Roaring Cannonfire

“Move... hurry up and move!”

“But Captain, if we go this way, we won't be able to meet up with the main force!”

“We have to survive first!”

The exhausted, panting beastkin mobile squad captain flew into a rage at his subordinate's questioning.

This was the westernmost edge of the plains, the very path through which the migrating beastkin army was passing.

“We'll shake them off first, then figure out a way to regroup with the main force.”

He glanced back from time to time, his voice filled with an unmistakable terror.

Admittedly, the Lucadia Empire, with its rapidly developing magitech civilization, had acquired the strength to stand on equal footing with the ant colony.

However, that was only because the Lucadia Empire, ruled by Astaroth, was a vast nation capable of swiftly converting a deity's interference force into actual power. Other factions simply could not replicate this feat.

For their scouting unit, encountering the ant colony's hunting squad had happened in the blink of an eye.

The mutated gale ants, which had inherited the abilities of the tiger beetle, possessed a burst of speed that far surpassed warhorses and grassland wolves.

After a fierce battle, only a handful of them had managed to survive, and they were now fleeing for their lives.

“Faster!” he urged his subordinates repeatedly.

Even a moment's hesitation would allow the relentlessly pursuing ants to catch up and tear them to pieces in an instant.

【Kerrigan orders a halt to deep pursuit of the enemy remnants】

Fortunately for them, the ants stopped after chasing them for a certain distance and did not venture any deeper.

They merely slaughtered the wounded soldiers abandoned by the beastkin without mercy, turning them into food.

Whether the main nest colony had wiped out the Holy Kingdom or was locked in a stalemate with the Empire, Kerrigan—who was leading the migratory colony across the vast plains to pursue the beastkin—was in no rush to achieve quick results.

To maintain the massive size of this migratory colony, which had transformed into a colossal natural disaster that devoured every living thing in its path, they had to allocate enough time to feed.

Unlike the main nest colony, they did not practice agriculture. They relied solely on endless hunting to obtain all the resources needed to keep the colony running.

Because of this, Kerrigan evolved herself and the entire colony in a direction focused far more on pure combat than Elise's.

In any case, even with this leisurely pursuit, the beastkin, utterly terrified of the ants, had no choice but to run without rest in search of a safe haven, leaving them with no room to breathe.

【Kerrigan senses that the surrounding environment is changing】

In this manner, they pursued their prey all the way here.

Kerrigan flicked her antennae, warily observing her surroundings.

Without realizing it, they had already traveled hundreds of kilometers.

Both the fleeing beastkin and Kerrigan's pursuing migratory colony had left the plains and arrived at a completely new land.

The world was far vaster than they had ever imagined.

The world they had known before was merely a drop in the ocean. Although a massive amount of data had accumulated within the hive mind, unknown things were still as numerous as the hairs on a cow.

【Kerrigan craves more prey and stronger opponents】

Naturally, like Elise, Kerrigan always craved more food.

However, she differed from Elise in one aspect: while Elise was gradually developing an interest in knowledge, Kerrigan derived pleasure from the thrill of violence through countless battles and slaughter, becoming obsessed with facing strong opponents head-on.

A change in environment meant that new prey and enemies might appear.

Kerrigan was filled with anticipation.

“?”

【Kerrigan stares at the empty scene before her, devoid of anything but the beastkin, and freezes in confusion】

But Kerrigan's expectations were quickly shattered.

Driven into a corner by the pursuing ants, the beastkin under Uria's command resorted to desperate measures. They began to frantically attack the local factions along their path, forcing them to join their flight.

“The Great Devourer, the demon army led by the evil Outer God, is about to attack! Either fight alongside us, or die!”

The driven-mad grassland beastkin forced every faction they encountered to join them in resisting the ant colony. Anyone who refused was met with merciless attacks.

Whether they were humans or other beastkin tribes, the fleeing horde did not care.

Right now, their sole objective was to escape from the jaws of the ant colony.

“The... the beastkin are attacking!”

The local factions, who had previously maintained a balance of power and lived peaceful lives, fought back when faced with the sudden surge of the beastkin army from the east, but they were utterly defenseless.

Uria's beastkin, having clawed their way through the harsh grassland, were already exceptionally formidable.

Furthermore, through their protracted war with the ant colony, their combat capabilities had been forced to improve by several levels.

For the local factions, who possessed no divine protection from any deity, these migrating beastkin became another irresistible disaster.

“Your Majesty. Unlike the legends, these western factions are extremely weak and fragmented. If we can unify them, we might gain the strength to fight those demons.”

“Hmm...”

Gorzan, the monarch of the grassland beastkin, could not help but be swayed by his subordinates' hopeful suggestions.

Obviously, they could not keep running forever.

During their previous flight to the west, they had wiped out all the small territories, kingdoms, and tribes along the way, conscripting countless people as slaves.

Through this process, Gorzan clearly realized that he was far stronger than these local factions.

If they could use this to expand their own power, they might actually be able to stand against the ant colony.

Moreover, expanding their influence was also beneficial for their deity, Uria, killing two birds with one stone.

“Since the great God of War has also granted his consent, then it is time to rebuild our great empire!”

