Kutlanka Ruins (3)
"Urra!"
*SLASH-!*
"Kyaak!"
The bandit whose shoulder and left flank had been sliced open by overwhelming force let out his dying gasp and died on the spot.
"Hah, fuck. Even in a brawl, there's no such brawl."
I wiped the blood off my face and took a moment to catch my breath, scanning the surroundings. The extermination squad and the snake bandit gang were locked in a chaotic, blood-soaked melee.
Though no one had said it, I knew every member of the extermination squad understood they couldn't break through the hill's entrance. After all, if the snake bandits pushed hard, we'd be forced to leap off the cliff like three thousand palace maids.
The drop was a dizzying several hundred meters. Few people or fairies would survive a fall from that height.
With no escape route, the extermination squad fought desperately against the relentless incoming enemies.
*BOOM-!*
"Hahk!"
"Abraham! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, Master!"
Abraham blocked the enemy's charge with his massive shield and swayed violently, groaning. If Kanisia hadn't been standing right behind him, he would have tumbled backward. In the middle of such chaos, falling would have been fatal.
"You bastards!"
Kanisia let out a sigh of relief that Abraham was unharmed, then immediately exploded with fury at the enemy attacking her fairy and unleashed the [Power Thrust (Lv.12/Normal)] skill.
"Kyaak!"
Twelve power thrusts materialized and streaked toward the foe.
His strength had been enough to shove Abraham, but his durability stats clearly weren't. The thrusts speared straight into the enemy master's body like skewers jabbing soft tofu.
"Master...! This fucking bitch!!!"
Enraged at her master's death, the fairy screamed and charged straight at Kanisia and Abraham in a blind frenzy.
*SLASH-!*
"Kuk...!"
But the fairy never got to exact her revenge.
Behind her, Aquaril had already appeared. She severed the fairy's arm and then sliced her throat clean. Aquaril's sword, enhanced by the [Graceful (Lv.12/Normal)] skill, moved so fast her cold eyes could barely track it.
"Save your skill for Kanisia."
"But that kid..."
"Hmph. Don't let emotions sway you. You know what happens if you lose control on the battlefield."
"... Yeah. Got it. Sorry, Alan."
At my words, Kanisia nodded obediently and apologized. She already understood the stakes, so no further warning was needed.
"The formation's widening. Tighten up. If you get swept away and fall, it’ll be hard to reach you."
"Yes, Master."
"Yeah."
"Understood, Lord Alan."
The party members tightened their loose formation.
Though the extermination squad had gathered to wipe out the snake bandits, they had formed no special bonds with the other masters or fairies. Therefore, the only ones they could truly trust right now were our own party members.
Abraham held his shield toward the hill entrance, Kanisia stood behind him, and diagonally behind Abraham I and Aquaril took our positions.
"AAAAAAAA!"
"Die, you bastards!"
The snake bandits charged without a moment's rest.
"Hold!"
"Don't worry, Lord Alan! Haaaaat!"
*BOOM-!*
"Kuhk!"
Several of them slammed their bodies into Abraham's shield at once, pushing it forward. He strained under the weight. Still, thanks to prior preparation, they held the line far more steadily than before.
Abraham's refusal to budge created a stalemate. Now it was my turn, along with Aquaril and Kanisia, to take the offensive.
"Haaat!"
Kanisia swung her spear at the bandits charging from behind, while I and Aquaril advanced to slash at the foes blocked by Abraham's shield.
*SLASH-!*
"Aaaah!"
*SLASH-!*
"Kuk!"
My and Aquaril's main weapons were swords, but our styles were completely different.
Aquaril's clean, precise strikes found the enemy's vital points and ended them neatly. Mine relied on raw strength: I sliced through weapons and armor in one brutal motion.
Aquaril's technique was more elegant, but I lacked the talent to match it. My strength stats were simply too high for me to bother using a sword like hers.
Of course, my crude method put heavy strain on weapons, shortening their lifespan.
[Arcrasi One-Handed Sword (★★★)]
Type: Sword
Grade: High
Value: 5,000,000 gold
Effect: Grants weapon effect [Hardness]
William's General Store had many superior swords, but the [Hardness] effect was why I chose this one. Apart from that, it had no other functions—yet it let me fully utilize my overwhelming strength stats.
Moreover, the bandits wore light cloth instead of hard armor. Slashing through their bodies was effortless.
*SLASH-! *SLASH-! *SLASH-!*
"Kyaaaaaak!"
"Y-You crazy bastard!"
"Evade! It's a, a monster! That guy!"
After consecutively stabbing and killing three bandits, the nearby ones stared at me with terrified faces.
"Who's the monster?"
*SLASH-!*
"Kuk!"
I swung my sword and split another one's body in half.
'Wind Arrow.'
The frightened bandits avoided me at all costs. Thanks to that, I could freely use my only magic skill, [Wind Arrow (Lv.13/Normal)]. At level 13 I could now generate up to thirteen wind arrows.
"Kuk!"
The wind arrow struck the bandit’s head, caving it inward like a hammer blow.
I could create up to thirteen, but I deliberately fired only one. Precise control was possible that way.
"Die, you bandit bastards!"
I kept fighting without pause, swinging my sword and casting magic at the bandits.
