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Chapter 11: Hounds of Hell (4)
Chapter 11: Hounds of Hell (4)
Chapter 11: Hounds of Hell (4)
An unpleasant growl that might be heard when metal pieces rub against each other.
<Cerberus>
Risk level: A+
Size: 7m
Discovery Location: Red and Black Mountains 7th ridge
-Aka "Hell's Guard Dog"
It is not interested in the ghosts who want to enter hell, but the ghosts who wanted to get out of hell are immediately torn to pieces and made into rags.
It lives in the depths of hell, where all the ghosts finally head, and leads to the ultimate of monsters of the Canine species.
This monster that spewed gas, oil, and flames from deep inside its three throats is Cerberus, the guardian dog of hell.
Even for a seasoned hunter Vikir was a super-elite monster that he had only seen once from a distance before returning.
One day, the gate to the demon world suddenly opened, and demons would explode from all over the place.
On the day that announced the beginning of a long disaster, warriors selected from the family died by more than three digits to this Cerberus who was rampaging at the forefront.
Because it was the beginning of the war when everyone was clumsy, the damage was even more severe.
The damage would have been out of control had it not been for the youngest female head of the House of Morgue at the time, Empress Dowager Morgue Camus.
And now, that same Cerberus appeared before Vikir's eyes.
"... ... ."
Even in the face of this mighty monster, which would be useless even if a hundred hellhounds attacked at once, Vikire remained calm.
"Right. Has Cerberus already crossed over? Why did a guy who only lived around the 7th ridge come all the way here?"
As the saying goes, the area where Cerberus was first discovered was the highlands of the Red and Black Mountains.
But now, Cerberus is down to the lowlands of the first part of the ridge here.
I don't know what brought him here... ... .
[Kreureung!]
It was a pretty embarrassing situation for Vikir.
"I can't help it."
Vikir decided to flip all of his hidden paddles.
There is no room to hide his pre-return skills.
Fortunately, I had crossed the border quite a bit, so I didn't feel any stares around me.
He doesn't even have Young Do Dog Guardian Knights, so he doesn't even have to fight while hiding his skills.
... Flash!
Vikir took out his shortsword and blew mana into it.
At the tip of his sword, a gaseous aura that can only be created by those who have reached the advanced level of Sword Expert overflows.
Low Expert = Wizard Circle 1
Expert Intermediate = Wizard 2nd Circle
Advanced Expert = Mage 3rd Circle
Lower Grader = Wizard 4th Circle
Graduate Intermediate = Wizard 5th Circle
Advanced Graduate = Wizard Circle 6
Sword Master = Wizard 7th Circle
This is the general martial law formula.
What burns at the tip of 8-year-old Vikir's sword is a dense gaseous aura that seems to turn into liquid at any moment.
It symbolizes an expert advanced level, and it is a skill that corresponds to a whopping 3rd class in terms of magicians.
Before he returned, he was about 20 years old.
Vikir raised his mana and quickly moved his hand.
The shortsword moves while drawing strange scars in the air.
A trajectory shaped like a sharp tooth, it looked as if three teeth had been summoned in the air.
Baskerville Type 3. A swordsmanship in which three teeth are drawn with a sword and driven into the opponent's neck.
Vikir in his previous life had mastered this Baskerville formula up to the 4th formula, and was originally able to create four teeth.
On top of that, he had even the mana and aura of a high-level Duator, so if you compare then and now, the level is shabby.
But Vikir has another weapon.
His small body and quick mobility, as well as his body hardened by the blessing of the River Styx, are just that.
The pros are clear and the cons are clear.
Vikir swung his sword and created three teeth.
The child's hands and arms were small and short, so he couldn't create the 'fourth tooth', which was an organ in his previous life, but nevertheless, the gaseous aura and three teeth clearly extending from the tip of his sword were able to block Cerberus' claws well.
"... ... ?"
Vikir felt something strange.
It is Cerberus that was too daunting even with the strength before the return, but is it possible to be an opponent with the body of an infant who is far behind the inaction at that time?
This means that something is wrong on the Cerberus side as well.
indeed.
"... ... !"
Vikir's keen eye caught something.
