Volume 5, Chapter 35 – The Rebel Leader?

The thrown steel shield smashed into the foremost Swamp Poison Spider. The bladed edge of the shield cut straight into the spider’s carapace, and the immense force even flipped it onto its back, causing it to crush two of its companions behind it.

A frontal one-shot kill on a monster of the same level… Yisi, watching from the rear, scratched her cheek, slightly troubled. “If possible, I’d rather hope Mary uses cuter attacks…”

For some reason, Mary was unable to learn any magic other than attack magic. Despite being a shield warrior, she even needed Camilla to use taunt skills for her. Moreover, a skill like [Shield Bash], which should be used at close range, had become a skill in Mary’s hands that could be used by throwing the shield. Her talent for attack magic was astonishing.

“Mary, get your shield back! More Swamp Poison Spiders are coming!”

“Okay~”

“□□□□—[Icefall].”

A large number of thumb-sized icicles fell from the sky, striking the backs of the Swamp Poison Spiders with a clattering sound of metal on metal. Although the spiders’ movement speed slowed noticeably, none of them stopped completely.

Their carapaces are ridiculously tough. It occurred to Yisi that they could be collected and processed into armor for her companions.

For magic chanters like Camilla and Tiffany, the function of armor was more to increase their affinity with the elements, increase their mana recovery speed, and enhance their magic power; defensive performance was secondary, so there was no problem with them wearing light magic robes.

But for vanguards like Mary and Refina, the importance of defensive performance was far greater than elemental affinity. However, Yisi disliked the cumbersome nature of armor, so she had been looking for armor that was both beautiful and practical.

She had originally thought that scale mail was a better choice, first weaving an inner protective mesh with light and highly defensive materials, and then adding ordinary cloth to the inside and outside of the mesh. This would achieve both beauty and practicality. However, the idea was good, but reality was not so kind. Yisi had tried many materials, even the luxurious mithril, but none had achieved the desired effect.

Either the metal itself was too brittle and difficult to process, or it was too heavy, and even if it was made, it was very inconvenient to move in. So the plan to make armor had been shelved by Yisi, and it was only now, seeing the carapace of the Swamp Poison Spider, that she felt it could be restarted.

“Miss Refina, one got past!”

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Mary’s shout made the fighting Refina turn her head slightly. As the number of Swamp Poison Spiders increased and their individual strength proved to be quite formidable, the situation had now devolved into a melee.

“Tch, I can’t make it in time. Tiffany!”

“Not enough magic.”

The Swamp Poison Spider that had slipped past Mary went straight for Camilla. But Camilla was in the final stage of chanting her spell and couldn’t free her hands to deal with it.

Even with good equipment, it’s still a struggle to deal with more than twenty monsters of the same level at once. She had been too hasty.

But it was only natural when she thought about it. Camilla’s current staff was not “Twilight of Eternal Frost,” but one made from the horn of an earth dragon. Although Tiffany’s divine staff was a high-grade item she had bought on the market, it was focused only on improving healing effects, with little impact on other magic. The only reason her companions had been able to hold on for so long was because they had trained together so many times.

Yisi raised her hand, preparing to use a [Light Bullet] to take care of the spider ambushing Camilla. However, before she could, a jet-black spear grazed past Camilla and plunged straight into the spider’s abdomen.

Yisi tilted her head. It was Andrea.

Contrary to the panicked appearance she had imagined, Andrea was remarkably calm.

“Did you cast that spell, Andrea?”

“Yes, it’s the second-tier magic, [Spear of Darkness].”

Gripping the short staff in her hand, there was not a trace of fear in Andrea’s eyes. Yisi paused.

I thought Andrea’s practical combat skills would be poor, but they’re surprisingly good…

To have a spell graze a comrade’s body was, in theory, a basic skill. But the situation was chaotic, and the spider’s movement speed was frighteningly fast. To be able to predict the spider’s direction of movement and calmly chant and control the magic, dividing her attention, was already a very advanced technique.

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With the ambushing spider taken care of, Camilla’s spell was successfully cast.

“￭￭￭—[Greater Icefall].”

It was no longer countless thumb-sized icicles, but a single, rapidly falling, massive pillar of ice. [Icefall] was originally a magic with very low general utility, but it was just right for this situation. Unlike spells that had an immediate attack effect after the incantation was completed, [Icefall] had to go through the process of condensing an ice cloud and summoning small icicles before a larger pillar of ice could be used. The entire process took more than a minute, and during this minute, the user could not interrupt the incantation for too long, otherwise they would have to start over. Therefore, almost no magic chanter would use [Icefall] in an encounter battle.

Of course, a great cost would yield an equally great power. The final blow of [Greater Icefall] had a power that approached third-tier magic. With the help of reliable teammates, it was almost the most powerful offensive spell among second-tier magic.

With the ton-heavy icicle hitting the ground, a dull, massive roar echoed. The Swamp Poison Spiders that came into contact with it were instantly crushed into chunks of meat, creating an impassable empty zone in the path.

