Chapter 72
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Not My Yard
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72
Not My Yard
‘I’ll kill him for sure.’
Kurteun muttered the man’s name as if chewing on it, and began to walk.
The bizarre name, ‘Deokgu Bae.’
Behind that ignorance, which rivaled—no, surpassed—that of a barbarian, hid a seasoned and despicable strategist.
*Cough.* Blood surged up, spilling from his mouth.
Kurteun shook his head again.
His blurry mind cleared, and strength returned to his body.
The arm tied to his waist was getting in the way, so he shifted it slightly.
‘If I can get to a Cardinal-level figure, I can get it reattached.’
Kurteun moved toward the castle walls, away from the crowds and knights.
*Grrrgle—.*
The corpses made a sound like clearing their throats with phlegm as they blocked Kurteun’s path.
“Things that don’t know their place.”
Though it was hard to concentrate and his balance was off, to Kurteun, who could wield Aura, they were nothing more than insects.
The Aura extending from his lightly swung dagger drew a long line in the air. A straight line was drawn long and thin. The buildings and the undead within its path were instantly sliced to pieces, scattering to the ground.
‘…I should have done this to *him*.’
Kurteun spat out red saliva and continued walking.
Creatures that didn't know their place kept charging at him, but Kurteun simply swung his dagger lightly, as if shooing away bugs. He had been dispatched to deal with both ‘Black Blood’ and ‘The Society’ in the first place.
No matter how bad Kurteun’s condition was, there was no way such small fry could be a threat.
Black mages and demons possessed an absolute hierarchy.
They reigned over those of a lower rank but became powerless insects when facing a superior. Such were the profane ones.
‘That bastard will die here.’
The ‘Great Darkness’ had appeared. If he, who was of a higher rank than that man, had faced it, he could have dealt with it easily. But since there was no one here who could match the rank of the ‘Great Darkness,’ this castle would surely meet its end today.
Kurteun pondered for a moment.
Should he go back now and kill the man himself?
‘No, I come first.’
Just then, he felt a strange sensation and raised his dagger.
*Thud—.*
‘…A stone?’
It was just an ordinary stone.
“Who is it?”
To dare play a prank on him.
Kurteun coughed, dumbfounded.
*Oh knight, oh knight—.*
Then, a deep singing voice came from somewhere.
He couldn't pinpoint the location, but the voice was extremely grating.
Kurteun pretended to be calm and looked around, but there was no response.
He could only see the undead and demonic minions drawn by the scent of flesh.
He had a bad feeling. Tensing up, Kurteun swung his dagger again to clear his surroundings.
He had only swung the dagger twice, yet all the small fry around him were split in half.
Still, there was no sound.
Kurteun assumed the prankster had run away and started walking again.
Then, something else flew at him.
Kurteun raised his dagger to block it lightly—.
*CRASH!!*
This stone was different; its size and the force behind it were extraordinary.
“A coward who doesn’t even have the courage to show himself. How dare you play games…”
*Oh knight, oh knight—.*
The singing made the hair on Kurteun’s neck stand on end.
He still couldn't locate the source of the song, but it was definitely closer than before. It stimulated something primal within him.
‘A coward who doesn’t even have the courage to show himself.’
Kurteun tightened his grip on the dagger and steeled himself.
He was only tense because he couldn't see his opponent.
Once he faced them, they would surely be trash.
‘Why are these bastards scattered about after breaking through the wall?’
It was absurd. After breaching the wall, they should have gathered to attack the crowd, but instead, they were spread out along the entire wall as if to surround it.
“Krrk— Krrk— The smell of a hypocrite.”
A wolf demon, sniffing the air, blocked his path.
It wasn't a minion, but a true demon who had received the Devil's Handprint. Saliva dripped from the yellowed fangs protruding from its snout. It kept sniffing, as if it had caught a delicious scent.
Not even worth a word.
Kurteun swung his dagger much wider than before.
As the Aura rose to his will and cut through the air, something approached from the side.
‘This bastard!’
He had no choice but to change the trajectory of his swing.
