Chapter 52
Bonodier.
That was the name I’d heard when Gentric first explained the quest. He must have been talking about those water deer.
‘─Where is Frang?’
That was the first thing I thought.
I threw away my scythe and drew the sword from my back. It would be unfortunate if the others got beaten into vegetative states lasting 120 years, but Frang getting hurt would be a hundred times more horrifying.
“Fuck.”
I listened to the sounds around me, then could only curse. Screams and the sounds of battle were coming from every direction, making it impossible to tell where Frang was.
“Magic!!! Is there a mage hereeeee!!!!!!!”
“Graaahhhhh!!! There are fucking tons of these things!!!!”
“Gek!! Gek!! Gek!! Gek!! Gek!!”
“Why-yaaak!!! (Food!!!)”
Thump thump thump thump thump thump!!
The water deer’s main weapon was punching. No, rather than punching, it would be more accurate to call it ‘hoofing.’ Anyway, judging by the sounds of adventurers getting beaten as I passed by, it sounded like someone was pounding a sandbag with a baseball bat.
The trained foreleg strikes of a wild animal were absolutely nothing to underestimate. Humans are such weak creatures that even fighting a Golden Retriever means risking their lives.
The water deer on Earth also stand upright and strike with their forelegs. But these water deer made full use of the advantages of bipedal movement, unleashing merciless, murderous barrages. There were even some fucking savage omnivores.
Puff-puff-puff-puff-pow!!
Someone right in front of me was being thoroughly beaten. She was a young-looking middle-aged woman, but I couldn’t tell whether she was an adventurer or a serf. Her armor and equipment were no better than ordinary clothes.
“Ghk…!!”
The woman raised her guard even as her body was being pounded by those giant hooves, but after taking several hits, her arms dropped as the pain sapped her strength. The next blow struck her squarely in the head, and she collapsed.
Thud─.
The water deer apparently couldn’t tell whether it had come to eat wheat or kill people. It climbed onto the fallen woman and unleashed a mounted Water-Deer Rush. A pummeling performance using human skin as the stage was taking place in this wheat field!
“Why-yaaak!!!! (Dieeeee!!!!)”
Because it was a wild animal, my translation function rendered its speech with a low-class nuance.
Even while using an idiotic way of speaking, its ferocity and relentless barrage were completely mismatched with its bright, unmoving eyes!! The Walking-Water Deer was a paradoxical creature, like an angel of slaughter fallen into hell!!
Even though I was fucking busy searching for Frang, I couldn’t just ignore that. If I left it alone, that woman would end up a corpse that needed to be cleaned up!!
“Heaven-Soaring Three-Sword Style──.”
Lowering the sword I had drawn, I unleashed a technique.
“──Threesome (Flash)!!”
Threesome was a technique that unleashed three sword strikes. It was a secret technique that successively cut the enemy’s arms, torso, and head to incapacitate and kill them!
It could be called an otherworldly arrangement of the modern shooting tactic known as ‘three to the body, one to the head.’ It was merely an attack too embarrassing to even call a technique, but as someone with overwhelming strength, I had no need for techniques.
When an Earth hero fights for the suffering common people, what does technique matter! The sword I swung with the strength of a bear cleaved through the water deer’s body.
Slash! Thump! Chop!
“Why-yaaakkkkk!!! (It huuuurts!!!)”
The water deer, which hadn’t died instantly because I’d botched the finishing blow, toppled over and thrashed around. The woman who had narrowly escaped death spoke through her tears.
“Th-thank you!!”
“No need to thank me. Get up quickly and go call Mr. Honolulu! No, fuck, what was his name? Anyway, ask that straw-hatted Mr. Smoker to cast some magic!!”
“Ah, yes!!”
──Scurry!!
The adventurer woman ran off toward somewhere I couldn’t identify.
The Walking-Water Deer was still alive and pouring blood into the wheat field, but I left it alone. I was busy as hell; where would I find the time to cut down something that would die even if I left it alone?
Who was it again? Right, Hotulusil. Fucking Hotulusil, that elf might be able to end this situation with magic.
That was what I thought, but I also felt doubtful. In a melee this widespread, would it be possible to pick out and attack only the Walking-Water Deer? If not, it would be easier to wipe them all out with an area attack.
But if he did that, this wheat field wouldn’t survive either. It would be ruined worse than the pockmarked skin of a boy who popped every pimple the moment it appeared during puberty.
“Fuck, whatever!!”
Anyway, that was Hotulusil’s problem to deal with. The other things could be handled by someone else, but protecting Frang was something only I could do—something I had to do.
