Chapter 34

〈 Episode 34 〉 Death Struggle

Asha, along with the Village Chief, was leading the people at the forefront of the evacuation procession. Asha checked the direction with the map, and the Village Chief guided the procession along a path where people could pass. The villagers were exhausted from the battle the previous night, but they moved without rest, following Asha and the Village Chief who were guiding them.

“Is there anyone who didn’t make it out of the village?”

“Apart from the missing, no. It’s fortunate that everyone followed us out.”

“Indeed.”

Asha checked the quest log again.

[Quest 7: Village Defense – Remaining Villagers: 332]

‘It’s decreased a lot… But it’s a relief that others survived.’

[Quest 7: Village Defense – Remaining Villagers: 354]

“Huh?”

“Hm? Is something wrong, Asha?”

“Ah, no…”

Asha was taken aback by the sudden increase in the number of villagers.

‘What is it… Did they revive or something…’

Asha pondered, but stopped as it gave her a headache.

‘Ugh… I don’t know. I’ll find out later, I guess.’

Lucia, seeing Asha shaking her head, grabbed her.

“Mom. The Tentacles are approaching.”

“Huh? What? Wait, from where!”

“All around us. They’re surrounding this place.”

“How are we supposed to defend if we’re surrounded here? Village Chief! We’re surrounded!”

Just as Asha called out to the Village Chief, Walter rushed towards Asha.

“Asha! We’re surrounded by Tentacles! We need to quickly create a barricade with the carts!”

“Yes! I understand! Village Chief, please inform the villagers!”

The Village Chief, who had been listening to their conversation, nodded with a serious expression.

“Jonathan, Tom! Quickly move the carts to the outside and create a wall! Arrange them at angles and make it high!”

“Yes, Village Chief!”

While the Village Chief and the villagers were unloading the carts they had and creating a barricade, Asha spoke with Walter.

“Uncle, is it possible to defend against the Tentacles here?”

“Even if they come in numbers like yesterday, we’ll be defeated. It’s difficult to set up torches everywhere, and carts alone can’t safely protect the villagers.”

“Ugh… What should we do.”

“We have no choice but to defend as best as we can…”

Even Walter couldn’t hide his grave expression. Although the forest limited their visibility, the people could sense the Tentacles approaching. The forest, which should have been filled with the sounds of numerous creatures, was silent except for the sounds made by the people. Walter quietly said to Asha.

“They must have devoured all the other creatures as they passed. We won’t be able to find any life in this forest for a while.”

While the people waited, each holding their weapons, the group waited in tense silence.

Rustle

Soon, the Tentacles began to crawl out from the depths of the forest. Facing the Tentacles with only a makeshift barricade made of carts was a completely different kind of pressure compared to facing them with a wooden fence in the village.

“Ugh, ugh…”

The hand of a man holding a pickaxe trembled with fear. The Tentacles, no less numerous than yesterday, were gradually surrounding and tightening around them.

Asha and her group were continuing a hopeless battle against the surrounding Tentacles. Although they had built a barricade, they were helpless against the Tentacles that were attacking from all directions.

“Aaaagh!”

A man who was fighting the Tentacles with a crude spear made by combining a kitchen knife and a wooden handle was dragged out of the cart after being wrapped around the neck by a Tentacle. Only his discarded leather shoes remained in the place where he disappeared beyond the barricade.

Despite the desperate efforts of Asha and Georg, it was impossible to stop all the Tentacles. Lucia tried her best to paralyze the attacking Tentacles, but even she couldn’t pay attention to everything.

Whoosh!

Walter used the last Spell he could use. He stood on the wall and swung his staff diagonally, creating a wall of fire outside the cart wall. The Tentacles couldn’t approach the place where the wall of fire had sprung up, but that was only 30% of the area where the Tentacles were attacking. Soon, the end was approaching for those who were resisting.

Squelch-

Suddenly, a Tentacle spat out yellow Slime, and the torch that was lighting up the cart wall went out with a hiss. The Village Chief, who was desperately blocking the attacking Tentacles, was horrified to see the torch go out.

“The torch is out! Quickly relight it!”

