Chapter 152

“Hmm?”

Inside the blacksmith’s workshop at the Frontera Estate, Solitas paused his work.

He set down the carving knife and the wooden piece he had been carefully shaping.

Then he looked outside—northward.

‘I just felt an explosion.’

It wasn’t nearby.

It was beyond the northern border of the estate.

Far enough that an ordinary human wouldn’t have sensed it.

But he was a dragon.

‘A simple explosion? No. I can feel mana fluctuations.’

Before he knew it, he had risen to his feet.

He stepped outside, focusing his senses toward the north.

Soon, the remnants of mana became clearer.

‘A mana explosion. Magic. The pattern of mana waves… necromancy. Then it must’ve been a [Corpse Explosion]. But far stronger than usual.’

As expected of a dragon, he could almost perfectly infer what had happened several kilometers away.

And of course, he knew exactly who was up there.

‘Lloyd Frontera. Hmph. Did he get caught up in something again?’

Should he help?

What a hassle.

Still, maybe he should check.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, a sharp voice came from behind him.

“Heh! Tsk! When I was an apprentice, I didn’t even cough until I finished the task my master gave me.”

“……”

Turning around, Solitas met the stern gaze of his master—the dwarven craftsman Cogidus.

The master’s eyes were filled with strict discipline.

“Have you finished carving the wood I told you to work on?”

“Hmm, no. Not yet.”

“Then you’d better finish it.”

“……”

“Focus on the task at hand. After wood comes plaster. After plaster, granite. After granite, metals of all kinds. Only once you’re comfortable with those will I teach you to work with gemstones the size of a fingernail. How long that takes depends entirely on you.”

“Hmm, understood.”

Solitas nodded.

The master was right.

But that wasn’t the only reason he obeyed.

‘Javier Asrahan. That human’s senses are almost on par with mine.’

His gaze shifted toward the distant road.

There, a silver-haired knight was running at full speed.

It was Javier.

Heading north.

‘As I thought.’

He must’ve sensed the explosion too.

That’s why he was running that way.

Good.

‘Even back in our duel, I could tell he was a monster.’

If that monster was heading there, Solitas had nothing to worry about.

No matter what was happening in the north, it was probably under control.

In fact, what worried him more was himself.

‘Haa… Wood carving. Why is this so damn hard?’

He returned to his bench and picked up the wooden block again.

He carved with effort, but the result was still crooked and clumsy.

The more he looked at it, the heavier his sighs became.

At this rate, when would he ever craft a proper gemstone to prepare for love and marriage?

‘Still, I won’t give up. Not on love. Not on marriage. And not on revenge.’

Javier Asrahan.

He would repay the humiliation of their last encounter—even if it took decades.

Etching that fierce resolve in his heart, Solitas lifted his carving knife once more.

♣

“Haa…”

Lloyd gripped his shovel and turned his gaze south.

He could see the retreating workers.

Behind them, the engineers and White Spear Knights were escorting the rear.

He recalled what had just happened.

‘Sir Blanc sure is stubborn.’

He had said he would buy them time.

He had told them not to face the undead mastodons head-on.

He had told them to escort the workers and flee together.

Naturally, Sir Blanc had protested fiercely.

He had refused to turn his back on the enemy, calling himself the sword and shield of Her Majesty.

He had stood his ground with unwavering resolve.

So Lloyd had pressed him down with authority.

‘This isn’t a suggestion. It’s an order.’

He had put on a serious face.

He had spoken firmly.

He reminded them he had the right to issue orders.

The White Spear Knights were dispatched to Frontera by royal decree, and thus under the actual command of the Count of Frontera.

And the Count had delegated the site’s leadership to him.

So, the White Spear Knights assigned to the construction site were—

‘Naturally under my responsibility and command. And since this is an emergency where many lives are in danger, I have full authority to direct the site. In a crisis like this, unity of action is far more important than pointless argument.’

He had spoken quickly and precisely.

Clear and unbroken.

Without pause for breath.

He had met Sir Blanc’s gaze directly.

