Chapter 81: Submerged Fortress City (2)
Magical Beasts attacked.
Before everyone could even fully comprehend the shouts that echoed. Behind the large tents of the base camp, roars and screams reverberated.
Enoch turned his head towards the sound.
He saw members of the Academia Expedition Team nearby screaming and desperately fleeing.
They were waving their arms in the air, covering their heads and running while the magical beasts roared. Their eyes were uniformly filled with terror.
"Aaaah!! They're Magical Beasts!!"
"Please save us! The Magical Beasts are coming towards the camp!!"
Enoch watched the chaos for a moment.
Even in the world of mages, they were still ultimately people.
Unless they were trained combatants. Panicking in an extreme crisis situation was the same even for mages.
To begin with, the Empire didn't only have combat mages. The modern Magic Empire was established because mages active in various fields devoted themselves to their respective areas.
But now, at this very moment. It was time for those who could face fear head-on to step forward.
"Enemy encounter, prepare for combat. Scout the surroundings."
"Understood. Lord Dionil."
Dionil and his follower families, who had already adopted a chilling state of alert, were glaring forward, in the opposite direction of the people fleeing towards them.
And around Enoch and Sirocco, who were watching the situation beside them, the Academia members running and screaming swept past like a current.
Those who stopped to face the enemy.
And those who were urgently fleeing.
The moment the two groups mingled in disarray.
-Grrr...rrk...!
A low roar from a magical beast, chilling enough to make one's spine tingle, pierced the eardrums of all the human masses.
It wasn't far. As I turned my head, I saw dark shapes charging towards us dozens of meters ahead.
They were Magical Beasts.
Other than their massive size, which looked to be easily 4 meters tall, they were monstrous creatures with the appearance of a stag beetle with grand horns made of rock.
Their charcoal-colored bodies were solid and angular, like black rock.
Likewise, there were no eyes on their heads. Only a pair of sharp, massive horns ran horizontally.
They were running from outside the camp, emitting strange sounds that made one doubt if they were living creatures.
One of Dionil's squad members swallowed hard upon confirming them.
"It's them. They are of the Magical Beast [Truncatus] species."
Truncatus.
A species of magical beast characterized by horns with considerable cutting power, sturdy resilience like their appearance, and powerful charge attacks.
They were somewhat familiar to Enoch as well.
Their tough magic resistance, of course, but above all, the power of those massive horns was beyond imagination. And most importantly, their greatest characteristic was...
'Since they have no eyes. A species of magical beast sensitive to vibrations.'
Truncatus were individuals with excellent vibration detection abilities. They looked like they were made of piles of rock, but their agility and sensory organs were completely different.
Meanwhile, Dionil gripped his staff. Then, looking around, he shouted loudly.
"Enemy Magical Beast attack, respond. Begin combat!"
"""""Understood!"""""
Along with the thunderous shouts, his follower families gripped their metal magic gear and charged forward. Dionil extended his wand from behind and shouted.
"Objective, repel the Magical Beasts advancing on the base camp! Protection of the Academia personnel must be prioritized!"
Under Dionil's command. His subordinates spread out widely according to their respective positions and deployed their formation.
Black tactical robes, emblazoned with the Elsyde logo, rippled and spread in all directions in a single, orderly movement.
In an instant, the tips of over a dozen staffs were colored with mana light, and magic circles revolved and were constructed in the air.
They projected powerful firepower to the front, directly stopping the magical beasts' charge. Simultaneously, some squad members carried out the operation by evacuating the camp personnel.
Kwooong!
Enoch watched them with interest for a moment from behind. It was certainly a squad that worked well together.
It was obvious how well they had bonded while performing missions together, and consequently, how skilled each of them was in combat.
The mages of Dionil's squad, moving in perfect order and using the surrounding terrain to position themselves, indiscriminately fired high-power magic straight ahead.
They accurately struck the frontline of the Truncatus horde that was charging towards the base camp.
The advance of the magical beasts was suppressed in an instant. After their charge was directly broken like that, it wasn't long before the situation was quickly reversed.
-Grrr...rrrrok!
