Chapter 711
Episode 180: Each One’s Battle (Part 1)
Just as Jin escaped the battlefield through Dipus’s dimensional shift, the comrades left in the heart of Ricalton were busy rescuing the prisoners.
“Aaaargh!”
“Ugh… ugh…”
“Thank you, thank you so much…!”
Every time a member of the Bamel Alliance opened a fruit, screams, sobs, and words of gratitude poured out.
Each fruit held about fifty people.
Most of the fruits that had fallen to the ground contained only about thirty percent survivors. There were some fruits with more survivors, but many showed no reaction even when their shells were cracked open.
“This is Tikan’s captain of the guards, Alisa Badger. Come outside and head toward the light over there!”
“I’m Gilly McLoran of the Bamel Alliance. Move toward the light. If anyone can’t move on their own, please help them. It’ll be tough, but stay calm and keep moving.”
“Hey, it’s Nodav Sarsang. Anyone here from our fan club? Ah, now’s not the time for that. Head over there, that way. We’re here to save you!”
“This is the Ghost Captain. See that blue light? Get there by any means. Our mages and knights will protect you once you arrive…”
This was hell itself.
The comrades ran tirelessly with that in their hearts.
Hundreds of fruits had already fallen to the ground, and the trees near the castle continued to shed more.
The blue light where the prisoners gathered was a massive record window created by Valeria.
She, along with Quaul, Enya, and Hedo, weren’t participating in the rescue directly but were instead protecting the gathering prisoners and gathering information.
“Valeria, as soon as the signal flare went off, Jin’s energy suddenly vanished. Is there anything showing up on the record window?”
“She’s concentrating right now and can’t respond! Wait a moment—I’ll try reading the record window.”
Quaul answered for Valeria and scanned the record window. As expected, Valeria was so focused on extracting the entire battlefield’s record that she couldn’t hear anyone else.
“Here it is. Jin moved through Dipus Runkandel’s and the Dark God’s power… Hmm, the name of the area Jin moved to hasn’t appeared yet. The letters are faintly forming, so it should show up on the window soon.”
Hedo felt uneasy about Jin leaving the battlefield but wasn’t overly worried.
Unless the Dark God moved directly, no one in Huepester could kill him.
‘Ziphl and Kinzello’s fleet is delayed. That means they’re also facing the Dark God’s army, including some superhuman-level elites… It’s unlikely Jin is handling all of them alone. Did the Four Riders lure Jin out for a one-on-one fight?’
Already, over a hundred prisoners had reached the record window, and many more were crossing the blackened plains.
[Things are going too smoothly, Hedo. The Chaos forces are strangely absent.]
Quikantel carefully placed a fruit on the ground and said.
“Every time you say that, trouble follows, Quikantel. Just like now…”
Hedo drew his sword.
He was staring at the main gate of Ricalton Castle, where a woman in a black robe was walking out.
The Prophet, Ilina Runkandel.
Hedo immediately spread his sword’s aura toward her, but Ilina dispersed like mist before reforming and brushing off her clothes.
Hedo shrugged as if he expected that and lit a cigarette.
[Damn it, looks like she really is the Prophet.]
“A troublesome one has appeared. Warriors and mages are straightforward to fight, but someone like her usually requires special powers like Jin’s to handle easily.”
[That must be why the Four Riders lured Jin out.]
The problem wasn’t their combat power but the unfavorable situation.
They had to protect the prisoners while fighting, and much about Ilina’s abilities remained unknown.
[To the heroes of Inse who found Ricalton, are you enjoying the prisoner rescue?]
Ilina’s amplified voice lightly echoed across the battlefield.
Hedo fixed his gaze on her like a nail, and the comrades’ rescue efforts slowed as the prisoners were gripped by fear.
[No response? Looks like you’re not enjoying it much. Well then, I have a gift prepared for you!]
Clap!
Ilina clapped her hands, and suddenly a circle formed among the trees binding the prisoners.
‘Eyes.’
Then the trunks twisted sideways, revealing grotesque arms and legs.
[What the hell… those weren’t trees—they were some kind of monsters?]
The creatures that had looked like trees until moments ago were rising. The fruits on their bodies resembled heads and hair, and as their root-like legs stretched underground, each monster was larger than Ricalton Castle itself.
[These are the Giant Guardians I made with the Lord’s help. You’ve all fought Graveyard Giants, right? They’re similar, except they have humans dangling from the fruits on their heads. Think of them as ornaments.]
