Chapter 389: Gold Mine [5]

“…..”

I waited in silence for several seconds, waiting for something to happen, but…

‘Nothing.’

…I was disappointed to see that there was no change at all. My surroundings were the same and Leon was still next to me.

As if sensing my gaze, he turned his head.

“?”

I pursed my lips before pulling my hand away from my arm.

‘There’s no rush. Just because it doesn’t work now doesn’t mean it won’t work later.’

I could still distinctly recall the first time I used the third leaf. It was on Delilah and it didn’t work on her immediately. It took a trip to the Academy store to get it to work.

Perhaps a similar situation would occur.

‘The only difference is that Delilah is very strong which can explain the delay, but what about me…?’

I was nowhere near as strong as her.

“Haa.”

With a helpless sigh, I stood up.

I looked down at Leon while patting my clothes. He was currently chugging down several pills and applying ointments on his forehead.

“…We’ll probably leave in thirty minutes. Do you think you can recover enough?”

Leon glanced at me for a brief moment before shoving another pill in his mouth.

His face winced from the pain as he mumbled,

“I’ll give it a go.”

*

Thirty minutes flew by.

Leon’s face was still pale but he could now walk without a problem. Though he didn’t look like he was in optimal condition, if push came to shove, I was confident he’d be able to perform like how he usually did.

Which was all that was required of him since he didn’t really have to do too much.

“Follow me quietly. We’re not far off from the mine.”

The one leading this time was the Captain who scanned the surroundings with a sharp look. Behind him were the vassals who looked relatively unharmed.

…In fact, out of the entire group, Leon was the only one who was injured.

Evelyn didn’t sustain any major injuries while I was relatively fine.

A little exhausted, but I was able to mostly recover in the thirty minutes we had to spare.

Rustle~ Rustle~

Pushing the vegetation aside, we moved around in silence while keeping our eyes focused on the front.

All of a sudden, the captain raised his hand and we stopped.

His expression was firm.

“…They’ve locked onto us.”

His words brought no panic to the group. We expected such an outcome. It was all going according to the family Head’s plans.

The fact that we were wearing the clothes of the fallen soldiers was also part of the plan.

…It was to make our enemies think we were fully committed to the act.

“Get ready. I’ll get in touch with the second squad. When they start to approach us we will collaborate with them to push them into the mine.”

Taking out a communication device, the captain whispered something into it before retrieving his weapon and signaling to the other vassals to get in position.

I looked around before moving towards the back.

Leon and Evelyn did the same. This was the family Head’s orders. We were only figureheads. All we had to do was be present while the others did their task.

If everything went according to plan we wouldn’t need to act at all.

“….”

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath.

Taking out several pills, I chugged them down my throat while glancing toward the right side.

A pair of yellow eyes met my sight.

I nodded faintly as a faint flapping sound echoed.

Fwap, fwap—!

***

The gold mine was nestled within a mountain called San Clearance, which rose to a height of one kilometer.

A small camp was set up halfway through the mountain.

“They’re here.”

Captain Bohr stepped out of one of the tents in the camp, his gaze fixed on the dense foliage below.

While no visible signs of life could be seen, the various devices and sentinels positioned throughout the camp detected subtle movement in the undergrowth.

“….They’ve come a little later than the expected time, but not by much.”

He glanced behind him where the troops were stationed and raised his hand.

“Get into position. We will attack them when they get close enough. They should all be relatively worn out and injured. Let’s make quick work of them.”

At the same time he released the orders, he looked behind him. Towards the opening on the mountain where the mine was.

Several carts were being hauled away, each loaded with massive chunks of rock as the miners toiled relentlessly. Their faces were covered in black while sweat poured down from their bodies.

The Captain squinted his eyes while staring at the miners before looking away.

He couldn’t detect any hints of mana from their bodies. They appeared to be regular people. And yet… their frames appeared a little different than the miners he had come across in the past.

They were rather bulky.

But he didn’t dwell too much on the matter. Without mana, they posed no harm to them.

