Chapter 602: Shardmaws II

Proofread By Thomas F

“These fucking monsters!” Cursed a soldier behind me as we reached the area, where the signs of carnage were all over.

Some people were able to escape. We saw them in the carts earlier, but not all of them. Many had died, and the number wasn’t as small as I had wished.

I saw bloody marks on the ground and wall. The miners had struggled, but they were not a match for the monsters.

They had torn them apart and killed them, leaving nothing but blood and torn clothes. They didn’t kill and eat them all; I could see the signs of them dragging some with them.

“His condition is getting bad,” informed Lt. Colonel. “Ask him to hold on. We will reach there soon,” I replied.

We are close, but it will still take a few more minutes before we can reach there.

We were moving as fast as possible and would have crashed into the wall several times while turning if not for the skills and spells the cavalry members in our groups were employing.

The more I practice with them, the more I will learn and realize what a valuable force they are.

I had already increased their budget, understanding this.

It did not come without cost, as I had scratched it out of others, but it is something I need. They are well suited for the wasteland.

Because of this advantage of cavalry, the bastard in Port Midlet was keeping the undead at bay.

I pushed those thoughts away and focused on riding. I am constantly using the Command Projection to control the beast.

Usually, they do not need such control. They are trained for this kind of thing, but we are moving too fast in this place, and it becomes necessary.

A minute passed and then another. We rode through the caves, small and big.

“We are just seconds away,” informed Lt. Colonel Mazorn.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves. Mages prepare spells. We will attack them immediately, hard and fast,” I commanded, and I felt the skills and spells activating.

They covered me and also the beats we were riding. The monsters we will fight are dangerous, while the ones we are riding aren’t precisely the fighting monsters.

They are mine monsters; they are the ones that mine guards used.

They are trained with monsters and could be used in mounted fighting, but they are not as effective as those explicitly bred for mounted combat.

So, I hope the skills will work. In Colonel Trask’s position, we will need these monsters to reach there.

We took turns, and I saw a glimpse of the monsters behind the entrance of the other end.

There are a lot of monsters. So many that I couldn’t see any people.

Beast also seemed to sense them, and I could feel them shaking. Seeing that, I brought out a faint aura before adding the power of Calm Touch in it and covering all the beasts with it.

Immediately, the calmness took over them. It made me relieved, and I looked ahead.

Finally, noticing Colonel Trask and his men. It didn’t make me feel good.

Within seconds, we reached the massive entrance and plunged into the cavern beyond. Its sheer scale was staggering—so vast that an entire village could vanish within its depths. The air was thick and heavy with unnatural sounds and dust clouds that quickened my pulse.

Then I saw them.

Near the center, a writhing sea of horrors—hundreds of them—Shardmaws.Their hulking forms twisted and swirled in a chaotic frenzy, their jagged maws snapping at the air, each movement echoing with the sound of grinding stone and tearing flesh. There were easily over two hundred of them, a tide of nightmares coiling in the dim light.

These are reptilian monsters, as big as carriage horses, with stone scales of black and grey. They have thick limbs with sharp black claws and teeth like long shards, which is how they got their names.

Roar, Roar, Roar!

They saw us and roared. I could see their long mouths and sharp teeth. That could cut through the rock like butter.

“Attack!” I roared and activated the March Of The Braves.

It is a skill that works better with infantry, but even with the lesser boost, it is a powerful skill, and we need all the advantages we can get here.

Roar, Roar, Roar!

They roared, and a group of them came toward us.

I unsheathed my rapier and felt its power coursing through me. Its beautiful blade gleamed sharply. This will be the blade’s first blood.

The spells flew toward the swarm of monsters. Some died, but many came bellowing wildly in rage and bloodlust.

Finally, our charge reached the monsters, with one coming to attack me, or rather my beast. I could see it wanting to bite its head.

I leaned forward and brought my sword down with the Blade of The Gale.

The monster seemed to understand the danger and tried to dodge the attack, but my sword was too fast and reached its neck in less than a second.

The blade reached its neck, and I was about to activate the Razer Edge when I stopped, realizing that I did not need it.

Rip!

My rapier cut through its neck and decapitated it cleanly.

The smoothness surprised me, but it only held my thoughts for a fraction of a second as another monster came.

I attacked it with my rapier and used Graceful Repell to stop another monster from attacking from the left.

Rip! Bang!

I killed the monster and defended against the second one before moving to kill it.

Rip!

I split its head from the front without decapitating it. This wound makes the monster scream out strangely before falling to the ground in pain.

Beastback combat has its advantages, but there are also many disadvantages.

Here, I am restricted by the beast.

I controlled the beast and pushed forward using Calm Touch and Command Projection.

I have my aura active around all the beasts. Without it, they would have bolted the moment they sensed the danger, scattering into the darkness, and we couldn’t afford that—not now. Not when Colonel Trask’s group was trapped, surrounded on all sides by monsters, their survival hanging by a thread.

We moved forward. Killing any monster that came our way.

Roar, Roar, Roar!

We killed the monsters that came our way—getting closer and closer to a group of larger monsters when the guttural roar rang out.

