Chapter 505: Nine Fortresses

I stand in the path of the giant cent――I think I decided to call it insect hydra――anyway, I stand in front of the hydra.

Well, the body is basically identical to a centipede.

What's strange after all is the head extending from its torso.

The torso is split into eight sections and its nine heads are moving independently.

Each has feelers attached and has sharp fangs growing in its mouth that gnash viciously.

I am not fond of centipedes, but this thing is more like a monster so the grossness should be reduced.

「It hasn't reduced! Its grossness is in a dreadnought class!! Having weirdly soft and light footsteps makes it worse!」

Celia pulls on Schwartz's bit as she scratches the goosebumps on her arm.

She thinks big ones are disgusting after all?

Responding to our voices, the insect hydra stops moving.

Six out of the nine heads lower to my level.

Man, just its head measures at least three meters.

The difference in size is rather sad, but I don't avert my gaze.

「Look......they're having a stare off.」

「Does Lord Hardlett not feel terrified......?」

「A battle to the death is about to begin......」

The hydra retracts its heads slowly, probably not because it was triggered by the soldiers' words.

Then, after the gnashing of teeth gets louder, it charges at an incredible speed.

At the exact same time, I turn around and dash at full speed in retreat.

「Eh, you're running!?」

I yell angrily back at the soldier.

「Of course! You think I can take a hit head-on from something that big!?」

What do you guys think I am?

As soon as I finish yelling, I jump sideways and dive on the ground.

Huge heads came from the left and right and clamped their jaws down in the place where I used to be.

If I didn't drop to the ground, I'd be bitten in half from the waist up by now.

I quickly roll on the ground and recover, backstepping as I stand and putting distance between me and the hydra.

Not even half a second later, another head grazes my bangs and flies into the ground.

The ground shakes and clods of dirt wet with rain splatter everywhere.

I cover my face with my arms and brace for the next attack.

It's over if mud gets in my eyes and takes my vision away.

「It's fast for its size!」

「It attacks with its nine heads in a flowing barrage from all directions!」

「Taking even one hit will be devastating!」

The soldiers are commenting about something.

I kick off the jaw that comes in from the right and roll on the ground to barely evade the jaw that chases me from the left.

I swiftly spring up and dodge the head slamming down at me like a hammer and then do a backstep to move out of the way of the head closing from behind me.

「Amazing, he dodged again! He's like a wild wolf!」

「Lord Hardlett is not only unrivaled in strength. He's also fast like a gale.」

Gale, my ass.

What do you think I'm rolling around for?

「What are you guys doing!? Aim and shoot while Lord Hardlett is drawing its attention!!」

Dingus shouts.

The soldiers finally realize I'm acting as a decoy and soon a rain of arrows, ballista bolts and catapult projectiles pour down on the hydra.

The nine heads raised high in the sky are easy to aim at.

Although the body doesn't move much, its size also makes a good target.

Many arrows find their mark on the faces of the nine heads.

Bolts continuously land, followed by the heavy iron balls that crash with thuds on its black torso.

Arrows bounce off with high-pitched notes like the playing of a musical instrument, the bolts shatter on contact, and the iron balls fall to the ground after making metallic clunks.

Not a single scratch was left on the glossy outer shell.

The insect hydra shows no signs of suffering and simply stretches the slightly tilted head at an allied soldier.

「......unharmed.」

「The rhinoceros beetles don't compare to this thing.」

Celia and Luna mutter in amazement.

I heard it was as hard as steel, but to think that concentrated fire did not even scratch it or cause it to stagger a little.

I know I received information beforehand.

But I expected to get a small chance to charge in once the assault causes it to falter.

It's not part of the plan for it to deflect everything and not budge.

Nevertheless, it seems the insect hydra is cognizant of the attacks and changes its target from me to the allied soldiers.

「It's coming over here!」

「Run awaaaaay!!」

It was an overwhelming scene.

