Chapter 64: Monsters of the Abyss (3)
“Everyone, get back! Block them!”
Orote, the large warrior known as the strongest fighter, was effectively acting as the assault commander.
He charged toward the city that was under attack by the monsters, leading his fellow warriors.
“This beast!”
Standing at the forefront, he leapt into the urban area and swung his softly glowing sword down at the monster attacking the people.
“Kyuk?!”
However, the opponent was not just a simple beast.
Among the legionnaires was a quadrupedal assault-type legionnaire, categorized as medium-sized, its feline-like upper body and muscles having been enhanced by the legion’s modifications. It evaded his sword and then swung its powerful foreleg to strike him.
Its weight and size were greater than an ordinary tiger.
Having summoned all his strength to block the shock emitted from its compressed muscles, he barely managed to avoid falling. However, it was a blow strong enough to bend his shield.
“Ugh!”
He discarded his shield and thrust his sword into the forehead of the legionnaire, which charged at him with sharp, glinting teeth akin to saw blades.
The sword, imbued with magic, shattered the sturdy helmet, considerably splitting the legionnaire’s head.
‘What the hell is this?’
Orote gasped for breath. Though young, he was a veteran with considerable experience.
He had fought many large beasts in countless caves for hunting. Yet, the enemy he faced now, while definitely resembling a beast, was different from one.
‘It’s chilling.’
Even in the heat of battle, there were no cries or howls of agony, only a silence that echoed with the fearlessness of death reflected in its gleaming eyes.
Feeling an instinctive fear that his current opponent was not a normal foe, Orote was jolted from his thoughts.
“Orote! Help me here!”
“Oh no! Ella!”
Gasping for air, he hurriedly ran towards the frantic voice calling for him.
“Re’l is trapped!”
“Wait. I’ll get her out!”
Clicking his tongue, he exerted himself to lift the stones that were burying the little girl.
Though one of her legs was crushed, she was alive.
“How is this possible…”
However, they were soon surrounded.
Medium-sized spider-type legionnaires, based on cave-dwelling giant spiders, moved their eight legs covered in armor, the large fangs dripping with venom clicking ominously.
These creatures were larger than humans and wore a carapace all over their bodies, akin to crabs.
‘These ones are similar.’
Orote clenched his teeth as he gazed at the glowing crimson eyes.
He hid the woman and the injured child behind him.
“I will protect you no matter what.”
With that resolve, he swung his sword with all his might at the charging spiders.
He slashed through the legs that sought to take advantage of his openings and split the mouths that aimed to bite him in half.
“Ugh!”
Channeling superhuman strength, he clutched the leg that tried to pin him down and smashed it down.
The massive spider lifted and slammed into the ground, flailing helplessly.
‘I can do this.’
The markings inscribed on his body glowed brightly.
The Sacred Tree was with him. Everyone was together.
In the end, he cut down the last spider.
“Awawawawa! Orote!”
“Ella!”
However, while he was battling the spiders, talons from a soaring bird of prey swooped down and snatched both the woman and the child.
“Aa… Aaaah!”
Grabbed by the talons, she was already crossing through an airspace dominated by aerial types.
The battle-type flying creatures, based on giant hornets, ensnared her with their elongated legs tipped with the bird’s claws, piercing her with a stinger tipped with venom.
Though it was a stinger, the size of the flying creature was akin to that of a bull.
“Ugh… ugh…”
It pierced through the child held in her arms, and the flying beast retrieved the stinger, discarding the bodies onto the ground.
The lifeless bodies fell, shattering against the rocky floor in the chaotic battlefield. Orote watched the whole scene unfold in despair.
“Ugh!”
With a roar filled with rage, he charged at the nearby monster.
“What in the world are you?!”
Kicking off the ground and launching himself through the roof, he slammed his sword down onto the giant’s back.
With the extraordinary force he summoned, he penetrated the head of the mining-type legionnaire, which was larger than a dump truck, instantly. Gripping the hilt of the sword buried deep within its body, he endured the wobbling form before yanking it out from the collapsed corpse.
“Quickly… get out of the way.”
He strained to call out, seeing those who were about to be attacked.
