Episode 30
“Are you going to take that too?”
The Count looked at my chest. There was a blood wolf cub there. I used a large cloth to secure it to my upper body so that it wouldn’t fall, but the blood wolf cub was sleeping soundly, snoring.
It was because a lot of physical strength was lost while recovering from the wound.
“This guy has a good sense of smell. That’ll help.”
Although his expression seemed to say, “How could that be?”, the Count did not take his eyes off Hyulrang.
‘I see you’re jealous.’
The Count reached out. It was clear that he had taken this opportunity when Hyulrang was asleep, but Hyulrang had a good sense of smell.
Krrrrrr.
“It must be because of the smell. Blood wolves have a sensitive sense of smell and hate the smell of perfume.”
“Hmm! I see, hmm! hmm!”
The Count rubbed his forearm against his clothes with a regretful expression.
Hyulrang slept the entire time he was riding his horse.
But when they arrived at the scene of the fierce battle, Hyulrang opened his eyes.
I lowered the struggling guy to the floor, and Hyulrang began a full-scale search with his nose pressed against the floor.
Oww!
Hyulrang howled like a wolf and ran into the forest.
The knights and I rode off and chased after the blood wolf.
“Your Majesty, please stay here.”
Two knights and ten soldiers remained with the viscount.
In fact, there was no reason for the Viscount to come here. In the past, he would have sent Ambrod, but since he became disabled, the Viscount took on the important task himself. He was trying his best.
Kew! Kew!
The bloodhound raised its head and barked. Its head flipped over like a seal, and something fell from the thick undergrowth like a pine cone.
A dark shadow fell over the knight’s shoulder.
‘Goblin!’
“Huh!”
The knight backed away, clutching the back of his neck. The knight next to him swung his longsword, but the goblin jumped on all fours and went into the forest.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The goblin was scurrying around, making noises. We could hear the sound of it above our heads.
I spoke to the knight who had allowed the goblin to strike.
“Run Aura right now! His dagger is poisoned!”
The knight sat down on the ground and practiced his aura, his companions standing by his side.
There were three knights and ten soldiers who followed me.
However, the soldiers were frozen by the surprise attack just now. Even the knights were helpless, and the soldiers could not follow the goblins’ movements with their eyes.
“Do not be afraid. He is one.”
The knight encouraged the soldiers, but it had little effect. The knight’s eyes were wavering.
“Coming!”
This time I shouted. In response, the knight swung his longsword.
The sword imbued with aura emitted a clear light and drew a large trajectory.
Kaaaaang!
The goblin blocked the knight’s sword mid-air.
‘Still, the author’s article is different.’
The goblin, pushed back by the force, fell to the ground. The soldiers tried to strike it down with their spears.
Pok! Pok! Pok! Pok!
The goblin was quick. He rolled on the ground, perfectly avoiding the soldiers’ attacks, and disappeared into the bushes.
Woof! Woof!
Blood Wolf told me where the goblins were. He couldn’t fight them, but he could tell me their exact paths.
‘The movement is simple.’
I also know some of the assassin’s swordsmanship and stealth skills.
Compared to them, the goblin assassin’s movements were incredibly simple. It seemed like he had instinctively mastered the assassin’s blade due to his agile physical abilities.
‘Hide your presence… …move quickly and aim for your opponent’s weak point with a poisoned sword.’
Kaang!
This time I knocked out the goblin.
Instead of just blocking the guy’s attacks, I ran towards him, kicking the ground, and tried to slice open his chest.
Sigh!
The attack was shallow, but the goblin that allowed the blow to hit screamed in pain.
Kieeeek!
“The analysis is complete.”
The goblin looked around and tried to jump into the bushes, but there was no place for him to escape.
I just pushed the goblin into the group of soldiers with an attack. The goblin was startled by the group of soldiers swinging spears from behind him and tried to jump up.
At that moment, the knight aimed for the goblin’s head.
Wheeeeeek!
The knight’s sword cut through the air. The goblin seemed to have decided on a direction to run, and tried to run towards the group of soldiers.
It was realized that their defense was the weakest.
Sardia’s maneuver technique.
The goblin’s escape route was within my expectations. I deployed my magic and ran behind the soldiers, while defeating the soldiers and facing the goblin that was running towards me.
Seo-eok!
The goblin’s chest opened again. This time the wound was quite deep, but the goblin blew air into both cheeks as if he had no intention of just taking it.
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The goblin had a short tube in its mouth, which seemed to be ready to shoot a poisonous needle.
The stinger barely grazed my earlobe.
As the final attack failed, about a third of the life drained from the goblin’s eyes.
“Inferno.”
Whoosh whoosh!
The intermediate fire spirit burned the goblin’s chest, intending to save the goblin by cauterizing its wounds.
I planned to dissect the goblin alive, so that I could see the effects of the brand more clearly.
“Tch, he couldn’t stand it and died.”
Unfortunately, the goblin died. It was because he was hit by the flames of Inferno while the sword wound was deep.
