The Third Son of a Medieval Knight Family Chapter 82 - Knight of Ascension (17)

“Sir! There’s an ambush, it’s dangerous to approach carelessly… Huck!”

Krupin, who had quickly spurred his horse to catch up, started to speak but stopped mid-sentence and swallowed in surprise.

A monster that hadn’t been visible at all when he scouted this area was tearing apart barbarians.

Its enormous bulk went beyond being house-sized—with some exaggeration, it looked like a castle walking around, and since its entire body seemed to be made of rock, piles of stones were cascading down every time it writhed.

“Sir Krupin, what on earth is that?! Why didn’t you report such a monster being there!”

“When I surveyed this place, there was nothing like that visible! Damn… where the hell was it hiding?”

“How can something with such a huge bulk hide? Where exactly were you wandering around with your mind elsewhere!”

Mikhail berated Krupin with an angry expression.

He simply couldn’t believe it.

Though somewhat arrogant, he had thought him a fairly decent knight.

When his friends tried to betray their lord and cause trouble, hadn’t he refused to go along and even gotten injured trying to stop them?

But this current situation was something he couldn’t excuse no matter how generously he tried to view it.

To omit such a tremendous monster from his report when it was rampaging like that…!

Mikhail shook his head with disappointed eyes.

It seemed he had completely failed in teaching this generation of knights.

He approached Viktor, who was intently watching the rampaging monster, and bowed his head.

“It’s my oversight, Sir. I should have taught them more strictly… seeing them choosing only shameful acts as knights makes me feel sick to my stomach.”

“No. Since I sent Sir Krupin, it’s my fault when you think about it. And I don’t think Sir Krupin neglected his duties either.”

“…?”

Viktor glanced back at Krupin, who stood with his mouth agape in bewilderment, then continued.

“Look at that size. Logically, the possibility of missing something like that is low. But it’s also hard to believe he deliberately omitted it from his report. There would be no reason to. Isn’t that right, Sir Krupin?”

“…Sir Viktor! That’s right! I, I…!”

“There’s no benefit for you to gain by deliberately omitting such a report. Even if by some chance you were a traitor, a monster of that size would be noticed immediately upon approach, so hiding it would be meaningless. Then there’s only one possibility to consider.”

Viktor drew his battle axe from his back.

Even from a distance, the situation was rapidly coming to an end.

The screaming was gradually decreasing, and more people could be seen fleeing.

“Hard to believe, but it’s a creature with the ability to hide that bulk. Tumen, does my guess seem right?”

“…”

Tumen nodded slowly with an extremely grave expression.

“Rock Demon Serpent… to think we’d encounter that terrible thing here…”

---

Based on the principality, the eastern lands had dense forests and mountain ranges to the north, and endlessly spreading grasslands to the south.

And though countless barbarian tribes lived on that land, it was still perfectly fitting to call it an unknown territory untouched by human hands.

“The grasslands are unimaginably vast. Even if various tribes wandered around for their entire lives, they’d find it difficult to know everything.”

And in places untouched by human hands, monsters inevitably appear.

There was nothing particularly strange about it.

From the principality to the thriving old empire and western empire, even in firmly established human territories, one could frequently see wild beasts and monsters appearing.

“The steppe tribes live constantly fighting not only with packs of beasts, but also with monsters. We’re accustomed to hunting and can take down most of them. But sometimes… it’s best to avoid fighting rather than engage.”

Tumen grasped his trembling hands unconsciously and spoke again.

“The Rock Demon Serpent is very dangerous. Those bastards are complete idiots. The only option is to run away. They’re not opponents you can beat by charging in like that…”

Viktor calmly asked a question.

“Explain in more detail. How can it hide that bulk?”

“…That thing usually coils up and lies still. From a distance, it looks exactly like a large pile of rocks. Rock-like things grow on its skin, so it’s not entirely wrong to say so.”

Tumen gulped.

“While lying still like that, weeds and flowers start to bloom on top of it, making it very difficult to distinguish. It just looks like uneven terrain.”

“Camouflage…”

When Viktor muttered, Tumen nodded gravely.

“In that state, if you approach closely… it suddenly springs up and pounces. That’s why its nickname is the Devil’s Trap! Young tribe members in the grasslands all grow up hearing stories about that monster. That carelessly stepping on protruding ground could kill you…”

Mikhail, who had been listening to his explanation, tilted his head and asked a question.

