Labyrinth Story 64

Chapter 64 – 063 Village – Road to Lehil

In the wagon that left Yulkam and headed east along the road, Hwanin admitted that his estimate of the travel time was wrong.

The wagon, led by two straw coues, was moving along a hard-packed meadow at a speed of nearly 60 km/h.

At this rate, if it was a 20-day schedule, he would have had to move for more than three months.

‘It must have taken longer since it was my first trip and I could only see the horizon.’

As the wagon moved, he constantly compared his surroundings to the map, but all he could see was the horizon and green meadows.

He has nothing to guide him, so if he had moved on by himself, he would have been one hundred percent lost.

Emergency food from the sky would guide them, so they wouldn’t have wandered endlessly.

= Spirit Master. It’s morning here.=

“Thank you.”

Hwanin, who received the lunch box wrapped in something resembling a bamboo leaf handed to him by a porter, opened the leaf, feeling the warmth still remaining.

It is triangular rice ball with steam. Breakfast prepared in advance at Yulkam’s inn.

It was an ordinary rice ball, but the salt was well seasoned, and the rice grains were mixed with pickled meat, which was quite tasty.

While eating breakfast, Hwanin grasped the rank of this peddler by the atmosphere.

The method is simple. Reading the order in which lunch boxes were distributed, and the feelings expressed in the conversations and attitudes of the vendors.

The number one ranking is, of course, Susa. As the owner of the peddler, it was natural.

In second place is Brillit, one of the three escorts.

A woman with leopard ears and tails who seemed to have a close physical relationship with Susa was riding on one of the two Que.

He’s taciturn and doesn’t talk much, but he’s quick to notice and even has a faint aura. Susa seemed very trusting.

Escort 2 is Dinte, a man from the Yinlang tribe riding another Que. Escort 3 is Hughesuk, a man from the same Inrang tribe riding in the wagon.

‘It doesn’t have many characteristics and the impression is blurry, but its skills are solid, so it must be used as an escort.’

Escort 2 and Escort 3 seemed to get along so well that they laughed without hesitation, touched each other, and joked around.

There was no meaning to the order below that.

The three porters were two man-dog men and a woman, but they seemed to have a low social status, and they did not seem to be able to treat the guards, let alone the ruler, carelessly.

He was almost untouchable for Hwanin, whom Susa treated politely.

After breakfast, a leisurely time continued.

Susa was concentrating on driving the wagon, while the three porters and escort 3 kept vigilant from the back of the wagon.

Brillitt and Howie 2, who are riding separately in Que, are matching their strides on the left and right sides of the wagon.

The wagon…… It was a ride that could not be called comfortable even with lies.

Since there is no suspension at all and the wheels are completely wooden, the wagon often bounces at the slightest bend even though it runs at 60 km/h.

If you think about it, emergency food is kuet, kkwat, kkoo! Did you run away and run away to the sky?

Hwanin, who hadn’t eaten since last night, looked at the emergency rations that made him feel lighter and able to fly.

‘I guess I didn’t tie up my luggage for no reason.’

Maybe because Hwanin got tired of the poor shock absorption and kept looking at the carriage, Susa misunderstood that gaze and smiledhaha.

= Don’t worry. The axles and wheels of the wagon are consecrated and will never break from such an impact.=

“That’s good, that’s it.”

While talking, Hwanin almost bit his tongue because of a running wagon, so he decided not to speak.

However, the decision was made less than three minutes later, and he gave up and opened his mouth.

“Are you really shaking like this?”

= Oh, no, no. The wagons ridden by barons and nobles are completely smooth. All carriages that ordinary people like us ride are like this.

‘Is the baron’s exclusive wagon a special construction method, or a wagon reinforced with supernatural abilities?’

Either way, there is no doubt that mass production was not possible. Either in terms of cost or efficiency.

‘Suspension…… It’s too insignificant to say, and if I get a chance, I’ll make a shock absorbing leaf spring.’

Suspensions with complex structures do not have the talent or knowledge to implement. However, the structural principle of the leaf spring suspension was simple, so I roughly remembered it.

