บท 66: Tartarus Rock
The fight against the first beast horde was still raging on, and yet, another one was about to come.
The last string that kept Captain Haron calm on the outside finally snapped. He clutched his hair in frustration as he stared at the incoming beasts. He couldn't even care less about the fight just below them anymore. At that rate, they were about to get wiped.
Where are the others?!
Captain Haron wanted to yell, but he had to hold himself down. If the other sees a captain break down, morale would plummet and doubts would start to fill the hearts of the soldiers.
"By the Goddess," Captain Rose said in a daze.
"Are the other Remorans here yet?!" Captain Haron yelled as he turned around.
The Remoran nearest to Captain Haron flinched. He saluted and moved out of the line. He surveyed the four lines but found none of the people he was looking for. He saluted and answered, "Sir, they have yet to arrive!"
"Fuck! Are those people snails?! Get back to your line and continue!"
The Remoran dropped his salute and went back to his line and started casting another spell.
No one talked anymore. At that moment, only the sound of the battle polluted the air.
The beasts roared in anger and pain as they fought till their last breath. The number of beasts was starting to dwindle, but they also had to pay a price. The death count of the regular soldiers had already reached the hundreds. The Serans, due to their stronger bodies, fared better, but there were still people who died.
At that point, there really wasn't much to do. They were already doing what they were supposed to.
The Captains gave their commands.
The Serans fought in a melee.
The Remorans provided support using ranged spells.
The Ballistae team assisted by shooting at the beasts which were not tangled with any soldier.
Unfortunately, it was still not enough. Especially when they finish with the first horde. The soldiers would be tired by then, and won't be able to display their peak strength against the second one.
As the approaching beasts got closer, the two captains realized something odd.
Initially, they thought that the following horde would be a lot smaller than the previous one. After all, there weren't any beast habitats nearby. After some time, they realized that the beasts just kept on coming. The empty plane outside the city was slowly being taken over by oversized animals.
It simply went beyond logic. The arrival of the first horde was already a miracle. How much more so was the second one?
Captains Haron and Rose could only yell at their troops to move faster. They needed to eliminate the first horde just before the second one arrives.
The two captains were already at their wit's end. They themselves were only regular soldiers. They were only useful in keeping things organized. What were they supposed to do?
As the quaking of the ground intensified once more, the soldiers below realized that something was wrong. In no time, many of them, those who were farther from the wall, in particular, figured out that there were more beasts coming their way.
As they saw the sheer numbers of the incoming beasts, they despaired.
Some of the soldiers subconsciously fell into a daze, their movements turning a bit sluggish. It only produced the slightest opening, but on the battlefield, this slight opening was already crucial.
Chomp!
The entire upper half body of a soldier was effortlessly devoured by a magical beast. His legs still hanging from its teeth. It chewed on him a couple of times before finally consuming the rest of his body.
Many other soldiers suffered the same fate.
Captain Haron clenched his fist, seeing this.
It's over.
Suddenly, a soldier came rushing in. He was sweating profusely and was already out of breath. Despite this, he didn't stop before finally arriving in front of the two captains. He stood straight and saluted. "Report! Reinforcements are coming! They had been delayed due to magical beast attacks!"
Hearing this, both captains were overjoyed! They feel a knot on their chests loosen.
Captain Haron stepped forward and asked, "What do you mean beast attacks? There are beasts towards the west?"
"No, sir! There are no beasts towards the west. I mean there are beasts in the—"
"Speak properly!"
"Sir! There are beasts in the west, but they came from the east. The reinforcements had to choose a roundabout path!"
"How did you end up here, then?" Captain Haron asked in bewilderment.
The soldier nodded and took something from his front pocket then extended his hand forward. On it was a folded note. "I was just tasked to forward the report, sir!"
Captain Haron immediately took the piece of paper and unfolded it. He rapidly read through the text written with excellent penmanship. As his eyes reached the bottom of the paper, he realized that he was already smiling.
