Hard Carried by My Sword-Chapter 103

“This won’t do,” Leon said with a serious expression.

“It’s not quite right, is it?” Karen replied and nodded in agreement.

“We didn’t measure it exactly, but for the size of the target, it’s too narrow. If we start the battle here, it’ll be hard for us to strike and retreat.”

“The bamboo grove we saw two days ago had too many obstacles.”

“And anywhere too open just leaves us exposed. We do need some degree of cover.”

“Sigh, what a pain...”

After days of fruitless searching, even Karen’s face was beginning to show signs of fatigue. It had been fifteen days since they decided to exterminate the drake. They were still wandering the forest, searching for a suitable battleground.

This cliff isn’t terrible, but... You can’t settle when facing an S+ ranked monster. A detail you overlook could become a major variable later.

Humans were inherently inferior in power to a drake. They couldn’t fly faster than the wind, shred steel with their claws, or crush walls with their tails or breath.

And so, they had to compensate for that inferiority with wisdom. Instead of claws, they crafted weapons with their fingers. Instead of breath, they recited spells.

El-Cid spoke more harshly than usual.

—Intelligence is a form of combat ability, just like strength and stamina. Anyone who ignores that is an idiot. Anyone who insists on a fair fight against a monster or who throws away their own advantage deserves to die. A human who gives up their wisdom? That’s no better than a monkey.

You’re especially harsh today, Leon replied inwardly.

—I’m just speaking the truth.

Still, perhaps thanks to Leon’s comment, El-Cid calmed a little and continued talking about the importance of tactical strategy with a more settled tone.

—Unless you’re fighting someone on a transcendent level, terrain is the first thing to consider in battle. No matter how well-trained a cavalry unit is, it can’t cross the sea. And no matter how skilled an archer is, they can’t shoot enemies hidden deep in a cave.

It was something knights and mages, who had never served in an army, rarely understood. Deserts, grasslands, swamps, coasts, mountains---each environment changed the strengths and weaknesses of unit types, and with them, the favor of the goddess of victory.

A narrow path could let three hundred soldiers hold back an army of ten thousand. Just thirteen warships can sink a hundred-and-thirty-three enemy ships.

—Strictly speaking, even my Footwork is a kind of terrain-based tactic. Martial arts and tactics may differ in scope, but their fundamental principles are much the same.

Soldiers were moved just like limbs. Formations were set up just as one took their battle stance. Vanguards were advanced just as one took a step forward, and cavalry charged just as one struck at weaknesses.

In some ancient eastern texts, tactics, operations, and even weapon arts were all referred to collectively as military strategy. El-Cid’s explanation made that clear.

—Just as your footwork guides you to an opening, choosing the terrain where you hold the advantage is also part of martial skill.

Leon smiled faintly as he took the advice to heart.

Strict as always, Master.

—So stop whining, Disciple.

While the two bickered like that, Karen returned from scouting ahead. Even though Leon had unlocked the Holy Sword’s seal and received four stigmata, he couldn’t match her in agility or stealth.

That was the realm of an assassin one step short of Master-level. Sure, the Twilight Waltz had also contributed to her rapid growth.

“Mr. Hero! I think I finally found one!”

“Hm?”

Drawn by the unexpected good news, Leon quickly followed her to the spot. He’d felt that every place they’d checked so far was just average, but the certainty in Karen’s voice gave him hope.

“Show me!”

As they crossed the forest, startled monsters scattered in all directions, causing a brief commotion. In just fifteen days, they had established themselves as the apex predators of this region.

Even A-rank monsters altered their paths to avoid them, and anything B-rank or lower didn’t even dare move—just pressed their heads to the ground and waited for them to pass. They were no longer opponents that could be challenged. After defeating the local tyrant, the cyclops, Leon and Karen stood unrivaled.

“Here it is! What do you think? Pretty good, right?” Karen said, clearly proud of her discovery.

“Whoa...”

Leon followed her up a steep slope and instinctively let out a murmur of admiration as he looked in the direction she pointed.

It was a canyon. A series of winding paths wide enough for a cart or two, tangled like a maze. One wrong turn and one might never get out.

The height from the bottom to the cliff top was just right. It looked to be over five hundred meters—enough that the drake could descend but not move freely.

—Not bad. This passes.

At El-Cid’s evaluation, Leon asked playfully, Out of a hundred, what score would you give it?

—Eighty? Maybe eighty-five if I’m being generous.

Huh, that’s lower than I thought. I figured at least ninety.

It was clear even at a glance that this canyon was ideal for their showdown with the drake. It would make it difficult for it to dive, and even if it breathed fire, it could flee unpredictably through the paths.

—How are you so dumb? A hundred is rare even in artificial environments. If it’s eighty-five in a natural formation, that’s practically a perfect score. Even legendary battlefields have their flaws. Like how there’s no cave more comfortable than a palace, you can always find something to nitpick.

I see.

Strict, but it was all true. Leon nodded at El-Cid’s words and turned to Karen, who was looking at him expectantly. It was time to end their two-week search.

“We’ll go with this.”

They would slay the one-eyed drake in this canyon.

***

“Oho, a fine choice! Was it the young lady who found it?”

Balkan, the Chief Warrior Titan who resided in the village, looked at the two with a surprised face.

This is impressive... Not only are they excellent warriors, but they also have a hunter’s eye?

He was fully prepared to scold them after hearing they were ready to hunt the drake. After all, an S+ ranked monster could kill even a Chief Warrior if underestimated.