After some trial and error, you can build a wagon that is 100 times better than this one.

Holding pearl-colored and blood-colored stones in his pocket, Hwan-in accepted the warmth and coolness while thinking about this and that.

As you get farther away from the center of the forest labyrinth, the absorption of warmth and coolness gradually decreases.

At this level, the amount of natural absorption cannot be expected.

‘But there are women out there…….’

Hwanin had no hesitation in sleeping with a woman for the purpose of absorbing warmth. Because it was an act that was beneficial not only to himself, but also to the woman’s side.

‘Your musculature and appearance change. It was a completely unexpected effect.’

This was confirmed when three days had passed since returning to the village.

It was caused by overhearing the conversation of the village women gathered at the laundry while taking a walk around the village as usual. It was said that Ryuhi, Epnis, Huini, and Ennel had grown taller than before they disappeared, and their faces and skin were prettier.

– Really?
— It’s real! Epnis had the top of his head at my eye level, but today I saw that he was at the same eye level as mine!
— I saw it when I was washing my face with Ryuhi, and my skin became very clean. All the stains on her upper breastbone were gone.
– Ah! I saw that too
— …… My face seems to have gotten prettier too, but I’m not mistaken, right?
— Uh, I thought so too.
– Me too.
— Why?

The reason was that the parties knew better.

— When you sleep with your benefactor, your face and body become beautiful.
— Because I slept with my benefactor!
— Eunin-nim’s grace.

‘The more warm she is absorbed by me, the prettier she gets.’

Thanks to this, Hwanin was able to roughly guess the identity of warmth, that is, warmth or cold, warmth or coolness.

‘The more warmth it has, the more masculine it must be.’

It wasn’t that a man’s warmth was more than a woman’s for no reason.

At that time, an alarm for emergency food exploded in the sky.

Quet~! Cuckoo coo! Queek!

People heard the loud cry of emergency food, huh? While I was looking up at the sky with a smile on my face, the straw que who were pulling the wagon slowly slowed down.

= Why are these guys suddenly like this? Lotty, Lotty! Run!=

Swish- swish.

There was the sound of a leather cart strap hitting the air, but the two Que-Que stopped completely and looked back and groaned at the Que-Que.

= Huh?=

Perhaps this is the first time such a case has happened, but when Susa was confused, Hwanin stood up and said, holding a staff.

“I’m sure it’s because the emergency rations warned me.”

=Yes?=

“The enemy is approaching.”

=…… Oops.=

For a while, Susa immediately ordered the escorts and porters to prepare for battle with a firm expression, and the porters in the luggage compartment immediately took out their bows and crossbows at their feet.

Susa also took out her bow and attached an arrow to the bowstring, and Huseuk also jumped off the carriage wearing a sword and shield.

Brillitt and Dinte, who had come closer, wondering what was going on, also changed their expressions and took out a long spear hung from the saddle.

Coo~! Whoops!

= I see! Grenier approaching from the southeast! The number is six!!=

The porter 3 and the emergency rations, who climbed onto the frame of the luggage compartment and looked around, shouted at the same time. Susa asked with a serious expression.

=On the other side?=

=Currently not available!=

= Dasconn stays vigilant, and the rest keep the grenier in the southeast in check!=

Yes!!

The tension ahead of the battle spreads through the party. In that atmosphere, Hwanin also felt his heart beat slightly and lifted the corner of his mouth.

After fighting several times every day for two months, we have not been able to fight once for the last 15 days.

I asked Susa, who was obviously nervous, thinking that now even a group of mixed dogs would be able to enjoy it enough.

“What kind of monster is Grenier?”

=It looks like a mixture of a dog and a wild boar. It is smaller than Que, but extremely aggressive and ferocious.

‘A witch?’

Hwanin felt a little more anticipation when he expressed it as a monster rather than a monster, beast, or animal.

Around that time, a herd of beasts the size of motorcycles appeared along with a small cloud of dust from the shallow hills to the south.

The appearance matched Susa’s summary exactly, but a more accurate and shorter word existed in Hwanin’s head.

Dog pig.

