[FDJ]Chapter 138: The Return of Madness

Richard's perfunctory attitude not only left Caster dissatisfied but also made him more worried about all the soldiers who had undergone magical modifications. While he could rely on his exquisite medical skills to heal human injuries and illnesses, the body's energy needs were difficult to suppress. No matter how brilliant his medical skills were, he couldn't curb the physiological needs of humans for food and water.

The soldiers in the camp could manage for now. Richard continued to draw mana from the underground ley lines, which only affected the concentration of mana in the underground water at the Saphirian camp. According to Caster's estimation, drinking four to five times the usual amount of water would be enough to replenish the soldiers' daily mana consumption.

As for the 800 people in the city, he would find another way to supply mana. Caster convinced himself that these elite soldiers, with their strong faith, could temporarily suppress their physiological needs. He then began searching for ley lines with abundant mana around the city of Tiberias.

But before he could concentrate, the two knights from earlier came rushing in again, this time with a flustered look. Caster, too, was starting to lose patience. He had his temper, especially at such a tangled moment.

"Get out! Handle such trivial matters yourselves!"

As he scolded, several snake familiars in the tent hissed menacingly at the knights who continuously disturbed Caster.

"It's not that, wise one. Monsters are continuously pouring in here, their numbers growing. Although they are mainly humanoid ghouls, which we can fend off with the divine power granted by the Lord, this is not a good sign, and it's very unusual."

After hearing the knight's report, Caster was once again taken aback. He felt that today had too many sudden incidents, and as the knight reported, it was indeed not a good sign.

"Don't panic. Keep the front lines intact. We must not let the monsters breach our camp. Ordinary people encountering these monsters would be defenseless. We cannot add to the number of innocent casualties!"

Caster tightened his robe and left the tent. He secretly summoned nearby snake familiars to observe any abnormalities, but many of the familiars lost contact immediately after receiving his orders, spreading like a plague and rapidly approaching the camp.

"Huh?"

Caster was surprised by the abnormality, and the two knights guarding him also stopped, puzzled by why the sage had halted and exclaimed.

"What's wrong?"

"Quickly, go and have the soldiers in the northeast gather and avoid being isolated! Hurry!"

Just as Caster shouted the order, multiple monsters with tentacles and slimy bodies burst out from the forest in the northeast. Although the soldiers resisted the sight of the monsters, they were unprepared and dragged under the slimy monsters' bodies by the tentacles.

For an ordinary person, this would mean instant death, but every soldier in this camp had undergone magical enhancement. They cried out in pain under the monsters, alerting all their comrades to the unusual monsters different from the "cannon fodder" in the northeast.

Hearing the screams, Caster immediately used magic to speed up his and the two knights' movements. When they arrived at the scene, the trapped soldiers were still calling for help.

"Do not fear, we are warriors of the Lord! Bathe in the glory of the cross, follow me!" A knight raised his spear and shouted, emboldening the soldiers who feared the monsters to charge at the unknown slimy creatures.

The higher-level monsters, which had not yet disgraced themselves before humans, encountered an unbelievable situation in their worldview: after ten seconds of chewing and crushing, they couldn't break down what should have been delicious humans. One of the foremost slimy monsters was even cut open by humans with spears and axes!

What's worse, the humans caught in their bodies, though more delicious than ordinary humans, had blood that caused an unbearable burning sensation, like adding too much wasabi to a gourmet seafood dish. The sacred power spoiled the good food!

The cut monster tried to resist, but before it could react, it was eroded by an unknown disease. Its originally elastic and transparent segmented body quickly became cloudy and fragmented. Within seconds, the first slimy monster decomposed into a pool of foul water and acid.

After momentarily halting his magic, Caster Asclepius immediately switched to healing magic to cure a severely injured soldier swallowed by the monster. Even deep leg bone injuries healed almost instantly.

Soon, the soldier who had been crushed and bitten by the monster took up a weapon thrown by a comrade and rejoined the battle.

The remaining three slimy monsters met the same fate: first cut by axes and spears, then succumbed to the disease, withering away. Caster's combat ability was quite low, and the rapid effectiveness of the disease relied on the soldiers cutting the monsters, giving Caster enough space to wield his abilities.

Caster was impressed by the bravery of the soldiers in battle. The modifications Richard had made to the soldiers using the Holy Grail had indeed been effective; Caster himself might not be as strong as several knights combined.

"Be careful, there are still many more coming!"

Upon hearing Caster's warning, several spear-wielding knights immediately called their comrades to reform the ranks. The healed soldiers also picked up their weapons and rejoined the formation, all boldly facing the direction of the forest. With their own eyes, they witnessed a massive four-legged, four-tentacled black beast suddenly appear before them and charge at the spear formation with incredible speed.

