The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 77

64. The Great Hunt (3)

“Do you have a strategy?”

Baykan gazed at the massive serpent coiled and asleep atop the hill, resembling a giant nest.

“You must be tired from climbing. How about a bite to eat?”

“…….”

He frowned at Kayril, who, unlike him, showed no signs of tension.

Swish— Swish—

Skillfully starting a fire and placing dried meat inside, Kayril handed him a canteen.

“It’s distilled liquor made from Katu fruit. Brought it from Azor; it’s quite rare.”

Baykan stared at him incredulously.

“I don’t think you’re even of age.”

“In the North, we drink this kind of liquor from a young age. You’ll freeze to death if you don’t. It’s not as warm there as it is in the South.”

“…….”

Baykan wiped the sweat from his brow, chuckling at Kayril’s nonchalant explanation of the scorching heat of the hilly terrain as ‘warm.’

“Eating food with prey in sight… A hunter would never do that.”

“The Sand Serpent has poor olfactory senses, so don’t worry about it smelling us. Besides, liquor made from Katu fruit, unlike other liquors, helps retain moisture in the body. Think of it as preparation for the hunt.”

“I hope you know that its hearing and sight are excellent, despite its poor sense of smell.”

“Of course.”

Kayril said, pulling out the meat.

“It can see prey hundreds of meters away. It must have already spotted us.”

“It couldn’t have; don’t worry too much.”

“What?”

“Its eyesight is so good that its visibility is reduced during the day due to the sunlight. In short, daytime is when you can hunt it. We’ll start right after we fill our bellies.”

Thump—

Kayril tossed a piece of moderately cooked meat to Baykan.

“…….”

Silently, he stared at the meat Kayril had thrown, then took a large bite.

“The Sand Serpent’s attack pattern is simple. Like wild monsters, it fights instinctively. But it has a special ability.”

Baykan, who was stuffing meat into his mouth, replied to Kayril’s words.

“Sidewinding.”

“That’s right.”

The Sand Serpent also uses sidewinding, a unique snake-like movement of moving in a zigzag pattern.

“It’s similar to a snake, but also different, as it has no limbs.”

[Krrrrrrrr…]

A low roar of the monster was heard from the nest where the pillars stood in the distance.

At that moment.

Something massive soared from the hill, piercing through the clouds and moving leisurely.

“To be able to move like that even in the sky.”

The Sand Serpent was flying well in the empty sky, as if crawling on the ground.

“Its visibility is about 480 meters [approximately 1575 feet], but it drops to half that when the sun is at its peak.”

“Hmm…”

“Baykan, what’s the range of your bow?”

“A little over 250m [approximately 820 feet].”

“Accuracy?”

“Anything within range.”

Kayril chuckled lightly at his words.

“Better than the Bi Gung tribe.”

Then, he drew the shape of a long snake on the dirt floor and said.

“The reason it can float in the sky is that it can move its scales individually. It pushes wind into the spaces created between the scales through sidewinding.”

“And?”

“Sidewinding, which requires zigzag movement, may seem trivial, but there is a slight delay when changing direction.”

Baykan frowned slightly at his words.

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe it.

‘How does he know this? Even I, who am from the South, have never been close to the hills.’

Curiosity arose along with suspicion about the boy in front of him.

“The hunting method is simple. Keep your distance as much as possible when it moves in a straight line and attack with arrows. Then, attack inside the scales the moment it changes direction.”

Kayril pointed below the neck of the serpent’s shape drawn on the floor.

“Coordination is important, but simply piercing the flesh won’t inflict a fatal wound on it. Inside the seventh scale. Like a dragon, it has a reverse scale [a weak point]. You have to cut that off.”

“…….”

Baykan put the meat Kayril gave him into his mouth, wiped his lips, and said.

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“As I said before coming here, I only want to bring back one corpse when leaving the hills. Besides, you said that hunters do their best for the hunt. The victory or defeat should be decided after catching it.”

Kayril’s words left him speechless.

