Chapter 451: The Well’s Boundary (1)

An ancient civilized city boasted an absurdly vast width, far too grand to simply be called ruins. Even within this muggy jungle, its scale and delicate structures were hard to believe. Though only traces remained, swept away by the sands of time, it was still evident that a significant civilization and system had once been established here.

Lennok, looking down at the cityscape from above the airship, squinted his eyes behind his mask.

‘The light of the structures…’

Though mostly obscured by rust and moss, a faint golden glow peeked through the countless fallen, unbalanced structures. While it was unlikely the entire city was a golden utopia, it was reasonable to assume that some minerals forming parts of the structures still remained. That would mean the civilization that once resided in this jungle boasted immense power. To the extent that they directly enshrined and managed an Ascendant’s Domain.

“Victor, catch.”

While Lennok was lost in thought, Reiya, who had gone down to the cargo hold and returned, tossed something to him. He caught it with his magic threads and examined it: a patch-like seal that adhered to the skin. Unidentifiable, bizarre characters were intricately drawn on the seal.

Reiya showed him the same seal attached below her own ear and said, “They say this suppresses the mental interference waves flowing from the Well. It lasts for three days, so they told us to put it on beforehand.”

“Mental interference waves?”

She shrugged at Lennok’s question.

“Well, Glen says most people can’t last long sane and will go crazy quickly.”

“…”

“They say you start imitating what the people who lived in this city used to do, but I didn’t hear the details, so I don’t know much.”

“Got it.”

After saying that, Lennok quietly sharpened his senses without applying the seal yet. As the colossal ruins, spanning several kilometers, entered his sensory range, an alien sensation pierced his mind. It couldn’t break through a wizard’s mental resistance, but an unknown force was present, shaking his judgment and trying to forcibly inject unknown impulses. Only then did Lennok confirm that Reiya’s words weren’t nonsense and nodded.

‘It’s not just a simple impulse. It’s definitely closer to some vile kind of ritual.’

The mental waves emanating from the deepest part of the ruined ancient city weren’t merely the kind that drove people mad. Excessive excitement and pleasure, cannibalism, human sacrifice, and ritual offerings. In a way, it was similar to the fanaticism and madness he felt whenever he encountered priests of the Guido Cult. These were traces of an ancient civilization that once worshipped an Ascendant and enshrined his Domain within their city. Those memories remained intact in this space, attempting to dominate intruders.

‘So there was a reason The Clown pulled that stunt earlier…’

If the reason he played a prank by casting an illusion on his new comrade while he was unconscious was to test Lennok’s mental resistance, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. Of course, there was no doubt that The Clown, who hadn’t bothered to explain any of this, was out of his mind.

Whoosh!!

While he was lost in thought, the airship swiftly circled halfway around the city’s outskirts and landed at the border between the jungle and the ruins. The airship’s balance remained unwavering, even as an unknown energy storm raged above. As Lennok realized this, he also understood the immense value of the old-world technology Pandemonium possessed. Normally, it would have taken days to navigate this complex jungle, competing with other factions, to reach this place. But with just one airship capable of flight within this jungle, they had bypassed that entire complicated process and arrived at the ruined city first.

“Hmm, so this is what it looked like. It’s much better preserved than I thought?”

As soon as they landed inside the collapsed stone wall near the city, Reiya, as if she’d been waiting, stepped onto the ground and began to look around. At the same time, dozens of people disembarked from the airship and quickly scattered, spreading out in all directions. Thump-thump!!

Figures disappearing into various parts of the city without a word to Lennok or Reiya. Were they planning to occupy two directions first, as The Clown had said, to buy time? Considering the number of factions, their directions, and speed he’d observed from the airship earlier, they didn’t have much time to prepare.

“Was it Glen? What’s the strength level of the armed unit following that person?”

“Unit? Glen is just Glen. Not someone else.”

“…Are those dozens of people all one person?”

“They talk about a hive mind or something, but I don’t really know. Their personalities are quiet, and they’re obedient, so I just use a few of them as my bodyguards.”

“…”

Indeed, as she said, a few people in black suits remained on the airship, finishing their preparations and commencing perimeter watch. Lennok closed his mouth, sensing that further questions would be a waste of time. Reiya, unlike a typical Pandemonium member participating in this operation, didn’t seem to know much and didn’t appear particularly ruthless. However, that wasn’t because her abilities were lacking; rather, it was because she possessed formidable powers that accounted for her personality and lack of knowledge. The Clown, too, had abruptly cast an illusion on Lennok and tested him, but he hadn’t laid a hand on her, even when she struck him on the head. Although he still doubted whether a mission was possible with just this composition, Lennok set his doubts aside and decided to act.

“I’ll go ahead.”

“I’ll just look around the city a bit. I wonder if I can take some photos with my phone. Can I post them on SNS?”

