Volume 6 - CH 9

Translator: Silver Editor: Namorax

「Something Creeps Up」 Part 2

The being that appeared in the valley between the hills was larger than the spider monsters.

Its whole body was covered in reddish-brown scales, two massive horn stuck out from its head, and a white mane grew from its back.

At the same time the majestic creature appeared in the valley, the sound of an intense clash rang out as something penetrated the spider monster which had raised its weapons.

Two large holes with a set of white horns filling them appeared within the monster’s now dark, liquid-leaking abdomen.

Perhaps it was the monster’s bodily fluids, but in any case, the monster’s voice trembled with anger.

「Whoooooo!!? Kill witnessssss!!!」

A viscous liquid sprayed from the monster’s mouth as it raised its weapons…… towards the three people sitting upon a saddle with an unique design that was strapped to the creature’s back.

“Ariane-dono, Chiome-dono, please take care of the other one.”

This was the only thing the armored Knight riding in the middle of the trio said to his companions.

His full-body armor, with its white and blue undertones and detailed patterns etched into it, was befitting of a knight from legend. A jet black mantle inlaid with a pattern seemingly cut from the night sky hung from his shoulder.

He drew a sword, whose blue blade was surrounded by a pale aura, and took hold of an elaborately decorated circular shield.

A small animal with green fur, which let out a cry for some reason as it was wagging its tail, sat atop the dignified knight’s head.

The people responded to the Silver Knight’s statement by climbing off of what must have been a mount.

One of them, still a young girl, wore an oversized hat over her dark black hair. A dagger was stripped to her waist and her arms and legs were covered by gauntlets.

The other was a tall woman.

Her entire body was counseled by a gray cloak, but the rich curves of her mature body were still visible.

The two women drew their weapons and rushed towards the monster Zahar’s group had been fighting at a staggering speed that surpassed that of ordinary men.

Flames appeared around the tall woman’s body and swirled around her as if it had a will of its own before snaking around her sword.

Mixed in with the heat radiating off of her was the sound of chants escaping from her lips. The flames around her blade grew stronger before she dealt a crippling blow to the monster.

The flames spread from the point of contact and engulfed the spider monster’s entire body, mercilessly burning the creature from within and filling the air with a horrid stench.

「Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!」

The small girl also dealt a blow to the wailing monster.

After chanting something and a series of hand signs, two wolves composed of water appeared by her side.

Additionally, a white pillar surrounded her dagger, and an arc started to trail behind her dagger as she sliced into the monster’s body in rapid succession.

The injured spider monster tried to defend itself, but the water wolves created by the girl neutralized all of its attempts

If the monster tried to distance itself, it’s legs were bitten. If it tried to raise a weapon, its arm was bitten.

Zahar and the other guards were left dumbfounded as they watched the spectacle unfold.

From Zahar’s perspective, it was clear that the sword arms of the two women were refined to a considerable degree.

The destructive power of the spider monster was still a considerable threat, but the two of them were more skillful in their craft, allowing them to easily take advantage of the large openings in the monster's offense.

Eventually, the monster’s entire body was withered away by fire and water, its feeble legs collapsing under its own weight, and it’s body disintegrating as if it had been a bad dream.

Away from the achievements of his companions, the silver knight swung his divine blade in a casual manner.

“【Flying Dragon Slash】!”

The knight muttered something in a low tone as the swing of his swing blade kicked up a gust of wind…… and sent an arc of light flying towards the spider monster.

The slash easily cut through the trees behind the monster at a waist-high level……  the monstrosity  narrowly dodged the attack, but the injuries it received from the mount’s charge must have hindered its movements, because some of its legs got caught in the attack.

That single, amazing slash had managed to destroy the monster's balance.

「Ahghhhhha!! Ahahhhhhhhhha!!」

The deformed monster howled in agony as bloodlust against the silver knight consumed its eyes.

“A-Amazing……”

“Ohhhh……”

Princess Lille and her personal guard Nina, the witnesses of this battle, were caught off guard by the stranger’s power.

Against the now immobilized monster, the silver knight raised his sword and shield to engage it in direct combat.

Sparks flew and unnerving clangs resounded as heavy weapons clashed with one another.

The monster made use of its four arms to strike the moment the sword clashed with one of its weapons.

However, the knight was able to read those movements and repel each attack with the circular shield in his left hand, thrusting with his sword two or three times whenever an opening presented itself.

Although the knight's swordsmanship was a bit rough in some areas, there was enough destructive force behind his blows to overwhelm any cheap tricks, as that previous attack had demonstrated.

The spider monster was not to be underestimated either, as one of it’s missed attacks with one of its hammers gouged out the ground it connected with.

Even if one wielded a tower shield with both hands, a regular person would be crushed under the weight of such a blow.

However, any onlooker could see that its opponent was an unprecedented monster as well.

