The lakeshore where the base was established was one of the few safe zones in the Dark Continent.
However, it simply ant that monsters didn't naturally spawn here, not absolute safety.
Monsters aren't the only danger in the labyrinth.
Like right now.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The alarm magic blared like an ergency siren, sensing the presence of enemies.
It was obvious who they were.
Even if monsters wandered in by chance, they wouldn't be firing magic cannons.
"It's Noark!"
"They're attacking!"
But that raised another question.
We knew who the enemies were.
But how did they get here?
The main force had supposedly been thoroughly searching the area as they advanced.
'The main force couldn't have been defeated.'
I started with that premise.
They had overwhelming numbers. It was impossible for them to be defeated in such a short ti.
And if they were in trouble, they would have contacted us, and the 3rd Corps would have been dispatched imdiately.
Therefore...
'They bypassed the main force and ambushed us.'
That was the most plausible scenario. And if that was the case, the attackers were likely a small elite force. It would be much easier to avoid detection that way.
Of course, I wouldn't know for sure until we saw them...
"Mister...! What are you doing? Let's go!"
Hey, it's Lihen.
Well, it's not like Raven would believe even if I corrected her.
"Right, let's go."
I quickly finished organizing my thoughts and rushed out of the tent.
And at that mont...
"Uh, oh...!"
A ball of pure magic energy was flying towards us.
Good thing I was at the front.
Kaboom!
I blocked it with my shield, and the magic energy exploded, scattering debris everywhere. The impact was significant, but I didn't get knocked back.
The Mark of the Guardian Corps absorbed 50% of the impact.
"Are you alright?"
He's scared?
Is that what happens when you're always in the rear?
"No problem."
I reassured Raven's assistant, who was startled by the magic cannon fire, and quickly gave orders.
"Alex, was it? Stay close behind ."
"Y-yes!"
"Emily, Erwen, you two protect him from the rear."
"Yes!"
The formation was quickly established.
It was usually Alex's job as our squad leader, but...
He seed like the type who only followed orders.
He didn't seem to mind taking charge.
"Alex, where's the Vice-Captain's tent?"
"R-right over there!"
"Then we'll head there first. Follow ."
"Yes!"
As other explorers rushed out of their tents and gathered with their squads, we moved towards the center of the base.
Our mission was to protect Raven.
...Well, that was just an excuse. I figured we could get more information about the situation if we went to the command center.
'And Raven might be in danger...'
We soon arrived at Raven's tent.
She was standing outside, surrounded by mages in uniform. They had drawn a magic circle on the ground and were chanting sothing...
"Vice-Captain Raven, what's going on?"
Raven frowned at my question.
"Why are you here...?"
"We're here to carry out our assigned mission. It's an ergency."
"Ah..."
Raven nodded, seemingly rembering that she had changed our squad's mission to protect her.
But sothing still bothered her.
"Assistant Vice-Captain Alex Hailo, why is he asking questions instead of you? Aren't you the squad leader?"
Alex froze under Raven's glare.
"W-well..."
It seed like he had just realized that I was leading the squad.
Well, that wouldn't be an excuse.
"Well...?!"
"N-no, I... I'll fix it!"
"Fix what? How? Ugh, we don't have ti for this."
"Vice-Captain! Mana charging complete!"
One of the mages shouted, and Raven cut off the conversation, moving towards them.
And...
「Arrua Raven has cast the 2nd-grade defensive spell [Wall of Thousand Gold].」
A massive iron wall, shaped like a do, enveloped the entire lakeshore.
____________________
Honestly, I was speechless.
'Wow... she's using 2nd-grade magic now?'
2nd-grade defensive spell, [Wall of Thousand Gold].
Dozens of mages had poured their mana into it, but Raven was the one who cast it.
It ant she had grown strong enough to use 2nd-grade magic.
'This is... strange.'
Vice-Captain of the Magic Corps.
And she even had the nickna 'Golden Mage', so I knew she must have beco strong...
But could I really bring soone like her back to the clan?
She was practically a high-ranking official, she wouldn't need to explore the labyrinth anymore.
"That should buy us so ti. Good work, everyone."
"It was nothing, Vice-Captain!"
"Follow ."
Raven exuded an aura of authority as she walked, and the mages followed her.
I quickly caught up and walked beside her.
"Where are we going?"
I was worried, but thankfully, Raven answered with a sigh.
"...We received a ssage from the 3rd Corps command. They told us to activate the defensive barrier and join them at the central headquarters. And please, don't ask any more questions. I have a lot on my mind."
I could relate to the feeling of having your thoughts interrupted, so I quietly followed her.
We soon arrived at the central headquarters, and Raven entered alone.
