knights and magic Lightnovel

ch5

In the past, humans only ruled half of the Zetterlund continent, with the eastern land beyond the Aubigne Mountain Range being uncharted territory dominated by Demon beasts.

With the Silhouette Knights as their main fighting force, humanity pushed the Demon beasts back, and ventured into the east beyond the Aubigne Mountains. The humans were doing well in the beginning, but their invasion was grinded to a halt. The east of Aubigne was covered by the Bocuse Sea of Trees, with Demon beasts that could take on hundreds of Silhouette Knights lurking inside. Suffering huge losses, the humans retreated out of the forest.

There were vast plains of land at the foot of Aubigne Mountain, which was suitable for agricultural use after some development. To protect this piece of land, they expanded their territory to the edge of the forest and formed a country. This was the story behind the founding of the Fremmevira Kingdom. There are still Demon beasts wandering in the Bocuse Forest that might appear on a whim. To keep the Demon beasts away, walls were erected along the borders, and fortresses were set up at the place where Demon beasts show up the most frequently... The entrance to the Bocuse Forest known as the 'Rabidly Road' (Demon Beast Highway). Castle walls were then erected between such fortresses. As it was physically impossible to cover the whole border with siege walls, they could not completely deter Demon beasts that approach from places not covered by siege walls. The siege walls were mainly effective against titanic Demon beasts, and thanks to the nation's defensive efforts, the kingdom remained relatively safe.

This happened during a certain quiet night.

Balguerie stronghold was one of the fortresses lying between the Forest and the borders of Fremmevira Kingdom. It was quite far from 'Rabidly Road', even visits from mid size Demon beast were rare, an outpost guarded by ten Silhouette Knights.

That night, the guards on duty felt there was something wrong with the unusual silence in the Bocuse Forest. The stars twinkled brightly in the night sky. There were usually a couple of howls from Demon beast on a night like this, but instead, there was an unnatural stillness. They couldn't even feel the presence of the animals, as if they had all evacuated. Although it was unnatural, there was no indication of anything happening. Baffled, they continued their rounds.

The silence did not last long. They heard the sound of trees being crushed in the distance. It was obvious that something was approaching... Demon beasts. The guards raised the alarm without hesitation.

"What the hell, a Demon beast so late at night!?"

"We're from the Rabidly Road, what is it doing so far in the countryside?"

The knights in the fortress prepared themselves when the alarm horn sounded. The outpost was a hive of activity, as they mustered together their equipment with haste. Listening to the sound of trees being crushed, the men could feel the looming crisis. The Knight runners on duty jumped into their Silhouette Knights. The Silhouette Knights deployed at this fortress were the standard 'Karrdator' model of Fremmevira. The ether reactor was forcefully started from a dormant state, its hum reverberating around it.

The Silhouette Knights checked through their start up procedures, and hurriedly gathered at the gate of the fortress. At this time, the thing that had been crushing the trees appeared. The Demon beast was like a small moving mountain, covered in an uneven shell of rocks like a porcupine. A head and four limbs protruded from the sides, so the shape resembled a tortoise, an eighty metre long and fifty metre tall tortoise.

The guard on duty, on the wall had only seen an 'Emperor Tortoise' in books... a type of Demon beast known as 'Behemoth'. Its primary features were its toughness and endurance. With its reputation of being a walking citadel, it was a difficult enemy to handle. To put it simply, the Behemoth's greatest power was 'Strengthening'. It uses overwhelming mana output to maintain its strengthening spell, and support a physically impossible body structure. It also enables it to move with a speed contrary to its appearance, and hardening every part of its body from shell to skeleton, possessing incredible toughness. It is said that a Behemoth mainly uses body slam to attack and can shatter siege walls. It's 'heart', which is proportionate to its large body, can generate mana equivalent to over 100 Silhouette Knights. With its endless endurance, the defense of the Behemoth is almost impossible to break through. This was a Behemoth, a fortress like Demon beast with incredibly high defense.