Chapter 42

Chapter 42

42. Magical Entity (2)

The battle that started around sunset continued until pitch-black darkness settled.

─Saaaaa···!

Whenever the brilliant aura embroidered the empty air ash powder inevitably swept.

Dozens of rat cubs with one sword stroke.

The old man’s sword was still fierce, but Benrik who watched his movements all day could know.

‘Something is strange.’

The movements became even more concise, and the trajectory of the brilliant light became lighter.

Becoming concise means minimizing the movements and the aura becoming lighter means, it was the words considering the distribution of mana.

Come to think of it,

‘Those guys···.’

Why don’t they run away?

The strange thing was not only that. Because he was watching from afar he could know.

Even considering that there is difficulty in securing the field of view as the night deepens, the scale of the colony did not greatly decrease compared to the beginning.

‘I thought it was an illusion.’

Looking closely continuous supply of rat cubs was being done near the tail that gradually decreases in an inequality sign shape.

─Pasasasasak!

The moment he realized that fact, the chest became chilly.

Not running away was the same as saying it recognizes Drenor as food.

It judged that it is worth trying.

Those damn things.

‘···Can he endure?’

Enduring until Gerik arrives was the key.

If one catches the leader mixed somewhere in the colony that commands the individuals one can wipe them out at once. But the one who can distinguish that leader was only Gerik.

So the three people set a simple plan.

If the battle situation is pushed it will split and run, so in that gap replenish mana and only reduce the scale.

But.

─Pasasasat!

It does not run.

The damn guys moved dynamically as if receiving the command of a master.

Sometimes becoming one huge clump and sweeping, Sometimes tearing into four branches and covering from all sides, And sometimes dividing into hundreds of clumps and flying and colliding as if playing tag.

It was deliberately cutting the old man’s stamina.

It was an intelligent movement not easily found in magical beasts.

‘One has to preserve Sir Vinter’s stamina first.’

The night had just started, and there was an immense time left until around dawn when Gerik decided to join.

Just by restricting that rhythmic movement one could greatly stock stamina.

The quietly settled blue eyes examined the surroundings.

The place where Drenor is fighting hard is a wide plain, but the place where Benrik is hiding his body is a rocky valley thick with trees and bushes.

Even if there is some restriction on movement the side with some terrain features would be better for facing the overwhelming number of magical entities.

‘But how do I call Sir Vinter this way?’

Benrik who was thinking’s consciousness touched the backpack.

···Hmm, shall I use that?

***

The old man standing in the middle of the rat swarm flying while flashing red eye light was also feeling that something went wrong.

A perceived four hours had easily flowed since starting the battle.

‘The number is not decreasing.’

The moment the sunken gaze turned to the rear of the rat swarm, a palm-sized rat flew into the face.

─Jijik···!

Drenor indifferently knocked it out.

─Pugeok···!

The form of the rat that fell out hit by the hand gesture broke and fell.

‘Tsk.’

Guys who imitate rats despite not being rats.

The appearance of becoming ash and scattering emptily as if the vigorously flapping until just before was a lie, evoked instinctive discomfort.

The old man’s gaze turned to the aura he raised.

‘What to do with this.’

If maintaining the output like now, the time one can endure forward would not even reach two hours.

Even this was the story when maintaining the same consumption amount as now without a big variable.

The old man who pondered for a while turned the mana he was emitting externally to the inside.

The light faded from the sword that was shining deep blue.

Body strengthening also consumes mana the same, but it was not comparable to aura.

In this state one can refine mana with some tonification, so one could endure until morning sufficiently.

“Huu···.”

However the concerning thing was his own body that received the years directly. Because he neglected training a bit recently the belly even came out.

Drenor who let out a sigh lightly readjusted the sword.

“Come, remnants of the devil.”

While thinking they would not understand he took form as much as possible, and aimed at the blood-sucking rat colony.

It was entirely conscious of Benrik’s gaze.

The old knight has not yet abandoned the lingering attachment to the successor who will follow him.

He unfolded a sword dance while slightly mixing unnecessary movements. Because that side is more splendid.

‘···Did he see?’

When examining the forest where the child would be with a side glance.

─Kieeeeeeeek!!

A bizarre scream sound rang out.

It was a scream of a degree that even the blood-sucking rat guys temporarily stopped movements.

The old man’s figure disappeared the moment he realized that the identity of that sound is the ‘Shouting Old Tree’ that is a magical beast’s.

─Tat!

But···.

“Sir Vinter!”

The child who shouted was a clean appearance.

He was not surprised, nor did he look dangerous. In one hand he was holding something that looks like a whip or like a tree vine.

“Just now the Shouting Old Tree···?” “Ah, I called you so that you fight here. On the plain the stamina consumption is too severe.”

Only then Drenor realized that Benrik deliberately attracted attention to call himself in.

‘Whatever it is···.’

─Seogeok!

Drenor cut down the rat that followed one step late while examining the surroundings.

On the right side a huge rock rose, and behind there was a terrain with a low cliff. The cliff protruding diagonally seemed it would block even attacks coming from above to some extent.

