Chapter 62: Assassination Attempt? [1]
"Sigh, phew..."
Puck!
When the full-scale battle began, Carl was pointing his spear at the wooden fence.
After eating the Frostwind Corpse Flower, Carl gained a truly strong constitution. It is a big loss for Carl, who does not get tired easily and recovers his stamina quickly, to be left out of battle.
Catherine, who suddenly came to her senses at the sound of Carl's breathing, wondered whether she should drag Carl out. It's too dangerous.
"Lord Carl, be careful."
But after thinking about it for a while, she ended up saying just that.
She also thought about profit and loss, but for some reason, she felt like Carl would be okay. Of course, she would be alert so that she could save Carl in case of an emergency.
The battle seemed more difficult than yesterday, but it was not dangerous.
Puck!
Kang!
"Whoa! Phew!"
Carl caught his breath after stepping on the corpse and hitting the head of the gnoll who jumped over the wooden fence with his spear.
Fortunately, last night, they saw a gnoll trying to climb over the wooden fence by stepping on a corpse, so they dug into the ground to prepare, and so far, no gnoll has climbed over the wooden fence. Everyone was slowly getting tired, but they were stable.
"Light the torches!"
Carl cried out as he felt that it was painful to open his eyes as the sun set sharply towards the western forest.
The inside of the helmet with the visor down was pitch black. No matter how much light came in through the slit, if you fight with your head down, your pupils will get bigger, making it difficult to open your eyes to the sunlight when you raise your head.
Carl's words spread to the wooden fence, and although it was a bit of a waste of oil, fires were lit on the wooden fence one by one in advance to prepare for after the sun went down.
And after the light came up on the wooden fence under Carl's instructions, the sun was obscured by the forest and everything suddenly became dark.
"…"
Carl felt an eerie gaze that seemed to suffocate him.
Something was watching him.
A cold chill rushed through his heated body as he swung his spear while wearing strong, tough combat uniform and armor.
The skin of his whole body was covered in red skin, his hair stood up straight, and he felt the cold as his sweat dried.
Phew…
Carl didn't know whether the sound he heard was his own breath swirling inside the helmet, or the sigh of the owner who was looking at him quietly.
'Die!'
Carl instantly raised his spear and threw himself backward. Even though he might fall under the fence, he acted without hesitation.
No, there was no time for hesitation. It was an instinctive action, like an animal, without any thought.
Maybe he was just scared.
Whoosh…
The sound of the wind passing by.
Chin. Degurrr*
"Master Carl!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
Carl didn't know what happened in a split second.
He barely managed to hang on as Catherine caught him before he tumbled down the fence.
Carl frantically racked his brain to understand the situation through the visor's vision.
What happened?
"Go down!"
Catherine held onto Carl's arm tightly and lowered him down the wooden fence.
Carl got goosebumps at what he saw just before Catherine dropped him off.
The head of a gnoll with fur as black as a shadow was rolling on the floor, glaring at Carl.
The head that had been separated from the body by Catherine's attack, its bright yellow eyes were following Carl straight down to the end as he went down the wooden fence.
Carl, who commanded the soldiers with just a word and was still small and weak, must have looked appetizing.
Aiming precisely at the moment when darkness fell, a gnoll with black fur like a shadow attacked Carl with eerie silence.
Having the strength to jump over the fence in one fell swoop.
Because the village was surrounded on all sides, the imperial soldiers who performed most brilliantly last night were scattered.
Carl, who was wielding a spear with his small body next to a small number of imperial soldiers, must have seemed completely defenseless.
Catherine was active last night near the end of the battle, after the imperial soldiers had already clearly defeated the gnolls. Unaware of Catherine's power, the gnoll bared its insidious fangs as the imperial soldiers dwindled.
'He's targeting me.'
Carl recalled the gaze glaring at him quietly.
It smelled bloody, like it was hunting down prey, but it was full of curiosity, and it felt like it was observing.
"Gnoll retreat!"
"We won!"
"Waaah!"
And when the assassination failed, the gnolls retreated like the ebb of the tide.
Even while everyone was cheering, Carl was alone under the wooden fence, shaking his shoulders.
To Carl, this whole situation seemed to be evidence of a dark shadow of destruction.
Now he couldn't feel safe under any circumstances.
The enemy was physically superior to humans and was becoming an 'army' equipped with intelligence.
He must be learning.
Even time does not belong to humans.
***
Let the soldiers enjoy victory and raise their morale.
However, in the meantime, the command was in a state of emergency.
"Playing tactics… Are you saying they use it?"
Milton, embarrassed, stuttered his question. But just because he was so stupid didn't mean others were indifferent.
Bilford was confused that Catherine, who taught him, denied information about monstrology, and Corbin seemed to think that Carl and Catherine must be crazy.
"Why didn't you use Fortress in the first place?"
Corbin argued in a dissatisfied voice.
Seeing him being so rude to the 4th prince and the imperial knight seemed to be very distressing. Thanks to this, Carl was able to completely let go of his lingering feelings about Corbin.
Catherine explained the detailed story on Carl's behalf.
Of course, it wasn't meant to make Corbin understand. It was to make Bilford and Milton understand and sort out the situation rather than to be a country commoner knight who was no better than an imperial soldier.
Catherine gave a succinct explanation of the gnolls' tactical movements, and finally spoke of their eerie demeanor.
"There was an assassination attempt?"
Milton asked again, rubbing his deeply wrinkled forehead.
Catherine didn't just explain with words. She had an imperial soldier bring in the corpse of the black-furred gnoll, which she had ordered to be set aside.