I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

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236화

Pop!

Leo and I simultaneously kicked off the ground and jumped up, crossing paths. Without a word, our eyes communicated strongly on the battlefield.

“Don’t go too wild, just watch my back!”

“Watch your back? Me?”

With a sly grin, Leo swung his sword without hesitation.

“I’m gonna fight too!”

His bright, fluorescent lime aura, a mirror to his eye color, sliced through the air wide. The swiftly flying aura inflicted a wound on one of the wolves’ tails.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Though I had fought alongside him against a basilisk, back then, Leo was just bait while I did all the work, so it’s hard to say we fought together.

This was the first time we were officially fighting side by side.

‘Just like you.’

Fighting with Reiner was a cooperative struggle lined with understanding. He willingly covered my back and moved in a balanced way.

But seeing Leo’s enthusiasm, it seemed like our combat would become two lines rampaging wildly.

Kraang!

A wolf lunged for my shoulder. I lightly pivoted my body.

“Duck!”

Leo yelled with a hint of laughter as he swung his sword long.

Swish!

Kyaak!

The advancing wolf was slashed across the belly by Leo’s aura, crashing down. Red blood splattered everywhere, even on my face. I was horrified.

“Hey! Don’t kill it, you lunatic!”

“It’s not dead.”

“It shouldn’t even be close to dead! You wanna get kicked out the moment we arrive at the base?”

“Tch.”

“Who’s craving to meet the family of the wet nurse……”

Leo clicked his tongue, resting the sword on his shoulder, joy written all over his face despite being stained with blood.

‘Well, as long as you’re happy…’

I decided not to argue and readied my sword against the wolves howling in anger over my injured comrade.

“I’ll take three, so you get one…”

“Don’t say ridiculous things. It’s unconditionally two to zero.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I’ll catch them all.”

“Should we make a bet?”

Leo, grinning like a rascal, dove relentlessly into the wolves.

“Let’s see who catches more quickly!”

I spat a dry laugh. Challenging a sword master to such a competition was absurd. His defeat was certain.

“Give it a shot then.”

And I didn’t dislike the boldness of brave people.

While Leo fought off one wolf, two others pounced on me simultaneously.

I exuded killing intent and swung my aura at the approaching wolf. As the wolves hesitated, the aura I sent forth sliced one of them cleanly.

Kyaak!

The wolf struck by the aura howled in pain and collapsed as the other wolf swung its forepaw at me.

Swish!

The terrifying claws barely grazed my cheek, leaving a long wound along it.

Twisting my body, I kicked off the air and came down hard on the wolf with my sword.

With a dull thud, the wolf’s body was tossed aside. It seemed I had hit it just enough to knock it out, thankfully.

‘Fortunately, it’s not that strong. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to subdue.’

Subduing was indeed harder than killing. Thankfully, it hadn’t been injured enough to threaten my life, and I rose up from my crouched position, relieved.

“Leo. I—”

Thwack!

A sharp sound echoed. I quickly looked in the direction.

Leo was mercilessly bashing the wolf with the hilt of his sword, his expression completely unfazed.

“It’s already down!”

It was an opponent already subdued. Just unnecessary violence.

Frowning, I tried to stop Leo, but he clicked his tongue.

“It keeps trying to bite my side.”

“From the side, it looks like animal abuse, you know.”

Had I been too hard on Leo? Something poked my foot.

Yip!

A battered wolf, looking pitiful even from just seeing it, whined as it rubbed its nose against my foot.

I blinked in surprise.

It seemed to be trying to garner sympathy from me, hoping to live by stopping Leo from going hard on it.

“It’s not a wolf but a little fox.”

“Ah, come on.”

I grabbed Leo’s hand as he tried to draw his sword from its sheath. He was glaring at the wolf, seemingly displeased.

“I’ll carry this one.”

Leo hoisted the wolf onto his back. It struggled violently at first, but calmed down with a single stern grip from Leo.

I quickly tidied up the tent, taking a deep breath.

“Yeah. Sleep is out of the question for tonight.”

Since they gave such a welcoming greeting, it felt urgent to meet whoever was waiting for us.

With the base of the silver wolf tribe not far away, we arrived at our destination swiftly, dragging the two wolves by their limbs. The feeling was quite strange.

“Do you know how to get in?”

“No. I only know that the spiritual essence of the wolf tribe has cut off from here.”

I looked at the scene before me with a slightly uncertain heart.

What awaited us was a cave entrance completely blocked by stones.

“Let’s just break in.”

“Do you plan to talk to the silver wolf tribe at all?”

I shot a glare at the constantly reckless Leo. He averted his gaze at my stare.

“Hey, don’t play dead and get up. How do we get in?”