Naturally, Uria would not reject this proposal. Ignoring the protests of other deities whose prey was being stolen, he approved Gorzan's plan.

Thus, harboring the dream of rebuilding the Beastkin Kingdom, Gorzan immediately began expanding into the surrounding areas.

...

“Radan! Pull yourself together! The beastkin will be here any minute!”

“...Yes, sir!”

Radan, a recruit knight of the Campbell Duchy, was startled by his captain's roar and quickly adjusted his helmet.

They had received intelligence in advance and were currently lying in ambush along a vital path in the forest near the Great Mountains, waiting for the arrival of the beastkin forces.

Radan gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, his palms already slick with cold sweat.

Unlike the border factions that dealt with the grassland beastkin year-round, they were separated by a vast, uninhabited wilderness, meaning the grassland beastkin only existed in legends to them.

Yet now, these legendary creatures were surging forward in the hundreds of thousands, turning everything along their path into scorched earth.

They also brought unbelievable news: terrible demons had come from the east, and they had to either surrender and fight alongside them, or die.

Those who resisted would be brutally murdered, and their families would be taken as slaves.

Even if they surrendered, they would only be forced to fight those demons called the Great Devourer.

Ultimately, everyone, including Radan, chose to stand against these brutal beastkin to protect their homeland and loved ones.

The vast majority of the people in the Campbell Duchy shared Radan's thoughts.

They believed the demons the beastkin spoke of were merely an excuse, an enemy deliberately exaggerated to give their invasion a high-sounding justification.

“...I know everyone is nervous, but we must hold the line. If we lose here, our nation, our land, and our families will all be gone.”

The commander, well aware of the heavy responsibility on his shoulders, boosted morale with a steady voice.

Just then, a mage detected a massive commotion in the distance.

“The beastkin are here! B-but something is wrong!”

The mage, who had summoned a crow familiar for scouting, hurriedly reported in a loud voice. His eyes were wide, cold sweat poured down his body, and his voice trembled.

“What on earth did you see?”

“They... they are rushing into the forest in a panic, like a bunch of defeated soldiers!”

The commander found it hard to believe. For this experienced sixty-year-old mage to utter such absurd words was baffling, but what happened next proved that the mage was not lying.

“Are... are the beastkin really running away?!”

“Calm down, everyone! No matter what, we must fight them! Since they've delivered themselves to our doorstep, this is perfect!”

Everyone saw it: a crowd of beastkin was sprinting toward the forest in utter disarray.

These beastkin, rumored to tear knights apart with their bare hands, crush magic with their fists, and feed on human flesh, were now pale-faced, ignoring all formation, running for their lives.

“Fire!”

The duchy's soldiers, who had been lying in ambush, clashed with the incoming beastkin.

The beastkin, who had no time to scout their surroundings, were instantly cut down in droves by a rain of arrows and magic.

“Charge!”

At the same time, Radan rode out alongside the other knights, launching an attack on the panicked beastkin warriors.

Radan's longsword easily pierced the chest of an exhausted beastkin warrior.

Watching the beastkin fall with eyes wide in disbelief, Radan took a deep breath, calmed his racing heart, and quickly pointed his sword at the next enemy.

“You foolish humans! Do you have any idea what is most important right now?! Mage! Did that magic you're so proud of see absolutely nothing?!”

A panting beastkin warrior shrieked, looking as if he were about to go mad.

For a moment, Radan did not understand what he meant.

“I mean! Look at what is coming up behind you!”

The beastkin warrior's desperate roar caused Radan to freeze. The despair and urgency on that face were absolutely genuine.

“What on earth are you babbling—”

Just then, a sharp black stinger pierced through the beastkin warrior's chest from behind.

The stinger, composed of black carapace and resembling a spear, withdrew from the blood-spitting beastkin warrior, spraying a mist of blood.

Radan's mind went blank. Through the bloody, gaping hole in the beastkin warrior's chest, he saw a colossal monster.

Having deactivated its camouflage ability inherited from a chameleon, it slowly revealed its form.

The scorpion ant, a species exclusive to the migratory colony that had undergone several modifications, stepped over the beastkin warrior's corpse. Red light flickered within its head shell as it stared fixedly at Radan.

“C-Captain...”

Radan turned his head stiffly to look at the knight commander beside him, but he could not utter a single word.

Their commander, who had been loudly directing them just moments ago, had already had his head crushed by a giant giant-jawed ant and was currently being devoured.

Only now did Radan finally understand that everything was real. The beastkin had indeed been pursued by demons.

Those demons were the servants of an Outer God that would bring about the end of the world. Furthermore, they were a true natural disaster, on a completely different level than the beastkin.

“Uh?!”

Just then, accompanied by a deafening roar, a massive iron ball came hurtling through the air, instantly smashing the scorpion ant that was about to pounce on Radan to pieces.

The shaken Radan slumped to the ground and looked toward the source of the sound.

The roaring sounds continued without pause. Countless iron balls rained down from the sky, indiscriminately covering the beastkin, humans, and ants alike.

【Kerrigan detects new enemies】

Kerrigan saw everything that Radan saw.

“Keep firing!”

Through the drifting gun smoke, an army dragging cannons was slowly marching out from the direction of the Great Mountains.