Important Note: So, it turns out the “Boa” in “Saber Boa” was supposed to mean “Boar” not “Boa Snake.” Oh well, such are the problems with translation and how Japanese writes and pronounces loan words from English.
I won’t be going back to re-edit every single chapter that involves “boas” into “boars” as that’s way too much work. But just know from this point on that the translator fucked up and that it’s wild pigs, not wild snakes.
“Is that a saber boar…?” Kuruni asked.
“Is this your first time seeing one, Kuruni?” I asked.
“Yep, yep,” Kuruni replied.
There’s one saber boar that’s snorting, “fugo, fugo.” It’s not a baby due to the size of its body and tusk, but it’s not an adult either. It’s probably an individual that feels like it’s been a while since it was weaned and able to hunt on its own.
A saber boar’s age can be inferred to some extent from the size of its body like a normal animal, but it is easier to see how big its tusks are. Basically, the larger the tusk, the stronger and more mature the individual.
And if that tusk is broken or missing, it’s generally a dangerous sign. That’s because it survived despite the damage to its main weapon, and it became a veteran with combat experience.
The saber boar that appeared in front of us had reasonably large tusks. However, it is in relatively good condition, which means it has low experience in hunting and fighting.
Well, even so, it’s not an opponent that you can let your guard down around. Even though it hasn’t fully grown up yet, normally you’ll die if you get struck by it.
“Now then, did this guy stray from his herd or was he kicked out…?” I muttered.
Saber boars generally form a herd within families, and that herd gathers with other herds to form a kind of supergroup. The way they gather together is similar to that of wolves.
Therefore, it is rare to find a lone boar that has not fully grown up. Perhaps they have either strayed from the herd or been kicked out by the herd members. Surprisingly, they are the same as humans in this respect, and those who are rude or impertinent will be expelled by the rest.
“Kuurni, you should try to face it,” I said.
“Eh, you mean me?” Kuruni asked.
From what I’ve seen, I don’t feel like any other boars are nearby except this one.
While the saber boar is a creature with a certain sense of herd instinct, it is not a creature highly intelligent and coordinated enough to set up an ambush. Whatever the circumstances, this guy is almost certainly alone now.
Since it was a good opportunity, I decided to see Kuruni’s ability to adapt to battles against monsters. The opportunity to gain such experience in a relatively low-risk situation is quite valuable.
“I and Henblitz will keep an eye on the surroundings,” I said. “We’ll join in if it gets dangerous.”
“Su-Sure!” Kuruni said, holding up her zweihander as she slowly closes the gap with the saber boar, step by step.
“Fugoh-goh,” it snorts.
Seeing her new stance, the young saber boar changed its behavior from wait-and-see to intimidation.
They are ferocious. And they are not as intelligent as humans. In other words, if there is no visual cue that the opponent is overwhelmingly bigger than you, they will not run away. In particular, young boars have little experience with failure and many are troublemakers, so they will definitely rush in regardless.
Well, it would be pretty dangerous if such a monster came down to a human village. Regular hunts are to keep them from doing just that, and that’s what we’re here for.
“Pugooh!” it squealed.
“Koiyah-su!” Kuruni cries.
Just when I thought that the staring contest would continue for a while, the saber boar suddenly rushed in. And Kuruni lets out a battle shout with it. It’s a nice initial burst, but monsters and ferocious animals won’t flinch at this level. In a way, it’s the privilege of a species with intelligence that they can freak out their opponents.
Moving on, let’s see Kuruni’s tricks. Of course, I plan to intervene as soon as it becomes dangerous.
“Nuuei…!” Kuruin grunts.
Gagin, the sound of metal striking something hard echoed through the Aphrata Mountains. The saber boar’s rush was completely blocked by Kuruni with her zweihander.
These guys basically have no attacks other than charging in. It’s enough to say that their only ability is to ram enemies with their tusks, but its power is quite brutish. Even if you succeed in blocking it with a sword or shield, you will easily be defeated if you don’t have the muscular strength to keep resisting its momentum. Or rather, they usually don’t take block it and dodge its charge, instead.