*Tick!*
It was a very small stone.
With no force behind it at all.
The moment he realized he had been played, anger flared.
*Krrrrr!!*
The demon leaped at Kurteun.
Kurteun swung his dagger irritably, and a long, vertical silver line was drawn in the air.
The demon was split vertically, and the black blood that sprayed from between the halves rained down on Kurteun.
In that instant.
*Stab—.*
He felt an excruciating pain in his thigh.
He turned his head to see an old man with madness-filled eyes. The old man’s eyes held a deep obsession that was hard to fathom.
‘…When?’
Kurteun bit his lip and swung his dagger spasmodically, but the old man had already retreated.
Hot, red blood gushed from Kurteun’s thigh like a fountain. The sharp pain jolted his senses.
“Oh knight, oh knight—.”
The old man hummed the song from a safe distance.
It was the one who had been throwing stones from the start.
‘Crazy…’
When he raised his dagger, the old man moved further away.
The old man stopped just outside the range of Kurteun's Aura.
‘He knows my range?’
Kurteun glared at the old man while checking the wound on his leg. The man had precisely stabbed a muscle, making it almost impossible to move.
The old man just stared back with his crazed eyes.
The sight of the old man licking his lips as if savoring him made Kurteun's hair stand on end.
Keeping his eyes on the old man, Kurteun walked with a limping gait.
A while later, Kurteun realized.
‘That man… is hunting me.’
The man maintained his distance, continuously throwing stones to wear down his nerves. He somehow managed to deal with the endless stream of undead and minions and get over the wall, but the man was still following him.
And whenever Kurteun’s strength waned, the man would slowly close the distance.
‘One move. All I need is one move.’
Kurteun pretended to be exhausted. He exaggerated his limp and brandished his dagger as if his hand was weak.
He didn't block the incoming stones. *Thwack!* A stone hit his head, and his vision wavered for a moment, but he gritted his teeth.
Kurteun continued his act, waiting for an opportunity. Then, pretending to trip on a rock he had spotted earlier, he stumbled forward and fell.
Feigning to catch himself with his hands, he hid his left arm and focused all his senses on his hearing. The chirping of insects, the sound of the wind, and a very faint footstep.
The man approached, then stopped.
*Come on, come on…* Kurteun kept muttering.
The footsteps, which had paused for a moment, resumed and soon crossed the threshold.
‘Got you!!’
Kurteun gathered all his remaining Aura, kicked off the ground, and swung his sword. Unlike before, a vivid blue light pushed back the dark night, asserting its presence.
Kurteun expected to see a panicked look on the old man's face, but…
‘He’s smiling?’
What appeared on the old man’s face was a cruel smile.
“Were you expecting something?”
The old man spoke, his voice filled with repressed, deep-seated hatred and hunger.
A sense of crisis arose from that knowing reaction, but Kurteun trusted his Aura.
That was when the old man’s sword lightly pressed down on Kurteun’s.
The movement was similar to that other man’s, but on a completely different level.
He felt no resistance at all.
Kurteun’s sword, glowing with a clear Aura, was deflected to the side as if it had always been meant to follow the old man's blade.
Through the wide-open gap, the old man’s sword moved slowly, but there was no way to block it.
As if telling him to watch closely, the old man slowly brought the sword to Kurteun’s left shoulder. An excruciating pain erupted from his left shoulder.
The old man casually caught the severed arm as it fell.
The old man once again increased the distance and began to sing.
*Oh knight, oh knight—*
*Run far away.*
*So the fun will last longer—.*
He realized it in that one exchange. Even if he were in perfect condition, he would be no match for this old man.
The old man had been keeping his distance and following him not to wear him down.
…It wasn't a hunt; the old man was simply playing with him.
*Oh knight, oh knight—.*
The old man stared at Kurteun with crazed eyes and tilted his head.
As if asking why he wasn’t running. As if saying this delightful game would last longer if he did.
With no reason left in him, Kurteun just kept running.
Then he fell, with no more legs to run on.
The old man looked down at Kurteun with eyes full of disappointment.
“Why… Why the hell…!”
