The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature-Chapter 43 : I Knew You'd Show Up Like This

"Move it, move it! What are you doing over there!"
"South side! We're short on personnel to deploy!"
"Then just tear it down and block the path! Use any means necessary! If we can't finish this here, we're all dead anyway!"
The whole place was in an uproar, no different from a marketplace.
The mercenaries and contractors who had been lazing around as if it were their own living room were now running around with sweat on their feet, and the returning personnel followed them in a daze.
The atmosphere itself was unsettled.
Barbed wire was wrapped around the walls covered in vulgar spray paint, and crossbows and other weapons were installed on the tall spires.
The outpost was transforming from a shabby pile of prefabricated buildings into a fortress befitting a battlefield.
"Are you sure this is okay? What if something goes wrong..."
"Then what are we supposed to do in this situation? It's too late to contact the company."
"Damn it, we've got some bad luck."
The Sylvester employees gathered at a distance, exchanging anxious conversations.
They hadn't accepted the plan to make a last stand from the beginning.
But the employees of an abandoned project were like kites with their strings cut.
The head office didn't even care if they lived or died.
They had no choice but to obediently follow the mercenaries who were pushing the plan forward.
Now that things had come to this, all they could do was pray that they would at least survive, even if things went wrong.
"They're earning their pay."
I surveyed the area from the roof of the building.
I was satisfied.
The busy personnel were finally looking somewhat presentable.
'Looking at it again, it's a bizarre terrain.'
The ground was damp and sticky like a mudflat, and insects swarmed in the puddles of water that had collected here and there.
They said the gang had used the terrain to set traps against the mercenaries.
Unless there was a significant difference in power, it was a place where one would struggle.
'Even if we set traps, the gang, being the masters of this place, won't fall for them like the mercenaries did, but it's better than doing nothing.'
This area itself was the gang's home ground.
Whatever we did, it would probably be within the palm of their hands.
But that didn't mean they wouldn't take damage.
At the very least, it was better to make the enemy fall into a trap than for us to fall into one.
"...I should start moving soon."
I intended to end this with a single decisive battle here.
I wasn't so shameless as to just watch while they did the work I had ordered.
Besides, I had a new ability to test.
I grabbed a crudely carved wooden block and headed down.
"Wh-what is it, sir?"
As I approached, the contractor tensed up and stuttered.
He was a new face who had returned from the front line, yet he reacted this way.
'The rumor has already spread.'
And also how I had pushed this whole thing forward.
The fear that grew on his face the closer I got proved it.
"Step aside for a moment."
The contractor quickly moved out of the way.
I placed my hand on the spot where he had been digging up the ground.
The muddy ground was tricky for digging trenches or making traps.
So they were just digging up the ground with the intention of at least slowing down the enemy's advance.
'Will it work?'
I put a wish into the wooden block in my hand.
Please let the skill activate even with my clumsy handiwork.
[A piece of the World Tree imbued with a wish has been used as a material!]
[A Trap Totem has been created!]
The World Tree was compatible with all types of wood.
Of course, it was a natural specification for a mythical plant.
I used this to carve a totem.
A Trap Totem.
A totem with the effect of turning the installed terrain into a trap.
The problem was whether the totem would be effective even in this god-awful terrain.
Half-expecting, half-doubting, I stuck the Trap Totem into the ground.
Whooosh!
The totem stuck in the ground shone brightly.
"…?"
That was it.
Was the Trap Totem powerless in the mud?
The contractors watching also exchanged bewildered glances.
'No, but you never know.'
I carefully stepped on the ground.
Chwararak!
"…!"
It was right after.
Thorn vines, split from the totem, multiplied explosively and covered the area.
"Heok!"
"Crazy, what is that?"
Voices filled with astonishment echoed.
I stood frozen in place, unable to move.
"...It works well."
These weren't ordinary thorn vines.
The sharp thorns were as thick as cylinders and as sharp as awls.
The shallowly dug ground now threatened the upper body of a healthy adult man with thorns.
[The piece of the World Tree has increased the power of the Trap Totem!]
"...You're telling me now."
The system warned me belatedly.
If I had been careless, I could have been stupidly caught in my own ability.
Putting aside such a minor incident, the effect was excellent.
With this kind of power, it would be fatal to most people.
It would be the same even if they protected their bodies with armor.
