Bang!

John's iron sword chopped hard into the Bloodscale Kobold's shoulder.

The expected sound of torn flesh never came.

Instead, sparks burst from the impact.

The blade scraped across the scales with an ear-piercing shriek, leaving only a shallow white mark behind.

John's hand went numb. He staggered two steps back, horror widening his eyes.

As a veteran who had fought countless battles, this was far from his first time facing low-level monsters like Kobolds.

Dozens had died under his sword.

But he had never seen one like this.

"Damn it. This monster's hide is harder than iron!"

Red-nosed Tom cursed and rushed in from the side, driving his blade toward its throat.

The Bloodscale Kobold merely tilted its head, letting the iron sword scrape across its neck.

Scales ground against steel. Sparks scattered. It remained unharmed.

"Roar!"

The Bloodscale Kobold growled and swept one thick arm sideways.

Tom raised his shield in a hurry.

The force far exceeded anything he had expected.

The oak shield exploded.

Tom was smashed backward and slammed into the wall of a burning thatched house. Blood sprayed from his mouth.

"Ryan! Get behind it!"

John had no time to check Tom's injury. He shouted, and his remaining subordinate understood at once, darting behind the Bloodscale Kobold in a single stride.

"Bastard! Look this way!"

John feinted a frontal assault while his left hand crept toward the shortbow at his waist.

The instant he drew the monster's attention, the rusted giant axe came down with a shrill tear through the air.

At the critical moment, John rolled with the force and reached for the shortbow.

Before he had fully steadied himself, he drew, nocked, and aimed. The entire motion was seamless.

Whoosh!

The arrow tore through the air, shooting straight toward the monster's left eye.

The Bloodscale Kobold only tilted its head aside. The arrowhead brushed past its eyelid, scraped a spark from the hard scales, and bounced away without power.

"Even its eyes have scales?"

John's heart sank.

His best archery could not even wound the monster's vital point.

"Got it!"

Ryan, who had successfully circled behind, saw that the monster had not noticed him and launched his attack with a shout.

The sword tip had barely touched the scales when the Bloodscale Kobold turned, moving like it had eyes on its back. The giant axe swept out.

Crack!

Ryan's chain mail offered no more resistance than thin paper. His chest caved in, and his body was cleaved away at the waist, blood arcing through the air.

John's pupils shrank.

Ryan had been the most skilled among them. In the chaos earlier, he had cut down three Kobolds without taking a wound.

Against the Bloodscale Kobold, he had not survived a single move.

"John! Retreat! We can't hurt it at all!"

Tom struggled to his feet, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. Fear filled his voice.

John gritted his teeth and swept his gaze across the surroundings.

Burning houses. Corpses everywhere. Ordinary Kobolds closing in from the distance.

They were already surrounded.

"We can't run."

John tightened his grip on the iron sword, his voice low and hard.

"If we don't kill it, none of us will live."

...

...

In the ruins on the other side, Gary reached the same desperate conclusion from the opposite direction.

"Let's use the chaos and run!"

He stared at the Bloodscale Kobold not far away, a creature half again as tall as a grown man, and continued in a trembling voice.

"Even well-equipped standing soldiers aren't its match. We..."

"We can't run."

Roland looked at the Bloodscale Kobold in the distance, a monster that seemed almost demonic, and tightened his right hand around the hilt of his sword.

Beside him, Peyton nodded with a grim expression.

"Gary, you saw it when we were running. There are too many Kobolds to count to the south. At least dozens. This route has the fewest Kobolds, and..."

"And the Kobolds to the south are gathering this way."

Roland finished the thought, taking several deep breaths to recover the stamina he had spent earlier.

Then he stood, quickly checking the positions of the surrounding Kobolds.

"This is the only escape route. If we want to live, we have to try to defeat the Mutant Kobold blocking the way."

"Do you have a plan?"

Along the way, Peyton had already come to respect Roland's sharp combat sense.

