Chapter 66: The Threat to Drasen

"Kuoooo!"

“Kieeeeee!”

“Krawah!!”

“Grand Prince!”

As the cries of the monster horde and the voices of the soldiers, visible from outside the castle walls, chaotically mixed and echoed in my ears.

Muno, who had been lost in thought, finally raised his head.

'Right, now is not the time to worry about the cause.'

- It might be a situation deliberately induced by someone.

Whether that speculation is correct, and if so, who the culprit is, there is no way to know by worrying about it now.

Now was the time to deal with the monster horde that was rushing towards them, threatening Drasen.

Click.

- You never know what might happen when facing a large number of enemies.

Always wear a helmet.

Clack.

The feel of the helmet, which felt awkward unlike the armor that was a part of his body, was a little annoying, but it wasn't a big problem.

"Ready your bows.

I'm going first.

The rest of you, all of you, guard the walls!"

“Young Master, really……?!”

Muno, without answering the knight’s question any further, threw himself off the high castle wall.

Kooong.

Crunch.

As soon as he landed, he lightly pulled out his legs, which were buried up to his calves in the ground, and stared straight ahead.

A monster horde that had rushed towards Drasen again in just three days from the north, which had become quiet after defeating the Behemoth's group.

The first thing he saw was a horde of goblins, and the Gnolls chasing them.

And behind them were the Snow Trolls, white, hairy humanoid monsters, chasing those Gnolls.

A Monster Wave that easily seemed to number over a thousand.

But he didn't feel nervous.

‘Grade 0, 1, and 3, respectively.’

Now that he was wearing a helmet, he could just ignore the goblins' paralyzing spit and the Gnolls' arrows.

The only things to watch out for were the dozen or so grade 3 monsters, the Snow Trolls.

So.

“I’ll kill you all!”

Bang!

Muno’s body shot forward like a black wind.

Th-th-th-thud.

He ran like the wind, carrying a heavy weight as if a cavalry horse were running.

His acceleration speed in a short distance had already far surpassed that of any beast or horse.

“Keek!?”

He could clearly see the small pupils of the goblins, who had closed the distance in an instant, widening.

- If my strength is insufficient, I'll deal with the weak ones first to build momentum.

- If my strength is superior…….

‘I’ll strike the head of the pack.’

Rattle.

Muno, recalling his father’s words, extended chains from his limbs, aiming for the particularly large and demonic-energy-rich individuals in the goblin horde.

Whoosh.

Crunch.

The weights of the chains, which now boasted a range of over 50 meters, simultaneously burst the heads of four goblins.

“Die!!”

Whirl.

Slice, slice, slice.

Muno’s ‘Blade’, swung like lightning, became a blade whip and freely bent, instantly decapitating a dozen goblins in front of him.

“Kieeeek!”

“Krawk!?”

“Ki?”

Some of them froze in fear for a moment, but the goblin horde, which was already being chased by the Gnolls, couldn't stop even in that situation.

Clatter, clatter!

“Keeek!”

Even while screaming, the goblins were forcibly caught in the range of the repeatedly swung blade whip and offered up their lives.

Some of the numerous goblins were pushed to Muno’s close range.

And soon, with their reddened eyes shining, they attacked with small bone knives or paralyzing spit as if in a last-ditch effort, but all of that was meaningless in front of the ‘black beast’.

Thwack, thwack!

Ting!

Their insignificant attacks couldn’t even scratch the black beast’s exoskeleton.

“Hmph!”

Kaboom!

They were simply flung away by the shoulder and elbow charges that came at them with a snort, and tumbled to the ground.

The sight of a single human punching a hole through the center of the green wave.

The soldiers on the castle walls were looking down at that sight with their mouths agape.

And soon, a huge cheer erupted.

“Woooooah!”

“Long live the Grand Prince!”

“Long live the Black Knight!!”

The soldiers, who had been trembling in fear at the sight of the approaching monsters, finally began to relax.

But even in the midst of that, there were monsters that avoided Muno’s sword and were heading straight for the castle walls.

“Everyone, focus!! Load your arrows!!!”

The troops began to prepare for battle under the command of the knights.

The reddened eyes of most of the goblins rushing toward the castle were fixed on the ray of light shining through the castle gate.

Perhaps thinking that they could unlock the gate and invade with their small bodies and weapons, they soon began to flock in that direction.

And towards those bastards.

“Fire!!”

Swish, swish, swish.

A barrage of arrows began to pour down from the castle walls.

And the gazes of the knights who were commanding those soldiers still couldn’t be torn away from the front line of the battlefield where Muno was active.

