Chapter 302

302nd Chapter

Strength of Monsters 302 – Strength of Monsters #2

Crackling.

I tore the coin apart.

From front to back, the iron plate, shredded like a piece of paper, rolled around on the floor like trash, causing many people to blink in surprise.

Goodness, that was a titanium steel plate, wasn’t it?

Not only did he unfold it, he even tore it to shreds!

Thinking that something impossible had just occurred, everyone began shouting in surprise. But for me, this was exactly what I had anticipated, so I merely stared calmly at the man before me.

Just a moment ago, Yabes, the Silver Tier adventurer who appeared to hold great pride in himself, was glaring at me with open animosity for having outdone his accomplishments.

Crackling.

His hostility felt like ant bites piercing my skin from all sides. If we stay like this, a major fight might break out.

Yabes is a Silver Tier adventurer from another city. His skills are probably on par with mine.

And the two companions surrounding him, judging by the similar necklaces they wore, seemed to be the kind of lackeys you see everywhere.

What’s going to happen now?

I had just made a blatant provocation.

You could say I served the ball over the net with my racket.

Whether they choose to retreat or respond in kind is entirely up to them to decide.

So, as we paused in silence for a moment, Yabes finally dropped the Nymph he had in his hands.

“Si, Sir Caesar, are you alright…!”

Tossing about, the Nymph Alinoy rushed to her fallen comrade, who lay on the ground bleeding from the nose.

“I will apply some herbs to you…! Sir Caesar, you must not lose consciousness!”

The way she pulled herbs and a handkerchief from her robes and began dabbing his face suggested a great deal of practice. Soon, she stood up again and even drew a short dagger to point at Yabes.

“You incorrigible scoundrel! I’ll not forgive you! I am Alinoy, the foremost servant of the great Caesar! I shall bring upon you the fitting punishment from the heavens!”

Although she declared this bravely, it was hard to imagine that her short dagger, which looked like a pin, could harm Yabes, who was clad in a titanium armor.

However, the mere fact that the Nymph had drawn her dagger against such a fearsome opponent made me feel as if I had been struck hard on the back of the head.

If I had been the one lying there like that, how would Paranoi have acted?

Paranoi would probably have betrayed me or run away. Thinking about this, I suddenly began to feel angry.

Why does this guy’s Nymph have such strong loyalty?

Why.

What’s the difference between that guy and me?

Why am I not Alinoy but Paranoi?

Roaaaar-.

Look at that, that’s impressive. Suddenly, his aura has completely changed! My skin is prickling!

Goodness, it seems this is what is called ‘fighting spirit.’ I can feel it too. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt this.

Is this truly a duel between Silver Tier adventurers? This is not an easy situation to watch! Gather all the people!

And so, around us, a crowd gathered, forming a small arena in no time. This was a prison from which there was no escape.

Adventurers, as always said, are beings that live on fame and reputation. They are the sort who crave attention.

When the stage is set like this, there aren’t many adventurers who would choose to back down.

That was true for Yabes, the man in the titanium armor as well.

Yabes said,

“You’ve got some strength. Is that enough for you to feel good? I am Yabes, the eldest son of the River God Kaikos. My heritage is not common, it’s the bloodline of a true deity.”

“River God Kaikos?”

I had never heard of that name.

I often skimmed through the names of the gods in the encyclopedias I borrowed every weekend, believing I knew most of the genealogies, but this was still my first time hearing it.

What is it?

Some minor, insignificant god, probably-. In polytheistic or pantheistic beliefs, there are countless gods and goddesses whose names are unknown, and that is likely true for this Gaia Continent as well.

The eldest son of some unknown god. You can probably think of him as the son of the owner of a mid-sized company. If it’s impressive, then it’s impressive in its own way.

While I was thinking about this, Yabes spoke a few more words.

“Sometime in the future, I, Yabes, will sit on the throne that dominates all rivers, seas, and oceans. Do you think you can survive having created such enmity with me?”

“Ah, so in other words, you’re saying that you’re going to be a great god someday, so you’re advising me to crawl away ahead of time, right?”

