Chapter 185

Once again, I found myself alone. Rachel had run off somewhere after hearing the cries of her youngest sibling, and when I tried to follow, the forest path shifted again, causing us to miss each other. Is this why the Spirit King of Wood is considered the strongest?

[Behold. I absolutely do not allow any saplings to enter my domain. It is precisely because I possess such skill that I am called the strongest.]

“Definitely a damn brat.”

As soon as I see this damn brat, I’ll deliver a dropkick, followed by a rear naked choke, and then smash their head with a power bomb. I’ll pickle them in soy sauce, just like that.

“If this guy keeps pulling stunts like this, there’s no point in trying to find a way. I’ll just have to keep moving forward.”

[Yes, it seems so…]

“Damn it…”

As I continued forward, I heard a familiar voice. It hadn’t even been two hours since we parted, but that voice was more welcome than anything else.

“Master!”

“Werner…”

Fortunately, Camelian and Airi didn’t seem to be hurt. Well, that’s to be expected. If there were enemies capable of injuring even Camelian, that would be a big deal in itself.

“It’s a relief you two are safe. I got separated earlier because the path got tangled. We’ll have to be careful from now on.”

Whose daughter is she, anyway? She never listens to a word anyone says. What kind of personality is that…? I wonder if she’ll ever get married properly. Oh, right, Damian already forcefully solved that problem.

By the way, Airi seemed to be wearing a cautious and worried expression. This positive monster is worried…?

“Master… I think it’s better to be cautious. I have a bad feeling.”

Ah, that snack wasn’t very tasty… Wait, no. If she’s saying this, there must be something. Airi’s intuition is as accurate as the eldest son of a pirate crew.

“Right, considering the enemies we’ve faced so far, I doubt there’s anything ordinary. Plus, I’ve been sensing an unusual energy since earlier. And I’ve noticed the grass around here is withering. There must be a monster that uses poison.”

Poison…? No, it can’t be. It must be a monster. As soon as I heard the word “poison,” I thought of the ones who killed Werner in the original story. That boss with the worst compatibility couldn’t possibly be here.

It must be a monster. Damian mentioned that the Black Round Table has snake monsters. Snakes and poison are inseparable, after all. So this must be a snake.

“Yeah, it must be the monster Damian mentioned. Definitely.”

“There are footprints, though…”

“Snakes can have feet too. Stereotypes are bad.”

Let’s not put a corset on our snakes. Let’s throw away the corset that says snakes don’t have feet. I, Werner Altan, actively support the anti-corset movement for snake monsters. Of course, not for humans.

“Well, monsters can look pretty weird, so it’s possible.”

“Right?”

Then it happened.

“Unfortunately, it’s not a snake.”

This voice… it was familiar. After 30 playthroughs of the original, it was a voice I inevitably had to hear, so it’s no wonder it’s familiar.

“Oh, you’re here too? I just came to kill the target. If you step aside, I’ll spare you. The kid next to you can live too. We only need to kill Werner Altan.”

Camelian froze upon hearing the voice.

“Grr… Gallahad… Where’s the next target…?”

Airi also froze upon hearing the voice, which sounded like the growl of a beast.

A man wrapped in cloth like a mummy, carrying a black-haired half-elf on his back… Damn it. It was those bastards who played the biggest role in killing Werner in the original. Seeing them in real life, I froze too. It wasn’t like the reaction of a fan seeing their favorite manga ruined by a live-action adaptation. It was pure terror that froze me.

“Gallahad of the Black Round Table.”

“Agravain… of the Black Round Table…”

In the in-game battles, no veteran could ever defeat them… Even in the story, Werner had to suffer fatal injuries and use Great Magic to barely kill them.

“So, what will you do? Will you peacefully let one die and end it? Or will you fight, causing all three of you to die and drag the plants and beasts into it?”

Airi hesitated for a moment. No, it wasn’t hesitation—it looked like she was holding back anger.

“Horn of Earth, rise.”

A rocky horn erupted from the ground, aiming at them.

“Agravain, 31, 22, 97. Damage.”

But by the time she finished speaking, the rocky horn was just about to pierce their bodies.

However, Agravain effortlessly dodged the attack. This is why they were so damn hard to beat in the original. No matter what weapon or magic you used, this duo would either block or dodge it.

“So they dodged… There’s nothing we can do then.”

Nothing we can do, my ass. Anyway… these guys are incredibly tricky enemies. In other words, they’re a bunch of bastards with nothing but unfair patterns.

“I’ll kill you, the kid, and Werner Altan. That’s the least we can do.”

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Rachel ran off as soon as she heard her sibling’s cries, her rationality completely gone. Since her brother often left home, she was always the one left to take care of her siblings with utmost devotion. Because of her cold-hearted brother, she couldn’t help but react like this to her sibling’s danger.

“Aila! Violet!”

In front of her crying siblings was a giant white snake. Rachel immediately drew her twin swords and charged at the snake. It was always like this. When her siblings cried, her brother was nowhere to be seen, and she had to step up to solve the problem.

She immediately used a technique her mother had taught her through her brother.

[Winterheart Family Dual Swordsmanship – Wings of the Winter Bird]

The technique should have worked. No… it should have worked. It was one of her mother’s ultimate moves, a technique that would shred the enemy. So it should have worked… but it didn’t even scratch the white snake’s scales.

The white snake turned its head as if bitten by an insect.

“Sssss… What are you? I was bored with only these worthless brats to eat… and now you, a worthless moth, come fluttering in.”

Enraged by the sudden insult, Rachel swung her sword again. This time, she used a slash she had learned from her brother, a technique that could split stone pillars like tofu, but it didn’t even leave a scratch on the giant white snake’s scales.

“A flea bite would hurt more than this.”

“What the hell is this monster…?”

“Curious about who I am? Although I currently go by the ridiculous name Votigan in the Black Round Table… that name is just a stepping stone. I am Urboros, the serpent of the apocalypse who will one day devour the world and even the throne of the gods.”

A being close to a god among snake monsters and the most powerful of them all, he could devour the souls of the strong and copy their abilities to use them. He had been working under the Black Round Table to fully utilize this ability.

“One day, I will devour all the vermin of the Black Round Table.”

Of course, he was still relatively young and couldn’t take on the entire Black Round Table, so he was currently biding his time. But his innate strength was undeniable, making him a formidable enemy.

“Ridiculous…!”

Rachel leaped to stab her sword into Votigan’s head, but she was immediately struck by his tail and sent crashing into a tree, bleeding.

“Well, at least these worthless brats can serve as some entertainment.”

Votigan opened his mouth to swallow Rachel whole.

And at that moment.

Someone flew in from afar and kicked Votigan’s head, sending him flying.

“Sssssss!!!”

“Hmph, annoying snakes make annoying noises…”

The one who kicked Votigan was Damian. He too had heard his siblings’ cries and, after stopping to help Glacia, had rushed over immediately.

Damian looked at Rachel, who was embedded in the tree. Though not seriously injured, seeing Rachel bleeding from her forehead, Damian quietly asked.

“Was that injury… caused by that thing…?”

Rachel silently nodded.

“…I see.”

Votigan, having been suddenly struck, turned his head to look at Damian.

“Sssss… You dare injure me…? You seem like a human worth eating. Who are you…?”

Damian quietly pulled out Enok from his pocket and answered.

“A grave robber.”