ICWDS 19

Chapter 19

The Horned Horse (2)

My initial plan was simple. Use the elf princess’s flute to lure the monsters, creating maximum chaos. In the meantime, I would take down the five armed hunters.

The plan was foolproof. Flawless, except for one tiny detail…

“Isn’t this… a bit too much?”

<Countless Blood Carnage are blood! calling carnage! for lives us!>

The only one thrilled here was Kuro, absolutely ecstatic at the prospect of battle. Myself, and even the hunters who had just been trying to kill me, were suddenly of one mind.

“Wh-What, monsters, all of a sudden?!” “Die, you fucking bastards!”

The hunters poured rifle fire into the fray. Small-fry monsters like goblins dropped like flies—pop, pop, pop—but there were simply too many of them.

“Damn it all!”

Ju Hyeong-bae’s gun barrel shifted toward the surging horde. True to a 1st-level hunter, he swept the monsters away with a larger, far more powerful machine gun.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!

A machine gun’s firepower was in an entirely different league compared to assault rifles. Yet, as the ammo belt slung over his shoulder vanished in real time, he began retreating with a panicked look.

“B-Boss! In front, too!” “Monsters, monsters are everywhere!”

And the monsters weren’t coming from just one direction. The sound of the flute had echoed in every direction, drawing the beasts from all sides.

Oh, the terror of my own musical talent.Did truly this many monsters come just to hear me play?

The problem was that I was trapped in the exact same monster-infested enclosure…

“Hyeong-bae!”

I locked eyes with Ju Hyeong-bae, the man who had been trying to murder me just moments ago. We read each other’s intent without a word. Though our conflict remained unresolved, in the face of a common enemy like the monsters, we were allies.

“Pull out a fresh belt and get it loaded!” “What about this bastard?!” “This isn’t the time to worry about that!”

Acting as Ju Hyeong-bae’s loader, another hunter yanked a machine gun belt from his pack and scrambled to load it. Meanwhile, the hunters met the surrounding horde with reloaded rifles, and I joined the fray.

<Kuwahahahaha! Kill Kill! them!>

Stirred by bloodlust, Kuro cleaved through the monsters with astonishing cutting power. Even if they were just pathetic goblins, slicing straight through fat-bellied torsos with zero resistance… It didn’t even feel like cutting; it lacked all sense of reality.

“He cut down a monster in a single stroke?!”

The hunters gasped in shock as Kuro effortlessly sliced a goblin in two. Since I’d been using Kuro from the start, I hadn’t realized, but slicing through a monster’s thick hide and layers of fat in one clean cut apparently wasn’t an easy feat.

And it didn’t end there.

<Gulp! Gulp! Guwaaaah…!>

Blood streamed straight out of the goblin’s severed edge. This was Kuro’s new ability: . Even without purposefully driving the blade deep, it automatically absorbed blood. Incredibly practical.

However, there was no time to admire new abilities as more monsters swarmed in.

“Throw every grenade we’ve got!”

Boom! Ka-boom!

Grenades detonated, sending explosive roars and monster flesh flying in all directions. Gunshots and bomb blasts echoed deafeningly through the forest. Ignoring the risk of their firearms overheating, the hunters fired full-auto. I, too, hacked down every single monster in sight, sending blood and carcasses spraying everywhere.

“K-Kobolds!” “There are wolves, too!” “Die! Die, you bastards!!”

The battle grew increasingly fierce. The longer the fight dragged on, the more injuries piled up for both the hunters and me.

How much time had passed?

“Hah! Huff!” “W-We won.”

The hunters ultimately triumphed, but the result was far from intact.

“Damn it, the rookie is dead.” “Old Kim bought it, too.”

Two of the five hunters were dead, and the survivors were in terrible shape. Ju Hyeong-bae was covered in cuts and bruises, and one of the others was bleeding profusely from what looked like a monster bite.

On the other hand—

“Damn it… Why does that bastard look so pristine?”

