Through Thick and Thin | Benimaru

Chapter 16: Charybdis

Without being able to resolve their fight, the fight with Chaybdis had begun. Benimaru was forced to swallow his apologies to Katsumi and focus on the fight as General. Charybdis, the calamity, had awakened, and was headed straight towards the capital city of Rimuru. As of now, the village assumed that since Rimuru had swallowed Veldora with [Predator], Charybdis, who was born from a cloud of Veldora's magicules, had come to seek vengeance against the slime. As Rimuru had instructed, they were to engage in battle with Charybdis outside of the town in a stretch of forest located between the town and Dwargon.

The current forces that were ready to go up against Charybdis included the Kijin, Gobta and the Goblin Riders, Geld's army of high orcs, Gabiru and his servants and 100 pegasus-mounted royal guards from Dwargon sent by King Gazel. Minus the Pegasus Knights, they all stood atop a hill, awaiting Rimuru's orders. Rimuru simply watched Charybdis approach in the distance before he turned around to address the group.

"Well, ready to do this?" Rimuru asked as he faced the group.

"Yes, sir!" Everyone replied. Quickly setting their plan into motion, the different groups scattered into their respective areas of their forest. The first goal to take down were the thirteen megalodons that surrounded Charybdis.

Benimaru was the first to strike, using his [Hell Flare] and throwing it up perfectly at one of the low flying megalodons, instantly engulfing it in a sphere of black and purple flames. The Megalodon crashed down into the forest, albeit it was still whole. Benimaru clicked his tongue. Despite the power in his attack, he couldn't destroy the damned beast. He turned his head slightly, subconsciously searching for Katsumi. She wasn't too far away, but when she looked up and met his gaze, she turned away with a small huff. Benimaru sighed dejectedly and focused back to Rimuru.

Charybdis has an extra skill, [Magic Jamming], Rimuru projected towards all the current warriors. Not everyone could reply, but he made sure that everyone understood that within a 300-meter radius, the movement of the magicules was disturbed and therefore reduced the efficacy of magic. Stick to the plan still! Scatter them and strike each one individually!

The next megalodon to crash went to the Orcs. They purposely lured one down to the forest down, the shark-like beast crashing into the ground, yet completely unfazed by it. Despite kicking up dirt and tearing up the path, the megalodon continued pushing, trying to grab a few of the High Orcs in its jaws. Geld turned around once the shark had skid some, putting his hands out to grab the shark on the nose and using his own body to try to slow it down. Despite being forced back a fair ways down the path, Geld managed to counteract the shark's momentum, both of them coming to a complete stop. The other orcs took the chance and pounced on the grounded shark, digging their axes and swords into the chinks in the shark's metal exterior. Feeling the pain, the megalodon whipped its tail, tossing the orcs off easily. Geld, who was still holding onto the megalodon to stop it's movements, slightly panicked. His brethren had been tossed off to the side, and he knew he couldn't fight it alone.

Thankfully, he didn't have to hold out long as Gabiru came flying from above, his spear pointed towards the shark. Using his skill [Vortex Crash], Gabiru's trident stabbed through the plating on the shark and right into the megalodon's forehead. The beast jerked out of Geld's hands, flailing in pain as it let out a horrifying screech. It wasn't long before the shark coughed up blood and then promptly collapsed, the trident still stuck deep in its head. Pulling it out, Gabiru made a plan with Geld to attract the third megalodon down, using the exact same tactic they had just done.

The fourth went down to the Pegasus Knights as they charged in from the sky. With their sheer numbers and aerial horses, they overwhelmed one of the megalodons, managing to slice into the weak points and cause it to crash to the ground.