Ch-64: Behemoth (6)

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Day after day, fighting against the monsters that came in like innumerable flocks of ants. Old comrades dying beside them, the newly acquainted friends meeting the same fate.

The soldiers' will did not break even as the mountain of corpses piled up, they remained steadfast.

Because they had a reliable general.

Even soldiers who lost their morale—with a single speech from the general would start to silently sharpen their swords with blazing intent in their eyes.

And this great general was Cloud's old friend.

Cloud had once asked this friend of his—how was he able to raise the morale of his soldiers so much with just one speech.

His friend replied, "There's nothing complex about it."

"Proud citizens of Roberto!"

Cloud's voice reverberated throughout the city through mana. The citizens were befuddled. Even the monsters directed their attention towards him.

– Chi-hee!

Two harpies stretched their claws towards Cloud.

– Slikk!

His sword drew a silver afterimage and severed the body of a harpy lengthwise. The other startled harpy tried to run away, but for naught.

Cloud grabbed the harpy's leg and bashed it down. He crushed it under his feet, immobilized it, and then cut its throat.

He shouted again.

"Roberto has been invaded by monsters! Innocents are bleeding and dying, our city guards are trying but aren't able to stop them!"

Citizens who hadn't comprehended the situation fell into despair.

A mother and daughter pair hiding inside the basement of their house trembled, with tears running down their cheeks.

Citizens who were escaping from monsters without a destination in mind gave up hope, and the guards' hands holding their spears lost the strength.

"But do not be afraid! I, the Hero, Cloud, along with your brave soldiers have arrived in Roberto!"

The Hero is back.

The soldiers have returned.

A rope called hope was given to the citizens who had fallen deep into the abyss of despair.

However, no one was willing to take the rope. They lacked the will to get out of the abyss on their own by latching onto the rope.

"Proud citizens of Roberto. Where are we? The land flowing with milk and honey. Isn't it the most prosperous land in the Kingdom—your Roberto? Those golden fields are evidence of the blood and sweat of our farmers, the strong walls and this beautiful city are the results of the maintenance of your ancestors, so you have the right to live. You have the right to live in this city of yours! You thought it would be taken away by these mere beast cubs?!"

Right.

Citizens flinched.

Yes.

This city is their's. It is the city built by their ancestors. Here, they have the right to live in peace and security.

"Those who can fight, fight! Show those cheeky monsters the power of your rights! Those who cannot, run! Survive somehow and defend your rights!"

His friend had said, it's not difficult to raise people's morale.

First, inform them of the reality—that will bring everyone's mood to the floor, and then bring it up again by giving hope. The will raised by hope is painted with pride and determination.

And teach them what to do to protect their pride and self-esteem.

Cloud's voice infused with mana vibrated.

The voice with the most suitable resonance to touch people's emotions moved listeners' hearts.

Citizens held the ropes.

A man ran up to pick a jar and threw it at the beast pursuing him. He fled into the alley while the beast smashed by the jar was left disoriented.

The mother and daughter pair who hid in their basement no longer shed tears. With a determined look on their faces, they shut their mouths and hugged each other tightly, hoping to survive the danger somehow.

– Those who can fight, fight! Show those cheeky monsters the power of your rights!

It was clearly only passed through their ear canals, but it strangely throbbed within their hearts.

Hans opened his eyes.

The wolf's fangs were approaching to devour him. It was too late to avoid. He had to choose, and instead of the nape of his neck, he gave his left arm.

Sharp fangs pierced through his skin.

"Aww!"

It was painful, making him scream, but Hans kept his eyes open. He held the sword in reverse and pushed it into the wolf's neck.

The wolf didn't die.

The damn wolf had too much vitality.

Moreover, the neck may not be as important to a monster as it where to a human.

Just when the wounded wolf, furious at his prey's retaliation, was about to tear off Hans' arm.

– Swwwk!

– Sleeek!

A spear and a sword anchored the wolf.

It were his fellow guards who had ran away after seeing the beasts. They hollered out loudly.

"Twist!!!!"

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

"Die, bastard!!!"

The sharp edges of their weapons rotated and tore the wolf's skin and pierced its organs. The wolf howled painfully while clutching onto Hans' arm. The guards drew their spears back, and plunged it back in.

