Chapter 130

Chapter 130
## Chapter 130: Cleansing the Tainted Grotto

We traversed this miserable subterranean labyrinth without pause. Honestly, the experience was wretched. The tunnels were humid, saturated with the stench of decomposing remains.

The stone surfaces were swarming with roaches and various repulsive insects that gnashed their mandibles, vibrating their lanky, bristled limbs in every direction while flicking their grimy feelers.

“Everything is proceeding as intended.”

From the shadows that had swallowed the passage, wails forced from rotted throats resonated sharply. Scores of amber, luminous eyes sliced through the blackness, fixated entirely on us.

“Heads up.”

I barked the warning while lunging my polearm toward Han Sang-ah. The weapon streaked forward, piercing the cavern side. A screeching sound, reminiscent of grinding steel, erupted as the very rock seemed to cry out in pain.

Suddenly, a gargantuan insect that had been camouflaged against the stone tumbled to the dirt, twitching violently before its life faded. Monsters employing mimicry to deceive the senses was standard procedure here.

“…I appreciate it.”

“If you have the breath to thank me, use it to drop another foe. And ensure you don’t repeat that oversight.”

Following that, I shifted my gaze to the shimmering map projected by the mana crystal and barked directions to Ramin.

“Fortify the third guard station on the eastern outer perimeter with projectile units and casters—send three hundred bowmen and five mages. Also, cycle out the battalion holding the western barricade with the fresh reserves.”

The engagement on the surface had been raging for nearly forty minutes. I had developed a comprehensive understanding of the potential and the breaking points of Ramin’s regiment.

The more chaotic my thoughts became, the more clinical my directives had to be. In the theater of war, a leader’s fundamental task was reduced to balancing lives upon a scale.

⚙ COMMAND LINK ⚙
The men’s spirits are failing. Terror is taking root among them.

I pulverized the distorted ribcages of the oncoming ghouls, shattering their craniums into dust, and sent back a reply.

“Relief forces are arriving shortly. Summarily execute anyone who falls back without a direct command.”

The moment a single coward retreats, the surrounding infantry begins to feel the same impulse. It all stems from that initial crack in the line.

It was the pioneer penguin phenomenon manifesting in the most disastrous way possible.

Look at basic drills: everyone is pushing their limits, but if one person collapses, those who were suppressing their own fatigue suddenly quit in a mass exodus.

To maintain the integrity of the chain of command, you must make a brutal example of that first deserter.

Ramin’s voice crackled back, thick with agitation.

⚙ COMMAND LINK ⚙
But…

“But what? Cut the nonsense. If you refuse to execute my strategy, manage it yourself—and feel free to die in the arms of your men.”

I have never been labeled a compassionate officer. A ruthless leader? Certainly. A genius tactician? Frequently. But kind-hearted? Never.

Abominations fell across the cavern, pierced by Jeong Oh-hoon’s projectiles, scorched to cinders by Han Sang-ah’s lightning, and turned to ash by the Paradox Flame I unleashed.

“It isn’t as though we are stubbornly holding ground in a lost cause.”

This conflict wasn’t a lost endeavor. Victory was attainable. I refused to let it slip away because the rank-and-file were trembling.

“Do you expect me to establish a psychiatric tent in the center of this carnage to hold heart-to-hearts with every runaway?”

The very idea was peak absurdity.

⚙ COMMAND LINK ⚙
I understand.

After severing the link, I addressed Han Sang-ah and Jeong Oh-hoon.

“We are branching off.”

We had to accelerate the purging of these tunnels. I had forbidden the infantry from retreating, so the burden was on me to create a battlefield where retreat was unnecessary.

That was the obligation of a leader after issuing cold-blooded orders. It wasn’t about seeking their deaths—it was about locating and obliterating the teleportation jammers with maximum efficiency.

“Separating will be hazardous.”

In response to Jeong Oh-hoon’s caution, I rested my spear across my shoulders and countered.

“What, did you think we were here to sell snacks inside a grade-1 Erosion Core?”

We had plunged into a top-tier anomaly. Encountering lethality was the baseline requirement for a successful clearance.

“I’d prefer a hot meal myself.”

I spared a brief look at Han Sang-ah, then commanded:

“Fan out. We can maintain contact through the comms regardless. Eradicate the vermin and report any discoveries. Carve a sign every fifty meters along your route.”

Gouges from my spear, impact craters from Jeong Oh-hoon’s rounds, and blade nicks from Han Sang-ah. They would be unmistakable.

When a distress call or discovery was made, we would backtrack to the last marker and follow the trail to converge.

“Confirmed. See you on the other side.”

We went our separate ways immediately. The foul grotto was thick with carrion and parasites. I had no inkling where they originated, but they surged forth in a ceaseless tide.

I kicked off the floor. A thunderous crack split the stone as I propelled myself forward like a projectile. Obsidian fire trailed in my wake.

In mid-dash, I seized a creature and launched it. It collided and bounced like a ball off the cavern walls and other monsters, ricocheting in a chaotic blur.

“Ah, located one.”

I had entered a vault containing a blatantly suspicious monolith. I had instructed the others to report their finds, but…

There was no need for me to wait for backup.

⚙ MONSTER VOICE ⚙
You shall go no further.

A cadaver bloated with sickly yellow pustules charged at me, wielding a blade coated in emerald muck, attempting to obstruct my way. A sentry of some sort, evidently.

I usually enjoy a conversation, but today…

“I’m on a schedule.”

Before it could utter another syllable, I lashed out with the dark embers. Paradox Flame surged through the spear buried in its torso, consuming it instantly. The creature lost its footing and crashed to the ground.

It struggled to rise, but it was futile. Every ounce of friction within its physical form had been incinerated.

