Chapter 103

Chapter 103 - Hunting a Hero (2)

Generally, the food chain takes the form of moving from the bottom to the top. However, in the Demonic Forest, all arrows point at everyone.

Is it an herbivore? Is it a carnivore?

Is it weak? Is it strong?

Is it delicious? Is it tasteless?

None of that matters. It was extremely rare for a body to rot away after meeting death.

The Gnolls, who had continued a life of asceticism in such a green hell, naturally longed for their homeland stolen by humanity.

And the blessing and privilege of the races constituting a society is the birth of a hero.

Just as a hero writing a magnificent epic appears among humans, a hero appeared among the Gnolls as well.

The young Gnoll hero welcomed the god of their race through bones and muscles that grew every moment.

Even when eating, when running through the forest, when resting, and when sleeping, he felt the unknown touch massaging his muscles and growing his bones.

Crunch!

His first murder was when he strangled the chieftain to death.

Wary of the abnormally growing hero, the chieftain launched a preemptive attack but was counterattacked instead.

The god's laughter echoed in his ears, as if praising him. That made the hero more ecstatic than fresh meat or slaughter.

As time passed, the fully grown hero declared he would reclaim the homeland stolen by humans and united dozens of tribes.

A Gnoll's persuasion, lacking words like 'thank you,' 'sorry,' 'pay,' or 'promise,' is simple.

"Grrk..."

If they refused to submit, the chieftain's head was split by the axe wielded by the hero. Then, the second-in-command of that tribe automatically became the chieftain.

Chomp, chomp.

After devouring the previous chieftain's corpse in front of everyone, the hero asked the new chieftain the same question. Then, most of them accepted.

If refused again, he killed and ate the second-in-command, produced a third chieftain, and asked again.

The Gnoll race itself consists of gluttons, and the hero was so massive that other Gnolls seemed like children to him. There was no such thing as stopping his persuasion because he was full.

Just as he finally united all the tribes in the area and was about to march on Gord, an anomaly no one could have foreseen occurred.

Flash!

Baaaaang!

It was a massive castle that descended riding on a flash of light, explosions, and a storm.

As the heavy gate opened, real monsters of hell poured out from within.

The monsters of the Demonic Realm, who had continued an infinite struggle, faced a true challenge for the first time.

Tundalini, who dominated the largest territory among the Trolls of the Demonic Realm. A strong one who survived despite the total number of times swords, axes, spears, teeth, and claws had been embedded in his body exceeding a thousand.

The super-giant anaconda, Urgan, couldn't be left out either. A monster that, when its prey fled up a tree, simply coiled around the tree, crushed it, and swallowed the fallen prey.

In the territory of the giant spiders, the greatest trap hunters of the Demonic Realm, the remains of all creatures inhabiting the forest roll around.

The Demonic Realm's special Minotaur, which walked on all fours unlike its counterparts outside, was avoided even by the Gnoll hero.

Because it was an incarnation of destruction that rammed and pulverized everything with a head and horns twice as large as ordinary Minotaurs.

The monsters of hell equally tore, crushed, and devoured all those strong ones. Of course, in the process, they were similarly killed and eaten.

It was like thousands of tons of horrific pollutants leaking into the ocean.

In the immediate term, the area gets dyed pitch-black, and countless marine creatures die en masse. However, it gradually gets swallowed up and purified by the vast ocean.

By the time all the monsters of hell that invaded the Gnolls' territory were defeated, the hero was dead, and the army whose numbers exceeded a thousand was shattered to pieces.

The hero's son, who became the new leader, and the roughly one hundred surviving subordinates changed their dream from conquest to plunder.

In search of human flesh, which was much softer than monsters', and sweet blood, they headed for Gord.

* * *

Salvatore's mercenaries, completely ready to fight in high spirits, lost their fighting spirit the moment they saw the Gnolls.

"Sir Knight! This is different from what we heard!"

"We must retreat immediately!"

Gnolls, along with Goblins and Orcs, were monsters mercenaries regularly subjugated. But these guys were special.

