Goblin Knight - Chapter 346



Only Noblemtl

EP.346 Once Upon a Time (25)

Come to think of it, I feel like I’ve dealt with werewolves more often than any other monster.

Starting with the young wolf Gian who wanted to become a priest, then Trasha (presumably), and now Yaul who is not sure if he is truly ungrateful or not.

Having experienced life and death three times, I thought I was now somewhat accustomed to fighting werewolves.

Now that you know which signs lead to which actions, you can be fully prepared as long as you don’t miss them.

I was wrong.

– Krrrrggrrrrrr!!

‘… … !’

It was easy to read the werewolf’s attacks, as their trajectory was obvious as their aggression was extremely heightened by the madness.

However, it was a completely unexpected result that he ended up slamming his foreleg into the silver sword that was pointed at an angle in an attempt to stop it.

“Ugh!?”

The subsequent shock shook the still-healing wound in his abdomen.

As Blanc staggered in the pain that was coming, a spurt of blood burst out.

It wasn’t Blanc or Nelivia’s, but a werewolf’s whose foot had been deeply cut by a sharp blade.

Even considering his size, it was by no means a small wound.

But Gwangrang continued his next attack without even flinching or frowning.

It was a movement that only someone who felt no pain at all or possessed a ferocity that overwhelmed even that pain could show.

‘Damn, it’s impossible to subdue them like this… …!’

Blanc’s first plan was to subdue him as gently as possible before reinforcements arrived and then ask him what was going on.

Since I had come here on the recommendation of Sister Derk, I did not want to hurt those who might be related to her as much as possible.

But if things turn out like this… there’s nothing I can do.

‘First, we have to stop the movement. We have to cut the muscle.’

After reading the trajectory of the left front foot coming from the side, he stabs the iron sword diagonally faster than the claw swings.

The iron sword, with its teeth like a saw blade, dug into Gwangrang’s hide sharper than any other sword and pierced his left shoulder.

For Preston to be able to wield this much power, his opponent had to be someone involved in a tragedy.

But Preston only shuddered slightly as he dug into the leather, not resonating as he did with Gian.

It means that for these people, there is no tragedy that can be cut off.

at the same time…….

‘… …Their existence is already a tragedy in itself?’

As Preston frowned at the whispers coming from him, the wolf roared loudly and tried to bite him.

It’s hard to believe that he just suffered a piercing wound that caused one of his front paws to hang limp.

The moment Blanc, who was fed up, struck the side of the muzzle with the silver sword’s pommel and broke the molars, Nelivia screamed loudly.

“Goblin! Over there on the left- next to you too!!”

‘Reinforcements!’

Three werewolves leapt from the shadows of the forest.

Blanc’s hopes of finding at least one person he could communicate with were shattered.

The three newly appeared ones also had their teeth exposed and drool dripping from their mouths, and their bloodshot eyes were glaring.

‘If this is the case, it would be better to assume that the entire village has been infected with this unknown madness… …!’

Blanc, who had given up on expectations, thought to himself.

‘If there were one or two of them, it might be okay, but if there are three of them attacking at once, Nellivia would be in danger in this injured state!’

I didn’t really think I wouldn’t win.

No matter how outstanding one’s physical specs are, if one’s movements are that linear, someone as skilled as Blanc could easily deal with them.

But Nellyvia is not Blanc.

Now that her natural abilities as a dream horse have been sealed, she is nothing more than a rookie traveler who knows how to use magic to some extent.

So, if we want to increase the chances of her being safe even just a little bit… … .

“Mongma, think carefully and answer! Do you think you can hit a being as fast as them with your magic!?”

“Huh!? That, that, I think I could do that… … .”

“I told you to think carefully and answer! Are you sure!?”

“… … No. If they wanted to avoid it, they could easily do so!”

“I see!”

It wasn’t a completely satisfactory answer, but it was enough to give me a definitive answer.

Blanc shouted, blocking the movement of one of the nearly incapacitated werewolves by shoving it to the right, then closing its wide-open mouth with both hands to bite him.

“Shoot your tongue!!”

“… … !!”

Nellyvia opened her eyes wide for a moment and immediately pointed her index finger at the werewolf’s mouth.

Phew! The ice pick fired silently, piercing the werewolf’s tongue and becoming lodged under his chin.

The moment he felt the strength of the snout trying to chew on his two hands weaken, Blanc lifted him up whole and struck the left one down.

Boom!! The werewolf was hit by a living club that weighed as much as a log and fell far away with a loud yelping sound.

There are only two left, the one who pushed back first and the one who was blocked after that.

“The guy in front, on your feet!”

As soon as he finished speaking, four ice picks flew out and pierced the two feet of the werewolf in front.

The awl, which had penetrated the bone and driven into the ground, froze rapidly, becoming a stake in itself that tied the werewolf to the spot.

The werewolf bent down to pull out the stake, heedless of the pain that came to him.

Blanc jumped high into the air while stamping hard on its head, sending it crashing into the ground.

“Fall down… …! I don’t want to see any more blood!!”

Blanc shouted at the last remaining werewolf, bringing both hands together and striking his head.

Boom!! With a sound like a hammer hitting a rock, the werewolf fell to the ground, falling limply.

For a moment, I was worried that I might die even though I had controlled my strength to some extent… but the faint, unsteady growling sound of my breathing proved the werewolf’s transcendent endurance.

“Is this all… … ?”

Nellyvia looked around at the four werewolves lying unconscious on the ground and asked cautiously.

