By Zephyria 
Right. I knew there would be someone guarding them.
But I never imagined they would unleash such a massive number of monsters next to Floyd’s capital. They probably didn’t expect us to come through the portal either. The monsters, scattered sparsely, began to turn their attention towards Ikyun one by one.
The approaching enemies, coming from a great distance, were not as large as I expected. I looked closely, wondering if they were humans rather than monsters. Most of them wore ragged clothing, and the weapons they carried were not uniform in size. I bit down on the tip of my tongue with a bitter taste.
They were all zombies.
I regretted not killing the Thousand-Faced Devil in time last time. I should have focused on finding its true body, not just cutting it down with a single blow. Even after suffering so much in my past life, I acted foolishly…
There were too many people behind me to protect, so I couldn’t charge straight at them. I could only watch with concern as the Knights, one by one, fell behind me with just a sword in hand. Mac Weaber, gagging a few times, hid behind my left shoulder and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. Then he asked,
“Is that it?”
His Eye Force might not be bad, but he couldn’t possibly count the ones darting through the trees. Before Mac Weaber could look back at me, I answered,
“There are more Blood Corpse Fiends than Steel Corpses. While Blood Corpse Fiends have short tempers, they sometimes display combat power equivalent to a Sword Master, so it would be best to be cautious.”
“How many are there?”
“The ones rushing towards us now are approximately… about fifty.”
“That many… should we defeat them before moving on?”
“No.”
Ruben, who had just jumped through the portal, gave a cold command.
“First, we must reach our objective and establish a proper defensive formation. Let’s move.”
“Yes!”
The portal opened 4km southwest of the target location, the outskirts of Galea’s reservoir. This was to prevent interference between the divine source and the divine manifestation. Because of this, Spiritus and Gano Paquin could not come through the portal.
We had to leave behind a few Knights who couldn’t regain their senses, beyond the portal. Seeing our ranks depleted, with gaps appearing here and there, was deeply worrying, but there was nothing we could do.
Andy Spooner took a deep breath. I didn’t speak to him, noticing he was controlling his Internal Energy according to the Hip-Circulate Method he had recently learned.
Following Ruben’s orders, we set our direction and ran.
From the front, I cut down nearby trees, causing them to fall. This was to make it easier for those following to group up. Everyone behind me had formed their respective squads into the formations they had practiced. I ran forward, relying on defensive Magic and parrying only the closest attacks.
Battle Mages were skilled at running, but they were only faster than ordinary people, not exceptionally fast. As I ran at their pace, we soon found ourselves leading large groups of zombies.
Thump.
A sound of something enormous stomping the ground echoed from afar.
I knew without looking up. It was an Ogre. An Owlbear. A Troll. It was already overwhelming to see hordes of human-shaped zombies swarming, but seeing monsters running and crawling on two or four legs like a wolf-like rabbit was truly astonishing.
Without stopping, I swung my sword in a wide arc from left to right. The crescent-shaped Sword energy shot from my sword tip severed the heads of two Ogres on the left, cut through the waists of three Owlbears, and burst the ankles of a Troll on the right.
“Hold on.”
Ruben stopped everyone. Without knowing what he was doing, the Mages cast shields around their respective squads. I was the only one standing outside the shields. While Steel Corpses wouldn’t be a threat against the shields, it would be better for me to cut down the large monsters first.
It was then.
A faint smell of blood spread from behind me.
It couldn’t be the elites drawing blood, as I hadn’t missed any monsters. Wondering what was happening, I turned around and was startled.
“Ru…”
“27. 30. 12.7. Un Ose. 47. 25. 9.5 Wi Hyeon…”
Ruben’s eyes were bloodshot, his left forearm cut by a dagger. With his hand still on his chest, the child rapidly muttered incomprehensible numbers. Not knowing what he was doing, I couldn’t stop him, and with a pained heart, I dispatched a couple more zombies before me.
It was then.
An Ogre that had been charging forward toppled over.
The Mana that had filled the air, pressing down on everyone’s shoulders, was now rushing northeast like water flowing from a broken dam.
Ruben must have used a Divine object he had hidden in his pocket. But he said just a little prick of his finger would suffice, so what was this state? Even knowing, my expression hardened with sorrow. Ruben muttered a bit faster for a moment, then opened his eyes, which he had tightly shut.
“…La Prira et- Sa.”
It was a familiar prayer. May all be done in the name of God. As the child finished what he was doing and closed his mouth, several large monsters that had been crawling towards Ikyun collapsed, curling up like rocks.
Just as whales could swim with the buoyancy of the sea, large monsters needed the power of strong Mana to move. It was unknown how long and to what extent this Mana convection, stirred up by Ruben, would affect them. But Ruben was not impatient.
