Chapter 370: The Labor Camp (2)

…Thud!

Vikir found himself pinned under a enormous palm.

‘…Not human strength indeed, definitely.’

As Vikir had thought, the palm of D’Ordume currently pressing down on his entire body was not human.

As large as a bed, rough and thick scales sticking out on the back of the hand, sharp nails resembling hooks, and beyond the thin claws spread between the five thick fingers, there were black scales and yellow-burning pupils visible.

A Crocodile.

D’Ordume had revealed a monstrous appearance, as if a mixture of human and crocodile.

“I don’t particularly like this appearance with my uniform torn.”

D’Ordume muttered, revealing his terrifying teeth.

Meanwhile, Vikir looked at D’Ordume’s beast-like appearance and thought.

‘…The rumor that the 5 guardians of Nouvellebag were not entirely human, was it true?’

Beastfolk. Humans with mixed genes of various animals.

They were treated as humanoid races like orcs, dwarves, and elves, possessing high intelligence and often appearing similar to humans, allowing coexistence with humans.

However, when their emotions reached extremes, they transformed into a monstrous appearance mixed with animal features, leading to discrimination and a dwindling population.

“A crocodile-type beastfolk… This is rare.”

Vikir dug through the soft soil on the ground and swiftly escaped from D’Ordume’s palm.

D’Ordume pursued Vikir, revealing his teeth.

A long and thick tail protruded from his black uniform and lashed out like a whip.

Crash!

The rocks behind collapsed entirely.

Vikir plunged into the space left by the tail’s passing and swung the BDISSEM chain at D’Ordume’s side.

However…

…Clang!

D’Ordume’s skin was already filled with thick and tough scales and plates.

This was why Vikir’s punch had caused no damage earlier.

“You stand no chance against me.”

D’Ordume said, driving the spiral aura still rotating around his forearm into the ground.

Quake-Clang-Clang-Clang-Clang!

A tumultuous storm of devastating blows seemed to erupt from beneath the ground.

Rocks, soil, sand, lava—all turned into fine particles within this whirlpool.

Moreover, the sulfur gases around were sucked towards the core of the storm, igniting flames, boiling the surrounding atmosphere madly.

Krrrrrrr-Clang!

Explosions and pulverization. Prisoners and guards alike were astounded, trembling in fear from afar at the sight, as if a god of destruction had descended.

And Vikir too made his decision.

“Ah, this won’t do.”

Facing an opponent wearing the BDISSEM chains, even if he died and revived, he wouldn’t be able to win.

If it hadn’t been for the stats accumulated from the Abyss, he would have been torn apart long ago.

‘In that case, how about this’

Vikir deftly dodged the incoming blows and retreated.

The destination was the steep slope where Vikir had been pushing rocks just a moment ago.

As D’Ordume crawled up to the middle of the slope following Vikir.

Tock-

Vikir kicked out all the pre-prepared stones.

Then, flames ignited and roaring, gigantic rocks began to pour down with a deafening crash!

Clang!

The fiery rocks rolled down the slope at a furious speed, engulfing D’Ordume.

‘Understanding the terrain is basic in combat.’

Vikir had a habit of always surveying the surroundings for terrain features in preparation for battles.

He had done so during the red and Black Mountains fight with Madam Eigth legs, during his time in the orphanage, and now in Nouvellebag at level nine.

However…

“You underestimate the guardians of Nouvellebag, rookie.”

D’Ordume showed no fear even in the face of a rock that rolled right up to his nose.

“Ugh!”

Taking a deep breath, D’Ordume raised his swollen forearm high.

And then…

Crash!

He shattered the rock with a single blow.

The powerful fist followed by a whirlwind of blades not only smashed the rock into pieces but also ground and pulverized it into a cloud of dust.

Woo-oooo!

The guards watching from afar cheered for D’Ordume’s tremendous prowess.

However…

“Good shit. What else you got? Bring it on.”

Vikir kicked a few more boulders on the slope.

Rumble-

Bigger rocks than before started rolling down the slope.

“……”

A drop of sweat finally formed on D’Ordume’s forehead.

“Argh!”

If he retreated here while his subordinates were watching, it would damage his reputation as a guardian.

As Vikir intended, D’Ordume found himself in a situation where he had to break all the rolling rocks with brute force.

Bang! Clang! Clang-clang!

D’Ordume successfully smashed three rocks in succession with great momentum.