I didn’t have a single scratch. Thanks to Kuro’s .

The massive amount of blood harvested from the mountains of corpses healed me in real time. It was like having a permanent, passive regeneration buff active at all times. Unlike the hunters, whose injuries accumulated the longer they fought, I was actually recovering.

“······.”

Despair filled the hunters’ expressions. While they were badly wounded and out of ammo, I was completely fine. No major injuries to speak of, unlike the rest of their decimated squad.

It was all thanks to the various mystic items draped over my body. The ‘Fingertip Gloves’ helped me swing the sword with delicate precision, and the ‘Amulet of Focus’ pinned to my inner pocket maximized my concentration in the chaos of battle. After going through actual combat wearing all sorts of gear—the Leather Scale Belt, the Bronze Scale Armor, the Serf’s Linen Garments, the Necklace of Vitality, and the Golden Crown of Reverence—I finally understood.

I might just be… the strongest among Level 2s.

Now, what should I do? Even if I fought them head-on now, it didn’t feel like I would lose. Of course, they still had machine guns and assault rifles. I might manage to endure rifle fire, but I doubted I could withstand a machine gun. Still, if necessary, I’d just have to grit my teeth and do it.

Just as I steeled my resolve, Ju Hyeong-bae and the remaining hunters seemed to have similar thoughts. Right as hair-trigger tension filled the space between us—

“Uh… excuse me?” “What? If you surrender now, your lives—” “No, look behind you.”

When I pointed with my finger, Ju Hyeong-bae let out a scoff. “Are you retarded? Who’s going to fall for—”

Slowly, a shadow cast itself over Ju Hyeong-bae’s back. Hearing a heavy, ragged breathing sound, he turned his head in cold sweat.

Looming over him was a beast with dark blue muscles and sharp, horned features—

“A bi… corn?”

A sharp horn pierced straight through Ju Hyeong-bae, from back to chest.

“L-Leader!” “A bicorn…?!”

The hunters pulled their triggers frantically toward the bicorn that had impaled Ju Hyeong-bae.

“Heenh!”

Yet the bicorn’s thick hide didn’t even get scratched by the rifle rounds.

“It-It’s not even scratching it!” “The capture gun! Give me the capture gun!”

The hunters hurriedly pulled out the capture guns they’d distributed earlier. But it was already too late.

The bicorn kicked off the ground, slamming its massive body directly into a hunter, who was sent flying through the air before crashing into a tree. It wasn’t just a crash; the moment of impact turned him into a bloody pulp.

“Eek!”

Seeing two comrades instantly taken out, a terrified hunter stepped back. Yet before he could take a second step, the bicorn’s hind leg lashed out like lightning, connecting squarely under the hunter’s jaw.

Bang!

“Oh, momma…” A human head could burst like that?

Soon, the beast lunged toward its last remaining prey. Even though there was ample distance, the beast’s shoulder brushed past mine.

Rip! Flesh tore away as if scraped by a blade.

“Ugh…”

Even with my skin hardened by the Leather Scale Belt, it was this easy? If I hadn’t been wearing the Steel-Boned Bracelets as well, my bones would have been shattered.

“Should I run?”

<Stupid This battlefield favorable for is most place talk! the very you!>

Not that it was wrong. Right now, I was standing in a field where hundreds of monsters had just died. That meant an endless supply of blood was readily available. With real-time healing and Kuro actively active, I should be able to cut down even a bicorn.

“Snort…!”

Finding that it couldn’t finish me off in one blow and that I was actually regenerating, the beast stamped its front hooves. It looked ready to charge again, spinning around like a top. Was it going to build up momentum for a rush?

This wasn’t the time to be saving anything!

“Snort…!”

Having built up sufficient momentum, the bicorn charged at me. The temptation to activate Flow-Heart was immense, but I held back just as Kuro advised.

“Whew…!”

