Otaku Translation: The Amber Sword V3C19

Please support the translation by reading the translation and commenting on otakutl official site.

Thank you.

Everyone from Otaku Translation

Chapter 19: The Battle for the Lumber Mill, Part 6

When the mercenaries realized that when the had slammed into their raised shields with immense force, not a single sound accompanied the impact. The sheer power of the collision was silent and sudden, sending the front row sprawling backward into the ranks behind them. Yet the entire scene unfolded like a pantomime—utterly devoid of noise.

For a fleeting moment, everyone froze.

turned her head sharply, her fiery red hair whipping dramatically through the crowd. Her piercing gaze locked onto across the battlefield as he lowered his hand toward them.

At that precise instant, six perfectly timed blanketed the frontline of the battle—silencing everything within their range.

The cave dwellers immediately descended into chaos. Deprived of their ability to rely on sound, these creatures from the depths of became as blind as if they’d lost all senses at once. Their instincts screamed at them to either retreat instinctively or flail wildly with their spears, futilely trying to defend themselves against an unseen enemy.

This confusion spread rapidly among the cave dwellers. Those in the front collided with those behind, while others mistook allies for foes. In their panic, they scattered aimlessly, some even turning on one another. Amidst this disarray, many human mercenaries found themselves caught up in the fray—but most quickly seized the opportunity. After a brief moment of shock, realization dawned:

Victory seemed almost within reach.

"So that’s how it is," every mind echoed simultaneously.

Brandon casually tossed aside the depleted in his hand, its stored energy entirely spent. He glanced toward the battlefield, his expression betraying no surprise—almost as though he had foreseen the outcome.

"Ah, so that's the trick," murmured, understanding dawning across his face as he watched the young lord.

"These fools truly have such a weakness?" remarked coolly, his silver hair catching the dim light as he kept a keen eye on the unfolding events. Without hesitation, he ordered the banners changed. The crimson pennant signaling a charge fluttered high above the battlefield, visible to all. No verbal command was needed; the mercenaries understood what came next.

With practiced efficiency, warriors discarded their heavy shields and drew their weapons. Only moments ago, they had been defenders—but now, roles reversed. Like an invisible wave rippling across the field, the mercenaries surged forward in a counterattack.

The cave dwellers, rendered deaf and directionless by the silence spell, were powerless to stop the organized assault. Though physically formidable, their inability to locate their enemies rendered their strength useless. Moreover, the overwhelming darkness of sensory deprivation filled them with primal fear, causing them to flee recklessly at the first sign of attack.

Thus, the frontline of the cave dwellers began to crumble under the weight of their own disorder. The rear-guard commanders, deprived of vital information due to the same magical void, could do little to stem the tide. To them, the area affected by the silence spell felt like a black hole, swallowing all feedback and leaving nothing but despair.

Every cave dweller who entered that accursed zone was swiftly overwhelmed. The retreat of nearly a hundred frontline fighters triggered a domino effect throughout the rest of the army. Even those who escaped the silence spell’s radius found themselves swept along by the panicked masses. First, the common cave dwellers fled; then, realizing the tide had turned, the elite warriors followed suit. Finally, the joined the rout, transforming the retreat into a full-blown rout.

But in truth, the battle wasn’t as one-sided as it appeared.

After the mercenaries’ initial assault, fewer than twenty cave dwellers lay dead, their bodies strewn haphazardly along the riverbank, sodden with water. Yet the survivors paid no heed to counting their losses—they obeyed only the terror gripping their hearts, fleeing blindly toward the opposite shore. There was no semblance of order or cohesion; they moved like grains of sand pushed by the wind, trampling over one another in their haste.

Many fell victim to their own kin, leaving trails of corpses in their wake.

Once the mercenaries broke free of the silence spell's range, they reorganized into three spearheads under Yuta’s command. With seasoned precision, they harried the retreating cave dwellers like hunters driving frightened prey. Such tactics brought grim satisfaction to many, though few believed victory would come so easily—or so swiftly. As Brandon had predicted, this was merely a warm-up.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the forest...

The remaining thirty-odd cave dwellers were surrounded by ’s cavalry. With all three bear goblins slain by Brandon himself, the cave dwellers now faced not only two but also a force nearly double their number. The outcome was inevitable.

Brandon didn’t bother watching further. Instead, he turned just in time to see the mercenaries maintaining a steady pace as they pursued the routed cave dwellers across the river. A faint smirk crossed his lips. "Still cautious, I see," he thought. Clearly, they remained wary of the dozens of cave dwellers holed up inside the lumber mill.

He gauged their speed. At this rate, the fleeing cave dwellers would undoubtedly make it back to the mill—and that troubled him. Despite their apparent disarray, the earlier skirmish hadn’t inflicted significant damage. Less than a quarter of the cave dwellers had fallen, and not a single bear goblin had perished.

