Chapter 452 - Laugh and Die
Chapter 452 - Laugh and Die
Thud.
Enkrid drove Aker vertically into the oncoming spider's head. The blade pierced through the monster's skull and sank into the ground by about a palm's length.
As he stepped on the spider's back and withdrew the sword, black blood flowed along the blade.
'A lot.'
In the distance, many spiders could be seen, continuously crawling out. But there weren't too many nearby at the moment.
The battlefield was more advantageous for deflecting than charging forward. His instincts told him so. Therefore, there was no need to be overly cautious.
Enkrid's gaze turned to where the monsters were gathering, in front of Oara.
The spider swung its eight legs.
Whoooosh!
With the sound of the blade spinning, wind poured forward, and the spinning and movement of the blade formed a circular shield in front of Oara.
It resembled a disk made from a sling.
Instead of charging, the spider took measured steps, moving at walking speed. In sync with its pace, the shield made of blades advanced toward Oara.
Watching this, Enkrid thought.
'What would I have done?'
This was a different type of combat from before.
Should he thrust the sword in? He couldn't do that. No, it would be more accurate to say he shouldn't.
'No gaps visible.'
Relying on luck and thrusting blindly would not be an act of victory, but an act of giving up.
The spider was far from over.
The Owlbear started to move. It was a strange movement, silent and fading into the darkness.
Even though the dark had settled, the red moon shone brightly enough for visibility.
Still, the Owlbear's large body seemed to blend into the darkness, becoming indistinct.
It felt as though Jaxen had disappeared from sight.
A blade hiding, waiting for an opening.
Like a sneak stab.
The ghoul gracefully emerged from behind the spider, walking as though to flank it.
Its arms hung low, and the long claws at the end of its fingers could cause fatal damage with just a light swipe.
Damn it.
That was the honest feeling.
Enkrid imagined switching places with Oara in his mind.
He would die. It would be a wall.
But still, what would he do if he were standing there?
He could see Oara's back. Her red cloak fluttered in the wind as the sword's tip tilted slightly toward the sky. She held the sword with both hands.
"This is fun."
Then, Enkrid heard Oara's whisper.
He could only see her back, but he could almost guess the expression on her face.
She was smiling.
Brighter than the stolen smile of a ghoul, she was smiling like that.
Oara was smiling.
How does a knight earn a title?
By proving oneself.
The title is earned through action, through practice.
"Everyone, pay close attention. I'll show you what a knight's battle is like."
Oara's voice spread at a suitable volume.
Preparation to face a knight, traps, and special monsters.
Everything was a threat. It could be called a crisis.
"That's too much for me too."
Rem also spoke.
To be exact, it was too much for now, but what was the point of talking about something she didn't even possess at the moment?
Her last words were only to herself.
Oara spoke again, using her back and sword.
Now, she told them to just watch and eat jerky.
Enkrid did just that. Instead of chewing jerky, he swung his drawn sword.
In the meantime, two spiders closed in and were decapitated by the sword.
As he pulled the sword back with a slicing motion, Oara moved.
In that instant, Enkrid missed her movement.
When one becomes a knight, their reflexes and physical abilities are at a different level.
They strike at angles that cannot be understood.
They move with speeds that defy comprehension.
Even if one tries to watch, it's hard to see it clearly.
Enkrid knew this from experience.
He had already faced the strength of knights before.
"If you try to see it as a point, you won't see it."
Enkrid remembered Luagarne's words. He didn't watch her movements but followed the flow.
Only then did he vaguely catch sight of the fight.
Oara's sword fell on the spider's barrier.
The straight, clean sword strike met the barrier.
Ting ting ting ting!
The dim red moonlight poured through the dark and golden sparks pushed the shadows and moonlight aside.
"My sword's name is Laughter."
This was what Oara had said during their sparring. A knight wields a weapon of engraving.
An engraving weapon is one that imbues the knight's will into it.
It is forged by a master craftsman, rare metals, and the knight's will.
The combination of these three makes a weapon that is capable of something extraordinary, a weapon that carries the engraving of will.
"My sword never breaks when I smile."
Enkrid heard it just like that.
The weapon becomes so imbued with will that it feels like part of the knight's body.
Her sword was like that.
Among the golden sparks, white powder-like substance flew and mixed in.
Her sword tore through the spider's forearm and the barrier of blades it had made. Naturally, the sword, "Laughter," was unharmed.
"Let's see how long you can block it!"
Oara's shout echoed. The white powder was made of pieces from the spider's blades.
Oara's laughter began to carve away at the spider's arms, which had transformed into blades.
Then, the Owlbear suddenly emerged behind her.
From a distance, Enkrid did not miss it. But up close, what would it feel like?
It would feel like facing Jaxen.
A blade suddenly shooting up at him was his specialty.
