Chapter 100

Chapter 100: Monster

Chapter 100. Monster
William tried to raise morale as much as possible, even if it turned out a bit exaggerated.
Whether it took effect or not, the battle formation held, and the spearmen aimed more firmly at the monsters’ bodies.
— Security Captain, what is the situation?
A telepathic communication arrived.
William shouted:
— Engaging three monsters! The Security Force alone is insufficient! We need support!
— Understood. Two descendants of Iorga are heading there. Please hold out a little longer.
Shortly after, something with wings spread flew toward them from the sky.
It descended and faced the creatures with graceful movements.
— Damned monster bastards. Your master has already departed to the other world and, even so, you have a pointlessly long lifeline.
— Return to your master’s side.
The descendants of Iorga manifested their hostility and uncorked their water flasks.
The crystal-clear water inside moved following the flow of their fingers, transforming into a kind of whip divided into ten strips.
Whack!
Upon swinging the whips, the ten scattered strips extended toward the targets.
They caught the monsters’ bodies with precision, as if they had become their own limbs.
In an instant, three monsters were subdued.
— Security Captain, finish them off.
— Understood!
The knight’s sword wrapped in red sword energy aimed one by one at the immobilized monsters’ vital points.
— Euaaa! Diiieee!
The spearmen also advanced with renewed courage, as if they couldn’t just stand by watching.
Since ancient times, it is said that no merchant can withstand a group attack.
Completely subdued monsters are destined to be pierced even by the Baptism of Spears.
Thus, William dispatched two, and the spearmen slit the throat of one.
Just a few minutes ago they were going through a critical situation, so he never thought they would subdue them so easily.
— T-Thank you, Lord Mages.
— …….
The descendants of Iorga cast a glance at William and then turned their heads away.
And as if the job were finished, they flew off somewhere else.
The proud dragon spawns do not carelessly associate with low-status humans.
“So that means that to them I have no worthwhile value.”
He felt bad, but accepted it quickly without holding a grudge.
“If I were a bit stronger and had more charisma, maybe it would have been an easy problem to solve.”
Accepting his situation, he does not settle for it, but uses it as a stepping stone.
The Security Captain, William, thought to himself:
“I will become stronger.”
In a town under the Red Dragon’s rule, he resolved to possess power worthy of it.
— —
— The Knights of the Grand Duchy of Valdrova are deploying now.
— Understood. I leave the north to you.
Two horses descended from Valdrova Castle.
No, one of them was not a horse, but a donkey.
The man riding that donkey had a blank, dazed expression.
— M-Mr. Jed! I don’t think I’ll be of help, um, what should I do?!
The one who answered those words was Penelope, who was riding behind.
— What else? Go chew on some popcorn.
— D-Do I have to?
— Of course. Make popcorn for my portion too, ugaek!
— Good grief, you only spew nonsense that causes sighs every time you open your trap.
— Kekeuk! I give up, I give up!
Jed was choking Penelope’s neck, and Penelope was swatting his solid forearm.
— If you want to help, at least be a meat shield! If wolf demons come out, at least draw their attention!
— Y-Yes!
— I’m going over there! You go straight along this road where the route is!
— Understood!
The moment they parted from Malcolm on the donkey, Penelope opened his mouth again.
— Telling him to be a meat shield? Isn’t that too heartless?
— If it doesn’t work, at least he’ll run away.
— He seemed like someone who doesn’t even have that much intelligence.
— He’s probably smarter than you, bastard.
— What? Seriously?!
The moment Penelope tried to grab him and pull his hair from behind, a large object caught his vision.
It was a wolf monster.
Putting their arguments aside, they focused on the target.
— Enemy spotted. Similar to that time.
— Yes.
— The size and shape are also similar. Back then we barely managed to dodge it, will you be okay now?
— Of course I’m okay.
Jed smiled.
Hadn’t he endured that pain for this moment?
“How thrilling is the moment when you can get your revenge.”
Now he had to reap.
Jed drew the short sword tucked at his waist.
Blue sword energy emanated from the short blade.
The blindfolded horse ran bravely and then stopped.
Jed rebounded from the horse’s body from that recoil.
— Pepe! Now!
— Haste!
The pink-haired demon cast an acceleration spell on Jed in midair.
The coordination of two people whose hands and feet were now meshing to a certain extent.
With even more agile movements, the moment he landed on the ground, his figure vanished.
— Keureung!?
The wolf monster was bewildered.
The wolf monster tried to pursue that movement, but the attached snake heads could only follow the afterimages.
It was different from when he was simply running away.
The blue sword energy contained in the short sword traced a long trajectory following the traces.
Syushushuk—!
The trajectory touched and penetrated the wolf monster’s body.
It sliced off all the snake heads and severed the tendons, incapacitating it.
The moment the incapacitated monster put energy into its regeneration was the greatest opening he aimed for.
Jed drove the short sword into its chest.
Unlike when he was guarding Ferda, it ended with extreme ease.
— Wow, awesome!
