Chapter 47. Commander of the Beast Legion (1)
Honestly....
‘I didn’t expect him to take the bait immediately.’
I never expected the Lycanthrope to take the bait in less than a day. After all, the Lycanthrope would first need time to discover Seraphia.
He had to know the bait existed before he could take it.
Three days at the minimum.
Even that had been an extremely tight estimate.
Yet, not only had it taken less than a day, but he had taken the bait the instant I left.
This was more than simply exceeding my expectations.
It was almost as though he had seen through my entire baiting operation.
And that was precisely why I had been able to see through the Lycanthrope’s trap.
While descending the Snowy Mountains after leaving the campsite, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
The Lycanthrope was currently extremely wary of “me”.
In other words, there was a high probability that he was monitoring everything I did and everywhere I went.
That also meant there was a high probability he had watched me take Seraphia up the Snowy Mountains.
What if he had naturally discovered the bait known as Seraphia while monitoring me?
The Lycanthrope’s desire must have surged explosively upon seeing her.
However, because I remained beside Seraphia, he could not act upon that desire.
Then what would the Lycanthrope do if I left the campsite?
The instant my thoughts reached that conclusion, I immediately turned around and returned to the campsite.
And sure enough….
My prediction had been completely accurate.
‘Though I don’t know why he attacked Kai instead of Seraphia.’
Apparently, Kai looked more beautiful to the Lycanthrope.
The Lycanthrope was a monster that lost all reason whenever he saw a beautiful woman.
And because beauty was entirely subjective, Kai appeared to suit his preferences better.
That was also why the Lycanthrope had been so obsessed with the Saintess in my previous life.
“Whether in the past or now, that filthy desire of yours hasn’t changed!”
Even after I returned to the past, he remained the same hideous beast born from the madness known as desire.
Pinned beneath me, the Lycanthrope violently twisted his body.
My current Strength stat was 33.45.
The combined strength of thirty-three adult men restrained the struggling Lycanthrope.
However, I could not suppress him completely.
The very idea that the strength of only thirty-three humans could suppress the Lycanthrope was arrogant.
I tightened my grip and tried to tear apart the Lycanthrope’s nape. His thick neck was too large to grasp completely with one hand.
His hide was tough and durable, while his densely compressed muscles were like steel armor.
But before Dragon’s Claw [A], they were no more than sheets of paper. Even the Lycanthrope could not surpass a dragon’s Genetic Factor.
I sharpened my fingernails—
Crunch—!
They crushed through the Lycanthrope’s hide and flesh, digging into his nape.
The struggling Lycanthrope visibly began to panic. He twisted his body even more violently and shoved me away.
His sharp claws swung wildly.
Riiip—!
A horrifying sound of flesh being torn rang out.
Regrettably, it was not the sound of the Lycanthrope’s neck being ripped apart.
Both of my hands, which had been gripping the Lycanthrope’s neck and shoulder, were completely torn off.
Freed in an instant, the Lycanthrope—
Rooooar—!!
Charged toward me like a starving beast.
His sharp claws tore through the air, and the madness radiating from him now contained unmistakable murderous intent rather than desire.
He might have been a beast of filthy desire, but he was not called the Commander of the Beast Legion for nothing.
The distance between us was far too short.
And both of my hands had been torn off, making it impossible to respond in time.
In that case….
◆Activating the Combination Skill ‘Metabolic Overdrive [U]’!
◆Calories consumed: 50,000 kcal
◆All the player’s stats increase by [+50%] for [500 seconds]!
The Lycanthrope’s claws and Dragon’s Claw [A].
Our deadly claws cut through the air and collided.
My Agility increased instantaneously, causing my sensory receptors to become extraordinarily sensitive.
Before my brain could even make a judgment and issue a command, my body was already moving with remarkable agility.
The Lycanthrope’s attack tore through the empty air before him.
I rapidly retreated while continuing to read his movements with my eyes.
The Lycanthrope kicked off the ground again, but—
This time, I was faster.
◆Activating the skill ‘Nutrient Synthesis [B]’!
◆Activating the skill ‘Regeneration [B+]’!
I rapidly regenerated both severed hands with Regeneration [B+].
Then I swung Dragon’s Claw [A] in a wide arc.
* * *
Riiip—! Baaang!
The sounds of tearing flesh and an explosion rang out simultaneously.
Kai’s eyes widened.
