Episode 29
In terms of pure strength, he was superior to me.
Because I had Aura and Inferno.
Kagagagang! Kaang! Kaang!
Sword clashed with sword.
The heat emanating from the aura of the fire attribute illuminated the assassin’s face. A familiar symbol was engraved on his forehead. It was a symbol of two sharp lines overlapping each other, with a dot between them.
Whoosh whoosh!
Inferno hugged the goblin from behind.
He covered the goblin’s eyes with his warm hands as if he were a lover.
Cheeeeeeek!
Kieeeek!
The goblin screamed and swung his dagger wildly. My aura quickly dwindled as the attack grazed Inferno.
“Inferno, inhabit my sword.”
The goblin swung his sword without even realizing that the fire spirit had disappeared. As he did so, his left hand felt his waist, where he found a leather pouch hanging from it.
‘It must be poison.’
Kew! Woof! Woof!
The blood wolf cub warned me.
The guy crouched down and barked as if he was rushing at the goblin, which bothered me more.
As expected, the goblin turned and aimed for the blood wolf cub. He approached the blood wolf with nimble yet sharp movements, and swung his dagger with a force that seemed to split a rock.
Kaaaaang!
Bogum cried out his sword name, Wooooowoong!
That sight was just like that of a child who was throwing a tantrum because he was in pain.
“Don’t come out.”
The blood wolf cub retreated, squeaking.
“It’s gone.”
At the same time as the attack, the goblin hid.
This time it seemed like he ran away.
The young blood wolf also looked around without trying to find the goblin.
I looked around, but I couldn’t find any trace of the goblin. It was the same even with the hunter’s tracking skills. In such cases, I had to send out my hunting dogs who had a good sense of smell.
“You take the lead. Find that stinking bastard.”
Squeak, squeak!
When I pushed the young bloodworm with my foot, it whined and refused to lift its butt off the ground. Blood clotted on the dirt floor, leaving a dark red mark.
“Are you hurt?”
The young blood wolf just trembled.
I flipped the creature over on tiptoe and saw its split stomach. Tiny maggots were swarming around, eating away at the wound.
“Inferno, burn these.”
The fire spirit burned the wound with maggots. At that moment, Hyulrang’s eyes widened and he trembled. He tried to scratch me with his claws, but I grabbed Hyulrang’s neck and stomach with both hands and held them down.
“Swoop! Stay still.”
When I glared at him, Hyulrang tightly shut his eyes. As if he realized that I had no intention of harming him, he dropped his four legs and trembled.
I disinfected the affected area and washed it with clean water. I crushed the medicinal herbs in my mouth and applied them to the affected area, then wrapped a bandage around it.
“We only did emergency measures. Don’t move too much, because you need to go back to the village and get proper treatment.”
I picked up some fallen branches, cut them with a knife, and tied them together with rope. After a while, a carrying pole was made. It was an imitation of the tool used by peddlers to carry goods.
I grabbed Hyulrang by the nape of his neck.
“Even if you stay still.”
Squeak! Squeak!
“It’s noisy.”
He placed the blood wolf on his back and slung the rope attached to the back over his shoulder. Even though it was just a cub, it was still quite heavy, as it was still a wolf.
“Find the goblin that attacked me. You must know where he ran off to.”
The bloodhound sniffled, then turned to my left and barked.
“… … Did you find it? Can you smell it?”
The baby ran in the direction the blood wolf pointed.
We quickly moved through the bushes, and soon reached the destination of the young blood wolf.
There were three corpses there. Two were blood wolves, and one was an orc. Judging by the condition of the bodies and the fact that they were covered in bugs, they must have died within two or three hours.
“Are these your parents?”
Hyulrang didn’t answer and jumped down from the carrier.
The boy limped towards the corpse of the bloodthirsty man and licked its wound.
“Don’t lick it. It’ll spread the disease. Even if you do, you won’t come back to life.”
I examined the three corpses. It was not the work of a goblin assassin. Although the creature was fast, it could not have displayed this much strength. Above all, the weapons used were different.
‘I cut the blood wolf and the orc with my claws. The orc died in one blow, and the two blood wolves attacked twice. They must have held out because they had young.’
I glanced at the corpse of the blood wolf. Although the skin was tattered, I thought I could get 5 gold if I cut out the clean parts and sold them.
“Go over there and close your eyes. That’s an order.”
The young blood wolf didn’t understand what I was saying. It must have been a little oblivious, because it turned its head in the direction I pointed and whined.
“flea.”
* * *
He buried the blood wolf’s body deep in the ground. If he buried it carelessly, other guys would take the body and eat it.
After burying it to a depth that most men would never dare to imagine, I took the blood wolf cub and headed to Jayson’s Viscounty.
I didn’t go straight to Zylson. I met a merchant from the Serpens upper company along the highway and asked him to send word to Hebron. I wanted to place a few orders.
As soon as they arrived at the city center of Zailson, people flocked to them. They looked very curious to see Baron Hebron carrying a wounded blood wolf calf.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“Bring me warm water and dried oyster mushrooms.”
I instructed the soldier, but what he brought me was not dried mushrooms and water, but a carriage. The carriage, which bore the emblem of the House of Zielson, quickly sped away, carrying me and Hyulrang.
