Ch.261261. Grotesque Body (1)

In this new era of discord and conflict, nearly hundreds of years after the Age of Struggle ended.

Though the world achieved something resembling peace following the superficial victory of the forces of good, various concerns still remain in this world.

Demons from beyond dimensions who peer into this realm, increasing their followers, plotting conspiracies, and planning to invade this dimension.

Monsters that the Roman Empire had mostly exterminated, but which have regained their strength during the Dark Age and the Age of Struggle, now operating within territories.

Even evil gods and their cults who infiltrate from the shadows, gradually penetrating the underbelly of civilization, increasing their power as they attempt to return this world to the Dark Age.

While these three categories represent the most typical and threatening adversaries to the forces of good… not all enemies fall into these classifications.

A prime example would be the barbarian tribes of the northern regions of the Western Continent.

Composed of Northerners, Beastkin, Orcs, and others, they live in colder and more treacherous environments than other nomadic tribes.

To compensate for their scarce resources, they plunder each other, nomadic tribes, and the human nations of the southern Western Continent.

Because of this, the southern victims and nomadic tribes refer to them as Nord (Northern) Marauders…

These Nord Marauders, or Northern plunderers, actually encompass quite a broad spectrum of groups.

While ordinary people imagine them as hideous northern monsters or mounted cavalry raiders riding horses and other beasts… coastal regions encounter seafaring northern raiders whom they despise and fear, calling them Vikings.

Additionally, some Beastkin northern raiders primarily consist of light infantry who run on two legs, and there are even some rare northern raiders who rule small states, closer to warlords.

Crucially, these northern raiders typically worship different gods and consist of different races across their various tribes.

Northern raiders composed of wolf Beastkin worship the evil god of rage known as the Blood-Soaked Wolf God, while raiders primarily consisting of bear Beastkin are famously devoted to the Winter and Bear God, who is clearly a benevolent deity.

Among the Orc tribes composed of Orcs and Half-Orcs, some worship the gods from the ancient Orc Empire era, while others have abandoned those beliefs to follow their own regional minor gods.

But the most popular faith among the raiders of this region is the worship of various evil gods, with the Seven Great Evil Gods being exceptionally popular.

While one might expect the currently trending Vengeance faith to be mainstream, surprisingly, “Vengeance” isn’t very popular among raiders since it has a proper base of operations and shows little interest in raiders.

Instead, the most popular faith among northern raiders is the worship of the Evil God of Despair.

The appeal lies in the fact that freely plundering and sowing despair in people’s hearts constitutes worship, combined with relatively minor physical and mental drawbacks and generous rewards.

Meanwhile, “Fear” enjoys moderate popularity alongside “Conspiracy.”

“Conspiracy” is often worshipped because its blessings frequently bestow magical abilities, while “Fear” is worshipped primarily because it also serves as the god of the sea—specifically the deep sea.

For northern raiders who enjoy plundering via the sea—sometimes called Vikings—even a single blessing from the sea god significantly reduces the dangers of treacherous voyages.

However, not all northern raiders who worship “Fear” are Vikings.

The most representative of such raiders are the Frost Claw tribe marauders currently rampaging through the central Western Continent.

This typical northern raider village, composed entirely of cavalry, has recently gained notoriety due to their decidedly atypical combat prowess…

“Let’s go, Whitehorn!”

“……(nods).”

The reason being that these raiders have tamed and ride Frost Wyverns, one of the fierce monsters of the north.

These massive flying sub-dragons, about 12 meters in length with distinctive ice-colored scales, grow to become powerful monsters with strength comparable to at least mid-tier creatures when fully mature, like other wyverns.

Of course, among the Frost Wyverns they ride, only the chieftain, a mid-tier druid, rides a fully mature wyvern, while the rest mostly ride level 7—low-tier—adolescent wyverns.

But even adolescent wyverns are enormous flying beasts about 7-8 meters long, and while they lack the overall specs of mid-tier creatures, they rank among the stronger low-tier monsters.

Thus, the Frost Claw tribe exploits their ability to fly, conducting swift, mobile raids.

For those who haven’t developed difficult-to-raise flying cavalry units, there’s no greater calamity.

So, on a day when they were happily enjoying plunder, slaughter, and receiving blessings through human sacrifices…

“……..Hmm?”

They happened to discover an artificial structure in a remote mountain range south of the human empire.

This structure in this desolate, completely uninhabited location was a wooden fortress.

It appeared to be the epitome of Imperial Dawn Field Engineering Corps technology, with sturdy walls and watchtowers built from thick logs.

But what caught their eye was something else.

“……….Oh ho.”

It was a black tower rising prominently in the center of the wooden fortress.

The tower stood about 20 meters tall—certainly not short—but didn’t appear overwhelmingly massive due to its considerable width.

However… the moment he saw it, the Frost Claw tribe’s chieftain could discern that the tower’s structure was designed to harbor magical power, and that this magical power firmly protected something important inside.

Thus, the chieftain judged it to be something meant to protect something valuable without drawing attention—

“Listen up, we’re moving out! I’ve found a place to plunder!”

So he drove his resting tribal warriors and Frost Wyverns while quietly stroking his druidic staff with a sinister smile.

His expression was filled only with anticipation for the plunder to come.

※ ※ ※

Shortly after.

“”Hah—haaah!!””

“Go! Go! Let’s fight!!”

“Make the enemies tremble in fear!”

“Endless Terror! I dedicate this battle to you!!!”

As they always did, they began releasing pre-battle tension by shouting their battle cries, while simultaneously observing every movement of the humans defending the fortress below.

Certainly, even to their eyes, the training of the imperial soldiers on the ground appeared extraordinary.

Within minutes of being spotted, the red-armored warriors on the ground quickly armed themselves and began firing streams of light from weapons that could have been spears or muskets.

Perhaps due to the considerable distance from the ground, being hit by the light streams didn’t cause major injuries, but judging from the scratches on their scales, a direct hit to the membrane could tear a wing.

Therefore, they had to make a decision.

“Throw! Drop them!!”

The moment the chieftain’s order fell, they threw bomb pouches made from plundered gunpowder and had the wyverns drop the pole bombs they were holding in their hind legs.

Fwoooooosh……..KWAAAAAAANG—!!!!

Perhaps because it wasn’t ordinary gunpowder but applied with alchemical techniques, the bombs that reached the ground exploded into flames, burning the wooden fortress and the humans.

“Descend!!!”

And in the midst of this.

Following the chieftain’s instructions, believing all that remained was hunting down the survivors,

the wyverns expressed joy at the prospect of feasting on human flesh, while the warriors couldn’t hide their excitement for the slaughter to come as they descended to the ground.

Eager to tear apart enemies with their weapons, the warriors requested strong wing beats from the wyverns to clear the dust as they descended.

—Zzzzt.

“……?”

At that moment, the wild instinct possessed by the chieftain, the only one mounted on a mid-tier wyvern, began to react violently.

Something is coming. Terrible things are coming. Evil creatures are approaching.

The chieftain couldn’t help but be bewildered by such an intense instinctual reaction.

Suddenly, he unconsciously turned his head to look at the tower.

“……Huh?”

And as he strongly sensed that something was wrong upon seeing that the tower door, which had been firmly closed until just moments ago, was now open—

[[[[——————■■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!]]]]

Before the warriors’ eyes, hideous and repulsive monsters began pouring out from inside the tower.