Pulled out.

And, plunged it back again.

The simple act was repeated until the monster collapsed helplessly.

For a moment, they looked down at the corpse that had fallen, and then began to move again.

There were plenty of beast bastards left to be killed, and they were no longer afraid.

* * *

Morale was overflowing in waves among the soldiers and guards.

They were no longer afraid to face the beasts and monsters. If one person wasn't capable by himself, then two. Three, if not two. Somehow, the number of beasts kept reducing.

And Eri's contribution towards it was not small.

[Magic Missile]-!

Five magical masses materialized at the tip of Eri's staff. Each magical mass was zoned at one monster.

Before it could do anything, a monster was snipped by the magic missiles letting out a terrible welp, and died.

The monsters who witnessed the death of their fellow monster dashed away. However, no matter how far they ran, the magic missiles continued to pursue them, and the monsters weren't able to avoid their end.

Eri, who successfully snipped with the five magic missiles, took a deep breath.

By no means was double incantation an easy task.

Because the speed at which mana and chants had to be coordinated was no joke. Eri picked up one of the mana potions Cloud had left behind and gulped it down.

She once again felt mana coursing in her veins, starting to rejuvenate her mana pool.

Eri looked towards Neria and Ophelia while her mana pool was replenishing.

"Ha!"

"Get out of my way!"

They were doing their best to protect Eri from the harpies. In case of Ophelia, in particular, she could see her arms trembling as she was losing her strength due to wielding the extra heavy mace.

Eri looked at Cloud with [Clairvoyance].

He was subjugating the dangerous monsters with the soldiers and guards.

Eri quietly closed her eyes.

She once again began chanting as the Magic Missiles materialized.

* * *

At some point, Eri gave up counting the number of magic missiles she had shot.

She just kept chanting like a machine—shooting and sniping monsters with her magic missiles. Repetition became the strategy. After hours of what seemed to be a cycle of endless repetition, she finally saw the end of the damn thing.

Two saber-toothed tigers scampered after seeing the magic missiles coming to claim their lives. However, the magic missiles whistled by faithfully and pierced through the backs of the two beasts.

Those two were the last.

There were no more monsters left in the city of Roberto.

Eri slumped down.

The magic missiles she just fired were created by squeezing out last bits of her mana pool. The only sensation she felt was the strong sense of exhaustion. Now, she didn't even have the strength to pick up a spoon.

While looking at the granite floor exhausted, she suddenly heard a rattle, signalling someone's approach.

When she jerked up her head, she saw Cloud maneuvering by jumping between the roofs. Soon, he reached the top of the tower where they were.

When Eri saw Cloud, her expression became similar to that of a high school student who had just gone through a lot of hard work.

So she cried out, her voice carrying frustration.

"So what do you think? You saw it, right!? I did it! I did the impossible!"

She had been using the god damned double incantation for mana's sake! She did it for hours!!

Cloud's eyes widened for a moment at the voice that seemed to contain some anger of its own. But then, he smiled softly.

"I know. I saw you while we were fighting. Well done, Eri. Thanks to you, many people have survived this disaster."

"Uh… huh?"

Cloud placed a hand on Eri's head and ruffled her hair.

"After all, you are the best wizard I know."

"..!"

How long…had it been since she received a compliment?

In the past, she used to receive praises and recognition from Cloud several times a day.

However, since they broke up, she had never been recognized again. Everyone around her either demeaned or slandered her. As if, the whole world was there to blame her.

Except for Cloud.

Though after she joined Cloud's party again, he didn't compliment her like before. There was a lot of her own fault in it, so Eri didn't dare to voice her complaint.

She was just grateful that he hadn't undermined her like others.

But now, Cloud just smiled brightly and praised her.

She was excellent, he admitted.

It has been a long time since she received recognition.

Her chest was tickling and her face was burning, as if she was melting into a puddle of happiness.

Eri bowed down her head.

She pressed down her pointed hat, obscuring her own face.

"Hm, hm! As long as someone tries their best, this is nothing!"

Eri, who said so, waited for Cloud's response.

She wanted to listen more of his praises.

But she didn't get the response she desired. When Eri, puzzled by the silence, raised her head, Cloud, who had been in front of her before, was not there anymore.

