108. Counterattack 3
Two o'clock from the center of Plentel Castle. Countless house-sized chimeras advanced in a herd. They resembled dinosaurs.
Leading the giant chimeras was a man sporting a red epaulet. His face was half-covered by bandages wrapped diagonally. He exuded a strange murderous intent. It was Chilis, the 100-man captain of the enemy unit's 7th Division.
Standing beside Chilis was a diminutive man who only reached his waist. Dony, the blacksmith and alchemist. One of the black blacksmith dwarves. Dwarves who had vanished from the public eye. Yet some dwarves had allied with powerful families. People called them the black blacksmiths. They would do anything for money, even delving into forbidden black magic.
And the dwarves who had disappeared from the world were called the white blacksmiths. Ront was the representative of the white blacksmiths.
Dony was the one controlling the chimeras behind him. He was the culprit who had unleashed monsters on Plentel Castle all this time.
Thud. Thud...
It was then, as Chilis and Dony led the giant chimeras forward.
"Grrrrr!"
"Raaaaagh!"
Hair-raising roars erupted from the giant chimeras behind them. They sounded just like the cries of starving beasts, howling desperately for food.
The knights of the 7th Division flinched in terror at the monstrous cries.
"The chimeras are howling..."
"It's to be expected. They've been starved for days just for this moment."
Grander had wanted the giant chimeras to be as ferocious as possible before assaulting Plentel Castle. To that end, he had kept them starved for days, honing their savage edges.
As countless soldiers recoiled in horror at the chimeras' frayed nerves, Chilis watched the scene with leisure.
"Whoa, whoa. Calm down."
Swish. Swish.
Chilis spun the dagger in his hand—a mes—and continued.
"I'll take you to your prey soon enough. So calm down."
Chilis's eyes gleamed strangely as he gazed at the chimeras. He was picturing the carnage to come.
If this many chimeras launch a surprise attack... even the Bascons would be thrown into chaos. Yeah.
Black uniforms and black armor soaked in blood. Corpses littering Plentel Castle. Chilis smirked at the vision.
In contrast, Dony stood beside him with a blank expression.
How long do I have to keep doing this crap?
It was a battle that ignored his own will. Captured by Grander, Dony was surviving under threats from Chilis. He yearned to escape at the first opportunity. He wanted to sic the chimeras on Chilis and sever his neck, but his weakness held him back.
Dony scowled at Chilis's creepy smile.
What a mad bastard...
This wasn't the first time with enemies like this. Knowing he'd be forced to slaughter countless people, his nerves were already on edge.
Meanwhile, someone watched them from the sky. None other than Bin.
Codic, hanging from Bin's belt, spoke up at the sight of the giant chimeras.
"They've gathered quite the sturdy bunch of beasts, my lord."
Bin looked down at the horde of chimeras.
Giant chimeras, huh.
Bin recalled the giant chimeras Grander had deployed in the past. They were the ones who had turned Plentel Castle's walls into rubble. Walls that even heavy artillery couldn't breach. Yet the weight and brute force of fifty giant chimeras defied imagination. To them, the walls were candles flickering in the wind.
Bin's gaze turned icy cold as he eyed the fifty giant chimeras.
I can't repeat the mistakes of the past.
Gazing down at the giant chimeras, Bin reached into his pocket and pulled something out. A wriggling white larva. None other than a Medina Parasite.
He had snatched it from Trist when it fell from Enderlin in midair.
* * *
Trist Square.
Enderlin had lost consciousness.
Swish.
Bin swiftly rode in on his thunderbird and snatched the Medina Parasite.
Thud.
A Medina Parasite that drives people mad...
Bin's eyes flashed. He figured it would come in handy later.
* * *
Riding the thunderbird, Bin gripped the Medina Parasite in his hand.
"Krrk."
Squeezed in his fist, the massive larva opened its mouth. In that instant, tiny larvae began crawling out one by one. They plummeted through the air—straight for the giant chimeras' heads.
Soon, countless larvae scattered through the air. It looked like snow falling from the heavens.
A moment later.
"Gaaaaah!"
"Ughhhh!"
The chimeras infected by the Medina Parasites had their eyes turn red one by one. Black smoke billowed from their bodies. Icy demonic energy. Anyone could see they were turning belligerent.
The giant chimeras, their eyes now crimson, writhed in agony, howling.
"Gaaaaah!"
"Ughhhh!"
