The Extra Wants To Live

The soldier and the guide looked around for a while and discussed this and that. The guide carefully changed positions to recall the scenery he remembered and compared it with his memory.

If you stepped on the tree roots and jumped down carefully, you would land right on the stone on the other side.

Then, you would not sink into the mud, and your shoes would not get ruined.

Then, if you climbed up while holding onto the rope tied to the wooden pole next to you, you could see the entire pond at a glance.

Every summer, he pictured in his head the scenery he had seen countless times and recalled the feeling of stepping foot on it.

What his grandfather, father, and older brother learned, he was now teaching to his son. He lived where they lived, and soon his son would also live and set foot on this land.

This land was his everything and always would be. So, in order to kill the bastard hiding in this land, they would find him.

"…That place is where the water originally filled up."

The guide eventually noticed a small change at the edge of the pool. His father taught him to be careful not to fall in the hollow ground at the edge of the pond, so he always walked carefully.

But now that place is filled with mud and leveled.

It was as if something large had hidden inside and covered itself with mud to conceal its presence.

The soldier examined the area carefully from a distance, then nodded his head while looking at Diline.

"Thank you for your hard work. Step back and wait."

"Yes."

The guide stepped aside, and Dillin led the soldiers, moving slowly. They gradually changed ranks and naturally formed an encirclement. Diline, the mana user, stood at the front to restrain the monster's feet, while the rest of the soldiers spread out with spears and nets.

When they got close enough, Dillin gestured for them to wait and gripped the large true two-hander he was carrying on his shoulder tightly. With a blade length of 1.6 meters, it was a threat to humans but also effective against large monsters.

"Cast the net as soon as he jumps out."

A heightened sense of tension filled the air. The soldiers answered with silence.

Dillin walked briskly, not caring about the mud of the swamp into which his feet sank. As if he knew nothing.

'Is it now? Not yet? When will you jump out? Can I attack first?'

The closer he got to where he thought the monster was hiding, the more thoughtful Dillin became. To draw out the powerful monster whose size could be determined by just looking at its corpse, he could have sent soldiers, but he chose to become bait himself.

A small regret flashed through his mind, and at that moment.

"… … ."

On the slightly bumpy, slightly raised floor, a pair of eyes shone bright yellow. The eeriness could have made him retreat or stop. Dillin hesitated and regretted, his mind complicated with countless thoughts.

Kwaaang!

But when the monster leapt out as if the ground was rising, Diline was running explosively, her lips tightly shut, getting splashed by the pouring mud. Even if he had many thoughts, he didn't hesitate when facing the enemy. He followed his tactical judgment and performed familiar movements.

He squinted his eyes and turned his head slightly to avoid the pouring mud from getting into his eyes, not caring whether the water got into his eyes or not. The mud-mixed water stung his eyes, but he never closed them.

Three steps, the monster leapt out and the distance was given to him.

"Khaaaaap!"

With a roar louder and more powerful than the monster's, Dillin swung his long and heavy true two-hander with all his might.

Kwajik!

The monster's swinging right hand and Dillin's true two-hander passed each other. The monster's scale-protected hand split in two, blood spraying out, and Dillin's sword shattered two spans from the sword's pole. The sword broke in one blow, but thanks to that, Diline was able to move without stopping.

If the sword had been intact, he would have had to endure all the impact with his body. Still, the tremendous shock could not be completely absorbed, so Dillin's wrist bent backward and the back of the sword pressed hard against his right shoulder. The blade close to the hilt, the Ricasso's blade, was dead, so the arm could not be cut off.

Instead of swinging his sword far away, Dillin turned his body with force, supporting the sword with his shoulder. Because the axis was close to the body, it was easy to rotate, and when the strength reached its peak, the power exerted on the extended sword spine was truly formidable.

Kwaaaaang!

The monster turned around and swung its tail, colliding with Dillin's sword, making a sound almost like rocks colliding. The monster's tail was half-broken, its scales breaking and falling off, and Diline was sent flying along with the shattered shards of his sword.

With a splash!

By the time Dillin was thrown into the deep pool, the soldiers had thrown nets to capture the monster.

"Cruck! Gulp!"

"Hold on! Hold on!"

"Save Dillin!"

While the soldiers hanging on the net held on, those with empty hands hurriedly jumped into the pool and rescued Diline. Dillin, whose right arm was broken by the tremendous impact, lost consciousness for a moment and was unable to move his body.

"Sir Dillin!"

"Damn it! Dillin!"

Clap! Clap!

"Keep going…!"

Dillin, who had been slapped twice on the cheek by a hand wearing a wet leather glove, jumped up and spat out water.

"Hey, sword! Bring me the sword!"

As soon as he came to, Dillin reached for his sword, and the soldiers, who were half-mad, took the sword from his back and placed it in his good left hand.

"Kkaaaah!"

Meanwhile, soldiers who could not withstand the power of the rampaging monster were dragged away and fell. They never let go of the net until the very end and were dragged along by an overwhelming force until they slipped right in front of the monster's nose.

"Shaaaa!"

Boom! Kwung! Kwuung!

There wasn't even a scream. The monster twisted its body and stamped its feet, leaving only a trail of red mud on the ground.

After the tail swept, shattered pieces of flesh mixed with the flying mud and water and flew far away. Even after witnessing that horrible sight, the soldiers holding onto the net clenched their teeth and held on with all their might, while the others, except for the soldier who helped Diline up, held spears and made futile attacks on the monster.

The idea was to buy time, even by dying, until Diline came to his senses and cut off the monster's airway.

"Kuaaaah!"

Dillin ran, screaming as he saw the monster crushing the soldiers to death. The severed arm of a soldier, hit by the tail as he swung his spear to prevent the creature from breaking the net and escaping, struck him hard in the chest.

Diline, who had been dealing with the corpse of his subordinate in one breath, jumped while fiercely rotating his body from left to right. At first, the swung sword cut through the air. And then, all the power of the sword was put into the outstretched arm.

To swing a long and heavy sword called a true two-hander, one needed a sense of axis and rotation, and Diline understood that very well.

Shririk!

Kwajik!

The moment the monster put its head out to bite the leaping Diline, the sword dug into its crown. The skull was so thick and strong that it was impossible to completely split or crush the head. But Diline could definitely feel the taste.

Puck!

The force with which the monster had thrust its head remained even after its brain was crushed, and Dillin was thrown backward, hitting the thing's snout.

With a splash!

"Fuck!"

Soldiers jumped into the water in a panic to rescue Dillin, who was stuck in the pool again. The monster twitched for a moment but soon stopped moving.

Fortunately, Dillin was rescued, but both his arms were broken, and nine soldiers had been killed in a short period of time. Dillin's 4th division could no longer fight.

"… … I am withdrawing."

Dillin looked at the corpse of a monster slightly smaller than the one Billford had killed and gave the order in a mournful voice. That was it.

But even though it was small, it was able to kill one monster. The soldiers could no longer fight. To be precise, their numbers were too dwindling to be effective.

However, Dillin was a mana-using knight who became powerful by just healing his arms. After returning and receiving treatment from Milton, they should follow the other units into the forest. That was the best Dillin could do.

They retreated in a hurry without even being able to recover their comrade's body. They would return later, once safety had been secured. But since they wouldn't be able to figure out what belonged to whom, they would end up returning to their families in empty coffins.

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