“Fuhnnunu……!” Kuruni grunted.
“Goh!?” the boar snorts, confused.
“Oh, that’s amazing…” I said.
But Kuruni held on with her tiny legs, almost completely killing the momentum of the charge. Her feet were dragging back if she had taken a few steps, but just by looking at her, it was clear that the power of that charge was tremendous.
At the same time, Kuruni’s power suppressed the charge to the point that she is only barely pushed back, it’s also amazing. If I were told to do that, I probably wouldn’t be able to do it, but it’s a method I don’t want to try if at all possible.
“Nununununu…!”Kuruni goes, gritting her teeth.
Gugugu, Kuruni gradually pushes back the saber boar with her zweihander. This girl is going head-to-head with a wild monster. It’s terrifying.
To put it bluntly, a human with normal physical strength doesn’t have the power to overpower a saber boar head-on. Two-legged and four-legged creatures have completely different leg strengths, and the difference in the force that can be produced is like the distance between heaven and earth.
That’s why, when you normally exterminate a saber boar, it’s common to dodge its charge and slash its flanks, stop the charge itself with a longer-range weapon such as a spear, or hit it from a distance with a bow or magical spells. It’s a reckless opponent, so it’s effective to set up a trap to abuse its simplicity.
When I hunt these guys, I basically keep my eyes on the front and dodge their attacks before attacking. It would be pretty bad if that charge hits you in the side.
However, in front of my eyes was a spectacle that seemed as if even a fragment of those normal tactics didn’t even exist.
“Oruruah…!”
“Pugih…”
Kuruni won the head-on collision with the saber boar, plants her foot on its tusk, and pushes its head down. At the same time as that movement, she raised the Zweihander and stabbed it straight into the animal’s head. The young saber boar let out a bit of a pitiful death cry, and then perished.
“Woahh…” I went.
No, isn’t the way to win too wild?
She challenged the saber boar head-on to a test of strength and won the match, and I didn’t expect a blow to the head. When I thought that she would slash while overpowering the charge, it turned out to be a muscle-brained tactic.
It’s strange, but the swordsmanship I teach at my dojo shouldn’t be like this. Even if you take into consideration the fact that you are dealing with a heavier weapon like a two-handed sword, I think it’s a bit too aggressive.
“…Does Kuruni always look like this when she’s on a mission?” I asked Henblitz quietly.
“No, usually she’s not like this at all… she should be a little more calm…” Henblitz replied.
I asked, but the answer was hazy.
That Henblitz is also confused means that this is a bit of a departure from what she usually does. Kuruni is certainly strong, but she’s not bad on the ground. Why did she dare to adopt such a reckless way of fighting?
“Alright! I won, I won!” Kuruni yelled.
Putting all our troubled thoughts aside, Kuruni seems happy that she was able to kill the saber boar safely.
“Kuruni, why did you fight like that?” I asked.
It’s not bad to be happy, but I feel like it’s better to ask about the reason for this display.
Overall, I didn’t think Kuruni’s current ability would defeat a saber boar. There were a lot of dangerous moments during her time as a disciple, but when I met her again as a Knight of Rebelio, I realized that her naivety had subsided and that she was growing well. That’s why I allowed Kuruni to accompany me on this visit.
However, the way of fighting earlier is a way to sacrifice safety, and also sacrificing your odds of winning. Of course, depending on the time and circumstances, there will be a need to dare to fight in a way that is close to a gamble, but at least now is not the time.
For example, in the recent attempted assassination of the royal family, it was not possible to fight with an emphasis on safety. Because there was a possibility that Prince Glenn and Princess Salacia would have been killed if we fought cautiously.
This time there is no such circumstance. She could have fought freely, but she dared to jump into danger.
“Uuuh… yeah…I couldn’t fight them when I was in the dojo…I wanted to know what my power is now, you know…” Kuruni mumbled, scratching her head in embarrassment.
