The Villain Wants to Live Quietly

Chapter 6. Reunion (9)

There is a monster called Pollumus. Literally translated, it would be polluted (Pollutio) tree (Ramus).

There is a tree spirit called Ramus who lives in the mountains where mana is thick and clear and untouched by people.

This often happens when a spirit absorbs unclean mana due to black magic, etc. Polumus made in this way escapes from the deep mountain and attacks the residents who come and go. Sometimes they even come down to the village and cause damage.

“… … !”

thud. The giant’s arm slammed down, making the ground vibrate violently.

Ludwig was able to evade the attack by narrowly leaving his seat, but his body did not move as he intended as usual.

‘Hmm.’

Unlike him, who should feel threatened by Polumus’ every single blow, the swordsman was watching this scene leisurely while riding on a tree behind him.

‘It’s quite the way.’

As she swung her massive body, which seemed to exceed four times the size of a strong man, like a blunt weapon, and hit it down, the aftermath was transmitted to the top of the tree she climbed on. Even so, a low exclamation flowed from the mouth of the swordsman at the sight of him avoiding taking a big hit.

Having a large body is directly related to being dull.

As Polumus stood tall with both arms protruding from his body like a human being stuck into the ground, Ludwig, thinking that this was an opportunity, dug forward and thrust his sword deeply into it.

“Kuu… … !”

Wood’s natural enemies have always been cutlery and fire. Originally, it would have penetrated the bark of the one who dug deep and reached the heart.

But for some reason, the sword that touched his body bounced off as if it had hit a rock.

Before he had time to drool at the absurd necrosis, a tree trunk shot from the monster’s head rushed towards him.

squeak. Could it be that the sword bounced backwards like it did just a moment ago? Fortunately, the sword he swung with concern cut through the tree trunk neatly.

Tutuk. As the remains of the stem tumbled across the floor with a sound, Ludwig raised his head and met the eyes of the unknown guy.

Although he was standing firm, acting as calmly as possible, his breathing was more rough than before.

There was no particular physical limit. But every time I moved, every muscle and bone joint creaked and screamed. As if crushed by a huge rock.

‘As expected, I’m a little overpowered.’

A small smile formed on the lips of the swordsman who watched the series of scenes.

Although he makes up for it as much as possible with his natural agility, there is a limit to enduring it with just that.

In the first place, I wasn’t brought here to simply deal with strong enemies and develop practical experience. For the past few days, I’ve been watching a man named Ludwig, and I’ve only chosen the training method that I thought was the most appropriate.

“damn.”

Even though he swung his sword again, the result was the same this time. The swear words that came out of Ludwig’s mouth were scattered in all directions at the meaningless roar of Polumus.

From the time he encountered it, the swordsman left without giving any advice, asking him to go through it on his own.

In other words, he has the power to overcome this situation somehow. I just haven’t realized it yet. Recognizing that fact, Ludwig roughly cut the stem of a plant rising from the ground.

‘That’s not it.’

On the surface, it looks like a rotten tree bark, but in reality it is not.

It was a combination of the trees absorbed as nutrients from staying in the forest with a high concentration of mana for a long time, plus the mana the tree spirit originally possessed. What Polumus was wearing was already like mana armor, not a shell.

It would be foolish to try to pierce that thing with brute force. I had to find a new way out somehow.

‘It’s good to move, but… It will gradually reach its limit.’

The high concentration of mana in the air is not the only advantage.

If you reach a place where excessive mana is concentrated, it takes a considerable load on your body to the extent that it is difficult for an ordinary person to lift a finger. The fact that Ludwig felt bizarrely tired after coming all the way to this place, and that he couldn’t move as he wanted now, were all attributable to this point.

Moreover, if you fight an entity that scatters a lot of mana in the air like Polumus, the load will be even worse. The key to this training is how to withstand that mana and break through the mana wall that surrounds Polumus’ body.

‘Also… Wasn’t it simply of high hardness?’

