Ch.220Episode 11 – All Quiet on the Northern Front

Under a gloomy sky, the wind howls.

The north wind rages through the fallen trees and cold heavens. A chill from the cursed land penetrates to the bone.

A woman with flowing red hair stands on that frost-like blade edge.

Facing a massive monster that’s ravaging the defense line.

“…It’s incredibly huge.”

Her comment was nothing if not concise and plain.

The giant spider, having already crushed several tanks and armored vehicles, focused on demolishing the defense line as if still unsatisfied. The snowfield behind the giant spider, which was voraciously devouring lives and supplies, was writhing.

“Camilla, corpse spiders are approaching.”

“I can see them.”

As she spoke, Camilla’s eyes remained fixed on the giant spider.

Like picking meat from a crab shell, the spider pulled corpses from the armored vehicles and crunched on bones and flesh while howling with an eerie tone.

Judging that maintaining the defense line was no longer feasible, the Imperial Army began gathering their forces and retreating to the rear.

We headed toward the collapsed position, moving against the flow of retreating troops carrying wounded soldiers and supplies.

Avoiding the stares of those who looked at us—a man in a suit and a civilian woman—as if we were insane for heading into danger, I voiced my concern.

“This is madness… You do have a plan, right?”

“Yes.”

Camilla answered.

“I just had a good idea.”

Episode 11 – All Quiet on the Northern Front

In a basin shrouded in thick fog, under a sky where icy winds cut like knives, we arrived at the collapsed defense line.

The giant spider roared as it demolished concrete-reinforced positions and crushed abandoned vehicles. A small military vehicle, abandoned by its crew, was completely flattened under the monster’s massive legs.

“This bastard of a monster is going completely berserk. Are there really such creatures in this world?”

“Well, Sir Knight… I don’t claim to know everything…”

Francesca tilted her head with an enigmatic expression. Beside her, Camilla, who had been surveying the surroundings, spoke up.

“Fortunately, there’s no one here.”

After the heavily armed armored units were swept away by the spider, the Imperial Army abandoned the defense line and retreated.

They hastily gathered whatever supplies they could carry, and any troops who could walk retreated with the wounded. The supplies they couldn’t transport were left behind.

I salvaged an intact radio from the deserted position.

Despite the cold weather, the magical battery hadn’t died, and the radio turned on just fine. I used the captured Imperial radio to contact Senior Officer Lyudmila.

“Senior Officer Lyudmila, do you copy?”

If the division’s security department discovered that a radio had fallen into the hands of a foreign soldier—an enemy nation’s soldier at that—the commander’s head would roll immediately, but unfortunately, this wasn’t the time to worry about such things.

The communication network descended into chaos when a foreign military broke in, but I somehow managed to contact Senior Officer Lyudmila. She had been looking for us in front of the collapsed building where we had been staying until just moments ago.

-“K-Knight? The building collapsed—where on earth are you? And how are you using the radio…?”

“I’m at the defense line now. The situation is urgent, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

My explanation was quick and concise.

“We’ll keep that spider bastard and the approaching corpse spiders occupied here. Regroup your defense line and send whatever forces you can spare this way. Mages, artillery, armor—anything will do.”

-“H-how will you manage that?”

At Senior Officer Lyudmila’s question, I looked at Camilla.

“What’s your plan now?”

“You know Marvel, right?”

Camilla twirled flames at her fingertips.

Then she stared directly at the giant spider that was glaring at us.

“Have you seen Civil War by any chance?”

*

A knife-like cold wind blows from the rift. The north wind rages.

Amid the bare branches stripped of leaves, twisted dead trees, and desolate fallen life—all buried under accumulating snow—a flame bloomed.

-Whoosh!

The small flame multiplies.

The tiny flames, facing bone-chilling cold and cutting winds, refuse to die out and blaze fiercely forward, ever forward.

The flames thus born became a barrier, wrapping around the defense line.

It was a much larger fire than what had been created at the border outpost.

In truth, it was barely tall enough to be called a barrier—more like a small fence—but that alone was sufficient to subdue the corpse spiders’ momentum.

-Keeeeek!

-Grrrrrr.

The cries of corpse spiders echoed across the snowy mountains. The creatures that had been surrounding the rift, silently approaching while looking for gaps, couldn’t cross the fire barrier and retreated.

Witnessing this, Francesca murmured in a calm voice.

“…It worked.”

“Not yet.”

A tremendous roar shook the mountains.

The monster, emitting a spine-chilling howl comparable to a banshee’s wail, stomped its carapace-covered legs and unleashed its fury.

Each time those legs—larger than most trees—stomped, the earth trembled, and the dead trees shuddered at the throat-scraping roar. The giant spider, confronted with the fire barrier that had suddenly encircled the defense line, howled with all its might like a child whose toy had been taken away.

Watching the giant spider thrashing within the flames, Francesca began in a low voice.

