24 Hearts

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Requiem, the boss of the black wolf

The wolves seemed to have gotten back up on their feet from their defeat the night before. They could take on Kaseun’s allies, but there was no way they would face the Wielder of the Sword like this again. It was unreasonable to act like this unless there was something up their sleeves this time around.

Chun!

A black wolf emerged in front of Judah, drooling with its fangs out. He paid the wolf no mind, still running after Kaseun, Judah only kicked off the wolf as it got closer. His teeth were shattered the moment its snout slammed on the barren ground. Judah stopped in his tracks, pulled out his sword, and impaled it straight between the wolf’s brow until it ceased breathing.

Judah looked back at the place where Kaseun fought in the distance, continuing to face the wolves that emerged instantaneously. The soldiers’ shouts and the howling of the wolves tangled into chaos, growing unbearable for his ears.

‘It will be okay.’

He was anxious, but he tried to push away the worry. He was at a high level, and these wolves would not harm him. And it didn’t matter if he got attacked or even if others were injured or perished, and they were not his priority. He wanted to go off in another direction, but the darkness of the forest felt too ambiguous for him to face blindly.

“Wow, these crazy things! My sword is useless!” cried a soldier as it attempted to slash at a black wolf.

Although their blades were sharp, their weapons did not fall into the ranks of excellent swords. It was not easy to cut the skin of a black wolf with such a weapon. To stab them would be more efficient than to cut them. The soldier faced the consequence of his fault.

The black wolf they attempted to slay stood firmly on the ground with its four legs ready to pounce. It drooled, fangs snarled in anger. The soldier stepped back in fear but covered himself with his shield right away. Judah ran there and drew his sword up without hesitation. He felt his blade as it sliced through the wolf’s skin and every muscle and bone in its body.

Hshhhh

Blood splattered after his sword. It was a distinct difference from when the soldier swung his sword.

“If you don’t have enough strength, don’t try to cut it! Stabbing it is a lot better!”

The nameless soldier nodded his head, face still frozen in shock.

At Judah’s words, the soldier nodded. Other soldiers who heard his advice adapted it, stabbing the wolves instead of trying to slash them, and of course, it worked. There was the risk of moving closer to them to land an effective attack, but it was better than trying to cut them and ending up getting beaten by the wolves instead. The soldiers cheered as they stepped on the wolves they managed to slay.

“Combine! You there, don’t move ahead, fall back!”

Turning to the commanding voice, Judah saw the knight leading the soldiers. They might be able to reduce the numbers of their enemy despite their current situation.

The Knights were beyond the league of the soldiers. Even though they were covered with heavy armor, they showed faster movement than the soldiers and were slaying the black wolves with stronger power.

It wasn’t just the black wolves facing casualties. They outnumbered the soldiers as they bit them to shreds. The soldier being ripped apart cursed and bellowed for help. Judah reached for his pockets, but he had no more daggers left.

‘I have to use Shadow Justice!’

Judah hesitated to trigger -Lower Black Arms Manifestation-, but soon he used it to make a dagger appear right within his grasp.

As he was about to throw a dagger, golden swords flew past Judah’s face, hitting a black wolf from a distance.

This.

This was deja vu. It came to his mind like a far-off memory. It was one of the skills of the Paladin -Gabriel’s Sword-. And there was only one person who had that job.

‘Kain!’

He turned his head, and as expected, there was Kain in his paladin armor, standing alone without Riel by his side. He couldn’t read the expression on his face, but Kain ran and pulled the soldier trapped under the black wolf.

“Are you okay!?”

“Argh! Damn it. It bit my leg!”

The soldier cursed as blood traced from the bite mark of the black wolf. But ironically, it was his black wolf skin armor that prevented the wolf bite from digging deeper. Kain came to aid the other immobilized soldiers while Judah watched him blankly like a fool.

Kung!

“…”

A wolf chased at Kain as he tried to pull up a fallen soldier. Judah saw it, then silently threw the Shadow Justice dagger in his hand. With its sound cutting through the wind, the blade stuck deep into one of the wolf’s legs.

As it fell, he approached the wolf and swung his sword. Its blood scattered in the air as it traced the drawn blade. A few of its blood splattered to his cheeks, trailing down his face. Judah’s gaze turned from the black wolf back to Kain.

‘What a guy.’

Kain was a good guy. He helped others and always acted in the name of justice. That action aroused any person’s liking and brought favor. It was the same in the game, and so it was here. Even though he thought that Kain was the foolish guy who resembled a typical noble warrior in an RPG game, he envied that he could act like that.

I have to kill him.

He will be a dangerous guy.

Later, he will block the road ahead.

We will duel for the fragments.

He always thought about it that way, but when he sees Kain the way he was, his heart ached. Judah was ashamed of himself, who thought it nothing of death or injury except Tia and Jeanne. He was considered odd for distancing himself from Kain, trying to dismiss him, saying he was an opponent to kill someday.

