Chapter 437: Just Keep Going Like This (4)
The light spread fiercely around the fortress.
“Kaaargh!”
The Riftspawns struck by the sudden light, let out agonized screams before turning to ash.
Hiiisss!
As the light grazed past it, the Equidema’s body began to burn in patches. The beast snarled, baring its teeth as it turned its gaze toward the source of the light.
"Power, I feel power overflowing!"
"I can move again!"
"Get up! Quickly!"
The soldiers gripped their weapons tightly and reformed their formation. Although the Riftspawns began regrouping, the now-recovered soldiers were more than capable of facing them.
From among the soldiers, Piote stepped forward. His expression was slightly tensed, but his eyes remained resolute.
‘I have to endure this.’
He had held back countless times because of Ghislain’s warning. Even when the formation was breaking and the Riftspawn were closing in, he did not step in.
Ghislain had told him that everyone would eventually tire. That no one would be able to perform at their best forever.
And Ghislain had been certain that the Equidema would charge towards this location.
For that reason, Piote could do nothing, but wait. If he exhausted himself, he wouldn’t be able to confront Equidema properly when it arrived.
Grrrrr…
Equidema locked eyes with Piote, brimming with murderous intent.
The beast instinctively recognized who had spread the light.
It wanted nothing more than to tear that hateful figure apart.
“Kaaaargh!”
Equidema roared and charged toward Piote. Now that Piote had revealed himself, nothing else mattered to the beast. Its sole focus was to kill him.
Boom!
Hisss!
As the Equidema’s front paw struck Piote, it ignited with divine power, forcing the beast to pull back in surprise.
“Kaaaargh!”
Equidema roared again, stomping on Piote. Yet, nothing happened.
Piote neither flew away nor collapsed. He remained standing, protected by the activated relic, the Blessing of Juana.
Of course, the Equidema wasn’t aware of this and continued to strike Piote furiously.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The unresolved power scattered outward, creating shockwaves that knocked down nearby soldiers.
Yet, Piote didn’t falter as he had before. He stood upright, staring directly at Equidema with wide, unwavering eyes.
‘I have to do this.’
Everyone else was exhausted. He had to draw Equidema’s attention, even if just a little, so others could launch their attacks more effectively.
Fwoosh!
Ghislain and the others had already begun slashing at Equidema’s body. The beast shook violently, attempting to target someone else.
The pattern to take down Equidema had always been the same. However, this time, Piote did something slightly different.
Dash!
Ssshhhk!
“Kraaaaargh!”
Piote slid forward and clung to the Equidema’s leg.
He had learned various combat techniques from Ghislain. Although he had never directly participated in battle, he had trained diligently whenever he had the chance.
Among all the techniques he had practiced, body techniques were the ones he had honed the most. To maximize Piote’s defensive potential, Ghislain prioritized teaching him how to move effectively.
Thanks to that training, Piote was able to cling to Equidema’s leg and maneuver around it.
Ssshhhk!
“Kaaaargh!”
Equidema let out a pained howl. Wherever Piote’s body touched the beast, it began to burn.
The energy radiating from him was a natural nemesis to Equidema.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Equidema tried to swat Piote off with its other paw, but Piote held firm. Instead, he wrapped himself in divine power and began climbing up Equidema’s body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Most creatures would struggle to endure a parasite that not only clung to them, but also inflicted searing pain.
The Equidema was no exception. The beast thrashed violently, desperate to shake Piote off.
“Kaaaargh!”
Seeing this, Ghislain shouted.
“Now! Don’t miss this chance!”
The Equidema, bleeding from the relentless attacks, still focused solely on Piote. If this continued, Piote wouldn’t last much longer.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each blow from the Equidema drained chunks of Piote’s divine power. And no one could replenish it.
If they delayed taking down Equidema, and Piote expended all his divine power...
He would be reduced to a bloody pulp in a single strike.
“Ughhh!”
Even knowing this, Piote climbed up Equidema’s body, finally reaching its neck.
By now, his divine power was nearly gone. He had already used a significant amount earlier to heal and reinvigorate the soldiers.
Yet, he gritted his teeth and held on.
‘I have to be more useful!’
Piote was consumed by a singular purpose.
In truth, Piote had prayed countless times for a connection with the goddess, hoping to aid his exhausted allies. If successful, it could have been a significant boon, perhaps even allowing them to defeat the Riftspawn more swiftly.
But no matter how fervently he wished, the connection would not establish itself.