Even without testing it, the sharpness that could pierce even a steel plate was visually transmitted.
'But how do I get out of this?'
I was in a difficult situation.
Ssssk!
The thorn vines moved on their own and made a path for me.
I blinked my eyes.
'Is it telling me to go this way?'
As I got out of the pit, the World Tree spread its two sprouts wide.
[The World Tree boasts, telling you to be grateful.]
"You did this?"
I thought it could only move the stems extending from its own body.
It was a new discovery.
After some time, the totem split and lost its power, and the stems crumbled.
'So even if it's a trap, the totem's effect doesn't last indefinitely.'
That was perfect.
After all, once a trap has served its purpose, it's just a nuisance to clean up and gets in the way.
It could even accidentally injure an ally.
"Hey."
"Ah, yes!"
"Follow me."
"Wh-why, sir?"
The contractor, thinking he had done something wrong, looked crestfallen.
A grown man acting like that is not a pretty sight.
When I frowned, the contractor became even more frightened.
"I'll give you some of the totems you saw earlier, so carry them around and install them in suitable places."
"I-is that all I have to do?"
"Why, are you disappointed?"
"No, sir!"
He's energetic in his refusal.
The other contractors sighed in relief that they weren't chosen.
"What are you doing?"
"…Yes?"
It's too early to be relieved.
"You have to clean this up. Are you going to leave it like this?"
I can't be the one to clean this up.
The faces that had brightened up quickly crumpled like paper.
***
"Ha, I'm tired. If we go through all this for nothing, it'll be the worst."
"No way, he must have had a plan when he started all this."
"Who can be sure of that? We're just hoping so."
The remodeling of the outpost was not a one-day job.
They prepared for the gang's attack for a full four days.
Working on the base during the day and standing guard at night, it was natural for fatigue to build up.
That's why people were now worried about the case where the gang didn't attack.
They were frustrated that their efforts might be in vain.
Percival's movements, pretending not to, but glancing at me, represented the intentions of his subordinates.
"They'll come today."
"...I didn't say anything."
"It's written all over your face, are you trying to play dumb?"
Percival pretended not to know.
It was a self-preservation tactic, worried that I might harm him using this as an excuse.
I pretended not to see.
I wasn't that petty.
"It's not us who are in a hurry, it's them."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Do you think the gang is magnanimous enough to allow an uncomfortable cohabitation with uninvited guests in their own front yard?"
They were not.
They were the ones who rejected the city's order.
If you were to rank groups by their exclusionary tendencies, gangs would be among the top.
"What's more, after the damage we've inflicted on them, it would be a disgrace to just sit back and watch us retreat."
As the battles continued, they too had shed a lot of blood.
For a gang that reigns through violence and oppression, not repaying a blood debt is a threat to their identity.
The name Sylvester would have long been out of their minds.
All that would be left is the thought of thorough retaliation.
"If we wait, they'll come on their own."
Even after I explained it with logical reasoning, Percival had a half-doubting expression.
It didn't matter.
The situation was about to unfold anyway.
Whooosh!
I closed my eyes.
I felt the illusion of a rough wind hitting my body.
It was an illusion, but it wasn't.
Behind my closed eyelids, a vast, starry sky unfolded.
Vision Sharing.
As the name suggests, it's a skill that shares vision with the Sentinel Hawk.
It was similar to a mage's magic of sharing the senses of a summoned creature, yet different.
It was a superior version with no burden on the body and a clear image.
Kee-eeek!
They say a hawk can see four to eight times farther than a human.
The Sentinel Hawk was even better.
It was incomparable to the narrow field of view of a human.
From the bird's-eye view, a wide area came into sight at once, as if looking at a map.
It wasn't just that the viewing angle was wide.
An unknown insect crawling on a collapsed ruin, the intermittently shifting ground, and so on.
If I focused, even minor details were naturally captured as if zooming in on a photo.
In terms of reconnaissance ability, the Sentinel Hawk was flawless.
It was also the basis for my confidence in the gang's attack, beyond logical prediction.
'...As expected.'
A point not far from the outpost.
I focused on a suspicious movement.
'They're moving.'
They were an armed force, all with grim faces, holding their weapons.
There was no need to check their descriptions.
They were the Race Lizard gang.
'Four days was a long wait.'
The first day, they were probably flustered by the enemy's sudden retreat, and the next two days were spent waiting to gather information.