Perhaps that determination got through.

Sir Blanc had reluctantly nodded.

‘…It seems you have a plan in mind. Please, stay safe.’

With those words, he led the White Spear Knights to join the rear guard with the workers.

Sir Bayern and the engineers had gone with him.

And so, between the fleeing workers and the charging undead mastodons, only Lloyd remained in the desolate plain.

Correction—he wasn’t entirely alone.

Five baby mastodons stood beside him.

“So, any complaints, little ones?”

“Pwaaeeeh!”

“No complaints, right?”

“Pwaaaeh!”

The five baby mastodons snorted nervously, trembling with their two-meter-tall bodies.

A faint, apologetic smile crossed Lloyd’s face.

“Yeah, sorry. I don’t want this either, but I’ll need your help this time.”

“Pwaeeh!”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t lick me. You didn’t brush your teeth.”

“Pwaaaeh!”

He calmed the young mastodons for a while.

The explosion. The undead rampage.

It was enough to terrify them.

But now came the important part.

“So from now on, you’ve got to stay calm and move with me. Got it? That’s how we all live.”

“Pwaaeeeh!”

“Good, good. Ready?”

“Pwaah!”

Thud-thud-thud-thud…

The ground began to tremble.

He looked north.

The undead mastodon horde was just two hundred meters away.

He also saw Ppodong running far ahead of them.

“Alright! Ppodong, over here!”

“Ppodong!”

Panting heavily, Ppodong reached him.

Her fur was a complete mess from grappling with the undead.

Lloyd’s chest filled with gratitude—and guilt.

He looked up.

The undead horde was now barely a hundred meters away.

This was it.

He had to draw their attention here—make them abandon the workers and charge him instead.

He had to.

It was the only way the workers would survive.

With firm resolve, Lloyd grabbed Ppodong’s neck fur.

“Let’s go! Move out!”

“Ppodong!”

“Pwaaeeeh!”

Ppodong kicked off the ground.

The five baby mastodons ran alongside her.

“Head west!”

They dashed across the plain.

Lloyd glanced back.

The undead horde thundered southward.

He yelled with all his might.

“Hey!”

He raised his shovel high.

Then pointed it at the baby mastodons running beside him.

“Your babies are in my hands!”

His voice grew louder.

“If you don’t come after me, guess what I’ll do! I’ll kidnap them! Take them to the slaughterhouse! Rip out their tusks and horns! Skin them alive and sell everything for a fortune!”

He swung his shovel wildly.

Then channeled mana through the [Asrahan Heart Technique].

“Can you hear me!?”

His mana-empowered voice thundered across the wasteland.

It reached the undead mastodons charging south.

Lloyd anxiously watched their movements.

‘Come on. Turn. Turn, damn it.’

A scene from *The Iron-Blooded Knight* flashed through his mind.

Mastodons—massive herbivorous monsters that lived in large herds.

They raised all their young collectively.

Like buffalo roaming the plains of the North.

‘Their maternal instincts and attachment to their young are extreme. Even when turned undead, that instinct remains partially intact.’

He remembered that from the novel.

That obsession, that motherly instinct strong enough to defy death itself.

He realized he could use it.

So he devised a plan on the spot.

He had sent Sir Bayern, Sir Blanc, and everyone else to safety.

If this worked, he could buy them enough time to escape.

“So! Your babies are right here! I’ll kidnap them, beat them, sell them off!”

Fwoosh!

He swung his shovel ferociously.

The five baby mastodons beside him flinched and cried pitifully.

“Pwaaeeeh!”

At that moment—

“…Grrrooh?”

The undead mastodons galloping south suddenly slowed.

Their heads turned toward him.

Through their cloudy eyes, faint traces of maternal instinct flickered.

“…Grooh. Grooooh!”

Their calves.

They could sense their calves there.

Still too young to fend for themselves—crying for help.

The instant they realized it—

“GROOOOAR!”

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

The entire undead horde changed direction westward.

They charged toward Lloyd, filled with wrath.

