The collision of sword and claw produced a piercing screech.
Looking like a hound crawled out of hell, the man-sized monster bared its teeth, revealing rows of sharp fangs, its eyes large and blood-red.
Its claws kicked up a foul wind as it swung fiercely at the unwelcome guest obstructing it.
Kay stepped forward to block it, flicking his longsword upward to deflect a blow that would have been fatal to an ordinary person.
“Roar—”
A fierce glint appeared in the enraged monster’s eyes.
It lunged forward like a starving tiger, its maw—still stained with blood and bits of flesh—snapping toward Kay’s head.
A sneer played on Kay’s lips, his hands gripping the sword as steady as a rock.
He raised his sword high above his head, and with a sudden shout, a surging killing intent erupted from him.
With the force of a mountain crashing down, the longsword flashed like a streak of silver.
Clang!
In the space of a single breath, the once-rampaging, overbearing monster was split in two.
He sheathed his sword.
Exhaling softly, Kay turned to look at his foster brother, who was still comforting the hunter.
“Al, how are his injuries?”
Artoria frowned, looking at the man’s wounds with a grim gaze, and quickly reached a conclusion.
“It’s a bit tricky.
The gash on his right arm is severe; it needs emergency treatment.”
Hearing the serious voice of his savior, Gert finally came to his senses.
“I have it!
I have medicine with me!!”
Having just escaped death, the tension he had been holding finally snapped.
Gert reached for the small leather pouch slung across his waist.
While struggling to steady his breathing, he pulled out the medicine and handed it to the blond youth.
As a hunter who spent years in the mountains, he always carried hemostatic medicine to deal with emergencies.
Artoria quickly took it, feeling a secret sense of relief.
She and Kay were traveling light and hadn’t brought much medicine; their previous battles had long since exhausted their supplies.
Just moments ago, she was worried about how to stop the bleeding, as they were in the middle of nowhere—where would she find herbs to stop the bleeding?
To distract the injured man, Artoria chatted with him while treating his wound.
“My name is Arthur, and the man behind me is my foster brother, Kay.
We were traveling through here when we heard your cries for help and rushed over.”
So that was it.
Knowing the story, Gert was filled with gratitude toward the two.
He hurriedly said, “You can just call me Gert.
I’m a hunter living in the village at the foot of the mountain.
Thank you both so much for saving my life.
If you hadn’t come in time, I would have…”
At this point, his voice couldn’t help but choke up.
He couldn’t go on.
A few minutes later.
Artoria finished a simple bandaging of the wound.
She looked up and asked curiously, “It hasn’t been peaceful around here lately.
Why are you out here alone?”
Gert sat leaning against a large tree, his brown beard matted with blood.
Hearing the savior’s question, he looked up at the two young people.
Their clean armor and sharp aura made it obvious at a glance that they were knights.
Gert couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.
“Sir Knights, I know well enough how chaotic the world is right now…
but I had no choice.
My wife is bedridden, and we have no money left for her medicine.”
Here, a look of deep frustration and helplessness appeared on his face.
“I’m just a hunter who relies on the forest to survive.
To raise money for medicine, I had to risk entering the woods.
I thought if I could just catch something to sell, my wife could hold on a little longer.”
“…I have actually been searching in the mountains for a day and a night.
It was difficult, but I finally found the tracks of a wild boar, yet who would have thought I would run into a monster.”
Gert looked down at his injured right arm, his heart filled with despair.
Not only was he injured and trapped, but he hadn’t even caught any prey.
His wife was still waiting for money for her medical treatment; what was he supposed to do now?
Artoria and Kay exchanged a look, having already grasped the situation at hand.
Looking at the dejected middle-aged man in front of her, Artoria made a decision.
As expected, she could not just sit by and do nothing.
So, Artoria stood up and walked to Kay’s side, whispering a few words.
The two whispered to each other for a while, and after obtaining her foster brother’s consent.
She then turned to Gert with a smile and said:
“As you can see, we have been traveling for a long way and are now a bit tired.
Mr.
Gert, may we rest at your home for the night?
Please do not worry, we will offer some money in exchange.”
“This…”
Looking at the smile on the face of the exquisite blond youth before him, a wave of warmth surged in Gert’s heart.
He knew clearly in his heart that the two knights were doing this to help him.
Gert was indeed in urgent need of money, but…
He could not take this money.
Taking a deep breath, he said: “You saved my life, and I have nothing to repay you with; how could I possibly accept money from you two knights?”
“Why not!
This is just an equivalent exchange.
You provide us with food and a place to rest tonight, and we pay money in return.
This is perfectly reasonable!”
Artoria looked at Gert earnestly, trying to persuade him by twisting the concept.
“But…”
Seeing that the hunter was about to open his mouth to argue again.
Kay, who had listened to the whole thing from the side, rolled his eyes impatiently.
He straightforwardly pulled out a few silver coins and walked forward, forcefully shoving them into Gert’s hand.
“It’s annoying for a man to be so long-winded.
Take the money when I give it to you; why so much nonsense?
Think about your wife.
If you dare to refuse again, I will kick you.”
