Chapter 113

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on February 6, 2025

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Chapter 113

#113. Monster Wave (2)

Beyond the barrier.

Even though they were fighting right in the middle of the enemy lines, no Barbarian Tribesmen, Monsters, or Orcs could approach them.

Because there’s nothing worse than dying pointlessly by getting caught up in a battle between superhumans and monsters.

‘They’re not here.’

‘I don’t see Hunsler, the king of the Northern Region Orcs.’

‘And I don’t see Nutska, the chieftain of the Druids either.’

Valkyrie, Isabel, and Sun continued to monitor the battlefield while holding off Jormungandr.

Their expressions grew darker as they observed.

‘If the core forces aren’t visible…?’

The three naturally recalled a certain past incident.

[Yeah, that’s right.]

As if reading their thoughts, the fourth heart of the White Snake — more accurately, the fourth heart of the White Snake — communicated telepathically.

[The detachment led by the Orc King and the Druid Chieftain you’re looking for is about to successfully reach that Workshop.]

“How?! We thoroughly checked the barrier’s seal!”

Isabel’s expression hardened upon hearing those words.

[There’s no need to necessarily fly through the sky or climb over the wall to get past the barrier.]

The fourth heart of Jormungandr, Isaac, infused his telepathy with mockery.

[Though I haven’t reached the 8th Circle yet, I can still teleport a few dozen people easily enough. Especially with the power of the White Snake.]

“…!”

The excitement in Isaac’s telepathy, boasting about the successful teleportation, was unmistakable.

“Valkyrie! Leave this to me and Sun, and hurry to the Workshop!”

But Isabel’s urgent shout to Valkyrie was met with…

[Not a chance.]

Isaac, who had essentially merged with Jormungandr, had no intention of letting them go so easily.

Pfft Pfft Pfft

A dazzling array of purple and green magic circles spread around the White Snake.

Huge physical prowess and durability.

Now combined with free-flowing magic.

At this point, Jormungandr resembled a dragon from mythology.

[A body close to a dragon’s!]

[A magic akin to a dragon’s!]

[Who shall stand against us?!]

The White Snake Jormungandr and the Dark Wizard Isaac joined forces.

To make matters worse, what remained of the Demon Den’s Dark Wizards clung to Jormungandr’s back.

Pfft Pfft Pfft

Various barriers, curses, and veils hastily blocked Valkyrie’s attempt to retreat to the rear.

“…”

The faces of the three as they stared at Isaac and Jormungandr stiffened.

“In this situation… we have no choice but to trust.”

“You’ll overcome this, just like always.”

“It might even be for the best. After all, overcoming crises often leads to brilliant growth.”

However, not long after, the three relaxed their expressions and shrugged.

[Haha, how amusing. Are you really pinning your hopes on Arad again?]

Upon seeing this, Isaac asked in an irritated tone.

“Do you think I didn’t prepare for that? I’ve equipped the detachment with countless protective magical artifacts from the Demon Den.”

“Hmph, pitiful Isaac, you never change.”

In response, Isabel clicked her tongue and retorted.

“There’s more than just Arad there. The elite Knights of the Northern Region are present, and most importantly, our Majesty is there.”

[The Princess? Ha! That’s exactly why I sent them to capture Ariana! Did you think I wouldn’t know she sustained a severe injury in the depths of the Magic Realm?]

“That injury happened quite some time ago, Isaac.”

[Not an ordinary injury, mind you. A broken core, a shattered mana core injury!]

“How do you know so much?”

Ariana’s condition was supposed to be the strictest of secrets.

The public only knew that she had suffered a deep wound while hunting in the depths of the Magic Realm but had quickly recovered.

In reality, while her injuries had healed, the problem lay in her inability to restore her strength.

[Do you really think it was just the Empire manipulating and deceiving Doil of Frosthaven?]

“You were behind it.”

[Black magic can control dark spirits, which are adept at playing with human emotions.]

