novelraw Chapter 41 : I Will Let You Die Quickly
Chapter 41 : I Will Let You Die Quickly
Chapter 41: I Will Let You Die Quickly
Hearing Caron’s demand, Leon slightly widened his eyes and subconsciously glanced at Rena behind him.
Did Caron mean for him to leave and let him be alone with Rena for a while?
“Go outside and stand guard for a bit. You are not allowed to come back in until I say you can. Do you understand?”
Caron carefully reiterated his order.
His eyes were locked tightly onto Leon, as though he wanted to peer straight through his eyes and into the depths of his mind.
Leon realized it—this was a test of obedience.
Next, Caron was going to interrogate Rena alone.
It might be questioning, it might be torture, or it might even be something unspeakable.
Interfering in this kind of business already constituted apostasy; Caron likely would not care about Church regulations.
The only question was whether he feared Rena poisoning him.
But no matter what, whatever awaited Rena was bound to be nothing good.
Rena also realized the fate that was about to befall her, and her face grew increasingly pale.
“Well? Are you planning to disobey orders right here?”
Caron examined Leon with a teasing gaze.
He tapped his pipe downward, extinguishing it, and then once again placed his hand on the grip of his gun.
If Leon showed even the slightest sign of disobedience, he would execute him on the spot.
To handle this business, he needed a subordinate—preferably his own Inquisitor.
Leon, who had personally pioneered this business, was the best candidate, though not an indispensable one.
The only thing absolutely required here was the Witch.
After a long silence, Leon finally made his choice.
“I understand. I will comply with your orders, sir.”
He took the initiative to place his gun and dagger on the experimental table, pushed them aside, and then stepped forward, preparing to leave.
At that moment, he felt a faint resistance suddenly appear behind him.
Leon turned his head and saw Rena, her face on the verge of tears, reaching out to clutch the corner of his coat, her eyes filled with pleading.
“I’m sorry,” Leon replied softly, continuing to walk forward.
“Ah…” Rena watched in despair as the corner of Leon’s coat slipped from her grasp.
Caron watched Leon walk straight toward the entrance with amusement.
Just as Leon passed by him, he suddenly called out, “Wait.”
Leon stopped in his tracks and looked at Caron, asking in a deferential tone, “Do you have any other orders, sir?”
“What did you just take from over there and hide on yourself?” Caron narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized Leon.
“Did you think I didn’t see it? Take it out.”
At the time, he had pretended to be observing the breeding pool, but he had not relaxed his attention on Leon at all.
He had actually seen Leon take something from the table and hide it on his person, but he had not exposed it on the spot, intending to confirm it here.
If Leon were merely pretending to be respectful while actually preparing to ambush him with something, he would still have to carry out an execution.
Leon remained silent for a moment, then put his hand into his pocket and took out a small test tube.
Inside it were tiny, granular crystals shimmering faintly red and pale blue.
This was a small amount of Mana that Rena had placed on the test tube rack for use as a magical potion activator.
“Mana?” Caron, who had been on guard for Leon to pull out something else, suddenly burst out laughing.
He stepped forward, snatched the test tube away, shook it, and then mocked Leon, “You even wanted to secretly take something as little as this?”
He appeared relaxed on the surface, but in truth, he still harbored some wariness toward Leon.
Someone bold enough to conduct this kind of business right under his nose might not lack the courage to kill him.
Even though Leon had shown submission, he had not completely let down his guard.
However, discovering that Leon, at such a moment, was actually thinking about sneaking away a bit of Mana to scrape together some petty profit caused his vigilance to abruptly dissolve, even turning into a bit of contempt.
He had some guts, sure, but his horizons were only this wide.
In the end, he was nothing more than an insect.
“I guarantee there won’t be a next time,” Leon replied with his head lowered.
“Get out,” Caron said as he put the Mana away.
Leon walked past him, and Caron turned his back.
Rena stared blankly as Leon’s retreating figure was blocked by Caron turning around, and tears immediately spilled from her eyes.
Liar. You clearly said you would protect me…
Cold despair swallowed her like a vortex.
Yet at that very moment, Leon quietly glanced back over his shoulder.
Caron had finally let down his guard and was facing away from him—there could be no better opportunity.
Leon’s hand silently reached inside his coat and drew a compact Flintlock Pistol.
This was not a weapon issued by the Inquisition, but one he had bought on the Black Market for self-defense.
After a brief moment of preparation, he suddenly turned around, aimed at Caron’s back, and fired!
Leon had rehearsed this shot countless times in his mind.
This was his smoothest shot ever.
He pulled the trigger.
The bullet left the barrel, muzzle flash erupted, Caron’s clothing burst open with a small tear, splattering a faint mist of blood.
Only then did the gunshot begin to echo through the cave.
Caron’s body jolted, but he did not fall.
He did not even stagger forward a single step.
The pain activated Caron’s body.
In the next instant, with agility unimaginable for such a burly frame, he drew his gun and turned around, bloodshot eyes blazing with fury.
Leon Set—the insect he had just spared after lowering his guard—had actually bitten him while he was not paying attention!?
He was courting death!!
Caron also pulled the trigger.
Another gunshot rang out.
Leon had anticipated the possibility of Caron’s counterattack and was already prepared to dodge, yet the bullet still passed through his shoulder, bursting into a spray of blood.
The searing pain made his entire body jolt, but he did not even have time to press a hand to the wound.
