Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Catch the Rats, Catch the Rats, Squeak Squeak! (1)
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-Meow.
-Meow, meow.
-Nyaaaaah~!
Cats.
And not just one or two of them. The scent of the blessed catnip tree must have been incredibly potent, drawing far more cats than I had anticipated. One, two, three, five, ten, twenty... At least forty of them, at minimum. They mewled in utter bliss thanks to the catnip tree, wagging their tails and sparkling their eyes. Some batted at the catnip berries with their paws, while others scratched furiously at the trunk. With every action, the blessed catnip tree's fragrance grew thicker, spreading even wider.
-Nyaaaaack!
-Yaooooow!
Cats are different from dogs. Fundamentally, they aren't the type to obey commands. Cats chase only 'pleasure.' They aren't bound by rules or subservient to anyone. The reason mages and witches could handle cats as [Familiars] was because they treated them not as subordinates, but as 'friends.'
That was exactly why I hadn't used the [Submission] skill on them. If I had, I could have dominated the cats, but I wouldn't have gotten the result I wanted.
And what result was that?
Obviously, 'hunting.'
Some of the ratmen were already stunned just by the cats' appearance. Though the ratmen's combat power far surpassed them, the primal 'instinct' based on the food chain between ratmen and ordinary cats still lingered.
No matter how small and weak the cat, at its core, it was undeniably a rat's 'natural predator.'
A fear and terror etched deep into their bones!
It wasn't something ordinary willpower could overcome.
And moreover...
-Fwaaaah...!
The cats, having fully indulged in the blessed catnip tree, began faintly emanating divine power and purification energy from their bodies. Thanks to the blessing bestowed directly by Lynshaka. With every swish of their tails, pure purification energy drove out the filthy darkness. The excited cats gazed into the shadows with glowing eyes, spotting the baby rats hiding within.
Their eyes gleamed with the thrill of discovering a new 'toy.'
-The Goddess Lynshaka of Forest and Earth marvels at your scheme.
-The Goddess Lynshaka of Forest and Earth promises you a special reward.
[Special Quest Generated!]
[Special Quest: Catch the Rats, Catch the Rats, Squeak Squeak!]
[Special Reward: ?]
...A special quest, out of nowhere?
Lynshaka clearly harbored ill will toward Barbason. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened between them.
In any case, a special quest! It was a welcome proposal for me. If I pulled it off well, our relationship with Lynshaka would deepen, and I'd snag a reward too.
Not that it would be difficult.
Now, all I had to do was encourage the cats—just a little, a very little.
I grinned and nocked a new arrow onto the bowstring. And then...
-Squeeeeeeee!!!
I loosed it at the largest, most robust ratman at the center of the pack. The arrow pierced straight through its nape—right into the carotid artery—spraying a massive gush of blood.
-Shwaaaaack!!!!
Blood fountained from the creature's neck. In an instant, the metallic tang of blood filled the air. And nothing stimulated the cats more than that.
-Nyaaaaaaaack!!!
-Haaaaaaaack!!!!
Having caught the scent of blood—the blood of 'rats'—the cats bared their sharp claws and darted into the midst of the ratlings. Their claws, infused with purification energy from clawing at the blessed catnip tree, mercilessly tore into the ratmen's hides and gouged out eyeballs. Something ordinary cats couldn't do, but thanks to Lynshaka's blessing on the catnip tree, they now possessed the power to overpower the ratmen. They had become something like 'mini divine beasts,' you could say. Indeed, their claws and teeth glowed faintly with the purifying energy absorbed from the catnip tree.
"Fear not! Fear not! You are the children of this great demon lord Barbason!"
The ratmen, already frozen stiff at the sight of the cats, scattered in utter panic as the felines began their assault. Aside from a few particularly loyal and strong-looking ones by Barbason's side, most of the ratmen were too busy fleeing the cats to fight.
'What a mess... no, a cat-astrophe...'
As I picked off the fleeing ratmen with arrows, dropping them one by one...
-Slash!!!
Lloyd struck from the right.
-Skreeek!
El carved through from the left, slicing ratmen apart.
The ratmen, plunged into full panic, shoved and trampled each other in desperate bids to escape the underground temple. But that only made it easier for us to cut them down. Heads severed clean off, bodies bisected, skulls pierced by arrows. The ratmen fell one by one. As the horde that had seemed endless began to thin, Barbason started looking desperate.
