BMD 62

Kieeeeeek―!

The party, now fully engaged in the subjugation, quickly passed through the massive ravine created by Leonardo blowing away the Third Peak, and was traversing the deep valley between the steep cliffs towards the Fourth Peak, which was rapidly increasing in size beyond it.

Unidentifiable demon beast screeches echoed continuously from within, but the long line of troops silently advanced, not showing much fear. This was probably because the demon beast screeches sounded like death throes just before dying.

‘I guess there’s no need for me to step in.’

Leonardo felt bored as he passed through the path where the demon beast corpses were strewn about, already killed by those ahead.

He realized that the reason the members didn’t show fear was probably because strong commanders like the Commander and Battalion Commanders were at the very front, taking down the enemies and clearing the path for the troops to follow easily.

It was a tactical system unimaginable in the military, but with capable individuals at the forefront, they had already penetrated quite deep into the valley in a short amount of time.

Looking up, the sky was obscured by thick fog through the narrow gaps of the valley, contributing to the eerie and claustrophobic atmosphere. Moreover, the air around them was hot, as it was a dormant volcano zone, but the energy rising from the ground was eerily cool.

Leonardo was following the rear of the formation, thinking that this otherwise quiet valley would be truly peaceful if it weren’t for the screams of the demon beasts coming from the front and the few members of the rear ranks who were looking at him with great interest.

“Blaine, you were really amazing earlier.”

“……”

“I was watching from a bit further back, but did you see Meterion’s expression? I’ve never seen him so surprised before!”

One of those looking at Leonardo with great interest, a woman who seemed to be a Battalion Commander from the Council, kept talking to him. Leonardo ignored her, seemingly annoyed, but she continued to chatter away on her own without giving up.

Listening to her incessant chatter, Leonardo was reminded of Shorendo Hazelnut, the Deputy Commander of the Central Branch, who was similarly talkative. And he quietly thought, ‘Why are all these Council guys like this….’

If someone from the Council seemed to have excessive animosity towards him, then someone else was excessively interested. And the woman next to him now belonged to the latter.

When Leonardo continued to not respond, she suddenly seemed to realize something, clapped her hands, and said.

“Oh my, look at my mind. I’m Dellua Rivera, the 6th Battalion Commander of the Council’s Central Branch. I never imagined the Commander would entrust you to me, but please take care of me.”

As Dellua said with a smile, Leonardo, who had been looking straight ahead the whole time, turned his head in disbelief.

“It’s not that Agrizendro entrusted you to me, but that he entrusted me to you, right.”

Hearing Leonardo’s reply for the first time, she blinked at him for a moment, then said with a broad smile.

“Oh my, goodness. Why is your voice so nice? It’s not just your face that’s handsome!”

At Dellua’s fuss, the exploration members walking ahead turned around to look at them.

Meeting their gazes, Leonardo felt extremely embarrassed and turned his head away. And the Deputy Commander of the 6th Battalion also seemed to feel ashamed and embarrassed, as he subtly approached his superior, Dellua, and whispered.

“Battalion Commander…. We’re not here to play around. Please stop it….”

“What does it matter? The Commander and Meterion are taking care of everything in the front. It’s better to enjoy ourselves while we’re here, right?”

At Dellua’s completely unconcerned appearance, the Deputy Commander let out a deep sigh as if he couldn’t do anything about it. Leonardo also shook his head.

Only her chattering voice echoed through the valley, and the otherwise quiet and peaceful march continued. Leonardo was now regarding Dellua’s voice as almost white noise and had reached a state of detachment.

Just when the tension was easing, a very small amount of rubble fell from the top of the cliff on his left. It was a subtle sound, but Leonardo instantly turned sharp eyes and looked up.

Nothing could be seen due to the thick fog, but a subtle energy was felt lurking around.

Leonardo stopped in his tracks and focused on the presence he felt. As he stood still, Dellua Rivera, the 6th Battalion Commander, and Marlene Diaz, the Deputy Commander of the 6th Battalion, who were with him in the rear ranks, also stopped walking and looked back at him with puzzled eyes.

“Blaine, what’s wrong?”

Instead of answering, Leonardo approached the spot where the rubble had fallen. Standing close to the cliff, he put his ear to the steep rock face and closed his eyes. At his actions, Dellua and Marlene exchanged glances once and then shrugged their shoulders and watched what Leonardo was doing again.

After sensing something for a while, he soon opened his eyes sharply, stepped away from the wall, and said to them.

“They’re coming. At a very fast speed.”

At Leonardo’s words, Dellua’s expression, which had seemed so cheerful, changed to a serious one. Not only her, but also the members of the 6th Battalion around her showed a vigilant appearance.