Kurteun cried out, shedding tears of injustice.
He had never seen this face before, yet he couldn't understand the hatred dripping from the eyes that looked at him.
“I was simply hungry.”
The reply that followed was calm, yet it was also filled with a heart-wrenching emotion.
Kurteun sensed his end and closed his eyes.
That was Kurteun’s last moment.
Yes, why on earth did he do that?
The Knight Hunter muttered to himself as he began gathering the meat.
***
“Why can’t you just leave people alone!”
Gguobaro—no, Swallowitz turned his head at the commotion next to him.
A large man in colorful clothes stood sullenly, while Hana pointed her finger at the men surrounding him.
“No, that’s not it. He’s a foreigner, so we were suspicious…”
“That’s enough! Why are you hitting someone who was just minding his own business! Come over here.”
It seemed they were trying to vent their stress from the situation outside on a stranger and got caught by Hana. Swallowitz found it quite fascinating that Hana would go out of her way for a man she had never met before.
“But, my mom told me not to follow strangers.”
“What did you say?”
“My mom… no, I’ll go with you.”
After a moment of muttering, the large man followed Hana.
“Is this right?”
Swallowitz turned his head at the voice next to him.
Kanna was pointing a finger outside. Sharp shards of ice spun around her fingertip.
“A simple sharp shape won't do much damage. Given the height, you could make them a little bigger than your mana limit would normally allow for them to be useful. Make them bigger.”
“Okay. So I just drop them, right?”
“Correct.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Swallowitz couldn't hide his admiration as he watched the ice shards expand in size.
‘To refine a spell that has already been cast!’
It felt as if all the fatigue and frustration he had accumulated from teaching that stupid noble lady had vanished in an instant.
‘Her mana capacity is a shame, though…’
The amount of mana one possessed did not increase with age, just as a person couldn't grow a third arm.
Regardless of the sharpness of the ice, its quantity and size were below the average for a mage.
‘The heart…’
Swallowitz swallowed hard at a strong impulse. If this child were to eat that heart and increase her mana, could she not make her mark on the history of magic?
And wouldn't he, who helped her, also leave a small dot in history?
‘If this place falls, I’m taking this child and the young lady.’
Swallowitz caressed the small stone in his pocket and nodded.
“Like this?”
At Kanna’s question, he checked and saw that the ice shards were slightly larger. They were still small, but the sharpness they exuded was extraordinary.
“Yes. Don't just make them sharp, do it like this… If you raise the tip slightly, the enemy can't pull it out. It doesn't matter now since we're fighting mindless creatures, but later, when you face humans, adding various features like this can cause greater damage.”
Swallowitz explained what he knew in great detail. He summoned a piece of ice bent like an arrowhead to show Kanna. Kanna nodded, then flicked her finger.
The ice shards quickly bent like arrowheads.
To continuously refine and modify a spell that had already been cast…
It was a talent that made him thirsty just by watching.
And on top of that ice, a small figure of a man was sculpted.
‘A symbol.’
Swallowitz muttered under his breath.
Every mage had a symbol. It represented the mage's desires and served as a medium to strengthen their imagination, as earnestness was power for a mage.
‘And when that symbol is broken…’
Swallowitz’s eyes gleamed with desire.
When a mage's symbol was destroyed, they could ascend to a higher level. Some mages even destroyed their own symbols for that purpose.
…Like Swallowitz.
“Done.”
Kanna muttered softly and swung her hand without any hesitation. The ice shards shot down from the wall, piercing the corpses and skeletons climbing it and sending them plummeting below.
Despite her young age, there was no mercy or hesitation in her actions… She had the perfect qualities for a mage.
“This time, make them thicker. It’s always most effective to aim for the head, so instead of dispersing your power, concentrate it in one place and make it sharp enough to pierce iron…”
Swallowitz continued to impart his knowledge to Kanna.
Where to aim for the most effective strike against humans. How to apply more force against monsters with thick skulls. He kept talking.
After listening to him, Kanna focused and cast her spell again.
