Intermission (5)

[Accessing information on the specified entity.]

[Entity Name] Rock Pouch Bison (Adult)

[Distribution] A top predator living in groups in high mountain areas and regions abundant with rocks.

[Ecology] Although it is carnivorous, it does not have teeth. Instead, it breaks rocks with the hard hump on its forehead, swallows them, and stores them in a rock pouch connected to its esophagus. When it finds prey, it spits out the rocks, using them as projectiles to hunt. The bones of the prey hit by the flying rocks are crushed, making it easier for the Rock Pouch Bison to consume. The rocks stored in the rock pouch also serve as a replacement for teeth…(Read more)

A four-legged creature, with a forehead smooth and shiny like a polished stone, dragged its feet like an agitated buffalo. Its throat ominously convulsed, revealing a toothless mouth. The walls of its esophagus spread wide open, exposing a deep and dark passage.

I screamed in panic.

"Get away!"

A projectile shot out from the creature's mouth, piercing through the rain at a terrifying speed.

Crash!

The railing of the stone bridge was shattered as if hit by a cannonball, scattering debris everywhere, with a piece slicing across my cheek. One of the knights was knocked down by the impact and rolled on the ground. Someone's voice broke out in astonishment.

"I've never heard of a monster this strong—"

Thud, boom!

The horizontal projectile attacks from the ground were as powerful as cannonballs, gouging out the terrain and causing chaos. The donkeys panicked and scattered, causing the wagon to shake violently.

"Damn it."

Amidst the chaos, I held onto the wagon tightly, suppressing my nausea. Letters formed in front of my eyes.

[Usage] The hump on its forehead is extremely hard and difficult to penetrate. As for the rock pouch, although the internal walls are thin, they are highly elastic, making it suitable for use as a water container…(Read more)

[Weakness (1) / Gastric Acid] Since it lacks teeth for chewing, it compensates by secreting extremely strong gastric acid. If the acid refluxes, it can end up corroding its own esophagus or oral mucosa. Therefore, it sleeps standing up with its head resting against a rock and replenishes water by drinking from waterfalls or rainwater without lowering its posture.

This should be enough.

"Leo, the legs! Attack its legs to make it fall!"

In the suddenly intensified rain, only vague outlines could be distinguished, making it hard to identify specific features. Even if Leo's sword, which he had not unsheathed since leaving Sinistra, was lifted, it would be difficult to recognize it as the sword of the dead hero.

Responding quickly as if he had been waiting, Leonardo grabbed his greatsword and dashed forward like an arrow. The baron, who thought Leonardo was an unskilled 'brat', shouted in shock.

"Young master!"

Leonardo slid across the rain-slicked dirt path, passing between the legs of the four-legged beast. As he passed, he held his greatsword horizontally like a pole, tripping the beast as his sword, longer than the gap between its front legs, caught its legs, causing it to topple over.

Roar!

The beast, with its head buried in the ground, leaped in pain, and the leather covering its neck turned mottled and perforated, allowing air to pass through. The gastric acid was corroding its flesh. As this scene repeated multiple times, the knights who witnessed it shouted.

"Aim for the legs! Bring it down!"

As mud splashed, staining both beast and man a similar colour, I loaded a bolt into my crossbow. I fired a test shot, but it bounced off the beast's hump without leaving a scratch.

'In a different way, this one's even tougher!'

Some of them toppled over or collapsed onto the ground, writhing in pain from the refluxing gastric acid. In the process, the knights, trying to trip the monsters' legs, narrowly avoided being trampled themselves.

Strong winds accompanied the rain, causing the canvas covering the wagon to flap wildly. Occasionally, the waterlogged fabric, heavy with rain, lashed out painfully, but I pushed through the discomfort to read the text that had once again filled my vision.

[Weakness (2) / Vision] To protect against debris when breaking rocks with its hump, its eyelids are very thick and consist of three layers. Usually, it uses only two layers of eyelids, but during a charge, it closes the third eyelid as well. The blinking speed of the third eyelid is quite slow, so its vision is temporarily blocked right after a charge intended to crush rocks.

Roar!

The beast, resembling a buffalo, lowered its body and charged forward as if it were a projectile. With a thunderous noise, the corner of the stone bridge railing connecting the castle gates to the riverside collapsed.

Splash!

Debris poured through the gap created by the broken railing, sending a torrent of mud rushing onto the bridge. Unfortunately, the wave crashed against the side of the wagon, causing it to tilt sideways and collide forcefully with the opposite railing.