“True. With that thing still around, it’s too early to claim success…”

“Save the commentary and prepare for battle, Administrator.”

“How prickly.”

Francesca responded to the not-quite-rebuke with a slight smile and extended her hand into the air.

A golem’s core appeared from somewhere and wrapped around her hand. A cogwheel inscribed with strange, incomprehensible characters. Francesca tapped the cogwheel a few times with her finger, then tossed it to the ground as if she had lost interest.

That’s when it happened.

The falling cogwheel suddenly stopped.

The cogwheel, which had been falling under gravity’s pull, halted in midair, then slowly began to move and rise. Simultaneously, the characters inscribed on its side began to glow brightly.

The cogwheel floating in the air began to vibrate. Vibrating as if malfunctioning, it slowly started to roll, and after a few rotations, it displayed movement reminiscent of a well-crafted mechanical movement.

As the axle-less cogwheel rotated, surrounding objects were drawn toward it as if pulled by a magnet.

Snowballs and rocks flew in and formed a single body around the cogwheel that continued to rotate and vibrate.

A golem was being formed.

“Hoo-“

Francesca placed her hand on the completed golem and playfully breathed into it. A bright light leaked from the golem’s chest, and its massive body began to move.

“I’ve made one golem…”

“……”

“Well, is this enough, Hero?”

Camilla, standing tall before the burning defense line, turned to look at Francesca. Her tied-up red hair fluttered in the wind.

“Um… I think we might need a few more?”

“How many more do you need here? Specifically.”

“Maybe about…”

Camilla awkwardly spread her fingers.

“Five…?”

“…That’s quite a demanding request.”

Despite her words, Francesca wore a playful smile and created three more golems in an instant.

“Four. That’s the maximum number of golems I can control at once. Making more would be too much.”

“Hmm… this should be enough. Though I’m still a bit worried.”

“What exactly are you planning to do…?”

Camilla’s gaze turned toward the giant spider.

The spider, which had been thrashing its legs in the flames, had now jumped over the barrier and appeared before us, with bloodshot red eyes and a low, rough growl.

Meeting the spider’s red gaze, filled with anger and viscous emotions, Camilla’s blue eyes gleamed.

At the end of that blue gaze were legs covered in carapace, glowing red with heat.

“We need to take that down.”

-Kyaaaaaaak!!

The spider’s furious roar shook the snowfield.

*

A shadow loomed over the snowy mountain where ghostly winds echoed. The spider, tearing through the fire barrier, attacked from the air with an unbelievable leaping ability.

-Boom-!!

The tremendous impact sound spread in all directions momentarily. Snow flurries reminiscent of a blizzard filled the view.

Then,

Massive legs appeared through the fog and scattered snow, slashing like blades.

-Swoosh!

Multiple legs left countless afterimages as they swept across the area.

The blade-like legs left deep scars on the ground, sweeping away everything that stood on it.

Being hit by those legs, armed with sharp carapace, would likely split a body in two instantly. As evidence, an abandoned armored vehicle was torn apart like paper.

It was a truly tremendous attack, but none of that mattered right now.

“Camilla!”

Struck by the snow flurry, I called out Camilla’s name.

Although the monster had landed quite far from Camilla, the area swept by its legs just now was very close to her.

Even a knight, who can only enhance their body with magic and is often dismissed as a half-wit, couldn’t withstand such an attack. Much less Camilla, who isn’t even a knight.

However, my worry was unfounded.

“I’m fine!”

Camilla’s voice came from beyond the fog. A spirited response.

Though I heard her answer, I couldn’t completely relax and kept my eyes fixed in the direction her voice had come from.

Then, familiar flames rose from beyond the fog.

-Whoosh!

Camilla, having evaded the attack, instantly created flames. After quickly deploying the flames, she swiftly retreated, and the flames she created pierced through the fog and struck the giant spider.

-Keeeeeeeeek!!

A pain-filled scream echoed from beyond the fog.

The spider, directly hit by the flames, toppled over and rolled across the snow field. The heat of the flames seemed more painful than imagined.

By now, one thing was certain.

“Fire is effective! Camilla!”

“Even aliens can’t stand up to flamethrowers! Same goes for Predators!”

“Ah, damn it! Stop talking about movies and feed it more flames! Quickly!”

Camilla didn’t respond.

New flames bloomed in the air. The spider instinctively tried to flee from the flames, but Camilla was faster.

The flames, piercing through the fog, once again burrowed into the monster’s body. A terrible howl shook the mountains, and the sound of carapace-covered legs stomping the ground—thump! thump!—repeated.

Looking at the shadow of the struggling giant spider, I shouted.

“Did we get it?!”

No.

-Grrrrrr!

The spider, hit by Camilla’s attack, rose from the snow field. Whether it had recovered from the injuries sustained from such an attack, or whether it hadn’t been injured in the first place, I couldn’t tell, but the spider stood up on its own.

