Proofread By Thomas F
Orok Uram
"They are close," informed Hasid.
We are deep in the mine; every time we come here, we are sent deeper so much so that all the men are wearing special masks.
"They are coming, prepare yourselves," I said to my men.
All of them become alert, with skills coming alive and spells lighting up.
I do not have to remind them of the danger. They know how dangerous it could be; this is our fourth encounter.
Seconds passed after another, and finally, the small hole widened as it blasted apart, with a stream of Shardmaws coming out of it.
They stormed ahead straight toward us; we are quite far from them, but with their speed, they are coming closer by the second.
I watched them, saw the continuous stream, and felt the Rhythm of Wild; my expressions couldn't help but become serious.
"Their numbers are much greater this time," said Azika, and I nodded, seeing the hundreds of them with more of them still streaming out.
"Let's hope our preparations will be enough," added Donil, gripping his sword tightly.
We are a company of soldiers, elite, highly trained and experienced, but with the numbers coming. Even we wouldn't normally come out unscathed.
Thankfully, we have learned a lot in the past four times and have made preparations accordingly.
Finally, there were only a hundred meters of distance between us and the monsters.
"Hasid, activated it," I ordered, and the mage grinned.
The next moment, his staff lit up, and the walls of the caves began to hum, while a large blue energy wall appeared in front of us.
The next moment, dense, icy spears and wind blades emerged from the walls and moved toward the monsters. I could see their surprise, but there is nowhere to run.
There are no magic mines. These are enchantments laid around the whole cave.
They have created a killing field. That is so dangerous that even my men and I wouldn't come out without casualties through it. It is why we stayed far away from it and even cast a shield spell.
Shardmaws roared, but it didn't matter.
The icy spars and wind blades cut through their dense skins. Killing some and injuring more.
We could have done this much cheaper, but these bastards are sensitive to magic. So, we used the expensive enchantments, which are hidden with a layer of anti-sensory enchantment and skills.
The attacks are wind- and ice-element.
Earth elemental attacks would have been best, but these creatures are very sensitive to it and also possess resistance.
The enchantments killed the Shardmaws, but not all of them. Only Grade I and Grade II. They only injured the Grade III's, and the Grade IVs were able to shake it off with a few scratches.
Well, we can't have the very powerful enchantments; these are expensive as it is.
"They are here," I said and activated Iron Discipline and Barrage of Steel, before taking a step forward with Feral Blitz.
I appeared beside the monster and swung my axe with Razorwing Edge.
A ripping sound rang out as the monster was cleanly decapitated. I didn't watch the head fall and turned to the second monster immediately.
It roared at me and tried to bite my head off, but I avoided it and swung my axe.
Its head separated, and I moved toward another monster. While I did, I looked at other soldiers with Wildheart. They are moving through the monsters.
Their axes, sabres, are cleaving through them.
I killed a few more monsters when the rhythm spiked, and I saw two big Shardaws coming toward me. I had asked Hadis to keep them off me for a few seconds, giving me a chance to kill the Grade III's.
Now, the Grade IVs have arrived, and there are barely any scratches on their huge bodies.
Nearly twice as big as me, with thick, earthy, leathery, thin, and long mouth with sharp teeth. Those are sharp enough that they wouldn't have any problem in tearing through me.
If I read the rhythm right, both of them are as powerful as mid-Lv. 30's powerhouses.
They came at me. One of them attacked me with large, sharp claws, while the one on the right came at me with its mouth wide open.
I avoided the mouth and claws swipe with Feral Blitz, before attacking with my ax.
As I did, I felt the sneak attack on me by Grade III's Shardmaw. I could avoid it, but I did not. The monsters' numbers are high, and killing them fast is a priority.
So, I didn't move, and the large claw crashed against me; against Wildheart's Protection.
I shook and felt my back ripening up a little. Monsters are physically powerful, and the claws were sharp, so that even ancestral skill couldn't stop them fully.
Still, the injury is not deep, and I activated Wildheart's Healing to address it, while my ax reached the head of the monster.
The next second, it tore through it cleanly.
Enchanted axes are good, and I loved them, but they couldn't be compared to the shiny half-artifice, which I got just a week ago.
It is slightly bigger than I am used to, but it is powerful and, most importantly. It's sharp and cuts through even the powerful bones of the monsters smoothly.
The second Shardmaw roared and came at me with rage, while I avoided it with Feral Blitz.
As for the Grade III, Shardmaw, it was dealt with by Hadis.
I stopped to the left of the Shardmaw and attacked. The monster retreated, knowing the danger, but it was slow, and my ax cut through its neck.
I have fought them many times, and I have become aware of their every ability and limitation.
I am not the only one killing them; my men are doing well as well. They are moving through the monsters, leaving the bodies of the shardmaws on the ground.
Every person in the Wildheart is highly trained; they are the best of the best, chosen among thousands.
They also get the best gear, food, and salaries in the whole army.
I killed a few more Grade IV's when rhythm sang loudest, and I turned. Only to see a Shardmaw coming out, it's not the biggest. Its size is similar to Grade III's, but it is stronger.
Its power is equal to late Lv. 30's.
Not a normal late Lv. 30, but a monster that is a step away from Grade IV.
Its eyes found mine, and it roared before coming toward me. Its speed is fast, crossing half the distance in a moment. Seeing that, I grinned.
It's time to use everything.
I activated the Predator's Gaze, and everything became clearer and sharper, before I activated Lion's Strength, which filled my body with immense strength.
I might be able to fight against it with this, but that is not the purpose here.
No, the purpose is to kill the monsters as soon as possible. So, I used my last card, and the aura burst out of me. Immediately, the eyes of the monster become serious.
I looked at it before shooting toward the monster with Feral Blitz.
As I pushed my aura into it, it gave me blurring speed. As I moved, my ax moved with me. Killing every monster that appeared in my path.
It roared, seeing that, and moved faster, appearing in front of me in moments.
"Ready to die, little monster?" I asked with a grin, but there is zero mirth in my heart. People underestimate the monsters and end up getting killed by them.
I had fought with them at an age when most people didn't even learn to hold a weapon.
They are not something I would ever underestimate.
It roared and attacked me. Its claws are fast, but I moved out of the way, avoiding the attack. The monster turned with me, moving its claws to defend against my attack.
This time, I smiled, and it seemed to sense something wrong, but didn't pull back its claws.
My ax clashed against its claws, and I felt an immense shock, but I bore it, shaking a little. The monster looked surprised, but it quickly controlled itself and attacked.
I dodged it, but attacked again, and I dodged it again.
It roared frustratingly and kept attacking, but I kept dodging. Unlike other monsters, this bastard is powerful and fast; it won't let me attack.
It seemed to understand if it gave me the chance. It would be bad.
A few seconds passed, and I dodged another of its attacks. It quickly turned and attacked me again, but this time, I was faster than before.
A ripping sound rang out, and the bloody cut appeared on his back.
I was going for its neck, but the monster shifted to avoid it.
It roared and attacked me, but I moved again, and another cut appeared on it, then another. I'm moving fast, pushing more and more aura into the speed skill.
My speed skill is really good; I didn't see a single other person at mid-Lv. 30 that matches me.
With aura, my speed had become even faster, but this monster is not weak, given the scars across its body. It is experience as well, and it shows in the way it avoids.
Unfortunately, it will have to die.
More and more cuts appeared across its body. It is saving its critical organs, but the rest of its body has become a bloody canvas.
Not that it is affecting it much, with their immense vitality. They are healing fast.
Its minions are trying to help it, but my men are stopping them. They are dealing with everything that could disturb our battles.
Minutes passed, and then finally, I saw the chance and moved on it.
I appeared directly in front of it and swung my ax; it moved its claw to defend while it was happening, and I let go of the ax with one hand.
It surprised the monster, but it didn't do anything, and a moment later, its claw clashed against my ax, and I felt a force that travelled through my arm and began fracturing my bones, but I held on.
The next moment, the surprise appeared on the monster's face, and it tried to retreat, but before it could take a single step, my long knife had reached it.
A second later, it pierced through the monster's head from below.
It roared, and I moved; the knife was not powerful enough to kill, but that was fine as I appeared to its left and brought my ax down with both hands. It barely saw the attack. Too distracted by the knife still lodged in its head.
A beat later, a wet sound rang out, and its head separated from its body.
Seeing that, I smiled with relief, but the battle is far from over, and I moved to deal with the remaining monsters.
Minutes passed, and we had nearly finished with over 70% of the monsters, when the powerful presence filled the caves and made the rhythm go haywire.
The monsters got energized by it, while my people and I kept fighting calmly.
A few seconds passed, and a massive roar rang out. It is deafening and filled with such power that it shakes me. I don't think I will be able to defeat it.
Grade V!
A moment later, a bigger Shardmaw monster I had ever seen appeared through the cave.
It's the first Grade V Shardmaw I have ever seen, and it's terrifying. It looked at us, and the dead bodies and rage in its eyes grew and came toward us.
Though the very next moment, its steps halted, and a red line appeared across its neck.
A second later, its head separated from its body and fell on the floor with a heavy thud, while I watched in shock at the ease with which the man killed a Grade V monster.
I turned to the rogue.
John Sand, Lord Silver's bodyguard. He is always present whenever we fight the Shardmaws. Though it was the first time he had ever fought directly.
He didn't move toward us and remained by the entrance. The battlefield isn't clear; we have to finish.
It didn't take us long, less than ten minutes later. All the monsters are dead.
"Will you and your people need a rest before we move to clear the nest, Colonel Uram?" asked Mr. Sands. "No," I replied.
"Good, then let's clear it," he stated. A moment later, I walked into the entrance with Mr. Sands and a platoon of my soldiers.