Far to the north of the east coast of the world of Rigar, the tribal people of the Parosian Plateau bordering the Kingdom of Suomir - also known as the Highlanders in the empire - have a type of clothing transliterated as 'Girt'.
The gilt made of thick northern wool is an indispensable traditional clothing for every highlander to travel in autumn and winter. Its history can be traced back to the Gulaman Empire at least, which is nearly two thousand years ago.
Gilts are of great significance to the Highlanders, and if cared for with care, these garments sometimes become heirlooms that last for generations.
But in addition to its traditional symbolic meaning, it is more of a practical clothing adapted to the bitter cold and barren plateau areas.
Highlanders with gilt do not need to carry tents and bedding when going out. It's a cloak, a sleeping bag; a tent, a canopy; a floor mat, a hood, and even a skirt - because of Gilt's so-called 'clothing'.
It is actually a piece of cloth made of thick wool and is 6 meters long.
Because it is primitive, it can be ever-changing and highly adaptable. On the contrary, the chief nobles of a part of the highland tribes, after learning the so-called 'civilized people' way from their contacts with the kingdom and empire in recent years, changed the long and heavy gilt into a plaid skirt and shawl. A special piece of clothing that only has decorative meaning.
Redundant, primitive, rough.
However, it is extremely malleable and can become anything.
And when it gradually takes shape, the so-called 'extra' parts are gradually trimmed off, and it begins to become specific in shape.
Although it does seem to be less burdensome and seems to be more specialized for this purpose.
But also lost all possibility of change.
This is not only true for clothes, but also for people.
The same is true for living things——
"Crack!" The wheels of the carriage ran over the uneven road, and the things in the carriage were thrown around so much that the passengers had to press their backs against the boxes and use their feet to push them to ensure that they would not hit themselves. Driving at high speed on such road conditions will cause great damage to the axle and overall structural strength, but now is not the time to worry about such gaps.
"Follow us!" the warriors in the carriage at the end loudly reported. They grabbed their bows but could not shoot. The carriage rocked back and forth too much and combined with the size of the bow, they actually needed half of them to lean out when shooting so as not to be disturbed by things inside the carriage. This unstable platform itself results in a low hit rate. In addition, the cunning three-headed beast has obviously noticed that bows and arrows can cause damage to itself. It no longer runs in a straight line stupidly, and even maintains a certain distance out of fear. distance.
"Like a wolf." Lulu obviously noticed the other party's behavior pattern.
This is a characteristic of tracking predators that are good at competing for endurance. Using its powerful long-distance running ability, it does not pursue catching up with its prey in a short time, but maintains a certain distance and pressure to force the prey to escape to consume physical energy, and finally delivers a fatal blow when the opponent is exhausted.
Is it derived from the instinct of the Otolo Rock Dragon? Because it absorbed those dragons, it inherited their instincts to a certain extent - obviously not, the Otolo Rock Dragon that Henry briefly introduced is a typical ambush predator. Living in the western canyons of the Otolo Empire, they are good at using their powerful rock climbing abilities to ambush passing creatures. The classic attack method of the Otolo Rock Dragon is to jump down from the sky above the rock wall where the prey cannot detect it and then use its small front wings to slow down, killing it with one blow.
Compared with the long-distance tracking that wolves prefer, their hunting method is more like that of birds of prey. They jump down and subdue the prey with their powerful claws, then quickly pick it up and climb away from the rock.
Their body structure has never been designed for long-distance tracking, so they naturally do not have this instinct.
Revengeful, patient and long-term tracking - these characteristics do not come from the Otolo rock dragon that provides a significant visual feature, but are possessed by the ball of flesh itself.
"We can't continue to escape." Henry made this judgment. They had led the monster several kilometers away from the refugees. But the carriage pulling so many people and survival supplies was very heavy, and several horses began to pant under such vigorous running. Moreover, the road conditions ahead were unclear, and the continuous bumps had already caused hidden damage to the wheels. If it continued like this, it might be possible to overturn the vehicle at some point. If the carriage rolls over, the personnel will definitely be injured or even suppressed by heavy objects. In this case, they will become very passive, lose their combat effectiveness, and the personnel will be killed without the ability to resist.
