Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: The Antiparasitic Test
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“That the rock over there?”
“Looks like it.”
Two days after passing the castle tragedy, they finally found the cone-shaped rock they’d been aiming for.
Usually, a rock described as “shaped like something” was hard to spot unless you knew exactly what to look for, but this one was so perfectly conical—like it had been carved by hand, straight out of a math textbook—that it was unmistakable at a glance.
And to its east, a little ways inland along the riverbank, there was a swampy area.
Whether it truly qualified as a swamp was debatable, but it had scattered patches of quicksand made of sand and dirt that matched the typical features.
The main difference was that the quicksand wasn’t mixed with water—it was dry sand and soil.
Not the kind that swallowed you whole like in the movies, but enough to make walking a hassle.
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
Quicksand should have water by definition, yet it felt dry to the touch—only to suck your foot right in when you stepped. Utterly bizarre.
‘If only I could ask that guy.’
He wanted to quiz Barklan Kedow, the know-it-all with his random trivia, about whether this terrain was natural. But ever since the castle tragedy, the man had stayed dead silent.
Maybe the gruesome sights inside had been too much. There wasn’t much they could do about it anyway, so they’d left him be, hoping he’d snap out of it eventually. Still, it was a shame at times like this.
Especially when facing unfamiliar terrain or foes.
Shaking off the pointless regret, Arsen brushed the dirt from his hand and said,
“I get why those things come all the way to the river to drink.”
“Yeah. And how do these trees even grow here?”
Absurdly, dense trees sprouted amid the waterless quagmire.
Probably sending roots deep underground to groundwater, he figured.
At least the ground around the tree trunks was firm, held together by the roots, so no risk of sinking there.
That was why they were hopping from tree to tree like stepping stones.
“Everyone, stay sharp. They’ll show up soon.”
At Arsen’s warning, the group of over twenty fell instantly silent.
For the next ten minutes or so, only the soft sucking sounds of their feet in the eerie ground broke the quiet as they advanced.
Vazkal let out a faint birdcall—the signal that he’d spotted the target.
‘Here we go?’
Arsen whipped his gaze toward where Vazkal pointed. Sure enough, there they were: creatures matching his description.
The mother bodies or primary hosts of the cold flame worms, presumably.
There looked to be ten or twenty of them, though it was hard to count exactly.
Whatever they were doing, they were clustered together in a writhing, tangled mass.
Bald, slick pink skin, segmented and elongated bodies, featureless faces.
At a glance, they resembled enormous earthworms, but with a few key differences.
First, each had a needle-like proboscis at the head, mosquito-esque. Arsen already knew how deadly that saliva could be.
He’d learned it from the nameless castle lord ruined by parasites.
Whether mating or something else, they thrashed violently in a small clearing, piled atop one another.
Perfect conditions for an attack.
“Take your awakening agents.”
Once he confirmed the soldiers pulling out their prepared doses, Arsen turned to Maroon.
“We strike all at once on my signal.”
“Got it!”
“Quietly.”
“Understood...”
Their appearance suggested poor hearing, but judging a magic beast’s abilities by looks was risky, so Arsen kept his voice low.
After about ten seconds, with everyone ready, he shouted,
“Attack!”
With that, Arsen hurled his spear from the launcher with all his might—explosive function off to avoid damaging the eggs.
The mages’ spells were ice or blunt force, no fire or lightning.
Arsen’s spear hit first, roaring through the air to impale three of the tangled mass.
Thin, piercing shrieks erupted from their proboscises in unison.
The sound made his head throb and spin—some kind of sonic attack, clearly.
Then Maroon’s arrow struck one, and the mages’ spells began freezing the rest.
The survivors unleashed that eerie high-pitched screech in chorus, the resonance building, stinging their ears worse by the second.
“Ngh...”
Arsen clamped his hands over his ears and checked around. Several mages nearby had collapsed, blood trickling from their ears.
The knights endured, grimacing but upright.
Surprisingly, the soldiers seemed mostly fine—likely the awakening agents helping.
Arsen quickly asked Eloise right beside him via earring.
[You okay, Elli?]
[Head hurts...]
She was no better, blood from her ears, staggering. Eardrums burst, maybe.
No time to think—the survivors surged forward at terrifying speed.
[Fall back for now. Watch the rear.]
“Mages! Back!”
He instructed Eloise first, then yelled at the mages, but their reactions were sluggish. Ears damaged, orders not getting through.
Before he could worry, the soldiers who’d heard grabbed the mages’ armor and dragged them rearward.