[He’s putting on quite the act. Deciding after catching it? Aren’t you indifferent to victory or defeat from the start? You’re trying to win over that big guy’s heart.]

‘Shut up.’

Although he said that, he chuckled at Allen’s words, who seemed to see through Kayril’s intentions like a wily old fox.

Whish…….

The wind blew.

The wind created by the serpent’s flexible movements as it glided scattered the two men’s hair.

At that moment.

Kayril’s eyes gleamed.

* * *

“Jen… Zang!”

Thomson shivered in the biting cold, pulling his thick robe over his head.

“This damn cold feels like it’s penetrating even the body temperature magic. I’m going to die.”

Northern hills.

Thomson, walking through a blizzard where it was difficult to see even an inch ahead, gritted his teeth as he looked at the Sherpas [mountain guides] silently walking ahead of him.

‘If it weren’t for the Master’s orders…’

The North, where the Edict of Heresy Extermination had been issued, was literally a battlefield. Searching for a minority group in this situation was bound to be dangerous.

Thomson had pondered for a long time whether to find and send someone useful, as Kayril had said, or to move himself.

In name, he was the Guild Master, but Kayril was the real owner.

This was the first mission he had given.

‘I have to complete it no matter what. I can’t leave it to the other guys.’

He found it strange that he was going this far to look good to a mere twelve-year-old kid.

But Thomson had a sense he had gained from his long mercenary life.

‘I need to be by the Master’s side as much as possible.’

He didn’t know why, but he felt he had to do something for him.

“Damn it… Still, I can’t get used to this cold. Do all the minority groups in the North live in places like this?”

Thomson drank the liquor he had put inside his robe.

“Hooah, there was a reason the Master told me to bring it. Liquor is a hundred times better than magic.”

Only then, with the hot energy passing through his throat, did Thomson feel like he had the strength to walk a little further.

Swish—!!

It was then.

“Aaaagh!”

Along with a sharp whistling sound cutting through the wind, one of the Sherpas guiding the way screamed and collapsed.

Pushing through the people panicking from the sudden attack, Thomson hurriedly checked on the fallen man.

“Kuh…”

Fortunately, the arrow was lodged in his arm, not his heart.

‘Where did it come from?’

Thomson hurriedly cast a detection spell.

But perhaps because of the cold of the North, he couldn’t sense anyone nearby.

“A magician.”

At that moment.

A low voice heard from behind him.

‘Huh, when?!’

“Stop.”

The enemy, who had attacked him from behind in an instant without being caught by magic, was undoubtedly skilled.

“Put a blindfold on him.”

As soon as the order was given, Thomson’s vision went dark.

Not being able to see made the fear even more overwhelming.

“Why did the pig from the center come all the way here? What are you imperial bastards up to?”

“No, I’m not an imperial person.”

Thomson hurriedly waved his hands.

“Heeik?!”

But despite his words, a sharp spear blade touched the back of his neck.

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“I brought a message from the Master in Azor.”

“Master? What message did you bring? We have no connection with you guys in the center.”

“That’s…”

Thomson closed his mouth.

Then, he said with a complicated heart.

“Are you the Wolf-Fox tribe?”

“Looks like you want to die. Just answer the question.”

“Heeik…!!”

“Stop.”

It was then.

A sharp voice heard through the low voice.

Thomson focused his senses and knew that the person now approaching was above the one who had aimed the spear at him.

‘Damn it, I guess I came to the right place. I can’t see anything… I can get out if I use magic. But that’s a foolish thing to do. I have to complete the mission no matter what.’

“I’ll ask you again. Who are you?”

“Didn’t I say it a little while ago? I’m Thomson of the Ulkas Guild, based in Azor. I brought a message from the Master.”

“Who is your Master that he sent a message to us?”

The question changed.

Even if his life was in danger, he couldn’t say the contents of the message without confirming that they were the Wolf-Fox tribe.

But he could say his name, no matter who the other party was.

Thomson said in a trembling voice.

