Chapter 103
“Ugh!”
“Ahh!”
“Hey! Are you trying to kill someone? Pull it gently!”
“Hold still, if it’s too loose, you’ll die from the gas.”
Upon hearing about dying from the gas, Anais endured the pain silently, eagerly awaiting her turn to tie Hollis’s strap.
When it was finally her turn to tie his strap, Anais began tightening his leather strap with all her might.
“Huff!”
“Hey! Hey! Do it gently!”
“This… this is all for you! Bear with it a little! Ugh!”
“Argh!”
“Stop fooling around and hurry up!”
“Y-Yes!”
Feeling regretful after Kang Chan’s rebuke, Anais hurriedly tied Hollis’s strap, thinking to herself, ‘Consider yourself lucky.’
Next came the time to apply the sticky oil…
As they opened the bottle containing the dark oil, a nauseating smell filled the air, and the members, with disheartened expressions, began smearing each other’s helmets generously with the oil.
“Hey… isn’t this a bit too much?”
“No, the captain said we need this much to keep the gas out.”
“Ho? Really?”
Hollis scooped a handful of oil and placed it on Anais’s helmet.
Splat!
The already sticky oil made an even more sludgy sound.
“Hey! Isn’t this a bit too much?”
“This is all for you. I’ll spread it evenly.”
“Oh really? Alright.”
Anais poured the entire bottle of oil onto Hollis’s head.
Hollis asked in a cold tone, “Isn’t this going too far?”
“The truth is, the entire bottle is for a single use. Didn’t you know?”
“Ugh! Anais!”
Seeing the two oldest members behaving like children, Kang Chan looked at them with a disappointed expression.
“Are you two done yet?”
“No!”
“We’re done.”
With the purification canisters perfectly attached, they were now fully equipped for chemical warfare.
The canisters were imbued with a cure spell to neutralize the poison gas.
Kang Chan conducted a final check on the gas masks of his team.
“All gas masks checked!”
“Upper strap! Lower strap! Middle strap! Huff! Huff! Gas! Gas! Gas!”
“All gas masks are clear!”
“Alright, let’s commence the operation.”
“Excuse me, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“I’m curious why the captain doesn’t wear a gas mask like us.”
At Jaizen’s sharp question, Kang Chan replied confidently, “That’s because the armor I’m wearing has an integrated gas mask function.”
“Then can’t we wear the same armor as you, Captain?”
Jaizen’s request was impossible to fulfill. How could they obtain such expensive armor, which was exclusively provided to him during his time on Red Mars?
But to satisfy the oblivious Jaizen, Kang Chan gave a vague explanation.
“This is an ancient relic, and there’s only one set in the world. Therefore, I can’t provide it to you. Any more questions?”
“No, sir…”
Jaizen responded somewhat reluctantly, feeling a bit envious that only Kang Chan wore such excellent armor.
However, they were unaware that no poison could affect a Sword Master, something even Kang Chan himself did not know.
“If there are no more questions, let’s move out.”
“Yes!”
Kang Chan led the team, all wearing gas masks, up a high hill, standing with their backs to the wind. He then set down the Poison Shell, the second mass destruction weapon created by Zikyon. It was a weapon Zikyon had sternly warned against using recklessly.
This was because poison gas could drift anywhere with the wind, indiscriminately killing both allies and enemies. However, Kang Chan, proficient in chemical warfare, knew how to use it properly, and the time had come to demonstrate its full power.
“Everyone, stay alert. Let’s go!”
When Kang Chan activated the Poison Shell, an enormous amount of purple mist began to rise from the shell. It was the Death Fog, a 7th-circle poison spell.
This spell originally belonged to the dark magic category, but Zikyon, an Ancient-grade Dragon who had mastered all forms of magic, had a unique understanding of dark magic. Hence, he could wield a considerable level of dark magic even without the help of the Demon King.
As the Death Fog slowly drifted with the wind and began to envelop the enemy’s forge, the Green Elves twitched their noses at the sudden sweet scent.
“Sniff! Sniff! What is this smell?”
“Kind of smells like fruit? Hmm? Sniff!”
“Gah! Cough! Cough!”
“Hey, what’s happening to you all? Guh!”
As the Death Fog, carried quickly by the wind, covered the forge area, the Green Elves guarding the entrance started to foam at the mouth and collapsed one by one.
Then, Kang Chan and his team, who had been hiding in the shadows, drew their swords and slowly approached the enemies incapacitated by the Death Fog.
“Lord Keremion! We’ve detected 7th-circle level magic!”
“Good! They’ve fallen into the trap! I knew you would target this place next. You, notify the main camp quickly, and the rest, follow me!”
“Yes!”
Keremion, who had been directly assigned by Nemitz to exterminate the intruders, charged towards the enemies with ten Arc Shadows and twenty Dark Blades.
However, Keremion and his subordinates could only watch the vile intruders.
This was because the Death Cloud had engulfed the vast forge. Beneath the toxic cloud, countless Green Elves lay dead, foaming at the mouth.