They were larger and more muscular than the Gnolls the mercenaries had seen.

All of them wore armor made from the pelts of beasts and monsters. Though the quality was crude due to lacking tanning skills, the material itself was so excellent it looked tough even at a glance.

"Grrrrr-."

Above all, the massive leader commanding them.

"Is that a Gnoll?!"

"Isn't it an Ogre or another monster dominating the Gnolls?"

Due to the size difference being too great to just be considered a mutant, someone shouted, but its appearance was undoubtedly that of a Gnoll.

"Sir Salvatore! Give the order to retreat!"

"Are you asking me to suffer the dishonor of running away with monsters right in front of us, and fewer Gnolls at that?!"

The mercenary captain pleaded, but only a scolding returned immediately.

"How is that a Gnoll? It's an Ogre wearing a Gnoll's skin!"

"Shut up! Crossbowmen, aim exclusively at that large Gnoll! Spearmen, to the front!"

Despite shivering in fear, the mercenaries formed ranks according to Salvatore's order anyway.

"Even if we retreat, those without horses will mostly be caught and killed anyway. Are you planning to let all your subordinates die?"

"..."

"Human feet can never outrun a monster's. Even if we retreat, we must deal them a blow and push them back first."

Presenting a realistic justification left the mercenary captain with nothing to say.

The mercenaries formed ranks according to the knight's order partly because they were veterans, but also because there was no other way.

Although some, including the mercenary captain and his lieutenants, were riding horses, the vast majority of his subordinates were infantry.

"Cut down anyone who tries to run away! We must hold the formation."

"Understood."

The mercenary captain had no choice but to force them to fight. Retreating with enemies right in front of them required a suicide squad to guard the rear, and he didn't think the knights would step up for mere mercenaries.

The knights had their own ulterior motives.

'They look dangerous, but it's worth fighting.'

'We just need to throw the mercenaries at them to sap their strength and look for an opening.'

Knights treat mercenaries as consumables. As long as they weren't family soldiers, and if they didn't care if the hired century all died, it was a gamble worth trying.

Above all, wasn't this an incredibly attractive prey to exact revenge for the tournament? They had never heard of or seen such a mutant Gnoll.

Thus, the bloody battle between the two groups began.

Befitting a unit organized with hunting in mind, many of the mercenaries were armed with crossbows. A volley of fire turned the leading Gnolls into bloody messes.

"Keep firing!"

"Give those bastards a taste of our bol... Keugh!"

However, the Gnolls also had ranged means.

Boomerangs made from the shoulder blades of prey they had eaten thus far flew with tremendous force and struck down the crossbowmen.

Bang!

Even the knights were flustered because the impact delivered through their shields exceeded their imagination.

If hit somewhere not protected by armor, even the toughest knight would suffer severe injuries.

"The leader is coming!"

"It's not piercing! It won't pierce!"

Aiming for that opening, the massive black-furred Gnoll charged in. The crossbows fired spasmodically failed to pierce the leather armor and thick fur it wore.

"Kruuuar-!"

The leader extended a club-like finger and pointed at the knights.

Whoosh!

Instantly, bone boomerangs flew menacingly at the knights.

The knights quickly raised their shields, but the Gnolls' targets were their warhorses.

Thwack!

Neigh!

"Aaargh!"

With their faces or foreheads smashed, the horses spewed blood from their noses and collapsed.

"Damn it!"

With their plan gone awry, the knights spat curses, extracted themselves from the horse corpses, and raised their weapons.

Now that they had lost their horses, if the mercenaries supporting them were annihilated, it would be the end for the knights as well.

Clashing with the vigorous Gnoll leader from the very beginning was outside their calculations, but there was no other way.

* * *

The cavalry led by Eugene arrived at the Gnolls' encampment in third place.

On the way, they encountered a small group of knights who seemed to have been second. Seeing no scratches on their armor and the mercenaries breathing evenly, they seemed to have fled without fighting.

"Glad to meet you. By any chance, in the direction you came from..."

"We have urgent business, so excuse us!"

They roughly responded to Eugene's greeting and hurriedly left.