Furthermore, he hadn’t met many miners in the past.

Rustle~ Rustle~

“Get ready.”

The Captain’s expression grew stern as his head flicked back to the foliage. It was quiet, the faint breeze of the night fluttering his clothes slightly.

He extended his right hand where a lance appeared.

Thump!

A silver armor materialized from thin air, covering every inch of his body as his presence grew.

“….”

The world grew quiet as tension fell over the camp.

Rustle~

The bushes rustled as the Captain’s grip on his lance tightened.

Fwap! Fwap—!

A faint fluttering sound echoed from above. Lifting his head up, the captain’s gaze met with a pair of yellow eyes.

‘….An Owl?’

Captain Bohr frowned but soon cast his gaze away.

It wasn’t uncommon for Owls to appear at night. He closed his eyes and felt the changes in the air.

—There’s movement up ahead. Fifty meters.

The sentinel’s voices reached his ears as the grip on the lance tightened further.

—Forty meters! They’ve picked up the pace.

The silence felt stifling.

“Hoo.”

Be it the captain and the soldiers, they all grew tense as their bodies tensed and mana started to accumulate within their bodies.

—Thirty meters!

The enemies grew closer, the gap between each call shortening.

—Twenty meters!

Power started to overflow from the Captain’s lance as a faint glow covered it. His expression grew incomparably serious as he finally took up a stance.

—Ten meters!

Rustle~ Rustle~

He could finally hear the movements with his ears as he clenched his teeth and raised his hand, alerting the group to get ready.

—Five meters!

Shadows appeared behind the foliage.

They were all rushing their way.

—Two me-

There was no need to wait any further.

“Now!”

Power erupted from the Captain’s body, completely taking over the surroundings as a circular wave of pressurized wind burst out of his body.

The nearby soldiers were pushed back a little, but it was of no importance as the ground beneath the captain shattered as he pressed his foot down and slashed down at the nearest shadow.

Swooosh!

….The goal was to take the initiative.

By cutting down the first in line, he aimed to disrupt their formation, allowing the soldiers at the rear to encircle and trap them.

“….!”

The lance cleaved right through several of the shadows that rushed before him.

He was so fast that he didn’t even feel any resistance with his lance as his opponents were directly severed in half, their blood spilling onto the ground.

When the captain glanced to his right and left side he saw that his soldiers were also faring well and a smile crept up on his face.

….His chest started to feel light and he pressed his foot forward in order to advance further.

“Uh?”

However, just as he did so, he abruptly stopped himself.

‘Wait…’

He brought his hand to his chest and felt his rapidly beating heartbeat. Blinking his eyes, he looked down again.

…His gaze fell on the fallen enemies.

“….!”

The captain’s expression quickly changed as he looked at them.

Their faces…

They were blurred.

This…!

Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!

A certain drumming sound echoed within the captain’s mind as he unknowingly raised his head to look up.

There, a pair of yellow eyes stared at him from above.

Its gaze was directed at him, looking down on him with a certain indifference that sent chills down his spine.

“Illusion…! This is all an ill—!”

But it was too late.

Swoosh, swoosh—!

Figures emerged from behind the foliage one after another. This time, the captain was certain they weren’t illusions.

“Hieek..!”

“Akh!!”

Illusions couldn’t replicate the screams of his soldiers.

‘Oh, no…’

Sweat poured down on the Captain’s face as reality dawned on him. Just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse, he felt a powerful presence shoot right for him.

Out of haste, the captain positioned his lance before him.

Boooom—

“Ukeh!”

A powerful blow sent him staggering back as a figure emerged shortly after.

With a tall body, short blonde hair, and deep blue eyes, Bohr recognized him instantly. His expression tightened as he mumbled,

“Thalric.”

…If there was anyone he was worried about, it’d be him.

Captain Borh previously thought he’d be injured, but his heart sank when he saw Thalric look completely unharmed.

‘Wait, why is he uninjured?’

The forces planted near the bridge were strong.

