Chapter 116
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: 27. Overwhelming. (3)
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As soon as the faint light of dawn crept in, the reveille bell clanged loudly.
The mercenaries, tormented by nightmares and drifting in and out of sleep all night, groaned as they dragged themselves upright. Unresolved exhaustion clung to their faces like stubborn grime.
In just a single day, the group had turned ragged and filthy. They barely splashed water on their faces or scarfed down some food before breaking camp. After all, they hadn't come here for a leisurely field trip—they were hunters chasing beasts. Every moment counted toward completing their mission and getting the hell out.
The bone-deep killing intent that had stabbed into their guts eased with the sunrise. It hadn't vanished entirely, but at least it no longer felt like a murderer was pressing a blade to their backs.
The casual banter that had occasionally passed between the squads vanished clean away. By the second day, that kind of levity was normal anyway.
"How's the trail?"
"Still faint. Seems like it's keeping its distance."
The Blind Saintess suggested they might need another day or two to tell for sure. Allen hadn't expected things to resolve so easily anyway. He'd already burned through every scrap of luck he had—fat chance there was more left.
And so the aimless march dragged on. Plowing through monster territory like this, running into beasts was inevitable. From the creatures' perspective, it was like a tasty meal wandering ignorantly into their backyard.
But the mercenaries cut down every monster they encountered. ...To be precise, the Allen Mercenary Corps did. Even the more skilled Pharos Mercenary Corps could only gape in astonishment at their overwhelming prowess. There was a reason they were hailed as Vermandua's most promising rising stars.
The other three leaders clearly hadn't anticipated just how strong the Allen Mercenary Corps truly was. ...Only now did Charlotte start to understand why Allen demanded such steep pay.
This is the mercenary corps favored by a 10-Rank leader...!
At the same time, Charlotte felt a pang of depression. Back then, she and Allen had started from roughly the same point. Now, the gap between them was like night and day. It felt like bumping into an old neighborhood friend who'd vanished one day and returned wildly successful.
Allen, for his part, couldn't care less what the leaders thought. His mind was fixed solely on finding and slaying the magical beast Bendradan as quickly as possible.
Yet as Oddeye had predicted, the second day yielded no sign of the beast—or even its droppings.
As dusk fell, they set up camp for the second night. Exhausted from marching all day under that razor-sharp killing intent, the mercenaries wolfed down food and collapsed into sleep. Monsters be damned—shaking off this brutal fatigue was priority one.
Of course, the night brought repeated monster assaults. Not once, but several times.
The second wave was especially brutal, with a horde of hellhounds swarming in. Red-robed sorceress Elena's devastating elemental spell left a deep impression on the southern mercenaries. They'd never truly grasped a mage's power before, but now they'd seen and felt it firsthand.
Even Charlotte was stunned by the sheer force. With a mage like that, monsters—even magical beasts—would fall like wheat.
...Maybe I should test the waters...?
Allen's treatment of that busty sorceress didn't seem all that impressive. She might harbor some dissatisfaction with her compensation.
Sure, a powerhouse like her probably wouldn't glance twice at a backwater southern outfit, but it never hurt to try. Worst case, nothing lost.
In any case, the second night passed after witnessing the sorceress's astonishing magic, and the third morning dawned.
Unfortunately, the sky was overcast, dark as evening in every direction. Everyone prayed for no rain, but their pleas went unanswered. Fat raindrops began to plop down, soon swelling into a pounding downpour.
"Fuck this."
But they couldn't abandon the mission now over a little rain. Hoods pulled low over leather cloaks, they trudged through the deluge.
Thick clouds blotted out the sun, keeping the killing intent thick as night. With heavy rain lashing their skin alongside the menace, it was pure hell for the mercenaries.
Thankfully, the torrent eased somewhat, though it was still no picnic. Their pants were soaked through regardless.
Thus began another grueling, directionless march. But Oddeye's expression had turned grim, unlike her usual calm.
During a brief rest, the Blind Saintess sought out Allen.
"What is it?"
"The aura's gotten much thicker. ...We might encounter it today."
"...Got it."
After hearing Oddeye's assessment, Leader Allen summoned all four leaders.
"We could spot the magical beast as early as today."
His piercing gaze stabbed into each pair of eyes in turn. It lingered longest on Charlotte's, as if demanding resolve.
They nodded curtly before dispersing to their corps, instructing their men to prepare for imminent battle.
Word of a possible clash soon spread, sharpening the mercenaries' faces and movements—like warriors steeling for bloodshed.
