kscans

Chapter 205 - Episode 5: First Half, Magic Insect

"I’ve never seen a monster like this. There are only three, but do not let your guard down. First, create distance and reform the ranks."

Dagobard’s orders flew. The dragon cavalry surrounding the mysterious monsters moved as one. At the same time, the monsters descended from the trees to the ground. There were three of them, large and small. The largest individual was bigger than a Horse-Dragon carriage. Its legs were spindly, belying its massive body.

A pair of red eyes glared this way, and the core-like gleam in their center appeared richer than a normal Magic Crystal. It’s probably just because of the contrast with their black hide.

A series of red patterns ran along the sides of their backs. One pair between each body segment. They pulsed on and off with a regular rhythm. The sinister color combination of black and red was unsettling. Looking closely, I could see that a dense coat of hair covered their bodies.

"Begin the attack."

Craig, sitting behind his rider, swung his sorcery staff. The Spiral Flames that had downed the wyvern and driven off the demonic wolves rained down on the three creatures. Trees burst into flames, and the area was shrouded in smoke.

Gyaagiii!

A sound like something thrashing in agony reached us. But when the three creatures emerged from the smoke, they were almost completely unharmed. Their entire armor-like black bodies were cloaked in a faint red light. It seemed they were only slightly deterred.

A knight who had closed in under the cover of smoke thrust his spear. But with a dry clank, the spear was deflected.

"What incredible toughness."

The Horse-Dragon knight hastily pulled away. Spindly legs gave chase. He barely avoided being skewered.

"Switch to ranged harassment. We need to grasp the monsters’ movements."

Dagobard’s orders rang out again. The dragon cavalry scattered at once, creating distance. Dagobard and Craig tried to set up a formation with the mysterious monsters between them. Hampered by the terrain between the forest and the lake, they slowly attempted to encircle the creatures.

From either side of the Horse-Dragon carriage, Maytyl and the others provided support with their sorcery staves. The Spiral Flames that exploded on the wide-open backs of the monsters were, again, almost completely ineffective.

"An exoskeleton like that should be illegal."

I groaned, hiding behind the carriage. How could that biological category of creature grow so massive.

"Their durability is one thing, but they don’t seem to be particularly fast. We will split into two squads. Attack in alternating waves while maintaining distance. Do not let them turn their attention to our rear."

The dragon cavalry divided into two units. Five riders each, or ten men per unit including the Kingdom knights riding with them. They were engaging an enemy that was immune to both Spiral Flames and spears. I guessed the reason was to keep the creatures from directing their attacks toward us in the back.

Of course, Maytyl and the others also brandished their staves to support Dagobard’s men. I alone remained hidden behind them.

"As expected of the area near the Mountains of Despair. To think such dragons live here."

"Your Highness. This is hardly the time for that."

"I know. Say, Ricardo. You wouldn’t happen to know how to defeat those dragons, would you?"

"No, this is my first time seeing them too… Besides, I’m pretty sure they aren’t dragons…"

They weren’t even vertebrates, let alone dragons. A mouth that split open vertically, six jointed legs. By all accounts, they were arthropods. No, seeing as they had three pairs of legs growing from their thoraxes, they were insects.

In a sense, they were the most prosperous life-form on Earth. Perhaps it was stranger that no monsters derived from them had appeared until now.

But no, an exoskeleton should not be able to support a creature of that size. By rights, it should collapse under its own weight like a beached whale.

Dagobard and his men were somehow managing to keep the monsters at bay. The journey here must have served as practical training, for the coordination between the Imperial knights maneuvering their Horse-Dragons and the Kingdom knights behind them casting sorcery was perfect. In contrast, the three monsters were unable to focus on a single target. Just as Dagobard had discerned, their speed was nothing special.

Spiral Flames from Maytyl’s group exploded on their backs. But again, to no effect. The monsters turned toward us. Just then, Dagobard’s men attacked. Their assault, too, failed to land a decisive blow.

At this rate, we would be slowly worn down. I glanced at Maytyl’s sorcery staff. The green fluorescent light flickering within the cartridge was dimming. The Magic Catalyst was starting to degrade.

Suddenly, one of the monsters stopped moving. Its rearmost body segment glowed yellow. From there, the light gradually spread forward.

"Be careful. They hunt wyverns. They must have some other means of attack," Craig warned.

The next moment, the monster’s body hair stood on end, and an electric current coursed between the strands. A leg slammed down, and a Horse-Dragon that seemed to have barely dodged it reared up. The two knights riding it were thrown off.

