Ch.86Combat Pilgrim (1)

After taking the wild boar that Hannah had passed on to the slaughterhouse and returning Gus to the stable.

When I arrived at the open space next to the office that also served as my quarters—commonly called the parade ground—Hannah was already waiting there, her body heated with fighting spirit, just as she had been several times before.

“Miss Hannah, did you wait long?”

“…Yes. You kept me waiting, Sir Camille.”

Perhaps due to that peculiar desire (fighting spirit) boiling up from within her, Hannah, looking somewhat sultry, glared at me while dressed in clothes that allowed for easy movement.

In truth, this event wasn’t the first of its kind but had been repeated several times—a sparring match beneficial to both parties.

I regularly engage in combat training with intermediate-level fighters to maintain my edge and refine my form, while Hannah satisfies her endless fighting spirit and thirst for battle by facing me.

Additionally, through fighting someone of a higher rank, she intends to elevate her own level of skill.

Anyway, after we positioned ourselves at an appropriate distance as we always did.

“Shall we begin?”

“Yes—!”

The moment I casually threw out those words, she responded energetically with a broad grin, immediately pushing off the ground with her legs to close the not-so-distant gap between us.

—KWAAANG!!

Twenty meters. For ordinary lower-rank soldiers, this would be considered a long distance suitable for mid-range engagement, but for superhumans of intermediate rank or higher, twenty meters is merely a short distance that can be crossed in a single leap.

From zero to a hundred, Hannah, who had transformed into a wolf shape for high-speed maneuvers, maintained that momentum as she shifted into werewolf form, using her over three-meter-tall frame to advance forward.

The speed of her giant wolf form combined with the overwhelming physique of her werewolf form—this charging attack, which could be considered Hannah’s trademark, utilizing both advantages—

—CHAENG!!

I skillfully blocked it by swinging my weapon—a practice arming sword with a dulled edge—at a precisely calculated angle, as if bending it to strike from a blind spot in her vision.

Due to her body growing to about three meters tall, her shoulders broadened and her arms lengthened, inevitably creating openings.

Exploiting one such opening precisely, I swung the wooden kite shield I was holding in my other hand (left hand) as if pushing it forward, striking her head.

—PUEOK!

Frankish Kingdom formal shield technique. With almost—though not completely—no correction from the “Sword Demon” factor, the power of my strike, based purely on the technique I had built up myself, was fierce and intense.

Of course, since I didn’t want to smash her head, the impact from the shield, which I had struck with moderately reduced force, failed to penetrate her hard skull and was wastefully dissipated.

Ah, still, since I had struck with “Degraded Titan’s Brute Strength” and aura, the pain she would normally feel in her head would be considerable under ordinary circumstances….

[Hahaha—!!]

Despite the situation where blood was flowing from her nose, Hannah burst into maniacal laughter and extended her claws even more sharply.

And in this situation, I silently resumed the basic stance of the formal swordsmanship used in the Frankish Kingdom.

I adjusted the wooden kite shield, extending it forward to naturally protect part of my body, while positioning the arming sword slightly back so I could swing or thrust it appropriately according to the situation.

Of course, this wasn’t necessarily a stance that guaranteed victory.

—KWAAANG!!!

After stomping the ground again in werewolf form, she transformed into her more flexible therianthrope form, moved her body sideways, then transformed back into werewolf form and swung her sharp claws.

—KWANG! CHAENG! CHAENG!

The aura-wrapped kite shield collided with a shoulder tackle, and sharp claws deflected the arming sword that tried to penetrate between them.

Maintaining that state, she swung the claws of her other hand, inducing me to extend my shield forward, then unexpectedly drove her talons into the upper part of the kite shield, cutting the leather strap that secured it and separating the handle from the shield—

—CHAENG!!!

Immediately after, the ogre bone dagger that emerged from my sleeve and the claws on Hannah’s feet collided, producing the sound of clashing metal.

“You’ve realized it…!”

“Yes! So let’s play (fight) more—!!!”

Perhaps she had noticed that claws weren’t her only weapons.

