Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: I Won't Kill You (4)
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Darkness encroached on the forest clearing.
A full moon hidden behind clouds emerged, casting moonlight down into the clearing.
And right in the center of that clearing knelt a single person.
"Hoo...."
Letting out a soft breath, it was none other than Jerry B.
Jerry reverently lifted the object before his knees with both hands.
"Finally...."
His voice carried a hint of emotion.
In his hands was a fluffy headband adorned with animal ears.
Holding it up, Jerry was overcome with sentiment.
"...Finally, a wolf."
Jerry's headband.
It symbolized the wolf.
The tip of his nose tingled at his elevated status.
'I'm a wolf now too!'
How aggrieved he'd felt last year, participating as a deer.
Deer couldn't strike first; they had to take a hit before barely managing a counterattack.
But wolves were different.
The qualification of Official 1st Dan, the limit of 200 exchanges in sparring.
The wolf rank's greatest privilege made enduring it all worthwhile.
It was the right to strike first.
Only those who'd faced rabbits and deer would know how tremendous a boon that was.
"Hoo, hoo...."
Jerry equipped the headband with slightly trembling hands.
He softly voiced his presence.
"Woof."
Jerry barked several times in a deep voice, proving his wolfhood.
Satisfied, he smiled and rose, gazing at the sky.
"It's night."
The time when beasts hunted.
The moment had arrived for him to shine.
Jerry puffed out his chest with a confident face.
And it was right then.
Rustle-.
A sound of rustling bushes from behind.
Jerry's eyes sharpened.
'It's here!'
The sacrificial lamb to adorn Jerry the wolf's hunting debut.
Jerry whirled around, eyes fierce.
"Bad luck, running into me here...."
But the cocky Jerry froze solid.
A black head poked up from the bushes.
Not fully revealed yet, but the jet-black hair alone sent chills racing up his spine reflexively.
'N-no way. It can't be?!'
No, that guy wouldn't come here, right?
Calming his pounding heart with such thoughts, he soon saw the face fully emerge from the bushes, and his heart thundered again.
"Huh?!"
Seeing the golden eyes gleaming in the dark, piercing right through him, Jerry instinctively staggered back.
No, anyone—not just Jerry—would react the same to those golden eyes.
The golden eyes spotted Jerry and blinked, a cheerful voice spilling out.
"Oh? What're you doing here, Jerry sunbae?"
"W-why are you?!"
"Long time no see, Jerry sunbae!"
Still half-hidden in the bushes, peeking out only her face and waving, it was Yuri.
Jerry forced down his panic.
'C-calm down. This is the 51st Batch's quest!'
For a split second, last year's 50th Cohort hide-gathering quest flashed in his mind, making him flinch, but thinking calmly, Yuri must be here for an animal role.
In other words, Yuri was on the same side as him.
Realizing that, Jerry's anxious expression cleared as he asked,
"What brings you here?"
"What do you mean? I'm here for the quest."
"You?"
Jerry gave her a puzzled look.
Bears and tigers were supposed to be handled by the Black Sword Soldiers anyway.
Deer for Unofficial 1st Grade, wolves for Official 1st Dan only.
So the only role Yuri could take was one with no rank restriction but limited to fleeing: the rabbit.
Jerry snickered.
"You... a rabbit? Heh heh."
He subtly puffed his chest with pride.
His eyes carried a faint superiority: You're a rabbit, but I'm a wolf...
Yuri caught on and snickered right back.
"Rabbit? You think I'd take some weak, premature-ejaculator race like that?"
Sneering, Yuri emerged from the bushes.
"...Huh?"
Jerry's eyes went wide at the leather vest in her hand.
"T-that outfit?!"
Yellow base with black stripes.
Yuri spun a full circle to show it off stylishly.
Then, with a haughty expression, she lowered her voice.
"Kneel and worship. For I am the king of this forest."
"......?!"
A startled yelp burst from Jerry.
"T-tiger?! You're the tiger?!"
"Of course."
"M-my god! Aren't bears and tigers for the Black Sword Soldiers?!"
"They asked me to take tiger yesterday."
Seeing Jerry gaping in shock, Yuri casually jerked her chin.
"Hey, wolf. Wanna be my first subordinate?"
"...Subordinate?"
"Yeah. Let's go hunt some kids together."
"With you?"
"Yeah, with me."
"...What about your friends? Teresa or the others."
"They were gonna join originally, but Official 2nd Dan has no roles. And they didn't wanna do rabbit either. So they're probably chilling now."
"Ah."
"So, you in or what?"
Jerry blinked at Yuri's urging.
'Moving with this guy?'
Blinking, Jerry quickly bowed his head.
"I shall serve at your command, Your Majesty!"
"Very well."
Jerry bowed deeply.
He was snickering.
'With this guy... who dares touch me!'
The tyrant of the Animal Forest.
No, the mad king!
Jerry snatched the chance to be his right-hand man.
Thus began the frenzied hunt, led by one tiger and one wolf.
***
Thud-!
A low echo.
Crackle-.
Sparks and ash scattered as logs popped from the fire.
"Charge!"
"Block!"
Amid the mingled glow of campfire and moonlight.
Three from the 51st Batch, inheriting the white collars of the 46th Cohort, clashed chaotically with two from the 50th Cohort in red collars.
Silver flashes crossed in the melee.
Clang-! Clang-! Clang!
Sharp metallic rings echoed into the night sky.
Soon, groans and irritated shouts erupted.
"Urk!"
"Hey, Ivan! What the hell?!"
