Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~

16 白狼の巣③ White Wolves Den 3

Phantoms were in no way unbeatable apparitions of chaos.

Like Relics that were based on『items that once existed』stored in the world’s memory, Phantoms were also created based on once『living things』.

So it would appear those towering giants as well as their blades had existed at some time and place.

Gilbert used both hands to grip his sword and stop the blade swinging down from overhead.
His arms creaked from the tremendous force, and his knees barely endured collapsing.

Wolf Knight – what was decided to call the weapon wielding werewolves for ease of convenience.
They had different weapons, but they all shared fearsome strength and stamina, and their giant bodies moved around with unbelievably light movements.

They had only fought a few, but their strength exceeded Gilbert’s who held pride in his power, and their speed was a match for Ruda, with confidence in her agility.

Their physical strength and stamina was far higher than Tino and the others that were human.

To receive an attack from them would result in serious injury.
Putting Tino aside, for Gilbert and Ruda that would only enter Shrines where they could battle with some extra leeway, these opponents were several steps up.

They were truly formidable enemies, but fortunately there was a sole aspect through which Tino and the others could gain victory.
That was – teamwork.

In the lapse when Gilbert caught a blade with his own, Greg stepped in with his long sword aimed at an arm joint – piercing through a crevice at the forearm.
In the instant the force slackened, Gilbert took the huge burden bearing down on him and pushed it to the left.

The large sharpened edge fell down next to Gilbert.
The Wolf Knight growled, and looked down on Gilbert and Greg with eyes wet with murder.

Then, the huge body shook violently and collapsed with it’s eyes wide open.

Tino had crept up from behind, springing high into the air and putting her blade into the back of its neck.

The dark red short sword held in both hands was something luckily left behind by a a Wolf Knight upon entering the『White Wolves Den』.

The blade used her body weight cutting through thick fur, muscle, and bone, biting halfway into the neck.
It couldn’t sever the head, but it delivered a fatal blow upon which the Wolf Knight dissolved into the air without so much as a scream.

Tino’s feet landed on the ground.

Gilbert was looking over for a moment, but then his shoulders loosened and he breathed a sigh of relief.
There was some slight fatigue showing on his face.

“haa, haa, …did we do it?.”

“This really is a request that doesn’t pay isn’t it?”

Greg frowned at the touch of the fur that remained.

’

It was better than metal armour.
The wolf knights fur was considerably hard, and it was difficult to leave a fatal wound even if you put in all of your strength.

As Tino expected, the interior of the den was not fit for the large size of the wolf knights.

The ceiling in particular was just barely the height of the knights.
They didn’t have to fear overhead attacks like the ones from the first surprise attack.
But the feeling of tension facing the large beasts in dim confined spaces gradually shaved away at the parties willpower.

Tino, who had used a weapon she had only just picked up to deal a fatal blow, spoke without changing expression.

“As expected, taking them down with four people isn’t that difficult.
No matter how strong they are, they have no notion of cooperation.”

That was the Wolf Knights largest weak point.

They are strong individually, but there is no combination at all.

Even when one of their own is dying right in front of them, they place no priority on helping them.
For example even if there were several wolf knights, and Tino with the most margin for error lead all but one of them away – the strategy of attacking the remaining one with three members was a solid one.

Of course there was some danger in that plan, but it was an effective tactic when surrounded by strong enemies.

“I also now have this weapon.’

“It would be nice if one more would drop.”

One of Tino’s strong points was bare handed attacks, but she was at a disadvantage when facing against the wolf knights.
She usually carried a dagger with her, but it was just a substitute weapon.
It was fortunate to obtain a weapon that could bring down a wolf knight in one strike.

After vigilantly watching the surroundings from start to finish, Ruda took a breather.

Despite the tension and fatigue, the Shrine exploration was going well.

With two thieves in the party there was a surplus in enemy detection.
There was no fear of being preempted.

It seemed that the wolf knights often acted on their own.
Inside the burrow that weaved freely it wasn’t difficult to avoid them while advancing.
Even if it came to fighting, they could manage with some impromptu teamwork.

Like at the Footprints meeting, Gilbert’s strength that he boasted about was fairly high and Greg had abundant experience, the members were able to match each other skilfully.
If someone stopped the enemies movement, Tino would finish them off.
Conversely, if Tino attracted the attention, the other three could do it.

Ruda didn’t actively stand out, but it wasn’t because she was weak.
If Tino wasn’t a thief, her role in enemy detection would be indispensable.

It would be a problem if one of them sustained an injury, but they had endured so far.

Everything had already been calculated.

’

Maybe even the weapon that dropped was something expected.
If someone else heard that they might think it was laughable.

“After all Master is right.
Master is god.”

“…O-Oh.
Right.”

To Tino muttering as if to assure herself, Greg’s expression was twitching.

Clan masters and party leaders were naturally charismatic, but Tino’s faith in her Master looked like it went a little too far.

Above all from what Greg saw, Cry didn’t feel very charismatic.

As a long time Hunter with an eye for discernment, there wasn’t anything present similar to the attraction of a powerful Hunter.

At the assembly hall when he found out Cry’s true identity, he had thought it was a joke.
Even now he couldn’t believe he was Infinite Variety, everything was said to be calculated but it all seemed like a mistake.

If it was said he had reached Level 8 through his connections he would believe it, yet this superior Hunter Tino showed genuine trust.

