Brissa Plain had become the decisive battlefield for the Subjugation Army and the Mercurio Army.
At the heart of the clash, the two forces hammered against one another in a violent display of power. Outside of that central conflict, however, numerous smaller skirmishes were breaking out across the landscape.
"They're here! It’s the Mercurio Army! Do not let them pass! Remember, we are the final line of defense protecting His Highness Cabajid and His Highness Schuls! Fight with everything you have!"
In response to the Captain’s command echoing through the woods, the men gathered there offered low replies, their voices heavy with absolute determination.
This particular forest was situated quite close to the Subjugation Army's Main Camp. Since clearing these trees provided a direct path to the heart of their operations, a defensive unit had naturally been stationed here to intercept any infiltrators.
For the outnumbered Mercurio Army, the best path to victory while minimizing their own casualties was undoubtedly to decapitate the enemy leadership. Even if a full assassination failed, simply knowing that their Main Camp was under fire would cause the Subjugation Army’s morale to plummet.
For that reason, Mercurio’s forces had dispatched high-performance units to attempt a raid on the enemy Main Camp. Unfortunately, they had yet to find any real opening for success. Of course, the Subjugation Army’s side was not merely taking these hits lying down. They had sent their own units to capture or kill the enemy leader, Mercurio, only to have them cut down by the elite guards protecting the Prince.
"The enemy is using the trees for cover! Keep a sharp eye out for magic!"
Just as the Captain finished his warning, he caught the sound of something whistling through the air. A dagger came spinning through the gaps in the branches, but the Captain effortlessly parried it with his longsword.
With a high-pitched metallic clang, the dagger buried itself in the trunk of a nearby tree.
"Hmph. They sent skilled ones this time. Listen up—don't let a single one through!"
"Sir!"
With a synchronized shout, the Subjugation Army unit dispersed, blending into the foliage.
Seconds later, combat erupted across the narrow forest. It was a messy, brutal affair that had long since abandoned concepts like honor or announcing one's name. It was a battle of ambushes, where soldiers attacked from the shadows and used the cries of the wounded as bait to lure more enemies into the open.
"Enemy numbers are gradually thinning, sir."
"And our losses?"
"Within expectations. Since they brought fewer men to begin with, if we keep pushing—"
The lieutenant collapsed before he could finish his report.
Reacting instantly, the Captain swung his longsword. He couldn't see anything in the air, but the instinct born of years as a veteran soldier compelled his arm to move. The correctness of that impulse was proven a heartbeat later. Though invisible, the tactile sensation of severing something solid vibrated through the hilt of his sword.
"What was that?"
The Captain’s question was answered by the autumn sun. As light filtered through the gaps in the canopy, it caught on a shimmering, elongated object. It was a thread, so impossibly fine that it remained invisible unless one stared directly at it.
Threads? Why would... no, wait. I see! They have them here too!
The term Beast Soldier flashed through the Captain’s mind.
"Watch out! There’s a Beast Soldier in the woods! It likely has the abilities of a spider-type monster!"
His voice rang through the trees, alerting his subordinates to the looming threat.
The Beast Soldiers were deformed beings possessed only by the Mercurio Army. Intelligence reports at the Main Camp had stated that Beast Soldier units were being deployed to the front lines, so the Captain had assumed they were all concentrated there.
But if I think about it, Beast Soldiers aren't uniform entities. Each one—each creature—has entirely different abilities. They are far more effective as individual assets than in a group. For example, using them to secretly infiltrate enemy territory for a raid!
The Captain scanned his surroundings with a piercing gaze, but unless the sunlight caught the threads just right, they were impossible to spot. He couldn't simply leave his unit to be picked off.
"Damn it! Someone get word to the Main Camp! There should be several experts stationed there. Tell them to come immediately and—"
Slash.
Before the Captain could finish, a longsword strike whistled past him. For a split second, he thought it was an enemy attack, but the blow clearly had no intention of hitting him. On the contrary, the moment the Captain saw the face of the newcomer, he spoke with visible relief.
"Lord Blatta!"
"I felt something suspicious over here. I came to investigate, and sure enough... it’s a Beast Soldier, isn't it?"
"Yes, sir. Almost certainly."
"Understood. Leave the Beast Soldier to me. You focus on finishing off the remaining infantry."
"Understood! Everyone, leave the Beast Soldier to Lord Blatta! We will handle the soldiers invading these woods!"
At the Captain’s command, the men moved out. Once they were gone, Blatta tightened his grip on his longsword and spoke to the empty air.
"Alright, what are you waiting for? Show yourself, monster. You’re my opponent, aren't you? Crimson was snatched away by Immovable, and I’m in a foul mood because of it. Come on, crawl out. I need something to vent my frustrations on!"
Blatta’s shout was met with silence, but in place of words, a volley of threads shot toward him. They were the same shimmering lines that had targeted the Captain.
"You seriously think such an obvious attack will work on me!"
He swept his longsword in a wide arc. With a single stroke, the threads swarming toward him were severed and fluttered harmlessly to the forest floor.
"Gugugugu... You... no forgive. Kill... definitely."
The creature was likely hidden from Blatta’s sight, but it clearly understood its attack had been neutralized. A voice thick with murderous intent echoed through the trees.
"Hmph. Do it if you can, you coward. You can't even show your face to me."
"No forgive. You... kill."
Whether it lacked the intelligence to speak properly or simply spoke in fragments by habit was unclear. Regardless, the opponent continued its broken, murderous threats. As Blatta parried the incoming threads, he suddenly leaped backward.
