots of the dead World Tree at its center.”
“that….”
“This is obviously real. It’s already happened. What we need to do from now on is not to be surprised that something like this exists, but to stop the Liberation Army and warlocks as quickly as possible.”
In that sense, it was fortunate that the scattered forces were gathered in one place.
When Ludgar emphasized the importance of the situation, Casey reluctantly nodded.
I was convinced.
However, she still had many things she wanted to say to Rudger.
However, now it is an important situation where every second is contested.
No time was allowed to ask personal questions.
‘In the current situation, even if I said it, this man would pass it off as if he didn’t know.’
Then, when all of this is over later, let’s go and ask.
Of course, when that time came, I knew that I would not be able to muster up the courage again.
But now, if I didn’t make a decision in my heart, this uncomfortable knot would never come undone.
“Then let’s move quickly.”
The party, which had grown to five, began to move at high speed toward the central cavity.
In the middle, the second test subjects came in with the chimera army.
There was no way that those who were not opponents from the beginning could stand against Ludger and his party, whose strength had almost doubled.
Every time Terrina wielded the sword in both hands, the test subjects could not stand it and fell to pieces, and they collapsed helplessly before Ludger and Chris Casey’s magic.
The movement speed, which had been sluggish before, began to gain momentum.
In such a combat situation, Casey silently admired Ludgar’s magic.
‘Awesome.’
Ludger’s magic was neither flashy nor large-scale.
Considering that there is a trend among mages who think that hierarchy is a measure of strength.
In fact, it was difficult for Rudger to be treated as a ‘strong man’.
However, someone with a deep knowledge of magic and a keen eye would have been surprised to see Ludger’s battle.
Maximum efficiency with minimum horsepower.
Magical power was never wasted, and there was no waste in the process of magic itself.
Perfectly flawless magic where mistakes and errors do not exist, as if mathematical formulas fit perfectly together.
Ludgar’s magic only aimed at the critical points when dealing with enemies.
The brevity was so excessive that it seemed rather impersonal.
‘Be strong. Even though this isn’t his real ability, he’s at this level.’
Casey knew that Rudger wasn’t at full strength yet.
When he was working as Professor Moriarty, Ludger fought with her on equal terms, wearing a black shadow.
She didn’t know what kind of magic it was, but at least she thought that if his power became stronger now than it was then, it would have gotten stronger and not diminished.
In fact, he met at the Kunst auction house and even subdued the monster of the report party.
‘Even the magic that transcends the space I saw then. I haven’t used it yet, but that magic alone will be able to change the game of battle.’
As soon as I thought about where the end of this man was, the entire underground passage started to vibrate again.
“They’re trying to change the terrain again!”
Terrina immediately noticed and warned.
Having experienced this situation several times before, the party’s response was swift.
Rudger and Chris stepped out as if they had been waiting for the vibration to occur.
The huge flower-shaped magical tree that bloomed behind Chris split into sections and shot vines toward the passageway that was about to change.
The light green, translucent vines spread like roots the moment they touched the wall, forcibly holding on to the moving block.
However, the movement of the blocks was so strong that the vines were pulling taut and were about to tear.
“Come on, do it quickly! I can’t last long!”
At Chris’s cry, Ludger grabbed the cane with both hands and thumped it on the ground.
Fighting!
The magic power that exploded from the tip of the staff spread out as if drawing concentric circles along the ground.
The mana immediately interfered with the equipment of the moving facility and manifested magic from within.
Koo Goo Goo!
Pillars of stone soared from the inside, destroying the key mechanism that moved the blocks.
The bulkhead I was about to descend stopped in front of me, and all blocks in other areas stopped.
“It’s a success!”
When the change stopped, Bellaluna shouted in delight.
What bothered them the most so far was neither the Chimera nor the second test subject, but the terrain change.
In particular, it was obvious that he was openly holding back the party whose number had increased.
But they believed in this function too much and kept doing the same thing over and over again.
While this side was also hit several times, I roughly grasped how the internal structure was rolling.
The result is right now.
By destroying the key mechanism that changes the underground facility, the liberators can no longer change the terrain.
In other words, it meant that no one could stand in their way now.
Chris, who had reverse-summoned the magic beast, exclaimed in admiration as he corrected his glasses as if he really didn’t know how to do it.
“When I only heard the plan, I was nervous, but it really worked.”
“If the structure inside is moved by a sophisticated mechanism, all you have to do is destroy it.”
Rudger said it easily, but this was impossible without the help of the [Coordinate Designation Scheme].
The key mechanism was deep, invisible to the naked eye.
Knowing the location did not mean that it could be touched with magic.
