Chapter 21

Enemies composed of an impossible combination of monsters, beasts, and humans.

It wouldn’t be strange to feel chills down your spine seeing such enemies charging with terrible screams. It was something impossible by common sense.

However, the warriors neither retreated nor showed fear. Geron raised his weapon high and shouted energetically.

“If we retreat, our families will suffer eternally. If you don’t want to regret watching that sight, fight with your lives! Fight to protect your families!”

The warriors let out a resounding battle cry, igniting their fighting spirit. What was their reason for being here?

Wasn’t it to honor the noble warrior and to protect their families!

As the warriors’ fighting spirit blazed hot, the wendigo looked at Geron with surprised eyes.

Geron had such talent?

“You have a talent for commanding people.”

“Hehe. Isn’t it all learned from you, Wendigo-nim?”

At Geron’s modesty, the wendigo cleared his throat. He wanted to refute, but his own method of gathering warriors had been a bit… demagogue-like.

‘No. I didn’t know it would work so well.’

He had thought that as time passed, dealing with Gikas would become more troublesome, so he had chosen this method to persuade quickly…

It seems that honor and family held greater value to the people of this world than he had imagined. Who would have known the warriors would be so enchanted, literally?

As Geron looked at him with an ‘I knew it’ expression, the wendigo sighed and pulled a greatsword from the ground.

‘From now on, even if I say I never taught Skadi about incitement, they probably won’t believe me.’

Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, the wendigo focused on the front. The enemies were swarming like waves.

“Kieeeeek!!!”

“Kill them! Kill them and offer them as sacrifices to our master!!!”

They were rushing forward while spitting blood. It would be good if they were just dying on their own, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

‘It’s the same as what I saw in the parasite village. Their speed is quite fast.’

There was no doubt that the enraged Gikas had used some trick. At this rate, the warriors would be pushed back as soon as they collided.

The wendigo thrust his sword into the ground. His mystery raced through the earth, exerting his will.

Wudududuk!

Roots and branches shot up like spears from the trees imbued with mystery. Of course, it wasn’t just one tree.

Roots and branches suddenly extended from more than ten trees, piercing through the enemies. It was quite effective, but the wendigo clicked his tongue.

“The monsters and beasts are quite good at dodging.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t very effective against beasts and monsters. They threw their bodies through small gaps, instantly passing through the trees.

‘Should I try again? No. They’ll just dodge anyway, so there’s not much to gain.’

Trying more would only reduce the space for the warriors to move. The wendigo withdrew his mystery and drew his ice sword.

As he took a step forward, the beasts scattered with howls. Though different species, it was clear they intended to attack together.

As the enemies’ momentum became ferocious, the wendigo felt the need to break their spirit. He took a stance and took a deep breath.

The moment the enemies reached close range, a roar imbued with mystery burst from the wendigo’s mouth.

《 ■■■■■■■!!!!!! 》

The roar carrying cold energy swept the surroundings, causing a cutting wind.

The beasts right in front had their eardrums and eyes burst, and parts of their skin froze solid.

The rest avoided death, but the blood that had been boiling until just now cooled down.

A primal fear, incomparable to the stimulation sent by parasites, struck their heads.

‘What? I could do this too?’

The wendigo was surprised by what he had done. Who would have thought that his uselessly sinister voice had such power?

The wendigo swung his greatsword. Even the beasts and monsters that had been moving nimbly to dodge attacks couldn’t avoid the sword strike as their bodies stiffened.

As five or six were torn apart, the wendigo leapt forward. As the sword swung again, another five or six became corpses rolling in the snow.

Among those watching this scene closer to slaughter, the first to come to his senses was Geron.

Geron slapped his own cheeks and moved his stiffened legs. How could they just stand there stupidly!

“Everyone move! Stick close to Spirit-nim!!”

“!”

At Geron’s order, the warriors came to their senses and began to move.

The roar still echoed in their ears, but fortunately, they hadn’t been hit directly, so they could move.

The warriors stuck close to the wendigo and cut down the enemies. The wendigo watched this while crushing a goblin’s head with one hand.

‘If the warriors take care of the flanks, I can break through the front.’

He threw the dead goblin like a shot put, and with a sound like a bomb exploding, several creatures were smashed into trees.

The enemies were starting to break free from the effects of the roar, but that didn’t turn the tide. They had lost even the advantage of numbers, which had been their strength.

The wendigo charged forward, violently swinging his ice sword without paying attention to his surroundings. The parasites tried to move their puppets to somehow stop the wendigo, but…

“R-Run away! Dodge!”

“Master… Master!!!”

It seems the survival instinct of life was stronger than the parasites’ orders. The puppets began to ignore the parasites’ commands.

The wendigo’s violence was too overwhelming to muster courage.

It hadn’t been long since the fight started, yet already over fifty puppets, regardless of species, had been cut to pieces by the wendigo’s ice sword.

It would have been better if their attacks had at least been effective.

Even those who managed to approach lost their will when they realized that neither teeth nor blades had any effect.

And beings that have lost their mental stability tend to make similar choices.

They all turned their backs at once and…

“Master! Please help us, Master!!!”

“Retreat to the nest, retreat to the nest!!”

The puppets and parasites lost control and began to run towards the nest.

Even skilled warriors and ignorant monsters ultimately want to flee to a cozy home when danger strikes.

They moved so nimbly that the wendigo stopped swinging his ice sword out of bewilderment.

“Huh. Where did all that spirit they showed in the village go, to end up like this? It’s absurd.”

“Isn’t it because of Spirit-nim’s roar? It was chilling even hearing it from behind, so how much worse must it have been hearing it head-on?”

