Chapter 180: The Great Serpent Forest, Part 3
We had been killing Mantises in the Great Serpent Forest for three hours.
Mother had twenty percent of her mana left, while Ashera and I each had half. As we discussed what to do next, Mother proposed an unexpected plan.
“El, Ashera, what I’m about to say is a gamble…”
“A gamble?”
“Yes. These three hours proved that the Mantis swarm is far larger than we imagined. Even if we fight until dawn, it will probably be a drop in the ocean.”
“…I agree.”
“The elven village is probably in the same position.”
“…Most likely.”
“And that creates a problem… Whatever he says, I don’t believe Al can decide to abandon the elves. That boy can never become entirely ruthless.”
“…Brother is kind.”
“That means they’ll probably abandon the village, use the Miasma Stone, and evacuate to the Demon Forest or the city of Blue Ring.”
“…”
“Then they’ll head to relieve Sandra. Its walls should make the city easier to defend than either the village or this forest.”
“…Sandra.”
“But a sea of Mantises will probably cover the ground before the city, just as goblins once surrounded Blue Ring.”
“…”
“No matter how strong you are, individual power always has limits.”
“…”
“What Sandra’s defense needs isn’t the strength of individuals, but an ultimate wide-area spell that can sweep everything away: Condense Ray.”
“Brother and I can fire two Condense Rays between us.”
Mother paused to think.
“Sandra’s terrain is the issue. If it were Blue Ring, two would be enough. But Sandra has too many hills and valleys. We’ll probably need four or five.”
“…”
“And if we use the Miasma Stones here and at the elven village, none will remain.”
“…”
“Al has no choice but to use his. Otherwise, he can’t save the elves. Which means we must somehow avoid using ours.”
“How? Do we head for the village now using air steps?”
“I called it a gamble, didn’t I? A gamble carries the possibility of making things worse.”
“Worse than now…”
“Yes. We return to the mana spot and liberate it. That will restore El’s mana, while Ashera and I can return to Blue Ring to rest and recover.”
“Of course… If we liberate the mana spot…”
“But the risk is considerable. Every monster nearby will probably converge on us. El, use wide-area sonar at a radius of one hundred medes and make absolutely certain there are no enemies before beginning. Ashera and I will keep them away from you as long as our mana lasts.”
““…””
“Whether this succeeds or fails, I’ll probably lose consciousness from mana depletion. I’ll tie myself to a tree, so retrieve me. Ashera, everything will depend on you after that. One Wind Bullet should kill a Mantis.”
“Understood, Master.”
“El, what do you think? This is very dangerous. If you intend to abandon Sandra, we have no reason to attempt it.”
“No. We’ll use this plan. I care about the people of Sandra—Louis and Olivia among them.”
“Heh. What a coincidence. So do I.”
“Me too. And Olivia is the third wife now. She’s already family.”
“Then it’s decided. The sooner, the better. We’ll head to the mana spot immediately. El, summon Ao.”
“Yes.”
I called Ao as Mother instructed.
“What is it, Elphas?”
Mother answered before I could.
“Ao, the plan has changed. We’re going to liberate this territory now.”
“It’s full of enemies, Big Sis…”
“We still have to do it. Help us, Ao.”
“…Understood.”
“Thank you. Tell us where the mana spot is.”
“Do you see the one tall tree in that direction?”
“Yes.”
“The mana spot is at its roots.”
“I see. Thank you, Ao.”
Mother turned to us.
“You heard him. We head for that tree.”
““Yes.””
“El has used the least mana, so he takes the lead.”
Because I would perform the liberation, I wouldn’t expend much mana. I would clear the way until we reached the site.
We traveled with me first, Mother behind me, and Ashera last.
We ran through the air, so the only real labor was occasionally killing a flying Mantis.
Reaching the tree in twenty minutes was probably fortunate.
Ao had said the mana spot lay at its roots.
Was that it…?
A small spring there had turned into black sludge. Every so often, a bubble rose with a wet “gloop.”
My honest reaction was that I didn’t want to touch it.
When I looked toward Mother and Ashera, they averted their eyes.
Could only an Apostle perform a liberation?
Probably.
I searched for any escape and found none.
Between the lord and the mana spot, everything about this enemy was truly disgusting!
From the bottom of my heart, I wished I’d gone to the elven village—even though that would mean forcing this task on Brother…
“Haah… I’ll use sonar at one hundred medes.”
I projected wide-area sonar.
Monsters surrounded us, suppressing their presence as they watched the mana spot.
Most were Mantises, but one monster hid inside the sludge in the spring.
Probably a Slime.
“Ashera, can you see the Slime inside that sludge?”
She narrowed her eyes.
“There…”
At the single word, a Wind Bullet struck the sludge.
Ashera looked at me, so I used focused sonar on it.
Nothing remained.
Her Wind Bullet must have pierced the Slime’s core. The response I’d detected had vanished.
“No response. You killed it.”
Ashera puffed out her chest with a triumphant expression.
Unsure where to look, I pretended to scan the surroundings.
“Mother, should we force our way through and liberate it?”
“Hmm. I’d prefer some walls…”
“Walls…”
I looked at the mana spot again.
The spring was at most five medes across.
