East Road Quest

Chapter 75: The Battlefield

The first to reveal itself was a rhinoceros clad in iron armor. To Jade’s eyes, it was indistinguishable whether the creature’s skin was naturally akin to armor or if it was indeed covered in metal.

It was this beast that had toppled the massive tree towards Jade.

As a child, Jade had only seen this animal in illustrations and naturally dismissed it as a figment of imagination. Daniel insisted it was real. Jade half-believed him, suspecting some degree of falsehood.

The rhinoceros Daniel had shown in the picture was at least of a believable size. However, the one that now appeared was so large it defied human comprehension.

The tip of the rhinoceros’s head reached the height of a two-story building, and the horn on its snout seemed robust enough to pierce through city walls. Where its ears should have been, another horn protruded.

Ruby, standing before the rhinoceros, appeared as diminutive as a rag doll.

“So, this one is the vanguard of the war,” Ruby analyzed leisurely.

Jade scanned the surroundings for Sapph. About twenty paces away, Sapph sat slumped, covered in mud, the hood of his garment fallen to reveal his horns.

Sapph, upon seeing the colossal rhinoceros, was at a loss, merely gazing up at it.

“Jade, Sapph! Don’t let its size intimidate you into rash actions, understand?” Ruby warned, as if reading Jade’s mind.

“Sapph, look here,” Jade whispered, careful not to attract the rhinoceros’s attention with a loud voice. Sapph didn’t hear the soft call.

Crawling towards Sapph, Jade gently touched his shoulder. Only then did Sapph notice and turn his head, flinging mud from his blue hair onto Jade’s face.

Wiping her face, Jade said, “We need to stay together. It’s easier for Ruby to protect us that way.”

Sapph nodded noncommittally, without a word.

Jade looked up again towards Ruby, ready to catch any command. Though she expected nothing more complex than ‘run’ or ‘stay down.’

Upon closer inspection, the giant rhinoceros had a bridle in its mouth, and atop its back rode another rhinoceros.

Though smaller in comparison, the rider was still significantly larger than Jade. Its armor seemed to sprout sharp spikes, but a closer look revealed they were part of its skin.

‘A rhinoceros riding a rhinoceros… would have been amusing in a painting,’ Jade thought.

Then, without a word, Ruby gestured to Jade. The signal was clear: move back.

Jade took Sapph’s hand and helped him up. He struggled to rise.

“Just a moment,” she said, exhaling twice sharply, as she had seen Ruby do at the monastery. Then, she stood up briskly.

“We’re ready now.”

Jade held Sapph’s hand and looked back. The dust and debris obscured their vision, but the shapes were discernible.

Following the path cleared by the giant rhinoceros, other monsters emerged.

‘Monsters no less dreadful than the demons of the desert.’

Lamatous’s army might have had the souls of demons, but outwardly, they were mere animals. Except for the likes of Goatking and Tyrant, the rest were just vicious wild beasts. But these creatures were unmistakably a demon’s legion.

There were lions with teeth where eyes should be, birds with human faces, and serpents writhing tentacles from their mouths. Some had indistinguishable necks, heads, arms, and legs.

‘How does one even attack such creatures? Ruby will have a hard time,’ Jade worried, despite knowing she was in no position to fret over Ruby.

The leisurely walking rhinoceros ignored Ruby and continued to approach. Its unfocused eyes seemed not to notice Ruby at all, staring into the distance. However, the smaller rhinoceros atop noticed Ruby.

Ruby, seeing it lock eyes with her, initiated a conversation.

“Hey, are you the leader?”

The smaller rhinoceros ignored her and attempted to trample past Ruby.

“Stop and talk for a moment.”

Ruby spoke in the Elvish tongue.

Jade continued to walk backward, overhearing Ruby’s words.

The smaller rhinoceros replied in Elvish.

“You are noisy. Those who obstruct the path of Helldra’s army meet only death.”

“The noisy one is the rhinoceros you’re riding. By the way, which army do you serve?”

Ruby inquired.

“We are the grand legion of Helldra, serving the great and sole sovereign, Cowking, who spreads the divine will upon this land.”

“What did you just say? Divine will? You’re demons, aren’t you?”

