The Slingshot of Dread
In the carriage heading to Morta Village, Donghee opened the hidden shop. He wanted to buy something useful with the hidden points earned from completing the palisade construction.
The hidden shop will now open. You currently possess 1,000 hidden points. Would you like to browse the items available for purchase?
"No time to browse right now. Is there anything weapon-like I can buy with 1,000 points?"
You wish to open the weapon shop. 100 points will be deducted as an opening fee. Proceed?
Donghee hesitated. If he spent 100 points opening the weapon shop only to find nothing worth buying, the points would be wasted. After a moment of deliberation, he decided to pay the 100 points and open it anyway.
100 points have been deducted as the opening fee. Your remaining points are now 900.
Donghee's mouth went dry.
The weapons available for 900 points are as follows:
1. Boots of Dread (-500p) — Charge forward and kick the opponent's rear, crushing their tailbone. (Accuracy decreases against targets with tailbones longer than two cheeks.) Upgrading for 100p increases speed and adds a tailbone-cutting effect.
2. Snout of Dread (-400p) — A megaphone that speaks quickly and terrifyingly, capable of rupturing eardrums. Upgrading for 100p adds a dramatic blood-flow effect from the ears.
3. Gas Bomb of Dread (-600p) — Releases a noxious gas that numbs the enemy's sense of smell. Three consecutive uses may cause minor visual damage. Requires maximum rear protrusion to fire. (Effect may decrease if the sphincter flaps due to aging. Regular Kegel exercises recommended upon purchase.)
4. Dread 18 Slingshot (-800p) — A literal slingshot. Can be aimed and fired at targets. (Accuracy depends on the user's skill.) 18 shots per charge. 10 points per recharge.
What the hell.
Donghee regretted it the moment he saw the pathetic list, but it was too late. He had to buy something, yet nothing stood out. And what on earth was a flapping sphincter?
He wanted to curse at the vulgar and pathetic weapon list the status window had presented.
"I'll take number four, the slingshot."
With no other choice, he bought the slingshot and spent the rest of his points on ammunition.
You have purchased the Dread 18 Slingshot and 10 recharges. You may fire a total of 180 shots. As a first-purchase bonus, 10 free shots have been provided. The status window is generous, after all. Your total usable shots are now 190. Heh heh. Happy hunting.
Donghee frowned as he studied the explanation, his brow furrowing at the final line.
Hunting?
Could monsters be descending from the Black Forest? If so, the situation was more serious than he had thought. Donghee looked at Handsome, who sat across from him with an anxious expression.
"Handsome, tell the coachman to go faster."
"It's Cullens!"
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
"Do not leave your positions!"
The dark mass pouring out of the Black Forest was no storm cloud. Red Bear stared in horror at the enormous swarm of Cullens before snapping back to his senses and shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Archers, ready!"
Grace Territory had fewer than twenty archers. The Grace Knights were already pitifully few in number, and they had never had the luxury of maintaining archers as well. Moreover, knights who wielded swords often viewed bows as cowardly weapons and avoided them.
Red Bear resolved to reorganize the knight order once this crisis passed.
It was fortunate that the defense candles had burned out, raising the possibility of a monster invasion, so the few archers had been hastily gathered.
At Red Bear's command, the archers raised their bows toward the sky in unison. The sound of bowstrings being drawn taut made everyone hold their breath as they stared at the approaching monsters.
Flap, flap!
The sound of massive wings slicing through the air was like hundreds of enemy banners fluttering at once.
God, protect Grace. Protect the people of Morta Village.
Red Bear gazed straight at the incoming Cullens and prayed earnestly for the first time in his life. He bound the hand gripping his sword tightly with a leather strap. It was his vow never to let go of his sword as long as he lived.
Red Bear raised his empty hand to the sky. The archers saw it and gripped their bowstrings with thumb and forefinger.
In the suffocating silence that seemed to suck away even their last exhaled breath, only the sound of Cullen wings filled the air. The archers, trembling, licked their dry lips and steadied their breathing.
Flap, flap!
Kiiiiiik! Kyaaaaak!
Time had been too short to dispose of even half the blood-soaked soil and corpses of the Cullen young. Even if they had finished, the blood smeared all the way to the palisade could never have been hidden. Water alone could never wash away the monsters' blood and stench.
When the Cullens entered range, Red Bear lowered his raised hand and roared.
"Fire!"
Shushushuk!
Shuk! Shushushuk!
Arrows flew swiftly through the sky and embedded themselves in Cullen wings.
While the front line fired, the rear line nocked new arrows. As soon as the front line loosed, the rear line fired. Though few, the arrows flew relentlessly toward the approaching Cullens.
Thud! Thud-thud!
Cullens struck by arrows in their great wings flapped wildly and soared higher into the sky.
"Their torso hides are too thick for arrows to penetrate. Aim for the wings!"
Red Bear's commands continued. The arrows shooting skyward threw even the Cullens still out of range into confusion. The tight formation that had flown like a solid rock quickly broke apart, scattering in all directions.
But that lasted only a moment. Realizing there were not many arrows, the Cullens dropped their altitude all at once. The sudden black shadow looming closer made the archers pale, yet they did not stop firing.
Thud!
Thud!
Finally, several Cullens plummeted to the ground. The arrows embedded in their wings had torn the taut membranes, rendering them unable to fly. Yet even as they crashed and rolled, they dug their legs and wing bones into the earth and crawled forward rapidly.
The Cullens crawling toward them with bared fangs were far more terrifying than when they had been in the sky.
Kyaaak!
Five knights at the front of the formation charged toward the crawling Cullens. At the same time, the Cullens gliding through the sky dove straight for the ground.
The knights slashed at the heads and wings of the diving Cullens while the archers fired their last arrows, bringing more monsters down.
Cullen cries and human screams echoed everywhere. A Cullen that had flown at Red Bear with its jaws wide open had its snout cleanly severed by his swinging sword.
"Aaaagh!"
A Cullen seized an archer's shoulder and soared into the sky. It happened so fast that neither the victim nor the onlookers could react.
Kyaaaaak!
A moment later, accompanied by an ear-piercing Cullen cry, the archer's torn body fell to the ground.
Thud! Thud-thud!
The pieces of his body, ripped apart by the Cullen, landed on his comrades' heads.
After that, the Cullens began snatching people one by one and rising into the sky as if by agreement. Some had their heads smashed upon impact with the ground; others fell in pieces.
Fear began to fill the knights' eyes. The will to fight was torn to shreds like the corpses falling before them.
"Maintain formation! Anyone who flees will be executed!"
Red Bear shouted at the wavering knights. Just then, a Cullen much larger than the others folded its wings and flew straight at him with terrifying speed.
"Commander! Watch out!"
Urun, nearby, cried out. The moment Red Bear tilted his head back to look up, another Cullen nearby drove its sharp talons into his side.
"Kuh!"
Red Bear grimaced in indescribable pain, yet he swung his sword and severed the leg of the monster that had embedded its talons in him.
Kyaaaaak!
The legless Cullen bled and flapped, slowly rising into the sky. But it did not fly far before an arrow from somewhere struck it and it fell to the ground.
"Haa, haa."
Red Bear clutched his wounded side, gasping for breath.
As the number of Cullens on the ground increased, the number of Grace Knights steadily decreased. Red Bear shed bloody tears as he watched his subordinates die before his eyes. There was no chance of victory this way.
The worst outcome was the Cullens killing everyone here. The best was the entire knight order dying alongside the Cullens.
Red Bear straightened his crouched back and raised his sword once more. It was at that moment that the massive Cullen circling above him dropped vertically toward him.