* * *

At first, they had the upper hand. Van’s solo performance was far better than expected, and they only had to keep their guard up and their strength in reserve. As Van took to the water like a fish to water, they thought he might just be able to hold off the attack of the monster legion.

Until, without warning, they were faced with a catastrophic outpouring of monsters.

“Lumen! I can’t keep the barrier up any longer! Defend yourself somehow!”

“Already, desperately, doing……that!”

Lumen drew a ragged breath as he slashed at the charging goblins with the sheath of his sword.

Most of the monsters in the sudden downpour were unable to withstand the speed and impact, and exploded to death. But the ones that managed to survive, as soon as they got up, went straight for Lumen. So did the second wave, and the third, and the fourth.

At least in the third wave, there were monsters that moved to tie Cadel and Lydon’s hands and feet, but the number of monsters attached to Lumen was still overwhelming.

‘It’s obvious. They know Lumen has a core. Is it the smell? Or maybe they’re feeling a pulse of mana.’

Cadel tried to protect Lumen somehow, but he didn’t have enough mana to begin with. Besides, he was still maintaining the barriers that protected the entire mercenary corps. This could not continue. For the sake of the rest of the battle, he had to be careful with the allocation of his mana.

Eventually, with everyone’s barrier lifted, including his own, Cadel used fireballs, thunderbolts, and gusts of wind to take on the onrushing monsters.

“There’s no end!”

Van hadn’t joined yet.

Throwing a fireball at the charging goblins, Cadel peered through the gap in the barrier. There was Van’s vivid, turbid aura, and the forearm of the giant troll slipping through the opening.

He had clearly seen one of its forearms fall off, but the next time he saw it, there was the same forearm in the same place. Regeneration or replacement. Either the giant troll could regenerate its body, or there were tons of interchangeable giant trolls. Both premises were terrible.

For now, the mercenary corps only had to deal with monsters that rained down from the sky, thanks to Van taking care of the frontline monsters.

‘Van’s aura has grown too thick. He’s overdoing the Blood Flow Sword.’

He had an artifact called the [Bracelet of Rest], but Cadel didn’t know how long it would last. If Van was unable to overcome the Berserker’s power and went on a rampage, it would be a tragedy in itself.

‘If these bastards didn’t rain down like this, I’d go see his condition.……!’

With the corpses of the monsters strewn about, and the safety of Lumen with the core and the makeshift garrison to worry about, there was no time to spare.

Cadel bit his lower lip as he felt his mana dwindle. Whether or not he was aware of Cadel’s impatience, Lydon, who was firing an ice spear nearby, spoke up.

“Cadel! Can you make a fire barrier?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have the mana left to fight while maintaining your barrier, you’re on your own!”

“No, I’m talking about creating a barrier to protect Cadel.”

Having said that, Lydon got down on one knee and put his hand on the ground.

“It’s frustrating trying to catch them one by one. These trout are delicious when you catch them all at once…….”

A dangerous smile appeared on the young boy’s face. Following his quiet chant, a chill began to settle in around him.

“How long has it been since your eyes were smashed again……!”

Sensing the unusual mana enveloping Lydon, Cadel immediately generated a barrier of fire that enveloped him and Lumen.

A circular sheet of ice formed beneath Lydon and a chill spread along its rapidly expanding range. Though less powerful, it was similar to the [Great Frozen Ground] technique seen in the Forest of Enchantment.

‘He uses Great Frozen Ground here?’

Looking down at the frozen ground, Cadel frowned. While [Great Frozen Ground] was excellent at binding the movement of enemy forces, it was no different for allies within its range.

With a limited range of movement, it would be a disadvantage to be stuck in Lydon’s [Great Frozen Ground]. With that in mind, Cadel tried to order Lydon to retrieve the technique.

Rumble.

There was a sound of something twisting, and he began to feel a shallow vibration from the ground.

Was it the work of the monsters?

Nervous eyes scanned his surroundings. The next moment, the barrier of fire surrounding Cadel shook violently.

“Kkeuugh……!”

His body shook from the dull impact. He barely managed to keep his balance and soon found the source of the shock. A cone-shaped piece of ice that grew out of the barrier.

“Ahaha! Be careful, Cadel! This magic is out of control!”

Sharp shards of ice followed the bright laughter. Cadel cried out in annoyance as he was pushed back by the ice pounding against his barrier.

“If you’re going to do this, say so!”

“Hmmm, then it’s not fun anymore.”

The magic Lydon deployed was a scoping device that shot out sharp ice shards indiscriminately from within a circular floor.

Cadel and Lumen were able to avoid this disaster thanks to the barrier of fire created in advance, but not the monsters that rushed at them.

Kkyaagh! Kkueeek!

The monsters that could not avoid the ice were pierced through their bodies and soared into the sky, while those that were lucky enough to avoid instant death were trapped between the tightly packed ice and gradually froze to death.

‘……It’s working nicely.’

It was a risky maneuver, one that could have easily swept allies away, but it worked. Cadel squinted at Lydon, who continued to pour forth his mana.

‘It won’t last long. ……I wish it would stop at this point.’

Halved stats, internal wounds that needed healing, and a drain on mana that was too fast. Despite his smiling face, Lydon’s condition was far worse than it looked. If the monsters continued to pour in, it would be too much for him to handle.

‘That spell has killed most of the remaining monsters, so let’s stop using magic for now. We don’t know when the battle will end, so I’ll take care of the remaining monsters and Lydon can conserve his energy…….’

But before Cadel could open his mouth, the fifth wave rained down from the sky, as if waiting for him.

Kkieeek!

The number of monsters far exceeded Lydon’s range. The feast of monsters that dyed the sky pitch-black gave off an overwhelming aura that was incomparable to the previous four waves.

Cadel, who had been watching the scene without even realizing it, cried out belatedly.

“Lumen! Run!”