‘How can he do that?’

‘Grand Prince, what happened to him in the meantime?’

‘That armor, that sword, and those movements…….’

Muno’s martial prowess, which they, as knights, could understand in more detail.

“At least when it comes to dealing with a large number of enemies, he might be better than the Lord……”

Everyone around him nodded at Larry’s unintentional muttering.

“I see some climbing up! Get ready!”

“Yes, sir!”

Until Gunter shouted upon seeing the horde of goblins climbing the castle walls, most of the knights could only stare blankly at Muno’s battle.

Muno, who had impressed even the knights, had broken through the green wave and was now facing the humanoid dogs that formed a higher, grayish-brown wave.

“Woof!”

“Grrrrrrr!”

About 200 Gnolls, fewer than the goblin horde.

But their actual combat power was much superior.

They were monsters that had established themselves as predators of low-level monsters, including goblins, in the northern mountain range, using their characteristic organization and weapon-handling combat culture.

As many as 200 of them, monsters that became much stronger when they gathered in a group rather than as individuals, were gathered here.

However.

“Hmph!”

To the current Muno, they were nothing more than slightly larger small fries than the goblins.

Bang!

Just by accelerating and charging into them, the Gnoll horde’s formation was shattered in an instant.

Shhh.

Slice.

The whip blade once again wrapped around the entire 10-meter range like the wind, decapitating the Gnolls as if they were scarecrows.

“Hup!”

Rattle.

Bang.

Subsequently, the chains that extended in all directions while he was in a state of leaping into the air accurately burst the heads of the ones that looked like bosses among the Gnoll horde.

And the blade whip that was swung even while he was performing acrobatics in the air was more than enough to slaughter the Gnolls below him.

“Kiiing!”

“Whimper!”

“Yelp.”

As the bosses and comrades of the pack died in droves in an instant following the charge of the black calamity, cracks began to form in the tightly organized Gnoll horde.

And soon.

“Woof!”

The moment the last boss died and fell.

“Yelp!”

The Gnoll horde, like the goblins, began to scatter in all directions to escape the black calamity.

‘It would be impossible to catch them all.’

The Gnolls were certainly more of a threat than the goblins.

But the more dangerous enemy now was the twelve monsters that were rushing in from behind them.

“Kuooooo!”

Thud. Thump. Thud.

Hairy, humanoid beasts boasting an enormous physique larger than any bear.

Monsters with monstrous strength befitting their size, agility unbecoming of their size, and even organization, as is typical of humanoid monsters.

It was these Snow Trolls that were known to act as the gatekeepers of the entrance to the depths of the northern mountain range.

In Drasen, the standard response upon seeing them was to retreat on the spot.

‘But those bastards have come all the way here…….’

But now, he couldn't do that.

Rattle.

Whoosh.

‘At least I have to catch all of these guys myself.’

As he changed the form of the blade whip he had been swinging repeatedly, the black and sturdy blade of the two-handed sword reflected the sunlight and revealed itself.

“Kuwaaaak!”

A giant Snow Troll that had come right up to him and was shouting.

The bastard didn't seem to be scared in the slightest, even after seeing him slaughter the goblin and Gnoll hordes.

It was probably because the bastard also had the martial power to do such a thing.

But.

‘It’s a fake, you bastard.’

Acceleration.

Crrrack.

The moment he made up his mind, his body was overloaded with a feeling as if the surrounding time was slowing down.

Whoosh.

First, he ducked his upper body to avoid the Snow Troll's rock-like fist, which seemed to be three times larger than his own head.

And using the inertia that shifted his center of gravity forward, he dug into the enemy's body at a low stance.

And.

Thud.

‘Wind Slicer.’

Tsssss.

The moment he stepped on the ground and raised his body again, swinging the two-handed sword vertically at the same time.

Crack.

The black and hard blade, wrapped in a brilliant light, tore the Snow Troll in front of him from the crotch up.

Pshhhh.

The Snow Troll’s blood, which splattered in all directions, made its comrades, who had been rushing in with a fearsome momentum, flinch.

“Kuoo!?”

“Kyaaaak!”

“Kurlak!”

The Snow Trolls, which had been about to ignore Muno and rush toward the castle walls, became enraged at the death of their comrades and began to swarm toward him.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The giant monsters, whose eye level was higher than a knight on horseback, were pressing in from all sides with killing intent at a speed faster than a horse.

Rattle.

At that moment, Muno used the recoil of his chains to flip his body and soar into the air about ten meters above and in front of him.

Bang. Bang!

