I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 118: We Did It!

"Okay," Liam says, his voice firm now. "Let’s get to work."

He looks at the battlefield, at the ground the haelions are trampling over. He concentrates on wetting that area with water. Julian will take care of the rest.

Julian sees the water trickling in slowly and works to transform the ground, mixing it with the water to make it sticky.

Both men work slowly. Carefully. They are cautious, afraid of making a mistake. This is a battlefield. From experience, especially Liam’s, one tiny error can cause a major catastrophe. That’s why they move with restraint.

The mud forms, but only in a thin layer. It’s barely anything. Almost useless.

Arthur, who’s been listening to their exchange through the comm, loses patience.

"Guys, really?" His voice is laced with sharp sarcasm. "What are you trying to do? Build a sandcastle?"

Aldriana laughs, but keeps it off the comm.

"We’re being careful, Arthur," Liam replies. And honestly, he agrees with him.

"Careful with what?" Arthur snaps. "Those aren’t bombs. That’s dirt and water."

Arthur is exhausted. His temper is shorter than usual.

From two completely different positions, Liam and Julian take a deep breath at the same time.

Aldriana, watching from an unknown location, laughs openly now.

Liam’s water suddenly pours down like a flooded pool. Julian immediately works to mix it with the ground. Annoyed and fired up, they stop holding back.

The result is immediate and impressive.

Within minutes, the solid ground turns into thick, sticky mud, nearly impossible to walk on.

The haelions panic for real.

They have never experienced losing their footing. The ground is the one thing they have always relied on.

And now, it’s failing them.

"Yes! That’s it!" Arthur yells, excitement surging when he sees the haelions descend into complete chaos. They are no longer in formations. They trample over one another, desperate to escape the mud, only to find their legs stuck fast, unable to pull free.

The thrill returns to him. His flying fire arrows slice through the battlefield again, swishing through the air and killing with renewed ease.

"We should make it deeper," Liam says, already seeing how effective it is.

"Yes. Let’s," Julian agrees without hesitation.

Both younger men work tirelessly, pushing more water and reshaping more earth, making the battlefield increasingly hostile for the haelions and easier for Arthur to slaughter them. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Guys," Maeve’s voice cuts in, sharp and alert. "Three haelions are close to escaping. They’re near Julian. Extend the mud to his right, toward the dark."

"On it," Liam replies.

"On it," Julian echoes at the same time.

The four of them work together so well that the haelions’ numbers are cut down to less than ten in fifteen short minutes.

"That is what I call teamwork. Well done!" Aldriana finally voices her approval.

Even so, she stays alert. Aside from the earlier screech, the Dungeon King has made no move at all.

Which tells her one thing.

It’s waiting.

Waiting for them to relax. Waiting for exhaustion to set in.

That’s why she hasn’t done much beyond releasing light orbs. She wants the King to believe she’s tired. That she’s already out of the game.

"Just a few more. Let’s finish them!" Julian says excitedly.

He shifts the mud beneath one of the haelions, pulling it down until it drowns.

"Whoa. We can do that?" Liam says, surprised.

He follows suit, forming a water bubble and snapping it around another haelion’s head.

Arthur feels the itch to try something new.

He frowns in concentration and merges his five fire arrows into one. The result is slightly larger and longer, but much thinner. More like a needle than an arrow. The fire burns hotter, denser.

He sends it flying.

It pierces through the remaining haelions in a straight line, burning straight through them until none are left standing.

The battlefield falls silent.

Then the cheers erupt.

"Yay! We won!" Julian jumps to his feet.

"Woohoo!" Liam shouts at the top of his lungs.

"We did it." Arthur exhales, grinning wide.

"Oh my god. I can’t believe we really did it!" Maeve’s voice trembles with relief and joy.

"WE DID IT!"

They cheer together, exhausted, exhilarated, and very much alive.

They continue cheering for another few minutes before Maeve finally sinks back down.

"Oh god, I’m tired!" She groans. "I can’t believe I’m this tired. I’ve never felt this exhausted in my life. Not even when I had to curate an entire twelve-feet container full of books."

She exhales loudly. She’s no longer speaking through the comm, but they can still hear her clearly.

"Yeah... you’re right," Julian says, leaning against a cool, smooth rock. "I’m beyond tired. And I’ve stayed awake in my lab for days before, and I was never this exhausted. Is doing magic always this draining?"

"I think so." Liam nods. "I was already tired after practicing my water earlier, and now I’m completely spent. When we get out of here, we all need to train our stamina."

He reaches into his backpack, pulls out a bottle of water, and gulps it down.

"After my... lightning episode, I passed out," Arthur admits quietly. "I think my body just couldn’t take it anymore. So yeah. If we’re not careful, we’ll drop. We really need to build our stamina."

The four of them chat loudly from their respective positions, not realizing that even talking at this volume requires strength they keep insisting they don’t have.

Suddenly, Liam frowns.

"Aldriana?" He turns his head, scanning the area. "Where is she? Why is she suddenly quiet?"

"Oh, she’s sleeping," Maeve answers. "After she saw how well we worked together, she said she’s confident about our chances. So she went back to the cave to rest. She looked really tired. Like she was about to pass out."

She repeats Aldriana’s words carefully, almost verbatim.

The men freeze.

They instinctively know it isn’t true.

They don’t question Maeve. They understand immediately that something is happening, and that Maeve wants them to let Aldriana do whatever she needs to do.

So they keep talking.

After a while, Arthur speaks up. "We should head back to the cave and rest properly before we go after the Dungeon King."

Everyone agrees.

They gather their things and start walking back.

A sharp whistling sound cuts through the air.

A light orb shatters.

The team freezes.

Another whistle. Another orb breaks.

Then several whistles in rapid succession, each one striking and destroying a light orb.

One by one.

Until the area is plunged into total darkness.