Episode 74: The Hound Brigade
Deflecting, thrusting.
Sweeping, striking.
Evading, hitting, and slashing simultaneously.
Hmm… Hmm…
These guys are a bit…
“…Aren’t they strong?”
“Uoooooo! Dieeee!!!”
“That was close! You die!”
“Gyaaaaah!!!”
Yeah, they’re a bit strong.
Not the strength of ordinary bandits.
I exaggeratedly swung my staff around, drawing the eyes of the bandits who were on the defensive.
Then, I feigned a strike with the staff, trying to slash them with my sword…
“Tch!”
But that guy also parried my sword with his own.
Of course, he was overwhelmed by the force and dropped his sword…
“Then… how about this!!!”
Instead of picking up his sword, he charged at me with his shield raised.
This reaction speed, this judgment…
He’s no mere bandit, is he?
…Another pain in the ass! I’m so done with this!
“Give me back my slow life!!!”
“Wh-what?!”
The bandit blocked my full-force downward strike.
“Too soft!!!”
“Gih…?!!??!”
Right there, the golden eggs.
A kick imbued with ‘Adamantine Strength’ would easily destroy human organs. Huh? Oh, yeah, the testicles are organs, medically speaking…
And then, I slashed the throat of the man who was paralyzed by the shock…
“Shyah!”
I slashed at it with the tip of my short sword, tearing it open.
…Alright, is that it?
Is it almost over… no, it’s not, is it?
Aren’t there… more of them?
There are reinforcements, aren’t there?!
“So, Strider scum!”
“Die!”
“Be careful, these guys are strong!”
…Huh?
No… wait.
Wait a minute.
This red-painted scale mail…
“Romanesian Empire soldiers?!”
Aren’t they soldiers from the southern enemy country that’s currently at war with our country?!
Ah, crap crap crap crap!!!
I don’t want any of that!!!
Don’t drag me into this!!!
“Sei!” “Haaah!”
About twenty soldiers in red-painted armor, wielding hand axes, attacking from both sides!
“O-o-oh! D-dangerous?!”
I dodged one, and deflected the other with my staff imbued with ‘Penetration’.
However, it’s still pretty tough to block a heavy axe with a staff. My posture is about to collapse… so I rolled to the side myself. I crashed into a nearby tree with that momentum.
“What?!”
“Triangular jump-ie!”
“Gwaaaaah!!!”
…Then, I did a rolling spin, kicked off the conifer tree ahead, and reversed direction. I pounced on the two soldiers from before, slamming the sword and staff into their skulls.
I felt the sensation of skulls cracking in both hands. I killed them.
“Alright, Bull! Bucky!”
“Roger!!!”
Oh, Jose is starting to get serious.
His strikes, unleashed from a height of over two meters, are impossible to defend against.
Moreover, Jose is using ‘Adamantine Strength’ at full power without thinking about the consequences, isn’t he? With that, his strength would exceed ten times his usual.
Bull and Bucky are accurately supporting Jose as he rampages like that.
Bull is guiding the enemy soldiers into Jose’s range with an agility that’s unimaginable from his beer belly, or he’s slashing at the enemy soldiers who are distracted by Jose from behind.
Bucky is defending Jose, who has put all his resources into attacking, with the large shield in his hand. And he’s not hindering Jose’s movements at all. He’s a pro.
If it’s like this, we can somehow manage if we keep going at this pace…
Hmm?
“Crude half-mercenary, half-thieves… Insolent, insolent, insolent, insolent, insolent, insolent, insolent!!!”
“I cannot forgive this… Eradicate, eradicate, eradicate, eradicate, eradicate, eradicate, eradicate, eradicate!!!”
Some strong guys have shown up.
Commander-class plate mail, sabatons (iron shoes) adorned with decorations like beast claws, and a bascinet modeled after a wolf’s face…
“Th-the Hound Brigade?! Wh-why are they here?!”
“This is bad! We can’t win against these guys!”
“Stop talking nonsense and let the newbies escape!”
Hound Brigade?
If I remember correctly, they were the Romanesian elite soldiers?
A special forces unit, like the Green Berets.
Why are they here?
…Well, I guess they’re attacking lands with good finances to weaken the country’s power. I understand, yes. It’s like disrupting trade, right?
The fat guy, the skinny guy, and the old lady are doing their best to protect the newbies from the soldiers.
If two regular Knights, and even those with top-notch skills, come here, they’ll be killed normally…
I guess I have to do it…
“Kaede! We’re going to draw the two strong guys over here! You come too!”
Kaede looked at me and asked with her eyes for a moment.
Is it really okay?
I responded with my usual wry smile.
“…H-ha, aaaaah!!!”
Kaede, taking that as affirmation, rammed into the knight in plate mail with all her might, knocking him away.
“Guh! This woman!”
“This woman is the most skilled! I’ll take care of her first, Mozest-san!”
“Understood, Roldan-san!”
“Die! Woman!!!”
Two Knights.
One’s weapon is a halberd.
The other’s is a flail.
Both are strong enough to tell at a glance.
Top-level regular Knights, in other words, equal to Kaede and Katrina…
“Ogre-san, this way!!!”
“They ran away!”
“Let’s chase them!”
Alright, with this…
“Bull! Bucky! Jose! I’ll leave this to you, I’m going to help Kaede!”
“Leave it to us!” “You got it!” “Be careful!”
If it’s just regular soldiers, I should be able to leave it to the trio of ‘The Fang of the Wolf Gang’.
Inadvertently, the two general members are also doing their best to some extent… these three.
“Hohaaaah!!! Drop dead!!!”
“Zeryaaaah!!!”
“Oraoraora! Who’s the next idiot who wants their head cracked open?!”
“Gwaaaaah!!!”
…They’re normally strong.
There are only about ten soldiers left, so we should be able to manage here.
Now, let’s go help Kaede…!