Chapter 124: Chapter 124

Among monsters, the basilisk and cockatrice were representative kindred species.

The cockatrice was the one whose power of petrification resided in its skin to form stone scales, while the basilisk was the one whose power resided in its eyes to possess the evil eye of petrification, or so it was said.

Mages even interpreted them as actually being the exact same species, divided in that manner according to gender.

Though which side was male and which was female remained unknown.

Whether because of that or not, both were exceptionally dangerous monsters to ordinary humans, albeit in different ways.

This was because the cockatrice’s stone skin could never be pierced by the spears and swords of ordinary soldiers, and the basilisk’s eyes did not even allow a human not armed with Fighting Spirit to look directly into them.

Therefore, for the basilisk hunt, only five knights, five priests to attend them, one guide who was a local hunter, and twenty soldiers to escort them were drafted.

After all, even if a greater number stepped forward, they would merely harden like stone before the creature’s eyes.

Among the magic tools possessed by the soldiers, none granted immunity against petrification curses.

“May you return safely, Lord Protector.”

Receiving the elderly manager’s heartfelt send-off, Shan left the city with his companions and set out toward the forest to the northeast.

Because it was a very dense forest and heavily covered in snow, the warhorses were left behind in the city, bringing along only pack horses and wagons.

This was to transport the spoils after hunting the basilisk.

After leaving five soldiers behind at the forest entrance with the horses and wagons, they entered the interior, whereupon Lug looked around and spoke in an intrigued tone.

“I heard stories about monsters swarming, but I didn’t expect us to encounter such a big fish from the very start. From what I heard, the last time a basilisk was caught in Pendia was twenty years ago…”

“Has it really been that long?”

At Roden’s intrigued question, Lug nodded.

“Of course! Large monsters themselves aren’t all that common to begin with, are they? The ogre we hunted before was also one that hadn’t appeared in decades. If it weren’t a time like right now, knights from all over would have swarmed in to catch it.”

With the civil war having ended only recently, Pendia’s knight force had shriveled severely.

Back when the Ogre Horde Lord appeared in the past, lords led dozens of knights to rush over in order to catch it, but now everyone could barely manage to clean up their own territories.

It was not for nothing that the royal family strove to increase their forces even by establishing a knight academy.

“Come to think of it, I heard that monsters crossing over from the Demonic Realm into the eastern region have been on the rise lately.”

“Ah, I heard about that too.”

At Shan’s reply, Roden grimaced and spoke.

“Still, the Eastern Army is the first to be supplied with combat magic tools and has large numbers, so it’s fine for now, but if this phenomenon persists, it could become a problem.”

Of course, whether more monsters crossing over was unconditionally bad was not necessarily true.

This was because more monster byproducts and mana stones could be obtained in the process.

Whether in the past or present, the specialty products of the monster-teeming east were these two things.

At the sight of the knights chatting so nonchalantly, the guide walking in front looked back and shook his head in disbelief.

‘Are those people not even nervous?’

Of course he knew that among them was a powerful knight revered like a god, but even so, was it not a basilisk?

A legendary monster that ordinary people turned to stone the moment they locked eyes with it…

Even while on their way to hunt such a creature, feeling an atmosphere as if going out for a stroll felt bizarre to him.

At least the two knights who appeared relatively young, Vico and Tavera, showed some signs of nervousness.

Even while they walked talking for a long time, not a single monster showed its face.

It was a season when the forest slept deeply, and everyone seemed to have fled due to the basilisk.

After walking into the forest for about an hour like that, the guide hurriedly turned his head toward the outline visible ahead.

“Did you find it?”

“Yes! I-I think it’s here!”

Asking the priests to bestow blessings, Shan moved toward the clearing situated in the middle of the forest along with his fellow knights.

There stood over a dozen humans hardened like stone.

Without exception, their faces contorted in terror and despair resembled statues crafted by a sculptor pouring out utmost malice.

Besides them, stone statues of animals like deer and wolves, as well as monsters such as owlbears and gnolls, were also visible.

Roden spoke as he gauged the snow piled upon the human stone statues.

“Judging by their attire, the knights who came to hunt the beast were all devoured… so these are woodcutters, mercenaries, and a few peddlers. It’s a relief that at least this many remain.”

The basilisk hardened its prey into stone before swallowing and dissolving them whole, but while they were hardened like this, the curse could be dispelled to save them.

Just then, Shan’s keen hearing picked up a faint sound.

Carefully pushing through the snow-covered forest as it approached, yet despite its stealthy movement, carrying a feeling of considerable weight…

“It’s here.”

At Shan’s single word, the soldiers quickly covered their faces with shields and surrounded the priests.

The knights swiftly drew their weapons and prepared for battle.

*

Before long, a monster stealthily emerged from one side of the forest and glared at them with its body half-hidden behind a tree.

Like the cockatrice, the giant beaked lizard lacked stone skin, making it appear sleeker.

Its body length was about eight meters, slightly smaller than the one he had seen back in the nameless Altoan city.

Its two eyes facing forward gleamed as if burning in vermilion, which was none other than the famous evil eyes of petrification.

“Uwoh…”

“Ugh.”