At first, it was Ludwig who was swinging his sword in search of an opening with the idea of giving him a shot, but he noticed that it was strange and focused his attention on observing him.

As a result, it was found that his sword did not fail to penetrate simply because it was hard.

Even though he hadn’t reached the level of a swordsman, he couldn’t clearly see the mana surrounding Polumus’ body, but he was able to hit it roughly with his eyes.

Having managed to catch Polumus behind, he did not take an attacking stance, but focused his whole mind on it. I haven’t done it yet, but that was the only way to overcome this situation.

“Hoo.”

It seems to be a little enlightened. The corners of the swordsman’s mouth drew a small arc, and a low exclamation flowed out.

The mana that had been wandering around Ludwig’s body stopped wandering and began to slowly gather towards him. Some covered his body, others nestled in the sword and set out to find their respective positions. It’s as if each of them has their own will and goes to where they should be.

In order to withstand mana, mana must be expressed. It’s a very basic process, but most people don’t know it. It’s exactly what you don’t want to know.

All humans unconsciously express a certain amount of mana. Just as the body breathes, so the mind always breathes. However, that alone was not enough to withstand this mighty mana.

“Huh!”

Turning around, he swung his sword horizontally at Polumus, who was staring at him.

In the eyes of someone, it could be felt as an attack that was no different from the previous one. However, the spirit of the sword in his hand was clearly different. To be precise, the mana overlaid on the sword created another blade.

squeak. The pure white sword made of mana passed through Polumus’ skin. Unfortunately, it was because the distance was a little short.

But the results weren’t bad. The sword marks on his body were proof of that. It was a performance on a completely different level than before, at least not even countable.

‘It was shallow.’

I was thinking of cutting it in half. At the unexpected result, Ludwig clicked his tongue a little and avoided the guy’s arm swinging again. Somehow, I felt that the speed of the attack had increased.

oh oh The howl of the monster, louder than before, echoed through the mountains. Am I angry? I don’t know if he has intelligence, but Ludwig somehow felt that way.

As if to say if you or the like hurt my body, thud. thud. Polumus approached him, spreading heavy footsteps. An incomprehensible voice emanated from him.

Although Ludwig did not have the ability to understand the language of the monsters, it was clear that there was clear anger in the sound that sounded like a growl of a beast.

I thought it was moving to destroy the opponent it recognized as an enemy without any intelligence. It seemed to me that I needed to change my mind. Besides, if you have intelligence, you will learn.

‘It’s too early to be careless.’

It was only now that they were able to fight on the same line. If you let go of your tension even for a moment, you’re likely to get hit.

As if to prove that idea correct, it was Polumus who stretched out his foot and attacked him with a more agile body movement than before. As if not giving them time to dodge this time, even the trunk of a tree that had risen above their heads was shot forward.

Clumsy! The gigantic kicks that would have been terrifying if they had faced each other with a human body. A tree that received it all over the body collapsed helplessly and ended its life.

As Ludwig watched the scene, in his mind, ‘Isn’t that the only way to kill a fellow countryman?’ A useless thought came to mind. However, even that quickly disappeared as the trunk of the tree behind his back moved and tried to restrain his body.

“hahahaha… yet too… … .”

The body does not follow as well as expected. A little while ago, originally, I had planned to cut off the stem with a sword and attack in reverse. However, the moment he tried to move the sword he had raised, he felt something grab his right elbow muscle and the entire arm stopped standing, so he failed.

The swordsman didn’t give any hints, but he fully guessed the cause. The problem was that it was difficult to move his body as usual even when he tried to fight against the mana that was oppressing him by releasing as much mana as possible. It’s like the feeling that your body is not following you even though your head is following you.

“… … .!”

By the time he was grinding his teeth at his body, which did not move as he wished, the thorn stems that had sprouted around Polumus’ body grew thicker and the thorns shot out like arrows.

Kwajik. Ting! Ludwig flung his body to the opposite side, deflecting the attack that he could not avoid. Even if they collided with the mana-filled sword, it didn’t break or cut, but just by bouncing against each other, you could tell how hard those thorns were.