If you look closely at the inside of Cerberus' side, you can see a dent.
His movements were a little unnatural, so it was clear that he had several broken ribs.
Even in the area where the fur was torn off, clear arrowhead marks were engraved.
"Who caught it?"
Vikir laughed incredulously.
Come to think of it, barbarians live on the other side of the red and black mountains.
In the meantime, the barbaric tribes that the iron-blooded swordsman Baskerville and the prestigious mage have been harassing Morgue.
If he was driven to this place by the backslidings of barbarians, it seems that Cerberus' situation is not very good.
earth! Daang! Kang!
Vikir gathered the aura that was scattered like a gas and continued to block Cerberus' claws and teeth.
Every time the sword and teeth clashed, there was a sound of iron and bronze clashing, and sparks flew.
[Kreureung! kong! damn!]
Cerberus tries to bite Vikir by moving his three heads, but fails every time.
"I'm kind of used to fighting triplets."
not that it isn't It is true that the three twins Hivero, Middlebro, and Lowbro's swordsmanship and trident tactics were inspired by Cerberus' fighting style.
I'm used to it because I was terribly bullied by the triplets during numerous performance evaluations in my previous life.
Most of the numerous anomalous patterns were familiar.
The triplets in the previous life were skilled and smart, so they learned Cerberus' attack patterns as if they were born with them, and Vikir is reminiscing about those days and dealing with Cerberus.
Booung!
Baskerville Type 1, sharp teeth bounce off Cerberus' teeth.
kang!
Baskerville Type 2, second tooth half lodged in Cerberus' neck.
... Fu-wook!
Baskerville Type 3, the third tooth strikes the second, driving it even deeper into Cerberus' neck.
Vikir's Baskerville ceremony was clearly similar to the normal Baskerville ceremony, but was subtly different.
The swordsmen who have passed through the age of destruction have something that the swordsmen of the previous era cannot copy.
Existing swordsmanship theories of the peaceful era were completely reinterpreted through the era of destruction, and unnecessary flab, fat, and grease were drained to the limit.
A sword that only moves to kill its opponent.
Here, extreme practical experience was added.
To put it in an analogy, the swordsmanship of the general world is like beef with good marbling, the swordsmanship of the Baskerville family is tough chicken breast, and the current swordsmanship of Vikir is like dried beef jerky.
The essence of the extreme, that is the intention to kill the other person.
Vikir's sword has a clear sense of purpose.
... Fuck!
The shortsword hit Cerberus' side.
The gas-like aura exploded and Cerberus let out a scream.
However, Cerberus, the guard dog of hell, does not faint at this level.
The guy stabbed his claw into the empty part just below the trajectory the shortsword had drawn.
Knock!
Since I took the bones of my opponent, it is natural for me to sacrifice my own flesh.
Vikir's back snapped.
but. Surprisingly, his body, which was almost pickled in the River Styx, withstood Cerberus' claws.
"... ... But twice would be impossible."
Vikir frowned.
No gut burst, but several of his ribs were definitely broken.
Besides, to make matters worse.
Pacan!
The short sword that couldn't withstand Vikir's aura eventually broke.
"this."
Difficulty. But a seasoned hunter always finds the best route even under these circumstances. that.
"It's a series of 36 lines."
Thirty-six strategies devised by the head of the Leviathan family, who is the most knowledgeable in the art of war among the 7 families.
Among them, the 36th is the circumstance sangchaek (????).
Hodak-
Vikir quickly turned around and kicked the ground as hard as he could.
Then Cerberus, who seized the victory, goes after such a vikir.
[...] Kreureung!]
Cerberus, who attacked in an instant, would have been caught right away if it hadn't been for the huge wounds carved on his side.
Vikir escaped the floodwaters, deeply grateful to the nameless savage tribe beyond the mountains.
yet. You can see the boundary that Vikir has crossed.
Unfortunately or fortunately, there were no guide dogs around.
Vikir jumped over the barbed wire marking the border and ran.
Cerberus smashed the barbed wire and stake right in front of his eyes and smashed them, then thrust three of his heads into Vikir's back.
[Kong! kong! keong!]
What could be more powerful than a hound chasing its prey?
