novelraw Chapter 8 : Humans Worse Than Monsters (1)
Chapter 8 : Humans Worse Than Monsters (1)
Humans Worse Than Monsters (1)
The moment Yaran's head was pierced, a soldier cut off the Lizard's tongue with his sword.
― Kieeek!!
While the Lizard, having lost its tongue, screamed in agony, another soldier swiftly beheaded the creature with a surprise attack.
Some soldiers trembled at the death of their comrade, while those familiar with such events acted quickly and continued to face the monsters.
Naturally, since they weren't even knights, none of them could see the Lizard's movements or the speed of its tongue with the naked eye.
Therefore, they had to respond by having the soldier with the shield take the attack and then exploit the Lizard's openings.
No matter how fast those monsters attacked, they couldn't pierce a sturdy shield.
It didn't matter how fast those lizards were. As long as the attack could be blocked, that was enough.
By blocking, the soldier behind, lying in wait, had the opportunity to counterattack.
Had the shield not been that durable, they wouldn't have ventured to the front themselves.
One person defended, while another, hidden behind, would strike the neck with a surprise attack.
If this combination was lacking, their own heads would have flown off in the blink of an eye.
'But what's up with that bastard?'
After dealing with a Lizard, one of Odun's squad members glanced at Louis.
Louis was hiding behind a shield, acting as the attacker.
He was now fighting in the same formation as the others, but just earlier, the scene had been unbelievable.
When that guy Yaran had been killed by a tongue piercing, Louis had definitely dodged by rearing back his head.
Originally, the one who should have died was not Yaran, but Louis.
If he'd died back then, the squad leader would have vented his anger and been satisfied.
'How did he dodge that?'
Odun's squad members had built up combat experience from their days as thieves.
Since they'd always been a team, their coordination was still strong.
Even for them, it took at least two people per monster to take one down.
But what about Louis? How the hell did that bastard do what even we couldn't see...?
Pssht!-
A soldier, distracted as he looked at Louis, was impaled through the head by a Lizard's extended tongue and collapsed.
Normal shield coverage protects the upper body. Lizards also usually targeted that area during an attack.
It felt as if the creatures, lacking intelligence, struck any body part at random.
The problem was that this casually extended attack landed precisely on the head, which wasn't protected by the shield.
"Hiiik!"
When the shield-bearer fell, the attacker who had been hiding behind was exposed.
The Lizard lunged as if it had found a delicious prey in the frightened soldier.
Splat!-
At that moment, there was a sound like flesh being split in two—but the soldier was unharmed.
The charging Lizard had been struck and split in half instead.
"You damn fools."
Kelton, having sliced down the Lizard in one blow, sneered at the scared soldier.
With that last monster slain, all the Lizards were finally exterminated.
The number of monsters defeated by the soldiers was only what cluttered the ground, while the piles slain by the two officers formed veritable mountains.
The soldiers gulped in awe at the overwhelming difference.
Even though they themselves were covered in wounds, the two had not a single injury.
"Move quickly! We have to leave before a higher-rank one arrives!"
At Kelton's command, issued with overwhelming strength, the soldiers resumed following.
But not everyone obeyed.
"What are you doing?! Get over here now!"
"Wait! Let me get a transfusion!"
Kelton's squad's only woman, Sasha, was touching the blood pooled on the ground.
Excited by the sight of dead soldiers' blood, she began to suck her bloodied hand.
Kelton felt dizzy.
"Hey! I said now!"
"Look, squad leader! It's a flower field! The ground's covered in beautiful life!"
Sasha was a girl who felt strange impulses when she saw bright red blood.
She believed that because blood was human life, consuming it would replenish her own lacking life.
Convinced that blood was a panacea, she tried to suck it the moment she saw it.
It was an extremely bizarre nature for a girl of only fifteen.
"You're all probably exhausted from the fight! So come over and absorb some life to regain your strength!"
"That crazy bitch!!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Kelton activated a torture spell.
Sasha screamed as current from the spell coursed through her.
