STGB Episode 410
Dilemma (7)
Once, twice, three times, four times.
The more we tried to connect with the main force, the deeper the ominous feeling sank into my bones.
There’s nothing else I can do.
“Try one more time.”
“Yes, sir…”
All we can do is keep attempting.
However, even after several more tries, we still failed to connect with the main force.
‘…What in the world happened?’
Originally, our expedition plan was as follows:
- Launch a surprise attack and infiltrate the enemy’s base.
- Use the Eye of the Sky to contact the main force waiting in the Dragon Mountain Range.
- Destroy the target and escape, then rendezvous with the main force who would come to meet us.
The key point of this plan was that the main force would concentrate their power temporarily to break through a section of the front line, then meet us at the rendezvous point so we could retreat together.
But…
“It’s no use. We can’t connect.”
The most crucial part of the plan—contacting the main force—had failed.
‘Could it be… they’ve abandoned us?’
For a brief moment, the worst-case scenario crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head.
The royal family wouldn’t discard a force of this size so casually. They had no reason to.
Something must have happened on their end. Even in the worst-case scenario, there was only one thing I could do.
The same thing I’ve done since the first day I opened my eyes in this body.
Survive.
“Captain! How long do we have to hold out?!”
Before making my decision, I took a moment to organize my thoughts.
“Priest Cambel says he’s reaching his limit!”
Time was running out.
We have to do the best we can with our limited resources.
What will most aid our survival?
It didn’t take me long to decide.
Though I’m not sure if this is the best possible choice.
Tuk, tuk.
Alright, let’s go with this for now.
No better idea is coming to mind anyway.
“Akuraba.”
“Yes?”
“Deactivate the coordinate lock for communication completely.”
So far, we’ve been attempting to contact the main force by dialing their designated communication coordinates.
But…
“What? If we do that, everything we say will be broadcasted without restriction across the entire region…?”
“That’s exactly what I want.”
There’s no point in leaving missed messages for someone who’s not answering.
“…Alright.”
Akuraba, understanding my intentions perfectly, hesitated for a moment but eventually agreed without objection.
And…
“All set. The bandwidth is also at maximum.”
Akuraba handed me the message stone after adjusting the settings.
Click.
I carefully pressed the button.
I was a bit nervous.
Right now, this device is set to a broadcasting mode similar to a radio transmission.
This means the transmission will be heard all over the continent by anyone who has their message stone activated, regardless of whether they are friend or foe.
But…
“Everyone, listen.”
[Everyone, listen.]
Our transmitted voice echoed through all the activated message stones nearby.
This is all the main force’s fault for not responding.
I don’t know what’s keeping them so busy, but what else can a barbarian do when the main force is ignoring us?
“The Eye of the Sky has been destroyed.”
[The Eye of the Sky has been destroyed.]
At this point, I could only hammer my voice into their ears.
***
A dreary, barren plain stretching endlessly.
And there…
“….”
…lay the shattered remains of the Eye of the Sky.
A man pulled off his robe, revealing the face hidden beneath.
His skin looked like it had been drenched in some acidic substance.
“…What happened here?”
The man with the grotesque face glanced around, and those who met his gaze were quick to avert their eyes.
“You.”
The man reached out and grabbed the nearest explorer by the neck.
“Cough, cough! Pl-Please spare me, Lord Regal Vagos!”
“If you want to live, speak up. What happened here?”
“I-I’ll tell you…! I’ll tell you everything without hiding anything!”
The trembling explorer spilled his story, and Vagos loosened his grip slightly, willing to hear him out.
[Let me repeat: the Eye of the Sky has been destroyed.]
[We are heading to the extraction point now.]
The message stone had gone silent after that final transmission, leaving Regal Vagos in the dark about the events that had unfolded.
“So, let me get this straight: they openly attacked, destroyed the Eye of the Sky, and escaped using mass teleportation—all while you just stood there and watched?”
As the details emerged, an overwhelming tide of fury surged within him.
“Th-that’s because… when you took the main forces out on an expedition—”
“You’re blaming me?”