"An electric current?"

I was surprised. Dragons breathed fire, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Between fire and electricity, electricity was arguably more compatible with living organisms.

The monster shrouded in electricity soon returned to normal. But once again, the light began to rise from the tip of its abdomen like a gauge filling up.

"This is bad. More are coming," Maytyl said.

Another one emerged from the forest. It seemed to have noticed us. It was closing in.

Maytyl and the others focused their Spiral Flames on the monster’s head. Multiple blasts exploded near its eyes, and even the tough creature flinched. But as soon as the attack ceased, it resumed its advance.

Maytyl replaced her cartridge.

"This is the last one. Do you have a plan, Ricardo?"

"No, I can’t even form a hypothesis in this situation…"

It’s nothing to be proud of, but I am terrible at thinking on my feet.

"Then think of one. While we hold it off. Crenne."

Maytyl ran from the Horse-Dragon carriage toward a stand of trees with Crenne, loosing Spiral Flames as she went. It was reckless. The creature wasn’t that fast, but it was still huge. Far faster than a person could run.

"Wait a minute…"

"We’re counting on you."

A girl smaller than me was facing a gigantic enemy. And I was watching from behind a carriage. What a pathetic sight. I was the one who brought everyone here. I was the one who had invited this crisis.

Damn it. I have to think. That monster, or should I call it a Magic Insect. What is its weakness?

What did I find strange earlier? Insects are exoskeleton creatures. Exoskeletons are convenient for supporting small bodies, but the larger they get, the more the relationship between surface area and volume makes them unable to bear their own weight. While endoskeleton creatures like dinosaurs grew to tens of meters, insects never reached even one meter in size.

And yet, that thing is about five meters long. In truth, its spindly legs shouldn’t even be able to support its weight to walk.

The reason for that is simple. It is basically the same as the knights’ armor. A knight’s armor becomes strong and lightweight by channeling magical power through enchanted metal. The armor is a kind of exoskeleton. The monster must be the same, its exoskeleton reinforced with magic.

Which means… it has no weakness.

"Kyaa!"

"Your Highness!"

I heard a scream. I saw the monster, the patterns on its back pulsing, closing in on Maytyl. Crenne and another sorcerer were desperately firing Spiral Flames. The monster’s face turned toward Crenne. Crenne’s group moved through the forest, continuing their sporadic attacks on the creature. Its eyes followed them restlessly.

I was the only one who could move. I dashed out from behind the carriage and ran toward Maytyl. Amidst the heat of the deflected Spiral Flames, I somehow managed to reach her.

"Are you alright?"

"I twisted my ankle, just a little."

I hoisted Maytyl onto my back. Just as I tried to get away, the monster turned toward us.

"Maytyl, don’t bite your tongue."

With Maytyl on my back, I took a leap of faith and dove into the bushes. I heard a loud cracking sound behind me. The next instant, an impact slammed into my chest. My body flipped over as if I were doing a forward roll on a horizontal bar.

"Gah!"

I landed gracelessly on my back. Ah, so there was a tree branch behind the leaves. The moment I had that thought, I was smashed into the ground. It felt like all the air was forced out of my lungs at once. A sensation I hadn’t felt since my judo class in my past life, when I was thrown with an ippon-seoi-nage without a proper breakfall.

"Are you alright, Ricardo?"

Maytyl pushed herself up from the ground. Unlike her clumsy transporter, she had properly broken her fall.

I desperately tried to get my spasming lungs to work.

"Don’t let it get to Her Highness’s group!"

"Crenne. The cartridges won’t last much longer."

I could hear Crenne and the others’ frantic voices from beyond the bushes.

"Ricardo, you stay here."

Limping, Maytyl leaned against a tree and tried to return to the battlefield. But I, having somehow managed to catch my breath, grabbed her shoulder.

"Wheeze, wheeze… W-w-wait. I’ve, I’ve got a plan."

I said, desperately trying to get oxygen into my body. That’s right. There was another critical reason why insects could not grow large.

It was respiration. Whether human, dinosaur, or insect, animals consume a massive amount of energy compared to plants. The diets of both insects and birds are diverse within their categories. Their mouth shapes change readily to match.

But the mechanism of the respiratory system, for taking in oxygen, has a high degree of commonality within a category.

The evolution of the major animal phyla, their body plans, is characterized by their respiratory organs. That is how critical the efficiency of oxygen intake is.