Swallowitz swallowed the saliva that had pooled in his mouth as he looked at the white bracelet on Kanna’s slender wrist.
“Aron Ice Pick.”
Kanna muttered. He turned his head to see a large chunk of ice shaped like the man named Aron thrusting a sword.
She must have added wind magic too, as the sword held in the ice Aron’s hand spun furiously. Aside from its appearance, it was a perfect and creative layering of spells.
‘Even if it is a symbol… this is a bit much.’
But the precision and delicacy were on the level of art, so Swallowitz couldn't help but smile broadly and applaud.
***
‘These bastards are slacking off again.’
Charun, a black mage of ‘The Society,’ clicked his tongue as he watched the wandering corpses.
Everyone had their assigned sectors, but it was clear they were all too busy filling their own bellies to care.
‘In the first place, grouping a bunch of lunatics together was a bad idea.’
‘The Society’ was mainly composed of deranged black mages and demonic vessels, so this kind of group activity didn't suit them.
It made sense; those who made pacts with demons couldn't possibly be sane. Whenever three or more of them gathered, trouble was bound to happen.
‘The Society’ knew this, which was why they had kept their activities in small groups until now.
But now that they had dragged all these lunatics out, it was inevitable that there would be problems.
‘And with the Master in that state…’
Charun glanced back and sighed softly.
If the Master had been sane, things wouldn't have become so chaotic. But the Master, having indulged in gluttony, had completely lost his mind.
A tiny shred of reason seemed to remain, as he was following along, but he was in no state to give orders to others, which led to this situation.
‘Of course, it’s probably the same for the other side.’
The pride of those hypocrites was just as formidable, so they wouldn't be banding together either.
Besides, there was no way a group hastily assembled through a tournament would stick together, and even if he had lost his reason, the Master was continuously casting curses, so there was no way they could fail—.
*KRA-BOOM—!*
“Target spotted!!”
The wall next to him crumbled, and some ruffian emerged.
“ASSEMBLE!!!”
As the man shouted loudly—.
“Strategic Concord!!”
“The best!!”
A horde of armored men poured out of the hole.
They were so numerous they looked like a swarm of ants.
“Wh… what…”
“Strategic Concord!!”
A massive fist from a man wearing a bucket on his head was the last thing Charun remembered.
***
‘Hoo… hoo…’
Knight Adolf felt his mind floating away from the overwhelming sense of exhilaration. He struggled to hold onto his consciousness and kept swinging his sword.
“Kuaaaargh! You cowardly humans!! You call yourselves knights?!!”
The demon pinned beneath him bared its fangs and roared. It tried to swing its massive arm in a desperate struggle, but it was already restrained.
“Shut up!! This is a Strategic Concord!!”
Adolf shouted loudly and swung his sword again.
With the following slashes, the demon's body was torn to shreds, turning into chunks of black blood.
“Strategic Concord!!”
Adolf shouted.
“Strategic Concord!!”
The excited knights echoed his cry.
To gather the knights and take them down one by one with a ‘Strategic Concord’! Deokgu was a strategist for a reason.
‘Strategic Concord’… When a man who had won a tournament through sheer ignorance shouted such a strangely sophisticated and difficult word, they had no choice but to follow.
First, the word itself sounded incredibly impressive, and second, not following would mean they were even more ignorant than him, so they had no choice.
“It’s a Strategic Concord!! Strategic Concord!!”
The man with the bucket on his head, seemingly tireless, shouted and charged at the adjacent wall.
A clean hole was punched through the wall.
“Strategic Concord!!”
Knight Adolf quickly followed him.
*Rumble—*
A whole crowd of men followed them in.
***
‘Tiring.’
I wiped the flesh off the front of my helmet and took a long breath.
Things were starting to wrap up.
Foolishly, they weren't grouped together but scattered all over the place. So, leading the boys around and beating them down one by one, we were able to take them out more easily than expected.
‘Did they not expect the knights to gang up on them?’
The black mass that seemed to be the leader of ‘The Society’ was still just standing on the other side of the wall, watching, not doing anything.
‘Does it have no reason?’
