Episode 423: How to live as a wandering knight (2)
Touuuu-
The sound of a horn rang out, signaling a monster attack.
The entire village was put on alert.
It was not a matter of a swarm of demonic bandits appearing or a forest fire spreading.
The enemy is not a human being, but a monster. They rob you of money or food, and it is not just a matter of your own end, but your life is in immediate danger.
Moreover, the type of monster that is crossing the fence this time is a gnoll, a canine monster known for its large population and ferocity.
Grrrr… …
Soon, strange things flood into the city.
A voice that sounds like oil slowly boiling from a low temperature.
The noise of scraping dry dirt.
Stooped back, vaguely bipedal walking, sharp teeth and claws, and hideously shiny eyes.
A swarm of gnolls, a representative harmful species that causes the greatest damage to humanity, has invaded the village.
They, too, must have been quite starved, so they were dry and their fur was lustrous.
His eyes were bloodshot and his saliva was dripping from the corners of his mouth, showing sticky greed.
Monsters are also tired and suffering from the unprecedented famine.
Due to the continued drought, there was nothing to eat or drink, and forest fires occurred throughout the empire, making the place for living very limited.
Low-level monsters that lost out in the competition for food with other monsters were unable to cope with the unprecedented population increase and had no choice but to come down to where humans lived.
This group of gnolls here were caught up in the current of fate.
Wow-
A gnoll started searching the house.
The fabric was torn and the wood was broken. Everything that was touched by human hands was being trampled.
It continues to stretch its nose, tracking down the freshest smells on the floor.
at that time.
… bang!
The closet door broke and a person came out from inside.
"Go away!"
A man picked up a pitchfork and hit the gnoll on the head.
Squeak-
The gnoll died on the spot with his skull shattered.
The problem is the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth... … There were so many gnolls that it was meaningless to count them.
"honey! Run out the back door! "Go to the basement storage room in the backyard!"
As soon as the man finished shouting, the side door opened and a woman came running out with three children.
The man quickly ran after the woman.
Threatening the gnolls, who were excited by the smell of blood, with a pitchfork.
Backyard. You can see the warehouse door leading to the basement.
The man quickly opened the door and went inside with the woman.
at that time.
"Ugh-Mom!"
A scream came from behind.
Before the man and woman even turned their heads, they realized who the owner of the scream was.
The number of children who entered the underground bunker was two, and where everyone turned their heads, there was a girl who was just getting up after falling to the floor.
The side of the clothing was torn and it was clearly visible that it was turning red from blood.
"You're the youngest!"
The man shouted, but it was already too late.
If we go out now, everyone will die. Closing this door as soon as possible is the only way to protect my wife and two remaining children.
How do parents feel when they have to give up their children right before their eyes?
"… … ."
The man and woman were worried. I chewed my lip without even noticing that it was bleeding, and in that short moment, I made a decision that I would regret in the end no matter how many times I look back on my life.
… bang!
The door was closed. Reality is always unavoidable. So did this closed door here.
The girl fell down, crying and scratching at the door. So cruel that all her fingernails fell off.
Just like my father always nagged me, I should have put the nail that was sticking out on the side of the front door back in properly.
If that were the case, I wouldn't have flinched because my clothes were caught on a nail just now.
But no matter how fast you regret, it is always too late.
The girl cried out loud.
"mom! dad! Please open it! I will listen carefully from now on! I won't cry and I'll eat just a little bit! I clean hard and don't fight with my older sisters... … !"
But, sadly, it was not the parents and siblings who responded to the plea, but the group of gnolls that swarmed behind them.
Wow-
He rushed towards the girl who was at the forefront.
The moment the girl was about to scream.
Pugh-
A pitchfork was stuck in the gnoll's maw.
"You're the youngest! hurry!"
Before you know it, a man opens the door and confronts a group of gnolls.
The woman also came out carrying an armful of bricks from the walls of the warehouse and was glaring at the gnolls.
The father is strong. Of course, the mother too.
"dad! mom!"
The girl ran back with tears in her eyes.
The father raised a pitchfork and tried to fight the gnolls.
But no matter how strong your parents are, they are not stronger than the world.
Soon, a group of gnolls with their teeth and claws exposed rushed towards them.
Buuk-
The thick leather pants were torn and blood splattered along with the sound.
It was the moment when the downfall of a family began.
… … Right then.
