Night Raid (3)
The expedition's tents were arranged like a honeycomb.
It was a formation designed to protect key figures. If Duke Edwin and Archbishop Conrad were to die, the entire course of the expedition would become uncertain.
The camp had been set up by weaving small tents between trees and boulders. The closer one moved toward the center, the higher the rank of those residing within—and elite troops were stationed to guard them.
In other words…
The farther toward the outskirts, the lower the quality of the soldiers.
The expedition was aware of this issue and had assigned multiple field commanders, but it didn't seem to make much difference.
"They're losing control."
The problem lay in the soldiers' mixed origins.
To replenish insufficient manpower, Duke Edwin had sought aid from the Kingdom Alliance. Eager to set a good precedent, various nobles contributed troops.
The problem was that these gathered forces were not only poorly trained, but came from all walks of life, lacking a strong sense of belonging.
This was a fight they could win if they stood their ground.
But the frightened soldiers were fleeing. The sudden night raid had broken their morale.
"Aaaagh!!"
"Someone help me—!"
They scattered like startled sheep. From the demonic beasts' perspective, it was a banquet.
The beasts pursued their prey.
At the same time, the spear in the hunter's hand gleamed coldly.
Thud!!
A sharp impact rang out. A boar that had been chasing a soldier collapsed, struck by a thrown javelin. Immediately after, a crimson wolf sped past its side.
Swish.
Rex extended a tentacle. At its tip was the boar's inner core. It seemed that in the brief moment they passed by earlier, he had extracted it in passing.
"Not bad."
Woojin smirked.
"You eat that one."
Rex didn't refuse. He crunched down on the core. A moment later, a cracking sound came from his hind legs, and his running speed noticeably increased.
The boar's signature charging force.
Having gained it, Rex let out an excited howl.
"I'll sweep the outer perimeter and hunt everything that stands out."
He was slightly concerned about the Order of Harmony, but there shouldn't be a major problem. Roland was an exceptionally skilled warrior.
If anything happened near the choir, the wolves would howl loudly as a signal. With that understanding, Woojin continued hunting without hesitation.
Even now… demonic beasts were converging from all directions, like fish drawn to bait.
Thud!!
A single harpoon-like throw felled another beast. Rex retrieved the spear with a tentacle and extracted the core. The entire process took only a few breaths—astonishing hunting efficiency.
As they continued cutting down beasts, a gargoyle finally entered his sight.
Crunch, crunch.
It was chewing a centipede whole. Each movement of its jaw caused green ichor to splatter.
As before, Woojin hurled a javelin with full force. Startled, the gargoyle raised a wing to shield itself.
Thud!!
The spear pierced through the wing membrane—but it wasn't fatal. The wing had blocked a deep strike, and the gargoyle had twisted at the last moment to avoid a critical hit.
"Graaagh!!"
It roared, ripping the javelin free. With its sharp hearing, a stealth attack was nearly impossible.
Woojin slid off Rex's back.
"Wait here."
There was something he wanted to try.
Gripping his machete in a reverse hold, he sprinted forward. The distance closed in an instant. To crush the audacious human, the gargoyle slammed its fist down.
The trajectory was obvious—easy to evade.
"That's just a feint. The real attack is…"
The tail.
As expected, the gargoyle lashed out with a whip-like strike, augmented with increased weight. Woojin raised his machete to block.
Thooong!!
A tremendous impact surged through him.
But Woojin did not move.
He remained firmly in place. Instead, both his feet sank deep into the ground.
"…Definitely useful."
Weight augmentation.
There had been many times when his strength outpaced his body's lightness. He had long wanted this ability, but the opportunity was rare.
Gargoyles were perceptive and capable of flight—not easy prey.
Crack—
Woojin clenched his fist. The tighter he squeezed, the heavier it felt. Simply standing still became a strain.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Each step he took split the ground, leaving deep footprints behind.
The sight terrified the gargoyle. It beat its wings to flee—but before it could rise, Woojin kicked off the earth and swung his fist with all his might.
BOOOOM!!
An explosive blast split the air.
The gargoyle's head burst like a water balloon. Its now headless body collapsed limply onto the dirt.
A punch imbued with weight augmentation.
Its power was tremendous—but it clearly had drawbacks.
"…Ow. That stings."
Woojin frowned slightly. His wrist tingled, like he had punched an arcade strength machine incorrectly. He flexed his hand a few times to ease the pain.
"So that's why they always strike downward."
He had simply raised his fist and swung with brute force. The gargoyles, on the other hand, always attacked in ways that didn't resist gravity—minimizing the strain on themselves.
Efficient, but predictable. Repeating only downward strikes made their patterns easy to read.
"I'll need to experiment."
The pain in his wrist gradually subsided. Woojin's bones were sturdy, and his regenerative ability allowed him to recover quickly.
He slit open the gargoyle's chest and pulled out its inner core.