‘Fuck!’

He felt like a disgrace just by thinking about it. Judah turned his head. Being alone lured in the wolves, and they ran for him instead without attacking other soldiers. Judah’s eyes spotted the black wolves jumping ahead. Their dark eyes began to appear faintly red.

+ + +

Kain put down the soldier he had been carrying. He put him down as light as possible but given their urgent situation; he slipped him down more carelessly than he thought. He tried to apologize to him, but rather, the soldier shook his hand firmly with such a bright smile upon his face.

“Thank you!”

Soon after, several porters ran and began to heal the soldier’s wounds. Before coming here, since the lord provided plenty of potions, the damage could be healed quickly unless the flesh was severely torn off or cut off. The Knights’ leadership and the presence of Kaseun overcame the wolves that outnumbered them, but it was also thanks to the potion that kept them up in the battle.

“Block!”

Kung!

Whether the black wolf hit the shield, the nearby soldiers flinched back.

“Stab!”

In just one word, the soldiers simultaneously stabbed their swords through the gaps between their shields. Kain heard screaming along with the sound of blades cutting through the flesh. A wolf managed to jump over the soldiers and landed behind them, spurring around the ground to run back at the soldiers. Two of these soldiers faced the beast, the four of them forming a circle with their shields held together as barricades. When Kain saw the wolf pounce, he used his magic power in a flash.

The -The Third King-Gabriel- skill manifested into existence with a little magic power. Four black arrows shot through the air, their tails trailing a golden light. Each of them struck the wolf before it could even move. The soldiers, who nodded to him in gratitude, paid attention to the front again.

At that time, Kain recalled that he had left Judah alone among the wolves. He turned, running to where he should be, hearing conversations of the soldiers he passed by.

“Wow! That guy, is he the real thing?”

“I feel bad for those wolves…”

Unlike the soldiers on the other side fighting fiercely against the wolves, the soldiers on this side stared at something ahead like they weren’t standing on battlegrounds.

‘That’s where Judah is.’

His running fell to a walk. The soldiers glanced ar hum as they heard the sound of his clanking armor. Through the gaps of his faceplate, he saw Judah swinging his sword like he was dancing in the dark.

“Wow…!”

Now he knew what got the soldiers’ eyes. Peering through the dark, he made out nine wolves fighting against Judah. Instead of running over to help him, Kain found himself simply wonderstruck at the sight of him. He was besieged and outnumbered, but Judah slew the wolves in turn, moving back and forth between them masterfully.

In one hand, Judah brandished his bastard sword with ease, while his left hand threw daggers at the wolves. The strange thing was that even after throwing a blade, a new dagger continued to appear on his left hand. He seemed to be using magic. Kain might have seen it wrong, but as he squinted harder to see more clearly, there was nothing there.

He threw those daggers one after the other, leaving no room for the wolves to come close to him. After a short time, the wolves staggered and bled as they died on the ground. It was a battle that left everybody agape.

Nine.

That was the number of wolves Judah fought and the number of wolves dead on the floor. And not one made a single scratch on his body. Judah scanned the aftermath of his slaughter, breathing through his enemies’ blood covering every inch of him. Judah’s gaze turned their way. His eyes boiled with madness. The soldiers who met his eyes held their breaths.

“…”

Kain realized that Judah was looking at him. It was a look he didn’t understand.

“Ju—”

AWOOOO——!

Before Kain could call out his name, a great howling whipped through the entire forest. It pulsated through every standing entity, shaking them down to their very bones. It was only a howl, but it felt like it had its grasp around their beating hearts.

The black wolves, who were occupied with the humans, ran away without looking back when their ears picked up the cry. Simultaneously, the bodies of the wolves lying on the floor turned into dust that danced away with the wind.

The soldiers stood dumbfounded. Kain heard the sound of running, and when he turned his head, he caught a glimpse of Judah’s shadow as he ran off into the unknown, leaving his torch fallen on the ground. No, he wasn’t off into the unknown. He ran straight after the howl’s direction.

“Judah!”

As he tried to follow him, the soldier next to him reached out and caught his arms.

“Wait, Kain! Where are you going? It’s dangerous!”

“I have to go after Judah! I’m sorry, sir! Please tell Grandpa!”

Kain shook away his arm, grabbed a nearby torch, and started running after Judah. Kain was already out of the soldier’s reach.

“Kain! Judah! Reckless kids, what the hell are you two doing! You idiots!”

They screamed, but Judah and Kain didn’t flinch as if they had not heard them. The soldiers watched them scurry away before turning in a hurry to find Kaseun.

Meanwhile, Kain and Judah disappeared into the depths of the dark forest.

* * *

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Tip19. Boss monsters have special skills and certain patterns. If you want to attack, start with patterns and skills!

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