Chapter 123 Army
Following Captain Clara, they made only a short stop near the military's warehouse.
There, almost everyone was currently gearing up, choosing their equipment and fastening straps of their armors to be fully prepared to slaughter thousands of beasts.
"Even if I hope it is not necessary, take some protective garments, potions and other things you believe are necessary with you!" She simply ordered them.
All traces of her earlier calm, composed and happy attitude had been wiped away and only a grim expression was left on her face.
It was as if Clara had been replaced with a tough and gritty Captain, someone, who was ready to fight and kill without mercy as long as it allowed her and the people she was responsible for, to survive.
Nial liked this because it calmed Mathias down a lot.
Even Bella seemed to be much calmer thanks to Captain Clara, which caused Nial to smile.
Thus, without asking the unnecessary question of why the military would suddenly allow them to carry things that were previously on the taboo list, Nial rushed into the warehouse.
He was fully aware of the fact that surviving was far more important than attending any kind of training camp.
And this was also what the higher-ups knew.
Because of that, Nial didn't waste much time either as he grasped a few potions, a suitable leather armor, a set of daggers, and some other miscellaneous items.
Owing to his exceptional mana perception, he could pick objects of the finest quality, such as the set of daggers that were Common grade mythical weapons!
But even if someone were to throw weird looks at him, Nial wouldn't care.
After all, he had to be prepared for the possibility of being stomped by a huge beast tide.
Fighting against hundreds of beasts in his immediate surroundings with a spear would be foolish.
With that in mind, Nial decided to prepare daggers for the worst case, even if he hoped that it wouldn't come to that.
Only ten minutes had passed before he was fully prepared.
Bella and Mathias required a few more minutes while the Soldiers and higher ranks of the military had already been dispatched.
Captain Clara was waiting, with her hands folded behind her back patiently.
However, deep down, Nial could sense her unstable mana fluctuations, which reflected her worry, and impatience.
Nonetheless, there were quite a few young Originals that would join the fight against the beast tide.
More than 30 Originals had already entered the military base, and even if almost a dozen were still injured owing to the fight against the Lesser Titan youngling, the rest were ready to fight!
With nearly 20 more Originals by their side, the military could defeat hundreds, or even thousand more beasts as long as they managed to hold back only a few beasts.
Nobody in the military had expected the young Originals to be able to endure the pressure of fighting thousands of beasts.
But even then, it was a great experience for them to witness and participate in a fight that they were bound to encounter in the future as well.
It might seem cruel at first glance, but Nial also felt that it would be a great opportunity for them to assess their strengths and weaknesses.
By only using the black miasma, and that too when it was absolutely necessary, Nial could learn to become more independent.
At the same time, it would allow him to reach a much higher combat experience, to learn what true slaughter is, and how a large-scale battlefield smelled and felt like.
Owing to his extraordinarily enhanced senses, Nial ought to be bombarded with a lot of information and face great difficulties with his hearing, smelling, and even touching senses.
As such, it would be an even more memorable experience for him.
However, what made him feel frustrated was that he still didn't feel any fear, which Clara could sense clearly.
Oddly enough, Nial's calmness influenced her as well, visibly calming her down.
But she was not the only one to feel a bit more confident, as those who rushed out of the warehouse once they were ready could feel the difference in the atmosphere.
Except for Nial and a bunch of other late bloomers with a humble background, each participant of the Teradan military camp had received rigorous training for several years in order to overcome the dangers of the wilderness, but even then, their experience was limited to conquering known dungeons.
Not many had conquered a mutated dungeon, an unexplored dungeon, or fought against dungeon beasts stronger than themselves.
All of this was something Nial had already overcome, indicating that his experience was not as shallow or insufficient as he always presumed.
Furthermore, owing to his highly enhanced physique, and the additional enlarged mana core, he was not as weak as before, if one could even call him that now- weak!
His physical strength was now on par with a 7th Origin rank, while his mana core was enlarged to be on par with a 5th or 6th Origin rank.
And that was the case when he had merely undergone just two enlarging.
All of the enhancements he received were owed to the [Hodur's heir] curse and the fact that the Odyssey seed devoured the Titan heart.
This was great in the current situation, but the hidden agenda behind the Odyssey seed's actions was still unknown.
There was the possibility for it to be something good and purely play a supportive role in his combat prowess, but the chances were slim.
Thus, he distracted himself once again.
When everyone was fully prepared, their armors, scabbards, and potion belts neatly worn, Nial clenched and unclenched his fists multiple times before swinging his arms, and rotating them.
Nial's movements gained some interest that was even more than what he had received just a few days ago.
Out of all the present participants of the Teradan military camp, only Nial, Bella, and Mathias were from Katu.