Where was Frang? She was probably at the place where they moved the harvested wheat and threshed the grain. I put everything else aside and ran there.
“Hiii──.”
I found Frang beside the second harvest shed I checked. She had left the cart carrying the harvest and was facing off against a Walking-Water Deer. It was like Tom and Jerry wrestling around a pillar!!
“Why-yaaak!!!! (Food!!!!)”
The Walking-Water Deer raged and rampaged.
It looked like Tinker Bell commandeering the mess hall on a day when samgyetang was served with spicy pork stir-fry!!
The bastard climbed onto the cart and swung its arm at Frang!!
“Eek!”
Frang dodged the attack in surprise. She seemed to have successfully counterattacked with the hammer she had drawn, because one spot on the Walking-Water Deer’s torso burst into chunks of flesh like rotten wood struck by a hammer.
“Wak!!”
The Walking-Water Deer let out a dying cry and dropped dead. Frang had successfully dodged and counterattacked in one smooth movement.
“Why-hyaaak!! (Friend!!)”
“Why-hyaaak! Why-yaaak!! (Friend hurt!!)”
But before I could arrive, new water deer appeared around Frang. They had gathered after seeing their companion get beaten to death. Frang’s face went pale as several water deer surrounded her.
Seeing Frang in such a pitiful state, I felt heat rise all the way to the top of my head.
“You fucking subspecies of roe deer!!!!!!!!!”
How dare mere vermin bully our Frang!!!
Shwaaack!!
As unbelievable rage covered my body, it felt as though the power output of Beast Regression increased even further. The wheat field sped past me a little faster.
But the distance between us was far too great.
Seeing that mess, I used my quick wit and shouted!!
“Why-eak, why-yaak-yaaaak!! (Get over here, you fucking morons!!)”
Deer-speak echoed!!
─Whoosh!
The Walking-Water Deer all turned their heads toward me at once at the primitive art of conversing through animal cries. Just like meerkats.
Under normal circumstances, that synchronized movement would have sent chills down my spine, but I was too pissed off after seeing Frang frightened for it to matter.
“Why-yaaakkkkkkkkk!!! (Food!!!)”
“Why-yaaakkkkkkkkk!!! (Food!!!)”
“Why-yaaakkkkkkkkk!!! (Food!!!)”
Five water deer, enraged at being cursed at, charged toward me. But they were mere beasts. Their movement was nothing more than an attempt to surround me without any formation or strategy.
Whooosh!!
I punched the face of the Walking-Water Deer at the front with the fist holding my sword.
“Go fuck yourself and die!!!”
“Wak!!!”
Pow!!
When my fist landed, the Walking-Water Deer’s face exploded into a disgusting mess that made a burst watermelon look clean by comparison. Blood splattered in every direction, including onto my body, but I didn’t give a shit.
“Why-wayaak!! (Scary!!)”
“Why-wayaak!! (Scary!!)”
The horrified water deer hurriedly stopped, transformed into quadrupeds, and scattered.
Those fucking bastards picked a fight and then ran because they got scared? I was extremely pissed off, but instead of chasing the ones that fled, I chose to check on Frang.
“Frang!”
I rushed toward Frang. If she had been hurt, she needed treatment as soon as possible to avoid lasting aftereffects.
“Nord! Are you hurt?!”
Frang recognized me, pushed back her hood, and spoke.
“That’s what I should be asking. Are you okay, Frang?”
“Hehe. I dodged everything too. Look. I’m fine, right?”
Frang waved both arms wide, like she was doing jumping jacks. She didn’t seem to be bluffing. Fuck, what a relief. I thought my heart was going to stop.
Fwoooosh─.
Once I confirmed that Frang was unharmed, my anger toward those water deer began burning fiercely inside me.
‘You’re fucking dead.’
How dare they touch my girlfriend? I could forgive someone who messed with me, but I could never let anyone mess with my paper or Frang.
“Wait here. I’m going to go slaughter every last one of them.”
“Ah, okay. I understand. But don’t get hurt either, Nord.”
“Okay.”
As long as I had Beast Regression, getting hurt would be difficult.
In a one-against-many battle, the most important thing is a technique for protecting your body. You could also call it the knack for avoiding enemy attacks. Typical examples were area attacks that swept away the enemies or movement that dodged every attack.
I was neither of those. If anything, I was the type who took hits and endured them with sheer toughness, like a heavy warrior.
With Beast Regression’s defense, there was nothing difficult about it.
“I’ll be back!”
Those were my last words before I surrendered my body to rage. Like a distorted little train that belonged in horror content on NewTube, I slaughtered the water deer with murderous momentum.
