KAAAHHH!
The leader owlbear let out a ferocious roar, charging more furiously toward Ghislain.
As the distance between them narrowed, Ghislain suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Rumble!
The momentum caused Ghislain's feet to skid across the ground, leaving long marks in the dirt as he slid toward the owlbear.
KAAAHHH!
The owlbear raised its massive claws high, ready to strike down at Ghislain.
"Hup!"
But Ghislain moved faster. Before their bodies could collide, his greatsword swept in a wide arc.
Slash!
The charging monster's head flew into the air. Its decapitated body wavered for a moment before collapsing to the ground.
Thud!
As the owlbear fell, Ghislain turned back to the others and smiled brightly.
"See? Chop off the head, and they die. It's clean, too—perfect for preserving the hide. Most monsters die without their heads. The numbers are about even, so each of you can handle one."
"…"
The knights were at a loss for words.
Of course they die without a head. Humans are the same. Most living creatures are.
If that was considered a "weak spot," then even dragons were walking around with an exposed weakness.
They wanted to retort, but there was no time. More owlbears were charging at them.
Ghislain stepped back, waving them forward.
"Go on, attack! Aim for the weak spot!"
"Damn it! Let's go! I can do that much too!" Kaor yelled confidently, charging ahead. He wasn't about to lose when it came to fighting.
The knights followed behind him, greatswords at the ready.
They had all trained in various weapons under Ghislain's guidance. Though their primary weapons were swords and spears, they had practiced with greatswords as well, so they were prepared to fight monsters.
Kaor charged at an oncoming owlbear, his greatsword glowing with gathered mana, and swung with all his might.
CRACK!
Though a bit rough, the blow was enough to sever the creature's thick neck in a single strike. It was a feat that demonstrated considerable skill, given the owlbear's tough hide.
"Whoa!"
"That guy's amazing too!"
"They might actually pull this off!"
The fleeing porters stopped to watch, impressed by the sight. If two people could decapitate the monsters so cleanly, surely the remaining 50 knights could do the same.
"AAARGH!"
But not all knights were as successful. One knight swung at an owlbear's neck but failed to sever it completely, receiving a brutal blow in return and being sent flying.
The others fared no better. Some only managed to cut halfway through the neck, while others barely left a scratch.
"It's not cutting through!"
"Wait, wait! Hold on!"
"What kind of monster is this hard to kill?"
For beginner knights, severing the neck of a large, moving monster was no easy task. Their failed attempts only enraged the owlbears, who retaliated with greater ferocity.
"Let's run! We made a mistake!"
"Get on the carts! These guys are done for!"
The supposedly "hidden expert" porter rallied the others to flee, and the group scrambled onto the carts.
At that moment, Ghislain reentered the fray, slicing through owlbear necks with ease.
"Tsk, I knew this would happen. This is why you need relentless training. Get up, or you'll face special training when we get back."
His low voice sent chills down the knights' spines. They hurried to their feet.
Thanks to their armor, reinforced with Blood Python leather, they weren't seriously injured. While the blows had been shocking, they could still move.
"Hyaaah!"
"Please, let this one cut through!"
"Die! Die!"
Terrified of Ghislain's special training, the knights attacked with every ounce of strength they had.
These knights were the weakest and laziest of the group, some unable to use mana until very recently. Despite their clumsy efforts, their attacks shredded the owlbears' necks into a bloody mess.
KAAAHHH!
The owlbears roared in pain, their necks wounded but not fatal. The relentless but unskilled attacks left them suffering instead of killing them outright.
The chaos forced Ghislain and Kaor to repeatedly intervene.
The knights weren't slacking off. If they took a direct hit from an owlbear, they risked serious injury or death.
Ghislain aided the struggling knights while shouting instructions.
"Keep your stance firm! Hold your sword properly!"
"Your legs are giving out! Didn't I teach you better?"
"What were you even training for up until now?!"
Though Ghislain had been occupied with estate matters recently, his mercenary roots showed. When it was time to push people to their limits, he did so ruthlessly.
While decapitating owlbears, he also physically disciplined the knights.
"Ack! My lord, we're in the middle of battle—gah!"
"Can't you wait until afterward to hit us?"
"Why are you attacking us first?! Agh!"
Despite the knights' protests, Ghislain didn't stop.
"You're here because words don't work on you. Real combat is the best training."
The knights ended up getting hit by Ghislain more often than by the owlbears.
Watching this, Kaor breathed a sigh of relief.
'Thank goodness I can kill them on my own.'
It would be humiliating to get beaten in front of so many people. Kaor prided himself on always looking cool.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Thanks to Ghislain's relentless efforts, the owlbears were finally defeated. The knights, however, collapsed from exhaustion and bruises.
