Chapter 134: Summon Her! Now!
Lily clung to a tree trunk, standing still.
The place where she stood was near the forest where the golden pillar of light had surged moments ago. Now that the light had vanished, Lily turned her head left and right, trying to locate any traces.
“Woof!”
“You want me to follow you?”
The small Shiba Inu stretched its short legs and started running ahead, its tiny nose twitching as if it had caught the scent of something related to death.
A few moments later, a foul, metallic smell drifted in on the wind.
It was coming from beyond the forest.
Lily climbed up the tallest tree in the vicinity. Settling herself comfortably on a sturdy branch, she peered down with gleaming eyes.
The sharp stench of blood.
“Surround him!”
“Focus all attacks on that one!”
A fierce battle, with blood flying everywhere, was raging.
The battle in her line of sight was happening in two separate areas. She alternated between watching both battles before clapping her hands in excitement and calling out to Keros.
“100 million gold! That guy—he’s Lochter Felice, right?”
“Woof!”
“Everyone I was looking for is right here. This place really must be blessed.”
Right below her stood Arthur Clayton.
Meanwhile, across the forest, Lochter Felice was engaged in a fierce fight against a man who appeared to be allied with the shamans.
Judging by the atmosphere, Arthur and Lochter seemed to be on the same side.
Lochter Felice’s opponent was someone Lily recognized—a particularly annoying individual. He was the same man who had tried to strip her robe earlier with his wind powers.
“He’s that strong?”
She was surprised by the sheer strength of the annoying man. He seemed to be a Bloomed with a wind blade trait, using wind like razor-sharp blades, and his power was enough to be threatening. Even though Lochter’s swordsmanship was impressive, the exchange of blows was happening so rapidly that Lily felt dizzy just watching it, so she shook her head and refocused on Arthur Clayton.
The man who had caused her to leave the Ordor Forest.
The only being who existed outside the laws of divinity, whose true nature she was immensely curious about.
“He’s human, huh.”
“Woof.”
“I know. We were both wrong, so it’s a draw. Want to play rock-paper-scissors to settle it?”
“Oh, right, you can only do ‘rock,’ huh?”
Until now, she had been imagining what kind of being Arthur Clayton might be. She had considered various possibilities: hunter, siren, a heart-wielder, or even a non-human species. Judging by the words listed in the divine record, she had thought he was likely a non-human race skilled in combat and hunting—but he wasn’t.
Despite his lean frame and fierce eyes, his face was rather… mild.
“So, what do I do now? I didn’t think this far ahead.”
She had finally found her target.
But she had only planned up to the point of finding him. She hadn’t given any thought to what kind of relationship she would have with him once they met.
Was he an ally or an enemy?
A friend or a foe?
There was no established relationship of any kind.
Lily belatedly realized this and fell into deep thought. Surprisingly, the answer came easily.
“I’ll just observe him first and decide later.”
For now, she would watch.
“What do you think, Keros?”
“Woof!”
“Huh? He smells bad? Are you serious?”
“Woof!”
“That bad? That’s unexpected.”
Keros, a creature descended from the hellhound Cerberus, was inherently fond of the scent of death, as it was a characteristic of its species. Conversely, Keros despised anything with a scent that was far removed from death.
When Keros said something smelled bad, it usually meant that the being in question had little connection to death—or worse, was a formidable threat to its species.
Yet, despite Keros’s warning, Arthur didn’t seem particularly strong, judging by the aura he gave off or the way he was fighting.
In fact,
“Go for his legs!”
“We’ve got him! Everyone, attack!”
Arthur was struggling to protect someone while surrounded by a large group of assassins. He was taking all the blows himself, defending against a relentless barrage of attacks aimed at the two of them.
He had been stabbed in the stomach, the back, and the shoulders. Every time an opening appeared, a blade found its way into his body.
“…Isn’t he going to die at this rate? Didn’t you say he smelled bad?”
It was hard to tell who was protecting whom, given how bloodied Arthur was.
Since it would be troublesome for her if Arthur died here, Lily briefly considered stepping in to help. But after a moment, she scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“Ah, I get it now. So that’s why Keros said he smelled bad. He’s a zombie.”
Arthur’s counterattack had begun.
***
Thwack!
With a thunderous punch, Arthur struck an assassin in the face, sending him spinning through the air.
