Revenge of the Iron-Blooded Sword Hound TL

Chapter 10 Hell Hound (3)

Vikir recalled the past.

Not too long ago, just a few days back.

The reward-like thing Hugo Baskerville gave him for ranking first in the written exam.

'Is there a snack you want to eat?'

'Chocolate!'

'Butler. Take him to the food storage and let him take as much chocolate as he wants. But don't let him be too greedy. Only as much as he can carry.'

At that time, Vikir had received the key to the food storage.

In the basement he went to with Butler Barrymore, Vikir obtained a sack of chocolate beans.

'In the past, when our lord personally led the family's senators to subjugate the barbarians on the western front of our territory and pioneered the vast jungle in that area into farmland. The 'Blood Bean' from that area's specialty is said to be able to make 100 liters of chocolate with just one bean.'

Blood Bean. A magical bean boasting such rich flavor that a single bean can produce 100 liters of chocolate.

Vikir took out a Blood Bean from the pouch tied to his waist.

And he looked at the Hell Hound, which had slowed down considerably after crossing the water, and was showing the habit peculiar to dogs of opening its mouth while running.

With its mouth wide open and approaching slowly, it looked as if it was asking for something to be thrown into its mouth.

That's how it appeared to Vikir's experienced hunter's eyes.

...Flick!

A single Blood Bean flicked by Vikir's thumb went straight into the Hell Hound's mouth.

And.

The reaction came immediately.

...Yelp!

The Hell Hound, swallowing whatever had flown into its mouth without thinking.

It immediately started having seizures.

[Hack! Gag! Yelp!]

Foam formed at its mouth and sticky, mucous vomit dripped down.

Watery diarrhea squirted from its anus, and its whole body was convulsing and seizing.

Its heart pumped as if about to burst, and accordingly, blood vessels in its eyes bulged and burst.

'As expected.'

Vikir nodded.

A fact known to all hunters who had been through the Age of Destruction.

That canine monsters are weak to chocolate.

The substance in chocolate beans is like poison to dogs.

Even for a hunting dog that crawled up from hell, this point was similar.

"Let's see. What were the symptoms again? Mucous vomiting, difficulty breathing, urinary incontinence, diarrhea, increased body temperature, increased heart rate, loss of appetite, convulsions, seizures, severe excitement... and then death, right?"

Vikir grabbed his blunt short sword.

And he chased after the Hell Hound staggering away into the deep root caves of the sea of trees.

"The stomach and heart would have been hit first. Then the liver."

But the Hell Hound's stomach, heart, and liver are protected by ribs harder than steel.

With the blunt short sword he currently possessed, he couldn't pierce through those gaps.

Then the best option would be to aim for a spot slightly away from the ribs, yet weakened by the chocolate.

"...The answer is the kidneys."

The lower abdomen of the Hell Hound, not fully covered by the ribs, and the kidneys severely strained due to the chocolate's toxins, should be sufficiently vulnerable to attack.

Vikir thrust the short sword sideways with strong force.

Though the blade was too dull to cut or penetrate, it was enough to inflict damage on the kidneys beneath the skin, muscle, and flesh.

[Yelp! Whine...]

The more impact on the kidneys, the weaker they become and the stronger the toxins become.

The Hell Hound collapsed on the ground, leaking hot excrement with remaining embers, and soon stuck out its meter-long tongue.

Vikir decisively cut off the final breath of the incapacitated Hell Hound.

The Hell Hound is not only a canine monster but also an oil realm species monster that roams around with hellfire from the oil world swallowed in its belly.

If not killed decisively, its vitality might become a threat again like embers reviving from ashes.

"Even extinguished fires need to be checked again."

Vikir completely stamped out the last spark of life in the Hell Hound with his short sword.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thwack!

With the blunt short sword, beating it like a dog was the only answer.

Eventually.

An amazing thing happened.

Tss tss tss tss tss...

As the Hell Hound died, an intangible energy escaped from its corpse and settled into Vikir's entire body.

What many people call 'experience points', 'effort points', or 'karma'.

When this mysterious and ominous energy gained from killing monsters accumulates in the body, it leads to physical enhancement.

Vikir had single-handedly taken down a high-level monster that children his age couldn't even imagine, and as a result, gained the effect of his body becoming even more powerful.

In addition to the protection of the Styx River, the experience gained from killing the Hell Hound was added.

Vikir's body now became impervious to most poisons, magic, and other physical forces.

"...Hmm. Have my bones gotten thicker? I think I've grown taller too."

The short sword in his hand felt much lighter than before.

Since the weight of the sword couldn't have suddenly decreased, it must mean his grip strength had increased.