Hannah raised the corners of her mouth in a grin while amplifying her muscles as if pumping them up, simultaneously coating her limbs with aura….

And after transforming her body in this extremely flexible manner, Hannah’s fighting style became refined into an even more sophisticated form than before.

For humans, weapons might be limited to what the hands can wield, but for a werewolf with sharp weapons (claws and talons) at the ends of both hands and feet, it’s a different story.

In practical combat between warriors who handle weapons, kicks are merely a means to target the lower body and disrupt balance.

But for werewolves like Hannah, kicks were attacks that were more than sufficient to serve as primary offensive techniques.

—CHAENG! CHAENG! CHAENG! CHIJIJIJI….!!

She kicked with her talons extended, leaped into the air to swing her claws with that momentum, moved her body as if kicking upward to deliver a roundhouse kick, and naturally switched between hands and feet, showcasing a fighting style reminiscent of break dancing.

In normal situations, kicks are easily blocked and have ambiguous power even for superhumans, making them taboo, but with claws that can tear through metal at their tips, the story changes for Hannah.

“If I had my shield….”

Holding only a short dagger and a one-handed arming sword while facing attacks that differed in angle and force distribution from those of an ordinary swordsman, I couldn’t help but miss the stability of a shield.

Well, that’s not to say I had no way to deal with this.

“First, one hit!”

[Ugh…!!]

While stimulating my muscles by sharply increasing the strength I had been keeping somewhat relaxed throughout my body, I put down the sword I was holding and instead grabbed her arm with my bare hand.

The brute strength emitted by the “Degraded Titan’s Brute Strength” factor could easily overwhelm an ordinary pureblooded werewolf, so the suddenly increased muscle power allowed me to easily grasp her arm….

—KWA-AANG—!!!

Immediately after, I threw her over my back as in martial arts from my previous life, while simultaneously striking her chin with my leg, which was wearing greaves.

According to my memories from my previous life, the brain and jaw are… somehow connected, so hitting the jaw makes the brain shake and causes unconsciousness… I physically recreated that memory.

However, if there was one minor problem with this action….

[Hehe, hehehehe—!!!]

‘….Wow.’

According to Gretel, Hannah was among the most belligerent of her kind, and the fact that even after taking such a beating, she was still grinning and glaring at me proved it.

“Want to continue?”

[—Of course!!]

I can’t claim I don’t enjoy combat myself, but Hannah’s belligerence was beyond ordinary levels.

Therefore, as we briefly distanced ourselves to catch our breath and alleviate the strain on our bodies while observing the situation, we were about to charge at each other again with burning fighting spirit—

That’s when it happened.

“—It’s an emergency!”

Suddenly, yet somehow familiarly, shouting and rushing toward us was my subordinate, Pierre.

Seeing him coming to inform us of some problem, as he had done several times before, Hannah and I had no choice but to stop our combat.

“…Tch.”

Hannah clicked her tongue but dusted off the dirt as she composed herself and returned to her therianthrope form, while I threw my helmet to the ground and quickly wiped my sweat-soaked head with a prepared cloth.

As we each cooled down our bodies that had heated up from combat in our own ways, I wiped away my sweat while looking at Pierre, giving him time to catch his breath.

And now, it was time.

“…What’s the matter?”

“Sir Alzar! Dozens of armed humans have been spotted approaching from the east side of the village!”

“Humans…you say?”

“Y-yes! Miss Hannah!”

Hannah’s eyes sparkled at the possibility of engaging in battle again, while I pondered the reason these unidentifiable people were approaching.

It seemed strange for bandits to approach a village so openly, making me question whether my assumptions were correct.

“Pierre, let’s talk as we go.”

“Yes!”

Given the urgency of the situation, we quickly ran with Pierre and instantly arrived at the palisade….

“Those are… damn. Battle Pilgrims…!”

“A-are those what you’re referring to?”

After arriving at the wall following much deliberation, I could immediately identify them as a group of fanatics called “Battle Pilgrims.”

In a sense, they were a group I didn’t even want to associate with.