The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 70

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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 (70)
Meiruge Orpien, the eldest daughter of Baron House Orpien, thrust her spear repeatedly at a Magical Creature caught in a snare, her expression clouded with worry.
‘This is bad! The creatures caught in the snare keep getting stronger!’
Yesterday it had been an insectoid Magical Creature resembling a praying mantis, but today it was a beast that looked like a three-headed wild boar.
If the creatures climbing the mountain grew any stronger like this, they wouldn’t be able to catch them with snares anymore.
“Miss, that creature’s breathing has already stopped.”
At that moment, Salin, a knight who had just finished spearing another trapped Magical Creature to death, approached and spoke.
“Oh! It’s dead? It was still writhing, so I thought it was still alive.”
As Meiruge withdrew her spear, Salin removed the snare from the dead creature’s neck and carefully cleaned it for reuse.
“Salin, but for the past few days, the creatures caught in the snares have been getting gradually larger and stronger.”
“I’m aware of it.”
“Ah, so you already knew.”
“That’s why I’ve sent my men to scout other habitable locations.”
“Will there even be a place where all these people can live?”
As she spoke, she gazed toward the makeshift tents pitched nearby.
Inside those tents were townspeople from the Domain who had fled to this mountain to escape Demonic Beasts and Magical Creatures, and upon discovering the knights here, had sought them out.
Most of the refugees were children, elderly folk, and the infirm—roughly a hundred in total. The rest, those able to bear arms, hunted Magical Creatures and Demonic Beasts alongside the knights.
Meiruge, together with Salin and the other house knights—her Spear Technique master—protected them while searching for a route to another Domain, but the lower slopes of the mountain were already teeming with Demonic Beasts and Magical Creatures, and no passage could be found.
Keeeeeeeee…….
Then a shriek that seemed to tear eardrums split the air, and the entire forest ahead trembled.
“Gasp! What, what’s coming?”
“Ah, Miss! Quickly take the townspeople and…… No, Miss, you at least must flee! We and my men will hold off the Demonic Beast coming from there.”
Knight Salin shouted for Meiruge to run, even though the Demonic Beast was not yet visible.
“What are you saying? I’ll fight alongside you.”
“Don’t you feel the trembling earth? That Demonic Beast is a different size from any we’ve fought before. It’s enormous.”
“No matter how big it is, it dies when you strike its vital point—that’s what you taught me, Salin. And where else can we run on this mountain? Unless we climb to the peak and fly into the sky, there’s nowhere to go.”
“Still, running toward the peak gives us even a slightly better chance of survival. Joruwan.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Take the Miss and flee toward the peak at once. I’ll hold the line here.”
“Understood. Miss, let’s go.”
“No. I won’t go. How can I abandon all these townspeople? Even if I’m to die, I’ll die fighting here.”
Crack-crack. Snap.
Then a massive Demonic Beast with five lizard heads squeezed through the trees, and two trees, swept aside by its sheer bulk, snapped like dry reeds.
“Gasp!”
Meiruge, who had gripped her spear with burning determination just moments before, felt her courage drain at the sight of the house-sized Demonic Beast.
It seemed that even if everyone here attacked it at once, they would have no chance of victory.
“G-Godra! An Upper-Class Demonic Beast Godra, not even an intermediate one, is climbing the mountain already! Joruwan, what are you doing! Take the Miss and flee at once!”
“Miss, let’s go.”
“S-Salin, come with us. There’s no way you can defeat that Demonic Beast, no matter how skilled you are.”
“I need to buy time. Please flee so my death won’t be in vain.”
“S-Salin! You don’t intend to die, do you?”
“A Demonic Beast like that requires ten knights like me. So survival is impossible. Please go. Now! We’re running out of time.”
“Miss, let’s hurry and leave.”
“Salin, you can’t die.”
As the knight Joruwan seized Meiruge’s hand and pulled her forward, she clenched her teeth, turned, and ran.
As Salin watched not only Meiruge but even his subordinates who had stood beside him with spears in hand flee in terror, he clenched his teeth grimly.