Having finished his task, Ruben scanned his surroundings with cold eyes.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
The voices of the invigorated Knights echoed thunderously across the land.
We continued to run, cutting down the attacking zombies. After a little over twenty minutes,
Suddenly, the view opened up.
It was a vast lake, unbelievable to have been created by human hands.
No matter how wide Dongting Lake was, it couldn’t compare to this boundless, dark water I was seeing now. On the map, the reservoir was less than a hand’s span, and I had thought it wouldn’t be difficult to activate the Magic Circles located at its north, south, east, west, and center. But now, it felt incredibly daunting.
It was said to be a circular shape, 130km wide, with a depth of about 400m. The surface, reflecting the dim sky, rippled in a dark red hue.
As we neared the reservoir, zombies and monsters swarmed. Fortunately or unfortunately, most of the enemies were walking or running around the reservoir’s perimeter, but none were swimming.
The zombies, spotting us, swarmed like ants drawn to sugar. They closed in on us in an instant.
Mac Weaber jumped into the reservoir without a moment’s hesitation.
So did Hugh Benson, Elvin, and even Mage Boulder. I was the last to enter the water. Looking back at the Imperial Knights guarding Ruben, who had a determined expression, my feet were reluctant to move.
A wet hand roughly grabbed my ankle as I stood at the water’s edge.
“Hey, aren’t you coming?”
“…I’m sorry.”
It was Hugh Benson, who had entered before me. He tried to pull my ankle and drag me in, but he lacked the strength to swing me as he wished.
After waiting a moment for him to release his grip, I dove into the water.
❖ ❖ ❖
Giggle, giggle. The laughter of Spirits echoed underwater.
My vision was obscured by darkness, making it hard to see. My wet clothes clung to my limbs. Still, it was fortunate I hadn’t worn cumbersome items like a cloak, anticipating the dive.
I found a familiar presence and rejoined Squad 1.
[Let’s hurry. There’s no guarantee the enemies can’t swim.]
The voice, which would have been spoken aloud through the Communication Artifact, echoed in my head.
Since it was a voice heard by others in close proximity within the same squad, Hugh Benson used polite speech. Nevertheless, the annoyance in his voice was clear, making me feel guilty once again.
It’s because I’m so weak. As I think there’s not much time left, I keep…
I shook my head, trying to clear my troubled thoughts.
It wasn’t entirely safe underwater. In my past life, I had been attacked by a bloated zombie. It was the same this time. The zombies, targeting human body heat and flesh, repeatedly dove into the water. Most of them just flailed rather than swam, their teeth chattering as they approached, making them not too difficult to evade.
Each squad swam towards their designated directions.
If we had tried to swim only with our arms and legs, it would have been impossible. However, everyone had a round bubble of air attached to their heads, and the Undines parted the water and pushed us from behind, allowing us to move unhindered.
In this dark water, we couldn’t afford to give off light and become targets. I swam forward as if running with my eyes closed. I cut down anything that blocked my path. If I strayed from the path, an Undine would push the water current to guide me, letting me know I was going in the right direction.
[Hetchu!]
[Who’s coughing while the communication is on?]
[Are you very cold?]
[Ah, no. I’m fine! Wow, but the temperature has dropped significantly. Don’t you feel it? The water temperature is insane right now!]
[It’s winter, so of course. Aren’t you all wearing the Body Temperature Maintenance Artifacts?]
[Ah, that’s true, but!]
Mage Boulder’s playful cough seemed to amuse them. The quiet ones started adding a word or two. Listening to them, I clenched and unclenched my fist. Had the water temperature dropped? I didn’t feel it at all.
I brought my hand close to my face and examined it. My fingertips were shriveled from prolonged contact with water. Still, in parts like this, I was no different from a human. After a moment of thought, I parted the water with both arms again as the others continued swimming.
Perhaps it was the opening of conversation that did it. Everyone in the squad started chattering one by one.
[Do you think we’ve come about halfway?]
[We’ve been swimming for over an hour, surely we’ve covered half the distance?]
[Is everyone else doing okay?]
[We just have to trust them. We can’t see them.]
The Communication Artifacts, worn around everyone’s collar, could only exchange conversations within a 1km range. I felt anxious, unable to know what other squads were doing, as they were already far away.
What about those outside, dealing with the zombies? I didn’t know where they could escape to on the open lake. If Soho Cheon-nyeo or the Thousand-Faced Devil were nearby, how would they manage without me…
At that moment.
Thud.
A strong vibration that struck my entire body made everyone turn in the same direction.