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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“…It’s deeper than I thought. We must have already progressed several hundred meters…”
Cereo muttered quietly.
It was indeed an exceptionally large scale.
Moreover, as we went deeper, we were descending further into the ground…
‘The slope is going downward. …It feels like we’re heading towards some kind of underground labyrinth.’
Minotaurs in an underground labyrinth.
It reminded me of a combination from Earth’s mythology.
Additionally, as we progressed, wall paintings began to appear more frequently.
Cereo’s group seemed too preoccupied with watching our battles to notice properly, though.
By that time, the number of Minotaurs we had taken down had exceeded twenty.
But that was as far as it went.
“…Tsk. The main force, is it?”
Unlike before, Minotaurs with proper equipment completely blocked the entrance to a large cave.
“…Steel? Monsters with such equipment…?”
“…I thought they weren’t ordinary Minotaurs when we heard they had taken artifacts, but… could they be demon-kind?”
“No, that’s not it. I don’t sense any demonic energy.”
Tildi shook his head and refuted Cereo’s group’s agitation.
However, looking at his face, Tildi seemed the most agitated.
“…It’s not demonic energy… I sense divine power.”
“…Divine power? Then they…”
“No, it’s not that. They’re not… apostles of a god or anything like that. The divine power isn’t that strong. It’s really at a minimal level… I’d rather it was my imagination…”
Even an apprentice priest wouldn’t mistake divine power.
‘Even if they worship different gods.’
There were religions that believed in gods other than the Goddess of Radiance worshipped by the Holy Empire.
However, their influence was weak, but they still possessed divine power.
Even a priest of another religion could recognize divine power when they sensed it.
‘This is absurd.’
There had been no such stories.
It was different from what was known in many ways.
Well, these were things I had only heard as rumors after everything was over.
They weren’t experiences I had personally gone through…
Even so, at this point, it seemed too many things had been hidden.
‘…Is that it?’
At that moment, the equipment worn by the one who appeared to be their leader caught my eye.
‘…It’s bigger than I thought.’
Well, among relics, there were those that could adjust their size.
Simply thinking about it, it had to be large for a Minotaur to use it.
‘Even sealed, it seems some functions are still working.’
However, the sword was a bit different.
It was too small for a Minotaur to use, and the creature seemed to be aware of this, as it had hung it at its waist.
‘…Could it be that even though it’s sealed, it still has some effect?’
That was a bit surprising.
If not, there would be no need to hang a sword they couldn’t properly use at their waist.
The creatures didn’t seem interested in talking to us as they immediately waved their hands.
Well, communication would have been impossible from the start.
The vanguard Minotaurs advanced towards us with shields in front.
“…Can we win?”
“We’ll have to try.”
It was certainly cause for concern.
Most of what we had taken down so far had been isolated and either had no equipment or were of the lowest level.
And we had only taken down about twenty of those…
‘The visible ones alone seem to be twice that number…’
The sight of them packed tightly in the large cave was reminiscent of a dense formation of heavy infantry.
Moreover, with their thorough equipment and movements that seemed trained for group combat, they certainly presented a formidable threat.
Their size alone was twice ours.
However, I wasn’t intimidated.
I brought out Skeleton No. 1 and No. 2.
Cereo’s group was agitated, apparently not expecting there to be more undead.
Unlike the Living Armors, these skeletons, pitch black and covered in magical inscriptions indicating various enhancements, with bodies and equipment made entirely of bone, evoked a sense of revulsion.
I quickly applied various enhancement spells and lined up our formation.
But it was inevitable that we looked inadequate compared to the approaching Minotaurs…
I added a spell I didn’t often use.
As the undead under my command were included in the range, I could see their presence intensify noticeably.
It was regrettable that I couldn’t use a higher-level one, but it couldn’t be helped.
“…The concentration of magical energy is extraordinary. Could it be…”
“It’s not a Demon Lord, so don’t worry.”
After cutting off Tildi’s thoughts, I prepared the next spell.
I had considered using Dark Ball, but nothing was more certain than this in the current situation.
“Moo?”
As only some of them slowed down, their formation began to crumble.
‘No matter how much training they’ve received, monsters are still monsters.’
There were bound to be deficiencies, and after I cast Slow a few times, their formation began to collapse on its own.
Confusion was evident on their faces.
I had only cast Slow on three individuals.
However, their speeds varied, and because of this, they couldn’t recover their disrupted formation.
The creatures that were supposed to move together in unison to create a solid ‘wall’ scattered here and there, tangling their movements and creating numerous gaps everywhere.
In that situation, they were still approaching us…
It would have been better if they had stopped.
The Minotaur that appeared to be the chieftain seemed to have made such a judgment, but I didn’t give them that chance.
Skeleton No. 1 and No. 2 stepped forward, followed by the Living Armors.
Kayla backed them up, and Athena also looked for openings.
Seeing the approaching undead, the Minotaur at the very front took a stance.