As he watched them flee, he pointed the sword he had drawn from the corpse. Looking down at his body, he saw the markings glowing brighter than ever.
‘Is this what Lord White meant by growth? That enduring trials would have this kind of meaning?’
Exhaling slowly, he turned his body around.
A new enemy appeared.
With a straightened spine, slender yet agile, and a body that was both flexible and resilient.
Four arms and a tail that moved freely.
“Using swords! Such beasts!”
He exploded with anger.
The versatile upper-class legionnaire that came to confront him moved solely with the intent to kill him.
Four swords and a tail that moved erratically targeted his vital points.
“Hugh…”
He managed to block all four swords, but a tail that arched forward pierced one of his legs.
‘These kinds of bastards.’
He suppressed the pain and held his ground, attempting to swing his sword.
Or rather, he tried to. His body began to harden against his will.
“Ugh…!”
Black veins began to spread out from his pierced leg.
Though the aura in the air could be blocked by the Sacred Tree’s purification, that which was injected directly into his body was insurmountable.
“Hugh…”
But as he grasped the situation, he instead chuckled.
Simultaneously, he seized the arm of the legionnaire.
“Do you think I’ll just die alone…?”
Even as the black veins crept up to his face, he remained steadfast and did not lose consciousness.
At the same time, he used magic to overload the markings engraved on his body, beginning to go berserk.
“You are certainly… a lieutenant…”
And with a powerful impact, his body exploded. A shockwave strong enough to shatter the barrier of the upper-class legionnaire.
Both forms were reduced to nothing but minced meat.
“Too many…!”
“This way… Aaah!”
With the proper collision, the Moonlight Fairies began to be pushed back.
Though they displayed a power beyond the calculations of the legion, ultimately, it was all for naught.
All that echoed in this place, once known for its mightiest of warriors, was the cries and screams of fairies amidst a desperate bloodbath, where one had self-destructed alongside an upper-class legionnaire.
There, they set foot.
At least dozens of them activated the power sources within their heart.
What they aimed for was the Sacred Tree at the center of the city.
Their purpose was to bring down that place safeguarded by special spells.
‘Destroy it.’
The command was given. The half without tails spread their carapace and revealed a pair of transparent wings to take off into the sky.
Using Formancy to distort the laws of physics, they could now fly even in bodies that were impossible to take flight.
The others quickly launched off the ground, charging ahead.
“They’re coming! Chief!”
“Hold your ground. We are with the Sacred Tree. It is the only way to protect our kin.”
The chief, seated in front of the Sacred Tree along with others, gripped the golden hammer tightly.
She was the only one left with the talent to partially comprehend and decipher the curses of their ancestors, much of which had been lost in the past.
‘They are the waves, the plague, the calamity.’
Taking a deep breath, she swung the hammer down.
The attackers were now rushing through the air with elongated weapons, like spears.
She realized the reason why so many monsters ravaging the city had not attacked this place.
They were waiting for those who would break this spell. And those flying or leaping toward her now were just that.
“Die, wicked monsters of the Abyss!”
As the spell she activated burst forth, the amassed magical energy shot out like shells.
The upper-class beings hovering in the air resonated their barriers together to fend off the shells.
But because of that, the chief bought time. Now, this way, they could endure longer.
‘Now that is the only hope.’
She bit her lip.
The last and only hope was slipping away through a tiny crack.
She was venturing out to seek help from the only force that could assist them.
After all, it was crucial to save their lives first.
“Everyone! Just a little more! The humans of the surface cannot allow those terrible monsters to go unchallenged!”
She encouraged those around her who were sharing magic and lending strength to the spell.
Indeed, the last remaining hope was right here.
“Ch-Chief…”
“Carlton…”
However, that hope shattered right then.
The chief’s eyes trembled violently as she turned around.
A branch that burst through the trunk of the Sacred Tree thrashed, penetrating the chest of an elder beside her.
[Infection of the Legion. Plants are not an exception.]
“Ah… Ahh…”
Before her eyes, she saw the Sacred Tree being crushed from the inside, cracking in real-time.
What burst forth from the trunk of the Sacred Tree was another corrupted, twisted version of the Sacred Tree.