As Mother suggested, surrounding it would make success far more certain.
If this resembled our liberation of the Demon Forest, ten seconds would be enough.
But nothing conveniently shaped like a wall stood nearby.
Wherever I looked: trees, trees, trees.
A forest, in the truest sense.
“El, Ashera, how much mana would it take to bring down one of these trees?”
Ashera considered Mother’s sudden question.
“Probably one weak Magic Fist. About as much mana as one anti-monster Wind Bullet…”
“I’d create a magic weapon… Perhaps as much as one nonlethal Wind Bullet.”
“I see. Then…”
Mother’s plan wasn’t to enclose the mana spot completely. We would fell trees to block two directions.
The fallen trunks wouldn’t be perfect walls, so monsters might still come through.
Ashera would guard the two open approaches, while Mother fired from above at anything crossing the two blocked sides.
As a precaution, I would use wide-area sonar frequently and relay everything I found.
If absolutely necessary, I would fight too.
“What do you think, El, Ashera?”
“I think it’s a good plan.”
“Me too!”
“But even if we fail, Ashera will probably be close to mana depletion, and I’ll be unconscious. El, have Ao create a territory even if the liberation fails. The moment it forms, we flee to Blue Ring.”
“…Understood.”
“Then El and Ashera will each build one wall. We could have El build both, but if it leaves you mana-depleted, we’d be trapped with no escape…”
“Understood. Ashera, I’ll make the wall on the right.”
“Got it. I’ll make the one in front.”
Together, we built the barriers around the mana spot.
After roughly thirty minutes, the walls were reasonably solid.
Perhaps the monsters finally realized our intention. Those that had watched from a distance surged toward us with murderous intent.
“As expected… El, Ashera, thin them out a little, then we’ll liberate it immediately.”
““Yes.””
I took my one-handed sword in my right hand and dagger in my left, killing the Mantises as they approached.
Building the wall had left me with about one-third of my mana.
After ten minutes of culling them, the attack briefly weakened.
More Mantises approached in the distance. We had caught the lull between waves.
“El, now!”
“Yes!”
At Mother’s call, I summoned Ao and pulled the mark quickly from Storage.
“Elphas, I’m ready whenever you are!”
Hearing him, I drove a mana-filled dagger into the black, flabby lump of flesh beside the spring.
From the wound outward, it rapidly crumbled into ash.
The instant I moved to plunge my right hand into the water, a Mantis larva emerged through a gap in one of the fallen-tree walls.
It ran straight for the mana spot, crying out as though in joy.
I won’t make it.
At that moment, a Wind Bullet blew its head apart.
Mother.
Breathing roughly, she had sniped it from the tree.
Dark circles ringed her eyes, and she’d tied her body to the trunk.
Our gazes met once.
Then she lost consciousness.
“Elphas! Hurry!”
Ao’s voice snapped me back to my task.
I thrust my right hand into the spring.
The sludge transformed into clear blue water.
Ao immediately curled up above the spring and stopped moving.
Of course.
After a liberation, Ao couldn’t move for a while.
I asked Ashera, who had little mana left, to protect Mother.
As for me, the liberated territory removed any concern over mana.
Ashera threw me my shield, and I returned to my true fighting style: shield and one-handed sword.
I primed the shield and three mana shields with Reactive Armor and trampled the Mantises.
Naturally, I turned the power all the way up.
Brother and I had developed this method when we once discussed fighting inside a territory.
Explosions echoed everywhere I passed, pulverizing Mantises.
I even let the blast throw me deliberately toward another group, then hit them with another Reactive Armor detonation.
As I vented all the accumulated stress by crushing them, Ao finally woke.
“Elphas, I can send you to Blue Ring whenever you wish.”
“Ashera and Mother first. I’ll go last.”
“Understood. Ashera, bring Big Sis here.”
Ashera descended, carrying Mother, and Ao transported them immediately.
“Elphas, I’m sending you next, but we don’t know what lies on the other side. Put away that dangerous shield.”
“Good point. Please do it, Ao.”
He transported me to Blue Ring.
Ashera was carrying Mother from the room.
Together, we took her to the bedroom.
Father had been sleeping, but we woke him.
After Mother was settled, I saw dark circles beneath Ashera’s eyes as well—a sign of mana depletion.
“Ashera, please sleep. I’ll handle the report and preparations.”
“Sorry, Elphas. I’ll do that.”
She returned to her room.
Father clearly wanted a report, so I explained everything in Sandra and warned that a considerable number of elves would probably arrive.
“El, do you know how many elves will be transported here?”
“I heard the village originally held two thousand. How many remain… Mother said that if more than five hundred survive, we’d send them to the Demon Forest. If five hundred or fewer remain, there are probably too few adults for them to survive there.”
“I see… For now, we should prepare food… They’ll have to cook it themselves.”
“Yes.”
“Then you should sleep too. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“My mana doesn’t decrease inside the territory, so I’m fine.”
“Your mana may not fall, but your stamina does, and you still need sleep. Sleeping is part of a warrior’s duty.”
“…Yes. Understood.”
I wanted a bath, but I didn’t have the courage to take one at a time like this.
If there was time when I woke in the morning, I’d use it.
I wrote that on the memo in my mind and went to sleep.