Chapter 252 - Malicious Hog

After a few hours,

Snow beads fell continuously, enveloping the whole town in white. However, in the northern part of the town, the place was stained in red.

Gwar! A group of monsters was hurrying towards a group of humans clad in an Imperial Knight and mages uniform.

Seeing the monsters coming closer, the Lieutenant declared.

"Fire!"

Multiple magical spells were cast at the same time. They arced in mid-air and rain directly to the approaching monsters.

Wam! Boom! Boom!

Gyah! The monsters cried in pain as different parts of their bodies scattered away along with dark blood and awful smell. The blood and flesh of the monsters bloomed in mid-air when the mass of magical energies hit them.

After killing that group of monsters, they advanced to the next street. But suddenly stopped when they noticed the ground was shaking. "Eh? What is this—!" The ground vibrated as though something big was coming closer and closer. Ahead of them, at the right side, where an alley could be seen, something strode out from there.

"Watch out!"

"A higher rank!"

Looking at the advancing enormous mass of flesh, everyone stiffened. The gigantic enemy about to collide with them, some of them stepped back subconsciously. Noticing it, the Lieutenant shouted, "Don't back away! Prepare to engage!" Upon hearing his command, everyone snapped from their stupor. The ten people in a knight outfit hardened their muscles as they stepped forward, waiting for the enemy to engage while gripping their weapons in front of them.

Before the monster could collide with them, magical spells were shot at it, causing the monster to stop advancing.

The knights didn't waste the opportunity. They engaged with the monstrous enemy, trying to stall it and give time for the mages to cast a strong spell.

The lieutenant stood in the middle of the road with five Imperial mages and ten Imperial knights. At the moment, his comrades are currently working together to kill the monster that suddenly rushed in their direction from the nearby alley.

The monster has black skin and is covered in thick dark blue furs from its head to the upper part of its body, feet, hands, and its tail. It has a face like a pig, but two tusks can be seen protruding on each side of its mouth. Its narrow eyes are red and glaring. It stands like a human. Even alone it aggressively attacks the humans around it.

The monster is called Malicious Hog. An BB-rank monster that could only be seen in the deep of the forest. It's surprising to see this monster going out from the forest. Regardless, there's no use wondering about it.

"Tsk knights! Stall it!"

"Dammit! We're trying!"

The Imperial Knights, who are the melee of the group, had a hard time stalling it because of its size. The monster stands at a height of two and a half meters. On top of that, it has an impressive power that can destroy a nearby wall made of bricks, with just one stroke of its hand.

Apart from its strength, its defense cannot be underestimated. Even the wind blades and water spheres they fired did nothing to the monster's defense.

One of the Imperial Knights was unlucky to survive when he was caught by the monster. The knight wiggles fiercely, trying to free himself from the monster's clutch. But to no avail. The monster was too strong. The monster immediately gobbled his head whole before throwing the headless body at an Imperial Mage who was preparing a spell.

Everyone present at the site looked at it with ashen faces. The mage hit by the thrown body immediately fainted. No one knows if he's alive or not.

The Lieutenant knitted his brows as he shouted, "Don't lose your focus! Prepare for a bigger attack!"

"Synchronise your spell and fire at once! Be sure to aim at its head!"

"Yes sir!"

While the remaining nine knights were distracting the monster, the mages at the back cast a spell in unison. All of them were pointing their wands at the head of the monster. After another more seconds, the tip of their wands lit up as the magical energies were gathering to form a huge fireball with a diameter of two meters.

"Now fire!" At the Lieutenant's command, the giant fireball flew at an unimaginable speed. Then it was followed by a huge explosion. The monster's head was engulfed in fire. It took another second before the monster sprawled on the ground with its head charred and was oozing with black smoke.

Before everyone could breathe in relief. They suddenly heard a pitter-patter sound from behind. When they glanced, they saw five knights clad in silver armor, coming towards them.

Upon seeing the Lieutenant, one of the five knights called out, "Lieutenant David Sir! We have finished blocking the main roads connecting the northern part to the rest of town. Every location is being monitored by members of the town guards and our colleagues!" A soldier made a report. As he was listening to his subordinate's report, his eyes carefully scanned around.

"It's good then. Tell the others to prepare for retreat and strengthen the defense at the borders. You will also send some squads to hunt down the monsters that have already entered our defense line."

"Yes sir!"

After stating his command, he told his men to retreat. The knights respectfully saluted before they left to relay the Lieutenant's order. The Lieutenant along with his men also retreated.

…

A few minutes had passed after Zennie and the others went on their carriage.

"Right Mr. Rossbert. Where is the evacuation center located? "

"In the mansion owned by the Dona family," Rossbert replied.

Zennie pondered for a second. "Are they connected to great noble families?" She asked.

"As far as I know, they're not Lady Zennie. They are just like the Rothsport family. Although they are not connected to great noble families, the Dona family is powerful in this area because almost 55 percent of the business in this area is owned by them."

"Then... does that mean their family is from the Merchant guild?"

"Their ancestors are."

"Oh~ That made sense."

"Besides that… the mayor of this area is a member of the Dona family."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

As they were talking, they were interrupted by the shout from outside.

"Monsters ahead of us!" The shout was from the coachman himself.

Upon hearing it, their eyebrows rose and their eyes widened.

What?!

Rossbert peeked outside through the window. He saw multiple monsters blocking the road. The monsters glanced at them with a menacing look.

"Tsk! I never thought they had already reached this part of the town!" Rossbert muttered with a sign of displeasure. "To the left!" He shouted at the coachman.

"A-Alright! Brace yourself!" The coachman warned before whipping the horses to turn to their right.

The wheels of the carriage made a long skid on the road when they suddenly veered to the right, throwing away the accumulated snow on the ground. They went through an alley with enough space for a carriage to pass.

...

At the gate of the Dona Family mansion, many people were gathering outside. Everyone was screaming and wanting to get in.

"Let us in!"

"Please! Let us in!"

"Hurry up!"

"Yes, just wait! Don't push! Everyone can come in! "

"Just calm down! The Dona family has already asked the imperial soldiers to defeat the monsters!" The guards were trying to calm the anxious crowd.

Although there were many people outside the gate, there were more people inside. Others could be seen hugging their body. Children and adults alike were trembling in fear and crying.

These people were the very citizens of Merc Town who managed to escape before the monster's siege.. They hid and sheltered themselves from the danger of monsters and the cold caused by winter.