Rainy Night

"Rumble!!!"

Torrential rain poured down as lightning flashed and thunder roared, plunging the entire world into darkness. A carriage sped along a narrow path. The oil lamp hanging outside the carriage could not illuminate the road ahead in such conditions, only vaguely lighting a small area.

The soldiers assigned to protect the carriage had mostly scattered and fled. Only the Old Knight still rode alongside it. The Elf Scout sat in the driver's seat, gripping the reins tightly with both hands—if not for an elf's keen senses and night vision, this carriage would likely have fallen off some cliff long ago.

Inside the carriage, Elisa and her mother were pale as well. The swaying carriage, the howling wind outside, the thunder, lightning, and rain—there was almost nothing reassuring about any of it. Elisa's mother clasped her hands together, muttering prayers to some unknown god, while Elisa clenched her fists and anxiously stared out the window.

Okegis, on the other hand, remained quite calm. She sat across from them with the Traveling Case on her lap and a book resting atop it—a fairy tale book she had taken from Rook's library before leaving. Even beneath the dim lamplight, she read with great interest.

"Buzzzzz—"

However, at that moment, everyone suddenly heard a strange sound coming from within the wind and rain. At first, it was so faint that they wondered whether they had heard it wrong. But soon, it grew louder and louder, like swarms of mosquitoes rushing toward them.

Then the Elf Scout's scream rang out from outside the carriage.

"Watch out, Rot Flies!!!"

At the same time, dark shadows descended from the sky.

They were monsters the size of grown men, with two pairs of wings, like grotesque combinations of enlarged flies and stinkbugs. They swooped down through the storm, charging straight at the carriage. Everyone tensed at the Rot Fly swarm's attack. The Old Knight held the reins in one hand and drew the longsword at his waist with the other, roaring as he slashed at the diving Rot Flies and cut one in half.

On the other side, the Elf Scout gripped the reins tightly and drove the carriage from side to side, trying to escape the swarm's pursuit. Rot Flies might not have been especially strong, but they were extremely troublesome in groups. If they could not get away, everyone would likely die here!

"Sir Kado, get on the carriage!"

Hearing the elf's shout, the Old Knight did not hesitate. He rode closer to the carriage, then leaped into the air and landed at its front. Almost at the same moment, several Rot Flies shot down and pinned the Old Knight's horse to the ground, mercilessly tearing at its flesh until it became a corpse.

The thick scent of blood seemed to further stir the Rot Flies' savagery. They accelerated again, nearly surrounding the carriage completely. The Old Knight swung his sword, forcing back every Rot Fly that tried to approach. Even so, quite a few began attacking the carriage itself. Their claws, fangs, and sharp jaws frantically tore and battered the carriage walls. Inside, Elisa and her mother were trembling as they clung tightly to each other.

"Seriously... this is trouble!"

After steering the carriage away from the Rot Flies again, the Elf Scout could not help complaining.

"Hey, you there! Didn't the Black Knight tell you to protect us? Give us a hand already, or we're all dead!!"

Although the Elf Scout did not know much about Okegis's abilities, she had witnessed the scene where Okegis dealt with the Apostle of Plague. She knew that quiet girl possessed considerable power. If she did not act soon, they might all die!

"Miss Okegis!"

Hearing the Elf Scout's scream, Elisa hurriedly looked toward Okegis, who was still turning pages across from her.

"Please help us! If this keeps up, we'll all die!"

"..."

Faced with Elisa's plea, Okegis merely raised her head, stared at her, and gave a slight nod.

The next moment, a miracle happened.

The Rot Fly swarm surrounding the carriage suddenly shattered. Every Rot Fly split into countless fragments, as if sliced apart by invisible blades. In the blink of an eye, the once-arrogant Rot Fly army had completely vanished into the rain and darkness of the night.

For a time, the surroundings fell quiet again. Only hoofbeats, the creaking carriage, wind, and rain mingled together. The Elf Scout and the Old Knight, having narrowly survived, both breathed sighs of relief.

