“Anyway… it’s always like this.”
Rudell let out a short sigh as he gazed at the monstrous beasts approaching through the mist in the distance.
Isn’t there always someone like that?
You wash your car with high hopes only for it to rain, or every time you step out, there’s a downpour. Or you miss the traffic light by the slightest margin…
When it seems like things might go well, suddenly trouble strikes, and at this point, you start to wonder if fate just really hates you.
But that thought didn’t last long.
Changing his expression, Rudell resonated with the Holy Sword and lifted his staff. The rest of the party, excluding Eleor, also readied their weapons.
“Summoner! There are too many monsters! It’s dangerous! Hurry and get inside the fortress!!”
Seeing this, the guards shouted anxiously from behind the barricade, but Rudell smiled back at them as if to say it was okay.
It was true that the monsters were dangerous, but to Rudell’s party, they were not particularly troublesome.
Meanwhile, the monstrous beasts closed in to a distance visible to the naked eye…
“Shadow Spike.”
Rudell gathered his magic power and lightly struck the ground with his staff.
Dozens of spikes extending from Rudell’s shadow rapidly spread across the ground, charging toward the monsters, but…
[Kyaaahhh-!!]
[Grrr!! Grgrrrr!!]
Even rotten wood is still wood; a monster is a monster.
Most of them either dodged the attack or, even when hit, the beasts’ thick hides were unpenetrated.
“They’re tougher than I thought.”
Of course, it was just a light shot as a deterrent, not a proper attack.
Just as Rudell had assessed the overall strength of the monsters from the recent attack, he heard…
“F-fired!!”
With Silphier’s shout, numerous missiles shot forth from her mechanical armor.
Missiles flew with long tails, exploding among the beasts, sending some tumbling through the air.
But…
[Grrrrr…!!]
[Kiiiiiih-!!]
Among them, only one or two monsters sustained serious injuries.
Most of the beasts managed to escape the bombing zone, their furious eyes glinting as they began to charge faster across the plain.
[Hweeeeee-!!]
As Silphier let out a scream that was hard to describe upon witnessing the scene, the monstrous beasts were getting closer by the second.
“Don’t let them get near the fortress!!”
Just then, with someone’s shout behind Rudell and his party, numerous arrows and spells were fired towards the monstrous beasts.
The Nord warriors and the adventurers remaining at the fortress had joined forces.
Arrows and spears that cut through the sky began to pour down on the monstrous beasts, but…
“Kaahh!? ”
“Kruek! Kreeeeek!!”
The monstrous beasts had barely taken any damage from Rudell’s magic or Silphier’s projectiles.
Aside from a few attacks hitting relatively weak spots like their eyes or mouths, the beasts didn’t slow down at all and continued to approach.
Before long, the monstrous beasts came so close that Rudell could count their teeth…
“Krrrrrrk!!”
“Kyaak! Kyaahhh!!”
The beasts, now just a breath away, bared their sharp teeth and claws and charged at Rudell and his party.
And at that moment, without a second thought, Leje and Kurt dove into the fray against the monstrous beasts.
The trajectory of their magic-imbued weapons sliced through the beasts, and black blood specific to monstrous beasts burst forth from all directions.
“Kyaaaaah!!!”
“Kieeeek!!”
With a deafening scream, four or so of the monstrous beasts turned into squirming piles of meat, rolling on the ground as Leje and Kurt shook the blood off their weapons, glaring at the remaining beasts.
If these were ordinary monsters, they would have tucked their tails and run away by this point.
However, the enraged beasts had no intention of fleeing, rushing once again towards Leje and Kurt with ferocious eyes.
Of course, Rudell wasn’t going to just stand by and watch.
With far more speed and power than before, the Spear of Shadow flew towards the beasts, and those unable to dodge became skewered piles of meat in an instant.
“Kyaah!! Kyaaaaaah!!!”
“Kkeheh…!!”