But it seemed the fourth rock was a bit too much…

Crunch-

He could only break about half of it.

Hit by the remaining rock fragments, D’Ordume was thrown backward and impaled on the lava spikes below the slope.

Splash! Hiss-

The lava pool, boiling at an insanely high temperature beyond common sense, swallowed D’Ordume whole.

……

The guards who had been cheering moments ago froze in shock.

A strange silence began to spread throughout the entire labor camp.

At that moment.

Boom! Bang!

The surface of the lava pool shattered, and something large and sharp shot up from below.

It was D’Ordume, the battered figure, jumping up in a rage from head to toe.

The uniforms provided to the guards had basic fire-resistant properties, but seeing how tattered D’Ordume’s uniform had become, it seemed he had suffered serious burn damage.

“Arrgh! You! I’ll kill you!”

D’Ordume, consumed by extreme anger, seemed to have lost sight of everything.

Just looking at his muscles, which had swelled to more than double their previous size before falling into the lava, made it evident.

At that moment…

“Stop. That’s enough.”

Vikir raised his hand.

Taking advantage of D’Ordume’s momentary pause, Vikir quickly made a proposition.

“Aight, I’m done. Spare me.”

“……?”

D’Ordume momentarily doubted his ears.

Criminals confined to Level Nine usually had immense pride.

So, when they caused a riot, the only way to suppress it was through execution.

But…?

“I can’t beat you, that’s for sure. Maybe if I used aura. Anyway, I don’t want to die like this. If you spare me, I’ll accept any punishment. I’ll work diligently in labor from now on.”

Only now did D’Ordume and all the other guards understand what Vikir was saying.

Goodness, a prisoner from Level Nine was surrendering! Why cause a riot in the first place if you were going to do this!

“What… This is ridiculous!”

As D’Ordume was about to erupt in protest, Vikir subtly shifted aside.

“By the way, I’ve been gradually weakening all the stakes during our labor work.”

“……!”

“If you don’t spare me, I’ll reset all the work I’ve done so far to zero.”

Besides the stakes he had kicked out just now, Vikir had done countless other tasks involving stakes.

If all the rocks on the scaffold above were to roll down, the workload for the entire Level Nine area could reset to zero.

Thunk-

D’Ordume gritted his teeth so hard they might break.

Even if that vile creature decided to flee, they might eventually catch him, but the damage would be too great.

With many subordinates watching and other work sites halted, there was no way to continue the commotion.

“Fine. If you surrender, I’ll spare you from execution.”

“Yessir..”

Only after receiving D’Ordume’s public promise did Vikir descend from the slope.

As Vikir came down, countless guards who had been standing beside D’Ordume rushed forward and restrained Vikir with multiple layers of BDISSEM shackles.

Clank, clank, clank…

D’Ordume walked up to the kneeling Vikir.

And then…

Thwack!

With all his might, D’Ordume struck Vikir’s face with his fist.

Thud… Thud…

Looking down at the bloodied and sprawled Vikir, D’Ordume snorted.

“Take him to solitary confinement. For three months, no, make it a hundred days.”

“Yes! A hundred days in solitary confinement is practically ‘execution’.”

A lieutenant nearby nodded.

Eventually, numerous guards crowded around and dragged Vikir away with the BDISSEM chains.

Thus, Vikir collapsed to the ground and disappeared into the depths of unconsciousness.

“…The commotion is over! Resume the labor!”

D’Ordume turned his head and shouted.

But…

“……”

Neither the guards nor the prisoners moved, all staying still, quietly observing.

At that, D’Ordume shouted again.

“What’s going on! Resume the labor immediately!”

Then, Kirko, crawled forward and spoke in a hesitant voice.

“Uh, sir… Major. I’m sorry to say this, but… there’s no labor to resume, sir.”

“What?”

D’Ordume furrowed his brows as if asking what nonsense it was.

Then Kirko cautiously raised a finger and pointed behind D’Ordume.

“…?”

Curious, D’Ordume turned his head to see the scene behind him.

A collapsed mountain. Shattered rocks. Deeply excavated earth.

The excavation had progressed so much that there was nothing left for the prisoners to work on.

As D’Ordume sweated profusely and raged, it was because the destruction work had progressed overwhelmingly fast, leaving nothing for the prisoners to do.

“……! …! …! …!”

Veins seemed to bulge on D’Ordume’s forehead as he realized he had single-handedly completed the prisoners’ daily workload.