Chapter 143: Chapter 143

After severing the rope that was no different from a lifeline, Benon let out a low sigh.

Because there had been hesitation until the very last moment, he could be certain that coming to cut it himself was the right choice.

If he had brought someone else here to do this task instead of himself, they might not have been able to cut it out of fear for their own life.

Even if such a thing occurred with a very low probability, there would truly have been no more strategies left to use.

Although high-ranking nobles of the Ruman Kingdom, including himself, would die in large numbers here, it was still a profitable bargain as long as they could take down that Altoan monster.

If that monster died, the Kingdom of Pendia would no longer be able to show such an aggressive stance as it did now.

He had already written a letter to the king, so if the king widely publicized the death of Shan Barendil, organized reinforcements, and cooperated with the soldiers remaining in the inner castle, repelling the demoralized Pendia army was not altogether impossible.

Of course, even if that happened, it did not mean the future of the Ruman Kingdom was bright, but since he was merely a strategist and not the almighty Goddess, it was difficult to consider even that far…

‘Hmm?’

While lost in thought ahead of death for a moment, Benon expressed doubt as he watched Shan in front of him transform A Thousand Shapes into the form of a broad shovel and swing it at the ceiling.

The earth, which had been firmly hardened for many years, dug out deeply and poured down like shower, as if it had become pudding.

It was thanks to concentrating a somewhat inefficiently large amount of Fighting Spirit.

Of course, at this rate, his physical strength would run out after shoveling only a few times, but it did not matter since he would have no opportunity to use his power beyond that anyway.

“What are you doing right now…”

Just as Benon felt something ominous and tried to stop him, Shan leaped into the hole he had created in that manner, then stretched out his arms and legs to hang like a spider.

In that state, when he changed A Thousand Shapes into the form of a thin, wide disc to block the entrance, the floor was covered and a small closed space was created.

Seeing this, Benon’s face turned pale.

‘Could it be!’

Could it be that he would survive even after doing such a thing?

Did that make any sense?

If this side gambled its life, wasn’t it the minimum courtesy to die together!

Though it took long to explain in words, the time that elapsed during this series of actions was only about two or three seconds at most.

Even before he could instruct Count Robut beside him to stop it, a large amount of pouring earth and stone swallowed them up.

*

“Kuh…!”

In the moment of crisis, Shan, who quickly exercised his resourcefulness to create a survival space, instinctively opened his mouth and opened his Eustachian tubes to release the pressure.

With his back leaning against the disc, he endured the pressure of the pushing soil.

A moment later, feeling the pressure pressing against his back disappear, he let out a sigh.

‘I lived…’

If he had acted even a second later or had not possessed A Thousand Shapes, he would likely have been caught up in the collapse and died.

However, it was too early to rejoice that he was still alive.

Right now, he was isolated in a space several meters underground, where barely a single body could fit with a little room to spare.

Using this cramped space, he had to somehow break through the barrier of soil and ascend to the surface.

And that was under the condition that the soil above must not collapse and swallow up this space.

‘The depth of the passage I saw while coming down earlier was about five to six meters…’

Considering that the height of the ceiling was a little over two meters and that he was currently attached right above the ceiling, the distance to the surface was about three to four meters.

Of course, even this was a story when ignoring variables such as a small hill being above.

If he was truly lucky, it might end at three meters, but if he was unlucky, it could exceed seven to eight meters.

Shan carefully transformed the blade imbued with the Fighting Spirit of Severing, cutting out the soil of the ceiling into squares.

He had to separate it without imparting shock to the walls as much as possible.

Because if the soil crumbled down in heaps, the space in which he could move would decrease by that much.

The process of ascending was exceedingly slow.

Because in a situation where he did not receive the Blessing of Vitality, after using Fighting Spirit, he had to rest for a while to replenish his physical strength.

Digging a tunnel upward, and firmly packing the soil that poured down below to solidify the floor.

Shan, who was repeating even a tedious process, felt a slight headache and fatigue.

On top of that, for some reason, breathing was gradually becoming difficult.

At first, he wondered if his physical strength was exhausted due to consuming Fighting Spirit continuously, but the feeling was slightly different from that.

‘Oh no.’

He suddenly recalled what he had heard from Cheryn before about the components of air.

