A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 66

Sieg headed toward the place that King Fist claimed had the scent of a 'gaguk'.

King Fist, as expected of a Barbarian who roamed the Giant Mountains like his front yard, darted through the trees like a swift wild animal.

Then, all of a sudden, he halted and pressed himself close to the ground.

Sieg also crouched beside King Fist.

King Fist pointed somewhere.

With the Dragon Eyes, Sieg enhanced his vision and looked at where King Fist was pointing.

'A cave.'

His master had once said that kaguks despised light and preferred dark, damp places. Coincidentally, the sun was rising.

It seemed the gaguk had fled into the cave to escape the sunlight.

Sieg whispered quietly to King Fist.

"Got a way to catch it?"

In response, King Fist opened his palm and struck it with his fist.

It implied he intended to go in without much of a plan and grab it.

Sieg clicked his tongue internally.

'This is why it keeps getting away.'

After scanning the surroundings quickly, he explained his plan to King Fist.

However, for a Barbarian who barely understood the concept of strategy, Sieg's explanations were difficult to comprehend.

Sieg decided to just handle things his way.

"King Fist. Go strike prey. I will strike from behind."

Upon keeping it simple, King Fist finally showed a satisfied expression and nodded vigorously.

There was no need for strategy with a Barbarian's physique in the first place.

Charging in and smashing things was usually both the beginning and the end, so why would one need a strategy?

King Fist slowly advanced toward the cave, crouching low.

The blessed physique of a Barbarian allowed him to see clearly even in the dark cave.

Following the gaguk's scent, he ventured inside.

That's when it happened.

Thunk!

The ground beneath King Fist's foot suddenly gave way.

"Uahh!"

Instantaneously, King Fist shouted and used the bounce of his body to leap into the air.

He leapt over the trap and landed on the opposite side.

Looking down at the collapsed ground, he saw sharp animal bones and human weapons densely embedded in the ground.

The clever gaguk had laid a trap for intruders.

Following the scent, King Fist continued further into the cave.

Then, at a certain point, he found himself in a dead-end with no path forward in the cave.

King Fist noticed a strong gaguk scent emanating from beneath a section of the rock wall.

Upon closer inspection, he saw something dark and round curled up.

King Fist steadied his breathing and quickly charged toward the spot where the gaguk was hiding.

He attempted to twist the gaguk's head off with his log-like thick arms.

CRACK!

He did manage to yank out a head, but something seemed amiss.

Upon inspecting it closely, he realized it wasn't a gaguk but a dead bear curled up.

The dead bear's body was doused in the gaguk's scent.

Just as King Fist was about to turn back in surprise, something coiled around his ankle.

Swish!

"Argh!"

The gaguk, hiding underground while concealing its scent, had extended its tail to entwine King Fist's ankle.

When King Fist tried to jump at the gaguk, the creature melded into the darkness, disappearing from view.

Yet it continued to drain King Fist's life force with its tail.

"Ugh!"

Even a Barbarian couldn't withstand prolonged life force drainage.

Conversely, the gaguk's body began to enlarge as it absorbed King Fist's vitality.

King Fist gritted his teeth and raised the dead bear's carcass, hurling it at the gaguk.

BOOM!

But the gaguk easily dodged the bear's carcass hurled by King Fist.

It then sneered, its mouth stretched on both sides, at the slowly weakening King Fist.

At a certain moment, the gaguk emerged from the darkness and stretched its body, advancing toward King Fist.

"Krrr!"

The gaguk was a monstrous demonic beast with the appearance of a pitch-black gorilla.

Its arms were longer than those of a normal gorilla, and its claws and teeth were razor-sharp.

Approaching with sharp claws, the gaguk slashed them toward King Fist.

Swick!

The gaguk expected King Fist's body to be torn by its sharp claws, but the outcome was completely different.

"Krrr?"

The gaguk wore a puzzled expression as it saw its severed wrist flying away.

That was when it happened.

