SOTBW - 74

“These damned little things!”

A soldier cursed as he swung his sword at the creature. It wasn’t so much a strike as it was a downward swipe, but considering the overwhelming roars of the Serith creatures, it was a far braver choice than crawling across the field fully armed like a coward.

The soldier’s words were true. The smaller creatures increased as the days went by. “Little things” referred to creatures that were smaller than the average size of a Serith. Normally, Serith would be at least the size of an adult human or slightly smaller, but around the time when Najane first entered the field, or maybe even earlier, particularly small Serith began appearing.

Some creatures were as small as a child or wild dog. Najane had once struggled when a small Serith bit his ankle.

At first, no one took the appearance of these unusually small creatures seriously. The situation was too dire for anyone to concern themselves with the Serith’ biology, and in fact, many thought smaller creatures would be advantageous for the battle.

However, once they arrived at the Noctis Fortress and scholars began researching the Serith, they had to seriously discuss why the creatures were getting smaller. As the days passed, larger and larger Serith appeared, and fortunately, some scholars began to sense that something was happening beyond the border.

The Serith were getting smaller, while the adults were multiplying. What did that mean? The competition for survival among the Serith had become more intense.

The creatures grew by eating the cocoons discarded by the adults, gradually increasing in size before hunting humans. The larvae of Serith, born from the adult’s flesh, were tiny—similar to baby spiders. So, the fact that smaller larvae were gathering at the fortress meant that there were no more viable cocoons for them to feed on.

The evolving larvae and the hungry adults would inevitably smell human presence and flock to the Noctis Fortress. The kingdom of Bastronia was barely holding up with human strength alone. If enormous adults, never seen before, surged into the fortress, the outer walls would fall and the defenses would be in jeopardy.

If the number of Serith attacking became too great for the knights to handle, the fate of the Noctis Fortress and the kingdom was almost certain to be sealed. However, scholars could only predict the future. Their homeland no longer had young soldiers or heroes to throw into the field.

Najane picked up a discarded shield and slammed it down onto the Serith’ head. Despite being at the rear, near the walls, the roar of the adult Serith made her limbs tremble.

Yet, the soldiers did not waver. In fact, they seemed to be bracing themselves, glancing nervously at the areas where the adult’s roars echoed. If there had been only young soldiers here, Najane would have used her sword’s aura to deal with the situation.

The atmosphere was different from usual. Najane sensed this too. The rear was now packed with mercenaries.

The large mercenaries wielded maces or horseman’s flails, crushing the Serith with ease. They weren’t like the young, confused soldiers; they knew exactly what they were doing.

They didn’t rush towards the fallen adult Serith in a frenzy, nor did they break formation or panic like the young soldiers, even scolding them when they grabbed the necks of confused boys, telling them to hold fast and keep fighting. It was clear that the mercenaries were competent—Najane couldn’t help but admire their skill.

Najane watched the mercenaries at work, then slammed her elbow down on an approaching Serith and cut it down with her sword. Fire arrows occasionally shot from the walls, setting the creatures’ heads ablaze. The situation on the field wasn’t as bad as she feared.

She stayed close to her position, methodically clearing the creatures. Every time she swung the sword forged by Gwyneth, it felt like she was cutting through taut fabric with precision. Fighting the Serith wasn’t difficult; the real challenge was their numbers and Najane’s stamina.

Najane grasped her sword with both hands and took a moment to catch her breath. A deep thudding sound came from where the third wall stood. An adult Serith, pierced by fire arrows, was howling in agony as it rampaged.

The adult Serith hammered the ground with its fists, smashing soldiers as screams filled the air. Najane continued to fend off the advancing creatures, calculating the distance to the adult.

She felt confident that if she ran at full speed, she could deal with the adult in just a few strikes of her sword’s aura. She had never defeated an adult Serith completely, but failing before didn’t mean she could leave the task to someone else, nor did she want to.

Here, anyone could die quickly and horribly, and Najane knew she wasn’t exempt from that fate. Still, she made her way towards the adult.

Just then, several fire arrows flew from afar and struck the adult Serith in its eyes. The creature let out a grotesque scream, blue blood pouring from its mouth. The mercenaries, sensing victory, threw chains with hooks at the adult’s body. The creature was already wounded by the sword and arrows. With a little more effort, it seemed poised to collapse.

As several mercenaries approached to strike at its neck with axes, tentacles shot from the creature’s mouth. In the blink of an eye, two mercenaries were ensnared by the tentacles and pulled into the creature’s mouth. The sound of human bones cracking and squelching with the organs was sickening. The other mercenaries hesitated, backing away.

The Serith’ tentacles were too sluggish and weak to be effective as whips, but their digestive acid was powerful enough to corrode even metal armor. As the slimy substance dripped from the tentacles, the frozen ground sizzled and melted under the corrosive liquid.

