Chapter 61
Chapter 61
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Dragon's Fury
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘This is a problem.’
Carlyle urgently threw himself toward the fortress gate.
*Swoooosh!*
The [Whisper of the Earth] on his left wrist emitted a powerful aura.
*Splish! Splosh!*
As [Mud Mire] was cast, the area before the gate turned into a swamp, trapping the feet of the enemies pouring in.
“Ugh!”
“Gwaaaargh!”
The barbarian warriors and undead monsters floundered, sinking knee-deep into the mud.
“I'll hold them off!”
Helen quickly moved to the entrance where [Mud Mire] was spread and swung her sword at the enemies.
“Aaargh!”
“Kyaaargh!”
Just as in the previous siege, the enemies floundered in the [Mud Mire] and met futile deaths.
Once they stepped in, they were essentially bound in place, leaving them with no choice but to stand and die.
But that, too, had its limits…
“Th-there are too many… No matter how many we kill, there's no end…”
Before the [Mud Mire].
A soldier fighting alongside Helen muttered as if half-mad.
And for good reason; there were far too many enemies.
They were stepping on the corpses of their fallen comrades in the [Mud Mire], entering the fortress one by one.
At this rate, the bodies of the enemies would become a kind of stepping stone, a bridge to overcome the [Mud Mire].
‘This is the worst.’
Just as Carlyle bit his lip, cleaving a corpse soldier in two.
*Whoosh!*
Something huge and heavy came flying from the distance in a parabolic arc.
“Watch out!!!”
Marder shouted an urgent warning and cast [Rapid Fire] at the approaching object.
*Thwack! Thwack-thwack-thwack! Thwack! Thwack-thwack!*
Arrows rained down like machine-gun fire, all striking the flying target.
But the stopping power of the arrows was not enough to halt him.
In fact, they couldn't even penetrate his body.
*Ting, tiing!*
The arrows bounced off harmlessly.
*KABOOM!*
*Fwoosh!*
The shockwave generated by his landing swept through the area.
“Aaargh!”
“Ack!”
*Thud!*
The soldiers of Bowden Fortress stationed nearby were momentarily launched into the air before crashing down.
[Thunder Leap]'s landing had been combined with a simultaneous casting of [Lightning Stomp].
“Sigmund… Valhallaaa…”
A mutter filled with resentment and obsession flowed from the head held in his left hand.
Its rotting eyeballs darted around, searching for its nemesis.
Bjornsen.
Resurrected as a [Dullahan] by the necromancer Crowley, he had invaded Bowden Fortress once again to take revenge on Carlyle!
* * *
“Private Carlyle, you certainly are popular.”
Kudo tossed a casual joke Carlyle's way.
One might wonder how anyone could joke in such a desperate moment, but among those who lived on the battlefield, many kept their sense of humor even on the brink of death.
Why?
Because to them, death was a part of daily life.
“Is that a compliment?”
“Isn't it a good thing to have so many people looking for you? Haha.”
“If I were any more popular, I don't think ten thousand lives would be enough.”
Carlyle retorted wryly.
He found even those who approached him with goodwill to be a nuisance, so being popular with those who bore him malice was hardly a good thing.
“Sigmund… Sigmundddd…”
Having spotted Carlyle, Bjornsen's head gaped like a goldfish.
It was a wonder he could produce a voice with just his head, without the lungs needed to push air.
“I'll face him with you. The others seem busy. Ah, of course, I'd love to let him have you all to himself, but I doubt you'd survive that, Private Carlyle. Hehe.”
“What kind of twisted thought is that, wanting to let him have me?”
“Because interfering with someone's affection is never a pleasant thing to do.”
“You call that affection…”
Carlyle tried to argue, but unfortunately, time had run out.
“Sigmund… Sigmundddd!”
Bjornsen charged at Carlyle.
*Whoosh, whooosh!*
The speed of his swinging axe seemed several times faster than before.
It went without saying that the destructive power and sharpness of the axe had also intensified severalfold.
“Ugh!”
Carlyle threw himself aside, dodging Bjornsen's attack.
*CRACK!*
The giant axe slammed into the ground.
The blade didn't just dig into the earth; it cracked it. If that attack had landed, his head wouldn't just have been split—his entire body would have been cleaved in two.
“If it hits you, you're dead!”
“I know!”
Carlyle shouted back, steadying his stance.
*Whoosh, whooosh!*
The axe relentlessly targeted Carlyle.
“Isn't he a little too fond of just you, Private Carlyle?”
*Swoosh!*
Kudo's aura-infused blade slashed across Bjornsen's back.
However, it only left a long scratch on Bjornsen's back.
Even the sharpness of the aura-infused sword couldn't cut the skin of Bjornsen, now reborn as a Dullahan.
“Valhallaaaaa!”
Bjornsen flattened the blade of his axe and sent his own head flying.
*WHOOOOOOOSH—!!!*
*BAM!*
Flying with the terrifying speed of a cannonball, Bjornsen's head struck Kudo square in the chest.
“Keuk!”
Kudo coughed up blood and was sent flying into a distant wall.
He had neutralized Kudo, one of the strongest members of the reconnaissance team, in a single blow and in a way no one could have predicted.
“Sigmund… Sigmunddd…”
Bjornsen picked up his head, which was repeating the same word like a parrot, and turned back to Carlyle.
“Sigmunddddd…!!!”
Bjornsen charged at Carlyle once more.
*CLANG, CLAAANG!*
Each time Bjornsen's axe clashed with Grimungandr, Carlyle was forced back several steps.
Despite his appearance, Carlyle possessed monstrous strength, but he was helplessly pushed back before the overwhelming power of the Dullahan Bjornsen.
