Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 21 First time

Upon hearing the alarm, Zhang Yuan jumped onto a nearby supply wagon without hesitation, securing himself a relatively safe position.

“Manus, Potentis, Paro! (I have prepared, powerful, one hand)” As the spell was cast, invisible armor covered his entire body.

Zhang Yuan jumped off the roof of the car and was about to search for the location of the enemy insects when he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet bulge slightly. Startled, he quickly ran to the open space in front of him.

The bulge in the ground became more and more obvious, and then the soil underneath gushed out like a fountain, along with a large insect that burst out of the ground.

The first impression this insect gives is its green color; its head is a vibrant green, its body is a deep emerald green, and its centipede-like claws are a tender, delicate green.

"How many hats must he be wearing?" Zhang Yuan's thoughts were practically wandering to the ends of the earth.

The insect had a pair of dark eyes and a pair of ferocious mandibles. The hard, barbed chitinous material gleamed coldly, making it impossible to doubt that these iron-like mandibles alone were enough to kill its prey.

This is the culprit behind the insect plague—the burrowing worm.

The burrowing worm that burst out of the ground seemed to have poor eyesight. Instead of looking around, it kept probing with its two cricket-like antennae. This was a good opportunity to attack, but the novice was at a loss.

Games are just games, after all. In reality, you can't just click the mouse and have a giant dragon fight you. Newbies who have only practiced with their teammates and have no experience fighting monsters are completely helpless against these big bugs.

Fortunately, the nearby teammates were not to be trifled with, and they did not let the opportunity slip away. A tall swordsman with a shaved head and tattoos on his scalp quickly drew his sword and charged towards the insect, shouting, "Cover me!"

Another broad-shouldered, thick-backed warrior with a large beard, who was also the only dwarf warrior in the team, drew the throwing axe hanging from his waist and, almost without aiming, struck the burrowing worm on the head.

Before the stunned insect could react, a sharp sword light slashed directly at the gap where its carapace connected. The surprise attack combined with a weak point strike resulted in half of the greatsword's blade penetrating the burrowing insect's body, a truly fatal wound.

The insect, severely injured, looked up and let out an extremely sharp hiss, like fingernails scraping steel plates. Then it opened its mandibles, as if it were brewing something.

"Run!" Upon seeing this, the tall swordsman hurriedly released his greatsword and quickly escaped the burrowing worm's attack range. Zhang Yuan and the dwarf, who were a little further away, also retreated a distance.

It was a bit late, though. Acid was sprayed out in large quantities from the mouthparts of the burrowing worm, and the circular area around it looked like it had been rained acid. White smoke billowed from the ground, and all organic matter was easily corroded and carbonized.

The greatswordsman was ultimately too close. Despite his incredibly fast reaction, he was still struck in the back and feet by a stream of acid, which quickly corroded his shoes.

The swordsman, writhing in excruciating pain in his foot, collapsed to the ground, on the verge of dying from the acid.

Zhang Yuan and the dwarf warrior rushed towards the swordsman's position. Taking advantage of their height, long legs, and cloth armor, Zhang Yuan reached the swordsman's side while the dwarf was still trudging along the remaining half of the journey.

Hearing the swordsman's scream, "Foot, left foot!"

Zhang Yuan quickly took off his shoes, revealing his left foot, which was in terrible condition. His heel, stained with acid, had lost all shape of flesh and blood, resembling blackened carbonized wood.

Suppressing his nausea and fear, he quickly took out his water bag and rinsed his left foot, then lifted his left arm and left.

The still-raging burrowing worm seemed to sense something. Its antennae twitched, its wildly thrashing head stopped, and it slowly turned towards Zhang Yuan and the swordsman. This scene terrified Zhang Yuan. Driven by fear, he unleashed his full potential, and although he was supporting a wounded soldier, he almost sprinted at the speed of a hundred-meter dash.

Sensing that the enemy's scent was fading away and weakening, the equally wounded insect opened its massive mouth in the direction the enemy had gone.

As the burrowing worm's acid spray was about to hit, Zhang Yuan, who was fleeing, glanced at the greatsword he was supporting and a thought that made him feel ashamed pop into his mind.

Fortunately, before they could think too much, the dwarven shield-axemen finally arrived, raising their large shields to block the burrowing worms and the two of them.

Zhang Yuan cooperated by lying down with the swordsman to reduce the area of ​​injury, and the exhausted acid fell weakly onto the shield.

A short while later, the burrowing worm that had emptied the ammunition depot went out of service and tried to burrow back into the hole, but was stuck by the two-handed sword on its body.

The dwarf and Zhang Yuan, still filled with rage, noticed the insect's predicament but did not make a move.

The immediate priority was to rescue his teammate and remove the swordsman's armor. Fortunately, through a layer of chainmail and a thick leather coat underneath, it seemed that the swordsman, who was wearing double armor, only suffered minor burns, except for the injury to his feet.

As Zhang Yuan relaxed, he suddenly felt several sharp pains all over his body. After taking off his clothes to check, he discovered that although the large shield had blocked most of the acid, the splashed acid still had some killing power.

Fortunately, the mage armor provided some protection and deflection, so the injuries were only minor, though a sharp pain was inevitable.

After quickly treating their wounds, Zhang Yuan and the dwarf turned around and went to settle accounts with the culprit. They didn't intend to use magic; instead, they drew their longswords and pressed against the digging worm, which was fighting like a cornered beast.

The only weapon the exhausted burrowing worm possessed was its mandibles, and due to the wounds and the greatswords attached to them, even turning around was quite difficult.

The fear in his heart had been washed away by anger, and his hands holding the sword were surprisingly steady. Zhang Yuan did not rush forward directly, but instead circled forward as he usually trained.

Unable to counter this tactic, the burrowing worm could only open and close its mandibles as a threat, but this only exposed its weakness.

Zhang Yuan, having drawn a spiral trajectory, finally closed in on the giant worm's rear, caught his longsword in his mouth, and just as the worm was about to turn around and attack him, he reached out and grabbed the sword stuck in its body. Suddenly, everything...

This devastating blow, adding insult to injury, made the burrowing worm tremble with pain. The dwarf who followed up cleaved the worm's abdomen with his axe, the steel battle axe piercing through the worm's shell and penetrating deep into its abdominal cavity.

With no more strength left to struggle, the insect collapsed to the ground. Zhang Yuan, showing no pity whatsoever, drew his longsword, aimed at the insect's left eye, and plunged it in, ending the matter!
As the enemy's account was over, Zhang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, only to find that his legs—no, his whole body—fell limp.

Encountering such an inhuman giant insect in my first real-world battle was an experience only I can truly understand, along with the lingering fear.

Panting, Zhang Yuan finally had time to look at his other companions, only to discover that the raiding party consisted of far more than just one or two burrowing worms, but a full five.

The battle situations were also quite different. Skar and Sorey had already dealt with their respective opponents and were busy tending to their wounded comrades, while the remaining few burrowing worms were being led around by the nose by the well-trained Flame Fist soldiers, and victory was only a matter of time.

So, it seems like we're the ones who are suffering the most? Then who exactly is Burden? Hmmm, that's a good question.

(End of this chapter)