From the center of the mass, a group of monsters came toward us, and this group had Grade IV monsters. We have been dealing with Grade III, and now elder Grade IV has come.

These are bigger, stronger, and, most importantly. These Shardmaws possess Elemental energy.

I could see the earth’s elemental energy shining through the scales and covering their claws.

Sup, Sup, Sup!

Soon, it gathered in front of their mouths. Forming Earth Lances before shooting toward us.

Seeing that, I let out a breath, and with it, I brought out my aura and pushed inside it the skill. It went inside the skill more smoothly than when I had fought against the bandit.

I expanded it at the same time. Creating a rectangular forcefield.

Bam, Bam, Bam

The lances crashed against the force field, which was powerful, but I had experienced worse.

The force field stopped the attack and repelled it toward the monsters. We used that opening to charge toward them fast.

Rip, Bam, Rip!

I decapitated and defended against the monsters before finally coming across the first elder Grade IV monster.

Roar!

It roared at me before attacking, unlike the Grade III monsters. Who attacked with their mouths, this one struck me with the claws.

Its claws had extended with the earth’s elemental power, becoming nearly half a meter long and very sharp.

I didn’t react other than increasing the power of Calm Touch to calm the beast before commanding it to move forward with Commanding Presence.

At that exact moment, I slashed my sword forward with the Blade of Gale and Mauling Strike without caring for the claws that would rip me and the beast apart.

Bam!

The claws struck an invisible force, and the monster shook as it tried to deal with the recoil.

It was stabilizing itself when it saw the rapier in front of it. It reacted fast, trying to summon an earth lance, but my rapier reached the beast just as the lance started to form.

Rip!

I activated the Razor-Edge, and the sword ripped through its neck and came out of the other side.

It was a Grade IV monster, and I just killed it.

I didn’t stop and killed two more Grade III juveniles and defended against the attack of an elder Grade IV before killing it.

It wasn’t as easy as it looked. Every moment, I defend against the attack and fight the monsters while at the same time keeping the beasts calm.

They want to bolt at every moment and, if not for me, forcefully keeping them calm and suppressed with my aura. They would have bolted away already.

Rip!

Finally, the last monster of the group died, and now only one group remained.

The biggest.

“Arrow formation!” I commanded, and they arranged themselves into the arrow formation.

“Cover the sides,” I instructed the mages and the next moment. I poured the aura into Graceful Repel and shaped it into a triangular shape like an arrowhead.

It’s hard, and I had never managed to make one so large, but I didn’t have a choice here. If we fought our way there, it would take a lot of time, and we don’t have time. Colonel Trask and others are barely holding on.

Every second we lose, there might be a person dying there.

Powerful monsters are attacking them; one radiates power enough that I felt scared of it.

So, I have to get there as soon as possible, not only to save him and others but also to gather our numbers together. This will give us a greater chance to deal with the monsters.

Finally, I formed the wedge shape, which took all of my effort to maintain, especially when keeping a Calm Touch and Command Projection on beasts.

“Charge!” I shouted with everything I had, commanding the beasts to move as fast as they could with the Command Projection.

They are scared, but I forcefully suppress their fear with my skill.

The beasts galloped fast, and their speed increased further with the spells and the skills others had cast.

Raor, Raor, Raor!

The monsters roared and launched their charge at us with fury. The wall of scales and teeth was a scene that created fear in my heart, but I didn’t stop—instead, I pushed my beast to move even faster.

Bam Bam Bam!

The Shardmaws roared and launched their earth lances. My aura shield blocked them, but I nearly lost control over my skills. I held on with everything I had.

The worst is about to come.

Bam Bam Bam!

Finally, the monster’s charge battered against the wedge of my aura shield, each blow threatening to shatter my focus. The impact was unlike anything I had ever felt before—not the ferocity of the elder Shardmaws’ attacks, nor even the relentless barrage of Earth spikes. It was something raw, mountain-like, a force that seemed to ripple through the air, shaking my control to its core.

The pressure was overwhelming, pushing me to the brink of losing control, but I clung to every ounce of strength I had, refusing to give in.

It made me bleed out of my nose and ears and shook my aura, but I didn’t let it slip through my hands.

Instead gripped it even more tightly.

Bam Bam Bam!

The monsters and their attacks kept clashing against us, trying to stop us from reaching our people. Monsters aren’t idiots; they know that we will be harder to deal with together.

So they came, not just at me, but also my people.

Our sides were fortified with powerful defensive spells—Grade IV and Grade III barriers. My mages worked tirelessly, weaving their magic to sustain the shields while simultaneously launching devastating attacks at the advancing monsters.

We charged forward, killing or trampling any who tried to stop us. Seconds passed, and then another. We got closer and closer to our people until we finally reached them.

“Lord Silver!” they greeted in relief. I saw their bloody faces and dead bodies at their feet.

“Spread out,” I commanded, and people moved around, joining them to fight the monsters coming from every side.

“My lord, watch out!”

I had just given the command. When I heard the warning, I turned. Only to see the most oversized claw of a monster I had seen here coming at me.

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