SWNOVELXO Chapter 122
Chapter 122 – Kingdom (2)
“B-Bugs! It’s a monster!”
A creature that suddenly appeared right in the peaceful downtown. This monster, resembling a giant beetle, was the size of a van and emerged from a crack alongside smaller versions known as glitches.
As soon as it crawled out, it lunged at the startled nearby people with its powerful jaws.
The young man targeted quickly threw himself aside, narrowly escaping the jaws, but the severing power that could slice through thick car steel was already heading toward another potential victim.
“Aaaaah! Someone! Someone help!!!”
Not stopping there, it extended the tentacles that burst from its body, wrapping the victim tightly and ensuring he couldn’t escape this time.
Tied up by the strong tentacle, the victim could only scream, while others, busy fleeing from the glitches, couldn’t help him.
‘It’s over.’
As his eyes met the inscrutable ones behind the carapace, he sensed this was his end. In mere moments, his body would be swiftly severed by the monster’s jaws.
“Hey, you bastard!”
At that moment, loud gunfire erupted. A police officer nearby, mustering his courage, drew his revolver and aimed at the bug.
“Die! Die…”
However, the officer, firing violently, soon flinched at the sight of his empty cylinder.
Fortunately, the bullet hit the area between the bug’s unarmored abdomen and back, spraying bodily fluid as it lodged into its body, but the giant creature merely glanced back without any sign of pain as if the wound was nothing.
“Ah.”
Right after that, the officer stumbled upon seeing the tentacle that had pierced his gut. Unless armed soldiers with firearms arrived soon, no one in this vicinity could stop the bug.
“Ugh!”
Frozen in terror at the sight of the officer’s demise, the victim squeezed his eyes shut, staring at the charging bug’s jaws. He could see no way to survive.
‘Is it too late?’
But just then, someone barged in, revealing themselves in an instant and swung a gigantic sword imbued with coldness, cutting off the bug’s tentacle.
The fallen figure writhed in pain, but the bug no longer cared about him; the intruder had just turned their sword toward the monster.
‘Just let your body relax.’
This was someone who handled a sword worse than a kitchen knife. Yet, he swung the wide blade larger than his palm with ease.
Thanks to the trait he gained from Riena, he could utilize a seasoned knight’s swordsmanship. Juyoung had already realized that the most crucial aspect was one’s mindset.
He understood that what residents prioritized when using their acquired skills was how one perceived their mindset.
If you accept it without rejection, the traits ingrained in your body naturally guide you.
“Why are you crawling out instead of staying on the screen, you filthy bugs?”
Swinging his sword, he deflected the bug’s rough attacks, cutting off tentacles and legs in one stroke, then drove his sword down towards the bug’s head charging at him.
With a crunch, the sword smashed the jaws and split the face in half, releasing a wave of cold that instantly froze the bug’s lifeless body.
As the enormous corpse crashed to the ground, it shattered into countless pieces.
“…”
He began to catch his breath under the hood of his cloak and cast a quick glance around.
In the street, which had emptied in an instant due to the glitches, only terrified faces peered from nearby buildings.
‘If you step up, you must see it through.’
Holding the sword, he dashed toward the glitches. All the emotions and troubles stirred within him had to be suppressed. These were expectations he had been prepared for since deciding to take action.
‘It’s not a hard task. The residents did it.’
Indeed, it was the residents from the screen who had gone through the same experience and shown the solution that quelled his wavering heart.
*
“They’re coming!”
“Don’t panic. The numbers are within our expectations.”
While he battled the bugs near the town intersection, the Arin Tribe also entered combat. Riena’s unit was the first to reach the enemy nest.
Due to the troop withdrawal, the bug nest was quite empty, forcing the remaining bugs to guard the entrance fiercely to prevent the Arin Tribe’s counterattack.
“We’re breaking through!”
Riena, armored and wielding her sword, led the charge against the enemies. As golden flashes illuminated the battlefield, bugs that charged at her were instantly severed in half as her sword ignited with flames.
The variants posed no challenge.
The mere size-inflated variants simply became good targets for the Arin mages and archers, while the ones trying to shoot thorns or push with their giant jaws found all their offensive measures sealed by her sword, falling victim to counterattacks.
In the process, she sustained injuries, yet Riena gritted her teeth and endured the pain. With that, her divine power consumed mana to heal her rapidly.
“Into the nest.”
Thus, Riena became like a moving war machine, penetrating deeper into the nest. Inside, a nest far larger than those on the outskirts twisted about.
‘This is the end.’
If they clean this up, it will be over. Both sides thought the same and prepared for the final battle. But the bugs were currently paying a price.
After attempting an offensive, if it had failed, they had to brace for counterattacks. While the residents kept watch for any unexpected situations, no variables occurred, and ultimately, the nest was thoroughly destroyed by their hands.
“Are you alright?”