Then he felt a stare.
Rex was watching him intently.
"Want it?"
The wolf nodded vigorously. It seemed envious of the attack Woojin had just used.
"If Rex gained weight augmentation… that'd be quite useful."
Stone skin and tentacles.
If a stone whip formed from those two traits were combined with weight augmentation, each lash would deliver devastating force.
Woojin held the core out without hesitation. Rex chewed and swallowed it.
"Well? Do you feel anything?"
"… "
Rex's expression darkened.
Apparently, he hadn't inherited the ability.
Woojin had expected as much.
Weight augmentation was notoriously difficult to inherit. Woojin himself had devoured over forty gargoyles before finally acquiring it.
"Let's go. If we move quickly, we might catch one more."
At Woojin's words, he mounted the wolf again. Perhaps newly motivated, Rex sprinted forward at full speed. He was noticeably faster than before.
Even though he hadn't gained a new ability, consuming the gargoyle's core seemed to have enhanced his physical capabilities. Woojin and Rex swiftly scanned the surroundings as they ran.
…But that marked the end of their hunt.
"The main force is moving."
It seemed the situation had been roughly stabilized. From the center of the camp, the expedition's elite forces emerged.
On the left stood troops from the Order of Wisdom. On the right, the private soldiers of the House of Leventor. The two forces advanced in disciplined formation.
"Front line, fire!"
Thud-thud-thud—!
Soldiers standing in tight ranks unleashed their crossbows. Consecrated silver bolts rained down upon the demonic beasts like a sudden storm.
After firing, the first line dropped to one knee and began reloading, drawing back their crossbow strings. At the same time, the second line behind them fired.
A tactic commonly known as sequential firing.
It minimized the gap in firepower caused by the crossbow's reload time. Exposed to uninterrupted volleys, the demonic beasts shrieked in agony.
"It'll be hard to continue hunting."
The arrival of these troops meant the gargoyles that had ambushed Tarask were already dealt with. With the full-scale counteroffensive underway, the chaos would soon be quelled.
Just as he thought that—
The advancing army suddenly halted.
The soldiers hesitated, unable to fire.
Woojin quickly grasped the situation.
"Hostages."
Cunning monkey-type beasts had dragged living soldiers forward, using them as shields. One soldier, gripped by the back of the neck, gasped for air.
"Ugh… p-please… save me…"
The hostage gestured frantically for them not to shoot. The pitiful sight made the soldiers falter.
Perhaps displeased by the delay—
…A superior officer stepped forward.
"Why have you stopped?"
The calm voice belonged to a white-haired old man.
Cornelius, the White Serpent. The veteran knight serving as supreme commander of the second expedition.
A young knight explained cautiously.
"As you can see… they've taken hostages."
"I see."
Cornelius gave a brief glance toward the front, then extended his hand.
"Crossbow."
"Yes, sir."
The young knight promptly handed over the weapon. Cornelius received it and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger.
Thud!
"Ghk—!"
A silver bolt pierced the hostage's throat.
The man convulsed with a choking sound before his head slumped lifelessly.
The atmosphere among the soldiers froze. Even the monkeys holding the hostage were momentarily stunned.
"…Next?"
Cornelius muttered.
Snapping back to his senses, the young knight shouted:
"Front line, fire!"
The order rang out. The next volley tore through both the monkey beasts and the remaining hostages they held.
When it ended, only cold corpses remained.
Cornelius handed the crossbow back.
"See that I don't have to step in again."
"Yes, sir!"
The knight responded loudly, like a new recruit.
Soon the halted army resumed its advance, the mood far sterner than before. Woojin observed from a distance.
"As cold as the rumors say."
The decision itself had been correct. Attempting negotiations in that situation would have been foolish.
Yet his action seemed tinged with personal anger.
The reason was simple.
The old knight's eyes had burned with fury—and they had not been directed at the beasts, but at the captured soldier.
"More than anger at the ambush… it looked like anger at the soldiers."
When the beasts attacked, terrified soldiers had broken ranks and fled.
They ran to what they believed was the safest place—the very center of the camp, where the elite forces were stationed.
The problem was that too many fled at once. The influx created chaos and disorder, tangling the formation and delaying the main force for a significant time.
As a result, the expedition suffered heavy losses. For the supreme commander, Cornelius, the situation was understandably intolerable.
"…But this isn't entirely the soldiers' fault."
Stationing the elite troops at the center and placing the weaker allied forces along the outer perimeter…
That meant those outer soldiers had been intended, from the start, as expendable shields.
Could Cornelius truly condemn them for running to survive?
"…Hard to judge."
Woojin understood hunting. War, however, was another matter entirely. He couldn't assess it so simply.
Under the knights' command, the army completed a full sweep of the camp. Realizing the tide had turned, the demonic beasts abandoned their prey and retreated without lingering.
The long night finally came to an end.
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