39. Uninvited Guests (5)
The best way to neutralize a Gigant? Kill the pilot before they climb aboard.
The assassins from the desert assassin guild, who had been wiped out by Gigants, knew this all too well. The elder, who had first infused his sword with aura, barked the order.
"Charge!"
Masked figures burst from the shadows, sprinting forward with blades glinting coldly under the moonlight. True to their assassin training, they were swift and agile, striking from every angle across a 180-degree front. There was no escape from their simultaneous thrusts. And the elder, anticipating even their potential failure, followed close behind, readying his own attack with meticulous precision.
'Hurry up and turn your back—get in the Gigant!'
'That'll be your last mistake.'
The elder screamed inwardly.
'What's this? Not moving?'
But even as his subordinates closed in right before his eyes, the target didn't budge an inch. A powerful sense of wrongness hit him just then.
Buuuung!
"Sto—!"
His breath caught, cutting off the elder's words. A massive sword swept through like a storm, mowing down the men in front of him.
"Wh-what...?"
Thud! Thud-thud-thud!
Severed bodies and limbs rained down like droplets in a downpour, staggered by split seconds. Blood dripped steadily from the blade of the colossal steel giant.
Horror flooded the elder's eyes. His dozen or so subordinates had been annihilated in a single stroke.
'The pilot's right there—why is the Gigant...?'
"Urgh...!"
"S-spare... me..."
The groans of assassins left limbless, only torsos remaining, filled the air from every direction.
"Elder! Fall back!"
Louise shouted, stepping forward and thrusting out both hands. She didn't know how the Gigant had moved just now, but she'd already prepared her flame incantation. A fierce blaze erupted from her palms.
Roooar!
"Inferno! Burn them!"
Fwooooosh!
Crimson flames roared forth like a living beast, jaws wide, lunging toward Wayne.
Kwaang!
The steel golem's left arm slammed down in front of Wayne, and the ferocious flames split left and right, scattering harmlessly. The golem's arm had blocked it completely.
'What! A pilot was already inside!'
'Damn it all!'
As the elder and desert mage mistook the situation—assuming another pilot had boarded the Gigant—the surviving assassins leaped into action.
"Overwhelm him all at once!"
Pap! Papap!
They unleashed hidden projectiles without restraint.
Tang! Tatang! Tang!
But the steel golem crouched, shielding Wayne with one arm—leaving no openings. Then, rising, it swung its sword again!
The masked figures were batted away by the flat of the blade, crashing into walls, vomiting blood, and collapsing. Fighting a Gigant as mere humans was utter madness.
As the elder's face fell in despair,
"Elder, we haven't lost yet! Pull yourself together!"
Louise chanted a stronger flame incantation, pushing herself to the limit. A fierce wind swirled around her, hot air surging violently.
"All who block my path shall burn! Flames of Gehenna!"
'You think I'll let you fire again?'
The steel golem, reading Wayne's will, raised its sword high. The instant flames burst from her hands, the massive blade came crashing down.
"Danger!"
Kwang! Puuung!
The ground exploded in an instant, and Louise vanished without a trace. A flicker of flame sparked above the blade, then died out.
The desert mage and tribal shaman met a ridiculously anticlimactic end.
"One prisoner is enough!"
As if understanding Wayne's words, the steel golem reached out its left hand toward the elder.
The elder snapped to his senses and swung his aura-infused sword fiercely.
Chaeng! Chaechaeng!
The golem's fingers sparked and chipped under the blade, sending flames and metal shards flying. But that was it. The five steel clamps pressed on relentlessly, wrapping around the elder's body.
Gruuunch!
"Gaaahhh!"
Bones snapped and crumbled in the golem's grip. The elder lost consciousness amid the excruciating pain.
The golem hoisted the limp elder upward.
"Save the elder!"
"Take that bastard hostage!"
The remaining masked figures charged at Wayne.
Wayne smirked, swapping his sword for King Brass's axe.
"Let's see what you've got, assassins. Come on!"
"Raaah!"
A masked figure swung at Wayne's shoulder. Wound him first to capture easily.
But Wayne remembered some of King Brass's flashy axe techniques. He parried the sword lightly with his axe and brought it down—splitting the assassin's forehead.
Before the bloodied figure hit the ground, another targeted his right leg from the side.
Kang!
"Hm?"
Wayne had already seen through the approach. His upward punch sent the assassin tumbling backward.
Puuk!
At that moment, the golem's massive foot came down on the fallen man.
"Ah! No!"
Kwaang!
No pain—he'd lost human shape the instant he was crushed.
Wayne didn't need to command the golem separately. After decades of battlefield camaraderie, they moved in perfect sync.
Puuk!
The golem kicked a masked figure airborne from Wayne's axe blow to the jaw, sending him flying beyond the castle walls. Human flesh was no match for the golem's power.
"Kraang!"
Eleven suddenly pounced from behind.
Kwajik!
"Gaaah!"
Biting the neck of a stealthy assassin, Eleven shook viciously, toppling him. Yan finished with a bayonet thrust.
"Capture them all!"
"Waaah!"
Sara and Sergeant Henrik's soldiers poured in late, charging the remnants. The fight was already over. The surviving assassins resisted to the end but were swiftly subdued.
Crack! Shrrrip!
The face-obscuring skin mask tore away.
"Gods! What is that?"
"A monster!"
The unconscious elder's face was grotesque. Unable to fully mimic another with just a skin mask, he'd carved his own bones and flesh to match his eldest son Bruce's skeletal structure and muscles exactly.
"Bind him and gag him!"
"Pardon?"
"Assassins can suicide anytime—stay sharp."
