Although Zich liked alcohol, he limited himself to only one cup of beer. It wasn’t because he was afraid that his judgment would become hazy or that he would lose control from a single cup of alcohol, but in consideration of Max who wasn’t in the same boat as him, Zich placed his cup down. Max almost appeared pitiful as he tried to lick the last remaining droplets of beer on the bottom of his glass cup. However, Max didn’t concern himself with other people’s gazes and only focused on finishing his drink.
“Why don’t you have another cup, sir?”
“Our captain told us to never drink more than two cups.” Max’s voice was weak as if he had heard a good scolding from his parents about this issue in the past.
“Then why don’t we get up now?”
“Wait a minute. I still have some left.”
It was almost grotesque to see Max’s tongue wiggle inside the bottom of the transparent beer glass. Zich sighed and tried to interrogate Max once again when noisy bell sounds rang across the whole city.
Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Zich, as well as Max, who had been peering deeply into his beer glass, and the other people in the room, simultaneously turned their heads to where the bell sound was. Inside a bell tower on top of the castle wall, they saw the bell shake like mad.
Thud! Zich and Max both ran at once and headed to an assembly point n designated for emergency situations. They ran across the streets and saw that the ringing bell had pushed the already worried-sick city’s residents over the edge. Every road they passed was filled with people moving hastily in worry and fear. The ominous perception that chaos was encroaching on the place slowly spread throughout the city like poison.
“Damn it! Is it the monsters?”
“There’s a high possibility.”
While skillfully evading people in their way, the two conversed. Although Zich would’ve been able to reach his destination much faster by himself, he matched his pacing with Max. The place they were heading to was the castle wall that directly faced the Denest Mountain Range. The city’s administrators moved the assembly point further to the forefront after seeing Zich’s party, Glen’s party, and the Wolf’s Canine's astounding skills. When the monsters ambushed, this place was the area where the most vicious battles took place.
“Will there be a similar amount as last time?”
“Then we won’t have much to worry about, sir.”
The two arrived at the assembly point quickly. After informing the city guards’ commanding official of their arrival, Zich and Max climbed on top of the castle walls to look toward the Denest Mountain Range. They saw masses of monsters approaching them.
“Their numbers seem to be similar to before…”
Although they hadn’t seen all the monsters yet, Max sounded a bit relieved to see that the size of the monsters’ army appeared similar to before by a rough estimate. Yet, Zich’s next words pulled him away from any sense of relief.
“Look over there, sir,” Zich said and Max looked where Zich’s finger pointed.
“…What’s that?”
All traces of his past relief disappeared, and Max’s body stiffened in nervousness. Between the monsters, there was a strange-looking figure which also clearly looked like a monster mixed in with them. Yet, this monster looked different from all the monsters Max had ever seen, even considering his numerous experiences. Compared to more common (?) monsters such as goblins, orcs, trolls, and ogres, this one crawled toward the castle walls while pushing monsters out of their way, and something about it stirred up intense fear in its human viewers. When Zich revealed the identity of this monster, it seemed as if Max’s fears manifested into something laughing at him.
“It’s a basilisk.”
“…That’s a basilisk?”
Even an ignorant mercenary like Max had heard of its name. Outwardly, they looked like giant snakes, but their tails were said to be strong enough to crush steel, their poison toxic enough to melt boulders, and most frighteningly, gazes so deadly that they turned people into stones. Although their existence was confirmed, these monsters were close to fables that only appeared in stories among ordinary folks.
“Well, if it’s the Denest Mountain Range, it’s not strange that such monsters exist, but…”
Max was stunned at the sight of a monster he had never seen before, especially after hearing that it was a fearsome monster he had only heard of.
“Would you be able to stop that?”
“If there’s only one, I can handle it without much trouble.”
“Oh, really?” Max let out a sigh in relief, but his face stiffened again at Zich’s following words.
“That is, if there’s only one of them.”
“I can’t tell you for sure, but the sight of a basilisk confirms that even high-level monsters are influenced by the force that’s influencing all these monsters. Yet, it would be strange to think that there would be only one high-level monster like that guy in the Denest Mountain Range.”
“Seriously, ah, damn it!”
After hearing Zich’s gloomy analysis of the situation, Max aggressively kicked the castle wall.
‘Truthfully, the last battle was too easy considering that we were fighting monsters from the Denest Mountain Range,’ Zich thought.
The official battle soon began. Other troops began arriving at their location, including Zich’s companions, and…
‘Glen Zenard’s also here.’ From atop the castle walls, Zich looked down as Glen hurriedly came in running with his other companions.
* * *
“Shoot!”
Like the last battle, the first attack started with masses of arrows flying down the Pialu castle walls. The small monsters struck by the flurry of arrows tumbled to the ground and middle-level monsters unluckily hit in their vital areas lost their lives. The next attacks were magical ones.
Bam! Bam! Fireballs dropped onto the monsters with no restraint. The monsters at the center of the explosion shredded into pieces and the whirlwind of flames inflicted injuries on the monsters in the surroundings. The mages aimed their magic where strong monsters were. The sight of the strong monsters’ bodies getting torn into pieces and their remains flying into the air gave a new, refreshing feeling to those drowning in fear. Yet, the soldiers who would’ve cheered like in the last battle kept their mouths closed.
