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Chapter 45: In the Red Mountain Range (9)

“Wait, no! This is just a misunderstanding.”

Arzen\'s mind raced to come up with an excuse, but the recoil from fully deploying the Void Bees had left his brain a little sluggish.

Ronnie, swallowing her tears, spoke up, “Oh no! You must have been misunderstood so many times! Summoning similar insect-type creatures... the emotional toll you must have endured!”

“?”

Fortunately, unlike Dwarves, Tall-Halfs had a simpler, one-track mind. Then again, Dwarves might be just as stubborn, which could make him seem simple-minded.

‘Anyway, it\'s resolved! Now I just need to highlight the abilities of the Worker Void Bees and form a connection with this promising witch!’

With Ronnie securely holding the rear, Arzen could focus on using his Void Bees to sweep through the Kobolds in the front. Occasionally, safety helmets or pickaxes lying around got kicked aside—evidence of the Void Bees\' work. They devoured the bodies, leaving no trace of the remains.

“Depth check... we\'ve descended at least ten levels underground. It looks like we\'re about to enter the deep zone Lord Beth mentioned.”

Ronnie said this while resting her hand on her Alpha Vision goggles. Lights raced across the lenses\' surface.

“I’m picking up adventurer combat sounds nearby. Hmm... seems like adventurers who entered through other tunnels are fighting in various locations.”

“We’ve come down much faster than I thought. Arzen, your bugs are really useful.”

“It\'s an honor to hear that from you, Lady Svena.”

“Ha ha ha! Alright, let\'s keep moving!”

However, as they neared the deep zone, something strange happened. The previously silent Void Bees, which had been efficiently dealing with the Kobolds, suddenly grew louder. The buzzing of their wings was getting closer.

As they relied on their lights and approached the location, they discovered... a mutated Kobold.

Svena exclaimed, “That’s... a Stonybold!”

[**Stonybold**: a Kobold whose entire body is encased in hard, stone-like minerals, forming an exoskeleton. It’s easier to think of them as heavily armored Kobolds.]

‘Even their weapons aren\'t simple pickaxes—they’re wielding spears and swords made from mana stones!’

From handling the Void Bees, Arzen could deduce that these were battle-class Stonybolds.

‘The only spots the regular Void Bees can target are their eyes, nose, and mouth!’

Seven of them lay on the ground, their eyes burst or snouts torn apart. While the Worker Bees had done their best under the leadership of the Void Bees, there were obvious limitations to what they could do.

‘But that’s no problem!’

After all, with the ruthless and cold-hearted apostle of the Void, Arzen himself, victory was all but guaranteed.

“Su Ja Kunia! Merge 30 into 15 Heavy Bees!”

The Void Bees transformed into entities of otherworldly mist, intertwining and morphing into a new form.

“Aim for the head! One shot each!”

The Heavy Bees unleashed their Void Venom, which melted the Stonybolds’ hardened armor. But it didn’t stop there—it reached beyond, exposing the soft, vulnerable tissue underneath.

“Su Ja Heros! Merge 36 Worker Bees into 12 Giant Bees!”

As they merged, the Void Bees took on new forms, sporting massive jaws and thick, reinforced exoskeletons.

With their massive jaws, the Giant Void Bees tore into the gaps of the Stonybolds’ armor, driving deep and consuming the creatures’ brains with certainty.

The Stonybolds, now devoid of their brains or central nervous systems, shuddered violently before collapsing.

“Oh, that\'s amazing! It\'s just like a queen controlling her entire swarm. But, hey! I told you, no approaching within five meters!”

As a Worker Bee neared Arzen, Svena screamed and backed away. However, it seemed she was fine as long as there was some distance between them.

At that moment, Ronnie pulled out a fresh clip of ammunition from her belt.

“They’re coming from behind, too. I’ll handle that side.”

Ronnie\'s armor was a chainmail coat adorned with countless ammo belts, each in four distinct colors: gray, black, red, and blue. Each pouch was filled with ‘clips’ holding ten rounds of steel bullets each. She quickly reloaded by opening the chamber next to the barrel and inserting a clip.

“I’ll need to use armor-piercing rounds.”

These advanced bullets wouldn’t be widely available for another 150 years.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

The heavy gunfire pierced right through the Stonybolds\' mana stone-covered skin, driving the steel bullets deep inside. The rounds shredded the Stonybolds\' brains, leaving no room for survival.

As Arzen whistled in admiration, Svena nudged him in the side and whispered, “Don’t be too surprised. She’s the daughter of the chief engineer. She’s got quite the pedigree.”

“Chief engineer?”

