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nChapter 81

nProofreader: somnium

nBang!

nTwenty guns fired all at once.

nHowever, the speed of the rushing Karam group was not slowed down at all.

nRather, as if they were familiar with the sound of the gun, they leaned on their stomach, lowered their height to avoid bullets, and ran with their four arms and two legs.

nKaram’s back is covered with pure white fur. So the shape looked as if snow became waves and pouring out.

n“Kaha! Kahaho!”

nThe sound of shouting came through the wind.

nCollin, a young knight, breathed in the overbearing form.

nHe made a merit in the Western Army and was erected as a knight. And he followed Cedric to the north for the first time this year.

nHe’s experienced enough of the battle with the monsters.

nHowever, this was the first time for Karam.

nHe learned enough to know that Karam is different from other monsters. However, he turned blue at Karam’s momentum.

nOutside of Evron, Karam was just the name of a fierce monster. The same was true in the west.

nCollin was imagining something like a bunch of small ogres. Of course, he would be weaker than an ogre.

nHowever, facing Karam face-to-face was fundamentally different.

nThey could not be mistaken for humans. Karam had four arms and three eyes, and their height was slightly over two meters.

nTheir dense muscles were tough enough to be called a monster’s. Agility and physical mobility were also more overwhelming than humans’.

nConversely, compared to humans, they were similar enough to find little differences.

nNo one comes to this world and says that trolls do not resemble humans.

nHowever, there are many people who say Karam is different from humans. Even in the temple.

nKaram walked on their two feet and used their hands. Their fur was only on their back and head. They knew how to make tools and use weapons. They developed mines and built farms. They put on clothes.

nThey were different in the structure of the vocal cords, and they screamed in something that humans could not imitate, and they could not imitate people’s words. However, they communicated via their language.

nThey lived divided into several tribes, and there was also political conflict between the tribes.

nThe use of hands was not as sophisticated as humans, and the tactics were simple. However, it was clearly different from the existence that could be called a monster.

nNortherners did not think of Karam as a simple monster. There is also barter-level trade. There is also a mixed race between humans and Karam.

nBut the people in the mainland would not be able to comprehend such things. Although Collin knew about it, this was his first time to see them in person.

nAlthough it resembles a human, the apparently different beings are lying down and running with their four hands and two feet, giving an instinctive sense of rejection and fear.

nAnother knight tapped the terrified Collin on the shoulder.

n“Don’t worry. Have you ever dealt with a direwolf?”

n“Yes.”

n“It’s weaker than that.”

nThose words didn’t wash away his fears.

n“Kaha!”

nThe Karam leader roared and jumped to his feet. The leap distance was quite a few meters.

nCedric was the first to sped up his horse and ran forward, wielding his sword.

nSlash!

nThe leaping Karam’s neck was cut by the sword.

n“Alphonse, Ned, Collin, by the carriage!”

nCedric shouted. Three knights were ordered to surround the carriage in a triangle.

nThe remaining seventeen got off their horses and made the first defending line.

nThere wouldn’t be any window.

nHowever, the equipment they had now was a hunting gun that they could not afford to reload and a sword on their back. There was no advantage to raising body height over Karam.

nWhile riding a horse, they could be struck by Karam in the face. It was impossible to trample through Karam’s ranks. Mobility is useless. This is because there was the Grand Duchess’ carriage at the back.

nBesides, if they lose their horse, it freezes and dies in this snowy field. It is different from leaving a supply unit behind during war.

n“Kak, Kaheim!”

nAnother Karam, who ran for the second time, stood up. And he swung four axes at once.

nCedric pulled the reins. The excellent horse avoided Karam’s ax by mixing back and side steps.

nCedric struck one ax and pierced his sword forward to strike the other with his sword. The Karam’s primitive ax cracked and stuck to the tip of his sword.

nHe struck the jammed ax with his sword in the face of the surprised Karam. The Karam staggered and swung two axes in his other hand.

nCedric drew his gun with his left hand and used it to strike the Karamgun. And then he drew his sword down.

nSlash!

nThe Karam’s head split and steam rose.

nIt all happened in an instant.

nThud!

nThe Karam, who had lost his neck, fell to the ground. The hot blood melted the snow.

nCedric slowly lifted his blood-soaked sword.

nThe Karam must be attacked first at the captain. Due to the characteristics of the race in which the strongest person becomes the captain, this was an act of showing off his authority and power not only to enemies but also to allies.

nIn line with that, Cedric also killed two of their leaders, proving that he was the captain.

nIt was in order to not draw any attention to the carriage behind him by pulling Karam’s gaze.

n“Kak!”

nThe Karams let out a shout.

nCedric got off his horse.

nThe next moment, both sides got entangled.

nArtizea held her trembling hand in the carriage.

nShe did not know the war.

nCedric once showed her what it was like after the war. But this was the first time she was in the middle of one.

n“Argh!”

nWith a scream, a knight bumped into the carriage. The carriage rattled loudly once.