The irritated ones were the 50th Cohort.
Incredibly, they were on the defensive.
Sure, a 3-vs-2 fight naturally favored the three.
But those two wore wolf headbands.
Not some mediocre scrubs, but top-tier from the 50th Cohort.
Clarice and Ivan.
Bewilderment filled their faces.
"What do you think? I'm swinging my sword like crazy! What about you, you wuss?"
"I'm... Argh! Shit, that nearly cracked my skull! Hey, do something about that bastard!"
"If it were that easy, we wouldn't be like this! We'd have flattened them already!"
The three 51st Batch members.
Two were just average nobodies.
Yet the two 50th Cohort were being pushed back by them—thanks to one person.
Whoosh-.
That one swung a massive axe-spear like a switch.
"Damn, the 51st Batch has a monster too!"
"Yeah, that's the guy! The one who took nine steps in the Hundred Paces Ritual!"
A fierce 3-vs-2 battle.
But effectively, Moochi alone was driving the two 50th Cohort back.
The other 51st Batch just provided minor support.
'Urk! Better take out the other 51st first, then Ivan and I can handle that brute properly.'
'If we drop those two first, we can definitely win!'
The problem: the supporting 51st Batch knew getting caught would flip the board, so they stuck strictly to backing Moochi from behind.
As the situation worsened, Ivan and Clarice exchanged glances.
'What now?'
'Run?'
This way, they might lose to the 51st Batch monster.
So they decided to retreat and regroup.
Just as they tried to pull back.
Rustle-.
Footsteps nearby.
Both sides distanced themselves, tense faces turned toward the sound.
Each hoped the newcomers were allies.
Moments later, the groups' expressions split starkly.
"Fellow batchmates!"
"Help us out!"
Ecstatic 51st Batch.
"Damn!"
"This is...."
Despairing 50th Cohort.
The newcomers: eight from the 51st Batch.
The two 50th Cohort tried to flee without delay.
But.
Whoosh-!
The new 51st Batch scattered instantly, encircling the two.
Especially fierce was the lemon-haired beauty who seized their rear.
Lisa, trapping them with no escape, waved toward the front.
"Moochi, hey! We meet again?"
Her voice was sweetly out of place.
Flustered, Moochi waved back reflexively.
"H-hi?"
Lisa smiled with her eyes at his greeting.
"Needed my help, right?"
"Uh... yeah."
She gave a soft smile to nodding Moochi.
But turning to the two 50th Cohort, her warmth vanished, replaced by chill.
Killing intent poured from all sides.
Trapped in the center, Ivan and Clarice muttered.
"Hey, we're kinda...."
"Yeah... screwed."
"If Yuri finds out we lost to 51st Batch punks, he'll tease us till we die."
"Teasing's the best case... He'll grind us mercilessly for shaming the 50th Cohort."
"...We're fucked?"
"...Right?"
Their faces darkened with despair.
But they were lucky, in a way.
Woof!
Ears perking at the distant bark, they lit up and shouted.
"Woof!"
"Woof woof! Arf arf- woof woof!"
Barking like dogs felt awkward for scions of noble houses.
'Who cares!'
The 51st Batch's disgusted stares stung.
'Who cares about that!'
Face mattered little now.
'You try rolling under that bastard for a year.'
'See if you don't end up like us!'
Dignity? Poise? Refinement?
Luxuries.
Better to bark like dogs now than get dogged by Yuri later—a hundred, a thousand times better.
"Woof woof! Woof woof woof!"
"Arf arf arf! Woof woof!"
Did their desperate SOS reach?
"Woof!"
A wolf-eared headband figure barked into view.
Seeing the familiar face, Ivan and Clarice looked slightly disappointed.
'Damn, barked our hearts out and only one comes!'
'And it's that sunbae of all people!'
Still, better than nothing—they shouted desperately.
"Jerry sunbae, help us!"
"We can't handle this alone! We'll hold 'em off—go get reinforcements!"
Hearing their plea, Jerry scanned the clearing.
Instead of fleeing, he stepped forward confidently.
Uncharacteristically relaxed and at ease.
So different from the Jerry they knew, Ivan and Clarice grimaced, wondering if he'd lost it.
But soon they understood his confidence's source.
"Reinforcements needed...? What say you, Your Majesty?"
Jerry bowed politely backward.
Soon, another voice from that direction.
"Tsk tsk, embarrassing. Beaten by underclassmen and begging for rescue. Pathetic."
Familiar voice made Ivan and Clarice flinch.
They gawked as golden eyes flashed—Yuri appeared.
"Y-you, why here?"
"W-wait... that outfit?!"
"No way?!"
Recognizing Yuri's tiger hide vest, their faces bloomed with joy.
Yuri fully entered the clearing.
Grinning, he declared.
"Rawr, the tiger has arrived."
One person.
Yuri's entrance flipped the atmosphere.
51st Batch faces hardened at "tiger."
Moochi especially sweated in tension.
Oddly, not just 50th Cohort rejoiced at Yuri.
"...Yuri-nim?"
Lisa gazed at him with sparkling eyes.
Yuri ignored her, waving casually at the stiff 51st Batch.
"Hey, no need to freak. This tiger won't kill you."
But contrary to his words, he cracked his knuckles and advanced.
"Just gonna sting a bit."
He cracked his neck side to side.
Crack- crack.
"But I'll end it quick."
50th Cohort grinned at Yuri's menacing smile.
'We're saved!'
'You're fucked now!'
The madman they usually avoided was their rock tonight.