NOVEL WEB Chapter 89
Chapter 89 – Erosionists (9)
“If they’re not going to fight back, we have no reason to spare them.”
“That’s true. We should strike hard when the opportunity arises.”
The residents shared the same thoughts as him. Rakum, who had received additional troops from Balun, nodded with a slightly trembling voice.
The time for reconnaissance was over. It was time to march toward the enemy’s nest, set it ablaze, and uproot them.
‘I’ve gained enough experience.’
Rakum steadied himself as he gazed at the large quantities of equipment being transported by carts.
The by-products obtained from hunting bugs had all been traded in for creature hunting. They sold them for money and, in exchange, brought back high-quality special equipment created there.
Both warriors and regular soldiers were now armed. Instead of ordinary steel weapons, they wielded spears and arrows made from the bones or carapaces of mutants, which were far more powerful against the bugs.
Adding to that, they now wore drake-scaled armor, known for its superior defensive capabilities.
Steel armor was considered high-tech in this region, but the sight of them dressed in special equipment that outperformed it showed they were no longer like an ordinary grassland tribe.
Moreover, it wasn’t just about having equipment.
With each battle against the bugs, their tactical knowledge on how to counter the various forms and appearances of the monsters had continued to develop.
“The large ant-like creatures aren’t very smart, and their individual strength is relatively weak. As long as our soldiers hold formation and wield spears and shields, they can hold them off.”
Rakum instructed his warriors and troops to familiarize themselves with the tactics developed from the collected data.
Although some were tense, no one truly feared running away. They all knew that if they did not fight now, their village would inevitably be attacked in the future.
“Hold your ground and face them. If large ones appear that our soldiers struggle with, then we’ll step in.”
Rakum then gave orders to his warriors. The task for the warriors, including his brother Rasen, was to snipe the enemies that the soldiers couldn’t handle with their weapons.
It was a simple yet pivotal tactic.
In a large-scale war like this, haphazard fighting would surely lead to defeat. Everyone had to understand their positions and roles clearly to win.
“Advance!”
Determining that everything was prepared, Rakum took a brief sigh and commanded the assembled troops to move forward. Only a small number of riders served as messengers.
Contrary to a typical grassland tribe, their method of approaching the enemies on foot displayed the prowess of a seasoned unit.
‘So, they really can’t move now.’
As the troops advanced, Balun, transformed anew, flew above to observe the enemies gathered at their nest.
Even as the allies approached in large numbers, the enemies merely summoned scattered sentinels instead of charging out to attack like before.
Balun’s heart raced as he looked down at the scene. After all, they had only been engaging in localized skirmishes until now; this was their first true large-scale battle against the bugs.
If they did not combat this noble war, the bugs would surge forward and ravage the world.
Balun did not believe that the other tribes, still bickering amongst themselves, could overcome this crisis.
“They’re coming!”
“Just as I thought. Get into position!”
As the residents approached near the nest, the bugs, having scorched the area and turned it into a lifeless wasteland, formed up to counter the impending assault.
Based on what they had observed thus far, the bugs employed no notable tactics. They only relied on sheer numbers and brute force.
Aware of this, they quickly formed their ranks and began firing arrows at the incoming bugs.
The hundreds of bugs without ranged attacks could only crawl quickly, only to be met by a volley of arrows.
“Raise shields and spears!”
Soldiers holding their shields defended against the bugs that managed to crawl up despite having arrows sticking out of their bodies, thrusting their spears to stop the charge.
The shells of Glitch bugs could be pierced by the soldiers’ spears, leaving the only attack method for the foes to be biting, which dealt no substantial damage.
‘Everything is going according to plan.’
Rakum, who had yet to enter the fray, bit his lip as he observed the battlefield unfolding as anticipated.
If they succeeded in the contest of strength, they would push straight to the enemy’s nest.
“Over there! A big one!”
The bugs couldn’t just sit back now; they mobilized their forces. Massive ant-like creatures appeared that could not be held back by soldiers’ arrows or spears.
Until now, only one or two had appeared at a time, but now more than ten emerged.
“Warriors! It’s not like we haven’t done this before!”
Rakum raised his spear and shouted, stepping forward himself. It was the duty of the warriors, armed with skills, to stop the incoming monsters.
‘If we can capture those without harm, we’ll win!’
Suppressing his excitement, Rakum gritted his teeth and charged forward with his spear glowing a blue hue.
From the other side, spells were being cast, and warriors armed with weapons were charging alongside the soldiers.