Their arms and legs flailed wildly left and right, right and left, slamming into the chimeras beside them.
Thwack. Thwack.
It was thrashing from the pain. They couldn't control their strength.
The struck chimeras weren't about to take it lying down. They began retaliating against their attackers one by one.
Thwack! Thwack!
Chimeras sank their teeth into others' necks. Another raked its forepaw across the one that attacked it.
"Ughhhh!"
"Grrrrr!"
The monstrous cries of the giant chimeras filled the air. Howls of pain.
In an instant, Grander's forces at the two o'clock position descended into pandemonium, thanks to the Medina Parasites.
The flustered knights of the 7th Division. Chilis glared at Dony and bellowed.
"Dony, you must want to die."
Cling.
Chilis, the 7th Division's 100-man captain, drew his dagger—the mes. To slit Dony's throat right before his eyes.
Dony stammered in panic.
"Ch-Chilis, sir. I didn't do anything..."
Dony pleaded his innocence. But it didn't sway Chilis.
"Shut up. I'll crush your heart right now."
And as he spoke, something red appeared in Chilis's hand. It was Dony's heart, riddled with green veins.
Indeed. The armament of the 7th Division's 100-man captain, the mes. A weapon that could extract an opponent's organs externally. And the victim could still live, with a mana-formed heart taking over the function.
The heart in Chilis's hand beat rapidly.
Thump thump.
Dony grimaced at the sight.
This bastard...
No matter how many chimeras he controlled, if the guy gripped his heart, it was over.
Dony tried to calm Chilis.
"I didn't cause the chimeras' movements just now..."
"Then who else could control them besides you?"
As Chilis eyed Dony suspiciously.
"Looking for me?"
A voice rang out.
Chilis and Dony turned toward the sound. It came from the sky.
There, Bin in his black uniform rode the thunderbird, gazing down at them. His expression was impassive. He didn't seem like an ordinary man.
On a battlefield facing enemies, one would tense up or get excited. But he looked utterly relaxed. Even with all the giant chimeras around.
Chilis scowled at Bin.
"Your doing, huh."
"What if it is."
"..."
Chilis scowled briefly at Bin's confident demeanor, then harbored a doubt.
He could tell it was a Bascon from the black uniform. But riding a bird-type monster? He couldn't make sense of it.
Sweat beaded on Chilis's forehead.
A 2nd Class knight?
Sensing the mana, he realized the guy outranked him—a 2nd Class knight. And he was shocked again by the monster he rode.
A 1st Class monster...!
That explained how he could stand so boldly before the horde of chimeras.
But the enemy was alone. With this many chimeras, even a 2nd Class knight could be overwhelmed. So Chilis judged.
He glanced at Dony, signaling him. Kill him with the chimeras now.
"..."
But Bin spoke to Dony instead.
"If you want to live, use the chimeras to kill the guy next to you."
"...?!"
Chilis and Dony's eyes widened at Bin's words.
Dony's heart was in Chilis's hand. Yet Bin boldly commanded him to kill the man beside him. His confidence was such that any onlooker might mistake Bin for the one holding Dony's heart.
"..."
Chilis burst into belated laughter, as if it was absurd.
"Hahaha, you still haven't grasped the situation? His heart is right here. In my hand."
Chilis flashed a sinister grin and ordered Dony.
"Attack him."
"Yes, chimeras, take down that—"
As Dony moved to command the chimeras against Bin.
Bin's eyes narrowed.
Change.
In that instant, a black wave pulsed out from Bin.
A black circular field enveloped the area, and Dony's words caught in his throat.
"...!"
Dony's face was like he'd seen a ghost. Because his own heart was now in Bin's hand.
Swish...
The chimeras reaching for Bin froze in place.
Bin fixed Dony with a sharp gaze, clutching the heart.
"Die by his hand. Or mine."
Thump thump.
Dony's heart raced. Because of Bin's chilling eyes. Eyes that pierced like blades. He meant it.
Dony glanced between Chilis and Bin. Then he decided.
Bin was the one holding his heart now. No more hesitation needed.
Dony glared at Chilis, the 7th Division's 100-man captain. Eyes full of resolve.
Chilis caught on and panicked.
"You... you're seriously going to obey a Bascon?"
"I have to survive first, don't I?"
"You think you'll get away with betraying Grander...?"
As Chilis spoke.
The chimeras charged at him in a flash.
"Gaaaaah!"