Chapter 42
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 042
Chapter Title: Coward and Bramble Knight (3)
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'What a tremendous presence.'
Locking eyes with the werewolf, my body went rigid.
But that was all.
Once I steadied my mind, the psychological pressure faded away in an instant.
It was nothing compared to the mana wave I'd felt when parting from Master—the one laced with the terror of death that stemmed from it. This was truly insignificant.
'So, what now?'
I glared at the werewolf with those thoughts running through my head.
The beast had clearly been aiming for a surprise attack.
But it hadn't even gotten the chance before being blocked.
We were already battle-ready, and the same went for Birch Baron's camp.
Charging in now would gain it nothing.
"Heros."
"Yeah?"
As I continued my staring contest with the werewolf, Bear called out to me in a calm voice from my side.
I answered without turning my head.
I couldn't afford to take my eyes off it even for a second, or I might miss its move.
"That thing's holding a sword."
"I see that."
There was a sword clutched in the werewolf's right hand.
A very long, thick one at that.
A weapon fitting its massive frame.
A werewolf wielding a sword?
It was odd, sure.
Why would a creature that could turn its entire body into a weapon bother with a human tool?
But it wasn't incomprehensible.
Werewolves ranked high among monsters in terms of intelligence.
Still, it didn't seem like Bear was pointing it out just because it was surprising for a monster to use a sword.
"I've seen that sword before."
"Where?"
"The bandits who attacked Birch Baron during the day, remember? Their leader was using it."
"For real?"
"Yes, I'm certain."
"So... that werewolf might be the leader of those bandits."
Now it clicked.
A normal werewolf wouldn't have any detectable mana emanating from its body.
But this one was different.
Meaning it had become a werewolf through some magical effect.
If it really was the Bramble Knight that Conall had faced earlier that day, then there was a high chance it had a mage accomplice.
Or maybe it was a mage itself.
'But that's unlikely.'
If it knew magic, it would've used it against Conall back then.
No way it'd hold back against a noble and a knight.
So it made more sense to assume the Bramble Knight had a mage helper.
'But what if that mage accomplice is a black mage from Eremus?'
Put it that way, and all the pieces fell into place.
Why did the Bramble Knight attack a noble?
Because killing the ruling class was part of Eremus's plan.
How could a human turn into a werewolf?
Because a black mage who can use transformation magic was aiding it.
It fit perfectly.
Plus, Birch Baron had fled because of black mages under Eremus, so running into them here wasn't all that strange.
'He said he couldn't hold out against the undead army's assault.'
I recalled what Birch Baron had told me.
He was a noble with a fairly large territory.
He had some real clout.
That's why he'd been able to fend off invaders with his knights and soldiers easily enough.
Until the black mages showed up.
The black mages attacked his territory using undead, and in the midst of it, traitors emerged from within.
A few residents had fallen for the enemy's sweet talk.
After repeated assaults from both sides, he finally admitted defeat and fled.
And that was the full story of the baron's flight.
'All the circumstances point to the werewolf being tied to Eremus.'
Still, I didn't take it as gospel.
Circumstances were just that—circumstances.
Nothing was confirmed yet.
'Anyway, let's just assume for now.'
With that in mind, I kept up the standoff with the werewolf.
About a minute passed.
Finally, it made its decision.
Its next move...
Retreat.
Whoosh.
The werewolf turned and vanished into the underbrush.
A wise choice.
And thanks to that, I could confirm it was a human transformed into a werewolf via magic.
A real monster would've tried attacking at least once, whether it worked or not.
No matter how clever, a monster was still a monster.
It couldn't suppress its innate ferocity.
'It's really gone.'
Sensing the flow of mana, I could clearly feel the werewolf moving away from us.
At a blistering speed, too—no lingering at all.
"It might come back later, so keep a strict watch on night sentry duty. And no one leaves camp alone. You could get ambushed."
I said that to the able-bodied men.
Only after hearing their responses did I finally lie down to sleep.
The tension easing up hit me with exhaustion all at once.
I was out like a light the moment my head hit the ground.
A few days had passed since joining up with Birch Baron.
