Chapter 191: 79: Fortress – Part 2

The bat monsters hiss threateningly. They spread their arms and legs, and a magical wind blows towards their bodies, stretching their patagia and sending them flying upwards.

We cross through the double doors and run north along the slimy walkway. The Horns cleave the monsters in half with their glaives while the winged soldiers skewer any that manage to dodge.

A random Living Armor gets up off the floor and blocks our way. It's wearing a decayed set of scale armor, which exposes the petrified remains of a Chimera underneath it.

It lifts a broken spear and stabs at Kurii. She meets it with her saber and cuts through the shaft, then she follows up with another strike as mana escapes her body, and the Living Armor is violently forced to the ground. That was definitely a [Telekinesis]-powered strike.

Alissa fires arrows at the distracted bat monsters, supporting the winged soldiers who aren't able to immediately finish off their opponents. Kurii and Yunia clear the Living Armors out of the way, which are too old and sluggish to pose us any threat. I cover the rear, but I mostly focus on guiding Alissa whenever something gets too close to our group. The sniffer can defend himself, but most of his skill points are in [Sense Mana], so we shouldn't depend on him in a fight.

Everyone avoids using too much magic to keep any mana-sensitive monsters from noticing us. Yunia molds [Silence] so that it wraps only around our feet, nullifying most of the noise that we're making.

All of the now named Sugar Bats in the corridor gather and try to swarm the Horns, but fighting against superior numbers is their specialty, so they retreat while continuing to kill the monsters without any fluster. They also have [Wind Shield] on their gauntlets, so they can't be overpowered that easily. The winged soldiers are wary of being overwhelmed, so they avoid getting too close to the Horns and instead focus on killing any stragglers.

We pass by a few corridors which are just as huge as this one, through which, we see hangar upon hangar as far as our [Spirit Lights] can reach. The layout seems to simply be a number of rings connected by corridors, which makes me wonder how many ships could fit in here.

The Horns finish off the Sugar Bats after a few minutes, and things become quiet. We all dim our lights to avoid attracting anything else, then a Holly spots some goblin-like creatures skulking towards the corpses. They seem more feral and Gollum-like than the goblins I've seen.

I tell them what I can see, and Kurii comments, "Goblins…? How rare."

"Oh… those giant black slimes are coming too, let's hurry up," I say, and we run faster through the corridor.

The feral goblins start eating the bodies of the Sugar Bats, and their milky white eyes squint as they look towards us. I think they might be sensitive to light, so I throw a [Spirit Light] behind us, and that seems to temporarily stop them from following us. The chonky black slimes extend their tendrils ridiculously far and start to fight the goblins, further distracting them from following us.

Soon after, we reach the end of the corridor, though not the end of the path forward.  Up ahead, beyond a suspiciously large puddle of Leviathan blood, we see a wall with a large hole in the middle which is definitely big enough to fit even the albino.

It looks like the concrete wall has melted through, forming a messy puddle of fused glass and rock below the hole. Beyond it, we see small rooms full of furniture and ashes, which we assume were the living quarters of this station's crew. All this damage seems consistent with the Leviathan's Fay Fire.

We stop in front of the hole and notice that it curves upwards. It ends at the floor above, and a faint light reveals the green of plants and overgrowth around that exit. It appears that the hole leads into a wide open room with faint illumination.

"That could be the farming floor," Kurii comments.

"Let's snuff out our lights and let Alissa go in first to explore," I suggest.

Oritiki and Kurii nod, and we go dark. The glowing blue blood and the faint light from the hole creates a creepy atmosphere with just enough illumination for Alissa to make out the way through.

She deftly starts to climb upwards. The melted stone makes a pretty good ramp to climb up, and the mixed texture of it gives her boots a solid footing.

Alissa quickly reaches the midway point, then she hears some faint grumbling and screeching getting closer to her. She casts [Ignorance] on herself, then she rushes up to the end, the Holly and the spirit elemental following closely behind her.

She pokes her head out of the hole and sees that she's in the middle of a ruined greenhouse with a rusted metal frame, broken opaque white glass, and wild plants growing everywhere. The actual ceiling is quite high, but it's not a dome, so perhaps there's still a floor above this one. Rough-looking crystal lights haphazardly spaced on the ceiling faintly illuminate the area, so there must be someone maintaining them, just not very well.