"Ugh…"
"This training is going to kill us…"
"I must've lost my mind… I should've run away when I had the chance."
The knights were utterly miserable.
The real torment wasn't even over. Seeing how their lord operated, it was clear they'd need to kill 100,000 monsters before they could return home.
The porters, who had been watching in disbelief, began whispering among themselves.
"Who is that guy? He's insanely strong."
"He took down dozens of monsters and knights all by himself…"
"He might be the strongest hunter I've ever seen."
While the porters were in awe, Ghislain looked at the pile of owlbear corpses with glee.
"Wow, what luck. So many owlbears hide right from the start."
An owlbear's body was similar to a bear's, meaning they'd acquired a lot of valuable hides.
The problem was their size. Carrying all the corpses into the mountains would be inefficient.
But since they hadn't entered the mountains yet, the solution was simple. Ghislain turned to the drivers.
"Hey, we'll do a rough butchering here. Take the parts back to the fortress and store them. I'll pay extra."
"Leave it to us! We can handle basic butchering."
The drivers eagerly accepted. It was easy money.
With over 100 porters and drivers working together, the corpses were quickly processed. While detailed work would need to be done at the fortress, the remains were loaded onto carts without issue.
"We'll be off, then!"
The drivers left with carts full of owlbear parts.
Ghislain then led the remaining porters and knights deeper into the mountains.
"All right, let's resume the hunt and training."
Thus began a brutal, relentless monster hunt.
KAAAHH!
GRAAHH!
ROOOARR!
True to its reputation as a monster haven, the mountains were teeming with monsters.
Goblins, gnolls with hyena-like heads, and bugbears with massive frames and grotesque faces all emerged.
But they all met the same fate—none could withstand Ghislain's targeted attacks on their "weak spots."
While hunting, Ghislain didn't stop coaching the knights.
"What are you doing?! Aim for the weak spots!"
"Where's the head on this thing?!"
A strange, ball-shaped monster with legs emerged. No one could tell where its head was.
Slash!
Ghislain casually split it in half and said, "That's a Scorch monster. It's worthless—no materials to harvest. If you can't tell where the head is, just split it down the middle."
"…."
Easier said than done. Not everyone could pull that off.
And so, the knights continued hunting, enduring Ghislain's constant scolding and strikes.
'I just want to go home…'
'I should've trained harder before…'
'I'm going to die from our lord's blows before the monsters get me…'
The knights' lax attitudes were replaced by tension and focus. Their combat skills rapidly improved—not out of determination, but out of sheer necessity.
Getting hit by monsters was less painful than being struck by Ghislain.
Slash! Slash! Boom!
The knights' strikes grew sharper. Despite the difficulty, they couldn't afford to slack off in battle.
The porters, observing the scene, were dumbfounded.
The Shadow Mountains, known as the Turian Kingdom's disaster zone, seemed like a disaster for the monsters instead.
"Well done! Keep moving faster!" Ghislain shouted.
"Ugh! Could we slow down just a little—gah!"
True to his nature, Ghislain kept pushing. When one knight complained, Ghislain knocked him out and dragged him along.
Even with 100 porters, Ghislain's hunting speed was so overwhelming that the dismantling process fell behind. Eventually, the knights had to crouch alongside the porters and help dismember the monsters.
"Uh… we have too much stuff. We can't carry any more," one of the porters admitted, finally surrendering. Ghislain's relentless pace was simply too much.
Clicking his tongue, Ghislain dropped into a sitting position.
"Ugh, too slow. Fine, let's take a break for today. Strip as much as you can to maximize what we carry."
The porters worked tirelessly to dismantle the monster corpses. There were so many that they worked until the sun completely set, yet the task wasn't finished.
Awooo!
"Ugh, they're here again!"
Even at night, the knights couldn't rest. They had to fend off an attack by a pack of dire wolves before they could finally settle down.
"Ugh, we can't take it all with us."
Despite having 100 porters and the knights carrying as much as they could, a significant portion of the monster remains had to be left behind.
"It can't be helped. We'll come back for it next time."
Though Ghislain looked slightly disappointed, the porters and knights visibly lit up with relief. Only one day had passed, but they felt as if they had been hunting for a month.
Without carts, they had to carry their heavy loads on their backs, but the thought of simply returning to the fortress was a source of joy.
When Ghislain and his group entered the fortress, the onlookers were stunned.
"What the… Is that what they hunted in a single day?"
The laborers and knights trudged in, their backs piled high with monster remains, looking more like a massive merchant caravan than a hunting party.
In the fortress's history, no group had ever brought back such a haul in a single day. Even larger groups hadn't managed this feat.
