Chapter 48
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Qualifications of a Hero (7)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Kalt cut down the kobolds as he pressed deeper inside.
To ordinary eyes, his movements looked utterly unreal as he massacred the kobolds.
But even while wiping out that many, Kalt hadn't used Mana Blade once.
His skill level meant he could slice through kobold flesh with simple sword swings anyway.
Slash and advance.
Slash and advance.
Slash and advance.
He only cut down enough kobolds for Nellis's group to handle, then kept moving forward.
And at the end of that advance...
'Found it.'
Kalt spotted the Kobold King.
A specimen four times the size of a normal kobold, with one eye dyed deep purple.
Around it stood not just Kobold Warriors, but two higher specimens—Kobold Knights—each gripping massive swords in both hands, encircling their king.
'Getting tired of slicing kobolds. Time to end this in one go.'
"Huuuuh..."
He exhaled, tightened his grip on his sword, and poured more strength and mana into his body-enhanced legs.
The instant he kicked off the ground, Kalt became a gale fiercer than any he'd unleashed while butchering the kobolds so far, slashing through the ones blocking his path.
-Krurrrgrut!
The Kobold King noticed the enemy barreling toward it amid the rising blood wind.
But no matter how many kobolds died, the king neither feared nor fled.
Kobolds could be made anytime.
Right now, its masterpieces surrounded it.
Mighty warriors with hides several times thicker than ordinary kobolds', brute strength enough to crush and cleave arrogant humans.
-Krrrat!
The Kobold King issued its command to its minions.
Kill that human!
The foremost Kobold Warrior charged straight at Kalt.
As Kalt was busy slashing lesser kin, it swung its sword at him.
Aiming to exploit the opening and finish him.
But...
Serrk!
Mid-swing, the Kobold Warrior's arm was severed by Kalt's blade, which had already passed by.
The moment its eyes bulged at the sight of its severed limb...
Its neck was already parted from its body by Kalt's sword.
-Krurrruk!
Even as their kin died so easily, the other Kobold Warriors showed no fear.
The instinct to obey the king's orders, their low intelligence, and the monster's innate drive to assault humans—it all erased any notion of defeat from their minds.
The Kobold Warriors charged Kalt all at once.
Plop! Plop!
Just like the first, their arms and necks were severed, sending them tumbling to the ground.
The Kobold King was displeased.
Why were they losing so easily?
Pathetic.
Couldn't even catch one puny human.
Idiots.
Waste of the mana used to create you.
But no matter.
That human would die eventually.
Its strongest minions would rip him apart.
Behold.
Its strongest minions raise their dual weapons and swing at him.
His sword won't pierce their hides.
Like any human, he'll tremble in terror and turn to meat paste.
He dies.
Humans die.
No human can beat me...
Serrk.
The strongest minions' arms flew off.
Serrk.
Their knees were sliced.
Serrk.
Their necks were severed.
What is that?
What, what, what, what, what, what is that monster?!
Dangerous.
It's coming closer.
Call more minions...!
Shraaaaa!
-Krrraaaaaah!
The arc of Kalt's upward slash carved through the Kobold King's torso and into its purple eye.
"Huh. Fitting for a king—some tough hide on you."
-Krrrrraaaah!
The Kobold King clutched its slashed eye with one hand and swung at Kalt.
Claws with destructive power incomparable to a Kobold Warrior's.
But before Kalt, such devastating strikes were nothing more than slow, easily dodged attacks.
Shra! Shra! Shra!
"Hmm. Tough indeed."
Multiple gashes opened along the swung arm, blood pouring out.
Tough or not, Kalt saw no need to bother with Mana Blade.
He'd only used it on the Kobold Warrior to demonstrate for Nellis.
The mana-infused eye was already gone.
No more kobolds from this one.
Plus, this bastard was the main culprit behind tormenting the villagers—including Nadia and Lunia, who'd pleased him for nearly a month.
"Ending it quick and easy would be no fun, right?"
-Kr, krrraaaat!
Seeing Kalt's upturned lips, the Kobold King felt terror for the first time.
Its heart pounded wildly from the fear, and on pure instinct, it thrashed its massive bulk wildly, swinging its claws indiscriminately to eliminate the source.
"King or not, you're just a kobold in the end."
