Chapter 22. The Delinquent and the Chief Knight (1)
Kai’s fang—his sword—was imbued with Aura.
It sliced through the Gelu-Drake’s hide.
It would have been impossible if those had been the scales of a true dragon.
However, the Gelu-Drake’s hide was not as hard as dragon scales.
-Kieeeek—!!
The Gelu-Drake let out an agonized shriek. The predatory instinct that had gleamed in its eyes faltered.
The Gelu-Drake’s gaze darted in every direction.
The emotion contained within that gaze was—
-Ki, Kirik!
Panic.
I exploited that opening.
Papak!
When I put strength into my thighs, my body shot forward like an arrow.
The distance between us rapidly narrowed.
What about the Gelu-Drake?
It still had not recovered from its panic.
I corrected my stance and threw a punch.
Tuoong!
A thunderous boom erupted.
A heavy sensation traveled through my fist.
-Kieeeeeek—!!
A horrifying scream burst from the Gelu-Drake’s jaws as they gaped wide in pain.
I had inflicted considerable damage, but unfortunately, I had failed to penetrate its hide.
A mere physical blow could not pierce the Gelu-Drake’s tough hide.
However, that did not mean it felt no impact.
Tung! Tuoong—! Tutung!
My fists shattered every time I struck the Gelu-Drake’s body. My bones splintered and my flesh was crushed, but....
I didn’t stop.
I blocked my sensory nerves and suppressed the pain. Then I continued pounding the Gelu-Drake’s body.
Ppeoeong—!!
The Gelu-Drake staggered backward under the explosive impact. Blood poured from its mouth as it retreated.
Its internal organs must have ruptured, as unidentifiable chunks of flesh were mixed into the blood spilling from its mouth.
The yellow gleam in its eyes had greatly diminished before I knew it.
It no longer belonged to a predator.
Blood gushed from the wound Kai had cleanly carved into it.
It continued coughing up blood from the blows I had inflicted.
They were not fatal injuries. But they came close.
How much of an advantage had those wounds given us?
No, I couldn’t think like that.
I immediately shook my head because I knew the truth.
An injured monster became even more vicious and frenzied.
The instant we let our guard down because we thought we had gained the upper hand—
The Gelu-Drake would tear Kai and me to pieces with a single strike.
Kai knew that as well. Instead of charging in recklessly, he held his breath and waited. He adjusted his grip on his sword and closely observed the Gelu-Drake’s movements.
The Gelu-Drake glared at Kai and me while breathing heavily.
However, it soon lost interest in me.
After examining my mangled fists, it no longer paid much attention to me.
That was understandable because I currently had no way to replenish my nutrients.
I had already eaten all the monster meat stored in my inventory.
Therefore, I could no longer use Regeneration.
In my current state, I posed no threat whatsoever to the Gelu-Drake.
As a result, it recognized Kai as the more dangerous opponent. It changed its priorities, deciding to kill Kai before me.
At present, I was not the Predator of the Coalition Forces, but the delinquent of the Count’s family.
Kai was likewise no longer the Commander of the Frost Legion.
Kai had joined the fight, but honestly, I still wasn’t sure.
I wasn’t confident we could defeat the Gelu-Drake.
Therefore, there was a high probability that we would end up as its prey instead.
If that was going to happen—
“I guess there’s no other choice.”
I immediately withdrew.
* * *
Adrian suddenly turned around and fled.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of hesitation or reluctance in his actions.
He abandoned Kai as bait for the Gelu-Drake and fled with all his strength.
Adrian had already vanished from sight.
Kai involuntarily ground his teeth.
‘....So this had been his plan all along.’
He intended to use Kai as bait to save his own life.
He should have realized something was wrong from the moment he suggested that the two of them fight the Gelu-Drake together.
If there was any consolation, it was that he had sacrificed Kai instead of the soldiers.
The Gelu-Drake did not pursue the fleeing Adrian. It had already identified Kai as the greatest threat.
It regarded Adrian as prey it could hunt whenever it wished.
Kirik!
The Gelu-Drake grinned.
A brilliant yellow light flashed in its eyes. The emotion contained within it was mockery.
If only….he hadn’t sent the soldiers away.
Regret surged through him, but regret always came too late, no matter how quickly it arrived.
If he hadn’t sent the soldiers away in the first place, they would have been sacrificed instead of Kai.
Even so, he had absolutely no intention of sitting still and allowing himself to be devoured.
His chances of victory were merely low.
Kai’s sword was fully capable of cutting and splitting the Gelu-Drake’s hide.
Just as Kai tightened her grip on his sword—
Kkwagwang!
The Gelu-Drake kicked off the snow and shot toward him.
The distance vanished in an instant.
Its claws filled his entire field of vision. When he hastily swung his sword to block them—
Kakak—! Kakakak!
Terrifying sparks scattered in every direction.
And the one being pushed back….was Kai.
The Gelu-Drake fully understood that Kai’s sword posed a threat.
Unlike its hide, the Gelu-Drake’s claws had inherited everything from a dragon.
In other words, they were no different from a dragon’s claws.
A mere Aura Sword could not overcome a dragon’s claws.
Even a knight who had reached the level of an Aura Master could not contend with them.
Kai, moreover, was not a Master.
