Chapter 525 - 524: Rapid Assault

Chapter 525: Chapter 524: Rapid Assault

The Tritons formed neat ranks on the bank, fending off the charging Kuo-toa with their tridents, while the Tritons on the inside, armed with heavy crossbows, reaped life after life with their crossbow arrows.

Being a good-aligned, yet warlike, race, their combat prowess was far superior to that of the Kuo-toa.

Ale and the other Casters were positioned closest to the rock wall, where practically no Kuo-toa had a chance to harm them.

With that, there was nothing left to worry about. Colin focused on what was in front of him, thrusting his sword through a Kuo-toa’s throat.

Kase swung his axe, sending the Fishman and several of its companions behind it flying.

In the moment it took the Half-Orc to recover his axe, Colin swung his sword again, cutting down several Kuo-toa that tried to rush forward. Viscous blood splattered against his Armor, and the hilt of his sword began to grow slick.

Just then, a flash of Magic Radiance appeared.

—Ale had used [Magic Tricks] to clean the blood off Colin.

The party worked together seamlessly, just as they had when slaughtering their way through the Gray Dwarf slaves, forcibly plowing a path through the charging horde of Fishmen.

The two of them, having fought their way up from the lowest levels, were in perfect sync. Even though they were outnumbered several times over, they gave their opponents no openings to exploit.

The [Cleave] Specialty proved incredibly useful here. Even without relying on Magic, Colin could tear an opening through the crowd by sheer force.

After pushing forward for what felt like an eternity through the corridor that reeked of blood, Dorn’s voice reached his ears. "It’s on the left! The entrance is on the left!"

Already lost in a killing frenzy, Colin suppressed the urge to swing his sword again.

He turned his head to look. Sure enough, there was a wide crevice in the rock wall on the opposite bank to their left, appearing to be more than ten meters wide.

Donkexes loudly chanted a Spell.

An ashen Magic Radiance gathered from all directions before condensing in the middle of the river. A deafening sound of grinding stone erupted from the riverbed.

A stone slab erupted from the pebbles on the riverbed, shooting through the dark water like a sharp sword to connect the two banks.

"Hurry across, this Spell won’t last long!" Donkexes shouted.

At his shout, the party jumped onto the stone bridge one by one and charged toward the nearby crevice.

Meanwhile, countless Kuo-toa continued to swarm toward them from the river. Their numbers were terrifyingly vast; packed into the narrow channel, the horde stretched as far as the eye could see.

"How does this little river support so many stupid fish?!" Langgrin roared as he jumped into the crevice.

"This won’t work. If we just charge in, these Fishmen will follow us," Colin shouted, right behind him. "Someone needs to stay and guard this spot."

"We’ll hold this place!" Selan, trident in hand, turned back. The other Tritons crossed the stone bridge one by one and formed a wall of tridents beside him on the bank. The Warriors with heavy crossbows stood behind them to solidify the defensive line.

Given how wide the crevice was, only superior numbers could hold it securely.

After the last person jumped across, the stone bridge created by [Stone Wall] crumbled. The stone blocks sank into the river in a cloud of bubbles, and who knew if they crushed some unlucky Fishman on the way down.

"We’ll be quick!" Colin shouted back at them before charging into the crevice.

The rest of the group charged into the crevice after him.

He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when he saw moss-covered, broken stone bricks emerge from the dirt beneath his feet. Clearly, this was another part of the lower level of the Dwarf Ruins.

"With all this commotion, won’t that thing just run?" Kase asked from beside him.

"Let’s say a bunch of people suddenly smashed down your door. Would you abandon your Gold Coins and run, my dear Kase?" Colin asked back as they ran.

"I’d go out and rip the idiot’s jaw off," Kase said with a grin. "And that’s exactly what we want!"

Just as the two were talking, the tunnel before them came to an end.

By the light of [Daylight], Colin looked ahead. The end of the crevice opened into a rather wide, circular reservoir.

The reservoir was situated inside a massive cavern, its ceiling thick with stalactites. The reservoir itself was nearly a hundred meters in diameter, with a spiral staircase at its edge leading down to the water below.

Over the years, the stone bricks of the reservoir had become covered in cracks and moss. Large fungi even grew in the gaps between the stones.

Within the reservoir was a small island of damp rock, which looked as if it had been formed by a stalactite falling from the ceiling. A huge statue, identical to the idols held by the Kuo-toa, stood upon it.

The water in the reservoir was as pitch-black as the poisonous water of the underground river, like a congealed mass of the purest malice.

"Let’s see what’s hiding in that reservoir," Colin said, already rushing toward the top of the stairs.

Langgrin’s voice came from behind. "Hard to imagine those creatures, who don’t even wear Armor, could build a statue like this."

"Wait! Everyone, this place isn’t what it seems," Orelia shouted.

The others stopped in their tracks. They could see the face on her Shield, its eyes wide and darting about, its expression one of confusion.

"Can you see through the illusion around us?" Colin asked urgently.

"I can’t see it clearly, Mr. Colin," Orelia said. "This illusion is very powerful. Or rather, the Illusion Technique covers the entire area around the reservoir."

Dorn said, "There’s no way I can dispel Spiritual Energy on this scale. We’ll just have to bite the bullet and push through!"

Colin carefully recalled what he had read in his books.

Among the types of Magic, spells that created large-scale illusions usually had certain limitations; they couldn’t directly alter the general topography of an area. ’This means the pool below has to be real.’

"Don’t take the stairs! An obvious path like that is most likely a trap. Quick, jump straight down!" Colin shouted, then immediately leaped down toward the reservoir. The others followed him without a moment’s hesitation.

As they leaped, Langgrin and Donkexes began Casting and Spellcasting.

Countless gray feathers materialized around them and scattered, creating a faint, buoyant sensation. It felt as if the party were sinking through water, not plummeting through the air.

The water below rushed up to meet them.

’Next, we’ll most likely have to face that Aboleth,’ Colin thought, ’even though we still haven’t seen the monster’s true form.’

As they descended, their forward momentum carried them onward, allowing them to land lightly on the small island in the middle of the reservoir.