The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 11

Baron’s Family Second Son – Episode 11

< Baron's Family Second Son – Episode 11 – >

The sword had pierced so deeply that only the hilt was visible above the Basilisk’s back. No matter how large the Basilisk was, it couldn’t remain unaffected with a sword nearly one meter long embedded in its back.

Like someone with an itchy back unable to reach the spot, the Basilisk began to rampage, trying to shake off the knights clinging to its back. However, the knights, like reeds that bend but do not break in the wind, held onto the sword hilts, enduring the shaking rather than falling off. Consequently, contrary to their initial goal, the wound on its back only grew larger.

*Thwack!*

Eventually, the Basilisk spewed out poison again. But unlike last time when they had to retreat, they held their breath and endured from behind. They knew that once they stepped back, it would be difficult to seize an opportunity like this again. Thanks to this, Yild and I were kept busy. We had to blow away the poison and hold onto the Basilisk’s feet to prevent its escape.

*Thud!*

As time passed, the Basilisk eventually collapsed on its own. It was clear at a glance that its violent movements had decreased, and it was struggling with pain. Like a bull exhausted from chasing a matador [a bullfighter], the Basilisk was gradually dying. Its end was obvious.

#

“Thank you. If it weren’t for Yild, something terrible would have happened.”

“I didn’t do anything, yet you’re praising me excessively.”

“You say you didn’t do anything, but if you hadn’t created that brief opening, I wouldn’t be alive right now.”

“Thank you. But shouldn’t you say that to Renil instead? It wasn’t my doing. In fact, I couldn’t even react at that moment. It wasn’t me who saved your life.”

After confirming the Basilisk’s death, Wisp bowed to Yild in gratitude. Wisp wasn’t the only one bowing. The surrounding party members also expressed their thanks. They knew how dangerous the situation had been. However, they stared at me with wide eyes at Yild’s subsequent words.

The Basilisk had such strong magic resistance that it wouldn’t even blink at magic of considerable power. Furthermore, Wisp’s crisis happened in the blink of an eye, so there was no time to prepare. Even in such adverse conditions, he bought some time, so they were thinking, ‘As expected of Yild,’ when he suddenly said it was my doing, which was quite perplexing.

However, Yild had no reason to lie, nor did he have any reason to promote me on purpose. As I gave an awkward smile, Wisp approached me and expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you so much. If you hadn’t bought me that little bit of time, I would have died, or even if I lived, it wouldn’t have been much of a life.”

“You’re welcome. I just did what I had to do.”

“Still, the fact that you saved my life doesn’t change. I will never forget this favor. If you ever have any difficulties, be sure to come to me. I will do my best to help you within my capabilities.”

There was a crisis, but we were able to successfully finish the hunt. There were injuries, but none were severe enough to hinder movement, so the atmosphere was quite amicable.

“The injured should treat their wounds, and the rest should recover their strength and guard the surroundings. Another monster might come looking.”

The noise from the battle was quite loud. The large monster, the Basilisk, was rampaging and roaring at the top of its lungs, after all.

However, precisely because of that, the probability of monsters being nearby was low. The Basilisk was a monster that ranked among the highest of the high-ranking species.

Since such a creature had caused such a commotion, no ordinary monster would even dare to approach. While the party members rested and guarded the surroundings, Yild and I approached the Basilisk’s corpse.

“Be careful. Even after death, poison continues to flow from its fangs. If you get injured by mistake, you’ll be poisoned.”

“I’ll be careful.”

There was much to salvage from the Basilisk’s corpse: the poison sac that spewed out extreme poison, the teeth that crunched even steel, and the hide that was difficult to even scratch with an ordinary sword.

Although the meat couldn’t be eaten due to the poison’s influence, there was no need to regret it considering the value of the other parts. The problem was that all of this could be obtained when given enough time. However, in a situation where we had to move from place to place, there wasn’t much we could salvage. But at least one thing, what Yild and I were aiming for, could still be obtained now.

“What eye size is this…”

“Don’t make eye contact. Now that it’s dead, most of the magic from when it was alive has disappeared, so it won’t kill you, but there’s no good in looking directly at it.”

The eyeballs were as large as its massive size, easily larger than a fist. Therefore, extracting the eyeballs alone was a task, and we couldn’t extract them with just my and Yild’s strength, so we were able to remove the eyeballs from the corpse only after receiving help from the knights.

After confirming that Yild had put the eyeballs into his magic pouch, I indulged in pleasant fantasies. Since we had decided to share them, one eyeball was mine to do as I pleased. There were many things I could do.

As a material containing magic, it could be used in various experiments, or it could be sold at a high price since it was difficult to obtain, and then I could purchase the materials I needed. Either way, it was a profit.

“It’s time to move on. You’re not thinking of being satisfied with catching one in a day, are you?”

“Let’s do that. First, let’s take these to the temporary residence.”

After storing the considerably thick hide, which the knights could only separate from the muscles by infusing magic into their swords, at the temporary residence, we set out again to find monsters. There wasn’t much time left until winter arrived, and there were many monsters to catch.

