Episode 22 – The Monster at the Frontier (2)
“There should have been at least one we could have kept alive to ask some questions, but in the heat of battle, I forgot about that.”
The first Orcs I had ever faced. Even though they looked like part of some mercenary group, they were clearly a cut above the Goblins.
The one that seemed to be the chieftain could grab a soldier’s poisonous stinger in his bare hands and fling it far away.
As a result, I got a little carried away in the fight and ended up killing every last one of them.
“Judging by their appearance, they were a group of slavers visiting the city. They probably didn’t know much about the city itself. And… the ones to ask are over there.”
Syla, who had pierced the Orc Chieftain’s neck with her spear in a single strike, pointed behind her.
Even amidst the fierce battle, she had deliberately spared the carts holding the female Demon prisoners.
It was obvious, given how they were bound and disrobed, that the Orcs had intended to sell them off to the Goblins.
“There are hardly any intact individuals among them.”
Among these, already mentally fragile individuals, there were hardly any who were fully compos mentis. Most had fainted, foaming at the mouth, having been caught up in the battle.
[Achievement Unlocked: Another Race (3). Reward: 1 Ability Point.]
[Achievement Unlocked: Demon Massacre (1). Reward: 1 Ability Point.]
[Achievement Unlocked: War Enthusiast (1). Reward: 1 Ability Point.]
I turned my attention to the ability points I had gained from this battle. Increasing these ability points would allow me to use the genetic information and nutrients more efficiently.
Orcs, a race that resides two tiers above Goblins in Demon Tier levels, precisely in the middle tier.
Without strengthening them, there’s a possibility that we cannot fully utilize even after digesting them.
“Consciousness Enhancement 4”
With this in mind, I poured all the points into consciousness enhancement. Simultaneously, a powerful shock rattled my mind.
The peculiar sensation of my mental world expanding. But after having experienced it multiple times, this was now fully habitual for me, and the extent of my reaction was just a mild shiver.
“Was it too much?”
Syla, however, was clearly not yet accustomed to having her self fused within the collective consciousness.
Before long, she was sprawled on the ground, eyes rolled back, spurting blood from her nose.
“Yet it’s astonishing that someone like you, Syla, has such high compatibility.”
“Have they…all perished?”
But it was through the alien female captives I obtained that I came to understand why Syla’s fainting might have been a better scenario.
If I tried to connect the still somewhat sane individuals into the group consciousness like I did with Syla, every single one of them suddenly and shockingly collapsed, and their self-awareness shattered, leading to death.
“I didn’t know that only specific individuals could withstand collective consciousness.”
It was a regrettable accident. The bodies that had suffered the collapse of their consciousness had now become useless, leaving no choice but to digest them for nutrients.
Syla looked at me with a mix of bewilderment.
If she herself hadn’t been one fit for the collective consciousness, she too would have met the same fate.
“More individuals are heading into the forest for trade. And others continue to come after them. Let’s continue to ambush and consume them.”
But I have no time to dwell on what has already transpired.
Ignorant of the threat, the foolish Demons are continuously entering this forest where we have already set traps.
And I can see it all through the eyes of our scouts.
I intend to keep repeating this until they suspect foul play.
“And when they realize the danger and begin to prepare…”
“Then that’s the moment we strike.”
I smiled wryly in response to Syla’s words.
This region is already ours, but I am fully aware that compared to the entirety of the Demon Realm, we are still a weak faction.
The fact remains that we must endlessly fight to sustain and further evolve our growing size, but we must also give it our all in every battle.
“In accordance with the Queen’s will.”
Syla, donning her mask once more, bowed her head.
‘After this battle, perhaps she’ll get some relief.’
Watching her retreating back, I smiled slightly. I planned to help her achieve an even more ‘intense’ form of revenge.
*
“What do you mean by that? Those who left the city with permits haven’t returned?”
Bekins, upon hearing the report from his subordinate, grew irritated. It was indeed an absurdly unexpected turn of events.
“It’s true. They claim that the expected return date has clearly passed and the group hasn’t come back.”
“Perhaps the trade simply took longer than expected.”
“But now, over a hundred individuals have gone missing in this manner. It’s almost certain that something has occurred to the north.”
There’s a limit to how much such absurdities can be overlooked. Bekins began to look increasingly serious, biting his lip.
“Summon the troops! This time, we need to investigate what’s happening with the Goblins to the north!”
In the end, he issued a mobilization order throughout the city.
To find the missing individuals and examine the recent activities of the wild Goblins in the northern forest, Bekins assembled a significant number of soldiers.
“So, you’ve finally decided to move.”
However, it seemed as if someone had been waiting precisely for this moment.
Through the eyes of scouts surveying the sky, the queen lurking in the shadows surveyed the unsuspecting city dwellers with a glint in her eyes.
“We will strike preemptively before they fully prepare for battle.”
At the point when the army is most vulnerable while getting ready for war, countless forces began to arise, moving through the forest.
‘The timing is perfect.’
Just as they approached the outskirts of the city. It was a dim night with the sun already set.
While the inside of the city was brightly lit with various lights, the exterior was illuminated only by the soft moonlight.
An army of over 10,000 grotesque creatures moved quietly like crawling insects, making not a sound.
“Hmm…?”
The first to notice the countless enemies that had reached the very edge of the city were the Hobgoblin mages standing guard on the wall.
When countless alarms started ringing from the detection magic installed in front of the walls, the mage panicked as he saw the innumerable points appearing in the crystal ball, mirroring the horrifying scene right before his eyes.
“Emergency! Emergency!!!”
Just as the mage hastily fired a signal flare into the sky,
“Enemies! We’re under attack!”
“What is this nonsense? What is going on!”
Bekins, outside to inspect the mobilized troops, was shocked by the alarms coming from the northern wall and the flares sent into the sky.
An attack from the northern wall. It was an incomprehensible term. In the north, there should have been no force ‘daring’ enough to challenge them.
“Sir! They’re monsters! M, Mana Beasts! There’s an overwhelming number of them!”
But it was true. The Hobgoblin soldier rushing in from the northern wall was pale and drooling with fear.
“Monsters attacking the city? That makes no… sense…”
Bekins couldn’t finish his sentence. Far off, atop the wall where soldiers were fighting desperately, something finally revealed itself.
Judging by its silhouette alone, it was undoubtedly a monster.
It impaled a soldier resisting on the wall with its long, pointed legs and killed it, then punctured other soldiers with the legs sprouting from its back, tipped with venomous stings.
“How many are there?”
As Bekins blankly stared, the countless monsters that had been lurking within his field of vision began to appear all over the walls, causing him to involuntarily stumble back.
There were easily two to three times as many monsters as the soldiers guarding the walls, continuously climbing over the walls and flooding into the city without respite.
“Hurry, block them!”
Though he belatedly gathered himself and shouted at the soldiers he had just mustered to defend the wall, it was already a den of enemies more numerous than allies.
“Could those be… poisons…?”
When several monsters that had climbed the walls forcefully sprayed something, the soldiers covered by the substance screamed in agony, collapsing as smoke enveloped them.
Actually, Bekins’ sanity had snapped the moment he saw that scene.
His thoughts stopped in the face of the consecutive, incomprehensible events, as if in a dream.
“Everything is going according to plan.”
In contrast, the queen of the monstrous legion, who had perfectly ensnared the city’s residents in a trap, sat leisurely atop a shock trooper, observing every scene through the connected consciousness.
As regular soldiers swarmed up the walls en masse to occupy the castle, the shock troopers began to break down the massive gates with their heavy bodies.