“Despite your barbaric and strange appearance, you sure understand quickly. If you kneel before me now and seek forgiveness, I could use you as one of my underlings. I plan to build a shrine where all races are treated equally, you see.”

“For someone who says that, you sure seem intent on treating the Nymph harshly.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, but coming from beyond the continent, perhaps you don’t know— Nymphs are originally treated this way.”

“Hmm… that’s true.”

“One day, you might get around 1% of the shares I’ll own. Think about it.”

“Ahh, so to sum up, some day you might become a great god, but right now, you’re not much of anything, is that it?”

“What-!?”

“I know plenty of guys like you who lie with things you don’t even have. Don’t chatter on and fight already, oh son of the god.”

“Ah, insolent sc*m, daring to mock the divinity of this body, Yabes.”

Yabes’s face turned so red it couldn’t get any redder.

To have his existence itself denied by me was something that a proud Silver Tier adventurer couldn’t tolerate. And based on my long observation of demigods like Hippolyte, they usually take great pride in their heritage.

If your father or mother is a god, even I would take pride in that.

And to have that pride dismissed as nothing, it was unsurprising that Yabes harbored intense anger towards me.

“To hell with you, savage! I will tear you apart and feed you to the fishes in the river! Sword! Shield!”

At the strange cry of “sword” and “shield”, one of the bronze tier companions hastily pulled out a sword from his waist and handed it to Yabes.

The other companion, who was standing nearby with a shield, did the same.

Their natural actions, as if they were pulling items out of an inventory, were quite shocking. I should try this with Paranoi someday.

“Helmet! Shoulder guard-!”

Creak, creak.

Soon, impressive helmets and shoulder armor were equipped on Yabes’s body. He looked just like a Gundam attaching external parts.

Thus, with all his equipment, Yabes now truly resembled a heavily armored knight, his defenses seemingly impenetrable.

“Hassan, it’s amazing! Those are amazing armors!”

Even Luna, watching the fight from among the crowd, seemed deeply impressed by the might on display. In fact, I could hear others murmuring their admiration for his impressive appearance.

Yabes said,

“These ancient weapons have been passed down from my father. No matter how strong your brute strength might be, do you really think you can even scratch them? My gear is comparable to Achilles’ armor!”

“Ah, finally, a name I recognize. But you, compared to Achilles, are woefully inadequate. You’re not even near his level.”

“You savage, what do you know about Achilles?”

“I probably know more than you. Anyway, it’s clear you’re clad in very sturdy armor. I suppose I’ll need to use this then.”

I grabbed the club slung over my back. As I gripped both ends and stretched, it quickly extended to the size you might call a staff.

“Step aside-.”

I quickly pushed off the ground with a leap. The Flashy Footwork technique I learned from Kalidur may be of mediocre attainment, but for producing instant speed, nothing is better.

Swish-.

Simultaneously with my charge towards Yabes clad in heavy armor, I gripped my arms tightly and swung my Club of Annihilation.

Hwoooong-.

The weapon, which must have weighed hundreds of kilos, cut through the air with a terrifying sound.

As its name suggests, the Club of Annihilation is ready to break everything it touches, and it approached Yabes in a grand arc.

“You’re too predictable, idiot-!”

Had this been a less competent opponent, they would have been sent flying without any reaction, but this Yabes was also a Silver Tier adventurer. He seemed to have the skill worthy of being a deity’s eldest son.

Clang-.

He raised his massive shield high, crouched down, and hid behind it.

“I’ll return your attack as it is!”

This was sheer toughness. There’s no doubt that most weapons would leave not a scratch on such a defense. A few onlookers were probably frightened by the sight of these impregnable fortresses and hurriedly ran away.

But my club—fearless.

Crash-crack-.

Finally, my club clashed with his shield.

At the same moment, it felt like the eardrums might burst due to the massive shockwave that followed, and it even tore the leather sleeves of my upper garment into a spider-web pattern.

Crash-crack-.

A strong vibration was transmitted to my fingertips. The force pushed back against me from the opposite direction of my swing, shaking my entire body.