Lennok, turning to look at Reiya heading back to the airship to find her phone, immediately pushed off. He went in the complete opposite direction from where the dozens of presumed Glen individuals had vanished. Thump-thump! He extended and retracted his magic threads, propelling his body up into the jungle canopy. He climbed onto the tallest tree, carefully making his way to the top at a speed that wouldn’t cause vertigo. Successfully clinging to the top of the giant tree, Lennok removed the watch from his left wrist and tapped it a few times. The watchband deformed, transforming into an elongated telescope. When he attached a sniper rifle scope to it, a high-performance telescope capable of seeing several kilometers away was complete. Lennok put his eye to the lens and instinctively gasped at the first sight.

“…Elephants?”

Whoosh…!

From the jungle’s outskirts, a troop of elephants, leading their massive forms, trampled the forest indiscriminately as they charged. Even from afar, their destructive actions and the resulting dust cloud billowing high into the sky were visible. Riding atop these elephants were bronze-skinned people, their bodies covered in intricate tattoos. They ceaselessly chanted unknown spells, erupting strange glows in all directions. Lennok nodded as he noticed the green chain symbol etched on their chests. The Binding of Verdant Green, which The Clown had mentioned. Was it an organization formed by shamans of the southern jungle?

“I’d better start quickly.”

He didn’t know when The Clown, who had fallen mid-flight, would return, but as The Clown had said, Lennok only needed to do what he could.

“Davi, scan the terrain within a 2km radius and please run a magic thread installation simulation.”

[The magic density in this area is unusually high, so there will be a lot of errors. I’ll try to account for it as much as possible when designing the algorithm, but you need to be careful.]

“Don’t worry about that.”

Hundreds of magic threads began to stretch out in all directions from Lennok’s hands as he rapidly dropped from the tree.

“I’ll handle the errors myself.”

Crackle!!

The massive elephant legs moved ceaselessly, trampling through the trees without hesitation. Human bodies hidden within were crushed like grains of sand, scattering fresh blood onto the damp ground.

“Aaaargh…!”

The shaman, Kaiyern, riding on the elephant’s back, winced at the pungent smell of blood rising to his nose.

“Like bugs.”

“Indeed. It’s starting to get annoying.”

The shaman next to him echoed his words with an unenthusiastic expression.

“Was it the Redding Revolutionary Army? They are truly relentless. If they had just quietly followed behind, we wouldn’t have even paid attention.”

“It’s only natural, having performed the ritual for Kihusangwang (The Mounted Elephant King). How can soldiers who rely on spears and swords resist the laws of great shamanism?”

The shaman group, the Binding of Verdant Green, operated from their base in the southern jungle. They had only recently begun to act as a unified organization, but their potential was such that no one on the Southern Continent could ignore them. It had simply taken a long time for selfish, self-centered shamans to unite, as most individuals among them were already accomplished superhumans.

The massive elephants the shamans were riding were no mere animals. They were summoned beasts, conjured by offering vast sacrifices to Kihusangwang, a worshipped entity symbolizing violent elephants, whose physical power and durability surpassed that of a Level 5 superhuman. Considering the elephants’ immense size and weight, combined with physical abilities comparable to superhumans, they were akin to living war machines.

Who could stop a unit of shamans who unleashed spells from atop such war machines, leaving the close combat to the elephants? Aside from the Blood Spirit Tribe, who lived in harmony with nature deep within the jungle, it was natural that these shamans were the most familiar with the jungle’s terrain. At the same time, by using the elephant units to crush the entire jungle and carve out paths, there was no way they would fall behind. Instead of following paths, they trampled trees and made their own way, undeniably one of the leading powerful factions in this vast jungle. Except for the one airship that had disappeared above the jungle, seemingly mocking them.

“How long has it been since they flew over our heads?”

“Just over 2 hours. Quite a while, but enough to catch up.”

“We need to hurry. We can’t let this great undertaking be delayed by these bothersome insects.”

“If we can gain something from that cursed land, where we couldn’t even dare to approach alone, our shamanic powers will surely greatly increase.”

“…Exactly. Otherwise, there’d be no reason to venture into the deepest part of this jungle.”

“If we could just get our hands on an artifact from the altar where the Well is erected…”

“Ahem, just thinking about that…”

A powerful greed filled the eyes of both shamans, as if on cue. Indeed, shamanism is influenced by catalysts as much as by the practitioner’s talent, especially by excellent and mysterious ones. In that sense, the remains of the ancient city, abandoned after its demise, were undoubtedly catalysts of immense magical value. The leader who had gathered these shamans and formed the Binding of Verdant Green had also unified the southern jungle by wielding formidable shamanism with rare catalysts, hadn’t he? If it weren’t for this moment, when forces from across the continent had simultaneously converged and invaded the jungle, they too would not have ventured near the Well. All the other shamans also knew that this ultimate moment of crisis in the jungle could, in other words, be an opportunity that would never come again.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!!!

The elephants’ speed increased as they trampled and broke the jungle trees, moving forward. This was a remote area, untouched by human footsteps. As such, the trees located relatively deeper within were easily breaking and their roots shaking. The Well was getting closer. Realizing this, the shamans naturally began to urge their mounted elephants onward.

