146
My Villains Chapter 146
38. Golden Mire (3)
The world turned red.
A milky white line was drawn to the left. Three spears were cut, two were broken, and two were smashed. The fangs aimed at me were bent.
I swung Hrunting again, pushing my shoulder through the formation.
A milky white line was drawn to the right. Chunks of flesh were cut, broken, and shattered. A gust of bloody wind swept through, followed by screams.
Kkwaeng, kkaeng!
The cry of a frightened dog.
Not as good as a human's, but quite a refreshing scream.
I swung Hrunting once more.
This time, the blade's light was red. Two Anupads fell with a large trajectory.
Fear rose in the Anupads' eyes.
Perhaps it was natural. Five companions had fallen in three sword strikes over two breaths.
Kaeng, kaeng kaeng!
As lieutenant Shitug barked roughly, the momentum was somewhat recovered. But that was only for a moment, as Utequais leaped through the gap I had left in the formation.
"Charge!" The battle cry that could burst eardrums was now quite familiar. Of course, that was from my perspective; the Anupads were different.
Kkwaegaeng-
While they shrank their necks at Utequais's roar, a huge stone mace was swung.
Ppagagak!
Three or four Anupads flew into the air with their limbs twisted. They looked just like cotton dolls.
Somehow excited, I danced with my sword enthusiastically. The strength that had improved dramatically compared to before swept through the enemies like a torrent.
"Huu, hoo-" In a moment of excitement, I found myself surrounded by more than a dozen Anupads. Their appearance, drooling dirty saliva and baring sharp teeth, was quite threatening.
So, if you ask if it's dangerous...
Well. I don't think so.
Bloodshot eyes constantly scanned the surroundings. Twitching ears caught faint breaking sounds, and the nose that breathed in traced rising blood streams. The flicking tongue licked the killing intent scattered in the wind, and the bristling hair screamed at stealthy footsteps.
My head aches due to the honed five senses.
The heated brain absorbed all information within a 5-6 meter radius like a sponge.
"Huu, hoo!"
After slashing the chest of a dog charging from the front, I slightly turned my shoulder.
Skak!
A spear that stabbed from behind grazed my shoulder, and the shield that unconsciously extended was embedded in its head.
Kreung.
With a fierce growl, some creature pounced on me. I stepped back half a step and slit its throat with the tip of my sword.
"Heu."
With a hot breath, I quickly turned and stabbed with my sword.
Pook-
The spear blade aiming for my right side stopped an inch away, and the extended Hrunting pierced the spearman's mouth.
Keureuruk.
Blood filled the dirty muzzle.
The blood that had filled up burst sideways with a 'pak'. It was because the blade had sprung out that way. The sword light that cut through the cheek split the head next to it.
Just as I was about to stomp on an Anupad quietly crawling up behind me.
Sswaeak.
At that sound that never becomes familiar no matter how many times I hear it, I quickly rolled on the ground. While rolling, I thought I saw a swimming tail feather for a moment.
A vicious whistling sound brushed past my ear.
"Keuu, damn it."
Yes. Archers are damned.
It's a fact I've been steadily realizing for the past 4 months since falling into this world, but today it feels especially damned.
While blocking, deflecting, and avoiding spears rushing from all directions, I fixed my gaze on one spot.
'Half-blood Juama'.
That's the name of the damned archer.
Unlike the nearby Anupads, a hybrid closer to human form than dog. A cursed monster from birth.
Juama's bright yellow eyes were glaring at me. As he drew his bowstring, the grip of the bow glinted.
"This son of a-"
I quickly raised my shield and put strength in my waist.
Bang!
A beam of light struck the shield. The impact was like being hit by a sledgehammer rather than an arrow...
It must be the rare equipment 'Bow of Repair'.
"...Ah, really."
Lieutenant Shitug is Piknem, so that's understandable, but Juama and Pshaka? And Juama even has a rare weapon?
My teeth grind involuntarily at this malicious combination.
"Keuung,"
I quickly regained my balance and immediately stomped the ground. It was to deal with Juama first.
However,
Kaeng!
With a short howl, some black form rushed in. I reflexively swung my sword, and something black coiled around my arm like a snake.
"What is this now,"
Kkageureuk!
Before I could even curse, my right arm was squeezed by an intense force.
The black form wrapped around my arm instantly broke through the defensive spell that Siren had cast. Then it started to turn my sleeve into rags and tear my skin apart.
"Keuaauk,"
It was a whip. A black whip with sharp teeth densely protruding.
It was lieutenant Shitug's weapon.
Kreurereu, kaeng!
As he pulled the whip and bared his teeth, the Anupads holding spears all pounced at once.