It was the weakest and most isolated shelter of mankind, which was why nobody expected them to have any overly powerful participants.
And from the recommended batch from Katu, only their team of three gained some interest.
Having heard some gossip from those Originals that had been saved by Nial and his little team, the others couldn't help but look at the youth they had presumed to be the weakest.
It was obvious that Nial was just at the 3rd Origin rank, and his blindness was evident as well.
However, the rumors were more than enough to believe that his calmness was not a farce, but that he was truly not worried about dying in the following hours.
Thus, without meaning to, subconsciously they all flocked near Nial as if he was their beacon of light and hope.
Only Nial knew that he was miles away from being related to anything that had to do with light, purity, or whatsoever.
He was cursed, and it felt as if this not only included the curse he had bound to his mana core, but far more than that!
But even then, he was certain of not meeting the Grim Reaper today, which allowed him to follow Clara with firm steps.
Mathias and Bella were by his side, soaking in the confidence he radiated, which helped calm down the restless Mathias, and Bella, who was unsure what to think of the situation they had been dragged into.
She knew for sure that the Teradan military camp was far less dangerous than what they were facing right now according to Kassandra, her teacher, who had told her so.
And the fact that a blind young man was unfazed infused her with some much-needed confidence.
Meanwhile, Nial was oblivious to the effect he had on the others. He was simply perceiving every single trace of mana in his surroundings, to sense everything.
But even if he wanted to, he decided against saying something, knowing that it might lead to conflicts in the mindsets of some Originals.
This would be quite troublesome as it could lead to an existential crisis in the worst-case scenario, possibly followed by the consequence of their death in the battle against the dungeon beasts.
Several minutes thus passed, and their small group went deeper into the mountain until they reached an intersection with three tunnels.
Through the remnants of mana fluctuations and the mana currents that flowed through the three cavern tunnels, it was not difficult to determine where they had to go.
The tunnel on their left had the lowest purity and density of mana even if the quantity was not all that bad.
With that in mind, everyone turned in that direction. No sooner had they turned, ear-piercing roars, and hisses reverberated through the entire cave.
It originated from the right tunnel, where Junades and the other more powerful Originals had gone.
Meanwhile, the elite soldiers went inside the middle cavern tunnel.
'Origin rank, Prym rank…and the Se…the rank that follows with four to six origin rings…Is that the distribution of the tunnels?'
Nial's conclusion was nearly perfect, and the only mistake he made was to presume that the last dungeon on the right side was devoid of beasts with seven to nine origin rings.
As such, his conclusion that mankind's strongest existences had between six and seven origin rings had been a misleading one.
Unable to digest just how weak mankind was, he could only shake his head as they entered the cavern tunnel to their left.
It was the smallest tunnel in the entire intersection. The entrance was only six meters wide and less than five meters high.
This clearly showed that it should be possible to defend the tunnel with four to five Originals as long as they could endure the heavy pressure of facing attacks head-on.
Simultaneously, by using Mathias' Earth elemental affinity to their advantage, they could gain an upper hand in an underground fight.
At least, that would be the case as long as Mathias covered the ceilings with numerous spikes, preventing beasts from trampling over their own brethren to reach them.
This would bring forth unnecessary trouble that could be avoided rather easily.
However, the further they walked, the more frustrating the tunnel's height and width became, and Nial's mood plummeted.
As such, he couldn't help but quicken his pace to reach Clara before he asked,
"Shouldn't we go back and protect the base at the narrow spots of the tunnel? Wouldn't that be less dangerous?"
He could clearly perceive the Soldiers ahead, fighting against beasts in the broadest area of the entire cavern tunnel.
In fact, Nial presumed that one could consider it as one of the cavern halls inside the mountain of the nameless island.
Under normal circumstances, Captain Clara would have agreed to Nial's opinion, but not now, in the given situation.
"Normally yes, but amongst the 20 breakouts of Rookie ranked dungeons, there are several rather unique beasts with powerful elemental affinities.
If one of them were to spit out huge flames, for example, then everyone would be distracted, injured, or possibly die upon facing the searing hot flames.
You cannot even avoid them in that case…"
After she answered his question, Nial just nodded his head, but didn't slow down and continued to advance towards the Originals Soldiers.
They didn't have to walk for long and soon their eyes fell on the army of thousands of roaring beasts that were fiercely trying to overwhelm their opponents. Meanwhile, the Originals were desperately trying to prevent every single beast to break through their defenses.
However, this was impossible, which was also why the higher-ups of the military had decided to enlist the young participants of the Teradan military camp in the fight against the Army of beasts.
The participants of the Teradan military base and the small batch of 20 Originals were supposed to free the Soldiers of their worry to block every single beast from advancing through their defensive line!
**
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