What made this possible was Ludger’s magic, which allowed him to jump through space and strike if he knew the coordinates.
Since the core device did not move, it was easy for this side to aim.
“With this, the most annoying problem has been solved.”
Casey was not very surprised by the reality in front of him, as if he knew that the operation would succeed from the beginning.
For that reason, isn’t Rudger’s appearance so far extraordinary?
It was hard to be surprised by this now.
“But it seems that the enemies knew that there was a problem and went into an all-out war.”
As if she felt something, Terina tightened the sword in her hand.
As a master-class knight, her sharp spirit sensed the presence of many people flocking towards her from afar.
Compared to the guys who came to pass the time little by little before, the number is at least 5 times more.
The enemies must have become desperate because they know that it is impossible to block the path using the device.
“All ready for battle. From here on out, it’s a physical battle.”
But from before, their most annoying enemy wasn’t the test subject.
Now that the advantage of being able to change the terrain at will is gone.
Future fights will eventually be determined by the difference in pure ‘strength’.
“Break through!”
With Terrina’s cheery cry, her twin swords shattered the first chimeras in the lead.
The other members also swept the test subjects using magic and their own skills.
Only Bellaluna approached the body of the fallen test subject and secretly took the sample.
“lol.”
* * *
“Repair of engine units? Anybody available?”
“Deploy the Chimera! buy up time!”
The joint liberation army and warlocks were taken aback.
Their goal was only to buy time before the enemies got here from the beginning.
I knew that the level of the enemies was not normal from the first and second test subjects dying in a shower.
If it’s a knight, it’s a master class.
If you are a wizard, at least 5th tier or higher.
In fact, the appearance of the enemies who entered were those who could be called a one-man army.
It was only idiots to think of attacking them head-on when they came in.
So I thought of using the advantage of the terrain to buy time, but that didn’t work either.
A key mechanical device was broken by Rudgar.
“shit! Wasn’t the key device located more than 100m away in thick bedrock? Even if the opponent was a sword master, it was absolutely impenetrable!”
“It’s a big deal! More than half of the seconds I put in have already been lost!”
“They spurred on speed! At this rate, we’ll come in within 10 minutes!”
The pale-skinned warlock trembled in contemplation at the terrible news he heard one after another.
He glanced at his teacher, Andrei, with anxious eyes.
“What are you looking at so closely?”
“Master Su. That is….”
“done. You can’t be angry in a situation like this. It means that they are strong.”
Andrei was not without anger.
Even now, he was suppressing his anger in real time.
The reason he didn’t panic or show emotion was that it was very illogical.
At times like these, I had to respond rationally.
“How is the progress of Experimental Third?”
“The coordination isn’t quite over yet. The final stage is approaching, but whether it will be successfully completed… ….”
“Omit the last step and proceed as quickly as possible. Infuse all the rest of the devil’s power.”
“Ha, but what would happen if that happened….”
At that, Andrei glared at his student with a ferocious gaze.
As soon as a glow like the flames of anger flowed out of his eyes, the disciple immediately shut his mouth.
“Does that word come out of your mouth even in this situation?”
“That is….”
“That means you can’t do that. Anyway, the enemies will reach this side before Third wakes up. Then the whole process will become nothing and disappear.”
So even if something went wrong, it was better to start the third right away.
“Did you understand? Now is not the time to go blind.”
“Even so, we need more time to wake up the third now!”
“Do it anyway. Time will be bought by me.”
“yes?”
Before the disciple could ask anything, Andrei got up from his seat and created his magic.
Unbelievable great power emanated from his decrepit body and covered the whole area.
The warlocks and liberators, frightened and confused, stopped in their seats and looked at Andrei.
“Don’t be stupid and do your part.”
Andrei cast his gaze toward the passage leading to the outside.
“I will deal with them.”
Immediately after, the blocked door exploded with a roar, and a cloud of dust flew out.
There were two dolls that came out of the dust.
One is Veronica Deville, a female knight in a white uniform with black ponytails.
The other was a war mage belonging to the Empire who moved with her.
Andrei looked at the two of them with a wrinkled smile on his lips.
“Ho-oh. There were people who came unexpectedly first.”
“….”
Just as Andrei saw Veronica, Veronica realized that Andrei was her strongest enemy in this position.
She drew her sword with a cold gaze.
The coldness on the tip of the knife made it clear that she was not dealing with normal auras.
I’ve heard of it.
Did the Cold Steel Knights of the Empire say that their swords contain the coldness of the North?
“It’s interesting.”
As Andrei conjured up his magic, the black robes surrounding him fluttered wildly.
“If you think of future guests, you can warm up.”