Chapter 63: The Knight of Gluttony

"Kwaaaaaak!"

"Aaargh!"

Private Aaron squeezed his eyes shut and, letting out a scream that could have been a battle cry, thrust his spear.

The fear of the giant, hairy beast right in front of him, which seemed about to crush him at any moment, made the tip of his spear tremble.

'Mom…….'

The moment Aaron felt his death was imminent.

Crack.

The large, hairy humanoid monster, a Snow Troll, that was threatening him was split vertically in two.

And in its place, a sturdy, middle-aged knight emitting steam(?) from his entire body landed.

“My lord!!”

“Never retreat! If we retreat, our families will die!!”

“M-My lord……”

Aaron burst into tears of relief as he blankly watched the giant, glowing red greatsword, which had just slain the monster before him, being swung in the air.

And then.

- Fight!!

Crunch.

Crrrunch.

Slice.

His gaze slowly followed the back of his lord, who was charging forward as if to grind down the monsters in front of him.

- For our families!

The lord’s shouts could be heard continuously.

Not for himself.

“For our families……”

Mom.

Aaron recalled his old mother, who would be at home praying to the seven gods for him, and gripped his spear again.

And deliberately ignoring his slightly soiled trousers, he patted his weak legs and stood up, leaning on his spear.

Come to think of it, it was something he had heard a lot when he had volunteered as a soldier and started training.

The soldiers of Drasen were not taught loyalty to their lord.

Rather.

- If I kill one monster, one of my family members lives. Thrust with that resolve!

They were taught to take up their spears solely with the will to protect the people of the territory, or more precisely, their own families.

That training helped him overcome the fear of death, even if only a little.

And.

- I will take the lead!! Follow me!!

Following the back of his lord, who was fighting harder than anyone else at the front, swinging his red greatsword.

Aaron also began to walk a little faster.

He was scared, but there was a strange, captivating charm to his lord’s vigorous charge.

So, to forget his fear, he recalled a good memory.

- You have talent, Aaron.

- It’s basic Corporeal Arts.

Not the junk that mercenaries learn. Simple, ancient Corporeal Arts that are faithful to the basics.

Recite it like a spell whether you are sitting, standing, or sleeping. The key is…….

The Corporeal Arts that his neighbor, Larry, no, Sir Larry who had now become a knight, had taught him.

“The key is to go beyond my limits and expand myself.”

- If I defeat a monster, my family will live.

- And if I keep defeating monsters like that, I might overcome my limits and awaken.

- Then I’ll become a knight and…….

“Live well and eat well.”

He could provide for his mother, who had lost her husband early and lived for her only son, in a warm house and serve her good food.

“I can do it too.”

Kill monsters and protect my family.

Go beyond myself and change my life.

‘I can do it.’

And the steps that began like that, that earnestness, began to swallow his fear.

Aaron’s heart began to beat a little faster.

It was the same pounding he had felt when he had almost died earlier, but his mindset had changed.

And that simple shift in perception led to a completely different action from him.

“For the territory, for Drasen!”

From fear, to courage.

Aaron’s footsteps, as he started running while shouting, began to get faster and faster without him even realizing it.

“Hoooo……”

Ryan Drasen tightened his grip on his beloved sword, ‘Slayer’, and swung it from side to side.

Flash.

Slice.

Whoooooosh!

Wind Slicer.

The basic secret art of the Drasen Greatswordmanship sliced the five boss-class Gnolls that were blocking his way in half.

But unlike his vigorous swordsmanship, his heart was growing anxious.

‘How on earth?’

The more he swung his sword, the more he looked around, the more bewildered he became.

Monsters filled every direction.

There seemed to be no end to the horde of monsters, which numbered in the thousands.

At first, he had come out to intercept a pack of Gnolls led by a Snow Troll, but at some point, various monsters from the northern mountain range had swarmed out and surrounded Drasen’s elites.

‘Damn it.’

He, who was born a knight and had sworn to die a knight, was not afraid of this situation.

He just couldn’t understand it.

There should be a food chain among monsters where they eat each other.

‘How can monsters form an alliance?

