Chapter 437
Chapter 437: Just Keep Going Like This. (4)
Light spread intensely around the fortress.
Kaaah!
The Cracked Beings touched by the sudden burst of light screamed in pain and turned to ash.
Chiiiiiing!
As the light brushed past, Equidema’s body caught fire in several places. The beast, enraged, bared its teeth and turned its head toward the direction of the light.
“Power, so much power!”
“I can move again!”
“Get up! Hurry!”
The soldiers gripped their weapons tightly and formed ranks. The Cracked Beings were gathering again, but now that they had recovered, they felt confident enough to fight.
From among the soldiers, Piote stepped forward. He looked a bit tense, but his gaze was resolute.
‘I have to hold out.’
He had tried to step forward several times, but Ghislaine’s admonitions kept him in check. Even when the ranks of allies were pushed back and the Cracked Beings surged in, he couldn’t move.
Ghislaine had said that eventually, everyone would tire out. Not everyone would be able to show their full strength.
And he was certain that Equidema would come charging here.
So, Piote had no choice but to endure. If he exhausted his strength now, he wouldn’t be able to confront Equidema properly.
Grrrrr…
Equidema glared at Piote with eyes full of intent to kill.
The beast could instinctively tell who had spread that light.
It desperately wanted to tear that hateful being apart.
Kaaah!
Equidema roared and charged at Piote. With Piote’s appearance, the beast could see nothing around it.
It was consumed solely by the intent to kill that being before it.
Kwaaah!
Chiiing!
Equidema’s front paw struck Piote, ignited by Divine Power. Equidema withdrew its paw in shock.
Kaaah!
Equidema roared again and stomped down on Piote. But nothing happened.
Piote stood firm, neither flying away nor falling over. Thanks to the activation of ‘Juana’s Blessing.’
But Equidema, unaware of that, struck at Piote repeatedly in frustration.
Kwaaah! Kwaaah!
The unresolved power burst outward. The shockwave knocked back and toppled the nearby soldiers.
But unlike before, Piote didn’t cower. He stood tall, wide-eyed, facing Equidema.
‘I need to do this.’
Everyone was exhausted. He needed to draw even a little of Equidema’s attention. That way, others could attack Equidema more easily.
Paaah!
Ghislaine and others had already moved to slash at Equidema’s body. Equidema tried to shake off the others in response.
It was the same pattern that usually worked against Equidema. But this time, Piote’s actions were a bit different.
Paaah.
Chiiing!
Kwahhh!
Piote glided forward and clung to Equidema’s paw.
He had learned various combat techniques from Ghislaine. Although he hadn’t actually participated in a fight, he practiced diligently whenever he found the time.
The technique he had practiced the most was hand-to-hand combat. Ghislaine had prioritized teaching him how to move well to maximize his defense.
Thanks to the hand-to-hand skills he learned, Piote had been able to cling to Equidema’s paw.
Chiiing!
Kaaah!
Equidema let out a pained howl. The area where Piote’s body touched was slowly burning.
The energy emanating from him was a nemesis to Equidema, something akin to its natural enemy.
Kwahhh!
Equidema tried to shake Piote off with its other paw, but nothing happened. In fact, Piote busied himself scaling Equidema’s body, enveloped in Divine Power.
Kwah! Kwah! Kwah!
With a bug stuck to itself igniting its body, few creatures could endure such pain.
That was what Equidema looked like now. The beast thrashed around, desperate to shake off Piote.
Kaaah!
Ghislaine watched this and shouted.
“Now! Don’t miss the chance!”
Despite being attacked, Equidema still focused solely on Piote. In this state, Piote wouldn’t be able to last long.
Kwah! Kwah! Kwah!
With every hit from Equidema, Piote’s Divine Power diminished rapidly. No one could recover it.
If they delayed handling Equidema and Piote lost all his Divine Power…
He would turn into mere bloody mush in an instant.
“Guaah!”
Piote, aware of this, finally climbed all the way up to Equidema’s neck.
His Divine Power seemed to have dwindled by half already. He had used a significant amount initially to recover the soldiers.
Yet, he gritted his teeth and held on.
‘I need to be more helpful!’
That was the only thought in his mind.
In truth, he had wished to connect with the goddess several times for the exhausted allies. If he succeeded, it would be a great help. Perhaps they could eliminate the Cracked Beings more quickly.
But no matter how much he yearned, the connection did not happen.
It was called a miracle. It wouldn’t succeed just because one wanted it at any moment.
So, Piote aimed to aid them with his own strength somehow.
“Hah, hah…”
Piote struggled as he clung to Equidema’s neck.
Equidema kept thrashing, trying to throw Piote off. It even tried to scratch him off with its paws, but he wouldn’t budge.
Eventually, Equidema flipped over and crashed to the ground in an attempt to smash Piote.
Kwahhh! Kwah!
To anyone watching, it looked like Equidema was flailing about alone. Stones shattered and debris flew, but Piote felt no impact at all.
Of course, to withstand that collision, his Divine Power was draining dramatically. At this rate, he wouldn’t last long.
‘I can do it!’
Piote clenched his teeth as he seized Equidema by the nape.
He had pleaded with the goddess over and over. But he couldn’t rely solely on prayer. Not everything could be resolved just through prayer.
…He had forgotten.
That the goddess had already given him strength.
Now was the time to act.
Holding onto Equidema’s nape, Piote recited the verses from the scripture over and over again.
[The trial of faith is more precious than gold, which perishes when subjected to fire; you have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.]
Just as Equidema rose again, trying to shake Piote off, Piote’s hand burrowed even deeper into Equidema’s neck.
Chiiing!
Kaaah!
Piote’s hand, filled with Divine Power, began to burn Equidema’s neck area.