Dellua instructed the members in the front.

“Exploration members, close the gap and quickly follow the formation. All support personnel, gather to the rear.”

“Yes, understood!”

Dellua was 180 degrees different from before.

Watching her issue commands swiftly and prepare for alert, Leonardo could somewhat understand why she was a Battalion Commander, even though he had doubted it until just now.

At her stern command, the members moved in an orderly manner. The exploration members quickly followed the front formation so as not to lose them, and quite a few support personnel from the 6th Battalion immediately gathered to the rear.

They immediately drew the swords they had at their waists and loaded ammunition into their firearms, preparing to attack. Then, they held their breath and waited for the enemies to come.

How long did the chilling silence last? After quite some time had passed, but the demon beast energy did not get closer, Marlene Diaz, the Deputy Commander of the 6th Battalion, asked with a strange expression.

“Nothing’s appearing?”

“Shhh.”

Dellua suddenly gave Marlene a look to be quiet and slowly scanned the cliffs surrounding the valley. At that moment, the sound of birds flapping their wings and flying away was heard from all directions, and the ground began to vibrate and rumble slowly. Marlene, who had been relaxing her tension for a moment, felt the air currents and urgently shouted.

“Everyone, close the gap and align the formation. Don’t scatter!”

At Marlene’s words, the members, who had narrowed the gap once more, stood in their designated positions and formed an attack formation.

Kieeeeeek―!

Soon after, the ground rumbled rapidly, and the sound of a horde of demon beasts rushing towards them from the rear was heard. Even from a distance, it was clear that their numbers were not insignificant, and the hands of the members holding swords and firearms were clenched tightly.

At that moment, one of the tense members stumbled backward and his arm slightly brushed against the right cliff. Then, rubble rained down on his shoulders and head, and his pupils instantly dilated as he reflexively looked up.

“They’re coming from above!”

At his shout, all the members shifted their gazes to the top of the cliff.

There, several demon beasts with black, glossy hides were crawling down from the fog, their four-way split maws open wide. They were running towards the members at a rapid pace, using their abnormally bent legs and sharp claws to grip the cliff.

The combat personnel of the 6th Battalion also jumped up and began to relentlessly cut down the enemies.

Inside the demon beasts’ wide-open maws, hundreds of teeth for tearing flesh grew all the way to their throats, and three long tongues served to grab their prey to prevent them from moving and shove them into their throats.

However, as the well-trained members swung their swords, those tongues were mercilessly cut off, and the already open maws were torn even further. One of the creatures, its head blown apart by a bullet piercing its eye, was left hanging from the rock face with its claws embedded in it.

“Battalion Commander, it’s Droks!”

“All water attribute users to the front!”

Because Droks hated water, Dellua immediately gathered the water attribute mages of the 6th Battalion in a line. At the signal, they fired powerful water cannons all at once, and the Drok horde seemed to falter in the face of the pouring torrent of water.

However, that was only for a moment. The Droks avoided the water cannons by climbing the rock face and then jumped down again, beginning to attack the members who were floating in the air.

Moreover, the horde was surging in not only from the top of the cliff but also from between the valleys, and their numbers were increasing exponentially, forming a vast swarm. They seemed to be trying to break through the streams of water that the members were firing, as if they were a single, giant demon beast. Leonardo, who was watching the scene, noticed something strange.

‘They seem to be trying to avoid the water, but why aren’t they running away and keep rushing towards us?’

Dozens of Droks, who should have disappeared in a frenzy at the mere sight of water, were hesitating at the members’ water attacks, but instead of running away, they were actually pushing closer and closer.

Fortunately, the fact that they were relatively easy demon beasts to deal with, given the skills of the 6th Battalion members, even though they were numerous and agile, was a saving grace.

The Drok horde clung to the members like moths to a flame, but they were cut and torn apart by the swords and magic they wielded, and their corpses and blood piled up between the cliffs until they overflowed.

As Leonardo was carefully observing the scene, Dellua, who had approached him unnoticed, stood next to him and spoke.

“How is it? Our 6th Battalion fights well, right?”

Dellua’s words didn’t seem appropriate to say while watching the scene in the middle of the blood-splattered battlefield, but it was certain that all the members of the 6th Battalion were accurately stabbing the Droks’ throats with bullets and swords, instantly killing them.

Following them, the members with water attribute magic poured out attacks, driving the Droks to one side and blocking their retreat, showing excellent strategy and skill, and thanks to that, the number of those many enemies gradually decreased.

However, they still continued to resist, and even though they were not very intelligent demon beasts, this situation was somehow bizarre, even after recognizing their disadvantage.

And then, a thought suddenly flashed through Leonardo’s mind.

‘Could Sigal be following us?’