Automatically, the recruit began shouting, saying, "Scatter, everyone! Scatter!"
Those words were all he was capable of doing, and indeed, the army began to disperse, moving away from the center, where that massive body was about to strike the place where the army had been stationed.
It was a terrifying monster with a long, undulating body, possessing a circular mouth filled with hundreds of sharp teeth that looked like sword blades. As it began to crawl and thrash everywhere, it was identified as the Giant Earthworm, that infamous beast.
While this worm continued to thrash and swallow everything in its path, an elite group of recruits chose to face it. Among them was the recruit tasked with leading the army, who drew his sword and advanced rapidly on horseback. As soon as he was close enough to deliver a blow with his sword, the worm moved and evaded the attack. Not only that, but it then swung its body toward the recruit, who at that moment stood face-to-face with the Giant Earthworm, desperately preparing to block the assault.
Before the monstrous fangs of the earthworm could tear the leader of the recruits apart, one of the recruits jumped from his horse toward the leader. In a heroic scene reflecting the courage and daring of its owner, he managed to push the leader away from the giant worm's reach.
At that moment, one of the mages targeted the worm with a barrage of long-range attacks—a massive collection of blazing fireballs—in an attempt to distract the worm from the recruit and the leader. He succeeded; as soon as these attacks hit the monster, it turned toward the direction they came from and rushed forward at high speed.
As the worm crawled toward the mage, and once it reached a certain distance, the ground suddenly collapsed beneath it. A massive pit appeared in the ground, undoubtedly intentional, as one of the mages had set this trap. Once it fell in, his fellow mages launched their strongest magical attacks toward the pit that had just swallowed the worm.
On the other side of the area, Albert's assistant was still desperately searching among the rocks for Albert: "Hey! Sir, can you hear me?"
The assistant heard nothing but the echo of his own voice. Dark thoughts began to haunt him, and at that moment, he could only think of grim possibilities, each worse than the last. However, this did not stop him from continuing the search.
While the assistant had dismounted and begun to search more thoroughly, he heard a faint sound but wasn't sure of it; he thought he had started hallucinating. But the sound repeated, and the man stopped, trying to pinpoint its source.
The sound repeated once more, sounding like a desperate plea in an intermittent and unstable voice. Upon hearing it, Albert's assistant was able to locate him immediately and rushed toward the source of the sound.
There, the shock awaited. What the assistant saw was his master's body lying near the site of the rockfall. For a moment, Albert's assistant thought that Albert had already passed away, especially since the one making the sound was one of the men lying near Albert.
In these critical moments, the assistant rushed at maximum speed toward Albert's body lying before him and knelt down immediately. He began checking his pulse and attempting first aid after confirming that Albert's heart was still beating, albeit at an unstable rhythm.
"Ah, you must endure, sir! You must live! You have a family waiting for you, and you have a people who love you and expect you to protect them from danger. Come on, wake up!" These were the words the assistant chanted while performing first aid in a desperate state, knowing full well that if the situation continued this way, Albert would lose his life sooner or later.
At those moments, the assistant's tears were flowing like a waterfall as he struggled against his despair while trying to keep Albert alive. At that moment, all he wished for was a miracle to save them from this miserable fate.
Coincidentally, the assistant heard a loud noise from afar. He turned around immediately in a state of astonishment and anticipation, trying to identify the nature of this loud sound. He succeeded; it was the sound of horses neighing, accompanied by the sound of their hooves hitting the ground. At this point, the assistant smiled, and joy filled his face: "Finally, help has arrived."
Opposite the assistant, two raging horses were running at an incredible, unprecedented speed. The surprise lay in the two people riding these horses; what the assistant saw was not an illusion but reality. Helmod and Leon were on the backs of these powerful horses, coming toward him.
As soon as Leon noticed the assistant kneeling and saw someone in his arms, he said, "It seems we are a bit late."
