Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.18 – Man-Eater Ghost vs. Man-Eater Ghost? (6)
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The colosseum had turned into a scene straight out of hell.
Everyone was scrambling to escape, shoving and trampling others just to get out first in a desperate race for survival.
Some noble souls threw themselves in harm's way to save their children, parents, or lovers, while others succumbed to the miasma spewing from the monster, fainting or losing their minds and drooling helplessly.
It was a pitiful sight.
This was what it meant for a monster beyond human comprehension to appear—one that no human could dare stand against.
Panic upon panic, maintaining one's sanity was an impossible feat.
And in the midst of this dire crisis...
"This is a failure."
"It shouldn't be this 'peaceful.' What a shame..."
Two men were calling this pitiful scene peaceful.
Amid the pandemonium, they were the only ones seated calmly, carrying on a serene conversation—a sight utterly out of place.
But even more bizarre was that they were priests clad in temple robes, one in the garb of a high priest, and yet no one sought their aid.
As if no one had even noticed their presence.
The high priest, listening to the chaotic screams like music, finally spoke.
"It's not going as expected."
To others, it was undoubtedly a tragic spectacle, but the high priest's 'plan' called for far more brutality than this lukewarm chaos.
There needed to be death. [Sacrifice]!
It had to be horrific, drenched in blood, filled with countless lambs wearing faces of despair.
But what was happening now?
"...No suitable sacrifices."
Even if the situation was a cauldron of confusion, without despair and death, it was just tepid.
This level of disorder could be contained at any moment.
The high priest shook his head in disappointment.
"It seems we've deviated quite a bit from the plan."
"Mm, my apologies, boss. I put in the effort, but this snag..."
The younger low-ranking priest expressed his regret.
Even this playful subordinate couldn't hide his remorse right now.
But the high priest shook his head.
"How is this your fault? I should blame my own arrogance for assuming everything would go according to plan."
"......"
"So, no need to blame yourself too much."
"...Thank you, boss."
"Enough with the thanks. More importantly, since the 'offerings' are all escaping contrary to plan, we have no choice."
"What...?"
"Open the secondary summoning array."
"Uh, won't that consume too much...?"
Summoning that massive monster had already cost a fortune.
Roughly half a year's worth of the kingdom's budget?
Possibly more.
And now additional expenditure in this situation?
It might cost more than they could afford.
Yet he said,
"Do it. Now."
"......"
His command was firm.
As if he would bear full responsibility.
"Sigh, I wash my hands of this."
The low-ranking priest silently obeyed, pulling a staff from his robes.
A murky mana, like filthy sludge, stirred, and only then did the high priest nod in approval.
But he spared it only a glance before turning his gaze back to the colosseum's center.
"-How dare a loathsome knight interfere with the great undertaking."
Loathsome. Hateful.
He wanted to rush out and tear the knight to shreds himself.
But he couldn't.
This stage wasn't for them.
Even so, if he couldn't intervene directly...
"I'll kill you no matter what."
Astronomical losses be damned, he swore to the gods that he would kill that knight.
...Its size was impossible to gauge.
How massive did it have to be for its voice alone to reverberate ominously throughout the entire academy?
But more horrifying than its bulk was...
Roarrr... Squirm... Squirm...!
The fact that it was still ablaze, burning fiercely, yet regenerating.
Incredible regenerative power.
'That monster... what kind of strike was that...!'
The arrogant mage Audwal.
He despised knights, but he wasn't fool enough to underestimate one's skill.
That's why he knew.
That ballista shot from the brutish knight was a strike even a top-tier mage would struggle to replicate.
In other words, any ordinary large monster would have died on the spot.
For it to remain intact, unscathed, and steadily regenerating was utterly abnormal—and that brought terror.
'Who the hell summoned a beast like that!!?'
At least a century old.
Humanoid monsters grew larger with age, their ferocity and strength unmatched.
So that thing was undoubtedly over a hundred years old, at minimum.
And surviving a century proved its might.
Long life in the eat-or-be-eaten natural order meant survival.
'A century-old specimen still lurking on the continent?'
He didn't want to believe it.
They thought such beasts had been exterminated during the previous king's reign.
"Hey, slave. Quick question. That looks like magic—can't you dispel it?"
"...You're so stupid it's giving me a stroke. Summoning magic activates via an 'absolute pact.' So that thing is..."
"Forget it. Just say you can't instead of flapping your tongue. ...Useless."
"!!?"
It was unfair.
No, it wasn't that he couldn't—it was impossible for any mage to break that spell. Why blame him alone!
"It's not a matter of skill!"
As he screamed like a dying man, it truly wasn't about skill.
That summoning magic had undoubtedly been fueled by an enormous sacrifice.
And sacrifice-based summoning was absolute.
An unbreakable 'promise' ensuring its descent into this world.
Thus, that monster would manifest without fail.
Its massive body was just stuck in the hole for now, but it could emerge anytime.
"We, we have to run! Or call for kingdom reinforcements right now! You can't take that thing alone!"
"......"
"Stop acting like an idiot! You wanna play hero or something...!"
Audwal was pleading desperately, grinding his teeth.
He wanted to live, to flee immediately.
But that damned 'oath' prevented him from defying the knight's orders.
So he begged.
Please, let's run.