"What's with those guys?"

"They were probably bastards who came to search the belongings of the dead warriors upon hearing the first screams. Approaching, they must have hastily run away upon seeing the monsters were still there."

"It's a common occurrence. At least they seem to know shame."

The tribal warriors looked at the fleeing cowards with ridicule.

Not all knights are brave. For a knight without a family to back him, a single failure ended his life.

Therefore, quite a few lived like scavengers rather than beasts of prey.

Following the faintly audible noise of battle, they discovered the two groups locked in a bloody fight.

"They are completely different from the Gnolls we faced in Richwood before."

"It is difficult if you think of them based on human standards, where racial differences aren't that huge."

Rex rode his horse closer to his side.

"Humans have long cycles from the gestation period, taking their first steps, picking up a weapon, reproducing, and dying. On the other hand, it's common for monsters to not even take a quarter of that time."

"Are you saying the combination of rapid generational shifts and extreme environments makes mutations occur easily?"

"You grasp things quickly as always."

It was a rather high-level conversation for a knight and a mercenary, but not strange.

Besides this, Eugene was a unique knight who knew an oddly large amount, and as a tribe for whom hunting and nomadism were daily life, Rex possessed knowledge learned and passed down from experience.

"But even considering that, that massive Gnoll can't be explained."

Bang!

Every time an axe matching its size struck, the ground blew up as if exploding.

The Gord knights, including Salvatore, were facing it with all their might.

"The forest is a cradle preserving primeval mysteries, so sometimes things happen that mere warriors cannot comprehend."

The upper body of a knight who had already been cut in half and died was hanging on a nearby tree, his intestines trailing down.

With the knights tied up like this, the mercenaries were being constantly pushed back by Gnolls stronger than usual. They were already outnumbered.

"Krrk-?"

Around that time, the Gnolls blocking the retreat path noticed Eugene's army.

Immediately, Homi, Rex, and the tribal warriors nocked their arrows. It was time to make a decision.

"If we leave them be, they will all die rather than escape. We will intervene."

Eugene, who quickly scanned the completely dismounted knights and the horse corpses lying around, nodded.

"Watch out for the Gnolls' ranged attacks. Maintain distance as much as possible while firing."

Standing at the front, Rex proudly watched Eugene giving orders and Homi beside him.

Because both were holding the composite bows he had gifted them. It felt as if those two had also become members of the Blackhand clan.

Perhaps feeling the same way, the other tribal warriors were smiling with satisfied faces.

"Commence attack! Blow the horn!"

Bwooo-!

At the same time Eugene, holding a large X-shaped composite bow, released the bowstring, a horn blast resonated through the forest.

The Gord mercenaries engaged in a life-or-death battle momentarily failed to grasp the change in the situation due to the sudden horn sound.

Swoooosh!

Thwack thwack thwack!

However, as dozens of arrows flew in from behind and Gnolls collapsed bleeding, they finally understood.

"Reinforcements!"

"Good heavens! It's the Blackhand Mercenary Group!"

The knife-ears they usually cursed so much were the most reliable allies in this situation.

Every time the Dark Elves, riding their horses with their black capes fluttering, released their bowstrings, Gnolls howled in pain.

Among them, some blocked with shields or dodged with astonishing reflexes.

"Where are you looking?!"

But while getting distracted like that, they frequently took the spears and swords of the mercenaries facing them right in front of their eyes.

"Block them! Block the Gnolls!"

Coming to his senses, the mercenary captain encouraged his subordinates to form a barricade between the Gnolls and the reinforcements.

Because he knew their path to survival was acting as shields as much as possible so the mounted archers could focus on shooting.

"Sir Knight?"

When Eugene sheathed his bow into the saddle, Rex looked at him.

"I will join the knights."

Clank.

A large flail glinted under the sunlight.

"It's dangerous. There's no need for you to engage directly..."

"If you're going to indebt someone, you should do it properly. Fighting together on the front lines will be several times more effective than just saving them with arrows."