“Gu- guhuck! No, that’s not what I mean! It-it’s just because they cowardly brought monsters with them…! We-we were outmatched!”
“…Useless trash.”
His grip tightened again. The explorer, sensing his death, blurted out a name in desperation.
“T-Titana Akuraba!”
“Titana Akuraba…?”
Regal Vagos froze for a moment, recognizing the name.
She was a legendary explorer from the era when he joined Orcules.
“That old crone was there?”
“S-she wasn’t the only one! The Golden Falcon, James Carla! The White Blade, Kaislan! There were so many famous explorers! Please, spare me!”
The explorer begged for his life, trembling. At that moment, another man approached from a distance.
“Lord Vagos, that’s enough. There’s nothing they could have done.”
Kael Elvad Genegger.
He was Vagos’s advisor and strategist.
He had been the one to urge caution and guard the Eye of the Sky when news of the royal forces infiltrating Ice Rock first broke.
And perhaps because of that, Vagos felt a mix of regret and resentment toward him.
“Kael, stay out of this. I’m simply delivering justice.”
“Then why him? Everyone here is equally responsible for failing to defend this place. It’s not fair.”
“So you think I should punish all of them?”
The surrounding explorers flinched, and Kael sighed, pulling out his trump card.
“…If you do, the Commander won’t stand for it.”
The commander of Orcules.
The traitor, Ricardo Lühensprache.
“You bastard…!”
The mention of that name made Regal Vagos seethe, but he restrained himself.
No matter how furious he was, even Vagos couldn’t ignore that name.
“This is already a significant event. The commander will likely return from the front lines to assess the situation. Please, act wisely for now.”
“…Tch.”
In the end, Vagos swallowed his anger.
He couldn’t afford to give the commander any more ammunition to use against him.
But…
“The Blood Spirit Queen’s man? Rihen Schuiz?”
“Yes! He was definitely the leader of the expedition. I heard them call him Schuiz, and he even used [Gigantification]!”
Hearing this, Vagos stiffened.
The mention of [Gigantification] triggered a powerful sense of familiarity.
“Kael!”
“Yes, my lord?”
“Bring me a message stone!”
Without hesitation, Kael handed him the device. Vagos activated it and played back the recorded transmissions.
[Me? I’m right in front of your house]
[If you want to know, come find out.]
[Good luck with that.]
Just hearing that voice caused his fists to clench — that damn voice.
At the same time, he felt as if he’d heard it somewhere before.
Click, click, click.
Regal Vagos replayed the recorded message several times over, then finally loosened his grip and let out a bitter laugh.
“…No wonder it sounded familiar.”
So that was it.
At last, Regal Vagos realized who the voice belonged to.
[Again, I repeat. The Eye of the Sky has been destroyed.]
[We are heading to the rendezvous area now.]
Due to Amelia Rainweilz’s betrayal, he had been unable to recall this sworn enemy for over three years. Once his body healed and his memory returned, he realized it was that precious sword that had been stolen.
A thief who’d stolen a treasured sword that cost him so much to acquire.
He had always assumed the thief was dead.
“It appears he’s still alive.”
He suspected the royal family knew about the thief’s identity.
No, maybe the royal family had engineered his supposed death.
Or they wouldn’t have placed a man called ‘the Man of the Blood Spirit Queen’ as the leader of an expedition involving a big shot like Akuraba.”
“Bjorn Jandel.”
Remembering the anger from that day, Regal Vagos quietly muttered the name and stood up.
“Kael! Gather all the troops. We are going after those who escaped right now!”
“But, sir, the Commander hasn’t returned—”
“Enough. I’ll take full responsibility for this.”
It’s time to meet him again.
***
Several Days Later…
Deadwood.
A field located west of the Dragon Mountains, an area which Noark considers its territory and where the royal army never managed to set foot during the war…
It’s also the predetermined rendezvous area we’d agreed upon with the royal family in advance.
“…..”
We hold our breath while waiting there.
Trusting that if they hear our message, they’ll come to our rescue.
“….“
Curled up on a branch of a lifeless tree, we endured the restless hours.