Geron, who had somehow run to his side, answered while catching his breath. The wendigo thought it was quite plausible.

‘Even in modern times, shamans and exorcists would shout when driving away ghosts.’

Seeing that they did so in modern times when the existence of ghosts was uncertain, there must indeed be strong power in the voice.

But still, to be so frightened and flee to the nest…

“Honestly, it was worth running away.”

“Did you see Spirit-nim swinging his sword? It wasn’t cutting, it was tearing them apart.”

“If a being like Spirit-nim was my enemy, I’d pray first. I’d give up everything else and just ask to be killed painlessly.”

‘… Perhaps running away was the normal response.’

The warriors spoke quietly, but the wendigo’s sharp senses caught even their whispers.

If even allies were this afraid, enemies must have been terrified. Even parasites are living beings, so it wouldn’t be strange for them to struggle desperately to survive.

The wendigo headed towards the nest, conflicted about whether to be glad that things had become easier or sad that his allies feared him.

---

The wendigo ordered the warriors to guard the surroundings of the nest and entered alone.

Unlike outside the nest, it was unknown what dangers might be lurking inside.

‘If it’s not a complete idiot, it would have prepared something using its parasitic advantages.’

The word “parasite” alone brought to mind a multitude of dangers.

Implanting parasites in powerful creatures to use them as minions. Pretending not to be infected to induce carelessness. Secretly parasitizing allies to attempt to sow discord…

In such a dangerous place, it was better to be alone. How troublesome would it be if allies got infected?

‘From its words alone, it’s clear it has lived for a long time. It must have prepared something.’

Why is the typical image of a sage an old person? Time tends to become wisdom and knowledge.

Of course, Gikas had more arrogance and carelessness than wisdom…

The wendigo didn’t let his guard down. He slowly moved deeper into the nest, heightening his vigilance.

Sure enough, enemies revealed themselves from inside.

But their condition was strange.

“Sa-save me!!!”

“?”

A human with one arm missing jumped out, begging for his life. Following him, three or four humans ran towards this direction in terror.

The wendigo couldn’t make a judgment for a moment. He remembered the face of the one at the very front.

‘Isn’t this the one who ran away first?’

They were enemies, but… he couldn’t understand why they were running without even a single weapon.

How could humans attempt a suicide charge against a body that wasn’t even injured by beast fangs?

As they got closer, the wendigo raised his ice sword. There was no time to judge whether they were infected or not.

‘Whether infected or not, I’ll cut them!’

The wendigo had no intention of falling for Gikas’s tricks. As he gripped his sword, screams erupted.

… Not because they were afraid of his sword, but because something flew from behind.

『Where are you going, my slaves?』

From beyond the darkness, with the sound of whipping, thorny tentacles shot out.

The tentacles pierced through the back of one of the humans. The penetrating tentacles split with a screech, firmly fixing the human, and.

“Aaaaagh!!!”

Dragged him into the darkness. The wendigo heard something being crushed and torn from far away.

The tentacles didn’t stop, continuously flying out to capture the humans. Miserable screams and bloody sounds echoed through the nest.

The last remaining one-armed human fell right in front of the wendigo. He stretched out his hand towards the wendigo.

“Sa-save me! The master, the master has gone mad!”

“… Poor thing.”

The wendigo bent down and reached out his claw towards the one-armed human. The one-armed man shed tears of hope that he might survive.

Of course, the wendigo had no intention of saving him. As his claw lightly touched the one-armed man’s head, the cold energy condensed on his claw froze the entire body starting from the head.

The last mercy the wendigo could give was a painless death.

Just as another tentacle flew in to grab the one-armed man’s corpse, the wendigo’s sword cut it off.

『Disrespectful bastard. How dare you interfere with my meal!』

“… I’ve lived long enough to be lectured on table manners by a worm. Stop talking nonsense and bring out what you’ve prepared quickly.”

The wendigo growled, boiling up his mystery. Gikas flinched at the extraordinary aura but didn’t back down.

『Fine. Come inside. I’ll deal with you personally!』

“…?”

The wendigo sensed something strange.

A parasite saying it would deal with him personally? What did that mean?

‘Is it saying it will directly control a puppet?’

If that was the case, it was somewhat understandable. Such creatures tend to become more precise as the number of control subjects decreases.

The wendigo didn’t let his guard down until the very end.

In the deepest part of the nest.

The wendigo faced Gikas. Boasting its enormous size, Gikas could easily be called a Wyrm from legends.

However, unlike a Wyrm, it looked closer to a hideous bug rather than a majestic being.

The wendigo scanned the surroundings with his senses. It was to find any hidden enemies.

But the only presence he could feel was Gikas.

“… Don’t tell me you’re alone?”

『Foolish one. With such strong power, yet you worry about small fry! True strength is being complete on one’s own!』

Not realizing the wendigo was looking at it pitifully, Gikas began to sing its philosophy.

The wendigo ignored the nonsense and thought to himself.

‘I didn’t know there would be someone acting like a muscle wizard in reality.’

This moment when it was lost in its imagination was the best opportunity. The wendigo swung his ice sword strongly, intending to cut it down in one go.

Kadududuk!

“!”

『Hahaha! It’s different from when you caught me off guard. No matter how strong you are, do you think you can cut through my body tempered for three hundred years!』

Gikas’s shell was hard. Although a scratch appeared on the shell, that alone wasn’t enough to kill Gikas.

The wendigo couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘No way. Was its philosophy somewhat justified?’

He thought it was just an idiot who had wasted time…

The wendigo realized that even drug addicts have their own logic.

『I’ve never eaten a spirit before, but it would be nice if I could eat one!』

Gikas’s huge mouth opened, and dozens of tentacles poured out towards the wendigo.