The rain lightened but persisted. The group pressed on through it.
Then, at some point, the monsters they'd sporadically encountered vanished as if by magic. It was as if even they shunned this place. The tense mercenaries couldn't miss the implication.
After four more short breaks, Oddeye—tracking the beast—signaled Allen.
A sign that said: It's close.
Allen signaled the group: Prepare for battle. They slowed, running final checks.
......And at last.
The mercenaries faced the magical beast Bendradan.
The creature, sitting cross-legged like a meditating monk, slowly opened its eyes. Allen couldn't help but stare in disbelief. What kind of brain had it devoured to turn into a beast cultivating the Dao?
The group instantly formed ranks. At the same moment, Red-robed Sorceress Elena began chanting her elemental spell.
Bendradan rose languidly, peering down at them with its goatish, eerie eyes.
Mee-ee-ee-eeh—.
The chilling bleat shook the mercenaries' hearts. Sinister dark mana slithered into their bodies, stirring primal terror.
"Quick and clean. Dragging it out is dangerous. Take it down fast."
Allen directed this especially at the Blind Saintess, Gum-Milk Swordswoman Natasha, and Red-robed Sorceress. While those three hammered the beast, the rest would hold off the swarming monsters.
Kill the beast controlling them, and the rest could be handled.
Then Bendradan bleated massively again. Oddeye warned that dark mana was spreading—likely summoning monsters.
As Allen ordered the attack, Bendradan fired a mana bolt. Apparently, it'd eaten the brain of the mage who'd summoned it.
The potent shot veered not toward the Allen Mercenary Corps, but the Pharos Mercenary Corps beside them. Their mage threw up a barrier in haste, but it was weak. The bolt shattered it on impact, exploding with little dissipation.
———!!!
The Pharos corps—and the neighboring Allen corps—were caught in the blast. The front line shielded with all they had, but the shockwave still hurled them back. Leader Allen, smack in the center, tumbled ignobly with his men. Elena toppled too, her first spell fizzling.
Son of a—!
Monsters surged from all sides, heedless of type or breed.
The Blind Saintess and Gum-Milk Swordswoman, caught in the explosion, charged Bendradan anyway. But it was ready, conjuring spells in both hands.
This psycho—! Double casting—?!
Double casting, said to be possible only for [Genius] among [Prodigies]. Recruiting even one such mage completed a third-rank corps.
After devouring the mage's brain and "cultivating," the beast had apparently achieved true enlightenment. Demons and beasts evolving via human brains weren't unheard of, but this was a first in all those long playthroughs.
It hurled the spells at the two women simultaneously. They hadn't expected dual casts, eyes widening in surprise.
Bendradan boasted absurd, cheat-like magic. ......But the women were cheats too.
With agility stats nearing 60, they dodged spells slower than arrows without breaking a sweat. They veered sharply, evaded, and kicked off again.
——!!
Now Bendradan reeled in shock. It hadn't anticipated them outpacing its magic.
But it wasn't defenseless. The mage it'd eaten had prioritized safety, cautious even in summoning. ...Though summoning such an overpowered beast had been a miscalculation.
It was wrapped in a mighty barrier. Weak hits would only rebound harder.
Then the women's strikes landed near-simultaneously.
———!!!
The impact far exceeded the barrier's limits. It shattered explosively, the backlash slamming fully into Bendradan.
Proximity meant the women took some too. Oddeye, punching with her fist, suffered worse than Natasha.
"...Tch."
The Blind Saintess winced at the searing pain in her right shoulder. A fraction harder, and she'd have lost the arm. It was still messed up.
In that single exchange, monsters had overrun the group. Oddeye and Natasha locked eyes—finish it now.
Battered but alive, Bendradan endured. Mage brain or not, its core was a magical beast. Physical prowess dwarfed ordinary monsters; no magic wouldn't cripple it.
Insolent vermin...!
Fury boiled as it lunged at the charging women, intent on ripping their skulls open and devouring the brains within.
......But in that split-second distraction, a mana bolt smashed into its head.
——!!
Red-robed Sorceress's masterpiece shot.
Its tough hide withstood it, but the two women were point-blank.
Oddeye's fist cratered its right chest. Natasha's blade severed neck and left shoulder.
The strikes tore its upper body apart. Even Bendradan couldn't survive that onslaught.
Mee-ee-ee-eek———.
With a rending bleat, it burst into dust and banished back to hell.
One martial artist, one swordswoman, and one sorceress.
Had utterly dominated a magical beast.