Chapter 28 - 028_Lake's Master
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028_Lake's Master
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It was yesterday that the elite territory soldiers led by Rodmel conquered the sixth floor. Keldo was among them, eager to gather his daughter's dowry.
Other territory soldiers had also reached the fifth and sixth floors, and the Dedel territory's soldiers had gained considerable strength.
Rodmel's unit discovered a deposit of Red True Ore on the sixth floor, and the Forvas family's stock of Red True Ore increased again.
With the territory soldiers also increasing and wanting reserves, Rodney was the one who instructed Pelt to craft more equipment.
Rodney, Emilia, and Yulin entered the Abandoned House Labyrinth to explore the sixth floor.
Not wanting to lose to Rodmel and the others, Rodney and his group stepped into the sixth floor and were exploring the forest.
"Hmm, this is..."
Rodney stopped and looked at the ground. Emilia and Yulin also looked at something on the ground. A plant with white flowers was there, and Yulin murmured that it was pretty.
"Isn't this a medicinal herb called Baram?"
He had seen it in books, but his memory was fuzzy. Rodney decided to research it after returning and picked the plant thought to be Baram, putting it into a hemp bag.
"What kind of effect does that medicinal herb have?"
"I might be wrong because my memory's fuzzy, but it should be effective for diseases of the heart."
Baram was a rare medicinal herb produced only from labyrinths. If this plant was Baram, many doctors would likely say they want it.
As they advanced further, a Servanui appeared. That Servanui was a one-eyed giant with a massive battle axe, 2 Rom in height.
"Rodney-sama, it's Borock."
Borock also spotted Rodney and company, knocking down forest trees as it approached.
"Big Brother, you watch."
"Are you sure?"
"I will protect Emilia-sama."
"I'll be fine."
Emilia and Yulin dashed out.
When Yulin blocked Borock's battle axe with her Red True Steel greatsword, her feet sank into the ground. By activating 'Steel Arm,' she was able to withstand Borock's brute strength.
"Haah!"
With Yulin blocking the battle axe, Borock's movements stopped, and Emilia struck at it.
Her Red True Steel rapier sliced through Borock's thick skin like a razor. The bones weren't severed, but the rapier surely cut the tendons of both legs.
Borock, no longer able to stand, sat down on the ground.
"Hyaaah!"
Yulin's greatsword slashed through Borock's neck, and its head slid off.
Borock vanished, leaving behind a Life Light Stone.
"Well done."
The two had defeated Borock without any danger at all. Rodney thought they could probably take it down alone, but there was no need to take such risks.
The three proceeded through the forest without trouble. They occasionally found plants thought to be Baram and collected them.
When the forest opened up, there was a lake before them. It was quite a large lake; going around it would likely take a considerable amount of time.
For a certain reason, the area around this lake had not been explored. Since there might be undiscovered things, Rodney and the others decided to explore the lake's perimeter.
As they explored the lakeshore, they soon discovered a plant with yellow flowers. If Rodney's memory was correct, it was a medicinal herb called Shokan, whose leaves were used for a nutritious tonic.
"There might be many medicinal herbs on this sixth floor."
"I hope so. This Shokan is a quite valuable medicinal herb; it is said to have the same value as gold. Well, that's if my memory serves me right."
As Yulin and Rodney were talking, Emilia drew her rapier. She gave a low warning. The two immediately became alert and looked in the direction Emilia's gaze was fixed.
"It's huge..."
A Servanui like a giant snake, one that would make the Bermuda they had defeated in the Sea King Labyrinth seem cute, was swimming, weaving as it exposed part of its body from the water's surface.
"There's no way we can pull that..."
Even if they tried to pull it like the Bermuda, it was on a completely different scale, and he didn't feel like pulling it at all.
Information on this Servanui was in old documents. Rodmel called it the master of the lake, but this Servanui was named Ojin.
"Because that thing is here, the area around the lake hasn't been explored. If it gets close, don't hold back; hit it with a 'High Heat Flame Bullet'."
Rodney said that, as if provoking Ojin.
Whether it heard that, Ojin's direction of travel turned towards Rodney and the others.
"It's because Rodney-sama said something careless."
"That's right, it's Big Brother's fault, so Big Brother should be the one to deal with it."
"Huh!?"
Rarely, the two stepped back.
It wasn't because Ojin's face visible above the water was too ferocious. It was because it was disgusting. Ojin had a snake-like body, but its face was that of a greasy middle-aged man, wearing a lewd smile. Moreover, its thin wet hair revealed patches of scalp. The women felt a chill from that repulsive gaze.
