novelraw Chapter 109 : Chapter 109
Chapter 109 : Chapter 109
Chapter 109
The magic Garius and Jeremy prepared is a simple fire-attribute spell, 'Ignition'.
The simplest fire magic that can neither change the direction of the fire nor raise the temperature.
Usually, it's a spell used only for lighting campfires, but when the cave is filled with magic circles, the story changes.
"I ask for fire resistance magic."
Garius moved his hands and granted fire resistance to me and the 10 knights.
"Is everyone ready?"
"Yes!"
"The duration of the fire resistance magic is 2 hours. Therefore, we will rotate with the personnel outside every 2 hours. If there is an injured person, they will immediately rotate with the personnel outside and receive treatment. Are there any questions up to this point?"
"None!"
The knight order answered, raising their Knight Slayers.
"I'll say it again, consider yourself dead once poisoned before you can receive treatment. Close combat is absolutely not permitted. Use spears only for throwing, and focus on suppressing fire."
"Yes!"
This should be enough.
Even if there are shortcomings, they will coordinate once the hunt begins.
"Then, we enter."
* * *
Killing the Serpent King for the first time was a coincidence.
In the process of setting the forest on fire and retreating to buy even a little time to escape, the Serpent King the Tyrant was riding died.
At first, I thought fire was its weakness, but after testing a few times in similar situations, the Serpent King's weakness was 'temperature'.
To be precise, the atmospheric temperature.
'It's fine against 6th-star fire magic, but if it breathes high-temperature air for a long time, it dies.'
The monster that was difficult to conquer even knowing the strategy was the Serpent King the Tyrant rode.
Maintaining the battlefield at a high temperature and fighting in a high-temperature battlefield were both difficult, but the hardest part was keeping him tied to the battlefield.
'In that respect, this cave is truly perfect.'
It was so perfect that I wondered if it was created as a place to conquer him from the beginning.
If we install ignition magic in the cave to heat the air and just hold out, the hunt is as good as successful.
"My Lord, the magic circle has been activated."
"Let's move as well."
After confirming that Garius, who went outside the cave, activated the magic circle, we moved toward the Serpent King's lair.
* * *
Entering his lair, I saw a gigantic white snake filling the cave.
'Fortunately, the medicine seems to have worked well.'
Seeing it coiled up, it was clearly sleeping soundly.
Since Jeremy used all the Jurif's Wing Powder he brought to fill this hollow, I would have been more surprised if it hadn't fallen asleep.
'I'm telling you, he's more capable than I thought.'
If Jeremy hadn't been here, the hunt would have been several times harder.
Perhaps I might have even given up on the hunt itself.
'I should treat him well while he's here. A well-raised combat wizard is worth ten knights.'
As long as I don't send him back to the Magic Tower, he can avoid the restriction, so I might be able to raise him into an original archmage that didn't even exist in the game.
'Plus, for a wizard, he has a good personality.'
While I was thinking this and that, he felt the heat and twisted his body.
Rumble!
'Is it starting now?'
Since he has already started to feel the heat, he will wake up soon.
- Focus on suppressing fire.
After warning the knights behind me with a hand signal, I moved carefully toward his head.
Using 『Dark Emperor 』 to kill my presence and sound, I approached his head step by step.
'Just the head alone seems twice as big as me.'
Fitting for a Monarch species, my neck hurt just looking at the Serpent King's head.
'[Dark Sword ] doesn't suit it.'
One Point is a technique that condenses sword qi to the extreme to momentarily mimic sword aura.
It's the strongest attack I have, but it's difficult to use against such a large enemy.
Unless I know the vital point, stabbing randomly would only make a hole in a lump of fat.
Historically, the larger the enemy, the more efficient an attack with a wide range is.
'Then as expected...'
Just as I raised my sword to strike down, the Count's teaching came to mind.
- Our family's swordsmanship is the Killing Sword . All forms and styles were created to kill the opponent.
The Ghost King's assassination arts and the Killing Sword have the same purpose and direction.
The Ghost King focused on assassination and concentrated on simple movements, abandoning forms and styles, while the Count's family swordsmanship simply established forms and styles.
- Slaughter is the same. Right now, you might think it's an excessive name for a mere downward strike, but there is no more suitable name.
When the Count said that and struck down with one hand holding his sword, I shuddered at swordsmanship for the first time.
Not a single grain of mana was imbued in that one sword stroke, which was neither fast nor slow, but it was heavier and more terrifying than any sword I had ever seen.
The simple downward strike the Count displayed was more fearful than Hlyundeyrr's axe or a frenzied Ogre's roar.
- The reason the name Kill is attached to the sword form means that one obtains death with just that form. Whether the opponent is a Goblin, an Orc, or an Ogre, it means to take the opponent's neck with a single downward strike, and it is the will.
The Count laughed and guaranteed that if one reaches the pinnacle of the Killing Sword, they could surely cut even a dragon's neck.
If one can cut a dragon's neck, they can cut a snake's head too.
'Slowly. Let's focus.'
A faint sword qi rose from the raised sword.
'Not yet.'
If the purpose of the Killing Sword and the Dark Sword is the same, just as One Point condenses all mana at the tip of the sword for a thrust, I should be able to condense the sword qi wrapping the entire sword onto the blade.