It was an incomparable place selection.

Although a restriction arises in unfolding large movements one could also stock stamina to that extent.

─Tuk tuk···.

The old man who patted the child’s head said confidently.

“Leave it and hide the body.”

***

Benrik hid his body in the rock crevice he looked at in advance.

─Jik!

A few guys who left the group rushed while rolling eyes, but could not pierce the frost snake leather.

Pugeok!

He slammed the rat that bit into the bracer hard onto the floor.

‘Is the individual combat power a level worse than the poison fang rabbit.’

Benrik easily cut the guys’ breath like cutting the head of a beast caught in a trap.

Although he found some leisure, there was still not a little time left until morning.

Even while watching the struggling Drenor Benrik was wary of other threats that might appear.

The forest and plain area where they are now was full of sticky magical energy.

One could not exclude the possibility that other magical beasts attracted by the magical energy appear.

'Ehhyo.'

Even though Benrik is learning mana and learning swordsmanship, he did not like his own situation of just having to hide and watch.

However he was not foolish enough to not distinguish when to intervene and when not and intervene just because he held a handful of strength.

Even if he rolls up his sleeves and steps forward right now, it was obvious it would only be a hindrance.

Instead he pondered.

What can one do in this place, without interfering with Drenor···.

‘It would be good if one can find the leader rat.’

The problem is that there is no method to find it.

What method do you find something that looks the same and holds the same magical energy.

“Wait, the same?”

<​Marcel's Appraisal Eye>

─The beginner peddler Marcel’s eye for goods had a high reputation even among merchants.

‘···Eye for goods.’

There was, a method to distinguish.

‘Even if it loses it is the principal. Let’s try.’

The number of magical entities is tens of thousands. The number of privilege uses is ten times.

After that indescribable pain rushes in.

‘Can I find it within that?’

One does not know. Benrik looked at the blood-sucking rat group flapping wings vigorously.

Let’s not see each individual separately, and think of the colony as one.

The blue eyes sank deeply.

─One time. Tens of thousands of points started looking like one clump. Is there something that stands out. There is not.

─Two times. This time it was the rear. The tail side where individuals keep splitting, there is not.

─Three times. At that moment the guys tore into hundreds of clumps. Not for a moment, really not for a moment do they stay still. Damn things.

─Four times. ─Five times. ─Six times.

The temples started throbbing.

─Seven times.

‘Calmly···.’

Dull pain as if placing a stone on the head rushed in. Juleuk, something warm flowed from the nose.

Eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve······.

It seems the eyeballs will fall out. From the nose blood flowed outright like a faucet.

Benrik closed his eyes tightly.

Hmm. Let’s think again from the beginning.

The leader commands the huge colony, and is equipped with the intelligence to distinguish prey and threat.

And it is lucky enough to have dodged all of Drenor’s continuous sword strikes.

Instantly a thrilling sensation swept down the spine.

'···Lucky?'

Nonsense, it dodged!

All the rat cubs are bloodshot wanting to bite into Drenor’s skin.

Only that guy, is avoiding Drenor’s attacks and being cautious with the body.

Benrik opened his eyes.

With sunken eyes he chased the movement of the colony.

The split guys gathered into one, and formed a huge curtain.

In the middle of that, for a while searching for unnatural movement.

Benrik’s eyes sparkled.

Right one o’clock direction, the guy whose left membrane joint is half cut.

“Sir!”

A voice full of joy rang the forest.

***

The air containing magical energy became cooler, and bluish dawn mixed into the pitch-black night.

The size of the blood-sucking rats that was originally palm-sized decreased to half of that, and the scale of the colony also became remarkably small compared to the beginning.

In the middle of that the old knight swung the sword mechanically.

The leisure of the beginning had long disappeared.

While slaughtering the endlessly rushing rat swarm, on one hand refining mana, and returning the refined mana to the body to strengthen muscular strength the process was continuing for a full nearly ten hours.

Even if an aura user it was not something easily done.

The old man did not even remember well when he had abused the body this much.

Probably after finishing this battle for a while, aftereffects of a degree of not being able to move would find him.

Fortunately the thing that the child skillfully processed the approaching guys and reduced the things to care about was fortunate─

“···!”

Drenor who casually turned his gaze toward Benrik opened his eyes wide.

The child who opened his eyes red was pouring blood from the nose······!

The moment light turned in the child’s eyes without focus was that moment.

“···Sir! In the right one o’clock direction the guy whose left membrane joint is half cut! Cut that guy!”

Huh···?

“That guy is the leader!”

The thing the child shouted and the thing the old man understood the meaning,

And the thing the sword moved was one moment.

─Seogeok···.

The same sensation as when cutting ordinary rat cubs, but the result that unfolded right after was completely different.

The surroundings became quiet.

A quiet peace where even the frantic wing beat sound, even the crying sound disappeared continued.

─Huiiiioooo···!

The old knight standing while being hit by the ash powder sweeping instead of rats let out a blank exclamation.

“Huh···?”

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