The shore of the lake where the garrison was located was one of the few safe areas on the Dark Continent. That just meant that monsters didn't appear naturally here; It didn't mean absolute security. Monsters weren't the only dangerous things in the maze. Just like this.
¡Biip! ¡Biip! ¡Biip!
The alarm magic detected an enemy and sounded an emergency siren. It was clear who the enemy was. Even if a monster entered the area by chance, a monster would not fire a mana cannon.
«¡Es Noark!»
«Enemy invasion!»
However, there was another problem here. We knew who the enemy was, but how did they get here? The main unit, which had moved forward, should have conducted an exhaustive search before moving forward.
There is no way the main unit was attacked.
First, I established that premise because of the size of the main unit. There was no way many troops would be annihilated in that short period of time. If they were in such a difficult situation they should have contacted us, and if they had, the Third Corps to which we belonged would have provided us with immediate support.
They ambushed us away from the eyes of the main unit.
The above possibility was the most plausible and, based on this premise, the intruder's troops would probably be small. To avoid the eyes of the main unit, it was more reasonable to move as a small number of elites. Of course, I didn't know what the real situation was.
«Lord! What are you doing? Let's go!»
Geez, it's Riehen. I guess there's no need to correct it since Raven misunderstood our situation anyway.
«Okay, let's go out for now.» I finished my brief reflection and ran out of the barracks.
« ¡U-uh ...! »
I saw a cannonball made of pure mana coming straight ahead.
Wow, it's good that I took the initiative.
¡Kwa claim!
When I blocked this with a shield, the remains of mana exploded and scattered in all directions. The shock was significant, but not enough to make me back away. That was because the Guard Corps Token absorbed 50%.
«E-are you okay?»
No seas chicken.
Was it because Magic Corps was always in the rearguard? «No problem.» I reassured Raven's assistant, who was surprised by the cannonball that exploded in front of his nose, and quickly gave orders. «Alex, right? Stay behind me».
«¡S-phone!»
«Emily, Erwen, you two keep going and protect this man».
«Good!»
The formation was established in an instant. Normally, this should have been done by the team leader, but hey, it seemed like he was the type to just do what he was told. Even if he gave orders, I didn't think he would resist.
«Alex, where is the deputy commander's headquarters?»
«O-there!»
«So let's go there first. Follow us closely».
«¡Sí!»
As the scouts running out of the barracks headed outward in their groups, we advanced inward because our group's goal was to escort. Well, that was an excuse. I just thought I could learn more about the current situation if I went to the command center.
And Raven could be in danger too...
I quickened my pace and arrived at the barracks where Raven would be. Raven was standing outside. Around him were a crowd of uniformed magicians belonging to the Magic Body. It seemed as if they were performing some kind of enchantment by drawing a magic circle on the ground.
«Subcommander Raven, what is the current situation?»
When I quickly approached her and asked, Raven frowned. «Why are you—»
«Obviously we came to carry out our assigned mission since it is an emergency».
«Ah...» Raven nodded as if she understood. He seemed to remember that our group's mission had been changed to his escort. But maybe there was still something bothering her. «Alex Halo, why is this man doing the report you should do? Aren't you the team leader here?»
When Raven glared at him, Alex froze, unable to hide his dismay. «-about that...» Only then did he realize that I had naturally started leading the group. However, that was not yet a defense.
«About that?»
«No, yo... I'll correct it!»
«How are you going to correct that...? Ha, it's okay. I don't have time for this right now».
«Deputy Commander, the mana charge is complete!» One of the magicians shouted. Raven ended the conversation there and walked among the wizards.
[Arua Raven has launched a rank 2 defense magic Golden Wall.]
A large iron wall blocked the entire shore of the lake. To be honest, I was speechless as soon as I saw this.
Wow... now use rank 2 magic?
Dozens of wizards poured their magic into Golden Wall, but it was ultimately Raven who cast the spell at the center of it all. Simply put, with enough mana, he had advanced to a point where he could use a rank 2 spell.
This feels weird...
With her nickname Golden Mage, she hoped she would be quite strong now. But could he even bring a child like this back to the clan? Being deputy commander of a corps meant she had a solid life ahead of her without having to live as an explorer.
«This will give us time for now. Good job everyone».
«No problem, deputy commander!»
«Everyone, follow me». When Raven began to walk away with the air of a leader, the body wizards did the same.
I accelerated to stay by Raven's side. «Where the hell are you going now?»
I was worried even when I asked this, but luckily Raven looked at me and responded with an annoyed expression on her face. «We received contact from the Third Corps command center. Activate defense magic first and join the central headquarters. If that answers your question, please don't ask me more. I have enough to think about as it is».
I completely understood how annoying it was to have your thoughts interrupted, so I just shut up and moved on. When we arrived at headquarters shortly after, Raven entered alone. I tried to follow her.
«... Why are you following me?»
«Our group's mission is to protect you!»
