Chapter 43
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 43
Thalia stared, her eyes wide with frantic terror, at the blackened silhouette revealed by the fading light of the setting sun.
Its massive, scale-covered frame coiled tight like a volcano on the brink of eruption before soaring into the air. At its apex, a gargantuan reptilian head loomed over them, its crimson eyes gleaming with malice.
Thalia’s legs gave out, and she slumped to the ground. As the monster exhaled scalding plumes of steam and unfurled leathery black wings, it felt as if the entire world had been plunged into shadow.
Barkas drew his sword, his voice piercing the air.
“Prepare the subjugation gear immediately!”
The moment the command left his lips, knights burst through the crowd of panicked, scattering people.
They surrounded the beast, driving iron stakes deep into the earth and securing heavy chains to their ends. Moments later, dozens of steel harpoons whistled through the air like arrows, burying themselves in the creature’s massive flank.
Thalia covered her ears. A thunderous roar erupted from the monster’s throat as it craned its neck toward the heavens.
The earth shuddered every time its heavy body, bound by dozens of chains, twisted in a violent struggle. Several stakes, unable to withstand the sheer force, were ripped from the ground and sent hurtling into the sky.
“Everyone, get back!”
As a shout rang out like a clap of thunder, the monster—having snapped its restraints—swung a wing with savage force.
Thalia let out a scream. The gale from the wing-beat swept away several tents, and half a dozen servants who hadn’t managed to find cover were tossed aside like scraps of paper.
One of them rolled toward her, their body twisted at a grotesque, unnatural angle. It felt as if she were trapped in a waking nightmare.
“Bring more gear!”
Barkas’s gruff voice was the only thing that tethered her fading consciousness. Thalia forced strength into her trembling legs and managed to pull herself up. With a face as pale as a ghost, she watched Barkas charge like a flash of light toward the rampaging beast.
He was rushing straight for the gaping maw of a monster whose body alone appeared to be well over thirty kvet—nearly nine meters—long.
“Barkas!”
The moment his name tore from her throat in a scream, the monster’s wing lashed out at him like a whip.
Thalia watched, her eyes paralyzed by horror.
The black wing, large enough to blot out the sky, instantly enveloped Barkas. Her world turned pitch black. But in the next heartbeat, the pale blade in Barkas’s hand shredded the thick membrane like parchment.
Having sliced through the wing in a single horizontal stroke, Barkas didn’t slow down. He followed through, severing the thick bundle of muscle connecting the limb to the torso.
The monster, losing a wing in the blink of an eye, staggered heavily as it lost its balance.
Not missing the opening, Barkas drew a chain sickle from his waist and hurled the hooked blade into the hideous maw packed with needle-like teeth. He threw himself into a low slide, connected the chain to a stake fixed in the ground, and yanked with brutal strength.
The monster, its lower jaw pierced by the sickle, collapsed helplessly like a fish caught on a hook. Thalia’s mouth hung open in shock at the monstrous strength emanating from a body so lithe and slender, moving with the grace of a dancer.
Gripping the iron chain with both hands, Barkas roared at his subordinates.
“Finish it, now!”
Immediately, dozens of harpoons buried themselves in the monster’s hide.
The beast, covered in black scales, writhed its house-sized frame in a desperate struggle, but it was powerless against the relentless onslaught.
The monster, now resembling a porcupine, lolled its long tongue out and slumped onto the ground. Only then was Thalia able to exhale the breath she had been holding.
“Are you all right?”
A personal guard rushed over and looked down at her with a worried gaze. He, too, held a sword in one hand, appearing to have run straight through the chaos while searching for her.
The man quickly sheathed his weapon and reached out a hand to help her up.
Thalia brushed his hand away roughly and stepped toward Barkas, who was busy recovering gear from the monster’s corpse.
Barkas, winding the loosened chain around his hand, flicked his eyes toward her, scanning her from head to toe. Even though his gaze was dry—as if he were merely checking the condition of cargo—she felt no anger. Thalia asked in an involuntarily anxious voice.
“Are... are you okay? You aren’t hurt, are you?”
As she scrutinized him with trembling eyes, she noticed dark red bloodstains splattered across his neck.
Thalia reached out and touched his skin. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be Barkas’s blood. Just as she let out a sigh of relief, she suddenly felt a prickling sensation on the top of her head.
Lifting her gaze, Thalia saw Barkas looking down at her with slightly widened eyes. She hurriedly lowered her arm.
His silence made cold sweat break out across her skin. Was he appalled that a woman who hit him or threw things at him every single day was now pretending to be worried? Thalia, stammering with a flustered face, muttered an excuse.
“If... if something happens to someone I’ve known for nearly ten years right in front of me, it’ll weigh on my conscience. I don’t want to have nightmares because of you.”
“...It is a relief then, as I have no intention of appearing in Your Highness’s dreams.”
The usual spiteful retort brought a strange sense of relief.
Thalia let her shoulders droop; they had been so stiff they were beginning to ache.
Just as Barkas, watching her quietly, was about to say something, another scream echoed from the distance. Thalia turned her head and gasped sharply. Black monsters were swarming the entire sky.
The personal guard muttered with a look of utter despair.
“Why a pack of Wyverns at this time of year...?”
“Instead of wondering why, use that time to get the subjugation gear! Your Highness, come this way.”
Barkas, regaining his composure instantly, barked out orders and grabbed her wrist, striding across the campsite.
Thalia stayed close to his back, her legs moving so fast her feet felt like they were on fire. The scent of blood and the stench of smoke were everywhere.
A shambles. The very chaos she had waited and waited for had finally arrived.
Yet, she felt no joy. Only a freezing terror circulated through her veins.
“Sir Sieorkan! We’ve set up a defensive perimeter over there!”
As she watched the monsters destroy carriages and tents at random with hollow eyes, someone shouted.
Barkas immediately turned toward the voice.
“Do not come out of here, no matter what.”
Barkas led the half-dazed Thalia to the center of the camp and spoke in a firm tone.
Thalia turned her head to look around. A group of people had taken refuge behind dozens of freight wagons lined up like a wall.
“Defensive magic devices are installed on the wagons. You will be safe here.”
“What... what about you?”
Barkas, letting her question go in one ear and out the other, turned around immediately.
Thalia grabbed him urgently.
“Are you crazy? Where do you think you’re going!”
“The defensive magic won’t last long. I have to deal with the monsters before then.”
Barkas firmly pried her hand away and ran toward where the struggle was unfolding.
Thalia stared at his receding back with a devastated face, then began to chase after him frantically.
“No! Don’t go! Barkas! Barkas!”