In less than 10 minutes, whether they were scared or not, the Truncatus herd turned their horns, which were headed for the base camp, backwards.
Seeing that, one mage, activating the communication earset in his ear, briefly reported the situation.
"All personnel, Magical Beasts are retreating!"
"What is the direction of their escape?"
Dionil frowned and assessed the situation.
"The opposite direction from the base camp, heading into the Rhodes ruin site. The situation isn't good like this."
The fleeing magical beasts were heading towards the isolated fortress inside, where the Academia side was located. If things continued like this, the isolated Academia expedition members would be in greater danger.
It was obvious that the situation would worsen the longer they delayed.
"There are no casualties among the Academia personnel in the current base camp. Please give further operational instructions."
"There's no other option. Let's finish the minimum necessary preparations right away and chase after them. If we waste any more time, rescuing the stranded individuals will be difficult."
"Understood."
Dionil's squad members also nodded.
There was no knowing when the stranded individuals might be discovered by the magical beasts. Given the situation. It would be better to pursue now, find the stranded individuals, and rescue them.
"Then just 10 minutes. We will protect the Academia side and deploy personnel to respond in case of emergency."
"Good. During that time, we'll prepare and plan the operation. Can the location of the stranded individuals be identified with detection magic?"
"We tried, but they couldn't be picked up."
One of the mages under Dionil, who was holding up a staff with a mechanical design, shook his head.
"First, for proper detection, everyone must enter inside the ruin fortress. The scan range of detection magic does not reach from outside."
Dionil turned his head to the side.
"Right. Aspis, your role will be important."
At Dionil's words, a large man stepped forward. He turned to Enoch and said respectfully.
"I am Aspis. It's my first time greeting you, Lord Enoch. I apologize for the distraction during the operation."
"No. There's no need to apologize."
Enoch lightly shook his head.
I already knew who he was without needing an introduction.
"Shield of Solid Trust", Aspis.
He was a character who appeared as a tank in the game. There too, he was concepted as a subordinate of Dionil. It was said he earned trust through his loyal personality and escorting abilities.
In terms of character tier, he was upper-middle class.
Although he was Tier 3 among defenders, he was highly evaluated by users for his actual usability being even higher.
Occasionally, in story-based quests or stages with system constraints like "High Tier Defender Formation Restriction", he was treated like a public servant when it came to squad formation.
Just as Enoch was thinking up to that point. Aspis, who had turned back to him, respectfully spoke.
"Young Master Enoch. It is an honor to be on this mission together, but for the ruin site entry operation, I would ask that Lord Enoch's squad remain in the rear as much as possible."
"You don't trust us?"
"To speak bluntly. That is correct."
Then, glancing at Sirocco next to him, he said.
"Lord Enoch's squad is just one person. I hear she is a Tier 10 mage... but there is no basis for trusting her during the operation. I have also never seen her skills directly."
It was a reasonable statement.
No matter how powerful a Tier 10 ally was, it didn't guarantee the success of the operation or the lives of allies.
His tone showed that he understood that fact well, like someone with multiple operational experiences.
Just then, Sirocco spat coldly from beside me.
"Heh~ You'll regret saying that, you know?"
"...My intention was not to offend. You are Sirocco, yes? If I have caused displeasure, I apologize."
Aspis bowed respectfully like that. Sirocco raised her head neatly and closed one eye.
"Nah, it's fine."
Contrary to her words, I wondered if her tail wagging a little displeasedly was just my imagination. She definitely couldn't hide her emotions. Though it didn't seem like she was trying to hide them either.
Just then, Dionil approached and spoke.
"Preparations are complete. We will enter the ruin interior as is, and then split up as discussed to search for the expedition team. You agree, yes?"
"Need you even ask?"
When Enoch nodded, Dionil turned to Aspis and gave a brief order.
"Deploy magic gear and guard the rear. We are entering."
"Yes."
Chwaaaraarak!
The foldable tactical shield equipped on Aspis's arm unfolded. A shield-type magic gear that expanded its surface area and deployed. Its modern design was distinctive.
On the front of the shield he deployed, a simple logo of the manufacturing company was engraved in white.