My sword, face, and armor were drenched in their blood. The bloody stench that had irritated my nerves earlier was now gone—my sense of smell had gone numb.
How much time had passed? How many enemies remained?
I had no idea. I had been so lost in battle that hours slipped by unnoticed. At least two had passed.
'These jingling bastards.'
It felt like I had killed quite a few, yet the bandits still surged forward like a tidal wave. They looked less like humans and more like monsters.
It was like facing a Terran against an endless Zerg of mutalisks. They kept dying, but it never ended. Fuck.
'My body's heavy.'
I swung my sword and cast magic without rest, and eventually my body gave out. It felt as if every debuff clung to me like glue. Even swinging the sword no longer hit as hard as before.
My body felt heavy, submerged in deep water. I wanted to drop the sword, lie on the ground, and rest.
A ruthless killer and plunderer, the giant mantis, can wipe out 100,000 honeybees in an hour.
But that doesn't mean honeybees can't kill a giant mantis.
Surround the mantis, raise its body temperature, and the honeybees can finish it. Of course many honeybees die in the process, but the terrifying mantis still dies.
I felt like I was that giant mantis right now. The charging bandits were the honeybees.
"Kya!"
A scream rang out beside me. Turning my head, I saw Aquaril's shoulder sliced open by the enemy fairy's sword.
"You bitch!"
As soon as I saw it, I created a wind arrow and fired it at the enemy fairy. The wind arrow pierced her armpit.
Her durability stats were high, so the arrow didn't dig deep. But the enemy fairy flinched, and for Aquaril that brief moment was enough.
*SLASH-!*
The fairy's head flew off her body and rolled away. It tumbled among the feet of the people below and then dissolved into light.
"Thank you, Master."
"Be careful."
'Healing.'
I approached Aquaril and cast the healing skill on her injured shoulder. The bleeding stopped and fresh flesh began to grow rapidly.
As a normal-grade skill, it couldn't heal instantly. A higher grade or level would have closed the wound in one strike.
"Damn it. I shouldn't have fought so recklessly."
The entrance of the hill where the extermination squad stood was narrow. They should have formed a solid line and blocked it with their shields. Splitting the unit into two and fighting in rotation would have been far more efficient.
But I wasn't the commander of this extermination squad. The only ones who could give me orders were my own party members.
Commander Pazniri only shouted orders to block the enemies. His fairies and Plasma protected him.
'Fuck, that selfish bastard.'
Even though the strongest Plasma in the squad was guarding him, Commander Pazniri refused to let my fairies join the fight. The sight made my blood boil.
'I have no choice. Even if the bandit bastards push deeper, the only way to protect my party members is this.'
I decided to lead my party members and retreat backward. More enemies would flood the hill, increasing casualties, but... what did it matter? They weren't my party members.
I would focus on protecting my own.
That's why I was about to retreat.
"Hey, Han. Retreat backward."
"... Huh? Gilliard?"
Someone from behind ordered me to fall back. When I turned, the striking red-haired magician stood there—Chae Gilliard. Beside him were his fairies and Thor, the brutishly built friend of Chae's.
"From now on, the frontline you've held will be covered by us. You all fall back and rest."
"Eh, huh?"
Chae Gilliard, Thor, and their fairies.
'T-These guys?!'
When I checked their status, my blood boiled. Unlike us, covered head to toe in blood, they were untouched, not a drop of blood on them.
What this meant was clear.
'These bastards! While we were shitting blood, they were sucking honey from the back!'
While my party fought the bandits, Chae Gilliard's party had been resting in the rear! The thought of them chilling while I suffered made me furious.
"Thank you."
But I couldn't get angry. Thanks to them, Chae Gilliard's party took our place, replenished their stamina from behind, and bought us time to rest.
That's right.
Chae Gilliard had thought of the same strategy I had—dividing the unit into two and fighting in rotation.
The only difference was that I led my party forward while he chose to wait in the back.
"Hahaha! You worked hard, friends!"
Master Thor burst into a cheerful laugh and patted our shoulders as he stepped forward. Then he slapped the bandit’s cheek with all his strength.
*CRACK-!*
The bandit’s head spun 180 degrees!
'Insane! Strength stat 80 points?'
In that shocking sight, I quickly checked his status. His strength was a staggering 80 points. Even though he wasn't yet at the maximum level of 80.
Chae Gilliard's party, who had taken our place, immediately engaged the bandits. Chae Gilliard unleashed fire magic while his fairies swung their weapons, severing the bandits' throats one by one.
"Huu... Now we can rest, right?"
"Yeah. Let's go quickly and rest. I'm dying of exhaustion."
Kanisia sighed and asked. I was tired too—how could she not be?
I took the exhausted party members and hurried them back inside the camp.
'Now you should come out a bit... Huh? What are you looking at?'
While resting, I watched Plasma.
If he stepped out and fired a single spell, the bandits would be wiped out in a single wave. The extermination squad's burden would drop dramatically.
But Plasma didn't move. Even when soldiers fell and masters and fairies collapsed, he stayed rooted. He simply stared at the battlefield—or rather the burning bandit village—with sharp eyes like a wolf.
'Why are you looking at that...'
"... Fuck?"
Following Plasma's gaze, I looked at the village and spat out a curse.
The bones of Kutlanka were wrapped in a red aura.