Chapter 27

Bang! Bang!

The man, who had grasped the situation, pounded on the door furiously like an angry bull.

The door, which had not been properly maintained for a long time, didn't seem like it would hold up for long.

As I was blocking it with my shoulder, I could feel the impact of each pound throughout my body.

He was probably kicking it or using his shield to break down the door.

As expected, the wooden door could not withstand the attack of a hero with a body that transcended human limits.

Cracks appeared on the door, and soon a hole large enough for a person's fist to go through was formed.

The White Hero, who had confirmed this, rampaged even more fiercely.

Seeing his bloodshot eyes through the hole was like watching a scene from a horror movie.

"Do you think this flimsy door can protect you forever!"

"...Byan."

Instead of Latia and Sergel, who were in a combat stance behind me, I called for Byan, who was guarding the stairs.

Byan ran over, and Sergel took Byan's place.

I pointed to the hole that was widening in real time and said.

"Authority."

"...Ah!"

Byan, who had grasped my intention, widened his eyes and nodded vigorously.

Then he created a fireball and lightly pushed it into the hole.

"...Huh?"

The hero's bewildered voice.

Soon, a large amount of flame poured out through the hole.

The heat of the raging flames and the screams of pain mingled to create the most terrible harmony in the world.

The screams subsided along with the flames.

No more sound was heard from beyond the door.

It seemed there was no need to open the door and check the inside.

I patted Byan's shoulder once to show my appreciation.

I was able to dispose of a White Hero more easily than I thought.

Now, all that's left is the third floor.

We went up to the third floor, maintaining the formation we had been using so far.

Thwack!

"...What a rough welcome."

As soon as we entered the third floor, an arrow flew.

If I hadn't been walking with my shield held in front of me, my heart would have been pierced.

When I looked up, about 10 soldiers had formed a line and were occupying a wide space.

Three archers were also positioned among them.

It was clear that they had received news that their allies who had been ambushing below had been unilaterally defeated without achieving anything.

"Go, soldiers of the White Hero! Wipe out the dogs of the black dragon!"

"For the Queen!"

The battle began with the cry of a woman wearing distinctive clothing, as if to assert that she was different from the ordinary soldiers.

When you're outnumbered, the standard of battle is to defeat the commander first to collapse the enemy's command system.

I immediately rushed towards the woman.

The two swords in her hands were swung in a graceful spiral.

* * *

"Damn it.... It hurts like hell..."

The White Hero was stronger than I thought.

No, to be precise, I was weak.

My stats were a little higher, but should I say that the fundamental parts were different?

Unlike me, who clumsily swung my sword according to instinct, the White Hero pressed me based on swordsmanship that had been systematically built up over a long period of time.

Flesh for bone.

At least the opponent was a level 1 hero, so I managed to win by giving up flesh and taking bone, but it was a victory that was only filled with wounds, both physically and mentally.

I checked the battle situation while stopping the bleeding with the healing potion I had been supplied with.

No matter how many White Hero soldiers there were, there was inevitably an insurmountable gap between ordinary soldiers and heroes who received the benefits of the Nurturing System.

The members steadily reduced the number of enemies.

The most noticeable one was Sergel.

Every time his spear was thrust out, a White Hero soldier lost his life.

Perhaps thanks to that, unlike me, who was covered in wounds, the only injury they sustained was a small scratch on Byan's thigh.

"Ryan. Are you okay?"

Lirisa approached with a face full of worry and tended to my wounds.

It was more comfortable to have someone's help than to do it myself, so I handed her the entire healing potion I had.

"Sergel. Byan. Just in case, thoroughly check if there are any remnants ambushing on the 3rd floor and the rooftop. Latia, be on the lookout."

"Yes! Understood. Field commander! Just leave it to me!"

"......?"

Byan's reaction is somewhat intense.

Byan's eyes, who was nodding his head so hard it looked like his neck would break, seemed to be sparkling more than usual.

It was as if a child who had been chasing a dream had set a new goal for himself... no, it must be my imagination.

I took my eyes off the swiftly moving Byan and focused on my recovery.

My stomach was churning because of the corpses scattered around, but I guess I had gotten used to it, as it didn't lead to a bad condition.

By the time my body was feeling better, Byan and Sergel had returned.

The report was that there were no hidden enemies.

In other words, we had succeeded in wiping out all the White Hero soldiers hiding in this building.

Counting the bodies, there were two heroes and fourteen soldiers.

We had killed more than half of the enemy.

And one more thing.

Welcome news was heard.

[Ryan. This is Selina. It's all cleared up over here. The enemy airship has been destroyed. Artillery support is available at any time. Can you report on the situation on the ground?]

A victory report flew in from Selina, who had been engaged in an aerial battle with the enemy airship.

Everyone was relieved and stroked their chests.

The amount of pressure felt is different when an escape route is secured and when it is not.

If there was one thing to be desired, it was the timing.

If it had been before the end of the attack on this building, Selina's support would have had infinite value, but now that the attack was over, the airship's shelling, which would attack indiscriminately without distinguishing between friend and foe, didn't have much meaning.

There were still enemies left inside the ruins, but if we were to shell the ruins to catch them, both the magic power source and the blood of the dragon, whose authenticity was unknown, inside the ruins.