From time, location, gear, physical condition, to contingency plans—this was not a foe to be faced with the slightest lapse in judgment. Unlike hunters, martial artists often insisted on doing things their own way, treating battles with monsters the same as fighting people.

Nothing more foolish than that.

Monsters varied in tactics, size, weapons, and environments. To face them under “duel” rules was an idiotic act with no excuse, even if one died a hundred times.

However, Leon and Karen had not repeated that folly. They had found terrain so suitable that even Balkan, a seasoned warrior, was impressed. It was a location that sealed the enemy’s strengths while letting them exploit their own. He now felt foolish for having prepared a lecture.

“What do you think? I couldn’t find anywhere better than this.” Karen asked carefully, and Balkan pulled the corners of his mouth into a wide grin and burst out laughing.

“Kuhahahaha! Of course not! If you want better than this, you’d be better off hiring civil engineers! There’s no better battlefield to fight a drake than this!”

“Right? Even you think it’s perfect, don’t you, Uncle Chieftain?”

“U-Uncle Chieftain ...?”

That thoroughly undignified nickname made Balkan’s shoulders slump. The gap between “Chief Warrior Balkan” and “Uncle Chieftain” was vast enough to make him want to resign on the spot.

Karen, oblivious, chattered excitedly, “At this rate... ‘Karen, the Hero’s First Companion, Made a Pivotal Contribution to the Drake Hunt.’ That sounds record-worthy, right?”

“The drake’s not even dead yet,” Balkan muttered.

“Well, it will be soon.”

Watching the two bicker, Leon chuckled quietly in amusement. Perhaps she had grown closer to Balkan and the other Titans during Leon’s training with Kasim. She no longer hid behind him like at their first meeting.

Karen opened up surprisingly quickly, considering how shy she usually is.

It helped that the Titans were unpretentious and direct. As an assassin, Karen was extremely sensitive to the malice and deceit buried deep in people’s nature.

Titans, unlike people, didn’t lie or trick. They acted and spoke with brutal honesty. Once her guard was down, it was easy to bond with them.

“Ah.”

Just then, Leon spotted a massive, dark blotch squirming at the edge of his vision in the southern sky. His expression turned icy.

It had finally shown itself.

It hasn’t noticed us yet. Flying in that direction, it won’t detect us.

The one-eyed drake. The dragon-type monster that lost its eye to Leon’s Alkaid. Leon now had two options: let it go or strike now.

Everything was prepared. They had trained to fight in this canyon until it felt natural. Their formations and attack patterns were honed to perfection.

“Chieftain, Karen.”

“Hm?”

“What’s up?”

As Leon pointed toward the sky, Balkan and Karen’s expressions immediately turned blank. They’d spotted the enemy, and as soon as their eyes landed on it, they abandoned all irrelevant thought.

If Leon wasn’t planning to fight, he wouldn’t have called them. Sensing his intent, Balkan drew the spear from his waist.

“Shall I lure it this way?”

“Yes. That’s all we need you to do. Please fall back immediately after.”

From then on, it was Leon and Karen’s fight. Even unspoken, that message was clear.

Balkan laughed loudly and summoned the full force of his Aura. A heavy, steel-colored light shone. An overwhelming force concentrated at a single point, swirling around the arm that held the spear. With such might, even a small hill could be blown away.

“Kuraaaaah!”

With a thunderous roar, Balkan’s body spun like a vortex. Then, the spear was launched. There was no special trick—just the textbook form executed perfectly. And yet, the sheer speed of the throw shattered the sound barrier.

With a loud boom, a shockwave rang out. Then again, and again.

The spear broke the sound barrier three times in succession before it soared across several kilometers and struck the body of the hunting drake.

The impact was loud enough to reach the canyon where they stood. The spear itself was nothing special, and it shattered immediately upon impact, unable to withstand the power behind it. However, the force of the blow was tremendous.

Blindsided in the ribs, the drake flailed as if about to crash, then quickly stabilized and turned toward the direction the spear had come from. It was surprised by the ambush, but not injured, and was already thinking about tearing apart the one who dared touch him.

“Krrrk...?”

The drake’s one remaining eye bulged. A human, standing defiantly atop the canyon, looking straight at him. He had never forgotten that face.

“KYEEEEEH!”

With a rage-filled howl, the drake spread its wings wide; its murderous intent and hatred surged for miles. Accelerating like a bullet, the beast charged forward.

Leon raised the Holy Sword above his head and thought, Eight seconds to contact.

It was faster than expected. Was the drake not going full speed last time? Or had it grown even stronger? Leon logged the variable and error margin in his head, then activated the stigma carved near his heart.

The Stigma of the Guardian: a power that absorbs sunlight and moonlight and converts it into strength. A golden glow shimmered over Leon’s body. He could even deploy Aura Fire without much drain.

Here he comes!

Just as he completed his combat stance, the drake’s shadow blanketed him. Despite its subsonic flight, it could come to a sudden halt. Its maneuvering was truly out of this world.

Leon’s face tensed as he looked up.

“What the...”

A swirl of darkness churned inside the drake’s maw. It was Breath, a dragon-type’s ultimate weapon. The one-eyed drake, still mid-flight, had gathered its power en route and was ready to unleash it the moment it arrived.

It was stronger, and denser than last time. The Dark Breath, the shadowy blast that ignored all physical defense, bore down on Leon’s head like a storm.