An Ominous Premonition
The journey back from Hornst to Edenberg was smooth. With no escort targets to protect and no need to watch for possible pursuers, all we had to worry about were monsters. I set Ratatoskr on top of my head, stretched my arms lazily, and let out a satisfied groan.
“Traveling along the roads really is the best.”
“Kiit.”
I stayed alert, but monster ambushes on established roads were rare. Monsters generally avoided paths used by humans. From their perspective, we were troublesome competitors, much like army ants.
“Building the roads is hard work, but they’re incredibly useful once they’re done.”
“No matter how strong or fierce the monsters are, they know what a city represents.”
“In their eyes, we’ve simply expanded our territory.”
For thousands of years, humanity and monsters had fought over land. This struggle stretched back far longer than a thousand years ago, when the First Great Warrior reclaimed the North. I couldn’t even guess how much blood had been spilled in that time. Yet through that blood-soaked history, monsters and humans had reached an unspoken agreement: they would keep their distance from cities and villages.
To monsters, thick, sturdy walls were difficult shells to crack, and armed adventurers were sharp fangs and claws. If they rampaged too close to a city, powerful fighters would swarm them like angry bees. There was simply no reason for most monsters to approach. Of course, a few cunning ones would settle nearby without causing trouble inside human territory, but they usually respected the boundaries, so there was no need to worry about them.
Besides, adventurers weren’t required to hunt down every monster they spotted. Many monsters disliked competing with humans and deliberately stayed within their own domains. A very small number even chose to coexist with people. A very small number, indeed.
Not all monsters were threats to humanity. More importantly, there simply weren’t enough people to hunt down every dangerous one. Just thinking about those disgusting creatures made me shudder.
“There’s seriously no end to them. What kind of insane breeding rate do they have?”
“Kiit.”
Rata nodded in agreement, sharing my sentiment. There was a reason the North had never gained dominance over the monsters in thousands of years. They were far more ferocious than ordinary animals, and their reproductive capabilities were equally absurd. Their energy efficiency was off the charts—if left unchecked, their numbers would explode until they spilled into human lands. The prime example was the monster wave.
When their exponentially growing population became unsustainable, they turned on each other. Their ferocity spiked, and they destroyed everything in sight. Scholars called it a mystery phenomenon, but simply put, the North periodically needed to cull the monster population. Otherwise, things would get ugly. Cities being wiped out was common. The worst monster wave in history had devastated half the North.
That was why, whenever an omen appeared, adventurers were expected to report to the guild first and begin initial countermeasures. As a former guild employee, I had learned plenty about monster waves. If one broke out, I was confident I could handle it. Of course, the ideal outcome was preventing one from happening at all.
My thoughts flowed along those lines until Goro, walking at the front, suddenly stopped. He raised a hand in a clear halt signal, then stared intently at the sky, his expression hardening.
“...Smoke is rising.”
“Smoke?”
“Yes. Not ordinary smoke—this is the kind produced during battle.”
Coming from Goro, who had the sharpest eyes among us, it carried weight. I looked where he pointed and saw faint but unmistakable dark plumes climbing into the sky. Arash’s face stiffened the moment he confirmed the direction.
“That’s where the village we were supposed to pass through is located.”
“...Damn it.”
We broke into a sprint. Smoke from battle in a village could only mean trouble. And in this insane North, bandits were virtually nonexistent, which meant the odds heavily favored monsters.
The closer we got, the clearer the sounds became—people shouting, monsters screeching. Arash yelled over the noise.
“We’ll be too late if we keep running like this!”
“We can’t burn through our mana while sprinting! With this many monsters, we need to conserve every drop!”
Part of me wanted to ignore the cost and rush in as fast as possible, but mana wasn’t infinite. From the sounds alone, there were at least several dozen monsters. To handle that many, I had to save even the smallest amount of mana. Yet moving too slowly would increase the damage to the village. While we were caught in that dilemma, Goro’s face suddenly lit up with realization.
“What about your summons! Can’t we ride them?!”
“Huh?”
“Ikelos! It looks like a wolf—can’t we mount it?!”
Genius.
The moment I understood, I snapped my fingers without hesitation. Summoning circles bloomed in the air, and Ikelos entities burst forth. Without slowing down, we leaped onto their backs. Reading my will, they adjusted their shards for comfortable seating and smoothly shifted form from wolves to horses.
The newly formed magnificent steeds kicked off the ground and charged toward the village at incredible speed.
“Hihihihng!”
They even let out proper horse neighs to match their new shapes. The distance to the village shrank rapidly. Once the dark smoke was close enough to see clearly, the situation came into focus.
A thick wooden wall separated the defenders from the monsters in a full-blown siege. Magic and arrows flew everywhere. Troops made up of mana users patrolled the top of the wall, desperately holding back the creatures trying to climb over.
“Hold the line!”
“They’re breaking through the wall!”
“Reserves! Move to the breached section and deploy the shock shield wall!”
“Kieeeeeeek!”
“Kiiiik!!”