Ditches and fences do nothing to stop the giant creature.

The insect hydra stomps on everything under its feet like bundles of straw and demolishes the ballista as well as the earthen mound it was fixed on top of.

Its heads reach out to the scattering soldiers.

Those running away are torn in half, those standing up against it are swallowed whole, and the resisting commander is thrown into the air.

Those hiding in the ditches are crushed, while those who climbed on top of watchtowers are blown away along with the structure and preyed upon in midair.

The remaining stone wall that didn't take much damage crumbled from the relentless assault from three heads, allowing the fourth and fifth heads to chomp on the exposed soldiers.

When the frontlines fell apart, the other bugs invaded.

「A single creature is able to destroy a castle. I see, it's not a lie.」

I breathe deeply and assume a stance with my weapons.

If that thing is left alone for five minutes, it will destroy the fort, putting the lives of Nonna and the others in danger.

「Here I come, monster.」

I run at rampaging insect hydra.

One head reacts instantly and swoops down.

I stand with my back against a broken stone wall and intentionally pause before dodging by a hair's breadth.

Its head crashes into the stone wall and stops moving for a split second.

「Having nine heads isn't really fair.」

I lower my hips, raise my Keravnos up to its face and pour all my strength into a thrust.

The thrust with my weight behind it lands and leaves a strong feeling of resistance in my hand along with a shrill metallic ringing in my ear.

「Gaah......」

「Aegir-sama's power can't get through, ah but it's injured! It's Aegir-sama's victory.」

Luna and Celia are dumbfounded.

I want to do the same, but doing that will get me crushed for sure, so I'd rather not.

An immediate counterattack swings at me, which I dodge.

Two more different heads also close in on me.

I roll away in the opposite direction to get away from the heads rushing in from the left and right at a slight time delay.

Against a simultaneous attack by three heads, I strike one in the face with my Keravnos and use the recoil to propel myself backwards and dodge.

Are you telling me I have to use the Keravnos, which has an edge that's sharper than an average treasured spear, like any old stick?

「Then I'll use this.」

I aim at one of the heads that has lost all momentum and stopped moving and swing down with my Dual Crater.

True to its mythril nature, the sword doesn't bounce off and I feel the blade slice into the outer shell.

I lift up my head after completely cutting through, and find purple fluid leaking from the face of the insect hydra, which retreats several meters back in shock.

「I thought I split its head in half just now.」

The angle should have been good enough.

But the strong outer shell made even the Dual Crater slide?

「Couldn't you have done a little more?」

I try cursing at Lintbloom who seems to have woken up recently.

『Evil spirits or ghosts would have been dispersed, but that is an insect in every way. Even a mithril blade capable of sweeping magic is no more than a sharp razor.』

That's why I said to do something.

You mentioned sucking the soul previously if I recall.

『I'm not sucking the soul of an insect! To begin with, I absolutely despise insects.』

There was no further response from him afterward.

Seemingly learning its lesson from my attack, the insect hydra lifts its heads up and stares at me head-on.

Now, my attacks won't reach――

「Crap.」

I put my weapons away faster than the words came out of my mouth and ran.

I could tell from the roaring that the insect hydra will be charging forward.

There's nothing I can do here.

It's not a weight I can stop, and that thing is wide so dodging is impossible too.

「Lord Hardlett, this way.」

I look in the direction of the voice and see Leopolt on top of a U-shaped mound of dirt.

「There's nowhere to run if I jump inside!」

I head in the direction of the mound as I complain.

It goes without saying that there is no room to escape when jumping into a U-shaped mound――

「Woah.」

The moment I thought I reached the very end, the ground opened up and I slid diagonally until I rolled out on the other side.

「......tell me in advance.」

「I didn't have time.」

I curse as I groan in pain from bumping my head on something hard.

But this kind of mound is like a lump of earth to the hydra.

It rams into the mound without slowing down and its body emerges in front of us.