That the inhaled breath and the exhaled breath contained different substances.

Did they play a game of transferring breath and inhaling while kissing each other, claiming to teach him this?

Recalling that soft and sweet texture for a moment, he soon felt his head spin and power drain from his body.

At this rate, he would truly suffocate to death underground before long.

‘Underwater Breathing Magic… Ah, I turned it off to lighten the armor.’

It might sound absurd to turn off that function while operating in the sea, but instead of being able to breathe underwater, it was better to do this than sink into the sea with heavy lumps of iron wrapped all over his body.

And though Shan did not know it, even if he had that function right now, it would not have been of much help.

Because the principle of Underwater Breathing Magic was ultimately to filter out oxygen from water and inject it, just as a fish breathes with gills.

Now, there were two options given.

The first was to give up carefully ascending like now and exhaust all Fighting Spirit to blindly go up to the surface.

If he succeeded, he would escape before his breath ran out, but if the distance to the surface was farther than he thought, he would end up buried in soil, unable to move at all, and die.

The second was to steadily dig and climb up like now.

The possibility of being buried was small, but if he lost consciousness due to running out of breath before then, he would naturally suffocate to death…

Inhaling and exhaling his breath as thinly as possible while lost in thought for a few seconds, Shan transformed A Thousand Shapes into the form of a short stake and stabbed the ceiling deeply.

It was because a third option that seemed better than the previous two came to mind.

The stake driven into the ceiling surged upward, extending while imbuing the Fighting Spirit of Penetration into its tip.

Breaking through and ascending through several tons of soil with only the power of ‘Transformation’ would normally be impossible.

However, Shan’s powerful Fighting Spirit distorted reality, crushing the soil and creating a path.

‘Go up!’

Because he consumed a large amount of Fighting Spirit in an instant, his head spun for a moment, but then he felt the resistance suddenly disappear.

Fortunately, the tip of the stake had reached the surface.

Shan, who created a hole in the middle of the stake while extending its length, placed his mouth against it and inhaled breath.

“Phew…”

He felt infinitely sweet and cool air rush in, pushing out the stale air inside his lungs.

*

Around the time the sudden heavy rain ended and the sun shone, the Pendia army finally succeeded in capturing the outer castle of Duke of Licharzo.

During that time, the number of casualties incurred was about three hundred, and the injured were around one thousand to eleven hundred.

Considering that at least four thousand Ruman soldiers died or were taken prisoner in the process of losing the outer castle and fleeing to the inner castle, it was indeed an overwhelming major victory.

Furthermore, was not a siege battle usually more disadvantageous for the attacking side than the defending side?

However, despite achieving such military accomplishments, everyone’s faces were dark.

“Have you still not found him?”

“Yes, we have no face to show…”

It was precisely because Protector Shan, Pendia’s greatest fighting force, went missing during the siege battle.

There was almost no possibility that he, possessing overwhelming martial power, failed to flee and was subdued or killed, but if not that, they could not explain the reason why he did not return even after several hours passed.

“There is a report that he was seen riding a horse and charging toward the inner castle.”

“It is said that Ruman’s high commanders retreated separately as soon as they blew the signal horn for retreat.”

“Traces looking like a secret passage and several abandoned horses were found at a house adjacent to the inner castle…”

“There is a story that the ground caved in deeply along with the sound of something collapsing around there.”

Through reports from friendly soldiers and interrogation of prisoners, they reached a terrifying conclusion before long.

That Shan might have been buried in a collapsed underground passage due to some accident while pursuing the enemy’s high commanders alone.

At this, Roden immediately issued an order to the entire army.

“Dig the ground quickly!”

“Bring every shovel you have! No, if there aren’t enough, dig even if you have to use weapons!”

While those good at using strength, including knights, dug the entrance of the underground passage, others dug up the caved-in outside area.

Here, even Ruman prisoners and citizens who had hidden inside buildings of the outer castle to avoid the war were mobilized.

Without even knowing what they were supposed to find, they dug at the ground with discontented faces.

Of course, not many believed that they could truly save Shan by doing this.

Indeed, in a situation where a person was buried alive hours ago, by what means could he come out alive?

They only hoped to at least retrieve his corpse intact.

“Damn it, damn it!”