Without even bothering to dismiss the soldier, Captain Haron rushed towards the edge of the wall. He eyed the soldiers who were still locked in an intense battle. He breathed in hard, then yelled, "EVERYONE! STAND TALL!"
Captain Haron's voice reverberated through the air.
Despite the loud noises from the roaring beasts, and the explosion of spells, somehow, his voice came out on top. Almost everyone heard him, and their ears subconsciously perked up.
"THE WHITE TURTLE IS COMING!"
For a moment, the battlefield quieted down to the point where Captain Haron thought that his action to boost the soldiers' morale failed. However, after the soldiers internalized what he had said, they started going into a frenzy.
Many people howled like beasts as they found their new resolve.
….
At the same time, in Mt. Eirene.
The Eclipse Platform was still glowing with a dark green hue, signifying that it was still active.
"Hehehe…..HAHAHAHAH! I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! HAHAHAHA" the head researcher, Professor Wilhelm Hugh, celebrated manically inside the cave. He was turning around and around while lifting a piece of paper up in the air using both his hands.
One researcher who recently brought a box of items to the Professor stared at him as if he was crazy.
He was really confused as to why the professor was celebrating. He 'knew' it? What did he mean? Didn't they get close to nothing for the past seven months? And now, after a single day, he already discovered something?
The researcher who fell into a daze failed to realize that the head professor was already right next to him. The professor placed an arm around his shoulders, startling him.
"Do you see this Jacob?!" the professor said as he waved the paper erratically in front of the researcher.
Of course, he couldn't see it! The man was fucking waving it all over the place! But he couldn't really say that in front of the professor's face.
"Yes, sir! Amazing work," the researcher, Jacob, praised halfheartedly. His lips were twitching with every word he said, but he tried to say each word as normally as possible, lest he enrages the professor.
Suddenly, four more researchers came in, each bringing a huge box, making the researcher who was already there cock an eyebrow.
Professor Hugh finally let go of Jacob as he spread his arms wide, welcoming the others. "Thank you, my boys! You can just lay the materials down over there. By the way, after you leave, can you call the alchemists over?"
The four researchers nodded and left.
Jacob stared dumbly at the four others as they exited the cave. He was confused as to what they were bringing, but it looked like a box of alchemical materials. Weren't they supposed to be out of those?
He realized that he should leave as well and started walking towards the exit. However, after taking a few steps, the professor suddenly spoke, "No, no, no boyo! I need you here!"
The researcher turned towards the professor, "Me, sir?"
"Of course! I need an assistant, after all!" Professor Hugh replied.
Jacob could only nod in response. He realized that he was already next to the boxes that the four others had left. Realizing that he had nothing to do, he peeked inside a box with a half-open lid and saw the contents.
It was really a bunch of alchemical materials!
The box was overflowing with glass jars, stacked on top of each other, preventing it from fully closing. The case was the same as the others, except one. He couldn't understand how it was possible.
A bit over a month ago, they had notified the Academy that they were almost out of alchemical materials. Because of this, some of the remaining staff in the academy were tasked to visit the neighboring cities in order to get some. However, despite this, they still lacked a few. The academy responded to their dilemma by giving another group the task to collect the missing materials in Grey Forest.
But now…
That group didn't even return, yet. And if they did, the principal would certainly not deliver them because of the head professor turning insane. How come they already have the materials?
Professor Hugh noticed that the researcher was staring at the boxes. He smiled and said, "Aren't they a beauty? They're gifts!"
"G-Gifts?" Jacob subconsciously asked.
"Of course! The Emperor has rewarded us for an excellent job!"
The Emperor!
"And this," the professor said as he hurriedly walked towards the only box that was fully closed. He opened it wide revealing a large rock. "Aha!"
Jacob immediately recognized the item.
Professor Hugh knelt down and caressed it as it were his own child. "This is what the platform is made of."
"The Tartarus Rock."
….
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