I stepped lightly, evading the beast’s head-on charge. Thanks to the effect of the ‘Chafed Shoes’, which made the wearer’s footwork agile.

“Ha…!“

Since the evasion succeeded, it was time for a counterattack. The moment the beast flashed past my side, I raised Kuro and slashed at its flank. Once I landed a wound, the automatic blood-sucking would continuously accumulate damage.

Clang!

A sinister sound of hooves striking the ground echoed. Without even looking, my instincts forced me to abandon the attack and backstep.

Whoosh!

A threatening sound cut through the air as the bicorn’s horseshoe grazed right past my face.

“Insane…”

That was too close. I had seen what that single strike did to a human head. Realizing my own head had almost gone the same way made my heart pound wildly.

“Snort!”

The bicorn glared back at me over its shoulder. Its foul temper clearly showed after missing its attacks twice. Immediately, it leaped again.

As I retreated, I looked at the trees scattered all around. They weren’t as massive as the giant trees in the elven forest, but the trees here were as thick as centuries-old pines—thick enough that several grown men would have to join hands to encircle one.

I immediately pressed my back against a towering tree.

Now, what are you going to do?If I dodge, you’re going to smash right into this tree, aren’t you?

I figured the beast would become cautious. That was my miscalculation.

“Hi-hi-hick!”

The beast accelerated even further. Faster than before. Twice as fast, making me dizzy just watching.

“······.”

I swallowed hard at that gale-force momentum. Just how much faster was it planning to get?

With the ancient tree at my back, my field of vision was restricted, leaving me unable to see the beast charging from behind. That was my fatal mistake.

Crash!

At some point, the sound of hooves striking the earth changed. Directly behind me. The sound coming from my blind spot, shielded by the massive tree, struck my back with the force of a destructive explosion.

Crack-crunch!

The bicorn’s horn smashed through the ancient tree, piercing straight through.

Ah, damn it.This giant tree smashed from a single headbutt?

I tried to dodge, but it was too late. The moment I turned around, the bicorn’s horn impaled my shoulder, and I hung suspended from the beast as my living flesh was torn apart.

“Gack!”

Pain made my vision spin violently. Yet I couldn’t afford to lose consciousness.

<Flow-Heart: Acceleration…! Double>

If there was any time to fight back against this monster, it was right now, this very second.

“Die!”

Hanging from the horn, I drove Kuro deep into the beast’s neck.

“Heenh…!”

Seemingly shocked that I could still counterattack in that state, the bicorn panicked. It thrashed around with me still impaled on its horn. It sprinted while stabbing me, slammed into trees, and tried to shake and throw me off, but I clung desperately to its horn, holding on.

It hurt like absolute hell, but I trusted Kuro’s . Kuro, buried deep in its neck, would directly drain its blood and vitality, and in the end, I would be the victor!

“Hi-hi-hi-hick…!?”

Thud! The bicorn collapsed. Though my legs were pinned beneath the beast’s head, there was no doubt I had won.

“I… I won…”

My slowed body returned to normal, but pinned beneath the weight of the beast with its horn still piercing me, I couldn’t break free.

Thud!

“Ugh?!”

The backlash of Flow-Heart knocked the remaining breath out of me.

“Ugh… I’m bleeding… bleeding too much…”

My body slumped. My vision flickered. My heavy eyelids finally shut closed.

“Hah…!?”

How much time had passed? When I opened my eyes, the sky came into view. Had I just passed out?

“Heenh…!”

Right then. A chilling shadow cast over me as a giant beast loomed down.I’m screwed.It’s not dead?

I scrambled up instantly, only to realize something was strange. Unlike the bicorn, whose dark blue skin and blazing red eyes were deeply menacing, the horse standing before me had the exact opposite impression.

Clear, pure eyes like a blue ocean. Snow-white skin and a lustrous mane that looked almost sacred.

“Heh-hi-heenh!”

The beast rubbed its face affectionately against my cheek. What on earth is going on here?