The devastation spread everywhere. The battlefield was in ruins, body parts scattered, blood mist filled the air. Smoke and dust swirled, flames roared, and sparks danced as if alive. Snow melted mid-air, puddles evaporated into steam, and the scorching heat made breathing difficult. Wails for help echoed endlessly.
This battlefield turned into hell in an instant.
*****
Volcan stood stunned by the scene before him. If this were a deep-floor boss monster, he could understand.
But for a beast recently discovered to cause this level of destruction, it was far too dangerous.
It was either a mutant or bloodthirsty. The longer it survived, the more it would evolve endlessly.
Too dangerous to let live. In the future, his Meteor skill might be nothing more than a fireball to it.
He wanted to fire a few more shots to be sure, but he didn' t know if there were knights in the area.
If a knight got injured, even as a [Rank A] , he' d face heavy consequences.
He had no desire to be a dog chained and used by the kingdom at their whim.
So, he turned to his guild members instead.
"Gather forces to the spot I last attacked. Request reinforcements along the way. No matter what, we must kill that fish beast."
*****
Blade-Scale Energy Fish Beast
This time, I sustained the heaviest damage I' ve ever taken.
More than half the scales around my body were torn and ruined. Blood soaked me, my right shoulder was shredded, leaving my arm dangling. The left side of my face, down to my mouth, was mangled.
Of my four tails, only one remained. My right leg was severed up to the knee.
I had to crawl across the battlefield like those two pieces of trash food.
I needed to eat to evolve.
I devoured every piece of food I saw, using my last tail to stab and pull distant scraps into my mouth.
Even blood-soaked dirt, I scooped and swallowed.
I ate without discrimination. I would not die.
Luckily, the food kept screaming for help, so I didn' t have to search for them.
This time, I had to eat far more than before. The voice in my head kept insisting it wasn' t enough.
The wails on the battlefield gradually quieted. Some were eaten by me; others went silent, hiding in fear.
I looked toward my cross-species friend' s position. That area was now just a deep crater and massive flames.
Didn' t make it, huh? I was going to invite them to find a place in the nearby forest after escaping.
I turned to another spot, hoping faintly, but was disappointed.
That high-class food stood unscathed, casually strolling through the flames, dragging the head of my former boss friend toward the rear.
My former boss friend was in critical condition, unable to resist, with wounds far worse than mine, caused by that high-class food and flaming rocks. Only their face remained untouched.
A chill ran down my spine. Fear choked my breath as the high-class food stopped and looked at me.
It raised a hand, pointing in a direction. I followed its gesture obediently.
Far off, where it pointed, lay piles of food.
But what it meant was likely those two trash foods.
One lay still, unmoving. The other, a bloody animal food, was in critical condition, screaming endlessly, but no other food paid them any attention.
Meanwhile, the other foods around them, including the annoying ones who helped the trash escape me, were quickly rescued.
I turned back, nodding repeatedly, and crawled toward that direction immediately.
After crawling a bit, I glanced back. The high-class food ignored me, dragging my former boss' s head cheerfully.
I sighed in relief and crawled as fast as I could, ignoring even nearby food scraps that required detours.
After a while, I surveyed the situation.
My former allies avoided this area due to the extreme heat and went to kill food elsewhere, making it easier for the food to fight back.
But one deep-floor ally was spraying water to regain an advantage.
The food' s support units began entering to aid their kind, healing and recovering bodies as best they could, but they ignored the trash food entirely, leaving them to fend for themselves.
As I crawled further, my senses and instincts warned me that several foods were targeting me.
They came from the opposite direction, a large group of mid-tier fighting foods rushing in, searching for something.
Luckily, my vision reached farther, and the blazing flames made it hard for them to spot me.
Fear gripped me, leaving me indecisive.
If I followed the high-class food' s orders, I might not evolve in time.
But if I didn' t, that high-class food would surely kill me.
In this state, following its order to eat those two trash foods seemed the better choice.
I looked back at my target trash foods.
So much time had passed, with countless foods passing by, but no matter how much the animal food begged or screamed until choking on blood, not a single food cared.
If that' s the case, I didn' t need to worry about interference. I had plenty of time.
I changed course immediately and began devouring every piece of food I could find.
Soon after, I ate enough to evolve.
