Rock watched the colossal creature writhe along the mountain road, its flesh churning as Insect Corpses poured from it like a tide. His lips trembled, and a chill settled deep in his heart.
He stole a glance at Louis up above, trying to find some trace of panic or hesitation on his lord's face, however slight.
Instead, what he saw was... a smile.
"So you've come out." Louis's lips slowly curved upward as he murmured, "I wasn't afraid of you coming out. I was afraid you'd stay hidden.
Now that you've left your shell, this becomes much simpler."
He raised his hand and swept it down decisively. His voice was quiet, but the signal flags carried his command through the wind and snow to every squad along the defensive line:
"Ready the Heavy Demon Explosive Bomb."
"Yes, sir!" the distant squad of knights answered in unison.
The gunners waiting behind the earthen wall halfway up the mountain sprang into action. A heavy tripod hit the ground with a click, planted firm as rock;
Then a thick, jet-black Demon Explosive Bomb was lifted into the loading trough, its casing gleaming with a dim, cold light.
It was the invention Silco took the greatest pride in.
At that moment, he stood at a high fourth-floor window of the main Tulou castle, both elbows resting on the sill as he watched the enormous Brood Hive slowly crawl out of the forested valley.
It was a monstrous mass of rotting flesh, a hideous abomination stitched together from insect shells and venom glands. Slime and Insect Corpses spilled ceaselessly from its body, covering the entire mountain road like a moving plague.
Yet Silco showed not the slightest fear.
Instead, he smiled, a mad gleam flickering in his eyes as he murmured, "Only an opponent like