"Heuup,"
I gritted my teeth and swung my sword. It was to cut the whip in one go.
Jjijjijik.
The tough leather made a tearing sound, but it didn't cut through in the end.
Hrunting, coated with blood, is terribly sharp, but Shitug's whip was also impressively sturdy.
"Keueu-"
Moreover, the more force I applied, the tighter the whip's grip became. It's fortunate that my skin and muscles have become tougher through molting; otherwise, my right arm would have been severed already.
Ah, I shouldn't have lost my armor in the crevice. I should have at least brought vambraces.
Kreureung!
Regret was brief, as I had to struggle to deal with the Anupads rushing in from all directions.
"Get, away-!"
My right arm is tied up. I had to swing my shield, headbutt, and kick.
Getting bitten on the knee, stabbed in the back by spear blades, hit on the head by spear shafts, I continued this bestial fight.
In the meantime, my backpack tore and some of its contents spilled out. There was no time to pay attention to that.
Bang!
Just as I knocked down five or six Anupads by bursting a blood-purple in front of my nose, a yellow light flashed from over there.
The archer I had momentarily forgotten in the chaos, the hybrid Juama, was aiming his bow.
"Oh sh-"
Just before he could shoot the arrow, a corpse flew at him.
Kaeang!
Juama rolled over with the corpse. It was a corpse thrown by Utequais.
Utequais, who had been facing the Anupad with the axe spear, 'Red Pshaka', shouted.
"Phoenix, the passage-!"
"I know!"
I threw away my tattered shield and grabbed the whip constricting my right arm. Then, I pulled it in one breath.
Kaeaek!
Lieutenant Shitug rolled on the ground like a bouncing ball, unable to properly respond to the strength equivalent to eleven grown men.
I quickly extended my foot and firmly stomped on his neck.
"You son of a bitch."
Keoeong, kaeng!
Shitug barked fiercely.
Unlike that fierce howl, his eyes were filled with terror. He seemed to have foreseen his fate.
"Heu-"
Pak!
After plunging Hrunting into his lower jaw, I grabbed his upper jaw with my left hand.
Kkae, kkaegaek.
With a cracking sound, the howling stopped.
"Heu."
My lower abdomen is hot. Tearing off the monster's head wasn't enough to cool the heat.
Kkwaegaeng, kkwaeng-
As I tossed away Shitug's half-head, the few remaining Anupads tucked their tails and ran away.
Glancing towards the gate, I saw Anupads dozens of times more numerous than those fleeing rushing in.
"There's a problem with the passage."
Utequais's voice was uncharacteristically weak. I quickly turned to see a large wound carved into his shoulder.
It was a wound that wasn't there when he threw the corpse earlier.
"...You, that."
"Keuung. I got hit by a troublesome weapon."
A savory burning smell came from the wound that had deeply split the trapezius and clavicle, as if chopped by an axe.
Fire energy that hinders regeneration...
He must have been hit by the axe spear that Red Pshaka was carrying.
Utequais also had a large wound on his calf besides his shoulder. Even at a glance, it was severe enough to make movement difficult.
"Hey, you- are you okay?"
Through the crumbled mud, a pale face grinned.
"Just *keuung* bitten by a bug."
"You crazy bastard."
I quickly supported Utequais. His thick forearm drooped over my shoulder.
"Hold on a bit. It's right in front of us."
"Heu, alright."
I half-dragged Utequais towards where our group was gathered.
I hadn't noticed because I was rampaging mindlessly, but it seems the battle on this side was quite fierce too.
About a dozen Anupad corpses were strewn about, and the remains of a completely shattered golem were mixed in with them.
"What are you doing? Hurry into the passage!"
"Phoenix."
Ellen jumped out from among the mercenaries. After alternately examining me and Utequais, she came into my arms with a pale face.
"Wait. Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, just a slight cut."
Ellen's side near her ribs was torn.
The sling bag she always carried was nowhere to be seen, and the backpack I had tightened myself had one strap cut off and was dangling.
Putting aside such trivial things, a long streak of blood was visible through the torn leather clothes.
Ellen, looking up at my face, trembled her chin slightly.
"Phoenix, Phoenix?"
"...This is a slight cut?"
"Why are you like that, I, I said I'm fine."
For a moment, my vision turned red.
Leaving Ellen shaking behind, my gaze turned to Amias's group gathered on one side.
"What were you all doing?"
"We, we were-"
"We were, what?"
At my growl, Amias's mouth flapped open. The others just turned pale, not saying a word.
"You stupid bastards, can't even act as meat shields properly?"
As I tried to approach them, Ellen quickly blocked me.
"Phoenix, wait. It's not their fault. Everyone, everyone did their best."