“Guuhh-!”

I gritted my teeth and squeezed out strength from the tips of my feet.

If I don’t exert more force now, I might be the one who flies away despite launching the attack. Wasn’t he saying something about reflecting the attack? Is it some kind of repulsion?

Crack-crack-.

Not only my sleeves, but the shirt I was wearing itself began to tear apart like something old and worn.

My hands and bl**d vessels were also shaken by the tremendous reactive shock.

d*mn it, it would be incredibly embarrassing to put on such a show and end up flying away like this.

That must not happen!

“GRAAAH-!”

Finally, with a roar akin to a scream, my club shattered his shield and tossed his body into the air.

“Fall into ruin, you d*mn thing-!”

“AARRRRHHHH-!”

Yabes screamed loudly as he flew back. As his body floated in the air, pieces of iron panels from his armor shattered and fell to the ground, breaking.

“Huff-.”

Finally, I could take a breath.

“Give me the bracelet, kid.”

I tore the bracelet from the wrist of Yabes, who was lying there trembling and foaming at the mouth. His number was 192.

Compared to my number, 1110, it was an overwhelmingly early number.

Looking back at when Luna and I exchanged bracelets without the clerk saying anything, it might mean that switching numbers wouldn’t cause any issues.

While I was immersed in happy thoughts, the crowd started picking up fragments of the shattered iron plates.

“Goodness, those titanium armors being shattered like broken ceramics!”

“To think they could take down the son of a minor god, the god of rivers, and toss him around like this. Who on earth is this person anyway?”

People started directing their attention towards me, the victor of the duel.

Their gaze, a mix of fear and curiosity, made me feel an odd emotion—a little proud, a little embarrassed.

“I’ve heard of the Samaritan with white fur skin. He’s quite famous around here.”

“Isn’t this the guy who defeated Gerrion, the nearby monster king?”

“You mean the guy who killed the man-eating horse? Are you talking about that?”

“Yeah, that’s the one! Isn’t this Jupiter’s daughter? Juno’s champion!”

“No, didn’t they say that person was a girl? This guy is clearly a man, judging by the muscles. Even for a Samaritan, it’s a bit hard to see that face as female…”

“Is it? I saw from afar but they do look similar…”

Sensing that staying here any longer might lead to incredibly annoying developments, I decided to leave after stealing the wallet from the fallen man’s pocket.

“Hassan, you won another duel!”

Luna caught up with me, sounding very excited.

“Even though he was the son of the god of rivers, he was still quite a remarkable person. Hassan beat a demigod! That’s incredible!”

“Is that so?”

“Of course, I knew Hassan would win. I cheered for you, so you mostly did win!”

Thinking about it, in the duels Luna witnessed, I always ended up winning. Is she my goddess of victory? In that case, 30% of the money in this wallet should go to Luna.

How much is in here? There seem to be one or two gold coins.

While I was contemplating where to eat with this money, a voice came from behind us.

“Hey, hey, stop there! We, great Lord Caesar, wishes to speak to you!”

“Aaah.”

I had a vague sensation of forgetting something amidst the duel’s excitement. That’s right, I overlooked the existence of the trainer, Caesar, and his Nymph, Alinoy.

Turning my head, I saw the Nymph of Ditch Water, Alinoy, struggling to carry a large man that didn’t seem to match her small build.

“Grugh…grugh…”

The man with a heavily swollen face painfully opened his lips.

“Grugh… grughhh…”

“Our great Lord Caesar wishes to express gratitude to you!”

[Author’s Notes]

Mr. Kim Jjaksal! Mr. Hayat123! Mr. Ads123! Mr. Chromelond! Mr. Chaego Wonja Juppo! Mr. PotatoServer! Thank you very much for the sponsorship coupons…

I also express my gratitude to all those who sent manuscript coupons…

I always appreciate every comment and recommendation…

By gathering the coupons, recommendations, and comments you’ve sent, I’ve decided to launch a business of gifting a single Nymph and a cottage to one person!

Let’s make nymphs great again in this Gaia Continent!!!

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