Although we couldn’t kill it, it was fortunate to confirm that fire was effective.

I shouldered my rifle, aiming at the several pairs of red eyes glowing through the fog.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

The spider’s eyes, which had been staring at Camilla, were shot out. No matter how strong a monster is, its eyes aren’t necessarily as tough. And this common sense applied equally to the giant spider.

Confirming that bullets had a limited effect, I continued to put bullets into the monster’s eyes, which were emitting a bright red light. However, due to the distance and the thick fog obscuring visibility, I couldn’t destroy all its eyes.

Each time a bullet hit its head, the spider blinked repeatedly. After blinking dozens of times, its red eyes eventually turned from Camilla to me. It seemed thoroughly enraged.

As if determined to tear me apart, the spider glared with bulging eyes and pressed its swollen body against the snow field. A growl reminiscent of someone grinding their molars in anger was heard, and the reddened carapace gleamed like a sharp blade through the fog.

The spider lowered its body forcefully, acting as if it would leap through the air at any moment to pounce on me. Its vicious eyes locked with mine in midair.

Just as the spider was about to rise and begin its leap—

-Clang!

The sound of something breaking echoed from above.

The spider, which had been preparing to leap, sensed something with its animal instinct and abruptly raised its head. What reflected in the spider’s retina was a colorful liquid spreading widely across the sky.

Splash! The liquid poured over the spider’s head. The spider blinked its multiple pairs of eyes after being hit by the suddenly appearing liquid.

-Keeeeeeeeeeek!!

A scream incomparable to previous ones spread as if reaching the sky.

The spider, which had been preparing to leap into the air, buried its head in the ground. Then it rubbed its face in the snow field to wipe off the liquid covering its head.

Pieces of broken carapace fell onto the snow-white field mixed with ash. Along with the carapace that had covered the spider’s skin falling off, sticky melted flesh dripped into the mud.

Francesca, who had approached me while I was aiming at the writhing spider, hummed through her nose.

“Hmm… I thought it wouldn’t work because it had carapace unlike the corpse spiders, but this is unexpected. Perhaps the hero’s flames weakened the carapace?”

I silently fired my gun at the writhing spider.

-Bang!

The gunshot crossed the snowy mountain.

Newly bloomed flames flew toward the monster, and beside me, Francesca took out vials and threw them. The hands that caught the falling vials in midair swung them mercilessly.

The spider, screaming in pain as its flesh melted, couldn’t regain its senses due to Camilla’s flames and Francesca’s chemicals. When the chemicals touched the reddened carapace, the carapace fell off, and the heat of the flames penetrated the melting flesh, causing the spider even more pain.

I put down my rifle and picked up the radio.

“How are things on your end?”

Senior Officer Lyudmila’s answer came through the receiver.

-“Almost! Almost done! One more minute, no, two minutes and we’ll be ready!”

The Imperial Army had completed its preparations.

The giant spider that had single-handedly shattered the defense line was now writhing in the snow field, and the swarm of corpse spiders that had been approaching to exploit any weakness was still stopped in front of the fire barrier. Although the flames had subsided slightly, they would hold for at least another two minutes.

Sweat trickled down from the heat. Sweat mixed with soot flowed along my cheekbones, and my shirt, now damp, had somehow developed holes as if hit by scattered debris.

I saw the giant spider rise again from the ground. Bloodshot red eyes glared at us.

“Camilla! Francesca!”

“Yes!”

“They’re coming soon, so fall back!”

At my signal, Camilla and Francesca retreated.

The giant spider tried to track us with a vicious gaze, as if determined not to let us escape, but was restrained by a group of ruffians that appeared from somewhere.

Those ruffians were the golems.

-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three golems, crossing the snow field and emerging through the fog, clung to the giant spider.

Although the spider had moved just fine even after being directly hit by a tank’s main gun, when these giants over 2 meters tall rushed and collided with its legs, even the villa-sized spider couldn’t exert its strength and sat down. Just like a scene from an old movie I’d seen in a theater.

The spider, having lost its prey right before its eyes, let out a rage-filled cry and swung its legs to slash at the golems.

The blade-like legs were swung with tremendous force, but the golems firmly planted their two legs on the ground and absolutely refused to detach from the spider.

The golems didn’t attack. They merely held onto the spider, blocking its movement.

It was a sight strange enough that even a mindless monster might notice something was amiss. The spider, which had been repeatedly attacking in fury, seemed to recover its dulled senses and stopped extending its legs toward the golems, looking around instead.

But it was already too late.

Because I had just confirmed with my own eyes that the second hand on my wristwatch had passed exactly two minutes.

“Camilla, Francesca.”

I grabbed the two who had approached my side after ceasing their attacks and threw myself into a trench.

“Get down!”

-BOOM!!

And an enormous explosion shook heaven and earth.

The Imperial Army’s bombardment had begun.