The Devil’s Sacred Sword (7)
Swish!
The steel blade flashed, and a hyena’s head spun through the air.
Thud!
As the headless body tumbled to the ground, Dalen’s sword gleamed twice more.
Slice!
The first strike severed the long spear thrust by a gnoll rider.
Crash!
The second strike came down on the head of a charging armored wolf, having lost its rider.
Crack!
Yelp!
The armored wolf, its skull and carapace partially shattered, turned tail and fled.
Even with part of its brain destroyed, the creature’s tenacious life force kept it from dying instantly.
“Ignel Rot.”
Dalen conjured a flaming arrow in his left hand and shot it at the retreating wolf.
Boom!
The fire burrowed between the skull, causing the wolf’s head to explode from within.
The headless armored wolf rolled lifelessly on the ground.
In the blink of an eye, Dalen had taken down two gnolls and an armored wolf.
Sensing his extraordinary prowess, the gnoll scouts began to change their tactics.
Growl!
One of them let out a short howl—a signal.
At that signal, the formation of the scouts shifted.
What had been a tight, concentrated charge now spread out, encircling Dalen at a distance.
Those who had been wielding spears and swords now reached for short bows and javelins from their saddlebags.
“These beastly creatures are smarter than they look.”
Realizing they couldn’t win in close combat, they quickly adapted their strategy.
Their ability to respond flexibly to unexpected situations was typical of the gnoll race, known for being the most intelligent among the lowest-tier monsters.
Creak—
Arrows were nocked onto crude short bows. Those with javelins aimed their tips over their shoulders at Dalen.
Ten pairs of yellow eyes fixed on their prey with murderous intent, but Dalen’s expression remained calm.
And then, a moment later.
Growl!
The gnoll that had howled earlier growled once more.
Whoosh!
Six arrows and four javelins flew through the air.
The simultaneous attack from all directions would have turned an ordinary warrior into a pincushion.
But Dalen was far from ordinary and could have easily countered the attack.
Yet, he chose not to.
Whoosh—
As the projectiles whistled past his ears, Dalen leaped from the saddle of the armored wolf, gathering strength in his toes.
And then—
“Leap.”
Crack!
The carapace shattered, and a spray of blood erupted as Dalen vanished from the spot.
Boom!
While the projectiles embedded themselves in the unfortunate armored wolf, Dalen’s body shot like a cannonball toward the farthest gnoll rider.
Huh…?
The yellow eyes of the beast widened in shock.
Dalen, maintaining his momentum, stomped on the gnoll’s chest and face.
Crunch!
The head and chest crumpled as if struck by a cannonball.
The gnoll rider was flung far away, and Dalen naturally landed on the saddle of the armored wolf.
But he didn’t stay long.
His legs tensed again, and he launched himself like a spring.
Crack!
Yelp—
With his superhuman strength and leaping skill, the armored wolf’s carapace and innards were pulverized.
Dalen’s leap sent him hurtling toward another gnoll rider, kicking the gnoll away as if he were a human cannonball.
After catching his breath on the back of the armored wolf he landed on, he leaped again.
Like a pinball bouncing endlessly off bumpers, Dalen’s form darted through the gnoll scouts’ formation.
Crash! Thud! Crack!
The difference from a real pinball was that with each leap, an armored wolf and a gnoll lost their lives in this brutal game.
No matter how clever the gnoll race was in hunting, dealing with such a situation was beyond them.
Growl! Yelp!
In the end, the last remaining gnoll let out a terrified cry.
It urged its armored wolf to flee at full speed.
Thud, thud, thud—
Sensing the rider’s urgency, the wolf ran with all its might, quickly widening the distance from the wolf Dalen was on by dozens of meters.
It was a distance too far for Dalen to leap across from a running wolf.
Dalen absentmindedly patted his waist and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk.”
His hand axe was long gone, thrown at the start of the battle.
Given the gnoll’s heightened alertness, a flaming arrow would likely be dodged.
Letting it escape to its lair would disrupt Dalen’s plans.
“Should I throw my sword?”
Just as he thought that, Dalen’s head snapped around.
Thud—
A figure shot like a beam of light, launching off the ground toward the armored wolf.
Slash!
The figure brushed past the gnoll rider, the white-glowing sword slicing nearly ten times in the blink of an eye.
Thud—
The gnoll’s head and limbs were severed, a fountain of blood erupting between the pieces.
Crash!
The headless gnoll rider fell from the wolf, and the white sword embedded itself deep in the empty saddle.
Balancing precariously on the wolf, Lucia swung her sword, decapitating the wolf.
Thud!
The headless wolf tumbled to the ground, and the squire of the Holy Knights landed gracefully beside it.
And then—
“Damn! That was dizzying.”
Dalen, who almost let out a cheer at the sight, barely held onto his composure at her expletive.
For a moment, he thought the future demon slayer had returned.
But it seemed that time had not yet come.
Dalen knocked out the armored wolf he was riding with a blow to the back of its head.
He would have preferred to dismount gracefully, but the creature was a monster trained by gnolls, not a horse trained by humans.
Maintaining balance on the saddle was possible with his exceptional skill and strength, but controlling the mount without special skills was nearly impossible.
“Unless it’s a horse trained by humans, you’d need at least an E-rank riding skill. For a creature like an armored wolf, you’d also need a monster empathy skill.”
