Chapter 75: Assault (3)

 

As participants headed into the forest to hunt during the competition, Noel and Orcus, too, immersed themselves among the trees, securing a base grounded in what they had previously learned from Damian.

 

Whether it was due to that prior experience or not, Orcus and Noel managed to secure a satisfying zone. Upon establishing their base, Noel, unable to conceal her bubbling excitement, voiced her aspirations.

 

“Hmm! First off, let’s aim for victory!”

 

“Think we can do it?”

 

Orcus immediately responded with a skeptical look to Noel’s confident proclamation.

 

Even though he acknowledged the remarkable talent of his younger sister, the competitor they were paired with this time was someone notable. Specifically, it was Damian, the one who taught them how to hunt in the first place.

 

Of course, being the student did not necessarily mean one couldn’t surpass the teacher. However, Orcus was aware that there was a substantial skill gap between Noel and Damian. In his view, while Noel indeed was an exceptional genius, Damian was someone who existed on an entirely different level.

 

“Hyung!! Don’t be so negative! The spot we’ve secured might just be a place where many monsters reside.”

 

“Wishful thinking, huh? Hmm...I don’t know. Well, we did follow what we learned, at least.”

 

“I’m certain of it!”

 

Even amidst Orcus’ sarcastic tone, Noel’s momentum didn’t seem to wane in the slightest.

 

Well, even Damian himself said that hunting was not always about skill and that a hunter’s luck plays a significant role. So, if they really had chosen a good spot, it might indeed be possible to bridge the skill gap, just like Noel said.

 

‘But if that’s the case, wouldn’t he do even better than us?’

 

Considering Damian had taught them everything about hunting from A to Z, everything the two could do was something Damian would know how to handle.

 

Moreover, wasn’t Damian a Southerner here? He had already participated in this competition several times, and it was certain that he knew more about this forest than they did.

 

According to rumors among the Black Dragon Knights yesterday, Damian was keenly preparing for this year’s competition for some reason.

 

Even the form he demonstrated during practice was overpowering, and it was hard to imagine what he would showcase in actual competition. If magic was used, the situation might differ slightly, but it was against the rules, and thinking they could win even if it was used did not cross his mind.

 

‘Still, with her being so hopeful...let’s at least keep pace.’

 

He didn’t think they could win, but he believed they could rank among the top competitors. Rather than logically rebutting and dampening morale, simply keeping quiet was a better choice for both Noel and Orcus.

 

From the start, he didn’t expect Noel to listen if he provided a logical argument.

 

Still, seeing his younger sister so hopeful, Orcus decided to motivate her with some optimistic words as a good older brother.

 

“From what I saw earlier, it doesn’t seem like Damian started with us. If we’ve secured a good spot before Damian, we definitely have a chance.”

 

“You’re right! When we were checking traces on the way here, there was no place where the monster’s trails overlapped as much as they do here. Even Damian will need time to secure a position, so we have the advantage!”

 

“Still, you never know, the forest is vast. Well, we’ve decided on our base, so let’s get ready and start hunting quickly. Dawdling will erase the advantage we gained by securing our spot early.”

 

At some point, beating Damian had become synonymous with winning the hunting competition for the two. But neither Noel nor Orcus thought this was necessarily wrong.

 

In the perceptive eyes of the martially gifted Noel, aside from Count Arthur, the head of the Kraus family, there was no one she had seen since coming here who surpassed Damian. Orcus didn’t have the same perspective as Noel, but his thoughts were the same. Even to a complete layman, occasionally, what Damian showed was different from what they had seen in other knights.

 

“HmMMMMMMMMM.”

 

Noel paused her usual carefree smile and began to scan the surroundings seriously. Soon, a satisfied smile blossomed on her face as she spoke to Orcus.

 

“It’s not simply that there are many tracks. Monsters’ footprints are intermixed. This must be a path often used by them. So just by waiting here, we can easily hunt, and if we use a few of what we catch as bait, we should be able to lure in predators too!”

 

“Ah, is that so?”

 

To any observer, Noel, far from a princess, resembled a child who had spent a lifetime hunting in the woods. Her actions mirrored the experienced maneuvers of a savvy hunter.

 

While this did indicate that Noel had absorbed what she had been taught well, Orcus felt an inexplicable discomfort whenever he witnessed this sight.

 

‘What if she really decides to become a hunter?’

 

It wouldn’t be odd for Noel, with her ability to immerse herself so fully, to announce at any moment her desire to become a hunter. Though she had firmly set her mind on becoming a knight, knowing her character, once she made a resolution, she wouldn’t change it - still, a tinge of anxiety lingered.