"Huh..? Hey, Ophelia. Where's Cloud?"

"Hero? He jumped off saying he has some other business to do."

"Oh yeah..?"

* * *

I dealt with all the monsters disturbing the peace of Roberto.

There's still a lot of work to do with the casualties and wounded, but that job can be done by guards and soldiers.

I readily mounted an ownerless horse and galloped out of Roberto.

'They should have been able to subdue the Behemoth without any major problems, right?'

Actually, there was no need to worry too much since Frillite was present there, but my inner psyche couldn't help but worry.

Fortunately, it was revealed within ten minutes of driving the horse that my worries had been for naught.

Because I was able to spot the troop rushing towards Roberto. Frillite, who was at the forefront, found me, and pulled her horse towards my position.

"Cloud, are you alright?"

"I'm okay. The city is fine, too."

"You mean the city is out of danger?"

Frillite asked with anticipation, and I nodded my head in response.

"The gates had been breached, but all the invading monsters have been slain."

"That's good. Is the damage serious?"

"Quite serious. To repair the damage, the Duke of Oler will have to suffer quite a bit."

Because there were many key structures that have collapsed, property damage seemed hella serious, and the number of people killed or injured cannot be counted at a glance.

Frillite let out a desolate sigh.

"I guess so. Still, there's nothing we can do about it anymore. I'm glad you didn't get hurt either."

"Say for yourself. I was back at the city, the Behemoth subjugation seems to have ended well, hm?"

For some reason, Frillite nodded her head, but with a bitter expression on her face. I was curious as to why she had that kind of expression, but I can always ask about that later when we settle down for a drink or two.

I asked her the most important question for now.

"Then can you tell me where the Behemoth's corpse is?"

Frillite tilted her head.

"Huh, why?"

"I've already come all the way here, at least I need to know what a Behemoth looks like."

"Hmm… well, I'm sure anyone would be curious. It's hard to explain in words, so let me guide you."

I waved my hand to her goodwill.

No matter how much I trusted Frillite, it was a lil' too much to open my lid on the glyphs for now.

I interjected, "No. You should go back to the city and get things done. Even if you explain it to me in words, I will understand it perfectly, so just let me know."

"The follow-up… yes, there it was…"

She recalled, her voice a tad bit regretful, but she told me where the Behemoth had fallen.

Alright, gotcha.

"Then I'll see you after coming back. Today let's have drinks until we get tipsy."

"Tipsy… sounds like a plan. See you later."

I immediately hurried towards the location Frillite had pointed out. The dense forest drew near, but I did not get off the horse. My riding skills are good enough to manage a horse even in complex forest terrain.

I arrived faster than I had expected thanks to riding a horse through the forest.

"A fierce one."

The trees that made the forest were all uprooted, and the ground was littered with the dead bodies of soldiers. Maybe, because their opponents were wild beasts, the condition of the corpses was also not in good condition.

Dismembered bodies were a rare sight, because there were corpses with either their upper or lower half missing.

I got off the horse.

Because the horse was agitated, reluctant to walk on the corpse field. Honestly, there seemed to be no place for the horse to set foot either.

'Is this the reason why Frillite's face was looking bitter?'

With her personality, she might have put all the responsibility on her shoulders.

She didn't have to.

We can talk about that when we meet for drinks later. At some distance, the corpse of an intimidating beast began to appear.

Slightly smaller than an ogre, the beast had a skeleton frame similar to that of a water buffalo at first glance.

""

However, unlike a water buffalo, the upper body was much more developed than the lower body, and the horns on its forehead were incomparably larger than those of a water buffalo.

Large horns curled on its back to form a spiky mane, its claws and minions were bigger and sharper than most swords.

I gingerly walked over to the Behemoth's corpse, taking my steps carefully so as not to step on the gore that pervaded the floor.

And, saw.

Two robed bipedal octopus heads chanting next to Behemoth's corpse.

The soul of the Behemoth was being sucked into the crystal that one of them was holding.

So what's… going on here?

I crossed my arms and pondered for a second, then quietly pulled out my sword.

If they don't spill out the beans nicely, gotta have to take the hard way.

You can read fully translated chapters, including the last chapter, for $20.

p(a)treon.com/Daoist02