I tried to follow her, but...
"...Why are you following ?"
"Our mission is to protect you—"
"Stay outside. That's an order."
Raven firmly drew a line, and I had no choice but to back down.
I was curious about what they were discussing inside.
Was there a way to eavesdrop?
I asked Erwen and Alia, but they didn't seem to have any ideas either.
So we waited outside.
And after about 30 minutes...
"Vice-Captain!"
Raven erged from the tent.
I imdiately approached her and asked what had happened, but she just gave a cold response, refusing to share any information.
'Damn... she's really different now.'
I missed the old Raven.
She used to get flustered but always helped out, even when I was being ridiculous...
"Emily, can you find out?"
"I was already planning to."
Information was more valuable than gold in this situation, so I sent Alia to gather intel.
She was experienced in this, so it didn't take long.
"Communication with the main force has been cut off."
"So we can't get any reinforcents?"
"Not necessarily. They communicate at regular intervals. If communication is cut off, they'll know sothing's wrong here."
"Then the key is whether we can hold out until they return."
It had been almost 10 hours since the main force departed.
Even if they turned back imdiately, it would still take a considerable amount of ti for them to return.
"What about the other explorers? How are they reacting?"
"They're calm. They trust the Golden Mage. They believe that nothing will happen, like last ti."
"Last ti?"
"Ah, I know about that!"
Erwen chid in.
Apparently, there had been one previous incident where the base was attacked.
It happened in the early days of the war, when they didn't have much information about each other.
"She used the magic circle she had prepared beforehand to summon this wall. The Noark forces tried to break through for hours, but they eventually gave up and retreated."
That was how Raven earned the nickna 'Golden Mage'. And after that, Noark realized that Raven was always guarding the base and never attempted such a thing again.
Well, until today.
"Sothing's off."
"Indeed..."
Alia agreed with my mumble, but Erwen tilted her head, confused.
"What do you an?"
"They never repeated the sa mistake after that failure."
If they were using the sa strategy, it ant they had a way to break through.
Noark wasn't stupid.
They had prepared a large-scale explosion magic to counter the dinsional gate escape during the previous incident.
Would they really just try the sa thing again?
It didn't make sense.
'The question is, how are they planning to break through...'
I thought about the [Wall of Thousand Gold] spell.
It was a high-level spell that required mastery of both earth and lightning magic.
And its main characteristic was...
'It's not a channeling spell.'
Unlike other magic that required a constant flow of mana to maintain, this spell's duration was determined by the amount of mana used during its initial activation.
'And it can be repaired by adding more mana. They could even recast it.'
Now I understood why the explorers weren't panicking.
They had dozens of mages at their disposal.
If the wall was damaged, they could just repair it, or even recast it.
But...
'This can't be the end...'
I had just t a Hans, after all.
There had to be a hidden card.
I racked my brain, trying to anticipate their next move.
"Uh... mister?"
"He's thinking, leave him alone."
What are they planning to do?
Did they bring a high-ranking mage like the Ruin Scholar?
Or...
'Do they even need to break through?'
If I were them, I wouldn't waste my ti with long-range attacks. I would close the distance and force a chaotic battle.
But they didn't.
They attacked from afar, giving Raven ti to cast [Wall of Thousand Gold].
As if they wanted her to use it.
'It ans they wanted her to cast the spell.'
Then why?
The answer ca to as I thought about it from their perspective.
"They're already inside."
There's no easier way to defeat an enemy than to strike from within.
But Alia didn't seem to understand.
"...What do you an?"
Instead of answering, I looked at the [Wall of Thousand Gold] that covered the lakeshore and asked her,
"Do you know how long the wall lasted last ti?"
"About eight hours... They said it didn't collapse even after the main force arrived."
Right, I knew it.
'Eight hours...'
That was how long we would be trapped inside this wall.
____________________
As soon as I figured out Noark's plan, I stord into Raven's tent.
"I have sothing to tell you."
"I told you to wait outside. Are you trying to imitate that woman's rudeness?"
Raven frowned, but I ignored her and told her everything.
She initially looked confused, but as the story unfolded, her expression changed.
"Why Noark would repeat a failed strategy... We were also curious about that. And your reasoning makes sense. I'll report this to my superiors right away—"
"Report? We need to take action now."
"...I'll handle it, so please leave."
She even cut off, but it didn't seem to be working.
'Damn... she's really different now.'
I missed the old Raven.
"It seems like she's not taking it seriously."
"We can only hope she reports it properly."
We waited outside her tent, and after about 30 minutes...
Thump!
Sothing dark and slimy landed in front of us.
And it slowly rose to its feet.
[Grooooan...]
It was a stitched-together corpse.
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