Chapter 259 – 259. The Other World Summoner’s First Special Move (1)

– One –

“Go, it’s a river!”

“It’s water! Muul!”

Aaaaa!

In the scorching heat, the imperial army cheers.

They abandoned much and marched carrying only siege weapons and small amounts of food.

As a result, most of them complained of dehydration and were on the verge of exhaustion.

The Cathedral Knights and the Heretic Inquisitor, who had been using basic healing techniques to alleviate the symptoms of dehydration in the Imperial Army, were also extremely exhausted.

“Get serious!”

“Today’s march ends here!”

“Today, I will take a good rest here and replenish my drinking water!”

The commanders suppressed their exhaustion and shouted with the brightest faces possible.

They were just as tired as the soldiers.

Most of the shamans and wizards with weak stamina were fainting as they were carried like luggage on a dal cart.

Considering that even the senior soldiers and commanders were in a state of exhaustion, it was urgent to reorganize the ranks rather than continuing the forced march.

The forced marches, which continued unreasonably in the midst of large-scale desertion incidents and the increased burden of transportation of goods, caused even the morale of the elite soldiers to plummet.

As the attacks of assassins and monsters never ceased, the fact that no additional desertion occurred felt like a miracle bestowed by the goddess to the commanders.

“Tell each scouting unit scattered around the area to return to the base immediately.”

“Yes, General!”

Lieutenant General Draft gives orders to his adjutant with a haggard face.

“You tell your soldiers to secure drinking water as soon as possible.”

“I see, General.”

“As soon as the encampment begins, gather at the commander’s barracks. We’ll have to discuss future plans.”

“Insect!”

Commanders disperse.

Lieutenant General Draft smiles faintly and waits on his horse at a distance from the commander’s barracks where the soldiers are building, waiting for it to be completed.

‘If we can solve the most urgent problem of drinking water, we will be able to contain some of the decline in morale. It is urgent to recover the soldiers’ physical strength, and they will need to replenish the remaining food…’

He is preoccupied with preparing for the future with his eyes closed.

It’s not even that distant future.

He was preparing only for problems that would explode in the near future.

‘Why is there not even a colony of wild plants that can be used for food in this vast plain… ? Why are there only unknown shrubs with such white flowers? … ?’

His field of vision was extremely narrowed.

‘I want to know how the hell this place was formed and eaten…’

He felt regretful about the existence of the supplies he had instructed to throw away.

Could there be a problem with the supply lines and communication networks that Regal manages down to the rear?

It is suspicious that no further replenishment has taken place for a considerable period of time.

If everything had gone as planned, communication with the system, delivery of supplies, and retrieval of items left behind during the march to this place should have happened several times before.

‘Did there be friction between the deserters and the supply soldiers? Or not…’

Was it because he didn’t want to assume Regal’s betrayal?

He furrows his brow and breaks out in a cold sweat.

“General.”

Flash

The draft lieutenant general opens his eyes.

He turns his head and looks at the soldier who called him.

“The barracks are finished.”

“You’ve suffered.”

“No!”

Chuck.

The soldier raises a military rite and replies vigorously.

Dump.
Tok, tok, tok.

Lieutenant General Draft gets off his horse and pats him on the shoulder.

The soldier faces him with a thrilled face.

“After tying up the horse and giving it water and fodder, let’s rest.”

“Okay! Thanks, General!”

Jerk, jerk, jerk.

Lieutenant General Draft enters the barracks.

His steps were infinitely heavy.

– 2 –

“…Yes. Therefore, it would be good to give the soldiers a break without marching for at least one day tomorrow.”

“That’s right.”

“Still, isn’t it a situation where you haven’t even found the enemy’s main base yet to take a rest for the whole day?”

Inside the commander’s barracks, the commanders were busy discussing schedules and plans.

All of them were exhausted, but because they ran on horseback, they had more stamina than the soldiers and noncommissioned officers.

It was then.

Aaaaagh!
Come on, save me!

“… What kind of commotion is this?”

“I’ll go out.”

“No. It could be an attack, everyone,”

It’s a snake!
Get rid of the water snake!
Get out of the water by the river!
Get out of here!

I can hear the field commanders and noncommissioned officers screaming at the soldiers.

All the commanders looked at each other unable to hide their surprise.

“Water snake…?”

“… It’s not an attack. Would you like to go out and check the situation?”

Lieutenant General Draft directs towards his adjutant.

The adjutant nods.

“I see, General.”

Chuck.
Flutter.

After he raises a military rite, he runs out of the commander’s barracks.

Silence reigns in the barracks.

“Hmm… The water snake seems to have deadly poison…”

Vice Admiral Draft opens his mouth with a heavy complexion.

He turns his head to look at Cardinal Cass.

“Cardinal Cass.”

“Tell me, General Miller.”