There was a sickening crunch, and by the time the assassin hit the ground, his face was a mangled mess—unrecognizable.
Instant death.
It was a terrifying show of raw power.
Huff—
Arthur exhaled deeply and extended his palm sideways.
A dagger aimed at Elton’s neck was speeding toward him.
The blade pierced right through Arthur’s hand, but he immediately grabbed the assassin’s wrist with his pierced hand and yanked him forward before slamming his other fist into the assassin’s chest.
Thud—!
A loud impact rang out, followed by the sound of a heart being crushed. The assassin spat up blood and collapsed lifelessly.
“…Damn, that hurt.”
Arthur yanked the dagger out of his palm and checked the wound. It was slowly beginning to heal.
Normally, seeing something like this would intimidate most people, but the assassins only bared their teeth and charged more fiercely.
It was the hunting dog unit.
He had heard about them, but they were far worse than he had imagined.
These weren’t ordinary fighters. Each one was at least 2-star Bloom or higher.
And there were twenty-five of them.
They were clearly determined, throwing away their lives in their dogged pursuit of Elton, making Arthur’s job of protecting him a nightmare.
They were exploiting Arthur’s attempts to shield Elton, and it was working perfectly.
Once again, a dagger was aimed at Elton’s back.
Thud!
“...Ugh! These bastards!”
Arthur blocked the dagger with his forearm and immediately countered with a powerful kick. The assassin who took the blow was sent flying, his arm twisted at an unnatural angle.
Since their primary weapon was daggers, the assassins preferred close combat. They clung close to Elton, persistently thrusting their blades at every opening.
They gave Arthur no breathing room.
But—
“You picked the wrong opponent.”
Arthur’s teacher had been none other than Retonicalus, the Heart of the Immortal. That meant Arthur had been trained by a madman who specialized in extreme close-quarters combat.
If it came to close combat, Arthur was confident he wouldn’t lose to anyone. Still, something felt off. The fight felt clumsy and uncoordinated.
[This is a mess. What a sloppy brawl.]
“You only ever taught me how to get beaten up!”
[Your enemies aren’t wooden sticks, they’re blades. Don’t be stupid and take hits head-on. Dodge them.]
“I know that already!”
It wasn’t that he couldn’t dodge; he was deliberately not dodging.
Elton, whom he was protecting, was conscious but unable to move.
Arthur had found him earlier, being toyed with by Jack like a plaything, his body covered in gruesome wounds, as if he had been slashed by countless razor-sharp blades.
Those were the marks left by Jack’s wind blades.
Even slight movements caused Elton to bleed profusely, so Arthur had no choice but to act as a human shield until he could properly stop the bleeding with potions.
The reason I was recklessly taking all the hits with my body was simple—to shield Elton.
“Elton, stay with me! Master is in danger right now.”
“Hold on, things are tough here too.”
“Leave me and go to Master immediately. It’s really urgent… ugh!”
The whistle clenched in Elton’s trembling hand shook violently as he coughed up blood. Despite the excruciating pain he was in, all he could think about was Karl. Even though Elton kept describing the enemy’s forces back at the clearing, I could barely process it, only catching fragments of what he said in the chaos.
“These bastards… are they brainwashed or something? They’re charging at us like they’re high on drugs.”
It was as if they were rushing in, eager to die.
[They seek peace through death. How enviable—they can actually die.]
I didn’t expect to meet someone as twisted as Retonicalus here.
The assassins were throwing themselves recklessly, wielding daggers with murderous intent, and all I could do was throw myself into the fray to counter them. These weren’t ordinary assassins—they were survivors of the shamans’ curse rituals, likely bearing the marks of that curse. It was the only explanation for their insane, suicidal behavior.
“...Shit, I’ve taken way too many hits.”
Their relentless assault had done a number on me. I managed to kill ten of them, but I was stabbed six times in the process.
If it weren’t for the Ring of Desire and the Heart of Retonicalus, I would have bled out long before Elton did.
If Elton wasn’t here, I could’ve widened the distance, used the Blood Drain Ring, and cleaned up this fight with ease. I hadn’t expected the battle to drag out like this.
‘This is serious.’
I lacked the skills needed to protect both myself and someone else at the same time.
It made me realize a glaring weakness in my fighting style.