Whoosh- Whoosh-

The sword that other 8-9 year old children struggle to wield with both hands, Vikir handles like a reed with one hand.

But he's still far from regaining his strength from his previous life.

'At this pace, I should be able to recover all my strength from my previous life before the coming-of-age ceremony.'

Vikir is currently only 8 years old. His level is upper Sword Expert.

He's at a level that other Baskervilles would only show after their coming-of-age ceremony.

He was confident that he could more than regain his strength from his previous life after 7 years have passed.

'And there's the reward I'll get if I rank first in this practical exam right away.'

Vikir looked down at the Hell Hound's corpse with a satisfied expression.

If he brings this monster's corpse, still hot, back to the family, first place in the practical evaluation is guaranteed.

There might be some issue with going outside the boundary area, but that's more of a reprimand for the guardian knights acting as Guide Dogs; from a test-taker's perspective, it's rather praiseworthy.

An 8-year-old child venturing beyond the boundary area into the unexplored territory that even the Guide Dogs find challenging, and bringing back a B+ danger level monster, all alone!

Vikir could already imagine Hugo's expression.

...Grab!

Vikir grabbed the Hell Hound's tail and started dragging it.

The corpse of a monster is subject to different laws of gravity than the human realm because its soul is mortgaged to the demon realm.

Because of this, the Hell Hound's corpse was much heavier than it appeared, but Vikir's strength was also on a different level from a typical 8-year-old child, so it didn't matter.

Drag- drag- drag!

Vikir continued to move forward.

Though it was an uphill path full of thorny vines, it felt like a well-paved flower road.

Now he just needed to go down, submit the Hell Hound's corpse to the guardian knights, and claim the title of first place in the practical evaluation.

And thinking about the reward he would get from that, a smile involuntarily formed on his lips.

An incredible reward he couldn't even dream of in his previous life, and even in this era, a treasure whose true value no one yet knows, was waiting for Vikir.

...At that moment.

There was one, no, several factors that stopped Vikir's steps.

Grrrr...

Howls coming from the deep parts of the sea of trees behind.

Howling scratched out from deep in the throat, coming from caves formed by twisted roots, gradually approaching.

"...Oops."

Vikir put down the Hell Hound's corpse for a moment.

He had forgotten.

That Hell Hounds are pack animals.

Eventually.

Yellow and red sulfur fires began to burn from various dark parts of the sea of trees.

Eleven Hell Hounds had gathered and surrounded Vikir.

However.

"..."

Vikir just grinned without being intimidated at all.

Rather, it was the Hell Hounds facing that smile who seemed uneasy, crouching low and growling.

They say dogs recognize dog traders?

Even for one who had come through the world of destruction and another cycle of reincarnation, it seems the bloody stench deeply ingrained in his soul couldn't be completely washed away.

Just as the venomous snakes Bloody Mambas froze at the sight of Vikir in the cradle, the Hell Hounds of the Red and Black Mountain also couldn't dare to act recklessly in front of Vikir as he began to reveal his killing intent in earnest.

Eventually, Vikir opened his mouth.

"Come on then. I still have plenty of beans left."

The Blood Bean kernels rattled at his waist.

Considering how much stronger his body had become after catching one Hell Hound, the growth potential from catching all the Hell Hounds gathered here... is beyond estimation.

As Vikir and the pack of Hell Hounds were in a tense standoff like this.

Whine...

Those ferocious Hell Hounds suddenly tucked their tails between their legs and started to retreat.

"...?"

Vikir was a bit surprised.

Once a Hell Hound bares its teeth, it won't show its back even if it means death.

But now the Hell Hounds were not just showing their backs, they were overtly frightened and fleeing.

No matter how fierce the killing intent Vikir was emitting, given that he still had the body of an 8-year-old child, it shouldn't be enough to make over ten Hell Hounds run away.

Then what could it be?

What external factor could make these Hell Hounds tuck their tails and flee?

Eventually, Vikir soon learned what it was.

Grrrr...

The sound of saliva and sulfur fire boiling.

The master of this area, making all the Hell Hounds flee, appeared.

Six eyeballs burning in the darkness.

Three heads poking out from the root caves of the sea of trees.

"...I didn't know something like this lived here."

A top-tier monster that made even Vikir show a surprised expression.

Danger level: A+

Size: 7m

Discovery location: Red and Black Mountain Range 7th Ridge

-Also known as the 'Watchdog of Hell'

It has no interest in spirits trying to enter hell, but immediately tears to shreds any spirit trying to escape hell, turning them into rags.

It inhabits the deep parts of the oil world where all spirits eventually head, and is considered the ultimate of oil realm monsters.

The three-headed dog symbolizing hell itself had appeared.