Who was half-man, half-beast? I was half-man, half-beast! Half-man, half-Vectorman!
“Dynamite!!”
“Wak!!!”
I unleashed the savagery of an Earth hero without holding anything back. I swung the water deer impaled on my fist in a giant swing and slammed it into its friend like a hammer.
Kwang!!
“Why-wayaak!! (Scary!!)”
“Why-wayaak!! (Scary!!)”
After turning about five of them into ground meat, the Walking-Water Deer began fleeing in quadrupedal mode whenever I approached, even if they had been eating.
I was faster than the water deer while Beast Regression was active, but chasing them down and beating them to death every time was incredibly bothersome.
“Don’t run away!! I said don’t run from your own destiny!!”
I shouted like the Reaper. The water deer’s language system was crude. There was no way to express my anger to them.
Those bastards would spin their forelegs like windmills whenever they got pissed off, so the concept of expressing anger with words didn’t exist for them!! In the water-deer language system, this was about the only phrase capable of conveying the rage boiling in my chest.
“Why-yaaakkkkkkkkkkkkk!!! (Dieeeee!!!!)”
“Why-wayaakkkkkkkkk!! (Scary!!)”
I chased down the quadrupedal water deer as they fled in zigzags and beat them to death. My entire body was drenched in foul-smelling blood, and the sword I had used so violently was so covered in blood that its edge had lost its sharpness.
“Tsk.”
This was why primitive weapons were so fucking annoying. I clicked my tongue and was about to wipe the sword roughly when—
─Thud.
A large, heavily built Walking-Water Deer appeared with heavy footsteps. It was even bigger than the ones I had killed so far.
“──You’re the leader of the water deer.”
The King Walking-Water Deer had come to kill me for slaughtering its underlings.
“Why-yaaak.”
A deep voice befitting an overlord! Its stupidly gentle-looking face was unchanged, but I could sense the majesty radiating from the king of the water deer.
─Tingle-tingle.
It felt as though the fine hairs on my skin were standing on end. It was a presence that mere vermin could never emit. Through it, I understood that this water deer was a creature closer to a predator.
“You bastard, could it be….”
The fact that a water deer that merely walked on two legs could possess such a presence meant──
“──You’re a water deer that can use mana!!”
That bastard possessed something beyond all common sense! Realizing this, I felt goosebumps rise on my back.
There were countless humans who couldn’t even use mana, so how could a mere vermin possibly wield it?!
The fact that these bastards had begun walking on two legs was strange enough. If we left them alone for about a thousand years, the future might add deerfolk to one branch of humanity. A new human race from a lineage different from Homo sapiens, who had evolved from monkeys.
“Heh heh heh.”
After understanding that, I smiled.
Darwin said through his Dick Selection Theory that it wasn’t the strong who survived, but the survivors who were strong.
If this bastard died by my hand here and its bloodline ended, this new species of water deer approaching humanity would be eliminated by nature. The technique for handling mana would become extinct.
And that bastard was the boss of the noxious vermin! If I neatly cut off its head and brought it to the Aumdhura Guild, Bronze class would be within reach!
“I’ll tear out your guts and kill you.”
Before the king of the water deer, I declared this calmly.
“Big guy! Your guts must be fucking huge too! I’ll tear them out and kill you! The Midnight Little Engine is coming!!!”
─Tat-tat-tat!
I charged while shouting ferociously!! The sword had become more like a club from all the blood and fat. But even with this fist filled with the beast’s spirit, it was enough to kill a vegan gym-bro water deer!!
“Vectorman—Hit-and-Run!!”
Bwoooom!
The fist I thrust struck the water deer in the stomach. It was the cleanest hit of the entire day.
“Why-eak.”
But fuck, why was this bastard fine?
“──What the fuck?”
Shiiiiii─.
I realized that almost all the green mana had vanished from my outstretched arm. Come to think of it, I had wasted more mana than usual today. Chugga-chugga, chugga-ding.
“……Beast Regression mode terminated. I’m not invincible anymore.”
Time to revise the plan.
“Why-yaaakkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!”
The King Walking-Water Deer roared! It was a primitive war cry with no intention of communicating anything at all!!
“Fuuuuuck!!!”
─Whoooom!!
I screamed and dodged the foreleg windmill. My mana was empty, so I couldn’t use my buffs! With Beast Regression turned off, I was just a bottom-tier adventurer greenhorn whose body was slightly enhanced by mana!
“Why-yaaakkkkkkkkk!!!”
“Gyaaaaaah!! Don’t follow me!!!”
Hodadadadadadak!!
