Eodem: A Rifle and Sword Adventure (Complete)

Chapter 29: Bulette Storm

Stryder's Land Cruiser galloped loudly through the dusk lit road. Many of the natives swore they would hear the thunder steps of a war horse as they saw the MRAP kick up the dust as violently as a knightly cavalry charge. In the vehicle, Samantha was in distraught as more context of what had gotten her and the rest of her squad to surge up to their feet.

"How many?" Samantha asked on Clay's Radio.

"Three dead, 4 Injured. It's like those things were waiting for us." Apache Group's leader said.

"So, let me get this straight? You took a Cattle Rancher's Quest from the local Guild about the disappearances of livestock on a hill and your path lead to a..." Samantha asked to make sense of it all.

"A sort of cave, I think. It's big enough for something like a Cow to walk in. Could barely stand in it and then the attack happened. I couldn't get a good count on how many as we all had to run out. We managed to kill two of them at the entrance. But I don't know what the hell did my team killed. Maybe Iris can help." Apache Lead said.

"I don't know. I am not normally familiar with animals outside of the Cambervale Forest." Iris said.

"Aliathra? You were trained as an Elven Ranger, right? Maybe you can identify it." Samantha asked.

"Very well let me see the cadaver." Aliathra nodded.

After a few more moments, the Land Cruiser arrived at its Apache's Location and at the same time a Medevac Helicopter had arrived to extract the casualties.

The squad walked up to the body bags of the deceased Apache Group soldiers and payed their respects to the bereaved leader.

"Tivna, may you guide those departed to the Great Fields." Aliathra quietly.

"The monsters we killed are over their Lieutenant. I will need to be debriefed but the rest of the Medevac group will keep on guard." Apache Lead informed Samantha.

Rose lead her team towards the entrance of the cave that she was told were Apache was before they were attacked. To her own notice, she indeed saw a few bones scattered around the approach of the entrance ranging from sheep, cows and even a full-grown horse. The monster who lived in this den must have been very voracious. The Den proper looked like it was crudely dug up but the entrance was large enough to fit a man inside one at a time with a very dark and intimate chamber in addition. From a tactical point of view, it was a perfect set up for an ambush and poor Apache didn't stood a chance.

Samantha then saw the two monster corpses that Apache talked about, they lay together adjacently, there bodies riddled with bullets. One of them was significantly larger than the other but they shared the same physical appearances of having thick layered plates that covered their bodies. There heads were of a similar bullet-like shape much akin to Sharks whilst their hands were as large as the paws of a bear but designed to be more rugged and hardy for manual work such as constant shoveling of dirt as Samantha noticed a few specks of soil suck between the nails of the deceased beasts.

"That's a lot of bullets." Crocker said.

"Its two of them." Aliathra said.

"Two bullets? Looked more like a hundred or more of them each." Crocker argued.

"Not 'bullet' as in those tiny bolts you load into your rapid firing crossbows. These things are called Bulletes." Aliathra corrected.

"Explain." Samantha ordered.

"These animals, often called 'Land Sharks' to humans or 'Gholbrorn' to dwarves are underground diggers who often uses ambush tactics to hunt prey above ground. Although it is not known if they can see quite well in the dark, it is theorized by some Druids that they can somehow sense their prey through sound vibrations. They have some really large and powerful teeth for a creature about as big as one of your smaller 'Steel Horses' that you call a 'Kaar'." Aliathra explained.