It seemed it was named Ojin from that face, but the name of the person who named it was not in the documents.
"I just can't stand it on a biological level."
"I'm sorry, but I feel the same as Emilia-sama."
"Seriously? Can I kill it alone...?"
He decided to try firing a 'High Heat Flame Bullet' and pointed his palm at Ojin. Unconsciously, he added 'Reinforce' and 'Strengthen' before firing the 'High Heat Flame Bullet.'
The 'High Heat Flame Bullet' flew at an overwhelming speed and hit Ojin before it could dodge. Its cobalt blue scales burst apart, gouging out skin and flesh and shattering bone.
Even Ojin, with part of its body gone and bones broken, writhed violently.
"What, it works unexpectedly well."
Rodney thought he might have been deceived by its size, but that was a mistake. Ojin was by no means a weak Servanui. Rather, it was in quite a strong class. It was just that Rodney's 'High Heat Flame Bullet' had that much power.
Ojin had never felt such pain before. Its expression turned to fury that it could not forgive that brat for causing it such pain, and it lifted its body out of the water as if leaping up.
Opening its mouth, it shot a sphere of water from it. Rodney leaped back from the spot. However, the ground where the water sphere landed hissed and melted away.
"Dissolving liquid, how troublesome."
Ojin fired dissolving shots in succession. Rodney gradually retreated. Emilia and Yulin had already retreated into the forest. They just couldn't stand that face.
Rodney also didn't want to be bathed in the dissolving liquid spewed from the huge middle-aged man's mouth, so he continued retreating.
Rodney retreated until he was about to enter the forest, but then a smile appeared on his lips. He had deliberately retreated to lure Ojin onto land.
"Shatter, 'High Heat Flame Bullet'!"
Rodney's counterattack 'High Heat Flame Bullet' flew. This time, perhaps wary, Ojin twisted its long body to avoid the 'High Heat Flame Bullet.'
The middle-aged man's mouth relaxed. But even if it dodged one, it was showered with two, three, then consecutive 'High Heat Flame Bullets' fired in rapid succession, and its expression changed to agony.
Struck by as many as eleven 'High Heat Flame Bullets,' Ojin's body was severed into several parts. Still, each part writhed limply. In particular, the part with the face bore an angry expression.
Feeling too disgusted, Emilia and Yulin had completely fled into the forest.
Rodney tipped his hat to Ojin's vitality, still alive even in such a state, but the middle-aged man's mouth opened toward Rodney.
Dissolving liquid was spat out toward Rodney. With a trajectory and timing that couldn't be avoided, the middle-aged man's face twisted with delight.
"Vanish."
As if erased by those words, the dissolving liquid disappeared.
The middle-aged man who had spat the dissolving liquid was dumbfounded. There, Rodney drew his White True Steel Sword, closed the distance, and delivered a spirited slash.
"I never thought I'd cut an old man. No, Ojin."
The middle-aged man's face of Ojin split left and right.
That was the finishing blow, and Ojin vanished.
"Big Brother, is it over?"
"Yeah, it's over. But there's a Servanui like that—the world is wide."
It was in the documents, and he had heard from Rodmel that it had a human face. But he never thought it would be such a disgusting old man's face.
"Rodney-sama. That disgusting thing dropped an item."
What Yulin picked up was a backpack.
"Is this a Storage Bag?"
Among the items dropped by Servanui, there are storage-type items that can hold far more than their appearance suggests. They are quite rare, so not many nobles possess them.
Around the time Rodney was fighting Ojin, the mansion of Baron Menisas, who ruled the Deldo Territory, was in a terrible state.
"Curse you, Forvas! Curse you, Banyusas!"
Baron Menisas believed it was Rodney's fault that he had been cut off by Count Banyusas. If Rodney heard, he would likely say he didn't do anything, but what matters is how Baron Menisas perceives it.
Thinking back, since Rodney had fully repaid the loans that the Baron Menisas House had been lending, an annual income of over 100 large gold coins was lost. He considered this the beginning of his misfortunes.
He believed that Rodney had defeated the Knight King Demon that his heir had summoned but failed to control. This soured relations with the Count Banyusas House, leading to being cut off.
He should have thought that thanks to Rodney, the damage was minimized. But he even mistakenly blamed Rodney for the failure to control the Knight King Demon.
He was now engaging in eccentric behavior that seemed to have lost his sanity.
"I'll kill that brat! How should I kill him... Ah, on the sea, I can kill him without leaving any trace."
Baron Menisas harbored a misguided grudge and began making plans to kill Rodney.
Without considering at all the possibility that it could bring about his own ruin.
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