Instead of blades, the Owlbear swung a fist. Its feathered fist struck Oara's back.
No, at the moment it seemed to strike, Oara's body smoothly bent. Her body fluttered like wind-blown cloth and shifted sideways.
It was an astonishing level of reflexes.
To Enkrid, it seemed like a perfectly coordinated movement.
The Owlbear's fist struck the air. There was a loud burst as the air was torn apart.
The force of the punch could be felt through the deafening sound. It was a punch that split the air.
At the same time, Oara's face, feet, and hands came into view.
A soft smile, stepping feet, a twisting wrist, and a bending blade.
The blade was aimed at the Owlbear's neck. The white light struck the monster's neck.
The Owlbear shrugged and pulled its neck inward.
Feathers around its neck stood up and blocked Oara's sword.
Clang!
The blade seemed ready to split the feathers and rip through its neck. Dark blood splattered.
The feathers that had been cut from the blade shattered like metal pieces and bounced away.
Then, the spider removed its barrier and approached quickly, swinging its eight legs.
Two of its arms slammed down from above, and two others sliced diagonally. Two more aimed at the thighs, and the remaining two aimed at the feet.
The eight blade-like arms did their job.
Oara stopped cutting the Owlbear's neck and drew her sword, showing eight afterimages.
Her sword deflected each of the spider's strikes.
Enkrid felt his senses sharpen.
His ears caught eight distinct sounds.
Whack, thud, thwack, crack, sizzle, splat, thump!
Concentration, sensory skill—everything was needed to watch this fight.
Oara had struck and shattered five of the spider's legs, cutting and breaking three others.
It was impossible to see it all, but it was possible to deduce the process from the results. His head spun.
'She twisted her wrist, slashed, stabbed, and struck.'
Could all that be done just with the wrist's movement?
It was possible because she was a knight.
By thrusting, twisting, and pulling her sword, she tore a spider's leg apart, then swung her sword to cleave the second leg with force, and finally struck the last one, folding it in half.
The spider's broken legs flopped.
How could she move like that?
Enkrid didn't know. He couldn't understand it.
But this was the place he wanted to reach, the path he wished to walk.
Ragna, Shinar, the Mercenary King, and the Knight of Aspen.
What would happen if those four gave their all?
Oara was showing it now.
A mere swordsman discussing omnipotence. That was a knight.
"Ah."
A gasp left my mouth as my attention was caught. It couldn't be helped.
"Are you crazy?"
Rem tossed the comment from beside me.
"There are too many monsters. Far too many."
Luagarne said, feeling an ominous presence.
If even a dull Frog like him felt this, then it was a serious situation.
Dunbakel started trembling beside us.
Still, Enkrid was staring at Oara, who was smiling. All of his senses, his gaze, were fixed on her.
"Oara!"
The soldiers shouted a battle cry.
Oara responded to the cry.
A ghoul had just stabbed toward her arm during the chaos of the battle.
The speed and angle were enough to recognize it.
'A knight.'
The monster fought like a knight. Oara, holding a sword in her right hand, struck Owlbear's fist, while swinging her left arm to block the ghoul's claws.
It was a stunt. She used the vambrace on her left arm to block the claws, twisting the angle.
Ka-kak.
A scratch appeared on the vambrace.
In the meantime, the spider-like arm struck Oara's torso.
Oara endured.
Thud.
She cleverly twisted her body to absorb the shock, but she didn't stop there.
Owlbear's fist, blocked by the sword, had already pierced the spider's head.
'I missed it.'
This attack was completely unseen.
The spider died. Owlbear once again hid in the darkness, while the ghoul alternated striking with both hands.
Head, chest, abdomen, thighs.
The target was clear.
One strike, and it was over.
Oara alternated using her sword and vambrace to block.
Meanwhile, Owlbear swung its arm from behind.
Whoosh!
Even though she wasn't standing there, it felt as though the wind was hitting her face.
It was a horizontal swing, the range too wide.
Rather than blocking, Oara jumped straight up and kicked Owlbear's swinging arm with the soles of her feet, then soared high into the air.
Twisting her body in midair, Oara swung her sword down from above. The bending blade looked like three separate strikes.
It was a terrifying combination of power and speed.
The ghoul moved both arms. It was a mirrored movement, as if copying Oara's block with the vambrace.
The battle continued with almost divine skill from both sides.
Whoever won, it was anyone's guess.
And then...
Crack. Thud.
Oara's sword split the ghoul's head in half. It happened at the same time the ghoul's claws stabbed into Oara's side.
"I won. You disgusting bastard."
Oara said, her smile still intact.
Her tattered red cloak fluttered in the wind.
The half-sliced Owlbear's hand, its face half severed, still clutched part of the torn cloak.
The ghoul, Jericks, whose skull had been split vertically, collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"Waaaaah!"
Roman screamed in victory.
