ocean-life Chapter 346: Bread and Dagger (44)
Chapter 346: Bread and Dagger (44)
Chapter 346: Bread and Dagger (44)
‘Demonic Humans’—they were the very embodiment of fear.
One couldn’t help but dread these monsters who commanded the surrounding demonic beasts and served as the vanguard of Delphirem’s army. Moreover, each one was a terrifying powerhouse in their own right.
They were, from the very start, people who had forged contracts with the Evil God in exchange for power.
A Demonic Human could never come into existence without paying a significant price. Take Gilford, for example—the one I faced back at the orphanage.
He was strong even as a human, but became even more formidable as a Demonic Human.
Even now, I wasn’t sure if I could hold my own against him, and yet, Gilford was amongst the easier opponents I faced.
That’s because I had spent days sparring with him beforehand, learning his techniques and fighting style. After all, becoming a demonic human didn’t fundamentally alter a skilled swordsman’s essence.
But the Snow Leopard Demonic Human I was up against now was different.
Being my first encounter with it, I naturally had no way of knowing how it would approach me in battle.
In the silence, my sword and the blood-red eyes of the Snow Leopard Demonic Human glinted. His breathing was already ragged, as if it could hardly wait to savor the blood it was about to taste.
And as his muscles contracted...
In an instant, its hulking frame curled up like a ball. Watching those rock-solid muscles fold so fluidly was truly an astonishing sight.
Of course, I had no time to marvel at it.
Bang! A deafening explosion erupted.
A sudden blast of hot wind swept across the snowy field. This was the result of the Snow Leopard slamming its entire body into me, even though I absorbed the impact with the flat of my sword, its strength was beyond anything I could have imagined..
As I staggered backward, he immediately swung his massive forepaw fiercely, creating sharp intersecting trails in the air.
It was a counter straight out of a textbook.
I narrowed my heightened senses, which I had left open just in case.
In that split second when my vision mapped the space and shimmering threads came into view—
My trembling hand seized one of those shimmering threads and tore at it. Then, with a rippling sound, his two arms slid down along the warped space.
Before he could howl in bewilderment, my hand darted like lightning, drawing my hatchet.
Splat! Blood sprayed into the air.
The hatchet, imbued with aura, easily pierced the beast’s hide. While it didn’t sever his bone, it was clear I’d dealt a significant blow.
GRAAAAGH!
The Snow Leopard let out a beastly howl, as though it lost all sense of reason. He then rolled its body back, using his uniquely elastic muscles to put distance between us.
I’d heard that ‘snow leopards’ don’t die even when falling from great heights. I’d learned this was due to their incredible flexibility, and It seemed that even its demonic human had retained that very trait.
Could it be that he doesn’t have any other special abilities?
Just as I began to think, ‘If that’s the case, I might be able to handle him,’—
“Krrh, Krhhrrh...”
Suddenly, his jaw cracked, and the length of his snout slightly shortened.
Only then did human words begin to flow from his mouth.
“Even with a blessed body, it’s hard to face you. Humans are indeed strong... No wonder we’ve ended up in such a miserable state.”
“Think of it as just bad luck.”
I said, fastening my hatchet back to my waist.
“There happen to be some special guests with the Yurdina forces today. On another day, maybe it’d be a different story, but as it stands, you’re nowhere near their level... Why not call it quits?”
It was sincere advice.
My expression didn’t waver in the slightest as I faced the Snow Leopard. Unless I was up against a demonic human of Guilford’s caliber, there was no way I’d lose to one whose only real strength lay in slightly enhanced physical abilities.
That said, I couldn’t afford to let myself become overconfident.
“You’ve spilled enough blood already, haven’t you? Go back and tell your leader...not to even think about stepping out of the coniferous forest for a while.”
“So, are you saying we elves should just keep getting endlessly robbed?”
His question, spoken amidst his ragged breaths, made me fall silent for a moment.
The Snow Leopard gave a forlorn smile.
It was an expression that didn’t suit his fierce appearance in the slightest.
“Since being trapped in this cold and barren forest, we’ve never attacked humans first... Yet it was your kind who took our food and drove us to the brink of death, wasn’t it?”
“That’s nonsense.”
I cut off the Snow Leopard’s words with a scoff.
“Why would humans provoke elves peacefully confined to the coniferous forest? Especially when morale among the soldiers on the front lines is already dangerously low...”
Kugh, coughing up a mouthful of blood, I staggered to my feet.
Faint heat waves emanated from the spot where I had been flung, scorch marks marring my clothes in several places.
The source was clear—it was the flames.
The acrid smell carried by the searing air beyond confirmed it.
Elves setting the forest on fire? Even using their own kind as sacrifices?
These weren’t the elves we once knew.
I could hardly bring myself to believe this reality.
But it was, at the same time, an undeniable truth.
Against the backdrop of the flames, a hulking figure trudged forward, carrying several elves—some slung over its shoulders, others clutched in its hands.
I hastily scanned my surroundings.
I’d been blown back quite a distance. Not only had I been airborne for a long time, but the snowy ground was slippery.
Even after hitting the ground, I must have rolled a considerable distance.
The sound of metal clashing behind me made it all too clear. I had been pushed all the way back to the boundary where soldiers were colliding.
The sheer force of that blow made me break out in a cold sweat.
It was a force impossible to achieve without sacrificing an entire life as an offering.
As I stared at the Demonic Human for what felt like an eternity, I sensed someone approaching beside me.
It was Yuren.
Blankly gazing at the burning coniferous forest, he hurried over to my side.
“...What the hell is that?”
“A monster.”
It was the best word I could muster from my limited vocabulary.
I couldn’t think of any other way to describe someone who mercilessly slaughtered their own kind.
I said to Yuren,
“We need to run immediately. Let’s fall back to the rear lines and handle this with support from our comrades waiting behind.”
“It’s that bad?”
Yuren’s voice was laced with disbelief.
I didn’t bother explaining.
Because before I could, another elf was hurtling toward us from afar.
The snow leopard’s flexible muscles were also highly effective for throwing. Leveraging its elasticity, it could hurl objects across distances that were unimaginably far.
I shouted urgently,
“Yuren, dodge!”
But Yuren didn’t retreat.
Perhaps worried about my already injured state, he stepped forward instead and unfurled a thin layer of aura.
It was a sword barrier.
I still couldn’t manipulate aura as precisely as he did. It was an excellent defensive move.
But it hardly mattered when the power of these ‘Elf Sacrifices’ far exceeded any defensive threshold.
What followed was a repetition of events.
The only difference was that, with Yuren shielding me, I flew a shorter distance this time. Thanks to that, I managed to avoid sustaining additional injuries.
Yuren, who collapsed beside me, coughed and spat out blood.
He looked much like I did after taking the first hit.
The difference was that, unlike the first explosion which caused flames, the second one generated electricity.
Even now, faint currents of electricity were coursing through Yuren’s limbs.
His conclusion was straightforward.
“Alright, let’s run.”
My friend had a bit of a battle-hungry streak, but he wasn’t suicidal.
That was a relief.
In the distance, flames writhed wildly, devouring everything like a scene from hell.