Alissa jumps into a patch of tall grass and hides, then signals for the summons to scout from above.

They obey and carefully peek up from behind the ruins. They're in the south section of the farming floor, surrounded all around by a few dozen rows of equally ruined greenhouses that cover about one-fourth of the entire floor. In the center, there's a huge cylinder of concrete that reaches the ceiling, so that must be where the stairs are. To the west, there's nothing but overgrown plants and tall grass. And to the east, there's a clearing where a strong spotlight shines down. Throughout that area, dozens of tall, slender goblins work on farms, chanting their own magic to help the plants grow so fast it's visibly noticeable, then harvesting them when they're ready. They work restlessly, excessively spending mana on their growth spells.

Beyond the clearing, there's a hulking mass in the darkness, but the Holly sees it clearly: it's the wounded Leviathan curled around itself. Its massive body slowly heaves up and down with each deep breath, its wounds have been dressed with long stretches of damp cloth, and many of the slender goblins are gathered around it while chanting magic.

I relay everything I'm seeing to the others.

"There are way too many," Yunia says with a frown on her beautiful face.

Oritiki crosses her arms and says, "Fighting the Leviathan and those monsters will be complicated. We could try to unleash our full [Beam]s at it from a distance."

I shake my head and reply, "That'd leave our ship more vulnerable without you there to protect it. We still have a chance to save mana by sneaking in closer to it."

Kurii nods and says, "I'd also prefer to leave that as a last resort. The [Divine Lance] will definitely be enough to kill it, but we'll need to be closer to use it."

"We'll have to get past dozens of these slender goblins, and who knows how many more of them are nearby," Oritiki says, sounding worried.

"These are Hobgoblins," Alissa says through [Bind].

I relay, "Alissa says that they're called Hobgoblins, and they're apparently much more magically capable than the typical goblin."

"Can you handle them all if we're discovered?" Yunia asks Oritiki.

"Most likely. Though, it'll be difficult to do that while also protecting you from the Leviathan at the same time," she calmly answers.

"Stay close to me since I can use [Gate] to pull us out in case… shit happens," I say and smile wryly, holding myself back from using a saying by the God of Luck.

"Depending on the number, Wolf should be-…"

My attention is drawn away from Yunia's words by the spirit elemental going on high alert. A sluggishness suddenly affects both it and the Holly as their bodies instantly turn cold, and their souls are disturbed.

The Holly can't flap its small bat wings fast enough anymore, so it plummets towards Alissa like a rock, but the spirit elemental is trapped in place, almost completely unable to move. Its gaze slowly turns around and makes out the outline of a person completely covered in something black that looks like a mix of smoke and cloth. It wields a menacing frost greatsword with one hand as if it were made of paper.

I unsummon the elemental, and Alissa runs out of the greenhouse with the Holly in hand. The approaching Hobgoblins growl as they hear the rustling, but they don't manage to spot her, then they start running towards the hole.

I summon another spirit elemental and order it to support Alissa. She needs something that can see the Wraith if she wants to lose it.

"Wow… instant summoning," a winged soldier comments.

"Alissa was discovered by a Frost Wraith, and there's a patrol of Hobgoblins coming," I say.

"How many?" Yunia asks.

"Six."

She nods confidently. "I can [Silence] them all while the Horns finish them."

"We'll continue with our stealth approach and react accordingly," Kurii says, and we nod.

"Hug me, both of you," I say to Yunia and Roxanne, then we fly up the hole with [Telekinesis] and Roxanne's bat wings. The Horns follow close behind us, and the winged soldiers carry Kurii and the sniffer.

Alissa silently runs through multiple greenhouses and hides under a table. The Wraith's vision is specialized in finding other living beings, but its range is short, and it can't see through solid matter, so she can easily hide from it. We'll just have to hope that it doesn't decide to alert other monsters.

The Hobgoblins reach the hole and hesitate for a moment as they grumble between themselves, then they jump in. I have no idea why they're coming this way, but it's convenient for us.

Yunia spreads her [Silence] ahead and makes a hand signal, then the Horns dash forward and silently take care of the patrol.

