Chapter 17: The Thorned Charge (1/2)

Aileen was right.

Through the dolls scattered around the forest near the mountain, massive vibrations were detected.

Something with a huge number of creatures was charging toward the mountain.

From the top of the mountain, their movements couldn’t be directly seen due to the thick trees, but as they drew closer, the waves of magic began to be felt.

The dolls quickly crossed the ground, heading toward the source of the vibrations.

It was necessary to identify exactly what kind of creatures were coming.

This was because I needed to optimize my labyrinth to suit their characteristics, even if only a little.

Soon, the dolls’ sight caught them.

They were a herd of wild boars with massive spikes growing from their backs.

It was my first time seeing such monsters.

The magic emanating from their backs was quite sharp.

The wild boars charged forward, completely ignoring the dolls hanging on the trees.

At the rate they were moving, they would likely arrive within 30 minutes.

Other people would probably detect their approach soon.

I quickly began altering the structure of the labyrinth.

The power shown by their charge was no ordinary threat.

I needed to reinforce the walls to make them heavy and sturdy enough to withstand the impact.

Dolls stationed throughout the maze began to use the magic embedded within them to widen and strengthen the walls, preparing for the approaching threat.

I also minimized the number of forks in the road.

When I thought of a fortress, I figured the incoming monsters would at least have some intelligence.

But these wild boars seemed to lack even that.

If the path were too complicated, they would probably smash their heads into the walls, destroying the labyrinth itself.

It was better to lead them quickly into traps instead.

At last, the wild boars reached the mountain.

From all directions, they relentlessly charged into their designated areas.

My section was no exception.

Since it was the largest, a constant stream of monsters flooded in.

Up close, the wild boars resembled massive tanks made of steel.

Their charge was fast and brutal, and their bodies were as large as humans.

The huge spikes growing from their spines made them even stronger and more dangerous.

They crossed the foot of the mountain and entered my labyrinth.

The first thing they encountered was the traps I had set in advance.

As soon as they stepped on the ground, it gave way, and they fell into deep pits beneath.

Spiked traps impaled them as they fell.

However, there were too many wild boars.

Even as the front ones fell to their deaths, the others seemed unafraid, continuing to charge forward.

Even when the ground crumbled or spikes pierced their bodies, they threw themselves forward without hesitation.

In fact, they probably couldn’t stop, as those behind them were pushing them forward.

Countless wild boars fell into the pits, filling the empty space.

The traps, which spanned hundreds of meters, were quickly filled with their corpses.

They seemed to become excited, their eyes gleaming with a strange frenzy as they neutralized the traps with the bodies of their fallen comrades.

They didn’t stop charging but instead slammed their heads into the maze’s walls.

The reinforced walls, which had been strengthened extensively, absorbed their charge without difficulty.

Furthermore, the hundreds of thick spikes attached to the walls instantly killed the wild boars on impact.

But then, something unexpected happened.

The spikes on their backs exploded, sending shockwaves through the walls around them.

Most of the traps attached to the walls were neutralized in the process.

The wild boars following behind used the bodies of the fallen to shield themselves, charging forward without hesitation.

They didn’t care about the spikes on the walls or the traps in the floor, and they continued their relentless advance.

The entire maze shook under their pounding hooves.

In no time, hundreds of them had perished.

But the damage was effective.

The traps were being worn down much faster than expected.

The traps closest to them were exhausted the quickest.

The labyrinth’s structure needed to be adapted to fully withstand this rough and simple physical onslaught.

These creatures didn’t know anything except for charging forward.

They charged without reason, and when they died, they exploded.

They were living bombs, charging in and exploding on impact.

They had been chosen to destroy our fortress: weak, but troublesome monsters.

Then, it was essential to preserve the labyrinth.

To counter their simple power, I would need to use an enormous force myself.

I had a greater force than they did.

I quickly adjusted the labyrinth’s flow.

I removed the existing traps and complicated paths.

I created a direct path for the wild boars to run down, guiding them into a straight line.

The intersections formed layers, and I unified the magic flow in one direction.

At the end of the path, an open space awaited, where the turtle calmly observed their approach.

The turtle stood in the center of this open space, waiting for the boars.

From the turtle’s perspective, the wild boars, which appeared to be a massive wave from a human viewpoint, seemed like nothing more than a small stream.

The turtle was different from usual.

Its four legs had already been removed; they were unnecessary for the task ahead.

The turtle remained, its head alone attached to its shell.

The wild boars drew closer.

The turtle retracted its head into its shell and began to slowly spin.

Before, this spin had been used to escape the monkey forest.

But now, it had been designed for a different purpose.

It was meant to crush anything that approached.

The wild boars, guided by my traps, naturally converged into one massive group as they reached the open space.

The turtle was the last obstacle they had to break through.

Without hesitation, the wild boars charged directly into the rotating turtle.

They exploded on impact, their bodies bursting.

Before the turtle could even shake, the spin continued without stopping.

Using the force of their impact, it only accelerated.

The spinning turtle began to move faster.

As the speed increased, the spikes embedded in the shell acted like giant clubs, crushing the wild boars.

The wild boars were torn apart, their bodies scattering in all directions.

The spikes didn’t even have time to explode.

The horrific scene was witnessed by the lead boars, who screamed in terror, but their cries were drowned out by the turtle’s overwhelming power and the pressure from the boars behind them.

The spikes growing from the wild boars’ backs exploded as soon as they touched the turtle’s shell.

Some spikes were even ripped out by the turtle’s rotation.

The wild boars were swept away like leaves in a storm.

Bones shattered, and flesh was torn apart.

As the turtle’s speed grew, more and more boars were pulverized, their helpless bodies falling to the ground.

The charge of the boars and the explosions of their spikes were all crushed by the turtle’s spin.

I focused on removing the bodies from the open space.

The turtle’s movement couldn’t be obstructed by the corpses.

Dolls stationed nearby were sent to the open space.

The floor beneath them caved in, and some of the boar bodies, along with a few others, fell into deep pits.

The floor sealed them inside.

The boars that fell into the pits were killed by the dolls.

Some exploded, taking the dolls with them, but the dolls remained focused on clearing the bodies.

The space needed to be cleared as quickly as possible.

The bodies would continue to fall into the open space.

The dolls, working in coordination with the turtle, dealt with the incoming wild boars.

The turtle’s shell was stained with blood, and the process of clearing the bodies continued without end.

This immense power was exactly what I had aimed for.

Though not magic, this kind of colossal physical force surpassed magical destruction in its sheer devastating power.

I approached the pile of corpses that had been expelled from the labyrinth.

The bodies of the wild boars continued to pile up.

In less than an hour, over a thousand corpses had accumulated.

Blood and remains spread out like waves, and the still-living pieces of flesh squirmed among them.

It all looked like a massive altar made of monster corpses.

I approached slowly and examined the bodies.

What intrigued me most were the spikes on their backs.

As I dissected them, I discovered something.

The body of the wild boar wasn’t made of just flesh and blood.

It was held together by magic, and that magic remained in the remains.

This was a common trait among most monsters.

Nothing particularly unusual up until now.

“These… are quite interesting.”

I muttered softly.