CHAPTER 43,……………………….
Passing Through the Gorge
The unit walked on without a single word.
Crunch, crunch.
Only the sound of footsteps trampling snow echoed.
“It’s so… quiet.”
Hagen, sticking close by my side, whispered softly.
“As expected.”
I swept a glance over the comrades marching around us.
Their faces were stiff with tension.
Even Hagen and Hog, who had been through this several times already, were on edge. Needless to say, the rest of the unit was no different.
The veterans who had weathered multiple winters were no exception either.
They’d only ever held back the floods before—this was their first time going out to eradicate.
“At least all the hard work paid off.”
“Huh?”
“No Snowworms in sight, are there?”
Despite walking for a long time, not a single Snowworm had appeared.
It was the result of the relentless exterminations carried out daily since last winter.
“Guess we really did reduce their numbers.”
“Of course. After how hard we killed them.”
“Didn’t you lose to the combat unit though?”
“No, that was because of Captain Gardner…!”
Hagen’s voice rose sharply.
Some nearby soldiers chuckled at his outburst.
“Don’t make excuses. I heard that was the first time you ever lost.”
“I’m telling you, I had no choice! And the captain knows exactly why I—!”
“Sure, sure. Anyone can lose.”
“Argh, whatever! Forget it!”
When I soothed him like a sulky child, Hagen’s flushed face twisted, and he snapped his mouth shut.
That was enough to make the others burst out laughing.
“I never lost, though?”
“A lieutenant, losing like that—how embarrassing…”
“You should’ve done better, Lieutenant.”
“You little punks…!”
As Hagen spat curses at their teasing, even more laughter spread among the troops.
The stiff air loosened slightly.
Good.
Tension wasn’t bad, but being too afraid was dangerous.
As faces slowly relaxed—
“Snowworms!”
“Raise shields!”
A frantic shout came from the front.
The magic unit in the rear instantly killed their laughter and fell into battle formation.
And then—
Screeeeech―!
Beyond the shields of the combat unit, dozens of Snowworms appeared.
“Hagen.”
We had to strike first before they rushed us.
“Here’s your chance to redeem yourself.”
“Understood!”
The grin vanished from Hagen’s face as he sprinted forward.
Muttering incantations, he raised both hands overhead.
Fwoooosh—!
A massive fireball ignited between his palms.
“!”
With his booming cry, the blazing sphere shot toward the Snowworms.
And before it even struck—
“!”
Another burst of fire.
His chanting was faster now.
The power, incomparably greater than before.
BOOOOM!
Two fireballs smashed into the Snowworms.
Explosions roared, and crimson flames towered high.
“How’s that taste!”
As if in response to his taunt—
SCREEEEECH!
Some Snowworms burst through the blaze, hurling themselves forward.
Hagen prepared another spell leisurely, but—
Shing.
Gardner and the elites were quicker.
“Huh?!”
Hagen scowled as Gardner and his men vaulted over shields and charged.
Before Hagen could release his spell—
“Kill them all!”
“Haaap!”
Their blades flashed, cutting down the lunging Snowworms.
The charging creatures shattered into pieces, tumbling to the ground.
“Don’t just stand frozen! We’re not here to hold a flood!”
Crushing the writhing remains underfoot, Gardner roared.
“There’s no need to wait! Take them one at a time like usual!”
“U-woooahhh!”
His shout roused the hesitant soldiers, who surged forward.
At first, it looked like chaos, but gradually, their line steadied into formation.
The wall of shields advanced, pushing aside the Snowworms blocking the way.
Screeech!
I patted Hagen’s shoulder as he stood with no opening left to act.
“Lost again.”
“T-this doesn’t count as a loss!”
His indignant cry sparked another round of laughter from the rear.
All the tension melted away after that first battle.
The soldiers’ steps grew lighter, and their pace quickened.
Several more fights broke out, but the results were always the same.
The magic unit opened with firepower, and the combat unit finished the rest.
“Piece of cake!”
“Told you it’d be nothing!”
“Ha! Says the guy who was trembling just now.”
Everyone, regardless of unit, was relaxed enough to trade jokes and laugh.
Thanks to their efforts reducing Snowworm numbers, the groups they faced were only in the dozens.
Compared to the countless swarms they had once held back—hundreds, thousands—the current opposition felt trivial.
“Don’t get complacent.”
Whenever spirits rose too high, Gardner reined them in.
“We’ve still got a long way to go.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes!”
And so, they steadily pushed through, clearing Snowworms along the way.
As dusk fell and darkness gathered—
“We’re almost there.”
Hog, holding his shield beside me, craned his neck forward.
“I see the gorge.”
The entrance to the gorge leading up the snowy peak appeared.
Steep cliffs rose on both sides, leaving only a narrow passage.
At most, four or five could walk side by side.
“Hold.”
“Stop!”
At Siruella’s gesture and Gardner’s command, everyone halted.
“We rest briefly and reform the lines.”
The magic unit lit torches to fight off the darkness, while the combat unit redistributed the ranks.
Shield-bearers up front, spearmen behind.
Between them, elites and mages were interspersed.
Hundreds of torches stretched into the night, illuminating the path.
