Episode 286 ‘What kind of trouble is this?’
Six months have already passed since I received the order and entered the southern mountains to find the king’s younger brother.
Bourdelle looked down from the top of the large tree and sighed inwardly.
Underneath the huge tree he was in, a huge cougar, boasting a height as tall as a thatched house, was wandering around, wondering what it was eating. Although it was large, it had the leaping ability to jump up a tree branch that was probably 30 meters high in a month.
If it weren’t for these clothes made from the leather of Tohiren, which has been a favorite since the Demon Forest…
‘I would have been caught right away just by the smell.’
There was nothing I couldn’t catch, but if I couldn’t pierce its eye and destroy its brain with one hit, all the monsters nearby would flock to it.
Each and every one of them is a monster worthy of being a top knight.
How do you know?
Because I experienced that shitty situation myself just two months ago.
As a result, he had no choice but to flee frantically to the entrance of the southern mountain range and then start over again from the beginning to find his way to the depths.
‘I’m so sick of this. I thought I had seen everything I couldn’t see in the Demon Forest…’
The hardships in the Demon Forest were still vivid in my mind, but I had an ominous feeling that my thoughts would soon change if I stayed here for a few more months.
If that’s a good thing.
‘there is!’
I saw a bush lying down next to the spot where the giant puma passed.
It would have taken a creature the size of a human or smaller to make a trail of that size in this forest where everything was abnormally large. And since he entered the depths of the southern mountains, Bourdelle had never seen a creature smaller than himself.
That means.
‘It is a trace of King Ronian. ‘I barely caught up.’
Bourdelle could not understand at all why the king’s younger brother was so sorry that he was stuck in such a dangerous place.
Of course, as the incomprehensible emotions and mission are separate, he was doing his best in this mission.
The master said that not only would it be enough to teach him the way to become a superman and give him the qualifications to become a knight, but he would also give him the rank of nobleman if he truly became a superhuman.
‘Goes.’
The moment his will was lifted, Bourdelle’s body soared and gently landed on the branch on the other side without a sound.
Six months since entering the southern mountains.
I felt like my movements and stealth skills were improving more than my bow skills, which were bordering on superhuman. The ghost shadow he learned from swordsman Felix Esperanza is rapidly developing as he adds to his decades of experience hunting demonic beasts.
And Bourdelle was not very happy about that fact.
‘want to go home.’
I kept thinking of the cozy mansion in the Grand Castle, not the hut near the forest of the forest.
But to do that.
‘I have to finish the mission first. Concentration!’
Frowning slightly, Bourdelle cleared away his distracting thoughts and continued following the traces below.
Although his eyesight was naturally good, his eyes continued to improve as his level of Force increased, and he could now see distances of tens of meters as clearly as if they were right in front of him.
As he calmly scanned the traces, he became convinced again.
‘The trace continues. Are you sure. ‘I live around here.’
Bourdel’s eyes trembled slightly.
Finally, the end of this tiresome mission is in sight.
He didn’t realize that his steps were getting faster little by little at that thought.
It was only about 30 minutes after Bourdelle first discovered traces in the bush that he discovered a cave that looked like a huge animal’s nest.
It was on the branch of a huge tree, hundreds of meters away from the cave, and the cave was filled with pitch-black darkness, but it was not much of an obstacle for him.
‘Open eyes.’
Your own unique way of using force.
The force concentrated in the eyes further enhanced the eyesight, and the light of the supernatural power of the force allowed the person to see through the darkness in the cave even from a great distance.
And there Bourdelle finally saw what he wanted.
“person!”
An exclamation suddenly burst out, and my fists clenched.
It was a mistake he probably wouldn’t have made if he had been famous in Masurim, but he didn’t even realize he had made a mistake.
And the price was great.
Sreuk.
A small, small sound.
But what followed that small sound was a death that sent chills down my spine.
Bourdelle instinctively sensed danger and jumped down from the tree branch.
That moment.
Paaaaaaaa!
The place he was in exploded with a loud explosion, and as he looked back, very nervous, he saw a monster snake with a head larger than the body of most people.
The deadly force that suppresses the movement of its prey flows out from its vertically slit yellow eyes, and naturally tries to put pressure on Bourdelle’s body.
But fortunately, it was Bourdelle who had experienced countless fights with these strange monsters. In particular, if it were limited to vision, it could be said that he had better adaptability than a superhuman.
Thanks to this, he was able to easily shake off the monster snake just by raising his force.
‘I shouldn’t have called it the Giant Forest, not the Southern Mountain Range.’