The first sound had come from Adrian’s attack tearing through the Lycanthrope’s claws.
The second explosion had come from the Lycanthrope staggering backward under the impact.
In other words, Adrian was not being overwhelmed.
However, he was not completely overpowering the Lycanthrope either.
Kai threw himself toward Seraphia.
Fortunately….
Seraphia appeared to be unharmed. She had no visible wounds or noticeable injuries.
However, she was unconscious.
It appeared that she had fainted because she could no longer endure the Lycanthrope’s desire.
Kai lifted the unconscious Seraphia onto his back.
He tore apart the thermal stockings he had been wearing as part of his disguise.
He also removed the women’s underwear he was wearing and fashioned them into ropes, firmly securing Seraphia to his back.
By the time he finished….
The legion’s monsters had gathered around them from every direction.
Countless monsters spread across the area as though they would cover the entire Snowy Mountains.
Adrian and the Lycanthrope….
Bit and wounded one another while violently unleashing their anger and madness.
Each collision produced a powerful impact that seemed to shake the entire mountain. It was a battle resembling the clash of two savage beasts.
‘What in the world...?’
Shock naturally filled Kai’s eyes.
Because he had personally confronted the Lycanthrope moments earlier, he understood just how absurd this battle was.
Their fierce battle was captivating enough to leave him staring blankly.
But Kai did not have time to stand there and watch. He quickly turned his attention back to Seraphia.
The monster legion surrounded them.
Tightening his grip on his sword, Kai slaughtered the encircling monsters.
After confirming once again that Seraphia was firmly secured to his back, Kai raised his sword.
The legion had introduced an unexpected variable, but….
It had merely accelerated the plan.
In other words, the plan had not been disrupted.
Remarkably, Adrian had anticipated it.
He had considered the possibility that the Lycanthrope might bring the legion and had even prepared countermeasures.
The operation and plan therefore remained unchanged.
Now it was time for Kai to carry out that operation as a knight. And in his current state, he felt capable of doing it.
Kai slowly steadied his breathing.
He stepped forward and sharpened his sword with Aura. Kai’s sword became as sharp as a wolf’s fangs.
It unleashed a rapid succession of attacks from multiple directions.
The technique continuously struck the legion, intensifying its confusion and denying it any opportunity to retaliate.
Wolf’s Swordsmanship, First Form.
Dance of Fangs.
* * *
Kai’s blue fangs tore the legion apart. Kai practically ripped through the entire legion.
‘That technique....’
My eyes widened without my realizing it. The technique Kai was currently using….
‘Wolf’s Swordsmanship?’
Wolf’s Swordsmanship.
As its name suggested, it was a swordsmanship style that wielded a sword like a wolf.
Kai had created the swordsmanship after drawing inspiration from the hunting methods of wolves.
It would later become the decisive reason Kai gained fame as the Commander of the Frost Legion.
Even Ian had acknowledged its power.
What more needed to be said?
‘He has already completed Wolf’s Swordsmanship?’
In other words, this was not a swordsmanship style the current Kai should have been capable of using.
Apparently, taking his first step into the realm of a Master had also allowed him to complete the swordsmanship….
‘Lunatic.’
His rate of growth was insane.
Kai became a golden wolf, slaughtering the legion’s monsters.
Carrying Seraphia on his back significantly restricted his movements, but Kai remained unstoppable.
When he had been my enemy, there had been no one more hateful. But as an ally, there was no one more dependable.
That was why my original plan….
Had been to use Seraphia as bait and then cooperate with Kai to subjugate the Lycanthrope.
However, the plan had been disrupted.
‘He actually brought the legion?’
The Lycanthrope had brought his legion with him.
He might have been a beast driven mad by desire, but apparently, he valued his own life enough to obtain some insurance.
In any case, cooperating with Kai had now become impossible.
Instead, I was the one being subjected to a coordinated attack from the Lycanthrope and his legion.
Fortunately, Kai was holding off the legion alone.
Slash—! Splurt—!
....More precisely, he was sweeping them away.
There was no need to worry about Kai.
The problem was on my side.
The Lycanthrope’s eyes gleamed within the darkness of the Snowy Mountains.
However, he did not recklessly charge toward me.
The same applied to me.
‘He’s strong.’
He was not the Commander of the Beast Legion for nothing.
Of course, Dragon’s Claw [A] had torn through even the Lycanthrope’s claws.