nSubsequently, an ax blade was stuck on the side wall of the carriage.

nArtizea tried to stay in the middle of the carriage as much as possible. It was the limit of her ability to hold her breath in order to not scream.

nThe ax blade soon fell from the carriage wall.

n“Kahak!”

nThis time, there was a flurry that seemed to be breaking the wind.

nAlphonse tapped the shutter and asked.

n“Are there any injuries, Your Grace?”

n“I’m fine.”

nArtizea held her breath and she replied slowly.

n“Is this a dangerous situation?”

n“… It’s fine.”

nThere was some time gap before Alphonse’s reply. Artizea knows that it’s a pretty dangerous situation.

nHowever, it was best for her not to get in the way of the knights.

n“Don’t worry.”

nAlphonse said so.

nHowever, there was a difference in numbers from the beginning.

nThe Evron Knights were all elite, but they were not properly equipped for war.

nOn the other hand, Karam fights with physical strength with the inherently poor equipment.

nIf there were two spears, it would not have reached this situation. Their number was also twice that of Karam.

nThis degree of number difference is also their advantage.

nIt was then.

nWhooooo!

nThe sound of a loud horn blew.

nOne of the knights shouted.

n“It’s a reinforcement!”

nThe Karam also understood the meaning of the sound.

n“Kak!”

n“Don’t let them retreat! If we miss it here, the nearby town will be in danger!”

nThe remaining knights raised their swords high and intercepted.

nClop clop clop.

nThe sound of the Knights’ horse hooves shook the ground.

nThe scared Karam scattered around trying to run away. The knights stopped it.

nThe number of reinforcements was only 30. However, they were heavily armed.

nIt was enough to trample the Karam troops.

nThe knight pierced the abdomen of the Karam, who was coming at him, and kicked it with his horse hooves. Another knight struck the spear on the Karam’s back, avoiding any retaliation.

nThe war situation quickly turned over in an instant.

nThen, four Karam, who had been dealing with the knights until now, ran toward the carriage.

nThe Karam had already grasped that the knights were guarding the carriage.

nIf there was anyone important on it, they thought they would take them hostage and settle the situation.

n“Oh, ah ah!”

nInstead of the missing weapon, Karam pulled out their nails and grabbed Collin. A screaming sounded.

n“Your Grace!”

nThe moment Cedric turned around towards the call, a spear flew into his hand precisely.

n“Thank you, Lysia!”

nCedric threw his sword and raised the spear with both hands.

nThe body of the last Karam was tucked into the ground. The situation ended with it.

n***

nAfter that, Artizea was escorted out of the carriage. It was hardly possible to judge how the war was going.

n“Lysia?”

n“You have to hurry.”

nNot having time to explain anything, Lysia put Artizea on her horse.

nThere was an injured person who injured his leg, but instead of getting him in a carriage, he was picked up by another knight’s horse. The body of the deceased was also quickly put on someone’s horse.

nNo one said anything. Fifty horses ran frantically to their original destination.

nArtizea desperately hung on Lysia’s waist. She was covered with a cape from the top of her head, but it was hard to overcome the cold.

nCollin, the injured person, made a painful sound without ceasing.

nThe messenger who ran ahead opened the village door and was waiting.

nAs soon as Cedric arrived, he went into the room, holding Collin.

nTwo knights tied Collin’s body tightly to the bed with a rope. They then removed the blood-soaked cloth and leather pieces from his arm.

n“How’s his condition?”

n“It’s already rotting up above the elbow.”

n“I will do it myself.”

nA knight heated his sword on the fire and poured alcohol to disinfect it.

nCedric grabbed Collin’s face.

n“Can you hear me, Sir Collin? Sir Collin!”

n“Uhhhhhh…”

n“You have nail venom on your arm. If you leave Karam’s nail venom alone, it will continue to rot and your muscles will die. I’ll have to cut off the wound.”

nCollin nodded as he trembled.

n“Don’t worry. I’ll cut out only the wound. It will take some time to do anything, but there will be no problem with your arm. Understand?”

nImmediately, the knights gagged Collin’s mouth. It was to prevent biting the tongue with the pain when cutting it out.

nAlcohol was also poured into the wound. As the blood was washed away, the tattered arm was revealed with scratches of fingernails and necrotic skin.

nCedric raised his sword.

nIt is a lie that there will be no abnormalities in the arm. If he cut off this much muscle, there will definitely be some problems, not unlike cutting off an arm.

nLife as a knight is over anyway.

n“Ummmmpphhhhh!”

nCollin screamed, gagged.

nThe cutting ended quickly. Next, a hemostatic agent was sprayed on the wound and wrapped a cloth on it.

nMore than that can only be left to God.

nWhile putting the bandage, Cedric threw the sword and held Collin’s head. And he said, while kissing his forehead.

n“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s a common operation here, so nothing will happen.”

nCollin quieted as he held onto him and suppressed his struggle. He fainted.

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