Star-Embracing Swordmaster - Chapter 12
Praying Mercenary (2)
“Drive forward!”
“Close the siege! “Don’t let it escape!”
In a winter forest that should be quiet.
It was a time when all life should have been quietly sleeping, but now it was full of more violent noise than ever before.
Kkeikkeek!
“You look so ugly, you guys.”
Every
time a breath came out of the armed men’s mouths, blood droplets without fail flew out.
“Go forward!”
Mercenaries were approaching the goblin village, forming a tight siege.
Since it was a village of a certain size, the mercenaries were advancing cautiously but boldly.
Goblins are monsters famous for their outstanding reproductive ability.
If you miss even a few here, another village of similar size will be created next winter.
If that happens, employers in Varna will not be very pleased.
“Look back! “You bastards!”
“Kikigiik-!”
Since they were goblins, one of the lower-ranking bipedal monsters, the mercenaries were skillfully cutting them down.
However, life is a series of unpredictable things.
“Holy shit…”
The mercenary man who was laughing and chatting until yesterday probably didn’t know that his head would explode today.
Wow!
It’s also said to be difficult to see by Hobgoblin.
Wow!
A ferocious roar rang out over the snow-covered winter forest.
“Top 5 has been breached!”
“It’s a hobgoblin! Hobgoblin!”
The mercenaries who had been cutting down the goblins for a while caught the eye of a being too large to be called a goblin.
The majestically cleft muscles on top of the sticky-looking brown skin are menacing.
Wow!
A hobgoblin, who seemed to be the leader of this village, was pouring out unrestrained anger at the humans who killed his compatriots.
“This is crazy. “Why is that sticking out here?”
When an uncontrollable being called Hobgoblin appeared, the mercenaries quickly retreated and readjusted their stance.
“What are you doing! “You can’t come forward right away!”
“I never heard there was a hobgoblin!”
“Are you planning on doing it this way and getting paid for it?”
“Then the driver himself came forward!”
The knight in command was at a loss for words at the words uttered by one of the strongest mercenaries.
“This guy!”
The knight only trembled with his thick cheeks and did not think about pulling out his sword.
Even when he was young, his skills were not that great, but now he is old and has long since lost his ability as a knight.
“Damn it! All it takes is a few people rushing in!”
As the knight who dared not dare to go out on his own said, if people who work well together come together, they will be able to fight back against the Hobgoblin.
However, the people here were not dispatched as a group from any mercenary group.
“Then you should have called expensive mercenaries!”
Not only was there no one who had been together long enough to fit together, but there was also no one skilled enough to be noticed by the mercenary group in the first place.
Slurp –
except for one person.
“…I’ll do it this time.”
When a hobgoblin full of rage is looking for his next prey. White snowflakes flew up
from
behind the hobgoblin.
Huh?
The hobgoblin turned his head to follow the sign, and all he saw was a blizzard created by someone.
“Sigh!”
The man cleverly rushed in from a blind spot and quickly approached the hobgoblin.
The sparkle created by the unadorned sword instantly cut through the hobgoblin’s heels.
Wow!
[Above.]
“I saw it.”
Hobgoblin, who finally saw the man running towards him, let out an angry roar and lashed out with his huge club.
Pow-!
“Ahh!”
“What kind of power is this!”
It was a formidable force.
A hobgoblin with incredibly strong physical strength that is hard to believe that it is a fellow goblin.
The aftermath of the strike turned into a thunderbolt made of snow that bounced off those around it.
“Get back!”
“I can’t see anything!”
A pure white curtain made of snow was covering everything around.
[Now!]
And it was now.
The moment the man was aiming for.
The hobgoblin hit the ground with a lot of force.
The moment when all of the strength was exerted became stiff for a moment.
“I’m really going to do it this time.”
The blonde man’s blue eyes gave off a strange glow.
Huh?
The hobgoblin saw.
Cool eyes staring straight at you even in the snow fog.
It was different from the eyes of humans I had ever seen.
It was like the eyes of a predator stalking its prey.
“…!”
For a moment, a flash of light colder than snow passed by the hobgoblin’s waist.
A clean horizontal cut made before the protruding eyes even fall to the ground.
He moved alone at a moment when everyone else was standing still, and it was a sword path with intention, not just a swing.
I will cut you down.
Wow!
As the feeling of hard metal penetrated his skin, the hobgoblin, who had been elated just a moment ago, stopped screaming.
“shit!”
[Get out!]
It was great, but it was great.
It was shallow.
Hearing the hobgoblin’s scream ringing in his ears, the blond man realized that he had not been able to cut down his target with a single blow.
“Failure again!”
Wow-!
Vlad’s sword was not yet ripe enough to cut through the tough hide of the hobgoblin and break its hard bones.
Pow!
A chilling wind passed over the ground where Vlad had just rolled.
[That’s stupid. Can’t you tell me?]
Vlad gritted his teeth as he listened to someone’s voice ringing in his head.
‘If you tell everything, that’s genius.’
Regardless of the criticism the voice gave, the blow that Vlad had just swung was too great to have been made just a month after he had picked up the sword in earnest.
It’s just that he couldn’t stop breathing from the single blow.
“It’s just a bit of a turnaround.”
Vlad’s eyes lit up as he saw the Hobgoblin swinging his club back and forth while urgently holding onto his side.
“If it doesn’t work once, you can hit it twice.”
[The fact that you think you will get a second chance in real life is proof that you are a child.]
Trying to ignore the voice ringing in his head, Vlad strengthened his leg muscles.
