Chapter 14
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Ambush on the Road
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Last night's dark clouds were a distant memory; not a single one remained in the blue sky. Only the sun, a solitary point on the cerulean canvas, shone down with comforting warmth. It was a clear day, one that felt out of place amidst the ashen ruins of the building.
Amella asked.
“Are we ready to leave now?”
“Ah, yes! Coming now!”
At her words, Kyle, who had been staring at the burnt-down house, turned around. A large shield was slung across his back as he jogged over.
Though not as tall as Luon, Kyle was still well-built, and with the shield on his back, he certainly looked the part of a warrior.
*Hardly the image of a woodcutter.*
Luon chuckled and looked up at the sky. The warm sunlight on his skin felt invigorating.
It was a journey that had begun abruptly, but he didn't mind. In fact, he was rather pleased. He felt a flicker of hope that if he could just get to the Magic Tower and have his fortune told, he might finally get some inkling of what this damned "completion of the story" was all about.
***
The party stopped in Rellijan to return the horse they had borrowed the day before, then immediately purchased two more. They were for the two who, unlike Kyle, didn't already own a horse. As they were busy preparing to leave, the back-alley loafers began to emerge one by one onto the main street.
Gathered by the news of the Slayer's departure, they all expressed their disappointment. For the past few weeks, the name 'Slayer' had been an endless source of stories and amusement for them. Luon himself, however, had drawn the line, considering it the most embarrassing nickname he'd ever been given.
Amidst the strange experience of being cheered on by a crowd of loafers, the party left Rellijan. Before they departed, Kyle made sure to hawk a thick glob of phlegm in the direction of the lord's mansion.
“Hope he drowns in his own booze. The son of a bitch.”
As the party entered the main road, Amella spoke.
“Let's pick up the pace while the weather's good.”
With that, Amella pulled on her reins. With a whinny, her horse surged forward, and Luon and Kyle followed the already distant figure. *She's more impatient than I thought.*
She hadn't been kidding about picking up the pace; Amella showed no signs of stopping. At some point, they left the main road and continued onward, following a distant ridgeline. The sky was clear, the wind refreshing. Through it all, the horses galloped tirelessly. The dynamic movement unique to the four-legged beasts was transmitted directly to their riders. Luon found he quite liked the feeling. Except for his throbbing rear end.
After riding for a good while, the party stopped before a shallow river.
Dismounting, Kyle clutched his back and muttered under his breath.
“…My back was about to give out.”
While the horses drank from the river and grazed on nearby weeds, the party prepared lunch. If you could call it that—it was just some pre-purchased jerky, bread, and a few slices of cheese, but a meal was a meal.
“So, where are we headed?”
At Luon's question, Amella, who was placing a slice of cheese on her bread, paused.
“…Sorry. The weather was so nice for a change, I got a little carried away.”
She set her bread down for a moment and said.
“We're heading for the Clorensis Mountains. That's where the Magic Tower is.”
Kyle, who had been stuffing his cheeks with bread, widened his eyes.
“The Clorensis Mountains? Isn't that…”
“That's right. The mountain range that separates the North from Aniara here.”
“H-Hey, I heard that place is crawling with barbarians!”
Amella gave the pale-faced Kyle a mischievous look.
“I'm pretty sure I told you it would be a mistake to think of this as an ordinary journey.”
Just then, Luon asked.
“Barbarians aside, the king is about to launch an expedition to the North. Can we get there without getting caught up in it?”
At his words, Kyle's face turned ashen, and Amella nodded.
“It shouldn't be a major problem. Aside from having to take a bit of a detour, thanks to our conquest-crazed king.”
“Then that's settled.”
As Luon nodded nonchalantly, Kyle whimpered and muttered.
“What's this about a war… Why am I the only one who doesn't know anything?”
“Even the peddlers with their handcarts know…”
Luon cut himself off, shot to his feet, and kicked Kyle.
“Oof!”
Clutching his aching arm, Kyle was about to protest when he saw a spear deeply embedded in the spot where he'd been sitting just a moment before. He yelped and raised his shield.