"Damn it, don't scatter like cowards over a bunch of mere cats!"
Barbason's cloak billowed dramatically. I could see darkness spreading from beneath it, burrowing into the ratmen's bodies.
'No way...!'
I quickly extended Demakushel's shadow, but it was too late.
-Kyaaaaack!!!!
One ratman, struck by the darkness's assault, swatted away a cat clawing at its body. Even with its hide torn by the cat's claws, it showed no hesitation, no fear.
The moment I witnessed that, I recalled a documentary my father used to watch long ago. One of those animal docs with a dry narrator's voiceover.
In it, they showed rats charging fearlessly at cats.
"Damn it!"
All vertebrates have an 'amygdala' in their brains. This 'amygdala' is one of the brain regions that processes 'emotions.'
Emotions.
Joy, sorrow, anger, fear...
What happens if you remove the amygdala that handles them?
Obviously, you can't feel emotions anymore.
Meaning, you can't feel 'fear.'
Rats without an amygdala didn't flee from cats—they even attacked and bit them.
What Barbason had just done was akin to an amygdala removal surgery.
-Kyaaaaack!!!
-Nyaaaaaaaack!!!
-Kieeeek!!!
-Haaaack!!!!
Excited cats versus rats incapable of fear. The area turned into a hellscape in moments. The cats, tasting blood, lunged to rip out their prey's throats, while the fearless rats bit back without fleeing.
"Hahaha, yes! My faithful children, fear nothing!"
Barbason bellowed at the top of his lungs, bursting into manic laughter. That demon bastard... Well, he was a demon, so maybe it was par for the course? I ground my teeth.
'...But it's fine.'
The cats were holding their own even against the fearless rats. Barbason's forces were already in disarray, so if we—me, the cats, El, and Lloyd—coordinated our attack, we could sweep them away. In fact, the ratmen's numbers had plummeted, and even without fear, the number capable of proper combat had sharply decreased.
'Just keep it up like this.'
No time for hesitation. I shot arrows one after another, dropping ratmen, and used [Plant Bind] on the fallen ones to pin them to the ground so they couldn't rise again. Lloyd and El cut through the ratmen without a hint of fatigue.
As the situation didn't improve even after stripping away the ratmen's fear, impatience crept back onto Barbason's face.
-Nyaang!!!
And then, the moment a particularly brave cat raked its claws across Barbason's face...
"Graaaaaah!!!!!"
The tension pooling at Barbason's feet finally erupted.
Barbason glared at me, three thin red gashes marring his face. Gone was the playfulness and leisure I'd seen when we first met. Now, his face burned only with rage—and more rage.
I had a premonition.
'Something's about to blow.'
But with most of his forces wiped out, the only remaining threat was Barbason himself.
"Kukuku... Hahaha, hahahaha!"
...Or so I thought, mistakenly.
Barbason, erupting into mad laughter, thrust both arms out wide. The shockwave that burst from him struck El and Lloyd squarely on both sides, sending them tumbling.
"El! Lloyd!"
They took the initial impact from Barbason, then a secondary blow from crashing into the underground temple's pillars. They couldn't get up easily. Damn it... I swallowed a curse and nocked another arrow.
'Pip, when the hell are you coming back?'
To properly face Barbason, I needed Pip. But there was no sign of him returning. Had something happened on the way? I shoved aside the ominous thought flickering in my mind and aimed another arrow at Barbason. I could see the arrowhead trembling. Ignoring it, I gathered purification energy. Pure purification flowed along the silver arrow crafted from dalnut wood.
"Give it up already, Barbason!"
"Hahahaha!!!"
Barbason burst into guffaws as if I'd told the funniest joke. Then, cracking his black fingers, he thrust them toward the air.
"I'll throw those words right back at you. Why don't you give up quietly now?"
"I'm the one who's winning here. Why should I give up? You idiot?"
"Kukuku, fine. Then this body will make you give up personally... You insolent druid brat. Your pathetic antics end here!"
I sprouted a shieldleaf seed in preparation for the incoming attack. The reinforced breed from Poodle was far thicker and mana-rich than ordinary shieldleaves, offering substantial defense. It should hold at least once.
-Kugugugugu...
But, contrary to my expectations...
-Kugugugugugu...
Barbason's magic targeted the 'prison' holding the half-finished chimera ratmen who hadn't fully transformed yet.