A Core Ship From The Start

“Boom boom boom!!!”

The storm was pouring down, amidst echoing thunder and lightning, the world was in total darkness. On the narrow path, a carriage was galloping onwards. The lanterns hanging outside the carriage were almost useless in such conditions, barely shedding light on the road ahead, only allowing a dim view of a small area.

The soldiers who were supposed to protect the carriage had basically scattered and escaped, only Sir Kado was still riding his horse along with them. An elf scout sat in the driver’s seat, his hands tightly gripping the reins —— if it wasn’t for the elf’s keen senses and night vision ability, the carriage might have fallen off a cliff long ago.

Inside the carriage, Elisa and her mother looked pale. With the carriage swaying left and right, the howling wind outside, thunder and lightning, and the downpour, there was hardly anything to feel at ease about. Elisa’s mother held her hands together, muttering prayers to some deity, while Elisa clenched her fists, anxiously looking out the window.

On the contrary, Miss Ogis seemed quite calm. She sat opposite Elisa and her mother, placing her suitcase on her lap with a book on top —— it was a fairy tale book that Miss Ogis had taken from the castle library before leaving. Even under the dim light of the oil lamp, she was engrossed in reading.

“Buzz———————”

However, at that moment, everyone suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the storm. The sound was initially very faint, almost making people doubt their hearing. But soon, the sound grew louder and louder, like swarms of mosquitoes rushing at them.

And now, the screaming of the Elf Scout also rang from outside the carriage.

“Watch out, it’s rotflies!!!”

Simultaneously, a dark shadow descended from the sky.

These were monsters the size of a person, with two pairs of wings, resembling enlarged flies and bugs combined. They lunged from the storm, aiming straight at the carriage. Facing the attack of the rotfly swarm, everyone was instantly tense. The aged knight held the reins with one hand, drew his longsword with the other, and furiously slashed at the swooping rotflies, instantly cutting a lunging rotfly in half.

On the other side, the elf was gripping the reins tightly, swaying the carriage left and right, trying to escape the pursuit of the swarm of rotflies. Rotflies may not be very strong, but in large groups, they can be very troublesome. If they can’t get away, their party might be buried here!

“Lord Kado, get on the carriage quickly!”

Hearing the elf’s shout, the aged knight didn’t hesitate, drove his horse close to the carriage, then lept into the front of the carriage. Almost at the same time, several rotflies shot down, knocking the knight’s warhorse to the ground and ruthlessly tearing at its flesh, turning it into a corpse.

The strong smell of blood seemed to further provoke the ferocity of the rotflies, and they sped up once again, almost surrounding the carriage. The old knight swung his longsword, forcing back all the rotflies that tried to approach. Despite this, many rotflies began to attack the carriage, their claws and sharp mandibles tearing and pounding at the carriage. At this point, Elisa and her mother, inside the carriage, were shivering and huddled together.

“Really… what a nuisance!”

After once again managing to shake off the rotflies with the carriage, the Elf Scout couldn’t help but start to complain.

“Hey, you there, wasn’t the Black Knight supposed to protect us? Hurry up and help us, or else we’re all going to die!!”

Though the elf scout didn’t know much about Ogis’s abilities, she had seen Ogis deal with a Plague Apostle in the past and knew that the silent girl possessed considerable power. If she didn’t lend a hand soon, everyone might die!

“Miss Ogis!”

Hearing the elf scout’s scream, Elisa also hurriedly looked at Ogis, who was still flipping her book.

“Please help us, if this continues, we will all die!”

“………”

In response to Elisa’s request, Ogis just raised her head, stared at her, and then nodded slightly.

The next moment, a miracle happened.

The swarm of rotflies surrounding the carriage suddenly shattered, each rotfly as if cut by the invisible blade, split into countless pieces. In the blink of an eye, the once mighty rotfly army completely dissipated, vanishing into the storm and the dark night.

For a while, it was quiet again, with only the sound of horse hooves and the creaking of the carriage mixed with the storm. The elf scout and the old knight who had narrowly escaped also breathed a sigh of relief.

“Phew… it seems that the Black Knight is quite reliable. I thought… ”

“———!!!”