Does this even make sense?’

A situation he had never experienced in his life.

But in any case, there was only one thing he could do now.

Kill the enemy in front of him.

“Gunter! Rodney!”

Crack.

“Kieee……”

With another strike of the Wind Slicer, a giant lizard the size of a house was split in half and collapsed.

The huge body, several times larger than the range of the blade, was sharply cut, and it sprayed hot blood onto the ground.

A miracle created by the ‘Mana blade’ emitted from his artifact, Slayer.

Thud.

And behind the fallen giant body, the monsters were retreating in disarray.

And in between them, the voices he had been waiting for were heard.

“Yes! My lord!”

“Here we are! My lord!”

The strongest knights in Drasen, aside from himself, had approached him at some point.

Ryan did not look at them and aimed his sword forward.

“We’ll break through the front. I need to see the face of the bastard who orchestrated this.”

He couldn't feel the demonic energy of monsters like his son, Muno.

But the superhuman senses of a 4-Star knight and decades of battlefield experience had given him the bizarre ability to read the flow of military aura and grasp its center.

Of course, that wasn’t something anyone could do.

- You really, your talent is one of a kind…….

Ryan gave a grim smile as he recalled the words of his lord and master, Enoch Trian.

“But my lord, your body now!”

“You’ve expended too much!”

Gunter and Rodney’s words were not wrong.

More than half of the flesh he had put on to the point of being excessive had already evaporated.

‘But I can’t retreat.’

The monsters, which had been hesitating, were gathering in front of him again.

He couldn't use up all his strength cutting down these small fries.

“So, you two, please take care of those things.

I will save my strength to catch the culprit behind this incident.”

Ryan moved his body before his knights’ replies came back.

“Ha!”

He began to charge once more toward the center of the military aura he had detected.

And behind him, Gunter and Rodney followed.

“Damn it! Rodney!”

“Yes, sir! Let’s go!”

The two knights, who both used halberds, ran on either side of Ryan and began to slaughter the monsters.

Crack.

And Ryan, refraining from using the secret arts that consumed a large amount of calories, cut down the enemies with just the basics of greatswordmanship.

Of course, even with just that, his fatigue was gradually accumulating, but that was a daily occurrence.

There was no history of the Knight of Gluttony collapsing from mere fatigue.

‘Though there have been many times I’ve collapsed from hunger…….’

Even while having such idle thoughts, he swung Slayer again and again and advanced toward the center of the military aura he felt.

And beyond the mountain ridge he had crossed after breaking through the forest of monsters, he came face to face with a monster of unbelievable size.

“Krawrawrawrawraw!”

A giant body with the head of a lion at an impossibly high place, and the magnificent wings of an eagle on its back.

And.

“Hiss.”

A tail in the shape of a large snake’s head.

Thud.

“Grrrr.”

The monster, which instantly contaminated the surrounding forest with just the breath it exhaled from its head, stared straight at them.

A monster of estimated grade 6.

The cause of this entire incident was right before his eyes.

“B-Behemoth!?”

“My lord!?”

Gunter and Rodney looked back at Ryan with surprised eyes.

He knew what their gazes meant, but Ryan was smiling.

He didn't know why a monster that should be deep in the northern mountain range was here now, or how it was controlling the other monsters.

But in any case, there was only one thing he had to do.

“……Fuck, I might die today if I’m not careful.”

“My lord?”

“Retreat. Gunter, Rodney. I’ll handle that one.

You’ll only get in the way!”

“My lord!!!”

“You can’t!”

“I can!”

Ryan brushed off the dissuasions from those around him and charged straight toward the Behemoth.

Then he saw the giant monster’s face scrunch up slightly.

A look that said, ‘How dare you challenge me?’

It was indeed a reckless act.

A monster’s grade is determined based on the fact that three or more superpowered individuals of the same level are needed to safely hunt it.

In other words, the 4-Star Ryan Drasen could never defeat the grade 6 monster Behemoth.

That was the logical conclusion.

But the person in question thought differently.

‘I can do it.’

He had earned his nickname, the Knight of Gluttony, after dismembering a grade 5 monster, a Snow Troll.

