Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: To Sobkov Territory
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The next morning.
Sunlight filtered through the window.
"Haa."
The top-tier lodging provided by the Anton Merchant Guild.
It was a comfort incomparable to the hard ground of the battlefield.
Yet a corner of his mind still felt uneasy.
'I've become merciless.'
He recalled last night's events.
The annihilation of the crime syndicate 'Black Hand'.
He had slaughtered nearly a hundred members.
Not a shred of hesitation or guilt.
'I even enjoyed it.'
The thrill of absorbing new abilities.
The certainty of growing stronger at a rapid pace.
Those sensations had numbed his emotions.
'It's strange.'
He had been an ordinary farmer in Greenwell Territory.
A coward who trembled when dragged to the battlefield.
To think he had changed so much.
'This ability.'
It was all because of this power in the end.
A force that devoured humans, monsters, even created beings.
The power to consume anything alive and moving.
'Or perhaps.'
This might be his true nature.
An instinct suppressed by weakness, now awakened.
'Either way, it doesn't matter.'
What mattered was that he had survived.
And the fact that he would continue to grow stronger.
'Focus on that for now.'
This was his 'choice' as well.
The moment he sorted his thoughts—
Kwang!
The door burst open with a deafening crash.
"Sir Damian! Are you alright?!"
The man who rushed in was the head of the Anton Merchant Guild, Anton Pierce.
His face was flushed with excitement.
"What is it?"
"Right now, the entire city of Melrn is in an uproar!"
The guild head shouted dramatically.
"Last night, the Black Hand syndicate was completely smashed! Their base is a wreck, and all their members— even the vice boss said to be at Sword User level— wiped out!"
Even as he spoke, his eyes subtly scanned Damian.
A gaze clearly trying to confirm something.
"So, uh... that issue from yesterday... how did it go?"
A cautious probe.
The psychology of someone who already knew the answer but wanted confirmation.
"......"
Damian didn't deny it.
Nor did he affirm it.
Instead, he pointed to the sword leaning against the wall.
"As you can see, it's fixed."
"......Fixed?"
The guild head's eyes widened.
Just yesterday, it had been a pile of gray scrap.
But the Elven Sword before him now...
'Perfect.'
A clear silver blade.
A blue aura swirling around its surface.
Undeniably a perfectly restored masterpiece.
"Does that mean... really... you...?"
The guild head swallowed dryly.
Suspicion hardened into certainty.
'This man did it.'
The downfall of the Black Hand syndicate.
And the perfectly repaired sword.
"......Hah."
The guild head muttered in a daze.
Goosebumps prickled across his skin.
'A frightening man.'
He had single-handedly erased a crime syndicate.
In just one night.
'Never, ever make him an enemy.'
A stronger instinct than yesterday warned him.
Maintain a good relationship with this man.
He was someone who would give more, not less, in the future.
"So that's how it is. Heh heh, now that it's fixed, it's truly a masterpiece. Isn't it?"
The guild head forced an awkward laugh.
"Anyway, is there anything else you need? We'll help with whatever we can."
"I'm fine."
Damian stood up.
"I'm leaving soon."
"Leaving? Where to?"
"Sobkov Territory."
An unhesitating answer.
"That's where I'm headed."
Sobkov Territory.
Mikhail's domain, the Eastern Front Commander.
A barren land teeming with monsters and barbarians.
'All preparations are complete.'
He had confirmed he could absorb monster abilities.
He had acquired a new weapon, the Elven Sword.
Now, only one thing remained.
'Full-scale devouring.'
To Damian, Sobkov Territory was a hunting ground.
A larger one than the battlefield or Melrn.
"Sobkov, huh..."
The guild head pondered briefly, then nodded.
"It's a long way. Not an easy journey."
He patted Damian's shoulder and recited.
"Take whatever you need— horses, food. Pick the best one from our stable."
"Thank you for your consideration."
"No need. This is the least we can do. We're not just anyone, right? Hahaha!"
Guild Head Anton laughed heartily.
Masking the fear hidden behind it.
It was rough.
Her breath reached her throat.
"Haa, haa...!"
The woman clutched her young daughter.
Lotisha ran down the forest path.
No time to look back.
She simply pressed forward on instinct.
'Please, please...!'
The village she lived in was already gone.
Engulfed in flames, torn apart by monster claws.
A monster wave far more widespread than any in previous years.
No border village in Sobkov Territory could withstand it.
"M-Mommy... I'm scared..."
Her five-year-old daughter in her arms.
Sara whimpered.
"It's okay, Sara. We're almost there."
Of course, it was a lie.
She didn't even know where to go.
Just fleeing to survive.
'Somehow, we need to reach the shelter...'
How much longer did she run?
"......!"
Lotisha's steps halted.
No, they had to.
"Krrrng...!"
Beast growls echoed from all directions.
Red eyes glinting in the darkness.
'Dire Wolves.'
A pack of massive gray wolves.
They had the mother and daughter completely surrounded.
No escape in sight.
Thud!
Lotisha collapsed to her knees.
All hope crumbled.
"......Sara, close your eyes."
She covered her daughter's eyes first.
She didn't want her to see the horror.
'It's over.'
The Dire Wolf pack closed in.
A moment of utter desperation.
"Kyaaang!"
A sharp cry pierced the air.
The lead wolf collapsed, spraying blood.
A dagger deeply embedded in its skull.
"......Huh?"
Lotisha looked up.
Her gaze fixed on the cliff above.
A man stood there.
Swish!
He slid down a rope like silk.
Sword and shield in hand, a silver greatsword on his back.
A man striking in black leather armor.
Damian Winter.
"Kraaaang!"
Enraged by their kin's death, the Dire Wolves charged Damian.
Ferocity matching their reputation.
But.
