TLWD 22

Chapter : 22. The Wastrel and the Chief Knight (1)

Kai’s teeth—no, his sword—imbued with aura,
sliced through the hide of the Gelu Drake.

If it had been the scales of a real dragon, it wouldn’t have worked.
But the Gelu Drake’s hide was not as tough as a true dragon’s.

KIEEEEEEKK—!!

The Gelu Drake let out a shriek of agony.
The predator’s instincts, once shining, dropped sharply.

Its eyes, darting in all directions—
The emotion within them…

Kee-kiirrk!

…was panic.

That was the opening I needed.
Bam!
I pushed off with strength in my thighs, my body shooting forward like a bolt.
The distance closed rapidly.

And the Gelu Drake?

Still caught in its moment of confusion.
I steadied myself and threw a punch.

Thud!
A heavy sensation reverberated from my fingertips.

KIEEEEEEAAAAK—!!

A horrid scream erupted from the Drake’s maw, stretched wide in pain.
I’d dealt a significant blow, but regrettably, I hadn’t pierced the hide.

A simple punch wasn’t enough to break through the tough skin of the Gelu Drake.

Still, that didn’t mean there was no effect.

Thunk! Thud! Thump!

Each time I struck the beast’s body, my fists broke.
Bones shattered, flesh tore apart…
But I didn’t stop.
I blocked the pain by cutting off sensory nerves and kept pummeling.

BOOM!!

With an explosive impact, the Drake staggered backward.
Blood spilled from its maw.

Its innards must’ve burst—chunks of unidentifiable flesh mixed in with the gushing blood.

The golden gleam in its eyes had faded.
No longer the eyes of a predator.

From the clean gash Kai had carved, blood gushed freely.
It coughed up blood again and again from my blows.

It wasn’t a fatal wound—
But it was close.

Would this be enough to turn the tide?

No—I shouldn’t let myself think that.

I shook my head.
Because I knew—

A wounded monster, especially a maddened one, only grows more ferocious.

If I let my guard down now thinking we’d gained the upper hand,
the Gelu Drake would tear both me and Kai to shreds in a single blow.

Kai knew this too.
He didn’t rush in.
He held his breath and watched the Drake carefully, tightening his grip on his sword.

The Gelu Drake glared at the two of us, panting heavily.

But then, it withdrew its focus from me.
It glanced at my mangled fists and lost interest.

No wonder.
Right now, I couldn’t supply myself with any nutrients.
I’d already eaten all the monster meat I’d stored in my inventory.

That meant I couldn’t regenerate anymore.
In this state, I posed no threat to the Gelu Drake.

It now saw Kai as the greater threat.
And decided Kai must be eliminated first.

I was no longer the predator of the Allied Army—just a count’s disgrace.
And Kai was no longer the frost legion’s commander.

Even with Kai here, I wasn’t sure.
I didn’t have the confidence we could win.

Which meant, most likely, we’d become prey.

In that case…

‘No helping it, huh.’

I withdrew.

* * *

Adrian suddenly turned and fled.

There was no hesitation, no doubt in his movements.

He’d tossed Kai to the Gelu Drake as bait, and now he was running with all his might.

In moments, he vanished from sight.

Kai ground his teeth.

…So that was his real plan.

Using Kai as bait to save his own skin.
Kai should’ve sensed something was wrong the moment Adrian suggested facing the Gelu Drake together.

The only silver lining was that he’d used Kai and not the soldiers.

The Gelu Drake didn’t pursue Adrian.

To the Drake, Kai was now the biggest threat.
Adrian was just another easy kill.

Kirrk!

The Drake sneered.
Its glowing yellow eyes gleamed—mockingly.

If only…

If only I hadn’t sent the soldiers away.

Regret surged through Kai, but regret always came too late.
Had he not sent the soldiers back, they would’ve been the ones sacrificed instead of him.

Still, he had no intention of sitting still and dying.

The odds weren’t great.
But Kai’s sword had proven it could slice through the Drake’s hide.

Kai tightened his grip on his sword.

CRASH!

The Gelu Drake charged, kicking off the snow-covered ground.
The distance between them closed in a flash.

A claw filled his vision.
Kai swung his sword to block it—

Clang! Crack! Cr-Crack!

Sparks exploded in all directions.

But Kai was the one being pushed back.

