That is… a Darkspawn?
Fia’s pupils slightly contracted.
With the help of her excellent elven vision, she could vaguely make out the outline of a massive creature through the dust and smoke, identifying it as a Darkspawn.
The “Witch’s Secret History” described members of the Darkspawn.
Besides the numerous races like dragons and giants, the Darkspawn also included many bizarre-looking individuals.
For example, there were creatures with the appearance of a bull but several times larger, with numerous horns, or those that looked like demons from stories, with bat wings and goat horns, yet possessing a human form.
In Fia’s mind, Darkspawn were almost synonymous with demons.
However, it’s worth noting that the strength of a Darkspawn cannot be judged solely by their rank.
Darkspawn are different from humans.
They are born with strong bodies and superior magic.
For instance, even a seventh-rank human magic chanter would die if their heart were pierced, but a Darkspawn could still use magic even if their head were chopped off.
Some particularly strong Darkspawn could even pick up their head and reattach it to their body to continue fighting.
Therefore, when ranks are equal, it usually takes two to ten humans to defeat one Darkspawn.
This disparity is especially evident between ordinary human soldiers and low-rank Darkspawn.
Ordinary human soldiers lack magical abilities, and fighting Darkspawn with just physical strength and innate brute force is unimaginably difficult.
The “Wind of Investigation” didn’t think of running away but instead used the newly learned magic to check the surroundings.
In the thermal imaging-like view, there were blue outlines, and there was more than one.
On the other side of the road and in the direction the soldiers came from, two identical beings were ambushed in the ruins.
Their strength should be around the third rank.
Gradually, as the dust settled, a red monster as tall as a three or four-story building appeared before the people.
Just like the outline Fia saw earlier, the monster had the appearance of a bull but was more formidable in size, with enormous horns and more than one pair of eyes.
Its body was covered in armor-like red crystals, reflecting a dazzling light under the sun.
If such a creature were placed in the Human Alliance, it would surely be regarded as a symbol of strength by some tribes.
“Eek! It’s a Darkspawn! Run!!”
“Where are the temple soldiers from earlier? Come out and stop them, ahhh!”
“They’re already struggling to protect themselves.
Hurry to the cathedral, there are paladins there!”
Unlike Fia’s curiosity, the people in the slums, upon seeing the bull-headed monster, didn’t wait for their brains to start thinking before their legs began moving.
If one were to look down from a high place, they would surely see the not-so-spacious streets of the slums filled with heads, with everyone desperately fleeing towards the city center.
What moved Fia was that along the way, there were kind-hearted people urging her to run with them, but Fia didn’t like crowded environments and had to politely decline.
“Why are Darkspawn appearing here?” Like Fia, Claire didn’t choose to run away.
With a serious expression, she handed the bamboo basket in her hand to Fia.
“Could you please hold this for me?”
“Sure, I can…”
Taking the bamboo basket from Claire, Fia tilted her head and looked at Claire’s left hand.
At some point, Claire had a rapier emitting a blue glow, like it was made of ice crystals.
Calling it a rapier might not be appropriate; although the blade was thin, it had an edge, making it more fitting to describe it as a thin sword.
Due to the sword’s inherent glow, Fia almost thought it was a plasma sword from her world.
Without needing to be told, Fia knew Claire was going to fight the Darkspawn.
But is Claire really a match for these monsters?
Even though Claire had said she could defeat Anastasia with just one hand, Fia had never seen Claire fight and couldn’t help but doubt Claire’s strength.
“Claire, how about I handle it?”
“Well, that’s also an option.
Then little Fia can support me from behind.
I’ll hold them off to prevent them from harming innocent people.”
No, no, I didn’t mean to support you.
This level of monster can be dealt with using a ‘Flame Storm.’
Without giving Fia a chance to retort, Claire had already leaped forward with a gust of wind.
Her movements were exceptionally agile, and in the blink of an eye, she had entered the battlefield, isolating the bull-headed monster from the church soldiers who had been knocked into the ruins.
At this moment, the church soldiers were just recovering from their shock.
Most of them were lying in the ruins, unable to move, with deeply dented armor telling the story of how powerful the bull-headed monster’s impact had been.