“I know you want to rest more, but we cannot hold them here.”
Siruella addressed the troops.
“Tonight, we pass through the gorge.”
His white steed snorted, shaking its head fiercely.
“Move out.”
“March!”
“Forward!”
The halted march resumed.
The soldiers’ faces, lit by torchlight, tightened again with tension, but unlike before, their bodies did not lock up.
Eyes wide, they stared into the thick darkness ahead.
The most dangerous stretch on the climb to the summit.
The very edge of the map drawn through their past hunts.
No one had ever crossed this gorge.
Partly because of time constraints, but mostly because entry itself was perilous.
“Right side! Snowworms!”
“Shields up!”
“Torches! Shine the torches!”
Clatter, clatter, clatter—
Snowworms crawled down the sheer cliffs, using their sharp limbs.
Shadows shifted against the rock, and sharp-eyed soldiers cried out.
The cliffs, blanketed in white, writhed with Snowworm swarms.
“Damn it…!”
“Raise shields!”
“They’re on the left too!”
Crack-crack-crack—
The sound of stone being clawed.
SCREEEEECH!
Their shrieks, like nails on steel, filled the gorge.
“Don’t recklessly cast spells!”
“No magic! Push them back and run!”
Commanders like me and Gardner screamed our throats raw.
We had warned them many times—magic here could be deadly.
The blast might trigger avalanches or collapse the cliffs.
We had to hold them off in melee while forcing our way forward.
Neighhh!
Siruella’s steed charged up the cliff.
Shing!
A pale green blade of aura fell like lightning, cleaving a Snowworm in two.
“Don’t stop! Follow me!”
At the vanguard, Siruella roared, his whole body blazing with aura.
“I’ll clear the path!”
Numbers meant nothing.
No Snowworm could withstand him when he unleashed his aura.
“Follow the captain!”
“Run! Don’t stop running!”
“Push and keep moving! Leave cleanup behind!”
The soldiers sprinted after him.
They had trained for such a scenario many times.
But perfection was impossible.
“Gyaahhh?!”
“I-I’m getting crushed…!”
“Help—aaaghhh!”
In the pushing and shoving, feet tangled, men fell, bodies piled up.
The line faltered.
But it was fine.
“<Burning flame, tempered edge, bead of dew, flow>.”
“<Burning flame, tempered edge, bead of dew, flow>.”
We had prepared for this.
“!”
“!”
Hagen’s third seal, and Barent’s newly learned spell.
Magic that imbued weapons with fire.
The same enhancement I had once placed on Ronan’s blade.
In the chaos, two blades burst into blazing flame, casting light.
Gardner and Ronan.
The two carved through Snowworms trampling the shields.
Slash!
Flames tore through darkness and monsters alike, burning away the confusion.
“Get up! Quickly!”
“Now’s your chance! Run!”
With their intervention, the fallen soldiers rose again.
They ran, chasing the trail of fire, chasing Siruella ahead.
“!”
“!”
Hagen and Barent tirelessly imbued more weapons with fire.
Veterans and elites alike surged back to their feet.
“Keep running!”
“Don’t stop! Run!”
“Move, move, move!”
The soldiers screamed, shoving Snowworms aside, charging forward.
Fire spread across their swords and spears.
SCREEEECH!
Snowworms above and ahead burned, trampled, and died.
Only those from behind remained.
SCREEEEECH!
They shrieked in rage, jaws wide, lunging at our backs.
“Leave it to me.”
But the rear guard was held by Ice Rock’s unbreakable shield.
“Yes!”
Hog.
With , his twin shields struck like boulders. With , his skin turned impervious, Snowworm claws and fangs unable to pierce.
The creatures crushed beneath him seemed almost pitiful.
“Here to help.”
“Took you long enough.”
Ronan returned, after sending the others ahead.
His sword still burned with enchantment as he joined Hog.
Together, they cut down the pursuing swarm, retreating step by step.
How many did they slay?
At last, the end of the gorge came into view.
“Captain! Out here!”
Hagen, who had made it out first, waved and shouted.
“Ronan! Hog!”
“Got it!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Even with just their names called, they grasped the situation, shoved back the enemies before them, and sprinted.
Once we were clear, Hagen began chanting.
“<Hard as stone, dazzling as light, from a low sky>.”
Above his head, flames ignited.
“<Neither life nor warmth, no gift of light—fall only to destroy>.”
The fire swelled, spinning larger and larger until it filled the gorge.
Hagen’s fourth seal.
“!”
A miniature sun soared overhead, then plummeted onto the pursuing swarm.
BOOOOOOM!
A cataclysmic explosion erupted behind us.
“Hmph!”
Hog raised his shields, blocking the surging flames and heat.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—!
The cliffs collapsed, rocks crashing down.
Thud, thud.
The Snowworms chasing us were buried before they could even scream.
“Th-this time…”
As we emerged from the gorge, Hagen staggered, gasping for breath, his mana drained.
“I… I won, this time…”
He collapsed before finishing his words.
Comrades rushed to catch him.
I patted his limp shoulder.
“Yes.”
I did not hold back my praise for his brilliant progress.
“You won.”