Zing!

A barrier spread around the cave.

Startled, the gaguk tried to flee by melding into the darkness.

"Energy of Water."

Sieg's sword slashed through the gaguk's body as it tried to vanish into the darkness.

"Kiieeck!"

The water blade was capable of cutting even intangible forms.

The gaguk attempted to flee in panic but found itself blocked by a barrier Sieg had set up, preventing any escape.

The gaguk turned its sharp fangs toward the suddenly appeared Sieg.

Realizing it couldn't escape, it puffed up its entire body into a massive gorilla-like form.

"Grrraaa!"

Watching the enlarged gaguk, Sieg raised his Bahamut.

'Puffing itself up when cornered... just like my previous life.'

The gaguk charged at Sieg, pounding the ground.

Sieg swung his sword and sliced through the gaguk's leg.

"Kaaargh!"

But the severed leg quickly rejoined its body as it melded with the darkness, healing itself instantly.

Although he had never thought of it while using the Healing Factor himself, battling a continuously regenerating foe was frustrating for Sieg.

'Annoying creature.'

While Sieg and the gaguk faced off, watching for openings, King Fist, who had been lying on the ground, stood up and grabbed the gaguk's waist.

"Grr!"

The gaguk struck King Fist's head with its elbow.

Yet, King Fist held on, refusing to let go.

It seemed that when held, the gaguk couldn't meld with the darkness.

Sieg didn't miss this opportunity.

Whoosh!

He leaped into the air, swinging his sword at the gaguk.

Dragonslaying Art: True Dragon Sword Art

2nd Chapter, 1st Verse

Earth Slash

Sieg's sword carved a long horizontal line.

Simultaneously, a red line appeared on the gaguk's neck.

"Grrack!"

With a gurgling sound, the gaguk's head plummeted to the ground.

Before the gaguk could regenerate, Sieg used Devour.

Rumble!

His shadow swirled and sucked in the severed head of the gaguk from the ground.

At the same time, the gaguk's body, still held by King Fist, was slowly absorbed into the shadow.

『You have devoured a corrupted ancient species fully tainted by contaminated energy.』

『Your depleted stamina, mental strength, and mana are restored.』

『You have absorbed the Bloodline ability of the devoured corrupted ancient species and acquired the Active Skill: Stealth (A-rank).』

'Stealth skill?'

It seemed to be the ability to blend with the darkness that had been wielded by the gaguk.

From the shadow, Sieg cut off an arm of the gaguk, not yet fully absorbed, with his sword.

He took a finger from the severed arm for himself and handed the rest to King Fist.

"Proof of the hunt."

With eyes welling up, King Fist accepted the gaguk's arm from Sieg's hands, eyes glittering with tears.

He looked up at Sieg and said,

"Big brother Sieg, thank you!"

King Fist embraced Sieg.

After wiping his tears for a moment, King Fist said to Sieg,

"Big brother Sieg, visit our village. I'll catch a tasty ogre and grill it for you."

Come to think of it, barbarians lived by hunting and eating monsters that roamed nearby.

The toxins in the monsters' bodies did not affect the Barbarian physique at all.

In his previous life, Sieg occasionally traded monster hides and provisions, understanding the culture of the Barbarians.

Sieg, thinking of something, asked King Fist,

"King Fist, what clan are you from?"

King Fist proudly thumped his chest and said,

"Strong Boulder Tribe."

Hearing 'Boulder Tribe', Sieg was slightly surprised.

Among the Barbarians, the Boulder Tribe was known for having the largest, fiercest warriors.

'Being friends with a Boulder Tribe warrior could be beneficial.'

Sieg warmly clasped King Fist's hand and said,

"Hunting was fantastic."

Wanting to convey something cool and moving, yet limited by the Barbarian language, he opted for simplicity.

Yet it seemed to resonate with King Fist, whose eyes soon welled with tears once more.

Remembering something, Sieg cast a wide-range buff and provided healing for King Fist.

