There was a reason Ophis had pushed all the troublesome work onto Siduri.
Gazing at the wall—hastily repaired only days ago, now already corroded again—Ophis's expression turned grave.
Keeping the structure flawless was, of course, impossible. Its purpose was to endure enemy assault; damage was inevitable.
To handle that, Uruk had assembled teams of craftsmen to wait out each wave of attacks, then repair the wall day and night once the beasts retreated. Under normal conditions—if the monsters' strength and numbers stayed within expectation—the wall could endure for half a year, perhaps even a full one.
But now, an enemy had appeared who could destroy it outright.
"Well, I've finally purged the last of the toxins," Merlin announced with relief, standing after tinkering with glowing circles etched into the wall.
"If you hadn't been late, they wouldn't have seeped in this deep," Ophis replied flatly.
"Ah, but it couldn't be helped! A little kitten having an existential crisis blocked my path—delayed me ever so slightly."
Ophis ignored the absurd excuse and frowned toward the north.
"We must first—"
Before she could finish, countless blood-red spears of light streaked across the distant horizon, arcing high before raining toward the wall—exactly like the attack from days earlier.
They came fast, in overwhelming numbers. If not spotted instantly, even Arjuna would struggle to intercept them all.
The Scorpion Man, Girtablilu—his attacks carried a toxin that could corrode anything they touched. That had already been confirmed.
Meaning this sudden assault—had to be stopped at all costs.
With a single thought, hundreds of magic circles blossomed behind Ophis.
Though puzzled—since Girtablilu's vision should easily have spotted her standing here, and any direct attack on her would be futile—Ophis still released her magic volleys to meet the threat.
But half a second before impact, every crimson lance split apart, fracturing into thousands of smaller blood-red spikes.
Only a handful were destroyed by her blasts. The rest rained toward the wall.
And unlike before, this time they weren't just aimed at the wall—but at the new settlement behind it.
Ophis's expression didn't change. Dispelling the smaller circles, she formed one enormous magic circle before her.
At that instant, a crimson beam shot toward her—a sniper's attack, just like before.
So that was the plan—to reveal my position and bait a distraction.
If she'd stayed within the inner city, she could have neutralized everything instantly.
But since she'd detected traces of toxin in the wall, she had refused to return to Uruk until the problem—and the enemy behind it—were handled completely. Once she devised a countermeasure, Girtablilu's poison would become meaningless.
So he had no choice but to strike now, while she was still vulnerable.
This was his best chance to destroy the wall entirely.
Even knowing that, Ophis couldn't ignore the sniper's shot. She still didn't know whether that toxin could affect even her body.
A golden ripple opened before her, and a radiant shield emerged. The beam struck it and ricocheted harmlessly away. Another ripple flared at her side; a spear shot forth from it, hurtling toward the sniper's distant perch.
But by the time those actions were done, she had no time left to finish the wide-area magic circle meant to intercept the rain of spikes.
Not that she was worried.
Before switching to defense, she had already embedded a different spell within that circle—and severed her own control over it.
With her link cut, another mage could connect to it without trespassing on her inner field of magic. The catch: that mage needed both immense power and the technical skill to read and complete an unfinished spell in moments.
Fortunately, one such magician was standing right beside her.
Wearing his usual carefree smile, Merlin completed the circle faster than Ophis herself could have.
"It's just a magic cannon, really. Nothing too fancy—though the output requirements are a bit steep. Now then, let's begin King Ophis's performance!"
Ophis gave a faint nod and raised her hand toward the heavens.
Brilliant light surged forth. A colossal beam several meters wide swept across the sky, obliterating every last blood-red spike in its path.
"Master."
Arjuna landed behind her, bowstring already drawn.
"Locate the Scorpion Man. Now."
Despite the chaos, Ophis's tone remained calm, her command precise.
"Yes."
Arjuna wasted no time, scanning the dark forest beyond the northern plains.
Minutes passed before he lowered his gaze, frowning.
"My apologies, Master. The enemy is cunning. I glimpsed his shadow briefly, but he retreated deep into the forest and vanished completely."
"Regardless, he must be eliminated," Ophis said without hesitation.
If the wall wasn't strong enough, she could reinforce it. If it corroded, she could purify it. But she couldn't apply such protection to every soldier.
If she had tried to intercept each spike individually earlier, the fragments might have scattered as toxic dust instead, spreading into the town.
Even a perfect barrier couldn't hold forever. If the toxins slipped into the living zones even once, the results would be catastrophic.
"From now on, every water and food source must be strictly tested for contamination. Merlin, setting up an air-purifying barrier shouldn't be a problem, correct?"
"Well, since it's King Ophis asking, I suppose I'll oblige," Merlin replied lightly, still smiling.
Ophis glanced at him, then back toward the north. Her voice was low, deliberate.
"These precautions alone won't be enough. Someone must go and kill the Scorpion Man directly."
Arjuna would have been the logical choice—but before she could speak further, a cold voice cut in.
"Leave it to me."
The words were quiet, detached, yet carried the weight of absolute resolve.
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T/N: im back, did a poll on my patreon on the new schedule and releases for webnovel so yeah
beep boop