A split second later, a purple liquid rained down from the canopy onto the spot where he had been standing. The moment the liquid hit the earth, a cloud of purple smoke billowed outward.
"Poison?! Tsk, what a pain!"
Skilled as he was, Blatta was ultimately a warrior. He couldn't use wide-range magic like a mage, nor could he disperse the smoke with the wings of a wyvern like a dragon knight.
"You... kill. Certain."
"Hah! Then stop with the petty tricks and come out. You’re just a cowardly weakling hiding because you’re afraid of me!"
"Me... coward... no."
With those fragmented words, the creature finally revealed itself. The entity was exactly what Blatta expected, yet surprising in its form.
The previous commander of the Beast Soldiers had also possessed spider traits, but that individual had been a human torso growing out of a giant spider’s body. The creature before Blatta now possessed a spider’s face, but its body was closer to human.
The details, however, were grotesque. Its limbs and face were covered in stiff, needle-like hair. Its hands had only three fingers, each ending in a jagged, sharp claw. A tail-like appendage used for spinning silk extended from its lower back. It looked less like a Beast Soldier and more like a spider beastman.
Well, a spider isn't exactly a beast, but you get the idea.
Thinking of the creature in those terms, Blatta readied his sword. The moment he saw the opponent’s tail twitch to launch more silk, he kicked off the ground and closed the distance. He tracked the shimmer of the fine threads as he moved, severing them with precise swings of his blade.
"Impudent. You. Take... this."
The creature swung its right hand. They were still too far apart for a claw strike to connect, causing Blatta a moment of doubt—until purple liquid sprayed from the creature's fingertips.
"Tch!"
Clicking his tongue, Blatta pivoted sharply, using a tree as a shield as he circled his opponent. Smoke hissed from the wood where the purple liquid struck, confirming its corrosive nature.
I figured as much the moment I saw the color! But seriously, why spin silk from the tail and shoot poison from the claws?!
Internally cursing whoever had performed the Beast Soldier Ritual on this creature, he continued to use the trees for cover while narrowing the gap. The ritual’s outcome was largely dictated by the subject’s latent potential, and the practitioner would likely argue that Blatta was blaming the wrong person for the creature's bizarre anatomy.
"Running. Coward. Die."
Irritated by Blatta’s evasive maneuvers, the creature began shooting poison liquid from both hands. Despite the doubled volume of corrosive spray, Blatta was steadily gaining ground. When the next volley of poison flew past him, he exploded forward, crossing the remaining distance in a single burst.
"Drop dead, you monster!"
He unleashed a powerful strike aimed at bisecting the creature’s torso. The Beast Soldier had just fired from both hands, leaving it seemingly defenseless for the second it would take to recover.
If it tried to block with its tail, Blatta was prepared to lop the appendage off. However, the Beast Soldier made no move to defend. Instead, it threw its arms wide, almost as if inviting the blade to tear through its center.
Something's wrong.
A premonition of danger flashed through his mind, but he needed to end this quickly to support his men. Suppressing his anxiety, Blatta followed through with the strike. But just as the edge was about to bite into the creature’s flesh—
Before the blade could touch its skin, the Beast Soldier’s flank suddenly split open. Fleshy tentacles erupted from the wound, coiling around the sword’s blade and snatching it clean out of Blatta’s hand.
"What?!"
For a heartbeat, Blatta froze, unable to process the sight. For the Beast Soldier, a heartbeat was all it needed.
"Fool. Die."
It lunged with its claws. This wasn't a spray of poison; it was a direct thrust intended to inject the toxin straight into his vital organs.
If Blatta had been an ordinary man, he would have been skewered the moment he hesitated. However, he was one of the strongest warriors in the First Prince Faction. Though he had been momentarily stunned, his body reacted the instant he realized the claws were about to connect. He dropped his weight, sliding back and hitting the ground to dodge the fatal blow.
Simultaneously, he drew a dagger from his belt and drove the tip deep into the creature's leg.
"Gyabii!"
As blood sprayed from the wound, a grating, screeching scream tore from the creature’s throat. Blatta followed up immediately, delivering a sweeping kick to the Beast Soldier's leg that knocked the creature off balance and sent it sprawling.
"Just die already!"
As it hit the ground, Blatta lunged to drive his dagger into its defenseless head, but the tentacles erupted from the creature's side once more. Blatta didn't hesitate; he swung the dagger, severing the whip-like appendages. The severed tips hit a nearby tree with a wet, heavy sound before sliding to the ground.
"Gyupyooo!"
The Beast Soldier howled in agony as its tentacles were sheared off. That cry was its final opening. By the time the creature realized the danger, the dagger was already upon it. The sickening sound and wet sensation of the dagger’s tip puncturing its skull were the last things it experienced before its life flickered out.
"...Phew. You certainly made me work for it."
Blatta, who had been tangled on the ground with the monster, stood up with a weary sigh. He gave his dagger a sharp flick, sending the blood and blackish ichor splattering onto the dirt.
"No skull to speak of... I guess that’s the spider traits for you. Well, it made it easy enough to kill even with a little toothpick like this."
He glanced around for something to clean his blade with, but the autumn woods were dry and the leaves were already withered. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he pulled a cloth from his pocket and roughly wiped the steel.
He retrieved his discarded longsword, scanned the area, and began walking toward the sounds of distant fighting. It wouldn't be long now before the Mercurio Army’s assassins were completely purged from these woods.