Chapter 90 : Chapter 90
Chapter 90: Building the Trench
Before long, everyone entered the Strangler’s territory.
Lia controlled the Windleaf Boards and brought them to a stop.
Everyone began taking Antidote Pills.
These Antidote Pills had been specially made to counter the Strangler’s toxins.
Immediately afterward, everyone began building a trench on the outer edge of the territory to serve as a temporary position for the subjugation of the Strangler.
Lia first stood at the center of the open space, gripping her magic staff with both hands. The green crystal at the tip of the staff glimmered faintly.
Her lips parted slightly as she chanted a low earth magic incantation. “Granas terra, formae ostende, hic locus munitus esto. (Power of the earth, reveal your form. Let this place be fortified.)”
As the incantation fell, the crystal at the tip of the staff shot out a pale green light, which landed on the ground and formed a rectangular mark. It was about ten meters long and three meters wide. This was the range of the trench.
The other three Mages in the team also worked with Lia to build it.
Although the magic everyone specialized in was different, basic use of earth-attribute magic was still extremely easy for the three Mages.
Fina walked to the northern edge of the mark.
She pressed both hands to the ground, her silver-white wolf ears pricking up slightly as she murmured, “Terrafirma, muros condite, robore et firmitate praediti. (Solid earth, build walls, and grant them strength and stability.)”
The mana within her body poured into the soil. The dirt along the edge of the mark began to rise, as if pushed by invisible hands, gradually forming an earthen wall half a meter high.
The soil on the surface of the wall continued to compress and became hard. Her fingertips traced across the wall, leaving behind several grooves. These grooves could serve as cover while shooting.
Mira stood on the eastern side of the mark, pressed her right hand to the ground, and chanted a simple earth magic spell. “Fluctus terrae, profunda facite, locus tutus sit. (Waves of the earth, dig deep trenches. Let this place become safe.)”
The soil in front of her began to sink downward, forming a funnel-shaped pit. The depressed area extended along the mark Lia had drawn. Its speed was not fast, but it was stable.
She controlled her mana, keeping the bottom of the trench flat. When stones occasionally appeared, she pushed them to the side of the earthen wall with magic to serve as additional support.
Isabella stood on the western side. Her movements were slightly slower than Mira’s.
She pressed her hands together, then slowly separated them while chanting, “Terrae fissura, profunda crees, ut munimentum fiat. (Fissure of the earth, dig deep and forge. Become a defensive barrier.)”
The soil before her split open accordingly, and the crack gradually widened and deepened, connecting with the depression on Mira’s side.
Her magic paid more attention to detail. Near the earthen wall at the bottom of the trench, she used mana to pile up several semicircular protrusions. These protrusions were platforms for placing pills and spare weapons. Their height was just at waist level, making them convenient to access.
Lia stood in the middle and coordinated everything, occasionally pointing her magic staff somewhere.
Afterward, the four of them walked out of the trench. Fina and Isabella used magic to gather the surrounding dead branches and fallen leaves to the edge of the trench, covering the top and slope of the earthen wall so that the trench looked as though it had blended into the surrounding environment.
Fina chanted, “Sicca frondes et ramuli, munimentum tegite, ut lateat. (Dead leaves and branches, cover the defense and hide it.)”
Isabella cooperated by chanting a similar spell.
Twenty minutes later, the trench was complete.
At this moment, the trench was hidden within the forest. Unless one looked carefully, it was almost impossible to discover.
The ditch was dry and flat. The platforms could hold items, the firing holes allowed them to observe and shoot, the earthen wall was sturdy, and the slope made movement convenient.
The four stood by the side of the trench. Mira jumped into the ditch and tried it out. She could stand upright easily, and when she looked out through a firing hole, her view was clear.
While they were building the trench, Ryan had already sent Nika and Nila ahead to scout.
“Don’t take risks, you two. If you sense danger, retreat immediately.”
“Yes, Master. We understand.”
Nika and Nila responded, then ran toward the depths of the forest.
Their mission was to bring back detailed intelligence on the Strangler.
At first, the two women followed the information Lia had given and went to inspect the places where the Strangler often appeared.
Nika and Nila had already been gone for a long time.
Ryan looked at the sky. It was now noon.
They had not returned after such a long time.
Could something have happened to them?
Ryan thought inwardly.
However, it was clear that Ryan was overthinking.
The next moment, the two women hurried back.
Everyone prepared lunch inside the trench.
During the preparations, Nika began reporting the information they had investigated.
“Master, we made some discoveries during this investigation. First, on the way there, there were very few monsters. Nila and I originally planned to avoid combat as much as possible, but unexpectedly, the two of us barely encountered many monsters at all.”
