Chapter 440

Chapter 440: The Expedition

“That cannot simply be regarded as a monster; it is catastrophe incarnate! Your Majesty, you must dispatch the army to confront that creature, or the empire faces grave peril!”

Another Grand Aristocrat, whose territory had been ravaged by the “Devouring Demon Mountain,” came pleading for imperial troops to eliminate the monster.

After the Grand Aristocrat departed the palace, the elderly king of the Deta Empire massaged his temples, his brow deeply furrowed.

Not long ago, persuaded by that reincarnator, he had sent forces to join two grand duchies in attacking the kingdom. Yet all sixty thousand elite soldiers perished, with no survivors. Now, another Class S monster had emerged within the empire’s borders… or should it be termed an abomination?

Even before these nobles arrived to lament their invaded territories, he had dispatched subordinates to investigate.

The nobles’ accounts held no exaggeration; indeed, the “Devouring Demon Mountain” posed a threat far more dreadful than they imagined. This was precisely why he hesitated to deploy troops immediately.

According to his agents’ observations, each time the monster consumed life, its power grew incrementally.

Should the dispatched army fail to eliminate it, the sole outcome would be delivering “sustenance” to the creature, augmenting its strength.

Moreover, regardless of success, the army would likely suffer devastating losses… Combined with casualties from the recent war against the kingdom…

The empire’s military might would undoubtedly wane significantly. And if the kingdom seized this moment to strike…

Rumors suggested the Rollo Kingdom, capitalizing on its decisive victory, had fully subdued the three grand duchies under its dominion. Thus, the kingdom now wielded military strength rivaling the empire’s own.

Hmm?

Wait… This monster was said to lack reason. If true, perhaps…

High upon his throne, the opulently attired elder’s eyes glinted with realization.

Subsequently,

The Deta Empire first sought aid from southern nations and the western Rollo Kingdom. Simultaneously, it offered lavish rewards to all major Adventurer’s Guilds across the continent, commissioning them to subdue the monster.

Following these measures, the king deployed a fully armed elite cavalry unit. He also enlisted an S-class Adventurer Squad and three renowned Class A Adventurer Squads to spearhead the campaign against the “Devouring Demon Mountain.”

To the old king, success by this force—nearly a thousand cavalry and four Adventurer Squads—would be ideal. Should they fail… redirecting the calamity eastward remained the sole recourse.

…

…

Dawn broke, the sun’s first rays ascending.

In a small southwestern town of the Deta Empire,

Where bustling activity should have reigned, screams, sobs, and non-human howls now saturated the air.

Over a hundred meters of the protective town walls lay shattered, torn open like a gaping wound. Nearby loomed a colossal mass of flesh—twisted amalgamation of monster and human limbs—writhing beside the rubble.

This mountain of flesh towered over ten meters high. Beneath its bulk, dozens of massive, pillar-like limbs supported and propelled it at a relentless pace.

It advanced while “feeding,” preying upon the human race within the town.

Confronted by this gargantuan horror, townsfolk scattered in frantic disarray.

Most fled toward the opposite city gate, abandoning even their possessions. A minority cowered indoors or gambled their lives fleeing toward the collapsed wall behind the abomination.

The thunderous cacophony of the meat mountain’s limbs echoed like subterranean rumbles.

Ordinary humans could never outpace its relentless advance.

The surface of the meat mountain began to squirm, and in the next moment, bloodied and broken limbs inside its body started to reorganize… soon transforming into long, thick tentacles with gaping, blood-filled jaws.

As these tentacles formed, they instantly burst through the meat mountain’s surface, shooting toward the scattered human race fleeing on the street.

“Roar!!!”

Accompanied by the strange roar, the gaping jaws snapped shut fiercely!

Blood splattered as lives were claimed, followed by bone-chilling crunching sounds. The human bodies were torn into broken limbs and shredded flesh, swallowed by the monstrous jaws, then transported back to the meat mountain’s main body through the tentacles acting as gullets.

While these tentacles continuously “fed,” the meat mountain’s main body kept expanding through constant writhing…

The streets were stained crimson with blood, saturating the air with its metallic scent.

“Help! Somebody—anybody—save me!”

A burly man desperately struggled, arms flailing, only to realize in horror that his strength was no match for the crushing force of the gaping maw. The next instant, he was bitten clean in half—his short, sharp scream abruptly silenced.

“Wai… wait…”

A white-haired old man leaning on a cane watched helplessly as his children sprinted far ahead, abandoning him. Struggling for breath, he could only grip his cane as an enormous shadow slowly engulfed him under the sunlight.

Behind him, the massive tentacle drew nearer… until the blood-filled jaws consumed him whole.

Neither the young and strong nor the elderly with one foot already in the grave could escape these tentacles’ assaults.

Yet at this very moment…

While the meat mountain hunted and devoured the human race, four individuals stood defiantly atop the roof of an uninhabited house roughly three hundred meters away—unlike the panicked crowds.

“Well? What’s your assessment?”

The leader, an unremarkable young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, inquired impassively.

“Our strength likely can’t handle such a monster.”

“Tsk. Far more savage than the intelligence indicated.”

“Perhaps it’s grown significantly stronger since we began our approach.”

The remaining two men and one woman responded.

These four comprised one of the three Class A Adventurer Squads commissioned by the empire’s king—the famously efficient “Hyena” Adventurer Squad, renowned for their high completion rate.

They observed coldly as “Devouring Demon Mountain” slaughtered the human race, showing no inclination to rescue the doomed souls.

After all… not every adventurer is a righteous hero.

But “not every” implies the existence of such “heroic” adventurers.

“Someone’s approaching.”

Suddenly, a lean young man from the “Hyena” Adventurer Squad—his eyes unnervingly bright—lifted his gaze toward a direction near “Devouring Demon Mountain.”

There, three adventurers in varied attire traversed the rooftops flanking the street.