SSS-Ranked Trash Hero: I Was Scammed Into Being Summoned-Chapter 87: The Hunt Begins

The news of the Worm Mother’s size cast a heavy shadow over the small camp. Lena sat by the dying fire, her boots still caked in the gray mud of the growth.

Ollen paced back and forth, his heavy footsteps the only sound in the pre-dawn quiet.

"If it’s as big as you say, we don’t have the numbers," Ollen said, stopping his pace to look at her.

"Even with Dren and Tok, we’d be swamped. Those offspring aren’t just mindless; they’re protective. You said they were huddling around her. That means the moment we touch the Mother, every worm in that forest is going to come screaming for our blood."

Lena nodded. She knew he was right. "We need a distraction. Something big enough to draw the entire swarm away from the center so we can strike the head."

Ollen rubbed his jaw. "Help is coming. I sent a messenger to the nearby establishment last night. A company of a hundred demon soldiers should be arriving anytime now."

Lena was surprised for a moment.

Ollen looked at her expression and laughed a little.

"What, do you think my lord left the estate in my hands just like that? It takes real skill to manage even a small place like Veth. The moment I heard your plan, I figured we would end up needing help. Just think of it as foresight."

Lena felt a flicker of relief. "Then we wait for them. But as soon as they arrive, we move. Every hour we wait, that thing produces more offspring."

"Agreed," Ollen said.

----

The reinforcements arrived when the sun was at its highest. They came without fanfare or trumpets. A hundred demons, tall and broad-shouldered.

They wore black lacquered armor that seemed to swallow the sunlight. Their long spears were tipped with serrated blades, made to tear through thick hides.

The unit’s commander was a woman named Captain Vane. Her skin was the color of hammered copper.

She didn’t waste time on pleasantries. She studied the map Ollen had drawn, listened to Lena’s description of the clearing, and gave a sharp nod.

"We will provide the anvil," Vane said, her voice. "My men will form a perimeter three hundred yards from the clearing. We will make as much noise as possible. We will burn the undergrowth and draw every crawling thing in that forest toward us. Your job is to kill the source."

Ollen glanced at Lena. "I’ll lead the estate guards and the mercenaries to support the Captain’s flank. We’ll make sure nothing gets behind them."

"Not all the mercenaries," Lena said, cutting in. She turned, scanning the courtyard. Her eyes settled on Skall. He sat on a crate, sharpening a small knife, looking completely at ease.

From the moment she had seen him in the market at Ashfen, Lena had felt something off about him.

In the novelkisss she used to read back in her old life, there was always a character like this.

The one who stayed in the back, the one who didn’t brag, the one who looked ’average’ but possessed a hidden strength that could level a mountain.

Skall had that aura.

He moved with a grace that was too perfect for a common sell-sword. He didn’t breathe like the others; his chest barely moved, as if he were constantly in a state of perfect meditation.

"I’m taking Skall with me," Lena said.

The courtyard went quiet. Skall stopped sharpening his knife. He looked up, his ears twitching.

"The beastkin?" Ollen asked. "Dren is stronger. Tok is faster. If you’re going into the heart of that hive, you should take the heavy hitters."

"Dren and Tok are better on the front lines," Lena said. She glanced at Skall. "I think I’ll need your help on this one."

Skall stood up slowly. He tucked his knife into a sheath at his belt. "The pay is the same whether I’m fighting a hundred small worms or one big one, right?"

"It is," Ollen grunted.

"Then I’m in," Skall said. He walked over to Lena, his steps silent on the stone. As he came closer, the strange feeling around him grew stronger. Lena was sure now, he was more than he seemed.

The hundred demon soldiers moved into the growth with terrifying efficiency. They didn’t try to be quiet.

They hacked through the gray vines with their heavy blades. They carried pots of oil and torches, setting fire to the damp, mossy ground. The thick, oily smoke began to fill the air, creating a screen that smelled of rot and sulfur.

The response was immediate.

From deep within the gray trees, a sound rose up, a high-pitched, vibrating hum. It sounded like a thousand wet blankets being dragged over gravel. The swarm was waking up.

"Form square!" Captain Vane shouted.

