Chapter 13

Chapter 13 - Out Into the World (3)

"Die!"

The arrow fired by Owl hit a wolf. It didn't kill it, but it was enough to make it limp, so the guy was no longer a threat.

Yelp—!

Homi is once again a 'one-shot, one-kill'.

However, thanks to those sacrifices, the wolves were able to reach the defensive line.

As the two shooters stepped back, the mercenaries blocked the way with shields at the front.

"Coming!"

"Trust your shields and hold out! Watch your ankles!"

In battle with beasts, one had to pay attention to places hard to mind, like ankles or thighs. Especially if one wore meager defensive gear like them!

Snarl—!

As if mocking that, the lead wolf leaped high and aimed for Beard's neck.

And Eugene swung his flail from within the defensive line.

Swoooosh!

Along with a tremendous sound of parting air, the flying metal club struck the cheek of the charging wolf.

Then, the mercenaries faced a wondrous situation they saw for the first time in their lives.

The wolf struck by the flail spun around and crashed into a spot about 5m away. It seemed to have spun sideways about four times in mid-air.

"Pfft!"

Despite the serious situation, there was even a mercenary who let out a chuckle because the sight of it flying was funny.

In the meantime, another wolf charged. From above the guy's head, the flail descended as if tearing the air apart.

Crack!

The wolf's head crashed down, bent at a bizarre angle. Due to the charging momentum, its head plowed through the ground for about 1m like a plow before stopping.

'I'm alive!'

Beard shouted inwardly.

If one included the newly visible wolves, their number was close to 20. That alone made their lives dangerous, but there was even a Warg present.

However, seeing the tremendous majesty of the knight they were with, it seemed today was not their day to die.

"Don't push yourselves to attack! Focus on maintaining defense! We are assisting so Sir Knight can fight comfortably!"

"Yes! Captain!"

The mercenaries' morale also rose as they swung spears and axes to keep them at bay behind their shields.

Whoosh!

Yelp—!

Since Eugene swung his flail from above them, a wolf died every moment.

"Whoa!"

Several mercenaries even flinched at the flail passing over their heads with a fearsome sound.

'A monster-like knight!'

'How can a person's strength be...'

No matter how grand a knight was, they felt that the one with them was beyond any standard.

When fighting wolves, it's tricky because weapons must be swung low and their movements are also fast.

To attack with a sword or axe, one must bend their knees while breaking their posture, but the guy would have already fled and the weapon would often strike thin air.

There's no end to the people who get injured and die from being attacked in gaps exposed like that. Whether bitten on the ankle or the neck.

However, Eugene is different.

Holding the end of the large flail with one hand and swinging it with monstrous strength from atop his horse, the reach and the change in strike points were terrifying.

Thud!

A wolf that tried to retreat and dodge by staying close to the ground was hit on its flank and rolled over several times.

Gurgle—.

Whether its ribs were all shattered, the left side of its body being dented in looked horribly painful. The wolf, whose lungs were mangled by broken bone fragments, convulsed while spewing blood-foam.

Thwack!

Thwack!

In the meantime, Owl and Homi's shooting was added, and the wolves collapsed helplessly.

In the end, the guys couldn't hold out and began to flee.

In an instant, over 10 wolves had died, yet this side didn't have even a single minor scratch. It was truly an overwhelming victory.

"I-Is it over now?"

"Over? What do you mean over! The Warg is still left!"

When the novice asked tremblingly, Beard shouted.

There was still distance left to Bonyard. If the Warg attacked while they were camping at night, they would see hell.

Eugene drove his horse out of the mercenaries' defensive formation.

"Come out!"

The knight's shout vibrated through the forest resoundingly.

It wasn't just that his voice was loud. Much like a beast's roar, it had a power that made the listener cower.

However, unlike the awe-struck mercenaries, the Warg seemed to have its competitive spirit stimulated.

Grrrrrr—.

A large wolf with a distorted face appeared, parting the bushes. It was more than twice the size of the dead wolves.

"Damn! Why is a Warg jumping out in such a backwater?"

"Shut up and focus. While guarding the defensive line, make space for Sir Knight to pull back just in case!"

Beard roared at his subordinates.

The Warg was biting the neck of a wolf that had ignored its orders and fled.

Pointy teeth could be seen between its blood-red snout. Each one was the size of a man's thumb.

Gulp.

The mercenaries swallowed their saliva in tension.