"Ah! Yes, sir!"
Sergeant Henrik gagged the elder.
"Assassins still lurk in the castle. I'll identify them, so step forward one by one!"
The guards and servants buzzed uneasily. Wayne scrutinized each face with Odd.
After a few passed, Wayne smirked at a maid.
"Die!"
She suddenly drew a dagger from her bosom, lunging at Wayne. But soldiers' spears pierced her first.
Then, several at the back bolted in all directions—they were more mask-wearing assassins.
"Capture them all!"
Soldiers fired and speared the fleeing ones. Rooting out face-altered assassins was grueling, but Wayne detected minute facial shifts with Odd, purging them. Finally, spreading red Odd, he sniffed out and eliminated those hiding in the castle corners.
Thus, the desert assassins known as Bahram's shadows were fully eradicated from Lorenne Castle.
Having heard the full story from Wayne, Baron Fredric leaned against his bed, tears streaming.
"Ha! I have no face to show. I can only apologize to the dead."
The baron sighed deeply. He blamed himself for not noticing his real eldest son had died years ago, replaced seamlessly by a fake for three years. He'd neglected family, obsessed with boosting territory finances—buying Gigants from great domains, developing priest Gigants to hunt gold in the Great Forest. He'd missed his son's death and felt sorry for his wife Alicia, who devoted her youth to priest Gigant development and even went to a Great Forest outpost.
"And from what I see, you didn't fall from the Gigant and become paralyzed below the waist—you were poisoned first, paralyzing you, then fell. That's clear."
"Pardon? You mean I was poisoned?"
"I overheard them—they were still dosing you slowly, to kill naturally without suspicion."
His second son, Albus, spoke up beside him.
"But I'm fine. I nursed you, Father, and tasted all your meds, meals, water first. How could they keep poisoning you?"
"I'm looking into that."
Sara had searched the healer's and Bruce's rooms thoroughly—no poisons or toxic herbs. Identifying the toxin was key for easy treatment; analyzing the baron's blood was crucial.
'Hm? Why's my chest been tight since earlier?'
Wayne approached the window, accelerating Odd with his second-stage breathing. He'd recently optimized an Odd Hole in his heart, he thought. But accelerating further made him nauseous.
'Could it be? Poison?'
Maybe poison was still leaking from somewhere. Not all poisons were liquid.
Wayne halted Odd acceleration, scanning around. He drew Odd and spread it finely like a net, inspecting the room.
Furniture, walls, fireplace, clothes—all clear.
But!
'What's this? These powders?'
Fine dust wafted from purple flowers in a vase by the bed. Sniffing closer tightened his chest more.
Wayne pinched his nose, pointing at the potted flowers.
"Never seen these— what are they?"
"Wildflowers native to the Ratan Desert, I heard. A maid brings them every morning. Father liked the purple... Gasp!"
Albus paled suddenly.
"That maid was one of the assassins—the one who attacked Sir Wayne yesterday!"
Sara recalled something.
"I heard at Sailon Occupation Zone during treatment. There's a purple flower in the desert called the devil's grass—sprays toxic powder. Harmless to normals, but deadly to heavy Odd or mana users. We checked if we were poisoned—no."
Wayne frowned. His Odd reserves now surpassed a 3rd-class pilot, rivaling Snow Austin. Even trace dust triggered symptoms easily.
"This flower's the culprit."
Albus startled, reaching to remove it.
"Wait. Check if it's planted around the territory first. If not, take it to Sailon for antidote."
"Ah! Got it."
Albus Taylor rushed out with the flower.
"Come to think, Bruce met Louise in Kallung Grand Territory and brought her here."
Kallung bordered the Ratan Desert at the empire's southern tip. Bruce, lacking Odd talent, studied there at his grandfather's domain, not the capital. He met Louise, brought her back. She claimed daughter of an oasis chieftain, brought lavish betrothal gifts—no suspicions.
"Whew! Vicious bastards. Louise targeted Bruce deliberately. With Sailon fallen, they aimed to infiltrate Barantia via Lorenne."
"Terrifying. Without Sir Wayne, the whole territory nearly fell to assassins. Truly grateful."
Baron Fredric bowed despite his frailty.
"Save thanks till you're recovered. Then you can grant my request."
"Alicia and I will repay this debt till our last breath."
"Ah, castle's clear, but territory might have stragglers. Interrogate the elder and prisoners—purge the rest."
"Don't worry. We'll hunt every last one."
To the assassin guild seizing Lorenne, Wayne was an uninvited guest. To the lord and people, a lifesaver.
Barantia forces advanced into Estel Kingdom, but slowed by dwarves in Sierra Mountains and Fransoa Kingdom's intervention. Great Forest monsters grew fiercer, higher grades swarming.
Tarun Kingdom, defeated and retreated from Sailon five years ago, plotted to reclaim Ratan Desert hegemony amid the Estel war.
"Phew! Just heading back to the outpost left."
Sara had rested days in Lorenne, crafting an Odd Hole in her heart like Curtis. Now able to pilot priest Gigants somewhat, she itched to return and mount up.
"You and Yan go with next supply convoy."
"Sir? You're staying?"
"No, got urgent business. Give this to Jamie—he'll know to build it."
Wayne handed Sara blueprints for Gigant-scale excavator and bulldozer heavy gear.
"Still, tell us where."
"Later. Won't take long."
Wayne whispered to Yan.
"Breathe Odd steadily—keep secret."
"Yes! I'll do my best."
Wayne headed east with Eleven and the steel golem—for the raging Estel front.
Absorbing the dwarf king's Odd, memories, experience, Wayne knew instinctively.
'My people are there.'