NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31
Chapter 31: Come at Me with All You’ve Got!
Krooooh!
The Dirus Ents began to approach, their rage clearly visible as they neared.
Even without their bark, it was obvious they confidently believed they could easily crush the humans in front of them.
At the moment the mercenaries were about to retreat under the pressure, Ghislaine picked up a spear and said, “Hey, are you all just going to run away without even trying to fight? You think you can survive eating swords?”
Despite the mockery in his words, the mercenaries could only look at Ghislaine like he was crazy.
How could they understand his confidence to face them when weapons didn’t work and fire was ineffective?
“Watch closely.”
With a strong throw, Ghislaine hurled the spear.
Kwahziiiiing!
The spear flew at incredible speed, piercing through the body of the nearest one and embedding itself in the one behind it.
Kraaaaaah!
The one hit by the spear stumbled back, clearly stunned by the pain it had never felt before.
“Huh?”
As the mercenaries were taken aback, Ghislaine turned around and laughed.
“You idiots. The bark is gone now. The vines are all burnt away, so they can’t strike from far. They’re just big, slow monsters.”
Even after seeing their fellow monsters pierced by the spear and hearing Ghislaine’s words, the mercenaries couldn’t bring themselves to charge recklessly.
After all, the sheer size and intimidating presence of those beasts remained unchanged.
As dozens of Dirus Ents surrounded them, the mercenaries began to shuffle back fearfully.
Krooooh!
The terrifying roars from the ugly faces were enough to crush their morale.
There was no way they could fight like this.
“Tsk.”
Ghislaine clicked his tongue and pulled out a massive greatsword from the wagon.
It wasn’t a regular two-handed sword but one specially crafted for slaying large monsters.
Kwuung!
He gripped the enormous sword with both hands and slammed it to the ground as if planting it.
A heavy sound reverberated around them.
‘Phew, it’s been a while.’
Although Ghislaine primarily used swords and was highly skilled in swordsmanship, he hadn’t neglected training with other weapons.
In battle, sometimes you had to use something besides swords, and if luck was against you, you might have to fight unarmed as well.
In fact, during his time as the Mercenary King, he was famous for mastering all types of weapons, not just swords.
He was famous not only for wielding a sword but for handling all weapons with ease.
Krooooh!
Kooong! Kooong! Kooong!
As the Dirus Ents approached, the mercenaries hesitated and began to retreat.
“Young Master, step back. I’ll take them on.”
“Cerberus Mercenary Group, prepare yourselves.”
Gillian and Kaor got ready to step forward.
The mercenaries were in disarray, so it was crucial for them to keep their wits about them.
If they didn’t, they would surely be trampled to death.
The remaining mercenaries watched Ghislaine with anxious eyes.
Their employer stood frozen in place, gripping a greatsword, seemingly too terrified to give orders.
‘What the heck? That rookie noble thinks he can fight up front?’
‘He can’t even lift that sword properly!’
‘What’s he planning with that awkward stance?’
The mercenaries frowned and quickened their retreat.
It was clearly a bad idea to engage with that huge and monstrous group.
All they hoped for was that the Cerberus Mercenary Group could hold out long enough for them to escape.
The mercenaries exchanged glances, assessing the situation.
At this rate, their employer at the front was doomed.
If he died, they wouldn’t have to pay penalties for fleeing, so the best option for them would be to run the moment he was trampled.
“Young Master! Leave it to the mercenaries and step back now!”
Belinda, visibly upset, looked back and forth between the mercenaries and Ghislaine.
No matter how scared he was, he couldn’t just slink away with his employer in front of him! It would be enough to smash the mercenaries’ heads in!
“No, from now on, I’ll take the lead in every battle.”
“What?!”
Belinda’s eyes widened in disbelief as she glared at Ghislaine.
Did he really plan to take the front in this dangerous forest without knowing what might come out?
It was madness for their employer to stand at the front when he had plenty of mercenaries hired!
“Are you crazy? The mercenaries are all retreating, what are you doing?”
Gillian and Kaor, who were preparing for battle, furrowed their brows as well.
It would be easier for them to fight if Ghislaine could retreat, but having him up front was honestly bothersome.
They knew he had decent skills, but this was real battle. They couldn’t help but feel uneasy about needing to protect Ghislaine.
However, Ghislaine smiled despite their disapproving looks.
“Let’s start.”
One of the cores inside him began to spin violently, releasing mana.
“Young Master! Don’t!”
“Sir, step back!”
Feeling the surge of mana, Belinda and Gillian were startled and tried to stop Ghislaine, but it was too late.
Ghislaine shot forward, slicing through the air.
Kroooh!
Immediately after, a scream-like roar echoed as the Dirus Ent in front was split in two.
Kuoong!
The gigantic body of the Dirus Ent collapsed to the ground, split in half.
Kroooh!
All the Dirus Ents froze in shock at Ghislaine’s sudden attack.
“Haa…”
Red smoke began to billow from Ghislaine’s mouth, a sign that his core was spinning fiercely.
Kroooh!
Ohhhh!
A few Dirus Ents charged at Ghislaine.
He quickly blocked a quickly swinging thick branch with one side of his greatsword, sliding backward.
“Ugh!”
However, as if he anticipated it, he swung his body around and slashed at the nearest Dirus Ent.
Kwahzick!