However, there were no comrades to protect its sides, and rather, realizing it had to hold out alone until the disrupted rear could recover the situation, its body stiffened with the burden.
The two Skeletons rushed at the creature.
Bang! Bang!
The creature blocked the attacks of Skeleton No. 1 and No. 2 with its shield.
It was a fairly nimble response considering its stiffened body.
However, it couldn’t block the subsequent attacks of the Living Armors assaulting it from both sides.
Crack! Crunch!
“Muooo!”
Other comrades rushed forward urgently, but as this wasn’t a trained situation, they could only show instinctive movements.
Athena exploited that gap.
Whoosh!
The Minotaur that was advancing forward with its gaze fixed on the Living Armor had its breath cut off, and other Minotaurs who instinctively sensed the threat howled.
Splash!
The lead Minotaur, which had already been injured, immediately had its wounds worsen and fell to its knees.
As the first two collapsed at once, the Minotaurs finally began to awaken their instincts.
They rushed towards us, swinging their weapons and shields wildly, and Kayla dove into their gaps as if she had been waiting for this.
Crack!
The creatures glared at Kayla, but she wasn’t one to be easily caught.
Not only did she easily avoid their attacks without even needing to block with her shield, but she also gifted sword strikes to their ankles.
The Minotaurs’ mobility was instantly shattered.
Then she aimed for the vital points of those slowed by my magic.
The ones affected by Slow couldn’t even resist properly, and as they fell, the battle devolved into a melee.
Cereo’s group was bewildered by the battle progressing differently from their expectations.
Usually, when a melee breaks out, the weaker side is at a disadvantage.
Moreover, no matter how skilled one is, anything can happen in the midst of a melee.
Even the strong could die futilely during a melee.
Therefore, losses were bound to be high, and avoiding melee combat with monsters was especially considered the norm, but we had induced a melee without hesitation.
Of course, we hadn’t caused the melee unknowingly.
‘I expected the damage…’
As expected, once we entered the melee, casualties started to appear on our side one by one.
Crack! Crunch!
The Living Armors began to lose their form and collapse.
Skeleton No. 1 fought valiantly against an opponent that Kayla had softened up, but couldn’t withstand another creature targeting its back.
Skeleton No. 2 fared slightly better, but still suffered damage to the point where cracks appeared all over its body.
However, this was a situation I had fully anticipated, and it wasn’t a big problem for me.
Click, click-click.
In addition to the Aura of Death, I consumed magical energy to restore those who had been damaged.
As the creatures we had killed stood up again, the Minotaurs hurriedly attacked the undead that were being restored, and those that had been damaged were destroyed again.
However, the restoration didn’t stop, and after slowing down briefly, the restored undead re-entered the battle.
Some Minotaurs looked at me, the source of the problem, with anger, but having lost their mobility and with a group protecting me, there was nothing they could do.
“Muooooo!”
As the Minotaurs fell one by one, the chieftain, unable to stand by any longer, moved directly.
The creature, a head taller than the other Minotaurs, was quite noticeable as it moved.
A stone pillar shattered into pieces from its casually swung club.
It seemed unable to contain its anger.
‘Should have come out earlier.’
But its emergence was a bit late.
Already, half of their numbers had fallen.
While the front line was well-equipped with shields and armor, the rear was somewhat lacking in armor.
Therefore, in the current situation, they couldn’t fully protect themselves.
Moreover, most had lost their mobility due to Kayla’s handiwork.
As the chieftain tried to enter the melee, Kayla, who had somehow penetrated through the Minotaurs, stood in front of it.
“Muooo!”
The creature raged at Kayla, the most threatening enemy, right in front of it.
Kayla calmly blocked its attack and, just as with the other Minotaurs, inflicted a wound on its ankle.
However, this one was different.
Its body wounds healed quickly.
“…A troll?”
Kayla muttered as if dumbfounded.
It was indeed a regenerative ability reminiscent of a troll.
However, this wasn’t a characteristic of Minotaurs.
‘The sword and armor… Even in a sealed state, they have this much effect?’
Honestly, it was somewhat surprising.
I had heard it wasn’t this effective even when unsealed…
‘Is the regenerative ability amplified more because it’s a monster?’
Or it could be the influence of the divine power Tildi had faintly sensed.
‘No, it’s probably both.’
In fact, that possibility was the highest.
As Kayla withdrew, the battle situation clearly changed.
Although half of the Minotaurs had fallen, our main fighting force was Kayla, and she had withdrawn.
Athena fought hard, but the Minotaurs, now aware of her existence, were no longer easily falling for her ambushes.
‘…It seems they’re regenerating too.’
Slowly but surely, they were recovering from the wounds inflicted by Kayla.
That was certainly due to the influence of divine power.
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[Im taking bets on how hes gonna kill them, my bet is hes gonna collapse a dungeon on them or somethin what are u guys betting on?]