Kalt dodged the Kobold King's claws with ease once more.
And then...
"All bulk, no brains."
Shra! Shra! Shra! Shra! Shra!
He became the gale again, swinging his sword at the Kobold King alone in speeds invisible to normal eyes.
-Krrraaaat!
Arm slashed, leg slashed, belly slashed, back slashed, shoulder slashed.
It roared in agony and flailed its arms every which way, but the sword never stopped.
It kicked off the ground to flee, but the gale pursued relentlessly, carving into its body.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Life ebbed away.
Without finishing it in one blow, the accumulating wounds let the Kobold King sense it instinctively.
Its life was being whittled down.
Death approached.
This was the first terror of death the Kobold King had ever known since its birth.
Plunged into panic, it flailed desperately to escape death.
Kicked off harder.
Useless—the gale kept coming.
Grabbed a nearby kobold and hurled it.
Useless—the gale cleaved the kobold, then it.
Pain from the mounting wounds was drowned out by overwhelming terror.
The Kobold King simply charged forward in a bid for survival.
Meanwhile...
Kalt eyed the near-death Kobold King and thought.
This could be a perfect final test for Nellis—if played right.
Training her, he'd come to believe she had a stronger hero's resolve than even Mabel.
But just how strong was it?
Even against a foe clearly superior to herself?
Nellis, who trembled in fear before the strong, her blessing wavering...
Could she show her hero's colors?
If she fled, he wouldn't blame her.
Valuing one's life was important too, and she wasn't even hypnotized yet.
If she ran, he'd just encourage her to do better next time.
But if she stood and fought...
'Ah, almost there.'
As Kalt pondered, the Kobold King neared Nellis's group.
'Good. Then...'
For safety's sake.
Serrk!
-Kraaaak!
Kalt cleanly severed the tendons in both the Kobold King's wrists.
A massive, blood-soaked kobold charged toward the village.
Nellis panicked at the sight, her eyes widening in shock.
Where had a monster like that come from?
Why was it covered in blood?
Where was Kalt?
Such thoughts raced through her mind in an instant.
But as the Kobold King drew closer, she shoved them aside.
'Mu-Must block it!'
"Haa! Haa!"
Even drenched in blood, the intimidation radiating from its body marked it as a monster on another level.
Her heart raced, teeth chattering uncontrollably.
Yet Nellis didn't back down.
If she bolted now, that thing might barrel straight into the village.
Plus, she held onto hope: if she held it off well enough, Kalt would arrive to handle it.
Above all...
"What is that thing! Haaaa!"
"Gods above! Sword upon that evil one!"
Boom!
Pfsh! Pfsh! Pfsh!
Seeing the monster charge, Scarlet and Aria countered with spells and holy attacks.
Her comrades were giving it their all.
As the Hero, she couldn't retreat here.
"Uwaaaah!"
She clenched her trembling hands and charged.
"Like hell I'll let you through!"
The size difference was obvious.
So first, target the legs to bring it down—that was her plan.
But before she could act on it, the Kobold King's limp-swinging arm struck her first.
Splat!
"Guhk...!"
Tendons severed, it couldn't even clench a proper fist—just flail.
Yet the force was enough to hurl Nellis not just past the village gate, but...
Kaboom!
...smash through the barrier gate and into the village proper.
"Nellis!"
"Cough! Cough!"
Even gripped by fear, Nellis's blessing hadn't fully failed her.
The attack had been too sudden and swift for her to fully register.
She hadn't grasped the full gap between herself and the Kobold King, so her blessing hadn't weakened drastically.
That let her endure with just enough power.
Arm throbbing, back aching fiercely from the gate impact—but she could stand.
'Wh-What... I flew? All the way into the village?'
The moment she rose, she felt the reality of what happened.
And she could imagine just how strong the monster that struck her was.
She'd gotten lucky.
Realizing she hadn't perceived it in time, her blessing hadn't weakened much.
And now, grasping the power gap...
"Ah... Aaaah..."
Fear gripped her, and her Barrier blessing faltered.
"Stop! I said stop!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Gods above!"
Pfsh! Pfsh! Pfsh! Pfsh!
-Krraaaaaah!
Kaboom!
Body scorched by flames and pierced by light swords, the Kobold King refused to halt, smashing the gate completely and charging into the village.