Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Chapter 6 - Kapu
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[It seems the attack has only just begun.]
[Commencing reconnaissance maneuver!]
At Integra's shout, the drone detached from Luther's bracelet flew out the window.
Luther didn't even have time to glance back at the drone before grabbing his axe and rushing out of the room.
"Luther!"
Karen and Max, already armed in the living room, were ready.
Lillia held a small dagger, but trembling behind Karen, it didn't look like it would be useful even for self-defense.
Max spoke quickly.
"It looks like bandits have invaded. We need to decide whether to hole up inside or head outside."
It was a valid point.
But instead of pondering or responding, Luther closed his eyes.
"Integra."
[Sharing drone's field of view.]
[The barrier at the village entrance has already collapsed. Street fighting is breaking out within the village.]
Just as Integra said.
For some reason, all the barriers at the village entrance had fallen, and flames were rising from various spots in the village.
[The bandits are riding araptors.]
[Do you know their name?]
"Cateradon. Definitely Cateradons."
They were bipedal araptors about the size of a horse, with fast speed from their powerful hind legs as their main strength.
'But their ferocity and combat prowess are no joke either.'
Their speed was particularly standout, but they weren't lacking in other areas.
Their scale-covered bodies were tough, and their sharp teeth and the claws on their always-held forelimbs were incredibly sharp.
Add a ferocious temperament to that, and they were ferocious beasts incomparable to ordinary warhorses.
[The bandit group's number appears to be around twenty.]
[All riding Cateradons!]
Luther swallowed dryly at Integra's report.
Now he understood why several villages had been trampled by just around twenty bandits.
'Twenty Cateradons.'
Factoring in their mounted status, the twenty bandits' combat power surpassed a hundred regular soldiers.
[Adventurers and the vigilante group are attempting a counterattack.]
[The bandits aren't actively committing arson, perhaps to seize loot.]
That was it.
Releasing the shared view and opening his eyes, Luther quickly explained the situation to Karen and Max.
"The bandits number around twenty. But all are mounted on Cateradons. They're not aggressive about arson."
[Master, I'll use augmented reality to display the map and enemy positions.]
A minimap like in a game appeared before Luther's eyes, dotted with red and blue points.
From the context, red was the bandits, blue the adventurers and vigilante group.
[Only enemies observable by drone are marked, so perfect real-time tracking of all positions is impossible. For reference only—]
[Master! Enemies approaching the lodging!]
Two red dots arrived in front of the lodging.
Luther urgently switched his axe to his left hand and raised his right arm.
-Bang!
-Pew!
Two different sounds overlapped.
The moment the bandit kicked down the door, an energy projectile from Luther's right hand sliced through the air, striking the intruder's chest without chance to dodge and sending him flying.
But it wasn't over.
Seeing its master dead, one Cateradon let out a roar and charged into the house.
"Keeah!"
With gray feathers bristling on its neck and back, its charge was explosively fast.
But Karen was a fraction faster.
The Cateradon, caught by her psychokinesis just in time, floated into the air flailing uselessly, and Karen clenched her fist, shouting.
"Max!"
-Slash!
Max's sword sliced the Cateradon's neck like a guillotine blade.
A simple downward slash, but the textbook-perfect motion produced beyond-imagination power.
"Kree?"
The Cateradon's head hit the floor with a thud, letting out a hissing sound, and its headless body collapsed.
-Thud!
"Hah, haah...."
Drenched in sweat from the sudden exertion, Karen bowed her head, breathing raggedly.
And at that moment, Integra shouted.
[Master! The remaining one is trying to set the entrance on fire!]
Having lost its party instantly, it seemed to have changed plans.
Luther rushed forward almost tumbling and threw himself outside.
There, a bandit soaked in oil was about to throw a torch at the wall.
"Stop!"
-Pew!
The energy projectile slammed into the bandit's chest. He fell backward, dropping the torch, and Luther hurriedly kicked it away while pulling back his right arm.
"Integra!"
[Deploying nanosuit!]
Luther's right arm was instantly covered in pristine white armor.
"Keeah!"
"I know!"
Turning toward the charging Cateradon from behind, Luther swung his right arm like a hammer.
"Kreeak!"
Struck in the snout, the Cateradon staggered back, and Luther gripped his axe with both hands, spinning to cleave.
-Kwang!
The slash, loaded with immense power, was more like a smash.
Its neck shattered and tore off, the beast collapsed, and Luther swung again to pulverize its head.
[Master, the situation is turning into a melee.]
[A figure seeming to be the bandit leader is dominating the battlefield.]
[The bandit leader is picking off scattered adventurers and vigilantes one by one.]
He got the picture.
The twenty bandits weren't the main force to begin with.
Their role was the anvil.
By scattering in all directions to disperse and pin down adventurers and vigilantes, the hammer—the bandit leader—toured the field, defeating them one by one.
It wasn't a normal tactic, honestly.
The bandits scattered too, so a mistake could lead to them being picked off instead—an incomplete strategy.
But with this risky tactic, they'd toppled five villages.
How?
Simple.
The leader picks them off before the bandits get hit.
Meaning the leader's transcendent combat power and mobility compensated for the tactic's weakness.
"Luther!"
Karen and Max rushed outside.
Lillia clung trembling to Karen's back, and Max had already shouldered their luggage, ready to flee the village if needed.
"This way!"
Instead of hesitating, Luther pointed toward the bandit-free direction.
Fight when necessary, but securing his and his party's safety came first.
But right then.