The magic gear of other Dionil squad members also seemed to have the same manufacturing company logo stamped on them.
It was probably a product of the squad's sponsor company. Perhaps because it was a logo I had seen in the original work, it particularly caught my eye.
"We will move."
Following Dionil's squad, I walked along. Soon after, the ruins of the fortress city ruin were fully revealed.
The ruins of the tall fortress city were silent.
A ruin on ground naturally sinking. Water from the lake flowed like waterfalls in many places within the cracks of the tall, grey city walls.
It was a ruin submerged in silence as if it had lost its sound, and the remnants of a fortress city civilization that had perished long ago.
It was a scene I had seen once in the game, but it was still an atmosphere worth admiring anew.
And on the land of the ruin site covered in grass and rubble, magical beasts, herds of Truncatus, were roaming.
"Passed through the ruin city gate. Entered dangerous area."
"Good, squad 1 re-form formation. Defender takes the lead."
Responding to Dionil's signal.
Aspis, who had deployed his large deployable shield at the rear of the formation and was guarding the rear, advanced forward.
The squad members belonging to Dionil's side approached in order behind him. With the defender leading the way, they naturally formed a single file formation and began moving while scouting the surroundings.
Among them, a mage who had deployed detection magic reported.
"Surrounding movement, scan successful."
"Report."
"There are many magical beasts roaming the surrounding ruins. We should avoid provoking them as much as possible and infiltrate, dealing with them one by one."
"...Easier said than done. Alright, all personnel will clear a path. If necessary, deal with the magical beasts quietly. Be careful of noise and movement as they are sensitive to vibrations."
As communication was transmitted among them.
Enoch naturally followed them at the very rear along with Sirocco, at ease.
Watching them, I saw many quite interesting scenes.
Some quickly approached, suppressing their presence as much as possible, and embedded a short blade formed of plasma into the magical beast's head, while the rest thoroughly guarded the surroundings.
If approaching wasn't possible, they raised their mana and overlaid a suppression magic on their magic gear to extremely suppress the sound of the attack magic before deploying the spell.
Seeing that, Enoch inwardly let out a small exclamation of admiration.
Noise suppression magic. [Suppressor].
As the name suggested. A magic that allowed spells to be projected much more quietly even when deploying the same magic. Wasn't it one of the magic used for covert activities?
Thus, Dionil's squad skillfully dealt with the magical beasts quietly using magic. They pioneered a path through silent engagements.
Just then, Sirocco, who had been staring at them from the side, tilted one ear slightly as if puzzled. Then she turned to look at me.
"Hey. Do they need to do that?"
"Need to do that, what?"
"Like, can't I just kick all of them away?"
Sirocco glanced at the magical beasts ahead and said. Her voice was chillingly pure, as if stating something obvious. But Enoch shook his head.
"No. There's no need to waste your energy."
"Is that so?"
"It's not the right timing right now. Follow my instructions."
"Of course I'll do as you say, but..."
Sirocco, who had looked back with a pouty gaze, slightly lifted her chin and spoke lightly.
"Heh, alright. Just don't bore me, okay?"
Dionil's squad's method was the best tactic, but not a perfect one.
After all, as long as the noise during combat couldn't be completely suppressed, they couldn't deceive the Truncatus forever.
If they continued to fight and delve deeper into the ruin site like this, no matter how much they suppressed the sound, more and more magical beasts would engage in combat, and the noise from the engagements would also increase.
Ultimately, a head-on confrontation would be unavoidable.
And Sirocco could step in then.
Engaging in small-scale battles involving just one or two Truncatus would be of no help at all in improving Sirocco's skills.
If I just waited for the right time, there would definitely be a moment for Sirocco to act efficiently.
"Just a moment. Detection magic, found target!"
Just then, Dionil's squad's detection mage shouted.
"On the ground, excluding magical beasts, one human-shaped size is scanned. The location is just ahead."
It seemed to be some of the expedition team members whose communication had been cut off.
And then, from the ruins indicated by the detection mage, a small-bodied girl cautiously poked her head out.
The girl was wearing the Imperial Academia uniform, with an armband displaying the expedition team's emblem.
