In the Nest of the Fallen Serpent - Chapter 49
Chapter 49
“Don’t let them into the territory!”
The attack had been sudden. The soldiers defended desperately, but the sheer number of beasts was overwhelming. The onslaught was too much to bear, and the defenses on one section of the wall crumbled.
“Stay calm! Hold the line!”
But the beasts didn’t miss the opening. Before anyone could react, a dozen of them scrambled over the wall and began slaughtering the soldiers. Screams, blood, and gore sprayed everywhere. Despair descended upon the wall.
“Keeek!”
A young soldier, his face pale with terror, swung his sword frantically. But his blade snapped uselessly against a beast’s attack.
“No, agh!”
Just as the terrified soldier screamed, covering his head and cowering, a thud sounded, followed by a spray of blood. But it wasn’t the soldier’s. The legs of the beast that had been screeching in pain were severed, followed swiftly by its head.
“Y-Your Grace!”
Benedict’s arrival completely turned the tide of the battle. With every sweep of his sword, monstrous bodies fell. It was a one-sided massacre.
The spider beasts assaulting the wall, realizing the shift in momentum, began to retreat. As the fighting subsided, Benedict casually wiped his sword and looked back.
“Some of the beasts have broken through into the territory. Find and eliminate them.”
“Yes!”
His gaze followed the beasts fleeing beyond the wall, towards the mountain range. Moritz approached and reported the situation.
“Aside from the casualties on the wall, there are no further losses among our forces. I’ve already given orders to begin repairs on the damaged sections.”
After a brief silence, Benedict spoke.
“This is strange. There are far too many.”
“Pardon?”
“Spring and summer are when monstrous beast activity is at its lowest.”
Tap, tap, tap. His fingers drummed rhythmically against the scabbard of his sword.
“And those are the same spider beasts I saw on my return…” His lips tightened into a thin line.
“Our esteemed Emperor seems to have been quite busy.”
“Surely not…”
Moritz stared at him in astonishment. But Benedict’s gaze remained fixed on the grey, shimmering mountains. It seemed the Emperor, despite the warning, couldn’t discern his opponent. He would have to give him what he wanted.
Benedict turned to Moritz and commanded, “Assemble the knights. As soon as the situation in the territory is under control, we will locate and destroy the beasts’ nest.”
This time, it was just a horde of beasts he would eliminate.
‘I wonder who will be next.’
Benedict’s eyes gleamed coldly as he considered the order.
Five days later, the Duke returned with his men, having suppressed the beast horde. His armor, stained with the beasts’ blood, spoke volumes about the battles fought. The servants who had been waiting to attend him discreetly withdrew at the sight of their master’s ferocious aura. It was an unspoken rule of the Dukedom to avoid him at such times.
Benedict strode through their midst, heading straight for his bedroom.
‘What a mess.’
He’d destroyed every spider nest he could find. They wouldn’t be thinking about invading again anytime soon. In one of the ravaged nests, Benedict had discovered traces of an accelerant. A drug that stimulated the beasts’ breeding, mating, and growth.
While he had been waging his war of conquest in the Crozeta Kingdom, the cunning Emperor had been secretly increasing the beast population in the Grey Mountains. So, Benedict had returned the favor. He hoped the Emperor would be the next one torn apart.
‘It will be quite a spectacle.’
He smiled grimly, anticipating the chaos that would erupt in the Imperial Palace in a few days. Was it the recent carnage, so soon after the war, or the discovery of the Emperor’s petty scheme?
An unquenched thirst arose within him. A craving for blood, a destructive urge to shatter and ruin something utterly. Or perhaps…
Benedict flung open his bedroom door. An unfamiliar brightness and warmth spilled out. He frowned slightly. The change in his usually empty, cool room was unsettling.
“Master?”
A clear voice followed, and then a snow-white face appeared. Something fragile, something he wanted to crush and break. It was the woman he’d been thinking about just before opening the door.
