The Song of Sword and Magic - Chapter 65

Chapter 65: A Tragic Battle

[Translator — Asuka]

[Proofreader — Karane]

The fiend was the first that came into their sight. It was the first time Stan and Rae saw a fiend from such a close distance, so they held their breath and stayed put on the branch.

Following that, tens of zombies appeared as well. It seemed that they were just a small group, which was supposed to be the support team for the main group. Certainly, they didn’t expect that the main group would have all been destroyed. The fiend looked around vigilantly, but in the Northern climate, there wasn’t any sound in the forest, not even the chirping of birds. When they reached the location where Stan had stayed, the fiend stopped suddenly and gazed apprehensively at the open space in front of them. The atmosphere was rather spooky.

After a moment of deliberation, the fiend turned around and growled at the zombies. No human could understand what it was saying as those were just some guttural sounds. After that, two zombies left the group and walked forward. When they stepped into the open space, Stan thought that the ground would collapse. In fact, nothing happened as the zombies moved past it and stopped at the other side, after which they waited for the next order.

Slightly relieved, the fiend led the zombies to tread forward and still scanned its surroundings with alert.

When the last zombie stepped into the open space, the fiend’s horse was about to step out of it. Stan knew that there must be a trap, but the chance was about to slip through their fingers.

***

Just then, a loud whistle broke the ghastly silence. In an instant, the fiend appeared to be flustered. At the same time, the ground beneath the fiend and the zombies collapsed, causing them to fall without any chance to react. Apart from the two zombies already on the other side of the open space, the others all plunged into the trap, which was filled with water. Those that got into the water were struggling for survival while the fiend was still safe due to the fact that it was on a horse. However, its legs came into contact with the water, so it was growling in pain as it tried to get up on horseback.

Meanwhile, five warriors jumped down from the pine tree on the left as they drew out their swords and slashed at the surviving zombies, which tried to parry their attacks. However, the warriors were well trained and understood the tactics the zombies used full well. Moreover, they came in a larger number, so in just a short moment, one of the warriors kicked the zombie into the trap while two more warriors pushed the other zombie into it.

Everything seemed to be in their favor. Just when the warriors were panting heavily, the horse and the fiend could be heard growling in the trap. Stan and Rae saw that the fiend was standing on the horseback and ready to jump out of the trap.

“Watch out!” Rae reminded the warriors.

The warriors turned around and realized that the hideous-looking fiend was right before their eyes. Although its legs were burned, it still appeared to be intimidating.

“Damn it! I have to help them. They don’t stand a chance of defeating the fiend.” Stan tried to climb down the tree, but as soon as he crouched down on the branch, he realized that his legs were shaking violently, so he couldn’t go down at all.

“Don’t worry. They seem to do much better than Fern.” Rae examined the warriors, who didn’t seem to be as terrified as Fern when confronted by a fiend. Although their bodies had stiffened in fear, they still faced the fiend bravely instead of backing down. “It seems that they’re no ordinary citizens. They must be the surviving soldiers of Sara.” She made a guess.

***

After a short moment of confrontation, the fiend seemed to have found their weaknesses. Suddenly, it charged toward one of the warriors, who seemed to be injured, so he couldn’t dodge it quickly. When the fiend’s sword penetrated his chest, he looked down at the sword in fear and couldn’t utter any word other than some guttural sounds.

“Horus! Damn it!” One warrior immediately hacked his sword at the fiend, which tried to pull out its sword, but it realized that its weapon was gripped by Horus. Therefore, it raised its other hand to parry the attack. The sword was hacked into its bones, but the fiend couldn’t feel pain at all as it was still trying to pull out its sword from Horus’s body. Horus still wouldn’t let go, but the sharp pain in his body caused him to scream.

The other three warriors conquered their inner fear and wielded their swords at the fiend, which couldn’t counter their strike at all at this moment. As the swords were slashed into the fiend’s head, neck and ribs, Rae also used her dark magic and launched a dark fog at it, trying to engulf the monster. However, even after being attacked, it was still trying to draw out its sword. Horus’s hands were drenched in blood, but he ignored the pain and gripped the sword firmly. Nevertheless, he was on the brink of a nervous breakdown as the fiend had pulled out half of the sword, which was soaked in blood and some sticky liquid. It seemed that his heart was pierced through.

“Basorem, p-promise me that you’ll place some snow lotus flowers in front of my tomb. That’s Sheen’s favorite flower…” Horus coughed and said as blood streamed out of his mouth.

“Don’t be silly. You’ll be fine.” Basorem slashed at the fiend angrily, but just like their previous attacks, the monster remained unharmed.

The other three warriors also hacked their swords at the fiend’s head and neck, but they couldn’t break its bones that were as hard as steel.

“Promise me, Basorem! Promise me!” Horus said firmly as he was beginning to lose consciousness.

Gazing at his dying friend mournfully, Basoren replied, “I promise you, Horus. I’ll do it for you!”

“Thanks…” Horus flashed a faint smile at him. With determination written all over his face, he used his last bit of energy and charged at the fiend.

The sword then penetrated his body and stuck out from his back. The spurting of blood and his growl hit hard at the deepest part of everyone’s heart. Even the fiend’s hand was buried in his body, but Horus wouldn’t stop in his tracks. “For Sara!” he shouted. Before he completely lost his consciousness, he tackled the fiend in a hug and jumped into the trap with it.

The fiend struggled in the water and shrieked as it was suffering from immense pain. Basorem and his companions glowered at the fiend, but the monster’s suffering couldn’t make their fury subside. A moment later, the fiend stopped struggling and sank into the water. The atmosphere fell into silence again as only some withered limbs were on the surface of the water.

Flabbergasted by Horus’s brave act, Stan and Rae couldn’t calm down for a long time.

***