With a leap, Rakum’s spear struck the head of the enemy, while Shura’s massive bone dagger shattered jaws and severed legs.
The soldiers, trained through war, executed their skills seamlessly, while the warriors, who had continually trained, found it easy to dispatch even the weak bugs now.
“Charge! We’ve won!”
“They’re breaking!”
As the soldiers held off the enemies and cleared the way, the warriors could now focus on taking down the massive threats, which lifted the soldiers’ morale in a positive feedback loop.
Shouting began among the soldiers as they broke formation and surged forward, starting to annihilate the defeated enemies.
‘I did it…!’
And it wasn’t just the soldiers who tasted the thrill of victory.
Shura, standing atop the shattered corpse of an enemy, gasped as she watched her allies push back the foes.
Always eager to catch up to Riena, she was convinced with every bug she took down that she was making progress.
*
“Well, it seems we’ve won the battle for now. This was my first time fighting against such a large number of foes, so I was worried.”
– Luckily.
In the massive clash before the nest, tensions were high, yet allies managed to break the enemies’ momentum completely in just a few hours.
They accomplished this despite not even using their full strength. Lee So-Yeon relayed this information, still letting us know she was relieved they emerged victorious without casualties.
– I’ve been trying to gather intel by encouraging scouts, but I haven’t heard anything yet.
After mentioning the erosion caused by the bugs that had devastated the northern Dwarf Kingdom, Lee So-Yeon was also searching through her display for information, but so far nothing had turned up.
After all, I only learned about the dwarves’ massacre and the kingdom’s fall at the moment it happened, so if the bugs were gathering strength somewhere far away, it would be difficult to find out immediately.
Perhaps the map application could help prevent that, but both Lee So-Yeon and I lacked enough points to activate it right now.
‘First, I need to deal with the urgent matters.’
Shifting my gaze back to the screen, I observed the residents who had achieved a complete victory in ground combat.
With no need for me to assist them with a chainsaw, they had triumphed on their own and now sought to clean the enemy’s stronghold.
Right in the center of the nest was a massive burrow. True to the ant-like appearance of the bugs, their stronghold was inside it.
[Bug Nest]
As the soldiers cautiously entered, the screen shifted to a new view.
“—, –.”
Unlike the vast battlefield above, the underground passage that might serve as the bugs’ stronghold was narrow and lengthy. As a result, they couldn’t mobilize a large number of soldiers, and bringing them all would only cause confusion during an emergency.
Thus, a small force led by experienced warriors began to clear a path.
Fortunately, it seemed the enemies had taken a considerable loss in the previous battle, and there didn’t appear to be many foes left inside the tunnels. Such foes were easy pickings for those who had been farming the Essence of Monsters in the underground world of sandbox crafting every day.
“Is this really all of them?”
As they continued advancing with ease, I was slightly taken aback. Sure, it was just one nest, but it felt a bit weak for having destroyed an entire kingdom.
“–!”
‘What the hell, what is that?’
But I only discovered why the bugs looked so weak upon reaching the end of their nest, shocking the residents who witnessed it firsthand.
[Erosion Gate]
A massive, rotten tree, with a mysterious black gate pulsating at its center.
Just by its appearance, it was evident that the gate was unlike any single-use cracks we had seen before.
The black roots spreading from the gate absorbed all nutrients in the land, decaying it, and underneath, countless bodies of bugs lay scattered.
They had opened that gate at the cost of their own lives after proliferating their numbers.
While it looked like the size of a large automobile now, I shuddered to think what horrors might emerge from it if left unchecked.
[Gate interference possible. Would you like to close the gate?]
As my mouse hovered over the gate, a message popped up.
“Are you kidding me?”
I scoffed and naturally closed the gate. With a tremble, the tunnel shook, and the swaying gate gradually faded away.
‘There’s no way this is it.’
The gate fully sealed, and the residents cheered for their victory, but my expression remained tense. The bugs had not fully matured yet.
The nest we had just wiped out was merely one. There were surely more like this where the Dwarf Kingdom once stood. But could we really delve that far and conquer it?
[Achievement Unlocked: First Deactivation of the Erosion Gate]
At least I was relieved to receive a sufficient reward that I desired.
Using the points obtained from completing the achievements, I could activate the game I had initially planned and fortify the defenses in this area.
It was essential to solidify the defenses of our base before launching attacks.
As the bugs widened their territory while creating nests, I planned to build a fortress capable of withstanding their determined invasions and then counterattack.