The Garbage Collector Who Stumbled Upon Mythical Weapons! - Chapter 5
The rat lunged at him fiercely. Garm desperately dodged its claws.
— The surrounding monsters aren’t moving. They’re just keeping me trapped!
Garm blocked the rat’s claws with his sword, but the force knocked him back, making him stumble.
He remembered—his armor’s skill was Stamina Consumption Reduction. It didn’t completely restore his stamina… If this keeps up, he’ll run out of energy and be killed for sure.
Barely avoiding the rat’s attack, Garm glanced around.
— If I’m going to escape, I have to fly! There don’t seem to be any flying monsters, and this rat shouldn’t be able to chase me in the air.
But there was a problem.
To fly using the Cloak of the Sun King, he needed to lift off first. But the opening was too big—he couldn’t use it in front of the rat.
— Then I have no choice but to use Aerial Step to get airborne first!
The moment his sword clashed with the rat’s claws and both were knocked back, Garm activated Aerial Step. He kicked off the air once, twice, rising into the sky.
“Hah! I don’t have time to waste on you! See ya!”
He soared high enough that the rat couldn’t follow. Confident that he could now escape, Garm prepared to use Flight.
But suddenly, his body lurched downward.
“What the—!?”
Startled, Garm looked down—and saw something impossible.
The rat’s arm had stretched unnaturally long and was gripping his leg.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
With terrifying strength, the rat yanked him down, sending him plummeting toward the ground.
“Uwaaaaaaaah!!!”
Garm crashed onto his back. The impact sent a loud shockwave and dust billowing into the air.
“Ugh—gah!?”
Even if his armor was unscathed, his body wasn’t. Garm coughed up bl00d, struggling to breathe.
The Gauntlets of the Oni God Vedernes activated, using their Auto-Healing Magic to gradually repair his internal injuries.
Garm managed to get up and looked at the rat.
Its stretched right arm shrank back to normal, then it let both arms hang limp. But suddenly, the muscles on its back swelled, making a sickening crackling sound.
Two more arms burst out from its back.
With a twisted grin, it raised all four arms high, as if showing them off.
A monster that could freely change its body—this meant the rat had never been fighting seriously before.
Realizing this, Garm fell into despair.
“There are more of these freaks roaming around? What the hell is this forest…?”
◇◇◇
Kingdom of Britend—A tense meeting was taking place within the royal castle.
The king and his most important retainers had gathered. The one who spoke was the Supreme Commander of the military, Johann Truman.
He was a knight with a powerful build and piercing eyes, but his expression was dark and grim.
“There is a report that their forces have entered Vizal Forest.”
The chamber erupted into murmurs. “That’s dangerously close to the capital,” one minister said, his face serious. Johann’s expression remained severe as he continued.
“As you all know, the United Army, formed by our Britend Kingdom and neighboring countries, is currently battling the Demon Lord’s Army.”
“I’ve heard we’re holding our ground…” the king asked anxiously.
“Yes, reports say we’re fighting on equal terms or better. However, the enemy consists of the Immortal Army—even if we defeat them, they resurrect after some time.”
“Then we have no choice but to defeat the Demon Lord himself?”
“Exactly. If we slay the Demon Lord, their army will lose its power and collapse. We’re close to achieving that goal, but…”
Johann gritted his teeth. Britend was in a dire situation.
A separate force, distinct from the Demon Lord’s main army, was approaching the kingdom. Most of their soldiers had been sent to the frontline, leaving the capital vulnerable.
This was an ambush at the worst possible time. If they were attacked now, the kingdom could be annihilated.
“And it’s the Massacre Legion of all things!”
A minister spat in disgust, and the entire chamber fell silent.
The strongest unit in the Demon Lord’s Army. Wherever they passed, only bloodied corpses remained. They were the most feared force of all.
And the one leading them was a monster known as the Ruler of Carnage—a being so brutal that it slaughtered even its own kind until the Demon Lord himself had to intervene.
“Can we even stop them, Johann?”
The king’s voice carried a desperate plea.
Johann bowed deeply.
“I have sent every available force to Vizal Forest. I will personally join the battle as well, so please rest assured.”
He left the chamber.
But everyone in that room knew the truth—there was no hope of victory.
◇◇◇
Garm dodged the rat’s four arms, desperately trying to land a strike—
But the rat’s arms stretched at incredible speed from outside his range. Just when he thought he had dodged, its claws slashed his shoulder.
“Ugh!?”
Staggering for a moment, Garm was immediately pressed as the rat closed the distance. He couldn’t dodge all four arms at once.
“Damn it!!”
One arm was blocked by his shield, another by his sword—but the remaining two hit his body directly. The impact sent him flying, crashing into the group of surrounding monsters.
As Garm tried to get up, the nearby creatures growled and lunged at him.
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
Terrified, Garm swung his sword wildly.
He wanted to live. He didn’t want to die. He struggled desperately.
Just when he thought luck was finally turning his way after finding those legendary weapons, he was now on the brink of death.
It was his own arrogance that got him here, but he wanted to start over.
—God! Please! I’ll never be overconfident again! I’ll live seriously and humbly. So just this once—please, let me survive!
For the first time, Garm prayed—to a god he neither believed in nor ever relied on.
And then, something unexpected happened.
The countless monsters around him had been sliced apart, lying dead.
They had all been slain by his sword.
“Huh? What…?”
Until now, Garm had assumed the surrounding monsters were just as strong as the rat.
But he was wrong.
Only that rat was truly powerful.
—If that’s the case…
Garm suddenly realized a slim chance—a way he might be able to defeat it.