Fortunately, the man afflicted with the Darkspawn disease and his family had only suffered scratches and were huddled in a corner, waiting for the danger to pass.
“Although I don’t know how you managed to get into the city, this is where it ends.”
Holding her sword at an angle, Claire stood in front of the bull-headed monster.
The massive size difference made it hard to imagine Claire being a match for the monster.
However, unexpectedly, the bull-headed monster didn’t attack Claire but instead cautiously moved its limbs backward, letting out a low growl as if issuing a warning.
“…A dangerous scent.
You’re not human.”
It can speak human language?
Fia, who was slowly approaching the battlefield, couldn’t help but feel surprised.
Although the “Witch’s Secret History” recorded that Darkspawn could learn human knowledge, hearing a Darkspawn speak human words was still novel to her.
In the Human Alliance, due to different physiological structures, just like dolphins can’t make human sounds, it’s almost impossible for one intelligent race to learn another’s language.
Truly a magical world, full of wonders.
“Since you know it’s dangerous, how about stopping here? I have no intention of opposing you, but I won’t allow you to cause trouble in my territory.
You’re not my match.”
“Ridiculous!”
With a sneer-filled growl, the bull-headed monster didn’t give Claire time to react.
It lowered its head, and its massive horns charged straight at Claire.
It’s certain that even a city wall would be shaken by this heavy blow.
However, Claire merely raised her less than half-meter-long ice crystal thin sword.
By the time people reacted, the bull-headed monster’s sharp horns had already reached Claire.
As expected, a bloody scene was about to unfold.
Then.
Time seemed to freeze.
The bull-headed monster still maintained its posture of ramming Claire with its horns, but the thin sword in Claire’s hand had already fallen at some unknown moment.
The next second, time resumed.
Crack—
Crack, crack, crack, crack.
It was a bizarre sound, like the earth splitting open.
First, there was one sound, then another, and then a continuous series of explosions.
The bull-headed monster’s four horns began to show cracks one after another, and finally, unable to withstand the pressure, the black horns shattered into pieces.
Apart from Claire herself, only Fia saw what had happened.
In a flash, Claire had swung her sword at the bull-headed monster’s horns—or rather, tapped them, causing the cracks.
The difference in strength was clear.
As if it had crashed into a steel plate, the base of the bull-headed monster’s horns began to gush blood.
The unbearable pain made it retreat while letting out a loud roar.
“Ugh, ahhh! Damn it, what are you all waiting for!!!”
As soon as the words fell, the two bull-headed monsters that had been hiding in the ruins finally broke through the ground.
Compared to the one whose horns Claire had broken, the two that appeared later were noticeably more robust.
Although it seemed that even if they attacked together, they wouldn’t be a match for Claire, it would make me feel too insignificant.
These two monsters should be dealt with by me, as Claire had assigned me the support task.
With this in mind, Fia stepped out from the building debris.
Since Fia had long used the “Wind of Investigation” to discover the two hidden bull-headed monsters, she had been approaching them from the start.
Now, the distance between them was less than thirty yards.
“Hoo…”
Fia exhaled lightly.
At this distance, the massive bodies of the bull-headed monsters were indeed imposing, especially with their weight that made the ground tremble with each step.
An ordinary person would be so frightened just by seeing them that their legs would go weak.
Fia could even smell the faint beastly odor in the air.
The red crystals on the skin of these bull-headed monsters seemed to have magical effects, as their proximity raised the surrounding temperature significantly.
“Fia, are you going to take on two at once?”
Claire’s voice came from not far away.
Without turning her head, Fia kept her eyes on the two bull-headed monsters slowly approaching her.
“Claire, just handle the one over there.
I’ll take care of these.”
“Alright, if things don’t look good, call me immediately.
I have some questions for them.”
“Eh? Do you want to leave them alive?”
About to use a large “Flame Storm” to solve the problem, Fia was taken aback.
“If possible.”
“Ahem, I got it.”
Clearing her throat twice, Fia retracted her small outstretched hand—if Claire hadn’t spoken up in time, she almost turned the other person into a roast beef.
Better to use a gentler approach.