Nearly half the beasts were dying and rolling about without even managing to attack properly, yet they still charged at Rudell and his party as if possessed by something.
And thus, a battle erupted between Rudell and his companions as they started taking down the charging beasts one by one.
At that moment…
…?
Feeling an unnatural flow of magic, Rudell turned his head to look at something.
Rudell felt the flow of danger and turned his head to gaze at something in the distance.
What caught his eye was a colossal snowstorm approaching across the plains.
“No way…”
At that moment, a foreboding feeling swept through Rudell’s mind.
In the Eternal Winter Plains, snowstorms were a common natural occurrence.
However, if that snowstorm were to be infused with powerful magic, the story changed.
[Crack!? Krrrraaaak!?]
[Kiieek!! Keeek!!]
The monstrous beasts seemed to sense the unusual atmosphere as they began to back off in panic.
“What’s up with these guys? Why are they acting like this all of a sudden?”
“…?”
Seeing this, Leje and Kurt also voiced their confusion. Gaining confidence from the beasts’ reactions, Rudell hurriedly began to draw on his magic power.
“This isn’t good…”
“What’s wrong? What’s happening?”
Sensing something was off from his expression, Leje asked Rudell.
“It looks like a big shot is arriving.”
“A big shot?”
Leje responded with a puzzled tone to Rudell’s words. Meanwhile, the snowstorm coming from afar had transformed into a monstrous ice storm, showering the ground with enormous ice shards.
Within it, a pair of piercing blue eyes gleamed.
“Charybdis…”
Kurt, observing the scene, clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on his axe. The identity of the threat was none other than Charybdis.
It was a being that had reached the pinnacle of the food chain in the wild and brutal land of the Eternal Winter Plains.
[Groooooaaaar…!!]
A tremendous roar resonated amid the swirling snowstorm, while the snowstorm brought on by Charybdis morphed into a tempest filled with gigantic ice fragments.
Enormous chunks of ice descended upon the ground, and razor-sharp ice shards swirled menacingly in the storm.
The sight alone was enough to elicit extreme terror in those who witnessed it.
“Charybdis!! Charybdis!!”
“Charybdis! Kaburaka!! Karta!!”
In truth, the Nord warriors atop the fortress’s palisade were fleeing in terror, each competently trying to escape.
Even the Nord warriors, who held strength as the utmost virtue and viewed turning their backs in battle as the greatest disgrace, were scrambling to flee before this fearsome sight.
Even the Nord warriors, who consider turning their backs in battle the utmost disgrace, were fleeing in a frenzy at the sight.
The name Charybdis was as good as death here in the Eternal Winter Plains.
“So, can we handle it?”
“Well, it seems pretty difficult.”
Leje seemed to sense the gravity of the situation as she tightened her grip on her sword and asked.
And Rudell had no choice but to shake his head at her question.
In the original story, the might of Charybdis was said to rival that of a dragon.
We’re talking about a real living dragon, not the Main Dragon that was reduced to mere corpses and debris.
Naturally, it was clear that Rudell and his companions were not up to the challenge.
“Brother!!”
Just then, someone called out to Rudell, and when he turned his head, he saw Kahlan approaching with a look of urgency.
“You must escape with us! Charybdis is coming!”
“Seems like that’s what we have to do.”
At this point, it was needless to say that with Rudell’s group’s current abilities, there was no way to deal with Charybdis.
That meant there was only one choice left.
Retreat.
“Leje! Silphier! Lady Eleor…”
It was a pity about Thunder Fang, but there was no helping it in this situation.
Just as Rudell was about to take a step forward…
“If you’re going, then go by yourselves.”
“Kurt? What do you mean!?”
Rudell exclaimed in disbelief at Kurt’s words.
However, it didn’t take long for Rudell to remember why he said that.
“I’ll avenge my family’s enemy.”
With gleaming axes in hand, Kurt’s eyes were ablaze with an intense desire for revenge.
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