“Hmm…” I went.
Yeah, it’s not as if I don’t know how she feels. I’m not unaware, but what would you have done if you had lost the face-off? Well, if that happened, I think that either I or Sir Henblitz would have jumped in, but even so, it’s a dangerous method.
“Well… it’s not like I don’t know how you feel, but this is no place for tests of courage,” I said. “An accident caused by reckless risk-taking is nothing but dishonor for a swordsman.”
“Yes… I won’t do it again,” Kuruni said.
For the time being, let’s lecture her. If you let that slide and praise her, she might end up charging head-on more in the future. Winning is important, but not losing is even more important.
“However, the fact that you won by pushing hard against it is honestly amazing,” I said. “You can have confidence in that.”
“Roger-dodger!” Kuruni cried.
Well, it’s amazing that she was able to win by overpowering her opponent. It was a way of fighting where a normal swordsman would have been knocked down and killed then and there. For the time being, I can see Kuruni’s growth this time, so let’s leave it at this.
“So, what should we do with this guy?” Henblitz asked as he looked down at the saber boar’s corpse.
“Hmm…” I muttered.
""
Well, what should we do? To be honest, I didn’t really expect to run into them at this stage. However, there’s no difference since we already defeated it, so I feel like leaving the corpse as it is.
“Let’s take it home once,” I said. “Of course, if it’s dangerous, we’ll throw it away, but it looks like it’s the only one.”
As far as I can see, the tusks are still beautiful, and since it was killed by a blow to the head, the fur is beautiful and untouched. It takes time to drain the blood, but it’s not impossible to eat the meat. It’s not every day you can fill your pockets in such a remote village as this, so we should bring back what we can.
“Kuruni, can you take it?” I said.
“Ah, sure,” Kuruni said. “I can probably carry one.”
“That’s amazing……” I said as she suddenly lifted up the corpse.
As she said, she can probably carry one. Her muscular strength let her carry heavy objects with ease without a cart or any other sort of lever.
For now, let’s bring this thing back to the village and ask them to butcher it. If a wandering trader stops by, we can immediately exchange their fangs and furs for money, but in a remote area like Bidden Village, you can’t expect traders to be wandering around the roads. Even if you go out of your way to a village with a small population, you can’t expect a profit as a businessman.
So it would be better to ask the hunters and tanners in the village to butcher and tan it so that it can be sold at any time.
“I’ll take the front. Henblitz, you take the rear,” I said.
“Understood, Sir,” Henblitz said.
With Kuruni’s hands blocked, she can no longer be counted as a fighting force. I will go ahead while guarding the front, leave the back to Sir Henblitz, and put Kuruni in between.
I wasn’t planning on hunting today. Is it best to go home while observing the surroundings as they are? It would be great if we could find one or two more traces or something that shows the size of the herd on the way back, but things won’t go so easily.
I didn’t think that the investigation itself would end in one day, but rather I should see it as a good start.
“Kuruni, throw it away as soon as it becomes a burden,” I said.
“Roger-dodger!” Kuruni replied.
If you were too particular about the prey you hunted and lost your life, that would be an even worse loss. Sir Henblitz and I should be able to buy at least some time, so I’d like you to quickly throw away this one saber boar corpse in an emergency.
“However, is it possible for a saber boar to reach the foot of the mountain?” Henblitz asked.
“It’s a situation you don’t normally see. Well, we are here to investigate, so… ah.”
“Fugoh?” something went.
While I was replying to Henblitz, we found another saber boar. It wasn’t long after the first encounter.
This one feels almost the same as the individual that Kuruni killed. I can’t say anything because the number of instances is still too small, but there is a possibility that this generation of saber boars is out in large numbers. And it is also possible that they are not deep in the interior of the Aphrata Mountains, but have infiltrated to the foot of the mountain, near the village.
Huh, this is pretty bad, isn’t it?