The blade of Ghislaine’s greatsword dug halfway into the body of the Dirus Ent before stopping.
Even without its bark, it wasn’t an easy cut for such thickness.
“Ugh!”
Dduhddudddudu!
Ignoring the discomfort, Ghislaine pushed the blade further.
With a crunching sound, the massive body started to be severed again.
Kraaaah!
The Dirus Ent that had let out a painful scream finally fell, completely sliced apart.
The nearby Dirus Ents, enraged, started attacking Ghislaine wildly.
He evaded the monsters’ attacks with precision and occasionally blocked them with his greatsword while methodically continuing his assault.
Another monster was cut down by the greatsword.
One by one with every swing.
The Dirus Ents couldn’t withstand Ghislaine’s greatsword and kept falling.
“Gah!”
Of course, Ghislaine wasn’t unscathed either.
The Dirus Ents had strength to match their massive size, and he felt like his insides were being shaken just from the impacts.
However, the more he took their hits, the more he felt every nerve in his body come alive.
‘It’s been a while since something like this.’
Since fighting Frank, he hadn’t had the chance to exert his full strength.
He had been busy planning and gathering money to align with the larger flow of events.
But right now, at this moment, he could purely focus on combat.
Kraaaah!
One Dirus Ent fell, sliced apart.
Ghislaine unconsciously smiled with satisfaction.
‘This place suits me best… after all.’
In his previous life, he was always at the forefront of battle.
He was always in the most dangerous spots.
That’s why even those rugged mercenaries respected him.
He could handle strategic matters too, but this was what suited him best.
“Wh-what’s that…”
Seeing Ghislaine bursting with excitement for the first time in ages, Belinda was taken aback, frozen, and swallowed hard.
As she tried to catch up with Ghislaine, she found herself lost in thought.
It was impossible for an average knight to slice that massive monster in one blow.
No matter how skilled one was, without the backing of mana and physical ability, it was tough.
From what Belinda knew, Ghislaine didn’t possess that much mana.
There was a limit to the amount of mana one could accumulate at that age.
No matter how talented one was, time was fair to everyone.
‘Did he steal some good drugs or something?’
In reality, Ghislaine had only activated one core so far.
The amount of mana usable from a single core wasn’t much, but he was unparalleled in mana manipulation and concentration.
He could unleash strong outputs momentarily, even with minimal mana.
However, those unaware of the secret could only watch in astonishment at Ghislaine’s performance.
“H-how could the young lord have such power?”
“He’s not just good at swordsmanship.”
Gillian and Kaor could only stare at Ghislaine, unable to even think about joining the fight.
I stared blankly at Ghislaine.
It was the first time they saw him properly fight using mana.
I already knew his swordsmanship was exceptional, but I never expected him to unleash this much mana in actual battle.
Even the mercenaries who had been cautiously retreating stopped in surprise and stared at Ghislaine.
“Was our employer that strong? Didn’t they call him a madman?”
“With skills like that at his age?”
While everyone was lost in admiration, the fight began to intensify.
Kroooooo!
The Dirus Ents swarmed around Ghislaine.
He was swinging his greatsword like a madman, shattering everything around him, leaving no room for them to focus elsewhere.
‘Looks like I need to activate the second core.’
The size difference was not something even Ghislaine could easily overlook.
His speed had allowed him to evade so far, but every single attack felt terrifyingly powerful.
If he took even one direct hit, his life would be in jeopardy.
Reluctantly, he had to brace himself for the burden and activate the core further.
As Ghislaine awakened the second core to draw up more mana, his eyes began to redden.
Finally, Gillian snapped back to his senses and shouted loudly.
“What are you all waiting for? Attack!”
Gillian charged in with his axe like an enraged boar.
Kwahhh!
His axe slammed into the body of the Dirus Ent that was attacking Ghislaine.
With Gillian intervening, Ghislaine took a deep breath and cooled down the second core again.
Thanks to Gillian wildly swinging his axe, he had some leeway to move.
“Tsk! Cerberus Mercenary Group, charge in too!”
With Kaor joining, Ghislaine’s movements became even more relaxed.
“Waaaaah!”
The Cerberus Mercenary Group charged in en masse, plunging their weapons into the monsters.
The Cerberus Mercenaries were also those who reveled in life-threatening battles.
Without fearing the Dirus Ents at all, they lunged forward like stubborn bullocks and attempted to attack.
“Get in there! Let’s kill these bastards!”
Kroooooo!
The battle turned into complete chaos.
The mercenaries were still gulping nervously, watching from a distance, but their feet began to inch forward.
“Why aren’t they calling us? Do they think they can kill them all by themselves?”
“Even with the Mad Hounds jumping in…”
The mercenaries couldn’t understand the situation.
Their employer was fighting silently at the front without issuing any orders to them.
Did that mean they weren’t needed? Then why did he hire them in the first place?
One thing was for sure: watching Ghislaine fight made their blood boil.
“I guess I should fight too.”
A mature mercenary called Toran charged in with a weapon.
“I’m going too.”
Several mercenaries followed Toran.
Belinda, who had been watching with her arms crossed, glared at the remaining mercenaries.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you all going? Just gonna watch?”
At her fierce remark, the mercenaries exchanged glances and shouted.
“Y-Yeah! Let’s go!”
“Let’s fight!”
“Waaaaah!”
The mercenaries cheered and all charged out.