The monster was obviously more capable than them. It absorbed the three rock dragons, but its size was actually smaller than the meat ball it looked like at the beginning. The lost part roughly becomes the food for transformation, which means it is more reasonable to regard it as a full and energetic state.
It's unreasonable, such as how it changed in a very short period of time, how those rock dragons were fused, and other incomprehensible parts. Don't make any assumptions. Just start with the known and understandable parts. Their situation is very clear. :
The three-headed monster weighing several tons has the ability to easily tear apart everyone, including heavily armored warriors. Its speed is comparable to that of a carriage, but its endurance is obviously stronger than that of a burdened horse.
So continuing to consume it is harmful and useless.
They had to prepare for battle while they still had some strength left.
Solve it right here.
"Come here." Henry handed the reins of the carriage and horse to Old Qiao next to him, then took out the Druid's rune stone from his pocket, grabbed the frame of the carriage and spoke to the Luoan girl who was riding on Mitya behind. .
"Do you understand how magic power works?" he asked. If others could understand, they might find it a bit confusing.
"Following the blood vessels?" But Mira understood.
"Well, hold it in the palm of your hand and input your magic power. It will be used as a medium to trigger the spell saved inside. Throw it out after five seconds, which will hinder its movement for 10 seconds to half a minute." The sage explained the usage. In the north, he used a similar method to temporarily block the movement of another monster to gain a chance to fight.
"Is it so easy to use?" The girl Luo An was a little surprised.
"The price of one can buy a set of full body armor." Henry added: "So don't miss it."
"Hiss—" The expensive druid products seemed to be specially used to face this kind of thing, because this was one of the enemies they had faced in the past. Although Henry has never faced off against a type like this monster, his relationship with the Druid has given him more or less relevant knowledge and experience.
Among the treasures 'borrowed' from the tomb of an old friend, in addition to the same precious metals and other raw materials used to forge Claymore, there are only a total of more than 20 druid rune stones. These rune stones are made of exquisite gemstones from the center of the earth, and are then carved with fine gold tools. They are similar to the magic scrolls of human magicians or metal magic circles. After being activated with a little magic power, the energy contained in them will appear in a specific form according to the carvings inside the runes, causing related effects.
More advanced technology and high-quality raw materials than humans allow them to last for a long time without losing the energy contained in them. And the effects that can be achieved far exceed the limits of human magicians.
For human magicians who only know how to use elements to carry out rudimentary attacks, what they can do to deal with the monster they are facing is actually the same as archers, swordsmen and others.
The word 'magic' originally means 'miraculous art', which is a technology that can change the situation under certain circumstances. But a miracle must be chosen at the right time to become a miracle. A heavy rain in a long-drought place can be called a miracle, but if a heavy rain suddenly falls in a place that has been flooded all year round, it will only become a disaster.
Henry prepared these rune stones for his trip to Crescent Continent, because based on his knowledge of this land, the sage judged that their existence might be necessary. But even he never imagined that the consumption would be so large.
But you can’t stop using something just because it’s precious.
Because life is more precious than that.
"Bah——" The Luoan girl turned the unicorn and ran back, feeling her own magic pool according to the sage's instructions. The warm power passed along the heart and blood vessels to her palms. When the magic touched the rune stone, In an instant, a vibration as subtle as a heartbeat was transmitted back - she immediately intuitively understood that it was the countdown to the triggering of the spell.
"5." Mira muttered silently, while Henry and Narumi behind him gave instructions together.
"The carriage stopped at the rear as a blocker, untied the traction and put on the saddle. The non-combatants evacuated from the main road, the archers lined up, and the spearmen moved forward!" The sergeant's command was as timely as ever, using the distance between the monster and our own side, They quickly stopped the carriage and began to move.
"4." Henry and Joshua landed first and ran back towards the monster, while everyone else acted quickly according to the instructions. Even precious supplies now have to be temporarily abandoned. Carts loaded with tent replacement clothing and various supplies were relatively heavy and could form an effective barrier. The warriors who took off the traction handles and mounted the saddles quickly formed a cavalry with impact and greater mobility.
"3." Although the horses are very tired, it is still better than having only infantry.
"2." Sakura and Kenye took away as many medicine boxes as they could carry, and Yajiro escorted them, his sister, and the missionary to evacuate to the side. The men with bows formed a formation, and it was a great relief that the monster's skin was unable to defend against bows and arrows.