“You don’t know about the top ten Ain engineers? Her father gave up his position when he married a human. Most races are the same when it comes to sticking to purity at the top. Anyway, her mother makes all her bullets.”

Arzen clicked his tongue. Compared to his humble beginnings, she was like someone born with a golden spoon in her mouth.

He had thought they were kindred spirits, but now he felt betrayed. Arzen silently vowed that one day, he would drive the spear of the Void into every golden spoon holder\'s heart.

* * *

“You two are so strong; there’s no need for me to fight. Let’s keep moving. We’re getting close to whatever is corrupting the spiritual energy of the Red Mountain Range.”

They had just wiped out a couple more waves of Stonybolds when they stumbled upon a vast cavern.

The cavern was so large that it would have taken at least hundreds of Kobolds to carve it out. At the center of the cavern, something was bubbling up.

Yes, that was the best way to describe it.

“T-That! Could it be... a Lavabold?”

Svena exclaimed in a flustered tone.

“Lavabold? What’s that?” Ronnie asked.

“Kobolds born of lava! This doesn’t make sense! Lava is the domain of the ancient king!”

Arzen felt the hair on his body stand on end.

‘Lava… that ominous presence I felt in the desert…!’

Though weaker than what he had encountered before, the aura was undeniably the same. The creature had the skeleton of a Kobold, but its entire skin was flowing like molten lava.

It looked incredibly dangerous.

“Graaaaargh!”

As the Lavabold spotted them and let out a scream, dozens of Stonybolds immediately launched an attack.

“Hmph, so you want to fight now? You think pathetic creatures like you can challenge those protecting the great Lady Svena?”

Svena\'s shoulders rose with pride at Arzen’s smooth flattery, her mood visibly lifted.

“Any trash that dares to interfere with Lady Svena’s investigation will face my wrath! Evakta!”

The Void split open, much larger than ever before, and from it surged a terrifying force—a Void plant that devoured the life force of anything it touched.

“Guaaah!”

“Squeeeaaak!”

No need to bother catching them one by one.

\'These small fries will be swept away by Evakta\'s sheer size in one go! I’ve already mastered how to use it!\'

Arzen had learned that day, after a brutal defeat, the true power of Evakta wasn’t just about binding foes. It had multiple uses.

“Whoa, your summoning skills are amazing!” Svena shouted in awe.

But just as Evakta wrapped itself around the Lavabold, both began to writhe in agony.

Void clashed with lava!

The plant’s surface started melting under the intense heat of the molten creature, weakening its hold. It was a tough battle from the start.

‘Tch... This is like how the Giant Slime melted the Void Bees!’ Arzen clicked his tongue in frustration. He had been so close to snapping the Lavabold’s bones!

“Arzen, focus on the other Stonybolds! I’ll shoot a cooling round at that thing!” Ronnie called out, pulling a clip from her blue ammo belt.

The bullets were imbued with chilling energy—elemental enchanted rounds.

As the bullets were fired and struck the Lavabold, they unleashed a freezing force upon impact. They were truly magical rounds.

Ting-ting-ting-ting!

However, despite the barrage, the Lavabold charged forward, undeterred.

“H-Hey! The ice is melting!” Ronnie cried as she dodged the beast’s ferocious charge. Lava droplets sizzled as they fell from the Lavabold’s body.

Svena shouted from a distance, “Lava’s basic temperature is around 1,000°C! Of course, it melts, you fool!”

“Ahh, sorry!”

“Don’t be! In fact, your attack just gave me an idea. Try shooting with your biggest rounds now!”

“They’re already disabled!”

“Not the cooling rounds! I’ll shield your bullets with my barrier. Trust me! Fire just before I finish chanting!”

Ronnie quickly grabbed a clip from her black ammo belt and loaded it. These were armor-piercing rounds, significantly larger than normal bullets—so large that it seemed the barrel might burst under their weight.

“Guaaaargh!”

The Lavabold rose again, charging furiously at them.

“I call upon the spirits of water that dwell in this underground space—manifest in the forms of cold and foam, and help me vanquish the root of this evil. Hoktoah!”

It all happened almost simultaneously.

Svena’s chant ended just as the clip clicked into place. The chamber snapped shut, and the sound of gunfire echoed through the cavern.

“!”

The surface of the bullets gleamed with a magical sheen as they flew through the air, now enveloped in an aura of watery enchantment.

A watery shield formed around the bullets, acting as the first line of defense against the lava. But it didn’t stop there—another layer of foam materialized between the water and the bullets, creating a secondary barrier.

“Skreeeaaah!”

The bullets held out for just one critical second before melting, and that second was enough to decide the battle. The Lavabold was lifted off the ground, spinning in the air before crashing headfirst into the ground. The once-violent bubbling of the lava started to weaken and finally disappeared, leaving only scattered bone fragments.

