“Sshya!”
“Bufuuu!”
It was only for a short time that I won that fine-line match-up, but I didn’t even look at the tusks that I had sliced off.
I rounded up my blade and slipped precisely into the saber boar’s nape, and I could feel it in my hands.
“BueeAAAAHHH…!”
“Figured it wouldn’t just be one strike…!” I grunted.
However, just being big is a threat in itself. I should have been able to strike with my sword at a sufficient distance, but even so, I was unable to finish it off.
Flashy blood droplets are springing up and it is forcing a considerable amount of bleeding. Likely, this Boss won’t be able to move eventually, but was it still difficult to immediately incapacitate him?
“Bu-bugo…”
The saber boar that had been charging in without hesitation until just now, seemed to be a little shaken, perhaps from the fact that its proud tusks had been sliced off from the base and the damage it received on the nape of its neck.
“Slashing without breaking them… as I’d expected!” Henblitz said in an admiring tone, as he happened to be watching me.
The tusks are not broken. They’re cleanly cut from the base. This isn’t just a matter of my skill, it’s probably the result of having a sword made of Xeno Glaive’s corpse, but even with those factors taken into account, I personally feel like I’m pretty skilled.
Well, in simple terms, Lono Ambrosia’s core would have been harder. Compared to that one, this was significantly different, and it’s still an animal’s bone, even if it’s a little bigger than usual. I know now that I can do it, but there was no reason I couldn’t cut it off if I wanted to.
“Bugogo…!” the Boss squeals as it starts to slowly back off.
“If you’re not coming forward, I’ll meet you there,” I said.
He would hope for reinforcements, but unfortunately, the others are already mostly reduced to sword-slashing practice.
That I’ve been able to occupy his full attention from the start, is because of those around me helping. It’s true that the face-off went well, but if I had been attacked from another direction at that moment, I wouldn’t have been able to stand still and wait for the right opportunity.
“Ha!”
“Pugi!?”
I approach in a single leap and first deprive the opponent of its mobility. The protruding tip of my longsword firmly sank into the saber boar’s right front leg.
I’m somewhat emotional.
The long-dormant pride as a swordsman is being stimulated. It is clear to me now.
However, I do not allow my emotions to let me down or misjudge the situation. Don’t lose sight of the goal.
The opponent is injured, and judging from the condition of the wound, it won’t last very long. Even so, letting it escape here is an unacceptable result. Because you can’t predict what kind of action a desperate monster will take.
“Right then, let’s finish this,” I said.
And I’m not generous enough to show mercy to a wounded beast that I’ve taken the leg of.
“Pu…”
No time to listen to the groans of death. My protruding sword sank into the saber boar’s mouth and pierced through the roof diagonally from below and into its head.
I could slash tusks, and maybe slash skulls, but the only way to kill with less effort and more certainty is with a thrust. The inside of the mouth of any living thing is soft, generally. It is an extremely effective means of avoiding the hard skull and inflicting fatal injuries. Of course, the ability to aim accurately is necessary.
“Ouriyah…!”
After confirming the big game was dead, I checked the surrounding situation again.
It seems that the annihilation was almost completed while I was fighting, and Kuruni was energetically chasing the remaining one.
Oh, she caught up and cut off its hind leg. This will be the end of that one. Or rather, it’s dangerous to catch up with a saber boar that has started to run away full force. It’s not about speed.
“Sir Beryl, the situation is over,” Henblitz said.
“Yeah, thank you for your hard work,” I said.
Henblitz swings his favorite longsword as he reports.
The beast’s blood dripping down the blade was all blown off by centrifugal force. That’s cool. When a swordsman like Henblitz makes that move, it looks quite impressive.
“Master. That was a perfect snake strike, you did a great job,” Landrid said.
“Ariya, you saw, huh? Thanks,” I said.
The snake strike is a technique in our dojo, so it can be used by disciples who have trained and graduated from our swordsmanship style, and of course, Landrid can also use it.
Even so, it doesn’t feel bad to have my apprentice praise my sword skills like this.
“Now then……”
When I checked the place again, it was pretty awful. About 20 saber boars are lying here and there, bleeding out.
