Time For Battle

The following day was when the announcement was made and the news about the Minecrawler's nest was revealed. Many didn't know what to think about it at first, but as the state of affairs was slowly revealed, many wanted to panic.

Luckily the situation was quickly brought under control as the plans for the subjugation of the nest were slowly released.

Those that volunteered to fight would receive extra monetary rewards and status after the mission was done, so not many were against it, even though the danger levels rose quite significantly.

"I don't even care if it's more dangerous! With this amount of money, I can move to a small town with my young wife and live the rest of my life without worry."

"You were right to save most of your pay. I wish I could also retire before reaching forty! I could raise a few pigs and sheep and we would be set!"

"Yeah, or maybe you will be one of the few unlucky ones to be the first to die…"

"Shut up, man! Stop spouting nonsense, you will bring us bad luck!"

"Don't listen to this prick, the only thing he has on his mind is booze. By the amount he is drinking, he'll be first to go, and it won't even be the beasts that ended him."

"Haha…"

"Hehe, right you are!"

"You guys suck!"

"…"

Gerald was close enough to catch a few conversations, but there was nothing of interest going on. The warriors were just passing time, joking and teasing each other.

It was later revealed that the plan didn't exactly go as expected. The hunt for the Warg proved to be more time-consuming than they predicted, so the expedition had to be delayed for a few days.

It was nothing of major concern though. The gate to the underground was closed in the meantime and the warriors were ordered to rest and recover so they would be in top shape when it was time to go.

It was also a time to repair weapons and armor and to resupply food and medicine.

"I guess it's about time to fix my hand, huh?" Gerald looked at the metal stump that was left of his hand. During the previous days, he didn't quite have enough time to visit a blacksmith.

There were a few that moved to the Black-Iron Fort for better work opportunities and were currently loaded with repair orders. Needless to say that the repairs were much more expensive than in the small towns, and the extra he had to pay to move up the list was also quite substantial.

"Wow, just to get my hand fixed I had to pay almost as much as my entire new arm! This price gouging is fucking insane!"

Even though he expected the price to be higher, Gerald was still shocked by the total amount he had to pay to get his hand fixed in a reasonable time.

"Let's see…" He opened the pouch and counted the coins inside. "It's still almost one hundred gold profit? That's pretty good for a week's worth of hard work! Taking that extra time to harvest those armor plates was totally worth it!"

And that was not even counting all the Earth Crystals he had in his possession. Although he still had more than twenty of those, he had no plans of selling them since it was always a good idea to have some extra Mana stores.

Finally, after taking care of everything for the expedition, he went away from the camp and found a quiet place to train. Since he established a few ideas about Light magic and thought them through, it was time to start bringing them to reality.

His priority was to figure out Invisibility, as it would be extremely useful in most situations. It was also something that shouldn't be that hard to do. Although the light was usually difficult to bend without it going through another substance, he could directly take control over the direction of photons, without a need for refraction.

He simply created a bubble around himself where most light would bend just slightly and then return to its original path after going around him.

But although it sounded easy, the reality was anything but.

After many hours of strenuously testing and trying out new ideas, the best he was able to do was make a blurry mess. Although he did become mostly invisible, the area around him clearly stood out if anyone focused on it. It was like looking through blurry glass.

Turns out that controlling light coming from every direction perfectly was much more focus-intensive than he thought.

"My mind is just not strong enough for it yet, but that's fine too. Mediocre invisibility is still better than no invisibility at all."

***

Finally, the big day came and everyone was ready to begin the great slaying conquest.

Warriors gathered in droves wearing the best armors they could afford and waited for further instructions.

As Bishop Argoch explained the plan in detail and gave the crowd the last directions, Gerald and his group gathered around a small wagon with three ballistae. They reminded him of those ancient weapons the Romans used, although these seemed smaller and more compact.

"I guess they don't need that long leverage to load it since they are much stronger…"

The majority of the weapon was made of metal, making it extremely durable and expensive. The bolts were almost a meter long and made of blackened steel, with sharp points and backward-facing hooks at the front.

"These guys are clearly not playing around!" Gerald gasped after taking a look at their gear. They also had a net made of chains that could be loaded in all three ballistae at once and fired at an enemy.

A pot of poison was also ready to be used and it sat in a corner of the wagon.

"Okay now, if there are no more questions, let's move!" the Bishop shouted and ordered the gates to be opened.

After clearing out the pests at the entrance, the mass of people was led underground, with the Bishop and Gerald at the front.

This time they went straight to the nest, unconcerned about any beasts on their way as they washed over them like a flood.

No matter how strong they were, the Minecrawler Warriors were simply crushed under the weight of hundreds of warriors.

"We are getting close now…" Gerald suddenly said.

"Good!" Bishop reacted and turned to one of his men, "Send the order and get the guys ready! Just as we planned, let's go!"

"Yes, sir!"

The soldier saluted with his right fist over his heart and immediately went back, shouting orders.

Arriving at the stone hall where the Minecrawler nest was, the warriors were amazed by its sheer size and the number of beasts inside.

"Make some noise!" a soldier shouted and started banging on his shield.

Soon, more people followed and started producing as much noise as humanly possible. Loud shouts and banging on metal echoed through the cavern, making the Minecrawlers extremely confused by the amount of sound coming from everywhere.

A few pots of oil were placed on the ground and lit up for more light before the true battle began. With loud shouts, the warriors charged the disorientated beasts and soon a blood conflict ensued. With the Winecrawlers relying on hearing to see the world, distracting them with loud sounds was the best choice.

Boom!

A few fiery explosions blasted the beasts apart as a few crazy guys threw a few bottles of Bottled Thunder.

"Woo-hoo! Hell yeah! Go get them, boys! Yeeee-haaa!"

This battle was quite relaxed for the warriors as they finally had enough space to maneuver and fight to the best of their ability without fear of getting pushed into a corner.

While most were fighting and having fun, the elites only watched with somber expressions.

Although it seemed like humans were winning at the moment, there were even more Minecrawlers coming from the depths of the nest, seemingly unending.

"Let's get ready for the King, he should be here soon!" The Dark Knight pulled the wagon closer and started preparing the ammunition, coating it with poison. His teammates also helped with preparing the ballistae for the boss fight.

"If you don't need me anymore, I'll go and find a place to hide…" said Gerald who was covered in stone from head to toe.

"Mn, sure…" the Bishop replied absentmindedly as he observed the fight.

In about half an hour the warriors will start getting exhausted and that's when the true battle will really start. That's when people will start making mistakes and the first casualties will appear.

Gerald ran away in his Stone Armor when he suddenly tripped.

Bam!

"I'm okay!" he shouted and the stony figure jumped up and ran away to hide.

Both Trevor and Cot saw it and scoffed at the same time. "What a coward…"