Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Final Mission
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[Grrrrraaaah - !]
The cursed ent let out a roar.
Dozens of thick tendrils burst forth from its massive body.
Whip! Swoosh! Hiss!
Shadows of death closing in from all directions.
The forest air froze with murderous intent.
But Damian didn't back down.
'I can see it.'
Senses honed through countless predations and brushes with death.
His physical abilities at their peak read every trajectory.
Clang! Kang!
He smacked away the first thick tendril with his buckler.
Slash!
At the same time, Dawn in his right hand cleaved through the air.
The severed tendril sprayed blue sap.
'Deeper.'
No time to stop.
Dodging, blocking, slashing—he plunged forward relentlessly.
His target was singular.
The ent's trunk.
'Faster.'
Damian lowered his stance.
He readjusted his grip on the shield and gathered strength throughout his body.
'Frenzied Charge.'
Frenzied Charge
Ability seized from the ogre berserker
That explosive power surged through his muscles.
Pop!
A beast-like leap.
The ent thrashed its tendrils wildly at the unexpected charge.
'Just what I wanted.'
That frenzy would create an opening.
A gap to slip through in one go.
And more than that.
Boom!
A chance to ram right into it with full momentum.
A massive impact shook the forest.
The heavy ancient tree reeled back sharply.
It was hard to believe such force came from a body slam by a small human.
"Hup!"
Yet Damian didn't stop.
He poured power into the rebound from the clash.
Crack!
The buckler pierced deep into the bark.
The ent screamed in agony.
But Damian's onslaught didn't end there.
Shing!
With the buckler embedded in the ent's body.
He drew Howling with his left hand.
'Chentner Family Twin Swordsmanship.'
Chentner Family Twin Swordsmanship
Proficient
What followed was a frenzy of slashes.
Pouring tendrils, tough bark.
And straight to the ent's vital core.
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
He cleaved them all.
Yet its vitality refused to fade.
A decisive finish was needed.
"Huuuuuh..."
With a short exhale.
Damian switched weapons.
Shing!
It was the Elven Sword.
'This ends it.'
Time to put the creature out of its misery.
Pfshooo!
The Elven Sword plunged in without resistance.
Straight into the part corresponding to the ent's head.
A clean pierce.
The ancient tree finally lost its strength.
Blue text appeared.
Along with a surge of vitality.
"...Impressive."
Prince Bastian murmured in admiration.
His voice carried undisguised awe and wonder.
The other knights felt the same.
'I thought he was just a mercenary...'
'Never seen twin swords used like that in real combat.'
'The rumors weren't exaggerated.'
For knights who had lived their lives by the code, this was utterly alien.
Savage charges, nimble movements, superhuman strength, fluid weapon switching.
A truly shocking display of combat.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Right then.
Another vibration shook the forest.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A second ent approaching from afar.
Larger and more ferocious than the one just felled.
Its overwhelming presence crushed the surroundings.
Its roar rattled the woods.
Tension hung in the air once more.
"..."
Someone stepped forward slowly.
Gerd Kan, the kingdom's greatest knight.
As he brushed past Damian, he murmured,
"Impressive skill."
A flat compliment.
"Leave the rest to me."
With those words.
Pop!
His figure vanished in a blur.
"...!"
The movements from training were just a fraction.
Too fast for ordinary eyes to follow.
Only Damian among them could track it.
And not just that.
Slash!
As he passed the ent's trunk.
Slash!
A chunk of the ent's trunk was sliced off.
The ent sensed the threat.
The monster unleashed dozens of tendrils.
The entire forest seemed bent on killing just this one man—an overwhelming assault.
"..."
But Gerd didn't dodge.
He stood firm in place.
Relying solely on his single sword.
Slash!
Of course, only for a moment.
Slash! Slash!
His blade traced countless arcs through the air.
Plop, plop plop!
It happened in the blink of an eye.
Before the tendrils blanketing the sky dispersed.
'That's... the kingdom's greatest knight.'
The epitome of knighthood.
Terror gripped the ent as it swung down its massive arm.
A strike infused with cursed energy.
However.
Slash!
Gerd didn't dodge.
Didn't parry.
Just blocked.
The ent's arm halted in midair.
No, it hadn't stopped willingly.
It soon fell apart in chunks.
'Overwhelmed the attack with another attack.'
Not brute force crushing it down.
The result of overwhelming speed and technique.
"Hup!"
But this was merely the beginning.
Gerd's full power was yet to come.
Vmmm...
Cold frost formed on the blade's surface.
Quietly, like a haze.
'What is that...?'
As Damian's eyes widened.
Splatter slash!
A silver flash bisected the ent.
Cleanly, without disorder.
'...This is Gerd Kan's sword.'
