Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: No Way
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Kuwaaaargh!
The ogre's roar pierced the heavens, shaking everything wildly.
Grrr!
Kraaa!
The goblins riding on the ogre's back began sprinting for their lives. Now Kang Geohan could see—they were fleeing from the ogre too.
But soon enough, their gazes locked onto the semi-automated carriage as if by some unspoken agreement.
Kaltz ground his teeth.
"You dare...! Who do you think you're using as bait?"
The goblins planned to seize the carriage first and toss it to the ogre as a distraction while they made their escape.
Paaang-!
Kaltz hurled a dagger, splitting the heads of two goblins. The ones following hesitated, wary of him, and fell back a step—but it didn't solve the root problem.
"The ogre's too fast...."
The ogre was the fastest, then the goblins. The carriage was the slowest.
Chik! Chiki! Chik!
The semi-automated carriage spewed steam like mad, boosting its speed to the max, but it couldn't match the monsters' pace.
At this rate, getting caught by the ogre was inevitable!
Kaltz clenched his jaw, as if he'd made up his mind, and said,
"Driver. Keep going! Candidates, stay inside the carriage!"
The driver, pale as a ghost, asked,
"W-what are you planning, sir?"
"Slash its legs so it can't follow."
"You mean... the ogre?"
"Yeah."
Kaltz bared his teeth at the ogre and growled.
Demonic energy awakened throughout his body, savage mana rippling along his skin. Kang Geohan watched the scene, swallowing hard.
*Can he really do it?*
By the numbers, Kaltz was no match for the ogre.
Even setting aside the nearly threefold difference in mana, the gap in raw strength was absurd.
An ogre matched a thousand adult humans in power. Kaltz was a monster himself, but his current strength was a measly 170 points—barely seventeen grown men.
*That's why they need Gigants.*
Even a powerhouse like Kaltz couldn't face an ogre barehanded. That was the reality of Raniakea.
Humanity were utter weaklings on this continent.
And yet, Kaltz prepared to fight.
"Kang Geohan! My boost pack!"
At Kaltz's command, Kang Geohan reflexively snatched the backpack-shaped metal case from the side of the carriage and hauled it onto the roof.
It was heavy enough that Davis had to help from beside him.
Clunk!
Kaltz strapped the boost pack to his back and pulled the coupling tight across his chest, securing it firmly. He drew the 170cm longsword mounted on the carriage roof.
Killing intent erupted toward the ogre.
Seeing this, the driver said in a frightened voice,
"B-but, Knight!"
Kaltz kept his eyes fixed on the ogre.
"What."
"The goblins are targeting us. If you leave, won't they swarm right away?"
"Nah. Once I start fighting the ogre, they'll all be thrilled to run."
"E-even so, what if one charges anyway? Bullets barely dent them, and alone..."
"Hey, driver."
"Yes, sir!"
"If by some chance one keeps coming to the end..."
Kaltz lowered his voice.
"Follow orders no matter what. That's your job."
It was harsh, but unavoidable.
*Kang Geohan still can't even use mana—he's a greenhorn, useless in a fight. Only the driver can fight.*
Gulp.
The driver's swallow echoed like thunder.
"Otherwise, even if I wound the ogre's leg... we'll all die anyway."
"Ah...."
"What're you waiting for? Keep shooting!"
"Yes, sir!"
Bang-!
Baaang-!
The driver fired at the goblins in a fury.
The acrid smell of gunpowder mixed thickly with the semi-automated carriage's steam.
And then,
Kuuuung!
Kaltz kicked off the carriage roof and charged the ogre.
Whiiiii—
The air around the charging Kaltz shimmered, then turned into a fierce wind that accelerated his body rapidly.
The awestruck driver pulled his cheek from the gun and shouted,
"Gift Knight!"
It was the brightest voice since the ogre appeared.
Kang Geohan yelled,
"Gift Knight?"
"Yeah! A knight who can use Gifts!"
Gifts. They were superhuman abilities that a rare few awakened naturally.
There were countless varieties, and the 'InBody Window' and 'Nutrition Info Window' that Kang Geohan used were types of Gifts too.
Kang Geohan watched Kaltz race forward, wind swirling around him.
An already superhumanly strong knight wielding superpowers too—he looked like a hero from legend.
The driver shouted with hope in his voice,
"A Gift that controls wind! He's a knight with a combat Gift...! We might actually survive this!"
Just as the driver said.
The ogre belched steam from its whole body like a smokestack and swung down the club made from a whole tree trunk.
Chiiiik!
Kuuuung!
Speed beyond the eye. The moment steam clouded vision, the club was already smashing the ground.
But Kaltz's body swayed like a butterfly on the wind, dodging the club.
He'd evaded the ogre's strike—far faster and stronger than himself—using his Gift.
Guwaaaargh!
Boom! Ku-boom! Kung!
The enraged ogre swung its club this way and that, but Kaltz danced lightly like an untouchable petal, avoiding every attack.
Then, with his mana-shimmering longsword, he slashed at the ogre's thigh.
"That's it...!"