«Stop talking nonsense and stay outside. This is an order».
I had no choice but to take a step back from Raven's rigidity. I was curious about the conversation the leaders would have inside. I was wondering if there was any way to eavesdrop. I asked Erwen and Amelia about this, but they didn't seem to have a solution.
«Deputy Commander!» After about thirty minutes, Raven left the barracks. I quickly went to his side to ask how it had gone, but only received a cold response that he couldn't tell me.
Ha... she really is ruthless towards people who are not close.
I missed old Raven. She did everything I asked of her even with a disgusted expression on her face.
«Emily, can you find out?»
«I was already planning to do it». The information was priceless at times like this, so I collected it through Amelia. Due to his experience in this area, it did not take long. «First, communication with the main unit is blocked».
«So does that mean we can't get support from them?»
«Well, not exactly. They normally contact each other at regular intervals. If that communication stops, they will realize that something has happened on our side».
«Then the key would be how long we can hold out until the main unit returns».
It had been almost ten hours since the main unit left. Even if they withdrew as a result of loss of contact, it would take them considerable time to return.
«How is the reaction on the explorers' side?»
«It's not that bad. Everyone believes in the Golden Wizard. They seem to think that nothing will happen this time, like last time».
«¿Last?»
«Ah, I know that too!» Erwen was looking for an entry point into the conversation and she intervened. Apparently, the garrison had been attacked only once before, in the early days, when they had no information about each other. «That woman infused mana into a magic circle she created beforehand and also summoned this wall at that time. Noark tried to penetrate him for hours, but was unsuccessful and ended up fleeing».
This was the incident that earned Raven the nickname Golden Wizard. Noark later realized that Raven was always protecting the garrison and never tried anything like this again, until today.
«Something is wrong».
«Certainly...»
Unlike Amelia, who agreed with my murmurs, Erwen bowed her head. «Off?»
«Yes, you said you never made the same mistake again after failing last time».
If they reused a strategy that once failed, it was fair to say that they had prepared a way to overcome it. Those bastards from Noark weren't stupid. Were the guys who prepared large-scale explosive magic in anticipation of the main troops escaping through the portal just snooping around this time? That made less sense.
The problem is how they are going to penetrate that...
I thought about the Golden Wall spell. It was high-level magic that could only be used if the Earth and Lightning Magic mastery points were at their peak.
First of all, do not channel.
Unlike other magics that required a continuous input of mana to sustain, the duration of this spell was determined in proportion to the amount of mana used in the first cast.
Additionally, if damage occurs, it can be repaired by infusing more mana.
I could see why the explorers did not view the current situation with such desperation. To begin with, there was a body of magicians here. Repairs could be made in case of breakage and the spell could be cast again at least twice.
I just don't see it ending like this.
After all, I just met Hans, right? Assuming the enemy had some kind of trick up their sleeve, I vigorously turned the gears in my head.
«Um... Sir?»
«Leave it. It seems like he's thinking about something».
How do you plan to break this wall? Did they bring in a high-ranking wizard like Fallen Scholar? But first of all... do they even need to penetrate it?
If I were them, I would have shortened the distance and induced hand-to-hand combat instead of firing cannons from afar, but these guys didn't do that. They launched long-range attacks and gave us time to use Golden Wall as if they were waiting for this moment.
In other words, they wanted us to use Golden Wall.
If so, what was the reason? When I thought about this again from his perspective, an answer quickly occurred to me. «Because they have already sneaked in». There was nothing easier than destroying an enemy whose guard was low from within.
But maybe they didn't understand what he was saying. «What do you mean by that?»
Instead of answering Amelia's question, I looked at the Golden Wall that surrounded the lake and asked: «Do you know how long this wall stood in the past?»
«It would have been... about eight hours. I heard it remained intact long after the main unit arrived».
That's how it is. Eight hours, huh?
That would be the time we would be confined within these walls.
***
The moment Noark's plan was drawn in my head, I went straight to Raven's headquarters. «I have something to tell you.»
«I'm sure I told you to wait outside the barracks. Did that woman tell you to imitate her rudeness too?»
Raven frowned, but it wasn't like it was the first time she had seen that expression. Without bothering, I passed on all the information I had to tell him. Even Raven, who at first questioned what this was all about, changed her expression as the story progressed.
«Why Noark has repeated such a senseless attempt... We were curious about that too. And you're right. I will organize this hypothesis and immediately transmit it to my superiors—»
«Do not retransmit, it is necessary to prepare measures immediately».
«...I'll take care of that. You can go.»
I even interrupted her and spoke firmly, but unfortunately it didn't work out as well. Was it because he wasn't talking like a barbarian?
«I guess that didn't go well».
«I can only hope Raven passes it on to the superiors».
It was when I left the barracks and spent some time protecting it from the outside that out of nowhere, something dark drew a parable and landed in front of us.
¡Aporean!
Then he slowly stood up. «Gruhhhhh!» It was a corpse with charred skin.