Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer
Chapter 75: Gluttonous Commander (3)

Chapter 75: Gluttonous Commander (3)

Without wasting time, Akila rushed to the outskirts of the settlement, and sure enough, hundreds of soldiers were charging towards them.

The tribe, accustomed to facing threats from monsters and rival tribes, had cleared part of the forest in advance. This made it easy to spot and handle the incoming intruders.

However, there was a problem. Many of the traps and watch towers strategically set by the tribe around the clearing to hinder the enemy had already been triggered or wrecked by Adrian in his possessed state.

The tribe had been focused on rebuilding the main settlement first and hence forgot to re-arm the traps, giving the Nexarian army a free run of the clearing.

Despite being aware that the enemies were approaching, the tribe had limited options other than confronting them directly. However, with the Nexarians having more numbers, winning the fight would be challenging, and the tribe could suffer significant losses.

It wouldn’t be a big issue if the tribe had their beasts with them. Unfortunately, it seemed the enemy knew about it and took advantage by using spicy smoke, making the beasts go wild.

"They knew about our weakened state and chose to capitalise on our situation. The question is... how did they know?" Akila clicked his tongue, then looked at Adrian. "We’ll hold them off. You go get the Matriarch!"

Adrian nodded and left. He wasn’t all that keen on fighting the Nexarians, either. After all, he was a somewhat well-known hero once. The soldiers might recognise him, and if even one of them survived, the chances were that they could inform the Church about it.

"With this collar on, they might reckon I’ve been enslaved and report it to the Church, thinking they’re doing good," Adrian muttered as he sprinted through the chaos towards the council’s tent.

"But once the Church learns I’m alive, they’ll send more assassins to finish me off or do something even worse, and I can’t let that happen. It’s better to sit this one out."

At the same time, the tribals, alongside Akila, were sharing their thoughts with him. The Nexarians hadn’t dared cross the forest before, but this time, they did so without any injuries from what the tribe could see.

That, along with Adrian’s recent visit to the forest and the chaos he caused, raised suspicions. They wondered if Adrian intentionally weakened their defences and if he had collaborated with the outsiders since the beginning.

It could be true, and Akila had considered that possibility too. The way things happened was too sudden to be just coincidence, making him think that someone might be pulling the strings, like a puppeteer.

But, unlike others in the tribe, Akila knew that Adrian wasn’t the only one who could do something like this. His mother, the Shaman, was another possibility. After all, she had sold the tribe once before, and no one was stopping her from doing it again.

However, Akila decided to think about the possible conspirators later. Right now, they had to focus on defeating the approaching army.

"Shula, gather as many escaped beasts as possible and flank the enemy," Akila instructed. "If nothing works, get the unclaimed slaves and use them as meat shields to buy some time for us."

"...are you sure?" Shula, the tribe’s best hunter, inquired.

Using the slave in that way was a cowardly move, and no Banur tribesmen would want to be called a coward. However, the situation was desperate, and they couldn’t worry about honour in times of war.

Akila didn’t like the idea either, but they needed time to save the children and get them to safety. Without the traps, there was nothing they could do to slow down the army.

So, Akila thought placing the slaves before the army would delay them because even a heartless army would hesitate before harming their own people.

Such a trick would usually work against the army. However, it would do nothing in front of a cruel commander like Malachi. When he spotted the slaves in ragged army uniforms being rounded up through his binoculars, he instantly understood the tribes’ plan.

Puffing on his cigar, Malachi yanked a sniper rifle from a soldier who stayed back, aiming it at Akila’s head, his finger itching to press the trigger.

But instead of aiming at Akila, Malachi shifted his target to one of the captured Nexarian soldiers and blasted his head open. The soldier’s head popped open like a pressurised soda can, blood spilling everywhere.

"Hm... I still got it," he said with a smirk as the tribe panicked and began pushing the slaves back.

Malachi knew the Banur tribe had a unique ability that turned their skin as tough as the beasts they killed for fun. It also made them resistant to basic modern weaponry.

As such, the bullets could cause them pain, but even a sniper rifle’s bullet wasn’t lethal. That’s why he chose to kill the soldier instead of Akila.

Satisfied with his performance, Malachi returned the rifle to the soldier before taking out his rapier and casually walking towards the battlefield.

"Take out the hostages if those savages bring them out again," he muttered, walking away, leaving a bewildered soldier behind.

The soldier was torn, unsure of what to do. If he disobeyed the order, Malachi would kill him. But if he followed through and killed the hostages they were meant to protect and got found out, then he would face execution either way.

"Please don’t bring them out..." the soldier prayed and aimed the weapon back at the tribe.

Meanwhile, the Nexarians kept charging towards the settlement. After recovering from the initial attack, the tribespeople took up arms and began firing arrows at the intruders.

Because there were so many soldiers packed closely together, the tribals didn’t have to aim carefully with their arrows. They just kept shooting, relying on their instincts and a rough location of their targets to hit them.

The headcount of the army was reduced by a tenth in the first barrage of arrows, leaving a little over two hundred and seventy men alive.

The soldiers understood their mistake and spread out. Though it slowed down the arrows from the settlement, they were still getting hurt as there was no cover.

But they couldn’t turn back, not with Malachi closing in from behind. He struck down anyone who hesitated, leaving the soldiers with no choice but to press forward.