” We need to find a weak point…”
What could be the weak point of the Skeleton Soldiers?
Nothing in particular came to mind.
Unlike other Gates, Chemical Weapons wouldn’t work, Modern Firearms had little effect, and ranged strategies didn’t succeed either.
Even the Golem in Armor, which was supposed to be our trump card, was killed.
To make it worse, we’ve only managed to take down three Behemoths.
In the Capital, the combination of Chemical Weapons, terrain, and circumstances had all aligned, allowing us to exterminate dozens of Giant Army Ants, which were high-level Monsters.
But here, we’ve only taken down three Behemoths.
Was it three or four? Whatever.
How could we take down Skeleton Soldiers more easily?
“Grenades.”
“Didn’t you say Modern Firearms don’t work on Behemoths?”
At the very least, bringing a Grenade Launcher might interrupt the Behemoths from tossing their troops and keep the Skeleton Soldiers from gathering.
But it was just a simple hypothesis, not something I could place my faith in.
“What about bringing a Swordsman or a Spear Master Hunter?”
“That wouldn’t be of much use.”
We might be able to deal with enemies at close range, but going into melee with a Behemoth wielding a simple weapon just wasn’t feasible.
“They’d get swallowed whole, or get surrounded by the Skeleton Soldiers.”
There wasn’t enough time to think up a perfect solution.
For now, let’s stick to this plan.
“Let’s do it this way.”
Hmm.
The plan was like this.
Several four-person teams of Association Awakened would secure the area around the Gate, while the Association President and I would search for Ruins and hunt down the enemy.
The Association said they’d received training, but it was only a few days’ worth.
“How well can a bunch of amateurs really do…?”
Honestly, it was hard to say.
Being Stone Mountain, even vehicle entry was a challenge.
The Association President frowned.
“In the end, even if we cross the Gate, if a high-grade Monster pushes through, there’s no proper solution…”
“It’s the same no matter what we do.”
That was the reality.
No matter what kind of plan we came up with, if a Behemoth or other high-level Monster broke through, we wouldn’t be able to hold the Barrier Line.
Still, our best bet was to strike first.
We managed to drive the enemy out earlier, but only briefly.
They’d definitely return.
The Association Awakened teams quickly took their positions and secured the area around the Gate.
That much went smoothly.
Now.
All that remained was for us to eliminate the remaining enemies.
The Association President, the Saintess, and I began moving as quickly as possible, following the enemy’s traces.
Our hearts were anxious and uneasy, but this time, we hadn’t even seen a single Monster since coming over.
Above the Association President and my head floated a translucent Detector Eye.
I shut my mouth and surveyed the surroundings.
“Maybe the enemy got scared and retreated.”
“They’re probably nearby.”
Ming Ming and the Association President’s Crows cocked their heads, gazing in the direction we’d yet to explore.
“This way.”
We pushed through rough terrain.
Soon, we found something that looked like a path.
It might’ve been a path used by wild animals, but considering the situation, it was probably used by Monsters.
Either way, it was easier to walk.
We moved forward, using Stone Mountain’s Giant Strange Rocks as cover.
Soon, Ming Ming looked around with an uneasy expression.
“Ming…”
We hurriedly halted our steps.
Ahead, we saw a structure built into the stone wall, as if it had been carved from Stone Mountain itself.
A fortress perched on the mountain, blending in with the cracks and folds of the rocks.
“Let’s hide for now.”
I nodded at the Association President’s words and searched for a place to hide.
In my mind, I was still turning over possible solutions.
“Is it a Ruins, the Abandoned City of an Alien Civilization, or just a Monster nest?”
With a grave face, I loaded the Grenade Launcher.
Even before regression, I hadn’t used it much, and not once since regression, so I was especially cautious.
If not for Telekinesis, I wouldn’t even be able to carry something this heavy.
“Let’s rework the strategy.”
“Eh?”
We hid among the rocks.
The Saintess and the Association President waited for my words.
“We don’t have a single move that could turn the whole battle. The Golem in Armor got smashed by a Behemoth last time.”
“Right.”
So a head-on fight or a final showdown, like before, was out of the question.
We needed a different strategy.
“We’ll maintain Tactical Superiority. I have Levitation and Telekinesis Skills, the Association President has similar abilities, and we have plenty of flying Summoned Beasts. Using Tactical Superiority, we’ll circle the enemy and draw them into battle.”
“Okay.”
We each gripped our weapons and steeled our resolve.
***
Using my Skill, I climbed a building in the Ruins.
Up close, the building’s structure was both similar to and different from human architecture.
Apparently, no matter who you are, making doors and windows rectangular is the easiest. After all, right angles are the easiest to match by eye, so any other angle would just be a nuisance.
The Association President quickly followed after me.
A few of her bare-handed puppets assisted her movements.
The Saintess held onto Ming Ming and floated upward, carried by wings.
It looked a bit ridiculous, but, well, it was still three-dimensional movement.
“Let’s move.”
“Okay.”
“If anyone falls, we’ll retrieve them. Make sure to watch each other closely.”
Now that we’d seized the high ground, I felt a lot better.
In this state, we couldn’t be surrounded by Skeleton Soldiers.