"Ellen."
Her small hand, trembling violently, gripped my blood-soaked tunic tightly.
"Now, now the problem isn't that."
"What?"
"The passage, it's blocked."
"...Blocked, you say?"
Nearby, something like planks were scattered about. Judging by the soil and weeds piled on top, it seems to have been some kind of secret door.
"What's this?"
However, all that was there was a hole dug about waist-deep. No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like a secret passage.
Inside the hole, Siren was mumbling something while feeling the ground, and beside her, the scribe Beldin was crying streams of tears.
In Beldin's arms, the soldier who was said to be a native of Longville was dead with a spear piercing his solar plexus.
"...Beldin, what happened here?"
"Lo, Lord Phoenix."
The young scribe bowed his head with a terrified expression.
"I'm, I'm sorry. Sorry..."
"Being sorry isn't the issue right now! I'm asking what happened!"
"The Anupads, they, they seem to have blocked the passage. Probably, I, we were noticed coming out,"
"Oh for f*ck's sake. I'm really going to lose it."
As I clutched my forehead, suddenly a voice came from above.
"Hey there-! Is that Lord Phoenix!"
The voice came from the rocky mound above, near the palisade. A man's hoarse voice.
"Lord Phoenix-! Beldin-!"
No, it wasn't from above the palisade. The voice originated from a small castle surrounded by that palisade, with only the top of the head visible.
"I am Phoenix! Who are you!"
"I'm the Training Captain! I received the letter!"
It's Chester, Longville's Training Captain.
"Damn, I can't see anything in this darkness! Someone light a fire over there!"
Bald Steedman quickly took off his backpack and pulled out a torch. Then he skillfully lit it right away.
"Good, now I can see a bit!"
Chester's shout continued urgently.
"They're coming! We'll provide covering fire, so hurry and escape!"
"Escape, you say!"
"Can't you see! Those bastards have blocked the passage! It's completely blocked from there to the barred gate at the bottom of the earthen wall!"
Siren, who had been feeling the ground, let out a sigh.
"...Ah, so that's why."
At her voice, I suddenly remembered what happened at the peak of Graduel Mountain.
"Right, can't we do it like when we entered the mine? The passage must be blocked with soil and sand, so if we summon a golem and suck it in..."
"No, it's impossible."
Siren shook her head with a dark expression.
"The blocked section is too long. If we summon a golem, the passage might collapse."
She continued while rummaging through her belongings.
"Crucially, we've used up all the clay dolls."
"Damn it."
At that moment, Chester shouted again.
"I said run! Damn it, shoot-!"
At his command, a rain of arrows poured from the small castle. About a dozen Anupads that had approached close fell to the ground, hit by arrows.
Seeing this, Siren hurriedly pulled something out. Ellen, watching her, gaped in shock.
"Is that..."
"Yes, it's a Dryad's hair."
"...Good heavens. How do you have such a thing?"
Instead of answering Ellen's question, Siren turned to me.
"I'll try something. Buy me some time."
Without waiting for an answer, she immediately started chanting a spell.
The Anupads, seemingly afraid of the arrows pouring from the small castle, were approaching while staying as far from the palisade as possible.
Whether intentional or not, in the process, our escape route was blocked.
"...We're cornered."
Utequais reacted to my muttered half-laugh.
"What does that mean?"
"Just means we're screwed."
"I see."
Utequais gently pushed me aside and stood alone. Despite the wounds on his shoulder and calf still being deep, he didn't seem to mind.
"Phoenix."
Teary blue eyes looked up at me.
"Yes?"
"Should I drink this?"
"...What?"
Ellen held up what she had in her hand. It was a glass bottle containing a dark brown liquid. It seems she managed to save one bottle even while losing her sling bag.
I stared blankly at the object presumed to be a 'Potion of Dispel', then shook my head.
"No. No need to gamble."
"But, Phoenix."
"I said there's no need."
Answering firmly, I tore off the sleeve of my right arm. The clothes had become rags due to Shitug's whip, but the forearm had almost healed.
"Stay here. Next to Siren."
My knees and lower back were a bit sore, but not enough to hinder movement.
As soon as I picked up Hrunting, the Anupads pounced.
"Block them-!"
Amias's group and the druid Zhanabas took their stances. Just as I was about to rush past them towards the Anupads, thunder suddenly struck.
"Guuuuwoooeoek-!"
The source of this beast-like roar was none other than Utequais. He was drooling from his mouth while emitting a pitch-black murderous aura.
"...Berserk?"
What the hell, wasn't it supposed to be random activation? What's with this timing?
While I stood with my mouth open in disbelief, the berserk Utequais began to charge.