In other words, destroying the Giant Guardians came with restrictions. If they weren’t careful, the fruits—and the prisoners inside—would be destroyed along with the monsters.
[This is a headache. But Hedo, that Prophet doesn’t seem to have the power to eliminate us.]
“I was thinking the same.”
Most of the comrades felt their anxiety spike, but Hedo and Quikantel calmly assessed the situation.
“It feels like a stall tactic to buy time, making the rescue harder. That’s probably why the Chaos army is so small. If they fought with large numbers and chaotic skirmishes, the prisoners would be lost too quickly, so they know we have to fight carefully.”
[It’s not about Dipus recovering and buying time after already engaging Jin. The goal must be the Dark God’s movement. Since they’re putting on such an obvious show, they must be feeling some sense of crisis.]
“Tactically, it would be better to abandon all prisoners and push forward to foil their plan. But that’s not Jin’s style.”
[Already talking like the Bamel Alliance. You’re adapting fast.]
“I’m worried that if Jin suffers, Miss Sandra will cause a ruckus. Charging forward might also fall into a trap’s trap. For now, it’s best to respond calmly until the temporary allies arrive. I have a rough idea of their numbers.”
Grrrrrr!
The Giant Guardians began to advance. Each movement sent out a dark, low wail and the unpleasant creaking of twisting wood.
One swung a fist toward the ground, aiming for Rata, who easily dodged and even saved a few prisoners knocked by the shockwave.
But not all comrades could do what Rata did. Those with less skill, like the youngest division, would have to brace for fatal injuries every time they dodged the Guardians’ attacks.
[Well then, I hope your encounter with the Giant Guardians brings you an even more thrilling joy. I’ll be taking my leave.]
The Prophet finished speaking and returned to Ricalton Castle.
“Quikantel, bring Julian and the Black King Commander here.”
Quikantel quickly found them on the battlefield.
“Julian, you’re out of the ground prisoner rescue from now on. Instead, work with the Black King Commander to harvest the fruits attached to the Giant Guardians.”
Julian shot the fruits off the Giant Guardians with his brain cannon Harmila, and Valkas carried them near the record window.
Hedo planned to rescue the prisoners clinging to the Giant Guardians this way, using Julian’s marksmanship and Valkas’s strength.
“Black King Commander, you don’t need to bring the fruits here perfectly. Just throw them from as far as possible—I’ll catch them all. And they don’t have to be too accurate. Even if they miss me slightly, I can create a sword wind to catch them.”
“Understood.”
Valkas briefly wondered if that was really possible but nodded, recalling Hedo’s superhuman strength.
[Looks like Valkas will have a tough time. He’ll have to secure the fruits while also protecting our allies.]
Except for Hedo, who was an outlier superhuman, Valkas was the only ten-star among them and had to take on many protective roles.
“But it shouldn’t be too hard for the Black King Commander. Because—”
Whoooosh!
Suddenly, Hedo stepped forward and slashed the air. A sword wind shot like light, striking the wrist of a Giant Guardian that was about to hit the ground.
That Guardian had originally aimed a punch at Mesa Milcano but staggered backward, unable to withstand the sword wind’s force.
“This is why I’ll oversee the entire battlefield and protect our allies—from this spot.”
Hedo couldn’t leave. The moment he moved, the prisoners gathered here would be doomed.
Moreover, the place where the rescued gathered would vanish, disrupting Valeria and Quaul’s analysis.
[You really are a monster, Hedo. I wondered how you’d respond so quickly, but it was just brute force.]
The comrades admired him, but Hedo felt a twinge of regret. If only he had taken on Dipus and Jin had been here, the Prophet wouldn’t have been able to pull off such tricks.
‘They must have calculated that from the start and lured Jin away.’
There were eight Giant Guardians in total. Hedo didn’t miss a single movement.
“Since brute force has its limits, we need to rescue as many prisoners as possible before then and hold out until our allies arrive. We also need someone to infiltrate Ricalton Castle. Mary Runkandel and the Seventh Rider would be the best fit.”
[I’ll pass the message along.]
“Enya, from now on, focus solely on the rear. I don’t think I’ll be able to pay any attention back there.”
“Yes, don’t worry, Hedo!”
As he kept using his long-range attacks to keep the giant beasts at bay, the others were able to refocus on rescuing the prisoners.
Hedo’s sword energy continued to spread like a glowing thread between Ricalton Castle and the rally point.