The moment their eyes met with the beast, Roden, Vico, and Tavera groaned quietly.

They felt the curse nestling through its gaze make their entire bodies tingle.

If they had not raised Fighting Spirit to protect their bodies, and if there had not been the blessing of petrification resistance, their entire bodies would have hardened in an instant.

In contrast, Shan and Lug ended up feeling merely a slight sense of discomfort.

Needless to say for Shan, Lug also possessed Fighting Spirit far superior to ordinary knights.

Shan looked at the quietly growling beast and thought.

‘It doesn’t roar. Are basilisks originally like this? Or is it just this one’s quirk?’

Since it had lived inside the Blade Mountains for quite a long time, perhaps it had empirically learned that roared were also ineffective against opponents unaffected by its eyes.

Along with the thought, Shan issued orders to the subordinates beside him.

“Attack. You know this already, but you must not damage the eyes.”

“Understood!”

Answering vigorously, Vico and Tavera took the lead with a shout.

The two boys who had now grown close to young manhood were armed respectively with a sword and shield, and a long spear.

“Ugh!”

When the basilisk sharply swung its foreleg, Vico thrust forward a large shield to block it.

With a short groan, the Altoan boy absorbed the shock by taking a few steps back.

This was possible thanks to the Fighting Spirit imbued with the intent of defense, as well as the shock absorption and reinforcement magic cast on the mana stone.

In the meantime, Tavera, who had circled to the side, moved nimbly and stabbed its flank with his spear.

Likewise, the spear enchanted with piercing magic smoothly parted the scales and penetrated inside.

[□■■■□□■□■-!]

Letting out a scream full of pain, the basilisk swung its opposite foreleg while aiming at Tavera.

However, Tavera had already released his grip on the spear and thrown his body backward.

Rather than reacting after seeing the attack, it was a movement anticipated in advance.

Thanks to that, the decisive counterattack delivered by the beast sliced fruitlessly through empty air.

As the basilisk rushed forward to trample the fallen Tavera upon this, Vico quickly swung his one-handed sword and slashed its back.

Meanwhile, Tavera hurriedly retreated and drew ‘Guardian of the East,’ which Shan had lent him, from his waist.

While the two engaged the beast by turned to draw its attention, Roden, who had stealthily approached by circling to the side, leaped forcefully with the aid of Fighting Spirit.

“Hup-!”

Closing several meters in an instant, he swung his flail, whereupon the basilisk reacted nimbly and whipped its tail.

The tail, bending flexibly like a whip, struck the tip of the incoming flail with precision.

Kwang! Along with the clash, the basilisk’s scream echoed through the snow-covered forest.

Seeing this, Roden burst into a delightful laugh.

“Hahat!”

The basilisk’s tail was bent with the bone in its upper section crushed.

Since Roden’s monstrous strength and Fighting Spirit were loaded onto a flail made of ogre bone and enchanted with impact enhancement magic, it was only natural.

Astonished by the unexpectedly powerful attack, the beast ran nimbly on four legs over the snow, widening the distance between itself and the knights.

Shan looked at that sight from behind and nodded.

‘It’s certainly much easier to deal with than a cockatrice.’

If it had been that creature Shan fought back then, neither Tavera’s spear nor Vico’s one-handed sword would have been able to inflict major damage.

Though even if it had been stone scales, Roden’s flail would likely have smashed them.

Just then, the fast-moving basilisk suddenly changed direction and charged straight at Roden.

Instead of using its forelegs or tail as before, the beast scooped up snow with its forelegs to obscure his vision, then slammed directly into him with its body.

“Ugh-!”

With a choking sound, Roden bounced several meters back and tumbled over the snowfield.

Even amid that, he still held tightly onto his flail.

Shan approached with light steps and asked loudly.

“Are you alive?”

“Fortunately!”

“Want help?”

“Not yet!”

At Shan’s question, Roden answered and quickly got to his feet.

It was an attack that would have crushed the ribs of an ordinary person and killed them outright, but fortunately Roden wore powerful magic armor, even if not quite as potent as the one Shan wore.

In fact, had he lacked even such equipment, Shan would not have left him to fight the basilisk.

Even after that, the three men tumbled several times as they matched blows with the giant lizard.

Attacks that would have killed them had they not clad their entire bodies in powerful magic tools exploded multiple times.

In the process, the basilisk was also continuously attacked in various places and bled, but the problem was that the three men were constantly exposed to the eyes of petrification.

In such a situation, as they even depleted their Fighting Spirit, their bodies gradually began to succumb to the force of the curse and grow sluggish.

At this rate, they would end up hardening like those statues over there.

“It seems everyone is at their limit now, so I shall handle it.”

Right around the time it felt like it was getting dangerous, Lug, who had been watching from behind, stepped forward first.

Adjusting his grip on his axe before taking steps, his body surged forward rapidly, perhaps because his legs were so long.

At the appearance of an enemy far larger and taller than the others, the basilisk showed signs of confusion.

However, that was only for a moment; having already overwhelmed its enemies several times and gained momentum, the creature attempted to charge once more.

