Let There Be Massacre (4)
The bloodshot eyes burned crimson, veins bulging prominently along his neck. These were the symbolic marks of a commander’s desperate resolve.
Around him, soldiers who hadn’t even managed to form proper ranks stood in a chaotic mob. Only after their commander’s frantic shouts did they finally fumble into their pockets, desperately trying to load fresh mana stones into their weapons.
Unfortunately, these were the same troops who had already exhausted every last ounce of their firearms’ mana while desperately trying to bring down Beatrice. Most had been too busy fleeing in blind panic to reload.
Kugugugugugugu!!!
“Faster! Faster! If we don’t intercept them now, it’ll turn into a complete melee, you idiots!!!”
A thundering charge that shook the very earth. Orcs averaging two hundred and fifty mentols tall, and ogres reaching four to five hundred mentols. Their ferocious, all-out assault was on a scale that could only be described as a natural disaster.
Whether from the ground-shaking tremors caused by the orc and ogre charge, or from the primal terror they inspired, the legs of the human soldiers trembled like reeds in a gale.
Especially the ones at the very front. An orc standing three hundred mentols tall and an ogre approaching six hundred. Beriberi and Oun—already massive even among their own races—radiated an overwhelming, oppressive presence.
“For Hemonigent!!!”
“Destroy! Crush! Obliterate!!!”
Wooooooooooooooooo!!!
As if answering the majestic roars of Beriberi and Oun, the orcs and ogres unleashed even louder battle cries. They poured even more speed into their savage charge, raising their weapons high to amplify their killing intent.
The Demon Lord’s army’s charge—truly worthy of being called majestic—finally collided with the frantic, disorganized human forces who were still scrambling to ready their firearms.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaang!!!
Crack!Splat!Crunch!Rip!Squelch!Grind!
The orc troops never slowed their momentum, smashing their raised shields straight into the human soldiers. The thick, massive steel shields carried the full weight of orcs charging at full power. The humans in the front line were instantly turned into bloody pulp, their bodies shattering into pieces that scattered in every direction in a scene of utter carnage.
When the ogres swung their arms—like massive stone pillars—the human soldiers were sent flying through the air, their bones pulverized, flailing like broken marionettes.
Every time an ogre’s boulder-like fist slammed down, another flattened, bloody lump that had once been human was created.
Zwoooooong!
“Kuaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
Crrrrrrunch!!!
One human soldier who had barely finished loading a mana stone raised his rifle and fired a mana beam at an oncoming ogre. But a single beam couldn’t pierce the ogre’s hide, which was so thick and tough that even a blade would struggle to cut it. Instead, it only provoked the beast’s fury.
Though the hot mana beam left a deep burn on the ogre’s skin, it caused no real hindrance to its combat ability. Enraged by the attack, the ogre clapped its massive palms together with full force. The human soldier caught between them was flattened like a mosquito, spraying red blood in every direction.
Click. Click.
“Please… please, no…!!”
One of the artillery crew was frantically working on his mana cannon. He flipped open the barrel cover, then the inner cover protecting the mana stone, desperately trying to remove the depleted stone’s locking mechanism.
His hands shook violently. He fought to steady them, pouring every ounce of concentration into restoring his ability to attack as quickly as possible.
Crunch!!!
“Guh…! Kkgh…!”
Even while reloading the cannon, the gunner had been watching his surroundings. Right in front of him, one of the human riflemen died.
The rifleman had raised his weapon horizontally to block an orc wielding a wickedly sharp cleaver. But the orc’s cleaver sliced cleanly through the metal firearm and split the man’s skull in two.
Even though his brain had been bisected and he was already dead, his body apparently hadn’t accepted it yet. A weak, wheezing sound leaked from his constricted throat—the sound of air escaping his lungs. That pathetic little breath, neither words nor a scream, became the rifleman’s final utterance.
“H-hiiiiii…!!”
The orc who had just split the rifleman’s head turned its gaze. It locked onto the gunner, who was still trying to load the mana stone into the cannon with trembling hands.
Having shifted its attention from one fresh corpse to a new target, the orc charged without hesitation, raising its blood-drenched cleaver.
Clack!!
“I-it’s done!!!”
Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!!!
The moment the loading was complete, the gunner slammed the barrel cover shut, skipped aiming entirely, and fired the cannon immediately. The newly loaded mana cannon spat out a red sphere of mana that struck the charging orc dead center.
“H-hii… Serves you right!!!”
A mana cannon powerful enough to shatter even massive boulders. The human gunner knew full well the destructive power of his weapon. Believing he had survived the crisis, he let out a laugh of relief.
The orc had been so close that aiming was unnecessary. Struck at point-blank range, there was no way it could have survived. Or so he thought.
Kiririririck!!Thud!!
“Guh…! Urgh…!!”
Thick black smoke billowed from the explosion caused by the direct hit. From within that darkness, something made of metal spun violently through the air and buried itself diagonally across the gunner’s chest, splitting his ribcage.