Leo, having tossed one of the wolves he carried to the ground, kicked the other wolf lightly. The wolf flinched but didn’t get up.

“Come on out. I’ll talk to you.”

After tossing the acquired wolves aside, I nudged Leo aside and squatted before the wolf.

The wolf was now trembling pitifully.

“Thank you for your hard work. You were startled by the sudden incursion, weren’t you? You were supposed to fend us off, but you were subjugated unexpectedly.”

I gently patted the wolf pretending to be dead. The wolf opened its eyes slightly.

“But we really need to get in, so…”

I drew my sword and pointed the tip toward the entrance.

“Would it be better for everyone to struggle if the entrance gets completely wrecked, or would it be better if you help us resolve this simply?”

The ominous aura blazed brightly around the sword. The wolf’s face turned pale—who knew a beast could turn pale with fear?

“Now, what will you do?”

I wore my scariest grin, doing my best to instill fear. The wolf trembled, its fangs chattering.

Slowly, the wolf began to shift into a human form.

‘What?’

Its slender front and hind legs morphed into the strong limbs of an adult male. The long muzzle receded, and its fur-covered body became smooth.

Seeing a beastman transformation for the first time, I stared at the scene with shock.

“Ugh, if you don’t listen, you’ll be in for it!”

Soon, except for the ears and tail, the wolf transformed completely into a fit young man, looking sad as he hugged himself, covering his bare body.

“What the…?”

“Crazy, don’t look at that!”

“Ukh!”

Boom!

Leo blocked my path, hurling his sword through his legs. The man dodged narrowly, trembling in a miserable state.

‘Oh dear.’

With pale skin, mysterious hair in shades of silver and moonlight, and ashy tones, and exquisite violet eyes, the wolf beastman was breathtakingly beautiful.

Enchanted by his looks, I found myself staring at him, and the man turned his head away, feeling embarrassed as if he were ashamed.

His naked form was on full display, yet I couldn’t fathom which part he found humiliating.

“Just kill me now! I’ll die with honor!”

“Damn it, don’t spread your legs!”

Leo, who had poked his own eyes out, tore off his cape and draped it over the man’s body. The man, somewhat unfazed, continued his solo drama.

“Ugh, Lady Feisha will not forgive me!”

“Feisha this and that! Just keep still before I turn you into a trophy!”

As the man squirmed, the flowing cape caught my attention, and I steered my gaze away from what I shouldn’t be seeing, leaving Leo to struggle.

“All we want is to meet the silver wolf beastmen. If you just open the door, we’ll wrap this up without any bloodshed.”

I tried to persuade him in a coaxing tone. The man, whose pupils flickered weakly at my words, bit down on his lips and shook his head.

“I can’t say! It’s a secret of our wolf tribe! Better to kill me!”

“Shh, can’t you just fulfill your wish and die?”

Leo stomped on the squirming man’s abdomen, keeping him pinned, looking at me irritably. I was half-tempted to say to go ahead, but barely managed to calm myself.

Bang!

“Didn’t you just hear me? If you don’t open up, I’ll break in!”

I tried to speak as sweetly as I could, but reasoning failed. I pulled my sword out of the ground aggressively and smiled menacingly. The ground trembled beneath me.

“You think I can’t smash it?”

The entrance, fully sealed by stone, felt noticeably protected by countless overlapping magic barriers, but if I set my mind to it, it wouldn’t be unbreakable.

It might take a lot of time and some exhaustion, but I could definitely break through.

“Open up, now.”

I threatened in a chilling tone.

“Ugh—Lady Feisha…”

The man, sniffing, moved slowly toward the gate as if he were resentfully falling from heaven into hell.

Leo jabbed his eyes again, and I turned away from the scene.

The man, sobbing over and over, placed his hands on the rock. The massive magic circle carved into the stone lit up.

“Open, oh! Really….”

Slide.

With that one phrase, like a lie, the stone opened smoothly. Leo and I exchanged glances at the now open rock.

“Did they really set the password haphazardly…?”

“Let’s roll with it.”

It was incredible, but normally, most people would have gotten stuck at the ritual of placing their hands on that rock, so security seemed fine.

“Ah, Lady Feisha, forgive me…”

I pulled the cape Leo tossed at me while gazing at the world beyond the stone. And I gasped.

I could never have imagined a village existed behind such dense woods.

It looked like a mystical scene, a blend of a wild jungle and human settlement. It felt like we had opened a door to another world.

“…is this where Leisha was born?”

“Hmm…”

Leo, who was also gazing at the scene in a bit of daze, murmured. I couldn’t tear my eyes away, letting out a sigh.

We had finally found the dwelling of the silver wolf beastmen, a mystery that had long been hidden.