“…”

[Through the dark spirit I planted in that guy, I directly witnessed him stab Ariana in the lower abdomen with his sword.]

Heheheheh

Through the White Snake, Isaac’s sinister laughter echoed.

“Just stop there, will you?”

[What more do I need to know?]

With that, Isabel, Valkyrie, and Sun smirked defiantly.

“The King of the Orcs, Hunsler, and the Druid Chieftain, Nutska… yeah, that should be enough for Her Majesty.”

Frostblade Valkyrie muttered to herself.

“Yeah. Besides, I was worried lately because our Majesty’s growth seemed to have stagnated.”

Sun beside her also nodded.

“Although the concept of ‘appropriate danger’ sounds absurd, we did need a life-or-death trial of sorts.”

[… What are you talking about?]

“It’s time for Her Majesty to make a choice: to settle for the status quo or blaze a new trail.”

[??]

Listening to the knights’ conversation, Isaac sent a telepathic message filled with disbelief.

[She’s your ruler. How can you react like this? If Ariana dies, the North is finished. The Lenslet lineage ends.]

“Aah… Honestly, at first, that’s what I thought. No, until just now, that’s what I believed.”

“At the thought of a North without Her Majesty, where the lineage has been severed… it’s terrifying.”

Listening to Isaac’s words, Valkyrie and Sun continued their conversation as if agreeing.

“But then our perspective changed.”

“Excessive coddling isn’t fitting for the Lensretians.”

[??]

The enormous White Snake’s head tilted in confusion at such incomprehensible words.

[I don’t get it. Do you realize who is approaching your ruler right now? It’s Hunsler, the King of the Polar Orcs who killed the former Duke Bykal!]

“Which is why we’re grateful to you, Isaac.”

[?!]

“For giving our Majesty the chance for vengeance.”

[?!]

It seemed like a forced act of calmness, but…

[…]

No matter how one looked at it, they were genuinely sincere.

“Besides, even if we broke through the barrier now to reach Her Majesty, it’d probably be too late.”

“Rather, it’d be better to turn this crisis into an opportunity.”

“Looks like the attack on the barrier has weakened considerably since they’ve been trying to hold us three here.”

[!!]

The battle at the barrier entered a lull.

The White Snake Jormungandr wasn’t rampaging as fiercely as before due to its conversation with the three.

The soldiers, knights, and witches at the barrier were also managing to repel the enemies climbing up the ice steps.

“Have you heard of lions in the southern lands? They supposedly push their cubs off cliffs to make them stronger. Quite the majestic beast.”

As if deliberately stalling for time, the three continued their conversation.

[Are you saying you’ll raise your ruler like a lion cub?]

At Valkyrie’s words, Isaac responded with disbelief.

“Well, something like that.”

[Ha! If you’re going to raise her that strongly, why keep her so far back? She should’ve been here instead of that decoy!]

“We said it already—appropriate danger. Even that lion wouldn’t push its cub off a thousand-foot cliff.”

[…]

The long black tongue of the White Snake Jormungandr trembled slightly.

“Minds die, and so do bodies. Nations are no different.”

“Our Majesty will surely overcome this level of crisis.”

“Because she has that man by her side.”

[There’s something… something here.]

The giant White Snake’s brow furrowed grotesquely.

“…”

Meanwhile, Isabel, despite appearing calm, shivered inwardly with unease.

‘What is this feeling?’

An ominous chill had enveloped her since a while ago.

‘Ariana…’

Her gaze kept drifting toward the Workshop.

She desperately wanted to send Valkyrie or Sun there as reinforcements.

[Kiaaaaaaaaaa!]

But it was impossible. With their current strength, they could barely hold off the White Snake before them.

‘Oh descendants of my bloodline and Rune’s! Grant that child your blessings!’

For the first time, she prayed to the zealous followers of the Lenslet Order.

* * *

At the outskirts of High City, heading south.

Far beyond the boundaries of High City.