Everyone stared at the procession in shock, their jaws practically on the ground.
One hunter, counting the group as they entered, muttered in disbelief, "Not a single one… not one of them died?"
The fortress's residents had already seen the cartloads of owlbear hides brought back earlier. Excluding those, the group seemed to have killed hundreds more monsters in just one day.
For them to have killed so many without any casualties defied belief. Such an effort would require nonstop fighting without rest, which would normally result in casualties.
"It's the same number of people as when they left. How is that possible?"
"They're all injured, sure, but… why do their wounds look like they were inflicted by people, not monsters?"
"Were they fighting humanoid monsters?"
Overhearing these whispers, the knights swallowed their tears. Not humanoid monsters—just a human disguised as one.
The fortress residents couldn't believe the group's achievement. Then something even more unbelievable happened.
The next day, Ghislain set off again with a group of porters. By the time they returned, they had brought back a haul just as massive as the day before.
"How is this even possible? No matter how strong you are, you can't do this without knowing the terrain and the monsters' habits."
"I thought they were new to this, but they're moving like seasoned hunters."
"This guy's practically a veteran hunter."
Even the most experienced hunters didn't hunt with such reckless abandon.
Typically, seasoned hunters stopped at a reasonable point to avoid overexertion. It was the key to survival. But Ghislain's group seemed unaware of such caution, annihilating monsters with wild abandon.
The porters who accompanied them began returning with pride, feeling like they had contributed to something extraordinary.
After several days of such expeditions, the hunters in the fortress began to grow envious.
"Those guys have killed so many monsters. Isn't there a way we can take some of their haul?"
"We can't overpower them. Maybe Donkard could, but they've been storing everything at the workshop."
"There's no benefit to messing with the workshop. It'd only make things worse for us."
For hunters, killing monsters was only the first step. The real profit came from harvesting their parts for sale. The fortress had a well-developed system for processing and storing monster remains, including skinning, butchering, and tanning.
This system was so vital that hunters rarely attacked the workshops. The security was tight, and anyone caught attacking a workshop would be blacklisted by all the others.
Standing in the storage area of one such workshop, Ghislain looked at the piles of monster parts and smiled contentedly.
"Man, there's no better way to make money while warming up."
Every time he saw the neatly stacked hides, bones, and other materials, Ghislain couldn't help but marvel. Even some of the monsters' organs, valuable for medicine or cooking, were carefully preserved.
The knights, though exhausted from constant fighting, were similarly awestruck whenever they visited the storage area.
"Wow, all of this is money, right?"
"Our lord really does have a way of getting what he needs."
"But… we still have to hunt 100,000 monsters and send them back…"
At that sobering thought, the knights' expressions grew grim. They were painfully reminded of why they were here.
Over the past few days, they had been working to the brink of death. In truth, dying might have been easier.
Being hit by monsters was bad enough, but being struck by their own lord? The knights had long since lost faith in humanity.
'Why… why are we getting faster?'
'Is this actually working?'
'We're improving quickly, but how will we keep this pace without the lord?'
Ghislain's monster-hunting speed was nothing short of extraordinary. No monster could defend itself against his relentless targeting of their "weak spots."
The knights followed in his wake, struggling to keep up. Somewhere along the way, they found themselves killing monsters faster, though they felt no sense of accomplishment.
'Why am I crying even though I've improved?'
Hunting 100,000 monsters required daily life-and-death battles. This was training of a kind they had never imagined.
As Ghislain's relentless hunting continued, discontent began to grow among the other hunters in the fortress.
"That bastard is clearing out all the hunting grounds. At first, he stuck to outlying areas, but now he's encroaching on ours."
"Shouldn't we teach him a lesson? Maybe take him out once he's outside the fortress."
"Who's going to do it?"
This was a classic case of passing the buck. Ghislain's demonstrated skill and record made confronting him a daunting prospect.
In the end, the hunters placed their hopes on Donkard, the self-proclaimed "King of Ironcliff" and the fortress's most powerful figure.
"It has to be Donkard, right?"
"Yeah. No one else can handle this. That guy's group is no joke."
"But why hasn't Donkard done anything? They haven't even paid the fees."
"They took down Arnold's crew at the inn and have been making waves with their hunting skills. Even Donkard must find them intimidating."
"But he'll have to act eventually."
"Yeah, apparently those guys even hunted in Donkard's territory yesterday. Things will come to a head soon."
Rumors began to spread throughout the fortress. If Ghislain's group had indeed encroached on Donkard's hunting grounds, the self-proclaimed king wouldn't stand idly by.
The tension reached its peak.
"Donkard is here! Donkard has arrived!"
At someone's shout, a group of men entered the inn.
[T/L: Please support me and read 320 extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]