Chapter 74 : Chapter 74

Chapter 74: The Value of Humanity (4)

The running carriage came to a stop just after passing through the gate leading to the lord's castle.

Collie, who had galloped with saliva dripping from between the bit in his mouth, collapsed on the floor to catch his breath as soon as he reached the destination.

“I… I can’t go on anymore…”

“You did well, Collie.”

Even if he had grown in size, the equipment for a horse was fundamentally not a good fit for Collie.

It was only natural that he would be exhausted after pulling it by sheer force.

“Where do we go from here?”

“If it’s the place that controls the power for the entire castle, it would be a separate building.”

Gerard scanned the surroundings and pointed somewhere.

It was the largest building within the inner castle, aside from the lord's castle itself.

“So it’s probably over there.”

“Let's rest a bit. Collie needs time to recover.”

“But there’s no time.”

“I’ll carry Collie! That should work, right?”

Jeina swiftly lifted Collie and slung him over her shoulder.

To lift a tiger-sized Collie so easily.

Her monstrous strength was truly terrifying.

“So you weren't joking about pulling the carriage.”

“Have you ever seen me lie?”

“No. And that’s what’s scary.”

Gerard quickened his pace, breaking into a cold sweat.

How far had they gone?

Tersion, who was at the front, flinched and stopped, pointing somewhere.

“What's wrong?”

“I think I found the power facility. But it’s already being attacked.”

“What?”

When the party hurriedly ran over, they saw soldiers engaged in a precarious battle with a large Hellmorph next to the barricades set up around a huge building.

The area was littered with empty helmets and blood, and the soldiers' faces were filled with terror.

“Gerard!”

“Already casting.”

[Gerard uses Arcane Barrage.]

Kwaaang!

As multiple mana bullets struck the demon-like Hellmorph, Artier drew his sword.

He immediately rushed towards the fiend and swung his sword down.

“Kieek!”

Even while being hit by Gerard’s attack, the Hellmorph swung its sharp, spiky tail at Artier. It looked as if Artier would be hit by the tail and sent flying.

[Using Telekinesis.]

Whoosh!

Artier did a full turn in mid-air.

As if a foothold had appeared in the empty space, his body hovered in the air for a moment, and the tail uselessly brushed past beneath his feet.

“Kiek?!”

Enhancing Telekinesis at the Sage’s Tower allowed one to move living creatures like this.

In other words, it meant he could also lift himself with Telekinesis.

It was an ability usually only mages could perform, but Artier, a swordsman affiliated with the Sage’s Tower, was capable of it.

Klang!

Having sliced off the tail, Artier immediately retreated.

At that moment, a stream of light shot from Tersion’s hand, who had been drawing her bowstring the entire time.

[Tersion uses a skill.]

Arrow Ray (Lv.2): Fires a piercing arrow that ignores a portion of the enemy's defense.

Crack!

An armor of unknown material was fitted onto the Hellmorph's chest.

But Tersion's arrow tore through it like paper, piercing straight through its chest. The staggering Hellmorph collapsed with a tremendous cloud of dust.

“W-We’re saved.”

The soldiers stood there in a daze as the huge monster before them was taken care of by the three people who had suddenly appeared. When Artier sheathed his sword and approached, a soldier who seemed to be of high rank came forward and saluted.

“Thank you for your help. Excuse me, but what is your affiliation?”

“Supreme-grade mercenary, Artier.”

“I see. We are in a situation where we need help right now.”

“Help?”

“This way, please.”

Following the soldiers inside, they saw a giant Magic Stone glowing and slowly rotating in mid-air.

Around it, scholars were rushing about, manipulating what looked like magic circles.

“Mr. Marco, support has arrived.”

“Support? Oh, finally!”

A man with a bushy beard spotted Artier and came running on tiptoe, grabbing his shoulders.

“Thank you so much for coming! We were in desperate need of support!”

“Why isn’t the barrier being repaired?”

It was a question that had been on his mind the whole way here.

When Artier asked, Marco let out a deep sigh.

“We were also trying to figure out the cause.”

The barrier installed in the castle continuously receives mana replenishment from the central Magic Stone here and other Magic Stones embedded throughout the castle.

So, it was normal for regeneration to proceed slowly, but for the entire time Artier had been coming here, the hole in the sky showed no signs of recovery.

“The cause was simple. Not enough mana is being supplied.”

“Mana?”

“We just learned that the underground facility within the lord's castle is continuously consuming a large amount of mana.”

“The underground facility?”

“It’s a place that was expanded in preparation for emergencies but is currently being used as a warehouse. The very fact that it's using mana is strange.”

A storage warehouse drawing mana?

They might use some refrigeration magic to keep things cold.

But there was no way that consuming such a small amount of mana would disrupt the barrier's restoration.

“Because it’s abnormally consuming so much mana, the output of the central Magic Stone is dropping. That’s why the barrier's recovery has been halted.”

“Can't you cut it off from here?”

“No. It would be different for other places, but that is the lord's castle. The mana consumed by the lord's castle is designed so it cannot be cut off from here.”