Even from this distance, I could feel its heavy presence. I dusted off my hands.
Seeing their boss not moving while his subordinates were dying, it didn't seem like a very good organization.
Below it, black-robed mages were moving about diligently. In their hands were knights with missing limbs, which they shoved into the black mass as if throwing them into a garbage dump.
Some of them would go ‘uh oh…’ as they were sucked into the mass as well.
‘Can’t I just leave it be?’
I looked at the motionless figure beyond the wall and adjusted my helmet.
Seeing how it was just standing there, it didn't seem like it would bite.
And if you looked closely, it kind of resembled a slime, so it had its cute side.
I could see the potential for it to become the new landmark of Casedic Castle.
“Strategic Concord!!”
A shout erupted from behind me.
‘These ignorant fools, I said it’s Strategic Cooperation.’
Perhaps because they were all bottom-of-the-barrel knights from the frontiers, lured by the tournament, they were seriously ignorant.
I turned my gaze back to the black slime.
It was still doing nothing, just standing there, but the aura it gave off was unsettling.
‘Still, I should probably get rid of it.’
It lacked the cute factor to be a mascot. Besides, the residents might demand I remove the hideous thing from their backyard.
‘Maybe if I actually hit it, it’s just a weakling.’
I believed in its character. I believed that a creature that looked so cute wouldn't be the kind of trash that stands by while its subordinates get beaten, only to throw a fit when it gets hit itself.
*Tap, tap.*
Someone tapped me from the side. I turned to see the pathetic, black-blood-splattered Inquisitor looking up at me.
She pointed a finger at the black mass, as if asking when we were going to take it down.
‘This one… is having fun.’
Unlike her usual dazed eyes, they were sparkling.
It was then.
The thing began to move.
*KUUUUUOOOOOOO!!!*
A silent roar, incomparably larger than before, spread out, and white circles began to appear all over its face.
A red dot appeared in the center of each white circle, and the red dots, which had been rolling from side to side, looked down.
‘That’s not cute.’
There might be visitors with trypophobia, so it was not suitable as a landmark.
*KUUUOOOOOOO!!*
Then, the black slime raised both its hands.
In an instant, the sky was covered.
“FORM UP!!!”
I shouted loudly and re-gripped my sword.
“Stra… Strategic Concord!!”
“Strategic Concord!!”
The foolish knights chanted as if casting a spell, gathering around me. Looking at them now, I had gathered quite a number.
A giant black mass descended from the sky. It was like a giant from mythology playing a game of tiddlywinks.
Instantly turned into a coin, I swallowed dryly and calculated.
‘Should I use it here? No, just cutting off an arm won’t be enough…’
It had great performance, but its short duration was the problem.
“Strategic Concord!!!”
Then, a scream-like shout erupted from behind.
Strategic Concord!!
With the following shouts, a blue light emanated from the knights’ swords.
A white light shone from the Inquisitors’ weapons.
The mixture of blue and white light blocked the blackness.
*Zzzzzzzzt—.*
With an unpleasant sound, the blackness cracked.
*Guwooooo—!*
The black slime’s scream, which seemed to be mixed with pain, was strangely refreshing.
“We can’t hold on much longer! The curse is getting stronger!!”
The Abbot shouted urgently. Seeing the blood streaming from both his thick nostrils, it didn't seem like he was faking it.
I nodded and stared straight ahead.
Grotesque monsters, corpses, and small fry were all over the place. And behind them, the black mass.
It was simple.
Kill the giant black slime, and it’s over.
This was the time for a battle cry.
“NOT MY YARD!!”
I roared and raised my sword high.
“No… Not My Yard!!”
After a few repetitions, a satisfying response came from behind.
“FOLLOW ME—!!”
I kicked off the ground.
I split a corpse with its mouth wide open in half and shattered the bones of a skeleton that seemed to have drunk its soy milk diligently.
I grabbed the head of a huge, barking dog-thing and tore it apart, up and down. Cold black blood seeped through my gauntlet, cooling my heated body slightly.
“FOLLOW ME—!!”