Meanwhile, Eugene was admiring his horse. Not only when surrounded by wolves, but it stood calmly even while facing the Warg.

'I see why Master said horses from Barcia are good.'

-Barcia makes them smell specially treated blood from when they are foals. A warhorse raised like that has less fear than an ordinary horse. Specifically, they say that when they smell blood on the battlefield, they follow the master's control even if a large monster is in front of them.

The smell of blood wafting from the wolf carcasses strewn everywhere was granting Might courage.

Behind the Warg, wolves were following with cowering auras.

They had fled out of fear of Eugene, but when one was cruelly bitten to death as an example, they followed under duress. A female whose belly was bulging as if pregnant was also seen.

Awooooo—!

The Warg roared and charged.

Thwack!

Thwack!

It blocked the flying arrows and bolts with the wolf carcass it was biting. It wasn't the skill of someone who had done it once or twice.

The guy who approached in an instant suddenly switched to bipedal movement.

Ptu!

It spat out the carcass and tried to swing its long arms, but the one who attacked first was Eugene. His divine power enabled powerful surprises without preparation movements.

Schwing!

The Warg's claws were shattered as they clashed with the flail. However, even while bleeding, the guy leaped to bite Eugene.

As the distance between the two shortened, the corners of the distorted monster's mouth curled up. Because the distance was too close to use a polearm.

"It's no use, you."

However, he had hidden the longsword pulled out in his left hand out of sight. He drove it straight into the guy's exposed chest.

Howl—!

The Warg, with its chest pierced, hung dangling in the air.

The mercenaries also couldn't join the fight and merely stared blankly.

The lightning-fast reaction was one thing, but to pierce and lift that heavy guy with one hand. It was a nonsensical strength.

Eugene kicked the abdomen of the rampaging guy.

Bang!

Along with the sound of a leather bag bursting, the body pulled straight off the sword and flew over the ground. Might stepped back several paces from the recoil.

He vividly felt the guy's intestines being churned from the sole of his foot. It must have suffered a fatal injury as much as being stabbed by a sword.

Howl—.

The Warg's ferocious aura evaporated cleanly. Facing the fear of death, it returned to quadrupedal movement and tried to flee groggily.

Clop. Clop.

Eugene, who kicked Might's flanks, pursued it.

"It's no use. How do you intend to survive showing your back to a mounted knight?"

"You're dead, you mutt!"

Beard and Owl sneered with murderous intent.

If that knight were pursuing them, they would have likely soiled themselves, but as an ally pursuing the enemy, nothing could be more heartening.

Overtaking it in an instant, a swing of his arm caused the flail to crush the back of the Warg's head. Mashed brains and blood splattered from between the sunken skull.

Splash!

The sight of the knight swinging both arms in a large X-shape to shake off the blood from the longsword and flail. It was as if a scene from a masterpiece painting had been moved into reality.

'This is huge!'

Sorin completely forgot the regret of missing Godfrey. His disciple was a far more incredible knight than he had expected.

When the Warg died, the wolves that were only watching slowly raised their heads. No intention to fight was seen at all.

Since it was the leader, and moreover one they served with fear and hatred, there was no need to pointlessly fight humans now that it was dead.

A pregnant female came out and looked straight at Eugene.

"It seems you're dying for it, when it wouldn't be enough to just run away?"

Owl tried to aim and fire an arrow.

"Wait! Stop."

"Yes, Sir Knight!"

When Eugene raised his hand, Owl lowered his bow immediately.

No fighting spirit was felt at all from the approaching female wolf. Only a bit of relief and a great sorrow were wafting out.

Awooooo—.

The female, looking at the dead wolves, raised her head high and cried.

Awooooooo—.

Responding to that, the other wolves also cried in turn.

"Dammit."

The crude mercenaries, perhaps having realized something, lowered their weapons and spat out curses.

"I know that feeling."

Gamba, a veteran soldier who had been drafted as a conscript in his youth and became one-eyed, looked on somberly.

After the funeral song ended, the female wolf looked at Eugene for a moment and then turned to leave. The others also vanished into the bushes.

* * *

Even after the fight ended, Eugene's heart was peaceful.

An attack by a wolf pack and a Warg. It was a situation where even an experienced mercenary would tremble in fear, yet only a calm fighting spirit had bloomed.

"Homi?"

-Perimeter secure. Enemy retreated.