This was now our third day.
“If they moved immediately upon receiving the message, they should have arrived yesterday.”
“Why… aren’t they here yet?”
“Sir Kaislan, lower your voice. We don’t have the energy to use voice suppression magic anymore.”
Until yesterday, everyone had been hopeful, encouraging one another with thoughts of an imminent rescue.
But now, tensions are rising.
And understandably so.
That morning, we had our first casualty.
Philip Aintrophy.
He was an explorer belonging to Melend Kaislan’s team.
Class: Scout.
He primarily learned skills that would help in navigation, such as [Current Manipulation], [Lightening], and [Excess Supply]. He died in the battle that took place in the morning.
While we still had some spare mana, the mages had run out of stamina, causing our Stealth Magic to briefly disengage.
The Noark guys searching below discovered us, and Philip’s head was crushed during an intense combat when he attempted to fight them off, leading to his immediate death.
A few more hours passed since that incident.
“Shuiz, it’s not safe here either.”
The anxiety among the members had reached its peak.
It wasn’t surprising. Noark would have noticed the absence of their patrol by now.
As time passes, their search efforts would intensify.
In fact, the frequency of Noark soldiers passing beneath us had already increased significantly.
“We need to make a decision.”
“Hold on, make a decision? What do you mean?”
“We can’t stay here forever. If rescue isn’t coming, it’s better to abandon this place.”
“W-what are you saying?! Are you implying the royal family has abandoned us?!”
“I didn’t say that. It’s just… we failed to establish contact as well. If they have some situation on their end, it would be wise for us to act accordingly.”
“You may have a point, but I disagree. In our current exhausted state, how far can we even go? If we’re discovered along the way, we’ll be annihilated.”
“So you suggest we keep waiting here? For how long? In two days, our mages will run out of mana. At that point, won’t we face annihilation anyway?”
As is always the case in emergencies, opinions were sharply divided.
‘Haah….’
I let out a deep sigh internally.
Even without Akuraba pointing it out, I knew it already.
We have to make some sort of decision now.
‘This is maddening.’
We essentially have three choices.
The first one is to stay here and quietly wait.
- In the best case scenario, we’d all remain safe until the rescue force arrives.
- In the worst case, however…
‘…We’d die here like dogs, fighting a losing battle.’
The second choice is not to wait but to move on, directly breaking through to the area under the royal family’s control.
Deadwood is far less critical than the Dragon Mountains, so the front lines here are weaker and troop presence is lower.
We chose this rendezvous area precisely for that reason.
It’s not an utterly unreasonable plan.
But…
‘With fewer than thirty of us remaining, it would still be very difficult.’
It would be a miracle if even 10% of us survived to reach safety.
In the worst-case scenario, the result would be the same as the first option.
‘That leaves only one other choice…’
The third choice is a kind of endurance strategy.
Just like how the enemy base near the frontline was left empty, maybe we can hide somewhere behind their main lines until the labyrinth closes.
‘We’ve destroyed the Eye of the Sky, so any detailed information about us might not have been fully transmitted.’
However, this option exposes us to danger for an extended period. We will inevitably face countless variables along the way.
Even if we execute everything perfectly, there will be many casualties.
‘In every choice, if we face the worst outcome, we all die.’
That thought almost made me laugh.
I briefly think, since a total annihilation ending is possible with the worst outcomes anyway, maybe the best choice is the one where everyone lives in the best-case scenario: staying put and waiting.
If it fails, at least we can blame the royal family for failing us.
“…No, that’s nonsense.”
“Huh? What did you just say, Commander Shuiz?”
Ignoring Kaislan’s puzzled look, I spoke up.
Even if I’m not entirely confident in the decision, someone has to make it.
Tuk, tuk.
We have to choose something.
“Everyone, get ready. We’re leaving this place now.”
“You mean… you won’t wait for the main force anymore?”
“Yes, we’ve waited long enough and stood up. Oh, and don’t worry too much.”
I gave Kaislan a slight smile.
“I’ll take full responsibility for everything.”