Once, twice, three tis, four tis.
With each attempt to contact the main force, a sense of dread washed over .
But there was nothing else I could do.
"Try again."
"Yes, sir..."
We could only keep trying.
But no matter how many tis we tried, we couldn't reach them.
'...What's going on?'
Our original plan was simple.
1. Infiltrate and attack Noark's base.
2. Contact the main force at the Dragon's Mountain Range using the Sky Eye.
3. Destroy the target and escape, rendezvousing with the main force.
The main force would create a breach in the enemy lines and et us at the rendezvous point. They would then escort us back to safety.
But...
"It's not working."
We couldn't contact the main force.
'Did they abandon us?'
That thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.
Would they really abandon a force this large?
It didn't make sense.
Sothing must have happened to them.
And even if they had abandoned us, there was only one thing I could do.
Survive.
"Leader! How long do we have to hold out?!"
"Priest Cambel says he's at his limit!"
Ti was running out.
We had to make a decision.
What was the best course of action for our survival?
I made my decision.
It might not be the best choice...
But it was the only one I could think of.
"Akuraba."
"Yes, sir."
"Remove the communication coordinates."
We had been trying to contact the main force at their designated frequency.
But...
"Sir? That ans our ssages will be broadcast across the entire continent..."
"That's what I want."
There was no point in leaving unanswered calls.
"...I understand."
Akuraba hesitated, but eventually agreed.
And...
"It's done. I've set the bandwidth to maximum."
She handed the ssage stone.
Click.
I pressed the button.
I was a bit nervous.
This was like broadcasting on a radio.
Anyone with a ssage stone, friend or foe, would hear our ssage.
But...
"Listen up."
[Listen up.]
The ssage echoed from every active ssage stone in the vicinity.
It was the main force's fault.
They weren't answering our calls.
What else could I do?
"The Sky Eye is destroyed."
[The Sky Eye is destroyed.]
I had to force them to listen.
_______________________
A barren plain, shrouded in a gloomy haze.
And...
"..."
The shattered remains of the Sky Eye.
Swoosh.
A man removed his robe, revealing his disfigured face.
His skin was scarred and blistered, as if it had been burned by acid.
"...What happened here?"
The man's gaze swept across the area, and those who t his eyes quickly looked away.
"You."
He grabbed the nearest explorer by the throat.
"G-g-guh! P-please spare ! Regal Vagos, sir!"
"If you want to live, tell what happened."
"I-I'll tell you everything! Everything!"
The explorer's desperate plea made Regal Vagos loosen his grip.
He had to hear his story before punishing him.
[I repeat, the Sky Eye is destroyed.]
[We're heading to the rendezvous point.]
The ssage stone went silent.
He had rushed back with his troops after receiving the ssage, but he still didn't know what had happened.
So...
"So you're telling ... they attacked, destroyed the Sky Eye, and escaped with mass teleportation, and you just stood there and watched?"
He felt a surge of anger.
"Th-they... they outnumbered us... Regal Vagos, sir... you took most of our troops..."
"Are you blaming ?"
"N-no, sir! I-I just ant... they ambushed us with monsters...! W-we were overwheld...!"
"...Useless fool."
Regal Vagos tightened his grip, and the terrified explorer blurted out a na.
"T-Titana Akuraba!"
"Titana Akuraba...?"
He knew that na.
She was one of the most famous explorers of his generation.
"That old woman was there...?"
"N-not just her! J-Jas Kala, the Golden Mage! K-Kaislan! There were too many famous explorers! Please have rcy...!"
The explorer begged for his life, his voice trembling, and a man approached them.
"Vagos, calm down. They did their best."
Cale Elbad Jeneger.
He was Regal Vagos's advisor.
When they received the news about the royal expedition infiltrating through Ice Rock, he had advised caution and suggested they defend their base.
That's why...
Regal Vagos felt a pang of regret, but also a surge of defiance.
"Cale, stay out of this. I'm just disciplining them."
"Then why him? Everyone is responsible for failing to protect the base. It's unfair."
"Then I'll punish them all."
The other explorers flinched, and Cale sighed, playing his trump card.
"...The Captain won't be happy."
The leader of Orculus.
The Traitor, Ricardo Liuhen Praha.
"You bastard...!"
Regal Vagos grabbed Cale's collar, but that was all.
He couldn't ignore that na.
"The Captain will be back soon. He'll want to know what happened. We should wait for his orders."
"...Tsk."
Regal Vagos cald down.
He had already disobeyed the Captain's orders by leaving the base.
He didn't want to cause any more trouble.
But...
"The Blood Spirit Marquis's man? Lihen Schuitz?"