“I say, but is it that dangerous? If the ground you thought was just ground suddenly turns out to be a monster and you’re ambushed, that would naturally be serious, but once you know in advance, can’t you prepare for it?”

“Absolutely not! If you knew how tough that monster’s skin is, you’d be shocked. And its strength is so tremendous that if it really tried, it could probably punch through castle walls without exaggeration…!”

Tumen spread both arms wide and continued urgently.

“Fortunately, it has a lazy nature so it won’t attack first unless you get close… but looking at how those idiots provoked it, its eyes have completely rolled back!”

“Hmm…”

“The best option is to not approach at all until that thing completely rampages and calms down! If you catch its attention for no reason, something really terrible could happen!”

Viktor surveyed the massacre scene that was now almost finished.

The barbarians were completely destroyed, while the creature stood there pristine without a single wound.

The distance was somewhat far, but not so far as to be invisible.

Its large, bright yellow pupils were fiercely rippling and spinning around.

After a moment, when it suddenly swung its long tail down to strike the ground, hidden barbarians could be seen screaming as they were torn to pieces and scattered in all directions.

“…There’s no need to take unnecessary risks.”

Viktor shook his head.

He had no desire to tangle with such a fierce creature.

“Sir, but hunting such prey could bring great honor… don’t you find it regrettable?”

Rarely, Mikhail showed a regretful expression and smacked his lips.

Hunting powerful monsters and taxidermying their hides was one of the ways to enjoy the greatest glory as a knight.

Not only that, but the process of fighting monsters itself was considered honorable.

One could show off their martial prowess, and if lucky, could sell monster byproducts at high prices, so among knights confident in their abilities, there were those who enjoyed monster hunting more than ordinary hunting.

If they could hunt an exotic grassland monster never seen in the principality, there would be no greater honor and glory.

Besides Mikhail, Krupin also began glancing at Viktor as if finding it regrettable.

Seeing this, Tumen beat his chest and shouted.

“No, that thing is really dangerous! It’s not an opponent you can hunt!”

“Be quiet, slave. Don’t put your worthless barbarian kind on the same level as the principality’s knights.”

When Krupin scolded him, Tumen scratched his face frantically with an expression of going mad.

Seeing his subordinate knights looking quite confident, Viktor approached Anton and spoke to him.

“Father, have you seen that monster before?”

“I’m sorry… I’m seeing it for the first time too. Perhaps it’s a monster that only lives here…”

“I see. Then could you tell what its weakness might be?”

“Well… even so, I can’t know the weakness of a monster I’m seeing for the first time…”

Hearing this, Viktor cleanly gave up the idea.

In this era, if there were true monster experts, they would be priests rather than knights.

While knights only faced monsters to show off their martial prowess and gain glory, properly educated priests often studied monsters in detail at universities and knew appropriate methods for dealing with each type.

After all, conducting regular monster subjugation for ordinary people was one of the duties of each church and monastery.

‘Even if Father Anton has some inadequate aspects, he’s reliable in situations like this. If even he can’t think of a proper countermeasure, it’s better not to fight.’

Though Viktor had a record of subduing a Leshy, that was only because it was a necessary situation.

When it would even sweep away the barbarians they needed to deal with if left alone, there was no reason to take risks to engage it.

“No, let’s not overdo it. Besides, when it’s cleaning up those we need to deal with on its own, it’s better to just be grateful.”

“…That’s certainly true. Whoever it is, as long as they can eliminate those people, that would be fine.”

When Viktor drove the point home, Mikhail readily agreed.

Though regrettable, they hadn’t come out to hunt this time anyway, and he knew well that stabilizing the rear was the more important objective.

Tumen sighed in relief at Viktor’s decision.

Unlike the other crazy knights, Viktor was definitely someone reliable in such matters.

“That’s truly an excellent decision. Probably even Bohdan would be helpless before that monster. When bears and wolves fight, it’s the eagle that laughs.”

“Ha, that’s a good expression. Is it a saying passed down in your tribe, Tumen?”

“No, it’s a famous saying passed down in the steppes.”

It was interesting to Viktor, who knew similar expressions were used in his previous life.

While he and Tumen conversed, not only the knights but also the mercenaries began to relax by talking among themselves.

They had prepared mentally to go fight, but the enemy was instead destroyed by an unexpected monster, which was both deflating and fortunate since they got a free victory without a single battle.

