## Chapter 606 – The Scent of Spring

The adventurer wielding an axe at the front shouted,

“Heh heh heh! These Drake bastards are nothing special!”

The morale of the strike team was soaring, practically begging the heavens. The scattered clouds in the blue sky were proof of this. The milky white fluid spewed by the heat of battle had defiled the heavens. Wasn’t violence originally that kind of sin?

Their advance was relentless, and with every thrust of sword and spear, Drakes fell. This was what a successful flank attack meant.

Also, it was a clear demonstration that no matter how strong a monster was, it couldn’t defeat an army with strategy unless it had intelligence. The only reason humans could survive in this monster-infested world was thanks to the existence of armies.

—Squelch!

I, too, swung my life-saving sword to slaughter the Drakes, all to save people.

Rather than chasing after those who fled, it was easier and more effective to entrust myself to the group and push forward like a tank.

The reward might be divided, but even if it was divided a lot, I could still earn more money than chasing and catching them individually.

After all, it was thanks to entrusting myself to the army that this massacre was possible.

—Kweeeeeeeck!!!

The Drakes, blocked on all sides, died without even putting up much resistance.

—Thump!

Occasionally, Drakes from the rear would jump and fly towards us, but the adventurers could handle those attacks.

And they would get tangled up with each other while jumping or changing direction, plummeting to the ground. It was practically suicide. The war between mindless monsters and the human army was more like a hunt than a war.

—Aaaaaaaagh!!!

But the thing was, it was easy for me because I could hit the Drakes from behind, but the guys on the opposite end were directly exposed to the attacks. Of course, we still had the upper hand even in that situation. We were pushing forward, armed and piling up corpses.

But some careless guys might have died.

As I trampled on the corpses of the Drakes and advanced, I noticed the flags of other strike teams moving in the distance.

It seemed they had also succeeded in their attack.

—Boom!
—Crash!
—Thwack!

And on the other side, the fragmented corpses of Drakes were ‘flying’ in the sky. It seemed like the 1st Strike Team, led by Lady Isebelle, was over there.

She was the only one who could unleash that kind of power right now.

It was Lady Isebelle’s greatsword that had killed the powerful Ogre in a single blow. But seeing how she couldn’t hit her targets well, her agility and accuracy must be quite low. In this situation, all those weaknesses would disappear.

At this rate, the subjugation would end soon.

Judging from the overall atmosphere, the other strike teams must have also achieved great success like us. All that was left was the advance of the infantry phalanx. If that happened, the Drakes, having lost their center, would leave the pack and flee in all directions.

It looked like we could finish the battle before the afternoon. After receiving a decent reward, I should pack everything and return home by carriage.

“The high ground is in sight, Kkieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeck!!!!!”

I shouted to boost the morale of the strike team.

“Haa, haa…! Yeah! It’ll be over soon!”
“Haa…! This is gonna be huge!”

Still, after advancing and slashing for so long, they seemed to be running out of stamina. Their speed was gradually decreasing, and the number of people breathing heavily was increasing.

I was fine, but if we continued the battle like this, their combat power would gradually decrease. Of course, I wasn’t particularly worried because they were veterans. They could just switch from a fierce offensive to a defensive advance.

We just had to follow the lead of the experienced soldiers at the front and move as they did.

“Halt! Halt! Relay!”
“Halt! Halt! Relay!”

Then, the order to halt was given.

I had already heard at the barracks that if the four strike teams annihilated the Drakes and reached the innermost part, the strike teams that had secured their positions would expand their attack radius and join up.

Well, to put it simply, it meant that there was another strike team somewhere over there, so we would slowly move towards them and join up.

We just had to fight.

“Whew! Looks like those Drake bastards are finally dead!”
“I think I’ve killed 70,000 on my own!”
“You crazy liar!”

The adventurers were already soaked in the blood of the Drakes. There wasn’t a single person who wasn’t covered in red. Of course, my body was in a similar state.

The Drakes, who had been rampaging fiercely, had also faltered, and if we joined up and adopted a defensive posture, the advance of the infantry phalanx would bring it to an end.

—Rumble.
—Kugugung.

But as things calmed down, it felt like I could hear a sound like an earthquake.

—Kugugugu.

The ground… was shaking?

I wasn’t sure.

It was such a noisy place that I couldn’t really tell. More than anything, I didn’t have time to think deeply about it.

—Kugugugugugugugu.
—Gugugugugugugu.
—Rumble.

But it seemed like the sound was getting louder and louder.

The adventurers started saying things.

“Hey! Can’t you hear something!”
“I can’t hear well!”
“Listen carefully! It sounds like the ground is collapsing…”
“Could it be an earthquake!!”

—Flinch.

I tensed up for a moment.

I wouldn’t have cared if it was just me, but everyone around me was talking about the sound and the shaking. That meant that the sound was actually real, not just my imagination… Shit, everyone could hear it in this noisy battlefield?

Was it really an earthquake?

It might just feel that way because of the sound of the Drake horde’s footsteps, but something was off.

—Krururuk…!
—Krelerelereleck!!
—Kerelereleleleleleck!!!
—Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeck!!!!!!

The Drakes’ confusion suddenly intensified.

The guys who had already been going crazy started going even more crazy after a brief lull, trying to scatter in all directions.

“Are these bastards crazy!!!”
“They’re all running away!!!”
“We won!!!!!”

—It was as if they were desperately trying to escape.

They were running away now?
Something didn’t feel right.

“The Drakes are running away!”
“Waaaaaaaah!!! Victory! Victory!!!”
“Look at those bastards running away! Heh heh heh!”
“I’m gonna die from being so tired, shiiiiibal!!”