“You slowpoke, your pace is too sluggish!!”

“We should ask Kihusangwang to send us a faster one, hahahaha!!”

Though none spoke directly, they subtly eyed each other, competitively increasing their speed. Every time an excited elephant quickened its pace, the elephant next to it also leaned forward, unwilling to be outdone. As their speed increased, the surrounding scenery blurred, and instead of surveying their surroundings, they began to focus on the shamans beside them. Unaware, their minds were eroded by the unknown mental waves quietly piercing the excited shamans’ thoughts. Kaiyern, too, trembled with excitement, as if competing with the shaman he had just been chatting with.

“Faster, faster…!!”

At the moment the massive elephant’s leg was about to crush a broken tree, scattering sap, and move forward.

Shara-ra-ra-rak!!!

Something fell in front of the elephant’s eyes with a clatter, and countless threads began to scatter in all directions.

[Southwest swamp area secured.]

[North mud plateau defensive line construction in progress.]

[4 magical beasts subjugated. Disassembly of corpses and transport to airship begun.]

[Defensive line #8 low on ammunition. Fire support requested.]

[Main unit’s ammunition depot is en route. Remaining forces can come out to receive it…]

“Ah, you’re noisy!!”

The comm unit inside the airship hangar blared ceaselessly. Strangely, all the voices resounding from beyond the comm unit belonged to the same person. Reiya, sprawled casually among the cargo, munching on potato chips, burst out in annoyance.

“Glen. I can’t focus on my drama, can’t you be quiet for a bit?!”

On the laptop in front of her, a TV series she hadn’t been able to watch due to her busy schedule was playing at several times the normal speed.

The comm unit crackled, then a quiet voice came from right beside her. A man standing stiffly beside Reiya, as if guarding her, was relaying the message directly.

“…I apologize. However, The Clown dropped out mid-way, so the area we need to cover has expanded.”

“You handle that. Just be quiet until the operation starts. Don’t you know I’m managing my condition?”

Freya, famous across the continent, was an entertainer who lived without a moment’s rest, her schedule packed year-round. Only when she was involuntarily pulled into Pandemonium’s affairs did she get free time, during which she enjoyed content she hadn’t been able to see before.

Reiya was giving the ridiculous reason of “condition management” while watching a TV series, but Glen couldn’t respond casually to her words. That was because the abilities and power Reiya possessed were something even Glen could never disregard. Even the absurd excuse of “condition management” couldn’t be ignored due to the potential possibility of it hindering her abilities.

“I will try to reduce the comm unit’s volume as much as possible. However, Lady Freya, please listen in on communications in case of an unforeseen situation. There’s a possibility someone might breach the defensive line and infiltrate your area.”

“Alright. I know that, so let’s both try a bit. And pass on what I said to the others. Got it?”

“…”

Glen closed his mouth instead of answering. He was probably relaying their recent conversation to the other ‘Glens’. Reiya had roughly explained Glen’s identity to Lennok, but she herself was aware that he was a far more complex entity. Glen wasn’t simply one mind manipulating multiple bodies. There were dozens of people who believed themselves to be Glen, and they simply thought, moved, and fought as if they were one body. It was less a mental illness and more a form of fanaticism, a kind of infection from outside this world. All dozens of those gathered here, believing themselves to be Glen, were people who had once been members of a cult and had suffered from a madness akin to having faced the end of the Outer Sea.

[I’m telling you this separately because of the situation here… You should be wary of that man, Victor. He might not be an ally.]

Instead of the Glen standing silently right beside her, Reiya snickered at the words of another Glen coming from the comm unit.

“So what, are we friends then? Are we good comrades? Can you even sacrifice your life for me?”

[…]

“I don’t like being suddenly thrust into this operation either, but Myeong chose him after touring the continent and holding auditions, so you’ll just have to understand.”

[I don’t doubt his skill. However, his combat ability itself needs to be sufficiently verified as suitable for this kind of operation…]

“Stop, stop talking.”

Without taking her eyes off the highlight scene of the TV series playing on her laptop, Reiya waved her hand.

“Victor is probably covering the empty area because that bastard The Clown screwed up anyway, right? We can just wait until dawn to think about it.”

[…]

“Let me watch my drama, okay?”

[…]

“Haa… Damn it. Fine.”

Reiya sighed deeply, got up, and walked towards the airship’s control panel.

“If Victor’s section looks like it’s falling behind, I’ll help. How’s that?”

[…That’s sufficient.]

“No, I mean, even so, he’s someone Myeong chose, so he wouldn’t handle things carelessly… Huh?”

Reiya, who had been grumbling while checking the wide-area radar on the control panel, suddenly cut off her words. She, too, widened her eyes in surprise and tapped the control panel.

“What did he do?”

[What’s happening?]

“No, the others… They’re actually retreating from the area Victor’s in?”