Chapter 270 (1/2)

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Chapter 270 – Attack of the Yamamaneki

It was a green giant as tall as a five-storey building. It looked like a forest just rose from the ground and turned into a humanoid.

Opening its mouth wide, it let out a deafening howl. The sound rippled Hikaru's cloak who was almost a kilometer away. The river swelled; the s.h.i.+ps rocked.

「You d.a.m.ned monsters…」

Hikaru smiled despite himself. Now that the monster was within the range of his Mana Detection, he saw a ma.s.s of mana even bigger than the monster itself.

Wait, mana? Grucel and his men don't have any at all… Hmm… Let's think about that later.

Hikaru couldn't find Duinkler. The man must be in the bridge giving orders. He could hear voices coming from the voice pipes. Bells rang, indicating an emergency. Soldiers ran about the deck, shouting, preparing for battle. Deena weaved past them to get to Hikaru.

「It's dangerous here, Sir Silver Face.」she said.「Please return to your room.」

「There's no guarantee we'll be safe in there. What's that thing, anyway?」

「We call it the Yamamaneki. It shouldn't appear around these parts.」

The Yamamaneki was sinking its teeth on the walls surrounding the outer edge of the city. The walls were as high as the monster's shoulders and five metes thick. The Yamamaneki raised its arm overhead and slammed on the wall. Dirt flew in all directions. The wall should buy them some time, but they couldn't wait too long or it would get destroyed.

Hikaru gazed at the city. The first thing he noticed was the cityscape was completely different from that of Ponsonia or Vireocean. Houses closely resembled each other and were built on grids. Light gray walls and wide roofs were the notable characteristics.

Ca.n.a.ls ran throughout the city, drawing water from the river and pouring it back. In the hundred-meter of s.p.a.ce between the edge of the city and the mud wall, Hikaru could see soldiers shuffling about, attacking the monster.

Don't they have an effective weapon to use against it?

Hikaru expected something amazing since they possessed cannons.

「What the…」

What the soldiers brought out was a catapult, a ballistic device used to launch rocks at a target. The weapon bent, and a rock as big as an armful went flying towards the Yamamaneki, hitting it square on its head.

「Doesn't look it's working.」

Pieces of greenery scattered from the head, but that was it. After standing blankly for a bit, the Yamamaneki howled once more, blowing the soldiers away.

Residents began evacuating. This looks bad, Hikaru thought. In the meantime, the head s.h.i.+p of the fleet was getting closer to the city's edge and from there, the blast cannons let loose their barrage of attacks, each boom sending vibrations to his whole body. Sh.e.l.ls—which were also explosive magic items—were flying straight at the Yamamaneki. Out of the ten iron b.a.l.l.s, only about three actually hit. Others. .h.i.t the wall, some fell to the ground, a few shot past the monster and into the forests.

One sh.e.l.l scored a direct hit on the Yamamaneki's left shoulder. More green scattered in all directions, like blood spattering out. Underneath was a brown skin—most likely soil—where a deep red line seemed to be running down. It must be a vein of some sorts, Hikaru thought.

「Do you know what that is?」Hikaru asked Lavia, who was standing beside him.

「I haven't seen a monster like that before. That red color is too eeire.」she said as she s.h.i.+vered.

While the s.h.i.+ps' bombardment proved effective, the difficulty of aiming was causing trouble. The sh.e.l.ls sc.r.a.ped off part of the wall, creating a path for the Yamamaneki to pa.s.s through.

The monster eyed both the city and the wars.h.i.+ps and decided to attack the latter. With huge, heavy strides, it headed their way. The crew screamed.

Why are they panicking so much? Is a monster that strong really rare? Their s.h.i.+ps are equipped with blast cannons, but they don't have those in the city?

Hikaru had too many questions.

「L-Lord Silver Face. Can you do something about that?」Deena asked, her face pale.

Judging by her reaction, a Yamamaneki attack was beyond expectations. How do we kill that thing? It didn't take long for Hikaru to realize that Deena was hinting at the revolver that he used in sinking one of their s.h.i.+ps.

Uh, I don't know…