[Master! The roof!]
At Integra's urgent cry, Luther instinctively looked up and saw a figure leaping off the roof.
A red Cateradon.
Others had gray feathers on neck and back, but this one had red feathers and was larger.
Undoubtedly the alpha male leading the pack.
That's why Luther could be sure who rode it.
An alpha male never carried an ordinary rider on its back.
Moreover, the one on the alpha's back was someone Luther recognized.
'Kapu of the Limb-Tearer!'
Deathly pale skin like a corpse, dark complexion, abnormally long arms and legs.
Definitely Kapu, the named enemy appearing at the end of the western arc, part 1 of Dragon Hunter Origin.
Landing on the ground, it rolled its eyes toward the earth instead of facing Luther.
The bandits clearly one-shot dead, and Cateradons seemingly instantly slain.
Kapu's gaze finally turned to Luther.
Instead of speaking, it tossed something at Luther's feet from its right hand.
It was Vallian's head, representative of the adventurers.
"Eeek!"
The moment Lillia screamed.
Luther ignored the head, glaring at Kapu and shouting.
"Invisibility mode!"
[5!]
Integra responded instantly to Luther's call.
Luther knew Kapu well.
Born with abnormal proportions and monstrous strength, it was a human combat specialist.
Fighting massive araptors was entirely different from handling a quick, super-strong human— in some ways, tougher than Jogres.
'So end it in one strike!'
Before it could unleash its full power!
[4!]
Luther launched to Kapu's left, powering his axe grip.
He planned to activate boosters and cleave both Kapu and Cateradon.
But the moment Luther moved, Kapu's eyes shifted too.
From front to his own left.
Invisibility mode wasn't perfect.
Based on light refraction, quick movement left a slight distortion, and Kapu—with abnormal dynamic vision—caught that tiny difference even in the dark night.
-Bang!
Luther's axe struck the ground like lightning.
Missed.
Before boosters activated, the Cateradon carrying Kapu leaped right, perfectly evading by a hair.
[3!]
[2!]
Luther turned his gaze.
Not on the Cateradon's back.
The moment the attack hit ground, it had kicked off and leaped up.
Where?
'Right!'
Following the life signal, Luther reflexively raised his axe.
-Kwaang!
Kapu's fist smashed the axe blade.
Still in invisibility mode, it seemed like a blind strike following the distortion.
[1!]
[0!]
[Releasing invisibility mode!]
The moment Luther's form appeared, pushed back by the fist, it moved again.
Right side again.
Dropping almost to the ground, vanishing from Luther's sight instantly, it whipped a kick toward his waist.
-Kwaang!
The instant foot and arm collided, a roar erupted.
Impossible to believe it was human kicking human.
"Urk!"
Barely blocking with nanosuit armor, Luther was pushed aside again.
He knew, but the abnormal strength.
Pure strength might surpass his own.
Worse was its combat style.
Basic Fistfighting Lv1 couldn't properly counter its battle-honed technique.
[Master! Combo incoming!]
Just as Integra said.
Having seen the dead bandit's chest wound, it gave Luther no time.
Clearly wary of ranged attacks in its movements.
"Urk!"
Sensing the foe closing in instantly, Luther chose defense over sloppy attack, and the kick landed again.
-Kwaang!
A siege ram-level push kick.
Even blocked, Luther felt his organs jolt.
[Administering painkiller.]
[Starting self-repair.]
Flying over 10 meters, rolling on the ground, Luther heard Integra.
Needed a different approach than vs. Jogres.
"Luther!"
Karen cried, but couldn't help.
The alpha male carrying Kapu assaulted her and Max.
-Pew!
Luther sprang up lightning-fast, firing energy gun forward.
But Kapu, as if anticipating, twisted torso to dodge and charged.
[Master! Hold on just a bit longer!]
[I have a—]
That was it.
Kapu's fierce onslaught resumed.
Luther hurriedly guarded, but couldn't block forever.
With each combo, his stance crumbled bit by bit.
And right then.
[Yaaaaah!]
With Integra's valiant shout, the drone dove at Kapu's face.
A perfect blindside.
But the tiny, light drone lacked power.
"Bug?"
Kapu startled briefly by the sudden drone.
Smacked by its palm, the drone hit ground in a small explosion.
Pathetically futile end, but Integra was satisfied.
The drone's sacrifice bought a little time.
[7 seconds from now!]
Luther now knew what Integra was doing.
So he steadied stance, focusing solely on defense.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
Kapu's combos raged.
Like hammering with iron mallets, monstrous impacts.
Each block felt like his body shattering.
But Luther endured.
Self-repairing, pure defense, awaiting Integra's signal.
[3!]
Kapu thrust fist again.
[2!]
Combo again. Gritting teeth blocking the storm.
[1!]
[0!]
Kapu pulled fist back again.
And that instant, Integra's compressed voice echoed in Luther's mind.
[Combat pattern analysis complete.]
[Installing bandit leader—Kapu's combat pattern onto Master!]
A flash.
Insight pierced Luther's mind.
He understood.
Instead of consistent defense, he subtly shifted upper body, moving center of gravity.
-Swish!
Kapu's fist sliced air.
Perfect evasion.
And that moment, eyes meeting Luther's, Kapu realized.
Changed.
Transformed.
The desperate defender now perfectly read Kapu's attack.
How.
Facing Kapu's bewildered eyes, Integra smiled, declaring gently.
[Counterattack, begins.]
-Thud!
With earth-shaking step, Luther's fist struck.