Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 367: The Impregnable Sand Castle
After that, Rest and the others advanced through the forest without encountering any attacks from the barbarians.
Their march was surprisingly uneventful. Thanks to Dible’s [Presence Block], they weren’t even set upon by monsters or beasts.
Stopping occasionally to rest and make camp, the group eventually arrived at their objective.
“That’s it. That’s the sorcerer’s castle.”
Rou, the oni boy acting as guide, whispered.
Amid a dense jungle where countless trees grew, there stood an utterly out-of-place structure.
It was a fortress built by compacting black earth. From the outside it looked crude—like a huge sandcastle, but Rest noticed something else:
A powerful magic aura radiated from the fortress. Though it looked fragile enough to crumble at a touch, a high-level defensive enchantment had been laid over it.
“Dible, what do you make of that?”
“You noticed, Rest-sama. It seems we’re up against a remarkably skilled magician.”
Deeble nodded to Rest’s call.
“The structure, formed by earth magic, has been cast with a [Harden] spell. Judging both the amount and the quality of the mana, it looks like multiple defensive spells have been layered on top.”
“So approaching recklessly would be bad news, huh.”
They suspected wards to detect intruders were active as well.
If they entered the fortress, or even merely touched its walls, they would likely be detected.
(The interior must be a nest of traps. The quickest way is to blast it from outside, but that would be counterproductive.)
Rest gave a sideways glance at Rou.
Although the castle seemed to be defended to the hilt, if Rest used spells like [Fire Deity Kagutsuchi] he could likely break it open.
But that would shred the hostages inside along with the walls.
Killing the hostages would only deepen the barbarians’ hatred and drag the conflict into a bloodier mire.
“Rou, do you know where your sisters are inside?”
“…I don’t.”
Rou shook his head with visible frustration at Rest’s question.
“I tried sneaking in several times to rescue them, but couldn’t get inside. There’s only one main entrance. There aren’t even any windows. Some companions tried to break the walls—but even adult oni pounding on it with clubs couldn’t break it. You could leave dents and cracks, but they heal immediately.”
“It even self-repairs… I see. The magician who made that is more skilled than we thought. Top-tier, even compared to court mages.”
Dible let out a voice of admiration.
Even Rest and Dible, who were both first-rate magicians, were up against a foe who matched them. One false move and they could be undone.
(So… that means we probably have to go inside after all. If only we could at least pinpoint where the hostages are.)
They couldn’t probe the interior with [Presence Detection]—the defensive magic repelled the scan.
They could try forcing it open with an overwhelming surge of magic power, but that would almost certainly alert whoever was inside.
“Well then… what shall we do?”
“Hmph… it’s decided. We must storm it.”
Valeya Catreya spoke with forcefulness to a wavering Rest.
“We’re already in enemy territory. What’s the point of hesitating now? If it’s necessary to save the Kingdom of Iwood, a desperate charge is unavoidable.”
“Valeya…”
Valeya’s argument was sound. They had chosen the danger of enemy incursion precisely to resolve this quickly.
Waiting here and wasting time would be pointless.
(Valeya has a point, but a frontal assault seems reckless—too little planning.)
“Then… I have a proposal.”
Dible raised his hand and spoke calmly with an alternate plan.
“Split our force in two. One group will attack the front to draw their attention. The other will break through the walls from the opposite side and infiltrate to rescue the hostages.”
“A diversionary attack… I see. Not bad.”
Valeya stroked his chin, looking around at the assembled troops.
Rest had no objections and nodded.
No one—Lubase or the others—voiced opposition. The plan was set.
“All right, it’s decided. Now let’s sort the teams—”
“Men—charge!”
“““““OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!”””””
“Huh…?”
As Valeya began to finalize the plan, an unexpected development occurred.
A group burst out of the forest and charged—rushing straight for the castle’s entrance.
“Father! Big brother!?”
Rou cried in surprise.
A band of oni had appeared—about ten strong.
They were using rocks, logs, and clubs to try to pry the gate open.
There was no strategy or tactic—just a headlong, desperate charge. Still, their desperation was plain to see.
“Could this be… a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?”
“Go! Break through, you lot—charge!”
Rest murmured, and Valeya roared.
Unwittingly, the oni band had volunteered to be the diversion.
Quickly, the party moved to infiltrate from the opposite side while the oni attacked the entrance.