The whole body is shaggy with short brown hair like a wild boar, but in some ways it looks like a dog, and in other ways it looks like a wild boar.

The group of greniers that appeared on a small hillside waited for a while as if they were spying on them, then started running, howling like pigs who couldn’t control their appetite.

=Go first!=

Brillitt charges toward the greniers like a knight charging a lance with a high-pitched voice, and Dinthe departs much later than that.

Hwanin, who had no intention of just watching from behind, put down his staff and reached out to the porter in the luggage compartment.

“Will you give me my spear?”

=Yes?! Above, dangerous!=

“It’s okay. Please give it to me.”

When Hwanin makes another request, the porter looks at Susa and Hwanin alternately with a puzzled expression.

= Open the window. Soul Master, be careful. Grenier is as aggressive as a boar and as clever as a dog.=

“I will take your advice.”

After accepting the spear, Hwanin immediately took off the cover of the blade and stood down from his carriage, spreading the lowest level of command.

In front of me, Brillitt had already collided with a group of Greniers once. Like a knight riding her horse, Brillit bravely brandished her spear and caught three of them.

Wow-!

Dinte also roared excitedly and rushed at the three, but only one of the three rushed at Dinte, and the other two split to the left and right of Dinte, passing by and speeding up toward the wagon.

= Oops…… !=

Dinte’s expression twisted, as if he was going to tie the two even if he couldn’t do it. At the same time, his hand movements became dizzy and he could only deal with one.

The two remaining greniers ran without hesitation, salivating towards the wagon, with nothing in their way.

Food! Something to eat!

The smell was so delicious that even just smelling it made the two Greniers almost roll their eyes.

Meanwhile, the two greniers exchanged glances as one of the prey walked out leisurely.

Immediately after, they closed the distance and increased their speed toward the prey that fearlessly ventured out alone.

After destroying the prey in front of your eyes, let’s eat the bigger prey!

=Soul Master! It’s dangerous to go forward!!=

“It’s okay.”

=…… !=

Hwanin kept an eye on Grenier, who was aiming for him, and in a corner of his vision, Brillitt and Dinte were fighting Grenier.

As Brillett’s spear brushes the end of Grenier’s skin, the leather is cut and blood oozes out.

Dinte’s spear, on the other hand, only scratches the tip of Grenier’s hide.

‘Is the head’s attack radius similar to that of wild dogs? Turning left and right is a bit slow……. The only attack method is biting.’

The attack pattern is simple. It is no different from the pack of wild dogs in the basin near Twin Mountain.

Wondering if this was a monster, one of the two Greniers approached 10m away. He stuffed three soul beads into the mouth of a guy with his mouth wide open to bite him right away, causing a triple-layered soul explosion.

Kukkoom!!

“…… ?”

Ki-gang with an explosion that is twice as strong as expected! Hwanin slightly furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of one of them falling down with a scream.

Why did the power become so strong?

Contrary to what I thought, my body was already moving, and the other one, who turned his head in surprise at the sudden explosion, moved on.

Grenier also came to his senses and rushed ferociously at the Hwanin who had arrived right in front of him.

KIAANG!!

The muzzle opens wide, revealing the unique fierceness of omnivorous animals. And Hwanin’s ink-colored spear slashed the corner of Grenier’s mouth.

I just lightly brushed past it and drew a spear, but the corners of my mouth were torn and even the jaw joint was exposed.

Keke!!

Grenier violently shook his head at the cut so deep that his flesh was shaking and tried to retreat, but Hwanin lightly closed the distance and listened.

Then, after wielding a lighter, darker spear, it severely cut through the muscles of its forelimbs, and let out a small laugh.

‘What the hell did Mr. Belbido do to the window?’

Even if it’s sharp, it’s too sharp. I didn’t put much force on it, but when the ink-colored spear blade touched leather or flesh, it suddenly opened.

Then the arrow flew in with a small, sharp sound. It was toward Grenier, whom Hwanin had knocked down with a soul explosion.

Renier, who flinched at the arrow attack, noticed that it was not pouring down on him and jumped up on his hind legs and attacked Hwanin.

