Chapter 58 - Lunatic Wave (4)
“Since we are going to do this….. We have to be as discreet as possible.”
“I’m not sure what you are trying to say. I said the possessions of the guests would be damaged during the heat of the battle, but I never said I would do something myself.”
“What?”
The lord had hardened his heart. He finally convinced himself to go along with Artpe’s suggestion, yet Artpe had given him such a shameless answer.
When the lord was about to answer him, an enormous merchant ship that was docked near them started to sink
This was happening despite the fact that the monsters were still being held back at the 1st barrier walls!
“You······.”
“Amazing! I never expected to a sea monster that can attack from long distance would make its appearance!”
“There is no way anyone would believe such bull….hoohp.”
The lord was using his reasonable part of his brain to tackle this issue. However, he shut his mouth when Artpe gave him a sharp look. Mycenae acted as if she had already stopped listening to the conversation. She started mounting her ballista on the wall.
“Ee-yah. It is an incredibly strong monster. That, that and that…. Those boats are all sinking.”
“Customer, it looks as if you are enjoying this more than anything I’ve seen you do before. Am I mistaken?”
“I...it is a terrifying monster. It’s a terrifying monster. Yes, a monster….”
Everything could always be justified by using force. The lord was holding back tears. He knew the truth, yet he couldn’t reveal the truth. Artpe ignored him as he used his Mana Strings to sink the ships in order.
He made holes in the hull of some ships, and he capsized others. Artpe possessed the Read All Creation ability, so he could clearly see the internal structure of the ships. He was able to easily sink a ship by lightly swinging his Mana Strings.
“W...what the hell is going on······.”
“T...the attacks are coming from unexpected places! Everyone be prepared!”
“The ships are all sinking….. How are they doing that!”
The soldiers and knights had been busily running around on top of the wall when they caught sight of the sinking ships in the coastal waters in front of Frate. The sight boggled their minds.
What would happen if a monster with such overwhelming power attacked them instead of boats? Strangely, this particular monster was focused on sinking ships rather than killing humans!
“The ocean is already crawling monsters, so we can’t run away through that route. However, they are specifically targeting the ships…...”
“The Lunatic Wave came much earlier than expected….. It will be hard year. However, we gained something when they sunk all our ships! Isn’t that right, lord!”
“Lord!”
Everyone on the 1st barrier wall turned to look at the lord. He knew the dirty and evil truth, so he didn’t have to fake his bitter expression. He raised his voice.
“We’ll activate the 2nd tier barrier wall! Everyone aside from the members manning the 1st barrier should all come with me!”
“Yes, sir!”
“We will follow our lord!”
The fighting spirit of the humans were boiling upwards. The lord had a heavy expression on his face. It was as if he was asking himself, ‘Is it really alright to do this?’
However, it was true that they had gained more time by following Artpe’s instructions. The extra time was precious in defending against the monsters. The lord let out a bitter laugh as he lowered his head towards Artpe.
“Magician, may I leave the 1st tier of barrier walls in your care?”
“Of course. You should withdraw everyone from here. You should divert them to the 2nd and 3rd tier barrier walls. No, it isn’t just the barriers. Don’t you have a lot to do within Frate?”
“The fact that you are here during a crisis makes me feel very reassured….. Then I’ll leave this all to you.”
They had gained a lot of time thanks to Artpe, but this didn’t change the fact that they were still in a desperate situation. The lord hastily gathered all the soldiers and knights. They left to activated the 2nd tier barriers.
This meant the only ones facing the ocean on the 1st barrier wall was Artpe and Mycenae. No one else had stayed behind.
“Huh?”
Artpe was flustered as he mumbled to himself.
“He really took everyone!?”
“That’s what you get for bluffing and acting high and mighty.”
Mycenae grumbled as she loaded and shot her ballista. It pierced several monsters that surged up from the surface of the water. However, there were so many monsters that one could hardly notice the loss of these monsters.
“Anyways, you’ve already spoken those words, so you have to take responsibility. This might be obvious, but I cannot hold them back by myself.”
“Still, I never expected him to pull out everyone….”
As it was noted before, the 1st barrier wall was low in height. Since the Lunatic Wave had started not too long ago, the monsters they could see were small fries. However, monsters that could easily jump over the barrier would show up soon.