Seeing the surrounding magical beasts, her face was incredibly frightened. Her eyes had lost their light, she was pale, and trembling, looking quite pitiable.
It was admirable that she had managed not to scream while hiding among the magical beasts until now.
However, it was a bit strange that the other stranded individuals were not visible.
Next to her, one of Dionil's follower family members quickly confirmed her identity.
"It's the girl from the list of stranded individuals' photos."
Enoch, whose eyes met hers, lightly brought a hand to his mouth and gave a signal to be quiet.
If she didn't provoke the nearby magical beasts like this, they could approach and rescue her soon.
I saw the girl from the Academia also managing to nod.
But the moment the girl in the uniform cautiously emerged from the pile of stones in the ruin where she was hiding—
-Kwooouuung!
Suddenly, a tremendous roar echoed from beneath their feet. Along with an explosive sound that could tear eardrums, the surrounding ground, sand, and stones shot up as if they had been thrown.
In an instant, a large vibration, enough to shake the ground throughout the area, spread out like ripples in all directions.
"Wha, what?!"
"An explosion underground? Why?!"
Exclamations of shock erupted from Dionil's squad. It was something even Enoch had not anticipated. Everyone momentarily looked at the ground where the explosion had occurred.
A sudden explosion, without any warning signs.
At that fact, Dionil muttered blankly.
"Explosion? From the underground of the ruin?"
Even Enoch slightly furrowed his brow at the utterly unexpected sudden event.
It was an incident that could not have been predicted at all.
However, just as everyone was panicking. The surrounding magical beasts began to react violently to the massive vibration that occurred from beneath the ground.
-Krurururuk!
They simultaneously let out strange sounds, raising their horns to the sky and going into a frenzy. Threatening roars spread in all directions throughout the ruin.
There was no longer any time to assess the situation.
"Ugh, ugh...! Aaaah!! Sa, save...!!"
Amidst the pandemonium, the girl from the expedition team emerged, clutching a pile of stones in the corner of the ruin and staggering.
She was covered in dirt, as if she had been hiding for a long time, and seeing the charging magical beasts, she was terrified and began running desperately towards them.
"Save me! Please save me!!"
Seeing that, Dionil immediately shouted loudly.
"Damn it, she's close to the protection target! Draw the attention of the surrounding magical beasts! Protect the expedition members as much as possible!!"
"Understood!"
Aspis immediately ran forward towards the girl who was fleeing this way and drove his deployable shield into the ground.
With a loud metallic clang, mana light erupted from the shield.
[Mana Barrier]
The translucent light of mana, boasting immense strength, further expanded the edge of the shield. The barrier unfolded, deploying a wide shield.
With the curtain of light, the shield spread left and right. In front of it, a Truncatus that was charging towards the expedition member girl collided its sharp horns.
Tuuuuurrrrrrrng!
For a moment, a metallic roar tore through the ears. The surface of the shield, made of alloy, sparked intensely from the impact.
Immediately, Aspis's forearm seemed to bulge greatly, and then he pushed the shield, initiating a tug-of-war with the magical beast.
Enoch watched the scene for a moment.
[Physical Reinforcement] type magic.
Although my eyes had been raised extremely high by Sirocco's unique magic, it was a magic that a combat mage had to be able to handle as a basic necessity.
Perhaps for that reason, combatants in the Atlas Magic Empire often had fundamentally high physical abilities and durability.
However, that was an adjustment of the output of Physical Reinforcement magic.
Unless it was a special spell or black magic. Generally, Physical Reinforcement magic put a very large burden on the body.
Enoch watched Aspis, who was struggling to block the magical beast with his shield, for a moment.
Even just that much was above average output.
A magical beast's charge had destructive power that could easily pierce the armor of an armored vehicle. Just blocking it head-on and engaging in a power struggle was already quite remarkable.
Enoch turned his gaze to the side.
'Of course, that's only generally speaking.'
Slowly, the timing to intervene was approaching.
The Truncatus that Aspis had blocked was subsequently dealt with by another squad member who melted its entire head with fire-attribute magic, but that wasn't the problem.
Heavy charging sounds were already thundering towards them from all directions within the ruin site.
