novelraw Chapter 139 : Chapter 139
Chapter 139 : Chapter 139
Chapter 139. The Easternmost Village (2)
The easternmost coastal village had long forgotten its former tranquility.
It was now like a huge melting pot that operated day and night.
The sound of iron hammers never ceased, accompanied by the resounding songs unique to dwarves, and from the forest, the deafening roar of falling giant trees mixed with the shouts of soldiers.
The ships for the expedition to Reubungwo were slowly taking shape.
The sight of these diverse races sweating for a single goal was truly a spectacle.
As I was receiving a progress report in front of the barracks,Baldin, the dwarf foreman with a bushy mustache, approached me, sweating profusely.
A look of trouble was evident on his face.
“Hero (Yongsa)! I don't think the giant trees from the northern forest will be enough. We need more special timber for the keel to withstand the waves of that cursed strait, but it's all dried up around here. We might have to go deep into the mountains.”
Special timber.
An unexpected resource problem.
There was no doubt about the dwarves' technical skills, but a lack of materials was something even they couldn't help.
I answered briefly.
“I understand, Baldin. Let's find another way for now. Don't worry too much.”
I said that, but I sighed inwardly.
Another way.
Where on earth could I get such precious timber right now?
I became anxious.
‘This won't do. I need to form a separate team to procure the timber.’
Just then, news arrived that the long-awaited main force had arrived, along with a loud horn blast.
Mammon, looking all smug about something, appeared before me.
Behind him, a disciplined line of Lumen Fortis soldiers and a mountain of supplies stretched endlessly.
“As instructed, I have safely transported three thousand elite soldiers from Lumen Fortis and the supplies! Haha! Some pesky monsters bothered us on the way, but under my command, they were all turned to dust!”
He bragged, highlighting his achievements, but his report didn't end there.
“Also, the knight orders and mage support troops dispatched from the allied kingdoms will soon arrive. The Silver Knights from the Kingdom of Asturias, the battle mages from the Magic Kingdom of Aeternia. Wow, this is going to be quite a sight, isn't it?”
As Mammon said, the coast was instantly filled with various flags and armor, revealing the majesty of a great allied army.
So many people, different races and nations, had united before the threat of Primus.
It was undoubtedly a heart-stirring sight.
“Good work, Mammon.”
I praised him briefly, but his eyes were already scanning the surroundings, sparkling as if looking for something interesting to see.
It seemed this was more his forte than a boring dungeon management.
But my heart was still heavy.
When would the ships to carry all those troops be completed?
Despite the dwarves' dedicated efforts, shipbuilding was slower than expected, and unexpected problems like the special timber kept holding us back.
‘The towers of Reubungwo might be being destroyed right now, at this very moment.’
Time was not on our side.
Impatience rose up to my throat.
***
The shipbuilding was slow, but the huge skeletons were taking shape one by one, changing the landscape of the coast.
The rough hammering sound of the dwarves and the delicate trimming sound of the elves echoed in a strange dissonance.
The arrived allied soldiers were either maintaining their weapons or repeating basic training in their respective areas, and the entire village was as busy as a huge military base.
I briefly stepped out of the barracks and looked around at this complex yet hopeful scene.
Clang! Clang-!
The sound of clashing swords was still loud in a corner of the training ground.
It was Adel and Douglas Junior.
In just a few days, Douglas' swordsmanship had noticeably improved.
He was parrying Adel's sharp attacks much more stably than before, and sometimes he even made Adel flinch with a sharp counterattack that caught her off guard.
Of course, it was obvious that Adel was using a training sword instead of Anceps.
And that she wasn't going all out, but his growth was surprising.
But Adel's expression was filled with an unknown anguish instead of satisfaction.
Her sword was aimed at Douglas, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere, looking unstable.
“Tsk.”
I heard Noemi, who was watching from under the shade of a tree, click her tongue softly.
Her face clearly showed a complex emotion, whether it was jealousy or pity.
When I gave her a subtle glance, she pouted and grumbled.
“No, why is my sister going that far? She could just teach him. Does she have to push him like that?”
“It must be Adel's way. She's probably trying to draw out Douglas' potential as much as possible.”
I said, but Noemi still looked displeased.
I let out a hollow laugh, thinking what kind of youth drama this was with Primus just around the corner.
Just then, a loud shout was heard from the shipyard.
It was the dwarves and elves again.
It seemed they had another disagreement over how to handle the heavy oak keel.
“Hey, Mr. Tree Spirit! How are we going to launch the ship in a hundred years if you handle it so gently? The keel is the ship's spine! We need to secure it more forcefully, more firmly, to withstand those damn waves!”
The dwarf artisan shouted, stroking his beard.
Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.
On the other hand, the elf carpenter frowned and retorted.
He paid no mind to the dwarf's rough words and spoke calmly but firmly.
“Don't you know that if you handle it with only force, ignoring the grain of the wood, it can warp during the voyage? You shouldn't just look at the immediate sturdiness, but think about the balance and durability on the sea. Delicate tuning is the only way to bring out the true nature of the material. As expected of you stone-like fellows.”