"Whew... looks like that Black Knight is pretty reliable after all. I thought—"

"—!!!"

Before the Elf Scout could finish, a massive figure suddenly dropped from the sky and landed before their carriage. It was a terrifying monster three meters tall, its entire body bloated, with two enormous and horrifying claws. Rotten, swollen muscles and blood vessels covered it from head to toe. It opened its mouth, and a long tongue slid out, writhing constantly like a venomous snake.

"Chaos Spawn!!!"

The Elf Scout and the Old Knight both went pale upon seeing the monster. Even they had only heard Rumors of such horrific creatures. Simply put, when an Evil God Believer's body could no longer bear the Chaos power granted by the god they worshipped, their body and mind would completely collapse, transforming them into savage, mindless monsters. These creatures were powerful, indiscriminate, and among the most terrifying enemies no one wanted to encounter.

And now, it stood directly before the speeding carriage. They were about to crash into it!!

"Ugh...!!!"

The Elf Scout gritted her teeth and yanked hard on the reins, trying to slow down, but it was too late. The Chaos Spawn was already howling as it lunged at them!

Just as the terrifying monster was about to crush the carriage completely, the Chaos Spawn's huge body suddenly shuddered in midair and stopped dead. Then a blazing bolt of lightning tore through the curtain of rain and blasted straight toward it!!!

"Boom!!!!"

The Thunder Warhammer smashed into the Chaos Spawn's chest and sent it flying. At the same time, Duanmu Huai descended as if falling from the heavens. The Chainsaw Sword in his hand roared no less loudly than the thunder as he brought it down upon the Chaos Spawn.

However, the Chaos Spawn was clearly not easy to deal with. The moment Duanmu Huai approached, its claws abruptly extended and lashed toward him like long whips. Faced with the attack, Duanmu Huai could only withdraw his sword and retreat, but he was still too slow. The Chaos Spawn's whip-like claw struck him, forcing him back several steps.

Ugh, I shouldn't have charged something like this head-on. My mistake, my mistake.

Seeing the LV30 above the Chaos Spawn's head, Duanmu Huai silently abandoned the idea of rushing in to fight it. With a shift of thought, another card appeared before him. It transformed into a malevolent spirit wearing a tattered black dress, gaunt and withered like a dried corpse. Raising its skinny hands, it screamed and lunged at the Chaos Spawn. The Chaos Spawn refused to be outdone, scrambling to its feet and swiping at the black-haired spirit with a claw. The spirit screamed and vanished in midair, while the Chaos Spawn's body suddenly froze before it collapsed to the ground as a corpse.

Wraith (Bronze)

Cost: 2

Attack: 2

Defense: 2

Certain Kill

In terms of combat ability, the Wraith was not especially powerful. But its Certain Kill trait was an absolute threat on the battlefield. Especially against something like a Chaos Spawn, whose brain had practically turned into muscle, there was only one outcome when facing an ability that killed with a single touch.

After dealing with the Chaos Spawn, Duanmu Huai caught up with the Elf Scout and the others. Seeing that he was unharmed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But soon, an even bigger problem arrived.

"We can't escape like this."

Pointing at the map before her, the Elf Scout wore a bitter expression. She had originally planned to head to her outpost, but that no longer seemed possible.

"Clearly, the God of Filth's army has filled this entire region. It's almost impossible to leave without alerting them."

"The numerical advantage is indeed troublesome."

Duanmu Huai nodded as well. There were only a handful of them. If the God of Filth's believers were determined to capture them, they would be no match for them at all—after all, the God of Filth accepted anything and everything, with no requirements, principles, or limits when recruiting followers. If it wanted to, every citizen in the territory might become a believer of the God of Filth... just thinking about it was enough to cause a headache.

But it was not as though they had no options.

"In that case, we'll take a route they won't dare pursue us along."

"Is there even such a place?"

"Of course."

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai looked at the map before him.

"For example... a place no living creature would dare enter."