Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Pavane for a Dead Dwarf (9)
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Bang!
The Saintess pulled the trigger first. A brightly glowing bullet pierced the darkness of the night, skewering the back of an unlucky Pig Head.
The Pig Head, who had been precariously descending the cliff, shuddered violently before plummeting straight down.
Its final scream echoed long and loud, but it was soon drowned out by the barrage of gunfire.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!!
Before the Pig Heads clinging to the cliff could even react, the mercenaries' bullets engulfed them.
Enemies with no defenses, terrain overwhelmingly in their favor. It was the perfect ambush.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”
The belated realization split their reactions into two.
Some writhed to climb back up, while others simply let go and jumped down.
The veteran mercenaries, led by Kwon Captain, didn’t let the climbers escape.
They methodically targeted the ones at the top, steadily reducing the Pig Heads’ numbers.
The jumpers didn’t even warrant attention. They’d just add more bloodstains to the valley floor.
They kept up the one-sided shooting for quite a while.
By the time the group had emptied their magazines, nearly thirty percent of the Pig Heads had already fallen.
“…Damn, no pork ribs for a while.”
Kim Mansu, the vice captain, muttered as he reloaded. A joke to ease the tension mid-battle.
The Saintess, unfamiliar with pork ribs, glanced sideways at the chuckling mercenaries, then tilted her head slightly at Yeomyeong’s still expressionless face. Was it not that funny?
‘Or maybe… she doesn’t get humor?’
She always took jokes seriously, which made it suspicious.
A humor deficit—like her friend at the academy, Yeomyeong shared an odd number of similarities…
As the Saintess reloaded while lost in such thoughts, the Pig Heads suddenly began screaming.
Kyaaah!
As if receiving some signal, they shuddered in unison, then jammed their fingers into the cliff face.
“…Why the hell are they doing that?”
Anchoring themselves to the cliff in this situation? Preferring bullets to falling?
While the group panicked, Yeomyeong scanned the cliff top with spread mana, her face rigid.
Sure enough, his senses picked up distorted mana. There had to be more up there that hadn’t come down yet.
Not Pig Heads, but Cow Heads or even Horse Heads.
‘Why haven’t they come down? Don’t tell me…’
As if to prove his suspicion, it unleashed a burst of twisted mana. A chilling sensation crawled up his skin.
The precursor to magic—and a fairly large-scale spell at that.
‘They’ve been preparing a spell this whole time?’
Yeomyeong turned to warn the group. Or tried to.
“Captain! They’re casting sp—”
Before he could finish, a distorted voice boomed from the very top of the cliff.
“Jump! Down!”
Mana in the voice aligned, completing the incantation. The Pig Heads all turned their heads to glare down at the group.
The moment countless red eyes gleamed eerily, they leapt from the cliff without hesitation.
“Crazy, what the…?”
Unlike the group, who tensed expecting mass suicide, the Pig Heads defied gravity, descending slowly toward the valley floor.
Of course, it was dozens of times faster than before. Enough speed to reach the ground in a few dozen seconds.
Yeomyeong drew his sword and glared at the cliff top.
“Yeomyeong? Wait…!”
The Saintess reached out upon seeing his expression, but he was already gone.
“Danger—come… back…?”
She started to shout, then gaped. Contrary to her worry, Yeomyeong didn’t fight the Pig Heads.
Instead, he used them as stepping stones to bound up the cliff.
Stepping on the shoulders and heads of the descending ones, kicking resistant ones in the gut to send them crashing into the cliff, then pushing off again toward another Pig Head.
After repeating this four or five times, he’d reached the top. An acrobatic feat— no, a miracle—hard to believe even in reports.
The Saintess stared blankly at Yeomyeong’s back as he vanished over the cliff, then snapped to when the Pig Heads hit the ground.
“Ah, seriously. Should’ve done some physical training like Dad said.”
***
The moment the mercenaries below engaged the Pig Heads in combat.
Yeomyeong, landing atop the cliff, came face-to-face with four Cow Heads chanting spells.
The Cow Heads’ reaction to his arrival was singular.
Stunned silence.
Before the silence dragged on, the one with the most presence of mind reflexively raised a pistol.
“You… how…?”
He never got his answer. It was the last question of his life.
The next instant, Yeomyeong fired the Remington MH750 without a word.
Boom!
The slug created a flash of light. The Cow Head directly hit in the face flew back pathetically. The remaining three finally drew up their mana.
“Kill him!”
“Kyaaak!”
Yeomyeong gave them no chance to cast. He recalled the shotgun and channeled mana into his sword.
Blue mana rippled along the blade of the standard-issue iron sword.
Tangible mana, similar to the sword wind from Pasun in the field.
Unlike the mere pseudo-superhumans that were Pig Heads, the Cow Heads instantly recognized it.
“Sword aura…! Dodge!”
Two of the three threw themselves aside. Sword aura poured into where they’d stood.
The detached sword aura sliced through the air with a long whoosh.
Swaaa…
Moments later, the severed wind rejoined, now laced with the scent of blood.
Yeomyeong lowered his sword arm and recalled his mana. Then, the next moment.
Thud.
The Cow Head that failed to dodge completely dropped below the shoulders.
“Crazy bastard…”
The one who barely evaded groaned.
Two Cow Heads butchered in this short time. The survivor’s bloodshot eyes twitched.
