Free Web NovelChapter 54: A Small Piece of Good News
Following Rigel’s command, Amand faced off against the Sludge Slime. However, her swordsmanship had no effect on it, and she was quickly restrained by its tentacles.
"Hey, hey, Amand. What are you doing? The name ’Amand, who will one day become a Sword Saint’ is going to cry at this rate."
Unable to watch any longer, Rigel stepped in. He casually held his sword and walked toward her.
"S-Shut up! It’s obviously impossible to cut a slime with a sword in the first place!"
"Huh? Don’t measure things by your common sense. Listen up. That thing isn’t just a random clump of sludge. It’s a proper living creature. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to cut it."
"T-That’s ridiculous—"
Just as Amand started to argue—
『PIGYAAAAA!!』
The Sludge Slime let out another strange cry. At the same time, several tentacles thicker than before lashed out like whips, striking Amand’s body repeatedly.
"Guaaaah!!"
Intense pain shot through her entire body. Thanks to her armor, she avoided fatal injuries, but she couldn’t nullify the impact.
"H-Help meeee!! Please!!"
Amand screamed and cried. The Sludge Slime continued its attack as if mocking her. At this rate, she would be tortured to death.
(I-I’m going to be killed...!!)
The moment that thought crossed her mind—
"Good grief..."
A voice suddenly came from the side, and someone dashed past her. In the next instant, the tentacles that had been attacking Amand were severed and fell to the ground with a wet *plop*.
(Eh...?)
Amand stood there in a daze, not understanding what had just happened. Then she heard a voice from another direction.
"You okay?"
It was Rigel. He was holding a sword in his hand. It seemed he was the one who had saved her. However—
(Huh? Why was I saved? When did he move over there?)
Amand still couldn’t comprehend what had happened. Ignoring her confusion, Rigel spoke.
"Hey, how long are you going to stand there spacing out? If you get caught again, I won’t save you next time."
"...Hah!? S-Sorry!"
Amand hurriedly apologized. After all, he had saved her.
"Hmph... Whatever."
Rigel didn’t seem particularly bothered and turned his gaze forward again. There stood a massive Sludge Slime, far larger than before, covered in countless tentacles.
"H-Hey... Isn’t this bad? Don’t tell me the entire thing is one big Sludge Slime..."
Amand’s voice trembled. What she had been fighting earlier was merely a small fragment that had split off from the main body.
『PIGYIIIIIIIIII!!』
The main body of the Sludge Slime let out a loud cry. At this size, it would be more accurate to call it a King Sludge Slime. Seeing it, Amand instinctively stepped back.
There was no chance of victory. She thought they should run. However—
"Alright, shall we keep moving? We’ve already wasted quite a bit of time thanks to Amand playing around."
Saying that, Rigel casually started walking forward. He showed absolutely no sense of danger. Watching his back, Amand panicked and called out.
"H-Hey! Wait!! What about that thing!? If we leave it alone, it’ll attack us again!"
"Hm? What are you talking about?"
Rigel turned around with a dumbfounded look. He didn’t seem to view the King Sludge Slime as a threat at all.
"I’m saying if we leave it, it’ll come after us!"
"No need to worry about that. It’s already safe."
"H-How can you say that!?"
"Because, look—"
Rigel finally turned his gaze toward the King Sludge Slime. Countless tentacles were still writhing. And then—
"I already sliced it."
The moment he said those words, all the tentacles fell to the ground at once and stopped moving. Amand’s eyes widened in shock.
(Did he... cut off every single tentacle in an instant...!?)
She was so stunned she couldn’t speak. It was simply too unbelievable. freewebnσvel.cøm
『PIGYII...』
Whether it knew what was happening or not, the King Sludge Slime let out a weak, high-pitched cry. It no longer sounded threatening. Its body then began to lose its shape, melting into a puddle and flowing away into the underground aqueduct.
The King Sludge Slime had been destroyed. With the source of the stench washed away, the surrounding air gradually began to clear.
"With this, it should return to normal in a few weeks. We need clean air if we’re going to enjoy a comfortable life of pillaging and rape in postwar Tosh."
Rigel shrugged lightly. He then continued walking forward as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, Amand remained frozen in place, still unable to process what she had just witnessed.
---
[Valenstein King’s Perspective]
While Rigel was defeating the King Sludge Slime and advancing deeper into the underground aqueduct—
"How is the battle progressing?"
In the royal palace, the King of Valenstein asked the Supreme Commander. The man straightened his posture and replied.
"Yes, Your Majesty! Thanks to the mortar barrage, we have inflicted heavy damage on the enemy forces! The enemy has retreated and appears to be regrouping."
"I see..."
The king nodded in satisfaction upon hearing the report.
There were three key elements in the defense of the capital, Tosh.
The first was the sturdy city wall. Built using special alloys made from rare ores, it boasted incredible defensive power that ordinary arrows and projectiles could not even scratch. It also possessed magic resistance, making it nearly impossible for average attacks to damage it.
The second was the presence of long-range attack units such as mortars and archers. By using weapons with long range, they could attack the enemy one-sidedly.
The third was the active role of the Three Beautiful Princesses. The eldest daughter, Natasha, excelled in mid-to-close range combat using the national treasure known as the Divine Spear. The second daughter, Nina, was a master of lightning magic and considered the strongest offensive mage in the kingdom. The youngest daughter, Norn, was famous as a first-class tamer.
"It seems Natasha acted rather recklessly..." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
The king muttered while listening to the battle reports. His daughter, First Princess Natasha, was indeed a master of the spear. However, she normally fought with escort guards accompanying her and rarely charged to the front lines alone. This time, she had apparently rushed straight into the heart of the enemy shortly after the battle began.
"I am truly sorry...! Even though I was right there...!"
The Supreme Commander bowed deeply. His face was filled with bitter regret.
"It is only hindsight, but... you have no need to apologize."
The king replied calmly. In truth, he wasn’t that angry. Thanks to Natasha stalling Rigel, they had been able to provide covering fire with the mortars. If she hadn’t gone on her rampage, the wall might have been breached.
