"The Third Disaster Army," Isaac said.
The people stiffened.
Shock, fear, disbelief, despair. Countless emotions passed through their eyes.
The Third Disaster Army, and the Hero. Their story was believed to be a myth.
But nobles and people in positions of power knew all of it was true history. A thousand years ago, the world had nearly been driven to extinction by the Third Disaster Army. Only when the Hero appeared had the hope been born.
Isaac looked at the expressions of the people. He, who had once been the king of elves, knew much more about the Third Disaster Army than them. He didn’t tell that information yet. There was no need. It would bring only despair.
"The Third Disaster Army was destroyed by the Hero," Duke Falcon said.
"Unfortunately, that’s not true. Even now, remnants of the Third Disaster Army rest in a dormant state deep underground," Isaac replied.
People shuddered. The stories of the Third Disaster Army were truly horrific. No one knew how much of it was true, and how much had been muddled by the flow of time, but if even one percent was true, then the kingdom was doomed.
There was no hope of victory.
"You don’t need to worry. We will prepare for the Third Disaster Army in due time. For now, we must focus on the Great Calamity ahead of us," Isaac said.
"The Great Calamity is not the Third Disaster Army?" Duke Tigris asked.
"It’s their guardian," Isaac said. He unfurled a huge paper on the table. It showed deep underground networks of the Veins of the World. "This is the current map of the area directly below us that I’ve been able to map. One of the remnants of the Third Disaster Army is hidden somewhere around here. Protecting those remnants is [Undying Larva]. That is the Great Calamity, and one of the ancient war weapons of the past. I don’t know how or why, but it will leave its position in one week, come out of the ground, and attack nearby towns. Our job is to defeat it here before it reaches any town," Isaac said.
"Can we pinpoint its location and collapse the Veins of the World to bury it alive?" Merlin asked, looking at the map. Isaac had discussed everything with him already; he was asking these questions to put on a show for the people around.
"That wouldn’t work. First, we don’t know where the Undying Larva is. Secondly, it can dig through the ground. We need to wait for it to come out," Isaac said.
Everyone had countless questions.
Isaac answered them. He did not withhold information. He told everything about the Undying Larva’s abilities. Each sentence left people horrified. They wondered how it was possible to even defeat such a thing.
Two days passed.
The entire area had been equipped to sense mana flow and seismic waves. There were still five days for the Undying Larva to come out.
The armies were preparing traps and waiting for Duke Wright to arrive.
Duke Falcon had brought eight thousand soldiers with him. It was the largest force he could muster for this expedition.
Reaching their current location had required crossing the territories of numerous nobles, many of whom were suspicious of his intentions. They feared he might use the army against them.
As a result, Duke Falcon had been forced to pay a hefty price for permission to move his troops through their domains.
Another one thousand soldiers were from Tigris Duchy. While their numbers were low, these were fierce soldiers. They were stationed at the gates of the Mourning Frost Mountains all year long. They fought with their lives on the line every day.
They were the kingdom’s finest soldiers.
Isaac would’ve liked it if Duke Tigris brought more soldiers, but the rest of them needed to defend the line against the Mourning Frost Mountains.
Still, the current army was made up of two of the three duchies. Its might was enough to crush any noble territory. After Duke Wright arrived in three days, their forces would swell once again.
Isaac had not expected Amanda and Duke Falcon to persuade Duke Wright to come all the way to this place.
After all, Isaac was asking them to march thousands of soldiers across the kingdom. The logistics alone would consume vast amounts of time, food, and money.
’We should be able to safely handle the Undying Larva with this many forces,’ Isaac thought as he gazed at the night stars.
The sign that something was wrong came without warning.
Two days later, on a moonless midnight, the mana sensor suddenly went wild. Something was racing toward the surface from deep underground. Something with so much mana that it could power the royal capital city for a year.
Moments later, the seismic sensors began blaring.
Bard and Isaac burst out of their tents at the same time.
"All soldiers! Gather!" Bard shouted, using his Sound Element. His voice snapped everyone out of their sleep. The soldiers sensed the shaking ground and rushed out of their tents.
Thankfully, they were already wearing their basic gear. Merlin, ever paranoid, had ordered everyone to sleep in armor in case of an emergency.
It turned out his caution was justified.
This was an emergency.
The Undying Larva was emerging days earlier than expected, and in the middle of a moonless night.
Just as the soldiers finished forming up, the ground five hundred meters ahead exploded.
Through the cloud of dust, a colossal figure emerged. The darkness made it difficult to see clearly, but even its silhouette sent shivers down everyone’s spine.
It was a gigantic, pulsating mass of flesh resembling a slug. Thousands of enormous human-like arms protruded from its sides. Some had three elbows. Others had four. The limbs twisted and writhed in unnatural ways.
The Undying Larva shrieked.
A wave of mana erupted from its body.
"Holy Mages! Defend!" Duke Falcon and Duke Tigris roared, sensing the wave of mana.
The mages chanted swiftly, casting defense spells against the incoming wave of mana.
Isaac drew his sword and swung. The wave of mana split apart in his direction and passed harmlessly around him.
Then it crashed into the army. The barriers erected by the Holy Mages held for a few seconds before shattering under the pressure.
The mana wave swept through the front ranks.
Instantly, the soldiers’ limbs grew heavy. Exhaustion washed over them as the debuff took hold, draining their strength and slowing their movements.
"Flagbearers! Into position! War Mages! Begin!" Duke Tigris thundered. "Fire Mages! Give us light!"
The soldiers moved systematically.
The ones at the front, the ones affected by the debuff, were the troops of Duke Tigris. They held heavy shields and pikes.
They remained steadfast, despite the grim situation.
Hundreds of fireballs shot into the sky. Their blazing light illuminated the moonless night, banishing the darkness and revealing the battlefield.
The Undying Larva was already barreling toward the army. Hundreds of grotesque arms slammed into the ground in a deafening, catastrophic rhythm, propelling its colossal body forward.
The Flagbearers reached their positions. Their role was to act as beacons through which the War Mages could distribute buffs across the army.
The Flagbearers stationed at the rear absorbed mana directly from the Magic Cores, purified it, and supplied it to the War Mages. Meanwhile, the Flagbearers at the front served as relay points, allowing the War Mages to extend their buffs across a much larger area of the battlefield.
War Mages were powerful, but buffing a single battalion for even a few seconds would drain a War Mage completely. Moreover, their numbers were limited. There were never enough of them to cover an entire battlefield and maintain their buffs for long.
That’s why Flagbearers were necessary.
The entire army felt their physical abilities being boosted. The archers in the back shot arrows at the oncoming Undying Larva while the knights in the front created a wall of shields.