What Do You Wish For With Murky Eyes: Record of Highserk War - Chapter 67

Breathing heavily, Walm kicked away a kobold, and realized that the ground was shaking. At first he suspected it may be due to accumulated fatigue in the vestibular system, but Walm found that his body was still “normal” for now.

As he speculated about the possibility of surviving allies or magical remnants of monsters, Walm became convinced that the source was a crawling vibration. Finally, it approached within his field of vision. Scattering debris and raising a dust storm, it crushed the destroyed castle gate and headed straight for Walm.

Worm-like, with hardened skin and no visible eyes, and above all it was enormous. Walm knew its true identity.

“No way, a Tyrant Worm! A big one’s still left!!”

Information from the former adventurer Deborah’s family confirmed it as a monster that had invaded the empire’s territory along with the Flame Emperor Dragon. Despite being of A-rank, this monster boasted a higher level of danger. With a casual swing, it swept away the monsters surrounding Walm. The Tyrant Worm opened its head at the tip in five directions, entangling immobile monsters, lifting them up, and devouring them.

Splatters of pitiful monster blood and flesh rained down on the ground like a torrent.

“No mercy, huh?.”

It was a staggering display of destructive power and indiscriminate predation, but for Walm, it was a desirable turn of events. The leader of the rampage was lost, and some monsters were undoubtedly freed from its yoke.

The only issue was that Walm, too, seemed to be perceived as a highly attractive and desirable prey due to his magical power.

“Do I look like food?”

Dodging the approaching head while scraping the ground with wind attribute magic, Walm caused buildings to collapse with just the aftermath, and debris, which should have been heavy, scattered like projectiles.

Though its movements were sluggish, the extensive damage caused by its size was inevitable. It was impossible to get closer to the medical station. If that thing broke in, the immobile injured would be swallowed whole into its belly.

Walm embodied «Ignis Fatuus» from as close as the magical power allowed, scorching the Tyrant Worm.

Whether it had no vocal cords or not, it gnashed its teeth, writhing and indiscriminately spreading destruction to the surroundings. Naturally, its outer shell had resistance to magical power, and «Ignis Fatuus» couldn’t burn through its entire body. If Walm had continued to scorch it in perfect condition, it might have been possible to burn it to death, but Walm couldn’t afford such a luxurious fighting style at the moment.

He brandishes the longsword against its outer shell, but the shell was thick. Similar to the rampaging dragon they had defeated in the past, he needed to create a hole somewhere and burn it from the inside. Without joints or eyeballs, it was challenging to aim for relatively softer areas to burn. Identifying the excretion site was also extremely difficult.

In Walm’s mind, the image of a battle-axe bent and broken in the bastions of the Sarajevo Fortress appeared. Unlike the Three Idiots, there wasn’t even a body left. If he were still the squad leader, he might have hoped to destroy it from the inside with an axe imbued with «Heavy Strike». Hoping for something with a mix of sentimentality and without any attachment was nothing but escapism. Walm immediately switched his focus.

Fortunately, the Tyrant Worm, who would probably be a favorite meal for Walm, took the bait. He was trying to lure the Tyrant Worm away from the areas where humans, including the medical station, were holed up and towards the vicinity of the castle gate.

As the Tyrant Worm opened its jaws and began to feast, its oral cavity was exposed. Countless rows of teeth scraped the entire body of the orc. Limbs that fell off were showered with yellowed saliva.

The shameless Tyrant Worm was engrossed in fresh magical creatures and discarded corpses. It likely surpassed even the rampaging dragon in toughness and physical strength, but its brain was inferior, akin to that of an insect.

Slipping through the gaps in the debris and escaping beyond its perception, Walm ascended the castle wall with wind attribute magic, overlooking the entire situation. Continuing like this would only waste magical power. It was evident that he would soon be running low.

The Tyrant Worm, relying on its sense of smell to hunt for prey, couldn’t locate Walm, who had escaped to the castle wall, and was busy feasting on the surrounding monsters.

While proficient in exterminating fellow monsters, directing its aggression towards humans was not an option.