“Are there any heretic inquisitors or members of the Cathedral Knights who can use the deciphering method?”

“Um…”

Cardinal Cass frowned.

He couldn’t open his mouth easily.

– 3 –

“Kkeukkeuk, kkeukkeuheugh…!”

“Geruk, Gerruk…”

“Ooh, oh oh oh oh!”

Splat, squeak!

Soldiers struggle, spitting blood from their mouths.

Squeak, squeak.
Hiss, hiss!

A water snake flicks its tongue and crawls over the soldiers.

The soldiers look at the water snake with tired faces.

They were obviously fed up.

Shikaaak!
Chaaaaagh!

A brave soldier swings his sword and cuts off the water snake’s waist.

“Shaaaaagh!”

The water snake let out a rustling sound from its mouth with its back cut off.

“Caught one!”

The soldier who cut off the waist of the water snake exclaims triumphantly.

He seemed to want to instill hope in his comrades.

Whoops, whoops!

A soldier wields a sword noisily.

He turns his head and shouts at his comrades who are far back.

“It’s nothing but a lot of heads, they’re nothing! Everyone uses swords rather than spears,”

Just then,

“Shhhhh!”

The water serpent whose back was cut off spewed out an angry voice,

Wedge love!
Kwajik!

He leaped into the air and bit the soldier’s thigh.

“Uh…?”

Perhaps feeling a sharp pain, the soldier slowly lowered his head and looked at his thigh.

His complexion turns white.

“This, this, this!”

Shuck!
Chaaaaagh!
Took.

He swings his sword, slicing off the head of the water snake along with the flesh of his own thigh.

The body of the water snake falls from his thigh.

However,

“Why why…”

The water snake’s mouth and fangs were still clinging to his thigh.

Its eyeballs were still glaring at the human who had given it unbearable pain.

Burrrr

He raises his trembling hand and brings it to his thigh.

Tup.
Swoop, Swoop.

Grab the water snake by the mouth and pull it out of his thigh.

His thighs were pierced with two holes in the shape of fangs of a water snake along with the cuts he had made.

Shiver.

However, compared to the size of the wound, the amount of blood that flowed was extremely small.

The color of the blood was murky.

Even without stopping the bleeding, the amount of bleeding gradually decreased.

“Greureuk…!”

Dump.
Rattling.

The soldier slumped to the floor and began convulsing.

But none of his colleagues approached him.

Squeak, squeak.
Shrrrr.

It is because the waves made of water snakes came to that place.

“Mi-crazy! What kind of water snakes are so endless…!”

“Shut up your mouth! Don’t provoke me!”

Shrrrr!

The water snake turns its head to and fro.

It was as if they were looking at the countless humans around them and trying to figure out who to sacrifice.

Is it because of the instinctive fear that is inscribed in human genes?

The soldiers were walking backwards, terrified, and slowly moving away from the water’s edge.

It was then.

[Listen all.]

Startle.

A loud sound echoed in the air, and all the soldiers trembled in unison.

After a short break, the wizards came to their senses, deployed voice amplification magic, and began to speak to the soldiers on the riverside.

Shrrrr!
Shaat, shaaaaagh!
Shhh, shhhhh!

The water snakes raise their heads into the air.

They flick their tongues and express strong hostility.

[Snakes are sensitive to vibration and heat, but insensitive to sound and sight. Thus,]

Whoop, whoop!
Roaring!

Fireballs appear in the air.

Shrrrr!

The water snakes wag their tails and slam their heads in unison.

They all seemed terrified when they saw the huge fireball hovering in the sky.

Kurrrrating
Kurrrr.

A huge vibration spreads from the center of the Imperial army camp.

The wizards seemed to have used earthquake magic through group chanting.

Just then,

Woo woo woo woo!
Woo woo woo woo!

Fireballs rain down from the air.

Whoop, whoop!

Along the riverside sandy beach full of water snakes, a long, shallow wall of fire is created.

When a disconnection occurred between the water snakes and the soldiers,

Shiaaaaa!
Sreuk, ssreurereureuk!
Wiggle, wiggle.

The water snakes go mad and retreat towards the river.

The blue-bodied water snakes twist their bodies revealing their white bellies, or get entangled with each other and retreat.

The soldiers felt as if they were standing on the beach at low tide.

The waves that break, creating white foam, gradually recede.

The buds of flame blooming along the coastline create an exotic atmosphere.

[If you disturb your senses with heat and vibration, you become a fool. In terms of people, it’s the same as throwing it into the market with your eyes and ears covered.]

The soldiers tremble.

Whoa, whoa, whoaaaaa!

A roar so loud that it is indistinguishable from a scream occurs.

[Heh. Don’t be afraid. We are together.]

Was it because the wizards encouraged them?

Or is it because the swarm of water snakes retreated more easily than expected?

