Chapter 139: Let's Have a Birthday Party

Chapter 139: Let's Have a Birthday Party Let’s Have a Birthday Party

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<Happy birthday, Emi!!>

My day began with those congratulatory words from Extra-sama!

......Birthday?

Birthday.

Birthday!

Ah, that’s right! It’s my birthday today! In autumn!

<Yes, it’s your birthday, Emi! You’ve lived diligently for a year, grown stronger, and turned 8 years old!>

I see, I see—!

You know......every time my birthday comes around, I feel rather pensive.

I’m truly glad I managed to grow another year older.

Despite my turbulent life, I’ve survived remarkably well.

<Ufufu! From now on, let’s keep growing stronger together, adding 10 years, 20 years, 100 years, 1000 years to our lives!>

Ahaha! That godly perception of yours resurfaced after a while, Extra-sama!

Humans can’t live 1000 years!

At best, maybe a bit over 100 years if we push it!

<......Ufufu>

Now then.

It’s my birthday today.

Even so, my morning routine hasn’t changed.

gugyuuuuuuuurururururu......

Namely, somehow appeasing this rumbling stomach.

In other words, breakfast.

The morning hunt.

<But Emi, what should we do? It feels like we’ve already hunted all the monsters in this area, and we’ve gathered every last kirkree nut too.>

You’re right about that, Extra-sama.

We should probably move from this place soon and head for new hunting grounds.

<Want to pillage Liheid for a change of pace?>

Stop so naturally suggesting the enemy of humanity route!?

I told you before that I still have reservations about eating humans!

<No, I didn’t mean that far. I was thinking we could just plunder their winter food stockpiles or something...>

I don’t want to do that either!!

For now, let’s do this.

Thoroughly check if there really are no prey nearby.

At the very least, there should be some rats around, right?

One rat alone wouldn’t be nearly enough, but still.

suuuu——

I take a deep breath through my nose.

Checking the surroundings through scent alone.

Is there any prey around, anywhere......?

............Hn?

<What’s wrong? Did you catch something?>

Hmm......?

Let me check from a higher vantage point.

I hop from the kirkree branch I had been sleeping on to an even higher one.

Then using 【Silverfish】, I climb straight up the trunk, ascending higher and higher.

Bursting through the dense canopy of leaves, I poke my head out from the treetop with a rustle, looking down in the direction of the fortress city of Liheid.

The weather is overcast.

A gentle wind blows from the southern plains......from Liheid’s direction.

But.

Hmm......?

Strange?

<What is?>

You see?

That southern wind is mixed with an unfamiliar beastly scent.

Clearly different from the human smell usually wafting over from the town.

What is this?

Yeah, no mistake.

There’s something there.

Quite a lot.

The scent is rather strong too.

<Hah. Despite me sharing your sensory perceptions, I can’t discern anything at all......You mean there are beasts inside Liheid town?>

No......different, different.......

The dark magic wolves nearest the girl pounced at her in a suicide charge!

They would serve as vanguards buying time for the others to flee.

“............”

Without the slightest change in expression, the girl dispatched the suicidal dark magic wolves.

Thrusting her fingertips in knife-hand strikes.

Whirling to deliver kicks.

Movements as graceful as dancing, yet each one lethally devastating.

The comrades struck by the girl’s slender white fingers and feet were torn apart like paper, shattered into dirt clumps.

But that wasn’t all.

There were many comrades too cowed by the girl’s bloodlust to even pounce, hesitating.

Even those who had kept a considerable distance from her!

The instant the girl made a horizontal sweeping motion through empty space!

They were bisected, their lives scattering!

The outer ranks of the pack had already begun fleeing northward toward the fortress city of Liheid at once.

Why north?

They had the instinctive certainty that heading there would bring them to the Ranrananga mountains, increasing their survival chances by escaping into the densely forested slopes. Also because Deogandai was there.

As a demon, Deogandai was stronger than the dark magic wolves.

While uncertain who was more powerful between him and that monster, perhaps having Deogandai confront it could improve the pack’s prospects slightly.

Paan! Pan, Paaaan!

Here, the sound of signal flares resounded.

It seemed Deogandai had commenced his diversion, but they could no longer afford to heed that!!

“Fu, fu, fugogaaaaah!!”

Even the bulky but cowardly huge red boar started fleeing northward alongside the dark magic wolf pack.

The dark magic wolf leader had remained behind as the boss, but now was the time to retreat.

Fortunately, that monster who had effortlessly slaughtered their entire pack in mere seconds showed no signs of pursuing those fleeing.

It was currently greedily devouring the scattered remains littering the area.

Gulping down bones, fur and all into its belly.

Its speed was abnormal – the bodies larger than adult humans were devoured at a pace of less than 10 seconds each.

Yet for some reason, the monster’s belly didn’t seem to bloat at all.

“Kyauun!?”

In the next instant, the dark magic wolf leader inadvertently let out a pup-like yelp of terror he hadn’t made since being a cub.

He had made eye contact with the monster.

Those eyes still blazed with murderous intent, overflowing with malice, eloquently conveying:

This much was still not enough to sate its ravenous appetite.

“Aoooooooooooohn!!!”

Gripping the reins of his sanity on the verge of snapping from sheer terror through his sense of responsibility as leader, the dark magic wolf leader let out a howl to steel himself before fleeing from that place.

Dark magic wolves possessed incredible speed.

In an instant, he dashed through the forest out to the plains, sprinting toward the Ranrananga mountains.

“Kyain!”

“Kyain, kyaain!!”

“Kyaain!!”

Yelping in terror as they ran, the dark magic wolf pack was simply a pitiful gaggle of losers to any outside observer.

There was not a shred of their supposed ferocious, fearsome monster dignity remaining.

Gradually leaving behind the monster’s presence, the wolves at the vanguard began to slowly slacken their pace.

“Aoooooooooooohn!!!”

Witnessing that, the dark magic wolf leader raged.

Don’t let your guard down!

Run, run, run, run, run!!

Having faced that monster the longest, the leader knew its horror beyond any of his packmates!

They had to flee!

Quickly, quickly hide in the mountains!!

Otherwise, otherwise......!!

......It was in the next instant.

Hyun!

With that light sound grazing his ear from behind, something flew past.

That something struck the head of a comrade running ahead.

Splattering it apart.

That comrade was dead.

“!!?”

The leader instinctively turned back in shock.

There, rapidly closing the distance from the forest direction at tremendous speed......was the monster!!

“Kyaiiiiiiiiiiiiihn!!?”

Letting out the most terrified yelp of the day, the leader discarded all sense of boss dignity and began fleeing at full sprint!!