"Kyahhh! Kyahahahaha!!"
At first, it seemed like a scream of agony, but soon her expression twisted as she began to laugh.
She appeared to delight in the dreadful pain as if even suffering was a joy to her.
Was she even registering pain as pleasure? Seeing that torture seemed useless, Kelton bit his lip and threatened her.
"There'll be plenty of time to drink blood later, so shut up and follow!"
"Really? Thank youuu!! Kyahahahahaha!!!"
Kelton clutched the back of his neck in exasperation.
"Ha... I really want to get out of here."
He felt like he would die of stress if he stayed any longer in the 7th Legion.
.
.
.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. The only answer is to get out of here! This place is hell!"
"I'm sick of it, so for god's sake, stop repeating yourself."
Leading the resuming expedition, Kelton muttered as if possessed.
How many times had it been now? Odun couldn't help but sigh, completely fed up.
"Did you see that Sasha freak? She doesn't obey orders! It's not just her—the rest of my squad is the same. That guy Yaran earlier, too. I want to kill them all."
"Even if you're going to, you know we have to do it discreetly, right?"
"That's why I hate being here even more!"
The soldiers were trash that had rolled in, but manpower was manpower.
Even if you killed them, you had to use them as a shield to block monsters in the process.
"You saw it, too, just now, didn't you? Laughing while being tortured. How the hell am I supposed to manage psychos like that? Odun, do you think this makes sense?"
"To be honest, my squad is at least smarter than yours."
Even though his guys were former thieves, they followed Odun's orders relatively well.
It was more of a survival tactic, but still better than outright disobedience.
"You're pitiful, too. If our squads were swapped, I bet I'd be the one desperate to get out."
"You've experienced a nutcase like that yourself, haven't you? See that one back there?"
Kelton pointed at Louis, who was trailing at the back, pulling a cart.
He was the first person who had truly gotten under Odun's skin despite usually taking pleasure in sadistic deeds.
"That guy's got to be the same kind as Sasha. Even when tortured, he kept calling you 'big bro' and 'father', right?"
Not a single private would dare call an officer that way.
There was no doubt Louis was just as insane as Sasha.
"I know. There's no point venting on psychos like that, it just backfires."
Claiming he had a plan, Odun drew a small bottle from his pocket.
"What's that?"
"It's a drug that amplifies fear."
Just a single dose would turn someone into a husk.
When Kelton asked how he got it, Odun said he'd used a lot of network connections and rewards.
"If someone drinks it while scared, the fear they feel toward their target will last a lifetime."
They would live trapped in terror until their dying moment. It was perfect for slaves who refused to submit.
Louis had already survived two failed attempts on his life during this expedition.
Ordinary methods wouldn't work. That's why they needed this drug.
"Will you help me?"
Odun took out a second bottle, proposing partnership.
Figuring this was his last chance to help out a friend before he left for good, Kelton agreed.
"Alright."
Kelton decided it couldn't hurt to help out his friend one last time and accepted the drug.
"We've arrived."
The expedition finally reached the monsters' nest.
It was as wide as a sports field, and in the center lay the eggs that the team had been ordered to recover.
The moment they saw the eggs, the expedition surged forward, ready to claim them and finish the mission.
Odun raised a hand to stop the soldiers. When everyone looked to where he pointed, they were appalled.
On both the left and right walls were multiple crevices housing enormous reptilian monsters, all asleep.
"Thankfully, they seem to be sleeping."
"Squad leaders, what now?"
"What do you think? Grab the eggs and get out. Just be as quiet as possible."
Middle Lizards.
That was the name of the monstrously large creatures sleeping in the cave—they were all evolved forms of the Lizards they'd just fought.
There were far more of them than before, and their strength was on a different level.
Even for Odun, taking them all on at once was impossible. Even if he joined forces with Kelton, whose skills were similar, it would still be suicide.
Most of all, what if a higher-rank monster showed up while they were dealing with these?
That would mean mission failure—and the worst possible end.