The soldiers cheered loudly and praised the wizards.

However, the wizards’ competence did not end there.

[The fire we have created will burn well for half a day.]

Whoaaaaa!

Soldiers cheer.

[However, if the shamans join in, the day will last well. Together with them, I will push the snakes to the riverside and try to ensure the safety of the soldiers.]

Wow!
Aaaaa!

As the cheers of the soldiers continued, the wizard’s voice softened.

Due to their weak stamina, they had to endure the glares of the soldiers throughout the march, so they had a lot of bad feelings for each other.

Not only did he relieve such ill feelings at once, but he also proved the use of high-class soldiers who were treated like luggage at once.

Therefore, there was no reason not to put strength on their shoulders.

[Still, you can’t continue magical combustion indefinitely without fuel or firewood, so find a way to prevent the water snake from entering while the flames continue. Got it?]

“Yes, wizard!”

“Leave the back to me!”

Soldiers shout incoherently.

Because so many shouted, the wizards must have heard their answers.

[Leave the back.]

I can hear the songs of shamans far away from inside the Imperial military camp.

The wall of fire began to push towards the river.

Bodies burn.

The Imperial Army, the water snake, everything was carbonized.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Everything goes back to where it should go.

– 4 –

Bang!

“Damn it…!”

A general slams the table and spits out quarters.

A canteen was placed where his eyes could reach.

It contained river water that several Imperial Army soldiers had risked their lives to collect.

“Work has become difficult…”

“General, what should I do?”

“Um…”

Lieutenant General Draft turns his head to look at Cardinal Cass.

He was trying hard not to put resentment in his gaze at Cardinal Cass, but it didn’t seem that easy.

Cardinal Cass kept his head down and avoided his gaze.

He was burning red all the way to the nape of his neck.

“Cardinal Cass.”

“…Tell me.”

“Could you recruit all those who can now detoxify and send them near the river?”

“…Are you saying to purify the water to be used as drinking water?”

“Exactly.”

“But…”

Cardinal Cass hesitates.

He hesitated for a while before opening his mouth in a voice lacking confidence.

“With less than 300 people at most, if you use detoxification all day, you won’t be able to purify the water that 30,000 people will consume for a day. Will do.”

“…”

Vice Admiral Draft was at a loss for words.

As for the number of people Cardinal Cass could bring, the Heretic Questioner was all 500, but the Knights Templar, including the Priests, exceeded 30,000.

However, in this expedition, he excluded all the knights and priests who were weak in force, and among those excluded, the number of those who could use the detoxification method reached 6,000.

Rather than cooperating with the Imperial Army to carry out the operation, he only thought of decapitating the saint and tearing the rebels to pieces to accomplish feats.

Because of that, when faced with the variable of a wild water snake, there was nothing different from the lethargic Imperial Army.

“If there are any shamans or wizards who can use spells related to detoxification or purification, I will attach them to all of them. We cannot delay securing drinking water, so purify the water with them as much as possible.”

“…I understand.”

When Lieutenant General Draft pointed out that this situation had occurred because he abandoned drinking water and food and marched recklessly, Cardinal Cass could not bear to bear it in his face.

It was because he insisted on an unreasonable forced march, relying only on the imperial army’s supply lines and the healing spells of the Heretic Questioner and the Knights Templar under his command.

“You’ll need to use detoxification spells and purification spells until you’re about to exhaust yourself. Because the weather is getting hotter, the consumption of drinking water is rapidly increasing.”

“Um…”

Cardinal Cass reluctantly nods.

This is because he was aware of the importance of securing drinking water.

“May I make a suggestion, General Miller?”

“However much.”

Vice Admiral Draft nodded his head with a heavy face.

He was ready to draw his sword if Cardinal Cass caught him fussing.

“I’m going to attach people who can detoxify to the imperial army scout unit, so I hope the scout unit will scout the upper reaches of the river with them.”

“Hmm… Find a source of drinking water that is not polluted by the poison of the water snake, are you saying this?”

The fact that Cardinal Cass might pick up unnecessary quibbles was for nothing.

“Yes. Even if all the wizards and shamans who can cast purification spells, and the heretic inquisitors and the Templars who can use detoxification spells attack, isn’t it self-evident that the consumption of drinking water will be more than the amount of purification? Purifying it would be nothing more than an act of delaying the time when the drinking water runs out. So, I think it would be a wise choice to secure a more reliable source of drinking water before it runs out.”

Swoop, Swoop.

Lieutenant General Draft relaxed his expression and stroked his chin.

His offer wasn’t bad.

Again, it was a very reasonable proposal.

He nods.

“Okay. I’ll accept your offer.”

Vice Admiral Draft nodded and replied.

Cardinal Cass smiles.

His smile seemed to contain somehow more relief than joy.