I Built a Divine Zoo in Another World

Chapter 124: The King’s Guards (3)

Clavor took a step backward at the exact moment the two-headed Guard tried to bite him again.

Its serrated teeth snapped shut through empty air just centimeters from his neck, and the warrior felt the creature’s putrid breath sweep across his face.

At the same time, Hark retreated from the combined assault of the four-legged rat and the creature with venomous tails.

The warrior’s spear traced a defensive arc, forcing both monsters to hesitate for a fraction of a second.

The two men exchanged only a single glance. It was enough.

In those brief moments, something passed between them—not words, not gestures, but something deeper. Years of fighting side by side, of nights spent camped beneath the same sky, of wounds tended and blood spilled in defense of one another.

All of that was contained within that single look. A silent understanding of what had to be done.

Without saying a single word, they moved toward one another. Their backs almost touched. Clavor’s sword pointed to the left. Hark’s spear guarded the right. There were no longer any exposed flanks. There were no more blind spots. Each covered what the other could not see, every movement complementing the other’s like the gears of the same machine.

For several seconds, none of the Guards advanced. Even they seemed to realize that something had changed.

The creatures, which until then had attacked with the savage fury of wild beasts, now hesitated.

The four-legged rat let out a low growl, its forepaws scraping against the ground. The white one covered in bony plates tilted its head, as if studying the warriors’ new formation. The venomous tails swayed through the air with less confidence. The two-headed Guard exchanged glances between its own mouths. And the blind one, the completely black one, simply... waited.

Then, the Rat King moved one of his countless tails.

The gesture was almost imperceptible to anyone who was not watching closely. A simple ripple among the hundreds of appendages covering his colossal body. But the Royal Guards saw it. And obeyed.

The five remaining Guards attacked simultaneously. The four-legged rat charged from the front, its claws spread wide and ready to tear them apart.

The white one covered in bony plates leaped from the right, its natural armor gleaming beneath the pale light filtering through the treetops.

The venomous tails lashed through the air from the left, leaving trails of corrosive liquid that burned the grass wherever they passed.

Meanwhile, the two-headed Guard and the blind one sought to surround Clavor from behind, their movements coordinated like predators sharing the same prey.

Five monsters. Two men.

The clearing seemed to hold its breath. Even the smaller rats, which until then had maintained a constant chorus of squeals and growls, fell silent. It was as though the entire horde was watching, waiting for the outcome of the confrontation that would decide the fate of the battle.

Hark smiled.

"Finally."

There was no fear in his voice. No hesitation. Only cold determination, an acceptance of what was to come. He adjusted the weight of his spear, feeling the weapon’s perfect balance in his hands.

Beside him, Clavor did the same with his sword, his fingers tightening around the hilt with the familiarity of someone who had wielded that blade thousands of times.

The first impact made the entire clearing tremble. The four-legged creature charged like a battering ram, its compact mass surging forward at a speed that defied its size. The ground shook beneath its paws, and the air itself shifted from the force of its movement.

Hark lowered his spear. At the last instant, Clavor stepped aside and slashed at one of its front legs. The blade sliced through flesh and tendons with a wet, grotesque sound.

The beast lost its balance, its own momentum throwing it forward in an uncontrolled motion. Before it could recover, Hark drove his spear straight through its skull. The impact pierced the monster completely and buried the spearhead into the earth, pinning the corpse to the ground like a banner of victory.

The first Royal Guard fell lifeless, its eyes still open in an expression of surprise that would never fade.

The remaining four did not hesitate. The white rat immediately threw itself forward to protect its fallen companion’s body, its bony plates glowing with an inner light that seemed to pulse in rhythm with its racing heart. Clavor had already anticipated that. His sword blazed with mana, golden light spreading across the blade like liquid fire.

Instead of striking the body, he hit precisely at the joint between two bony plates. The precision of the strike was surgical. The natural armor split open like a macabre flower, revealing the soft flesh beneath. Hark appeared immediately behind him. His spear pierced through the opening created by the sword, its golden tip finding the creature’s heart with a precision that only years of fighting together could produce.

The creature’s chest exploded in black blood, splattering both warriors. The second Guard collapsed, its body still convulsing as life abandoned it.

The two-headed rat let out a furious screech that echoed throughout the clearing. Both mouths lunged at the same time, each targeting a different warrior. Its serrated teeth glistened with venomous saliva, and its multiple eyes burned with a fury that transcended the pain of losing its companions.

Clavor blocked one. His sword met the lower jaw of the first head, knocking the attack aside.

Hark deflected the other with the shaft of his spear, the metal ringing against the creature’s teeth. The two spun in perfect unison, their movements choreographed like a dance of death. Sword and spear crossed before the creature, both blades tracing arcs that perfectly complemented one another.

Both heads were severed from the body in the very same instant, rolling across the ground like rotten fruit. For the first time, its regeneration had no chance to take effect. The third Guard fell, its body remaining upright for a brief moment before collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.