‘Good.’

Lloyd clenched his fist.

He had drawn their attention.

Now all that remained was to run and lose them.

‘I’ve already thought of the route. Ppodong! Keep heading west!’

“Ppodong!”

They tore across the wasteland.

Whenever the undead drew closer, Lloyd launched [Confined Blasting] behind him.

Then—

Boom! Crack!

“Grooh!”

One mastodon at the front took a direct hit.

Pierced from head to rear.

It fell, then exploded.

Boom!

A [Corpse Explosion].

The blast threw the formation into chaos.

Lloyd’s spine tingled.

‘Good thing I didn’t fight them head-on. I did the right thing sending the knights away.’

Those creatures seemed to trigger [Corpse Explosion Magic] automatically upon death.

If the White Spear Knights had charged them headlong—

They would’ve all died in the blast.

‘Nice work, past me.’

Lloyd kept running.

After what felt like miles, they finally reached the edge of the wasteland—

Where a tall cliff rose into view.

Lloyd pointed with his shovel.

“Ppodong! There! See that?”

“Ppodong?”

“The canyon entrance at the cliffside!”

He pointed to a narrow fissure—

A vertical canyon, as though split by a giant axe.

“Head in there! Through the canyon!”

“Ppodong!”

Once they crossed, they’d reach a forest.

‘We’ll hide there. Ppodong will shrink back down, and we’ll lose them.’

Confident in his plan, Lloyd dashed into the canyon.

But after a few minutes—

He froze.

‘What… Why is the canyon blocked?’

He urgently halted Ppodong.

Then stared at the wall before them.

“Damn it…”

The canyon had collapsed.

Their path was completely sealed.

Tons of rock and earth had caved in.

Both cliff walls had crumbled, trapping the route.

‘From spring rains, maybe?’

Probably.

His heart pounded hard.

‘Then we’re finished.’

Behind them, the undead herd thundered closer.

The path he thought would save them was a dead end.

A long, narrow corridor—no way out.

They were cornered.

‘Damn it.’

Cold sweat trickled down his neck.

But Lloyd didn’t panic.

He didn’t waste time with pointless flailing.

He shouted immediately.

“Everyone, hug the cliff wall!”

This wasn’t a climbable cliff.

One glance using his [Surveying Skill] told him.

‘Sandstone. Brittle rock. Try to climb, and it’ll crumble. Worse, the ground’s still wet from recent rain. If it gives way, it’ll trigger another landslide.’

That would bury them alive in seconds.

So climbing was out of the question—especially for Ppodong and the baby mastodons.

He quickly finished his assessment and turned to Ppodong.

“Listen carefully. Hold the babies tight. Stay by the cliff. Don’t come near me. Not until I call you. Got it?”

“Ppodong?”

“Got it?”

“Ppo…dong!”

“Good boy.”

His most reliable companion.

He patted him once.

Then turned around.

He faced the narrow path they had come from.

In the distance, the undead mastodons appeared, charging through the bend in the canyon.

“Grooh!”

Their murderous eyes locked onto him.

But Lloyd didn’t stop.

He kept walking forward.

Straight toward them.

He raised his shovel.

Three currents of mana collided.

He launched [Triple Detonation] into the sky.

Kwahhh!

‘I can’t fire directly in this narrow space. If another corpse explosion triggers, we’ll get buried alive. So… this is the best option I’ve got.’

He poured all his strength into the blast.

The recoil hit him like a wave.

He felt dizzy, his body trembling as he dropped to his knees.

Watching the massive horde thunder toward him, he gave a faint smile.

He was ready.

He closed his eyes.

Let himself sink into focus.

Then—

Ding-dong.

[Asrahan Heart Technique Skill Option ⑤ : Rapid Recharge has been activated.]
[Absorbing a large amount of mana from nearby random sources.]

From that moment—

Kiiiiiiiiiiing—!

As the undead mastodons stormed through the canyon,

Lloyd sat calmly before them—

A living black hole of mana, devouring everything that approached.