When on earth did a snake of that size come up behind my back?
While comparing the difference with Masurim, Bourdel took out his bow in the air and shot.
This was right after avoiding a sudden surprise attack while falling dozens of meters down. Nevertheless, there was no hesitation in his movements as he twisted his stance in an instant and fired an arrow.
A force blade, or even a force shot, with a red light at the end of the arrowhead.
Shook.
Quaaaang!
“Keeeeek!”
But unfortunately, the first shot hit the monster snake’s eyelid and bounced off.
‘what!?’
No matter how unimaginable the size may be, the snake’s eyelids are capable of deflecting force shots that can pierce even rocks.
Before he could even realize the absurdity of it, Bourdelle rolled on the floor in a hurry.
Seaaaaaa.
The grass that had sprouted in the place where he was was melting, emitting white smoke.
It had come into contact with venom that had fallen from the snout of a screaming snake.
‘Fuck. Dokdo is a deadly poison that kills instantly at that size? Does this make sense?’
But there was no time to be lost in thought.
“Kyaoooo!”
A monster snake was shooting downward from a tree branch. It was an elastic and fast movement that was unbecoming of his size.
“Tch!”
Bourdel hurriedly retreated from the spot where the poisonous smoke was rising and fired arrows one after another.
Penetrating and blasting. Although the force shots with two characteristics accurately hit the head of the falling snake, two shots each.
bang. bang.
Chrrrrrrrr.
The only result was that one arrow with penetrating properties caused a deep wound in the snake’s eyelid.
Moreover, the monster snake’s life seemed to have become even darker and darker.
‘Holy shit.’
The monster snake began to see itself as a difficult enemy rather than just prey.
To put it another way, it meant that he was now truly X.
Bourdel was aware of the cold sweat running down his back and concentrated his force as much as possible on the bow and arrow aimed at the bastard.
The bow made from the horn of the demon beast Grimdel and the bow made from Garen’s tendons vibrated with his force, adding extreme elasticity. The force shot on the arrowhead was being condensed little by little to maximize penetrating power, using previous experience as a reference.
‘One shot.’
You have to pierce its eyes and brain with just one blow.
I opened my mouth slightly to control my breathing and paid no attention to the drool flowing from my open mouth. It was a response based on long experience that it is better to feel ugly for a while rather than the slight vibration caused by swallowing.
But at that moment, a drop of sweat flowed from my forehead, passed through my eyebrows, and flowed into my eyes.
That brief moment when I blinked without realizing it.
Ssssssssssssssssss.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa.
For a moment, it felt like the snake’s head was swelling, and green liquid poured out of its mouth like a waterfall.
‘Damn it!’
Bourdel hurriedly rolled to the side as he watched the arrow he fired instinctively disappear through the waves of poison.
Chi profit.
However, he saw his leather shoes burning with a small noise.
At that moment, Bourdelle’s eyes widened.
‘Tohiren’s leather is this easy?’
In an instant, a hole was created in his vision equipment, which was highly resistant to poisons, and a drop of the green liquid touched his shin.
Bourdelle screamed inwardly as he felt his legs stiffen and his senses disappear.
Die.
You die from snake venom.
‘I couldn’t even complete the mission and ended up with a snake?’
Soon, sparks flew in his eyes.
“Just like a snake!!”
Extreme situations, disappointment in oneself, anger towards the enemy, and despair.
Those complex emotions came and exploded.
“Do you think I’ll die alone!”
And at that moment, the young force condensed once again into the arrow in his hand and began to emit an auspicious light.
The force raised, ignoring life and death, created a miracle that surpassed the limit.
But his fighting spirit did not last long.
Shake it.
My vision became blurry and I felt my strength draining away.
‘Oh, no!’
Bourdel’s eyes widened as he saw the head of a huge snake approaching.
Quaaaaaaaaa!
In his eyes, he saw something ‘orange’ flying out of nowhere and hitting the snake’s head.
In an instant, the huge body of the monster snake was thrown backwards and rolled around.
“Kyaaaaaaaaa!”
“Who is it?”
Curiosity and joy expressed in a familiar continental language.
Have those simple words ever sounded so welcoming?
Moreover, he had red hair and a face that I had seen many times.
Thanks to this, Bourdelle realized that he had found the right goal.
“Uh uh…”
But with my vision already blurry and my body not listening, I couldn’t even say anything.
‘Oh, no. like this.’
Feeling as if your body is falling deep into the floor.
