Chapter 28: The raid [13]
"More monsters are coming! At this rate, there will be no end to this! We need to do something about that portal!" George shouted, holding a sword and a huge shield. His ability allowed him to slow down the monster's tentacles, but even so, the area that his ability could cover was around ten meters.
Normally, what the royal knights should have done in such a situation was to move the emperor to safety.
But Solomon said, "We can't let these monsters get out of here. We must act immediately and deal with the situation at hand before it gets completely out of control. And I am not so weak that I need to hide inside a castle."
Solomon was right. All of the strongest adventurers and royal knights were already gathered in this place. If they couldn't do anything about this situation, then there was nothing that could be done, as they were the strongest individuals in this city.
George knew that and he knew that the emperor was strong, but it was still his duty to protect Solomon and Rezalea at any cost.
"Maintain the formation!" George shouted. The knights adopted a defensive formation, taking advantage of George's ability.
At the center of this formation were Solomon and his attendant, Rezalea, Rita, Valentina, the little dragon girl, and other important guild members like Zeppelin. The knights stood around them, shields and swords in hand, their bodies enveloped in a battle aura.
They managed to hold their position at first, but things were taking a pretty bad turn as the number of monsters kept increasing.
Garcia and her companions were standing on the front line along with the other members of the Red Lily, so they were the ones who dealt with more damage.
The problem was, of course, the monster's unpredictable attack pattern. And not only that, but the blows were also heavy and powerful, bursting continuously at an incredible speed. Those attacks came from any direction, notably from above and from the sides. That was why George's ability was very important because he could slow down even such unpredictable attacks. Thus, he was the only knight who was at the center of the defensive circle and close to the emperor.
"Tch…" But still, there was a limit to how much George's power could withstand. It was hard to activate his ability continuously and cover such a large area.
Swoosh! The monster's body was tougher than he had expected, and even though his sword was coated with a battle aura and had a lightning elemental effect that could let him increase the length of his sword, the perfect combination with his power, he could only take care of one monster at a time, mostly those who crawled on the ceiling and tried to attack from there.
Swoosh! George's sword extended and pierced the monsters who seemed to lack intelligence despite their ability to speak. They didn't even notice that their movement was being slowed down. But their bodies were tough, so it took a few seconds to pierce the skin.
However, George could also increase the size of the lightning blade. And once he managed to pierce the skin, he immediately dealt a fatal blow to the monster by increasing the lightning blade while it was still inside the monster's body, destroying it from the inside. "Die!!"
It was quite a simple tactic, but it was effective. Whatever the monsters were made of, they still had something that keep them alive inside, somewhere in their body.
But wasn't like anyone could control their battle aura with such precision while also using the power of their relic.
And like George, the knights couldn't also kill the monsters in one hit. It took time to pierce through the monster's skin until it was unable to regenerate anymore. But because of that, they were being pushed back by the sheer numbers of those abominable creatures.
"Don't fall back! Maintain your positions!" George shouted, trying to keep the morale of the knights from dropping.
They used their shield to defend against the monsters' attack, but the sheer power of impact from these attacks sent most of the knights flying backward. Without their battle aura, such an attack would kill the knights immediately, proving that these monsters were on a different level.
It was commendable they could that the knights could fight against them without getting crushed on the spot, but it was still hard to maintain a proper battle formation.
And although the knights and adventurers managed to take down dozens of those creatures, it wasn't like their stamina was limitless. And unfortunately, the monsters that were overflowing out from the portal didn't show any sign of decreasing.
"BROTHER! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME? IT HURTS! STOP!"
"NO! THIS IS CRUEL! STOP HURTING ME! SOMEONE! HELP!"
The monsters also continued to spout nonsense, but the voice and the scream that sounded like innocent children in agony had a very devastating psychological effect on those who heard them. Such a moment of distraction was of course something that could cost one's life in this situation.
Something must be done about that portal, George thought. But how could they close that portal?
"Shadow Garden~"
Suddenly the ground turned pitch black, almost as if it was swallowed by darkness.
"These things are pretty tough~ Choupyu~" It was Valentina who talked.
Suddenly, a gigantic black tree appeared, and Solomon, Rezalea, Rita, and the others had black tree branches wrapped around their body.
"Grraah!" The dragon girl struggled, although up to this point, she looked like she was in a daze. Not moving, not thinking. No one remarked on such a thing though.
"…" The same could be said for Rita. She wasn't like her usual self, and her eyes looked lifeless. She wasn't looking at anything. In the middle of all of this confusion, however, no one had the time to worry about such details.
Even if something had happened to Rita or the dragon girl during that interval of time, no one saw anything. And if that was the case, it might have been even already too late.
"I-I have to do something…" Rezalea muttered. She was trying to help the adventurers who were slaughtered, but the Zeppelin and the other guild's personnel tried to restrain her.
"No. You need to stay safe, your highness! Leave this to the knights and the adventurers!"
"How can I not do anything after seeing this… This kind of thing. I knew that something like this was happening somewhere while I was inside that castle. Even if it was not my attention, I wasn't looking at reality. But how can I stay calm after seeing people dying like this? I am not so weak that I can't do anything at times like this!" Rezalea said, and it was a very admirable attitude that she was showing. However, things weren't that simple. That was why Solomon didn't say anything to her.
"SISTER! WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN TO ME? WHY ARE YOU SO CRUEL?"
"Disgusting~ You guys think so too?" Valentina said, and the others didn't know if she was talking to them or not. After all, she wasn't looking at anyone in particular, sitting on top of a tree branch. "You can kill them all~"
After that, gigantic black figures emerged from the ground. They were like the materialization of shadow. There were five of them. A grizzly had a humanoid body and had ha six arms. A tyrannosaur. A humanoid figure holding a stringed instrument that looked like a harp. A strange marine creature with tentacles that had countless red eyes, and the figure of a child who had the giant wings of a butterfly.
They were all shadows. Nothing but darkness. The only difference was their figures.
However, their existence was the reason why Valentina was considered the strongest even among all of the black-ranked adventurers in terms of fighting ability, or more precisely, destructive power. Her ability was unique and uncommon. To control shadow at will.
The guild and all of the people who had a particular position in this city, someone like George, were always worried as to what would happen if Valentina were to become their enemy.
After all, Valentina had a quite troublesome character. She didn't follow the order from anyone. When she didn't want to do something, no one could persuade her. And when she wanted to do something, no one could stop her.
That was why she didn't move even after seeing the monsters and the adventurers who were being butchered. She wasn't interested. That was all. She was more curious about Lucian's intention.
But when she saw that the monsters were strong, she began to feel a little bit motivated.
And at times like this, people who were aware of her abilities were a little bit relieved.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone