novelraw Chapter 126: Successful Escort
Chapter 126: Successful Escort
“Funny. I was about to say the same thing.” I drew my sword instead of my spear—the gnoll chieftain wasn’t riding a wolf, and close-quarters combat suited me better.
A quick glance at the others showed me that they were locked in their own battles: Boris was trading blows with several gnoll chiefs at once; Michelle was maintaining her vines to restrain packs of wolves while her arrows claimed their lives; and Lucian was raining down magic toward the midst of the enemies. It would be some time before anyone could join me. Not that I needed help. This fight was mine alone.
We stared at each other—like predator and prey, though neither knew which was which—and lunged simultaneously. His massive bone war axe came crashing down with monstrous force. I met it head-on, my blade flashing in the firelight.
Clang!
Sparks flew as our weapons collided, the sheer force of the impact sending cracks spiderwebbing across the ground beneath us. I twisted my wrist, sliding his weapon aside, and slashed upward in a swift counter. Kharzug caught it with the flat of his axe, then spun his massive frame and kicked at my buckler with brutal precision, the impact hurling me several meters back.
As expected of a Daleth-rank named monster, his power and speed were monstrous, each strike carrying enough weight to shatter stone. I gritted my teeth, feeling the tremor in my arm from blocking his last hit.
“Strong,” he snarled, baring yellowed fangs, “but weak bones.”
I just snorted in response and steadied my breath before activating Phantom Blade. The blade in my hand suddenly split into several afterimages, each moving with the intent to kill. Kharzug roared and swung his axe in wide, savage arcs to deflect and attack me, but the phantom strikes lashed out, slipping past his defense. Steel met flesh again and again, cuts appearing across his chest, neck, arm, and shin in rapid succession.
“Grah!” Blood splattered across the dirt as he staggered back, clutching the wounds.
Still, this gnoll chieftain was incredibly strong, and his war axe managed to graze my forearm, slicing through the armor and drawing blood. If my earlier skill hadn’t forced him back, that strike might have taken my entire hand.
Ignoring the pain, I tightened my grip and pressed the advantage, refusing to give him a moment to recover. My movements blurred thanks to Predator’s Step as I unleashed a relentless flurry of attacks—slashes, feints, thrusts—all flowing seamlessly together under the rhythm of Phantom Slash. Each strike was precise, and the phantom afterimages struck a heartbeat later, compounding the damage.
Kharzug fought back with desperation, parrying with his axe and dodging with surprising agility for a creature his size. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, my phantom strikes always found their mark, carving new wounds across his massive frame. Although strikes were heavy enough to shake the earth, my speed and technique far outstripped him.
“Phantom Slash!” I invoked again, my sword splitting into two mirrored phantoms. The first blow collided with his axe, throwing off his balance; the second sliced deep into the shoulder, tearing through flesh and bone alike.
Kharzug finally dropped to one knee, panting, yet his eyes still burned with defiance. “No… gnoll… bows… to meat!”
“Then die,” I said coldly.
Channeling strength into my sword, I swung one final time. The blade cleaved through his neck cleanly, ending his roar in a spray of blood as his head tumbled down to the ground.
You have hunted [Gnoll Great Chieftain, Kharzug the Bone-Eater Lv.125].
You have gained 4,900 EXP.
You have leveled up.
Intermediate Swordsmanship has leveled up.
Phantom Blade has leveled up.
Your Strength has increased by 1.
Your Dexterity has increased by 1.
“Huff… That sure is exhausting.”
Despite not using magic during the fight just now, I had managed to prevail against a Daleth-rank monster. I truly had grown strong—beyond what most divine warriors at my rank could hope to achieve. This was all thanks to the passive skill Extraordinary Harmonized Constitution, which raised my overall physical, magical, and mental thresholds far above average.
Still, to be fair, Kharzug was a pure close-combat monster with little versatility. A pseudo-divine creature like Eikthyrnir would have been far more terrifying at the same level. If those two were ever to clash, Eikthyrnir would likely outlast Kharzug, so long as it kept its distance—even though it was merely a Gimmel-rank boss monster.