"There are too many. Someone keeps sending them."
Luagarne said, as spider monsters continued to pour out.
"I think so too."
Aishia entered, but it was still not resolved.
Was it over now? At least they had bought some time to breathe.
That's how Enkrid judged it.
Dunbakel flinched, feeling her entire body tense up.
Why? She didn't know.
Fear sometimes pushes past even one's instincts. Dunbakel was feeling it.
She sensed it and spoke.
"Something's coming."
Dunbakel's gaze shifted to one side.
Oara's gaze also turned that way.
Enkrid took a moment longer to look.
Boom!
It was in front of Oara, who had just slain three monsters. A beast covered in red muscle appeared. Two legs, two arms, bat-like wings, and a broken horn rising from its forehead.
This creature was among the most special of monsters, often called a Demon on the continent.
It was the sort of creature one might see in the Dark Realm.
Dunbakel smelled sulfur.
The monster, appearing as if it had risen from hell, charged toward Oara, immediately overwhelming her with its final strength.
Having barely blocked the attack, Oara, with her left hand holding the blade and her right gripping the sword hilt, stopped its claws and spoke.
"…Everyone run."
Oara said.
"Dammit, run."
Rem also spoke.
"Baalrog? No, just a piece of Baalrog."
Luagarne recognized the creature.
It dominated the surroundings the moment it appeared. The monster's presence overwhelmed the entire battlefield.
This was what pressure felt like.
Every soldier's feet froze.
Snap.
In the meantime, a soldier was killed by the spider's leg.
Some soldiers stood silent, mouths agape.
Dunbakel was soaked in fear. As a beastwoman, her eyes could see the current situation more clearly than anyone else.
She saw Oara's arm trembling, and her heart shrank in terror at the overwhelming pressure from the monster.
She needed to run, without looking back.
Fear was breaking her mind.
Without realizing it, Dunbakel dashed forward, striking at the new monster with her sickle.
The monster, leaving its claws on Oara, struck Dunbakel's head with an uppercut.
Boom!
Her skull shattered, and blood poured out.
"Dunbakel!"
Enkrid shouted. The Will of Rejection activated. His body moved.
"I told you to run."
Oara mumbled, pushing the claws that had been holding her away.
A few exchanges took place, but the results were grim.
Thud.
Oara's neck snapped as she was hit in the head.
Was it from the ghoul's stab to her side?
No, it wasn't that; she had already exhausted all her strength.
She was poisoned, unable to fight for long.
So the monster had set the stage and then struck when she was weak.
It was a sinister one.
A ruthless one.
Enkrid understood this was a death sentence as he raised his sword.
But his body still didn't respond.
It wasn't just that.
It was when he saw Oara die.
"Let's die with a smile!"
Roman shouted.
"Let's die with a smile!"
"Oara!"
"Oara!"
The battle cry with her name.
This city was Oara's city.
The knight Oara defended this city.
The pride surged.
Before, when facing such a situation, those who rushed in knowing they would die would be called madmen, but here, only such madmen existed.
The Baalrog fragment or whatever it was, was on the level of a knight.
'The three monsters are below that level.'
A clear power disparity.
While the spider monsters kept attacking, arrows made of thread rained down from above.
The arrows that had killed Milio.
Enkrid exchanged five sword strikes with the Demon.
Though it was almost divine in its swordsmanship and movement, eventually, a kick struck his side, and he was sent flying.
Then he saw Roman die.
He heard Rem, rolling on the ground, murmuring as he bled.
"I should've gone earlier."
One by one, starting with Dunbakel, they all died. Annihilation.
The city Oara had wanted to protect was vanishing.
Enkrid took it all in, his breathing slowly becoming more difficult as the surroundings darkened.
He knew from how much had died.
'I took the wrong hit.'
The shock was so great that even the bandage armor couldn't hold up. Broken ribs punctured his organs, tearing them apart.
"Cough."
He coughed up blood.
He would die soon. Just before his eyes closed, Enkrid saw the monster called the Baalrog fragment slay the remaining soldiers.
With a single blow from its club, two to three soldiers died. It wielded Roman's weapon, the one it had killed him with.
Boom! Thud!
Things exploded, shattered, and flew.
"Argh!"
"Let's die with a smile!"
A soldier, just before dying, cried out in a shout. He was familiar, though his name escaped him.
Everything Oara had wanted to protect was collapsing.
Enkrid closed his eyes. A short but long tunnel of darkness passed.
Surge.
The boat swayed with the movement of the waves. When he opened his eyes again, a violet lamp came into view.
"This wall will be much to your liking."
The boatman said cheerfully. Without time to respond, Enkrid closed his eyes again and opened them once more.
Screeeech!
Now he recognized the scream as the spider monster's repeating cry.
He woke up before midnight, but the day hadn't started yet.
The day started after waking up.
So, this day was very short.
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