“Yes. The gods originally bestowed this land to demons. But the angels drove them out and gave it to humans. Now the time has come to reclaim it…”

“I’ve never heard such a theory before,” Ruby muttered, but the smaller rhinoceros continued its speech.

“…In this grand conquest, Cowking descends to lead the forefront. Only he can command all demons, and by his name alone, this earth shall become the land of demons.”

Then, the smaller rhinoceros began to sing abruptly.

“Over great mountains and seas, beyond the gates of hell, Cowking has come, bearing the divine will. He descends upon this land, to make it a demon’s realm. Our bodies, given by Cowking, we repay with lifelong agony. The grace bestowed upon us, we repay with death.”

As the first verse ended, the monsters in the front row began to sing, and eventually, even those hidden beyond the trees joined in.

“Hey, singing is fine, but at least sing well. You’re all tone-deaf! Such an awful sound!”

Ruby shouted.

The smaller rhinoceros rebuked solemnly.

“I have no intention of debating our hymn with a heretic like you.”

“Not looking for an argument, but you couldn’t sing a note! Are you pretending not to understand?” Ruby challenged again, but the small rhinoceros did not listen.

“Rhynodon! Crush that heretic underfoot.”

The giant rhinoceros lifted its foot.

Ruby leaped back, narrowly escaping. The rhinoceros’s foot smashed only the tree where Ruby had been standing.

Without hesitation, Ruby threw a chain, binding it around the giant rhinoceros’s horn. As soon as the chain wrapped tightly around the horn, Ruby yanked it fiercely.

Caught off guard, the giant rhinoceros toppled forward, and the small rhinoceros riding atop lost its grip and was flung forward. Unfortunately, it landed headfirst right in front of Ruby.

“Yeehaw! Didn’t plan for this, but it fits just right.”

Ruby stepped on the small rhinoceros’s head.

Though called ‘small,’ the rhinoceros was still twice the size of Ruby, a formidable demon. Yet, it could not withstand Ruby’s force and failed to rise.

“You, who are you, little one?”

“Weren’t you the one who said you don’t converse with heretics?”

Ruby retorted.

The small rhinoceros asked in confusion.

“Are you allied with the sentinels?”

“Still asking? Does that mean you’re ready to talk now? Then answer my question first, and I’ll answer yours.”

Ruby asked with a chuckle.

“Who are you? If the one I met in the meadow is Goat King, and he serves Cow King, does that make you Rhino King?”

“My name is Rhynodon! How dare you compare me to the likes of Goat King.”

Rhynodon seethed with rage. However, he could do nothing but flail helplessly, pinned under Ruby’s foot.

“Likes of? Wasn’t Goat King stronger than you? Anyway, from what you know, you’re also a minion of Cow King?”

“How dare you utter His name so carelessly. You deserve death.”

Rhynodon then shouted.

“All troops, attack!”

Behind the fallen giant rhinoceros, led by Ruby’s chain, a horde of monsters gathered.

Rhynodon continued to bellow.

“Show the glory of Cow King! Over the great mountains and across the vast seas… Ugh!” As he attempted to sing again, Ruby pressed down harder on his head, silencing any sound.

“Enough singing! You can’t even carry a tune!” But it wasn’t just Rhynodon who was silenced; praises for Cow King echoed from the demon army all around.

“Jade, retreat further in that direction. As far as you can.”

Ruby shouted not towards where Jade stood, but elsewhere. Jade thought it was not because Ruby didn’t know where she was, but to keep the demons from finding out.

“It’s the first time Ruby has gone to such lengths.”

Jade hastily backed away.

“There are too many enemies. Shouldn’t Ruby escape with us?”

Sapp stood still, worried.

“Trust Ruby. There must be a plan. Perhaps it’s a feint to buy us time to escape…”

“No, it seems like a real fight.”

Sapp stayed, watching the battle unfold.

Monsters charged at Ruby all at once. Creatures like wingless birds with beaks but no heads, or beings like monks with parrot-like beaks but no eyes or heads…

Just looking at them was enough to cause revulsion. But Ruby didn’t flinch, knocking down each monster that approached with a swing of the chain.