"1." They were moving very fast, but the monster still noticed the stopped carriage. It immediately lowered its body and planned to pounce to quickly close the distance. This was obviously a rare opportunity in the eyes of this beast.
But Henry had expected this.
It saw Mira running back on the unicorn. It remembered the white-haired girl and the tall and strong horse, and the damage they had just caused to itself.
So it dodged to the side, deciding to avoid this object and rush directly towards the carriage.
But Henry also expected this.
Miltia has some kind of biological magic that can achieve the corresponding effect at close range, but this monster will not let it get close again.
Time was tight and did not allow for too many explanations, but the long-term tacit understanding between master and disciple made the Luoan girl understand why the teacher told her to throw it out when she saw the monster's evasive action immediately after noticing her counterattack.
"Ha!" The momentum of the charge paused momentarily, and she struggled to throw out the rune stone that had become hot.
"Bang——!" The magic technique unfolded in an instant and became clearly visible in the sunny day. All the words were reflected in her pupils, just for an instant, but I don't know Why did Mira feel that those words were so nostalgic.
A certain instinct passed down in her blood allowed her to understand the meaning of some characters. This instinct was far beyond the knowledge she possessed as an individual, and seemed to be deeply rooted in her soul.
"Crack-" Then she clearly saw the magic circle dispersed into several rings and attached to the monster's body and tightened it. It painfully tried to get rid of it but lost control of its body under the unknown force.
The monster that tried to dodge and continue to run forward lost its balance, but its several-ton body still had inertia. It roared and fell forward crookedly.
All of this only took a moment, and Mira wouldn't have noticed the details of the magic circle if it weren't for being so close.
A little further away, people only felt a strong gust of wind blowing past, and then the monster was overturned.
Henry did not miss this opportunity.
After the runes all over his body lit up, the sage disappeared in place, leaving only the paving stone slightly sagging where he landed.
The blade of Claymer's sword, bright as the sun in the daylight, was swung straight and without any jitter.
The blade struck accurately on the neck of the only one with two eyes, whose head was covered with waving arms. These arms with bones came from the victims, trying their best to prevent the arrogant blade from harming their new owners.
Then it failed without any suspense.
"Bang--tah-tah-dah-" Like pebbles floating on the water, the severed head bounced off the hard ground one after another, dripping with blood, and finally fell slightly far to the right side of the carriage. The two remaining heads of the monster screamed and broke free from the rune stones the moment they landed.
"Only 4 seconds." The time was shorter than what the teacher told her. Mira noticed this. She shook off the uneasiness and still drove Mitya back.
"Crack-" the transparent light fragments disappeared in the air, and the three-headed monster screamed and stumbled to its feet. Blood flowed from the severed neck, and the remaining arm rolled forward and pressed towards the wound. After a while, it closed and surrounded the broken neck like a bud waiting to bloom, stopping the bleeding.
"Sure enough, you can't die like this." Narumi directed the archers to turn around and aim at the monster falling on one side, but his voice was trembling. The 1.5 meter long sword Claymore in Henry's hand, with a slender blade that could only be compared to the Odachi in Crescent Island, could only cut off the slender neck of this creature with one blow. All the Rune Stone can gain is an opportunity, a short chance for them to form their troops and cause damage. So he must choose to maximize the results this time.
It is better to cut off one of his fingers than to injure ten of them. Even if the body of a creature that is too large is chopped with a Claymore, the bones will only be visible. It may bleed to death, but that will only happen after dozens of minutes or even a few hours. This time is enough for it to run over the entire convoy several times.
A wise man may be able to heal himself and therefore be immortal.
But others are not.
Therefore, what the Rune Stone gained was not the chance to kill it, but to stop its movements and allow the exhausted group of people time to organize their response to the formation.
Next comes the real drama.
"I can't see anymore." Narumi whispered. Henry cut off the last head with eyes, and after the sightless monster's angry screams gradually subsided, its remaining two heads shook left and right, and its limbs scratched the ground, like a blind man trying to understand by groping. The surrounding scene.
"But don't forget this thing's hearing and smell." The sage shook off the still bleeding Klemmer and spoke softly.
"The cavalry is divided into two groups."
"Archers."
"Singing arrows."