“They sure made it troublesome!”

Jeina grumbled, but Artier thought it was a rational design.

It would be dangerous if an external building could unilaterally cut off the lord’s castle’s power.

“It seems the only way is to go there directly and cut off the power.”

“That is correct. This is why we needed you.”

Artier fell into thought.

But there was nothing to deliberate.

If they couldn’t restore the barrier, this castle would be swept away by the rain of falling Hellmorphs and wouldn’t last long.

“Since you entrusted us with the quest, I suppose we have to do that much.”

“Is it decided? Let's get going.”

After checking his companions' conditions, Artier nodded to Marco.

Marco guided them to a door hidden deep within the building.

“This is a secret passage that leads to the basement of the lord’s castle.”

“We wish you good luck. We will defend this place in the meantime.”

With a final farewell from Marco and the soldiers, they stepped into the musty-smelling underground passage.

***

“Ugh, it’s full of a strange smell.”

Collie muttered, covering his nose with his front paw.

“If it's too hard, turn back into a human. There's no one around to see you now.”

“That’s true, but… if I return to human form, the restrictions become greater. In a place with no one around, this form might be better.”

Collie seemed to hesitate.

Certainly, in his true form, Collie received a bonus to his stats and could also use magic.

He had been hiding it because there were always people around, but this form was essentially the one Collie should take when fighting.

“Still, if it gets too hard, you have to turn back right away, okay?”

“Wait.”

Just as they were talking, Tersion raised a hand.

“Something’s strange.”

Beyond the dark passage, no sound could be heard.

But as everyone drew their weapons and stared intently, Hellmorphs suddenly burst out from the surrounding pillars and began to attack the party.

Crack!

“Kugh!”

“Gerard!”

Gerard, who was immediately opening his grimoire, was unlucky enough to be stabbed in the side by a Hellmorph that popped out right in front of him.

“Grrrr!”

Collie immediately lunged at the fiend.

Pinning it down with his front paws so it couldn't move, he bit into its neck.

“Who do you bastards think you’re messing with!”

[Jeina uses Taunt.]

Jeina swung her axe fiercely, filled with a red aura.

Thanks to that, she managed to draw its attention, but that was the problem.

Crack!

“Kugh!”

As a large fiend struck her shoulder, a chilling sound echoed.

“You idiot!”

Only after Tersion fired a series of arrows could Jeina catch her breath and pull herself away.

‘The location is too bad. We have to end this fight quickly.’

[Avatar of Counterattack is activating!]

Current stacks: 12. All stats increased by 36%.

Checking the stack count before his eyes, Artier immediately retreated.

Fighting like this would result in too much loss. He needed a way to end the battle quickly.

After thinking for a moment, Artier took out a consumable from his inventory.

[Magic Stone (Magic, Consumable)]

Inherent Magic: (Water Creation Magic) Creates about 50L of water within a 15m radius.

Option: Upon use, the item changes to a Pebble (Normal, Miscellaneous).

Crack!

As three Magic Stones turned to dust, the passage was instantly drenched in water.

“Gerard!”

“Cough!”

At Artier’s shout, Gerard spat blood but still placed his hand on the magic book.

“Sh…ield!”

Protective shields formed around everyone's bodies, and the water at their feet was pushed away.

As soon as he confirmed this with his own eyes, Artier reached into the air and shouted.

“Ice Wall!”

[Copying and using the Ice Wall skill.]

Krrrrrack!

The water surging around them froze solid.

The Hellmorphs that had been diligently swimming and charging towards them were trapped in the ice, becoming statues.

“Cough…”

“Mr. Gerard! Are you okay?”

The party crawled out onto the ice and immediately rushed to the injured.

Jeina and Gerard's wounds looked so severe that they wouldn't be able to move if not treated immediately.

“Collie, cast a healing spell.”

Collie let out a small howl and cast a healing spell.

Artier let out a sigh.

“Sorry, I was a bit slow.”

“No, it’s not your fault. They were just too stealthy.”

Tersion had extremely good senses.

Yet, she hadn’t noticed the Hellmorphs were hiding until they reached the middle of the hall.

Sure enough, looking at the surrounding Hellmorphs, even the lowest one was a high level 24.

‘This is my first time in the underground facility, but I thought their levels would be similar to the Hellmorphs on the surface.’

What on earth lay beyond this place to warrant such a difficulty?

A needless anxiety continued to grow.

“Let’s proceed more carefully.”

[Copying and using a skill.]

Summon Familiar (Lv.1): Summons and controls small animals as one's minions.

Flash!

Artier used Collie’s skill to tame some mice and send them ahead.

Thanks to that, he was able to detect the next ambush in advance, but the slow-footed mice were discovered by the Hellmorphs and couldn't escape, dying on the spot.

“...I don't think this is a method we can use many times.”

“Right. But at least we’ve reached the end of the passage now.”

Beyond there lay the lord’s castle.

As everyone held their breath, Artier cautiously opened the door.

Creeeeak…

Beyond the door, there was only a darkness so deep that one could not see an inch ahead.

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