novelraw Chapter 143 : Chapter 143
Chapter 143 : Chapter 143
Chapter 143. Why Go That Far...?
[Again….]
[To a human, again!?]
[I curse you, humans!!]
Kwa-deu-deu-deuk.
When a clump of green scales grew instead of a head from the fifth severed neck.
"Kyaooooooo!"
The monster no longer made any rational sounds.
The remaining four necks, their eyes dyed red again, only let out screams.
Even its overflowing demonic energy had been reduced to about a third of what it was when it was whole.
However.
The four pairs of reddened eyes were now fixed solely on Muno.
"Kawoooooooo!"
The green acidic breath and psychic waves that poured out with the roar were focused solely on him.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwa.
Thump.
Although the green breath, spewed like a rushing river, did no more damage than a physical shock.
Zzzzzzzzzing.
"Keuk!"
The psychic wave, so concentrated it felt like it would burst my head, was something I should have been used to, but it was dizzying enough to make me stagger for a moment.
In that situation.
Kwwaaaaaaaaaang!
An earthen wall soared high into the sky in front of me and came crashing down, making it hard to tell if I was falling or if the earth was attacking.
But.
Kkadeuk.
"Damn it!"
Kwwaaaaang!
Ruuuuuumble.
The Wind Slicer, swung with the chain as a weapon, shattered the earthen wall in front and, as its name suggested, cut through the wind and shot out.
Being able to use Wind Slicer and Wind Sprint in succession even when I couldn't concentrate due to the psychic attack was clearly a huge improvement, but.
Kwakwakwakwang!
Thump.
"Ugh!?"
Bang.
"Ack!"
Tang!
"Damn it!"
Even if I endured the rocks repeatedly striking the back of my head with my armor, it felt incredibly foul.
Honestly, the accumulated damage alone was not to be ignored.
"Hey! Hurry! Up!!!"
I yelled at the sky for no reason.
- If it looks so easy, will you do it? Want to switch places?
The moment a chilling voice whispered in my ear, I had no choice but to shut my mouth quietly.
I definitely couldn't feel the spirit of the wind.
'Is that telepathy!? Are you a master from the martial world!? Damn it!'
I didn't know what kind of trick this was, but I was relieved.
'It must mean he has enough leeway to pull off such tricks, right?'
Kwwaaaaaaaaaang!
Chwaaaak.
Tutatatatata.
As I leaped over the soaring earthen wall with a chain jump again, I glanced up at the sky.
Even through the limited vision of my helmet, I could see a dazzling golden wyvern plummeting from the sky.
Heh.
At that, Muno pulled out the chains from both feet in mid-air.
Teong.
Instead of his feet, the chains that landed on the ground bent to their limit and then sprang back, launching his body in the opposite direction again.
"Kiya-ho!!"
He, too, had the leeway to shout such a thing in the midst of a fierce battle.
As if in response to his cheer, one of the Hydra's giant necks fell again with a 'craaaaack' sound.
"Kyaaaaaaaak!"
The roar of the monster that had lost its demonic energy again now sounded like just a scream.
With that scream as a backdrop, Muno extended the chains in both hands again, coiling them around the head that was just about to hit the ground.
Without the need to wrap the chain tightly like before, he skillfully twisted the center of the transparently changing demonic energy.
Then, in the place where that head had been.
Kwa-deu-deu-deuk.
Once again, blunt scales sprouted, leaving the Hydra with only three heads.
"Kyaoooooo!"
The roar of the giant beast sounded pathetic.
That's how perfectly Muno and the Dragon Sword Duke's combination worked.
And soon.
Craaaaaaack.
"Kyaaaaaaaak!"
In the end, the legendary beast was left with only one head.
And.
The moment the wyvern knight descended like a thunderbolt from the sky again, and Muno also turned his body and charged in advance to where the beast's head was likely to fall.
The eyes of the remaining head regained their yellow light.
Simultaneously.
[Let's die, together!]
Cra-cra-cra-cra-crack.
Suddenly, cracks appeared all over the Hydra's body, which was the size of a small mountain.