In fact, the rugged terrain was no longer a disadvantage.
“The first objective is to eliminate the enemy’s top combat units. The second is to recover any Artifacts. The third is to explore the Ruins. Well… let’s have a good fight again this time.”
It might not seem like much, but we had three Fifth-Rank Awakened participating in the battle.
We formally entered the Ruins.
It was a deserted city with no living creatures, but that didn’t mean nothing was moving.
Several Skeleton Soldiers were sitting or lying around the city.
Sensing our presence, they began to rise, one by one.
“They’re moving?”
“We’ll keep moving. If there are Monsters here… it means we’ve found our target location.”
“So much for a peaceful exploration.”
We headed toward the suspicious-looking structure with a spire at the center of the Ruined City.
The flow of Aether was unusual.
As if a typhoon were about to break.
“Boneyard ahead!”
Just as the Association President said, a Behemoth rose between the buildings.
A tower of bones, wearing two skulls as its head.
Between the buildings and stone pillars of the Ruins, five Behemoths appeared. Not a small number, as expected.
Maybe they remembered me, because this time, they immediately tried to throw Skeleton Soldiers at us.
It was time to test the hypothesis.
I aimed the Grenade Launcher at the Behemoth.
———-!
An explosion echoed.
The Behemoth itself didn’t seem to take a direct hit, but the Skeleton Soldier it was holding flew apart in all directions.
“So it does work.”
We continued moving along the stone pillars of the Ruins.
Because of the terrain, the Skeleton Soldiers couldn’t effectively pursue us.
“So far, so good.”
“My magic isn’t reaching. I’ll get closer.”
The Association President rushed toward where the Behemoths stood.
We had to move toward them, too.
The Behemoth raised its arm again.
This time, it tried to throw a Dead Knight, but I still had grenades left in the launcher.
I pulled the trigger, and this time, the Dead Knight also went flying in the explosion.
Flames burst at the bone tower. The Behemoth, with two skulls for a head, had no expression, but if it did, surely it would’ve looked annoyed.
At the tip of the Association President’s Staff, purple Aether gathered, and the Saintess summoned Sunlight down upon the Behemoth.
——-!
The Behemoth stumbled.
“As expected, their talents really are something.”
With the firepower of two S-rank abilities combined, even a Monster that huge had no choice but to kneel.
“The synergy is better than I thought.”
Purple Aether drilled through the pile of bones.
The Monster tried to escape the Saintess’s light, but couldn’t.
The Behemoth lifted its head and rammed the building we’d just been in.
The entire structure began to shake with a deafening roar.
I fired the remaining three grenades at the Behemoth.
Since it was taller than the building, it wasn’t hard to hit.
With the explosions, both skulls of the Behemoth crashed to the ground.
“Is it dead?”
I sat down and reloaded the Grenade Launcher.
“It’s dead.”
With the right synergy, equipment, and party members, even that seemingly invincible Monster was surprisingly easy to take down.
After reloading, I lifted my head again.
I wanted to savor Victory, but staying still would only get us surrounded, and once surrounded, it’s over.
We took down the second Behemoth the same way.
The question was the effective range.
The Behemoths could only throw Skeleton Soldiers within a certain distance, but I could hit them from much farther away, and much faster, with grenades.
Block their arms with grenades, let the Association President use her magic, and then press down with the Saintess’s holy magic.
Ming Ming spewed fire at another Behemoth, and it too collapsed.
Though our Aether was running low, at this rate, we’d be done soon.
And the number of Behemoths wasn’t infinite, after all.
With a crash, both skulls of another Behemoth hit the ground, marking the third one dead.
“My level’s going up like crazy.”
“Well, we’ve taken down a lot of high-grade Monsters.”
My level had already reached 60.
Thirty levels gained through enlightenment, and another thirty through hunting Monsters.
Things got a little quieter on the Monsters’ side.
Seemed they were thinking up a new strategy.
This time, the Behemoths paired up in twos and approached.
They didn’t seem to be making any moves to throw anything.
“Until we know what their new plan is—run!”
It looked like the Behemoths had given up on the strategy of throwing Skeleton Soldiers, and were simply trying to rush us.
“You can’t stop that with grenades.”
The Behemoths didn’t slow down.
“If they catch us, we’re dead.”
Dead Knights began chasing us around the Behemoths.
We’d managed to catch one by chance before, but it wasn’t easy.
I swapped my weapon for a Magic Engineering Railgun.
From here on out, the key would be whether we could maintain Tactical Superiority against the Dead Knights…
The reason the Behemoths paired up seemed to be to shield each other from attacks.
They’d given up on lowering their height to throw things, but at the same time, they reduced the area we could hit with our guns.
“Annoying bastards.”
Fortunately, enemies who simply charged without throwing were easier targets for the Magic Engineering Railgun—
Wait, missed. Damn.
I steadied my aim again.
Tang!
“Finally got one.”
I looked around.
Now that we had the high ground and just a few Dead Knights left, this battle would soon be over.
I hoped the Gate was being guarded properly.
“I hope the Barrier Line hasn’t been breached?”
That thought made me feel uneasy for a moment.