Chapter 18
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: In Search of Moonlight Grass (3)
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‘Did it work?’
Blanc felt the dull sensation at his fingertips and was certain he’d landed a solid hit on the giant centipede.
But centipedes were creatures protected by their tough exoskeletons against external threats to begin with.
“Kieeeek!”
Blanc’s sword was embedded in the center of the giant centipede’s head.
It was still discharging the lingering brain energy infused with white lightning, but the problem was that it hadn’t penetrated deeply enough.
‘Damn it!’
It had only been half a year since he began training in White Lightning.
And it had been just over two months since he started learning from Edwin. Though he was taller than his peers, his young body was still unfinished.
It was a sharp, precise strike, but it lacked power.
Even so, the giant centipede, sensing fear and pain from Blanc’s sword piercing its shell despite the shallow entry, began thrashing about in a frenzy.
“Kieeeek!”
“Uwaaaah!”
From the high cliff where falling meant his body would be smashed to pulp, Blanc desperately clung to his sword embedded in the centipede.
He flailed wildly atop the bucking centipede, where the sky flipped upside down and the moon seemed to be under his feet, struggling to keep his balance somehow.
“Young master!”
Ting, ting.
Rakshar was firing arrows at the centipede’s body, unable to target the head where Blanc clung, but even arrows couldn’t pierce its tough exoskeleton.
Realizing this wouldn’t work, he kept loosing arrows anyway—and it turned out to be a brilliant move.
“Kiek!”
The arrows merely bounced off, but the enraged giant centipede, needing an outlet for its fury, swiftly scrambled up the cliff toward Rakshar with its legs.
“Rakshar, get out of there!”
Blanc noticed the centipede targeting Rakshar and shouted a warning, but it was already scaling the cliff at an unbelievable speed.
It leaped up in a single bound—soaring was more like it—and with its massive body blotting out the moon overhead, it charged at Rakshar.
“Rakshar!”
As soon as the centipede reached the cliff top, Blanc quickly released his grip on the sword and rolled to land on the ground.
But his hasty landing threw off his balance, and he couldn’t position himself to block the centipede lunging at Rakshar.
As the massive centipede gaped its jaws and bore down on him, the loyal hunter was swept away without a chance to react, vanishing into the forest.
Kwang, kwagagang.
Trees shattered and earth churned with deafening noise, kicking up thick clouds of dust.
“Rakshar! You bastard, I’ll kill you!”
The centipede and Rakshar disappeared into the forest amid the rumbling and dust.
Blanc, finally regaining his wits, rushed after them—and there he found...
“Grrr. Uwaaaah!”
...Rakshar, gripping the centipede’s mandibles and roaring like a beast,
“Kiek, kieeeek!”
...and the giant centipede struggling to close its forced-open jaws to snap Rakshar in two.
Moonlight filtered through the broken trees, shining down on Rakshar.
It was a full moon night.
The villagers living near White Claw Hill couldn’t sleep the previous night.
A chilling metallic screech and the sound of the mountain crumbling had kept them awake.
Was this what it was like when the flame sorcerer shattered the mountain 150 years ago?
As dawn broke, the villagers, who had huddled under their blankets trembling all night, gathered some young men and set out to search the mountain for the source of the predawn roar.
“Isn’t that it?”
“People went up the mountain yesterday, but is that them?”
The first thing the youths found was two horses tied at the mountain’s entrance.
“They look awfully expensive...”
“Don’t touch them. They scream nobility at first glance.”
Puzzled by the peacefully snorting horses, the youths then spotted something moving in the forest and screamed, fleeing in terror.
“Uwaaaah! Werewolf!”
“Run!”
Watching the villagers scatter in panic, the blood-soaked werewolf and the black-haired boy with bloodied fists let out sighs of relief.
“At least we made it down alive.”
“The rising sun has never felt so welcome... in my life, young master.”
It had been a night straight out of hell.
Ulrich had mentioned Moonlight Grass but said nothing about a giant centipede.
It must not have been there when he picked it. The centipede had probably settled in afterward.
‘At least we got it safely.’
Tucked in Blanc’s bosom was the Moonlight Grass, wrapped in cloth to block sunlight.
“Let’s head down, Rakshar. We’ll stop in the village for some basic first aid first.”
“Y-yes, young master.”
The two descended to the village for simple treatment.
The village chief insisted they rest since moving in their condition was impossible, but they brushed him off, citing lack of time, and left in haste.
‘You’ll find the giant centipede dead at the cliff. The Tolome family will send people later—please guide them well then.’
According to those who checked the cliff after Blanc’s message,
a massive black centipede they’d never seen before lay dead,
with a sword driven clean through its head to the hilt of a crossguard.
A few days later,
rumors spread through villages near the capital, Baltimer.
Tales of a black-haired boy from the Tolome family who slew a giant centipede.
Emilia was pacing in front of the Tolome manor’s main gate again today.
“Emilia, we’ll let you know the moment they arrive.”
“I’ll wait anyway. I can’t sit still inside from worry.”
She stubbornly refused the guards’ pleas to come inside out of the cold and stood vigil for the two.