“What? Stone-like?”
The dwarf's eyes widened.
“Didn't you just call us tree spirits!”
The elf, too, did not hide his displeasure.
Just as both sides were getting worked up and the atmosphere was about to turn hostile,
Anonymous intervened between them.
“It's noisy.”
She glanced at both sides in turn and said concisely.
“The keel will be secured in the dwarf's way. Strength is the priority. However, for the finishing of the joints and the anti-warping treatment, seek the elf's advice. Isn't it just a matter of utilizing each other's strengths? Any complaints?”
At her cold voice and the subtle pressure of a dragon queen contained within it, the two couldn't say a word and eventually nodded.
Just making those two work together was a big deal.
An alliance was truly a difficult thing.
‘It's hard to be in sync from the beginning. But if a little more time passes, they will eventually come to understand each other.’
On the other side, Aman was busy.
He had learned quite a bit of the continental language and was now able to lead conversations fluently on his own, even without Anonymous translating by his side.
He was drawing a map of the waters around Reubungwo on a large parchment, and the veteran sailors were listening intently so as not to miss a single word of his explanation.
“The current in this area changes direction every fifteen days. It's presumed to be due to the moon's gravity. And on foggy days, a reef that shows illusions appears, and sometimes a whirlpool……”
The information from his experience was of decisive help in planning the voyage.
I watched him with Anonymous for a while.
She spoke to me quietly.
“Master, besides the illusions Aman mentioned, there's a high possibility that remnants of ancient magic or unresolved curses remain in the strait.”
“You mean it's not just a problem of powerful monsters?”
“Yes. The Tear of the Sea God is powerful, but it's not omnipotent. It will require considerable magic control ability to use and control its power fully.”
“Hmm.”
“We might need Noemi's help. If we're not careful, the entire fleet could be in danger.”
Her warning reminded me once again that crossing the strait was not a simple voyage.
It would be another huge trial.
Thorough preparation was necessary.
There was still a long way to go.
***
Meanwhile, at that time.
Iris had finally reached the 90th floor of the dungeon.
An unknown territory where human feet had barely trod.
The quality of the air she felt from the moment she set foot was distinctly different from the previous floors.
The pungent smell of sulfur that permeated deep into her lungs and the piercing smell of blood.
A thick, damp killing intent that set all the nerves in her body on edge dominated the entire space.
‘What's with this unpleasant air? It's on a different level from the 80s floors. Is this really the entrance to hell?’
Iris' brow furrowed automatically at the pressure she felt throughout her body.
This was the 90s floors.
She could feel it in her skin that this was the final gate to the realm of demons.
The atmosphere was quite murderous, but it stimulated her fighting spirit instead.
Iris was not one to back down here.
The blood dagger in her hand grew hot as if responding to the surrounding evil energy, spewing an ominous red light.
The dagger seemed to be stimulating Iris' fighting spirit.
No, it seemed to be stimulating a destructive impulse beyond that.
‘Kuk, the dagger is acting up again. But this is actually good. My blood is boiling!’
Iris did not try to suppress that dangerous feeling.
Instead, she focused on that power and set all her nerves on edge.
She was able to come this far because of this power, and with this power, she would cut down the being before her.
She reassured herself.
‘I can control this power. I must.’
Her red eyes shone more intensely than ever before.
Then, the pitch-black darkness in front of her wriggled as if it were alive, and something huge revealed its horrifying outline.
A chaotic mass whose shape was difficult to define. On top of a form that seemed to be a tangle of countless, pain-distorted upper bodies writhing together, black bones and tattered flesh protruded grotesquely.
It was like a nightmare crawling out of hell itself.
An eerie echo, whether it was the screams of sacrificed souls or the sound of its own existence, spread low throughout the cave.
‘Is that the Floor Master of the 90s floors, the Soul Eater? It looks much more hideous and powerful than the rumors.’
Iris sensed that the being before her was far beyond the category of a simple monster.
That it was pure evil and death itself.
The evil energy it radiated was incomparable to any monster before.
Just by existing, the creature greedily sucked in the surrounding magic power, distorting the space.
A suffocating pressure.
Iris felt an instinctive fear creeping up her spine.
Her heart seemed to be beating twice as fast as usual.
But the fighting spirit within her, the desire to fight the strong, immediately scoffed at that fear.
‘Yes, this is how it should be! Wouldn't I be called a true powerhouse only by defeating a creature like this?’
Fear and excitement mixed strangely, causing her adrenaline to surge.
This was the fight she had wanted.
A chance to prove her true strength to Adel or her father.
Iris focused her magic power even more on the blood dagger.
The dagger vibrated as if it were wailing, and a blood-red aura coiled around the blade like a snake, burning more fiercely.
“Huu-”
She let out a short breath, lowered her body, and gathered strength in her legs so that she could kick off the ground and charge at any moment.
Two glowing red dots in the center of the Soul Eater's body.
Those must be its eyes.
Those red eyes and Iris' gaze finally met head-on in the air.
A breathtaking silence of the calm before the storm, as if time had stopped, hung in the air.
Who would be the first to move?
No one could know.