Chapter 64 The Loch Ness Monster
Amidst terrified cries, a gigantic hand tore through the lake's surface, and beneath the gleaming, jagged golden armor, countless white bones leaped from the water.
"This is…?"
The battle, which should have intensified, came to an abrupt halt due to the overwhelming sense of suffocation, and they all focused their attention on the lake.
"null--!"
The instant the hand closed, a large number of soldiers closer to the lake water instantly turned into a blood mist, and the ensuing tremor shook everyone to their core.
The momentum continued to grow, causing the surrounding soldiers to be forced to their knees.
They struggled to raise their heads, watching in fear as the lake level rose.
Staggering back two steps, Talos's vision blurred for a moment: "It seems the Loch Ness disappearances weren't the work of those vampires after all..."
"What vampire?" The disheveled soldier struggled to his feet and turned his head away in confusion.
He ignored the soldier's question, muttering to himself, "Looks like not taking this mission the other day was the right choice."
"null--!"
The beast's jagged back pierced the clouds, and its four long arms were stirring the lake's surface.
"boom!"
The hurricane unleashed by swinging its left arm uprooted vast amounts of vegetation from the forest, leaving trails of blood. Its right claw had already slammed into the ranks of the army…
Pale bones peeled away from his waist, strings of vertebrae dangled between his fingers, and along with them fell a large number of gold adventurer name tags!
"boom--!"
"Aaaaaah—!"
As it raised its head and roared, the remaining skeletons at the bottom of the lake floated in the air and fell wildly with the sound waves, rushing towards the crowd without any blind spots.
"Ugh... what a terrifying aura..."
"As expected, only those with no native brains who would be vaccinated have all died here..."
"Conservatively estimated, he possesses the strength of a seventh-tier archmage or higher..."
Talos murmured, instinctively covering his face, blocking out all the oncoming shockwaves.
"null--!"
As the upper half of the strange beast appeared before everyone, the fighting spirit of the 600,000-strong army was completely extinguished.
A colossal body, over a hundred meters long, looked down upon the crowd, its four arms positioned strategically on the water's surface.
A few golden whiskers on the head, which resembled a rat's head, were slowly swaying.
Instead of launching another major attack, it glared angrily at the vast army.
"But this is also an opportunity..."
Talos narrowed his eyes and looked at the car that was being pressed down by the beast's paw to the side.
"Sizzle..."
He took out a black envelope from his pocket, gently scraped off the sealing wax with six-pointed stars, and opened the pages inside.
After meticulously analyzing the contents, he felt a pang of disappointment: "So it really was this train convoy? Heh, I've become this person's pawn. Astounding insight..."
"Twin Lakes...? Why did I have to come here to find this thing... Ugh, so annoying, have I entered a hidden quest?"
He rubbed the back of his head impatiently, biting his lip. With a thought, a wisp of blue flame appeared in his hand.
"Whoosh..."
With a flick of his finger, Talos burned the letter to ashes, and the flame that shattered the silence immediately made him the target of everyone's criticism.
Only then did he realize that everyone's gaze, including that of the strange beast, was fixed on him.
"Well…"
He coughed lightly, about to say something, when the beast's paw slammed down like a mountain crashing down.
"bump--!"
Talos calmly dodged the attack, and the spot where he had been standing had been turned into a giant crater.
The attacks came one after another like a storm, and a large number of soldiers turned into blood mist, and fear spread rapidly.
The 600,000-strong army, which was already a motley crew, collapsed instantly, with only a few knowing they couldn't escape and still fighting desperately.
"Whoosh..."
Weaving through the dense magical attacks, Talos made a clear objective and flew towards one of the damaged carriages.
"boom--!"
The sudden attack blasted the carriage to pieces, and at the same time, a black oval the size of a palm flew out.
"Smack..."
With a powerful push of his legs, he twisted his body swiftly, embracing the egg before it was attacked, and then quickly disappeared into the fleeing crowd.
"Strange...why this? Shouldn't it be a fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls?"
He deftly dodged the oncoming attack and stared in surprise at the egg in his arms. The egg was similar to a swan's egg, but it gave off a strange feeling.
"Clang...!"
His pupils suddenly contracted, and the sudden murderous intent made him instinctively swing his dagger.
Sparks flew as the metal clashed, and Talos's eyes caught sight of the newcomer—a girl with long coral hair.
Beneath the black cloak, the hood obscured any direct view of her face, while the sparks reflected the faint, ambiguous smile on the girl's lips.
"Who are you…!?"
Before the words of amazement could even finish, the magic circle that suddenly appeared in front of the girl launched an attack in an instant.
"bump--!"
Unable to dodge in time, Talos was hit instantly. The blinding prism sliced open his right shoulder, and his body flew hundreds of miles before crashing heavily into the deep pit.
"Uh...? A mage? No, she doesn't need to chant?" Slowly standing up, he suddenly realized that the swan egg in his arms was gone.
"Oh no..."
Talos cursed under his breath, and painfully climbed out of the pit, only to see a scene that astonished him even more.
The coral-haired girl, clutching the swan egg, deftly dodged the beast's attack after slightly lowering her hood.
"..."
After she brought her mouth close to that enormous head and whispered a few words...
The beast, which had been burning with rage, instantly calmed down as if doused with cold water, staring intently at her.
"Get out...!" Its gaze sharpened, and as it growled, it swept its burning eyes across the rabble present.
The team, already devoid of fighting spirit, quickly collapsed and ran desperately back the way they came, leaving the Maizeren team members standing there dumbfounded.
"Since you're not leaving, then clean up the surrounding corpses before you go... otherwise..."
With a cold snort, the beast gave the girl a strange look, and then disdainfully ordered the terrified crowd below.
Turning its head to look away, it squinted and stared directly at the girl standing on its shoulder: "Although this place is not far from Camedor, how can you be sure that this thing originated from there?"
After he finished speaking, he looked out to the distant horizon, where clear and purple streams were continuously flowing into Loch Ness.
"It's a secret!" The girl pressed her fingertips to her lips, her smile softening slightly.
"No evidence? Are you playing me?!" Staring at her, the beast's angry eyes flashed with impatience.
"Good luck to you. This lake will soon be polluted. The reason it's fine now is..." The girl chuckled coldly, holding the swan egg in her arms and silently pursing her lips.
Along with...
Talos, who had just climbed out of the pit, was about to snatch the swan egg back when a pair of large hands landed on his shoulders.
"You are no match for her..."
The newcomer was dressed in black, with a black top hat covering his forehead, and his eyes held an inscrutable emotion.
"You are...? I think I've seen you in the Principality of Daedalus before. That beast didn't...!" Talos exclaimed in horror, his eyes widening suddenly