The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 761

Episode 761: I guess I’ll have to do that. (2)

There were always guards stationed on the great walls of Valskrum.
No matter how large and sturdy the fortress was, and how rugged the mountain range was, if there were no guards, it would fall in an instant.
However, the dwarves lived with the conviction that this fortress would never fall.
That belief gave birth to pride, and pride turned into arrogance over the years.
The guards would drink and chat from daytime, half-heartedly standing guard. Even the commanders had long tolerated this.
This was because this was Valskrum, the great dwarf sanctuary, a place where no outside invasion was possible.
Today was no different. The dwarves on guard were filled with thoughts of drinking after work and crafts they would assemble as a hobby in the workshop.
Maybe that was why they noticed the threat that was close enough to be seen too late.
“……Huh? What’s that?”
A dwarf standing on the walls looked up at the sky.
At first, he thought it was dark clouds. After getting a little closer, he thought it was a flock of crows.
But as they got closer and closer, the dwarf’s expression gradually hardened. They were too big for a crow, and there were too many of them.
The figures flying in, wrapped in black energy, were half-rotten flesh, half-strange hides and bones, monsters.
Undead wyverns and chimera wyverns.
And strangely twisted chimeras and undead with only bones clung to the wyverns, cutting through the sky.
It was clear that they were coming for this fortress.
“Hey, it’s the enemy! The enemy is coming! It’s the warlock!”
the dwarf shouted.
No one doubted the warning, since they had already heard rumors about the Salvation Church and the warlock.
Instead, the dwarves were furious.
“How dare you attack us!”
“Quickly tell everyone! Tell the royal palace!”
“Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!”
The hand that was tilting the bottle stopped and the empty bottle was thrown.
The dwarves’ instincts that had been hidden by laziness revived.
They were craftsmen, but they were also natural warriors.
The dwarves who were playing around immediately picked up their weapons and ran towards the castle walls.
“Equipment operation! Everyone, get to your positions!”
On top of the castle walls, the machines made by the dwarves began to operate.
At first glance, they looked like the ballistas used by humans, but their detailed structures were completely different.
In addition to the large central bolt, dozens of smaller projectiles were densely installed on both sides and around them.
Elaborate design, overwhelming firepower, and repeat firing function.
The pinnacle of dwarven engineering, the ‘Tarbark’ was a steel beast that poured out bolts in multiple bursts.
This was an ancient weapon that even the future Giselle had never seen, and for which there were no records.
It could be said to be a real-life weapon that only the dwarves of this era could create.
“Get ready!”
When this fortress was built, the dwarves had soaked the entire mountain range in blood. They
swept away all the monsters that threatened them, and especially did not tolerate a single flying monster.
The memory of that time still lives in the bricks and steel frames of Balskrum. They were also prepared for an invasion from the sky.
Dozens of Tarbarks were deployed on the walls.
Kkir, kkir, kkir.
The moment the dwarves turned the control, the Tarbarks slowly rose toward the sky.
One dwarf roughly pulled the operating handle and shouted.
“Hey, you bastards! Where do you think you are? You’re coming at me like a pack of dogs! I’ll destroy them all!”
Papapapapapapapapak!
At that moment, hundreds of bolts were fired simultaneously like a storm, as if tearing apart the sky.
Each steel bolt pierced several undead. The impact shattered the bones of the undead and scattered their flesh.
The destroyed monsters plummeted from the sky.
The sight of the monsters falling one after another was like black rain pouring down from the sky.
“Shoot! Keep shooting! Drop them before they get close!”
The dwarves shouted without stopping. Their eyes were filled with the sole will to crush their enemies.
They were the race that boasted the greatest dexterity on the continent. There was no hesitation or mistake in reloading.
Paaaaaaaaaaah!
The sky was covered with countless bolts fired by Tarvark. Thousands of steel crossbow bolts mercilessly swept away the undead hordes once again.
The monsters fell one after another without even being able to fight back. This place was truly a fortress worthy of the name impregnable.
However… … .
There were just too many monsters.
Where on earth were all those undead and chimeras hiding?
The endless waves of black shadows that seemed to cover the sky approached oppressively.
“Approaching! Prepare!”
“It’s nothing! Just break it!”
“Okay, it’s more fun to beat it yourself!”
The dwarves who were manipulating Tarvark also took up their weapons.
Now it was time to focus on close combat to block the enemies who were climbing over the walls.