“Damn it! We’ll attack them once they leave the forge area.”
The Dark Elves nodded and melted into the shadows one by one, utilizing their power, Blind Hide, which had forced the Allied Forces into an all-out war.
Soon, the enemies, having set up something here and there, started to flee quickly.
The Dark Elves hurriedly pursued them. However, the distance between them didn’t narrow as the enemies were as quick as the famed Dark Elves themselves.
The enemies seemed to be at least on par with them. However, Keremion was confident of their victory, knowing that the enemies numbered around ten, whereas his own forces were superior in number.
‘A guerrilla unit composed solely of Sword Experts, huh? You’ve come a long way, but your plan ends here! Not a single one of you will escape!’
But he did not know. He did not know that among them was a Sword Master… and that it was Kang Chan.
‘Hmm, there are pursuers.’
Even while running, Kang Chan could sense the presence of those chasing them, thanks to the dramatically sharpened senses he had acquired upon becoming a Sword Master.
Kang Chan informed his team of the enemy’s presence through their earpieces.
『Listen up, everyone. We have tails following us.』
The mention of enemies pursuing them made the eyes of the team members gleam with a deadly light. They had only conducted guerrilla warfare so far, and now they finally had the chance to engage in direct combat.
This was the first engagement for the Black Wyvern unit since its inception.
『Given that they have followed us this far, they must all be at least Sword Experts. Their numbers are several times ours. Are you all prepared?』
『Captain, do you even need to ask?』
『If we can’t shake them off, we won’t be able to go home anyway, right?』
『Let’s give them a good beating and head back feeling great, Captain.』
『You guys…』
Looking at his fearless subordinates, Kang Chan spoke.
『Then we should reward them for chasing us this far, shouldn’t we? Aster, Fletta, scatter the caltrops.』
『Roger!』
At Kang Chan’s command, two team members scattered the caltrops they were carrying around them.
These were the same caltrops used by the Green Elves to hinder the march of the Eastern Kingdom’s reinforcements, and they were coated with deadly poison.
『Everyone, conceal and cover yourselves.』
『To your positions!』
The Black Wyvern members, moving in unison, quickly took cover behind concealments and entered stealth mode, hiding their bodies as best as they could.
They held their breath, waiting for the enemies to appear.
* * *
Duke Sachsen, who had rushed in with his subordinates, was speechless upon seeing the field hospital.
“Gasp! Is that the field hospital?”
“Yes, Commander!”
The field hospital had undergone a complete transformation.
To accommodate the overflowing patients, hundreds of Healing Wards set up by Zikyon were emitting a soft yellow light, creating a fantastical beauty.
It was enough to give the illusion of being in a fairy world.
The gentle yellow light made both body and mind feel warm.
The patients lying under the Healing Wards were all grievously injured, but they all slept with peaceful expressions.
“To have so many Healing Wards… Could it be that a true Priestess has appeared?”
Duke Sachsen’s face was filled with awe and reverence beyond mere surprise.
Even if they had scoured the entire continent for Healing Wards, gathering this many would have been impossible.
Seeing it with his own eyes, Duke Sachsen finally began to truly believe in the existence of a Priestess.
“Where is the Priestess now?”
“I will go find out.”
When his subordinates left to locate the Priestess, Duke Sachsen knelt in place and offered a prayer of thanks to the god who had sent the Priestess.
“Oh, thank you, Fioness.”
Meanwhile, Zikyon, who was tirelessly installing Healing Wards, was unaware of Duke Sachsen’s visit and looked somewhat fatigued.
“Priestess, please wipe the sweat off your forehead.”
“Huh? Thank you.”
Zikyon took the offered towel and wiped her face, now covered in sweat and dirt.
No matter how dirty and sweaty she was, Zikyon’s beauty was still dazzling, and the towel she used and handed back became the target of every man’s attention.
“Priestess, please take a break now. This should be enough.”
“Huuh… Should I? I’m feeling a bit tired.”
“You say you’re only a bit tired now… Truly, you are incredible, Priestess.”
She had managed to create an astounding 300 Healing Wards by herself over five hours.
Seeing this, the onlookers’ reverence for Zikyon deepened even further.
Thanks to her, half of the severely injured had survived.
Though the 300 Healing Wards she made couldn’t accommodate all the numerous injured, it was possible because they sorted and treated both minor and critical patients.
As Zikyon, the main benefactor who saved countless patients, was having a belated dinner surrounded by her followers, an uninvited guest, Duke Sachsen, barged in.
“Duke Sachsen is here!”
“What! Ack!”
The sudden appearance of Duke Sachsen made Zikyon choke on the bread she was eating.
“Cough! Cough!”
“Priestess, eat slowly. Have some milk too.”
‘Damn it, why did that bastard come here?’
Zikyon’s face turned cold.
She had been enjoying a rare moment of leisure, but she wasn’t pleased to see someone who knew her true identity.
“Commander, what brings you to such a humble place?”