At that.
"Damn it!!"
The wyvern that was about to strike its neck swerved, plummeting diagonally towards the ground.
Muno, who was approaching nearby, also reflexively threw his chain and wrapped it around the wyvern Castaria.
Kwa-deuk.
The wyvern staggered for a moment as if burdened by his weight, but.
"Ha!"
With the Dragon Sword Duke's battle cry, the golden light momentarily intensified.
Paaaaaaaaang!
With Muno dangling from its tail, it flew up into the sky as if shortening space.
Behind them.
- Kwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!
The legendary beast projected green scales, blood, and flesh in all directions.
The power contained in each and every one of those fragments felt terrifying even from a distance.
Whoooooooooooooosh.
"Ugh. That thing is disgusting to the very end."
With trembling hands, Muno barely managed to grab the wyvern's ankle and crawl onto its back.
He was so drained of energy that it was difficult to use the chains.
"Damn it, damn it. How did things get to this point…."
As I was lamenting my situation, the owner of the foot I was holding turned its head, bared its teeth, and glared at me.
"Grrrrr."
"…I wasn't cursing at you."
I made an excuse, feeling awkward for no reason.
"Hmph."
The creature snorted and turned its head away.
'Does this bastard understand human speech?'
They said it was either a divine beast or a demonic beast, and it seemed that it really could be.
'Miya was like that right after she was born.'
Suddenly thinking of the baby dragon, which was much cuter and smaller than this wyvern, seemed to lift my spirits a little.
'She's doing well, right?'
As I tried to think only good thoughts and heaved myself onto the wyvern's back.
I saw the old man's gaze, sitting there blankly and watching me.
"Aren't you even going to give me a hand?"
"If you can't even climb this, you should just die."
Man, the Duke really has a way with words….
"Keungcha."
As I grumbled inwardly and barely managed to get on top of the wyvern.
"Hoooah. I'm alive…."
The ride felt incomparably more comfortable than when I was in battle.
But, unlike him who was relieved, the Duke's gaze was directed far away.
Following his gaze, I saw a huge 'green swamp' in front of the circling wyvern.
A swamp, bubbling with green foam, created in a place where several large mountains should have been.
It was obvious what it was a trace of.
"…He went out filthily to the very end. Like a demonic beast."
Suddenly, a swamp full of poisonous gas had been created in the southern part of the kingdom.
But the Duke's reaction was strange.
"The Hydra is not a monster to be so belittled. It is all the sin of humans."
"Pardon?"
"According to the traditions passed down in the Dragon Sword family…."
Oh?
It sounded like some legendary story was about to come out, so I perked up my ears.
The Duke, who met my eyes, flinched and changed the subject.
"…You don't need to know."
"Ah. Come on…."
Why do people stop talking in the middle of a sentence?
I was slightly annoyed, but.
"What, you punk?"
"N-No, sir."
I had no choice but to lower my eyes at the Duke's sharp glare.
'For goodness sake, this is so…'
As I was grumbling inwardly about whether he was being too harsh to a comrade who had just fought a life-or-death battle with him.
I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.
"Oh, what about Sir Anthony!?"
"That guy already retreated when the domain collapsed. He did his part."
"Hah…. That's a relief. Phew."
As I swept my chest, the Duke, who had been smirking at that, turned his head away again as if feigning ignorance and threw out a nonchalant remark.
"It was that guy who saved you when you were about to be crushed while spacing out, so make sure you repay him. The dead Rantor fellow is… ugh. My mistake, so I'll have to compensate his family."
What had happened while I was unconscious?
When he mentioned Sir Rantor, I could feel his expression darken and his speech slow down.
Thinking that this person had this side to him, I stared at him openly, and at that moment, the old man suddenly shouted.
"Aren't you going to answer!?"
"…Yes. Of course."
It wasn't intentional, but it was a debt that must be repaid.
The world-renowned Blood Knight had saved him at the cost of his own arm.
'I will repay this kindness, no matter what.'
Because that was one of the mottos in life for both Han Munho and Muno.