Pugh-
Father's feet became lighter.
The head of the nol that was hanging down with his pants in his mouth shattered like a watermelon.
"… … uh?"
The place where the father's blank gaze was directed was towards the front.
fluttering-
Rag-like rags are blowing in the dry wind.
The matte black plate armor was making an unpleasant metallic sound.
Wandering knight. He suddenly appears from nowhere and is seen standing tall on the ground facing a group of gnolls.
"… … Hey, over there. "Who are you?"
The father asked, but the wandering knight did not answer.
but.
Sigh-
I just moved the long stick I was carrying on my back to my hand and held it.
Pow! Bye!
The heads of all the gnolls around exploded.
A blue spear blade was revealed within a piece of bandage that was torn with red blood.
The liquid aura symbolizing the graduator was drawing a sticky trail, drawing a complex trajectory in the air.
Puff puff puff!
Movement without any waste.
A seasoned route created by extreme practical experience.
It was the skill of a veteran who had been through countless battlefields.
Only then did the hood come off, revealing the wandering knight's face.
Although he had a young face, he had a sense of authority and an appearance that was an appropriate mix of two things that are usually difficult to coexist.
The shoulders are wide like a bear and the waist is thin like a wolf.
Except for the lack of a left arm, it could be seen as a body optimized for combat.
He boasted of ghost-like spear skills even with only one arm.
Once the spear moved, at least one Gnoll was killed and two or more Gnolls were maimed.
Pow! puck! Crack! Per-billion!
The sound of chopping meat and bones at once. The backyard was suddenly covered in blood.
But the dirty moans of the gnolls were no longer heard.
The one-armed wandering knight, who had neatly cleared away the group of monsters, brushed the blood off his spear.
at that time. There was a hand pulling open the door to the underground warehouse.
It was the girl who almost couldn't have gone in just moments ago.
She asked the Wandering Knight.
"mister! "Who are you?"
"… … ."
"My name is 'Shammua'! "Can you tell me the name of your benefactor?"
The wandering knight turned his head and looked at the girl.
The girl, perhaps out of fear or grateful, had already shed tears and was looking at me with longing and curiosity.
When the Wandering Knight was about to open his mouth and say something.
Kyaaaaaak-
Gurgling!
Wow! Wow!
The sound of gnolls shouting can be heard outside the fence.
Of course, the situation is not over yet.
The wandering knight left his short leisure time and stood facing forward again.
yet.
Sizzling!
The wooden fence broke and something huge rushed into the backyard.
It was three times larger than a typical gnoll, and the stiff, bristling fur all over its body was unusually colored black-green.
Oil-like fluid was dripping from both bloodshot eyes, and every time it did, a foul odor wafted through the wind.
Risk level: A
Size: 3m
Discovery location: All continents
-aka 'poison gnoll', or 'sea poison gnoll'
This is an example of an abnormally evolved digestive system among gnolls.
Most gnolls live by eating corpses, but among them, poison gnolls have the ability to accumulate the poison emitted as the corpses they eat rot in their stomachs into their skin or saliva.
They are distributed one by one in a colony of over 300 gnolls, and most of them seem to play the role of leader.
Poison Gnoll. A variant of the gnoll pack. A being that boasts strength and ferocity that cannot even be compared to ordinary gnolls.
The family tried to come out to see if it was safe, but they fell to the ground, frightened by the poison gnoll's terrifying appearance.
however.
The one-armed wandering knight just smiled dryly.
"… … Poison Gnoll. "It's been a while."
A dry voice flows briefly.
He radiated a blue aura that wavered like a tidal wave with his only arm.
There was not even a single movement in the tightly rolled up window.
The wandering knight spoke just before the girl behind him closed the door, drawn by his mother's torch.
"Affiliation is the vigilante group 'Those Who Walk the Night'. "The nickname is a bit cringe-inducing, but it's 'Knight of the Night.'"
"… … !"
The girl's ears perked up.
The other party belongs to 'Those Who Walk the Night', a group that is widely rumored among the public these days.
It was one of the beings in urban legends who lead those who are tired of life to the land of salvation, the paradise 'Ark'.
The one-armed wandering knight, or rather the 'Night Knight', grinned at the girl with a mischievous smile and narrowed one eye.
"The name is Tudor."
And when he turned his head back to the front, his expression was extremely cold and chilly.
"There is no castle."