Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 172 - Unexpected Evolution

"Fancy dagger," Medrauta remarked as she brought her panting steed to a more relaxed canter.

She and Eris had ridden out ahead of their ladies and the troops to scout out the enemy position and possibly engage in a few quick skirmishes to soften up the witchspawn's forces before rejoining the main army for the real attack. Because of this, the two knights traveled lightly and inconspicuously, wearing drab cloaks over their light armor and bearing plain weapons.

Despite the unspoken dress code, Eris had chosen to bring along a rather flashy looking dagger sheathed in an equally flashy scabbard. Medrauta had no clue what material it was made of, but the dagger's white hilt shone brightly as the inset ruby pommel refracted the sunlight falling from the sky. The scabbard bore a similar color to the hilt. A vacuous white, Medrauta had thought it carved from bone at first, but its reflective properties hinted at a more metallic origin.

"It has a name." Eris replied. "Carnwennan."

"Fancy name too."

The two knights exchanged a grin as they urged their horses forward, quickening their pace once more after granting them a brief respite. The brief exchange they had was enough to cast out the butterflies in their stomachs, allowing them to shake off the pre-battle nervousness that even the most experienced warrior suffered.

With their steeds accelerating, it didn't take long for the mountain pass to come into view. The two knights stopped atop a small hill across from the witchspawn garrison, the slight decline of the slope affording them a greater range of vision into the rather populated pass.

"...So that's the behemoth." Eris murmured, her eyes fixed on the gargantuan creature that towered far beyond all of its compatriots. Even with her enhanced eyesight, the witchspawn army appeared as little more than a bulbous clump of living darkness at this distance, yet the behemoth was so large that Eris could actually make out some of the creature's details.

Its entire body was made of the same black mass that the rest of the witchspawn were composed of, writhing and undulating slightly like liquid. Its horned head was pointed forward, its sinister shape resembling that of a beast on the prowl. In its hands, the behemoth wielded two titanic swords forged with obsidian steel that seemed to suck the light out of their surroundings.

Eris couldn't help but shudder at the sight.

"Think we have a chance against that thing?" She asked.

Medrauta raised an eyebrow, her eyes darting toward Eris' daggers and lingering on them for a few moments before they fell to her own sword. Both weapons seemed woefully inadequate for the task of felling such a colossal creature.

"Honestly?" Medrauta shook her head with pursed lips. "Probably not. I might be able to make a dent in that thing with Viviane's help, but using that much power takes a pretty heavy toll on her. It'd risk her collapsing again, and even then we wouldn't be able to guarantee that the behemoth would be defeated."

Eris nodded. "Best we play it safe then. I'm sure Lady Scarlet has something up her sleeve, otherwise the troops wouldn't be marching so boldly forward right now."

"Let's hope so." Medrauta said. "What're we gonna do now? Still thinking of rushing down there and thinning out their ranks?

Eris considered the question for a moment before shaking her head firmly. Although they had originally intended to reduce the numbers of the defending witchspawn, she and the rest of the command group had evidently underestimated the sheer reach of the behemoth's weapons. In fact, this was the first time Medrauta had seen them at such a close proximity, and it was clear that a skirmish would be highly disadvantageous for them.