Ppeoeong—!
The Aura coating his sword exploded. Kai’s body was hurled far backward.
When he hastily refocused his vision, the Gelu-Drake’s body was already so close that it almost touched the ground.
An injured monster.
An even fiercer and more brutal light flashed in its eyes. The Gelu-Drake shot toward Kai at a terrifying speed.
‘It’s fast!’
It wasn’t called the Master of the Snowy Mountains for nothing.
He couldn’t block this. He couldn’t dodge it either.
Then there was no other choice. He would have to sacrifice bone to take flesh.
Kai clenched his teeth as he prepared for the imminent impact.
….He had to endure it.
Kkwaang—!
A massive explosion erupted.
But something was strange. The impact had not come from Kai. He hadn’t felt any shock whatsoever.
Suddenly—
The Gelu-Drake flew through the air before Kai’s eyes.
It crashed disgracefully headfirst into the snow covering the mountain.
The Gelu-Drake could not readily rise again.
Just as the question of who had done it entered Kai’s mind—
“Don’t misunderstand.”
A faint voice reached his ears.
Kai’s mind snapped into focus.
He hastily looked to the side.
At some point—
“This alliance is for this battle only.”
Adrian had returned and was chewing and swallowing chunks of monster flesh that he had obtained from somewhere.
* * *
Because the Inventory had a storage-weight limit, I had been forced to abandon most of the monsters I hunted.
Two weeks was more than enough time for the corpses to rot completely.
However, the severe cold of the Snowy Mountains dramatically slowed the decomposition process.
Rather than merely slowing it, it would be more accurate to say that the corpses did not decompose at all.
‘Though it wouldn’t have mattered even if they had rotted.’
I had already chewed and swallowed the secretions mixed in with monster innards, so spoiled meat was hardly a concern.
As long as I could obtain calories, nothing else mattered.
Therefore, while Kai bought me time against the Gelu-Drake, I used Promote Metabolism [E+] to move quickly.
I remembered the areas where I had hunted. Finding the abandoned corpses was not difficult.
I rapidly searched two or three locations and completely filled my Inventory to its maximum storage weight of 880 kilograms.
The monster corpses had not decomposed, but they were frozen solid.
The ones I had stored in my inventory had been fine.
However, the corpses that had remained exposed to the cold were not.
Crunch! Craack!
Perhaps that was why it felt as though I were chewing rocks instead of flesh.
Fortunately, the bite force granted by my strength stat of 22 crushed even that.
My teeth shattered in the process.
However, I didn’t pay much attention to it.
Crunch! Cra-crunch!
I could simply regenerate my broken teeth. The only thing that mattered right now was calories.
Gulp.
I barely managed to swallow something that could have been either flesh or stone.
When I turned my gaze, the expression on Kai’s face as he stared at me from right beside me was quite a sight.
He looked as though he were staring beyond a strange animal and witnessing an utterly incomprehensible life-form.
In a way, he seemed to regard me as even stranger than the Gelu-Drake.
“Didn’t you run away?”
I merely gave him a vague answer. But what he had just said—
‘Wasn’t that part of Kai’s Affinity quest?’
I thought it was.
Well, whatever.
“Keep your head in the fight, Kai.”
Once my Regeneration was complete, I drew both fists toward my chest.
Kai also snapped back to attention and adjusted his grip on his sword.
At the same time, the Gelu-Drake was slowly rising to its feet.
The Gelu-Drake growled.
There was no longer any hint of amusement in its behavior. From this moment onward, it would be a desperate struggle for survival.
Kill or be killed.
Kai suddenly asked me a question.
It seemed he had thought I was running away.
“But why did you….?”
He also appeared quite puzzled that I had helped him.
Leaving the matter of escaping aside, that had admittedly been an opportunity to let Kai die.
However, if Kai died now, it would place me in a very difficult situation.
‘Hunting the Gelu-Drake would become much harder.’
After all, hunting the Gelu-Drake alone was practically impossible.
But I couldn’t give up the Gelu-Drake’s Genetic Factor.
Naturally, I couldn’t explain any of this to him. There was neither a reason nor enough time to do so—
“Don’t misunderstand. This alliance is for this battle only.”
“It’s coming.”
The Gelu-Drake charged the instant I finished speaking.
* * *
No sooner had Adrian’s words reached his ears than the Gelu-Drake lunged at them.
Its massive body tore through the air, and its sharpened claws ripped across the snowfield.
Its movements made it impossible to believe that it was injured.
The raging wind pressure whipped up a blizzard that briefly obscured their vision, but—
Adrian instantly moved beside the Gelu-Drake.
Adrian’s fist was clenched tightly.
It scattered through the air like flurrying snow.
Ppeoeok—!
The Gelu-Drake staggered after taking Adrian’s fist directly.
Perhaps the impact had been considerable.
When the Gelu-Drake struggled to regain its balance—
“Kai!!”
Adrian’s shout struck like a thunderbolt.
Kai’s sword flashed.
His silver armor gleamed beneath the chill of the Snowy Mountains, while his Aura-imbued sword radiated blue light even amid the snow.
‘It’s entirely possible.’
If he fought alongside Adrian—
‘We can win.’
Before he knew it, Kai had become certain of their victory.
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