Kururururu!!
As I turned my gaze towards the vibration sound that grew louder, making my flesh tremble.
Dozens of Truncatus, excited by the vibration, were pointing their horns and surging towards them like crazy from beyond the ruin.
They were probably reacting additionally to the vibration caused by the earlier explosion and the collision between Aspis's shield and horns.
Seeing that, the complexion of Dionil's squad turned pale.
"This is bad! More Magical Beasts are gathering!"
"There are too many! We must abandon our current position...!"
Aspis shouted urgently.
Enoch, who had been calmly observing the situation, silently agreed with his shout.
Aspis could only block one or two magical beasts at a time.
Furthermore, no matter how skilled Dionil's squad was in combat, rescuing a stranded individual and escaping while in the midst of the magical beasts' frenzy was not easy.
─But here, there was one person.
A genius mage who could not be compared to ordinary Physical Reinforcement magic users like Aspis.
A girl who, if he just gave the command, could make all those herds of magical beasts 'run away' in the opposite direction by herself.
Enoch briefly looked at Sirocco.
"Can you do it?"
Sirocco looked back at me and smiled lightly. Then she tilted her ears above her head.
Her clear voice rang brightly.
"Of course!"
***
The girl couldn't understand it at all.
Immediately after the unknown explosion that echoed from underground.
The girl wearing the Academia uniform ran desperately. Tears had unknowingly welled up in her eyes from fear.
However, perhaps because her legs had lost strength from hiding for so long, she tripped over a protruding stone on the rough ground of the ruin and fell forward with a thud.
"Ack!"
The black shadow of a magical beast was approaching by the moment.
The fallen girl, terrified, looked behind her.
Right behind her, the black horns of a magical beast loomed right in front of her face. The thudding vibration on her prostrate body shook her from head to toe.
She had recently joined the Academia Expedition Team as a student intern in the student department.
But no matter how young she was. Death was rushing towards her equally, right before her eyes.
She would be stabbed by the horns and trampled to death like this, without even being able to scream. The girl, sensing her impending death, squeezed her eyes shut.
But the next moment.
The massive shadow of the magical beast that had been charging towards her by the moment suddenly flew greatly to the side with a clear explosive sound of Paaang.
"Ah...!!"
And when the girl opened her eyes in surprise.
Took.
The red-haired girl who had blown away the magical beast in an instant landed lightly in front of her.
Sirocco briefly looked behind herself.
Then, confirming that the girl from the Academia, who had stumbled and gotten up, had sprinted and desperately escaped the path of the magical beast horde, she quietly sighed.
"As expected, they're completely different from the little ones in our tribe."
And.
Within the shadow cast by the collapsed ceiling of the ruin.
The wolf-eared girl slowly turned her head.
Sirocco's red eyes briefly glanced at the magical beasts.
A thin ring of mana, wrapped around one of her lightly lifted bare ankles, emitted a translucent red light in the thin darkness of the ruin's ceiling.
Instantly, the magical beasts' charge halted.
The stopped Truncatus raised their eyeless heads and looked up at the wolf-eared girl as if wary.
-Kiii...
The red mana ring glowing on Sirocco's slender ankle. The Truncatus were feeling fear towards it.
Being eyeless, they instinctively understood.
This was not just ordinary [Physical Reinforcement] magic.
The gathering of mana on her ankle, the trembling air current itself, was forcibly making the magical beasts realize.
That her magic output was an existence outside of specifications, something that couldn't even be compared to ordinary magic.
It was only natural.
The secret technique passed down through generations of the ostracized tribe to hunt the magical beasts swarming in the wasteland.
Combat magic for the survival and perpetuation of the Beast-kin.
The ultimate expression of pure fighting spirit, honed over centuries.
"They're magical beasts I haven't seen around our tribe's village?"
Sirocco lightly looked down at the magical beasts. Then, covering her mouth slightly with one hand, she let out a scoffing sneer.
"Heh~ Weaklings. Hurry up and attack."
And as if understanding her words.
The Truncatus, who had been hesitating slightly, roared loudly, raising their horns to the sky once. They immediately began charging towards her, raising dust.