The adventurers were just bursting into cheers as they watched the Drakes trying to escape like crazy. They were so happy that they were practically shouting “hurray.”

—Kwegek! Keeeeeeck!
—Kekekekekekek!!!

The Drakes were even trampling on their own kind, biting and clawing as they struggled to break free from the pack. It seemed like we humans weren’t that important to the nearly frenzied creatures.

The guys who had been rampaging so fiercely were now trying to run away? Only now?

I didn’t know what was going on.
I wasn’t an expert on monster ecology.

—Kugugugugugugung!

And the roar kept coming.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
“Hurray! Hurraaaaaay!!”
“We won!!!!!!!!!!!”

But the roar was buried in the cheers of the humans. The ground was shaking… or was it? I still didn’t know, but I suddenly had a bad feeling!

“Hey, hey! Hey! You bastards, stay alert!! Why are you celebrating like you’ve already won!!!”

I shouted as I watched all around, trying to analyze what was happening as much as possible.

Could it be that the monsters, who were more sensitive to natural phenomena than humans, felt the earthquake and ran away? If so, it might not be an ordinary earthquake. A strong earthquake that could literally split the ground might occur!

I concentrated mana in my legs. If necessary, I would have to use the Heavenly Demon’s Descent to leap away from the scene.

“Hey, barbarian bro! We won… huh?”

It was when one of the adventurers next to me was about to grab my shoulder.

—Thwackwackwackwackwackwack!!!!!!!!!!

Suddenly, a roar that seemed to turn the sky upside down rang out, and a huge amount of earth and sand poured down on us.

—Pat pat pat!

I immediately used my arms and sword to protect my head and eyes. The dirt, sand, and gravel battered my body and got into my clothes.

“Wh, what is it!”
“Sand!”

The cheers of victory soon turned into cries of confusion, and a huge shadow was cast as if the sun had been blocked out for a moment. I didn’t know what was happening, but I could definitely sense one thing.

I had a bad feeling about this.

“Wh, what is it? What’s happening…?”
“It’s dark? Wait, what! What’s in front of us!”
“It’s huge! Something’s rising from the ground!”

—Thud.

At the same time, the corpses and entrails of Drakes, torn to shreds along with crimson blood, fell from the sky. It was a bizarre and surreal sight, like a 19+ version of “If Food Falls From the Sky.”

I immediately looked towards the epicenter.

—Something that looked like a pillar.

As the ground turned over, something huge and enormous rose up. It was so out of place in the middle of the plains that I momentarily thought a Dark Tower from Digimon Kaiser had appeared.

“M, monster!!!!!!”
“Dragon! It’s a dragonaaaaaaa!!!!”
“It’s a Wyrmaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!”
“It’s a Basiliskkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Only then could I see the tower-like thing in front of me.

—Crunch crunch.
—Gulp.

A long, crustacean monster with a head that looked like a grotesque sea cucumber face and an inhuman spoon worm head forcibly mixed and fused together was grabbing Drakes, chewing them up violently.

The length of its neck alone, which had risen above the ground, seemed to be about 4 meters. Its thickness was even like a large tree, and I couldn’t even imagine the overall size of the thing.

I wasn’t lying when I said it was one of the top ten most visually terrifying monsters I had seen since coming to this world.

—Booooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As the monster, which had swallowed the Drake whole, roared, an unbelievable roar erupted, and a huge number of fangs spread in all directions! —Whirr! At the same time, the monster moved its body and began to sweep around. The Drakes fled, and so did the humans.

“It’s a Deathwormaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“I can’t believe it!!!!!!!!!!!”
“It’s a Sandworm! A Sandworm has appeared!!!!!!”
“No! That’s a demon!!! It’s a demon!!!!!!!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!!!!!!!”

The adventurers each gave their own opinions, broke ranks, and began to flee in all directions. What the hell was that thing!!!!!!!

“Ugh, ughaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!”
“Run away!!!!”
“Save me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I, too, entrusted myself to the chaos and ran with all my might!

“Ilgasilgakdechyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!!!!!!!!”

I didn’t care what that crazy monster was! Even if there was an army, it would be impossible to catch a guy that big without any casualties!!

“D, don’t run away!!! Maintain formation!!!!!”
“We’re screwed, you bastards!!! If we maintain formation, we’ll all die!!!!!!!”

In an instant, the strike team members scattered, and the chaos intensified.

“Aemissibaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!”

—Kwaang!
—Kweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeck!!!!

The monster slammed its head into the ground, grabbed another Drake that was running away, and chewed it up. Its tremendous power and enormous size! All the adventurers were already fleeing! Nevertheless, the soldiers did not retreat at all, holding their ground and pointing their spears and swords at the newly appeared enemy.

Were those guys really thinking of fighting that thing!

“Everyone, intercept the monsteraaaaaaa!!!!!!”
“Waaaaaaaah!!!”
“Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!”
“Woo-ooooooooo!”

The brave soldiers roared and began to advance towards the monster, unleashing a fierce attack.

—Thwack!
“Kkeuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!”

However, they could not withstand a monster of that size.

—Quiooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

As the monster stuck its body to the ground and rampaged in all directions, dozens of soldiers who had been advancing were sent flying into the sky like jokes.

—Thwack!
—Crash!

“Keuheueuk!!”

Then, one of the soldiers flew all the way to my side and collapsed.

“This isn’t realaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t help him. Because I had to run away, regardless of rewards or armies.

“Ssibaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!!!”