And today, they must have made their decision.
To wage an all-out war.
Kee-aak!
When I opened my eyes, a meteor fell from the sky.
"Heok!"
Percival, who was next to me, was startled and stepped back.
I calmly extended my hand.
Grrr!
A weight settled on my forearm.
It wasn't a meteor, but the Sentinel Hawk that had been flying in the air, descending.
'If the opponent is a small fry, I might be able to fight with it.'
Even though it had braked at the last moment of its descent, the weight on my arm was considerable.
If it had come straight down, it had the power to shatter even a rock.
But now was not the time to experience that power.
I turned the Sentinel Hawk into a tattoo.
Then I checked the condition of the totem hidden in my bosom and the World Tree.
After glancing at the traps installed at every passage, I said to Percival.
"Tell the men below to brace themselves."
Now it was visible to the naked eye.
Beyond the dim darkness, a single, undulating wave was rushing in.
"It's an attack."
***
"It's the gang! They're here!"
"Don't just stand there, get your gear!"
"Shine the lights! Secure the line of sight!"
Shouts erupted from all over.
As my warning spread, the mercenaries also noticed the gang's approach.
Bright lights illuminated the outside, and people gripped their weapons.
'They're stealthy.'
The Race Lizard gang's approach was quiet.
Unlike a violent organization that likes to protest aggressively, they had camouflaged themselves with mud and marched without vehicles.
If I hadn't spotted them through reconnaissance, if the Python Mercenary Corps had still been out of their minds, it would have been a surprise attack they couldn't have avoided.
"Fire!"
"Kill them all!"
Dudududududu!!
The deafening sound of gunfire erupted fiercely.
On the spire, a mercenary was also seen firing an old-fashioned crossbow.
A surprise attack is effective only when it's not detected.
On the contrary, it was a tactic that revealed weaknesses when counterattacked.
"Kkeuaaak!"
"Damn it, we're caught!"
"Scatter immediately!"
But the Race Lizards were seasoned.
Some were hit by the gunfire, but they quickly split into groups of three and five, disrupting the firing line.
"Surround them! Don't let a single one escape!"
The bastards were thoroughly enraged.
The split units spread out to form a siege around the outpost.
It seemed they also intended to wipe out the enemy with this operation.
Kwaaang! Kwang!
Gunshots echoed back and forth between the two groups, and bombs exploded, sending flames soaring high.
Chwarararak!
The Trap Totems were silently achieving results amidst the chaos.
Many gang members approaching the outpost were riddled with holes by the thorn vines that grew without warning.
The effect was even greater because it was nighttime.
The gang members died, turned into skewers without even knowing what hit them.
'Did I reduce them by about a third?'
For a result achieved with traps alone, it was considerable.
The mercenaries were also fully demonstrating their skills in a life-or-death situation.
At this point, it was enough even if I didn't lend a hand.
My part was separate.
[The World Tree tenses up, raises its branches, and becomes vigilant.]
I took my eyes off the battlefield and looked at the ground.
The ground inside the outpost was as soft as the outside.
There was flooring, but it wasn't firmly fixed.
Dddk!
Suddenly, my eyes caught the ground twitching.
It was a very subtle vibration that could easily be mistaken for an illusion.
But there were no illusions in a hawk's vision.
Chwaaak!
As I jumped back, a harpoon shot up from the ground where I had been standing.
It was a harpoon that gleamed coldly even amidst the mud.
If I had been careless, I would have been pierced from my groin to my head.
It was a threatening surprise attack.
It was because it was me that I was prepared for it.
"I knew you'd show up like this."
There was a figure crawling up from the muddy floor.
Pshhh!
A rough breathing sound came from the mask that served as a gas mask.
The color of steel covering the entire body, which could not be hidden even when stained with mud.
The armor covering the entire body, reminiscent of an ancient warrior, was impressive.
Splish! Splosh!
The guy walked leisurely through the muddy mire as if it were flat ground.
It was thanks to special shoes with wide membranes.
Whooosh!
What revealed its massive presence from behind was its tail.
A huge tail like a log became a third leg, assisting his movements.
I know who he is.
His characteristics pointed to a single setting in my memory.
The leader of the Race Lizard gang and a cyborg who had modified his own body.
"Lizardman."
A red glint, modulated by machinery, was fixed on me.