Cerberus opens his mouth in triumph.
The distance now narrowed right in front of him. soon. Soon you will be able to chew the flesh and bite the bones of your prey.
... thump!
If only it hadn't been for the floor that suddenly went down.
Pook-
Suddenly, the floor collapsed.
Cerberus threw himself into a pit covered with dry straw to make it indistinguishable from the plain.
Falling into the trap, Cerberus lost his balance, but he landed on the ground and tried to jump back over the pit.
... ... But that was impossible.
Fufufufufu!
This is because numerous wooden spears stuck upside down on the floor stabbed her body.
[Sweet!]
A tearing scream erupted from each of Cerberus' three heads.
At the bottom of the pit Vikir had dug, there were countless wooden spears protruding.
Of course, most of the wooden spears could not pierce Cerberus' hard skin and broke, but some wooden spears penetrated
Cerberus' body and left fatal wounds.
It was the lower abdomen on the inside of the side, where the arrowhead-shaped wound had been deeply dug.
"Welcome to the cradle of the sword."
Vikir briefly congratulated himself.
Originally, this trap was made in preparation for being chased by other monsters such as hellhounds.
They were installed just to impede movement or a little.
Now I'm making quite an unexpected income.
but that's it
Bubbly... ...
Cerberus snapped and broke the wooden spears stuck in his side and mouth, and his whole body trembled violently.
A mad rage, but it was something else that made Cerberus' body tremble before that.
Blood Bean!
Vikir boiled the bloodbean beans and soaked the wooden spear in the water so that the energy soaked into the tip of the spear.
Cerberus is also a canine monster. A large amount of chocolate energy permeates directly into the body through the blood of the wound.
However, like a high-ranking monster, he did not fall down at once.
Foam at the mouth, burning excrement dripping from the anus, and the thick smell of chocolate coffee.
But even so, the three heads stand upright and stare at Vikir.
Vikir shook his sack and took out all the Bloody Beans.
Tick! tick tick! sudden!
Beans fly towards Cerberus's three gaping jaws.
Most of the beans thrown by Vikir landed in Cerberus's mouth, which was slowed down by his spear.
As a result, Cerberus' movement gradually slows down.
Dduduk! Pop!
Eventually, Cerberus broke several wooden spears stuck in his body and drove Vikir to the corner of his pit.
It was around the time the sack of Blood Bean Beans was empty.
Cerberus has become a wreck, but he still has the strength to bite his prey by the neck with a final leap.
"... ... ."
Knowing that, Vikir, who had been driven to a dead end, looked extremely prudent.
Before long, Cerberus moved.
Vikir also lunges forward, clutching one of his wooden spears.
... Pod!
The wooden spear thrown by the hunter flew through the air and grazed Cerberus' body.
The wooden spear, which seemed to be slightly stuck in the wound on the side, was pulled out helplessly.
If it wasn't for the original arrow mark, it would have bounced off at all.
Cerberus bared his teeth at Vikir.
Cerberus' six eyes burned even more intensely at the thought that he would soon see the end of his prey that had been so annoying.
... ... but.
Breetle!
Cerberus, who was running, staggered his body for an instant.
Cerberus, who suddenly lost his balance, panicked, but calmly took a step forward again.
stagger-
However, the second step was also slightly out of focus.
The same goes for the third step. In the fourth step, it even nearly fell over with its legs bent in a strange direction, and in the fifth step fell.
And in the sixth step, he dragged his body forward once, and in the seventh step, he fell flat on the floor without even crawling.
Only seven times.
The number of steps Cerberus took while approaching Vikir.
That was his last.
... Cheeky!
The three heads, foam bubbling at the corners of their mouths, fell down and never moved again.
Only then did Vikir sit down leaning against the cliff.
"... ... There is something worth hiding."
The hunter's gaze is directed at the wooden spear he threw earlier.
A wooden spear that just grazed Cerberus.
However, the wooden spear is a little different from other wooden spears.
Attached to the tip of the spear were two small but sharp spikes.
At the end of this dry thorn, you can see that there is a dark aura.
A snake's venom that makes it difficult to even walk.
The Bloody Mamba's posion was still flowing through it.