Only after confirming the Lavabold’s death did Ronnie lower her gun. “What was that thing...?”

Svena, picking up one of the bone fragments, smiled in satisfaction. “The Abyss of Kings, huh? Haha, this is getting interesting. The bigger this gets, the better it is for my reputation.”

Just as she grinned, a new sound echoed through the cavern.

“What’s this racket? I knew I heard something, and it turns out uninvited guests have already arrived.”

The cavern had two entrances, and from the opposite one, a couple of figures entered.

‘Imperial common language pronunciation!’ Arzen thought, narrowing his eyes at the sight of the intruders, who wore mage robes that were clearly modified for combat.

“Ah, you guys!” Svena spoke in a guarded tone.

“That’s right! We’re from the Special Operations Division! And yes, we’re elite! Among the elite, we’re the best!”

The Special Operations Division was a special task force controlled by the Mage Tower, composed entirely of battle mages—an organization that lived up to its arrogant reputation as “true elites.”

The two battle mages who had entered were vastly different. One was a short woman, while the other, who seemed to be the same age as Svena, acted obnoxiously from the start.

“Now that our elite division is here, this situation is practically resolved. You witches might as well head back and enjoy your tea time like usual.”

The young mage\'s smugness, a byproduct of being worshipped as an elite since childhood, was unbearable.

‘This is my chance... the perfect opportunity to improve our standing!’ Arzen stepped forward with confidence.

“*Elite among elites?* You’re talking to the Red Witch of the Aurelinople Witch Association—Lady Svena! She’s the elite among the elite among the elite! Who do you think you’re challenging?” Arzen retorted.

“What? E-Elite among the elite among the elite?” the battle mage stammered.

“Exactly! With Lady Svena here, you Special Operations grunts are practically useless! You might as well go back and bury yourselves in a library, like the good little bookworms you are!” Arzen continued.

This was how real social battles were fought. The battle mage\'s face twisted with anger, while Svena chuckled in satisfaction. Even the female battle mage couldn’t help but snicker.

“Cut it out, Nomie.”

“Ouch! Why’d you hit me, ma’am?! That little squirt insulted our division!”

“That’s because you provoked them first. I apologize for this fool’s rudeness. He just got commissioned this year, and his arrogance knows no bounds,” the superior said as she dragged the whining mage away with a telekinetic spell.

“The northern mountains under Imperial jurisdiction are in chaos right now, with beasts going wild. I bet it’s no different down south.”

“What?” Svena raised an eyebrow.

“If you’re planning to return to the surface, now’s the time. The deeper underground you go, the more monstrous the kobolds get. Some mutations have already appeared. Anyway, excuse us.”

As the Special Operations mages disappeared through the entrance they had come from, Svena fumed.

“What the hell? These Imperial brats think they can just give us orders!”

The Holy Empire of Humanity and the Dragonfolk Republic were like fraternal twins. In the Age of Origins, the dragon race had given the Empire “minimal control” over…

"Maximum control" was the contrasting governance system that the Republic had experimented with compared to the Empire.

‘The Republic was directly ruled by the Red Dragon Legion, whereas the Empire appointed titles to heroes who had supported the Arrivals during the Mythic Age!’

While the Republic flourished under the rule of the dragon race from the 1st century onward, the Empire didn’t stand shoulder to shoulder with the Republic until after the 9th century.

Even today, the people of the Republic prided themselves on being civilized and looked down on Imperial citizens and those from smaller kingdoms, calling them country bumpkins.

By the 16th century, however, the Empire’s national power had nearly surpassed the Republic’s, with the balance tipping in the Empire\'s favor. That’s how glory from the past works—it fades.

"Exactly! How dare these country bumpkins crawl out of their backwater holes!" Arzen felt the same way. Since the two nations were essentially twin siblings, it was closer to regional prejudice than anything else.

"Ahh~ I really like you! Anyway, I\'m too riled up to stop now! We were supposed to return to the surface to report on the Lavabold, but forget it. We\'re going deeper!"

"Huh?"

"I can\'t let those country bumpkins figure out the source of this disaster before us, the true civilized people!"

"Uh… wouldn’t it be better to leave such menial tasks to… uh… the bumpkins? I mean, it’s almost… uh… quitting time…."

"What are you waiting for? Let’s go!"

As Svena dragged him along, Arzen shed a tear in frustration, his deep-rooted resentment toward the Empire growing even stronger.

‘If only those country bumpkins hadn’t shown up, I’d be on my way back to the surface, dreaming of a peaceful end to the day...!’