Chapter 88: Relentless

A swarm of tentacle monsters assaulted the fort—a full-blown army.

Living trees lumbered forward, hurling massive rocks like catapults. Dogs with flowers blooming atop their heads acted as archers. Orcs wielded wooden shields and spears as infantry, while horses bristling with tentacle spikes thundered forward as cavalry.

Hiro was stunned by the mobility and adaptability of parasitic tentacles. They could turn anything into a weapon.

“Are we really going to charge through that?” Rebecca frowned.

Hiro snapped his tentacle and smacked the top of her head in protest. Charging straight in would be suicide. Rebecca had the lowest strength among them, and even Cecile—by far the strongest—wouldn’t escape unscathed against a horde like that.

“Erm… the best course of action is to flank them,” Captain Bohn said. “We hit them from the rear and take out the artillery first. Those moving trees are doing serious damage to the walls—we can’t ignore them.”

“I understand,” Rebecca said slowly. “But what if the troops assaulting the walls break off and flank us instead?”

“That’s why it’s dangerous,” Bohn replied. “We’ll be fighting at close range, with the risk of being surrounded. We strike fast, cause as much damage as we can, then withdraw at the first opportunity.”

“...I see.” Rebecca hesitated, then straightened. This was her duty as a symbiote user.

Hiro drooped his tentacle. Framed like that, he couldn’t argue. If things went truly wrong, he could split off a core and use it as bait to draw the enemy’s attention.

“All right. I’m ready,” Rebecca said, gripping her staff tightly.

Against parasitic tentacles, ranged area attacks—explosive arrows and magic—were essential. For the first time, the group would rely primarily on Rebecca, and she was determined not to fail.

Hiro briefly considered abandoning all secrecy and blooming a flower atop her head. If he could unleash Sunbeam freely, the battle would become much easier.

But once that line was crossed, there would be no hiding it.

They began their charge from the flank. Rebecca started chanting, drawing mana from her surroundings as it gathered around her staff.

The tentacle archers reacted first. Flowers atop their bodies swung downward toward the cavalry, and a rain of light bullets burst forth. Cecile, leading the vanguard, raised her shield along with the other knights. Several unlucky riders were struck by sunbeam attacks, but thanks to the distance, the damage was minimal, nothing more than a scratch.

“Ready your arrows!” the captain roared.

The knights returned fire, arrows flying true despite being loosed from horseback. Even though the targets were stationary, hitting them from over a hundred meters while riding was impressive in Hiro’s eyes. The arrows ignited on impact. Hiro had no idea what they’d been treated with, but each one exploded like an incendiary grenade.

“Mages!” the captain shouted, finally giving Rebecca and her mage corps the signal.

Rebecca unleashed her magic. Blazing arcs of fire and destructive spells slammed into the tree-like tentacles hauling massive stones toward the fort.

All six living catapults were reduced to smoldering ash.

“Retreat!” The captain sounded the horn.

His horse wheeled into a tight arc, and the knights followed in perfect formation. The assault ended as quickly as it had begun. Before the tentacle soldiers at the front could react, the cavalry was already close to their original position.

But this time, the tentacles had cavalry of their own.

Horses with spiked bodies and iron-hard horns burst from the treeline, charging after them. Nana fired as she rode, but only fire or explosive arrows slowed them—and even then, the monsters were closing the distance.

Hiro flooded his hosts with amphetamines as they slowed, preparing to intercept when one of the enemy mounts nearly reached a knight.

“Don’t stop! Just run!” the captain shouted.

Nana gritted her teeth and took aim. Thanks to her enhanced dexterity, she could still target enemies while riding at full speed. Her boosted strength kept her steady in the saddle as her spells flew.

Bolts rained down from the fort, targeting the pursuing cavalry. As the knights crossed into range, the monsters veered sharply, retreating just as dozens of mages atop the walls unleashed hell upon them.

The chase ended in fire and screams.

“Phew… that was scary,” Rebecca muttered inside the fort. The plan worked; the assaulting monsters loosened.

“The battle isn’t over,” the captain said sharply. “Rebecca, rejoin the mage corps. Nana, get to the towers and thin their numbers. Cecile, head to the armory and grab a bow. We have plenty of fire arrows in reserve—use them all if you have to.”

The group split up.

As the sun climbed higher, the fighting finally died down. This had been the worst attack yet. The fort suffered noticeable damage—chunks of the stone wall had been torn away by the artillery beasts. If the returning cavalry hadn’t successfully flanked the enemy, the walls might not have held. In that case, they would have been forced to sally out, likely losing many more soldiers.

“Good work, everyone,” the fort commander said. “That was a splendid flank attack. We’ve survived another day.”