Of course, I wanted to say that to Blanc too, but… … .

“……no.”

Blanc said, swinging his iron sword and shaking off the blood.

“The forest is still rumbling. At least ten werewolves are heading this way. Brace yourself for impact.”

“Can you hold on…? You, are hurt….”

“… … .”

Nellyvia’s anxious gaze turned to him.

Blanc’s abdomen, the wound that had been bandaged, had burst and was bleeding again.

It would be strange if the wounds didn’t get worse in a fight like that, Blanc said with a bitter taste in his mouth.

“It’s nothing special. I think it’s on the more hopeful side of things I’ve experienced.”

“Didn’t I tell you? Your bluff is obvious! If you keep doing that, the wound will really open… …!”

“There is no other way than to fight. Aren’t werewolves at their most dangerous when they are tracking their prey?”

“Then at least kill him! Aren’t you wasting your energy by needlessly stunning him? With your skill, you could cut him down in one go!!”

Nellyvia makes a good point.

That’s right. If he really wanted to kill her, he could have just cut off her head or stabbed her in the heart in the first shot without even asking Nellyvia to assist him.

but…….

“I don’t want to do that unless I know how they became like that! It could be temporary, and there could be a way back!”

“It’s so obvious that it’s strangling your neck, what kind of nonsense are you talking about!? What if you really die in vain because of your wounds!!”

“Even so… … !”

“What will happen to me, the person you promised to protect!!”

Blanc flinched.

The problem he had been afraid of and had spent the night over had resurfaced.

He couldn’t say, “I didn’t know it would come so soon.” This question had been bothering him since the long time ago when he had tried to follow the line.

“Listen, Goblin. I understand your intention to follow that line or whatever, but isn’t the situation too bad right now? The moment anything goes wrong, we’re all dead. Is that the line you want?”

“… … .”

“It wasn’t that big of a problem in the first place. They were the ones who rushed to kill us first! If we don’t fight back, we’ll die! So why would we let them off easy while increasing our chances of dying!?”

While Nellyvia was arguing, new werewolves began to appear one by one.

It seems that he was on guard after seeing the four fallen compatriots around him, and instead of rushing straight ahead, he waited for his allies.

Soon the number became four, then eight, and then two digits.

It was the worst case scenario.

‘I had to ask for Nellyvia’s help in subduing the four of them. If those things chasing me from the forest join in and attack me all at once… … .’

It was truly a situation where I could no longer be ‘at ease’.

Would you rather risk ruining everything for a little bit of good, or would you rather stick to it for sure in exchange for a little bit of guilt?

Because it is a moment where you have to choose.

‘I am…….’

Blanc looked back at Nelivia.

The image of Annelie within her.

Surely, Agnelli would have encouraged him to do as he pleased and would respect whatever choice he made.

Because she wasn’t here right now-

“Everyone throw!!”

“!?”

As Blanc was conflicted as he looked at Nelivia’s face, a rough voice was heard from the top of the forest.

Blanc, who had been preparing for an attack because of the similar aura to those madmen, looked up in surprise.

Unlike the crazy silver wolves, brown werewolves were climbing up the trees and throwing something at the silver werewolves.

It was a steel noose with an additional hanging hook.

– Creak, ugh! Grrrrr!?

“Tied up! Captain, what do we do now!?”

“We can’t tie them up for long anyway! We have guests… Wait, what is it? They’re alive!? We’ll grab the unconscious ones and get out! Did you hear, the guests down there? Can they come up!?”

A brown werewolf who seemed to be the leader asked them.

Both Blanc and Nelivia were dumbfounded, but the difference between the two was that Blanc took action immediately.

“Don’t bite your tongue!”

“Huh, huh? Hiyaak!?”

Blanc grabbed Nellyvia by the scruff of her neck and jumped up, kicking off two trees in quick succession, until he was at eye level with the brown werewolves.

The leader of the wolves whistled when he saw that sight.

“Hiya, I smelled it and was skeptical… but seeing it climb a tree, I can’t help but believe it. It’s a goblin! A real goblin! And what’s that next to it, Mongma? What kind of combination is this?”

“… … I don’t think this is a situation where we can have a long story!”

“Oh, right. Let’s unpack the story bundle later and focus on getting here for now!”

The brown wolves that had gone down came up the tree, holding the four unconscious silver wolves.

The brown werewolves, having confirmed that everyone had joined in, began to run in one direction.

Captain Inrang, who had been watching them, looked back at Blanc and his group and asked.

“How about it, can you follow me? Should I carry you!?”

“It’s okay… but more importantly, what about you?”

“Oh, I couldn’t even introduce myself properly because of the circumstances. If you don’t remember later, ask me again!”

The leader of the wolves said with a grin.

“I am the fifteenth runner of the vast white night, Yael of the most beautiful of the copper tails! Please take care of me for a moment!”

“A copper tail?”

Blanc, who had guessed the name, asked back without realizing it. Wasn’t that the name of the group that Yasha Yaul mentioned when he introduced himself?

But Yael turned her head away as if the story was for later and ran after her group.

It seemed like there was no other choice but to follow.

“W, what the heck is going on… … .”

“… … Let’s go first. I need to hear the story.”

Blanc started running across the forest canopy, still holding Nellyvia, who seemed to have not yet come to her senses.

However, there is one thing that is bothering me.

‘What’s that tower?’

A tower visible beyond the forest, clearly built recently and artificially, not fitting in with the surroundings at all.

It was a tower made of straw.