...But.
"The spectators seem to have mostly fled, so yeah, we could probably bail too."
"Music to my ears! Finally, some sense from you!"
"But looks like that big guy's not letting us go."
"What nonsense...!"
"Not nonsense. Look."
"You bastard, what are you... Hm!?"
...Fate wouldn't even allow escape.
Audwal, his gaze forced skyward by the knight's rough grip as if his neck might snap, tried to yell about the insolence but was instantly silenced.
From the sky...
"This is insane...!"
A new summoning magic circle had opened.
Plop! Plop!
...Those seeing it first might mistake it for hail.
Black or greenish hail.
Hail that instilled an inexplicable revulsion, growing more apparent as it fell...
"M-monsters falling from the sky...!"
The true nature of the hail became clear.
Lifeforms plummeting from the air, curled into balls.
Natural-born man-eater ghosts, eternal foes of humanity.
The storm cloud wasn't spitting out just the giant—it was raining small monsters too.
Thud-!
Monsters rained down like precipitation.
Impossible to count—easily hundreds.
The sight filled everyone with horror.
Thud!
Thuuud-!
Hundreds plummeted from dozens of meters up, kicking up massive dust clouds.
It would have been nice if the fall killed them, but summoning magic didn't work that way.
It rarely summoned the weak, and those called forth were the strongest of their kind.
In short.
[Kiaaa!!]
[KRR-!]
-None were so frail as to die from a drop from dozens of meters.
"G-gnolls!"
Gnolls.
Heteromorphic monsters resembling a mix of dogs and hyenas.
Their bodies covered in pus-like poison, spreading disease wherever they went.
Not just poison—their hides were thick, shrugging off arrows.
And their favorite food was...
"Hide the children and women! Hurry-!!"
Newborns and young women.
The monster humanity hated, reviled, and feared most.
And now, those gnolls.
[KiAAA!!]
[Kieee…!]
Over hundreds strong, howling in unison.
Some wore stolen armor and wielded axes, drooling uncontrollably, their eyes bloodshot to crimson, losing their minds to the scent of their favorite prey that had suddenly appeared.
From the gnolls' perspective, one blink and the seats were filled with delectable meals everywhere.
They could pick any and were thrilled beyond measure.
...Pathetic, really.
Thud...
[……?]
The gnoll couldn't process it instantly.
The sudden sight of a comrade's head severed beside it.
In that slow-motion scene, as the gnoll slowly turned its head, the last thing it saw in life was...!
"Don't bark. You stink."
Slash!
The trajectory of an axe swung by a terrifying male human.
Thud!
Another headless gnoll corpse hit the ground. The axe warrior—no—
"Darkie."
"Roan Dimitri de Lionel, reporting, Instructor."
"This is wartime. Address me as Sir."
"Your orders, Sir Lee Han."
Knight Lee Han.
There stood the knight, his face etched with unprecedented fury.
After dispatching one gnoll, Roan approached and awaited orders.
"Know who did this?"
"...No idea."
"No lies, right."
"I stake everything on it."
His expression was as coldly composed as ever, but he couldn't hide the tremor in his eyes.
Meaning he truly didn't know about this situation either.
An event unknown even to a reincarnator.
But for Lee Han now, what mattered wasn't some event unknown to a reincarnator.
Just.
"Then I'll trust you."
"......"
He needed one skilled swordsman.
"Orders from now. I'm appointing you my proxy, with Levi Polt as your deputy. Take command. Gather the able-bodied and wipe out these disgusting bastards however you can."
"......"
As Roan hesitated to respond, ten gnolls stealthily closed in on Lee Han, muffling their presence.
[KiAA!!]
Twice the size of an adult male, a truly menacing moment.
But.
Splatter!!
"Did you get that?"
"...You could just kill them all yourself, Sir."
Lee Han's axe swept horizontally, turning nine gnolls into bloody chunks in an instant.
[Ki…-.]
Crack! Crack!
The last one thrashed in Lee Han's single grip, but.
His five fingers dug into its skull, and the gnoll convulsed in agony before dying instantly.
Lee Han shook off the gnoll like filthy dirt, then shook his head.
"I've got my own opponent."
His finger pointed straight up.
Roan's face darkened.
"...Will you be alright alone?"
"Can't win, but I gotta hold it off."
"......"
"So, your answer?"
"...I'll obey."
A man who trusted him and entrusted him with the rear.
How could he, a northern warrior, not respond?
Roan saluted by striking his chest with his fist.
A northern salute vowing to complete the mission even at the cost of his heart.
"That's the spirit."
Lee Han smiled in satisfaction, then drew in the deepest breath he could.
His roar thundered across the entire area.
Lion's Roar.
Lee Han's roar shook the entire colosseum, paralyzing the rampaging gnoll horde.
The killing intent directed at the gnolls infused the roar with paralyzing power.
And in that resounding roar, his knight cadets heard him, eyes wide like rabbits...
-......
The One Hundred and Eight Arhats—no, every first-year swordsmanship cadet, regardless of status, saluted, drew their swords, and responded.
And among the 80 first-years, not one fled.
"...Are you sure you can't handle it alone?"
Roan wondered if he even needed to step up, watching the man dominate hundreds of gnolls with his voice alone.
The melee had begun.