But it was already too late to react.

Thump-thump—thud!

The ground under the barricade where the torch had gone out shook, and a tunnel was dug. People were plunged into despair as a hole appeared in the camp. The Tentacles that poured in through the hole overwhelmed the people.

“N, no way!”

Asha ran and slashed at the Tentacles that had entered the wall, but it was not enough. People were helpless against the Tentacles that surged in like a wave.

“Kkyaaaak! M, my arm!”

“Ugh! Hwoo woo woo!”

People whose arms and legs were wrapped in Tentacles and broken like reeds, people whose entire bodies were surrounded by numerous Tentacles, people disappeared in an instant, as many as the casualties that had occurred during the battle so far. As the people who had been holding out together disappeared around her, Asha was also completely surrounded by Tentacles.

A Tentacle snatched at Asha’s ankle as she was blocking the Tentacles with her shield. The Tentacle turned her upside down and wrapped around her arms.

“Hngh! Nooo!”

Lucia, hearing Asha’s scream, looked at her urgently.

“Don’t touch my mom!”

As Lucia shouted with a voice full of anger, the Tentacle that was restraining Asha lost its strength as if struck by lightning and could no longer move. Asha fell to the ground on the spot.

“Mom, are you okay?!”

“A, augh…”

Asha, who had fallen defenselessly from a high place, grimaced and clutched her ankle. Lucia, who had approached Asha, paralyzed the surrounding Tentacles again, but the situation had already become irreversible.

“You bastards!”

Georg and Walter were desperately blocking the Tentacles that had entered through the hole, but they couldn’t protect the villagers, let alone themselves. As the people panicked when the tunnel was dug inside, Tentacles were climbing onto the cart wall one by one.

“It’s over…”

Asha, realizing that it was no longer possible to resist the Tentacles, couldn’t hide her despair.

‘Mom is tired. I have to fight the Tentacles instead.’

Seeing her helpless mother, Lucia decided to use her power in front of the humans. Just as Lucia was about to turn her arm into a Tentacle strand, all the Tentacles suddenly stopped moving. People whose limbs were twisted by the Tentacles and screaming, or who were surrounded and attacked by the Tentacles, suddenly retreated and stared in tension as the Tentacles stopped. Suddenly, all the Tentacles scattered on the spot like kites with severed strings.

Splat, squelch-

“W, what! What’s wrong with these things!”

The people who had been brutally attacked by the Tentacles only felt fear at the Tentacles’ strange behavior. Walter, who was carefully watching the scene, said in an incomprehensible tone.

“These things, they’re all dead.”

“All dead? How?”

The Village Chief asked back in disbelief.

“I don’t know… But I can no longer feel the energy of life from those monstrosities…”

People were bewildered by Walter’s sudden words. But they soon realized that they had survived.

“U, uwaaa! We’re alive!”

“We won!”

The villagers cheered and embraced each other. The Village Chief, who had been hardening his face with pressure and despair throughout the evacuation, smiled brightly.

“Ugh…”

As groans were heard around the people who were rejoicing, they realized that many people were injured. Fortunately, there were few among those present who were in life-threatening condition. People were puzzled but grateful for the unexpected luck.

‘Ah… I think I know why…’

Asha, watching the people while being supported by Lucia, could see that the Tentacles had not inflicted serious injuries in order to use the people as hosts.

‘I wonder why they attacked the men weakly too. Could it be… no way?’

Asha, erasing a hypothesis that came to mind, approached Walter, who was taking care of the injured.

“Uncle! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Ah, Asha. We all barely survived. Unless we’re completely surrounded in the first place, it’s difficult for those things’ attacks to penetrate our armor. Hm? Asha, did you hurt your ankle?”

“Yes… I think I sprained my ankle because I didn’t land properly after being hung on by a Tentacle earlier.”

“Wait a moment.”

Walter, after finishing making a splint for a villager with a broken arm, approached Asha and examined her ankle.

“It’s not a serious injury. I’ll fix your ankle and then heal it cleanly with a healing Spell later.”

“Yes, thank you. Uncle.”

