Rhode happily used Requip Magic to take out several cooking utensils and a box of ingredients.
He originally wanted to use Text Magic to conjure water and light a fire, but Mira stopped him: "Don't waste any more magic power. I'll just fetch a pail of water."
Ordinary Requip Magic doesn't consume much, but there's no need for Text Magic.
Fetching water wasn't a strenuous task for Mira.
She usually acts a bit delicate, but at times like this, she wants to handle everything herself.
Every time Rhode tried to help, Mira would shoo him away, telling him to focus on the mission and wait for delicious food.
But Rhode felt bitter, watching the Nest Insects spawning Worms at the village entrance and the rats outside getting restless...
None of this compared to cooking with Mira.
But since it was Mira's wish, he had no choice. He used River Crab's sight to survey the village's condition, and after confirming there were no issues, he sat down cross-legged.
He planned to concentrate on restoring his magic power, so he could hold out as long as possible.
In front of him stood the Cyan Rune Golem, and behind, the chopping sounds of Mira, creating a reassuring environment.
Mira methodically handled various ingredients, occasionally glancing at Rhode's cross-legged back.
This felt like the husband working overtime while the wife prepared dinner, how peculiar!
Mira blushed a little. Would their future life always be like this?
In a flash, more than two hours had passed, and the blue-purple Void Worms had already formed layers around the village fences.
The densely packed insects hopped restlessly on the spot, a sight for those with trypophobia.
The village chief assigned people to watch from all directions, each one could see the swarming insects:
"What an astonishing number!"
"If there are that many, it might work!"
"There's hope for the village!"
The rats outside seemed a bit confused.
Initially, they watched the peculiar creatures jumping out one by one, considering them mere backup food.
After all, they dared to attack livestock larger than themselves, so why not these small creatures?
As the number of Worms increased, the rats grew restless; there was too much food, an overabundance.
If it weren't for the circle of fire, they probably would have charged already.
Even so, some rats advanced a little, with many exposing their bodies to the flames.
But it seemed like the fire contained special fuel, emitting a scent that instinctively repelled the rats.
It was usually like this, but today the abundant food made hunger prevail a bit.
After a while, the rats retreated again.
Again, it was because there were too many of those peculiar creatures; the rats felt they would become food themselves.
Although it hadn't been two and a half hours, villagers hurriedly informed Rhode, saying it looked like the rats were about to flee.
"Time is of the essence; let's not wait, commence the battle!"
Rhode temporarily stepped away from his bodyguards' protection, giving attack orders to the Void Nest Insects.
The three Nest Insects raised their heads and howled, and the insect swarm outside the fence bounced out like springs.
The innermost layer, unable to rush out immediately, nibbled on the fence excitedly.
Almost every one of them took a bite.
The already simple fence fell in disarray, giving Rhode a cold sweat.
Fortunately, they didn't do more damage.
Rhode realized that these Worms had much lower intelligence than normal monsters and might struggle to follow complex tactics.
He could give ordinary monsters several complex commands with conditions on how to react to situations.
But these Worms could probably only handle one command, often relying on the three Nest Insects to direct them, even resulting in chaos.
That was okay; back in the day when playing games and massing units with F2A, armies would charge in chaos anyway.
As long as there are enough numbers, charging is all that matters!
The rats were caught off guard by the sudden full-force assault.
But, having nowhere to forage, they immediately counterattacked upon being attacked.
As soon as the front line of rats and Worms clashed, the battle heated up instantly.
The Worms, not overthinking, attacked the nearest rat. Those two rows of fine teeth didn't discriminate, biting anywhere they landed.
Smaller rats might get bitten on their limbs and tails by five Worms, while larger ones might have their noses and ears bitten, with two Worms hanging on their backs.
In some cases, a single Worm would be surrounded by several rats, its highly flexible body being stretched from a lump into a line like a rubber band.
The area around the village turned into a battlefield, with rats and Worms attacking each other everywhere, resulting in chaos comparable to two ant colonies fighting.
It was momentarily hard to tell which side had the upper hand.
Village Chief Jasper had, 'under Rhode's suggestion,' mobilized all villagers around the village.
The elderly and children, those weaker in strength, held torches and lanterns, while the strong young men and women stood ready with weapons near the perimeter, anticipating any rat breaking through the lines.
Rhode's original intention was simply to caution the villagers to stay alert, so no rat would slip in and cause harm.
However, the villagers clearly regarded this as a life-or-death final battle for the village.
Rhode could only comply, summoning Beaked Birds, Shadow Wolves, and others to guard against any rats slipping through the net.
Any villager getting bitten by a rat tonight would be due to his lack of foresight.
Mira silently supported Rhode, pouting discontentedly: "Trying to show off again."
Rhode gave a sheepish smile and said, "It's just that the preparation time was shorter than expected, so I have enough magic power for this."
Mira was unhappy, and with her free hand transformed into a Devil Claw, conjuring black Magic Balls the size of fists, tossing them one after another into the rat swarm.
Explosions boomed like playing with little firecrackers.
Rhode pitied the roads outside the village for a second and instructed the Golem to give Mira a Crown of Insight as well.
A girlfriend venting a bit was okay since it was rats and the ground being bombed, not people.
Let her unleash her frustration; if necessary, they could help the villagers with road repairs tomorrow.
But it seemed the villagers didn't mind the roads being damaged; instead, they wanted to cheer for her—such widespread destruction was extremely satisfying!
Rhode patted the Golem: "You go help too, take the Floating Cannon."
The Golem stomped forward, carefully stepping over the Worms. Two small golems emerged, flying over the rat swarm, shooting beams of blue lasers.
The sounds of squeals and cries echoed continuously on the battlefield, while cheers erupted continuously within the village.
The rat corpses multiplied rapidly, and the number of Worms decreased quickly too.
However, dead rats stayed dead, while Worms were being created at a rate of 60 per minute.
Additionally, wounded rats feel pain and fear, and they retreat in danger;
But the Worms' brains don't allow them these thoughts; as long as they're alive, they continue biting the nearest enemy.
This fearless fighting style made the villagers feel for these 'cute' little creatures.
As one side weakened more than the other, the initially superior blow by the rats had turned against them.
(The last chapter for October, asking for monthly votes before they expire!)