Flash!
Immediately after entering the forward base through the teleport gate.
“Shhh!”
“Ugh?!”
“Keep it down!”
I, along with the hero party—the ‘Uncles’—who had passed through the teleport gate, simultaneously silenced ourselves, lowered our posture, and took cover behind the walls.
“…Damn it.”
I surveyed the surroundings and groaned.
Creak, creak, creak…
The forward base had already been overrun by the scarecrow horde.
On the ramparts, once firmly guarded by human soldiers, a group of scarecrows with grotesquely long limbs flailed about.
Each one had a human bound to its body.
As the scarecrows moved, the bound humans also moved their limbs.
Saliva dripped from their open mouths, and their hazy eyes were unfocused. They were all unconscious.
Lukas broke out in a cold sweat as he watched the soldiers dangling from the scarecrows.
“Are they… captured?”
“Yes. This is the scarecrow legion.”
They use mental status effects like fear and confusion to break down their opponents’ minds.
Then, they kidnap their victims, attach them to their bodies, and use them as hosts.
When they are just scarecrows, they are nothing but straw men who can only inflict fear and confusion, but once they connect a victim to themselves… they can steal and use the victim’s abilities.
“Were they all taken?”
I quickly scanned the interior of the forward base. Were they all defeated by those things?
“That can’t be the case.”
Then, a weary and weak voice was heard.
Looking over, I saw a white-bearded old man leaning on a staff and limping towards us.
“Lord Diermuidin! You’re safe!”
“Safe? I’ve lost all face.”
Indeed, the Archmage was covered in blood. His robe, which was always neatly pressed, and even his beloved long beard were splattered with blood.
Diermuidin came to us and collapsed, letting out a long sigh.
“They were all taken in an instant. Crown Prince Mikhail was the first to fall, and the fear spread like a wave… Everyone was captured one by one, and it ended up like this.”
“That can’t be…”
“All my subordinates were also captured. I tried to protect them, but when the number of those who had their bodies taken increased, there was no hope.”
Immediately after, Diermuidin looked at me with a sullen gaze.
“You’re looking at me like, ‘Why couldn’t you stop it when I was here?’ aren’t you?”
I was taken aback. No, I didn’t exactly say it like that…
“I’m reluctant to admit it myself, but most of my magic is not the kind that helps allies. It’s focused on annihilating enemies.”
Diermuidin frowned as he watched the scarecrows creaking and moving around.
“I myself am not affected by such shallow tricks, but I couldn’t take care of everyone else. In this situation, I’m not very helpful.”
In short, this old man has low utility and is all-in on damage output.
No, he doesn’t look like that! Just by looking at him, you’d think there’s nothing he couldn’t do with magic!
‘Well, in the game, he had various attack spells, but he didn’t have any ally buff or enemy debuff abilities…’
Anyway, Diermuidin admitted that there wasn’t much he could do in this situation.
Then, everyone naturally looked at me.
I had provided the strategies for all the monsters that had appeared so far. It was reasonable for them to believe that I would have a solution for this situation.
“…”
However, if the situation has escalated this far, it’s not easy for me either.
“…When facing the scarecrow legion, the best way is, of course, not to have your body taken by them in the first place.”
I sighed.
“But since things have come to this, we need to come up with a plan for when our bodies are taken by them.”
“Do you have a plan, my lord?”
“When a victim is captured by a scarecrow monster, there are three options.”
I reluctantly started explaining.
“First, escape on your own.”
By gathering your own mental strength, you can break free from the scarecrow’s fear and escape.
Of course, if you had that level of mental strength, you wouldn’t have been captured like this in the first place. The probability is low, and it’s unrealistic.
‘It would be nice if I could help…’
From the moment they are captured, they are considered part of the scarecrow, so our buffs or healing don’t work on them.
My [Unbreakable Commander] doesn’t work either. It’s confirmed as all the victims within the passive range are still unconscious and dangling from the scarecrows.
“Second, precisely strike only the scarecrow to rescue the victim.”
Everyone who heard my words looked disgusted.
The scarecrow and the victim are currently very close to each other. Moreover, they are not standing still, they are moving.
They haven’t detected us yet, so they are just wandering around, but as soon as they notice our presence, they will rampage and attack.
Precision strikes in this situation?
‘It’s tough even for Damian.’
More than anything, Damian hasn’t joined us yet…!
It’s a surprise attack, so reinforcements are delayed. Only a few troops, including me and the ‘Uncles,’ arrived quickly.
“…What is the third option?”
When I didn’t mention the last option, Lukas cautiously asked.
I closed and opened my mouth a few times, then reluctantly spat it out.
“Give up on the victim.”
“… !”
“Kill them along with the scarecrow. That’s the most realistic solution.”
A chilling silence descended.
Everyone around looked around with pale faces.
The heroes and soldiers who were guarding the forward base were all familiar faces. They were comrades who had gone through life and death together many times.
But this is reality. From the moment their bodies are stolen by the scarecrows, killing them with our own hands before they suffer more terrible pain is, in a way, the most humane thing to do.
“…”
Diermuidin stared at me intently. I also faced the old mage.
– Sacrifice lives.
He had said that back then. To maintain the front line, if we had to increase the number of graves of our allies, then so be it.
Even now, with his subordinates captured, is he of the same mind?
“…And the method we will choose is.”
I glared at the scarecrows again and said.
“The second method.”
“… !”
Relief spread across everyone’s faces. I nodded.