Clang!
Damian's movements were faster.
He deflected the first wolf's claws with his buckler.
Not just blocking.
He shattered its balance in an instant.
Puk!
The opening became opportunity.
Dawn pierced the wolf's throat.
Slash!
The Dire Wolves fell like autumn leaves.
As Damian cut their throats, he thought.
'Not to be underestimated.'
He had grown stronger through devouring in Melrn.
But this was Sobkov Territory.
One of the continent's most notorious badlands.
'Even the wolves are this big and strong.'
Anyway, the situation was over.
Or so he thought.
"Grroooaaar—!"
The distant forest roared.
Something was approaching.
A presence.
'......Was it not?'
The previous fight was just the beginning.
Something burst through the woods.
'Huge.'
Nearly three meters tall.
Monstrous muscles and fangs.
Tough-looking green hide.
'Troll.'
The Dire Wolves were mere hounds to it.
"Grroooar!"
The mighty beast.
The troll charged with a roar.
Its massive club cleaved the air.
Kaaang!
Damian blocked with his buckler.
But not fully.
He was pushed back.
'Heavy.'
A force beyond mere physics.
Kwang!
The troll swung again.
Damian dodged, creating distance.
'Dodge instead of block.'
And strike at openings.
'Lower body first.'
Damian lunged.
Aiming for the troll's leg.
Slash!
He sliced its thigh, but...
'Shallow.'
The troll's hide exceeded imagination.
Insufficient for a fatal wound.
"Kraaaak!"
It only enraged it further.
The beast attacked more fiercely.
'Now!'
But also an opportunity.
The gap from rage.
He didn't miss it.
Puk!
Dawn sank into the troll's side.
This time, deeply.
"......!"
The problem: the sword wouldn't come free.
Trapped in solid muscle.
"Krrrng...!"
And it was still alive.
A moment needing quick decision.
Damian abandoned Dawn.
He retreated, drawing the sword from his back.
Shing!
A clear silver blade.
Ancient elf runes etched on its surface.
The perfectly restored Elven Sword.
'End it.'
Damian gripped it firmly.
The technique stolen from the Wood Elf Lord.
Time to use it.
'One Flash.'
Damian lowered his stance.
He gathered mana to its limit.
Compressed it like drawing a bowstring.
"Krooo!"
As the troll lunged in final frenzy.
Pop!
He released the pent-up power.
Shuuuuaak!
With explosive motion.
A silver flash cleaved the troll.
Slash!
The troll's upper body exploded.
A perfect kill this time.
Thud!
The massive body collapsed, spilling guts.
"Hah! Hah! Hooo...!"
Damian gasped for breath.
'I won.'
Commander Mikhail's words were true.
Nothing like the empire's soldiers.
Even its Dire Wolves.
"A-Are you okay...?"
Lotisha approached cautiously.
Awe in her eyes.
"I'm fine. You can relax now..."
As Damian replied.
"......!"
A chill ran down his spine.
An instinctive warning.
As intense as when he first faced a Sword User.
No, more so.
Damian slowly turned.
"Krrrng...!"
There stood despair incarnate.
Troll Warriors on par with the one Damian had barely defeated.
A horde rushing in.
'Ten... no, more.'
A full squad at least.
The worst situation.
"......Run. As far as you can."
Damian sent Lotisha and Sara behind him.
He gripped the Elven Sword with his remaining strength.
'I might die here.'
No place to flee.
A do-or-die moment.
'......No.'
Damian shook his head.
He didn't want to die here.
'I'll survive. And.'
Devour them all.
No matter what it takes.
"Haaaaap!"
A roar near a scream.
As Damian prepared for bloody battle.
"Rangers, engage!"
A booming voice echoed through the forest.
At the same time.
Dudududu!
Cavalry burst from the forest side.
Knight order in silver armor.
Cloaks emblazoned with wolf emblems.
'Sobkov Knights.'
Sobkov Territory's elite.
They dismounted and charged the trolls.
"Wipe them all out!"
Their prowess far exceeded expectations.
Outnumbered, yet overwhelming.
"Kueeek!"
Trolls fell one by one.
A one-sided massacre.
"......"
Damian stared blankly.
Not just their level, but these knights were specialized in hunting beasts.
'Why haven't I seen elites like this...'
On the battlefield?
As doubt arose.
"Adventurer."
A knight approached Damian.
The commander who had given orders moments ago.
"Thank you for saving our territory's people."
She removed her helmet in thanks.
Long silver hair cascaded down.
"On the honor of Sobkov, I will repay you."
She surveyed the surroundings.
Scattered Dire Wolf corpses.
The one troll Damian felled.
"Impressive skill."
All this alone?
No ordinary adventurer.
"If I may ask your name?"
"Damian Winter."
Damian answered curtly.
An unfamiliar name.
"I see. I am..."
As she began to introduce herself.
"Krooo!"
A still-living Troll Warrior.
Playing dead, it lunged at her.
"Tch!"
As Damian moved to intercept.
Pop!
The silver-haired commander reacted first.
Shing!
She drew a sword with a wolf-head pommel.
"Haaaaap!"
She slid between the three-meter troll's legs.
Slash!
Deeply slicing its inner groin.
And not stopping there.
Slash!
She spun powerfully, beheading it.
The nape of the troll that crumpled from the groin wound.
Thud!
The massive troll head fell.
The monster Damian had fought desperately.
In an instant.
"......!"
Damian's eyes widened.
'This person...'
Superior in every way.
From swordsmanship to mana flow.
Beyond mere Sword User.
'Sword Expert.'
A knight who had reached Sword Expert.
She flicked green blood from her blade.
Then looked back at Damian.
"I am Elena, Elena Sobkov."
Elena Sobkov.
That was her name.
'......Sobkov?'