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Chapter 71. Showdown In The Wilderness

Yaralai, who could barely keep up with his speed, dashed in with a quick step, leaping up to Buffalo's face.

"No way."

Yaralai thrust a thick estoc, resembling a steel frame of a skyscraper, into Buffalo's forehead.

Finally recognizing his enemy, Buffalo let out a loud bark. Though bleeding from the forehead, it wasn't a fatal blow. He raised both front legs to restrain Yaralai.

"Take this!"

Hagg, who had already reached Buffalo's feet, slammed one of his hind legs with a huge iron hammer. Buffalo, standing on its hind legs, naturally screamed and fell over.

As its massive body collapsed, the impact was so intense that it caused the stack of logs we were hiding behind to crumble. It felt like a magnitude 6 earthquake. The seismic design would have been necessary.

I grabbed Cherina's hand and pulled her to the safest place I could find.

But when I looked back, the epicenter was already silent.

Hagg and Yaralai had started crushing the heads of their opponents.

"A... a showdown of monsters..."

Terrifying. I swore from the bottom of my heart not to anger Hagg and Yaralai.

――――

Cheers erupted from all around. Those who had been fleeing, those who had been trying to fight with sticks, those who had fallen into the river, and even those who had dug holes to hide only their heads, all gathered to praise Hagg and Yaralai.

"Wow! You guys are amazing! To take down Huggle with just the two of you!"

"Whoa! I've never seen anything like that before!"

"Hey, why don't you guys work with us?!"

"Idiots, with such skills, why work at a lumberyard?"

"Well said."

"Hahaha!"

I was surrounded by shirtless men and beastmen.

"Hmph. That much was enough for one person."

"That's my line."

The two began to cross the line of death.

"Wait! Stop fighting! Read the room!"

I hurriedly intervened between the two who were about to fight without reading the atmosphere.

"...Hmph. Well, whatever."

"As long as no one dies, it's fine."

The two put away their weapons, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"As expected, Yaralai-sama and Hagg-sama, it's truly amazing to defeat Buffalo without a scratch."

"I was too surprised to even speak."

"But you're speaking."

Cherina chuckled.

"Don't tease. Buffalo I knew wasn't anything like this. Visually it was similar, but not in size."

"According to scholars, they've grown larger to store nutrients for long journeys across the wilderness."

"But wouldn't that be a negative in terms of energy consumption?"

"Energy... you say?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

"I'm curious."

"I don't really understand either. Just think of it as a unit of power..."

"I see."

How do I explain thermal energy or kinetic energy?

"But they're really big, aren't they? Following the incident the other day, it might benefit the citizens."

"With something this big, there will be plenty to eat. I had Buffalo meat before. It was quite delicious."

"Yes. Since it's a treat. Since it's not yet the season for real hunting, both dried meat and salted meat sellers are likely to be unprepared, so fresh meat will probably be much cheaper."

"That's a good thing."

"Yes, indeed."

As I looked up at the colossal body reminiscent of a fallen skyscraper, Yaralai and Hagg were finally released and returned. Neither of them had even a drop of the enemy's blood on them.

"Akira, are you injured?"

"Thanks to you, I was about to panic and blow myself up."

"Then, that's good."

"Hmm. Tonight we feast."

"Hagg-sama, Buffalo will likely be bought by the Guild, so that might be impossible."

"The merchants are as tight as ever!"

"Since it's decided. I'll negotiate to add some color to the reward fee."

"Hmph. Well, fine then. Really..."

Grumbling, Hagg muttered. I understood his feelings.

"With a big catch like this, even splitting it between the two of you will bring in quite a bit of income."

"Hey Cherina, how many people usually go hunting?"

"Well... at least ten people. During the hunting season, it can be in the thousands."

Can ten people manage...?

"That's amazing. I might want to see a scene with a formation of thousands."

War is not good, but the sight of formations makes your heart leap.

"...You might be able to see it."

Hagg replied in a low voice. I didn't understand the meaning.

"The Guild, right?"

Yaralai also lifted his head and gazed into the distance. It was the direction of the city gate.

"Is that... the military?"

Cherina murmured.

I also looked in that direction and confirmed that many people were coming towards us.

This is bad.

At that moment, something like electricity ran down my spine.

I've never been wrong about this kind of feeling. After all, there's been nothing but bad things in my life.

Of course, this prediction would come true.