Using his outstanding physical ability that even his voice recognized, he jumped into the veil of snow again.
Wow-!
The hobgoblin waved his club at the fierce silver flash approaching from an unseen place, but it was only a futile struggle.
“Riemann praying…”
The scene after the white curtain was lifted.
Everyone here was watching the unbelievable scene unfold before their eyes.
The ruler of this area who stands back and is afraid.
And the sword path that splits it in half without hesitation.
Bright red blood stains spread across the white snow field.
※※※※
In the winter forest where the subjugation has just ended.
The mercenaries, who were well aware of the goblin’s trait of collecting shiny things, were searching through the tents of goblins set up here and there in the village.
To be exact, only a few mercenaries.
The other mercenaries seemed to want to approach the scene of the looting, but they were unable to do so.
Because they were not allowed by the owner.
The owner of this place was the hobgoblin that was now lying in a mess, and the person who laid it down was a blond man who was collecting snow and rubbing his bloody hands.
From now on, this was his land.
Taking what belonged to the person who defeated it was the unique right of the victor in any world.
“Leader. “It’s amazing this time too!”
There was a man with a bright smile approaching Vlad who was wiping away the blood.
“Go and take away the things I cut.”
“That’s already been done. “No one with a big liver would mess with a big guy in the first place, right?”
“There was one next to me.”
Riemann praying.
A man who stands out even among the mercenaries of the punitive force gathered together by idiots.
“Do you want to do something together with me after this is over?”
“My motto is never to make eye contact with a cheater.”
“Don’t do that.”
The brown-haired man just smiled despite Vlad’s harsh words.
“Mercenary pack.”
Vlad stopped what he was doing when he heard the man’s words quietly.
“You can’t keep using that. “There is someone I know well who is amazing at forgery.”
“…If your mouth is light, your hair will also be light, Goat.”
“I’m so sad. “When have I ever harmed the captain?”
Is it a threat or an offer?
Vlad thought as he looked at the man with the long chin who spoke in a whisper, wondering if anyone would see.
If it’s a threat, kill it.
If it is a suggestion, warn.
Anyone who touches my weakness with any intention will have to pay the price.
Got, who noticed that Vlad’s eyes had become heavy, whistled and avoided eye contact.
“Think about it slowly. “I was just thinking of the captain…”
Goth naturally took a step back at the warning Vlad gave in his eyes.
Goth, who had been by Vlad’s side all this time, knew better what happened to those who ignored this warning.
Vlad’s current position in the punitive force was that of Ten Seals, but the mercenaries he led were only seven.
“Did you all take care of your belongings?”
Vlad shouted loudly to his team members, as if he didn’t want to listen to Goth’s words anymore.
“Not much, boss!”
“I was wondering if there was anything useful since there was a hobgoblin. shit!”
Even so, the men were holding various miscellaneous items in their hands.
“Stop talking nonsense and collect them and bring them all to the driver.”
“Can you bring me everything? “You have to eat it in moderation.”
Vlad looked at Goth’s answer with pitiful eyes.
“There has to be something to leave out, so you can leave it out. “You idiot.”
“But…”
“And if you’re going to skip it anyway, shouldn’t you eat a big one? “Is there any reason to lose strength over something as trivial as this?”
There was nothing particularly wrong with what the man named Goat said.
Even the knights who receive the loot anyway will know that the mercenaries will come up with various tricks.
Because that was the behavior of ordinary mercenaries and a natural practice.
“Let’s look a little further and this is it.”
However, Vlad had a different perspective from an ordinary mercenary.
Although he was born and raised in a back alley, there were adults around him from whom he could learn.
Haven was like that, Jorge was like that, and Marcela was also a woman with a lot to learn.
“As expected, the heads are different. I really want you to do something together with me. “As long as I have the captain’s sword and my plan…”
“If you don’t want your head to be left alone, run.”
Those who cannot understand what is being said are tired.
“Right Now.”
And Vlad hated being tired.
“Okay, okay. “I’m leaving now.”
Goth, who had been overwhelmed by the momentum Vlad was giving off earlier, hurriedly gathered up miscellaneous items and started running towards the thick-cheeked knight.
“Stand guard around me for a moment.”
“To pray?”
“uh.”
“You are truly consistent.”
After capturing one of the mercenaries in his group, Vlad left the battlefield where the mercenaries were gathered and moved to a sunny place nearby.
“Don’t come too close.”
The afternoon sun was streaming through the straight coniferous trees.
“Whoa.”
Vlad sheathed his sword, got down on one knee, and lowered his head.
“Lord… Thank you for taking care of me today as well.”
The golden sunlight rested on her disheveled blonde hair.
Although they were far away, all the mercenaries around were watching.
“The picture is killing me.”
“Aren’t you a real noble?”
“At least we weren’t born the same way, right?”
Vlad’s appearance with the golden light was like the prayer of a faithful believer, and when seen with the sword in his hand, he looked like a holy knight.
Some people looked at Vlad like that and whispered that he was a young boy who ran away from his family, while others said that he might be the illegitimate son of some nobleman.
The man who prayed enough to say such things had a strange atmosphere that was difficult to criticize.
However, if you get a little closer to the man surrounded by mystery, anyone will be able to know his true nature.
“ah. Sit arms. But that doesn’t work.”
[That’s stupid. Didn’t they say that the secret to killing with a single blow always comes from the unexpected?]
A man named Riemann is not a man of prayer.
His prayers, disguised as sincerity, were full of only suspicious conversations.