Chapter 208 - 6th Wave
The convoy was hit quick, and it was hit hard.
The golden beam cut right through the middle, killing more than one-third of the Sloth soldiers meant as the reinforcements for the first line of defense.
"RAAAA...!"
The short jawed wolf, Cinnamon was howling over the loss of another one of herrades, Plum.
Including Cinnamon, there were only three shadow fangs left - four, including Arion, who was with their master, Mary, flying high in the sky on the griffin''s back to gather intel.
"This is the worst..."
Shanks shook his head while observing the reorganizing convoy, returning from checking up on his friends.
Thankfully, Uresha, Lairs, and Rotte were all okay - although very shaken.
Traveling at the back of the convoy they found themselves surrounded by scared young recruits looking for moral support in their elders, which honestly made Shanks relived.
"...why was it shot right at the beginning?"
Mika asked in a dispirited voice as soon as the rat-faced man returned to the front.
"It seems that it''s the worst-case scenario."
Shanks shook his head, making a sour expression.
"It''s not an anomaly that follows a schedule, although that was always just wishful thinking on our side."
He sighed heavily and massaged his forehead.
"It looks like this is a straight-up long-range attack, and what''s worse, that something that is shooting it is moving around in a mostly straight line - right at us. And is getting closer. At least that''s what Sophia skill is suggesting... Alright! Is everyone ready? We need to at least reach the final outpost of the second line before the first line or we might get caught in our own artillery fire! That would be the dumbest way to die! Move out!"
He groaned and then looked back at the shrunk convoy and shouted amand.
...
...
"THE DEFENSE-ORIENTED ONES ARE LEADING! EVEN MAXIMUM OUTPUT IS DOING SHIT TO THEM!"
"SCREW THIS! LET THEM PASS! ARTILLERY WILL TAKE CARE OF THEM! WE''LL NAIL THE REST FROM THE BACK!"
The Sloth soldiers'' shouts were echoing through the hellscape of the frontline''s first defense line.
Tens of titan-ss monsters from the 6th wave were pushing forward relentlessly as if something was herding them forward through the Sloths'' territory.
Although tens of enemies might not sound much at first - their size alone could more than make up for their numbers - even the adults could barely reach above the ankles of the smallest one.
And all of them were attacking at once in something akin to a formation focused on the spot with the least amount of Sloth soldiers - the very same spot where the golden beam has passed, annihting every human in its path.
It was a bothersome tactic the beasts have picked up since the previous wave and seemed like they greatly liked it.
The hurriedly deployed reinforcements weren''t nearly enough to repel the titan-ss monsters offensive and had to fall back, breaking the line just to not get trampled as the towering giants with seemingly imprable skin passed by.
Some of them were humanoid types, some were beast types, but what they all had inmon was that they all looked like mutated beasts straight out of nightmares - with arms, heads, teeth, and ws sticking out from ces where they didn''t belong.
The one on the very front, with the lower body of a bull and the upper body humanly enough to be called a man, had a third hand sticking straight out from its chest that had a bloodshot golden eye in the middle of its open palm.
Said eye was necessary for it to look around, considering that the monster had rows of yellow teeth lined up in its eye sockets that didn''t seem too useful.
"€±÷￥￡±¤?$]`<>%|?}￡¤"
The monster roared closing its middle hand, protecting its eye from harm.
"@$&?÷¤??￡￥￡??¤?"
Other titan-ss monsters responded and rushed head-first into the second line of defense that stretched for miles and was the ce where beasts like them never left alive, pelted with the artillery fire.
But before that could even happen...
"BASTARDS!"
<em>*SMASH*</em>
The ashen-haired girl came crashing down from the sky and kneeled the half-bull titan square in the face, causing its forehead to cave in.
"±¤^±`~￥€±￡€"
The monster roared inhumanly and fall to his side, kicking its massive legs in pain and crushing the Sloth soldiers who were too slow to act - the beast was injured but still very much alive and even more dangerous than before.
"TSK!"
Mika spat to the side and clenched her trembling fist.
It was almost her full-force attack.
It had an effect, but not to the extent she hoped for.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! LET THEM PASS!"
The soldiers were shouting and waving at her but the girl''s body was glowing intensely crimson with hints of white - which was proof enough that she was in her berserk state and wasn''t really paying any attention to anyone else other than her opponent.
"How about this?!"
She rushed at the rampaging titan blinded by pain and her clenched fist begun glowing with even more light on top of the ones active before.
"DIE, YOU EVIL MONSTER!"
She roared just in case so that Justice''s Wrath exclusive skill would activate properly.
<em>*SMASH*</em>
<em>*ssh*</em>
And sure enough, this time the bull-monster''s skull didn''t resist and got squashed like a grape under the mighty justice''s punch, spilling blood and gray matter everywhere.
Its eye on the palm of its middle hand became bloodshot and its pupil went inside its socket as it shed the white.
"Dear system...! That was one of the strongest defense types we ever recorded, wasn''t it...?"
One of the soldiers gasped as they all stood there in silence forgetting about the casualties they''ve suffered.
Killing a titan-ss monster like that should be only possible while using a concentrated artillery fire, but here, a single human has done it right in front of their eyes.
"¤??^<?±€￡÷"
Even the other titan-ss stopped in their tracks, staring at their dead brethren in disbelief.
"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT, YOU WEAKLINGS?! COME AT ME!"
The girl in a full berserk state shouted and charged at the next closest monster.
<em>*CRUSH*</em>
<em>*RIIIIIP*</em>
This time the punch not only caused a cave-in but straight up blew a gaping hole in the chest of a humanoid type with additional heads instead of shoulders, that had arms growing out of their opened jaws.
"AND I WAS AFRAID OF YOU! AHAHA! COME AND GET M-"
<em>*STOMP*</em>
Theughing Mika blinded by the bloodlust missed the foot of a spider-like titan-ss monster that stomped on her with its enormous limb.