Caron had already discarded the gun that required reloading and lunged at him like an enraged brown bear.
With a sharp clang, a longsword was drawn from its sheath.
After a few charging steps and a powerful leap, Caron closed the distance, the knight’s sword in his hand flashing with silver light as it chopped straight down at Leon.
Leon awkwardly twisted his body and dashed to the side, barely evading the blade, almost losing his balance and falling to the ground.
Caron had put too much force into the strike.
The sword crashed into the ground with a loud clang, actually biting into the solid mountain rock, but Caron immediately pulled it back out.
“So fast! And what kind of strength is this!?” Leon’s heart pounded.
Caron’s movements combined speed and power like a ferocious beast, yet he was also proficient with both gun and sword.
Leon had clearly prepared himself to dodge before making his move, yet he was still driven into a sorry state by Caron’s counterattack.
More crucially, there was that shot.
He had clearly hit Caron squarely in the back, which should have been enough to pierce the heart, yet apart from a bit of blood splatter, Caron was completely fine!!
The old shopkeeper had not exaggerated at all.
This damned Transcendent truly was impervious to blades and bullets!
A monster with strength comparable to a brown bear, capable of wielding weapons like a seasoned veteran, and whose body was impervious to blades and bullets—against such a thing, ordinary people had no chance of victory whatsoever!
Caron continued to press Leon relentlessly.
Leon kicked over the experimental table, only for it to be split cleanly in two by Caron’s sword.
Rena stared at the scene in shock, then suddenly snapped awake, realizing that Leon had only pretended to comply—he had actually intended to kill Caron all along!
Panicking, she looked around and grabbed the Church-issued Flintlock Pistol Leon had left on the table, only to become even more flustered.
“Th-this… how do I even use this?”
She immediately realized that she had no idea how to use it and that it would not help Leon anyway.
Leon had just shot that man in the back and the man had not been harmed at all!
Suddenly, she thought of something.
Her gaze swept across the room and fixed on the breeding pool in the corner.
Leon dodged and weaved, gradually being forced toward the wall.
Caron charged much faster than he could run.
All Caron needed to do was occupy the entrance and drive him into a dead corner—there would be no escape at all.
“You’re not the first one to shoot at me, you idiot who doesn’t know your place or status…” Caron shook his head as he advanced, his gaze already that of someone looking at a corpse.
“I won’t let you die quickly.”
“But I will let you die quickly,” Leon replied, panting as he retreated, continuing to keep his distance.
He still had space to dodge once more, but it was basically foreseeable that Caron would force him into a corner.
Once there, he would have nowhere left to go.
“Then I’m very much looking forward to it!” A ferocious grin appeared at the corner of Caron’s mouth.
His muscles swelled another full circle under the power of the Blessing, nearly tearing his clothes apart.
At that moment, a shrill whistled signal pierced through the cave, followed by a rapid rush of rustling sounds.
Caron instinctively turned his head to glance over—and a Head-Hunting Rabbit streaked toward his face in a blur.
He instinctively swung his sword, and that Head-Hunting Rabbit was severed on the spot.
But at the same time, another Head-Hunting Rabbit launched an attack from his blind spot, slashing across his waist and tearing a gash through his clothing and skin.
The stinging pain made Caron frown.
The whistled signal rang out again.
Following the sound, he saw that the Witch had taken advantage of him chasing Leon to open the door of the breeding pool and release more than ten adult Head-Hunting Rabbits.
Rena blew the whistle with all her strength.
The shrill sound triggered the frenzy of the Head-Hunting Rabbits.
They poured all their hostility onto Caron, the bearer of the God of War’s Blessing, charging in groups and leaping one after another to launch surprise attacks.
“Tsk!” Caron slashed and dodged simultaneously.
The God of War’s Blessing not only allowed a person to explosively increase their strength and senses in combat, but also granted an additional, individualized Blessing.
The Blessing he received was “Body of Steel.” Under painful stimulation, his muscles and bones could instantly become exceptionally tough, blocking blades and bullets so that he would suffer only superficial wounds.
If he were also equipped with armor, he could even withstand the crushing impact of a war chariot.
The wounds the Head-Hunting Rabbits could inflict on him were shallow, but they bled profusely.
If he were cut too many times, there was still a risk of blood loss.
Fortunately, with his reaction speed and swordsmanship, these dozen or so Head-Hunting Rabbits were still manageable!
However, Leon seized this opportunity and swiftly circled around Caron, sprinting toward the exit.
“Run!!” Leon shouted at Rena, and she immediately moved.
Taking advantage of the few seconds bought by the Head-Hunting Rabbits, the two of them dashed out of the encampment one after the other and entered the labyrinth corridor.
Just as Rena was about to run toward the outside of the labyrinth, Leon suddenly grabbed her.
“This way!!” Leon said as he pulled her in another direction.
“But this way is…” Rena stared at Leon in disbelief.
This direction led deeper into the labyrinth.
The other exits had already been blown up, and inside were only several winding dead ends.
“Trust me!” Leon gripped Rena’s hand tightly.
Rena had no time to hesitate and could only follow Leon, because Caron’s charging footsteps were already echoing from inside the encampment.
Caron burst out of the encampment, his ears keenly catching the footsteps extending toward the depths of the labyrinth.
A sadistic smile crept onto the corner of his mouth.
The mouse had panicked and run straight into the cage.
Next came the game of hide-and-seek.