72 - Kawama vs. Man No. 2

"Come here, you hippopotamus!"

A thick, low voice interrupts the monster's echoing cries.

The shieldman Diargo's long bangs reveal a fierce glint in his eye.

The mutant of the giant rampaging river horse, as he was named, stood up, brushing off the frost crystals that were entangled in his body surface, and began to stalk the humans in front of him.

In the next instant, its thick legs draw out their full strength within a short distance, and its huge body begins to move at a tremendous speed.

The monster approaches, crushing the stones on the riverbank with a mighty stampede.

If they collide head-on, the difference in weight is several times greater, and a person would be easily blown away.

The fat man with the shield was no exception.

With a dull thud, his body is lifted lightly into the air.

The result, however, was a surprise.

Diargo flew softly backward, landed firmly on the ground with both feet, and killed the momentum with a brilliant heel strike.

By floating his body just before the collision, he missed the force of the collision.

The monster turned around and kicked the ground in frustration at the man's unscathed landing.

The monster turns around and kicks the ground in frustration at the man's unscathed landing. Diargo easily parries another thrust by floating in midair.

The shieldmen are able to parry the body blows of the wild, rushing river horses one after the other.

Before long, the monster is led to a wide open area on the riverbank, where the bodies of its companions are missing.

Several arrows have already pierced its hind legs and back, turning its reddish skin even redder.

"Are you ready to go?"　

"Hahaha ......, go ahead!"

Dialgo answers Roloff's question without tension, breathing on his shoulder.

To the casual observer, Dialgo looks as if he has plenty of time to spare, but one false move and his entire body will be shattered.

However, the light in the eyes of the man with the shield did not diminish at all, despite the exhaustion of his strength and nerves.

The shieldmen gained enough hostility, and the archers gradually slowed him down with arrows coated with the frog's numbing poison.

The warriors, seeing the moment, attacked with their special weapons.

A mightily swung axe struck hard against the side of his flank.

At the same time, a bending spear tip struck down sharply, as if to knock away a paw.

Two one-handed axes slash in rapid succession at the jaws of a creature that is about to open its mouth and bite with a cry of fury.

The attacking warriors immediately kicked the ground and fell back.

A large shield stands in the way, blocking the view of the monster, which turns its head to chase after them.

But when they try to brush it off, it runs away without a response.

Then the three brothers come running up to the monster again and deliver a full-bodied blow, then move out of the way.

The monster, which should have boasted of its overwhelming strength, is tossed about and exhausted by the men's brilliant coordination.

Dialgo, who had been in control of the battle from start to finish, asks a question to the rampaging river horse, which is now bleeding and slowing down.

"Fu......, how is your fighting spirit?"

"Anytime, anytime!"

I'm ready too!

It's overflowing!

Well then, here you go!

As soon as the signal was given, the first to attack was Rorolf, the eldest and the most bloodthirsty of the group.

Clutching his one-handed axes in both hands, which emitted purple lightning beams, he plunged into the monster with great force.

He dodges the bite and strikes the base of the monster's neck with a series of powerful blows.

--

The electric current running through his body causes the rampaging river horse to stop moving for a moment.

Then Ninilas, the second son, who had been spinning his whole body with both hatchets, releases his tremendous centrifugal force at the same time as he steps forward.

--

The monster, with nearly half of its front legs ripped off, shakes itself unsteadily.

Not missing a beat, Dialgo closes the distance in a single breath.

Then Gugtaf, the third son, with his two-handed spear at the ready, slips in at just the right moment.

The spears, clad in thick purple currents, were thrust with blinding speed.

--

The sharp tip of the spear bites deep into the flesh, piercing the heart hidden behind it.

The rampaging river horse, its mouth open to its fullest, stopped moving, letting out a muffled cry, and fell to the ground a beat later.

Both of its eyes were blocked by several arrows, which had been pierced at some point.

Blood gushed from the monster's mouth and Dialgo breathed a deep sigh of relief when he saw that it had completely stopped moving.

He turns his eyes to his comrades who fought with him to share the joy of defeating a powerful enemy without any casualties.

A new battle had already begun.

"What the hell are you doing stopping me?

Not again!　You little prick!"

"The sooner the better on the battlefield, brother. Ouch!"

"Shut up, next time we'll go by seniority!"

That's too arrogant!　I'm still the strongest.

"Shut up, you spinning bastard!"

The shieldman sighed as the three of them began to beat each other up, then turned around and met the twins' eyes, smiling with a relaxed smile.

Next to the men who had fought so fiercely, Thor and Sora had already finished a very different battle.

Shortly before Rorolf and the others were fighting hard.

A huge monster approaches Thor, spraying rainwater with wind pressure.

The man with his sword slouched down, and he attacked Thor with the same steps as usual.

Just before the collision, Thor's body moves to the right.

The wild river horse, which had been jerked around by the movement of its prey, somehow continued to sway wildly.

Not missing the moment when his axis is off-center, the iron sword leaps up from the ground.

The blade flashed several times in an instant, and a breath later, the monster's thick left foreleg rolled to the ground with a thud.

The balance is thrown off, and the huge body of the rampaging river horse tilts at once.

The monster, however, opened its mouth to the fullest, aiming at Thor's head, while emitting a roar from the back of its throat.

Again, however, its face twists at a strange angle, and the rampaging river horse rolls over onto its side in a heap.

Thor quickly closes the distance and his iron sword comes back and forth, and this time the tip of its nose falls to the ground.

Every time the monster tried to attack, its body was twisted to an unexpected angle, and Thor's terrible slash attacked in the resulting gap.

In less than two minutes, the rampaging river horse, with both of its front legs and face sliced off, died without being allowed to put up any resistance.

Thor nodded his head in satisfaction as he and Sora worked in perfect coordination to defeat the supposedly vicious monster without a scratch.

The girl's mouth smiles as she sees his expression.

Since the fight against the evil spirit of red water, the two had been able to communicate with each other without speaking.

Thor watches in silence as Rorolf and the others kill the last of the animals and leave the riverbed motionless.

As he ponders what to do next, he notices a strange sound mixed with the rain.

Not only Thor, but everyone seems to have noticed the sound.

The three brothers have stopped fighting and are looking around.

"...... there."

"...... when?"

Suddenly, the twins raise their voices and point to a red, muddy stream.

The sound was coming from the piles of stones that lined the river.

Thor noticed that there was a space on the piers near the center of the river where the rain could disappear.

The rain that was pouring down suddenly disappeared in that empty space, as if it were drowned out.

Suddenly the space shakes, and suddenly someone's figure appears.

A man of the Midoriwa tribe, clapping his hands deliberately, suddenly appeared from the place where nothing had happened.