Dragon’s Claw [A], which ignored [-35%] of the target’s defense, could instantly tear through the Lycanthrope’s durable hide.
In other words, my offensive power was overwhelmingly superior.
However, I lacked the stats necessary to support it.
Agility, Strength, and Vitality.
The stats necessary to sustain and support me throughout the battle.
Compared to the Lycanthrope, I lacked the stats required to drive Dragon’s Claw [A] into his chest.
Even after activating Metabolic Overdrive [U], I could not match the Lycanthrope’s stats.
‘If I consume additional calories....’
I could amplify my stats even further.
The amplification provided by Metabolic Overdrive [U] varied according to the number of “calories consumed”.
‘No.’
But I could not do that.
I could not expend all my calories on Metabolic Overdrive [U].
The maximum number of calories I could currently accumulate was one hundred thousand.
I needed to preserve the remaining fifty thousand calories for Regeneration [B+].
‘If my calories are completely depleted, further Regeneration will become impossible.’
That would lead directly to death.
And once my HP reached zero, Regeneration [B+] would become completely useless.
It was not as though I had failed to stock additional calories inside my Inventory.
However, I needed to abandon the naive belief that I would have enough time to replenish my calories while fighting the Lycanthrope.
The Commander of the Beast Legion, the Lycanthrope, was not an opponent who would allow me such an opportunity.
More importantly, even if I had time to consume calories, I could not ingest nutrients in a situation where both hands had been torn off, as they had been moments earlier.
On a battlefield, a single mistake or incorrect judgment could determine whether someone lived or died.
Grrrrrrr!
The Lycanthrope released a low growl.
His upturned snout was as long as a crocodile’s.
The fangs revealed inside were sharp and durable enough to easily chew through steel.
Furthermore, he possessed excellent natural recovery abilities. The wound I had inflicted by tearing into his shoulder had already healed.
The same was true of the wound I had torn into his nape.
His recovery could not compare to an Ice Troll’s, but it provided him with a significant advantage in combat endurance.
The claws extending from the Lycanthrope’s fingertips could not be ignored either.
Of course, they could not compare to Dragon’s Claw. Even so, they possessed enough power to tear through my flesh.
That was despite Hardened Skin [B] currently granting me [+30%] resistance against all physical trauma.
It seemed that only Dragon’s Skin [U] could block his claws.
However, Dragon’s Skin [U] lasted for only [5 seconds].
Even that required the consumption of [10,000 kcal].
Dragon’s Skin [U] was not a skill I could use carelessly.
The Lycanthrope and I….
Both possessed the ability to inflict fatal wounds upon the other.
We both understood that fact.
Consequently, we watched each other from within the darkness, maintaining the tense standoff.
◆Metabolic Overdrive [U] has <157 seconds> remaining.
Even then, the remaining duration of Metabolic Overdrive [U] continued decreasing.
Approximately two minutes and thirty seconds remained.
Honestly, defeating the Lycanthrope within that time was nearly impossible.
If I attempted to replenish my calories, the Lycanthrope would never allow me the opportunity.
As expected….
‘I can’t do this alone.’
The first plan had failed.
It had failed the moment the Lycanthrope arrived with his legion.
However, that was only the “first” plan.
While planning this operation, I had considered the possibility that the Lycanthrope might bring his legion.
Countless unexpected variables had arisen while I carried out missions in my previous life.
I had repeatedly predicted as many variables as possible and modified my plans according to rapidly changing circumstances.
Therefore, I had prepared a second plan to address this situation.
“Kai!!”
The instant I shouted, Kai immediately threw himself toward me.
I had given him no specific instructions. However, Kai instantly understood what I meant.
I also hurled myself toward Kai.
In an instant, Kai and I….
Pressed our backs and shoulders together.
Using our point of contact as an axis, we rotated half a turn.
Our positions naturally switched.
I, who had been confronting the Lycanthrope, now faced the legion.
Kai, who had been confronting the legion, now faced the Lycanthrope.
By exchanging positions, we instantly switched opponents.
The Lycanthrope and the legion were simultaneously caught off guard.
Kai exploited that moment of confusion and charged toward the Lycanthrope.
The current Kai should be capable of buying time against him. That allowed me to confront the legion while Kai occupied the Lycanthrope.
No, more precisely….
“Who should I eat first?!”
It allowed me to replenish my nutrients.
No comments yet. Be the first to leave a review!