But now, I was confident enough to go toe to toe with Graham without relying on Grant Plausibility to temporarily boost my stats. Of course, winning would still be difficult even if I used all my skills, excluding my signature skills.
By this time, the battlefield had mostly fallen silent, save for a few scattered gnolls that managed to flee amid the chaos—or those too wounded to run, lying half-dead on the cracked earth. Once I drank a mid-quality healing potion to heal my injuries and catch my breath, I set out to finish the stragglers, cutting down any survivors that still clung to life.
I’d leveled up considerably after the battle, but the one who gained the most experience was Tuilë, followed closely by Lucian and Michelle. Since Tuilë had been the one who planted and detonated most of the bombs, the majority of the kills were credited to her. Meanwhile, Lucian and Michelle had taken advantage of the confusion to unleash their magic and arrows, striking deep into the enemy’s disoriented ranks.
Seeing that the vicinity was safe, I opened my status screen to see my current stats while still holding the Howling Edge.
Maximillian Anderson Lv. 47/60 (EXP 3,326/4,280)
HP: 100%
MP: 772/772
Rank: Gimmel [3]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Paradox Incarnate
Title: One Who Conquered the Impossible (6)
Status: Normal
Strength: 381 + 42 + 38 | Dexterity: 401 + 39 + 40 | Stamina: 321 + 25 + 32
Mind: 280 + 28 | Magic Power: 325 + 5 + 33 | Luck: 380 + 38
Plausibility: 251
Free Attributes: 224
Signature Skill(s): [Absorb Plausibility], [Fabled Vessel], [God!$# Creation], [Grant Plausibility], [Gravity Magic Lv.4], [Scenario Manipulation]
Skill(s): [Assassination Arts Lv.1], [Basic Alchemy Lv.7], [Basic Cryo Magic Lv.6], [Basic Dagger/Knife Mastery Lv.1], [Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv.7], [Basic Neutral Magic Lv.9], [Basic Shield Mastery Lv.8], [Back Stab Lv.4], [Berserk Lv.3], [Calm Mind], [Chantless Casting Lv.3], [Desperate Willpower Lv.8], [Divine Sermon Lv.1], [Echo Construct Lv.2], [Extraordinary Fortune], [Extraordinary Harmonized Constitution], [Fast Equip], [Fast Reading Lv.5], [Heavy Stab Lv.6], [Inspect Eye Lv.4], [Intermediate Spearmanship Lv.3], [Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.4], [Inventory], [Mana Manipulation Lv.7], [Mana Sense Lv.8], [Mental Tolerance Lv.5], [Negotiation Lv.7], [Night Vision], [Pain Tolerance Lv.6], [Phantom Blade Lv.3], [Phantom Slash Lv.5], [Poison-Paralysis Resistance Lv.3], [Projectile Defense Lv.3], [Predator’s Step Lv.4], [Shield Bash Lv.1], [Stealth Movements Lv.4], [Weapon Manifestation Lv.3], [Wind Rush Lv.6]
Spell(s): {Frozen Icicle}, {Graviton Pull}, {Gravity Field}, {Gravity Launch}, {Mana Arrow}, {Mana Bullet}, {Mass Alteration}, {Spinning Mana Arrow}
Level forty-seven.
I was only thirteen levels away from reaching the cap of Gimmel rank, and by totaling all my stats—including those gained from titles and equipment—I had surpassed 2,400 points. With the additional free attribute points, the total exceeded 2,600. That was nearly equivalent to the overall strength of a newly advanced Daleth-rank divine warrior.
After ensuring no more gnolls were lurking in the dark, we began cleaning up the battlefield. The air still reeked of blood and scorched fur, but the worst had passed. Boris and Michelle busied themselves gathering loot from the fallen, while Lucian methodically used low-tier Pyro spells to burn away the gnoll carcasses around him. Meanwhile, Tuilë wandered across the scorched terrain, humming a tune as she inspected the craters left by her bombs. When she realized every single one had detonated flawlessly, she gave a satisfied nod.
