An Old Man from the Countryside Becomes a Swords Saint: I Was Just a Rural Sword Teacher, But My Successful Students Won’t Leave Me Alone! - CH 130

“It’s huge…” I said.

At the end of the last door, I face an unidentified giant.

If this is some kind of heroic legend, the story would proceed with me being welcomed. If it’s a story told by a bard, it will be a good feeling. But I’m just a mere swordsman, not a hero or a legend.

The impression that came out frankly was a straightforward one, “I don’t like it.”

The master of the shadows opposite me, however, didn’t seem to be able to move freely.

The chains strung around the monster deprive it of its freedom. I don’t know if this chain physically confines it or if some kind of magical element is added.

“…”

I hold my sword and try to get closer, bit by bit.

So far, I don’t feel any immediate danger. If that’s the case, it should be fine to get a little closer and see what’s going on.

The whole cavern is quite wide compared to the passages and rooms we had just before. It’s not like I can secure that much of a field of view because the lighting is poor, but even so, I know that this place isn’t narrow. I don’t know if someone dug it up in the past or if it was there from the beginning.

“……Hmm?”

Then when I got a little closer and the shadow of the monster, my vision became clearer.

I noticed another fact.

“… Are they eating? No, are they trying to destroy them?”

The many wolf-shaped shadows must have come out of this thing’s body and were now biting the chains. With movement you could call “sluggish”, they were biting and trying to chew through the chains.

Perhaps these shadows instinctively know that the captive giant wolf is their master. And they are trying to break these chains chain to free their master.

And, there is a limit to the lengths of chain they can bite into. Considering that the shadows that came out were springing up from the ground, it seemed to make sense. Well, this is just a guess, and I’m not entirely sure if it’s actually true.

“Hmm…”

Now then, what should I do?

Even if I cut the shadows that are flocking to the chain, they will probably reform soon. On the other hand, even if I hit the main body, I wondered if I could do it without retribution.

It is sealed by such great layers of security. It’s a bit of a problem as to whether it’s okay to fight it.

Well, that said, I can’t pretend to have not seen it because the danger is already obvious.

“… Hmm!?”

For the time being, I was thinking of holding back the shadows clinging to the chains and waiting until Thyssel or someone else arrived as reinforcements.

Baki, meki, cracking and snapping sounds that I didn’t want to hear in a place like this were starting to echo in the air.

“It’s about to break…!?”

Yes. The chains that bound the gigantic wolf were clearly unraveling.

This is bad. Until just a little while ago, it felt like the small shadows were struggling to bite through the chains, but suddenly they started speeding up.

“Fuck……!”

Without knowing what to do, I immediately eliminated one of the shadows that were biting the chain.

Just like the shadows that were springing up from the ground, these guys dissipated as soon as they were cut, but I could see the next shadow swelling up from the main body’s feet as if ordering it to replace the one I killed.

Yeah, if I don’t do something about the main body, these shadows will infinitely spring up. Furthermore, the main body also started to move little by little, perhaps because the restraints of the chains were starting to weaken.

“Kuh…!”

I tried slashing the shadows to kill them all off, but I couldn’t seem to stop the chain from collapsing.

What should I do? What can I do now? Do I see it as unmanageable and retreat at once? No, I think it would be pretty dangerous if this stupidly huge thing gets out from the basement.

“――――――”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” I yelled.

The captive gigantic wolf opened its mouth wide and let out an unintelligible voice.

As I said, I had no idea what it was talking about. Is it the joy of finally being set free, or is it the resentment of being imprisoned?

Personally, I’d like it to stay calm in a time like this, but I wonder if that’s impossible. It seems impossible. Damn it.

“――――――”

Without a moment’s delay, the chains that were restraining the giant wolf broke apart. And the moment the boss opened its mouth even wider, all the chains fell off completely and the giant wolf was released.

Yeah, it’s huge.

In terms of size, I encountered it before in Azalamia Forest during a Named subjugation, it feels like it’s twice the size of Xeno Glaive.

Like the wolf-shaped shadows that spring up from its feet, its outline is blurred, so I can’t tell exactly where it is. However, the aura radiating from that body was so intense I could physically feel it.

Hmmm, what to do?

Now that it’s been set free, the best thing to do is defeat it here. However, there is too little information about the opponent. Thyssel didn’t seem to know what was in the basement either, and I don’t have much hope of calling someone who knows about this thing.

Seriously, why would Lucy go on a business trip at a time like this? No, I understand in my head that the Deputy Headmaster did all this specifically because she wasn’t here, but it’s easy for this kind of complaint to come out.

“… Uh-oh!”

While I was thinking about something, the giant wolf made the first move.

It was probably it swinging its front leg down, from how slow it was. I don’t know if it’s the right thing to block with a sword, so I retreat and dodge for the time being.

It was helpful that this place was so big. If this was just barely enough space to hold this gigantic wolf, I might have been crushed by the previous blow.

“――――――”

“I can’t miss… or at least I hoped!” I yelled.

After that, I attacked with a horizontal slash, and the shadow wolf jumped back and dodged.

Even if the opponent is an unintelligent beast, it is possible to somehow guess its emotions from its expression and movement. This is the same whether it is an animal or a monster.