This was especially true for monsters that had the upper body of a human, and the tail of a fish.
When these monsters surged out of the water, their lower body changed into human legs. The merfolk were the greatest threat during the Lunatic Wave. When the merfolks made their appearance, it was fair to assume that the 1st tier of barrier was useless.
“I have to cover this large area by myself…... Whatever. I’ll do it.”
He had been unable to break the habit of bluffing. It had carried over from his days as the Four Heavenly King. He could blame no one, but himself!
Moreover, it wasn’t as if he didn’t have a plan he could use for this scenario. Artpe admonished himself as he vowed to become a little bit more humble in the future. Then he activated his Mana.
“Customer, it isn’t too late to talk to the lord…..”
“No, just wait.”
Artpe had an aggrieved expression on his face as he placed a hand on top of the barrier wall. He activated his Read All Creation ability, and he was meticulous in finding out the exact structure of the barrier wall that was separating the ocean and Frate. Mycenae had no idea what he was trying to do, but she was getting more and more anxious.
“Customer, there are so many monsters gathered at the base of the wall that they’ll form a mountain.”
“Just wait.”
“Customer, I caught sight of mermen and mermaids in the distance.”
“Just wait.”
“Customer······.”
“It is done.”
When Mycenae thought the barrier wall was going to fall in its entirety, Artpe was able to confirm the structure of the barrier wall. We succeeded in gathering all the information. When he raised his head, his frightening purple eyes flashed.
“Customer, that monster is about to cross over the barrier….”
“They won’t be able to come over now.”
As he confidently made the declaration, he activated a single magic. It was aimed at the point of contact between the barrier wall and the ocean waters. Basically, Artpe’s magic would be applied when the monsters tried to climb over the wall. It was the Hyper Rubbing spell. It had developed during the fight with the Demons, so it had reached an overpowering level of 49.
“Customer, did you just use that right now…. Mmmm?”
“There are two ways of activating the Hyper Rubbing. The first method is to rub against a target. The second method is to impart the power of rubbing on a target.”
In the past, he had rubbed the floor to make it slick. He had used the first method to do this. The second method was used when he imbued the power of rubbing onto the soap during the shower.
Of course, it was possible to combine the two methods. This was seen when he used his Mana String whip. However, the method he was using right now was the second method.
“The ocean water······ No, it’s the monsters!”
When he first learned Hyper Rubbing, all he could do was to rub his target in a vigorous manner. Even if he put in a lot of Mana into the spell, he couldn’t created a magic that could change one’s environment.
In the past, magicians thought about researching the Hyper Rubbing spell, but it was useless in practical life. No one dared to use it in battle. This was why most could raise it to level 20 on average. Level 30 was the highest someone had developed it before. Artpe had also thought that level 30 was the limit of Hyper Rubbing.
[Koo-goo-rooooooooooo!]
[Kee-ahhhhhhhhhk!]
However, he didn’t have any of the spells that had been available to him in his past life. He had no choice, but to rely on the Hyper Rubbing spell. In turn, he had found ways to use the magic spell in real battles, and it had widened his repertoire. He realized a truth about the world through this meaningless magic, but his biggest achievement was the growth of the Hyper Rubbing spell. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration if one called him the Emperor of Friction.
“T...the waves…. New waves that seems to be resisting against the waves of the oceans are forming!”
“The friction causes vibration. As I control the Mana, I can control the cycle and intensity of the vibration.”
The waves started small, but the waves kept adding to each other as the size of the waves grew larger. Artpe was raising the barrier wall as he controlled the vibration caused by the friction. He even controlled the waves that were forming as he grew the size of the waves.
[Kyahhhhhhhhhhhk!]
[Kee-heeeeek! Kyahhhhk!]
This was occurring everywhere the barrier wall was installed!
“Amazing······ You are too incredible, customer! Still, it would have been simpler if you used the magic spell that creates waves!”
“I don’t have it! I don’t have such magic!”
Artpe threw a tantrum as he created a bigger wave. Most of the weak monsters could not overcome the waves. They were pushed backwards. Even if monsters were strong enough to push past the waves, they couldn’t withstand the incredible amount of friction being created by the barrier wall. They were repelled.