Now he alone stood against the Upper-Class Demonic Beast.
“Godra is a Demonic Beast that dies only when all five heads are severed…….”
Thanks to a Demonic Beast manual he’d read once, he knew the creature’s weakness. Yet he couldn’t imagine his spear would be capable of severing even one of those heads.
Moments later, as Godra reached roughly thirty meters away, Salin squeezed every ounce of his Mana and hurled his spear.
‘Somehow, I’ll at least smash one of your skulls to pieces!’
Twang.
But the Demonic Beast’s forehead was far harder than Salin had anticipated.
The spear bounced off, and the leftmost lizard head opened its maw and extended its tongue—which, shockingly, stretched dozens of meters in length.
As the tongue shot toward him like a spear, Salin stumbled backward and drew his sword from its sheath, bringing it down against the tongue.
Slash.
Part of the tongue was severed, and shortly after the lizard retrieved its wounded tongue and let out an eerie cry.
“That’s a Godra right there, and man, it’s loud. But why is that human fighting alone despite his clearly inadequate skill? And on top of that, all the other humans are fleeing.”
Just then, a leisurely murmur came from behind.
“Can’t you see? He’s buying time so that Demonic Beast won’t chase after the others. It’s obvious if you look.”
Salin heard voices behind him, but he had no time to turn and look.
All five heads of the Godra were shaping their long tongues like spears to pierce him or curling them to coil around him, leaving him too frantic to do anything but swing his sword desperately to parry and dodge.
“That guy’s about to get eaten by the Demonic Beast at this rate.”
“Looks like it to me too. Aleingde, how much longer? Should I lend a hand?”
“No. It’s done.”
Even in the chaos, Salin caught those words from behind and cursed under his breath.
‘Damn it, I don’t know who these people are, but if they think I’m in that much danger, help me out! Or stop muttering and get out of the way!’
Rumble rumble rumble…….
Then suddenly a bright sphere of light, twisted and writhing in shape, shot past beside him and struck the Godra with tremendous force.
Screeeee…….
The Demonic Beast shrieked and thrashed, then blackened and burned to death.
‘That, that was a Lightning Bolt! A High Mage!’
Salin turned his head toward where the lightning had come from.
An elderly mage in a gray Robe was pointing his Magic Staff at the Demonic Beast.
‘That must be the High Mage who saved my life!’
There were several people nearby, but they hardly registered.
If this mage could incinerate an Upper-Class Demon Beast with a single lightning spell, he might be able to cut a path through the swarms of Demonic Beasts below the mountain and forge a way to another Domain.
“Tsk, what’s with such a long incantation just to fire off a single Lightning Bolt? You’re a 6-Star Rank Mage, aren’t you? The knight here nearly died while you were at it.”
Yet here was someone who looked to be in his early twenties, speaking to this great mage in a casual tone and chiding him.
‘That voice…… he’s the one who said I’d die earlier!’
Just as Salin was about to say something, the elderly High Mage bowed his head to the young man.
“The Godra is an Upper-Class Demon Beast, so gathering mana required time.”
“Don’t you keep mana stored in the Magic Staff? It looks like it has enough capacity to fire off at least six Lightning Bolts, even if that’s all you can manage.”
“I, I depleted all the stored mana defending against Lord Nokskasasis’s attack last time, and I haven’t had time to recharge it yet.”
“What? Ah, I see. So that’s why the incantation was so long. Well, if that’s the reason, I suppose there’s nothing for it.”
Screeeee…….
At that moment, a similar cry echoed from the forest where the Upper-Class Demon Beast had emerged earlier, and shortly after, several Upper-Class Demon Beasts appeared, snapping trees as they pushed through.
Salin’s heart sank. No matter how skilled a High Mage might be, there was no way to contend with so many Upper-Class Demon Beasts at once.
“Since your Magic Staff’s mana is drained because of me, I’ll handle these.”
Flash.
Rumble rumble rumble, crash crash bang…….
As the green-skinned man raised his hand upward, multiple bolts of lightning suddenly descended from the clear sky, incinerating or shattering the Upper-Class Magical Creatures that had emerged from the forest in an instant.