However, I can’t read that kind of emotion at all from the shadows facing me now. I wondered if they even had feelings, to begin with.

I wasn’t expecting any room for discussion, but it seems like I can’t afford to do anything like that anymore.

“Fuh…!”

As a deterrent, I slashed at the part that seemed to be its front leg.

As expected, there was almost no resistance, just like the shadows I had faced until just now. With the momentum of the swing, the shadow of the slashed part was slightly distorted, and I could see it disappearing.

What’s different from before is that there’s not the slightest sign that this opponent will disappear even if the attack connects. Could this be a futile war of attrition? That’s a problem for this Old Man.

“—, ——”

That thing is barking, no, I wonder if it’s talking. Unfortunately, I can’t understand it at all, and I don’t even know if it’s a language. A chaotic reverberation of language-less sounds hits my ears. It felt something like that.

“……Hmm?”

There is another situation happening once the giant wolf was able to move.

The wolf-shaped shadows that had been springing up from the ground were now melting and fusing into the giant wolf that seemed to be the main body.

Like I thought, these guys were like henchmen of the master. Now that the boss has been released, all the shadows in this underground cavern have returned to the giant wolf.

However, for now, my opponent’s behavior is quite reserved, and even if I can’t say that I can win if I thing stay like this, it seems that I can buy time without losing.

Well, I’m a little troubled that I can’t win. Even if I slashed at it, it didn’t seem like there was any damage, and even so, I couldn’t overlook that. It’s fine now, but honestly, it would be pretty tough if I was told to keep this exchange going.

Above all, not knowing the opponent’s attack is intense pressure.

Considering the possibility that it’s dangerous to even get hit or block it, it takes a lot of energy to be passive and avoid getting hit unprotected.

In extreme cases, the danger of being worn out and losing the moment it hits me cannot be completely eliminated. I’d like to think that it wouldn’t be like that since a normal sword attack would pass, but there’s no such thing as being too cautious about something like this.

“… fuh…!”

I cut off the approaching shadow and take a step back.

I’m in trouble. Not knowing the identity of the opponent is tough, but what’s toughest is feeling that my attacks aren’t working.

When I was tangling with Xeno Glaive, my opponent was also tough, but I was able to properly attack the soft parts such as the eyes and mouth.

This time, the fact that there are no weak points that can be seen at a glance is intensifying the tension. The mouth-like thing is open, but all I can see at the back of it is an abyss. I don’t think thrusting a sword into it will work, and I don’t think I’ll be safe after that action.

Just for the time being, the place where I slashed is like a shadow, and I don’t want to think that physical attacks are completely nullified.

It seems like that’s the only breakthrough I can see right now, but if I keep doing it at this pace, it’s likely that the situation won’t change, it’ll even drag on for a month. As expected, I don’t have that much physical endurance.

“――――”

“Aah, geeze, this is too much trouble!” I yelled.

What’s even more troubling is that this thing is clearly learning.

From the first downward swing to the horizontal sweep, it just felt like simple strikes, but as soon as it got hit by my attacks two or three times, it changed its movements to combine offense and defense.

Now, after launching a quick attack with as little of a gap to dodge as possible, it almost always jumps back. It’s a hit-and-run tactic like in your combat manuals. You’d be surprised to see this even in just a wild wolf.

So far, I’ve been able to manage to get one blow at it according to the opponent’s tricks, but it’s a pretty shallow blow. No, I don’t think there was anything shallow or deep about an opponent that has no physical substance, but even so, I don’t feel like I’m making much progress against it.

However, to put it the other way around, it means that my attacks are definitely working, albeit slightly so. If my sword is something that was negligible, I can just push hard while avoiding getting hit.

That may be a blessing, but it would be a problem if this situation continued. It’s hard not to know the opponent’s endurance just by looking at it.

I’ve never met this type of opponent, so I don’t know what to do. If this were a human or a wild beast, I think it would be somewhat applicable, but my experience so far is not very useful.

They are similar to wolves in terms of movement and appearance, but I don’t think that’s all. In a sense, it was still doable when I was dealing with Xeno Glaive. This time I don’t even know if the opponent is a living thing or not.

“Oops!”

Unable to close the distance with the gigantic wolf, it made a new move while we were staring at each other at a delicate distance.

It’s a long-range attack. The shadow that had separated from its main body sharpened and flew like an arrow shot from a bow.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…!” I yelled.

If it’s not just my imagination, I feel like the opponent’s movements are getting better and better. Maybe I can say that it just woke up and wasn’t in its best condition until a while ago. If this is what it came to, the situation does not look good.

“Woah, ah!”

The shadowy arrows fly in rapid succession. It reminds me of the first time I met Lucy. In short, it’s a defensive battle!

It would be nice if my opponent got smaller from all this shooting, but it wasn’t an opponent that was so giving. The giant Wolf is still alive and well without changing its size.

What should I do? I’m really in trouble now.

I can’t come up with a winning plan. Far from winning, I will definitely lose if this poor situation continues.

“Master. I’m back.”

And just when I thought that things were going to get very bad.

Just like the other times, suddenly “something” flew in from the side and saved me.