Chapter 198

Near the barrier stones where Hugo had lowered his altitude to approach, the cries of the members and the howls of the monsters were intermingling.

The creatures crawling up the layered barriers fell to the ground in droves as they were struck by the golems' blunt arms. But they quickly rose again, as if drawn by something, digging their claws into the wall and pressing their bodies tightly together.

Feeling that their movement was somewhat suspicious, Hugo signaled Delua, who was holding out, to retreat. As the golems that received the signal swiftly withdrew, he immediately pulled up an ice wall across the entire ground within a 1km radius.

As new ice walls suddenly rose with narrow gaps, the monsters clinging to the existing walls were crushed between them. Metallic sounds burst from their compressed vocal organs, and they spewed bodily fluids from their entire bodies as if being squeezed.

While it seemed the most urgent ones were easily dealt with this way, the real problem was just beginning.

Suddenly, a sharp wind whirled in the air, and a mysterious vibration came from beyond the ice wall. Following this, black waves appeared from all directions, instantly coloring the vast land, or more precisely, countless somethings were surging towards them, raising clouds of dust.

Hugo's eyes narrowed at this phenomenon, which seemed like some kind of omen. Instinctively, the unbelievable sight he had seen with Leonardo on the ridge not long ago came to mind.

Four-legged monsters running madly, clearly a herd of Dermocas.

'Did they come at the mother body's call?'

During the meeting, opinions had been divided on whether the weakened mother body could control the Dermocas, but in conclusion, it had been a needless worry.

As the creatures beyond the wall rapidly approached, Hugo erected several layers of barriers in that area as well, creating obstacles they couldn't easily overcome. Then, to eliminate them, he drew thick water snakes from the ground and sent cold air to the cloudy areas in the distance, causing hailstones to pour down.

However, the clever ones didn't expose their bodies above ground. Instead, they burrowed underground to avoid the attacks falling from above. Eventually, they targeted the base supporting the massive barrier, toppling the ice walls erected at regular intervals like dominoes. The ice that teetered and fell shattered miserably, unable to withstand the impact.

Once a path was breached, what followed was swift and decisive. The creatures focused on penetrating the opened path, charging towards the defense line protecting the barrier stones.

The momentum was so threatening that Hugo, who had been watching, once again raised his altitude to the sky. Then, gauging the speed of the creatures, he aligned hundreds of ice spears on both sides of himself.

The straight projectiles spread out to the left and right like crane wings. Hugo aimed the tips at the monsters, pointing the spear in his hand forward. As his arm lightly drew an arc from left to right, the ice crystals glittering in the light shot forward like machine gun fire.

The ice, cutting through the wind, flew over the final barrier protecting the defense line and barrier stones, instantly piercing the heads of the Dermocas charging with fierce momentum. The savage bursting of their bodily fluids soaked the ground and walls in that area, filling the vicinity with the sizzling sound of boiling ice and earth.

Nero, who arrived a beat later and faced this scene, was quite surprised, though he didn't show it.

'He can cast magic simultaneously over such a wide range?'

He alternately looked at the magic unfolding in the distance and Hugo, blinking for a moment before extinguishing the flames he had created in both hands. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like help was needed.

Although he had been asked by the captain to assist the Commander, there seemed to be no reason to expose his own mana in front of someone who was single-handedly accomplishing the work of a hundred, or even more. Meanwhile, he couldn't understand why the captain had looked so anxious about such a person.

However, Hugo's condition was not as good as it appeared to Nero's eyes. The damage and fatigue from the battle had significantly narrowed his field of vision, causing him to belatedly realize that there was something strange about the monsters' movements.

The creatures trapped inside the barrier stones were pointing their heads northward, while those outside were trying to cross over to this side. This inconsistent movement gave Hugo a sense of doubt.

'Could it be...'

At first glance, the creatures seemed to be struggling to escape from this place, but in the end, not a single one had actually crossed over the wall. The same was true for those beyond the wall. Despite charging so fiercely, none had actually come inside.

At that moment, Hugo's eyes suddenly caught sight of the black waves beyond the opaque ice wall, gradually rising in level. The leaping Dermocas seemed to be clinging to the surface of the wall, pressing their bodies tightly together.