Kieeeeeeh! The soldiers flinched at the terrifying sounds. This caused them to have openings in their stance and led to their injuries or even deaths. However, it couldn’t be helped. The monster’s screams triggered intense fear among the soldiers.
Crunch! The basilisk mercilessly ripped apart a kobold in front of it and blood splattered on its scales. However, the basilisk seemed to be completely unaffected that another small monster died due to its movements. It only focused its ominous eyes on Pialu’s walls.
Crunch! Zich crushed the skull of an ogre climbing up the wall and stared at the basilisk. ‘Should I start moving?’ He couldn’t let the basilisk come any closer to the city wall. Zich could use the city wall to his advantage for all the monsters he had faced so far, but this was not the case for the basilisk.
‘I need to defeat it outside of the wall’s vicinity.’ Zich went up the parapet. This startled the soldiers next to him and they stared at him, but they soon turned their attention to the monsters. Zich was already famous in Pialu, especially among the soldiers. It was not hard to recognize him as Windur’s special shape always made him stand out.
Tap! Someone went up next to him. Zich looked to his side without an expression; he saw an annoying face.
“You’re planning to attack the basilisk, right?”
“Are you also planning to go?”
“Yes, because it’s better to get rid of the danger as soon as possible. It’s also not a monster that ordinary soldiers can take care of.” The Tornium inside Glen’s hand glistened sharply.
Glen looked at the basilisk from far away and glanced at Zich. ‘I can’t let this guy get all the attention.’ Of course, he knew that Zich was the best at killing monsters, and Glen was very familiar with Zich’s skills. Of course, he wasn’t disappointed by this fact since he made preparations to stand out in this battle. Glen was confident that no matter how many monsters Zich killed, he would make the biggest achievement.
‘Even then, I can’t just stand still while this guy hogs all the attention.’ Glen needed to overshadow Zich’s achievements as much as possible and make his achievements stand out. Thus, he couldn’t let Zich defeat the basilisk by himself. Zich could also clearly read Glen’s thoughts.
‘I would have thought he was an annoying hero bastard a long time ago, but…’ Zich now thought Glen was just a two-faced bastard. ‘Huh? Did my impression of him actually improve compared to when he was the Sun Hero Glen Zenard?’
To Zich, a two-faced bastard was better than a just and righteous hero. Zich stared at Glen for a moment.
“…Why are you staring at me?”
“No, it’s nothing much.” Zich turned his head. Then, while he was jumping down from the city wall, he thought, ‘If this guy wasn’t trying to use me, I might have had a different type of relationship with him.’ Of course, since Glen Zenard was trying to use him, they would always be enemies.
* * *
Zich and Glen hacked the monsters and moved forward. Every time Zich and Glen swung Windur and Tornium, the monsters in front of them were sliced into pieces. They were so fast that their speed was similar to an ordinary person running at full speed. The wall of monsters couldn’t hinder them at all. As a result, it did not take long for them to reach the basilisk. The basilisk seemed to also have noticed them as its chilling eyes headed towards Zich and Glen.
Kiiiiiiiiieck! The basilisk opened its mouth and let out a terrifying sound. Poison dripped down its enormous and numerous teeth and it looked extremely menacing. The basilisk moved back–did it shrink back in fear at Zich and Glen’s unstoppable advance? No, the basilisk wasn’t a monster who would be afraid of something like that.
Pak! The basilisk’s head sprung forward as a sharp arrow pulled from a tight bow. The basilisk’s sharp teeth and poison rushed towards them, and Zich and Glen moved to opposite sides as if they had planned to do so beforehand.
Bammm! A loud sound that was similar to the sound of magic attacks exploded in the area. Sharp teeth and poison weren’t the basilisk’s only weapons. Its sharp movement from its firm muscles and tough scales was another formidable weapon. A huge ditch formed in the area where the basilisk passed through. It crushed the monsters that were swept to the side into pieces. The monsters that were cut by its teeth were melting from the poison. It was a sight that would make anyone’s hair stand on end, but Zich and Glen didn’t look scared. They both swung their swords towards the basilisk’s body without hesitation.
Crush! Crush! The mana-infused swords pierced the basilisk’s tough scales and sliced its flesh.
Kaaaaaaack! The basilisk screamed and shook its body. Even this movement acted as a powerful attack. Zich and Glen moved back.
Whoosh! The basilisk swung its tail. Its target was Zich since Zich’s attack hurt more than Glen’s. Zich bent over, and the basilisk’s tail passed him. It was easy to tell how powerful the force of its tail was by the strong shockwaves and wind pressure created from its movement.
Glen swung Tornium again while Zich held the Basilisk’s attention. Zich also swung Windur after evading the basilisk’s tail.
Kieccccckk! The basilisk slithered and swung its tail, but it couldn’t catch Zich or Glen. The furious basilisk glared at them. Then, at that moment—
Flash! The basilisk’s eyes beamed.