Roden, who threw off his armor, muttered curses while covered in dirt, channeling Fighting Spirit into a shovel to scoop out earth.

He did not care about his entire body becoming covered in dirt.

In a situation like this, what was there to save face for?

Meanwhile, military chaplains helped them by bestowing the Blessing of Vitality on knights and the Blessing of Strength on soldiers who could not handle Fighting Spirit.

The priests were also in a state of exhaustion from treating wounded soldiers until a moment ago, but for the sake of the Eastern Holy See’s most powerful paladin, they could bear this level of burden.

“Phew, haa…”

Just how long had it been since they dug while their entire bodies became covered in dirt?

Around the time the outline of the passage slowly began to show, a soldier hurriedly shouted as he entered the house where the underground passage was installed.

“The Protector has returned!”

“We’re busy, so unless it’s urgent… what!?”

The Pendia knights, who wore blank expressions for a moment, immediately cast aside their shovels and came out of the house where the passage entrance was located.

Shan, whose whole body was covered in mud, looked at them with a exhausted face and spoke.

“Sorry, I’m a bit late, right?”

“What you have to say right now… is that all? You damned bastard! I thought you were dead!”

Roden could not hold back, shedding tears as he tightly hugged him.

When the large man’s arms wrapped around his body and squeezed tightly, Shan let out a painful groan.

“I can’t breathe.”

Seeing this, other knights also let out sighs of relief.

“We truly thought you had passed away, Lord Protector!”

“Where on earth were you?”

“That tunnel over there. It wasn’t as easy to get out as I thought.”

When an unconcerned answer returned to Ravana’s question, everyone wore surprised expressions.

Seeing his fairly intact appearance, they thought he was late because he was somewhere else, but to think he was truly buried alive?

Shan conveyed what he had experienced to them.

“Heavens…”

Everyone who heard the inside story let out a sigh with hardened faces.

It was fortunate that superior resourcefulness and luck overlapped, but wasn’t it a situation where he almost died in a truly absurd manner?

Above all, what was shocking was that this was not some accidental misfortune, but an intended trap.

Even at the statement that Ruman’s high commanders directly jumped in and were all caught up in it, Roden asked in shock.

“The enemy commander and commanders are all dead? Not that they lured you in and fled themselves?”

“Probably? Since I also barely made it out alive, they’d be dead under ordinary circumstances.”

“No wonder, the way they retreated was excessively chaotic…”

After hearing those words, they could understand the reason.

With the command skills of Benon seen during battle, he would have been able to retreat in an orderly fashion to minimize damage.

If that had been the case, thousands would not have died or been taken prisoner in the process of falling back to the inner castle.

At this, Lug beside him tapped the ground with his axe handle as if flabbergasted and spoke.

“No, even so… sacrifice all the commanders and high knights? Who digs a trap in such a manner? Even I would have fallen for this.”

Even looking back at history, there were no cases of digging traps in such a manner.

Rather, it would be understandable if tens of knights popped out from the underground passage.

At this, Roden beside him shook his head.

“Those aren’t wrong words, but even so, it was an excessively rash act.”

Of course, originally Shan tended to get heated up and excited when entering battle, and the prey of the enemy commander was exceedingly tempting.

Furthermore, if he had waited for support on the spot, the enemy would have fled with a high probability and then sealed the exit, so ordinary knights would have jumped in headfirst in that situation.

However, wasn’t Shan not an ordinary single knight, but the kingdom’s Protector and a duke?

A figure of such stature had to move carefully at all times.

Rather than entrusting his body to momentary impulse like an ordinary seventeen-year-old boy.

“Sit down here for a moment.”

“I’m tired, so first let me rest…”

“It won’t take long. I know it’s tough, but this has to be discussed right now.”

At Roden’s stern voice, Shan nodded and sat down.

Of course, as people who nag usually do, Roden’s words continued long and long.

That from now on he should think a bit more before acting, that during battle he must move together with comrades at all times.

And even that for places that seem dangerous, instead of plunging headfirst like now, he should at least send an advance party.

Words that others found difficult to say recklessly even while knowing, Roden put into his mouth without hesitation.

It was possible because he was a close friend like a sworn brother to His Grace Duke Velakar.

Shan silently nodded, then answered softly.

“Sorry, I’ll be careful from next time.”