The Hobgoblins are about the size of a human, but they're much thinner than us. Their skin tones vary between all colors of the rainbow, but they're always rather pale, and their faces are surprisingly… not ugly. The delicate curves of their cheeks, jaws, and brows make them look almost elven, but I'd never tell Yunia that. They wear some really rough leather and pelts while their weapons are ancient and Chimeric in origin, so it's unlikely that they're breeder-types.

I store their bodies in my "Items," and we continue on.

Yunia, the Horns, and I cast [Spirit Eyes], then we jump up out of the hole and search for the Wraith.

"It's not here. We have to keep moving," Oritiki whispers after a few seconds of scanning our surroundings.

Alissa meets up with us, and we continue towards the Leviathan.

We can't risk another Wraith discovering us, so we keep the Holly low while we scan the area for hostile spirits.

I see a hint of light blue at the corner ahead and signal for us to stop. Oritiki glides a bit to the side and spots a Wraith simply floating still while slowly looking around. Perhaps it's a sentry.

"Let me deal with it," Oritiki whispers, and we nod.

She silently floats forward, then the Wraith finally notices her and summons its ice greatsword, but it can't even properly block her attack. Her glaive slices through the greatsword as if it were made of paper, then her blade sinks into the Wraith's face repeatedly. After a few blows, it lets out a shrill hiss, then vanishes in a puff of smoke.

Spirit monsters tend to be very weak if they can't accomplish a surprise attack.

We continue on and reach the end of the greenhouses. Ahead of us, there are only wild plants and tall grass. The Horns and the winged soldiers will have to walk since, otherwise, their wings would disturb the foliage too much.

We rush into the grass and sneak around the clearing, aiming for the Leviathan.

Alissa hears the Hobgoblins yelling at each other, and we tense up. They're becoming agitated, and it's probably because of us.

Yunia sees something and tells us to stop, then she spots four Wraiths coming our way, and our blood runs cold before they even get close to us. We can't move, or they'll see the foliage around us shifting, if they haven't already.

"Wait until the last moment," Oritiki whispers nervously.

"I'm feeling rather useless," Roxanne comments through [Bind].

"Shush. You're the big DPS most of the time. Let others shine every once in a while," I respond with a smirk.

"It feels odd, but I have a good hunch about what 'DPS' means."

The Wraiths get within ten meters of us, and their glow becomes perfectly visible. They're about to spot us.

"Now!" Oritiki whisper-shouts.

Alissa can't see the Wraiths, so I guide her aim. She draws and releases a [Mana Arrow], then immediately dispels it as soon as it pierces a Wraith.

We hear a loud hissing, and my whole body starts shaking from a sudden deep coldness as something "foreign" enters my heart, which I promptly start to fight off, then the Horns and Yunia rush towards the Wraiths.

They leap out of the grass and bring their weapons down on the spirit monsters. Their glaives silently cut through the ice greatswords, then they violently stab into them repeatedly. Yunia's longsword strikes down a greatsword, then another [Mana Arrow] pierces the Wraith, and it staggers, allowing Yunia to maneuver behind its guard and wound it with [Soul Blade].

The battle is very short, but it still lasts long enough to stir the Hobgoblins. The Holly peeks up above the foliage and sees them scrambling and armoring themselves, but they don't come towards us. Two groups of ten leave the clearing and head towards the hole while the rest of them take defensive positions around the farms.

"They've realized that the patrol we killed hasn't come back yet," I whisper.

"Our time is running out, let's go," Kurii responds.

Gify shivers on Lina's shoulder, then a long, deep roar resonates through the air, chilling everyone's hearts. A second later, it reaches us inside the fortress, and the Hobgoblins freeze for a moment.

Chaos suddenly erupts as all the farmers abandon what they're doing and armor themselves up.

"Code orange!" Nohopu yells.

"Wait! Can they use the fortress' cannons…?" Ciel asks the bird on the bridge.

Nohopu hesitates for a moment, then he yells again, "Code black! Retreat from the fortress!"

We hear loud footsteps and grumbling coming from behind us, and see Hobgoblins coming out of the concrete cylinder, running towards the farms. They'll find us if we don't hurry.

"Enough sneaking, RUN!" Kurii exclaims, and we make a beeline towards the Leviathan.