Although it was a small sting, I fell to the ground and practiced my aura. On the other hand, I was worried that the branded goblin’s vitality would dissipate into the air. I couldn’t confirm it because I didn’t have anything to compare it to, but it wasn’t impossible.
‘This is… … the goblin’s memory.’
It was a strange thing.
What is the principle of the opponent’s memories seeping in while practicing Aura? Is it true that I absorb the magic power of the atmosphere and replace it with Aura?
I had never heard of the theory that magic could contain memories.
‘My body feels lighter.’
The branded goblin gave him magical powers comparable to those of a bunch of monsters. What’s more, through that magical power, he also absorbed some of the goblin’s abilities.
‘Are you used to using daggers? I’ll have to check later.’
By now, I thought I could handle the dagger well. Louis de Hebron had never learned dagger fighting separately. Since he was used to sword fighting, he could learn dagger fighting in a short time. However, my senses told me that even such a training period was unnecessary.
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. When I hunted orcs and trained my aura, I had awakened my ‘healing power’. Thanks to that, I was reborn as a troll human who could heal minor wounds right away.
“Are you coming to your senses?”
Count Jailson approached with his men. He examined the goblin corpses strewn across the ground, but did not seem to find anything particularly unusual.
It was a natural thing. Examining a corpse was more suitable for a wizard than a knight. The viscount must have thought so too, as he ordered the goblin corpse to be wrapped in leather and placed on the horse’s back.
“I don’t think I ever lost consciousness. I just practiced my aura.”
“Coming from a place like this, Yeon-gong? I can’t tell if you’re really brave or just stupid.”
The wrong Aura training method was a way to send a knight into the abyss. In particular, it was widely known that if one was shocked during training, one would become a wreck.
‘That is a false rumor that is 30% truth and 70% false.’
Although poor-quality methods of execution could threaten the lives of knights, cases with extreme consequences were rare.
“I will take that as a compliment.”
“Now tell me. Did someone teach this guy the art of assassination?”
“I don’t know that, but I can check a few things. Can I dissect the goblin corpse a little?”
The viscount gestured to the knight, and the goblin’s corpse, its chest blackened, lay on the ground.
I said, tearing the goblin’s chest apart.
“If you look at the kidney here, there is a black pouch-like thing attached to it. This pouch degenerates and disappears within four years of birth, but a little bit still remains.”
“What does that mean?”
“This guy is only about three years old at most. Goblins become dangerous beasts after just one year, but it takes two years for them to become intelligent enough to understand what you’re saying. Even for a mutant with a good learning ability, it’s impossible to learn assassination techniques in one year.”
“You’re just talking about things that I can’t understand at all.”
A century ago, there was a wizard who studied the physical changes of goblins. He dissected not only goblins but also all kinds of monsters, and his book,
“It seems that this goblin has awakened his assassination skills at some point.”
“Awakening?”
“Maybe it has something to do with the brand on my forehead.”
While practicing Aura, I read some of the goblin’s memories. Several scenes flashed through my mind, and I estimated that this goblin had lived for three or four years at most.
The brand was the symbol of the trickster. As expected from the power of the god of chaos, each brand had different abilities. Perhaps it was impossible for the trickster himself to grant these abilities.
“Huh, so these kinds of things will continue to happen in the future? Why have two of these monsters appeared in my territory?”
I shrugged.
Even if he had found out the secret, there was no reason to share it with Viscount Zielson.
‘The royal family must have been moved as well. The most renowned magicians and scholars in the kingdom of Zenon will be involved in this matter. They too will eventually learn about the Trickster. I must move ahead of them.’
“I don’t know either. I guess I’ll have to find out later.”
“Could you please find out? You said there was something with such brute strength that it could tear apart blood wolves and orcs with its claws?”
It was an absurd request. Count Jailson treated me like a knight under his command, and I had nothing to do with him.
Just because I was of lower rank than Zylson, there was no reason for me to submit to him.
“I am also busy with the management of the estate… … .”
“I don’t intend to dump all my work on you either. I just want you to help Zailson’s tracking team since you seem to be very good at finding them. I’ll pay you handsomely.”
Although he said it indirectly, the meaning was the same. He meant that he wanted to use me.
“Can I choose the tracker?”
Jayson smiled brightly.
That’s why you were able to pass on the headaches to me.
“I delegate full authority to you.”
“First, let’s check the forests adjacent to Hebron.”
It was necessary to secure security in this area, if only for the sake of the merchants traveling between Zyleson and Hebron. If the branded goblins appeared and killed the merchants, the barely surviving commercial district of Hebron would die.
“But how many of Zailson’s troops can I command?”
“I can send up to 100 soldiers, but it’s a bit burdensome to send out knights. I’ll give you two of my knights as escorts.”
The number was smaller than expected.
Viscount Zailson had a troubled expression on his face. There was a reason why he couldn’t defeat the monster himself and left it to me. It was because the atmosphere of Viscount Srein had been unusual recently.
The Count of Srein increased his army by recruiting mercenaries and conscripting his own people. As long as there was no war with another country, there was nothing more foolish than increasing the number of troops without a reason. The military consumed a lot of money.
Zyleson prepared for civil war with the Slane Counts.