Homi informed him of the absence of presence around them using combat hand signals instead of sign language.

Eugene nodded and entrusted the flail to her.

Homi wiped the blood, fur, and chunks of flesh tangled in the chain and handle with a cloth. Then she applied a mixture of the rabbit fat hunted yesterday and blacksmith oil.

Eugene returned to the party while still on his horse, cleaning his sword blade.

In a field, entrusting both primary and secondary armaments to a squire is un-knight-like. One must always hold at least one weapon.

'Indeed, having a squire is convenient.'

Eugene looked at Homi with a satisfied face.

"You have worked hard, Sir! It is truly a grand feat of arms!"

Sorin approached while calming the packhorse that was trembling in fear.

"Is anyone injured? If there are, I shall share effective medicine."

"Oh my, even receiving good food was a blessing, but medicine! For the likes of us, bandages are sufficient!"

"We are safe thanks to Sir Knight. The novices who were in the rear wouldn't have even broken a sweat."

Beard and Owl answered with gentle smiles.

It was far from the flattery mercenaries typically sent to knights. They looked truly impressed.

Because Eugene wasn't just outstanding in martial power, but was also a magnificent knight who showed consideration for them in various ways.

As a rule, for a mercenary, being under such a benevolent strongman is the way to close one's eyes peacefully on a bed in one's twilight years.

"Time has been delayed. If no one is injured, shall we depart again?"

"Sir Knight, though we leave the wolves, how about taking that Warg with us?"

Owl said cautiously.

"Is it a fellow that earns money?"

Monster hide is an excellent material used even for armor. Since Godfrey hadn't even mentioned the quality of Warg hide, Eugene asked with expectation.

"The amount of hide is large and it's slightly tougher, but the quality isn't that much different from a wolf."

Owl looked at the wolf carcasses strewn around as if it were a waste.

If they skinned them all, it would earn a lot of money, but since it wasn't just one or two and there was no leeway to take them all.

Furthermore, if they were to skin it, they would have to hand over most of it to the knight and squire before their eyes.

Otherwise, the metal club that crushed the wolf heads might fall onto their own heads.

Because there are countless stories of mercenaries who relaxed around a knight who seemed benevolent and informal, only to accidentally cross the line and get sliced.

"If it's not much different from wolf hide, then why bother?"

"Still, it's much larger and slightly thicker, so it's good to cover yourself and sleep under at night. It blocks the cold and dew well. It's also stylish to use as a cloak. It is especially popular among the Gord knights."

Beard was already bringing the Warg carcass along with his subordinates.

"I suppose so. Thank you for the advice."

"Not at all. Compared to the price of our lives, it's still insufficient."

"Then how shall we move this guy? It's not convenient to skin it here, and it will take a long time."

Sorin dismounted immediately.

"I shall walk. Tie it to my horse and pull it along."

"I feel sorry for that."

"I'm the only one who couldn't do anything, so I should at least be of help this way."

Sorin quickly signaled the mercenaries before Eugene could decline.

The veteran mercenaries wrapped the Warg carcass with the novices' blankets for protection and then tied it to the horse saddle with rope.

"Aww."

The novices only pulled long faces and couldn't offer any resistance.

"There is a stream at the next campsite. We can work there in the evening."

"Right, I'll count on you. How much for the work?"

"Oh, you don't have to give anything."

Owl also didn't want to do the work for free, but he tried to think of it as the price for having his life saved. Along with making a good impression on Sorin, since their base was Bonyard.

Nod.

At once, Sorin was also sending a smile to Owl with a satisfied face.

"I may receive goodwill for free, but I cannot receive skill for free. Please do not refuse my sincerity."

"Thank you!"

However, the Sir Knight before them was a person who also possessed a magnanimity befitting his martial power.

Since the greatest problem, the warhorse, had been resolved for Eugene, he could sufficiently spend that much money. He also wanted to provide his diligent squire some time to rest.

"..."

However, Homi stood side-by-side with Owl.

"Oh, it's a messy job for Sir Squire to do."

Homi handled a dagger with dazzling hand movements and wore a determined face.

-Let's do it together. Then wouldn't it be twice as fast?

"I'll leave it to you."

Looking at the two dependable hunters, Eugene nodded.

Owl, who saw the schedule wrap up quickly, the life-threatening danger passed, and even extra pay gained, looked at the Warg carcass with a broad grin.