 

Despite the relative freedom allowed by her royal status, there were still boundaries she had to observe. It was one thing to become a knight, but it was absolutely another matter to let the princess become a hunter, a profession often associated with wilderness dwellers. Arriving at this thought, Orcus, with a straight face, sternly grabbed his naive-looking sister and spoke.

 

“Hunting is just a hobby, understand?”

 

“Huh? Yes.”

 

Confused by Orcus’ sudden remark, Noel, with an expression indicating she was at a loss, nevertheless agreed. She was seriously engaged in hunting but had no thoughts of becoming a hunter, so this was nothing more than Orcus’s unwarranted worry.

 

When Noel continuously nodded and affirmed she understood, only then did Orcus’s expression soften.

 

“Anyway...let’s use the bait we brought in preparation. Considering the purpose of this competition is a rescue from the monsters, we should focus on hunting predator ones.”

 

Although the competition emphasized the quantity of the game, given its intention, catching one tiger monster would score higher than 100 rabbit monsters.

 

Orcus divided the prepared bait into two and handed half to Noel. The ‘bait’ he spoke of was a piece of meat soaked in some potion – something Orcus had produced independently, without anyone else’s help.

 

While being entrapped by Damian, he had grown somewhat fond of hunting, which was why he had prepared something like this.

 

‘The competition rules said not to use magic tools, but there was no rule against using bait prepared through alchemy.’

 

The goal he had to surpass was already set, and to some extent, a plan to execute it was prepared. Noel’s declaration to aim for victory was not entirely frivolous.

 

Conversing with Noel, somehow, Orcus could feel his own tension gradually rising. Apparently, as a possibility started to show, a fire began to ignite in Orcus’s heart, which until now had only harbored negative thoughts.

 

While he still harbored skepticism towards winning, Orcus had never been insincere about participating in this competition from the start.

 

Orcus, gazing at the darkened forest, followed Noel’s smiling face with his own, and spoke.

 

“Shall we... begin?”

 

“Yes!”

 

***

 

Initially, the spot chosen by Orcus and Noel was indeed a hotspot, just as Noel had described.

 

Even without using the bait, they could easily find prey not far from the camp, and while moving the captured game to the camp, they were also able to see monsters running around in the forest uneventfully.

 

The variety was so diverse that, unintentionally, along with normal animal-like monsters, various other creatures’ carcasses piled up in the camp.

 

Thus, Orcus and Noel decided to hunt by walking around the camp rather than riding horses. Though hunting while riding, feeling the wind, was pleasant, given that the place they had settled was essentially a forest path, ambushing quietly was more efficient for hunting.

 

Therefore, Orcus was now silently hiding himself in the bushes, not far from the camp.

 

Minimizing his movement to prevent making a sound even from the brushing of leaves against his body, he drew his bowstring. No trembling was visible in Orcus’s hand holding the taut string. The cool, internal wall of his sight was locked only onto the game in front of him.

 

-Grrrr

 

Where Orcus’s gaze directed, a leopard-like monster was sniffing around, observing its surroundings. Presumably, it was trying to find the bait Orcus had laid out through its scent.

 

It was large and its body height alone reached the chest of a sturdy adult man.

 

While its size and appearance were surely intimidating, Orcus remained unaffected. Although its large frame would naturally suggest significant strength, to Orcus, it merely appeared as a large, moving target.

 

Without fear, there was no chance to make the mistake of releasing the bowstring at the wrong moment.

 

With natural full strength, the swiftly launched arrow precisely pierced the monster’s neck. However, even with that shot, this creature, living in the Luneproud known as Devil’s Land, did not fall.

 

Although the monster, now with an arrow lodged in its neck, staggered, it quickly regained balance on its front legs and turned its gaze towards Orcus, who had pierced it with the arrow. The enraged face of the monster turned even more ferocious upon identifying its assailant. The bared teeth were nothing but threatening.

 

Nonetheless, Orcus remained unshaken and promptly pulled out a new arrow from his quiver.

 

Despite numerous successful hunts, Orcus’s quiver was not emptying; rather, it held even more arrows than before. This was not only because he had collected the arrows from every kill, but also because Noel, who had given up hunting with the bow, had handed all her arrows to Orcus.

 

In any case, when the monster looked at him, Orcus smiled as if things were going exactly as planned.

 

With the monster, which could charge at him at any moment, right in front of him, Orcus pulled the bowstring facing straight ahead. Knowing precisely where to hit from the front to ensure the creature’s demise, Orcus did not move an inch.

 

The monster, taking steps slowly, was approaching Orcus. In contrast, Orcus was only pulling the bowstring and did not seem to have the immediate intention to shoot.

 

A very brief standoff took place.

 

It was a moment so fleeting there was hardly time to think, but the moment the monster halted its paw, Orcus knew exactly what he had to do.