With his lungs torn in half and blood surging up his throat, the gunner stared ahead with eyes full of confusion, then looked down at his own body.
As the smoke from the explosion slowly cleared, the orc’s form was revealed—completely unharmed. It had raised its steel shield and endured the blast. Though the shield was now shattered beyond repair from the intense explosion, the orc had weathered the rest of the shockwave with its sturdy armor and naturally tough hide, suffering almost no injury.
What the orc had hurled through the smoke was a fragment of its destroyed steel shield. The shield had broken into three pieces, and it had immediately turned one of those remnants into a weapon.
In his fading consciousness, the human gunner had one final thought: no matter what he had done, he was destined to die today regardless.
Zwoooooong!! Zwoooooong!! Zwoooooooooong!!
“Kuwwoooooooooo!!!!!”
Crunch!!Crrrrrunch!!Kwaaaaaang!!!Crack!!!
Among intelligent races, ogres were counted among the largest. And among ogres, Oun—the ogre chief standing six hundred mentols tall—deliberately charged into the most dangerous areas to keep his allies safe.
His primary targets were groups of human soldiers who had finished loading their mana stones and were trying to form firing lines. He thoroughly crushed any attempt to establish a base for counterattacks.
Of course, they desperately fired their prepared weapons at him. Oun had no choice but to endure the barrage of mana beams and cannon fire. But his muscles and hide, proportionate to his enormous frame, were incredibly thick and tough. As long as he wasn’t hit too many times, his body only suffered some burns at worst.
Besides, in this chaotic melee it was nearly impossible for them to form proper formations without clear orders. Their resistance usually ended after firing once or twice at the ogre chief charging toward them. And for the flock of crows who allowed an ogre chief to get close, only a meaningless, insignificant death awaited.
A corpse whose entire upper body bones had been crushed by Oun’s swinging fist rolled across the ground. Another corpse, crushed to death in Oun’s massive grip, vomited its own intestines from its mouth. A body whose bones had been shattered by Oun’s charging bulk flew through the air in pieces. A corpse slammed into by a human soldier Oun had thrown became one with the thrown body, reduced to a gruesome lump of meat.
“Kuwwoooooooooo!!!!!”
“H-hiiiiii…!!!”
“N-no, not that thing…!!”
“Run!!!”
After annihilating yet another group of human soldiers, Oun let out a fierce roar. The humans who witnessed the horrific scene lost all will to fight. They threw down their weapons and began to flee.
A colossal monster that seemed utterly impossible to defeat. Having lost even the tiniest shred of resistance born from their survival instincts, they turned their backs in panic and ran. They made for perfect targets.
Every human who turned and fled was easily slaughtered by the orcs and ogres. Naturally, not a single one managed to escape.
“The only good human!!!”
Crrrrrrrrack!!!
“Is a dead human!!!!”
Kwaaaaaaaaang!!!
Crunch! Crack! Crrrrrrrrrrrrck!!!!
A gigantic battle axe engraved with a skull whose mouth gaped as if screaming. The gruesome design made it look like something no ordinary human could possibly lift—even five grown men would struggle. Yet Beriberi swung this enormous battle axe with one hand. In his other hand, he held a steel tower shield nearly as large as his own massive frame.
Even so, Beriberi wielded the colossal battle axe with effortless grace. But just because he swung it lightly did not mean it was actually light. The sight of human soldiers being struck by it and dying instantly proved that beyond doubt.
Beriberi charged forward, swinging his battle axe wildly. A human whose body had frozen in fear was sliced cleanly in half from head to crotch. A human who had aimed his rifle at Beriberi was smashed by the flat of the axe and sent flying through the air as a bloody lump of meat. A human whose upper and lower body had been separated crawled desperately across the ground with both arms, only to die shortly after. A human who bravely jumped onto Beriberi’s back and stabbed down with a dagger had his face caved in by Beriberi’s reflexive headbutt, dying instantly against the orc’s steel helmet. The dagger had been aimed at the gap in the armor at the nape of the neck, but a weak human’s strike couldn’t penetrate the hide of a three-hundred-mentol orc.
“Kill them all!!! Crush every last one!!! Cut off their limbs and spray their blood everywhere!!! The corpses of these filthy plunderers will become precious fertilizer for the land of life that Her Majesty will create!!!!!”
The path Beriberi had charged along left a trail so distinct it would have been strange not to notice. A red road reeking of blood. A path of corpses made from scattered blood, guts, and shattered flesh.
After carving out a vivid crimson road of death with a single long charge, Beriberi roared at his allies, his voice boiling with fighting spirit.
At his thunderous command, the orcs and ogres intensified their one-sided slaughter. The battlefield they created was pure pandemonium.
Beriberi raised his blood-soaked battle axe once more. The skull engraved on it was now drenched in gore, with chunks of human flesh stuck in its gaping maw, making it look even more terrifying.
Once again, Beriberi charged forward with a roar.
“For Hemonigent!!!”