Bold moves for an emergency, ignoring any offense taken.
“Shields up! Don’t fight—focus on blocking!”
As he commanded, three worms targeted Arsen up front, proboscises lancing from over ten meters away.
Those stubby mouthparts, barely dozens of centimeters at rest, stretched like spears in an instant.
The speed was astonishing—rivaling a skilled knight’s thrust.
With dozens like this, no wonder a knightless force stood no chance.
“Hah!”
Arsen raised his pre-heated shield, batting away the incoming strikes. The brief contact sizzled with burning stench.
Stung, the attackers recoiled their proboscises, writhing.
Anun and Vazkal slashed with weapons; Rino followed suit. Maroon, lacking confidence, hid behind soldiers with the other mages.
The soldiers formed a wall of large rectangular shields, protecting the mages.
Denying any gaps for proboscises to pierce.
“Argh!”
A scream. One soldier writhed, leg impaled—quicksand had sunk his foot, opening a gap in the shield wall.
Yet even in agony, he held firm, maintaining the line.
The epitome of helmet-spirit grit.
“You bastard!”
Vazkal cleaved off the proboscis with his greatsword.
By then, Arsen had charged the worm cluster astride Black Lion.
Anun and Rino followed.
Down from twenty to seven after effective ranged hits.
Three knights covering blind spots could butcher that many without issue.
Rino was a bit shaky, but no injuries.
“Whew...”
Arsen took deep breaths, resting his axe on the ground.
It was smeared with dark, sticky, mucus-like blood.
Tough vitality—halved bodies still attacked—but victory was theirs.
Gazing at the mangled corpses, Anun sighed in relief.
“Stronger than they looked. Could’ve been dicey.”
“Yeah.”
The ambush and strategy made it easy; they were no pushovers.
Single attack pattern, but proboscis speed matched knights, piercing relic armor in one hit.
Nearly twenty could wipe out a couple ordinary castles easy.
Lucky they just laid eggs and raided without swarming.
Victory high faded as Arsen clapped to refocus them.
“Alright, let’s get to it.”
No rest yet—mission first.
Dissecting one cleanly killed, they soon found a white egg cluster.
Simple internals like their worm-like build made it easy.
“Please.”
“Yeah.”
Infection via water was known, but from a magic beast? Better safe.
Two mages per pair: one held a water-filled box, the other telekinetically transferred eggs contact-free.
‘Next up: humans...’
Last step: test the antiparasitic derived from these eggs on people.
Meant scouting nearby castles for victims.
Bandits tempting, but contaminated blood might alter effects—too risky.
Then Eloise called via earring.
[Sen.]
She looked glum, treating the leg-stabbed soldier.
[One soldier’s infected.]
* * *
Apparently, these worm beasts injected eggs on stab.
Wound healed, but Eloise’s exam found an unknown larva inside the leg.
They retreated to safer ground; Arsen explained to Miro and got consent.
Using him as a guinea pig for untested magic medicine—and he nodded firmly.
“Understood.”
Arsen paused, then pressed,
“You get it? You could die.”
“Not to question my grasp, but sitting tight means death or amputation anyway, right?”
“...Yeah.”
“Then I’ll take it.”
His matter-of-fact tone hushed everyone; he grinned and elaborated.
“You’re the best knight and captain I’ve ever met. Who else arms rootless villagers like us with top gear and turns us into real warriors?”
“...I see.”
“You know all our personal troubles, check on our aches, lead the charge into danger. Joined half-assed at first for Rino, but now? You say fire, I walk in. My brother too.”
Arsen knew this soldier: Miro.
Twin brother Maro; both hunters Rino recruited.
Not the sturdiest, but great at forest navigation, star-reading for directions.
Arsen memorized all his men’s names and traits.
Like Maro: strong but dim, prone to mistakes.
So he paired the twins for mutual cover.
To Arsen, earning life-or-death loyalty meant this baseline care.
Their journey was brutally harder than settling as garrison troops.
He’d figured resentment built up, but small gestures had hit deep.
Glancing around, other soldiers nodded agreement.
Throat tight, Arsen restrained emotion.
“Thanks. And stay safe.”
Pure wish—not for the drug to work via Valtares, just that his man live.
He stepped back; Eloise approached with the egg-derived potion.
Faint purple hue screamed unhealthy—poison at root, naturally.
“Drink.”
What happened next? Untested.
Cure or toxin burst killing faster?
Under all eyes, Miro squeezed his shut and gulped it down.