‘Dammit. My attacks aren't working.’
Moreover, even when he managed to counterattack, the sharpness of Grimungandr struggled to inflict any significant damage on Bjornsen.
It wasn't a matter of skill, but a result of the sheer difference in their weight class.
Even when he was alive, Bjornsen was a powerhouse whose physical prowess overwhelmed Carlyle.
Now that he had become a Dullahan, Carlyle could do little but be beaten one-sidedly.
*Thwack!*
“Gak!”
Carlyle was sent flying by Bjornsen's kick.
‘I have to get up… Ugh!’
*Creeeak!*
Having closed the distance in an instant, Bjornsen's foot pressed down hard on Carlyle's chest.
Belying his massive frame, Bjornsen's movements were terrifyingly fast.
“Carlyle!”
*Whoosh, whooosh!*
Marder's arrows flew relentlessly, but Bjornsen didn't even flinch.
*Tink, tuduk.*
Arrows with bent or broken tips fell to the ground like autumn leaves.
“Gak, keoheok!”
“Sigmund… Valhallaaa…”
Bjornsen's dead eyes gleamed with vengeance toward Carlyle.
Was that why?
*Creeeak!*
Bjornsen's foot pressed down even harder on Carlyle's chest.
It must have been revenge for what he had suffered in life.
Just as Bjornsen had crushed Derek to death, hadn't he himself been crushed to death under a boulder by the reconnaissance team members?
Recalling who had suggested that idea, it was only natural for Bjornsen to try and crush Carlyle to death with his foot.
*Crack, creak!*
A gruesome sound echoed from Carlyle's chest.
His sternum was clearly beginning to break under the immense pressure.
‘S-somehow, I have to counter… Keuk!’
Even as he thought this, Carlyle refused to give up, swinging Grimungandr in an attempt to escape his predicament.
But it was futile.
It wasn't a dagger, and a sword swung while his chest was being crushed could hardly be threatening.
*Creeeak!*
‘In my past life, I was run over. Am I going to be crushed to death now…’
Just as Carlyle's consciousness began to fade.
“Who stepped on my tail?”
The hatchling poked its head out from the gap in Carlyle's uniform.
Still not fully awake, the hatchling's expression was sullen and dazed.
But the emotion in its tone was clearly annoyance and anger.
It was already in a bad mood, sulking at Carlyle, and now its sweet slumber had been abruptly disturbed. Of course it wouldn't be happy.
“What, it was you?”
The hatchling looked up at Bjornsen and made a venomous face.
“You dare step on my tail? You've picked the wrong day. Haaaam!”
The hatchling opened its mouth wide, like a cat yawning.
A hatchling the size of a squirrel couldn't open its mouth very wide, but the result was anything but trivial.
*KWAAAAAA!*
A fan-shaped torrent of green flames erupted from the hatchling's mouth, engulfing Bjornsen.
*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*
The flames wrapping around Bjornsen blazed fiercely, and intense heat consumed the surroundings.
“KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”
Bjornsen's head let out a scream of agony.
*Ting!*
A notification window appeared before Carlyle's eyes.
[Notification: The hatchling has cast !]
* * *
*Stomp! Stomp!*
“Kagh, kraaaaaaagh!”
Bjornsen stomped his feet, writhing in pain.
The undead were deceased creatures animated by dark magic.
As such, their nerves were naturally dead, so it was normal for them not to feel pain.
Nevertheless, the fact that a scream erupted from an undead being meant that the [Dragon's Fury] unleashed by the hatchling was no ordinary fire.
[Dragon's Fury]
“It is foolish to pluck a whisker from a sleeping dragon.”
A fire unleashed when the hatchling's fury reaches its peak.
‘It must be really angry.’
[Dragon's Fury] is a fire unleashed when fury reaches its peak.
In that case, the hatchling must have been incredibly furious about its tail being stepped on.
Otherwise, it would never have used something like [Dragon's Fury].
Effects:
- [Incinerate] Burns the enemy with intense heat.
- [Soul Torture] Inflicts excruciating pain upon the enemy. This effect delivers not only physical but also mental anguish.
- [Weaken] Weakens the enemy.
*Sizzle, sizzzle!*
The heat of [Dragon's Fury] was so intense that Bjornsen's skin could be seen charring in real-time, turning into a blackened husk.
‘So this is what a 12-star is capable of.’
Carlyle thought to himself that the hatchling wasn't a 12-star potential pet for nothing, as he slowly pushed himself up.
“Keuk!”
An immense pain shot through his chest.
Carlyle chugged a health potion and steadied his stance.
*KWAAAAAAAAAA!*
All the while, the hatchling continued to spew [Dragon's Fury] at Bjornsen without stopping.
“Go! Butler!”
The hatchling commanded Carlyle.
“…Are you ordering me around now?”
Carlyle replied unenthusiastically.
He was grateful for being saved in a life-or-death moment, but at this rate, the roles of master and pet were completely reversed.
“Aren't you angry, Butler?”
“Not really.”
“What?!”
The hatchling's eyes widened in fury.
“That filthy, low-quality corpse dared to step on my tail, and you're not angry? As my butler, shouldn't you be teaching it a lesson?”
It seemed the hatchling's anger stemmed not from Bjornsen attacking Carlyle, but purely from having its tail stepped on.
It was clear it hadn't given a single thought to the fact that Bjornsen had been attacking Carlyle in the first place.
‘That’s just like you.’
Carlyle clicked his tongue inwardly and dashed toward Bjornsen, who was engulfed in green flames.
With Bjornsen writhing in pain and weakened by [Dragon's Fury], this was Carlyle's only chance.