We start to be able to see the hulking mass from behind the tall grass, then it raises its massive head, and its wounded transparent body starts to glow its usual blue. The Hobgoblins healing it growl and yell, then they start to disperse.

It looks towards the hole, then it spreads its wings to take flight.

"WE'LL STOP IT!" Oritiki yells, then the Horns dart out of the grass and start to shine like stars, blinding all the monsters nearby.

"ROXANNE!" I yell.

She gathers her mana for just a second and casts, "[EXPLOSION]!"

The Leviathan roars in pain as one of its large fins is blown off at the base, spreading glowing blue blood everywhere. The Fay Flames are relit, and it turns its blank blue eyes towards us.

"GRAAAH!"

"SHAA!"

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"SHUUNAAA!"

The Hobgoblins scream in their own language, then they point their fingers towards us.

The three Horns crash against the Leviathan's face, pushing it away almost as if it got punched.

"I NEED TO GET CLOSER!" Kurii yells.

I run up to her and yell, "Hold on to me!" Then I sweep her feet off the ground and cast [Rush].

The albino Leviathan suddenly appears before the ships outside. Half of its face charred black, its white body filled with scars, and it’s one good eye staring intensely at the Floater. It immediately slaps it back towards the fortress, then turns to our ship.

"DOWN!" Ciel yells, and the golems obey. The Leviathan slaps our ship, but it's only a glancing blow that just sends them down instead of back.

The blades of grass and leaves of the bushes slap against mine and Kurii's armor, making it hard to see where I'm going. Alissa lets go of the Holly, and it takes flight, allowing us to see the entire battlefield again, then she turns into a fox, and Roxanne and Yunia mount her. The winged soldiers take flight and follow us, staying low to avoid being targeted.

Lina casts all the [Cursing Magic] she can, and the albino hesitates for a moment, then it starts to attack her spirit like last time.

Roxanne gathers her mana, and the blue Leviathan turns to face her.

"FOUL BEAST! DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME!" Oritiki bellows a taunt.

Its focus returns to her as it tries to slap her with its tail fin, but it's movement is  sluggish, allowing her to easily dodge it. Its wounds open up, and it starts to bleed profusely again.

A shower of crude [Fire Arrow]s and real arrows fly towards the Horns, forcing them to reduce the intensity of their attack.

The blue Leviathan retreats into the clearing, then it floats above the mass of Hobgoblins, clearly waiting for the Horns.

The Horns and the charging Floater force the albino to stop attacking Lina, so it slaps the Floater back again.

"[EXPLOSION~]!" Roxanne casts. The wary Leviathan tries to dodge, but she wasn't aiming for its body, ensuring that another fin is blown off. It roars in pain and anger, but it doesn't charge out of the clearing.

The albino slaps our ship towards the fortress, and it flies far, simply too sluggish without the wind elementals to properly avoid it.

We enter the illuminated farms, and Kurii yells, "That's close enough!"

I immediately stop in my tracks and lower her to the ground. "Protect her while we open a path!" I yell to the winged soldiers, then I cast [Rush] again and charge into the mob of Hobgoblins forming up ahead.

I draw my sword and use [Godly Language] as I yell, "FEAR ME, MONSTERS! I'LL FEAST ON YOUR SOULS!" The skill is only at level twenty, but it's enough to shake their morale with minimal feedback on my body.

They cower behind their crude shields and point their spears at me, but I don't think they're sharp enough to pierce my wooden armor, even if they tried.

While easily dodging their spears, I use my shield to slam into the chaotic crowd, then I spin, slicing through the necks of three of them.

I jump up into the air with [Telekinesis] and float there for a second, then I increase the gravity of my sword and bury it into a hide shield while I crush the Hobgoblin with its weight.

[Battlefield Perception] triggers, and I use [Muscle Explosion] to dodge a spear aimed at my armpit, and at the same time, I spin my whole body, wrenching my sword free, which I promptly bury into the helmet of another Hobgoblin. My [Sharp Blades]-Blessed sword cuts through the creature's flimsy padded leather and cleaves into its skull.

I immediately kick the monster's chest and float backward with [Telekinesis], getting away from the mob before they get their shit together and overwhelm me.