I walked closer toward Kharzug’s corpse. The massive gnoll’s body was still kneeling upright, headless, with both hands gripping his weapon in death. His sheer size and the scars across his armor acted as evidence of the countless battles he had fought.
“You won’t be needing this anymore,” I muttered, prying the weapon from his stiff fingers with a grunt. Once free, I held it up to inspect it more closely.
Dragon-Fang War Axe
Grade: Unique
Type: Weapon
A massive axe forged from a dragon’s fang and imbued with lingering traces of its ancient power. Each swing carries the bloodlust of countless battles, resonating with the wielder’s fury. When pushed to the limit, it can momentarily awaken the might of the dragon within.
Durability: 58/140Grants +15 Strength and +10 StaminaHas a low chance to temporarily amplify the user’s combat power beyond normal limits during critical moments.“Huh. Not bad.” I gave the weapon a few test swings, feeling the faint vibration of power coursing through it.
“Definitely not something for me, though…” I muttered, glancing toward Boris, who was still sifting through the corpses of fallen gnolls, and shook my head. “Although his size suits this thing, he’s never been one for using weapons. His whole body is a weapon.”
With that thought, I stored the war axe in my inventory—joining Graham’s weapon, which had been gathering dust ever since I claimed it. Selling it for soul coins crossed my mind, but there wasn’t any pressing need for currency right now. As for handing it over to someone in the Genesis Order, that was out of the question. Most of them were still too weak to even wield such a weapon safely. Even Rex, the strongest among them, had only just reached Bet rank.
Once we had finished collecting loot and clearing the battlefield, we regrouped and made our way back to the refugees’ hiding spot. They were huddled together, resting quietly, mostly unaware of the trap that had just obliterated the gnoll army. While fatigue colored their faces, they were alive.
Istellise stood at the center of the group, her silver hair reflecting the firelight as she looked up at us anxiously. “Is the plan successful?” she asked softly. “Are the five of you unharmed?”
“Yup. All in one piece,” I replied, brushing the dust from my armor. “Anyway, we should move before dawn. Some of the gnolls managed to escape; they might regroup and come back.”
Istellise nodded, clutching the relic close to her chest. “The light is stronger now. We’re close.”
And she was right. Hours later, after carefully navigating through the silent wasteland, the eastern sky began showing the first hints of dawn. As the light grew brighter, faint silhouettes appeared on the horizon—crumbling stone walls, toppled watchtowers, and the outline of what had once looked like a thriving town.
Our destination had finally come into view.
Still, this made me wonder why such a thriving town would be abandoned like this. Was going there really safe?
As the thought crossed my mind, Istellise suddenly halted and announced, “We’ve made it… This is the place the relic has been guiding us to.”
The refugees broke into murmurs of relief. The exhausted mood that had clouded the whole caravan melted away at the sight of the town ahead. Hope returned to their faces, and eyes that had been dulled by fear now filled with life again.
Once we were closer to the town’s outskirts, Istellise turned to face the five of us.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “Truly, thank you for your help this time. I can’t express how much gratitude we have for you…”
Despite her fatigue, she bowed deeply, her silver hair falling over her shoulders. I crossed my arms, slightly taken aback by the gesture.
“Don’t mention it,” I replied. “It just so happens to be our duty to protect you and the refugees.”
“That’s right!” Tuilë added cheerfully, flashing a grin. “We will help you whenever you’re in need. Just call for our names.”
Michelle and Boris both nodded in agreement.
“Mm, we wouldn’t ignore a friend in need.”
“Little missy, as a leader, don’t bow your head so easily to others.”
“Of course, you should be grateful,” Lucian started smugly. “We have helped you twi—Mmpf—!” Tuilë promptly clamped a hand over his mouth before he could finish.
That earned a few light chuckles from the nearby refugees. They soon joined in to offer words of thanks and heartfelt gratitude. This filled me with a good feeling of warmth and satisfaction.
Gratitude was, after all, just another form of faith.