A flurry of spear strikes hammered into its slick, burning husk. Guardian eliminated…

“Time to wreck this as well.”

I swung my weapon in a wide arc. With a gratifying resonance, the monolith shattered into a spray of gravel and collapsed.

⚙ COMMAND LINK ⚙
Spatial transport is now functional! Which units should we summon to bolster the vanguard?

Ramin detailed the roster of reinforcements available for deployment.

Standard grunts like bowmen or spearmen counted as single units. Elite divisions like mages or knights, or heavy machinery like catapults and ballistae, carried higher logistical weights.

Even mundane necessities like bundles of arrows or siege stones required points to be manifested via teleportation.

I have to micromanage the unit composition? Can they not handle basic logistics? I scrutinized the map through the crystal and spoke:

“Five catapults, ten ballistae, fifteen hundred archers, plus enough munitions and rations for these units to sustain thirty minutes of combat. Additionally, twenty mages, twenty clerics, and one hundred fifty knights. Saturate the remaining capacity with basic foot soldiers.”

I am not going to narrate every supply manifest like you are some brainless script.

⚙ COMMAND LINK ⚙
Understood. Initiating transport. Since the siege engines are inanimate, we can materialize them directly at the designated coordinates.

“Finally, you contribute something of value.”

I had assumed transporting and calibrated the catapults and ballistae would be a massive time sink. This was a lucky break. I immediately marked the pre-selected tactical positions.

As I continued my advance, a transmission came in from Jeong Oh-hoon regarding a bizarre discovery.

Ramin’s total strength had dwindled to twenty thousand, and two hours had ticked by. This cavern system was revoltingly immense.

⚙ IN-EAR COMM ⚙
Heeek! Hiek!

“Ugh, what in the world is that.”

I met up with Jeong Oh-hoon at the location and grimaced.

“Why not try a circus act? What kind of treasure are you hunting in this rancid hole?”

Jester puppets stitched from human epidermis rotated their necks at sickening angles, producing haunting squeals.

Occasionally, the dolls’ frames jerked as if struck by high-voltage currents.

Insects crawled from the jesters’ maws only to retreat back inside.

It appeared the parasites stuffed within those skins were twitching to manipulate the dolls like marionettes.

“Refrain from destroying the teleportation anchor.”

Jeong Oh-hoon let out a confused “huh?” and blinked at me.

“Why?”

“We can sustain our position with the current numbers.”

If the line holds, there is no sense in summoning unnecessary troops. It only increases the casualty count.

The strategy was to endure at minimum capacity, only shattering jammers one by one to trigger reinforcements when the situation became truly desperate…

“Later, just before we move to crush all the Fallen Idols, we will annihilate every teleportation dampener simultaneously.”

Then we would flood the zone with an overwhelming legion and flatten everything.

“Man, the guys bleeding out on the front lines would be pretty depressed to hear that.”

“Whether they are depressed or ecstatic is irrelevant to winning the war.”

The curious thing about conflict: the data available to the grunts is always skewed.

In most scenarios, the demeanor of the commander can make a failing campaign feel like an inevitable triumph.

“Let’s just scrap these puppets. Open fire.”

Jeong Oh-hoon leveled his firearm at the creaking dolls.

“My barrel shines with purpose, the hammer falls with justice.”

I smacked the back of his skull.

“Stop the poetry and just pull the damn trigger, Jeong.”

What kind of gibberish is this guy reciting out of nowhere? Jeong channeled mana into his rifle and fired.

In an instant, three projectiles tore out at varying trajectories. They bored through the heads of three puppets, struck the cavern wall, and began to ricochet.

The bouncing rounds collided with one another or sparked off the stone, stitching through the remaining, dazed jesters.

Haak! Hahaha hiak! Uhk! Kek! Kuhek!

Whether it was laughter or a death rattle, the noise echoed. The puppets with gaping holes in their faces turned their sights on me.

“What are you looking at.”

So what if four of them stare? I slipped past the thrown blades and swept my polearm through them. The dolls performed grotesque acrobatics to stay out of reach.

I caught one mid-somersault by the collar, smirked, and mockingly pressed my hand to its brow.

“You’re a real charmer. Who are you trying to impress?”

I spun it by its neck a few times, then slammed it into the bedrock. It impacted with the force of a landmine, the insects inside being turned to mush—viscous yellow fluid leaked from the seams.

After finishing the job, I looked at the map and gave Ramin a piece of my mind.

“What the hell are you doing? Intercept those squads breaking away toward the southern barricade.”

⚙ COMMAND LINK ⚙
But that will result in far too many deaths!

I answered with icy indifference.

“There is no triumph without a price. If you wanted safety, you should have been a diplomat, not a general.”

While arguing with Ramin, I continued to tear through the unending waves of puppets.

⚙ COMMAND LINK ⚙
Damn it, the men are dying! They are crying out in pain! The dead are devouring the living!

“Tragic, isn’t it? Then feel free to die alongside them.”

I evaded the swarm of bugs erupting from a puppet’s mouth as I replied.

⚙ COMMAND LINK ⚙
Is that really your response right now?

“That is exactly my response.”

This so-called leader is playing the “how could you say that” card? What is the matter with this man?

If I were on the surface with him right now, I would have him bound in chains and thrown into a pit immediately.

“We are out of time. Defend the wall. These are my direct orders, so if the line breaks, the failure is mine. You carry no responsibility for the disaster.”

⚙ COMMAND LINK ⚙
…Understood.

After ending the transmission, I sneered to myself. Spineless coward. Those are his own men dying, yet his primary concern is avoiding the blame?

That kind of person in a position of power? Pathetic. By my metrics, Ramin was completely unfit for command.

Then again, the world is teeming with people just like him.