That power spread, and soon the area around Equidema’s neck turned black.
“Guuuaah…”
Blood dripped from Piote’s mouth. He had pushed his body’s limits and unleashed more Divine Power than he should have.
His hair had turned silver. A sign that his Divine Power had become significantly stronger.
Chiiing!
He was definitely dealing a significant blow to Equidema, but he could feel his Divine Power draining as well.
Equidema sensed this too. Its attacks still weren’t working, yet the beast could instinctively tell.
That the power of this persistent and accursed creature was running low.
Krahh!
Other “bugs” around it continued to inflict injuries. The cursed energy digging into its neck was agonizing.
But if it just held on a little longer, it could crush them all.
Equidema roared powerfully, enduring the pain. Though the area around its neck was withering away, it didn’t die.
Eventually, Piote exhausted all of his Divine Power. His hair returned to its original color.
Equidema felt the cursed energy finally vanish.
Paaah!
Equidema’s paw flew toward the reeling Piote. But someone moved faster.
Swish!
Belinda’s dagger, connected to a line, wrapped around Piote’s body and yanked him away.
Kwahhh!
Piote evaded just in time before Equidema’s paw could strike. But Equidema, being a beast, chased after Belinda with tremendous reflexes.
Its determination to kill was palpable.
Equidema surged toward Belinda in an instant. She barely managed to position herself before she could secure Piote.
At this rate, both would be torn apart by Equidema’s paw.
“You bastard!”
Zvalter, who stood in Equidema’s path, unleashed mana and swung his sword.
Kwahhh!
He gave it everything, but instead, Zvalter was flung away. Randolf assisted from the side, but he had the same fate.
Such was the immense power and rage of Equidema. Gillian and Kaor, on the opposite side, couldn’t even keep up.
Kwahh! Kwahh! Kwahhh!
Barriers of spells from Vanessa, positioned a little further back, rained down upon Equidema. But even she had drained most of her mana, so the spell’s might was diminished.
Equidema bore all of that and advanced solely to kill Belinda and Piote in front of it.
“Tsk!”
Belinda rolled back just in time. But Equidema’s speed surpassed hers.
Kaaah!
Equidema quickly caught up with its massive frame, raising its paw high. Just a swing and the two bugs in front of it would be obliterated.
Puuk!
A sound akin to sharp metal piercing something echoed as Equidema’s paw came to a halt. Belinda seized the moment, rolling away to escape the attack.
Grrrr…
Blood dripped steadily from Equidema’s mouth. The beast glared at Belinda and Piote with bloodshot eyes.
Thud thud thud!
A sound reminiscent of something piercing echoed, and Equidema’s body jolted.
Only then did people start to grasp the true situation.
They witnessed the enormous sword’s energy emerging from Equidema’s neck.
Surrounded by a sea of crimson smoke and exuding a red light from its eyes, Ghislaine was perched atop Equidema’s neck.
The bloody aura blade of his sword shot out an impressive length, penetrating Equidema’s neck.
“Phew, Piote did his part.”
Thanks to Piote, the skin and muscles of Equidema’s neck were utterly burnt away.
Because of that, Ghislaine was able to completely pierce Equidema’s neck with the little strength he had left.
Grrahh…
Equidema let out several furious growls before collapsing.
Boom!
The beast’s massive body fell to the ground.
“Phew…”
Ghislaine sank down, exhaling. Blood trickled from his mouth as well.
He had poured every last bit of his strength. The last moment’s surge had taken a toll on his body.
“I… we won.”
“Finally caught it…”
“That was truly risky.”
Everyone else also collapsed, exhausted. Having fought for days without rest, they were all drained of mana.
If Piote hadn’t fought fiercely, they might have suffered greatly.
Even though the Cracked Beings were still trickling in, the knights and soldiers were working together to deal with them.
They were tired to the bone, but thanks to Piote’s recovery, they could move a little more.
Ghislaine, observing the soldiers dealing with the remaining Cracked Beings, strained to get up.
“Alright, let’s finish off the rest.”
The Cracked Beings continued to charge blindly, driven solely by their instinct, regardless of their dwindling numbers.
With Equidema down and their forces significantly reduced, handling the rampaging stragglers was not too difficult.
After some more time passed, only a few remained, eventually leading to none emerging from the shadows. All those numerous beings had perished here.
“Finally, it’s over.”
Ghislaine spoke and sank to the ground. Upon hearing this, the soldiers lay down, laughing.
“Hahaha! We won! We did it!”
“We held off those many bastards!”
“Skoban! Come out and die! You cursed bastard!”
Everyone cheered joyfully. While exhaustion bore down upon them, it was also a testament to their survival.
So, everyone felt even more elated about this victory.
Ghislaine glanced at Piote, who fainted in Belinda’s arms, and murmured.
“I think a new hunting method might work out well.”
It seemed they could use bait a bit more dangerously. Piote had truly grown a lot.
Even in his fainted state, Piote felt an unnameable chill and trembled.
Gillian, struggling to rise, asked.
“The Barbarians have likely entered the North by now. Shouldn’t we pursue them?”
Ghislaine waved his hand dismissively.
“In this state, moving would only be useless. Let’s rest a bit.”
Indeed. Some knights lay down and fainted outright.
They had fought for days without sleep. Moving now was akin to signing their own death warrant.
Gillian, his legs shaking, plopped back down.
“It’s been days already. I hope they’re holding out well.”
“They’re likely holding up better than we expected.”
“Really? The difference in forces should be considerable.”
Gillian showed a worried expression. If they broke through, Perdium would be the first to fall.
But Ghislaine chuckled and replied.
“Yeah, they’ll be shocked.”