The Drake now fully recognized the threat of Kai’s sword.

Unlike its hide, the Gelu Drake’s claws were inherited directly from dragons.

They were dragon’s claws in every sense.

A mere aura sword couldn’t match a dragon’s claws.
Only a knight at the level of an Aura Master could even think of facing that.

And Kai—was no master.

BOOM!

The aura on Kai’s sword shattered.
His body flew backward.

He scrambled to regain vision, and saw the Drake closing in, nearly skimming the ground.

A wounded monster—
More feral and violent than ever.

The Drake lunged toward Kai at terrifying speed.

‘Fast!’

There was a reason it was called the Master of the Snowy Mountains.

This couldn’t be blocked. Nor dodged.

So be it.

He’d sacrifice bone to protect flesh.

Kai grit his teeth and braced for the impact.

…He had to endure it.

CRASH!!

A massive explosion rang out.

But something was off.

It hadn’t come from Kai.

He hadn’t felt any impact.

Suddenly—

The Gelu Drake flew through the air right in front of him.

It crashed face-first into the snow, flailing like a fool.
It couldn’t get back up.

Who…?

That question formed when—

“Don’t get the wrong idea.”

A faint voice reached his ears.
Kai snapped to attention and turned.

Before he knew it—

“This alliance is just this once.”

Adrian was there, chewing on monster flesh of unknown origin.

* * *

With inventory weight limits, most of the monsters I hunted had to be left behind.

And two weeks was more than enough time for corpses to rot.
But the bitter cold of the Snowy Mountains drastically slowed decay.

No—practically halted it.

‘Not that I’d care if it had rotted.’

I’d eaten things mixed with digestive juices—what was a little spoilage?
As long as I got calories, I didn’t care.

So while Kai bought time against the Drake, I used [E+] Metabolism Boost to move fast.

I remembered where I’d hunted.
Finding discarded corpses wasn’t hard.

I quickly swept two or three spots and maxed out my 880kg inventory limit.

The corpses hadn’t rotted—but were frozen solid.

The ones stored in my inventory were fine.

But the ones left exposed to the cold—

Crunch! Crack!

Chewing on them felt more like biting rocks than meat.

Luckily, my bite force stat of 22 could crush even that.

Though my teeth cracked and splintered,
I didn’t care.

Crunch! Cr-crack!

Teeth can regenerate.

Calories were the priority.

Gulp.

I swallowed the chunk—whatever it was.

Then turned—and saw Kai staring at me with a wild expression.

Like I was some mythical beast, something even more bizarre than the Gelu Drake.

“Didn’t you run away?”

Kai asked suddenly.

He must’ve thought I’d abandoned him.

“Then why…?”

He seemed genuinely confused that I’d come back to help.

Honestly, I could’ve let him die.
It was an opportunity.

But if Kai died now, I’d be in trouble too.

‘It’ll be hard to hunt the Gelu Drake alone.’

Taking it down solo was out of the question.
But I couldn’t give up its genetic material either.

Not that I could explain all that.

I didn’t have the time—or the need.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. This alliance is just this once.”

That was all I said.

Though now that I thought about it—

‘Wasn’t that part of Kai’s affinity quest?’

Maybe.

Oh well.

“Stay sharp, Kai.”

I finished regenerating my fists and drew them to my chest.

Kai snapped back to his senses and readied his sword again.

At the same time, the Gelu Drake slowly rose.

It snarled.
No more games.

This was a fight for survival.

Kill or be killed.

“It’s coming.”

The moment I spoke, the Gelu Drake charged.

* * *

As Adrian’s voice faded, the Gelu Drake leapt forward.

Its massive frame sliced through the air, claws raking the snow.

Despite its injuries, it moved like it hadn’t been touched.

A blast of wind kicked up a snowstorm, momentarily blocking vision—

But Adrian had already appeared at its flank.

His fist, clenched tight—

Scattered snowflakes as it flew.

SMACK!

A direct hit.

The Drake reeled.

The impact was heavy—
It couldn’t regain its balance.

“Kai!!”

Adrian’s voice boomed like thunder.

Kai’s sword lit up.

Silver armor gleamed in the frozen air.
His aura-imbued blade shone with a blue light even amidst the snow.

‘We can do this.’

With Adrian—
‘We can win.’

Kai now believed it.