He was confident that, at least in a short-term battle, he was a powerhouse who surpassed his grade.

And now, even if he couldn’t.

‘I must.’

He was Ryan Drasen.

The lord of the Drasen territory and a knight who bore the duty to protect everyone who lived there.

If he left that monster alone, the territory would be destroyed.

So.

‘Even if I have to bet my everything, I will end it.’

He doesn't think about the aftermath when fulfilling his duty.

“Kwaaaaaaaang!”

When the Behemoth’s breath, filled with a thick demonic energy that contaminated the world, rushed straight toward Ryan.

‘The first step is…….’

Acceleration.

“Swaaaaa……”

Crrrack.

He rapidly consumed the calories in his body and turned himself into wind.

And that wind leaped over the black storm and headed for the monster’s head.

And.

‘A swift and decisive battle.’

Flash.

‘Answer me, my sword.’

He activated all of Slayer’s functions at the same time and raised his sword.

And the moment the Drasen Greatswordmanship’s secret art, Space Slicer, which he had mastered upon reaching 4-Star, was about to follow.

Flash.

The Behemoth’s tail, no, the snake’s pupils suddenly flashed, and that bright yellow light dug into his mind.

- Obey!

For a moment, his mind went blank, and his concentration wavered.

At the same time, his vision suddenly changed drastically.

A sense of helplessness, as if only his body was floating blankly in a black world, washed over him.

And soon, that black space slowly began to constrict his body.

It was clear what it was.

‘Slayer also has a mental magic defense function, though?’

An unbelievable situation.

Just as his mind was gradually fading and he thought he would die so absurdly.

The faces of his wife and sons flashed through his mind.

And also his own figure with them.

- A knight does not retreat!

The words he had always emphasized to his sons brought him to his senses.

Of course, that didn't mean a way to overcome the crisis would suddenly appear.

He only remembered one thing.

‘Slayer’s all functions are enhanced according to the user’s ability.’

So, he would explode all of his abilities.

Even for a moment.

Even if it meant sacrificing his life.

He had said it in a joking tone earlier, but now it seemed he really had to sacrifice his life.

As expected, nothing comes easy.

‘My dear, my sons…….’

Will I be able to see you again?

Ryan briefly set aside his weak heart and steeled his resolve.

While recalling the family’s secret art that was impossible at the 4-Star level of the Corporeal Arts of Gluttony.

He gripped his sword again.

And.

‘Double Acceleration.’

He began to pour all the energy in his body into it while recalling its principles.

And as soon as he did, an indescribable pain washed over him.

‘Keuuuuuh.’

A feeling as if his entire body and soul were being compressed into a single point and squeezed.

And a huge amount of energy welled up in proportion to that pain.

And at some point, he realized.

That the wall that had been blocking his way for a long time was beginning to crumble.

‘This is the fifth…….’

At that moment.

Flash.

The illusion that had been bewitching him began to shatter.

Crack, crackle.

But was it indeed impossible to break through the trick of a grade 6 monster with just the auxiliary ability of an artifact?

The black space that had been blocking his vision only shattered in part.

And Ryan had to engage in battle with a limited vision, as if looking out through a broken window.

‘Damn…….’

The moment he tried to force his body to move in the worst of situations.

At the same time as he felt like he had seen a ‘black chain’ in his complicated vision.

Clang!

The illusion finally shattered completely.

And.

“Father!!!”

A familiar voice pierced his eardrums and brought him to his senses.

‘Hmph, how embarrassing!’

Crunch.

His emaciated body, which had become gaunt at some point, exerted a monstrous strength and tore apart the Behemoth’s tail, the snake’s head, that had half-swallowed him.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaak!”

Thud. Thud. Bang.

The rampaging Behemoth, and the figure of his son madly evading its movements.

In the midst of the dizzyingly intertwined vision.

He shouted.

“Son! I’ll leave the rest to you!!”

And he focused all the energy writhing inside his body into his sword.

The feeling of his entire body being torn apart strangely gave him a destructive pleasure.

And soon.

The giant monster in front of him was also torn apart.