A body slam from a giant lizard whose shoulder height alone reached two meters and body length reached eight meters.

However, unlike the other knights whose handling had been relatively inexperienced, Lug stared blankly at it before evading it with just a single sideward leap.

It was the result of combining a wide stride with outstanding reflexes.

As he slammed down the axe he had raised high with all his strength, wind blew around them, scattering snow.

Delivered from an ambiguous distance where even thrusting a spear might or might not reach, the attack bit precisely into the lizard’s neck.

[□······◆◆◆······□■■!]

With its neck cut a little less than halfway through, the basilisk wailed desperately while making a leaking wind sound.

Intuiting that the creature would die soon, Lug pulled back and widened the distance instead of unnecessarily risking a decisive blow.

Thereupon, the staggering basilisk charged toward Shan, who was standing quietly.

Though it was a beast that had avoided Shan all along after sensing a strange threat from him, upon reaching the brink of death, it could see nothing before its eyes.

“It’s heading your way, Lord Protector!”

Lug shouted like that, but his tone was hardly one of concern for him.

After all, he was truly one of the people who knew Shan’s skills best.

Shan lightly leaped to evade its wide-gaping beak, while drawing and swinging Red Oath to completely sever the neck that had been cut halfway through.

*

After the hunt ended, the three men who had fought earlier received treatment from the priests who rushed over.

From ankle sprains to hairline rib fractures, shoulder and elbow dislocations, and torn tendons.

They had truly sustained every injury imaginable that was not life-threatening.

Fortunately, although claws had partially torn their armor, they did not penetrate deep inside, so there was no bleeding.

“Auuuggh…”

“They said if you just solved the petrification ability, it was a creature about ten knights could handle. Just which bastard spouted such nonsense, seriously.”

Roden muttered as if complaining.

In truth, about ten people was under the premise that knights of somewhat outstanding skill were included.

Because usually, when hunting high-tier monsters this powerful, skilled individuals bound to join in.

In comparison, Vico and Tavera possessed skill levels of newly knighted novice knights, roughly similar to Katra who was with Shan when he hunted trolls in the past.

Roden was somewhat better than them, but still fell short compared to veteran knights hardened by long years of practical experience.

Had it not been for magic tools, all three would likely have been killed without lasting long.

“Still, it seemed someone of Lord Lug’s level could handle it alone. I saw him evade earlier and strike it down in a single blow, truly.”

Toward Tavera, who praised him with an envy-filled face, Lug answered with an embarrassed expression.

“Well, as for me, I merely cut in when others had already drained its stamina to some extent… I heard the Lord Protector hunted a cockatrice in his youth not even with magic tools, but with just a single enchanted steel longsword, so compared to him, I still have a long way to go.”

“Certainly, thinking about it now, it’s quite absurd. I didn’t realize it until fighting this thing.”

Roden chuckled, then let out a sharp gasp from the pain surging from his cracked rib.

When even a basilisk fought with perfect countermeasures against petrification was this arduous, he wondered just what kind of monster Shan was for having caught an even more powerful beast all by himself.

Didn’t he lack even being armed with proper magic tools like them back then?

If he had been battered and clawed like himself right now back then, his entire body would have been crushed to death or torn in two.

In the meantime, Shan gathered the basilisk’s eyes, mana stone, and crest on its head, handing them over to the soldiers.

It seemed they could be used in various ways if stored properly in the refrigerator and brought to the capital.

Returning, he looked at Roden, Vico, and Tavera, asking.

“So, how did it feel to fight it?”

“I think about ten people would be necessary. To hunt it stably.”

“In my opinion, seven or eight people should be enough.”

“If it’s about five people…”

“With that number, at least one person might actually die.”

The reason Shan and Lug had not stepped forward first in this battle was to confirm how well ‘ordinary knights armed with combat magic tools’ could fight against large monsters.

Of course, had he fought alone, he could have absorbed its spirituality more thoroughly, but as could be seen from the results of absorbing the cockatrice’s spirituality anyway, there was no particularly impressive effect.

It would be better to experiment on what happened when lightly stepping in at the final moment like this instead.

While the knights chattered among themselves, the priests who had finished treatments dispelled the curse on the people who had hardened like stone.

As lengthy prayers continued for several minutes, the bodies of those who had hardened finally began to tremble.

“Oh, ooh…!”

At the mysterious sight of petrified humans being freed, the soldiers watching let out exclamations of awe.

Before long, the awakened people realized that they had already been petrified for days to weeks, and were shocked to discover that the basilisk that had subdued them lay tumbling with its head severed.

“Heok…”

“Hey, Ron! Are you coming to your senses?”

“W-Why am I… here?”

“You fool, if high-born lords had not come for us, you would have ended up as prey for that beast here.”

The guide who had come along shed tears as he watched the woodcutter, with whom he got along like a brother, come back to life.

Anxiously thinking that high-born lords were acting leisurely had truly been a foolish act.

After all, did they not have a plan for everything?

After dispelling all petrification curses, they tied ropes around the severed neck of the basilisk and dragged it along as they headed out of the forest.

Now was the time to widely proclaim that the Lord Protector’s knights had slain the monster that had threatened the city.