Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Griffin Hunt
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Whoosh!
Like a tangled ball of thread unraveling all at once, the aura shot out and reached the young griffins.
Screeech!?
Their bodies froze for an instant at the overwhelming pressure they had never felt before.
For creatures that had only ever faced beasts like wolves or bears at best, they couldn't withstand the aura emanating from the awakened Origin.
Thwack!
Seizing the moment, Galpredic hurled his spear. The javelin pierced the shoulder of one of the chicks that had just landed, and it let out a howl of agony.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Drawing his longsword, Galpredic charged at the writhing chick. The other one leaped back in shock, even as its sibling thrashed about.
Eugene, pulling out Wolfslaughter without hesitation, launched himself into the air.
Screeech!
Despite the aura, the chick—which had never once been counterattacked by a human—grew even more panicked.
There had been humans who fought back with weapons from time to time, but this was the first time one had charged so aggressively.
Screeeeech!
As the chicks found themselves in peril, the mother intervened.
Though smaller than a wyvern, the griffin—spanning 6 to 7 meters with wings fully spread—descended from the tree with overwhelming force.
Eugene, who had been focusing on the mother even as he approached the chicks, tossed the javelin in his left hand upward.
Thwish!
The moment the air-tearing sound reached her, the startled mother griffin hurriedly folded her wings and spun her body in midair.
Thud!
The javelin grazed her wing, sending feathers scattering like snowflakes as blood sprayed.
But thanks to folding her wings quickly, she avoided a fatal wound and landed steadily on the ground.
Screeeeeeeeech!
The mother bellowed in fury.
Like other mid-to-large monsters, the griffin's roar carried an aura of intimidation.
Ordinary animals or humans would freeze in place and wet themselves, while even knights lacking experience or courage would shrink back.
Whinny!
As if to prove it, Silion and Galpredic's horses frothed at the mouth and bolted away.
"Hey, you coward horse bastards!"
Mirian yelled at the top of his lungs as he flew after the fleeing horses.
But Eugene and Galpredic remained unfazed.
"Noise."
"Indeed. That guy's got some lungs."
The griffin was driven to madness by the two knights showing no reaction whatsoever.
Moreover, sensing through experience and instinct that the humans before her (though she no longer thought of them as such) were far from ordinary, the mother stood protectively in front of her chicks, spreading her wings wide.
Screech! Screeech!
With claws the size of human palms protruding from her forepaws, she swung them threateningly and backed away step by step.
"No way? Are those chicks trying to bail?"
Galpredic, his fangs protruding noticeably, spoke in disbelief.
Screeech!
At that moment, the chicks behind the mother actually began to flee.
Even as she continued her threatening cries and flapping to buy time while the chicks escaped, the mother suddenly turned tail and flew off without looking back.
"......!"
Galpredic was speechless at the sight of a griffin—one of the stronger mid-tier monsters—fleeing with its tail between its legs.
"Galpredic, you handle the chicks. One's badly hurt and can't fly, so you should be able to catch them."
"What? Fine for the chicks, but the mother? You're going after her?"
A flying monster was as good as gone the moment it fled. Especially in these deep woods, even an Origin vampire would have trouble pursuing.
"I've got a way."
Recalling how he'd caught the giant bat in the dungeon, Eugene felt confident.
The sun hadn't fully set yet, but the dense forest let in almost no light.
In a place like this, he could unleash his vampire abilities to their maximum, just like in the dungeon.
"Hoo."
As Eugene steadied his breath, his eyes gradually turned crimson-black.
Shwaaa...!
The aura surging from his entire body spread out rapidly and widely in invisible waves visible only to him, toward the direction the griffin had fled.
Soon, his heightened senses picked up the mother's blood scent and the savage beating of her wings.
"That way."
Fixing his fully crimson-black eyes on one spot, Eugene leaped powerfully.
Whoosh! Thud! Thud!
Covering over ten meters in a single bound, he bounded from branch to branch and vanished swiftly.
* * *
The mother griffin flew in a different direction from her chicks, slower than usual. It was a choice to protect them in case of emergency.
This way, the humans from before would target her instead.
Once she judged the chicks fully safe, she could flee at full speed.
Leaping from tree to tree, the mother paused on a large branch to catch her breath and scan the forest.
With the lower body of a lion but the head of an eagle, griffins possessed exceptional eyesight.
She could spot a mouse creeping through grass hundreds of meters away.
Scree...
No movement on the ground—the king of the forest had terrified everything into hiding. Finally relaxing, she inspected the wing grazed by the spear.
She had been injured a few times in past encounters with iron-clad humans, but never this badly.
Had she not folded her wing and dodged, it would have pierced straight through.
The mother stuck out her tongue past her beak and carefully licked the wound on her wing joint.
Then, a strange noise pricked her ears.
She hurriedly scanned the ground, but nothing moved.
Tilting her eagle head, she turned back to lick the wound and preen her feathers—when a chilling presence emanated from one spot.
Thud! Crash!
She saw a human in pitch-black armor bounding toward her along the branches like a flying demon.
The mother panicked greatly.
Humans, as she knew them, crawled on the ground like insects. Even the strong ones never leaped through the trees like this.
Groooar!
Nor had she ever imagined a human unleashing such a monstrous, overpowering roar.
Swish!
Eugene swung the protruding claws on his left hand and Wolfslaughter in his right, launching himself at the griffin, whose body had frozen for an instant from the aura-laden roar.
Thud!