Asha received first aid from Walter for the time being. Walter put a pad on Asha’s ankle, wrapped it in a bandage, tied a knot, and finished. Leaving Walter, who was busy tending to other injured people, Asha looked for Georg. When Asha found Georg, he was putting the carts that had been used as walls back in their original positions.

“Georg! What’s wrong?”

“I think I hear a sound from outside.”

“Hm?”

Asha tilted her head at the incomprehensible sound, and Georg pushed down the cart that was as tall as him by himself.

Thud!

As the cart wall fell over, the surprised people looked at Georg. He went outside beyond the cart without paying attention to the gazes of the people. Asha also followed Georg, limping.

Hoo–

Asha, realizing that she could hear a sound from outside, went there with Georg. The place where the sound was heard was the same tunnel where the villagers had disappeared before. Georg shouted into the tunnel.

“Is anyone there!”

“Oh my god, we’re alive! Here! Please help us!”

Asha was surprised to hear people’s voices from inside the cave. Georg went to the place where the sound was heard and dug out the ground to make a hole so that people could come out. He soon grabbed the people trapped below and pulled them out. The people who were pulled out were covered in dirt and Slime.

“Hoo… I thought I was going to die…”

“What happened?”

“I thought I was going to die after being eaten by the Tentacles, but they took me underground. While they were taking me, the Tentacles suddenly stopped and died, so I was able to survive. I wouldn’t have been able to get out if you hadn’t pulled me out because I hurt my leg earlier. Thank you so much!”

“I’m glad you didn’t die. Were there any other people besides you?”

“Ugh… I don’t know about the others. If they were dragged away like me, they would have taken them through that cave.”

Asha and Georg, after hearing the man’s words, returned to the villagers with those they had rescued. The people were all happy about the survivors who had come out again. But because of what they said, Asha’s group gathered and discussed it. When the group was all together, the Village Chief asked Walter.

“Walter, do you think the people who were captured are alive?”

“Hoo… Even if they are alive, I don’t know if they’ll be okay. It’s impossible for us to rescue them in our current state. It’s best not to keep it in mind for now.”

“I guess so… But shouldn’t we at least try to find them?”

“You’re right. But let’s get ready first and return to the village.”

“Um… It’ll be difficult to evacuate now, right?”

“More than half of the carts are unusable, and a significant number of people are injured. Whether we live or die, it seems like we have no choice but to endure in the village now.”

“Let’s go back to the village first. What should we do with the injured people?”

Hearing Asha’s words, the Village Chief looked at the carts and said.

“There are still some carts that are in good condition, so we can load the injured people along with the necessary supplies. Let’s move quickly!”

The group dispersed again and began to prepare. While they were putting the carts they had used as walls back in place or temporarily repairing the broken carts, they heard a cracking sound from outside.

“It’s an attack!”

The people, whose nerves had become extremely sensitive, tensed up and picked up their weapons again. Walter tapped Asha’s shoulder, who had also drawn her sword.

“Eh? What’s wrong?”

“I think I know who it is. Put your sword away. Asha, it’s someone you know too.”

Crack!

“U, ugh…”

As the bushes were literally destroyed with a loud noise, the villagers looked at the place with frightened faces at the power. Asha looked surprised as she saw the person who had appeared, dismantling the bushes.

“Eva? Are you all better?”

The person who appeared was none other than Eva. Eva looked awkward as she saw Asha greeting her.

“Asha, is that you? H, I remember you helping me… So everyone was here. Asha, I heard that you brought me from that place. Thank you so much. I was able to recover thanks to you.”

“Your body has returned to normal. I’m glad. Eva, but how did you know to come here?”

“I felt people gathering, so I came to check it out. Ah, Walter! I didn’t expect you to be here too.”

“Heh, so it really was Eva. I’m glad you’re completely healed. By any chance, are these your work?”

Walter pointed to the Tentacles that were lying dead, and Eva said.

“I have a rough idea… Would you like to hear it?”

“There’s no harm in that. Tell me.”

As a woman with dazzling looks appeared and joined the group, the villagers looked at her with strange eyes, but Eva didn’t pay attention to them and began to explain what she had experienced…