Viscount Jailson summoned me to the castle. He was going to leave the blood wolf cub in the hands of the viscount’s servants, but the blood wolf bared its teeth and growled, so I had to keep it.
Viscount Zielson glanced at the blood wolf cub. Two of his knights stood beside him, heavily armed, ready to protect him.
“You surprise me in so many ways. I can’t wait to see what you’ll surprise me with next.”
The Count tried to reach out to Hyulrang.
‘If you keep doing that, you’ll get bitten.’
As expected, the blood wolf threatened the count with a “Kang!” This time he didn’t bite, but it was a warning that he wouldn’t forgive him next time.
But the Count did not give up. He kept his eyes on the young blood wolf, trying to figure out when he could reach out.
“I picked that up in the Forest of Change, but can I have it?”
Count Jailson whetted his appetite.
It was a regretful look.
By law, the blood wolf cub belonged to Count Jailson, having been taken from his hunting grounds without permission.
The young blood wolf would not leave my side. If the Viscount had refused to do so after I, the Baron, had requested it, he would have become a narrow-minded person.
“You caught a lot of rattles too, right?”
“I caught a few to earn some extra money. I even registered as a mercenary a while ago.”
“You are not the son of a baron, and the baron is a mercenary… …? Don’t you know shame?”
“I tend to pursue practicality.”
I leaned back on the sofa and savored a cup of Viscount Jaylesson’s tea, the only luxury item in the neighborhood that gave off a sense of aristocracy.
By the time I finished my tea, Count Jailson had attempted to touch the blood wolf four times, but had failed each time. Eventually, the blood wolf’s alertness reached its peak, and its fur stood on end and it let out a “Kyaaak!” sound.
I motioned to the maid and asked her to fill my teacup.
“I saw a goblin with a brand on its forehead.”
The Count, who had been holding out his index finger to Hyulrang as if it was just one more time, looked at me.
“You see things that others only see once in their lifetime.”
“I tend to have bad luck.”
“Take care of yourself. Not leaving the castle is also a good idea.”
The Count’s answer was lukewarm.
He seemed to have misunderstood what I said. I took a sip of the warm tea and rolled it gently on my tongue. The refreshing taste and subtle floral scent tickled my nose. It was the high-quality tea I often tasted at the Duke’s house.
I said, feeling the warmth of the tea spread throughout my body.
“I saw it in the forest of whims.”
“What do you mean?”
“A goblin with a mark on its forehead. He uses assassination techniques.”
The Count blinked. It seemed as if he didn’t understand what I was saying, so I added briefly.
“I suspect that he doesn’t act alone. There’s something in that forest with the strength to tear apart blood wolves and orcs with its claws, and it seems like they’re in a symbiotic relationship since they’re freely entering and leaving each other’s territory.”
The Viscount did not forget the authority and calmness of the nobleman. I valued that, but I seriously questioned whether it was right to form an alliance with Viscount Jailson.
“Hey, are you writing novels these days?”
“I have been thinking about it here and there, but I think it will take 10 years before I can start doing anything other than managing my estate.”
“So what you’re saying is that there are not one, but two such people in my territory?”
“Yes, I just checked. To give you an idea… … I experienced this myself 4 hours and 20 minutes ago. I was going to go pick up a Blood Wolf or something, but I ended up fighting a branded goblin. It was so fast that I lost it. Then I found a Blood Wolf baby that had lost its parents to a monster. I was thinking of returning to Hebron, but I thought it would be polite to tell you this much to the neighboring lord.”
I finished drinking the tea.
The maid came over to refill my cup again. I didn’t refuse and asked for another cup.
She was a maid who had been properly trained in tea ceremony. She brought me a new, warmed teacup and poured me freshly brewed tea. The fragrance spread strongly and tickled my nose.
Viscount Zielson’s face turned red. Only now did he realize the gravity of the situation.
“You talk about that as if it’s no big deal, man.”
“If it comes down to it, I’ll cut the rainbow bridge for Hebron. It’s a shame to have to close down my father’s business that he just started, but that’s why I’m doing this.”
Jayson took a deep breath.
If he were me, I would have made the same choice.
“Where is his body?”
“There are no bodies. As I said, the goblin assassin lost the fight. He was quick. The blood wolf and orc bodies are buried in the ground. This one was making a lot of noise, so I had no choice but to use some force.”
“Let’s go now.”
“Just drink this.”
Fine tea was more expensive than gold. As the lord of impoverished Hebron, I was careful not to indulge in extravagance, so I seized the opportunity for pleasure that was given to me.
“I’ll get you some tea leaves, so stop drinking and get up.”
“It doesn’t taste like this when you boil it at home and drink it.”
The tea of the nobles could not be imitated with just tea leaves. We have our own secret recipe for tea. That is what I demanded.
Jayson was happy to accept my request.
“Sophia.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Teach the Baron of Hebron how to brew tea leaves.”
“Yes, my lord.”
‘This is a very satisfactory deal. It’s the best I’ve gotten in a while.’
He took a sip of the still-warm tea and nodded his thanks to the maid, Sophia.
The Viscount Zielson gathered five knights and twenty men and rode south. He gave me a horse, one of the Viscount’s war steeds.
‘I need to buy something like this.’
Hebron had horses, but they were nothing compared to the black horse I rode.