My desire burned fiercely—I wanted to be as strong as that high-class food.
My consciousness faded. My body dissolved into liquid, reconstructing itself anew.
*****
"It' s definitely injured, so don' t be afraid!"
"This is your chance to shine, small fries!"
"Anyone who wants to boast about slaying a beast for life, follow now!"
"Glory! Gold! Fame! They' re waiting for you!"
"Someday, you' ll tell your grandkids you hunted a beast!"
"Want big guilds begging for you? Join the hunt!"
"A chance to be a heartthrob among the ladies and gents is here!"
"We' ll take it down together!"
"Who' s coming with us?"
Along the way, many rallied the crowd, drawing more to join until it became a large group.
This was the plan of the [Conqueror] guild' s vice-leader. She hired bards and skilled motivators from the rear.
They sold dreams to muster as many low-rankers as possible to the front lines.
Even if the beast was injured, it was still a beast—still dangerous.
Spending a little coin to keep her guild safe was well worth it.
[Rank F] and [Rank E] fell for it, swarming like flies, even some support units hoping for fame.
Most guildless [Rank D] joined, with a few [Rank C] sprinkled in.
[Rank B] consisted only of Conqueror guild members and allies sent to assist; the rest were helping [Rank A] .
As for [Rank A] , aside from those too injured to fight or Jaigia, who was closest to the beast but uninterested, none were free.
Laswin and the [Resonant Magic] guild' s vice-leader, having recovered, fought in their assigned areas.
With deep-floor monsters emerging relentlessly, each floor growing more numerous and brutal, they were too busy preventing monsters from breaching the wall or entering the city to deal with the beast.
Most passed the beast issue to lower ranks.
Upon reaching the damaged area, the bards and motivators withdrew.
"Spread out! Kill anything strange you see!"
Everyone cheered before scattering.
*****
Calika Nehu
Before this, after the city wall broke from the mermaid boss' s attack
Running at full speed, I reached the city gate in no time.
The gate was already closed, guarded by thousands of soldiers in a semicircle, shields and spears ready for an attack.
At the rear, I approached a soldier.
"Excuse me, can I pass into the city?"
My urgent tone drew the attention of several soldiers.
"Your name, please?"
"Dania… I mean, Dania, yes."
The soldier looked confused at my hesitation. I was too rushed—should' ve used Forsythia' s name.
"Your family name?"
"None."
"Citizen or adventurer?"
"Adventurer. I need to get to the slums. Can you open the gate?"
"May I see your adventurer card?"
I pretended to search myself.
"Must' ve lost it in the dungeon."
The soldiers exchanged glances before one spoke.
"There' s an order barring entry or exit, but I' ll check with the commander."
"Thank you so much, please hurry."
Every second felt like a day.
Half the ice soldiers sent to retrieve Elda had vanished, making me even more anxious.
Five minutes later, the soldier returned.
"The commander says without a knight' s order or an adventurer card proving you' re from a major guild or [Rank C] or higher, you can' t pass. If you want the slums, go through there."
He pointed to the battlefield where the wall had collapsed.
It wasn' t just far—I' d have to fight through monsters.
"But…!"
Before I could argue, the gate opened with a shout.
"All units, reinforce the outer wall!"
"Repeat, knight' s order! All units, reinforce the outer wall!"
The command came from a silver-haired, handsome man on the wall above the gate, dressed in ornate armor. His personal guard repeated the order loudly.
"Order received! All units, reform ranks! Reinforce the outer wall per the knight' s command!"
The knight' s single command prompted commanders to respond and march immediately.
I seized the chance to slip around the ranks toward the gate.
But as it fully opened, countless soldiers marched out, leaving no gap to sneak through.
"Excuse me, can you make a little room for me to get in?"
Some looked, but none stopped. I gathered my strength, eyeing the gate' s entrance again.
I could make it. Probably.
I stepped back for distance, then sprinted full speed. Each step sank into the ground, kicking up dust.
The clatter drew soldiers' attention.
As I neared the marching soldiers, I leaped, soaring over their heads toward the gate.
At the gate, I kicked again, propelling myself into the city.
But before I could run, the silver-haired knight floated down with wind magic, blocking my path.
"Stop. State your name and family."
His personal guard—over thirty strong female soldiers—floated down, surrounding me.