Her hastily extended forepaw clashed with his claws.
Both had talons capable of shredding steel, but the griffin—panicked by the unfamiliar situation and reacting on reflex—couldn't withstand Eugene's calculated strike.
Crunch! Screeeeech!
One paw half-severed and mangled, the griffin shrieked in agony.
Crack!
Eugene, stomping the inside of her leg with his left hand to cling on, thrust Wolfslaughter like lightning into the center of her chest.
Squelch!
Wolfslaughter pierced through the thick feathers and tough hide in one go.
Eugene buried the sword up to the guard in her chest. Unable to endure the pain from the silver-alloyed famed blade, she plummeted.
Boom! Screeech!
Eugene fell entwined with her massive body.
Several bones cracked in the process, but fortunately, his maximized vampire physique endured the pain.
Right after crashing, the griffin madly pecked at him with her huge beak, but his sturdy armor and Black Scale Mail absorbed much of the impact.
Crunch!
Without a moment to think, Eugene drove the claws of his left hand into her chest and thrashed wildly.
Screeeeeeeee!
As her organs tore and ruptured, the griffin wailed long and thrashed about.
Then, at some point, she stopped moving entirely, shat and pissed herself in heaps, and collapsed with a thud.
"Huff, huff!"
Crawling out from under the griffin's body with effort, Eugene immediately dismantled her chest area.
"Good."
His face lit up. A mana stone the size of a thumbnail had emerged from her.
Pocketing the mana stone, Eugene parted her lush feathers and sank his fangs into her nape.
After drinking his fill for several minutes, he jerked his head back.
"Groooaaaar!"
With griffin blood smeared across his face, the victorious vampire roared.
* * *
"I'm going mad!"
From the spire of Rose Castle—the ancestral seat of House Archbolt for generations—Gavrel gazed down, unable to hide his anxiety.
In the field by the stream 300 to 400 meters away, dozens of large tents had sprung up where none had been yesterday.
Beyond the wide, deep moat protecting the castle stood hundreds of troops arrayed in formation, including knights bearing the banners of various houses.
"Just how many are they?"
"Over a thousand, I'd say."
Gavrel's expression darkened further at the response from Andre, his most trusted knight and brother-in-law.
"We've only got about three hundred. Can we even hold?"
Stroking his mustache beneath his hooked nose, Andre replied.
"It's common knowledge that attackers need at least three times the defenders to succeed in a siege. But our mercenaries are the finest, with high morale, and the knights sworn to you burn with zeal. Besides, Duchess Essendra likely won't assault the castle."
"Why not?"
Unlike Essendra, who had diligently studied as heir to the margraviate from childhood, Gavrel lacked aptitude as a ruler and struggled to grasp the situation.
"Look at their forces. Over half are mercenaries. To satisfy them, she'd have to permit looting the conquered lands—but this is the honorable seat of House Archbolt. She might allow pillaging villages and hamlets in the territory, but the ancestral castle itself? To barbarians, no less? And Essendra of all people?"
"Oh! You're right."
"Indeed. She'll attempt negotiations in the end. So, Your Grace, just follow the plan and stall for time. I've already sent word; we'll hear back in a day or two."
"Phew! Got it. Having a brother-in-law like you is reassuring."
"No need for that. I believe only Your Grace, Duke Gavrel, can lead the Archbolt Margraviate to stability and prosperity. Moreover, my wife regards Your Grace as her true brother."
"Yes. Excellent. Hahaha!"
Even great nobles found comfort in numbers—better two than one, three than two.
Thus, Gavrel could laugh with relief.
And a day later, the news he'd awaited finally arrived.
* * *
"Your Grace! I'm back."
Kneeling on one knee, the knight who had slipped into the castle via the secret passage built when Rose Castle was constructed.
"Well done, Lord Molv. No dangers on the way?"
"As you said, Duchess Essendra's forces weren't guarding it."
The secret passage's existence and location were known only to the heir. But Gavrel and Elena had discovered it by chance playing hide-and-seek with their siblings as children.
"Sister would have guarded it herself if at all, but she's oddly responsible about such things and wouldn't tell anyone."
"You're right. Anyway, Lord Molv, you must never speak of this passage to anyone."
"Fear not. On my honor, my lips are sealed until death."
"Good. I trust you. So, what did you learn?"
Now came the real matter, so Gavrel and Elena waited with expressions mixed of anticipation and tension.
"Yes. As you both predicted, Duchess Essendra hasn't occupied every village and hamlet in the margraviate. She's merely sent knights in small groups to check loyalties."
"As expected. And next?"
Though eager for other news, Gavrel masked his impatience to avoid arousing suspicion.
"First, they couldn't enter Garinsa Dungeon. Duke Edrike left substantial forces to guard it even after joining Essendra. They refused entry to anyone without her express permission, with utmost stubbornness... My apologies."
"Hmm."
Uncertain of the mages they'd secretly sent to the dungeon, Gavrel and Elena's faces darkened slightly. Now they could only hope the mages had escaped safely.
"What of the roamers? With no subjugations for so long, they must have multiplied near the dungeon."
"Ah, I thought so too, but their numbers haven't grown much. Though it's hard to believe..."
"Hard to believe?"
After a brief hesitation, the knight hurriedly answered under the siblings' intense gazes.
"Monsters have appeared in Rodan Forest. Not griffins, but judging by the horrific howls, something extremely dangerous and evil that's never appeared before."
(To be continued)