Davis, peering out the window, shouted. But.
Kakaang!
Sword met thigh, yet the sound was metal clashing. Sparks flew.
"C-crazy...!"
A red line appeared on the ogre's thigh, but even charitably, it wasn't a wound. Just a scrape.
Grrrrowl!
Rather than hurt, it only enraged the ogre more—it began venting steam from its entire body.
Chiiiik!
Gruuuuuumble!
A sound like massive gears turning echoed, and the instant black muscles bulged on the ogre's enormous arm,
Guwaaaang!
A world-shaking boom, and the spot where Kaltz had stood exploded, sending rocks flying everywhere.
"Knight!"
The driver's desperate scream.
Thick steam and dust.
But through it, Kang Geohan faintly saw it: Kaltz spinning like a top to dodge the ogre's attack.
The moment he gripped his longsword with both hands and unleashed mana from his whole body.
Kwaaaang!
The boost pack on his back spewed yellow flames and detonated, propelling his body forward like a cannonball.
Kwa-jik-!
And it was unmistakable. The sound of Kaltz's longsword tearing into the ogre's thigh.
Blade clashing harshly against thick hide like ripping steel plate. Flesh splitting wide, bloody chunks raining down. But the ogre still stood firm.
"Tch... A bit off."
Kaltz grumbled once, then charged the ogre again. The fight wasn't over.
Kikikik!
Kiiii!
While the ogre and Kaltz clashed noisily, the goblins gleefully fled.
Just as Kaltz predicted. Except for one. For some reason, a freakish goblin wouldn't flee—it kept targeting the carriage to the end.
"Why won't that bastard run...!"
The driver, face flushed red with rage, shouldered his gun and blasted away.
Bang-!
Baaang-!
One shot missed, one hit the torso, but the goblin sprang back up and stubbornly chased the carriage.
Its pitch-black pupils were fixed on the horse.
"Uwaaaak!"
The driver aimed at the goblin's head as it closed in and fired.
Baaaang!
Kang Geohan watched the scene clearly through the window.
The bullet struck the goblin's forehead but failed to pierce its tough skull. It tore the scalp and ricocheted off.
The goblin's head snapped back. Blood sprayed through the air. Yet amid it all, its hand reached out and clamped onto the carriage's side ladder.
Gruuuuunch!
The metal ladder screamed and crumpled under the vise-like grip.
"Uwaa! Get off! Get off!"
The driver, half-mad, swung an axe at the goblin, but even dazed from the headshot, it clung to the ladder, baring teeth and snarling.
Its half-lidded eyes were blood-soaked and mad with murder lust.
In that instant, Kang Geohan realized.
*If I don't move now, we're all dead.*
Kaltz was barely wounding the ogre even with his boost pack. A razor-thin fight risking his life.
But even if he succeeded in crippling its leg, if the horse died here, the carriage would stop.
They'd be left as a feast for the wounded ogre.
*Gotta kill that thing.*
Before the thought of its bulletproof toughness could sink in, raw survival instinct—kill or be killed—moved his body first.
Grrrraaa!
Just as the goblin shook its head and started climbing the ladder.
Kang Geohan drew his magic sword Shapent and tensed every muscle.
*All at once! One shot! Pour everything in!*
Naturally, the demonic energy he'd honed lately swelled with his muscles.
The 2.1 points of mana it produced boiled fiercely and flowed into Shapent.
Faint light gleamed at the blade's tip, and Kang Geohan twisted his body, thrusting the sword.
Pshook!
Shapent pierced the goblin's neck like a fork into ripe meat.
Gurgle!?
The goblin, about to climb onto the ladder, sagged downward. Its head dangled back like a half-sliced sausage.
"Ah...."
Kang Geohan pulled Shapent free and stood there blankly for a moment.
*Just now... what was that...?*
It was the first time he'd fully depleted his mana in a single instant.
And in that moment, an inexplicable euphoria swept over him, clouding his mind.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Guwaaaargh!
The enraged ogre bellowed.
Boom!
The sharp crack of a gunshot rang out.
Kaltz, wrapped in wind and trailing yellow flames, had flown in and grabbed the carriage's rear. Blood poured from a gash on his forehead as he shouted,
"It's done! Keep going!"
"Yes! Yes!"
Chiiiik!
The semi-automated carriage vented a huge cloud of steam, and the driver whipped the horse, widening the gap from the ogre.
The ogre limped on its injured leg, gradually falling behind.
"Whew... We survived."
Finally relaxing, Kaltz climbed onto the carriage but froze midway, dangling from the ladder at the sight of the dead goblin still hanging there.
"Wh-what the hell?"
The driver noticed Kaltz's gaze and said,
"Oh, Sir Kang Geohan Yellow took care of it. We were almost goners."
"What? Kang Geohan? How...?"
Kaltz's eyes snapped to Kang Geohan, who was peering out the window.
He alternated between Kang Geohan's face, the goblin corpse—specifically the cleanly pierced neck stump—and back, his expression one of utter disbelief.
"You... No way. Did you just use mana?"