If the chain pierced a torso, Ruby would swing it, slicing the body apart. If a monster breached the chain’s reach, Ruby kicked or punched it away.

In this manner, for every ten felled, twenty followed, and then forty.

Ruby pulled Rhynodon, the small rhinoceros still pinned underfoot, up by the neck with the chain. Rhynodon screamed as his head was yanked from the ground.

“What do you intend to do?”

“Throw you.”

Ruby spun the small rhinoceros wrapped in the chain and hurled it. A gorilla with horns where its ears should be was struck by Rhynodon and fell.

Some monsters wielded weapons, while others were weapons themselves. Some had claws like spears, and others shot needles from their bodies like arrows.

Each time, Ruby threw Rhynodon, hitting a target, then retrieved him to repeat the attack.

After using Rhynodon as a weight at the end of the chain, Ruby cast him aside. Rhynodon flew far, impaling a gorilla’s chest with the horn on his nose.

The number of monsters facing Ruby only grew.

“We must go!”

Jade pulled Sapp by the hand. Reluctantly, Sapp ran.

Without a proper path, they couldn’t run fast. Trees and reeds blocked the way, and the ground was too muddy to walk on easily. Some roots spread like nets on the ground were so thick they had to climb over them like a hurdle, then jump down with determination.

The darkness of the Dark Forest grew denser, making it hard to see ahead.

It seemed clear how much Ruby and Barsh had led them along safe and comfortable paths until now.

Further on, a five-step-high dirt wall blocked their way. It was too steep to climb.

“We can’t go up here. Let’s take that path.”

“No, that will take us too far around.”

Saph tore at the side of her skirt with her front teeth and pulled it with both hands. The fabric, not of the finest quality, ripped from her ankle to her thigh in one swift motion.

Then, with hardly a push, Saph leaped up the cliffside.

With the first jump, she reached halfway, then grabbed the edge of the dirt wall with one hand and hauled herself up, swinging one leg over the top of the cliff.

It took less than two seconds for Saph to fully ascend. Lying prone atop the cliff, she reached down to Jade.

“Father, take my hand!”

Jade, momentarily stunned, could only stare at her face.

‘It wasn’t my imagination. Saph isn’t just stronger than me. Ruby’s overwhelming power made the gap seem smaller, but at this level…

Saph waved her hand frantically.

“Hurry!”

Regaining her senses, Jade relied on Saph’s hand to climb the slippery, moss-covered wall.

Saph, not just strong but agile, struggled alongside Jade as they both grunted with the effort.

Above the cliff, the terrain flattened out again.

‘…If the convent didn’t train Saph in military drills, then she’s no ordinary girl.’

Suddenly, behind them, a tree snapped with a crack, and something massive launched into the sky. Judging by the glimpse through the leaves, it seemed to be a gigantic rhinoceros named Rhinodon.

For a moment, Jade saw a building floating in the sky.

‘With such a mass, it must be experiencing sensations it never had in its lifetime. The impact of falling from that height would be a first too.’

The Rhinodon, which had soared above the tall trees of the dark forest, soon plummeted down.

The ground trembled, the vibration reaching Jade and Saph, standing half a mile away.

Centered where the beast fell, a cloud of dust and leaves spread wide. Fortunately, no tree fragments or broken rocks flew as far as where the two stood, but the dust swept through the forest trees like a sandstorm in the desert, enveloping them.

“Is Ruby alright?”

Saph scanned the battlefield with her hands shielding her eyes.

“If Ruby threw that, why worry? She must have wanted us to stay away for this.”

Jade, peering through the dense trees and dust, could hardly distinguish anything in the darkness.

Saph stomped her feet impatiently.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t go? If Ruby is hurt, I need to heal her, and if it’s a lesser demon, we could fend it off with our light…”

“It’s possible. But in this case, keeping us out of Ruby’s concern is the best way to help her. What could be scarier than hurling a giant rhinoceros?”

Jade spoke, only to retract her words soon after.

Moments later, a beast large enough to make Rhinodon look like a pet emerged above the forest canopy.

Saph’s eyes widened.

“Father, what is that?”

Jade once again pulled Saph by the hand.