Helmod replied, "The important thing is that we have arrived." Upon reaching a certain point, they pulled the reins of their horses firmly to stop them. Once they stopped, both dismounted together. Helmod then asked about what had happened: "What happened? Who caused all of this?"
Albert's assistant replied in an unstable voice, saying, "I don't know exactly. All I know is that an earthquake occurred while we were crossing this pass, causing dozens of us to be crushed under the rockfall that happened. Also, Lord Albert..."
The assistant did not need to continue further; Helmod understood the situation perfectly. He moved to take Albert's body from the assistant's hands to examine him and attempt resuscitation. While Helmod was doing this, Leon was staring intently at the rocky cliffs. Suddenly, Leon mounted his horse, and before leaving hurriedly, he said, "Helmod, make sure this noble scoundrel stays alive; he is the key to us getting paid."
As soon as Leon said that, he dashed with his horse at maximum speed toward the exit of this rocky bottleneck, specifically heading toward the side where the army was located.
In these critical moments, the recruits were still fighting this large monster with all their strength. For a moment, everyone thought the trap they had set had succeeded and borne fruit. But another earthquake struck the area, causing the ground to crack beneath their feet. From those cracks, a massive explosion occurred, causing dust and rocks to scatter everywhere. Then, that massive, long body emerged from the ground, reaching a height that made those on the ground think it had pierced the sky.
But that did not happen; instead, something else occurred that was even more catastrophic. The massive body descended to strike the ground, crushing everyone beneath it.
It was indeed a desperate battle, and there was no hope for victory. This thought captivated the minds of everyone present. Losses were mounting further. At that moment, the recruit who had taken command broke through his barrier of fear and chose to sacrifice his life to give the rest a chance to survive, even if it was slim.
Immediately, once he resolved to execute this suicidal plan, he rushed toward the massive worm, surprising it and plunging his sword into its body. The blow was powerful enough to make the worm turn toward him and begin chasing him, while he rode his horse away from where the others were.
At those moments, everyone witnessed the courage of this recruit; such an act is only undertaken by the brave and the heroic. Fortunately for this brave soul, there was someone else witnessing his heroism—someone who smiled a smile of satisfaction at what he saw. It was Leon.
At that moment, the worm's teeth, lined in its mouth like saws, seemed ready to tear its prey apart. As the recruit turned his head slightly back to see that terrifying sight, the thought that he might end up dead and torn between the teeth of this monster was terrifying. But it seemed the recruit had already accepted it, as he was at the point of no return and had no escape.
The recruit closed his eyes and swallowed hard, sweat pouring from his face as he was closer to death, about to be torn apart inside the monster's mouth... but that did not happen. Suddenly, the recruit glimpsed something—a body he couldn't identify. All he could see in a fraction of a second was a brilliant red flash that dazzled the eyes. Then, he heard the sound of a thunderous collision directly behind him. From the force of this impact, he and his horse were thrown several meters forward.
The recruit fell to the ground, and the first thing he did was turn toward the worm to see what had happened. But a surprise awaited him; the sound of the worm's screaming dominated the area—a pained scream as it thrashed in agony. He was able to see it all: there was a massive gash in the worm's body, a tear that looked like the work of a sword.
While the recruit was still trying to grasp what had happened, that same flash pierced the air at a speed he had never seen before, striking the giant worm again. As the recruit's eyes were wide in total shock, he heard the sound of hooves hitting the ground near him. He quickly looked in that direction to see a powerful, muscular horse, and then a young man overflowing with strength dismounted from it.
The recruit tilted his head up in an attempt to see the person's features clearly.
Indeed, he was finally able to see the person fully: a young man with sharp features and bright yellow eyes, wearing a black cloak with a badge bearing a four-pointed star. His black hair hung down on his sides, and in both hands, he held a pair of stunning crimson daggers.
Not a single word came from the recruit's throat; his tongue failed him, and he was unable to express this scene. At that moment, Leon looked down slightly at the recruit and said, "I congratulate you on your courage. Fortunately for you, you will not die today."