The soldiers snapped into position. Their shields locked together, forming a wall of black iron. Their spears jutted out like the quills of a porcupine.

Lena and Skall stood behind the line for a moment, watching as the first wave of offspring hit.

They came from the trees, from the ground, from the shadows. Thousands of pale, writhing bodies flung themselves against the demon shields.

"Now," Lena whispered.

While the soldiers engaged the mass of the swarm, Lena and Skall slipped away.

They moved parallel to the main battle, using the noise and the fire as cover.

Lena led the way.

As they moved deeper, the pressure of the growth seemed to increase. The trees leaned in closer, their gray limbs slick with moisture.

"You’re not scared," Skall said suddenly. It was the first time he had spoken since they entered the forest.

Lena didn’t turn around. "Why should I be scared of something weaker then me."

"True," Skall replied. He was walking right behind her, his presence like a cold shadow. "But most people in your position would be shaking. A butler to a Demon Prince, sent to a backwater estate to handle a pest problem. You’re either very strong or very disposable."

Lena stopped for a split second, then kept moving. "Keep your eyes open."

She could feel him smiling behind her.

The ground began to slope downward. The trails in the dirt became deeper, more like trenches.

The smell of the hive was so thick now it was like a physical weight in their lungs. Lena pulled a piece of cloth over her nose and mouth. Skall did the same, though he didn’t seem bothered by the stench.

The sound of the soldiers fighting was a dull roar in the distance now. Here, in the deep growth, it was eerily quiet. The only sound was the pulse.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

They reached the edge of the clearing. Lena signaled for Skall to stay low. They crouched behind a massive, twisted root that was covered in translucent casings.

The clearing had changed since the night before.

The Worm Mother was no longer resting. Sensing the attack on her hive, she had uncoiled.

She was even more massive than Lena had first thought. Her body, thick as a carriage and pale as a maggot, rose thirty-feet into the air before diving back into the churned-up earth.

Her skin was pulsing violently, the ridges along her back glowing with a faint, sickly yellow light.

Dozens of membrane sacs were rupturing. Lena watched in horror as fully-formed offspring, larger than the ones they had fought at the estate, tore themselves out of the slime and hit the ground running.

They weren’t heading for the soldiers; they were forming a circle around their mother.

"She’s birthing a guard," Skall whispered. His voice had lost its playful edge. He reached for the hilts of two short swords strapped to his lower back.

Lena looked at the Mother’s head. It was wedge-shaped, with no eyes, only a massive, vertical slit for a mouth.

As they watched, the mouth opened, revealing rows of needle-like teeth and a throat that seemed to go down forever. A thick, clear liquid dripped from its maw, sizzling when it hit the gray moss.

"I’ll take the head," Lena said. She felt her internal energy begin to stir. The "skills" she had been hesitant to use were screaming to be let loose. Her vision sharpened. The world slowed down. "You keep the guards off me."

Skall looked at her, his amber eyes glowing in the dark. For a moment, the mask of the simple mercenary slipped. His posture shifted; he looked less like a man and more like a predator that had been hunting for a long time.

"You’re asking a lot for a mercenary’s wage, Lady Lena," he said. His voice was deeper now, vibrating with a power he had been hiding.

"If we survive, I’ll make sure the Prince hears your name," Lena replied.

Skall laughed, a short, sharp sound. "The Prince already knows my name. But fine. Let’s see what a butler can do."

Lena didn’t wait for another word. She stood up and stepped out from behind the root.

The Worm Mother sensed them instantly. The rhythmic pulsing stopped. The massive head swung around, the vertical mouth snapping shut with a sound like a closing tomb. The offspring surrounding her hissed in unison, a sound that grated against Lena’s skull.

The clearing was a nightmare of pale flesh and gray slime.

"Skall!" she shouted.

The beastkin moved with terrifying speed. He vanished from her side and reappeared ten feet away, his swords slicing through the first wave of guarding worms before they could even spring.

Lena ignored the guards. Her eyes were locked on the Mother.

The massive worm reared back, its body tensing like a coiled spring. It let out a roar, not a sound from its throat, but a psychic blast that made the very trees tremble.

Lena planted her feet and held her ground.

"My turn," she whispered.