According to his estimates, they should’ve been able to deal a major blow to the Captain and the vassals.

And yet…

“H-how?”

Swoosh!

Captain Thalric didn’t give him any chance to understand what was happening as he thrust his weapon forward.

Clench.

Feeling how dire the situation was, Bohr had no choice but to step back in order to avoid the incoming attack.

He did just that and was about to prepare a counterattack when another situation occurred.

Clank, clank!

“Hueek!”

“Akhh…!”

A sudden surge of screams startled the Captain who turned his head.

“Ah…!”

His eyes widened in horror as he saw the miners suddenly radiating mana, brandishing swords and spears.

‘H-how is this possible…!?’

The captain couldn’t believe his eyes.

He had checked the miners personally beforehand. He was sure they were just regular people, and yet…

Clank!

“Kh!”

He retreated back as his arms trembled due to the collision of his lance with Thalric’s weapon.

“Ukeh…!”

“H-help!”

All around him, Borh could hear the screams of his soldiers as they were pushed further and further back, toward the mine.

Spurt, spurt—

Blood continued to spill all over the ground as soldiers fell one after another.

Clank!

Borh grunted as he retreated one step further.

‘This can’t go on…!’

The entire lineup was shattered, and all forms of organization crumbled. This couldn’t go on any further.

He had to find a way to regroup.

Flick. Flick.

The Captain’s head flicked all around before settling towards the mine.

A thought occurred to him as he shouted.

“Retreat!”

Bang!

He stomped his foot against the ground, shattering the ground beneath and releasing a powerful pressure that sent Captain Thalric retreating a few steps back.

Pointing towards the mine, he shouted.

“Retreat to the mine!!”

“Stop them…!”

As if realizing his plan, Captain Thalric pushed himself forward and tried to stop him, but it was no use.

Clank…!

Captain Bohr’s strength was extremely powerful.

He couldn’t be defeated quickly.

In fact, if the two went head-to-head without any distractions then Borh would most likely come out the winner. He was that strong.

“Attack faster! Don’t let them retreat into the mine!”

Thalric’s frantic actions only made things easier for Bohr who managed to defend each of his attacks due to how predictable they started to become.

“Go! Go…!”

Seamlessly blocking Thalric’s path, he also started to help his soldiers retreat into the cave.

Clank, clank!

Gradually, he started to retreat as he fended off several attacks.

“Ukkh..!”

Injuries started to pile up on his body, but it was worth it.

Clank!

“Ukh!”

Staggering a few steps back, the Bohr looked around.

Seeing that almost everyone had retreated into the mine, he showed a ruthless smile as power started to surge from his body.

It suffocated the surroundings as an intense glow formed around his body.

His lance grew in size and his body started to crack and pop as the muscles on his arms bulged.

“Ha—!”

He screamed once, thrusting his lance down.

Thalric’s eyes constricted as he swiped his hand to stop his vassals from advancing. A shield formed shortly after.

“Cover!”

Booom!

A terrifying explosion ensued shortly after.

Rumble! Rumble!

The explosion was followed by a large rumble as the mountain quaked.

Bang, bang!

“Cover—!”

Rocks tumbled down, and a thick cloud of dust billowed into the air, obscuring everyone’s vision.

….It took several minutes for everything to settle down, and once all was said and done, the Captain stood with an expressionless look.

He stared at the entrance of the mine which was now completely blocked and turned around.

“Prepare to explode everything. They’ve fallen for the bait.”

….Bohr mots likely assumed they wouldn’t try to break into the mine considering how precious the mine was, but he was wrong.

The mine was worthless.

Just like their lives.

He was just about to issue another order when Leon appeared before him, his expression grim.

“Wait, don’t explode it yet.”

“Hm?”

Leon’s mouth twitched as he felt the captain’s gaze on him.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Leon found himself quietly mumbling,

“Gone…”

“What?”

The Captain frowned.

“What is gone?”

“Julien.”

Leon opened his eyes, revealing his two gray eyes.

“….He’s missing.”