'So that's why they set up those traps.'
At the end of the cave they could see piles of bones covered by a transparent membrane.
It seemed to be made from the creatures' own molted mucus, serving as both bundle and cover.
Inside the clear mucus membrane, human corpses were piled up—a revolting sight.
The viscous mucus stuck to the wall, holding the bundle in place. But the wall was so fragile, it looked dangerously unstable.
'This wall could collapse with the slightest touch.'
If there was a loud noise from the wall falling, the monsters would wake up.
Of course, there was no way a person would accidentally set off a trap like that.
It was designed to catch monsters, not humans. No one in their right mind would get caught by it.
"Hurry."
"Yes."
"Keep it down."
"...."
At Odun and Kelton's command, soldiers began loading eggs onto carts.
They had to be as quiet as possible while also hurrying, making the job challenging.
As they carried the eggs back, everyone was careful not to bump into each other.
Watching the eggs pile onto the carts, Kelton muttered quietly.
"Would've been nice to have some horses."
"What could we do? Horses are resources too. We can't just toss them to the monsters like we do with soldiers."
If they'd brought horses, they would have died en masse just like the soldiers.
Unlike the expendable soldiers, horses were relatively valuable.
"Still, it's an imperial order; couldn't they spare just one horse?"
"Still, I'm impressed you dragged that heavy thing all by yourself."
There were several carts. Since they had to carry so many eggs, each was quite large.
Even with wheels, it was usually best for multiple people to work together to pull them.
But then, there was Louis.
While others pulled together, Louis hauled one entirely on his own.
Whether it was innate or not, he wasn't someone to take lightly.
"Hey, big bro, if we really pull this off, will we get a reward too?"
Just then, as he was carrying eggs, Louis asked Odun.
Other soldiers, ears pricking up, looked over at Odun.
"Reward? Of course. If you survive, that is."
At that answer, the soldiers brightened. Louis pressed on.
"So, can survivors get the share of those who died?"
At Louis's question, the soldiers' expressions changed.
In this hellish place where death could come at any time, reward was their only hope.
To get it, nothing else mattered.
Reading their faces, Odun declared boldly,
"Yeah. The most useless one dies, the survivor takes their share. And do you know who's the most useless one here?"
Two soldiers grabbed Louis by the arms.
Odun approached the now defenseless Louis with a vial in hand.
"That'd be you."
"Right, but are you going to give me a chance? If I survive after taking this, you'll let me live?"
"What if you fail?"
The moment he drank, he'd be consumed by terror and lose his mind.
Even if Louis endured, he'd have to spend his life sniveling at Odun's feet.
If he couldn't even manage that...
"He'll kill himself. Within an hour."
The drug was that terrifying.
No matter how strong-willed you were, it filled you with suicidal fear.
"But, big bro, are you sure this is the right time to turn your attention to me?"
"What, already scared?"
At that, Odun and the soldiers scoffed as if to say "what are you talking about?"
But they really were distracted.
"Uhahaha! The smell of blood!"
It was then that a girl's laughter rang out.
"Huh...?"
Suddenly, when everyone turned to look, they were horrified.
Sasha was touching the membrane trap.
"Why is SHE over there?!"
Sasha had climbed on top of the mucus dome.
Every rushed to stop her, but she was already diving into the pile of bones inside.
"This must be the sea of life!"
Between the bones, there was still flesh and blood.
Sasha declared she had entered the sea of life and started swimming among them.
"No!"
"Stop!"
The membrane, acting as a basket for the bones, was anchored to the fragile wall.
As Sasha moved inside, bones spilled out and the wall collapsed.
The trap finally worked—the cave echoed with a loud crash.
In other words, a monster trap...caught a human.
― Krurk?
― Krrrrrrrk!
The awakened monsters stared in this direction, roaring.
"YAAAA!"
"I can't believe that bastard!!"
Odun and Kelton shouted in rage, fit to weep blood.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Way to go Sasha!!!
【٩(^ᗜ^ )و】