Chapter 182

Early the next morning, things were rowdy right outside of the tent.
When I went out, I saw that soldiers were running around. It was clearly something important.

“What is it?”
“The Meida scouts discovered the remnants of the enemy fighting force. Some of the soldiers on patrol are already fighting.”

“Enemy soldiers? But I heard that they hadn’t seen any up until yesterday.”
“We believe that they were moving during the night.”
The soldier then said he had other reports to make, and left.

So, the enemy was targeting us. This camp was filled with wounded.
Our scout should have been keeping a tight watch, and yet the enemy seemed to have come out of nowhere.

“This is bad. How many of our soldiers can even fight… If we can’t move them, then we’ll have to intercept the enemy.”

General Miralda had taken her army to the west, saying that things were tense near the border.

And so there were not many soldiers who could fight.
Minish and her army would probably return when they found out, but who knew when that would be?

There were many wounded, and the camp was large.
“We don’t have enough men to protect everyone. So…what can we do?”

I half expected the others to make a run for it, but this was clearly not acceptable for most of them.

After all, quite a few of the casualties had come from my own corps.
A number of the Reapers had been badly hurt after getting close to the Ghost General in order to attack it with ‘One-hit Kill,’ and their injuries were currently being treated.

“It was fortunate that Dyle remained. We can either prepare to fight back as we wait for reinforcements, or we can go in and finish this quickly.”
While I had just evolved, I was in no state to fight.

Currently, I could be active for about as long as the other me.
This was mostly due to how quickly I became hungry.

“If I don’t eat after moving, I feel like I’m going to starve to death… I wish they would have given us a little more time before attacking again.”

I looked at our camp. They had rebuilt it to be stronger than before.
Perhaps we could withstand a siege. But what would they do?

“Sir Golan. We’re under attack.”
“So they’re here.”
We weren’t even given enough time to think.

“Magic attacks are coming from far away.”
“Aye. Go find some cover. What are our friends doing?”

“They have yet to move.”
“I guess they are waiting with their shields raised. I’m sure they’ll move as soon as the enemy gets close.”

“We might get surrounded then.”
“The remaining enemy soldiers would be after our wounded. They will not be attacking us in great numbers.”

They had invaded a Demon King’s country.
They wouldn’t want to retreat without accomplishing anything.

This attack was likely being led by some ambitious Commander or Corps Commander, who wished to make a name for themselves.

They had gathered the remaining soldiers under their command and launched an attack. It was rather impressive. However, their morale should not be very high.
Everyone always wanted to go home after losing.

I decided our strategy.
“Alright, we’ll make this a short fight. I’m going to kill their leader. So Rig…”
“Yes. I’ll lead the others.”

“No, they’ll likely fight on their own. More importantly, I should be back in the blink of an eye, so have some food prepared for me.”
“Sir?”

“FOOD. It’s very important, so don’t forget it.”
“Ye-yes, sir.”

It didn’t matter how many of the enemy I took down, if I didn’t eat anything, I would collapse.
And so I left it all to Rig.
In the meantime, I would go wild, at full power.

“Now, let’s go on a little test drive.”
I jumped over the wall and headed towards the enemy.

“…So Dyle’s already here.”
I had seen someone fighting wildly at a distance, and it turned out to be Dyle.
He used to be General Miralda’s Corps Commander. He was currently my superior.

And he was likely the strongest in our camp. It also seemed like we thought alike.
Perhaps he too was hungry and wanted to eat as soon as possible.

“Did I even need to come?”
I asked.

“No, they’re actually quite difficult to fight, and I was starting to get worried. Look.”
Dyle tore apart a Black Flame Wolf and pointed with his jaw.

It was a beast that was covered in thorns.
“What? I’ve never seen that before… It’s hairs are standing up.”

“It’s a Cat Serpent. What looks like thorns is really fur. But they are sharp like needles, and each one carries a venom.”
“That’s the worst. So you can’t even touch them.”

Ogres were tough against poison, but there was a limit to our resistance.
If it was poison from the high-ranking races, the damage would not be light.

“That’s the boss that is leading the group. The enemy will surely collapse if he’s defeated.”
“Are you sure he’s the boss? How can you tell?”

“Cat Serpents usually have their own kind as subordinates. But these are all Black Flame Wolves, aren’t they? Not only that, but the other enemy soldiers all specialize in magic.”

“Yeah, there sure is a lot of magic flying around.”
Which was bad news for someone with low magic resistance like me.

“The Cat Serpents use ‘Flying Needle,’ which is also called a ‘magic type killer.’ The soldiers are likely all magic types because the leader brought them here by force. However, ‘Flying Needle’ won’t work on you, so it’s quite convenient.”

“How do you know that it won’t work on me?”
It was poison from a high-ranker.

“The poison from ‘Flying Needle’ prevents the conversion of mana into magic. If you don’t treat it, you’ll be in that state for a while.”
“…I see. So it is perfect for me. Alright, then you take care of the small fry in the area.”

At first I had thought that its fur was standing up just like a cat, but it was really doing that as a part of its attack.
And I also learned that Dyle could use magic.
He had been hiding it up until now. How shrewd of him.

When I moved forward, the Cat Serpent looked cautious. However, it still didn’t shoot its needles.
Well, it was actually fur. And since it didn’t grow back immediately, it would not be able to defend itself if it fired them off without thinking.

“Though, it’s not like it will make a difference.”
It was best to use a sword against these kinds of beasts. And so it was a good thing that I brought one.

As for its mana level, it was several times higher than Lobos the Wise Wolf.
If Lobos went against it, he would be crushed by the first attack of its front legs.

“…That being said, mine has also increased.”
I had Rig check it, and he said that it was five times higher than what it used to be.

Five times. I had never heard of someone’s mana increasing that much before, and it was quite a shocker.
That being said, it was likely still less than this Cat Serpent.

The enemy looked confident that it could win. And moved towards me without balking.
“Woah!”

It suddenly did a forward somersault and tried to ram into me.
Not only that, but it shot out its needles at the same time.

A few of them hit me in the shoulder. And just like Dyle said, they were not effective..
In that case, the rest shouldn’t be too much trouble.

I held up the hilt of my sword in front of my eyes, so that the tip of the blade rested on the ground.
Now I was ready.

And while I could only attack by swinging upwards from the ground, it was actually the right choice in this instance.
The Cat Serpent kicked the dirt and rotated in the air as it shot towards me.

I would be knocked in the air unless I dodged it.
Judging by its speed, it would be like getting hit by a bullet train.

However, with how I was now…

—-nnnnn.

“Damn it!”
I must have swung too soon. I didn’t feel the impact of my sword going through it.

I frantically turned around, and saw that the Cat Serpent had split into two.

It continued to rotate as the two pieces separated…and separated…and then after a while, they finally fell.

“I…got it?”
But I hadn’t felt anything at all. It was as if I had cut through air.

“I saw it… Well, not exactly. But it seems like you cut through it very nicely.”
Dyle said as he stared at the two pieces of the fallen Cat Serpent. He had already finished defeating the others.

“Their leader is dead! All of you! Kill the rest!”
Dyle’s roar echoed across the field. Immediately after, the enemy began to make a panicked retreat.

Next Chapter

Makai Hongi