CH 97

Chapter 97 – Glasses boy encounters the Obsidian Wolf

He’s fast.

Me and Lisse were doing our best just to try chasing him, yet Roda was already far ahead of us.

“Hurry up! Don’t be late!” He shouted.

I couldn’t even reply… He was running at such speed, that any slight disturbance on my breathing would be enough to make me lose sight of Roda.

We were running as fast as we could, but Roda was probably still holding back a bit.

… And yet, it didn’t take long for us to lose sight of him anyways.

The smoke signal was raised around halfway up the mountain. It’s somewhat far from here, but we should arrive soon if we keep moving at this speed.

The adventurers who were serving as our guides have already been left behind, but they should be evacuating to the positions that we had agreed upon in advance.

After the Obsidian Wolf is subjugated, those adventurers will be the ones responsible for carrying its body. Just like the carriages that we used to come here.

… Well, me and Lisse will probably have to do that too, since we are officially here as luggage carriers.

In any case, I set the Sound Bomb Gift at my Glasses.

The Shadow Hunter Sword gives greater offensive potential, but I don’t think attacking is the best thing I can do to help with this fight.

******

After a while running up the roadless slope, we finally saw Roda’s back again.

We finally arrived at the scene… It was there… This is it!

The moment I saw it, I quickly hid behind a nearby tree and started analyzing the situation.

How to say it… Well, it’s just a big black wolf. An extremely large wolf with glossy black fur.

A wolf so big that it could swallow a human whole.

Its indigo eyes set it apart from the other Demon Beasts of this mountain. Those eyes were intelligent, ferocious, and somewhat noble.

I could understand it from a glace… This Demon Beast is strong. It’s on a whole another level when compared to any other Demon Beast I have ever seen.

Its appearance was about the same as the rumors, but… After seeing it with my own eyes, it was even more incredible than what I expected.

A person was so small when compared to the Obsidian Wolf…

And this is… A stepping stone for heroes?

You have to be kidding me.

No matter how I look at it, this is a proud lone wolf that can easily crush any heroes that stand in its way.

… And yet, the four knights were already fighting it.

They were… Quite amazing.

Those people from the neighboring country have taken the initiative to start the battle, even if the people from Black Swan of Dawn have yet to arrive.

I knew it on the moment I saw it. I cannot win against the Obsidian Wolf… Or rather, if it targets me, I’ll be instantly killed. That’s just how strong it is.

I know basically everything there is to know about wolves, but there’s no way I could keep up with the Obsidian Wolf.

It is just too big. Too fast. A nightmarish Demon Beast that is much larger than the Chalk Chicken, and faster than it too.

… And yet, the four knights are handling it.

That is amazing in itself, but they’re also inflicting wounds on the Obsidian Wolf too.

Led by the old man with a scarred face, the young male knight and the two female knights were not only fighting with amazing individual strength, but with incredible coordination that made it seem like they were toying with the Obsidian Wolf.

The dexterous old man with his scarred face swung a huge sword vigorously, sometimes for offense and sometimes for defense.

The young man wielded a simple long sword with both hands.

And the two female knights flexibly responded to the situation with a sword and shield.

Each one of them was doing a great job at constantly distracting the Obsidian Wolf and making it unable to land clear hits on their allies.

Moreover, their blades often times connected with the Obsidian Wolf, creating more and more wounds on its large legs and on its mouth. None of them were fatal, but he was seeping blood from many places. The knights are definitely damaging it.

It would certainly be a hindrance for them if more people joined the battle. We would get in the way of their cooperation.

In any case, I was able to look at their Gifts now that they were in battle. The old man had Sword Specialization; the young man had Quick Edge; the fair-skinned woman had Tree Wind; and the tanned woman had Life Absorption, which I had already registered before.

I don’t use swords, so the first two Gifts are useless to me, and the Tree Wind is not something that I can make use of right now. I’d need to figure out how it works before trying anything with it.

“Roda!” The knight leader shouted.

Roda must have thought the same as me, that participating would hinder their cooperation, so he was not interfering with this battle.

However, now that the knight leader noticed Roda, “Help us! Don’t let it escape! Kill it here!” he directly asked for Roda’s intervention.

A direct nomination, huh? Roda had told us that he was more of a backup, so this was a bit unexpected. It was probably something that the knight leader decided on the spot after judging the current situation.

I feel like the knights might still be able to win even without help, but if they want to kill the Obsidian Wolf quickly and without leaving anything to chance, then getting extra fighting power should be very important.

After all, like the old man just said, there is a chance that the Obsidian Wolf might try escaping.

Besides, Roda should be able to fight in a way that doesn’t hinder the knights’ cooperation, even if they’ll have to adapt to each other’s fighting style on the spot. Because that’s just how good Roda is.

The knight asked for his help probably because he is aware of that too.

“Eil, I’ll leave you in charge. Take care of Lisse.

“Lisse, listen to his instructions. Don’t try joining the fray without permission.” Roda told us as he unsheathed his longsword, “Also, Eil, you don’t really want to sit around in the sidelines doing nothing, do you?

“I’ll leave it up to your judgement, so do whatever you want.

“However, I won’t be held responsible if you die.”

He really is amazing… How can he see through people this well?

“Then, let’s go! I will not let you taste human flesh, dog!” As Roda shouted that, he joined the battle.

Truly… He had to say this kind of ominous thing even now? It’s the exact type of phrase that someone would say when they’re ready to fight to their utmost, yet gets easily killed in no time…

Well… Roda is fighting now.

I started preparing my bow too.

“Eh? Are you really going?” Lisse asked me.

I had completely forgotten about it, but Lisse was right next to me. We were hiding together.

And I’m… Not sure if I should go.

This Demon Beast has an overwhelming presence. The kind that I have never seen before.

I was so shaken up from simply seeing it, that I completely forgot about my own surroundings.

It was only now that I realized how stiff I was.

This is no good… I started moving my shoulders a bit, loosening them.

Some tension is necessary in a battle, but excessive tension hinders one’s movements.

Calm down.

Act just like usual.

I just have to do what I can.

“Lisse, you should wait here.” I told her.

“Are you really going? It’s impossible for you to handle this kind of enemy, isn’t it?” Lisse asked me.

Yes, it’s impossible.

We have been training together for quite some time, so we understand the level of each other’s abilities well.

Neither me nor Lisse are able to directly participate in the fight. We’ll just die in vain if we try.

But if you ask me if there’s anything that I can do to help, then I’ll have to say that there is.

My contribution will be infinitely small though.

“Just watch it properly, Lisse. An opportunity like this one is rare, so it will surely be a valuable experience.” I told her.

“Are you really going? But that would be-” I punched her in the stomach, not letting her finish.

She punched me hard on the face. An extremely fast an unavoidable blow that was at least twice as hard as my own punch.

“What’s up with that!? Isn’t it better not to go anyways!?” She exclaimed.

“It hurts…” I muttered.

Lisse’s expression had just been really pained until just now. It seemed like her heart was aching, so I punched her, and then she punched me back.

The both of us stayed silent for a small while.

“… I’m going. You stay here.” I eventually told her.

“Shut up. Get going already.” She replied.

Well… That’s it then.

It’s better to be sent off like this, than with that kind of pitiful face that showed how uneasy she was.

Alright. Let’s go.