That appearance looked not like a great knight who had just slain tens of knights, but like a boy being scolded by his eldest brother.

Was it when he defeated Marquis Abel and cut down hundreds of enemies?

Was it when he realized his potential while fighting a doppelganger in the underground ruins?

Or was it when he slaughtered countless pirates alone while leaping between ships?

Shan had come to think of himself as invincible from some point onward.

That no one in the world (unless perhaps it was a monster) could ever harm him if they were human.

Even if those bastards deployed tens of knights and all sorts of magical traps in the underground passage, he would break through, or at least be able to escape safely.

That was not entirely baseless arrogance.

Having been extraordinary to begin with, his physical abilities and skills (having absorbed the spirituality of various monsters) were so outstanding that no human could match them, and the armor he wore was sturdy and powerful enough to make him half-invincible.

The weapon in his hand transformed into all kinds of shapes or cut steel like mud, and his ring and Fighting Spirit granting powerful magic resistance blocked all kinds of curses and foul powers of the world.

To Shan, armed with all these armaments, humans were excessively weak existences.

When they were enemies, they were merely scarecrows that elevated his achievements, and when they were allies, they were merely porcelain dolls that would shatter easily even if handled gently.

It was also why from some point onward he leaped into enemy lines alone instead of fighting together with other knights.

Because whenever he stepped forward directly to draw the attention of powerful enemies, one more ally could live.

This trap served as a proper slap to the face of the seventeen-year-old boy who was growing endlessly arrogant.

Or perhaps one could say he stepped onto the stairs of becoming an adult in a somewhat grander way than others.

He was the strongest, but not invincible, and he needed comrades who would back him up, make prudent judgments, and worry for him.

That was precisely the way humans lived, not gods.

*

Instead of immediately attacking the inner castle, the Pendia army first entered into work to stabilize the outer castle area.

There was much work to do, from constructing facilities to detain thousands of prisoners, controlling civilians who could become enemies at any time, to requisitioning supplies gathered by the enemy.

During that time, Shan washed his mud-covered body, jumped into bed, and fell fast asleep just like that.

Because while escaping after being buried underground, he used Fighting Spirit several times and became exhausted, so even after receiving the Blessing of Vitality, his stamina did not return easily.

In fact, this kind of fatigue was closer to a mental one than a physical one.

Fortunately, a merchant’s mansion located between the outer castle and inner castle had a fairly comfortably arranged bedroom.

Of course, the master whose lodging was requisitioned by the Pendia army shed tears, but wasn’t this something those defeated in war had to bear?

Shan, who slept mindlessly in that place until the sun rose the next day, snapped his eyes open due to surging hunger.

When he left the bedroom, two Altoan soldiers guarding the entrance bowed politely.

“Have you awakened, Lord Protector!”

“I’m hungry…”

“We will immediately call the chef to prepare food!”

Even before Shan’s words finished, one soldier quickly shouted and ran out.

A moment later, various foods starting from pea soup were brought into the bedroom.

Thanks to seizing the outer castle warehouse, ingredients to make food overflowed.

Shan, who devoured an amount almost enough for five people to eat, burped with a bulging stomach.

“Nice.”

He clearly felt the nutrients of the food soaking into his body exhausted from overwork.

What he ate like this would soon turn into blood, flesh, muscle, and fat, becoming the drive to fight again.

A moment later, Shan, who stepped out to digest his food, realized that the gazes of those looking at him had changed slightly.

“Have you awakened, Lord Protector!”

“We are relieved that you are safe!”

“Is your body alright?”

Perhaps because the story of almost dying from the enemy’s trap the previous day had spread widely, everyone treated him like a craft item that might break if handled carelessly.

It was not only Shan, but others as well who suddenly realized it.

That their strongest knight was also a human, an existence that could die if things went wrong.

Feeling embarrassed at the truly unfamiliar treatment, Shan substituted an answer by simply nodding his head.

Just then, Roden with a fatigued complexion approached Shan.

“What was bound to come has finally come.”

“What is bound to come?”

“Her Majesty the Queen is looking for you.”

At Roden’s words, Shan froze for a moment.

“…Does she know what happened?”

“Of course. Do you think we could bury this without reporting it?”

When Roden spoke with a flabbergasted expression, Shan groaned in a low voice.