Chapter 611
Chapter 611
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 611
Chapter Title: Fragrance of Spring
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Whiiiiiir!
As the Death Worm's massive body crumbled apart, I was plummeting toward the ground.
I'd burned through way too much mana. Combining sword aura with my gravity multiplication technique to unleash the Supremacy of the Heavenly Demon was a monstrous mana hog, every bit as inhuman in its power as it was in its consumption.
Right now, I was using every ounce of strength just to keep my footing on the Death Worm's tongue. Its head had exploded, after all, leaving only the lower jaw and tongue behind.
"Not bad at all."
I had to show this to my wives someday.
The monster had been formidable. Destructive on a scale matching its enormous body, scattering death across the battlefield. But that was it. Not even a Death Worm could stand against the Heavenly Demon, Kim Katt.
"Only I could pull this off."
For the Heavenly Demon Kim Katt, this was utterly natural and expected.
"Because I did it, it's only natural."
Who would dare tell this Kim Katt that something was impossible?
"To the Heavenly Demon, nothing is impossible."
With all my mana depleted, was there any way to survive this insane freefall? It was a dire situation. If I had mana, I could manage somehow—that's my specialty. But right now, I had none.
However.
As I said, nothing is impossible for me.
"I can do anything."
So I shouted.
"Lady!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm falling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Fuck this—if I can't do it on my own, I'll borrow someone else's strength! Killing the Death Worm was great and all, but splatting here without bullshit excuses would mean at least broken bones!!!
Broken bones? Hell, I could die!!
Last time I got launched by a troll and snapped my arm, it caused a huge fuss. If I came back broken from gods-know-where, I couldn't even imagine what Winia would say! Come to think of it, that's scarier than any monster!
"Save meeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
My bloodcurdling scream tore through the world.
Lady!
Where the hell was Lady Isvant?!
If we took this thing down together, she had to stick with the DPS to the end, right?! Hell, that's what I was banking on from the start when I climbed up!
Fwump!!!
Right then, a red silhouette shot toward me.
"Seriously!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Gah!!!"
It was Lady Isvant herself. She swooped in, snatched me from my perch on the Death Worm's tongue, and—leap!—vaulted through the air.
"L-Lady!!!"
"You did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The lady bellowed at the top of her lungs, her eyes wild with frenzy.
Sparkle, sparkle.
Even her eyes were glittering—she must've been seriously moved. She had a thing for warriors, so she was probably blown away by what I'd just done.
Anyway, it was perfect teamwork.
Her strike had been spot-on, letting me soar all the way to the top of the Death Worm's head. She had a real home-run hitter's talent.
"To think such an unbelievable feat could happen!!!!!!!!!! You're the epitome of a warrior!!!! Not content with flying that far, you even used the fall's momentum for the attack—I'm utterly, profoundly moved!!!!!!!!"
The lady screamed as if she'd witnessed something monumental.
But what'd she say?
"Wait, Lady? You didn't launch me up there thinking exactly that from the start?"
She'd said with total confidence that I'd smash its head, but now she was this shocked? Did that mean she had her doubts deep down?
You've gotta be fucking kidding me...!
"That's just how it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course I knew it'd turn out like this, ohohohohohoho!!! That's the depth of my trust in you!!!!"
"I-I see? H-hahahahaha!!!! Of course, of course!!!!!"
I laughed along with the lady.
Thud!
We landed safely on solid ground.
The moment her feet touched down, she set me free. I chucked the half-broken Hwimyeong Sword behind me and threw my arms up in victory.
"Hooray!!!!! Hooray!!!!!!! We beat the Death Worm!!!!!!"
"The birth of a Death Worm Slayer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hooray!!!!!!!"
The lady stood before me, beaming wide and thrusting her arms skyward.
I kept raising my arms with her, cheering hooray over and over.
Hoooraaaaaay!!!!!
No bullshit—we two took down that massive fucking Death Worm.
Colossal monsters like that were never meant to fall to just two people. You needed trained hunting squads, plus a bunch of mages.
Yet I'd hunted it on the fly with zero prep. What an achievement. If there'd been witnesses, my name would've echoed through the whole city.
Spin, spin!
Before I knew it, I was holding the lady's hand and whirling around like maniacs.
"Ohohohohohohoho! A day this joyous defies belief!!!! It's the first extreme valor I've seen since that ogre!!!!!!!!!!!!! Laugh! Revel! You, barbarian warrior, have every right to!!!!!"
"Whew—! Hahahahahahaha! Hearing you say that fills me with indescribable joy, Lady! Suddenly, who cares about some Death Worm!!!!!!"
"That thrilling, huh!!!!!!!! Real, rightful joy!!!!!!"
We bellowed like that until we naturally shifted poses.
"It's the chain reaction of joyyy!!!!!!!!!"
Facing each other, arms linked, we spun in place like a carousel. Knees pumping chest-high, hopping to the rhythm, forever. We spun that way for ages, then switched and went the other direction.
Kyeeeeeeek!!!!!
After stopping the spin dance, an unstoppable urge surged through me, and I charged across the battlefield.
All that remained scattered everywhere was churned-up earth, blood, and corpses. Towering proudest among them was the Death Worm's headless carcass.
"A warrior overflowing with power!!!!!! All warriors should possess such valor!!!!! A joyous occasion—and a lamentable one!!!!!!!! Because warriors like you are so rare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!!!!!