Penelope hopped around frivolously.
— Hehe! What did you do over there?
— Do you think I was playing around, bitch?
— Do you look a bit sexy? Is this the first time I’ve seen such a sensual man?
— Haha, get lost, trying to spew nonsense to absorb my vital energy.
— Don’t be like that, I haven’t had a woman in a week…
Penelope rubbing his hungry belly and sending a captivating look.
Calling it captivating, to Jed it was a look that provoked disgust and the urge to give him a beating.
Then, Isabella’s telepathic communication was heard.
— Mr. Jed.
— Speak.
— Mr. Malcolm is gathering monsters. Please send support there.
Jed answered immediately:
— Where is the location?
— I’m heading there. Look toward the alley.
There was no need to look for which alley.
Loud noises approached this way.
The first thing seen was the donkey’s face.
And it was Malcolm letting out a scream that wasn’t quite a scream.
— Euhahaak! Euheok! I’m dyiiing!
Hiiin!
Malcolm and the donkey running while spraying tears and snot.
Soon two wolf monsters revealed themselves.
Jed, watching that scene, entered a state of shock.
“How the hell did that bastard survive?”
A man without particularly outstanding physical abilities or martial arts ran for his life with only a donkey.
Let’s say it’s because he’s riding a donkey.
That donkey also moved without any particularly distinctive features.
The wolf monsters surpassed it in speed, not to mention agility.
In all respects, it was perfect to be devoured by the wolf monsters.
Even so, the wolf monsters couldn’t catch Malcolm.
Precisely, every time the two wolf monsters moved to attack the two of them, their hands and feet didn’t coordinate and became tangled.
Whether it was because they fell before clumsy bastards, or because they had terribly good luck.
Whatever the case was, killing the wolf monsters was the priority now.
— Hey, donkey man! Come over here!
— Euheok! Euheok! Euhaaak!
The bastard only screamed loudly instead of answering.
That useless thing.
It was the moment Jed wondered if he should match that movement.
The donkey, as if understanding Jed’s words, turned its body and began running toward there.
The wolf monsters, deeply enraged, ran again to catch those two no matter what.
Anyway, it was going according to plan.
The donkey passed by Jed’s side.
Jed did a countdown in his head.
3, 2, 1.
With 0, the wolf monster’s body appeared.
Jed threw his accelerated body and pierced the heart of the wide-eyed bastard.
— Kkaekkaeng!
One wolf monster died, and the other realized it was not the time to chase the donkey and moved.
But the lone remaining wolf was no different from food for Jed.
The short sword wielded in a reverse grip took even the remaining bastard’s heart.
For Jed, who thought two might be difficult, this result was incredible.
“There’s no better bait than this.”
He wondered if this was why Ferda kept him around.
Anyway, Jed praised Malcolm to foster some camaraderie.
— Wow, it was truly impeccable as bait, good job, sir…
— Eueok! Euheok! I’m dying. I’m dead……
— …….
It took 3 more hours for Malcolm’s soul to return after having become excellent bait.
— —
Before the monsters attacked, Valdrova remained in the alley they indicated to her.
“Monsters are entering.”
Her five senses reacted to that repeated phrase.
Designing a mental map, everything in all directions was vividly seen and heard by her eyes.
The range extended beyond this town to beyond that forest…
Nothing could escape her senses.
That’s why Valdrova shut down those senses.
“What I must do is…”
Kill the wolf monsters entering this alley.
Just do that.
Other things could be thought about later.
Shortly after, the presence of that enemy made her open her eyes.
— Keureureu.
The wolf monster opens its mouth and growls.
What is visible is not the yellowish color of a beast, but green molars.
— Keung!
It charged at Valdrova.
A threatening charge like a flying projectile.
If she were human, she would be terrified and would have to fully prepare to respond.
But to Valdrova, it was nothing more than a trivial creature.
Valdrova grabbed the monster’s snout with faster and more powerful force and lifted it.
Unable to resist, with the wolf monster being dragged, she drove her left hand into its body.
Puk!
Piercing the monster’s hide like water-soaked paper, she pulled out and crushed the heart inside.
Kkwajik!
The time taken for that entire process was 0.1 seconds.
As someone who killed more monsters than anyone, Valdrova finished it easily and quickly like a simple procedure.
— Keureuk……
The wolf monster died instantly without even letting out a whimper.
Valdrova confirmed its death and pulled her hand out.
And like someone throwing away trash, she tossed the monster to the ground.
Valdrova did not fix her gaze on that monster.
No, she couldn’t.
“I must not look.”
When she fixed her gaze there, something twisted and emerged in her heart.
Valdrova knew this emotion.
It was hatred.
When facing monsters, she felt a vivid hatred, and burned using that hatred as vitality.
That was how she killed many monsters trying to march out of the Demonic Land.
But the emotion felt this time was a bit different from what was felt in that familiar emotion not much different from the usual.
It was fear.
“Why…”
The answer was simple.
Because the situation was different now.