I shouted again to keep myself focused and kept my hands moving.
I tore, I slashed, I split.
How far had I advanced? Corpses clung to me from both sides.
Then, with the sound of air being torn, the corpses were split in half.
It was the pathetic Inquisitor.
The pathetic one looked at me and nodded, and I nodded back.
“FOLLOW ME—!!”
I shouted again, re-gripped my sword, and pushed forward.
My goal was clear, so there was no need to hesitate.
***
‘Is that really a human?’
Knight Adolf clicked his tongue as he looked at the broad back.
Deokgu was literally pulverizing everything that stood in his way as he advanced. Despite being at the very front and taking the full brunt of the assault, he didn't stop.
Just forward.
Only forward.
That broad, unstopping, unwavering back was an excellent beacon for those behind him.
At some point, the knights, the inquisitors, and the priests all fell silent and simply followed the man's back.
Beneath their feet, black blood flowed like a river, and chunks of flesh tripped them up like stones with every step.
The closer they got, the stronger the curse became. The pressure weighing down on their bodies grew heavier, making their legs tremble, but they didn't stop.
They just gritted their teeth and followed that broad back.
*GUWOOOOOOOO—!!*
“PATTERN A!!”
The man shouted a cool word he didn't understand.
“PATTERN A!!!”
The knights rolled the delicious-sounding word in their mouths and raised their swords.
*KUUUUUUUNG—!!*
A mixture of Aura and divine power blocked it.
The hand holding his sword was sore, and his mind was hazy from using his Aura to its limit, but Adolf forced his eyes open.
“FOLLOW ME!!”
The voice of the man at the front was still booming, and his back was steady and unshakable.
Just then, he met the eyes of the man next to him. He seemed to be an inquisitor, clad in silver armor, his face etched with exhaustion. His feet trembled as if he could collapse at any moment.
“No-Not My Yard!”
Adolf roared.
“Not My Yard…”
The man who had turned his head at the sound replied with a weary smile.
Adolf pushed the man’s back.
And so, they took another step forward.
The closer they got to the black mass, the heavier their bodies became, their vision blurred, and they felt like they were drowning, struggling to breathe.
‘This is truly dreadful.’
Just getting close was enough to put this much pressure on him, a knight…
His legs refused to move any further, so he stopped and looked up.
Through his hazy vision, as if filled with steam.
Above the blackness that filled the world, countless white eyes looked down.
The colossal thing exuded a heavy presence that made one tremble just by looking at it.
The man at the front was still advancing toward it.
It was absurd. That he could continue to advance so calmly in a situation that even he, a knight, could not endure.
Did he not feel this pressure?
*Thud.*
One by one, the knights and inquisitors around him collapsed.
Adolf resolved that even if he couldn't advance, he wouldn't fall, and held his ground.
The man finally reached the front of the black mass.
And without hesitation, he walked into it.
“No… Not My Yard.”
Watching him, Adolf muttered softly.
He didn't know what it meant, but he liked the sound of it.
***
‘Knights… useless, weak bastards.’
I clicked my tongue and re-gripped my sword.
Around me, there was nothing but darkness.
It felt like I was the only one left in the world.
‘No, there’s one more.’
Some shabby-looking old man I’d never seen before was naked and eating something. Looking closer, it was a human arm. Judging by its thickness, it probably belonged to someone who had swung a sword a fair bit in their life.
The old man devoured it voraciously, as if eating something truly delicious, without even pausing to breathe.
Around the old man, pieces of what looked like human flesh and bones were piled up like a small mountain.
He looked like a hungry ghost. A demon said to eat endlessly, eventually even devouring its own flesh.
Then, the old man suddenly stopped moving.
*C-crack, c-crack—* With a grotesque sound, the old man’s head jerked up.
The old man’s eyes were completely white.
After sniffing the air for a moment, the old man’s blood-soaked lips curled upwards.
“You smell delicious.”
At that, I couldn't help but smile broadly.
It was fucked up, but the old man looked delicious to me too.
The bizarre and hideous thing embedded in the old man's chest looked as sweet as a high-grade oyster.