Chapter 30 - Chapter 4: Awakening #5 (1/2)

Chapter 30 - Chapter 4: Awakening #5

Kill, die, break.

There were screams and shouts as both armies engaged with each other and magic power poured out.

Swords moved blindly all over the place. A spear entered the back of an orc warrior and killed the enemy in front of him, while the spear owner was being trampled by a swamp mammoth.

It was difficult to breathe. It was much harder to think rationally.

In-gong clenched his teeth and focused. He only listened to Carack’s voice and raised his aura like flames.

He had to survive. In order to do that, he had to mobilize everything he had.

In-gong activated the mini-map as his fist slammed into the orc in front of him. The flow of the fight was obvious.

In-gong guided Carack along the flow while Carack protected In-gong. In this dizzying battlefield, he’d grabbed the best position.

His fists were bruised and bloody while his ears pricked at every loud noise. In-gong cast a recovery spell on Carack and restored his breathing.

The battlefield was changing as the Red Lightning tribe started to push and the expedition withdrew.

On the battlefield, where swords wete swinging blindly, there was no way for everyone to survive. In-gong moved with the flow once again. Finally, he saw Carack’s legs stop moving.

Once he stopped, it meant the battle was over.

The expeditionary army had been completely defeated.

&

The Red Lightning tribe didn’t pursue the expedition. Due to the nature of the swamp mammoth, they had strong attack power but a limited range of movement per day.

The damage to the expedition forces was enormous. As a result of a single day of battle, approximately one third of the troops were killed or injured and unable to fight.

In fact, it was a miracle that the damage wasn’t larger. Without Vandal and Chris, as well as Felicia’s magic support, the troops would literally have been wiped out.

”We were complacent.”

Chris said to the small gathering of key personnel.

They had laughed at the Red Lightning orcs.

They never imagined that swamp monsters would have joined them. They didn’t even think that they would have the magic and ability to hide the huge swamp mammoths.

They had been too drunk on their victory.

”Well, it is lucky that none of us were seriously injured or killed.”

Felicia shrugged and replied. Due to her desire to lighten the mood, she kept her voice upbeat.

At Felicia’s words, Chris bit his lip and couldn’t say anything. It was because he was reminded of his words when arguing about rescuing Felicia.

Chris was clearly stumped by Felicia. He never thought he would be made to feel like this.

Caitlin, who had always wanted to be close to Felicia, gazed at her with a touched expression in her eyes. Meanwhile, Felicia turned her gaze away like she wanted to avoid the pure light from Caitlin. In-gong was able to smile at the sight of both of them.

However, that didn’t change the fact that they had been defeated. Both the lycanthropes and dark elves had suffered great damage.

”We can’t win in this state.”

Vandal said. His voice wasn’t filled with hopelessness or defeat. It was just a cold evaluation.

”We must either physically test our troops or ask for reinforcements from the Demon King’s Palace.”

It was a default declaration of defeat.

The expedition force had been defeated. This meant that all the merits of the Demon King’s children would be buried. Rather, they were likely to be blamed for the defeat.

Achievements were important for the children of the Demon King, due to the fact that they were assessed on all activities and their treatment varied according to the outcome. If this expedition ended in defeat, the children of the Demon King, including Chris, would be hit with a considerable political blow.

“It can’t be helped. I can’t kill my subordinates just because of my irrational ambition.”

Chris said with a bitter sigh. Right now, there was no way to overturn the situation without receiving bigger losses.

“I’m sorry, Shutra.”

In-gong was the one with the most merits on this expedition. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that his treatment in the palace would have changed drastically due to this battle.

In-gong shook his head at Chris’ words.

“No, it is okay.”

It would just return In-gong to his starting point. Moreover, he had built an alliance with Chris and Caitlin and learnt many things through this expedition. The fact that he couldn’t use the library in the Demon King’s Palace for a while was painful, but it was unavoidable.

”I understand. Then I will dispatch some troops and get the opinion of the Demon King’s Palace.”

Vandal declared and Chris and Caitlin nodded toward him with gloomy expressions.

It was at that moment…

“Excuse me, I have an idea...”

Felicia raised her small hand. She sounded a little unsure.

”Speak up, 6th Princess. Tell me directly.”

At Vandal’s request, Felicia coughed lightly. Everyone, especially Chris, was looking at her.

”The reason I came here in the first place was to explore some ruins.”

“So?”

Chris asked immediately. Felicia removed the models on the battlefield map and pointed to the edge of the Jishuka Mountains.

“Originally, my destination was here at the edge of the Jishuka Mountains. I was doing research on the lair of the wyrm Enkidu that was here 1,500 years ago.”

In the first place, Felicia’s achievements had not been based on combat. Her specialties were in non-combat areas such as research and exploration.

”Enkidu used many methods to protect his treasures. The theory that the swamp mammoth is a combat chimera made by Enkidu is widespread in the academic world. It is the reason why the swamp mammoths only exist in this area, when there are many swamps in the Demon World.”

Felicia’s slender fingers moved gently over the map of the entire Jishuka Mountains.

“The dwarves who lived in the Jishuka Mountains are also among Enkidu’s treasure keepers. Enkidu made weapons for the dwarves to protect his treasures.”