In other words, Artpe was really defending the 1st tier barrier walls by himself.
“L...look over there.”
“Magician-nim has control over nature.”
“W...we shouldn’t be doing this right now ! While Magician-nim is buying us time, let us complete the 2nd tier barrier walls.!”
However, Artpe wasn’t done yet. He had somewhat recovered the magical energy he had expended when he placed the Hyper Rubbing spell on the entirety of the barrier wall. He once again placed his hand on the barrier wall.
“Customer, you should help me now to snipe the monsters…. What are you doing now?”
“Reinforcement.”
Artpe’s hand flashed, and a massive amount of Mana flowed out of him again. All of the Mana was put into the barrier wall. The barrier wall slowly started to vibrate more as it let out a purple light.
“Wait a moment. This isn’t an artifact. How are you going to use Reinforcement on a regular barrier wall….kyahhhhhhhhhk!”
Mycenae had been doubting Artpe until the barrier wall started to shake. He easily took her by surprise again.
The 1st tier barrier walls were about to become obsolete, since the troop of mermen could easily overcome the low barrier walls. However, when the 1st tier barrier walls received Artpe’s Mana, the wall evolved at a fundamental level. Of course, its sturdiness had increased, but it also increased in overall size!
“All right. I think I can use Reinforcement twice on the wall in one sitting…. I’m going again.!”
“Kyahhhhhhhhhhhk!”
Another round of purple light burst forward, and in a flash, the barrier wall surged upwards! It was over 10 meters in height!
“Ohhhhhhhhhhh! Magician-nim breathed his magic into the barrier!”
“It grew! It is about the same size as the 2nd tier barrier walls! Oh my god! What is his level!”
[Vibrating wall infused with the will to protect Frate+2]
[This nameless and plain barrier wall had been touched by the hands of a magician. The records of the people, who had fought in the past Lunatic Waves, were absorbed. The wall was born again, and this process affected the power of the special spell that was placed on the barrier wall. It turned into a large artifact that can emit vibration.]
Artpe let out an embarrassed laughter when the artifact was born. He hadn’t expected it to work.
“Ha ha ha. I’ve done it again.”
“Customer, you always cause trouble, but…. The scale of this is too big!”
Artpe didn’t need to maintain his Hyper Rubbing any more. The barrier wall had been given the power of vibration, so it could repel the weak monsters with waves by itself. Even if monsters could approach the wall, it could increase the intensity of it vibration to cause damage to the monsters. And to top it off, the barrier wall was too tall now. Monsters couldn’t even attempt at jumping over the wall.
“Ah, the large troop of mermen are here.”
“You are right. They are coming…. They were a step too late.”
The troop of monster mermen had confident expressions on their face as if to say, ‘We’ll just climb over that low barrier wall!’
They had an exquisite timing in making their appearance. It made one want to ask them if they were the main characters of this story.
[Goo-rooo-roo······ Ooh-uhng?]
[High! It is high!]
They finally arrived at the 1st tier barrier walls. However, these weren’t the human made walls that they had heard about from their mothers and fathers. They were baffled. The mermen froze as they came face to face with the massive barrier wall.
It was supposed to be a wall they could easily jump over…..
[Ggoo-uhhhhhhng! Wall! It hurts!]
[We can’t cross it! The wall is insurmountable!]
[I want to go home!]
The troop of mermen and mermaids despaired at their twisted reality. Naturally, they took steps to avoid the reality. However, Artpe wouldn’t let them do so. Mana Strings were emitted from the tip of his fingers. He no longer needed to maintain his Hyper Rubbing spell. He could slaughter them to his heart’s content now!
[Koo-ahhhhhhhk!]
[Keeeeeeek!]
“You aren’t even worth much EXP, yet you dare to come here! Come back with stronger monsters!”
“Mmmm······ It seems we no longer need the 2nd and 3rd tier barriers…..”
Mycenae carefully observed her surrounding as she raised her ballista.
After two hours, the nobles from the other countries that had been occupied with the battle against the Demons came running towards the port. They despaired when they found no traces of their boats. They realized their ships had all sunk.
Even at that moment, not a single monster was able to cross the 1st tier barrier wall.