If I leave them as it is, I’m afraid that another problem will occur. I would like to collect the corpses if possible, but there is an overwhelming lack of manpower to do that. Although it was expected.
“I’ll check just in case, but who escaped?” I asked.
“Probably none of them,” Landrid said. “I think we killed everyone in this place.”
“I suppose it was obvious,” I said.
Apparently, this haste seems to have decided the situation in a good way. The fact that everything went so well was largely thanks to the participation of Landrid and Henblitz as combat personnel. Kuruni is no doubt a splendid force, but the ability to move smoothly from exploring the Aphrata Mountains to subjugating the target was due to the power of the two veterans.
“Kuruni. Do you think you can carry that?” I said, pointing to the stupidly big saber boar I just killed.
“Mmn… I’ll try it for a while,” Kuruni said.
It’s probably “No.” It’s almost certainly impossible, but I can’t help but feel like she can do something about it.
“… Impossible. It’s too big,” Kuruni said.
“I see……” I said.
It was no good. That seems about right.
Even if it was possible in terms of weight, it would have been physically difficult for one person to carry something of that size. Well, I’ll do something about this guy later with some help.
“But there was no reaction from the other herds, was there?” Kuruni said.
“That’s right,” I said. “I’d like to probe a little further, just be sure.”
We fought quite flashy, but at least no additional saber boars came during the battle. And even now, there are no signs of anything larger than medium size. Although it cannot be determined yet, it is possible that this group was the only main herd. If so, I would greatly appreciate it.
Considering that the number of stray saber boars has increased rapidly, that this would be the only one made sense.
“For now, why don’t you just take these tusks home?” Kuruni asked.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” I said.
I don’t know how it would go if we returned empty-handed, so I’ll follow Kuruni’s advice and bring back the Boss’s tusks. They’re quite large, and these alone will be proof of subjugation.
“It’s been beautifully cut, isn’t it…?” Kuruni said.
“No, it went well even for me,” I said.
The tusks were extremely cleanly cut. If you only showed this without any context, you’d probably find it hard to believe that it had been sliced off with a sword in the heat of battle.
When I touched the cut surface with my finger, it felt extremely smooth. If it wasn’t for the sword made with Xeno Glaive, it would have been impossible to achieve this sharpness. This sword really keeps helping me.
And now I had a faint premonition that I wouldn’t be satisfied with any other sword. While I think it’s disproportionate to my status, I feel like I can’t stand to let this be away from me. It’s kind of like a stale romantic relationship.
“But Master’s spirit was so amazing, wasn’t it?!” Kuruni said.
“Ah, no, hahahaha…”
Well, it’s self-evident that if you shout that loud, everyone will hear it, but it’s a bit embarrassing to hear it again.
At that moment, my emotions were so high that I think I was thinking about something uncharacteristic.
However, that feeling wasn’t something that came out of my mind, it’s certainly something I have. I want to do my best not to lose it in the future.
“Fufu, Sir Beryl,” Henblitz said. “Has something ignited within you?”
“Hmm… I don’t know. Well, but… I think there’s been a good change,” I said.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Henblitz said.
Landrid and Kuruni have a strong side of me as a teacher of swordsmanship.
On the other hand, Henblitz is not my disciple, so he has a stronger view of me as a swordsman. It seems that his keen senses somehow sniffed out my emotional fluctuations. It’s still a wonderful sight to see.
Like I said, I don’t think it’s a bad change. Of course, self-restraint is important, and I want to keep it, but I’ve just come to feel that it’s not good to let my instincts as a swordsman fall asleep too much.
“Now then. It’s not a triumphant return, but let’s go home for the time being,” I said. “We’ve bagged our big game.”
“Yes!”
Good results. There is no noticeable injury or wear and tear here. This is an almost ideal result.
After that, I was just worried that the disciples I had placed at the foot of the mountain would be in trouble. Even so, we should have killed most of them, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.
“Fugo?”
“Kuruni,” I said.
“Roger!” she said.
While I was thinking about it, we also met a stray on the way home.
Seriously how many are there? Aren’t there too many babies born this year?