「Cannoneers, fire.」

I hear Leopolt's cold voice come from behind me before I know it.

「Wait a second, this hard thing is......」

Booms from six cannons prevent me from finishing my question.

There is no more than a few meters between us and the hydra.

I should be hearing the anguished squeals and the collapsing sound of the hydra following the tremendous roar and consecutive sounds of shots landing on target, but unfortunately my head is dizzy and the cannons are drowning everything out.

「Dammit Leopolt, I'll sneak a centipede in your bed later.」

After shaking my head and looking up, Leopolt shouts.

Although I can't hear his voice, it's rare to see him open his mouth so wide.

Of course I understand the meaning.

「Forget your bed, I'll put it in your collar!」

I cross my sword and spear in front of my chest and jump to the rear.

Almost at the same time, I receive an enormous impact to my chest that knocks me up into the air.

What spreads across my field of vision is the insect hydra that stained my chest with purple liquid.

Six cannons firing at close range didn't work either.

I think rather calmly as I drop from a height of 50 meters and fall on my back.

「――!!」

My bones creak, my organs shake, and I see stars.

I twist my body as I bounce like a rock skipping on the water surface and roll as I kill the impact of being blown away.

I send several allied soldiers flying along the way and crash into the earthen mound, finally coming to a stop.

「Aegir-sama――!!」

「Lord Hardlett was taken out!?」

「W-we're done for......」

I want to say I haven't died yet, but I can't move my body or speak.

A few seconds' time would be nice, but it doesn't look like it'll be given to me.

「It's coming this way!」

The insect hydra is persistently targeting me.

If I don't stand up, I'll be crushed.

「Gu......guh.」

I use the Dual Crater as a cane to prop myself up, yet I don't feel I can attack, let alone roll.

「Now then......what......am I going to do?」

It happened right as I looked up and let out a winded monologue.

「Take this, trash insect.」

A few bottles were thrown from the top of a crumbling watchtower.

The bottles accurately hit the insect hydra in the face, exploded with a roar, and burnt its antennae to a crisp.

The monster's body that endured the blast from six cannons at close range trembles in pain.

「Danger to administrator detected. Emergency shooting mode――activating.」

Light starts shining from behind.

The light threads between me and the soldiers and catches one of the hydra's heads.

The head seems to withstand the light briefly, but then expands from the inside and bursts.

All the other heads wave around separately and its body writhes from left to right.

It's the first time the insect hydra has clearly shown signs of pain.

「High resistance to physical and thermal weapons confirmed. Attacks from electromagnetic or radiation weapons recommended.」

Tikuku appears, saying things I don't understand.

A torn worm is in her right hand, a spider's head is in her left hand, and a spider is hanging over her back.

The spider behind her tries to insert its tube into Tikuku's forehead, but it is repelled with a dull thud.

「Potent toxin confirmed. Evacuation recommended.」

After covering her forehead with her hands, Tikuku grabs the spider's forelegs and pulls them in opposite directions, tearing them off.

The stars disappear from my vision and my hearing is restored.

「Thanks.」

I smile at Sekrit, who jumps down from the watchtower and Tikuku, who hands the dismembered spider to fellow soldiers.

But it's not over.

The hydra, now reduced to eight heads, slowly stands up.

「How much easier will it be with one less head?」

When I assume a stance with my Dual Crater, thinking not much will change, something else interferes.

「Gusting wind, become sharp blades and cut that wicked creature.」

I feel a strange wind pressure and then about ten of the insect hydra's legs fly off.

Losing balance, the hydra tilts to one side.

A wind scythe, oh wind magic?

「You seem to be in trouble.」

I turn around to the sight of the chieftess of the forest elves, Yularen, holding a cheap-looking umbrella.

If she's here, then――

「Raindrops, gather and become a gigantic ball. Smash these evil insects.」

Rain stops falling around the source of the voice and concentrates in a spherical shape in midair.