Even now, with its hideous jaws open in five directions, it was relishing the burnt and crispy ogre that had become a scorched meal. Walm, contemplating his next move, found himself fixated on the enormous mouth. A dangerous gamble crossed his mind.

There might be other safer options, but if it finished devouring the food, it would start moving. If that happened, he would miss the opportunity.

“No other choice.”

Having moved from the castle wall to the gate tower, Walm searched for what he needed. Fortunately, there was still an abundance of it.

Walm indiscriminately tore open the bellies of the monsters and bathed in their contents.

The repugnant smell spread through the nasal cavity, the body resisted, and acidity welled up from the depths of the throat. Organs and intestines, unknown and unidentifiable, clung to his body.

The presentation was perfect, and the intense aroma would undoubtedly strongly stimulate refined appetites. With a self-deprecating tone, Walm, while spreading the smell with wind attribute magic, let out a triumphant roar.

“Hey, shitty worm! How long do you plan to eat such a disgusting thing? The feast is right here!!”

Walm shouted as if he were a jealous girl whose crush had been stolen away, driven by the flames of jealousy.

The fickle Tyrant Worm shifted its interest from the feasted monsters to Walm and opened straight towards him.

“That’s right, come!!”

The jaws opened, revealing the inside of its mouth. Countless teeth crowded together, and a multitude of leftovers clung to them, too numerous to count.

Walm sprinted while maintaining a certain distance. Stumbling would turn him into one of the pieces of flesh inside the mouth. Walm didn’t possess the masochistic tendencies or desire for destruction that would make him wish to be put through a meat grinder or a mixer.

“Heh, you’re surprisingly fast without legs.”

Fortunately, without getting lost or falling, Walm reached his destination. He dashed straight into the entrance of the gate tower. Countless teeth loomed before him.

“Gu――”

The jaws, attempting to swallow Walm, were too large for the entrance intended for human passage in the gate tower. Unable to pass through, the Tyrant Worm made a thunderous noise that seemed unimaginable for a living being, colliding with the gate tower.

Its retaliatory teeth embedded into the gate tower, attempting to devour the stone material, but this was the scene Walm had been waiting for.

A foul odor, the result of scavenging countless corpses and feasting on humans and monsters alike, was sprayed over his entire body. Despite his nostrils resisting, Walm bravely initiated the “advance” in the face of the long-awaited opportunity.

“Is such a big mouth okay!? You’re gonna get burned!!”

«Ignis Fatuus», infused with everything that remained, explosively spread within the oral cavity, burning and consuming the internal organs. Trying to close its jaws to escape the blue flames, the Tyrant Worm found itself in a predicament – its teeth embedded in the gate tower, muscles burned by the flames, and unable to close normally due to adhesions.

“There’s no way I’ll let you escape!!”

The Tyrant Worm, writhing violently, continued to be burned from the inside by iron melting blue fire, causing its massive body to tremble slightly.

Its movements gradually slowed, and finally, the Tyrant Worm succumbed without escaping from the gate tower and «Ignis Fatuus».

“Got… you.”

Repeated battles, depletion of magical power, nauseating fatigue, and distorted vision, to the point of losing even the sense of balance. Walm, unable to endure any longer, collapsed to his knees.

Internally celebrating his victory, Walm frowned at the falling debris. The fragments gradually increased in size and number.

For the gate tower, which relied on a solid structure without pillars to maintain its structural integrity, the Tyrant Worm’s charge and desperate struggles were causing fatal damage.

The gate tower began to collapse. It was a miscalculation. Winning the battle but losing the match was no joke for Walm.

“This… is how it ends?”

The sole entrance was blocked by the scorched mouth of the Tyrant Worm. From above, a massive amount of debris capable of easily crushing a person rained down.

Crawling miserably, Walm could only attempt to escape even a little. Words naturally overflowed.

“Sorry… everyone.”

Country, comrades, or perhaps—

With burning eyes, the last thing he saw was the approaching debris. As the world went dark, Walm’s consciousness was lost.

TL NOTE:

Hey all, last chapter I’m uploading.

It seems that the original translator turned their website back on. You can now read up to chapter 162 from NU, so go read it there. ;p