Najane had never seen anything like this. Serith had only ever used their tentacles for feeding, never for attacking humans. This was dangerous.

Najane grabbed her shield, its tip sharp, and firmly held her sword. This wasn’t the same adult Serith from around the Noctis Fortress. This was a creature that had learned new attack methods after hunting humans elsewhere.

Najane, fully tense, swung her sword, sending a blade of energy slicing through the air. The energy struck the monster’s neck with a snap, and the creature let out a long scream as it lost its balance. The area where it was hit froze like ice.

She gripped her shield tightly, hands trembling, and focused. The glistening eyes of the Serith locked onto her, and those around her quickly retreated. The monster roared in her direction, but Najane didn’t give it a chance to move, continuously unleashing sword blasts.

As the flashing light embedded itself like spikes into the creature’s body, Najane rushed forward. Once in range, the monster swung its filthy claws at her. She barely withstood the crushing force with just her shield, deflecting the attack.

Diving beneath the creature’s lower body, Najane lifted her sword high. She sliced upward, tearing through its lower abdomen, and blue blood poured all over her face. She squeezed one eye shut and gritted her teeth, pushing through.

Just as the sword tip pierced through the creature’s skin, a tail shot down from above and landed directly where Najane stood. The creature’s numerous eyes scanned the dust-laden ground below, but it felt no human flesh or muscle being crushed.

“Looking for me?”

As the voice came from below, the creature lowered its head. At that moment, a crescent-shaped blade of energy cleaved through its thick neck. Its massive head tumbled to the ground, and Najane’s image faintly reflected in its scorched eyes.

When the body collapsed, a heavy thud echoed. The soldiers, avoiding the limp tentacles, swiftly set them on fire.

“Commander, behind you!”

A soldier, while dealing with the fallen creature, shouted. Najane quickly turned around. Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind swept through the field. Something propelled the air upward, causing a sudden, sharp wind.

Najane shielded her face with her arms, inhaling sharply as the biting cold wind hit her. The ground shook beneath her as if an earthquake had struck. With frozen blood blurring her vision, she instinctively rolled to the side.

A sharp sound filled the air just above her head. Startled, Najane opened her eyes and saw a Serith she had never encountered before—a massive monster.

Without a scratch, the creature leapt from the massive wall toward Najane. The soldiers screamed, telling everyone to flee, as the creature’s terrifying physical abilities became clear. It swiped its tail, knocking down frozen mercenaries, and swung its arm at the fallen Najane.

She had no shield in that moment. It was too late to run. Clenching her teeth, Najane unleashed a whip-like sword strike.

The energy exploded like a burst of flames, shooting upward. A jolt of electricity coursed through her body as the force of using so much energy overwhelmed her. For a brief moment, she couldn’t breathe, her heart pounding painfully. Struggling to stay balanced, she thrust the sword into the ground. The burning sensation in her palms spread, as if they were being seared.

Someone supported her staggering body. It was Belshua. She looked at him, gasping for breath, and then lifted her head. The monstrous Serith that had been aiming for her collapsed like a felled tree. Behind it stood a familiar face.

“…Commander.”

Maximón pulled the sword from the creature’s skull with a mighty effort. As it was pulled out, blue blood spilled out, and Maximón, stepping on the fallen Serith, looked down at Najane.

“Are you injured?”

“...Not at all.”

Najane shook her head, and the creature’s tail twitched.

The Serith growled low and swung its tail at Maximón.

“Commander!”

Najane shouted in alarm, but as she tried to charge with her sword, Belshua firmly held her back. The force of Najane’s forward movement caused her to end up in Belshua’s arms.

In a fluster, Najane quickly turned to look at Maximón. The tail, once stiff as a scorpion’s stinger, was sliced in half and fell to the ground. Maximón began hacking at the giant creature, whose body was many times larger than his own. The creature let out a horrific sound as it died, struggling to take its last breaths.

The mercenaries, who had been fighting the lesser creatures, watched in awe and fear as Maximón effortlessly tore through the massive Serith. The creature’s body, once as hard as diamond, was now torn apart like a ragged piece of cloth under his sword.

After completely finishing off the creature, Maximón approached Najane. Belshua, aware of Maximón’s gaze, released Najane.

Maximón, planting his great sword into the ground, reached out as though to hold Najane’s face, but withdrew, seemingly uncomfortable with the blood on his gloves. Instead, his eyes filled with worry as he looked at her.

“Did you use your sword energy?”

“…Maybe twice, or was it four times? I’m not sure. The situation was urgent…”

Najane hid the tingling in her palms, gripping her sacred sword tightly. The pain that felt like a knife in her chest still lingered. But she couldn’t speak of it. She didn’t want to worry him, and after all, many others were fighting with injuries of their own.

She looked at Maximón with a questioning look on her face.