NOVEL NEXT Chapter 58.3
The group that Bash saw on his way to the fortress entered through it, encountered the dragon inside, and withdrew unsuccessfully. It caught up to them, and it probably killed them with its fiery breath.
“…It’s here.”
Warm air was emanating from the hole. Furthermore, he felt the presence of some kind of powerful creature from its depths. Besides that, there were no signs of anything. No animals, not even demonic beasts. This was evidence that a powerful creature had built a nest. This was the territory of a Lord, as they called it. And there was only one Lord who would have a territory in a place like this.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, sir!”
Bash entered the hole, which was large enough for him to pass through, but the floor and walls were extremely slippery and difficult to tread on. Bash never slipped, but a human or demon might have at least once.
“I heard the hole was big enough for a person to pass through, but it’s so big that you didn’t even get stuck.”
“Yes… well…” Bash replied, but he already had a bad feeling. The floor was very slippery, and its surface gleamed with reflections of light. He had seen this kind of floor before. Only once. Indeed, only once. “…” As soon as he remembered, the tension in Bash increased undeniably. As he walked, he placed his hand on the sword he carried on his back. He gripped the cold hilt and tightened the pit of his stomach.
Zell also sensed that signal, but forced herself to remain silent. Honestly, this fairy had noticed it too. This sound of wind that she had been hearing for a few minutes… it seemed to be something different from the stomach growls of her spirit buddies. They were getting closer to their target. So, she stayed by Bash’s side and quietly ended up serving as a source of light.
Perhaps it was because he was very alert. That was the only way he could have dealt with the sudden appearance of a huge yellow eye in front of him.
“…!”
Their eyes met. He saw it. As soon as Bash realized, he unsheathed his sword and swung it. He tore through the wall on his left side and squeezed his body into the created opening, then he drove the sword into the ground to hide his protruding body. Just before hiding, he glanced and saw that the yellow eye at the end of the passage had disappeared. Bash took a deep breath and huddled, concealing Zell in his chest.
…His vision turned white.
Feeling the heat as if he had plunged into magma, Bash held his breath and counted slowly.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12…
On the count of 13, Bash pulled his sword from the ground and began to run. The cave was larger than before, but the walls and floor were melted, making it difficult to run. The sword glowed red-hot, and the skin of his hand emitted a crackling sound. A similar sound came from the soles of his feet, and a sharp pain gripped him. His clothes burned at the edges and turned to ashes. The burns all over his body didn’t stop the intense pain, and he ran without breathing. Bash knew he couldn’t breathe here. Even though he didn’t understand the concept of oxygen, he knew it made no sense to breathe here and now. He knew because once, when he did so, he fainted for over ten minutes. And he also knew that crouching in place would get him killed.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8…
He counted again as he ran. And when he reached nine, he saw that yellow eye once again at the other end of the path. Without stopping, Bash drew his sword and struck.
“Growwaaaahhhhh!”
A tremendous roar echoed.
Bash heard it and rolled toward where the eye was.
It was cavernous. The ceiling was so high that even if Bash jumped as high as he could, he wouldn’t hit his head. On the contrary, it was tall and wide enough for larger creatures to live comfortably.
Yes, for example, the giant lizard in front of them. A dragon with red scales.
One of its eyes had been crushed by Bash’s strike, and it was bleeding. But its will to fight hadn’t diminished at all. It looked at Bash with its remaining eye and howled toward the ceiling.
“Gryyyaaaaoooooahhhh!”
At the same time, Bash took a deep breath. Facing his natural enemy, he suppressed the trembling within him. As if to prove that Orcs were warriors who feared nothing, he shouted.
“Graaaahhhhhaoooouhh!”
It was his war cry. The powerful noise shook the cave.
The battle had begun.