Alarmed by this suspicious movement, his gaze now turned downward. He saw that the massive clump of gathered monsters had already moved from the foot of the mountain to expand their forces near the ice wall.

There was no need to think further. Hugo frowned and threw the last ice spear he was holding with all his might towards the center of the creatures. However, before the vertically falling spear could embed itself, the monsters swarming near the impact point gathered like a whirlwind and surged upward. It looked as if they were trying to swallow the spear.

It was only for a moment that the creatures sacrificing their bodies were pierced by the sharp tip, cushioning the impact. Suddenly, an ominous light leaked brightly from between the monsters. At the same time, as a hot wave of heat swept over from the sky, Hugo's eyelids widened greatly as he alternately looked at the Dermocas and the light.

"A detonator?"

Uttering these words as if in a trance, he instantly teleported near the ice wall.

Nero, who had been staring at the leaking light with a dumbfounded expression, also looked around before moving towards the members, following him.

But by the time the two of them stood in front of the barrier stones and members to block them, their vision had already been dyed completely white.

The glowing destructive beam engulfed the area, and the solid ice wall covered with monsters was half-destroyed and blown away in an instant.

* * *

Pas-s-s-s-

The sound of fine dust scattering and sweeping across the ground seemed particularly loud. Silence had settled all around, making the scene swept by the explosion even more miserable.

"Cough, cough-, ...gasp."

Delua, lying face down in the ashes and constantly coughing, suddenly opened her eyes wide at the dull pain she felt in her abdomen. She hurriedly took a breath and minimized her movements, but the spreading pain suppressed her voice.

Nevertheless, she managed to twist her upper body to turn face up, and found the optimal position to minimize the pressure. Then she slowly felt her stomach and side with her arm, which seemed numb as if it had been bent wrong.

"Hiss, ugh...."

Soon, as something like a sharp thorn brushed her palm, her eyes, which had been scrunched up in pain, squeezed shut. For a very brief moment, she thought about just staying like this, but leaving a wound untreated in a volcanic area full of heavy metals could lead to tetanus at best, and necrosis in severe cases.

Finally, with a face strained with blood vessels, she gritted her teeth and grasped the rock fragment embedded in her stomach with all her might. Then, after moving her trembling hand up and down a few times, she pulled out the thorn-like long fragment in one go.

Chwak-

"Uwaaaaagh!"

Her mouth opened involuntarily at the pain that felt like it would make her eyes roll back. Her own voice, sounding as if she would lose her breath, sharply scratched her fear-filled ears.

The feeling of being instantly covered in blood from her abdomen to her face was beyond what could be described as the worst.

Any thought of having to stay quiet because there might be monsters nearby flew completely out of the window. Her instinct screamed out in pain that was spreading uncontrollably, to stay alive. Her limbs, consumed by the fear of death, flailed, scratching at the ground.

"Huu-hic... huu-ick...."

Rough sobs, unclear whether they were groans or cries, flowed from her lips. Delua, clutching her gushing stomach, couldn't move from her spot for a while.

However, the situation didn't allow her the luxury of sobbing. This was because an eerie movement was detected from far away, blurred by the vast dust cloud.

'It' with its huge and massive body raised its head amidst the falling corpses.

After roaring fiercely towards the world, it soon spread its wings wide and floated up into the sky. Then it easily penetrated the broken barrier and leisurely escaped from the scene of the explosion.

With her mouth and breath held tight, Delua's eyes slowly widened as they followed the creature's trajectory. At that moment, strength entered her waist and abdomen that hadn't been moving, and she unconsciously raised her upper body with a start.

Covered in tears and sweat, she took out an artifact from her pocket with trembling hands. What she urgently found inside was a teleportation magic tool.

Delua put the magic tool on the ground, then set the specific coordinates she had been memorizing all along as if in a trance. Then, anxiously chewing her lips, she created a temporary portal in front of her.

Though she struggled to get up and limped, she jumped into the portal without looking back. All the while, only one person's face kept circling in her mind.

'Marlen...!'