I'd hoped the werewolf would just scram for good, but starting from that first night, it began hounding us relentlessly.
It showed up every night to cause a ruckus, and that wasn't enough—it even appeared during the day or at dawn sometimes.
We went into full battle mode tense as could be each time, so our marching pace naturally slowed to a crawl.
The group's fatigue was piling up, too.
Yet not a single casualty...
That was entirely thanks to me.
'It's like a goddamn gnat buzzing right in front of my face. Annoying as hell.'
The werewolf's antics had my nerves frayed to the limit.
I hadn't been sleeping lately.
After its debut, I'd stayed vigilant every night, sensing mana around us to watch for its return.
My mana detection range had grown a bit, but at the cost of sleep—my condition was shot.
I was scraping by on naps for now, but if this kept up, I'd hit a physical wall soon enough.
I had to do something before it came to that.
And the solution I'd come up with was...
"Let's lure it in."
Luring it out.
"Lure it, you say?"
In the meeting with Bear and Conall.
Conall echoed my words after hearing me out.
He needed more details.
So I gladly explained.
"Seems like the werewolf's buying time until reinforcements arrive. Slowing our march is probably part of that, too. We need to take it out before those reinforcements show."
After its first appearance, the werewolf stopped hiding.
It openly made its presence known, circling our camp to make sure everyone knew it was there.
And once it had everyone's attention?
It stalled, then slipped away.
Clever as hell.
"It's smart. But do you think that'll work? A half-assed attempt will just put it on guard. Then it'll get even more cautious next time. If we're doing a lure, we have to prepare meticulously and catch it in one go. You confident?"
Conall's question.
I nodded without hesitation.
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have brought it up."
I answered, then continued slowly on purpose, drawing Bear and Conall's full focus.
"We'll leave some clothes behind and sprinkle urine around them. The werewolf will smell it and come sniffing."
"Sounds like you're planning an ambush around the scent. But with that nose, it'll sniff out anyone hiding nearby."
"Exactly. So Sir Bear and Sir Conall, you'll hide far from the spot with Birch Baron's scent. Far enough that the werewolf won't sense anything off."
"Then how do you plan to catch it? If it follows the scent and finds no one, it'll just assume it's a trap and bail."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll be waiting right there at the spot with the clothes."
"You've been going on about its keen sense of smell this whole time—what are you...?"
A sigh escaped Conall.
He thought I wasn't getting it.
"You'll need to watch your expressions, Sir Conall."
That's when Bear, who'd been listening silently beside me, chimed in.
I glanced at him—his face was twisted up.
His already rugged features looked even rougher.
Most people would've looked away, but Conall wasn't the type.
"You as well, Sir Bear."
Conall met Bear's gaze head-on.
The air grew so tense it could've sparked into a swordfight any second.
I quickly calmed them down.
I needed both of them to take the werewolf out cleanly.
"Whoa, easy now!"
Once I had their attention,
I locked eyes with Conall and asked.
"Sir Conall. What do I look like to you?"
"Pardon?"
Conall faltered for a moment.
His twisted expression slowly relaxed back to its usual blank mask.
Then he spoke.
"Like a mage."
The answer I wanted.
I nodded and said,
"Right, I'm a mage. So how might a mage address your concern?"
"Ah...!"
Did it finally click?
Conall let out an exclamation.
Then he asked me,
"You have a way to hide from the werewolf's senses for an ambush?"
"That's why I'm so confident. But it only works at night."
I added the condition, then began explaining my plan step by step.
To sum it up:
One: Use Birch Baron's clothes and urine to lure the werewolf to the operation site.
Two: I'll wait there in hiding.
Three: When the werewolf shows, I hit it with a magic ambush to pin it down so it can't escape.
Four: Meanwhile, Bear and Conall, waiting far off, rush in.
Five: The three of us take it down together.
It was a plan where my role was crucial.
And thus, high-risk.
Mid-explanation, Bear objected, as expected from a bodyguard.
"Too dangerous."
I brought up Gilbert to convince him.
Conall, who didn't know about my familiar, looked baffled as he watched us, but thankfully didn't pry further.
The strategy meeting wrapped up smoothly.
And that night.
The endless wait began.