The was no room for those of human strength to enter the battle between existences which surpassed human comprehension.

The knight and the spider monster repeated their exchange several times, and every time the numbers of wounds on the monster would increase.

Realizing his inevitable defeat, the monster simply threw away the notion of defense.

「Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!」

However, the knight was undeterred by its desperate attacks, simply readying his sword once more.

「【Stone Fangs】!」

The spell the knight used took effect immediately, with stone spikes rising from the ground and impaling the monster’s body, temporarily stalling his opponent.

“【Sword of Sacred Lightning】!!”

The knight took advantage of the momentary distraction to utter another magic word.

A blue electric aura surrounded the blade of the knight’s sword, doubling its length just as the knight stabbed the monster through its chest.

Black blood gushed out as the glowing blade rose through the monster’s upper body without any resistance, bisecting it with relative ease.

Like a puppet with its strings cut, the spider monster fell to the ground before disintegrating.

“……There is no way for them to just stumble across something like that.”

The silver knight muttered to himself as he glanced at what remained of his fallen enemy, before sheathing his sword once the aura faded.

He then set his eyes upon the collapsed Nina and the injured Lille.

“Nina!! Princess!!”

Zahar, who had desperately struggled against the other spider monster before now rushed to this location only to find Nina laying in a pool of blood forming around her missing arm and the dumbstruck Lille beside her.

The princess, finally grasping the situation at hand, crawled her way towards Nina’s side, who was on the verge of dying.

“Nina! Stay with me, Nina!!”

“Prin…… Princess Lille, It’s okay…… you are safe……”

Seeing Nina’s face twisted in pain caused warm tears to roll down Lille’s cheeks.

“Hold on! I’ll stop the bleeding! Hey, get me something to wrap it wound!”

When Nina’s face started to turn blue he began to shout at the nearby guards while holding down the stump her missing arm.

The guards hastily began to search the area when they received the order, but the knight that defeated the monster a little while ago suddenly interrupted them.

“Excuse me, could you let me pass……”

The relaxed tone of their supposed benefactor irritated the guards and caused Zahar to give the knight a death glare.

It was impossible to gauge his reaction through the gaps in his visor.

However, he was holding Nina’s served arm and pushed his way through the guards before kneeling beside Zahar.

Lille cried even harder as she watched the knight’s behavior.

The Knight poured water from his canteen to clear way the dust from the severed arm and then connected it to the still bleeding stump.

“Ahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

“!? Bastard!!”

Zahar unintentionally roared in anger as he saw the pain the knight was causing her by messing with her wound.

They had yet to apply a tourniquet to the wound, causing a moment of bewilderment to give way to immediate anger, but the Knight also spoke his mind before uttering another magic world.

“Hold her down, please. 【Major Heal】”

Warm lights surround Nina’s wounded arm in response to the word that had slipped from the Knight’s mouth and gradually consolidated around the severed section of her arm.

That sparkling light was reflected off of the knight’s armor, creating such a fantastic scene that it wasn’t hard to imagine him being a holy man.

Princess Lille, Zahar, and the remaining guards were left in a state of silent bewilderment at what was happening before their eyes.

With her remaining bit of consciousness, Nina looked down at her right arm only to witness the severed tissue starting to reconnect itself.

When the lights disappeared, Nina’s arm had been reattached without even a scar to blemish her beautiful skin, as if it had never been cut off in the first place.

Zahar held his breath as he tried to make sense of it all.

He was aware that the knight had used healing magic like a priest, but he still unable to believe what had happened despite seeing it first hand.

The healing magic he’d seen up 'til now could heal shallow cuts and ease swelling. Even the stories he’d heard about famous healers never indicated that they would have been able to reattach a severed arm.

The priest called their feats god’s miracle, but that seemed like child’s play compared to what he had just seen.

Taken aback by it all, he raised his head and caught sight of the knight’s two female companions.

The two of them had watched the entire scene between the Knight and Nina, and while there was admiration in their eyes there wasn’t even a hint of surprise in their expression

Perhaps such a thing was commonplace for them.

The thought caused Zahar to shiver.

What purpose could such a being have, one who was capable of easily besting a monster the royal guards struggled against and wielded magic beyond human comprehension?

He then recalled where they were…… this territory had been seized from Nozan Kingdom and rewarded to Lord Burnett for his valor and courage.

There was no way a mere mercenary could acquire a masterpiece-like silver armor like this.

If this person was the right arm of Lord Burnett, then Nozan Kingdom was destined to lose more land in the near future.

Thinking about it such things caused him to audibly swallow his saliva, as the knight looked over Nina’s condition without much worry.

“Kyun!”

The strange green animal that had been sitting on the knight’s helmet till now leaped to the ground and ran it’s nose over Nina several times before letting out a cry.