He firmly engraved that debt of life in his heart.
As I was replaying the situation at that time, my thoughts reached the memories of my childhood that I had been forced to recall because of the legendary beast.
'Ryute, Exeo. Probably my name and family. And… Exlam.'
The name of my enemy.
As Muno's eyes shone again, Kyle Dragon stared at him silently before turning his gaze away without a word.
* * *
Fortunately, the Holy Knights who had set up camp and the forces of Erundel were gathered not far from the battlefield, which had turned into a poison swamp.
"Congratulations on your victory!"
"Watching the mythical battle from afar, my heart trembled at its grandeur!"
"Long live the Dragon Sword Duke!"
"Long live the Black Knight!!"
Perhaps feeling sorry for just watching, the forces of Erundel greeted them with awkward cheers as they landed.
And the words the Dragon Sword Duke spat out at them were very simple.
"Quiet. Where's Anthony?"
"He is being treated. This way…."
Where the knight of Erundel led, Anthony was lying with a pale complexion, receiving treatment with holy power.
And a familiar Holy Knight, with three pairs of sacredly shining wings spread open, was treating him.
'The one I saw at that contest…?'
But I couldn't remember his name well.
"That, the Silver Knigh…?"
"It is Elorang, Sir Black Knight. And Your Excellency. It has been a long time."
"Yes, you skinny fellow. It's been a while. Can this one be resuscitated?"
Resuscitated?
At those words, Muno's heart sank, and he looked at the seemingly fainted Anthony again.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to mean that.
My eyes naturally widened as I saw Anthony's arm gradually taking shape in the sacred light.
Could holy power do something like that?
"The arm will regenerate. However, he will have to train separately to use it as before."
"That alone is more than enough."
At the conversation going back and forth, Muno let out a sigh of relief.
It felt like the guilty feeling that had been weighing on his chest had lessened a little.
"No. I am only sorry that I could only do this much. If only I had come a little sooner…."
"Then you would have died. Your holy power is decent, but your swordsmanship is just so-so, isn't it? Compared to you guys, that black fellow over there was much more helpful."
At those words, the crowd's attention once again focused on Muno.
Feeling awkward for no reason, he turned his head and, soon realizing something strange, asked the slit-eyed Holy Knight, who now had an even more favorable expression.
"Sir Maier, by any chance, did my colleague come here? The slender one in black leather clothes."
"Ah, you mean that mixed-race young lady?"
"Yes. Her name is Rauel…."
"She watched the fight with an anxious face and left as soon as it was over."
"...Pardon?"
The moment he heard the unexpected answer, Muno couldn't help but be stunned.
"Ah. Here, she left a note. She said to show it only to Sir Muno, so rest assured, I haven't seen it at all."
I didn't have time to pay attention to Maier's expression as he winked with one eye that was barely visible.
I hastily unfolded the note and saw crooked handwriting that seemed to reveal her anxious feelings.
She, who had said she would use my power to take revenge on her family, was going to find Aslan on her own.
'Why go that far…?'
I felt sorry for no reason even though I had done nothing wrong, and my chest felt empty.
At that moment, the tent flap was violently thrown open, and a group of people rushed in.
All unfamiliar faces.
"Your Excellency the Duke!"
"His Excellency Marquis Ostal has requested your presence!"
"My good man, before that!"
"Ah! And to congratulate you on your victory in battle! He also said he was deeply moved that you have written another legend."
"His Excellency the Marquis is rushing here on horseback, so if you could just wait a moment…!"
The Duke, who had been picking his ears at the noisy chatter, finally scowled.
"Everyone, shut up!!"
Zzzzzzzzzing.
"Ugh!?"
"Aack!"
"My, my ears!"
Even as everyone screamed at the tremendous volume that could not be considered a human voice.
Muno, just stood there, blankly staring at the note in his hand.
I am sorry I could not be of help in the most important battle. Through this incident, I have keenly realized my own shortcomings.
So I am going to retrieve the artifact I left behind in Aslan. I will return as someone who is absolutely necessary to Sir Muno, so please wait just a little while.