Shadowed Gaze: The Highserk War Saga - Chapter 95

Two weeks after the battle over the Karoloria Magic Silver Mine, while the aftermath of the civil war was being handled, the supporting castle that served as a base against the Meizenaf Family was rapidly undergoing restoration. The magic silver mine, which had taken the blood of many soldiers, was supposed to have regained peace.

“Hurry, run,” Karim called out to his childhood friend Kuwen. There was no time for Kuwen to respond; he could only exhale.

“Hah, phew, ah…”

Karim thought it was understandable. Despite the wounds from the ice spear healing enough to move, Kuwen was undoubtedly still recovering. Moreover, his legs trembled like a fawn due to fatigue and fear.

The root of all evil, a one-eyed giant Cyclops, was closing the distance. This was the true nature of the monster that had been stalking Karim and his companions.

“Why is it so persistent?”

The Cyclops, whose body likely reached four or five meters, had surprisingly swift legs despite its appearance. In fact, despite the unit to which Kuwen and Karim had been assigned was scattering in an attempt to escape the Cyclops’ attack, everyone else except for the two had ended up dead, their bodies left exposed on the ground. They were crushed, kicked away, and beaten to death with trees pulled from their roots. Naturally, Karim was not keen on such a death.

If only he had quietly returned home. Regret crossed Karim’s mind. The cause of it all was the smell of blood and flesh from humans killing each other, which attracted the monsters around the Karoloria vein. Viscount Edgar disliked the idea that the Meizenaf family could exploit the opportunity created by the monster attack, so he recruited soldiers to guard the mine temporarily until the supporting castle’s functions were restored.

Although there were many monsters, the most dangerous and harmful ones had been eliminated when the mine was developed. Settling in the new village, one could never have too much gold. Lured by the temporary bounty, the two were hired for security until the reconstruction of the supporting castle was completed.

True to the information, the monsters Karim and his group encountered included goblins and orcs, and among them, wild boars prized as food. Having survived a fierce battle and gained experience, Karim, together with Kuwen, managed to kill two goblins. The satisfaction of consuming the wild boar they had chased with the whole unit might have made Karim forget why the demonic territory was not a territory suitable for humans.

The Cyclops that had survived without being subdued possessed intelligence it should not have, and it emerged from the slope of the forest and effortlessly crushed the 10-man team leader. After that, it was chaos. As a quick-witted soldier shouted to disperse and flee, the giant leg kicked him, shattering all his bones and killing him instantly.

And then it was Karim and Kuwen’s turn. No matter how desperately they ran, the gap only closed. Amid the panic and the looming presence of death, their breathing became erratic, and finally, Kuwen reached his limit.

He stepped into a hollow hidden by fallen leaves and fell.

Panicking, Kuwen tried to get up, but the Cyclops’s massive arm was already reaching down to crush him.

“Ah, AAAAAH?!”

Karim’s mind went blank, and before he knew it, he had instinctively stabbed his spear into the arm. A blow from a human, especially a small young soldier, was nothing more than a mosquito bite to a Cyclops. Yet, being counterattacked by mere prey, the Cyclops roared in anger.

The intense smell of a recent meal, along with thick, sticky saliva, spewed from its mouth, with remnants of meat and cloth stuck inside.

“Ugh, haaa, haaaaah.”

Defeat was inevitable. Rather than disgracefully abandoning his friend and being killed while fleeing, it was better to strike back and die. Confused emotions released a laugh, although Karim was almost crying. The thin spear was no match to the Cyclops’ hand.

Of course, such a thing was not enough to stop a Cyclops that had survived a year of subjugation. A crude club, still with branches and roots, was headed towards them.

The sound that awaited the two, who had closed their eyes and braced for impact, was heavy yet dry. The tip of the club was completely destroyed, flying off in an unexpected direction.

“You’re making quite a fuss, one-eyed. I have business with these guys, and I can’t talk to minced meat, now can I?!”

The figure that appeared was a man carrying a gigantic battle axe. Though not tall, his limbs and chest were so muscular they seemed about to burst.

He was an odd man indeed, but what captured Karim’s attention even more were the war scars crisscrossed all over his body, making it hard to find a spot untouched. His skin, bearing a wide array of miscellaneous scars, looked as if after having all his original skin flayed off, different colored skins had been forcefully stitched together. His appearance was so intense that had one encountered him in a deserted dark place, they might have believed him to be some kind of undead.

“You’re still just a brat, huh? You did well to survive.”

The man tapped Karim’s shoulder with the handle of the huge battle axe as he spoke.

“That guy… he was always good at taking care of others. He must’ve trained you.”

The man, absorbed in his own world, continued muttering to himself on the roadside. The cyclops, having been disturbed during its hunt and ignored, slammed its club into the ground, pulling in the surrounding dirt and shrubbery to launch an attack.

“Forward, now!”

Amidst Karim’s scream, the man lazily shifted his gaze and a gust of wind blew through the forest. It wasn’t until Karim saw the axe bury into the earth that he realized it was the wind pressure from the swinging battle axe. He caught a glimpse of the faintly glowing blade and uttered its name.

“Strong Strike?!”

The poorly made grenade launched by the club was neutralized by the “Strong Strike” and the wind pressure.

“Ha, showing off your little tricks, huh? Pathetic for a cyclops. Can you understand words? You’re just a big puppet. That’s why you’ll die a poor death now. Come at me, I’ll play with you!!”

Unbelievable. Facing a one-eyed giant, a human man was daring to engage in a direct sword fight, not even considering dodging, instead squatting slightly to lure the monster. And then Karim couldn’t believe his eyes. The magic barrier, which should have been colorless, began to take on color.

Perhaps it was his words or attitude, but the cyclops, widening its single eye to the limit, raised its club high and swung down with a giant step.

“That’s the spirit. Got some guts for a monster. I’ll end you now!!”

“Uh… AAAAHHH!”

As the unavoidable strike approached, Karim and Kuwen screamed in unison, gasping while waiting for the impact.

In a moment of equilibrium as the battle axe met the club, splinters flew to fill the sky. The cyclops, quick to react, slammed a fist through the wood pieces, but its arm burst from fist to elbow. The man then appeared, laughing joyously.

“Ahahah, nice. You’re worth slicing!”

The man leaped, diving into the cyclops’s reach faster than it could swing its remaining arm. The ax head that sliced through the cyclops’s fingers continued unimpeded to the neck, and the cyclops’s head danced in the air.

With its neck gone, the giant body moved slightly in its last resistance. Blood gushed from the neck, forming a pool in the forest. The man, just finished with his work, appeared wiping off the blood.

“Haha, got a bit wet there.”

He pulled something from his waist pouch and chewed on it. It was the infamous hardtack biscuit. Noticing the gazes of the two, the man said.

“What, you want some? Here, take it. You can’t become decent infantry with those bodies.”

With a fierce look that reminded one of a monster, the man handed Karim and Kuwen the hardtack biscuits and patted their backs.

“Now, to the main point. Where’s Walm? He’s an old friend of mine, and I have business with him. You’ll tell me, right?”

The man, blood-soaked battle axe in hand, switched his smile to a serious expression as he pressed for an answer. Karim and Kuwen looked at each other, bewildered and unable to respond, only adding to their confusion. How did things end up like this? One thing was clear: this was not a person they could simply dodge or ignore.

Translator – Lyxxna