Whether it's a debt to be repaid in gold coins or a debt of gratitude, it's best to indebt them as much as possible when you can. This was especially true for the Salt Stream nobles, who were unlikely to be favorable to Eugene.

While the mercenaries would offer their livers and gallbladders for having their lives saved, that wouldn't be enough for Salvatore and the knights following him.

'And it doesn't look particularly dangerous anyway.'

Even watching the massive Gnoll fighting the knights, Eugene didn't feel it was much of a threat.

It wasn't arrogance. It was simply that experiencing various battles allowed him to clearly gauge the difference between the enemy and himself.

"Let's go, Might!"

The Barcian warhorse, finding its calm amidst the smell of blood everywhere, obeyed Eugene's command.

"Sir Hind, block the approach of any Gnolls that might slip through!"

"Understood."

The probability of Gnolls breaking through the mercenaries and arrows to approach was close to zero.

Hind noticed it was an order Eugene gave to isolate him from danger, but he quietly complied.

Because he knew the knight he served, while infinitely lenient in non-combat situations, showed no mercy toward insubordination in battle.

Whoooosh!

Three-section maces descended via chains upon the front-line Gnolls who were too close to the mercenaries for arrows to be fired effectively.

Crunch!

Smash!

Gnoll corpses fell as their heads burst magnificently.

"Kiyaaa... Grrk-!"

A Gnoll holding a shield had its hand crushed along with the shield. Screaming in agony, it was struck by the sword of the mercenary in front of it.

A Gnoll trying to parry with a large club could only block the bottom-most mace.

Clack.

The middle mace coiled inward past the club.

Crack!

The top mace struck the Gnoll's cheek. With its neck bone broken and its face turned 180 degrees, the Gnoll flailed briefly before toppling backward.

A Gnoll struck squarely in the ribs was sent flying into the air as if hit by a bull.

Eugene, who had even put down his shield to wield the flail with both hands, swept away Gnolls wherever he dug in.

Because he freely changed the position he gripped the staff, the Gnolls simply couldn't gauge his reach.

Even being completely far away was equally dangerous.

Thump.

While crushing the heads and shoulders of Gnolls, Eugene used the other end of his staff in his spare moments to flick up axes, swords, and bone boomerangs dropped on the ground.

Snatching them mid-air and throwing them without fail resonated with the sounds of flesh tearing and bones severing.

'Is he truly human like us?'

Salvatore's mercenaries were astonished seeing a champion weaving through them and slaughtering Gnolls.

The sight of him swinging the large flail with both hands looked just like a swirling black storm.

Swooosh!

"Kwooouuu-!"

The sight of axes and swords occasionally bouncing up from the ground and flying like lightning to cleave Gnolls. No matter how many times they saw it, they couldn't close their dropped jaws.

"Support the knight!"

When close combat proved utterly hopeless, the Gnolls went to pick up bone boomerangs dropped on the ground, but focused fire immediately poured down.

Thud!

Some Gnolls persistently threw their boomerangs even while getting hit by arrows, but the mercenaries' shields blocked them.

It was protection made possible because the nature of the flail allowed him to attack enemies while positioning himself within allied lines.

"Excellent! I will reward you after the battle ends!"

"Th-thank you!"

A mercenary cheered excitedly upon hearing an unfamiliar knight offer a reward for something he merely did reflexively.

The knight who came to their rescue seemed as generous with his spending as he was strong.

As Eugene created rifts, it became correspondingly easier for the tribal warriors to plant arrows in the Gnolls' vitals.

Even while Gnolls were dying everywhere, Salvatore and the knights engaged the leader Gnoll with all their might.

"Ugh!"

Around the time an exhausted knight was hit by the leader Gnoll's kick and was sent flying while spitting blood. Eugene finally joined in.

"..."

"..."

A leader of Gnolls covered head to toe in black fur, and similarly, a knight with black hair fluttering a Wendigo cape.

The two glaring at each other symbolized the leaders of both sides.

Gulp.

Barely able to catch his breath, Salvatore swallowed his saliva at the confrontation between the two great warriors.

As prideful as he was, even he had to admit he was not the protagonist of this stage right now.