Blanc had told her their destination even as he rushed out at dawn.
She worried for Blanc and Rakshar, who hadn’t returned after two days, but more so for Izrelin, growing paler by the hour.
“Why did you have to go... really!”
Blanc had said he was off to find a hidden treasure of the Cardmus family. He’d fudged it since he wasn’t fully sure the Moonlight Grass was still in the cave.
But to Emilia, it seemed heartless that Blanc would pursue family heirlooms while Izrelin lay dying.
‘He was such a kind, warm young master. He must’ve changed from the shock. Off doing his own business even as Lady Izrelin fades.’
Unaware he’d gone for Moonlight Grass to save Izrelin, his actions appeared utterly cold-blooded.
“Please come back soon...”
All she hoped was that Blanc would see the poor girl at least once before her last breath.
“Hey? Isn’t that the werewolf?”
“Yeah! Big guy stands out even from afar.”
No one in the Tolome family didn’t know Rakshar, the half-werewolf—
even if they avoided him.
“And there’s the young baron beside him.”
In the sinking twilight,
two riders galloped toward them, silhouetted against the crimson sun.
“Young master! Here, over here!”
Spotting the eagerly awaited pair, Emilia waved her arms joyfully.
But
“Open the gate!”
“Hya! Hya!”
Blanc ignored her completely, kicking up dust as he sped past.
“E-Emilia... why are you out here?”
Rakshar at least noticed her and reined in, but Emilia’s heart was already frozen in an arctic gale.
“It’s all those Gartaria bastards’ fault! Our young master was so kind before!”
Her rage blinded her to Rakshar’s bloodied state until later.
“What did you say?!”
Bartolomeo stared at Edwin in disbelief.
“Young Baron Blanc, who left at dawn yesterday, brought back a hidden treasure of the Cardmus family: Moonlight Grass.”
With his granddaughter dying, Bartolomeo couldn’t focus on anything.
Less than half a year after his daughter Nedrian’s death, another of his bloodline was slipping away. Amid drowning sorrows in strong liquor came this unbelievable news.
“Moonlight Grass... Moonlight Grass?! Wasn’t that just a rumor flower, Edwin?”
“This was my first time seeing one too, but I recognized the real thing at a glance.”
As twilight faded and sunlight vanished, the grass emitted a soft silver moonlight from Blanc’s bosom.
“My God! Then give it to Izrelin quick! Where’s my brave grandson Blanc?”
“Well...”
“Well?”
“He collapsed right after handing the Moonlight Grass to Lord Weard. Covered in wounds, especially his hands bleeding profusely...”
“What?!”
To pierce the centipede’s tough shell, Blanc had pounded the embedded arming sword with his bare hands.
His hands were ruined, yet he pressed on for Izrelin, riding through the day and night. A feat impossible without 30 years of tempered will—even hardy Rakshar was awed.
“Then... Izrelin first! Feed her the Moonlight Grass!”
He worried for the fainted Blanc too, but Izrelin was more urgent.
Yet as Bartolomeo leaped from his chair, Edwin blocked him.
“There’s a problem, though...”
“What now?”
What was with all these hurdles?
Even Bartolomeo, ever stoic, felt irritation surge.
“The family physician says he can’t handle Moonlight Grass.”
“What nonsense is this?!”
The Tolome family’s doctor was skilled, but even he was stumped by the legendary plant he’d never seen.
“Then fetch doctors who can! Use every resource the Tolome family has!”
“Count! C-Count!”
“...What’s all this commotion, Lord Weard Tolome?”
Weard knelt unannounced, clothes disheveled, eyes wild like a madman’s, shouting desperately.
Panting heavily, he’d clearly run here discarding all noble decorum.
“Help us! Save my daughter!”
Far off, his squire trailed with one of Weard’s missing shoes, flustered.
“As a fellow father, I beg you! Save my daughter!”
“Explain from the beginning...”
Weard had barged in without warning—a grave breach. This wasn’t the Weard he knew.
‘Poor man’s lost his mind...’
“I know of your daughter’s poisoning, but if the Tolome physicians can’t, how could I? I’m just a scholar tinkering with hobbies. Sorry.”
Berger’s “hobby” had earned him immense fame.
“I’m an alchemist, not a doctor—you’ve come to the wrong place.”
“No! No! Only you can save her, Count Berger!”
“What are you...”
He’d humored the madman out of pity. How could he save what doctors couldn’t?
“It’s late—please go...”
“Moonlight Grass!”
Clutching Berger’s robes on his knees, Weard pleaded with blood-tear desperation.
“We have Moonlight Grass! But no one can use it! Only you can save her! Please!”
Berger stared into Weard’s eyes.
Red from ceaseless tears, but no madness—only raw desperation.
‘Damn it all.’
“Prepare a carriage now! No time!”
“Thank you, Count Berger!”
Weard Tolome hadn’t gone mad. The sharp mind of the Tolome family remained intact.
‘Moonlight Grass—even I’ve never seen one!’
Weard knew precisely:
In Baltimer, only Berger could handle the rare Moonlight Grass.
Count Berger Neuendorf, kingdom hero and alchemy faction leader.