“Is this… normal?” Rebecca asked. She had heard countless stories about parasitic tentacles and their horrors, but this was her first real engagement with them.

The commander nodded grimly. “Usually, Rashick handled attacks like this. Now that he’s deserted the nation, it’s up to us to hold the fort together.”

Rebecca quickly realized the truth. Without a true symbiote user, they wouldn’t last long.

“We should write to the capital and ask them to send Sheena here…” Rebecca muttered.

Her words drew the commander’s attention. His expression brightened at the familiar name.

“Will Lady Sheena come to our aid? Was she granted amnesty by Litmus?”

“Erm… yes,” Rebecca said hesitantly. “But she’s not available right now. If it were possible, we would have already requested her. Sheena has to report to Litmus’ capital first. Only after the paperwork regarding her asylum is finalized will she be assigned to defend this land…”

Rebecca groaned softly.

“Wonderful! Ah—I apologize. We didn’t mean to belittle your strength, honored symbiote user. I was merely amused by the idea. I’m sure the nation would benefit more from having you stationed near the Litmus capital.”

“No offense taken, Fort Commander,” Rebecca replied. “We aren’t combat-oriented symbiote users to begin with. Hiro specializes in producing iron ore and can heal people to some extent. That said, we can’t guarantee Sheena will be posted here. Mutual was deeply offended by how symbiotes were treated by your nation.”

The fort commander let out a relieved sigh as Rebecca eased the tension.

“The fact that she wasn’t executed already puts Litmus in our good graces, Lady Rebecca. We owe Lady Sheena a great deal. After all, there was a time when she and Rashick were stationed here together.” He smiled. “All right, enough chatter. Please get some rest—you’ve had an exhausting day. You can go to the cafeteria for dinner.”

“I’m hungry…” Nana muttered.

Despite Hiro reducing his enhancements, the girls had skipped lunch to help defend the fort. They were starving. The fort commander chuckled and personally escorted them to the cafeteria.

After eating and bathing, just as the group was about to turn in for the night, a soldier approached them.

“My apologies, but we ask that you remain alert tonight. If possible, please sleep with your weapons nearby. You don’t need to wear armor, but choose clothing that allows easy movement—and avoid skirts or one piece.”

“Huh? Why?” Rebecca tilted her head.

“Our observers reported movement in the forest.”

“I thought parasitic tentacles only attacked during the day,” Rebecca said. Hiro nodded in agreement. Without sunlight, the tentacles couldn’t use their beam attacks, losing most of their ranged capability.

“It’s uncommon—but not impossible,” the soldier replied. “Especially during spawning season. Please stay alert.”

“Understood. We will keep our guard up.” Rebecca nodded. Hiro groaned, this meant there wouldn’t be any quality time. However, only a few hours after they lay down to sleep, an alarm blared through the fort.

Chaos erupted.

The girls groaned as their precious beauty sleep—their time spent resting atop Hiro’s makeshift fleshbed—was abruptly disturbed.

“They really attacked at night…” Rebecca muttered.

Before she could put on her armor, Hiro slithered over them, coating their bodies up to the neck. His flesh hardened, taking on a leathery sheen. It wasn’t as tough as real armor—but against parasitic tentacles, it was enough.

If the enemy managed to grab his girls, Hiro reasoned, he could counter parasitism with parasitism.

“Diggers! Watch the ground!” a soldier screamed at the top of his lungs.

Rebecca rushed out of the inn just in time to see tentacles bursting up through the paved ground. Soldiers swung wildly, hacking at every writhing limb they saw. If even one tendril touched bare skin, it would sap their strength—so hesitation meant death.

Hiro flooded Cecile with adrenaline and amphetamine, boosting her stats. She reacted instantly as a tentacle lunged toward Rebecca.

Nana leapt forward, moving like a cat as she brandished her dagger.

“Rebecca!” Cecile dashed ahead.

The tentacles came in waves. One wrapped around Rebecca’s leg and yanked her backward. In that instant, Hiro felt his nutrients being drained. He activated Parasitism, pulling the energy back. The tentacle convulsed—but it continued draining him until Cecile’s blade severed it from its core.

Dread crept through Hiro.

He had assumed the tentacles would hesitate once they realized he was the same species.

They didn’t.

They were relentless. They attacked without discrimination, draining him without pause. His parasitism was weaker—far weaker. It slowed the process, but he still lost more nutrients than he gained.

“Thank you, Hiro,” Rebecca muttered.

She had seen how soldiers collapsed within seconds once touched. That was the true terror of parasitic tentacles. Rebecca realized she was only alive because of Hiro’s armor.

And the night had only just begun.

The group braced themselves to clear out the tentacles’ guerrilla assault—one ambush at a time.