‘If you get hit like that twice… … .’

I’m sure it’s going to be the Hwangcheon Road. With that thickness and power, it was clear that even if one of the legs was hit, avoiding a vital point, it would crawl straight away and be exposed to the next blow.

First and foremost, the first thing to do is to somehow get the opponent into his sword. The problem was with those tree trunks and thorns shooting overhead. A direct attack to the body might be intimidating in power, but it was useless if it didn’t hit.

However, every once in a while, if you wanted to close the distance, you would attack me from a distance as if you were telling me not to come any further, so I couldn’t dig into that bosom at all. It made me think that maybe the blow from earlier was the last chance.

‘I don’t know how this hardship happened.’

When he first followed Emilia, he had no particular thoughts. I was a bit curious about the character of the swordsman, but that was all, because I just wanted to enjoy the joy of the reunion for a while before going back.

But is it true that life doesn’t go the way you want it to? Hearing what she said to him, and realizing his own weakness, something in his heart jolted.

Perhaps he was nothing more than a puppet made of parts Emilia made. Suddenly, such a thought ran through his mind.

If every single accessory that makes up this body was made by her hand, it would all be explained.

The bridge that came to see only one woman from a comfortable home to this far away place.

This head, which has been thinking of only one person since last night.

With such a formidable enemy in front of me, I couldn’t even feel the slightest trembling or fear in my heart.

All of this she designed and made for herself. It would be a reversal that would never happen again in Ludwig’s life, but he could calmly accept it.

What can I do? Otherwise, I cannot explain any of these strange things.

The sword he was aiming at seemed to wander slowly in search of a target, then stopped slowly, pointing at Polumus’ left chest. There it is. In terms of the human body, the heart. It wasn’t just an expression of intention to cut out that place. The determination as a swordsman to defeat him without fail.

Even though he was a half-penny prosecutor, it was good. If you need pride for what you want to protect, I will make and show you the pride that didn’t exist.

He has neither the nobility of a knight nor the ambition of a swordsman who wants to rise higher than anyone else. The only thing that allowed him to stand on the ground on his two legs was his desire as a man to reassure the woman he had fallen for the first time in his life.

‘To close the distance… That’s probably all.’

Even if you change your mindset, the huge enemy in front of you doesn’t get smaller. There is no sudden narrowing of the gap between him and him.

This gap was meant to be the first bridge he had to cross to move further.

Chaeeng. Chaeeng. The innumerable thorns were fired once again at him, who was seldom closing the distance. After repelling them one by one, Ludwig silently stared at the gap between Polumus and himself.

Sudan came to mind. All you need now is the ability to do it. Opportunity comes only once. If this doesn’t work, you’ll have to go back a longer distance.

Wedge! As if not giving him time to think, Polumus’ arm swung towards him with a loud bang. However, the sight that unfolded in his eyes for an instant was not a kaleidoscope or a defense against its attack.

‘There it is.’

Spreads mana all over the body and stomps lightly. The arm extended to the right and the sword that extended beyond it fluttered like wings, and his new model ricocheted forward.

It was the move the Sword Saint had shown before. The arrows shot with the earth as a demonstration reached the side of the monster in the blink of an eye.

The mana in the sword gradually began to take on the same color as his hair and eyes. It’s the first time I’ve seen that awkward color that wasn’t blue or black like today. With that thought in mind, Ludwig swung his sword at the opponent who only seemed gigantic.

roll over The voice was too weak and shabby to be said to be the last words he spoke right before he died. Before the sound that flowed from Polumus’s mouth could spread, the cut body fell to the floor and gave a loud echo.

‘It’s over, is it… … ?’

fluff. At the same time, Ludwig’s body collapsed onto a pile of green grass. Even so, he did not let go of the sword in his hand.

In the silence that came after the fight between the two beings that plagued the peace of vegetation, only the sword in his hand was exuding wild mana and revealing its presence.

It is calm but clear, as if it reflects his will to stand up again if the enemy has not fallen.