Awesome.
The movements, the swordsmanship, the mana control.
His reputation was well-earned.
That realization hit just as.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Vibrations came from all directions.
This wasn't the end.
"More are coming."
Indeed.
At least ten, by the bare minimum.
Pop!
Damian moved first once again.
'Can't miss this chance.'
Steady, high-quality predation.
It would lead Damian further.
Beyond the grand lord, beyond Gerd Kan.
To greater heights.
Slash! Slash! Pfshoo!
Slash! Clang! Clang! Pff...
For a while after that.
Damian and the escort engaged in fierce battle.
As expected of the elite—they weren't pushed back at all.
They swept them away in short order.
"...As expected."
Battle finally over.
The prince spoke up.
"We can't just pass this by."
His gaze fixed on the ent remains.
He even picked up a fragment of ashen tendril.
"Insolent fools are committing insolence in the heart of the kingdom's territory."
Someone's scheme.
Or terrorism against the kingdom.
Either way, it couldn't be ignored.
"Let's investigate a bit more."
An order from the prince.
All eyes turned to the dryad.
The one who knew these mountains best.
Her guidance was needed.
But.
The dryad huddled tightly.
Terror in her eyes.
'Guess I'll have to step in.'
Damian spoke to her in the tongue of the earth, away from the others.
A cold voice.
The dryad snapped to attention.
"...Forest, kin."
She pointed deep into the mountains.
"Seems she's offering to guide us."
Damian's addendum.
The prince nodded.
"Let's go."
But that resolve proved futile.
"...We're too late."
They'd just arrived at the dryad's nest.
The so-called 'Garden of the Sacred Tree' was already in ruins.
"How could it happen so fast..."
The land dead in an instant.
Grass and trees turned ashen.
Air laced with the energy of death.
'Nothing... I sense nothing.'
Even Damian felt dismayed.
His rooted senses detected nothing.
No movements or life force in the area.
The earth itself was dead.
"Kyaaaak!"
Then, a pack of dryads charged.
Their forms twisted like wood elves.
Slash!
Unlike the ents, they posed no real threat.
Dryads weren't a battle-hardened race.
They were simply caretakers who nurtured and loved the forest.
The dryad who had sought their aid squeezed her eyes shut at the horrific sight.
The sole survivor.
It hadn't even been long since she'd left the forest pleading for help.
To think everything would be destroyed in that short time.
"...Let's take a look around first. There might be clues."
The prince watched her with pitying eyes.
But he pressed on with the investigation.
In search of even the smallest lead.
"Your Highness, something over there."
Soon after.
One knight spotted something.
In the heart of the dryad's ashen domain.
Where a massive tree—once revered as sacred—stood.
Something was erected before it.
"...A staff?"
A beechwood staff too large for human hands.
And atop it, a dark red crystal orb.
It looked precarious, as if drained of power.
"Be careful. That's an ominous thing."
The prince nodded at Gerd's warning.
An ill omen kept them from approaching.
"It looks too obviously like a key clue."
"I agree. For now, we should return and figure out a safe way to retrieve it..."
That instant.
Crack!
A fissure ran through the dark red crystal.
Whoooosh!
Crimson energy swirled from within.
"Everyone, get back!"
Gerd shouted and reflexively swung his sword.
But.
Swoosh!
It only cut empty air.
In a way, it was inevitable.
It was a curse without form.
Hiss hiss hiss...
Writhing like a living serpent.
Its target was decided from the start.
The survivor of this nest.
The dryad, despairing before the tragedy.
Shreeeeek!
The crimson energy seeped into her body.
In an instant, without chance to resist.
The dryad collapsed on the spot.
Her flesh and mind burning away.
No—a far worse sensation.
Her pure mind stained black.
Her love for all things twisted into hatred.
Life warping into death.
Drip!
Tears fell from her eyes.
Despair and terror.
"Save... please save..."
A plea clinging to the last threads of reason.
The human tongue she'd learned from Damian.
But only for a moment.
"Kya... Kyaaaah...!"
A scream devoid of sanity.
Ashen, withered skin.
Dried, twisted tears.
Pop!
Gerd moved instantly.
Danger must be eliminated.
"Take her alive!"
As blue sword light flashed.
Prince Bastian shouted urgently.
"She's our only clue!"
The strike already unleashed.
A normal knight couldn't alter the timing.
But nothing was impossible for the kingdom's greatest.
Smack!
Precision control twisting direction and path in an instant.
The flat of the blade struck the dryad.
"Kuhk...!"
A short cry.
And she crumpled to the ground.
That moment.
Crack, cra-sh, crac-kle!
The red crystal that spewed the curse.
The source shattered into pieces.
As if it had fulfilled its final mission.