This Little Rat Was Really Done For

"Thank you, my lord." The guard was still dazed.

Field reached out and pulled him up, then gave him an encouraging punch on the shoulder. "Training a suitable soldier isn't easy. I'm still waiting for you all to leave slavery behind and become true warriors, or even knights!"

The guard's blood stirred. Until now, he had always taken Field's promises as empty words or a nobleman's joke. But now, he truly felt that Field was a little different from other nobles.

"Charge for Lord Field!"

The others were swept up in the fervor too, swinging their halberds wildly as they cut down the corpse ghouls.

Soon, all the corpse ghouls drawn by the noise had been wiped out. Field made a rough count and found there had actually been more than seventy.

Field drew in a sharp breath, but the stench in the air immediately rushed into his windpipe, making him hastily close his mouth. He wondered, Did the Winery need this many workers? When the Empire decided to unleash the Fog of Death, why didn't they tell the people of the Northern Frontier to evacuate?

"Forget it. What the hell does it have to do with me?"

Putting aside those pointless questions, Field headed deeper into the Winery.

After walking for a while, Field found the large brewing room, hoping to find ingredients like rock sugar or wheat.

But what greeted his unrealistic hopes was the hideous corpse of a Bat Woman, her eyes still wide in death. She had been violently torn open from her neck to her groin, and her internal organs were gone.

"All this barley went to waste. It was originally meant for brewing Barley Wine." Field noticed something nearby that could still be called "barley," scattered across the floor. Ten years, combined with corruption, had left the grains capable of slowly wriggling. Amazed by the wonders of corruption, Field said, "Perhaps corruption isn't a devil's curse, but a special kind of radiation."

"Radiation?"

Ashina's mind stalled as she puzzled adorably over Field's new word. Suddenly, her expression changed. "Watch out! Something's coming fast!"

It moved so quickly that Field hadn't even noticed the Skull Markers flashing toward them on the Mini-Map.

Clang!

The guard at the front suddenly paled and instinctively looked up at the ceiling. In an instant, the shield he held shattered into pieces, and he flew backward, flailing his arms and legs. A monster resembling a Licker from Resident Evil appeared where the guard had stood. Only its slender tail and nose revealed that it had mutated from a rat.

The Rat Monster shrieked and lashed its sharp claws at Field.

Field felt a fierce gust rush toward him as the enormous claws grew larger before his eyes.

"Not a chance!"

At the critical moment, Ashina guided the Dragon-Breed Wolf in front of Field, its curled body shielding him completely.

A rapid series of cracks rang out amid a shower of sparks. The Dragon-Breed Wolf took the claw strike on its scales without so much as a grunt. The monster stared at the enormous Giant Wolf in bewilderment, then glanced at its claws. Those claws had never failed before, yet today they had only torn away two bloodied scales.

The Dragon-Breed Wolf raised a paw and knocked the Rat Monster onto its back.

Wildcat and the others immediately seized the opportunity, hacking wildly with their sabers and halberds. But the Rat Monster's thick hide and tough flesh left it with only superficial wounds despite all those strikes. It swung its long limbs, sweeping seven or eight people away as easily as dust. The guards were wearing full armor; even if their lamellar armor wasn't heavy, each man and his equipment weighed well over a hundred pounds. Yet it had sent them flying with such ease.

"Fall back! This thing is beyond the limits of an ordinary creature." Holding his shield, Field quickly found a corner and crouched down, cursing. "I forgot to bring the crossbow. Against a monster this tough, ordinary people can only pierce its defenses with crossbow bolts. Better leave it to Ashina."

The Rat Monster got up, trying to grab a guard for a snack.

"I won't let you!" Ashina poured power into the spear in her hand, her aura erupting.

The tremendous force drove the spear into the Rat Monster's body as easily as piercing kraft paper, before it lodged between its bones. If the cramped terrain hadn't prevented Ashina from charging on the giant wolf, that strike would have pierced the Rat Monster clean through.

The Rat Monster cried out in pain, both claws swiftly reaching for her.

Boom!

The giant wolf slammed into the Rat Monster's chest like a high-speed train, interrupting its attack and sending it flying, exposing an opening.

This was a third-tier corrupted creature. In such cramped terrain, killing it would have required a third-tier human wielding battle aura or magic, or the help of a defensive ballista or an armor-piercing crossbow.

Fortunately, Chosen Ones were far stronger than ordinary people. With the combat power of a First-Tier Chosen One, Ashina was more than capable of crushing it.

"Spear of Piercing Extreme Cold."

Ashina used a divine skill for the first time.

Starlight gathered in her hand, forming a spear that resembled a writhing deep-blue flood dragon. Ashina poured a great deal of divine power into it, then drove her legs into her waist and her waist into her arm, hurling it with all her strength. The divine skill struck the Rat Monster, instantly spraying blood and shattering bones and sinews! Great chunks of flesh were shredded and splattered across the wall.

"Phew... finally dealt with it." Ashina's face was slightly pale, and she looked tired as she caught her breath.

The battle had ended in the blink of an eye, but the danger had been suffocating.

Field let out a long breath too. "Thank goodness you were here. That last venison steak is yours."

"Long live the lord!" At the mention of venison steak, Ashina's tail swished nonstop, and drool escaped her mouth despite herself. Her icy composure from the battle vanished completely. Still, she patted her chest and said generously, "Half is enough for me. You've worked hard too, my lord."

Field felt deeply heartened.

The Mini-Map showed that very few monsters remained in the Grand Winery, only scattered little Skull Markers.

To be safe, Field first took the wounded outside and applied medicine to their injuries. Once the party had rested, he led them back in and thoroughly cleared out the Grand Winery.

It wasn't until nine that evening that the clearing operation reached its final stage.

The entire Grand Winery was in ruins, with collapsed sections everywhere. Wind blew through cracks in the stone, stirring up gray dust. The only consolation was that its overall structure had survived. They had searched the first and second floors from top to bottom without finding anything valuable, only some blackened, broken timber that could be used to build shacks or fuel a fire.

"The wine cellar is down below, my lord." As he spoke, the guard stepped forward. Ignoring the thick dust on the cellar doors, he pulled the heavy doors open with both hands, revealing a dark staircase.

Field swallowed and rubbed his hands nervously, muttering inwardly, Bless me, Bodhisattva. Bless me, God. Please let me find something useful.

A great many oak sherry casks lay piled in the gloomy cellar. Some had been crushed by collapsed masonry. Dried water stains were everywhere, along with traces of rats.