"Y-yes! I'm sure! He was the expedition leader! I heard them call him Schuitz! And... he used [Gigantification]!"
Regal Vagos flinched as he investigated the one who had tricked him.
[Gigantification]...
He felt a strange sense of familiarity.
"Cale!"
"Yes, sir?"
"Bring the ssage stone."
Cale obeyed without hesitation.
Regal Vagos snatched the stone from him.
And...
Click.
He played the recording.
[Your backyard.]
[You'll find out if you co here.]
[Yeah, good luck with that.]
The familiar voice that made his blood boil.
He replayed the recording over and over.
Click, click, click.
And then he chuckled.
"...No wonder it sounded familiar."
He finally rembered.
[I repeat, the Sky Eye is destroyed.]
[We're heading to the rendezvous point.]
The enemy he had forgotten for over three years, thanks to Alia Rainwales' betrayal.
The thief who had stolen his precious sword.
He thought he was dead.
"So you're alive."
The royal family must have known.
Or they wouldn't have appointed him as the expedition leader.
"Bjorn Yandel."
He muttered the na, his voice filled with anger.
"Cale! Gather the troops! We're going after them!"
"But the Captain isn't back yet—"
"I'll take responsibility."
It was ti for a rematch.
_______________________
Deadwood.
A field located in the western region of the Dragon's Mountain Range.
It was firmly under Noark's control, and the royal forces had never breached its defenses.
And...
Our rendezvous point.
"..."
We waited in silence.
We believed that the main force would co for us.
"..."
We hid among the branches of giant, withered trees, our hearts filled with anxiety.
It had been three days.
"They should have arrived yesterday if they left imdiately after receiving our ssage."
"Why... why aren't they coming?!"
"Kaislan, keep your voice down! We can't use the voice control magic anymore."
We had been encouraging each other, hoping for a swift rescue... but the mood was starting to turn sour.
It was understandable.
That morning, we had our first casualty.
'Philip Aintropy.'
He was an explorer on lend Kaislan's team.
A navigator.
He had specialized in navigation skills like [Current Control], [Weight Reduction], and [Over Supply].
He had died during a battle that morning.
We had enough mana to maintain the stealth magic... but the mages were exhausted.
The spell had montarily deactivated.
Noark explorers, who were searching the area, had spotted us.
We had been forced to fight, and Philip had been killed instantly. His skull had been crushed.
And now...
"Schuitz, this place isn't safe anymore."
The team mbers were panicking.
They knew that Noark would eventually realize that one of their mbers was missing.
They would intensify their search.
We had already noticed an increase in enemy patrols.
"We have to make a decision."
"Wait, what do you an? A decision?"
"We can't stay here forever. If the rescue team isn't coming, we have to leave."
"...What?! Are you saying the royal family abandoned us?!"
"I didn't say that. But... they're not responding to our ssages... If sothing happened to them, we have to adapt."
"That makes sense, but I disagree. We're exhausted. How far can we go in this state? We'll be wiped out if they find us."
"So you're saying we should just wait here? For how long? The mages' mana will run out in two days! We'll be wiped out then!"
The team was divided.
'Damn it...'
I sighed inwardly.
I already knew.
We had to make a choice.
'This is driving crazy.'
We had three options.
First, stay here and wait.
The best-case scenario was a swift rescue.
But the worst-case scenario...
'We'll die here.'
Second, break through to the royal faction's territory.
Deadwood was less important than the Dragon's Mountain Range, so the enemy defenses would be weaker.
That's why we had chosen it as the rendezvous point.
It wasn't a completely impossible plan.
But...
'We're outnumbered.'
Even if 10% of us survived, it would be a miracle.
And the worst-case scenario would be the sa as the first option.
'Should we go sowhere else?'
The third option was a waiting ga.
Just like their base was empty while the main force was at the front lines... there might be a safe haven sowhere else in the Dark Continent.
'We destroyed the Sky Eye, so they won't know our exact location.'
But it was the riskiest option.
We would be exposed to countless variables for a longer period of ti.
Even if everything went perfectly, there would be casualties.
'We're all dead if it goes wrong, no matter what we choose.'
I couldn't help but laugh.
If we were all going to die anyway...
Shouldn't we choose the option with the best chance of a good outco?
The royal family was responsible for this.
They should take responsibility.
"...What?! No! We can't just give up! The main force will co for us...!"
I ignored Kaislan's protest and spoke.
Even if I wasn't sure about the choice.
"Get ready. We're leaving."
"You're not waiting for the main force?"
"Yes. We've waited long enough."
I looked at Kaislan and smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll take responsibility."
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