“Kyaak!”

A few of the Snow Trolls, which had momentarily lost their target, slammed their rock fists at each other before following Muno’s movement a beat too late.

“Kuooooo!”

“Kyaruk!”

The enraged Snow Trolls all turned at once, and three of them leaped and soared into the air.

Bang!

Their jumping power, unbecoming of their huge size, was at a level that overwhelmed Muno.

The monsters had caught up to him in the air in an instant.

But Muno actually smiled at the sight.

‘Good.’

Rattle.

As the four chains that extended from the air wrapped around the necks and arms of two of them.

Muno’s body spun greatly in the air.

Whoooosh!

“Kuoo!?”

The fist of the Snow Troll that had jumped up first hit empty air.

“Kyaaak!”

The two Snow Trolls, who were even more enraged by the chains wrapped around their necks, neurotically tried to tear them off.

“Ku?”

“Keu?”

If only they hadn't felt their strength suddenly draining away.

“Die!”

And soon, a black two-handed sword dug into the neck of one of them.

Thwip.

“Keuruk!?”

The other one, in a state of having lost its balance in the air, tumbled to the ground.

Kaboom.

Thud.

“Kii?”

Now, the remaining Snow Trolls were one that had had some of its Origin Demonic Energy absorbed and was staggering after falling on its head, and nine that were still fine.

“Krawah!”

“Kyaaaak!”

The enraged Snow Trolls seemed to be getting faster as their anger grew.

But the situation was still overwhelmingly disadvantageous for them.

“Follow me, you idiots!”

Whoooosh.

Muno turned his back and started running toward the mountain range.

He, who was already running fast, was assisted by the four chains that extended from his limbs to accelerate even more or jump into the sky, taunting the Snow Trolls with three-dimensional maneuvers.

And occasionally, he would be hit by the Snow Trolls' rock-like fists or steel-like legs.

Bang!

“Gack!”

Every time Muno took such a blow, he would definitely inflict a fatal wound on the opponent or take their life.

“You rotten bastard, ha!!”

Crack.

“Keurureuk!”

And every time he completely finished off a dying Snow Troll by strangling it with his chains.

Crrrack.

“Hoooo……”

Muno’s movements, which had been staggering and coughing up blood and seemed about to collapse at any moment, would regain their strength and become faster again.

Thud.

“Kuooo?”

And so, the Snow Trolls laid their bodies on the earth one by one.

“Kuu……!?”

The moment the last remaining Snow Troll turned its body in fear instead of anger.

Thwip.

A large blade dug straight into the back of its head.

Thud.

Plop.

“Hook, hook. Thanks for running away. Damn it.”

Pshhh.

Pshhh.

The blood pouring from the back of the head of the Snow Troll that had fallen last.

‘That was close.’

Muno frowned as he felt the slow recovery of his wounds, even while absorbing the bastard’s demonic energy through the chain wrapped around its ankle.

‘As expected, monsters are not efficient.’

The demonic energy felt from each and every grade 3 monster, the Snow Troll, was clearly close to the level of a 4-Circle magician, but for some reason, the conversion rate to Origin Mana was not good.

Even more so than he had prepared for.

Of course, it was possible to have such a reckless battle because it was converted, even if only a little, but the damage was quite large.

“It hurts. Damn……”

But there was also something unexpected.

‘It’s sturdier than I thought.’

Muno smiled as he looked at his armor, which was already slightly dented here and there.

The monstrous strength of the Snow Troll, which seemed as if it could tear through any ordinary steel in an instant, had not been able to completely destroy his armor.

Of course, it wasn't unscathed, but this was something.

On top of that, there was another gain.

The energy efficiency of Acceleration, or more precisely, the secret art of the Drasen Greatswordmanship, had improved.

‘Now, the proportion of mana consumption is much higher than calories.’

He still felt his weight decreasing and calories being consumed moment by moment, but even that proportion had decreased a lot compared to before.

Most of the energy was being created by consuming mana, not calories.

‘If I can just increase the efficiency a little more…….’

A few positive futures were drawn, but he still couldn't see a way to pass it on to his family.

In the first place, the problem was whether it was even possible to store mana while using the Corporeal Arts of Gluttony…….

Crrrack.

His continuing thoughts were cut off the moment he had healed all his internal injuries with the absorbed energy.

“Now is not the time for this.”

His vision immediately returned.

Looking at the northern wall of Drasen, which still seemed to be covered in green, Muno started running again.

And that day.

All the forces of Drasen could clearly engrave in their eyes just how far a single knight could slaughter a large number of monsters.