“Ka… Kayril.”

Whoosh—!!

At that moment.

The blindfold that had covered his eyes was removed again.

A cold and harsh wind rushed in, and Thomson couldn’t open his eyes properly.

But even in the blurry vision, he could clearly see the red hair fluttering.

“Say it again. What’s the name?”

And…

The fox-like yellow eyes were staring sharply at him.

* * *

Crack—

The vibrating bowstring of the giant bow trembled.

His face and body were covered in wounds, and there wasn’t a single unscathed spot.

Crunch.

Baykan clenched his teeth.

It seemed like heat haze was rising from his shoulders due to the intense heat.

“Now!”

The moment his eyes flashed sharply.

A fierce roar erupted from the bowstring that had been pulled as if it would break.

Kwaaaang—!!

The arrow shot out, piercing through the air currents and accurately hitting between the scales of the serpent that was flying in the sky.

“The reverse scale hasn’t opened yet! Prepare for the second shot!”

There was no time to enjoy the pleasure of hitting the target.

At Kayril’s shout, Baykan pulled the bowstring again.

He himself didn’t understand why he, who was in a competitive relationship, was fighting following Kayril’s orders.

Peeing……!!

The sharp arrow was shot, but it barely grazed the side of the serpent.

“Damn it!!”

The questions lingering in his head were not important.

His body was already moving instinctively.

“It’ll be tough, but focus. It looks like the scales will be pierced if we do a little more.”

“Hoo… Hoo…”

He nodded instead of answering.

“We’ve been fighting non-stop for over a day and a half. You must be starting to miss the meat we ate last, right?”

“Humph…”

He was clearly exhausted, but he didn’t express any particular dissatisfaction to Kayril.

He had no choice.

Shooting the bow for over 40 hours was hard labor, but Kayril was the bait luring the serpent into his range.

“No problem.”

“It’s something that wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t you. It’s amazing that you haven’t fallen.”

Baykan felt angry at his words.

‘But you’re not even breathing hard.’

He was about to say that, but he swallowed his words in the end.

Soon.

Noon will come again.

‘The time when the Sand Serpent weakens…’

Baykan knew that this was the decisive moment without needing an explanation.

Dozens of arrows stuck here and there.

On the second day.

The Sand Serpent, which seemed fine, was also losing strength.

[What on earth are you thinking?]

At that moment.

Allen Xabius asked Kayril, who was encouraging Baykan.

[The last shot a little while ago. Didn’t you deliberately change the direction and miss the arrow?]

‘That’s right.’

It would have been surprising if Baykan had heard the two men’s conversation, but Kayril said calmly as if nothing was wrong.

[Why did you do that?]

‘Baykan needs to feel how strong that guy is.’

[What do you mean?]

‘The reason the hills weren’t conquered in the previous life isn’t because they couldn’t catch the serpent.’

[Then?]

Kayril looked at the rampaging monster and said in a low voice.

‘It’s because there’s no need to conquer it. When the Empire attacked the South, the owner of the hills was already gone.’

[Don’t tell me…….]

‘That’s right. When I go back, I’ll be sitting on top of that guy’s head. That’s the real purpose of why I suggested the Great Hunt.’

Allen Xabius was so surprised by his words, which he couldn’t even imagine, that he coughed in vain.

‘Simply hunting is not enough to subdue the tribes. The overwhelming and absolute difference in power. Subjugation is more effective than hunting to show that.’

[You crazy bastard… You’re going to tame that monster?]

‘That’s right.’

[Is that even possible……?]

At his question, Kayril grinned.

‘There’s no reason why I can’t do what I did in my previous life. However, unlike back then, eight years later, it’s impossible alone with an incomplete body.’

[So you brought that big guy to fill the lacking power? You evil bastard. How many moves are you thinking about?]

‘Is that a compliment?’

[Kekeke… Yes. It’s a compliment.]

At Allen’s words, which were like a low sigh, Kayril adjusted his sword.

“It’s time to finish.”