Back then she tried to protect the continent as a dragon, but now she had to protect the town as a mere knight.
When she was a dragon, she flew toward the Demonic Land and tore and burned everything down.
What she had to protect was behind her; she didn’t need to worry.
Even if she went on a rampage expressing her deep anger, no one was hurt.
Because only her own body would be hurt.
But now the things she had to protect were in the very center.
“If I go on a rampage…”
Everyone gets hurt.
Hestia village burns and people die.
That’s why she feared this emotion.
“Calm.”
She tried to stop that emotion before it boiled over.
But her five senses were more outstanding than anyone’s.
The smell of monster blood and the echoing screams of the creatures were not something that could be blocked with willpower.
In the end, a fierce wave of heaviness turned her heart over and swept everything away.
What remained was an inextinguishable fire.
It was a deep anger toward demons.
That flame, that anger touched her unhealed wounds again.
The pain of the wounds stimulated her memories.
“They’re trying to take from me again…”
“The things he built.”
“The things he loves.”
“Because Godwin’s malice that tries to take and violate everything is still moving.”
“It forces her to revive that will.”
— Uut……
The fire ignited.
Her unstoppable anger tried to drive her to impulse.
“I have to return.”
I must quickly leave this town and return to my lair.
If I rampage a bit over there, it will be resolved.
She prayed.
So that everything would go smoothly until then.
Please, let nothing happen.
— Kyaaaak!
She raised her head.
Two little girls who hadn’t managed to evacuate caught her attention.
A tiny girl and a slightly older girl hugging her.
Valdrova knew those two well.
They were the little ones she rescued by giving 3 shillings.
The figure of an atrocious monster trying to swallow them in a single bite was visible.
“No.”
It opened its jaws to cruelly violate the two little girls who couldn’t resist.
The moment those jaws close, the two will lose their forms and their lives.
“No!”
At that moment, that voice pierced clearly into Valdrova’s ears.
— Look, Valdrova.
It was Godwin’s voice.
It was what he said while looking at her before the Dragon-Demon War erupted.
— This is the spectacle of the things you wanted to protect disappearing.
At that moment, the doubt in Valdrova’s head vanished.
Her body, by reflex, bent the right foot and extended the left foot backward, taking a stance.
Tuung!
She flew like a human cannonball leaving a huge shockwave behind her heel.
Valdrova’s fist stretched forcefully toward that snout.
Kkwajik!
The wolf’s snout was not only twisted, but torn off and sent flying toward the wall.
The body rolled like a tilted barrel and bounced toward the main avenue.
— Keureok…… Keureoeok……!
The wolf monster, unable to regain its senses, vomiting blood accumulated in its lungs.
The belligerence made to destroy everything charges at Valdrova.
— Keureureureu Keung!
The snout flew off, but vocalization is no problem.
It wasn’t a wolf to begin with; it’s just something mimicking the appearance.
It’s just a filthy and crude construct mimicking a wolf.
“Don’t hurt them.”
Valdrova’s inner anger burns.
In the process, teeth harder than steel bite Valdrova’s shoulder armor.
But her armor is a rare mineral several times harder than steel.
A masterpiece of the Bronze Dragon, who was practically the God of Blacksmiths.
The wolf that used a trick in a meaningless attack is caught in reverse.
She slammed that ugly figure against the ground.
“Don’t touch them.”
Valdrova’s fist sinks into the wolf’s flesh and breaks bones.
Kkadeuk!
— Kkaekkaeng!
The wolf monster realizes too late.
The fact that it should have run away, not charged at this bastard.
But Valdrova’s hand sinking into its body had no intention of letting it go.
“The one who needs to disappear is you.”
She was the Phase of Power, and that phase was emitting a bright red light in her eyes.
Valdrova simply pulled what she grabbed.
The spine hidden under the hide and ribs were torn out making grotesque sounds.
Even the entrails inside were shaken, turning the interior completely into mush.
“Not yet.”
Monsters do not die easily. Valdrova extends her hand as is, grabs the heart, and crushes it.
The monsters’ life source is crushed, and the wolf’s shape begins to melt.
That is the complete death of the monster.
“It’s not over yet.”
Her anger didn’t stop.
Even the remaining shape was detestable to her.
That corpse was still mocking and ridiculing her.
Valdrova clenched her fist and aimed at its face.
“From this continent.”
Her fist slammed down together with the ground.
“Disappear forever!”
Kung!
A great resonance.
At the same time, green blood splashed inside the helmet and touched her skin.
Only then did she realize she had lost her mind and regained her senses.
— Ah.
What comes out of her mouth is a ragged breath.
The visible sight is ground stained in purple and green.
Her two hands painted even more grotesquely than that.
She raised her head.
Valdrova on the ground deeply sunken like a crater.
Everyone came out and was looking at her.
She directs her gaze toward the alley.
The little girls were the same way there.
They still feared the monster.
Even though the monster that tried to harm them was already dead.
“Aa…”
She knows it.
That fear is directed at her.
That the monster is me.