WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom-Chapter 262: The New Army

Seeing Aether gather thick in the air, Elvira only smiled.

"Aether or mana, in the end, both are nothing more than sources of energy," she said.

Her mind went back to the research she had thrown herself into.

She had studied teleportation circles, magic encryption, and countless layers of magical runes.

After breaking them down one by one, she had reached a single conclusion.

Magic was only energy shaped by a formation.

Complex patterns held it together, and every Magus imprinted their own signature into the weave.

That uniqueness made foreign interference almost impossible.

Every spell carried the caster’s brand.

But Elvira had knowledge from Ben’s old world.

Using that knowledge, she had discovered something else.

All formations resonated at certain frequencies.

If she struck the right one, the spell would collapse on its own.

For mana-based spells, her control was absolute.

As long as her mana exceeded the caster’s, she could erase their magic outright.

Aether was different.

It was higher and stronger than mana.

It could not be erased by force, but that did not make it untouchable.

She only needed to change its form.

The Magus Aether roared.

A massive fireball rushed toward her, its heat warping the tunnel walls.

Elvira raised a hand, her eyes cold.

"Dissolve."

The fireball shivered, then burst apart harmlessly, scattering into bright sparks that lit the tunnel like fireworks.

Draeven’s eyes widened.

His heart pounded in disbelief.

She had turned an Aether spell into a light show, but to him, this was still not enough.

He did not waste another second.

He rushed to her side.

"No more!

We can’t test the knights here!" he shouted.

Before Elvira could resist, Draeven scooped her up and threw her onto his shoulder, then sprinted down the tunnel.

"Put me down, Draeven!

I can still fight!" Elvira snapped, struggling against his grip.

"Too dangerous!" he shouted back, his voice hoarse. "Those four knights, we don’t know their powers.

Facing them here is suicide.

We’re not far now.

If we return and regroup with our army, then we can fight back!"

Distorted laughter echoed behind them.

The knights did not even bother to give chase.

It felt like they were sure there was no need.

Draeven kept running, his breathing rough in the brief silence, Elvira still on his shoulder.

The tunnel stretched ahead, long and narrow, the faint glow of their base growing clearer.

With every step, the pressure behind them seemed to fade.

Finally, he slowed and glanced back, but nothing appeared in his sight.

It was as if the enemy had vanished.

"We lost them," he muttered.

Relief flickered in his chest.

Elvira did not share that feeling.

She could feel it in the mana swirling around them.

"Keep running!

They’re probably using some kind of space spell to get ahead of us!" she said.

Draeven did not understand what she meant, but he did not hesitate.

He pushed off the ground and sprinted again with all the strength left in his legs.

As the scenery blurred past, Elvira moved her fingers in the air on his shoulder.

Threads of mana shimmered faintly.

She disturbed the flow of mana around them.

The Magus tried to cast, but every attempt broke apart.

Their spells collapsed before they could form.

If only Draeven did not interrupt, she thought with faint annoyance.

But deep down, she admitted he was right.

She believed she could take the knights alone, or at least hold them, but she did not know their full power.

Reckless fighting would only lead to disaster.

Fighting them with her army behind her would give better results.

Time passed as they ran through the tunnels, until at last the passage opened up.

A vast cavern spread out before them.

The ceiling was covered with giant mana crystals that bathed the space in a deep blue glow.

From the cavern floor, a wall and fortress rose in a spiral, carved directly into the stone.

In front of it, a massive Krell army stood ready.

Lines of armored warriors had already formed, prepared to march.

Draeven staggered to a halt and finally set Elvira down as they reached the front ranks of their own forces.

Seeing the army with her own eyes filled Elvira with pride.

The Krell were different now.

Each one wore specialized armor that enhanced their natural abilities.

Ben had improved and evolved them, creating new variants and strengthening the existing ones.

Their forces now included Krell Riders, soldiers mounted on Credavis, creatures shaped like horses but covered in chitin armor.

Behind them stood the Krell Archers.

Unlike before, they no longer needed endless quivers.

Each archer now wielded a specialized arrow that never ran out.

With Elvira’s expertise, these arrows drew in surrounding mana.

Runes implanted into the Krell’s bodies then used that mana to form new shafts of energy with every shot.

These were only two examples among many new unit types.

The most important of them were the intelligent Krell who had evolved into Krell Mages.

"Seven, is everyone ready?" Elvira asked.

Her gaze fixed on the nine Krell standing at the front, leading the army.

"Yes, Queen.

We are prepared," Seven replied.

"Good.

Then begin Pattern C.

We will have guests soon," she said.

At her command, Seven raised his hand.

The nine Krell Mages began to move in unison, channeling their power.

They raised their clawed arms together.

Mana crackled and surged upward as a vast magic circle started to form in the air.

Runes twisted and spun.

Layers stacked on layers.

Its glow washed the cavern in blue light.

Before the formation could fully manifest, the space in front of them warped.

The air rippled like water, then folded inward.

From the distortion, the very army they had tried to escape stepped out.

The four knights rode at the front.

Their armored mounts snorted smoke.

Behind them, rows of Magus marched out in perfect formation, their staves already humming with Aether.

Roland let out a long whistle, the sound distorted through his helm.

"Well now... look at this.

An army of insects, all standing beneath a cavern of pure mana crystals.

To think such a vein could exist here," he said.

Tancred’s deep voice followed, cold and mocking.

"Hmph. No wonder they could create such an army.

With mana this pure feeding them, even trash can be reforged into something passable," he said.

Galahad tilted his head.

His tone was half curious, half playful.

"Impressive, I’ll admit.

Whoever shaped this army has skill.

Stronger than the last batch of trash we crushed," he said.

Tristan cut them off and raised his lance with steady calm.

"Talk later. Focus now. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Capture the Aetheris, and kill the rest," he said.