It then moves above the wobbling insect hydra and drops.

Water is heavy, and when it accumulates into something of that size, it most likely possesses power incomparable to a catapult.

The impact makes a thump and one of the heads splits.

「Ijaris.」

「Yes.」

Ijaris, the chieftess of the black elves, fans herself with a cheap-looking paper fan as she poses rather seductively, the water on her brown skin further enhancing her sexiness.

The two of them must have gone shopping together at some market.

「Thanks. I honestly thought there was no hope left.」

「Fufu, glad I made it on time.」

「Yes, however we can't relax just yet.」

The insect hydra slowly stands up.

It lost two heads, ten legs and antennae.

That's far from being fatal damage.

「Haa, haa......made it!」

A set of dodgy stumbling footsteps stops beside me.

「Hiih!」

A small shriek follows.

The voice belongs to Alice.

Fear washes over her face when she sees the insect hydra and the spiders and worms approaching, but she stands strong, shakes her head, and takes a deep breath while closing her eyes.

「All troops, evacuate!」

Hearing me shout and also sensing danger, allied soldiers stop fighting and clear out of the area.

Dingus yells to retreat as well, punches the dumbfounded Rinuga on his way and drags him along.

「Burn!!」

Fireballs the size of human bodies fly from both of Alice's hands.

They float at a walking pace and drop at the feet of the insect hydra.

One, two, three seconds――

「Wooah!?」

「Hot!」

「Uwaaaaaaaah!!」

It exploded, no, the fire expanded instantly.

「Did it work!!?」

Irijina shouts.

The insect hydra is engulfed by the flames, and the raging fire also swallows the nearby spiders and worms, as well as scorches the hair and eyebrows of allied soldiers, before eventually disappearing into the air.

The bugs close to the fireball are completely carbonized.

Others sensed the danger of the fire and distant themselves from the fort.

Black smoke rises from the body of the insect hydra located in the center of the flames, which remains still like a statue.

Pieces of the burnt outer shell clatters softly to the ground.

All of a sudden, the rain stops, the clouds clear, and light shines down.

「Is it dead?」

「Of course it is. Look around, the bugs can't even maintain their shape.」

「It became charcoal......right?」

The soldiers whisper among each other.

「Christoph.」

I call out to Christoph and point at the hydra.

「Eh?」

「Hurry up.」

Urged by Celia, Christoph inches forward timidly and uses the sword he holds between his index finger and thumb to poke the hydra.

Immediately, the lump of charcoal shakes violently.

「Uwaaaaaaah!!」

「You're kidding......」

The insect hydra shakes off the charcoal from its body and begins moving again.

The surface of its body was definitely carbonized, judging by the fragments of the outer shell that were scattered about.

One of the chunks hits Christoph, and he faints with both of his arms folded across his chest.

Two more heads, completely burnt, fall off with a thud.

But still, that thing is alive and well.

「What tremendous vitality.」

Despite occasionally staggering and slamming its head on the ground as it scans its surroundings, the insect hydra leaves to the south, keeping its body low to hide from the sun.

「Don't chase. We don't have the strength to continue fighting. Prioritize reorganizing the troops and repairing the fort. There is a few more hours until night, they'll come again.」

I stare at the fleeing insect hydra and hug the exhausted Alice.

「Yularen and Ijaris......the elves are here too. I'm going to give them a brief explanation so come with me.」

I calmly say as I call out to Rinuga.

「Hey, that's the thing that assaulted your fortress, right?」

「Of course......however, the size seems somewhat different, now that I think about it......」

That makes sense. I mean, there are plenty of spiders, so there must be more than one of those too.

I heave a sigh and turn around.

「Leopolt, we're racing against time. Leave the aftermath to Dingus and think only about how to sever the source. Imagine if ten or twenty of those things emerged. Not just this place, but all of Goldonia won't last three days.」

We either eliminate them soon or we fail and get eaten.