Amella also shot to her feet, murmuring a low incantation. A shimmering yellow barrier materialized around her. She said.
“Kyle, I can't protect you with that damn shield in the way, so you're on your own.”
“U-Understood. Yes?”
Just then, another spear came flying.
The spear arced through the air, its approach deceptively slow until it began its descent, at which point it plunged down with terrifying speed. Luon's holy sword moved faster. The transparent blade struck the spearhead hard, and the weapon lost its momentum, clattering to the ground.
Luon's gaze shifted to the direction the spear had come from. Someone was standing on a small hill next to the river. A mask obscured their face, but their build suggested it was a man. To the right of the masked man's foot, a row of throwing spears was stuck in the ground at regular intervals.
Luon was about to charge forward to negate the man's ranged advantage when he stopped short at the sight of an unknown animal appearing beside the man.
There were two of them, monsters with faces that looked like a cross between a bear and a wolf. They pawed aggressively at the ground with their burly forelegs, growling as if ready to charge at any moment.
Fweee-!
A sharp whistle from beneath the mask was the signal, and the monsters kicked off the ground.
Grrrraaaawl!
The two beasts charged down the hill, splitting off to attack Amella and Luon respectively.
“Get back!”
Amella shouted at Kyle, extending a hand.
“O thou who supports all—!”
As she cried out, the front paws of the rapidly closing monster sank into the ground. As Amella ran toward the flailing, roaring beast, Kyle could only stamp his feet, unsure of what to do. Then, Luon shouted.
“Kyle, protect Amella with your shield!”
Seeing Kyle snap out of it and nod, Luon turned his head. The other monster was already nearly upon him.
Grrrraaaawrr!
The monster reared up and slammed down its massive forepaw. Luon shifted his two-handed grip on the holy sword to his right hand and simultaneously swung his freed left arm upward, backhand-first.
His fist collided with the monster's paw with a dull thud. A normal person's arm would have snapped like a twig, but Luon's superhuman strength managed to halt the paw in midair. Sharp claws scraped his forearm, drawing blood, but he paid it no mind and thrust the sword in his right hand toward the monster's neck.
The monster's hide was tougher than the surface of a tire, but the sharpness of the holy sword and Luon's incredible strength overcame all resistance, piercing deep within.
Its throat pierced in an instant, the monster lost its strength and collapsed forward. Luon, pressed against the beast, braced himself against its weight and was about to pull out his sword when another spear flew down from the hill.
In a flash, Luon let go of the sword's hilt and shoved the monster's corpse forward with both hands.
CRUNCH!
The spear smashed through the back of the monster's head and exited through its mouth, stopping just short of Luon's nose. Shoving aside the corpse with its ruptured skull, Luon wiped the blood and chunks of flesh splattered across his face with the back of his hand and drew his holy sword.
“You're getting on my nerves.”
Luon growled at the masked man on the hill and immediately kicked off the ground.
As he closed the distance, a spear tore through the air toward him. Since Luon was charging, the spear flew in a straight line rather than an arc, making it twice as fast as before. At that moment, Luon's eyes widened.
His senses, heightened to their absolute limit, crammed every piece of surrounding information into his mind.
The gentle scent of grass and the calm air. The spear tearing through that air. The counter-clockwise rotation of its blade. The rough thumping of his own heart. The vivid sensation of the holy sword's hilt.
His high mental fortitude stat gathered all that information and gifted him an artificial slowing of time. Within this decelerated time, he swung his sword. There was no wasted motion in the blurred arc of his arm.
“What?”
The masked man gasped at the unbelievable sight of his full-strength throw being split in two. He hastily grabbed his last remaining spear.
In an instant, Luon scaled the hill and thrust his sword. His focus, still potent, sliced through the spear's shaft and split the mask behind it.
“Kuaargh!”
Luon tried to pursue the staggering man but stopped, hit by a wave of dizziness. The decelerated time was slowly returning to normal.
Shaking his head vigorously to clear it, Luon corrected his stance. He spoke.
“Who the hell are you… No, you don't have to tell me.”
Clutching his bleeding face with one hand, the man revealed a symbol glowing on his forehead: a tangle of multiple hands.