I land a few meters from them and immediately cast [Discharge], disrupting their formation, but before I can [Rush] again, a [Fire Wall] blocks my way.

Six of the fortress's gun ports suddenly burst open with an explosion, and the ancient cannons within are pushed out into position. Two Horns hover in front of the Floater while one hovers in front of ours, ready to take the hits from the cannons.

Flying Hobgoblin mages engage Oritiki and her bodyguards, but they're instantly cut down the moment they become a threat, though they're still managing to delay the Horns from wounding the Leviathan further.

Kurii pulls out a tripod, then a thick tube of a mirror-like metal. It has a large glowing white gem at the rear end of the tube that's leaking dangerous amounts of mana. It's a fucking Okross bazooka.

"[Explosion]!"

The mage dies, and the [Fire Wall] dissipates, leaving my way forward clear again. An officer-like Hobgoblin yells some orders, and the mob starts to move forward, though they proceed cautiously because they feel threatened by me.

An arrow pierces through the officer's head, but he already gave the order to march forward. The Hobgoblins behind us are making a mad dash and getting close, so we have less than a minute before we'll be surrounded.

The Floater can escape the albino, but it can't abandon us, so it forcefully engages the Leviathan to allow our ship to get away.

I cast [Rush] and crash into the wall of Hobgoblins. I manifest five tentacles, then use them to draw the daggers hidden within my armor and let it rip.

The fortress's cannons fire [Beam]s, and the Horns tank the hits. Their armor glows red hot, and they groan in pain as they're cooked alive, but the attack only lasts for a second, so they all survive.

A Hobgoblin grabs my ankles, and I immediately dispatch it. Another one grabs my thigh, and I kill it, too. A third grabs my shield, and I struggle with it for a second, then a fourth grabs my ankles again. I cast [Discharge] until they all let go, then I jump away with [Telekinesis], and I'm forced to activate [Wind Shield] as I'm immediately peppered with spells.

The winged soldiers, the sniffer, Alissa, and Roxanne engage the Hobgoblins coming up behind us. Roxanne's [Water Spirit] creates some [Water Wall]s, tripping the frenzied monsters and forcing pile-ups, slowing their charge.

"TURN OFF THE [FLY] GEM!" Ciel orders, and the ship plummets like a rock. Not even the Leviathan could slap it back up from this.

I feel a chilling amount of mana escape from behind me. Its "flavor" feels very similar to [Judgment].

"HOLD IT STILL!" Kurii yells as she aims the bazooka.

"YUNIAA!" I scream.

"RAAAGH!" She releases her [Chain Life], and my "third eye" opens for a moment as I see a huge amount of Life forcefully being sent to the blue Leviathan.

The monster freezes in the air, and the Horns get clear from it. Kurii releases the [Divine Lance], then the crystal at the rear of the tube shatters, and I'm instantly blinded by the burst of light that it releases.

I cast [Heal] on my eyes and see a blur of light being released by the entire body of bazooka, then a glowing white ball covers the blue Leviathan's face, and in the next second, it's gone, along with the Leviathan's entire head.

A vacuum is formed where it was, and it's instantly refilled with air again, drawing a huge gust of wind that disrupts everyone in the room. The Chimeras cover their ears, and we copy them a second later, then an extremely loud bang thunders through the air and makes Alissa go deaf.

The Leviathan's corpse loses its blue flames and glow, then it goes limp and crashes down on the farms, releasing its colorful internal organs and a torrent of blue blood onto the Hobgoblins.

"RETREAT! TO ME!" I yell. I order Alissa back through [Bind], then I land beside a collapsed Yunia and open a [Gate] under her. My order wasn't really necessary, not because everyone's partially deaf, but because everyone knows that our purpose here is done.

Kurii grabs the [Divine Lance], then crosses through the [Gate]. I summon three fire elementals, and they burn everything around us, creating a wildfire that spreads outwards frighteningly quickly.

The winged soldiers go next, escorting the sniffer, Alissa, and Roxanne, then the Horns join them, and I go last and close the [Gate] once I'm through.

The albino chasing our ship suddenly stops and turns its massive, scarred face towards the fortress.

It lets out a long, sorrowful howl as the Floater and our ship fly downwards as fast as we can to get out of range of the fortress' cannons.

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Manasong

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