The lady clapped endlessly, screaming her lungs out.
Seeing her genuinely thrilled made me thrilled too. It was an incredible feat, prime time for rewards.
Yaaaaaaaah!!!!
I galloped on all fours like that for a good while, shrieking like a madman.
Once I'd purged the inner joy, impulse, and triumph like that, exhaustion crashed in, and my mind cleared. Steadying my wobbling body, I approached the lady and dropped to one knee.
"You did magnificently!!! This is an extreme achievement to be retold for ages!!!! Even scouring all of Isvant, you'd be the only warrior to unleash such ferocity!!! Moved, so moved!!!!!"
"No!!! That's not it, Lady!"
"What do you mean?!"
I shouted from my kneeled position.
"This is an achievement we accomplished together!!!! Call it the Double Slayer!!! Death Worm Duo!!!!!!!!!"
"Th-that...!"
At my words, the lady's eyes widened. She covered her mouth with the back of her hand and burst into laughter.
"Ohohohohohoho!!! Truly an honorable warrior!!! But all I did was assist you, it seems! Regardless, it's time to bestow the reward for slaying the Death Worm!!"
With that, the lady touched her lips and scanned the surroundings.
"Hmm... What to give... Barbarian warrior! Do you need gold to adapt to civilized lands?!!!"
Money, of course!
The lady knew her stuff!!!
"I do!!!!"
"Then that's what we'll do!!!"
Perfect! Nothing beats monetary rewards!
"Selling this Death Worm corpse is sure to bring a fortune—it's a given!!!! But handling something this massive requires manpower and time to match—not to mention money up front!!!"
Yeah, selling this gigantic monster corpse was straight-up a business venture.
You needed a ton of people.
Preservation, inspection, butchering, transport. Those steps alone guzzled time and cash.
"You'll need soldiers, laborers, experts for disassembly, scholars, and Magic Tower mages—all costing money!!!!"
Just maintaining its value burned cash.
You had to prep it for sale first.
Recruiting immediate buyers or mass-preserving it in the meantime—all money.
No way around it.
Leave the raw corpse and let buyers haggle it down? Sure, but key parts could rot or get damaged in the process.
Flies and scavengers would swarm it for sure.
In short, yeah, it'd fetch big bucks—but you'd need upfront cash to make it happen. Plus administrative know-how, connections, and your own forces to guard it and sell at fair price.
Without power, it'd get stolen—that's how this world worked.
Anyway, selling the Death Worm corpse was beyond my capabilities.
Realistically speaking.
"So, I promise this!!! I'll front all the costs for those messy procedures myself, then from the final profits after selling the Death Worm carcass, I'll give you every last bit of the pure profit left over after expenses!!!"
"G-gasp...!"
"This is the reward for the honorable warrior who felled that colossal, brutal Death Worm with his own power!!!!!!!"
I couldn't help trembling like I'd been struck by lightning.
All the pure profit...!
An unimaginable fortune!
And she was even yielding her full share under the guise of reward...!
But we took it down together, didn't we?
My contribution was bigger, sure, but without her, it would've been impossible from the jump.
She even saved my life at the end.
So snagging the entire pure profit would violate Fusionist doctrine. It wouldn't sit right morally. You always split with comrades who risked their lives beside you. And hogging it solo invites disaster.
Decision made, I looked up at the lady and spoke.
"All of it...?!!! Lady!!! That's bold, mind-blowingly moving, and deeply grateful—but taking everything would be above my station!!! We slew the Death Worm together!!! So splitting it half and half is the proper way!!!!"
Half it is.
I declared it, and the lady jumped in shock,
"Wh-what..!"
Screaming in emotional excitement.
"Such honor in the face of gold!!!!!!!!!! You truly are a warrior!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Either way, I'm getting rich—but building ties with a duke's lady matters more. I'll be a paladin in the capital soon, running missions everywhere; connections are key.
These ties would pay off someday.
And... even if she offers it all, Lord Isvant won't sit idle hearing this. Push for everything, and they'll counter. Proposing half first saves face for both sides.
"Very well, then! I'll handle the Death Worm carcass, sell it all at fair value—so rest easy and wait!!!!!!!"
"Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!"
I bowed deeply, expressing my gratitude loudly.
The lady was handling what I couldn't.
Truth is, without her level of influence, properly selling this was impossible. Her doing it meant no thugs stiffing us. If I tried raw-dogging the sale, I'd waste time chasing thieves.
Plus, with half for her, she'd hustle to get top dollar.
In my eyes, she'd have headaches from reconstruction costs and condolence gold for dead soldiers.
Anyway, I could chill without a care and collect later.
Half the pure profit, no less.
What reward could top that...!
With that cash, I could buy a house in the capital, do whatever with my wives! Even elixirs, top-tier horses, and carriages!
"Hold on!!!!!"
The lady pulled pen and paper from her pouch, glanced around, jabbed the pen into a nearby drake corpse, and began writing a document with its blood.
Then she stamped it with her seal—using more blood.
"Here, take this!!! Bring it to me later, and I'll hand over the sorted gold!!!!!"
"Thank you, Lady!!!!!!!"
"Ohohohohohohoho!!! I'm the grateful one!!! Seeing your unbelievable deed with my own eyes!!!"
"Hahahahaha! I'm more grateful!"
Our laughter rang high across the corpse-strewn plain. Wow, no money worries for a good long while now. No fucking way.