“We’ll wait for Damian. It’ll be a bit of a strain, but with Damian’s abilities, it’s definitely possible.”
Without touching the victims, we will take down only the scarecrows with precision strikes.
Of course, it’s impossible in a normal sense.
But with Damian’s eyes.
Damian, who has the best eyes on this front, no, in this world. He can perform this kind of miracle every day.
“We haven’t been detected yet. When Damian arrives, he’ll snipe the scarecrows’ heads with his clairvoyance.”
I looked back at the arriving reinforcements and nodded.
“So until then, keep quiet…”
And, at that moment.
Whoosh-
Thud-!
One of the scarecrows on the ramparts jumped up and landed heavily in front of us.
“… !”
In the dust that momentarily rose, I could see crimson magic blazing fiercely.
I trembled and reluctantly muttered.
“…Mikhail.”
When the dust settled, his appearance was revealed.
The boy knight was hanging in the center of the particularly large scarecrow’s body.
Tears streamed down from his closed eyes, and unintelligible mumbling continued to flow from his mouth.
“It’s… because of me… everyone… prove… the highest…”
“Doesn’t that guy seem to get tied up a lot lately? He’s going to get traumatized.”
In front of me, who was grumbling, everyone drew their weapons and prepared for battle.
It was because they sensed that the aura of Mikhail, who was standing right in front of us, and the enemy monster that had captured him, was unusual.
“Because of me… I killed… kill… killed…”
“Hey, Mikhail! Snap out of it-”
Before I could shout anything,
Thwack-!
The scarecrow’s long leg kicked off the ground, and then, with a terrifying crimson magic light emanating from its back, it charged towards us.
“He stole Mikhail’s abilities! Don’t let your guard down!”
I didn’t even need to shout. The five ‘Uncles’ who had rushed forward didn’t let their guard down and deployed a defensive formation with all their might.
And,
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!
They were blown away.
The scarecrow’s fingertips transformed into a sword, and a sphere of crimson magic formed on the sword—it slammed down on us like a bombardment.
With a single blow, everyone was thrown backward. Even Lukas had to roll on the ground to use a breakfall to mitigate the impact.
“Kuh…?!”
The only one who held his ground was Thorkel, who had raised his great shield, but even Thorkel had to take a few steps back.
‘What kind of power is that?’
I shuddered.
The enemy monster that had stolen the power of our ally hero was terrifyingly strong.
Mikhail is one of the top-tier SSR heroes, with both magical and swordsmanship aptitudes close to MAX [SSR heroes are the highest tier of heroes in the game].
Moreover, the scarecrow that stole his power is not affected by the negative traits ‘Arrogance’ or ‘Clumsy,’ which originally gave Mikhail a disadvantage.
In other words, it means that the scarecrow can use the full potential that the original Mikhail could not use—and that makes it disgustingly strong!
‘Still, it won’t be able to use Mikhail’s greatest strength, his flying cavalry ability…’
No sooner had I thought that.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The scarecrows around us, who had not yet attached victims, twisted and transformed their bodies, then clung to the lower half of this scarecrow.
Soon, the lower half of the scarecrow transformed into something like a giant winged beast.
It was clearly a griffin.
The heroes, who had barely recovered from the shock of the first attack, gaped. I was dumbfounded and muttered.
“This is insane, really.”
The scarecrow, having fully spread its wings, once again coated its sword with magical light and shot towards us at a terrifying speed.
If we get hit by that, we’ll die!
Lukas quickly grabbed me and rolled to the side, and all the heroes and soldiers quickly scattered to avoid the attack range.
The problem was,
The gate was where the tip of his sword was pointing.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG-!
It was devastated.
The three gates connecting Crossroads and the forward base were completely destroyed. Barracks and buildings collapsed one after another, and the forward base was filled with a hazy dust.
In the dust cloud, I shuddered.
“He was aiming for the gates from the start, that bastard…”
Then,
Creak. Creak. Creeeeak.
A bizarre sound, like wood rubbing against wood, echoed from within the dust cloud.
I soon realized what this sound was.
It was laughter.
The laughter of that monster.
《I heard from the King of Kings, human commander.》
Creak. Creak. Creak.
The giant scarecrow walked out of the dust cloud, creaking.
With Mikhail hanging on its chest, the straw bag covering the scarecrow’s face ripped open, and a chilling voice flowed out.
《They say your mind is stronger than anyone else’s. That my fear won’t work on you.》
“…”
《But that’s just wishful thinking. True fear doesn’t come from illusions that manipulate the mind.》
The gates were destroyed.
Damian’s reinforcements would be further delayed.
Desperately racking my brain about what to do in this situation, I played along with the enemy commander to buy time.
“Oh, really? Then where does that true fear come from?”
《Reality.》
Creak. Creak. Creak.
The scarecrow laughed.
《When you realize there’s nowhere to run. When you realize there are no reinforcements coming to help. When you realize you’ve run out of options.》
“…”
《When the people you cherish die before your eyes. When you realize you can’t save anything, when you realize you are nothing more than a handful of straw…》
Why is it?
My passive skill [Unbreakable Commander] is definitely working, but…
《In this cruel ‘reality,’ true fear begins.》
I… felt a chill run down my spine.
《Now, answer me, human. Do you feel fear too?》
The commander of the scarecrow legion, ‘The Oldest Scarecrow’.
He flashed his crimson eyes, stolen from Mikhail, and smiled chillingly.
《It will be so.》