A full regiment of 200 knights set out from Aspiration City.
Their mission this time was to clear out the magical beasts within the territory of Aspiration City in preparation for the upcoming Abyssal Beast Tide.
Todd, the vice-captain of Aspiration City's knight order, still vividly remembered the beast tide that had occurred five years ago.
"Vice-Captain Todd, why are we clearing out the magical beasts now?"
A young knight in gleaming light armor asked as he followed beside Todd. As he spoke, he exhaled a puff of white breath — this damned weather was freezing.
The other knights also looked over with puzzled expressions.
Normally, they would depart just before the heavy snows of winter melted. This time, however, it was still the middle of winter — the snow hadn't even begun to fall yet.
Todd glanced at the young knight, frowning slightly. He remembered this one — a son from a baron's household in Aspiration City.
He always found it troublesome when nobles forced their sons into the knight regiment. It made managing things much more difficult.
After a brief pause, Todd chose not to explain. Aside from the council members in the assembly hall, only the higher-ups in the knight regiment knew about the Abyssal Beast Tide.
To avoid unnecessary panic, the lord had issued a gag order.
"I'll say it again — our mission this time is to kill magical beasts, not to drive them away."
"This operation is far more dangerous than those in previous years. No one is allowed to let their guard down. If you die to a magical beast, no one will take responsibility for you — not even if you're a noble!"
Todd reminded them once again, though he had already repeated it many times along the way.
Of course, the rewards this time would be much greater than usual. Magical beasts carried many valuable resources — the nobles silently added this part in their hearts.
Some of them even thought this was simply a large-scale magical beast hunt. They'd hunted wild animals many times before, but this would be their first time hunting magical beasts.
Besides, with a full 200 armored Rhyhorn-mounted knights, they didn't think the beasts that had wandered into Aspiration City's territory posed any real threat.
Their families had sent them to join the regiment specifically to earn some military merit.
Each magical beast slain not only provided valuable spoils, but also significant military merit — a rare opportunity in the usually peaceful Aspiration City.
If not for this, the nobles would never have gone out with the knight regiment in such cold weather.
This time, I'll prove myself in this magical beast hunt.
Among the knights was Sir Berrin, whose father was a Baron and the leader of the Aspiration City Knight Order.
Inspired by his father, Berrin had long set his sights on becoming the order's leader himself. For him, accumulating enough military merit was vital.
He saw this operation as a golden opportunity to climb the ranks within the knight regiment.
"Everyone, stay alert. We're approaching the target village."
"This time, our target is a group of Ratatas, including one leader Raticate."
"When the time comes, we'll completely surround the village. Make sure not a single Ratata escapes."
As they advanced, a Starly suddenly swooped down from the sky, a cloth tied to its claw — a message from the scouts ahead.
Upon hearing that the hunt was about to begin, the knights' expressions turned grim. Under Todd's command, the regiment split into two forces to surround the village.
It was a small village not far from Aspiration City, with only about a dozen permanent residents.
At that moment, the nearby orchard was swarming with purple Ratatas. The sparse berry trees had been knocked down, and the place was a mess.
Unable to find enough food, the Ratatas had resorted to eating anything — weeds, tree bark, even the trees themselves.
If any humans hiding in underground cellars accidentally exposed themselves, they too would become food.
Food, territory, and survival resources — these have always been the core conflict between humans and magical beasts, a struggle as old as time itself.
Squeak, squeak, squeak.
The Ratatas were completely unaware of the danger approaching.
By the time they realized something was wrong, it was already too late — all they could hear was the whistling of arrows through the air.
Countless arrows suddenly rained down from the outskirts of the village, blanketing the area like a deadly storm!
Compared to magical attacks, humans were far more skilled at using weapons.
Though magical beasts had tough hides, unless they were stone- or steel-type creatures with armor-like bodies, most couldn't withstand iron-tipped arrows.
With the sound of arrows tearing through flesh, Ratata after Ratata was pinned to the ground.
But magical beasts were not like ordinary animals — aside from their unique powers, they also had incredible vitality.
Even with arrows embedded in their bodies, many Ratatas could still move. They scrambled through the orchard, driven by survival instincts, even if they didn't fully understand what was happening.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Another volley of arrows followed.
Once the village fell silent, the Rhyhorn mounts charged in.
Along the way, they trampled over Ratatas that were still writhing with arrows sticking out of them, leaving trails of blood in their wake. Screams echoed through the air as the massacre continued.
Now came the time to harvest military merit.
Outside the village, the knights — fully armed — licked their dry lips in excitement.
With Todd's order to enter the village, the knights drew their swords and quickly rushed in, precisely finishing off any Ratata that had lost the ability to resist. Each kill earned them more merit.
Some Ratatas attempted desperate counterattacks, but they couldn't even pierce the knights' armor — especially since each knight had a magical beast companion equipped with battle gear at their side.
This night was destined to be a bloody one.
And with it, the most brutal side of the human-magical beast survival war was revealed — when it came to survival, neither side could ever truly compromise.
(End of Chapter)
(TN: The raws says the Knight Order but I changed it to Knight regiment as it seems too overpowered to send an entire order just for one village when there can be other villages in need of help too.)