And now this confidence had been crushed.
It was the first time Eruya had received such a shock since he was born.
“My arms! What are you waiting for!”
Blood spurted out profusely and he could feel his body grow colder and heavier, starting with the wounded area. The elves simply smiled broadly at Eruya’s screams, which resembled the sound of a cracked bell.
Eruya didn’t know how to express the whirlpool of emotion inside of him, but he could hear a voice that could be described as merciful.
“I truly thank thee! I don’t like inflicting needless pain, so I shall end it here!”
Sccchk, something slashed through the air.
Shortly afterward, a shock struck his face. It was the kind of pain that felt as if it had shattered every bone in his body and was enough to make him forget about his arms.
That was the last pain Eruya ever felt.
With half its face gone, the corpse collapsed.
“Hmmm hmmm.”
Hamsuke turned its head and slowly backed off. If he stayed close to the corpse, the elves would be wary and not approach the corpse. The elves appeared to be magic casters but could decide to use Eruya’s sword to fight. Hamsuke had no desire to stop them from doing so.
“Now, do you wish to fight as we—?”
Hamsuke mumbled his words in surprise. The elves were kicking the corpse, which Hamsuke assumed was their comrade, with sneers on their face.
“What is this? Is this the elven way of burying the dead?”
Hamsuke doubted that as it spoke. In their cloudy and dead eyes were sparks of hatred. It could only be overflowing rage.
“— This is truly troublesome.”
The order had been to use the skills it had learned so far on the intruders and to show the results of the training. But if he fought an unwilling enemy, could that truly be considered “showing the result of the training”? If they at least stood to fight, it would have been better than nothing.
“I heard that taunting is a good strategy as well… What should I say? I don’t know… I suppose it can’t be helped. I shall wait for the orders from my lord. But—”
Hamsuke turned around to face the one who was judging the battle.
“How was it, Zaryusu-dono? Did I pass?”
“Yes, it was wonderful. The martial art definitely activated.”
Hamsuke smiled brightly at the warrior who had taught him the martial art.
“This is truly a joyous occasion! Then will I finally start with the combat training while wearing armour?”
“That would be the next step. We’ll start with light armour first and then move onto heavier ones.”
Hamsuke hadn’t worn armour until now. It felt too awkward and it was hard to move freely while wearing it. There weren’t many problems when running normally, but in combat, it lost its balance when swinging its tail and could not strike accurately. That’s why Hamsuke learned from the lizardmen and imitated their training to learn to fight.
“Please watch Hamsuke become stronger for my lord! How long would it take for me to properly call myself a warrior? The Warrior Hamsuke.”
“Let’s see… if it’s Hamsuke-san, you would be able to call yourself a warrior in about a month, no, two months.”
“So long!”
“I think it’s pretty short. Hamsuke-san, it usually takes about a year to learn martial arts.
Considering that, you’re learning pretty fast.”
Another lizardman beside Zaryusu, Zenberu, spoke out.
“Is that so?”
“That’s right. Real battle experience, healing when you’re injured, fighting stronger opponent with enhancement magic, etc. It might be hellish training, but it gets results.”
Hamsuke shuddered. The rest of the lizardmen did so too as they remembered their training so far.
“…How should I put this. I hope it’s not the kind of training that takes us within arms’ reach of death.”
“Personally, I feel you get stronger more quickly in life or death situations, but… I guess everybody is different. Plus, if the newly wed husband dies, it’ll be pretty sad.”
“Oooh! I now remember that you have married!”
“Yes, and she seems to be pregnant.”
“As expected of a skilled warrior, his accuracy is high! How many times did it take? Only twice or thrice?”
Zaryusu’s fist struck Zenberu.
“Enough. If we don’t start training again, we’ll get a good scolding. Also, what about those elves?”
“Wouldn’t it be fine to leave them like that?”
The elves which had been kicking away the corpse were simply slumped on the floor like puppets with their strings cut. There was not a hint of will to fight, so Hamsuke decided to wait for the master's command unless they tried to escape.
Translator: Zack Tan and Skythewood
Editors/Proofreaders: Ferro, Namo-Namo, JcqC, Nigel, Rockgollem, Noir X
Sensing the sudden change in air movement from his nose, the dragon Tsaindoruks Vaision who had the alias ‘Platinum Dragon Lord’ stirred from his shallow slumber. The emotions he felt after waking were mostly of surprise. Maybe startled would be a better description.
Dragons possessed keen senses that far surpassed those of humans. If their opponents tried to deceive them with invisibility or illusions, dragons would still be able to detect them even from a surprising distance. This was true even when they slept.
As a lord amongst dragons, his perceptive abilities were far better than normal dragons. Hence, anyone who wanted to sneak up to him had to be exceptionally skilled.
Despite his long lifespan, he only knew a handful of people who could pull this off. First would be the dragon lords who were his equals, followed by the assassin Izania of the thirteen heroes, who had passed on from this world. Next would be―
Feeling the presence of the person that just came to his mind, Tsaindoruks Vaision―nicknamed Tsar―twisted his mouth and opened his eyes slowly.
Even in the dark, a dragon’s eyes could see as if it was day.
The presence he felt before him was an elderly human with a flashy sword at her waist, standing out in the open with no intention to hide. She had managed to reach this point without being detected by the keen senses of a dragon―a pure and innocent smile of someone who managed to pull off a prank could be seen on her wrinkled face.
“It’s been so long since we last met.”
Tsar didn’t respond as he stared at the old lady.
Her head of white hair was a testament to her advanced years. However, her face had the vitality of a mischievous child, which did not match her age. She had gotten thinner and frailer as she grew older, but her heart remained the same.