“Our mission is complete. However, we cannot let our guard down. The central and right forces could fall into unexpected danger… Let’s catch our breath and head back.”
Worried glances came from fellow warriors and soldiers at Riena, whose face turned slightly pale, but she shook her head. She couldn’t relax until every battle was finished.
“Look over there. Our allies have completed their mission like us, but the central forces are still…”
And as Riena’s anxious thoughts solidified into reality as they gathered the troops and returned to the ground, they spotted flags fluttering away on the distant fortress.
Having completed their mission, they had decided to raise flags of different colors to communicate with the fortress, but out of the three flags, only one was up. Of course, it could have gone up like them, but Riena decided to trust her instincts.
“There might be something happening in the center; we need to check it out.”
“Excuse me?”
“Only a few will go. The rest, return to the fortress quickly.”
Receiving the message from those waiting outside and mounting their horse, Riena commanded her troops to regroup and spurred her horse toward where Chieftain Rakum led the central troops.
‘The smell of blood.’
As she deftly led her horse down the rough path, she soon detected an unusual odor and bit her lip. A thick scent of blood was wafting in on the wind from ahead.
“Faster!”
Her unease based on instinct transformed into certainty as she urged her companions and horses. Riding the path the bugs had created in the forest, far different from the open grasslands, they soon encountered a chaotic battlefield ahead and gritted their teeth.
‘Could it be that many bugs are still left? If not, then what in the world?’
Riena speculated on how the exhausted enemies’ nest had managed to fend them off despite attempting a reckless siege, but an answer did not come easily.
That left only one choice. An unexpected, perhaps unreasonable variable had emerged.
*
“Their resistance is fierce!”
“It’s nothing we can’t handle. Break through!”
While Riena was leading her troops to attack the heart of the nest, the forces moving with Rakum were also engaged in fierce battles inside.
They fought doggedly against the resisting bugs, pushing forward despite their exhaustion.
“Commander! That creature is…”
What they discovered was ‘it’. Riena’s predictions were half right and half wrong; the variable did manifest, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected or unreasonable.
“It’s a variant. Everyone be careful.”
Rakum grasped his spear as he stared at ‘it’, standing right in the middle of the nest.
He was surprised but not overly shaken. They all knew about the new variants.
Unlike other ants, this black carapace ant stood upright on two legs, once again blocking the path of the Arin Tribe.
“The operation begins as planned. I’ll handle that one.”
Having fought and even dispatched a similar variant before, Rakum decided to take the lead against this variant and commanded his troops.
In the dark caverns, the two forces eager to kill each other faced off. While their numbers barely reached in the hundreds due to spatial constraints, the bugs had failed to defend and yielded ground to the Arin Tribe. They were now preparing for the final strike against the bugs.
‘That thing is similar… No, it’s a little different?’
Rakum observed his opponent, the figure resembling an ant standing upright on its hind legs, was similar to one he’d seen before but had subtle differences in details.
‘It’s becoming more human-like.’
Chills ran down Rakum’s spine as he readied his spear. The ant’s bulky abdomen was decreasing in size, with shoulders forming where there had been none, becoming broader.
Just like the sturdy carapace shell, the thorax was also growing tougher, and its slender limbs were gradually becoming thicker with enveloping carapace.
An entity born by mimicking an Arin warrior, gradually increasing its accuracy.
“Attack! We must kill that creature here!”
Having made a decision, Rakum commanded his soldiers to launch an attack. The soldiers, in formation, moved forward, creating a wall with shields and spears while archers and mages unleashed ranged attacks.
‘Has it just hatched? You might as well die here without fighting.’
Seeing a cocoon piece at his feet, Rakum slowly moved with his troops, fully concentrating his senses on the variant.
As if aware of his intentions, a few variants and numerous glitches began to draw closer, preparing for their final battle.
“Is that thing!?”
But as the variant sprang forward, swinging its long spear in each of its four arms, Rakum was aghast at the murky flash showering toward him.
‘Dragon Piercing Slash!’
Seeing that, Rakum instinctively thought.
To be precise, it was nothing but a poorly imitated move, nevertheless, it was the first time the bugs, who hadn’t shown any skills until now, revealed a technique using mana.
“Ugh!”
Their spears clashed in the air. Rakum unleashed skills to counter the barrage of attacks from all directions.
However, the bug did not easily yield. A powerful force surged from its body.
‘Is it just that one? Thank goodness!’
The variants were variants, not all of them matched Rakum’s intensity. While some were fiercely attacking him, the larger ones fell easily to the skills of the mana-enveloped warriors.
Looking around and noticing that there were no special variants like the one he was fighting, Rakum sensed that the one he was facing was a special specimen.
“Right. If we can produce a lot of beings like you, it’ll give meaning to the fights.”
Realizing that everything hinged on this duel, he grinned and swung his spear. Although surprised, he didn’t think he would lose.