I ran like hell, but couldn’t put any distance between us. The Walking-Water Deer were slow when running on two legs too, so at least I avoided being caught and having my skull smashed.
“A weapon! Does anyone have a weapon? A weapon!!”
My sword was covered in blood, so its edge couldn’t cut anymore!
I needed any weapon that could be used. Humans were not creatures capable of facing wild animals without weapons!!
─Flash!
Just then, a metallic gleam shone from the ground ahead of me! Before the King Walking-Water Deer could decide to charge on all fours, I snatched up the weapon.
Shing─!
“Ah, fuck, it’s a scythe!!”
The weapon I had found was a large agricultural scythe. Ah, whatever. At least I had this fucking thing! I took up the weapon and stopped where I was.
Fleeing any farther would only waste my stamina. The moment that bastard started running on four legs, it would catch me in an instant.
Screeech─!
“Wak!!”
The King Walking-Water Deer also stopped, leaving scratches on the ground. It seemed to have noticed that I was holding a weapon and was ready to counterattack.
─Whoooosh.
The autumn wind blew between us. The situation was on a knife-edge! The distance was just enough for the King Walking-Water Deer to put my skull within range after running about five steps.
“Fwoooooo….”
I took a deep breath and focused.
Just for a moment. A very short moment. I would activate Beast Regression only for the one or two seconds it took to attack. If I did that, I could win. There was no way I could be overpowered while Beast Regression was active.
I had already mastered silent casting.
Spells were unnecessary.
I only had to time it for the moment it charged!!
──Whoooooosh….
As the wind died down, a piece of dry straw fell between us.
──Clop-clop-clop!!
The water deer charged, its hooves clattering. I tensed both arms holding the scythe.
─Tense!
“Private First Class Style’s Secret Technique.”
The green mana of Beast Regression flared from my biceps and illuminated my arms and shoulders.
“──Song of Mowing.”
Whooosh─!!
A full-power attack! The strength Beast Regression lent me vibrated the scythe as it flew toward the King Walking-Water Deer!!
“Why-yaaakkkkkkkkk!!!”
Whoom!!
That was when it happened. The water deer ducked to evade the scythe closing in on its neck!
─Clop-clop-clop-clop!!
No, it hadn’t really ducked! It had switched from a bipedal stance back to quadrupedal movement!
It evaded the scythe while accelerating and closing in!! Right before me, it switched back to two legs! From that stance, it unleashed an uppercut with its brachialis and hoof!!
The King Walking-Water Deer was, in truth, a warrior who combined the strength of man and beast. The only thing it hadn’t expected was──that I did too.
“Blink.”
I whispered as I dodged backward. Since I had anticipated that it might switch to quadrupedal mode when I aimed for its neck, dodging it was not difficult at all.
Whoom!!
Dodging the hoof that swept past my face, I planted my hand on the ground behind me with a backspin. Then, from that position, I shot my right foot at its weak point……!!
“Genetic Destruction Technique!!!”
─Crack!!
The back kick I launched while bracing against the ground struck the mana-wielding water deer’s balls perfectly.
The weight of the steel guard on my leg and my mana-trained thigh muscles unleashed an ultrafast kick like a UFC champion’s!!
─Ah, it was a scene that openly defied the laws of nature.
A water deer stood on two legs and threw an uppercut, while the human who dodged it braced himself on the ground like a horse and launched a back kick—a vision of the end times!!
It was like a surrealist masterpiece rejecting nature, but there was a major difference between that water deer and me.
I was a human who wielded the strength of a beast, while the water deer was merely a beast imitating a human.
──That was the decisive difference.
“Waaayaakkkkkkkkkkk──!!!”
The King Walking-Water Deer collapsed clutching its dick and roared like a Park Geun-hye fanatic who had lost his country. I stood up in a drunken-boxing stance and whispered solemnly.
“You eunuch deer bastard. Your gene bank has been delisted as of this moment.”
I picked up the scythe. The eunuch water deer, its balls burst, could do nothing to resist as it stared at the scythe hooked around its neck.
──Do you know, O king of the water deer?
That a king is a powerless loser purged by a legitimate revolution.
“Reverse Gravity Guillotine (重力逆轉 斷頭臺).”
─Slash!
The agricultural scythe cut off the water-deer king’s head. It was a difficult weapon to use, but a scythe was still very much a weapon of slaughter. Before a killing weapon, kings and soldiers were equal.
Come to think of it, weren’t the scythe I held and the hammer Frang held symbols of workers and equality?
A scythe and hammer soaked in red blood.
This had been a sort of communist revolution.
“A communist revolution on a slave farm.”
It really was ironic.