“You! I know who you are now. Cheon Yeomyeong! How does a mere rookie mercenary have this kind of skill…!”
They ranted while gathering mana for spells, but Yeomyeong lunged again without reply.
No time for chit-chat, and above all, he needed to clear them quickly and hunt for the imperial seal.
The absent Horse Head and Pasun were surely after it. Time was short.
As Yeomyeong raised his sword mid-thought, the Cow Heads’ mana reacted instinctively.
“Kyaaak!”
The same red beam spell from the northern pine forests.
Seemed like their trump card, but no issue for Yeomyeong. He reached for Uragan’s Hilt at his waist to counter.
Or tried to.
Rumble…!!
The moment he drew Uragan’s Hilt, the entire valley began to shake.
‘…What?’
The Cow Heads preparing beams and Yeomyeong mid-swing halted, turning toward the vibration’s source.
Deep in the valley, the cave where the imperial seal slept.
Intangible mana poured out alongside massive vibrations.
‘No way, already got the seal…?’
Too late? Had Horse Head and Pasun already dealt with the young dragon guarding the treasure?
Yeomyeong swallowed his urgency and charged the Cow Head.
He wanted to rush there now, but the enemies before him came first.
The Cow Head had no intention of going down easy, unleashing its gathered mana.
Kwaaaaa!
A red beam of twisted mana. Yeomyeong expertly thrust out Uragan’s Hilt.
For some reason, the unicorn’s prattling about purity didn’t echo. But the shield’s effect held; a shimmering barrier protected him.
The red beam scattered harmlessly without touching him.
“What?! How—"
A sword thrust from the barrier drew a line of light. A thin red line appeared above the screaming Cow Head’s neck.
Yeomyeong didn’t check its fall, immediately turning to the last one.
‘…Running? Already?’
The final Cow Head fled in the opposite direction. It had been running since before the quake, now a distant speck.
Yeomyeong frowned, glancing between the fleeing Cow Head and the valley below.
The deliberation was brief, the choice swift. He ignored the Cow Head and looked down.
Below, the mercenaries were locked in fierce combat with the Pig Heads.
Kwon Mongju Captain spewed flames from his hands against over seven Pig Heads, but the others teetered on the edge.
Yeomyeong didn’t hesitate. He leapt straight down the cliff.
Whoooosh—wind whipped his ears as he poured mana into his legs.
The next instant, he executed Flying Leg Art’s flutter step, kicking off the cliff’s midpoint.
Yeomyeong arced in a long parabola toward the valley floor. His silhouette, backlit by moonlight, drew every eye.
Kim Mansu mid-swing with his hand axe, a Pig Head preparing a curse, even the composed Kwon Mongju Captain—all frowned up at him.
And… boom!
Upon landing, Yeomyeong clamped his mouth shut against the pain.
Even after slamming mana down and braking once more off the cliff, his ankle and calf bones felt shattered.
‘Regeneration will take… about a minute.’
But outwardly, he looked fine—enough to inspire allies and alarm foes.
The Saintess especially gaped as if to applaud.
“You bastard! What’d you do to our seniors!”
Fortunately for Yeomyeong, he didn’t have to stand idle for a minute.
One glaring Pig Head charged, solving that.
Facing the mad red eyes barreling toward him, Yeomyeong swung his iron sword horizontally with relief and mana.
Crack—struck by the aura-laced blade, the Pig Head split in half, spilling blood and guts.
A pool of blood formed at his feet. Yeomyeong beckoned the Pig Heads mockingly.
“…What, not coming? Shepherds.”
Shepherds. Their eyes changed at the word.
A short taunt laced with a kernel of truth.
The Pig Heads didn’t hold back their rage. Nor hide their killing intent. Some encircling the mercenaries wheeled instantly toward Yeomyeong.
“Kill him!”
“He knows about us!”
“Kyaaak!”
The taunt landed perfectly. Yeomyeong drew mana again.
And as he prepared another sword aura.
Rumble-rumble!!!!
The familiar vibration shook the ground once more. But this time, it didn’t stop there.
Crack-crack!
The earth split far down the valley, a massive fissure spiderwebbing the entire gorge. A sign of imminent collapse.
As all recoiled in shock, the quickest to judge was Kwon Mongju Captain.
“Damn it all, everyone evacuate! Evacuate! Saintess! Get out of—”
But before his warning finished, the omen became reality.
KABOOM!!!
The far end of the valley, where the cave lay, exploded. Like a volcano erupting, rocks and dust blasted outward amid colossal tremors.
A sight terrifying enough to flee immediately, yet everyone in the valley couldn’t look away.
Amid the rising stones and dust, a massive red dragon unfurled its wings.
“…The dragon guarding the seal!”
Kwon Captain cried out in thrill. Yeomyeong frowned.
‘That cheating dwarf bastard. That’s a “young” dragon?’
He recalled Darulma Dun’s talk of a young dragon at base camp, swallowing a hollow laugh.
Good thing he’d demanded new terms before coming. Otherwise, he’d have decapitated the runt to vent.
As Yeomyeong thought this, the dragon that burst from below halted above the moonlit sky.
Its vast wings flapped, stirring winds, as yellow reptilian eyes scanned the valley’s intruders murderously.
About to unleash breath? Or magic? As everyone swallowed and tensed.
Unexpected words emerged from the dragon’s maw.
[At last!]
[One bearing the bloodline’s mark has come!]
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