 

Without any warning, the monster lunged at Orcus, and the moment its paws left the ground, Orcus released his arrow. Right after shooting the arrow, Orcus bowed his head, and the monster, leaping over him, crashed directly into a tree behind him.

 

With a loud bang, leaves fluttered from the tree.

 

There were no further sounds. The monster, which had smashed its head into the tree, lay motionless.

 

As Orcus raised his head to examine the monster’s head, he saw an arrow perfectly embedded in its forehead. Confirming this, Orcus was enveloped in a feeling of exhilaration as if his entire body’s blood was boiling.

 

“Yeeeeeeah!!!”

 

“Hyung!!”

 

“Did you see that?! Did you?! Wow! It worked?!”

 

From the tree above, Noel, who had been watching, descended and ran towards Orcus. Orcus, unable to contain his excitement, pointed at the fallen monster, his emotions vividly painted across his usually stoic face, and shouted.

 

“Noel.”

 

“Yes, Hyung!”

 

“We might... have a decent shot at winning now, don’t we?”

 

“Absolutely!”

 

At Orcus’s words, Noel nodded her head vigorously.

 

It might seem an unusual phrase coming from someone who, just a moment ago, was asserting that there was no hope, but by their own assessment, they indeed had achieved remarkable results. The good location ensured a stream of prey, of course. Even excluding Noel, who was always skilled, Orcus had shown an astonishing ability in hunting beyond imagination.

 

Even with what they had hunted so far, they had filled the camp’s space and everything had exceeded their expectations.

 

Especially for Orcus, he was enraptured by the joy of having caught a monster of that size with a bow, not his specialty, magic. He could have turned it into a beehive with a mere flick of a magic finger, but capturing it with a bow felt distinctly different.

 

Hunting without magic, each success skyrocketed Orcus’s confidence in his own skills, soaring to sky-high levels. His skills noticeably improved in a short time, so such self-esteem was warranted. Still, Orcus, who would usually never lose his emotional restraint, became sentimentally immersed in the situation.

 

The pinnacle moment was when he caught the monster with a bow just now.

 

Even by Orcus’ own assessment, capturing that monster just now could be described as artful without exaggeration. Otherwise, Noel wouldn’t have come to praise Orcus.

 

If he had observed the situation objectively as he usually did, he would have refrained from discussing his skills or talking about winning at this moment. But Orcus, severely intoxicated by self-adulation due to the successful hunting so far, was completely touched by Noel.

 

Even though they were siblings, there hadn’t been a time when one’s personality was influenced by the other, despite occasions where their opinions aligned seamlessly. Yet for the first time, both their characters underwent an identical transformation.

 

To put it positively, the two, each with personalities at opposing ends of the spectrum, had found a shared hobby that made them become one. To phrase it negatively, the one who used to play the role of the brake had utterly lost their taste for restraint.

 

“Ah. Now’s not the time, Noel. Let’s quickly clear the carcass to the camp. I still have plenty of arrows left.”

 

The guy, who was worried about how to handle his sister becoming a hunter just a moment ago, now seemed to turn into a hunter himself. Of course, this was a temporary phenomenon, so there was no possibility that Orcus would opt to be a hunter instead of the emperor.

 

“Hehehe...”

 

Noel, bow in hand, burst into laughter as she looked at Orcus, whose face was intensely exhilarated. Regardless of the circumstances, they, siblings who had been polar opposites in everything until now, had found a shared hobby for the first time, and she simply felt happy about it.

 

However, the laughter that had filled the forest from the two of them soon came to an end.

 

As if they had agreed upon it, they both stopped laughing simultaneously.

 

When the two closed their mouths, the forest transitioned into a tranquility that was almost eerie. The always-present sounds of the monsters’ footsteps and the chirping of birds were all cleanly erased, to a degree that it felt unnerving. It was as if someone had intentionally erased all sound from the world.

 

Noel’s hand, which was about to lift their hunt carcass, stopped, and the once joyously intoxicated eyes of Orcus were once again infused with cold rationality.

 

Without uttering a word, Noel and Orcus stood still in their places, their eyes roving, surveying the forest. Although hidden in darkness, rendering visibility ostensibly nil, what was it that was visible in their eyes? The pupils of the two were chasing something concealed within the forest’s darkness.

 

In that chaotic entanglement of gazes, there was a moment when both of their sights converged onto a single point.

 

Simultaneously, the darkness stretching out from the forest engulfed the two.

--- END OF CHAPTER ---

 

[TL: You can support the translation and read 5 premium chapters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WanderingSoultl

 

Join Our Discord for regular updates and have fun with other community members: https://discord.com/invite/SqWtJpPtm9]