Kay deliberately made a fierce expression, trying to scare Gert.
“That’s right, I really will kick you.”
Artoria added, keeping a straight face: “So, Mr.
Gert, please do not refuse any longer.”
“…”
“…I understand.
Then I will accept it without further ceremony.”
The stubborn hunter finally gave in.
Gert looked at the two young people who were smiling because of his concession, and couldn’t help but clutch the silver coins tightly.
He thought to himself, perhaps this is what it means to be a knight.
Because Gert’s injury was quite severe, Kay let him ride his own black horse, while he chose to walk with Artoria.
Following Gert’s directions, the two arrived at the village at the foot of the mountain in less than three hours.
However…
The smile froze on their faces, and their hearts felt as if they were being gripped by someone.
The scene that came into view deeply stung Artoria’s eyes.
Blood, blood covered the ground.
Corpses and severed limbs were scattered everywhere within sight.
The once peaceful and tranquil little village had now turned into a living hell.
Seeing the miserable scene before him, Gert’s eyes on the horse turned red.
He suddenly dismounted and stumbled into the village.
“Lina!!”
Gert shouted his wife’s name, his voice desperate and hoarse.
Please, do not let anything happen to you, Lina!!
At this moment, he could no longer care about the two saviors he had left behind.
When he ran home at his top speed, the sight before him made his eyes split with rage.
Inside the house, his wife was being devoured by a monster.
He saw his wife lying on the ground, terror still in her eyes, while the ugly monster buried its head, eating her abdomen.
The crunching sound of chewing reached his ears, accompanied by a thick smell of blood; immense despair made him freeze on the spot for an instant.
“Roar~”
The arrival of a human attracted the monster’s attention.
It didn’t care at all, abandoning its half-eaten meal, and its violent eyes swept toward Gert standing at the door.
Swish~
The monster in the room turned into a dark shadow and rushed straight at Gert; it looked like he was about to be splattered with blood on the spot.
At the critical moment, Artoria and Kay arrived just in time, stepping in again to save Gert’s life.
Artoria blocked the monster’s path and pushed Gert toward her foster brother, who was a step behind her.
Starting, rushing forward, exerting force, swinging the sword—the whole sequence of movements was as smooth as flowing water, completed in one go.
The long sword, carrying an indomitable momentum, slashed fiercely toward the monster’s head.
Watching the monster that killed his wife being slain by Artoria on the spot.
His lips trembled, and his legs went weak, causing him to fall heavily to his knees.
One second, two seconds.
Finally, a weak wail escaped his throat.
Bean-sized tears streamed from his eyes.
Before long, heart-wrenching sobbing rang in their ears.
Artoria and Kay watched the scene in silence, their eyes filled with sorrow, but in the end, neither stepped forward to comfort him.
Because at this moment, any words seemed pale and powerless.
However, right at this moment.
A sound of a house collapsing suddenly rang out from the east side of the village, followed by a shrill scream.
“Oh no!”
Artoria’s expression changed abruptly; there were other monsters in this village!
“Brother Kay, I leave Gert in your care.”
After saying this, she turned and burst into her fastest speed, rushing toward the east.
When she reached the place, her eyes reflected a monster with the build of a tiger, opening its blood-stained maw to bite at a child of about seven or eight years old.
Please let me make it in time!!
Artoria stomped hard on the ground, the immense force cracking the solid earth directly.
Using this reaction force, she increased her speed once more.
Almost in the blink of an eye, she rushed in front of the monster.
Without the slightest hesitation, using the momentum, Artoria swung her sword.
The long sword in her hand seemed to respond to its master’s grief and indignation, slashing straight at the monster with a piercing shriek that cut through the sky.
However, this strike was a bit rushed, and the monster was not killed on the spot.
Instead, it was knocked away by the terrifying kinetic energy, rolling and crashing into a wall that was only half-standing nearby.
Blood mixed with fragments of internal organs kept flowing out.
The injured monster was provoked into a frenzy, and it let out a roar toward the sky.
Driven by anger, the monster abandoned its original prey, and its massive body whistled toward Artoria like a mountain.
This is exactly what I wanted!
Artoria’s eyes were as cold as a sword, her whole body like a great bow, exerting force from her feet to drive her waist, twisting her strength into a single point.
“Go to hell, you beast!!”
Accompanied by Artoria’s raging anger, the long sword whistled like lightning, slashing toward the monster that was now right before her.
And this time, the ugly monster finally stopped breathing.
The moment she confirmed the monster was dead, Artoria hurriedly turned to the child.
“Are you okay?”
She crouched down, wanting to check for injuries on his body.
“Wuu..
wuu~…”
But the sudden crying made her hand, which was halfway reached out, freeze in mid-air.
Because what responded to her was the child’s hoarse sobbing.
Artoria looked at the child with a complicated expression.
The face he lifted was covered in dried blood, and his eyes were filled with tears.
Like a dam bursting, he opened his mouth wide, emitting whimpers like a small animal; anyone could feel the heart-wrenching pain within.
He cried like a child lost when night falls—crying for himself, crying for his suddenly vanished loved ones, crying for his confusion, crying for everything, everything.