"Watch out!"

The wagon tilted, and as it leaned to the side, I quickly grabbed Leonardo's crossbow, preventing it from falling out. My crossbow, which I almost dropped while moving suddenly, was precariously caught and hugged tightly by Vittorio. Despite the chaos, Leonardo's gaze fixed precisely on me, and I waved my hand to signal that I was okay. 

As the buffalo-like beast fumbled on the ground, chewing on the crushed stones, its eyelids closed, hiding its eyes. In that moment of vulnerability, I took back the crossbow from Vittorio and reloaded a bolt.

Click, whoosh!

For a brief moment, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and the tip of the arrow glowed bright blue. The sharp point pierced through the soft skin covering the beast's side, which was softer than the hard hump on its forehead.

'Got it!'

While the arrow itself wouldn't deal much damage, it was coated with the venom of the red-feathered lizard I had discovered before coming to Rilke.

[Leo, Leo.]

[What is it?]

[This creature is venomous, and this seems to be its venom sac. What do you think? Does it look usable?]

[Ah, it definitely seems usable for you. Just wait. I'll take it all out for you.]

[You're so quick to respond…]

While Baron Roald and the knights were busy, I quietly called Leonardo over and we thoroughly searched the corpse. Although there was no blood, organs, or bones in their places, some bodies had venom sacs stuck beneath their skin, which was a fortunate find. I had thought the thick, oily venom might come in handy someday, but I never expected it to be needed so soon. As the beast, now sluggish from the neurotoxin, moved less decisively, Leonardo swiftly struck it down. While Leonardo and I silently coordinated our attacks, Baron Roald raised his voice as he confirmed the diminishing number of beasts.

"We retreat toward Rilke! Make sure the monsters don't cross into the village!"

The knights began to move back as they crossed the bridge. I kept coating arrows with the venom and shooting them, while behind me, Vittorio, clinging to the back of the wagon, struggled to calm the wildly excited donkeys and somehow urged the wagon forward. It was just when we had crossed about halfway over the bridge.

Crash!

"Get back! The bridge is collapsing!"

The projectiles expelled by the beasts battered the stone bridge from all sides, causing it to collapse, while the rushing water swept away the shattered stones. Amidst the chaotic tremors beneath our feet, this combined impact dealt the final blow to the bridge. The rounded arch in the middle of the bridge began to cave in.

Vittorio gasped and yanked on the reins, and I momentarily halted my supportive fire, pressing close behind the boy and pulling the reins as hard as I could. The wagon made a sharp turn. This time, it skidded toward the side opposite where the railing had collapsed, causing one wheel to slip off the edge of the bridge and tilt precariously.

'Is this a bumper car? Stop crashing!'

The rough collision ripped the canvas covering the wagon, clearing my line of sight. The middle of the bridge had a significant gap, and in this situation, it felt as distant as a canyon. On the other side of the broken bridge, Baron Roald and the knights appeared to be soaking wet, looking somewhat safe despite their condition. The only ones unable to cross the bridge were Vittorio, myself, and Leonardo in this wagon. How had we ended up so perfectly divided?

Staring blankly, our gazes met briefly, but the donkeys started to panic, and the wheel that had slipped over the edge jolted back up. The wagon turned halfway around, turning its back to Rilke, and began to slide down the sloped bridge, gradually picking up speed.

"Ahhh, Leo!"

As the wagon slid off the bridge, I could no longer see Baron Roald's head. I faintly heard cries of "El Dante! El Dante!" in the rain-soaked air.

The wheels caught on a rock, and the wagon jolted violently, creating a dizzying sensation of weightlessness. In a short span of time, these moments of impending danger piled up, triggering a primal fear and survival instinct. While I hugged Vittorio tightly and screamed, a dark shadow suddenly leapt up and settled onto the driver's seat. Leonardo brushed his drenched bangs out of his eyes.

"I've cut the tendons of the remaining monsters. They won't die immediately, but their speed should slow down!"

The wagon raced down the forest path in a frenzy. Behind us, we could hear the sounds of the beasts crashing through trees. The more we ran and the deeper we went into the forest, the fainter those sounds became.

After quite a while had passed, with the rain now a mere drizzle, we finally stopped the wagon at what felt like a safe spot. The exhausted donkeys panted heavily while we looked at each other in disarray. Behind us lay a dense thicket of bushes, more tangled than a maze.

So…

"Are we stranded?"