The dots representing the spiders on the [Omniscient Map] were instantly reduced by six. At the same time, the remaining scattered spiders were taken care of by the others. Judging from the results of the battle, her companions had hunted three more spiders than Edith had alone.

That Camilla… I told her to save her magic, but she used it all up at once. Was winning against Edith so important?

Yisi couldn’t help but give a wry smile. It’s not like she was the type of person who would throw Camilla away if she became useless. In fact, if Camilla were too capable, she herself would feel useless and embarrassed.

“No way… they took out that many Swamp Poison Spiders at once.”

“Those are monsters that even the army has trouble with.”

“You’d need at least a Mithril-rank adventurer party to deal with that many, right?”

“Stop marveling and run, you idiot!”

“Ah, we’re adventurers who got lost in the Lost Lands! We have no ill will toward you ladies! May we please pass!?”

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Human voices suddenly reached her ears. Yisi stopped Mary and the others, who were about to continue fighting, with a look, and then walked to the front of the group.

There were three very ragged, but not seriously injured, adventurers. To be precise, they shouldn’t be called adventurers, but porters who specialized in carrying prey for adventurers. They had neither weapons nor armor, and their bodies were covered in black mud, as if they had just crawled out of a swamp.

“I am their leader,” Yisi said, pointing to the four behind her. “You all head back to the town first. We’ll handle things here.”

“Th-Thank you, but we don’t have the strength to run anymore. Excuse me, but may we stay here for a while? Those damned skeletons turned back halfway. We’re just a group of people who carry prey for adventurers; we won’t pose a threat to you ladies.”

As they spoke, the three men collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

Yisi glanced at the [Omniscient Map]. For some reason, the undead were indeed turning back and leaving. Undead should be evil creatures that attack the living on sight. Why would they give up the chase? Was someone else controlling them?

Yisi expanded the display range of the [Omniscient Map] to include the entire Lost Lands, but she did not find any high-level existence. In other words, there was no high-level being in this forest controlling the undead. The fallen angel Camael she had jokingly mentioned was not here either.

“It’s your fault for accidentally walking into the Land of Betrayal and getting spotted by the undead there, we almost died! We had to hide in the mud.”

“You’re treating us to drinks when we get back.”

“I-I just wanted to see the legendary rebel leader. You guys agreed to it at the time, too.”

Catching the interesting words, Yisi first looked at Andrea, who seemed to want to say something, and then took the initiative to speak. “The rebel leader? Could you tell me what that’s about?”

“Ah, the term ‘rebel leader’ is just something that circulates among us common folk. Any adventurer who’s been to the depths of the forest knows that there’s a place there with a lot of treasure buried, which we call the Land of Betrayal. There are many skeletal soldiers in armor and holding weapons near the Land of Betrayal. They act as if they’ve been ordered, guarding the place in an organized manner. They only attack when people get close, unlike the other undead at the edge of the forest, which just wander around aimlessly.”

Another man quickly added, “And I’ve heard from adventurers that some of the undead there can even speak and look exactly like normal people. So some people speculate that they are all the rebels who were cursed by Alvier VI, forever trapped in this land, their souls unable to find peace.”

“A curse?” Yisi turned her head. Edith was also interested in this, frowning as she asked in the tone of a superior, “Are they the nobles who betrayed Her Majesty the Queen?”

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Intimidated by Edith’s aura and sensing her noble status, the man began to stammer. “I-It seems so, but we don’t know the specifics. It might just be the ramblings of a drunken adventurer. My noble lady, I’m not lying to you. I really don’t know.”

“Um… could you please lead the way for us? I want to take a look inside the forest.” Andrea stepped to the front of the group and requested, but the three men all looked troubled.

“My noble lady, it’s not that we’re unwilling to guide you, but the depths of the fog are too dangerous—”

Halfway through his sentence, the men saw the small bag of gold coins Andrea took out. The crisp clinking sound made them swallow, their faces showing hesitation.

“I won’t have you guide us for free.”

“This… my noble lady, if we die, we die. But if something were to happen to you, our wives and daughters left at home would be punished as well…”

“I will leave a written note guaranteeing that your families will not be implicated. And I will definitely get you out alive—ah, Lady Yisi?”

Yisi snatched the money bag from Andrea’s hand. Andrea’s pocket money was already very little; this was probably all she had left. It wasn’t necessary to use so much just for a guide.

Picking out three silver coins from the bag and then returning it to Andrea, Yisi took out a replica of Gungnir from her storage.

“I guarantee that no danger will come within a step of you. But you must take us to the Land of Betrayal. This is the seventh-generation Queen of the Blood Clan, Andrea Fred Alvier. Disobeying the Queen’s command is a capital offense. You all should know that, right?”

“The… the Queen?” The man’s voice failed him, and he stumbled back two steps. Edith, who disliked wasting time, frowned and thrust Gungnir into the ground next to the man.

“Lead the way.”

“Y-Yes!”