If they managed to regroup, the effort thus far would be wasted.

Fortunately, as his gaze shifted beyond the far side of the river, he spotted a familiar figure weaving through the trees. A flash of red hair streaked through the forest like a blazing comet—it was .

Not only Brandon noticed her arrival. Clenxia, Yuta, and Frein also detected the change on the opposite bank. Somehow, the enigmatic red-haired girl had bypassed the river unnoticed. Mounted atop a sleek, silver-white magical steed, she wielded a halberd in one hand, trailing arcs of electricity as she charged out of the woods.

Her target was unmistakable: the lumber mill.

But before reaching it, she positioned herself squarely in the path of the fleeing cave dwellers—

"Stand aside!" Yuta exclaimed, startled. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of unease as she watched the lone rider confront hundreds of cave dwellers, including desperate bear goblins driven by survival instincts. Even a Gold-Rank warrior might struggle to survive such odds, let alone emerge unscathed. And if the enemy turned back, their hard-won victory would crumble.

Yet Cinnabar stood firm, unmoving, as though deaf to any warnings.

In the next instant, countless green lights emerged from the forest behind her—. Every mercenary recognized these creatures under Brandon’s control and knew their lethal potential.

Yuta faltered.

Under Brandon’s direction, the Wind Spirit Spiders began forcing the cave dwellers to redirect their flight. Each beam of light felled another cave dweller. Overwhelmed by the Silver-Rank attacks, the creatures soon discovered that the right flank offered the least resistance.

What followed was almost natural. After guiding the remaining twenty-odd spiders through a coordinated assault, the terrified cave dwellers had no choice but to scatter into the forest via the alternate route.

Cinnabar remained motionless amidst the chaos, a solitary figure none dared approach. Like water flowing around a rock, the cave dwellers streamed past her without incident.

She made no move to strike, waiting until the last of them vanished into the woods. Then, glancing briefly at the pursuing mercenaries catching up from behind, she tugged gently on the reins, bringing her gleaming white charger to a halt.

Amber eyes reflected the frantic scene within the lumber mill as the remaining cave dwellers scrambled to seal the gates barricaded behind wooden palisades. A faint smile curved her lips, and a spark of determination lit her gaze. Raising her halberd, she swung it forward with a single decisive motion.

A thunderous boom echoed across the battlefield. Everyone watched as the lumber mill’s gate was torn from its hinges, shattered mid-air before raining down in pieces.

"How troublesome," muttered, stepping out of the forest after the fighting ended. Her noble upbringing showed no signs of distress from the battle, accustomed as she was to such scenes. "She destroyed the gate. Now we’ll need to find someone to repair it later. Honestly, couldn’t she have thought this through?"

"Let her be," Brandon chuckled, tilting his head upward as golden motes filled the sky, converging toward him. Roughly ten thousand experience points—enough to nudge his mercenaries’ progress slightly forward.

Antietta said nothing more, observing as the mercenaries poured through the eastern breach led by Cinnabar. Whatever cave dwellers remained inside stood no chance against their combined might. The outcome was sealed.

"Incredible," the noblewoman murmured softly. "These creatures from the depths are so vulnerable to specific magics. You’d think they’d know better about their weaknesses."

"Not necessarily," Tiger Finch interjected, having finished clearing the battlefield. "Cave dwellers aren’t part of a unified structure in Yhaggoroth. It’s more like a vast underground realm composed of different beings. They fight alongside bear goblins, , —and sometimes even their own witch doctors. But smaller tribes may lack such specialists."

"Hence their vulnerability to magic compared to us."

"That few?"

"Considering the rarity—a mage born per thousand individuals—that ratio isn’t negligible," Brandon replied.

Antietta nodded, reflecting quietly. "I never imagined Yhaggoroth held such a structured society beneath its surface. From what I’ve read, I always assumed it was a barren wasteland untouched by civilization. How fascinating the world truly is."

Brandon smiled. Given Antietta’s upbringing in the human-centric , her misconception was understandable. From a player’s perspective, however, this world was unimaginably vast.

"Still, the ferocity of mere cave dwellers is startling," Antietta mused, furrowing her brow. "Compared to ’s skeletal soldiers, they’re far more dangerous. It seems we have a significant threat lurking underground."

"The creatures of Yhaggoroth are known for their individual prowess, shaped by their harsh environment," Brandon replied, shaking his head as he gazed toward the lumber mill. "But you find them fearsome because is weak. Were Cruzean here instead, I doubt they’d share your sentiment."

Please vote for this novel at

https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-amber-sword/

If you would like to support this translation, you may choose any one of the options below.