I covered the sword with mana and concentrated the sword's mana on the blade.
It is absolutely impossible with my humble talent, but.
'Killing a sleeping guy is assassination , isn't it?'
As if agreeing with my thought, increasingly vivid black sword qi shimmered on the blade.
Ziiing.
'Just a little, just a little more.'
Ignoring the sword trembling as if it reached its limit, I poured in more and more mana.
I also ignored the considerable amount of mana scattering into the air. If I can kill the enemy with one sword stroke, a little waste doesn't matter.
'...Just a little more.'
The moment black mana swallowed the blade.
[Dark Sword Second Form - Form of Slaughter ]
Simultaneously as Ian's raised sword struck down on his neck, the Serpent King, sensing the ominousness, twisted his head.
Crunch!
- Shaaaaaah!
As the Serpent, pouring blood from his neck, let out a roar and began to go berserk, the entire cave shook.
Rumble!
* * *
Damn it.
It was almost perfect.
If he hadn't moved just then, I could have cut his neck.
Even now, the bone is slightly visible under the dangling neck, so if I had been half a breath, just half a breath faster, I could have killed the Serpent King in one blow.
"My Lord!"
"Don't come!"
It can't be helped that it's regrettable, but I didn't have high expectations from the beginning anyway.
"Focus on suppressing fire!"
- Shaaaaaah!
I checked my body condition while running in front of his head to hold the enraged Serpent King's gaze.
Since I concentrated mana on a much wider area than One Point, I lacked mana, and because I mimicked a sword I couldn't perform with my talent, the shock remained in my arms.
It's a bleak situation overall, but.
'If it's just holding out.'
Holding the shield on my back with my left hand, I ran toward him baring his fangs.
* * *
While Ian was engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the Serpent King, there was someone at the fortress who sincerely wanted to see him.
"Where did you say he was?"
"He will arrive in an hour."
"Groan..."
Sven had no connection with the Royal family.
There are few people in Moner who have a connection with the Royal family, but Sven was special among them.
Because he had avoided other nobles and royalty to the extent that the number of times he left the fortress could be counted on one hand.
To him, Prince Trimia, who stepped forward for Moner on his own accord despite the Royal family's opposition, was a presence as difficult to deal with as the Pope of the Holy Nation.
"If you go instead..."
"The Young Lord clearly said so. No matter what happens! The Count must welcome the Prince personally."
"Isn't that guy not here right now! It's his fault for trusting me! How is this my fault!"
Realizing it didn't work at all on the cold Secretary-general's face, the Count cleared his throat.
"Ahem, ahem! Secretary-general! Who is the owner of this fortress!"
The face of the Secretary-general, who had been with him for a long time, seemed to ask, 'Really? You're going there?', but the Count really hated royalty.
If he breathes the same air as those arrogant and despicable folks, the long history of the Count's family might end today.
'If I can't hold back and kill the Prince, everyone will remember the Count's family as a family of traitors...'
That can't happen, right?
Therefore, his demand was a legitimate demand of the Commander of the fortress, Front Hold, and the head of the House of Count Sven.
"Ahem! Who is the Commander!"
"...It is Count Sven."
"Right! Then go quickly and prepare to welcome the Prince. Hmm... Right, tell him I am fighting against qi deviation because I couldn't control my disturbed mind ahead of the war."
"Haa..."
At the Secretary-general's sigh, the Count trembled.
"The Young Lord asked me to deliver this message without fail if something like this happens."
'That guy...?'
Just as the Count, who didn't really want to hear it, was about to stop him, the Secretary-general took out a paper and read it.
"This won't likely happen, but if the Count speaks bulls... nonsense in a solemn voice, please read this letter."
I think that part didn't need to be read...
"Count, bulls..."
How on earth does a letter start with bullshit?
Even when I didn't have time to sigh, I made time to teach swordsmanship to that ignoramus!
"Stop, stop!"
"Then I will read only the important parts."
"If you're going to do that, from the beginning... Never mind. Just read it."
"The Northern nobles gathered at the fortress have gathered to support the Second Prince. They implicitly believe that Moner supports the Second Prince, so no matter how busy you are, you must meet him in person."
As befitting a Moner, not a single word from the rotten guy was wrong. It was clear that Moner's talent for annoying people while only saying the right things ran in the blood.
"Ahem..."
"If, despite this, the Count does not move, please present the resignation letter that the Secretary-general has cherished..."
"Does that guy know about the resignation letter too?!"
When he looked at the Secretary-general with a surging sense of betrayal, he grinned.
"A wizard named Jeremy carried a resignation letter around. Since there were many lacking parts in the resignation letter, I helped correct it myself."
"……?"
It was an incomprehensible conversation, but that wasn't what was important. The Secretary-general, having read the entire letter, took out the resignation letter.
The Count, staring intently at the resignation letter, groaned and stood up.
"I will definitely burn that resignation letter."
"If that can relieve the Count's anxiety, please do so anytime."
The Count, who was about to go welcome Trimia, stopped.
"Don't tell me there's a copy?"
"Isn't that the basics of an employee?"
At those words, the Count moved his steps, which had become twice as heavy as before, and said.
"No matter what anyone says, you are my most precious friend."
"That is why I haven't quit yet."