Nika paused, then continued, “When the two of us went deeper into the forest, we discovered a huge cavern. There were many dry bones and pieces of equipment around the entrance. I suspect that place is the Strangler’s lair, and those things at the entrance were monsters and humans devoured by the Strangler. The light inside the cavern was very dim, and the space was too narrow, so my younger sister and I did not enter.”
“Very good. Thank you for your hard work.”
Ryan nodded.
“Master, there is one more situation I need to add.”
“Mm. Continue.”
“The number of dry bones my younger sister and I saw at the entrance was extremely large. That was definitely not the amount a single Strangler could eat...”
Nika’s words made everyone’s brows knit tightly.
Everyone instantly understood what Nika meant.
Inside the cavern, there was more than one Strangler!
A single Strangler alone was already an S-rank Monster.
If there was more than one, the danger was far too great.
Would it not be overestimating themselves for this handful of people to try to subjugate the Stranglers?
“Mm, I understand what you mean. There is more than one Strangler, correct?”
“Yes, Master. I suspect there are at least two.”
Nika nodded firmly.
“Don’t worry. I expected there to be more than one long ago. I already have a battle plan.”
When Nika heard this, she relaxed.
No matter what kind of situation they faced, as long as Ryan had a battle plan, Nika was full of confidence.
“Thanks to Nika and Nila’s intelligence, we have already found the Stranglers’ location. Next, let us discuss the battle plan...”
Ryan had already thought of a battle plan long ago.
Whether there was one or more than two, his plan was to lure them in front of the trench, then use powerful firepower to eliminate the Stranglers.
The specific steps were as follows.
First, Lia would lure the Stranglers inside the cavern out, then quickly fly into the sky to evade them.
Then, the instant the Stranglers came outside the cavern, Isabella would snipe them from long range and draw their attention over.
Finally, while the Stranglers were moving toward the trench, they would use powerful firepower to annihilate them.
The battle plan was very simple: lure, attract, suppress with firepower, and annihilate.
Ryan had prepared a great deal of armament for this battle plan.
First was the two hundred kilograms of TNT Lia had to carry.
This amount of TNT could directly collapse the cavern.
Whether it could injure the Stranglers was unknown.
But it did not matter.
If it could cause damage, that was naturally good.
If it could not cause damage, that did not matter either.
This was only the first step of the battle plan.
He would use two hundred kilograms of TNT to lure the Stranglers out of the cavern.
Next was Isabella’s sniping.
An ordinary sniper rifle would definitely not be a match for the Stranglers.
Moreover, at this distance, even if it hit a Strangler, the Strangler might not necessarily be able to locate the trench.
Therefore, Ryan exchanged for a new sniper rifle for Isabella.
The Barrett M82A1 sniper rifle.
Also known commonly as the “cannon.”
Rather than calling this gun a sniper rifle, it would be more accurate to call it a sniper cannon.
With one shot, the world would fall silent.
This gun had an effective range of fifteen hundred meters, and its maximum range could reach two thousand four hundred seventy-five meters.
According to Nika’s intelligence just now, this place was less than one thousand meters away from the cavern.
Within this distance, Isabella could absolutely hit every shot.
This gun would also produce a tremendous noise when fired.
In this way, the Stranglers could follow the gunfire to the trench.
In order to damage the Stranglers, Ryan prepared special Barrett ammunition for Isabella: Raufoss Mk211 armor-piercing incendiary rounds.
This type of bullet was immensely powerful and would be used to break through the Stranglers’ outer defenses.
Finally, and most importantly, there was the battle at the trench.
Ryan deployed eight Gatling guns inside the trench, along with one point seven two million depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds.
The firing rate of this type of Gatling gun could reach three thousand six hundred rounds per minute.
One point seven two million depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds could support these eight Gatling guns firing continuously for one hour.
Ryan did not believe any monster could survive under one hour of firepower like this.
Aside from Isabella, who would control the Barrett sniper rifle, there were four people left.
Each person would control two Gatling guns and continuously strike the target with firepower.
As the saying went, the poor relied on precision strikes, while the rich relied on firepower saturation.
These bullets were enough to complete the kill.
After Ryan announced the battle plan, Lia and Mira froze in place.
Fina and the other three women remained calm.
After all, the four of them had already practiced with the Gatling guns before, so they knew how terrifying they were.
“Hiss!”
Lia and Mira drew in a breath of cold air.
Only today did they truly come to understand Ryan’s strength.
“Lia, take this bomb to the cavern and lure the Stranglers out.”
“Remember!”
“Your mission is to lure them out of the cavern. Do not get caught up in fighting. Throw down the bomb, leave, and fly into the sky.”
Ryan gave her careful instructions.
“No problem, Ryan. Don’t worry. I promise I will complete the mission.”
Lia nodded firmly and patted her chest.
“Does anyone else have any questions?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“Good. The operation begins!”
Ryan waved his hand.