There were a few dwarves who had learned magic. They too gritted their teeth and glared at the monsters beyond the walls.
“Just hold on a little longer! The warriors will arrive soon!”
The dwarves encouraged each other and strengthened their fighting spirit.
All the dwarves who could fight in this land would come here. There were definitely more of them.
Dwarves were a race where even women fought as warriors. Only children and the elderly did not participate in battle.
They believed. And they swore. They
could not and should not hand this place over to the enemies until the warriors came.
But then.
Ddddddd… … .
A strangely ominous vibration rang out from somewhere beneath the ground, behind the walls.
The dwarves’ stern expressions shook slightly for the first time.
They were a race with delicate hands and keen hearing.
The shaking of rocks, cracks in the tunnels, the presence of approaching monsters.
In order to survive, they had to be able to sense all of these familiarly.
So they soon realized.
This sound they were hearing right now was anything but ordinary.
Dddddddd… … .
“It’s behind.”
A dwarf slowly turned his head.
“Something is coming up from below.”
Everyone’s eyes wavered.
This was a fortress built on top of a rugged mountain range.
The underground was densely packed with solid rocks. No one, no race, could dig down here.
That’s because only the dwarves had such technology.
So no one thought it was possible. Their arrogance, stubbornness, and confidence determined it to be impossible.
But what on earth was this sound they were hearing right now?
Dddddddddddddd!
The vibrations grew louder. The ground shook and the rocks shook.
The pride that had filled the dwarves’ faces was turning into shock.
And finally.
Kwaaaaaaaang!
The ground split. The pile of rocks exploded and something huge emerged from under the ground.
Geeeeeeeee!
It looked like a giant earthworm. A dwarf who saw it looked dumbfounded.
“Sandworm? How could a sandworm be here…?”
Sandworms were monsters that lived in the desert. They were capable of digging underground and were strong, making them a threat to Valscrum, but they were definitely not monsters that lived in this area.
They quickly discovered and realized something different.
It was not a natural creature. Its skin seemed to have been sewn together with the hide of another animal, and its body was covered in a jumble of bones. When
its round mouth, densely packed with teeth, opened, black smoke poured out fiercely.
Dark fog rose from the gaps in its body, covering the monster’s silhouette.
It was a weapon created to spread death. It was a monster reconstructed with black magic.
A figure stood above the monster’s head, wearing a black robe.
The Prophet, Rahamod.
He who fought against the Elven Chieftain Iraniel had reappeared here.
His purple eyes flashed beneath his black robes. His body slowly rose into the air.
Rahamod looked down at the dwarves standing on the walls and chanted eerily.
“Today, your flames will go out. Valskrum will fall and the eternal furnace will turn to ashes. Your bones and blood will become the cornerstone of the eternal night.”
As soon as he finished speaking.
Paaaaah!
Black fog swirled and spread around Rahamod’s body.
A strong wave of energy pressed down on the space. An overwhelming force swept over the fortress.
The dwarves’ faces turned pale from the suffocating energy. The author realized that they were a formidable opponent.
One dwarf muttered with a bewildered expression.
“Goddess… protect us from the devil…”
Kwaaaaaaaah!
A huge black flash struck the walls. The dwarves’ screams rang out.
It was the moment when hell opened up.

* * *

The Yulien mercenary group was scattered throughout Valscrum as planned.
The top-tier Yulien, Kyle, and Erenes led each group.
Lionel, who had lost his divine power, had been given Osval, who was a little stronger(?).
Five mercenaries were assigned to each group.
Their mission was to buy time when the enemies invaded and lead the dwarves to gather near the castle.
Only Deneb remained by Giselle’s side. She had to conserve her strength as much as possible.
Kuung! Kuung! Kuung!
Vibrations and explosions were heard from afar. Yulien jumped in the direction of the sound without hesitation.
Dark quickly followed him and shouted.
“Enemies! They’re just now invading!”
Giselle assigned one Dark to each group. They were not only used for communication, but were also given a lot of magical power to help in case of an emergency.
Yulien nodded after hearing Dark’s words. They were in the outermost residential area, so the distance was close.
Not long after running in the direction Dark pointed, Yulien saw a horde of monsters rushing in from the front.
“……They’re really here.”
It was as expected. The warlocks were dropping a horde of monsters from the sky, and modified sandworms were popping out from the ground.
“A, a monster!”
“Eww! What is that!”