He didn’t intend to cause any conflict while inside the party.
He had a lot of things he wanted to say but he could postpone them.

There would be a chance to do say it once he was ensured to return alive.
Right now he needed to do whatever it took to survive in this abnormal Shrine.

To Greg sheathing his large sword on his waist, Tino shook him on the shoulder once and spoke with a serious voice.

“But, there is still something more to come.
Masters trials aren’t usually like this.”

“…Hah? What the hell are you saying?”

Gilbert spoke out Greg’s inner thoughts in a shocked voice.

Even in the current situation a normal Hunter would without a doubt choose to escape.

With a Shrine with no information on it, unexpected events with the appearance of Phantoms put it at a state of emergency.

For Ruda, Greg, and also Gilbert, a trial further than this was unimaginable.

“…Firstly, lets advance carefully towards the center.
There were no signs around the entrance.
No corpses.
The rescue target should be somewhere deeper in.”

§

’

Contrary to his whole body bent over in fatigue, Gilbert Bush’s mind was sharp.

The tingling air of the battlefield.
Strong smells.
There were『Phantoms』 that had never been seen before, but there he felt not dread but exhilaration.

“I can’t go on like this with you.
I can’t keep up.
I’m leaving the party.”

Gilbert recalled the words raised by the young man the day before Gilbert dropped out of his party.

He was a young man about three years older than Gilbert.
Gilbert had been in a party with him since he came to the city, but the true ability of the young man was about one times less than Gilbert’s.

He knew he was putting in the effort, but the gap was only widening.
When receiving that notice, the other party members also left in the same way without looking Gilbert in the face.
When he first heard what they said, it had made him furious and resentful.
But now that he was infiltrating a Shrine over his ability, he could understand those feelings a little.

They were also troubled, and he should have thought more about what the other members were thinking.

More than that though, struggling with other party members of equal and greater ability filled Gilbert with exhilaration.

He had been in the same party since entering the capital.
They occasionally had temporary members join up, but basically all the companions that Gilbert had worked with before were of less ability than him.

But now it was different.

There were companions that he could fight together with.

Greg’s sword weighed less than Gilbert’s, but it was versatile enough to find gaps in armour.
Tino’s surprise attacks – leaping with no hesitation and accurately striking at the base of the neck, were nothing other than superb.
Ruda’s poor weapons couldn’t fatally wound the Wolf Knights, but she could search for enemies and keep them in check showing abiity in a bit of everything.

Fighting together against formidable Wolf Knights that would be difficult to face off against alone.

Before long Gilbert felt the sensation of his hot blood circulating.
As if fresh fuel was flowing through him, the sword that should feel heavy from the accumulated fatigue became easy to wield.

It had been a few hours since entering the Shrine.
Greg spoke in amazement at Gilbert who was still going strong.

“Oi Oi, still looking good there.”

“Psh.
My good form is just finally showing itself.”

At first it was only possible to receive the Wolf Knights blades, but he was gradually becoming able to push them back.

It’s not as though he was going easy at the outset.
Putting aside the mental and physical, this was visible growth.

Another one.
At the sound of the Wolf Knight falling, Gilbert gasped for breath.

’

If there was a single thing to complain about, that would be –

“Haaa… I wish the purgatory sword had mana.”

He looked down at the purgatory sword in his hands and sighed.

At the moment the sword had lost its power as a relic.
The mana needed to fill it was too much for Gilbert.
It was the same for the other members.

If the power of the sword could be displayed, the Wolf Knights would be much easier to defeat.
Even if he couldn’t imitate Infinite Variety, it would be possible to burn the wolf knight’s swords in flame.
The exploration would have gone much smoother.

To Gilbert leaking out a regrettable voice, Tino spoke in amazement.

“Relics are too early for Gilbert.
If you rely on them your skill will get rusty.
That’s why I don’t have one yet.”

“…You, you still don’t carry a Relic?”

He was already used to the self important words from the little leader.

Without anger, Gilbert stared back in wonder at the unexpected words.

Speaking of which, there hadn’t been a situation yet where Tino had used a Relic.

Regardless of what it was, it was expected that a Level 4 would have discovered one or two Relics while they were exploring Shrines.
To say nothing of also being part of a large clan, where it should be possible to inherit one from your friends.

Receiving the incredulous look from Gilbert, Tino continued on while tapping her arm.

“In the end Relics are trump cards.
You shouldn’t use them in ordinary battles, or use them to fight enemies that you couldn’t win against without them.
This should be what Master is intentionally trying to teach you from this request.
There’s no doubt.
It is.
He didn’t deplete the Mana in the sword to harass you.”

“…unthinkable meddling.”

Something unbelievable.
However, because the information is coming from Tino who didn’t use a Relic, authenticity was added to her words.
Certainly, in the test of ability, without using a Relic Gilbert couldn’t land a hand or foot on Tino.

Tino added on as Gilbert gave another look down at the purgatory sword, frowning.

“That’s why when I find a Relic in a Shrine it gets passed over to Master through onee-sama.
If Master examines it and finds it to be good, he takes me out to get ice-cream.
In other words Master is God.”

“…Isn’t that just being exploited out of convenience?”

Greg’s eyelid was twitching in convulsions while he looked at Tino.

“That’s not the case.
Master isn’t good with sweet food and he keeps me company.
In other words Master is God.”

If pushed to say, Gilbert was of the same opinion as Greg.
But looking at the serious expression on Tino he couldn’t make a interjection.