The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 39

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Our Neighborhood’s Strongest (39)
“The culprit is Lord Dimitrion, you see…….”
Leodosun emerged from the treatment room and arrived at the training ground, his expression one of disbelief as he realized that Jang Gain and Dimitrion were the ones causing the flames and deafening explosions.
He had rolled across the floor and coughed up blood after just two spear strikes from his opponent—how could Dimitrion, whom he’d thought inferior to himself, hold out like that?
Though his armor was tattered and he was covered in blood, Dimitrion still fought remarkably well against a Master Class warrior.
“Was Lord Dimitrion’s skill always this impressive?”
Laila asked from beside him, and Leodosun shook his head.
“I’m not entirely sure myself. When we fought before, he wasn’t at this level. He said he’s been hunting monsters in the forest for the past few years, so he must have grown stronger through those encounters.”
“Hmph! Even with a magical formation deployed in our favor, we couldn’t exert our full power and were destroyed. Yet Lord Dimitrion endures such attacks so skillfully.”
“If I had fought Lord Dimitrion back then, I likely would have lost.”
“Indeed. I was right to stop you that day. Didn’t you resent me for holding you back?”
Leodosun laughed bitterly at Laila’s words.
“He’s improved quite a bit!”
Clang, clang-clang, roar, bang——
Jang Gain’s expression was satisfied as he wielded his sword, while Dimitrion had no time to respond.
‘Over the past month I’ve made significant progress, so I thought I could hold out to some degree…… but I’m still far from ready.’
At first, his opponent’s attacks seemed intent on killing him, so he fought with all his might. But after the same pattern repeated several times, he realized his opponent was holding back.
Of course, holding back didn’t mean he was safe—one slip and his neck could be severed or his heart pierced. He was drawing upon his very last reserves of strength.
‘Damn it! Now I understand why he told me to attack as if willing to kill myself!’
Dimitrion gritted his teeth inwardly.
At this rate, he’d collapse without landing a single successful strike, covered in blood.
‘There’s a priest stationed in the estate, so I won’t die even from mortal wounds!’
Dimitrion banked on the priest’s presence and watched for his opening.
Finally, as Jang Gain’s sword thrust toward his left shoulder, Dimitrion didn’t dodge—instead, he extended his own blade to strike at Jang Gain’s heart.
Thud.
‘Damn!’
A curse escaped him. His own blade had missed as his opponent evaded, and he’d been struck instead.
“Oho! The resolve to sacrifice an arm if it means taking your enemy’s life—that last move was good.”
Jang Gain withdrew his sword and stepped back. Dimitrion used his sword as a crutch, pressing it into the ground as he knelt on his left knee.
“Huff, huff…… I thought it was a desperate strike worthy of the name, but you dodged it far too easily.”
“I’ve faced that kind of desperate strike too many times before.”
“Really? Is that so?”
“I did ease up at the end, but even so, your shoulder needs treatment soon.”
“Understood. Egodana.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Go fetch the priest at once.”
“Yes.”
* * *
Jang Gain gazed at the map Laila had spread out with keen interest.
“So this is Diaran where we are now, that’s Hailong, and this long mountain range is the Crelarion Mountain Range, correct?”
“Yes. And beyond Kunwang Peak, which is a tributary of the Crelarion Mountain Range, lies this vast territory—the domain of Count Johansen, called Greywan.”
“If we cross Kunwang Peak, we can reach it in a day’s journey.”
“You would take less than a day if you rode a Giant Saber-Toothed Tiger, but those of us on horseback would need to take the long route through Gorgowan, the domain of Baron Isop, to reach Greywan.”
“My reason for going to Greywan is to sell the arm of a high-ranking Demon Race to Lady Laila. And while I’m there, I’ll meet Count Johansen and negotiate regarding the shares of Centron Mine. So there’s no need for others to come along.”
“What? Ah, so you mean just the two of us should go, leaving my disciples and attendants behind?”
“Yes. Since your body seems fully recovered, we can depart after breakfast.”
“Understood. I’ll inform my companions that I’m leaving ahead of them.”
Shortly after breakfast, the two mounted the Saber-Toothed Tiger’s back side by side.
Eldom’s expression grew worried as he watched Laila take the reins at the front.
“Lady Laila, since Shaber is incredibly fast, you’ll need to grip the reins firmly to avoid falling off. And you may experience such severe motion sickness that your insides turn upside down.”
“Motion sickness? Ha, you simply don’t know me well, Eldom. I’m someone who once flew through the sky like a bird thanks to my master’s Flight Magic, yet never suffered motion sickness. Why would I feel sick riding a Saber-Toothed Tiger?”
“Ah! You’ve flown like a bird before. I was worried for nothing.”
Eldom nodded and stepped back. Jang Gain then looked at Dimitrion with a puzzled expression—the man was wrapped head to toe in bandages.
“Lord Dimitrion.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Did you not apply the potion I gave you yesterday? Why are you still wrapped up like that?”
Dimitrion’s eyes widened in an instant.
“The potion you gave me yesterday—wasn’t that something to drink?”
“It’s meant to be applied. Don’t tell me you drank it?”
“Yes. Since you said it was a superior potion, I drank it.”
Worry etched itself across Jang Gain’s face.
“Drinking potions are watery liquids, and salve potions are thick and sticky like gel—so how did you drink the sticky one?”
“They said it was a high-grade potion made by the Druid race, so I assumed drinking potions were also gel-like. I wish you’d mentioned it was a salve potion.”
“I naturally assumed you’d know to apply it, so I didn’t say anything. Your stomach doing alright?”
“Absolutely dreadful. I’ve had diarrhea over ten times since last evening until this morning. And right now my stomach is still churning.”
“I—I’m sorry. Eldom, is there any side effect from drinking a salve potion?”
