Chapter 55 - Corcas Mountains Punitive Expedition 2 (1/2)

Aiden decided to immediately investigate inside, leaving only the bare minimum of troops behind to secure their camp.

‘It’s quite deep.’

Woohyuk felt something was off as he followed behind the Guards with his men.

With this cave forking into so many paths that lead to different exits in the mountain range, it was impossible to predict which path the monsters would come from.

‘I’m glad I learned of this.’

In the past he had only focused on occupying Heidelberg, the capital city of the Rhine kingdom. Since that had been his priority, he hadn’t thoroughly explored the Corcas Mountains.

Even by the time Isaac had died to Logan, he still hadn’t finished exterminating the monsters here.

Harrrk

The flickering torches created long shadows across the wall.

Everyone’s nerves were on edge

The cave consisted of a complex system of tunnels, so no one knew when a monster might pop out.

[It’s quieter than I expected.]

As they continued marching, Lee Jaesung who had kept his silence until now, messaged him.

He was a leader of a platoon, just like Jung Sanghoon and led 20 mercenaries.

[Did they know we were coming and retreated elsewhere?]

Jung Sanghoon replied, as he grasped the hilt of his sword in case.

They thought that their appearance might have changed the monsters’ plans, but Woohyuk didn’t want to jump to any hasty conclusions.

[Be careful in case the remainder of their tribe was still here.]

Their numbers had to be very vast if they could invade the plains every year. It wouldn’t be easy for them to survive if they made a commotion and were suddenly surrounded from all sides after having gone too deep inside.

As Woohyuk pushed his senses to the limit, he heard the sound of a drum being beat, echoing down the tunnel.

Doong! Doodoong! Doong!

He suddenly had an ominous feeling.

Aiden quickly prepared the troops into a defensive formation

“Kyyaaak!”

Orcs poured out from the many forked paths. Their numbers too many to count, as they completely filled up the cavern.

‘Looks like many will die.’

Fighting in such an enclosed area wasn’t ideal. It was a situation where something had to be done or they’d face a tragic end. Rather than revealing his abilities however, Woohyuk sent Aris and Irene instead.

[Kill them]

[Yes!]

[...]

The orcs were sliced in half by the black scythes that these two women wielded. Their success in turn caused the troop’s morale to rocket.

“Kill these monsters!”

“Oooaaah!”

The Guards and Mercenaries shouted their battle cries as they fought back against the horde of Orcs.

Corpses continued to pile up on the ground, as the groans of the wounded resonated through the cave.

After quite some time…

“Ugh.. ugh….”

The attacking Orcs had almost all been killed, leaving only just a few that were still fighting. The survivors struggled to catch their breath, as they took in their surroundings.

It was truly a hellish sight. Such that it made one feel quite lucky to still be alive.

[Hide again in my shadow.]

[Hey…]

[Okay.]

As Aris and Irene disappeared, the soldiers that had been near them looked around in surprise.

“Where did they go?”

“I could have sworn they were just here…”

The women had appeared out of nowhere and greatly contributed to the battle. Although it was dark and they weren’t able to get a good look at them, they had been very skilled.

After getting his men in order, Aiden turned to look at Woohyuk.

‘Are they with him?’

He felt that he had been hiding something, but didn’t expect something on this level.

‘He might not be interested in pursuing a career in the military after all.”

He now better understood why he was searching for a Historical Site.

A man seeking more power. Even if he were to achieve some merit, he wouldn’t settle for a fixed position in the army.

As Aiden was receiving casualty reports from his Lieutenants, a soldier shouted out.

“There’s a strange magic circle here!”

At once everyone turned to look at him. Behind him on the stone wall, was a strange symbol painted in burgundy blood, with a dark pentagram on top.

‘It’s David’s Star.’

King Solomon’s symbol.

It meant that there was a Demon sealed nearby. In Historical Sites, such kinds of symbols would appear invisible unless certain conditions were met.

In this case, it seemed that the Orc’s blood had been used as a medium to reveal its presence..

Woohyuk approached the array on the wall and placed his right hand on David’s Star.

Shaaaah

The dark magic circle disappeared as it was absorbed inside Woohyuk.

At the same time, the wall gave in and a tunnel appeared.

A secret passage, no doubt leading to a Historical Site.

“Are you going inside?”

“Of course.”

“...Good luck.”

Since it was something that had been agreed upon beforehand, Aiden left his group to explore the site.

The reason he didn't join them to clear the Historical Site together, was due to their current situation. It was unknown whether the Orcs would return, perhaps even in greater numbers, so making their way out of the cave was the safer option.

“Anyone that is willing to join in on this exploration, is welcome.”

Woohyuk turned and spoke to the soldiers under his command. It was a unit consisting solely of mercenaries.

Unlike the Kingdom’s army or Guards, they didn’t nearly have as much of a sense of duty, and mostly only thought about riches and treasures.

The offer was likely very tempting since any Historical Site was like a gold mine.

“I’ll go!”

“Me too….”

As he had expected, they all wanted to join.

Woohyuk nodded back, as he pulled out Grandia.

An unknown Historical Site that hadn’t been discovered even in the past. He would have to proceed with caution.

Jubuk Jubuk

The squad marched along the tunnel.

* * *

The inside of the ruins was filled with spider webs. Naturally, it was easy to guess that this was the Arachne’s Temple.

Woohyuk made his way forward, defeating venomous spiders which were as big as brown bears.

‘It’s so complicated, like a maze.’

It was divided into several levels, and the layout would shift periodically.

Therefore, it was impossible to return where they came from, much less map out the area by leaving marks where they’ve passed by.

One wrong turn, and they could find themselves surrounded and trapped by venomous spiders.

“My sense of direction is completely out of whack.”

“I think we’ve descended quite a bit.”

Lee Jaesung and Jung Sanghoon were also having a hard time. The men in his squad were likewise exhausted, but given the nature of the Site, they couldn’t afford to stop and rest.

“Don’t worry, we are almost there.”

Woohyuk said as he cut two spiders in half with a single swing.

By absorbing the David’s Star, he had obtained some basic information regarding the Arachne’s Temple.

This would help shorten the amount of time their raid would take. A benefit granted exclusively to the pioneers.

On the Eeth continent, the first people to discover a Historical Site would usually be rewarded in some way.

‘The Spider Queen….’