Chapter 577 – The Investigation Expedition’s Crisis

The seventy-five Olog-Hai riders mounted on Bloodsucking Wolves had been pursuing the adventurer fleeing down the mountain path. Because most of them were tightly packed together on the narrow trail, they had almost no room to evade the powerful shockwaves unleashed by the four Rock-series puppets Tauro had taken from [Magic Storage].

Under Tauro’s control, the four shockwaves were aimed precisely and fired without mercy, sweeping through the Olog-Hai and Bloodsucking Wolves.

A thunderous roar shook the mountain path as monsters and nearby trees were blown away. Almost the entire force was killed instantly.

The few surviving monsters tried to flee despite their injuries, but Tauro and his companions finished them off without hesitation.

And so, the Olog-Hai Riders who had been pursuing the messenger were wiped out with astonishing ease.

“…I’ve fought those things before, so I can say this with confidence: those Rock puppets are unfair,” Ankh said in disbelief as he wiped blood from his magic greatsword.

“Haha… You’re really not wrong. Even I didn’t expect it to become this much of an overkill,” Tauro admitted.

With their task complete, the four Rock-series puppets were returned to [Magic Storage].

“And to think there are fourteen of them in total. If I were the enemy, I’d be terrified,” Ragune agreed.

“More importantly, shouldn’t we hurry? The investigation expedition is surrounded by at least this many Imperial troops—probably far more. If we don’t use the Rock series to help them, they could be wiped out,” Aeris pointed out sharply.

They would have liked to question the fleeing adventurer in more detail, but he had already continued down the mountain to request military reinforcements for the expedition.

“Alright. This is an emergency, so we’ll use [Teleportation] and get there as quickly as possible.”

Tauro held out both hands.

Aeris and the others immediately formed a circle and joined hands.

“[Teleportation]!”

The group vanished in an instant.

Near the entrance to the cave leading to the ancient underground ruins was an open square that the investigation expedition had leveled and prepared.

More than three hundred members of the expedition were barricaded there behind defensive walls raised with earth magic.

Pressing in around them was a mysterious army of five thousand that had secretly crossed the difficult terrain of the Antas Mountain Range and invaded the Kingdom of Sart.

The monster-dominated army carried no military banners, but it was plainly an Imperial force. Magic, arrows, and stones flew through the air while shouts, monster roars, and the clash of weapons filled the battlefield.

“Damn it! Why is an Imperial army here!? This is a clear violation of the border!” Negame shouted, slamming the table yet again.

The bespectacled Negame was Count Swen’s representative and the official person in charge of the investigation expedition.

The captain of the territorial soldiers and the B-plus adventurer serving as the adventurers’ representative ignored his outburst and continued studying a map of the area.

“Our casualties have already exceeded sixty, and treatment can’t keep up. Thanks to the territorial soldiers and adventurers holding the line, we’ve somehow maintained the defensive front. But on a battlefield, thirty-percent losses are considered annihilation. We’re already approaching twenty percent. What do we do? Surrender?”

The captain looked around at the researchers, scholars, and adventurer representatives gathered around the table rather than at Negame.

“Though even if we surrender, the enemy secretly crossed the border. If they really are Imperial troops, there’s a very high chance they’ll kill every one of us to silence the witnesses.”

“…Several of my members who are confident in their speed have gone down the mountain to request reinforcements. If even one of them manages to shake off the pursuit and escape, reinforcements could arrive in about seven days at the earliest,” the B-plus adventurer said, explaining their one remaining hope.

“Seven days… We have more than enough food, so that isn’t the problem. But our weapons are running short, and they keep attacking day and night with overwhelming numbers. Can we really hold out for another seven days?” one of the scholars asked, voicing the grim reality everyone wanted to avoid.

“…If we don’t hold out, we’ll simply be killed. Their goal is clearly to silence us; they set their monsters on us the moment we encountered them. All we can do is hold them here for as long as possible and wait for the kingdom’s army to arrive,” the territorial-soldier captain replied calmly.

At that moment, a battered territorial soldier rushed into the cave.

“Part of the defensive wall has been destroyed! The adventurers are fighting to keep the enemy from entering through the breach, but the mages who can use earth magic have collapsed from mana exhaustion! If this continues, they’ll break through!”

“Understood. I’ll go seal it!” the adventurer representative said as he rose. Knowing that his own earth magic wasn’t strong enough to fully repair the wall, he added, “Captain, have those rocks behind us moved over as a backup. We may be able to use them to plug the breach!”

With that, he rushed out of the cave where the meeting was being held.

The cries of the Imperial army outside grew even louder—though most of those cries were the snarls and roars of monsters.

Negame knew nothing about warfare, so he had left all combat decisions to the territorial-soldier captain.

Instead, his thoughts were occupied entirely with how he himself might survive.

Could he use everyone else as shields and run? No. Even the fastest adventurers sent for help had probably been killed by now. There was no chance he could outrun the enemy himself.

While he spiraled through those useless, escapist thoughts, another soldier burst into the cave.

“Another section of the defensive wall has been destroyed! They’ve broken through, and the fighting has turned into a melee!”

“What!?”

The cave erupted into panic.

Once the battle became a chaotic melee, the vastly outnumbered expedition had almost no chance of victory.

Complete annihilation now seemed inevitable.

Prepared to die fighting, the territorial-soldier captain gripped his sword and left the cave.

Negame stared blankly after him.

Then—

A violent impact powerful enough to cut through the noise of the battlefield thundered outside.

“What now!?” Negame shrieked.

“I-it appears to be on our side!” a soldier reported.

“What do you mean, ‘appears’!? Has the kingdom’s army arrived!?”

“I don’t know! Two enormous rock golems suddenly appeared in front of the breached walls and are sweeping the enemy away!”

The soldier himself clearly couldn’t make sense of what he had seen and could only report the facts.

Yes—

Tauro and Black-Gold Wings had arrived on the battlefield.