#

About ten days had passed, and our party had not suffered any fatalities, although there were injuries. However, it didn’t take long to confirm that this was due to sheer luck. We saw the markings left by our companions throughout the monsters’ land so they could join us at our temporary residence.

“Yild!”

“Are you all that’s left of the survivors…?”

“Sob.”

When we returned to the temporary residence after finishing the hunt, the group that had started with fourteen members had only seven left.

Six knights and one mage. Not all of those seven were unscathed. One had left an arm somewhere, as only his left arm was visible, and another was missing his right leg.

Two were unconscious and collapsed, and the only mage was covering half of his face with bandages. The rest looked fine on the outside, but it was uncertain whether they were fine on the inside as well.

“What on earth… I’m sorry. I asked a pointless question.”

Yild blurted out the words without realizing it and quickly shut his mouth. This is the land of monsters. And we came here to hunt monsters, and it wasn’t difficult to know the reason even without asking what happened.

Of course, if we heard the details of what happened, we would be careful not to let such a situation happen again, but there was no need to listen to it right now while touching their trauma.

And that sight was enough to engrave a sense of urgency in me.

‘We were lucky.’

The skill difference between each group isn’t that great. In the first place, when forming the groups, the members were distributed considering their skills. Nevertheless, so many people died and were injured. Of course, this group may have been particularly unlucky. But it was certainly much higher than the probability that everyone would be safe like us.

It wasn’t just me who had such thoughts, as everyone’s eyes showed even more tension than when we caught the Basilisk on the first day. There were still more than two weeks left until the full-fledged winter. We still had to spend almost twice as much time here as we had already spent, and there was no guarantee that we wouldn’t be in the same situation.

“What should we do?”

“What else can we do but send them back? We left markings in various places so that we could know the location of other groups in preparation for this situation. Fortunately, our group doesn’t have anyone so injured that they can’t move, so there’s no need to wait for another group.”

Even if limbs are cut off, it doesn’t mean they can’t fight anymore. The mages had done their best in such situations, and the wounds had healed well. There were artificial arms developed by the Magic Tower, so they could pick up a sword again if they tried. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to show the prowess of their prime.

Furthermore, the reason why they had to be sent back alive wasn’t just that. As I said repeatedly, the Terra Barrier is one of the most dangerous places in the Empire.

It was said that if the Empire didn’t have the monsters’ land in the north, they might have started a continental unification war decades ago. Of course, no one wants to come here. Whether they are knights, mages, or soldiers.

Nevertheless, the reason why they silently head to the Terra Barrier is because it gives knights honor and takes care of the soldiers’ families. But if we abandon them just because they can no longer fight on the front lines, who would try their best to defend the barrier? That should never happen.

“Nikolai.”

“Yes, yes! Yild.”

“You can still maintain presence concealment in that state, right?”

“Of course.”

“Take the injured back to the Terra Barrier with the knights.”

This place isn’t far from the Terra Barrier. If they suppress their presence and avoid battles, they should be able to reach the Terra Barrier in a few days. Even if a battle breaks out, if the knights focus on escaping with all their might, they should be able to shake off any but the fastest monsters.

“As you say.”

“I wish you good fortune. I’ll see you back at the Terra Barrier.”

#

Three knights, including Lord Wisp, returned to the Terra Barrier with the injured. After safely escorting them to the Terra Barrier, they would rejoin us. Thanks to the knights who were relatively unscathed among them joining us without returning to the barrier, there was no difference in numbers, but their determination was clearly different from yesterday.

“Everyone be careful. We could be in that state at any time. We were just lucky. Let’s not cause any more unnecessary casualties.”

“We will keep that in mind.”

The autumn expedition continued after that. We caught ogres, encountered basilisks again, and had a difficult fight with drakes, which were called subspecies of dragons. There were times when we encountered wyvern packs and hid deep in the ground until they disappeared, and there were times when we were troubled by griffins who only threw fireballs from the sky without coming down to the ground.

In the meantime, some people died, and some were injured to the point where they had difficulty moving. The process of meeting companions in similar situations as us, sending off companions again, and joining forces with those who were unharmed was repeated, and full winter was approaching.

“Everyone has worked hard so far. Many companions have died and been injured, but everyone has performed their duties admirably. Let’s not let our guard down until the end and let everyone return safely.”

“Yes!”

Starting with the declaration of Tres, the commander of the 3rd Knight Order, whom we met during the expedition, we began our return to the longed-for Terra Barrier. The Terra Barrier, which we had been afraid of dying in and wanted to escape from as soon as possible until just a month ago, now felt like home. I wasn’t the only one feeling that way. Everyone moved their feet as if they had been waiting for those words.

“Congratulations on your return.”

However, the Terra Barrier was still neither safe nor warm. We weren’t the only ones fighting desperately. After safely returning to the Terra Barrier, hearing Duke Zick’s words of appreciation for our hard work, and returning to my room to relieve the fatigue of the past few months, I heard from my companions that Gaius had died.

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