Even at the moment when he lost consciousness, Bourdelle struggled to open his eyes again.
It was like seeing an absurd sight of bright orange auras filling the heavens and earth and chopping up a monster snake.
But I could only continue my thoughts there.
* * *
“Hey.”
“Are you… out of your mind?”
A voice heard intermittently.
The faint voice gradually became clearer.
“Hey! Wake up. I know you’re awake!”
At the sound of a clear voice penetrating into his ears, Bourdelle instantly opened his eyes and stood up.
“Gasp! Pear snake!?”
“Oh, that snake? Most of it outside. And some here and in your stomach.”
The red-haired, red-eyed young man who woke him up laughed as he lifted a piece of dark meat that had been grilling on a bonfire.
Even though he was still in a dazed state, Bourdelle seemed to roughly know what it was. So I unconsciously blurted out a habit from my hunter days.
“You shouldn’t eat poisonous snake meat so carelessly…”
“It’s more delicious than it looks. And if you eat this snake’s gallbladder, you become immune to its poison. That’s how you survived, so why?”
“Oh? Ah! My legs…!”
Bourdelle, who was awakened by the playful pounding, looked down at his lower body and breathed a sigh of relief.
A small trace that looks like a burn and a tingling pain coming from it. The fact that I could feel that pain was so nice.
“Uh huh.”
Relief. thank god.
My body trembled with emotion that I could not even put into words.
It was funny that I was more thrilled that my leg was intact than that my life was saved, but the pain in my leg was more helpful in realizing the current situation.
After being so moved for a while, I looked up and saw the young man holding out a piece of meat that had a rather delicious smell.
“Eat. It will help you perk up. It’s nice to meet someone after a long time.”
“Ah… thank you.”
When I suddenly took the meat and held it, I felt like I was alive again.
Bourdel heaved a sigh of relief once again and looked around, catching a glimpse of strange drawings and letters beyond the dim light of the bonfire.
“…uh?”
As I concentrated my mind, pictures and writings engraved on the cave walls came into view.
The picture was of a person holding a sword, and the text was an explanation of the picture. And although Bourdelle was not a swordsman, he could see at a glance that the painting on that wall had an unusual history.
At first glance, the word ‘Aura’ was the most common.
“What do you think? It’s amazing, isn’t it? It’s an advanced swordsmanship that only auror users can learn. The person who wrote the article even said that it was the highest level among them. I heard he was given the nickname ‘Sword Saint’ a long time ago.”
“…yes?!”
The advanced swordsmanship that remains as a legend in the imperial family of that empire and in the historic samurai clan?
Is that something like this in a cave?
“Surprising, right? I was very surprised at first too. That’s why I ended up staying here for over a year. Haha.”
“Oh no. Even if you just tell me that…”
“What do you think? Anyway, you are clearly not a person who uses a sword. Would you like to learn swordsmanship from now on?”
His simple demeanor, which did not even show the slightest desire for exclusivity, was so surprising that it was almost absurd.
“Oh no. But if I even spread a rumor…”
“Are you going to spread it?”
“That’s not it.”
“Haha. Then there’s no problem. And I don’t mind if other people learn it. I think it was originally engraved by a man named Sword Saint. Well, I don’t know if anyone can learn it just by looking at it.”
“Huh…”
Bourdelle was once again impressed by the strange ease felt in that confident tone.
‘That wasn’t an illusion.’
An orange auror chopping up a monster snake.
The young man suddenly asked as the scene where the sky was filled with auras appeared in his mind again.
“But your skills are quite good, so why did you come all the way to the southern mountain range? Considering that you don’t carry anything in particular, it doesn’t seem like your purpose is hunting or medicinal herbs.”
“ah…!”
Only then did Bourdelle remember his purpose.
I felt sick to my stomach at the question asked about the fundamental reason why I was in deep trouble, but it was a lifesaver anyway.
Since it was also the mission’s goal, Bourdelle bowed his head towards the young man with a short sigh.
“I have come to see you, Count Ronian McLane.”
For the first time, young Ronian looked surprised at those words.
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes. I have been searching for your traces under His Majesty’s orders, Excellency Ronian.”
“Huh? Why are you looking for me, Your Majesty? You wouldn’t know it if you were my brother. Moreover, your Excellency? I’ve never been given a title?”
As I was about to say that Bourdelle was the king’s younger brother and thus enthroned as a count, I suddenly realized that this conversation was going too far.
“I have to explain this from the beginning. Around this time last year…”
Ronian’s eyes grew wider as Bourdel continued his explanation.