Everything would be buried underground.

The purpose of Unit 917 is not to subjugate the enemy.

The goal is to rescue the endangered Alliance soldiers and secure the magic power source from the ruins.

"This is Ryan. We've succeeded in securing a route to the ruins for now. The number of enemies remaining in the ruins is two heroes and six regular soldiers. Even if there's one level 2 hero on the White Hero side, I don't think there will be a problem."

[Understood. Do you need additional supplies?]

"It's fine for now."

[Understood. Then please continue the operation.]

The report was over, and I had rested enough.

I stood up, dusting myself off.

"Let's move."

"Yes! Field commander!"

"......"

Byan, who was sticking close to my side with a resounding answer, was very burdensome.

I threw a question to Lirisa with my eyes and expression.

Hey, what's with him?

Lirisa shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

Our unit left the building and headed for the entrance to the ruins, our destination.

Although we had wiped out the White Hero soldiers hiding in the building, it took quite a while because we proceeded with thorough caution just in case.

When we reached the clearing where the entrance to the ruins was, we could easily find traces of a recent battle in various places.

The most noticeable was the Alliance airship engulfed in flames and spewing out black smoke in one corner.

The entrance to the ruins was located in the center of a clearing scattered with collapsed stone pillars and debris.

As I approached, guessing what kind of building it might have been in the past, a huge staircase leading underground appeared.

Kwaang!

With a roar, a hot wind blew from below the stairs.

It seemed that there was someone among the remaining White Hero heroes who had an authority related to explosions.

Or they had accidentally triggered a trap inside the ruins.

Whatever it was, it was true that I was a little reluctant to enter because of the possibility that the ruins might collapse.

"Ryan?"

"...It's nothing. Let's go in."

I forced my feet, which wouldn't move, and entered the ruins.

A staircase spiraling downwards.

A narrow passage that could barely accommodate one person.

The only sound to be heard was the footsteps of five people.

And the occasional explosions and hot winds.

If you ignore them and continue down the stairs, at some point the walls on both sides disappear and railings take their place.

As the walls disappeared, the view opened up, and the overall appearance of the ruins was revealed.

"Wow..."

"To think that a ruin of this scale is located under the city..."

I could hear the honest and straightforward exclamations of my companions from behind.

It's a natural reaction.

Although only traces of it remain now due to the effects of the war, it was once a huge city that housed tens of thousands of people.

The underground ruins were also a city of enormous scale that was by no means inferior to the one above ground.

Even I, who had visited the ruins several times through D&K, had an impressive grandeur that made me unconsciously stop in my tracks.

Kwaang!

"...They won't even give us a moment to be moved."

An explosion was heard, as if to urge us, who were standing still, to move.

An explosion and flames erupted from a not-so-distant part of the city.

Seeing that flames were still burning around it, that area could be seen as the fierce battleground between the White Hero faction and the Alliance.

We went down the stairs a little faster.

And what was waiting for us when we reached the first floor was a gateway that was essential to pass through to enter the underground city.

"Halt for a moment. I'll give a quick briefing."

An explosion was heard from a distance.

It was proof that the soldiers of the White Hero faction and the Alliance were still engaged in a battle.

In fact, a considerable amount of time had been consumed to reach this point from the time we received the request for help from the defeated soldiers.

It was more than enough time for the small-scale local battle to have ended with the defeat of the defeated soldiers.

Nevertheless, there was a good reason why the battle was still going on.

"As you know, numerous artifacts with abundant magic power are being excavated from these ruins. The reason for that is that the ruins themselves were built in a place with abundant magic power.... Let's skip the details. The important thing is.... everyone, pay attention here."

After confirming that the group's attention was focused, I picked up a moderately sized stone rolling at my feet.

And I lightly threw it towards the front gate.

Woong....

As the stone approached, a faint light was generated from the gate.

The stone that touched the light disappeared somewhere, and after about 5 seconds, the light that the gate was emitting died down.

The stone I threw was not beyond the gate.

"Wh-what just happened?"

Lirisa said in surprise.

Sergel rubbed his eyes and looked, as if he couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.

"The abundant magic power of the ruins imbues the objects inside the ruins with magic power, periodically creating what are commonly called artifacts. However, it also causes a few strange phenomena, one of which is the forced teleportation phenomenon you just saw, and it's the most difficult to deal with."

Just then, another strange phenomenon occurred in the ruins.

The tightly sealed ceiling of the ruins.

A beautiful aurora appeared there, and began to cast a gentle light on the dark ruins.

Among the strange phenomena, there are some that are helpful for exploring the ruins, like that one, and there are also some that are harmful.

And forced teleportation is the biggest and most annoying obstacle that hinders the exploration of the ruins.

The biggest reason why the defeated Alliance soldiers were still able to hold out against the White Hero faction was probably because they were engaged in an escape attempt using forced teleportation.

"Forced teleportation is activated not only at this gate, but every time you pass through any 'door' that exists within the ruins. The duration is 4-6 seconds. Those who pass through the door within that time will be teleported to the same place, but if not, they will be randomly teleported to a different place. So, if you don't want to be left alone and die wandering around inside the ruins, never leave my side."

I could hear the group swallowing their saliva very clearly.