Such miracles were rare and could not happen simply because one willed it.
Thus, Piote resolved to contribute with his own strength, however limited it might be.
“Hah, hah…”
Piote clung desperately to Equidema's neck, his breath ragged.
Equidema thrashed violently, trying to shake him off. The beast even clawed at its own neck as though scratching at an itch, but Piote refused to budge.
Eventually, Equidema attempted to crush Piote by rolling its massive body onto the ground.
Boom! Boom!
To an onlooker, it appeared as though Equidema was having a wild fit. The ground cracked and shattered under the beast's immense weight, but Piote emerged unscathed.
However, the divine power he used to endure the impact was rapidly depleting. At this rate, he wouldn’t last long.
‘I can do this!’
Piote gritted his teeth, clutching Equidema’s neck tightly.
He had prayed to the goddess over and over. Yet, he couldn’t rely on prayer alone. Prayer could not solve everything.
…He had forgotten.
The goddess had already granted him strength.
Now was the time to act.
Holding onto the Equidema’s neck, Piote began to recite passages from the scripture, repeating them again and again.
“The trial of faith, even when refined by fire, is more precious than gold. You have faith, and I have deeds. Show me your faith without your deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”
As the Equidema rose again and attempted to claw Piote away, his hand moved even faster, digging deeper into the beast's neck.
Hiiisss!
“Kaaaargh!”
Piote’s hand, imbued with divine power, began to burn through Equidema’s neck.
The energy spread outward, blackening the surrounding area of the beast’s flesh.
“Urgh…”
Blood trickled from Piote’s mouth. He had pushed his body beyond its limits, unleashing an overwhelming surge of divine power.
His hair had turned silver, a testament to the intensity of his divine aura.
Hiiisss!
Though he was inflicting significant damage on the Equidema, Piote could feel his divine power draining rapidly.
And the Equidema felt it too. Despite being unable to counterattack, the beast’s instincts knew that its tormentor’s strength was nearly spent.
“Kraaargh!”
Other attackers continued to wound Equidema, adding to its agony. Yet, it endured, knowing that if it could hold out a little longer, it would crush them all.
The Equidema radiated immense power, enduring the pain even as the flesh around its neck melted and tore. Still, the beast did not die.
Eventually, Piote expended the last of his divine power. His hair returned to its original color.
Equidema immediately sensed that the accursed energy had disappeared.
Whoosh!
The beast’s paw shot toward the staggering Piote. But someone else moved faster.
Whizz!
A wire connected to Belinda’s dagger wrapped around Piote, pulling him out of the way.
Boom!
Piote narrowly avoided being struck by Equidema’s paw. However, the beast, with its incredible reflexes, immediately turned its focus to Belinda.
Its eyes burned with the unrelenting desire to kill.
Equidema charged at Belinda in an instant, even before she could properly steady herself while holding Piote.
At this rate, both of them would be torn apart by the beast’s claws.
“You bastard!”
Zwalter stepped into Equidema’s path, unleashing a burst of mana as he swung his sword.
Boom!
Though he struck with all his strength, Zwalter was sent flying. Randolph also tried to intervene, but met the same fate.
Equidema’s power and rage were overwhelming. On the other side, Gillian and Kaor didn’t dare to approach.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
From a distance, Vanessa bombarded Equidema with spells. But having already depleted most of her mana, the strength of her magic had diminished.
The Equidema withstood everything, advancing solely to kill Belinda and Piote.
“Tch!”
Belinda barely managed to retreat, stepping back in time. But Equidema was faster.
“Kaaaargh!”
The massive beast quickly closed the gap, raising one of its enormous paws. Even a single swipe would be enough to obliterate the two of them.
Thunk!
A sharp metallic sound echoed as something pierced through Equidema’s raised paw, causing it to hesitate. Belinda used the opportunity to roll away, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Grrr…
Blood dripped from Equidema’s mouth as it growled. The beast’s bloodshot eyes locked onto Belinda and Piote, who had narrowly escaped its wrath.
Rumble...
A sound of something piercing through rang out again, and the Equidema’s body twitched.
Only then did it truly grasp the situation.
A massive blade aura had pierced through Equidema's neck.
Ghislain, wrapped in dense, dark crimson smoke and emitting a red glow from his eyes, was perched atop Equidema's neck.
The aura blade extending from his sword surged to an immense length, piercing clean through the Equidema’s neck.