“Gulp!”
Salin swallowed hard without thinking.
If the lightning from earlier came from the elderly mage’s mana, then these bolts were spontaneously conjured and unleashed from a cloudless sky.
‘What, what is this? Is it magic? But does magic like this even exist in the world?’
Then the elderly mage spoke, bowing to the green-skinned man.
“To unleash Thunderbolt magic without even chanting an incantation! You are truly a magnificent being. I dare not even attempt to imitate such power.”
“It’s 8-Star Rank lightning magic. Not just you, but no human could ever match it.”
‘Could it be…… a dragon?’
Only then did it dawn on Salin who the green-skinned man might be.
“Great One, I beg your mercy! Please take pity on us!”
The moment Salin guessed the man’s true nature, he dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground.
If a dragon had intervened, there was no need to search for a hidden path through the mountains. They could slaughter every Demonic Beast and Magical Creature, reclaim the Domain from its Demonic Corruption.
“Ho! The proper respect a human should show! Yes, humans ought to address me like this. Jang Gain, don’t you see something to learn from this posture?”
“What’s there to learn? And didn’t I tell you before? People grovel to you because they fear death.”
“This human isn’t groveling because he fears death from me—he’s groveling in hope of aid. That’s entirely different.”
“Looks the same to me.”
“It’s completely different!”
“Fine, I’ll say it’s different. But anyway, I see dark storm clouds gathering over there in the sky—the Gate must be in that direction. Let’s go shut it down.”
As Salin lay flat with his head pressed to the ground, he blinked at the other man speaking in a casual tone and rebuking the one he’d guessed to be a dragon.
‘What? This madman…… could he possibly be a dragon too?’
“I showed you me taking out Demonic Beasts with lightning magic, so you show me something too.”
“I’d like to show you something, but you’ve already killed all the Demonic Beasts with lightning. I need to stretch my legs anyway—if there’s anything worth catching on the way to the Gate, I’ll show you then.”
As the presumed dragon and his entourage started to pass him by, Salin called out loudly to the green-skinned man.
“Great One, might you be going to close the Gate?”
“Yeah. By the way, you’re hurt bad. Heal!”
As light poured from the man’s hand into his body, Salin’s eyes widened.
In an instant, all his wounds vanished, and he felt even the exhaustion that had accumulated over the past two months fade away.
‘Even my depleted mana has been restored!’
Were dragons truly such benevolent creatures to mankind?
“I—I thank you. Great one, I thank you.”
“I rather like the way you conduct yourself, so I’ve taken it upon myself to grant you this special grace.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s rare to find a knight willing to stand alone against an Upper-Class Demon Beast while everyone else flees—resigned to death. I’ve known a few knights like you in ages past, and those who didn’t die young mostly went on to reach the Master rank.”
“M-Master rank? You’re saying I have the makings of a Master?”
“Whether you have the talent, I couldn’t say. I only remember that knights like you ended up there before.”
“Is that so? I’m deeply grateful for your tremendous grace, great one. But are you heading off to close the Gate?”
“That’s right. If I leave the Gate open much longer, it’ll become rather bothersome.”
“I know where the Gate is located, so I can serve as your guide.”
“I can tell the Gate’s position just by looking at the sky—no guide needed. Besides, it looks like your companions are waiting for you over there, so you’d best go to them.”
When Salin turned to look in the direction the green-skinned being indicated, he found Meiruge and several knights along with many of the estate’s people standing not far away, though he’d thought they’d all fled.
“Ah, I see.”
Shortly after the dragon and his companions had grown distant, Salin turned and walked toward where Meiruge and the escaped subordinates stood hesitantly.
“Salin, thank goodness you’re safe.”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Just now I saw what looked like an extraordinarily powerful high-level spell…the bundle of lightning that fell from the sky—that was magic, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. It was magic cast by the dragon.”
“A d-dragon?”
“The dragon said it was going to close the Gate.”
“D-does that mean we can reclaim our estate now?”
“Yes. It seems we can.”

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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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