“Get out of here! Let the children evacuate first!”
The dwarves were in disarray. They were all flustered by the sudden attack, and only the elderly and children were barely able to retreat.
However, dwarves were a warrior race.
Even in the midst of the chaos, most of them were holding weapons and trying to blindly charge at the enemies.
Yulien, who got closer, shouted loudly.
“Run away! You can’t fight here!”
“What! Human? What are you talking about!”
“The enemies are coming from all sides! If we fight here now, we’ll just get defeated individually! We need to gather near the castle!”
“Stop talking nonsense! How can I trust you!”
The dwarves did not listen to Yulien. They were not naive enough to listen to the words of a human who suddenly appeared in this situation.
On the contrary, some of the dwarves even looked at him with suspicion.
Yulien gritted his teeth and took out the metal rod that Giselle had given him.
“Dark!”
Dark’s body, which had been fully endowed with Giselle’s magic power, swelled and grew in an instant.
Yulien grabbed Dark’s leg that was rising into the sky. Dark immediately rushed toward the monsters, and Yulien extended the rod forward.
“Giselle!”
― Master! Now!
Giselle was still meditating with her eyes closed on the magic circle. However, her appearance was different than usual.
Under the influence of the mana concentration circle that had excessively absorbed the surrounding magic power, Giselle’s body was floating in the air.
The moment he heard Yulien and Dark’s shouts in his consciousness, magic power erupted from Giselle’s body in the direction of Yulien.
Crack!
A flash of blue light shot out toward the runestones embedded in the surroundings. The light moved again toward the runestones that were a little further away.
The runestones were installed at regular intervals throughout Valskrum. The Yulien mercenary group had secretly planted them in the ground.
Jiselle’s magic continued to move along the intricately designed magic circuits.
It went through quite a few processes and steps, but the time was fleeting.
The magic, moving close to the speed of light, reached the area where Yulien was in an instant.
And finally.
Pizzik!
Jiselle’s magic reached the metal rod that Yulien was holding.
At that moment.
Kwaaaaaaaah!
A tremendous lightning magic burst out from the metal rod.
A huge lightning ripped through the atmosphere and struck the sandworm’s body straight in.
The streak of lightning that extended from there filled the sky and struck the approaching monsters.
Kwaaaaah! Kwaaaaah!
The monsters’ flesh burned and black smoke exploded in the air.
“W-what is this….”
All the dwarves who had been charging forward without hesitation stopped walking. They were dumbfounded and just stared at the sight.
Geeeeeeeee!
The sandworm screamed in agony and twisted its body. It was not an undead, but a modified chimera.
The high priest of the Salvation Church above the sandworm’s head quickly blasted out his energy to protect the sandworm and retreated.
The warlocks following the priest were also startled and fell back a distance.
“What, what is it?”
The priest was confused. Just now, magic that could hit even a superhuman like him had burst out.
They had clearly attacked the residential area on the outskirts where defenses were weak. But how could such powerful magic suddenly burst out?
The priest hesitated in the unexpected situation and looked around for a moment.
The dwarves also had no intention of running away from the sudden situation and just had blank expressions.
Only Yulien held the metal rod tightly and smiled hopefully.
“Amazing. As expected of Giselle.”
This was Giselle’s magic that was realized remotely.
When the comrades who did not know magic designated the direction and timing, Giselle would send magical power accordingly and activate it.
The runestones planted throughout Valscrum acted as relays.
Of course, it was not an easy task. Not only
did they need numerous runestones, but Giselle had to rely solely on the judgment of her comrades to transmit a huge amount of magical power. Since she
used the magical power gathered by the mana concentration circle, Giselle’s own magical power consumption was low, but enduring the recoil was by no means an easy task.
However, Giselle chose this method. She
had to catch the enemy’s ankles in as many places as possible in order to evacuate the dwarves.
― Master! Again!
In response to Dark’s shout, Jiselle’s magical power flowed through the metal rod once again.
Kwaaaaang!
A thunderous roar rang out and a powerful magical power swept over the enemies. The Sandworm
and the priest continued to retreat and resist, but the monsters surrounding them were instantly shattered and scattered from the sky.
However, the number of enemies was too many.
Even the powerful magic now could only block a single wave.
Furthermore, there was a clear limit to the magical power that the metal rod could handle.
Pasque… … .
Finally, the metal rod could not endure it and began to split.
Soon, the broken metal shards flew out of Yulien’s hands.