Riding skills could be acquired with enough time investment. If not, one might find such skills while scavenging corpses.
As Dalen mused over these thoughts, he retrieved his axe and returned.
The battle had taken them far from where it began, and by the time he returned, Lucia had fully recovered from her dizziness.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes. I usually try to conserve the tattoo that enhances my senses, but I should have used it.”
Lucia replied, rubbing her temples.
“I’d heard the rumors, but you’re truly impressive. To handle a gnoll scout on armored wolves so swiftly…”
“You’re impressive too. You handle the holy tattoos remarkably well for someone so young.”
Dalen said, crouching beside the unconscious armored wolf.
He tapped the wolf’s hide with his axe.
The armored wolf’s skin was like a poorly made scale armor, with palm-sized hard carapaces densely packed.
The joints between the carapaces were tough, but the carapace itself was as strong as plate armor.
A formidable opponent for an ordinary adventurer, especially when trained gnoll riders were involved.
“While it’s true I handle the holy tattoos well compared to my peers, I’m worried I rely on them too much. It’s like I’m depending on something other than my own abilities.”
…What? Still on about that?
Dalen turned his indifferent gaze to Lucia. Her expression was earnest.
Unable to ignore her sincerity, Dalen scratched his chin and spoke.
“Aren’t you a paladin?”
“Yes.”
“I thought a paladin’s strength came from the holy tattoos.”
Lucia nodded slowly.
No matter how rigorous the training of the Holy Knights, it alone couldn’t fend off the monsters emerging from the rifts.
The main reason they had been able to hold the rifts at bay for centuries was the holy tattoos, which only the high-ranking knights of the order could bear.
The rigorous training of the order was also to ensure that knights could fully harness the power of the holy tattoos.
Even now, the strongest in the order were those who could bear and wield more of these tattoos.
“The demon slayer, Lucia Castachild, was no different.”
The divine tattoos etched across her body radiated with such intensity that it was almost blinding.
Lucia, known far and wide as the Knight of Light, was the one who bore this luminous power.
Ironically, among players, she was the top ally to avoid on the battlefield. Her light was so overwhelming that it turned screens white, as if hit by a flashbang.
Recalling those memories brought a smile to Dalen’s face, which he didn’t bother to hide as he continued speaking.
“Then why shouldn’t you rely on it? As the paladins say, isn’t it a gift from the gods?”
He raised his axe and began cutting into the carapace of the wolf-like creature, slicing through the tough hide with practiced ease.
Despite sharpening it before entering the labyrinth, the blade was already showing signs of wear. Dalen’s immense strength was too much for ordinary weapons to handle.
It occurred to him that his own superhuman combat abilities were also the result of stats and skills, not something he had earned through sheer effort. In that sense, he wasn’t so different from Lucia.
The difference lay in how they each approached their power.
“There’s a saying where I come from: ‘Earn like a dog, spend like a king.’”
“What does that mean?”
“It means it’s not about how you earn your money, but how you spend it. At least, that’s how I see it.”
With a rough chop, a piece of the carapace fell away, revealing the flesh beneath. Even with a dull axe, the tough hide peeled away smoothly.
“The same goes for power. How you acquire it is important, sure, but what’s more important is how you use it.”
”······.”
“Of course, that’s just my opinion.”
Dalen stood up. The carapace wolf was now riddled with holes, bleeding profusely, resembling a sponge.
He gently helped Lucia onto the saddle, saying, “In your terms, it’s a blessing from the gods, so just enjoy it.”
“···I understand.”
Lucia seemed deep in thought, but the shadow that had clouded her face had lifted somewhat.
Dalen hooked his axe onto his belt, slung his bag over his shoulder, and opened his palm. He chanted a spell.
“Ignel Rot.”
With a whoosh, a flame the size of a fist flared up in his hand. Lucia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Why are you lighting a fire?”
“Do you know where these creatures come from?”
Dalen gestured toward the fallen gnoll scouts. Lucia replied, “I heard there’s a large gnoll settlement to the east on the first floor. Nearly two thousand of them live there…”
“That’s right. And the red line with the skull on the map marks the path of their patrols—a danger zone.”
Lucia looked bewildered.
“But you said the map was wrong!”
“You shouldn’t believe everything people say.”
“But you told me to trust you!”
“And you believed that?”
Lucia’s face flushed red. Dalen chuckled softly and continued his explanation.
“Gnolls raise carapace wolves from pups within their territory. These wolves have a homing instinct. If they lose their rider or need urgent care, they’ll run back to where they were raised with all their might.”
As Dalen spoke, Lucia’s face turned pale. He tightened the straps on his backpack and climbed up behind her.
Lucia stammered, “So, does that mean…?”
“Exactly.”
He flashed her a grin over his shoulder.
“This carapace wolf is going to be our express ride straight to their lair.”
Lucia, now ashen-faced, gripped the reins tightly.
Dalen, with a mischievous smile, added, “So this time, you might want to use that divine blessing to its fullest.”
With that, he pressed the flaming hand against the exposed flesh of the carapace wolf.
Yelping in pain, the creature bolted forward.
“Ahhhhh!”
As the dizzying sensation of blood rushing to her head hit, the squire’s scream echoed through the forest.