Many details that even a battle-hardened old mercenary missed were things Roland could catch early and use.

That ability had carried them through danger again and again, allowing them to retreat here unharmed.

On top of that, Peyton was injured and moving poorly. Naturally, he was willing to listen.

"I noticed just now that this Mutant Kobold's strength is astonishing, but its movements are even slower and clumsier than an ordinary Kobold's. Also..."

In the open space ahead, John was relying on agile footwork to circle the Bloodscale Kobold.

Roland endured the waves of dizziness battering his mind and gritted his teeth as he activated [Focus].

Several seconds later, he opened his eyes again. His gaze was clear, and his voice came steady.

"On the left side of that Mutant Kobold's back, there is a small patch without scales."

"If we seize the opening and land a fatal strike, even if we can't kill it on the spot, we can at least wound it badly. Once that happens, dead or alive, it will give us a chance to escape."

"Good!"

Peyton forced himself to his feet despite the dizziness from blood loss, his face pale.

"I'll create the opening. The rest is up to you."

With a low growl, Peyton dragged his injured body out from cover.

In the eyes of this old mercenary who had always valued his own life, a resolute light now burned.

Bang!

Peyton's iron sword lodged between the scale gaps at the Kobold's knee joint, producing a scrape that set the teeth on edge.

The Bloodscale Kobold barely reacted. It only turned its bloodshot eyes toward the human foolish enough to challenge it.

Its mouth split open, revealing jagged fangs.

That expression was clearly a smile.

Seeing Peyton draw the Bloodscale Kobold's attention, Roland strode forward without hesitation.

He roared at John, who was still stunned.

"Shoot!"

John still did not fully understand the situation, but the shout made him move by instinct. He rolled to the side and dropped to one knee.

The fully drawn shortbow groaned under the strain.

"Bastard! Look this way!"

Peyton erupted.

The experienced mercenary found the line where the scales connected with perfect accuracy.

As he twisted the hilt, the sharp blade actually sank half an inch in.

The Bloodscale Kobold howled in pain, and its thick tail swept across.

Peyton ducked low and narrowly avoided the strike.

A sharp sound cut through the air.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot like lightning toward the monster's right eye.

The Bloodscale Kobold swung its weapon again, ignoring the arrow.

Just like before, it closed its eyes, trying to protect its weak point with scales.

"Now!"

[Focus] reached its limit.

The world slowed in Roland's eyes.

The arrow spun through the air. The monster's muscles trembled as it lifted its arm. Even the distant sparks drifting down were clear to him.

His right hand found the sword hilt on its own, and the opening stance of Lion Swordsmanship surfaced as naturally as breath.

"Roar!"

The instant the arrow brushed past the Bloodscale Kobold's eyelid, Roland moved.

Within three steps, his blade was already out.

The sharp edge caught points of cold moonlight.

At that moment, the killing art of Lion Swordsmanship showed its full purpose.

By the time the Bloodscale Kobold sensed danger, it was too late.

Roland's sword tip stabbed accurately into the patch of pink soft flesh on its back.

Pfft!

Bright red blood sprayed out like a fountain.

"Awooo!"

The Kobold howled and swung the giant axe wildly.

Roland knew the wound was nowhere near fatal, so he retreated several steps to open the distance.

"We need to hurry and... hm?"

He was about to call for Peyton and the others to withdraw, but the sight before him made him swallow the rest.

The blood spraying from the Bloodscale Kobold's back had not even touched the ground before it turned into scorching flame in midair.

A pungent burnt smell spread as the fire swept inward from the outside, swallowing the Kobold's body in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the vicious Bloodscale Kobold wailed inside the raging flames and collapsed into ash.

Just as the fire was about to go out, Roland narrowed his eyes.

Something flickered among the ashes.

It was a tiny crystal glowing with strange red light, half hidden in the embers, pulsing bright and dim like a living heart.