It started with Heinzel.
Ha ha ha!
Laughing in a way that didn’t match the situation, he plunged into a swarm of 1,200 creatures.
The halberd was swung around indiscriminately, regardless of friend or foe.
It looked haphazard, but about a dozen creatures exploded.
Then, out came Luchi, who had been clicking his tongue.
Not as destructive as Heinzel, but his sharp attacks beheaded a creature.
Although less powerful than Heinzel, it was an efficient movement that conserved stamina.
And then there was me.
I pulled out the great sword I disliked the most.
I wanted to use my beloved great sword, but…
If it breaks right away… I’d be too upset, so I left it safely in the back.
Like saving the tastiest peach-flavored jelly for last… a feeling like that.
I’ll use it when it’s really important.
Feeling the weight of the great sword in my palm, I swung it a couple of times to familiarize myself with it.
Thanks to my high-level great swordsmanship, I quickly adapted.
Catching my breath, I searched for a spot where I could move comfortably.
I found a suitable place.
And threw myself into action.
First, one creature.
As always, I swung the great sword from left to right.
Though the great sword looked old, its blade was surprisingly sharp.
With a feeling like slicing a cucumber, the creature’s body was sliced in half.
Right now, I wasn’t supposed to mimic Luchi’s movements.
I had to follow Heinzel’s rough way.
I imagined myself swinging the weapon with overwhelming power.
I pictured my encounters with Luchi.
Grinding my teeth, I managed the recoil, lifting the great sword diagonally and swung it.
This time, it was a downward slash.
In a single motion, I smashed four heads.
A creature’s club swung towards my right leg.
I gripped the sword backward and pulled it towards me.
Its club was stopped by the blade.
Perhaps due to the hasty block, a sharp sensation shot through my hand.
Huff…
My body was heating up.
Clenching my teeth, I raised the great sword high and swung it down.
I vividly felt the leather tearing.
That was my 10th kill.
Graaa!
Before I could catch my breath, a creature approached with a spear and poked at me.
I casually lifted the handle and knocked the spearhead aside.
With that, I reached out and grabbed its open mouth, slamming it down to the ground.
I sliced through the body of the creature following behind and kicked the chest of another creature trying to stab me from behind with a dagger.
Crack- The feeling of breaking spines echoed as the creature staggered back, taking down the others in its wake.
I quickly turned back and drove the great sword down into the pile of creatures.
Disgusting liquids splattered all over me.
Wiping the blood off my face, I glanced around.
The creatures, now in a berserk state, were swinging their weapons wildly, regardless of friend or foe.
If I can use this to my advantage, I can take them down more easily.
Huff huff I steadied my breath and dashed forward again.
I pushed back the first creature that lunged at me and slashed down the one following.
With my fists, feet, legs, and head.
Sometimes, digging my teeth in to clear a path.
My entire body was soaked in blood.
The sticky sensation and sour smell fueled my rage.
I expanded my senses.
Now, there were no creatures behind me.
Without thinking about the back, I only needed to look ahead.
I picked up a dagger lying on the ground.
Nodding toward the creatures, I thought…
Hmm, these guys can’t understand me…
So instead, I barked.
Woof…! Aru~ Woof woof!
Whether my provocation worked or not, they charged at me, drooling.
I too, wearing a broad grin, swung my great sword.
Hurr, woof!
*
I tossed aside the 4th great sword and surveyed my surroundings.
About 50 creatures were still alive.
Among them, barely 10 stood properly.
Finally, we wrapped up the vanguard.
Wiping away the blood smeared on my face, I spoke.
Phew… “Well… I guess the vanguard is done, woof… I mean, ahem.”
Looking at their reactions, it seemed no one heard me…?
That almost got embarrassing…
Was it because Luchi and Heinzel were incredibly strong, or was I just that amazing?
It ended faster than I expected.
Though I used a lot of potions.
Still, I was glad it ended this easily…
I relaxed my tense mindset somewhat.
If things keep going like this, I think we can finish without any problems.
Speaking of which, I wonder how Rubia is doing…
Thinking I should expand my senses to check the situation on the opposite side… but if I do that in this state, I wouldn’t have the confidence to handle the rear assault… so I decided to just trust Rubia.
Moreover, unlike here, the entrance to the west is narrow, so the creatures can’t swarm in all at once.
If we all just stand still and swing our swords, we could fend them off easily.
As long as they don’t run away.
“Hey, kiddo! How many are left?!”
Heinzel approached me, his body cooling down, shouting in a bright voice.
“Oh, how about you, uncle?”
“I have 404!”
“Hmm, I got 410. Noah, how many did you take down?”
“I got 396! Uh, wait! I got… 397 now!”
Noticing a creature lunging at me without any awareness, I swung the great sword.
The creature’s guts splattered on the ground.
“Oh dear, oops! That makes definitely 410 for me. Now I got 411. That means Noah is in last place.”
Luchi used his unique ability to sever the neck of a creature loading a crossbow from a distance.
“Uh, we’re not done yet… just you wait…!”
I stabbed the great sword into the head of a creature crawling on the ground.
“Now it looks like it’s all settled. Kiddo, how long until the ones behind arrive?”
Heinzel remarked, pouring a potion over his head.
Why is he pouring that on his head…?
That’s not going to grow hair…
“Hmm… around 5 minutes until they come into sight… Now let’s go back and prepare… if we delay, it’ll get tricky.”
“Noah, did you grab the ignition stones?”