Buuuzz!

As King Fist's body was surrounded by a golden glow, he marveled at it, seemingly thinking it was time to move, then said to Sieg,

"Big brother Sieg, you must visit our village!"

"Got it!"

King Fist, holding the gaguk's arm, dashed out of the cave.

Sieg also exited the cave, but King Fist had already vanished from sight.

In the forest, it seemed no creatures could truly contend with the Barbarian.

After storing the finger he had taken from the gaguk in his pocket, Sieg headed back to the campsite where Felix was.

Soon, upon reaching the campsite, Felix was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?"

Just then, Felix emerged hurriedly from a nearby forest area.

"Sir Sieg!"

He sprinted towards Sieg in a flurry.

Felix's head was covered in leaves, and his legs were caked with dirt.

Sieg scrutinized Felix sharply.

"Where have you been rushing off to?"

Felix awkwardly scratched his head and spoke.

"That, well, I urgently had to... and then I slipped..."

Noticing the shape and terrain dirt on Felix's knees and feet, Sieg sensed something was off.

'Could it be he was observing my battle with King Fist?'

During combat, it was hard to sense distant presences, so even if Felix had been hiding near the cave, detecting him would have been challenging.

Especially if he had received special training to suppress his presence, it would have been even harder to detect.

Felix, with a false air of innocence, brushed off the leaves from his head and shoulders and cheekily asked,

"Did you manage to catch the demonic beast? And what about the Barbarian who went with you...?"

Sieg answered Felix's question, yet kept his suspicion.

"We caught the demonic beast. The Barbarian took the remains back to his village."

Felix responded excitedly to Sieg's words.

"My goodness! You caught it in a single day! Truly remarkable, Sir Sieg!"

"It's not over yet. There might be other demonic beasts nearby. We'll survey while descending the mountain."

Though he could boast about his accomplishments, Sieg, prepared for unforeseen situations, impressed Felix with his preparedness.

Yet Sieg harbored suspicions even about Felix's apparent admiration.

* * *

In the following days, Felix had to trail Sieg while he surveyed the mountain.

Thanks to this, they achieved the feat of catching several hidden monsters in various places.

Only after thoroughly surveying the mountain did Sieg descend back to the village.

The news of captured demonic beasts and monsters turned the village festive.

Elated villagers prevented Sieg from departing immediately for Atlas.

As a result, Sieg decided to stay for a day and participate in the celebration.

The village chief set a table heavily laden with food in the town hall, seated Sieg at the head, and made a toast.

"To the knight who has protected our village!"

"Cheers!"

Villagers ate and drank heartily.

Though moderately joining in with the banter, Sieg drank but didn't get drunk, leaving the villagers awestruck.

Even those thought to be the hardiest drinkers in the village fell to Sieg.

After indulging a bit, Sieg excused himself, saying he was tired, and headed back to the accommodations prepared for him.

But at that moment, someone followed him.

Sieg already knew who was trailing him.

"Felix."

Felix, who had been following him since the village hall, flinched and revealed himself.

In a sharp tone, Sieg addressed Felix.

"Why were you stalking me?"

"Well, it's... um..."

Suddenly, Felix knelt before Sieg.

Sieg asked Felix,

"What's this about?"

Suddenly, Felix shouted at Sieg,

"Please, accept me, Sir Sieg!"

Felix's unexpected plea caught Sieg off guard.

Looking at Felix suspiciously, Sieg questioned,

"What do you mean by accept you?"

Straightening his expression, Felix said to Sieg,

"Please accept me as your squire, Sir Sieg!"

"A squire?"

Felix nodded and stood up, then unexpectedly drew his sword.

Buzz!

A clear sword hum resonated.

With a resolute face, Felix began to wield his sword.

Whoosh!

Watching the swordsmanship Felix displayed, Sieg was astonished.

'That's... the Holy Kingdom's Paladin Legacy Swordsmanship?'