Even in the expansive Workshop area, this quiet field was quite distant.

Woooom—

Despite the countless security spells scattered throughout High City and the disguised seals in portraits, it seemed their meticulousness didn’t extend this far.

Paaarrrt!

A massive teleportation spell, symbolizing large-scale dimensional travel, materialized both on the snowy ground and the clear sky.

“Chreeeeek…”

“Kurrrrrr…”

A total of fifty humanoid monstrosities emerged from the portal.

On one side were the 2-3 meter tall white Orcs clad in imperial armor, creations of the Empire.

On the other side were the half-human, half-beast savages who utterly rejected civilization—the Barbarian Druids.

“Smell something over there, chreeek.”

The ruler of the polar Orcs and the one responsible for killing the former Northern Duke Bykal—Hunsler, the archenemy of all Lensretians—sniffed the air and spoke.

“I’m already aware.”

The Barbarian Druid chieftain, Nutska, curtly replied.

“Chreeek, guess you Barbarians smell your own kind better?”

The taunt from the Orc ruler Hunsler caused the Druid elites, including Nutska, to glare fiercely at the Orcs as if ready to kill.

“They are no longer our kin.”

“…”

Especially the resolute answer filled with hatred from Nutska left even the taunting Orc ruler Hunsler feeling embarrassed.

“Behold them.”

Seizing the momentum, Nutska pointed toward High City in the distance and continued.

“Behold the results of desecrating and violating nature. Their claim to share our roots is nothing but shameful.”

KuNG! KuNG! KuNG!

The elite Druid warriors stomped their feet in unison.

“Our Great Ancestor, long, long ago, truly regretted the errors of the Golden Age and exiled himself to this freezing land as penance.”

The language flowing from Nutska’s mouth was ancient, hardly differing from the primordial tongue of old.

A linguist studying the language of the Golden Age would have been astonished by how fluent it was.

“We must uphold that spirit! Become part of nature, reject civilization! Resist temptation no matter how strong!”

Using the most advanced language of the once-glorious civilization to curse that very civilization gave observers an odd sensation.

“In short, they are not our kin!”

The white Orcs armed with imperial steel wore expressions of embarrassment.

“Together we cursed the sins of civilization, together we praised nature, together we protected it—but they betrayed us and succumbed to its temptations again.”

However, the Druids didn’t seem to care about that.

Their gazes were fixed solely on the chimneys belching smoke, symbols of civilization in High City.

“Gradually wielding forbidden ancient techniques while forgetting the mysteries of nature.”

Those tainted by civilization had crossed the line completely.

“Recently, their destruction has worsened! Countless trees have been cut down, the earth and water polluted, and plants screamed in agony!”

Things had spiraled out of control in just a few years.

They turned their backs on nature, destroyed it, and became lackeys of the civilization that oppressed their ancient kin.

“Gone are the days of glory when we invaded the southerners and instilled the fear of barbarism in them!”

They ceased being kin a very long time ago.

“Disgusting traitors! They have been stained by the weak and filthy southerners, abandoning nature and the White Snake. Recently, they even created the Lenslet Order, mocking our ancestors!”

Roars of fury and hatred erupted from the Druids in all directions.

“But we are merciful. Our capacity is as vast as nature itself. We’ve decided to grant these traitors one last mercy.”

UOOOOO!

A soft roar rippled through the crowd.

“Exactly! Destroying the civilization they’ve built and sending everyone, from the elderly to infants, back to become part of nature!”

At this spectacle, the polar Orcs watching nearby couldn’t sneer this time; they showed respect.

“For nature is the White Snake, and the White Snake is the embodiment of nature!”

After all, whether Orc or Druid, they equally revered the White Snake as a deity.

“Now! The White Snake, the embodiment of nature, has decreed it!”

CHREEEEK! ZZZZZZTTT!

Both Orcs and Druids panted with excitement at the mention of the White Snake.

“It’s time for punishment!”