“Yes! Here… oh, two of them broke. Still, I have enough left.”
I opened my pouch, showing the piled-up ignition stones inside.
“Looks like you have plenty. Alright, there’s no point in having more, let’s move quickly.”
“Good idea… uh! 405!”
As Heinzel stomped his foot, the creature he stepped on exploded.
Now it seems we’ve taken down most of the moving creatures.
Now about these great swords…
“Uh, I’m sorry but… could you help carry these great swords?”
There were still 6 stuck in the ground.
The ones I discarded, 3.
And the one in my hand.
And my beloved great sword awaiting me in the distance. Hehe… I’ll be back soon!
“I’ll help, but… kiddo. How in the world do you fight to make your swords look like this?”
Heinzel kicked at the great swords rolling on the ground.
“Hmm, that’s a fair point. Noah, you need to learn to conserve your weapons. It seems you need some training. Equipment for adventurers are like their lives. So, you should be ready at any moment—”
Luchi started nagging like a complete old guy.
Ugh… an old man!
I ignored old man Luchi and took three more great swords stuck in the ground.
Thanks to my high strength stat, it was surprisingly manageable to hold two in one hand.
Pulling them along because of my height, I spoke.
“Well, that’s how it is. Got it?”
“Yes… I understand perfectly.”
I nodded vaguely and turned away.
I didn’t want to talk.
Squeak-squeak- thump.
Squeak-squeak- thump.
I pulled along a total of four great swords, making my way to the entrance of the village.
“A kid like you can swing these big swords so well without fear.”
Heinzel came over, holding the two remaining great swords high.
“Well, I’m not short for a kid… just about 50cm tall…”
Technically it’s 45.7 cm, but rounding up makes it 50 cm… that’s right!
Hahaha! I could tell from earlier that you were being tossed around by the great swords!
“Coming from the guy who lost in arm wrestling to me, that isn’t funny… seriously…!”
“Exactly. Noah is right. Heinzel, you don’t have a leg to stand on! And honestly, it’s not that bad upon closer inspection. You’re utilizing the recoil.”
“Huh? Is that so?”
Whoa, Luchi has a keen eye.
“Yep…! The second attack is stronger than the first, and the third is even stronger than the second. Luchi uncle, you know some things, huh… maybe it’s because it’s the same type of sword?”
I didn’t know how my movements looked to others.
But I was moving as efficiently as I could.
I might look funny because of my small size and build, but I was showcasing the essence of great swordsmanship!
“Of course, it’s rough… I mean… ambiguous, using a great sword. But a sword is a sword, so it should be similar.”
That’s right. Heinzel is too brutish.
I’m different from that kind of brute.
I fight in an elegant and sophisticated manner.
With flashy techniques!
“That’s right. Swords are… elegant, flashy, and… sophisticated… Quite different from those brutish axes…”
“Brutish? Kiddo, that’s called being fiery. If anything, you’re the brutish one.”
“Me?! I’m elegant and… flashy… and, oh, sophisticated!”
Brutish bald-headed Heinzel!
Shiny bald-headed Heinzel!
“It’s funny to hear you talking about elegance and sophistication the way you look… but it was indeed flashy, so I’ll give you that.”
Luchi remarked, looking me up and down.
I tilted my head and expanded my senses around me.
Aside from some blood splattering, I had no issues…
I wasn’t dragging around monster parts like last time.
As we exchanged our banter, passing through the southern entrance and reaching our destination.
The ground began to rumble once again.
The rear guard was howling as they approached.
The echoes, even louder than before, ignited the coldness in my body anew.
“Ha ha ha! If that was a net, then this is a wave!”
“I’ve never seen beasts like this… If that’s a spectacle, then it certainly is.”
“Is this really the time for commentary…? Please, get ready. Heinzel uncle, grab the ignition stones.”
“Hmm, so I just need to throw them all over there?”
“Yes, yes! Then Luchi uncle will set them ablaze with his special abilities. You can do that, right?”
“I haven’t done it before, but it seems like it won’t be hard.”
Heinzel took the ignition stones, and Luchi climbed on top of the watchtower.
“Now… I’ll give the signal. Just listen and throw immediately. Luchi uncle… don’t mess it up.”
Hearing their responses, I expanded my senses.
A dizzying pain enveloped my body.
Filtering out unnecessary information.
I kept only the group I was targeting in my mind.
“Kiddo. Is it now?”
“Oh, no. Not yet…”
I had to wait a little longer.
I shouldn’t care about the front-runners.
I needed to cut through the middle.
Five seconds passed.
Gruaaaa!
When I heard the creature’s cry nearby.
“Baldy! Now!”
Whoosh-!
With my signal, Heinzel hurled a massive bundle of ignition stones.
The ignition stones flew toward the “gas canisters” we had stacked at the entrance, pilfered from the villagers’ homes.
“Luchi uncle!”
Instantly, Luchi used his abilities to slash through the gas canister, twisting the paths of countless ignition stones.
“Cover your ears and duck!”
Thus, the colliding ignition stones ignited small sparks, stirring the gas floating in the air.
And then…
An explosion occurred that seemed to tear the very sky apart.
The entire southern wall crumbled.
As a result, roughly 4,000 of the 7,000 creatures were crushed, burned, and blown to bits.
Now, just 3,000 remained.
With my beloved great sword lying peacefully next to me, I grasped it.
“Aru~!”
Provoking the staggering creatures from the blast, I charged forward.
Woof!