An attack that lost the function of one front leg, but did not lose fighting spirit.

Hwanin, who lightly avoided the honest attack from top to bottom by moving sideways, saw Grenier’s fragile belly skin in a corner of his field of vision, lightly stabbed him as if brushing it, and quickly ran away.

Thud! Food the Duck-

The skin of the stomach, which had been shallowly cut by the impact of the landing, was torn, and all kinds of internal organs poured out along with white seaweed.

Kien! Keek!

Grenier, whose entrails were spilled, screams and tumbles.

‘This guy is over.’

After confirming that the speculation had disappeared from his eyes, Hwanin passed by him and approached Greenier whose face was torn apart by a triple soul explosion.

Khik-hehe-!

Grenier, with arrows stuck shallowly all over his body, groaned with a rustling sound.

Because of a strong explosion in his mouth, his tongue was cut off and disappeared somewhere, and his throat leaked as if it had been severely damaged.

The two eyeballs have come out of the eye socket and are dangling, and the flesh and skin of the tip of the snout have been blown away, leaving the bones intact.

Seeing blood pouring from his face and not realizing the approach from this side, Hwanin stabbed Grenier in the gap between his ribs.

Grenier, who flinched every time he was stabbed by the ink-colored spear, sat helplessly on her fifth spear and lowered her head.

“Hmm.”

The cutting power of the new weapon was so good that it was easy to defeat it, but Hwanin noticed that the Grenier was on a similar level to the bloodsucking horse.

He said it was a monster, so I thought it was a wild boar with a blade or a hob with a great sword, but it was weaker than expected, so I let out a sigh of regret.

I retrieved Grenier’s soul and looked ahead.

Brillitt had already silenced one of the Greniers, skillfully manipulating Que, and was showing unflinching skill against her two.

It was only because of her numerical inferiority of 1:3 that she couldn’t make a decision right away, but she had the upper hand by moving Que like her own body.

The problem is the second escort, Dinte.

=This meal!=
Kieeck!!

Dinte was struggling with even one.

‘It must have been a fatal mistake to lose momentum in the first place.’

In addition, Kue, who was riding, seemed to have sensed her master’s agitation and took her fear away. It would be better to get off at Que to be more active.

Seeing Dinte unable to properly avoid Grenier’s obvious attack, Hwanin said briefly.

“I will join you.”

=Soul Master?!=

Hwanin lightly threw a stone axe and blew off one of Grenier’s eyes.

Grenier, who had a stone ax stuck in his left eyeball, screamed in pain and jumped up and down, revealing fierce anger toward the illusionist who took his eye.

= Dangerous…… !=

Kieaaaaa!!

‘Is the jump attack a method imprinted on the instincts of dogs and beasts?’

Stepping to the side, scratching the visible joints of Grenier’s forelegs every once in a while, the missing Hwanin checks the blade of the spear and follows Grenier, who is still in the air.

Thud! Pujik-

After a while, Grenier landed with a heavy sound, and his front leg couldn’t overcome the impact, so the leg joint broke with a crackling sound.

Kkeeweng!!

Grenier, who was screaming that he was dying, struggled with his hind legs as he saw the phantom approaching, trying to somehow get back.

It bites enough to make a crackling sound, but Hwanin tore out Grenier’s remaining eye with a light stab and retrieved the stone ax stuck in Grenier’s left eye, which glowed even more.

“…….”

I brushed off the eyeballs caught in the stone axe, saw the gap, and hit Grenier’s cervical vertebrae with all my might.

Knock!

‘Also. The ink-colored spear was unusually sharp.’

Rather than filming, it would be more accurate to say that they were mixed up.

I shot as hard as I could, but seeing that only the skin was torn, I hit Grenier’s cervical vertebrae several more times, screaming out of breath.

As a result, Grenier, who fell into general paralysis, trembled with the sound of bones falling down.

=…….=

Dinte is confused. Wasn’t that the spirit master? But what are those skills? Was that just a domestic pig and not a grenier?

Hwanin spoke to Dinte, who was staring blankly at him from the top of her Que.

“Mr. Dinte.”

=…….=