“Phew, Piote pulled it off.”
Thanks to Piote, the hide and muscles around Equidema’s neck had been completely burned away.
This allowed Ghislain, with his remaining strength, to pierce through Equidema’s neck entirely.
Grrrk…
Equidema let out a few choking sounds before collapsing completely.
Boom!
The massive beast’s body slumped to the ground.
“Haaah…”
Ghislain sat down heavily, exhaling. Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.
He had exhausted every ounce of strength he had saved up. The explosion of power at the last moment had left his body’s strength dropping down far from normal.
“We won.”
“We finally got it…”
“This time, we were really in danger.”
Everyone else slumped to the ground as well. After days of relentless fighting, their mana was utterly depleted.
Without Piote’s contributions, the damage could have been catastrophic.
Riftspawn were still sporadically climbing up, but the knights and soldiers, pooling their strength, were handling them.
Though exhausted, they could still move a little, thanks to Piote’s healing efforts in the end.
Ghislain, watching the soldiers deal with the remaining Riftspawn, struggled to his feet.
“Come on, let’s finish the rest.”
The Riftspawns were driven purely by instinct, attacking regardless of their numbers. They neither cared if they were outnumbered nor seemed to recognize that their leader had fallen.
With Equidema defeated and their numbers dwindling, dealing with the remaining stragglers wasn’t difficult.
As time passed, fewer Riftspawn appeared, until eventually, none came at all. Every last one of the countless creatures had perished here.
“It’s finally over.”
Ghislain muttered and slumped to the ground. At his words, the soldiers also collapsed and laughed.
“Ahaha! We did it! We won!”
“We held off all of them!”
“Skovan! Go to hell, you damned bastard!”
The cheers were triumphant. The overwhelming exhaustion crashing over them was a testament to the fact that they were still alive.
And so, their victory felt all the sweeter.
Ghislain glanced at Belinda, who was cradling an unconscious Piote, and murmured.
“This new hunting method… it might work.”
Perhaps they could take a riskier approach with the bait next time. Piote had truly grown a lot.
Even in his unconscious state, Piote shuddered slightly as if sensing an unknown chill.
Gillian stood up shakily and asked.
“The savages have likely already infiltrated the North. Shouldn’t we strike from behind?”
But Ghislain waved him off.
“In our current state, we wouldn’t be of any help. Let’s rest a bit first.”
That was true. Some knights had collapsed and passed out where they lay.
They had been fighting for days without sleep. To move now would be akin to marching to their deaths.
Gillian, his legs trembling, sat back down on the ground.
“It’s already been days. I wonder if they’re holding out well.”
“They’re probably doing better than we think.”
“Are they? The disparity in numbers must be significant.”
Gillian’s face showed his concern. If that side fell, Ferdium would be the first to be trampled.
But Ghislain chuckled faintly as he replied.
“Yeah, enough to surprise us all.”
* * *
Before the rift could completely engulf Kaipiler Fortress, Woroqa mobilized his forces. He knew that even if Ferdium realized their movements, they wouldn’t abandon the fortress.
Leading his warriors, Woroqa shouted boldly.
“Warriors! The time has come to fulfill our desires!”
“Waaaaah!”
The savages, who had endured years of humiliating tributes, roared with joy. They had longed to battle Ferdium and pillage its riches, itching for action.
Resentment had been building against Woroqa for signing the food supply agreement, but now, as he united the tribes for war, their spirits soared.
They had but one wish now, slaughter.
They wanted to plunder and destroy everything in the North. It was the warriors' greatest desire.
However, as they boldly invaded the North, they soon faced an unexpected situation.
“What’s this? I heard that there’d be no army?”
At the northern entry point, Woroqa’s forces encountered an army blocking their path. The soldiers had arrived ahead of them and had already formed a solid battle line.
This was entirely unforeseen. The ducal family had assured them that no army would stand in their way.
Woroqa stared at the banner of the opposing army with a puzzled expression.
“No way… Raypold?”
This was different from what the ducal family had told him. A supposedly inactive army stood before him.
Meanwhile, the army stationed at the entry point noticed the approaching savages.
Bernarf glanced toward the highest seat in the command post.
Amelia sat there, leaning against the ornate chair, chin in hand, her eyes closed as though deep in thought.
Bernarf carefully spoke to her.
“The savages have arrived.”
Amelia slowly opened her eyes at his report. Her next words were an emotionless command.
“All forces, prepare for battle.”