Viktor also looked ahead with a relaxed mind.

He wanted to understand the monster’s power in more detail, and was curious how the barbarians would respond.

‘Huh…? Something’s strange.’

Viktor tilted his head.

Something… he had the vague feeling that the monster had grown larger.

He focused his eyes and raised his head toward the sky.

And when he made direct eye contact with it, Viktor instinctively raised his weapon.

“Take cover!”

Crash!

Almost simultaneously with his shout, something flew at high speed and struck where Viktor was.

“Sir?!”

“What the hell…!”

Through thick dust, people coughed while looking at where Viktor had been with shock.

“It’s an attack! Sir Viktor has been hit!”

“Get the commander! Draw weapons! Hey, snap out of it!”

While the mercenaries hurriedly got up and looked around on guard, the knights rushed toward Viktor.

“Sir, are you alright?!”

“Sir Viktor! Please…!”

Mikhail cried out desperately with a despairing face.

He was someone who couldn’t be lost in a place like this.

‘Sir Viktor… damn it, what kind of bastards!’

Just as Mikhail was raising his killing intent with his face contorted in rage.

“Everyone calm down.”

“…!”

With a gust of wind, the dust cleared and the situation became clearly visible.

Viktor stood majestically in place, still mounted on Podaga.

And right in front of him, large rock fragments broken into several pieces were scattered about.

“Sir! Are you safe?!”

When Mikhail came running and shouted, Viktor nodded lightly and rolled his shoulders.

“Lord Viktor, what on earth happened!”

“A rock suddenly flew at me, so I struck it away.”

“…?!”

Looking at Viktor speaking as casually as if he’d swatted away a fly, Krupin’s mouth fell open.

Without even looking at him, Viktor shouted in a rarely angry voice.

“Everyone scatter a bit! Focus on defense rather than thinking of fighting back! What are you doing, prepare for battle!”

“Yes, yes sir!”

At his thunderous voice, the mercenaries hurriedly loaded arrows and raised shields.

Mikhail shouted with a tense expression.

“Sir Viktor! Where is the enemy? From where is the attack coming!”

“Ahead!”

When Viktor pointed straight ahead while swinging his battle axe, people’s gazes turned in that direction.

“…Shit, it’s a monster!!”

“Aaaaah…!”

An enormous bulk that defied perspective.

Bright yellow pupils shot with blood kept blinking as they stared them down.

The Rock Demon Serpent that had definitely been far away had somehow approached right in front of them.

-Kraaaaaaaa!!

When it opened its mouth wide and roared, terrible stench and wind struck them.

The mercenaries muttered with terror-stricken faces.

“How is it so big… we can’t win this…”

“We, we need to run…”

“Stop talking nonsense! Raise shields! Prepare to light arrows on fire, you idiots!”

Despite the captains’ encouragement, the fear didn’t subside at all.

Seeing this, the monster smiled a fishy smile as if enjoying it.

No one could easily move their body due to the ferocious aura emanating from its entire body.

Tumen looked up at the empty sky with a blank expression and muttered helplessly.

“Did it know from the beginning… shit, dying like this.”

He had never heard stories of anyone hunting a Rock Demon Serpent.

It was truly a disaster of the steppes, a natural calamity that exploded when touched.

‘If I’d known it would be like this, I should have just died in the castle. No, it’s the same either way.’

Whether dying under torture or dying while being chewed by a monster, it was all the same.

In a state of despair, Tumen slumped down.

He could see it approaching with its face that looked like it was made of entangled and mixed rocks thrust forward, mouth wide open.

Horses were terrified and people could be seen falling from their mounts here and there, but it was all meaningless now.

As teeth stained with blood and flesh approached, Tumen sensed his end and glared ahead with bloodshot eyes.

That’s when it happened.

Clatter! Bang!

At a sound from beside him, Tumen unconsciously turned his head and was shocked.

‘What, what the hell…!’

Amazingly, his master had come riding his horse, and now was flying through the air with his bare body.

Viktor, who had taken flight with unbelievable acceleration even while wearing heavy armor, twisted his waist and swung his battle axe as he was.

The axe, falling while receiving his full body weight, struck the Rock Demon Serpent’s large pupil directly.

Thwack-!

-Kiyaaaaaaack!!

With the sound of hide tearing, a fountain of blood erupted from the sky.