“Well, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure. But salve potions are mostly refined monster oil mixed with medicinal herbs, so the diarrhea will likely persist for quite some time.”
“Monster oil would naturally cause diarrhea, but are there other side effects? If you knew the herbs involved, you might be able to guess the side effects.”
“Hmm, the medicinal herbs used aren’t harmful to the human body, so aside from diarrhea there shouldn’t be other side effects. However, I don’t know much about potion-making myself, so I can’t say for certain.”
“Then observing Dimitrion should tell us what the side effects are.”
“I suppose so.”
Hearing their exchange, Dimitrion’s face turned utterly bewildered.
“What kind of irresponsible thing is that to say? Is there no medicine to stop the diarrhea?”
“I’m terribly sorry. Such a medicine would be…….”
“Ugh! I—I need to go. Blast it! Nature’s calling urgently…… Jang Gain, please have a safe journey.”
Dimitrion’s face turned ashen, and clutching his backside, he scurried away with quick, mincing steps.
Jang Gain offered a wry smile, then gave the Saber Tiger a light kick on the ribs.
“Come on, Saber. Let’s go.”
* * *
Heave, heave…….
Jang Gain watched the sorceress Laila gasping for breath after another bout of retching, his expression full of pity.
The two of them stood by a stream in a forest with flowing water, past Kunwang Peak.
“Feeling better now?”
“Hah! My insides feel completely turned around. I’m dizzy and nauseous and feel like I’m dying.”
“A little cold water should settle your stomach.”
“I can’t drink anything right now.”
“You said you’d flown through the sky like a bird using Flight Magic, yet you get motion sickness this severely?”
“I did fly, but it wasn’t fast enough to make my eyes spin wildly. Every time the Saber Tiger zigzagged, my body lifted into the air, and I had to desperately grip the reins to keep from falling.”
As Laila shook her head, Jang Gain smiled wryly.
In truth, the Saber Tiger had been running slower than when it carried Eldom.
“Can’t motion sickness be solved with magic?”
“If there were magic to ease motion sickness, I would have cast it on myself long ago.”
Grrrrrr…….
Suddenly, the Saber Tiger drinking from the water lifted its head and let out a growl full of alertness.
“What? Why is the Saber Tiger acting that way all of a sudden?”
“A fairly powerful monster is approaching from that forest over there.”
“A fairly powerful monster? There are almost no monsters capable of matching a Giant Saber Tiger.”
Jang Gain looked toward the forest the Saber Tiger was watching, then activated the Wind Summoning Technique to stir up a breeze.
Whissssh…….
The wind he sent forth entered the forest and returned moments later; seeing it, Laila’s expression turned disbelieving.
“That—that’s Spirit Magic! Can you use Spirit Magic too, Jang Gain?”
“I’ve learned it, but I’m still not very skilled at it. Anyway, that creature coming down from that peak is an ogre, and it’s a variant—it has two heads. With two heads, it’s much bulkier and stronger than a normal ogre.”
Boom, boom, boom…….
As Jang Gain spoke, the ground trembled from the heavy footsteps of a massive creature.
“The ogre hasn’t even come into sight yet, but the ground is shaking like this…… It must be an truly tremendous monster.”
“The last time I encountered them, most variants were quite powerful. An ogre variant—I wonder how strong it could be?”
Watching Jang Gain show no signs of tension, Laila inwardly nodded to herself.
No matter how strong a variant monster was, it could not stand against a Master Class warrior.
“Still, seeing a variant monster tainted with Demonic Aura makes me wonder if there’s a Demon Race presence in this forest.”
Jang Gain drew in a breath and analyzed the quality of the air, then tilted his head thoughtfully.
He didn’t sense any particular Demonic Aura.
Crack, snap, crash…….
Moments later, a colossal two-headed ogre, easily seven meters tall, burst through the snapping branches.
Roooaaarrr…….
The Saber Tiger, tensed and coiled, charged forward, and the two-headed ogre swung a massive Iron Club from who knows where.
“Oh! Jang Gain, if that Iron Club connects, even a Giant Saber Tiger won’t survive unscathed.”
Laila gasped in shock and pointed her Magic Staff, preparing to cast.
“Saber received combat training from me, so he’ll easily dodge attacks like that.”
“You mean he received combat training?”
Crash. Clang.
The Two-Headed Ogre swung its iron club at the Saber-Tooth Tiger’s head, but the tiger twisted its upper body with the grace of a seasoned warrior, ducked its head to evade the blow, then sprang up in one fluid motion and clamped its jaws around the ogre’s left neck.
“Impressive—the training shows. The Saber-Tooth Tiger’s movements are remarkably quick. If it had only one head instead of two, I’d say that single bite would have ended the ogre right there.”
“The problem is, with two heads, it has two windpipes.”
Just as Jang Gain had feared, the Two-Headed Ogre staggered but still raised its iron club to strike back at the tiger.
Thud.
But in that instant, the Saber-Tooth Tiger extended its front paw like a hand and blocked the ogre’s wrist mid-swing. Thanks to that interception, the iron club never made contact with the tiger’s body and froze in place.
While holding the ogre’s left neck between its teeth, the tiger began to shake its head violently, tearing away a chunk of flesh, bone, and nerve fibers.
Whoooosh——
Blood erupted like a fountain from the torn wound, and the Saber-Tooth Tiger immediately drove its fangs into the neck of the right head.
Crack-crack-crack——
The ogre’s neck bone snapped audibly, and the creature thrashed about in a frenzy, swinging its iron club wildly in all directions.
Remarkably, the Saber-Tooth Tiger kept the ogre’s arm pinned with its paw while shaking its head ferociously against the bitten neck. Moments later, the ogre let out an odd, gurgling sound and collapsed forward.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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