I watched the disciplined way they moved and frowned at their equipment.
“Why is the constabulary here?”
The constabulary was a military force created by nobles who couldn’t entrust the North’s security solely to adventurers. Organized purely for maintaining public order rather than political checks, they frequently cooperated with the adventurer guild—which was why I immediately recognized their uniforms. Plate mail and iron weapons were the standard issue that symbolized the constabulary.
While iron equipment tended to be looked down on in the North, it was still iron. An irreplaceable material throughout human history, it was the most commonly used equipment even among Central knights. Good iron was still widely used in the North, often outperforming the materials of lesser monsters.
“Don’t fall to this measly number! We are Edenberg’s shield!”
“Ha!”
We had been staring in a daze at the constabulary’s fierce defense, but we quickly snapped out of it and joined the fray. The situation was clearly abnormal, so we had to help. Fortunately, the majority of the attacking monsters were War Ants, so we charged straight into their ranks without hesitation.
Two Ikelos maintaining wolf form crushed War Ant carapaces with massive jaws. Arash and Goro swept through the horde with a huge greatsword and bow respectively. While they carved a path, I snapped my fingers again.
A massive summoning circle drew itself in the air, and from it emerged a heavy, imposing figure.
Thud!
“Rune Golem! Sweep away everything you see!”
At my command, the Rune Golem swung its massive arm. War Ants struck by the huge stone fist screamed as they were sent flying. Our surprise attack on their undefended rear immediately changed the monsters’ behavior.
“Kiiiik!”
One specimen that seemed to be the commander screeched loudly and shook its antennae. The rear ants immediately turned their abdomens toward us. A suspicious liquid dripped from their rear ends, bubbling on the ground and releasing toxic gas.
I grimaced at the sight.
“Damn it. Are those acid artillery ants?”
“Looks like it.”
“Get off the Ikelos. I’m sending all my summons over there.”
“I’ll help too.”
Arash leaped from his mount and swept his greatsword through the approaching monsters. Each step cratered the earth as the massive blade cut horizontally. The monsters couldn’t advance even a single step closer. In that opening, the Ikelos and Goro’s arrows rained down on the acid artillery.
“Grrraaawr!”
“Grrrr!”
The wolf-formed Ikelos tore into the artillery ants’ heads while Goro’s arrows struck their abdomens with perfect accuracy. The creatures collapsed before they could even fire properly. With the artillery unit broken, the commander entity shrieked in rage.
“Kiiiiiiik!!”
It looked like it was scolding the other command units, so I wasn’t about to just stand by and watch.
“Your rear is under attack. How can the commander stand boldly at the front like that?”
I broke through the War Ant ranks before they could properly reorganize. Each clean swing of my sword sent an ant’s head rolling across the ground. Before the command creature could respond by spraying pheromones—
Shunk!
“Ki…iik.”
I drove my blade deep into its head—so deep that only the hilt remained visible—then pulled it free. Viscous fluid sprayed across the ground, and the War Ants’ movements changed completely. The creatures that had moved as one organic unit moments before now collided with each other and disrupted their own lines.
The moment the ants fell into chaos, both the constabulary and the monsters noticed the shift.
“Krrrk?”
“Gek.”
The monsters fighting at the front glanced around nervously, then fled. As if they had never wanted to be part of this fight, they retreated into the forest without hesitation. The constabulary forces immediately poured out from the walls to take their place.
“The command entity is dead!”
“Now! Attack while they’re disoriented!”
“Take them out before they regain their senses and run!”
At the decurions’ passionate shouts, the constabulary, village militia, and adventurers surged forward to finish off the War Ants. With the acid artillery and command entity gone, they fought with vengeful fury to repay the damage they had suffered. As they mopped up the remaining monsters, the commander who had been defending the village approached us.
The man in splendid armor gave a crisp salute, striking his chest in the manner of a true warrior.
“I am Krim, senior decurion of Edenberg.”
“I am Argo, a Bronze-grade adventurer.”
“Thanks to your assistance, we were able to protect Ebil Village. We will ensure proper compensation through the constabulary at a later date.”
“More importantly, I’d like to know what’s going on.”
I was curious why monsters had invaded this place and why the constabulary was defending it. Since I had been away on a quest and completely out of the loop, I asked for an explanation. Instead of Krim, a familiar friend stepped forward.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll explain it.”
“Anel? You being here means…”
The moment I realized the guild receptionist was present, the entire situation clicked into place. The constabulary, adventurers, a War Ant-centered assault, acid artillery units, and an intelligent creature using its own kind as meat shields. Combined with the recent quest to subjugate the War Ant outpost, the full picture emerged.
I smiled wryly.
“So a problem occurred while clearing out the outpost.”
“As sharp as ever. You’re right—it’s grown far bigger than we expected.”
Anel returned the wry smile and nodded.
“Come inside first. We can’t neglect adventurers returning from a completed quest.”
“I’ll gladly accept the hospitality.”
We left the cleanup to the constabulary and adventurers and entered the village, determined to find out exactly what had happened.