However, before the Elf Scout could finish speaking, a monstrous figure suddenly fell from the sky, landing right in front of their carriage. It was a three-meter tall behemoth, body swollen and covered with mutated engorged muscles and veins, two terrifyingly large claws protruding from its hands. Its jaws wide open, a long tongue slithered out like a restless viper.

“Chaos Spawn!!!”

Upon seeing the creature, both the Elf Scout and the elderly knight turned deathly pale. This terrifying creature— so monstrous in appearance that even they had only ever heard rumours of its existence. Simply put, when a follower of the Evil God is unable to withstand the chaos wrought upon them by their deity, their body and mind crumble, transforming into a vicious monster devoid of self-awareness. Armed with tremendous strength and completely reckless in battle, these creatures are feared by all; every fighter’s worst nightmare.

And now, one was standing directly in front of their speeding carriage – about to crash into it!

“Ugh………..!!!”

The Elf Scout gritted her teeth and yanked the reins, struggling to slow the horses, but it was too late. The Chaos Spawn, howling, was already lunging at them!

As this horrifying creature was about to completely crush their carriage, the Chaos Spawn’s gigantic form suddenly trembled in midair and came to a complete halt. Then, a dazzling bolt of lightning cut through the drizzle, thundering straight towards the Chaos Spawn!!!

“Boom!!!!!”

The Thunder Warhammer impacted directly with the Chaos Spawn’s chest, sending it hurtling away. At the same time, Duanmu Huai descended from the sky like a divine soldier. His chainsaw sword in his hand roared with a sound rivaling that of thunder, and he slashed at the Chaos Spawn.

But the Chaos Spawn was a formidable adversary. Duanmu Huai had barely gotten close when its claw suddenly extended, whipping towards Duanmu Huai like a long lash. In response to the Chaos Spawn’s attack, Duanmu Huai could only retreat after retracting his sword, but he still wasn’t fast enough. The Chaos Spawn’s whip-like attack struck him, knocking him back several steps.

Ah, tackling such a creature head-on was a mistake indeed. My bad.

Looking at the “LV30” above the Chaos Spawn’s head, Duanmu Huai quietly set aside his initial plan of storming in to fight it, but had another idea. Accompanying this change of tactics, a card appeared once again before Duanmu Huai, morphing into a frail spirit in a tattered black dress. Its elongated, skeletal arms raised menacingly, the spirit shrieked and lunged at the Chaos Spawn. The Chaos Spawn, refusing to be outdone, clambered to its feet and took a swipe at the menacing spirit. The spirit let out a cry midair and then vanished, while the Chaos Spawn stilled abruptly, afterward toppling over, lifeless.

“Ghost (Bronze)”

“Cost:2”

“Attack:2”

“Defense:2”

“Critical Hit”

In terms of combat prowess, the Ghost was not particularly powerful. However, its “Critical Hit” ability posed a significant threat on the battlefield. Especially for creatures like the Chaos Spawn, completely devoid of strategic thinking, facing an ability that could kill with just a touch— “Critical Hit”— it was bound for only one fate: death.

After dispatching the Chaos Spawn, Duanmu Huai caught up with the Elf Scout and the others. Seeing he was unharmed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. However, trouble was inevitably on its way.

“We won’t be able to outrun them at this rate.”

The Elf Scout lamented bitterly, pointing at their map. Initially, she had planned to retreat to her base, but it seemed impossible now.

“Clearly, the Filthy God’s army has invaded this area. Leaving without attracting their attention is highly unlikely.”

“The number advantage makes it really troublesome,” Duanmu Huai concurred. They were terribly outnumbered, and if the followers of the Filthy God were hell-bent on capturing them, they were no match for those followers — as he had mentioned before, the Filthy God has no scruples when it comes to attracting followers. There are no requirements or bottom lines. If it wished, the God could convert the entire population of a territory into followers. Just the thought of it induced a headache.

However, not all hope was lost.

“In that case, let’s walk a path they wouldn’t dare to follow.”

“Where could that be?”

“Of course there is.”

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai gazed at the map before him.

“For instance… a place where no life would dare enter.”