Even Caster was momentarily caught off guard by the sudden appearance of this large monster bursting out of the concealed forest and charging towards him.

However, all the spear-wielding soldiers gripped their spears tightly and maintained their formation, showing none of the panics that ordinary people would have. Individual soldiers might have momentarily panicked, but within the ranks, feeling the presence of their comrades, this slight panic did not affect the others and instead helped them quickly return to a battle-ready stance.

"Prepare!"

One of the bravest knights, completely unafraid of the monster's twisted and horrifying form and impact, raised his spear and met it head-on. The other soldiers in the rear row synchronously thrust their spear blades, while the front row braced their spears.

The elephant-sized beast crashed solidly into the human spear formation, something thought impossible, and its chariot-like charge came to an abrupt halt. The soldiers' united roar drowned out its angry howl.

One spear even pierced through half of the monster's body with precision, with its wielder sacrificing both hands to deliver a fatal blow.

What was considered impossible for humans was handled by these soldiers as if they were dealing with regular enemies. The monster's tentacles still twitched, but it was merely its final struggle. The black beast tried to force its way through the spear formation with brute strength even in its dying breaths, but now it couldn't match the combined strength of several soldiers working together.

Even injuries as severe as severed hands were instantly healed, leaving Caster with no opportunity to step in and assist. As long as cold weapons could effectively kill, the soldiers with command were sufficient. The fallen black beast was the strongest unknown monster they had encountered. More than two or three soldiers, perhaps even five, might struggle to survive against it fully prepared. But this time, the monster faced a well-organized spear formation of fifteen soldiers, along with coordinated support from commanders and reserves. Even if these high-level monsters kept appearing, a team of twenty-five soldiers could hold out for a long time.

Caster Asclepius had only seen such a level of hunting scene during special occasions in his lifetime. He had originally thought that killing slime-level monsters was the upper limit for the modified soldiers, but it turned out to be their lower limit. With command, tactics, coordination, and firm faith, this group of elite Crusaders would be challenging for Caster himself to defeat. The soldiers' physical conditions had greatly improved due to the magical modifications, making them highly resistant to disease, poisoning, and exhaustion.

Noticing a peculiar signal from a snake familiar before it went mad, Asclepius quickly dispatched two knights to regroup elsewhere to prevent the monsters from breaking through the defenses.

He then ventured alone into the forest, heading towards the location where the snake familiar had found a human.

Caster soon bypassed several monsters and found the sorcerer summoning the otherworldly creatures.

"Stop! Do you know what you're doing? Why summon monsters to attack your fellow humans?"

Caster didn't expect the other party to respond to reason; he just wanted to appear friendly to lower the opponent's guard. Asclepius, also known as the "God of Medicine," would show no mercy to an enemy.

Hearing the voice, Duke Reynard, whose mind was already in chaos, stopped gnawing on a servant's liver. He was puzzled as to how the other could bypass the monsters and reach him but quickly received a mental command, ordering the two half-horse, half-bird monsters guarding him to attack.

Duke Reynard's voice had become distinctly inhuman, and his mouth and teeth, stained with blood from eating organs, now appeared sharp. All the servants who followed him had become sacrifices; even those not chosen could not stay rational among the monsters.

Several snakes, glowing with magical light, entwined around the monster birds' bodies and wings like chain swords. In an instant, the birds were strangled to death in the forest, and the trees splattered with their thick purple blood showed signs of decay. Caster could control not only normal snakes but also mad ones, as long as he was close enough.

"Human, it seems you can't communicate with me normally anymore."

Caster's tone suddenly turned cold as he scrutinized Duke Reynard, confirming that he could not obtain any valuable information from him.

Dealing with a worthless and insane villain, even granting death seemed like kindness.

But before Caster could take action, several yellow paper talismans flew at him from the shadows of the forest. Caster, unprepared for an enemy of Servant-level, was caught off guard. His magic was interrupted, his movements were restricted, and his vision was greatly impaired by the talismans' effects.

Caster looked towards the direction from which the talismans had flown, but he saw nothing.

Driven by the voices in his head, Duke Reynard hurriedly dropped the half-eaten servant's innards and ran out of the forest. He temporarily escaped Caster's pursuit.

"Who is hiding in the shadows? If you're also a Servant, why not come out for a fair one-on-one battle? What kind of skill is it to launch a sneak attack?"

It took some time for Caster to break free from the talismans. He prepared himself for an enemy attack, but he thought that all the Servant-class positions were already filled, so there shouldn't be an enemy Servant capable of hiding in the shadows and launching a sneak attack. He didn't expect the opponent to step forward for a one-on-one fight; he just wanted to confirm the opponent's position based on the direction of the voice.

Unfortunately, by the time Caster freed himself from the talismans, there were no further attacks, nor did he hear any sound from the assailant.