Chapter 87 - Miracles That Mortals Can Also Participate In (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Under the command and guide from the two knights, the pioneering warriors and commoners of the Cecil Clan had finally mobilized.

The news of the coming aberration attack had been disseminated to the entire camp. But under Gawain’s intentional guidance and firm words, the panic and tension caused by this matter had been suppressed… or perhaps, it should be said that they had been shifted away. The spoils of war that were brought back previously and the good reputation of Gawain Cecil in such situations had a decisive effect.

As for this matter, Gawain was most pleased that there were no runaways in this camp as of now.

The serfs and commoners might be ignorant, but they weren’t foolish. They knew that this barren land was far away from civilization and that there was nothing but towering mountains and primitive forests. Furthermore, there were monsters roaming in the mountains, and in order for them to escape to the relatively safe Tanzan Town, they would need to travel at least three to four days. Now that the aberrations were already rather close, running away would only lead to a faster death… As such, those that wanted to flee would naturally be able to weigh the pros and cons of their choices.

On this point, Gawain had asked Heidi to specially emphasize it to the members here.

Thus, even though they had a little fear and even though the blazing flames of the Cecil territories and the innumerable monsters were still lingering in their minds, they still worked hard to gather their courage. When they heard that the hero leader that came from 700 years ago had a specialized method to deal with the aberrations and when they saw how confidently Heidi and Rebecca commanded the soldiers to prepare for battle, it allowed them to have some confidence too.

The tasks that were distributed to them were also one of the factors that boosted their confidence.

The steelworks was said to be producing ‘furnace slags’ that could be used as weapons. Tasks like the production of pedal traps, carving, and touching up of runes were all suitable for the commoners even if they were illiterate. Furthermore, when they were working, the soldiers would constantly emphasize that these things could be used to deal with those monsters. As such, the workers started to feel that the ‘ancient duke’ was rather capable, spurring them to work extra hard.

But in fact, the soldiers responsible for the ‘announcements’ weren’t very sure what those things were used for. They were only following orders and relaying the words that they heard from Gawain to the working commoners.

“Put the crystal fragments at the lowest layer then place them on the slabs that are carved with magic circles! If the slabs are damaged then change to a new one here!”

“Put the completed things over here!”

“Remember to inspect if the crystals are glowing. Those crystals that are not glowing will not be able to be used. Change them here!”

“The things you’re working on are weapons that are specialized to deal with the monsters… These are Duke Gawain’s instructions! He is the monsters’ nemesis!”

Gawain led Rebecca and Heidi to traverse across the northeast side’s empty field. This spacious land was specially used to create ‘art’. Originally, Gawain planned to name this place the Louvre and to set this place as the art vault. But no one understood the concept; hence, it was dropped.

He bent over and inspected the items that were stacked neatly and tidily. They were wooden containers that were half-feet squares with a height under two inches. The wooden boxes were filled with Rebecca Crystals, and above the crystals were black stone slabs that were carved with explosive magic circles.

But just this arrangement was unable to detonate the magical version of a ‘landmine’. It still required a rune trigger to be able to detonate.

The final step could not be handed to the commoners or serfs to complete. After considering the risk of accidental explosions, the rune trigger’s installation was left as the final step. These wooden boxes would be installed underground in the mountain pass at the southwest side of the camp. Only after they were installed underground would the soldiers and the craftsmen who were specialized in traps be able to assemble the rune triggers on the magic circles.

The rune triggers were relatively simple structures. The ‘trigger mechanism’ and the rune were isolated by a thin slab; on top, it was a layer of wooden board. After stepping down on the wooden board, the slab would be shattered, and the two runes would be connected. It would form a complete rune circuit that would activate the explosive magic circle and finally initiate the explosion.

This was the otherworld version of landmines. Even though the technical details of the landmine were entirely different from the Earth’s landmine, the train of thoughts were similar. It obviously didn’t conform with the chivalry of this era’s knights, but Heidi and Rebecca’s evaluation of this landmine was: “Don’t bother about what knight’s chivalry is. This thing looks so cool!”

In this world where extraordinary powers existed, there was a particularly convenient thing when using ‘landmines’. There wasn’t a need to worry about a ‘landmine clearance mishap’ when disarming them. Heidi would leave her magic imprint on each of the explosive magic circles. This was a ‘minesweeper game’ that couldn’t even be considered when a simple level-one spell could guarantee the rapid detection of each landmine’s position. After the battle, the landmines that didn’t explode could be easily removed.

Of course, there was a limit on the number of magic imprints Heidi could maintain. But in this battle, the number of magic imprints she could maintain would be more than enough.

After the inspection work was done, Gawain handed the defense of the camp to the two clan knights and Rebecca. Gawain then headed to the Dark Range with Heidi.