War never has anything to do with the word "beautiful."
For Renjiro, this was… technically the first time he had ever stepped onto a large-scale battlefield.
By all logic, having lived a peaceful modern life just over a month ago, and with little prior exposure to bloodshed, he should have collapsed in nausea after witnessing severed limbs and mangled bodies.
Yet…
"Judging purely by strength, these 'super-sized Scorpion Splinter Units' have danger levels roughly equivalent to the 'Worm Well' on Dungeon Floor 37. Their potential is Lv.4."
"As long as we neutralize their ranged attacks first, they're not hard to deal with."
"As for the normal calf-sized Splinter Units… the vast majority are Lv.1 grunts, with only a few reaching Lv.2."
"For adventurers with higher Blessing Levels, this is hardly a serious challenge."
"Even if we worry about ants killing an elephant, retreating or fleeing is no problem."
"But for ordinary people, this is still a highly threatening monster army."
"A normal village… or even a small town, probably couldn't hold them."
Hovering nearly a hundred meters above the battlefield, Renjiro (Aether) calmly observed the situation.
Interestingly, just a few days ago, when Lumine went to rescue that small village, she didn't lose composure even when unexpectedly confronted by bloodshed.
Was this purely because Renjiro's mental fortitude was naturally ironclad?
Perhaps…
"BOOM~"
From below, a massive explosion erupted, scattering and obliterating yet another cluster of Scorpion Splinter Units.
Renjiro finally witnessed the full power of the Gulliver Brothers.
Though all under 1.2 meters tall, these four tiny humanoids used their small frames as human shields. Sword, spear, hammer, and axe, all attacks chained continuously, protecting the adventurers behind them without a single injury.
Thanks to the presence of Alfrigg and others, Riveria and the Elf mages could safely cast spells repeatedly, raining destructive attacks on the surrounding Scorpion army.
Their output environment was exceedingly safe.
Humans have a survival instinct.
Adventurers who had scattered, along with soldiers of the Rakia Kingdom, instinctively gravitated toward the position of the Gulliver Brothers.
Just in time…
"BOOM~"
With thirteen super-sized Scorpion Splinter Units eliminated, Old Gareth waded into the Scorpion army like a living war machine, swinging his giant axe in a devastating mowing spree.
The monsters that had terrorized the Rakia army countless times now tasted what it felt like to be on the receiving end.
The gap in power brought by Lv.6 Blessing Levels was truly impossible to compensate for with sheer numbers.
Meanwhile, the battlefield wasn't just the Gulliver Brothers and the Heavy Hitter.
Soon, Hedin and Hogni landed on the ground, while Riveria maintained air superiority by perching on the Archon-controlled dark-gold giant measuring rod.
In this "small-scale coordination," multiple veterans launched counterattacks from several directions, gradually halting the tide of the Scorpion army.
Seeing this scene, Renjiro (Aether) thought clearly:
"No need to worry about the camp. Now, I need to figure out… how this monster army appeared so close without anyone noticing."
Of course, the boundary patrols of the Large Tree Labyrinth should have been monitoring the area.
Such surveillance never stops.
Yet now…
"As for insect-type units… tsk. Antares has gotten so ridiculous that I'm instinctively confusing them with 'alien bugs.'"
Scorpions aren't insects.
Flying was impossible, night hadn't fallen yet, and there was zero cover.
That left only burrowing.
"Why does this monster even need a dungeon lord ability?"
Renjiro frowned.
Next…
"Lumine, Paimon, trace the path of these monsters and locate the tunnel entrance as quickly as possible."
Through the mental link, his words reached them instantly:
"If they keep 'spawning troops' this easily, it'll never end."
"The tunnels that can let these super-sized Scorpions through must be obvious. Finding them shouldn't be hard."
"No need to bother."
The Archon suddenly interrupted:
"I've already detected the locations of those tunnels."
Right, how could they forget that the Archon was here too?
Seeing Riveria and the others heading to the battlefield to assist…
"Lefiya, come with me."
Without hesitation, Lumine, wings spread, swooped over the dark-gold giant rod and scooped the Elf girl into her arms.
"Ah~ Ah ah ah ah?"
Lefiya, already flustered from her earlier missteps, now felt her cheeks flush, her mind temporarily blank.
Until…
"Lefiya!"
Lumine's shout snapped her back.
"Start casting. We're going to seal those tunnels below."
"Trust me, I'll protect you."
"You must do your part too."
Short, firm words entered her ears.
"Ah… yes!"
The young girl's gaze hardened as she focused on Lumine's nearby profile.
[Proud warrior, snipers of the forest. Take up your bows before the advancing…]
The wide-area annihilation magic of the Thousand-Spell Elves began to charge.
At the same time…
[Rea Laevateinn!!]
Riveria's surrounding arrowstorm of lightning and fire covered the terrain, striking where the Gulliver Brothers had moved, killing many Scorpion Splinter Units.
The attack also sheltered numerous adventurers and soldiers converging toward their side, letting them regroup safely.
Riveria, Gareth, Hedin, and Hogni cleared wide areas around them.
Thanks to continuous rock crystal bombardment from Ningguang, even Diona and Barbara didn't need to act.
Diona, as always, was ready to shield teammates, while Barbara, having received Orion's Arrow from Artemis, became the team's most destructive unit if needed.
Now…
[Fusillade Fallarica!!!]
Lefiya's wide-area magic, under her control, simultaneously struck multiple targets.
Flaming trails arced through the air, collapsing all tunnel entrances at once.
The Scorpion army's reinforcements were finally cut off.
…temporarily.
=============
140+ Advance Chapters Available on Patreon! Patreon.com/Veltoria