For now, I was overpowering weaker enemies because I had awakened as a Divine Hunter, but if I faced an opponent of equal strength, I’d definitely struggle.
“Gah!”
When their numbers had finally been reduced by half—down to about twelve or thirteen—a volley of arrows suddenly shot out from the trees, piercing through the remaining assassins with lethal precision.
Every arrow struck its mark with deadly accuracy.
“Nella!”
She must’ve arrived late after hearing the whistle, following Lochter to provide support.
As Nella rained down arrows from above, Banli emerged from the shadows beneath the assassins, puffing up its cheeks and spitting out bursts of magical energy. With Nella’s archery and Banli’s magic, the situation quickly turned in our favor.
The ground was now stained red with pools of blood.
I collapsed onto the ground next to Elton, panting heavily.
That fight had been far more difficult than I’d anticipated.
After a moment, Nella cautiously emerged from the forest. She glanced briefly toward the area where another battle was raging deeper in the woods before approaching me.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, but this guy’s in bad shape.”
“Do you know him? His wounds look serious.”
“His name is Elton. He’s a comrade. Do you have any potions?”
“Wait a moment.”
As Nella rummaged for a potion, Elton, struggling to breathe, grabbed my shoulder tightly and rasped out my name—Arthur. Nella, startled, paused mid-motion, clearly surprised that Elton knew my real name.
Hearing Elton’s continued warnings, I subtly asked her about Karl’s condition. Nella shook her head.
“Karl Bastain is still alive.”
“Can I leave this guy’s treatment to you?”
“To me?”
“I think I need to move quickly.”
“…All right.”
While Nella tended to Elton, I got up and turned my attention to Lochter.
If I wanted to save Karl, I would need Lochter’s strength.
Where Karl was being held beyond the forest, the enemy forces were far too overwhelming for me to handle alone.
I needed someone to draw their attention, but the problem was that Lochter himself was currently locked in a fierce battle and couldn’t easily disengage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Heavy, explosive sounds of wind tearing through the air echoed non-stop. Each time Lochter swung his sword frantically, cracks began to form along the blade.
It was the invisible wind blade attack.
Even though I had already warned Lochter about the hidden trait of Jack and Howell, it was clear that knowing didn’t make it any easier to defend against.
“Was Jack always this strong?”
Part of the problem was that Lochter was exhausted from prolonged fighting, but the lack of a proper weapon was also a major issue.
Jack’s crow-feathered blades clashed with Lochter’s sword and scabbard repeatedly, shattering them one by one. Jack was even using artifacts, and despite Lochter’s formidable skills honed through years of experience, he couldn’t overpower Jack by sheer strength alone.
Lochter was barely holding on with the dwarf-forged dagger I’d given him, but since it wasn’t his main weapon, every exchange left him with more minor wounds.
Even if I joined in, it didn’t look like we’d be able to win easily.
I needed another plan.
“Nella, we have to call her.”
If we wanted to stop Jack, who was decked out with artifacts, we needed someone equally armed with artifacts—and that meant a 5-star combatant.
We needed someone to hold Jack down so we could pull Lochter out.
We needed Fenry Chaser.
“…Are you serious?”
Nella asked again, her expression darkening.
She was asking if I could handle it.
Even though Nella herself wasn’t in any danger, summoning Fenry was no trivial matter. I knew Fenry would likely try to devour me later, but as long as I could get the help I needed right now, I was prepared to endure whatever came afterward.
“Call her! Now!”
As a blue light—the mark of life—flared up on Nella’s hand, I summoned the Blood Drain Ring and launched an attack at Jack.
Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip!
Five arrows shot toward Jack in quick succession, but with a flick of his fingers, he shattered them all mid-air.
While Jack’s attention was momentarily diverted, Lochter moved to my side, and I let out a short breath, turning to look behind me.
It hadn’t been long, but it felt like ages since I’d last seen her.
Fenry Chaser.
Nella had summoned her suddenly, and her appearance was strangely familiar.
“Who’s your latest victim?”
Fenry had been counting gold coins with a sly smile, but upon noticing the situation, her expression froze like stone. Slowly turning her head to assess the scene, she fixed her gaze on me.
“Wait, no way…”
“It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”
“You son of a…!”
Fenry, who bore a striking resemblance to Nella but had a far sharper and more ruthless demeanor, sprang to her feet, summoning a black crow-feathered blade.