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Chapter 30 Part 1 – An enemy that is too powerful. But we never get up and face the destiny before us, to grasp our future together.

 

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Ranzan

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It was a desperate battle.

But it wasn’t completely a loss.

Bradd’s body had become a whirlwind, with mom near me shooting arrows in support.

The combination of punches, kicks, and arrows strike the demon dog over and over.

Yet, Gallam is still untouched.

In fact, mocking us, he just yawns.

Occasionally he shakes his shoulders as the arrows or Bradd himself bounces off.

Bradd, as the front attack, is becoming exhausted.

And Gallam hasn’t even bared his fangs once.

「Bradd! Get back!」

Seeing that the attack wasn’t working well, my mother calls out to him.

There was no chance to win.

Yet Bradd has no interest in retreating.

No, wait!

I’m not retreating!

But when Bradd steps back a bit, the dog is ready to pursue him.

Almost like they’re dance partners moving in synch.

And the beast made it look like if Bradd tried to retreat, then the Gallam would attack us instead before we could run away.

If he wanted to, he could always overrun Bradd, but the dog was enjoying the battle.

The dog was obviously laughing at Bradd attempting to protect the others, playing with the boy like he was a toy.

But Bradd took it very seriously, and was exhausted in facing the demon dog.

I could see sweat gush from Bradd’s forehead and he was becoming fatigued.

And so we looked over and Bradd was glaring at the dog, drawing his attention, and waving to us to go away with gestures.

Seeing Bradd’s strategy, the demon dog trainer laughed at him,

「You know that if you don’t stop moving, that dog will KILL you! I know you want the mother and baby to run away and that you want to be a decoy to buy time. You’re too stupid, kid!」

And his hate grew even more as his other two dogs were lying on the ground next to him, dead.

「Even birds can’t escape from the speed of Gallam’s feet! All of them will die! None of your attacks will injure him, there’s no hope! Just learn that you are powerless, and DIE!」

My, isn’t this old man becoming a bit of a nuisance!

…he’s really pissing me off!

Just like a villain, he tries to mock us more and more while telling us we’ll be defeated…no thanks.

What a show, right?

Human nature can sometimes be the worst.

Even so, it’s just as the demon dog trainer said.

Since I’m stuck being an infant, there’s no way I can keep up with that monstrous beast.

There’s no way to defeat Gallam with an attack. Well, at least from the place I’m looking right now.

But the demon dog trainer doesn’t know about the OTHER attack.

There’s a trap that can defeat Gallam over in the manor.

It was the last resort in case of an enemy invasion.

If we can lure him in there, we might have a chance.

But Bradd wasn’t just telling us to retreat.

He was also signaling for us to retreat to the trap’s position.

We had decided on a variety of signs in the case of emergencies.

But there is one big concern.

The demon dog Gallam is far stronger than we expected.

We’d definitely be killed before we could reach the trap.

Seeing Bradd’s new sign made my mother squint.

「I’ll save some time. You run.」

I also understood.

Give time to that monster of an opponent?

There’s no reason to do that!

You haven’t even set up the Romalia Flame Flower!

Bradd’s hands move again.

「Don’t give up, midget.」

Dammit! Why are you saying that when we’re all in trouble!?

I was stunned by all of this, but my mother was calm.

「We’ll all be killed this way sooner or later anyway. Let’s bet on what Bradd’s thinking. Back off from Gallam and support Bradd.」

Retreat? From that monster?

My mother nodded and notched another arrow.

「If you want to shoot the general, shoot his horse first…but if you can’t shoot his horse, then shoot the general!」

Mother said, letting the arrow fly.

She didn’t attack the demon dog, but the trainer behind him!

The trainer’s eyes opened wide when he saw the arrow approaching.

His eyes opened wide and his mouth puttered like a goldfish.

Yeah! We could do that too!

「Whoaaa! Gallam! Protect me!」

The trainers screamed at the do, and the dog reacted immediately to protect his master.

While that happened,

「Thank’s Ms. Cornelia!」

Bradd thanked her, now glaring at the demon dog again.

「Treating people like bugs! If we have an opponent we can’t beat, best to just try our best! No need to cry! Demon dog! Here is my secret skill!」

Bradd clenched his teeth and breathed in deeply as if to wipe the fear away, then he seemed to charge up his whole body.

He put his hand on his chest.

There was a high-pitched sound.

Then the air around Bradd seemed to distort like summer haze.

「….ah!」

He moaned in agony.

The demon dog had just turned around and now looked a bit frightened at Bradd.

The dog deftly jumped around, knocking down the arrows that were shot at the trainer, while he looked over to see what Bradd was doing.

Gallam’s reaction time and speed was horrifying.

If Bradd had tried to flee the dog, then it was sure that the dog would have clamped down on his neck from behind. All carnivores are professionals at that kind of attack.

Also, the power of Gallam is several times more than Bradd’s.

But now Gallam had stopped.

It was his beast’s intuition that something dangerous was about to happen…and it would be Bradd that did it.

「Aouu!?」

Bradd’s strange behavior made me gasp.

This isn’t a heart stop…not at all.

Bradd’s eye color changed.

The same crimson color as mine…

I have seen this technique before…though only rarely during my 108 lives.

This was the reason why Bradd was seen as the strongest of the “Lawless Crew.”

Only someone in this world like Bradd could use this attack, but I had thought he had mastered it from the age of 20.

There’s no way he could properly use it….but maybe, as a miracle!

At this age, Bradd could take on the chiefdom of the “lawless crew.”

History changes, after all.

It was a divine technique that expends blood and briefly allows you to ascend to the strength of a warrior god…it was a terrific move that miraculously changed your body.

I swallowed my spit and said the technique’s name to myself.

Blood…Redemption!

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

The ghost of a warrior looked up into the dark sky above the Duke’s manor.

A cloak of the old ages fluttered in the wind.

「Young wolf, are you going to use “atoneless blood” at that youngg of an age? Even as ancient warriors, there would be no way we could use that in an actuall battle. But with your desire, I can see how you might prove that you are so strongg that you deserve a miracle.」

「Hah! What is this “atoneless blood” you speak of?! That kid won’t be able to do it! Miracles don’t happen that easily. And why would a miracle happenn?! It’s just a big bet that some trained technique or chemical attack will work! Even the kid’s got to knoww that! But it would be fun if it happens! No way it wouldn’t be fun to see! But that dogg is tough! It’s going to kill all of them! Okay everyone, success, failure, everyone bet!」

The lanky ghost took out ghastly dice in his hands.

「What to do? I want him to be successfull, but truth is truth, I guess he’ll fail.」

The big ghost said with a sigh.

「Whatever! I don’t like betting! What happened to the Duke and the royal guards though!? You can’t rely on men at all! The boy and Cornelia are fighting for their lives and the men are too late when it matters!」

The female ghost didn’t try to hide her worries.

She wandered restlessly, entwining her fingers and hands.

「I’ll bet on the little wolf!」

Said the ghost of the warrior, without hesitation.

「Well, then, what are you betting? How much do you believe in his victory?」

The lanky ghost asked the warrior, while the warrior smiled and answered quietly,

「All of my pride as those left of all the remaining warriors.」

The lanky ghost spun around, opened his eyes in amazement, snorted, and then looked back.

「The royal guard! They’ve arrived at the broken gate! They’ve found the pawprints of the demon dogs! When they noticed that the Duke’s manor was being attacked, they all snapped to! Come on! You can hear the sounds of their hooves already!」

「No matter if they have horses, it will still take time for them to get to the manor! This garden was made so large, it’s almost in vain! And all because of those two rotten Vygods! They lopped off the trees in the forest to make it! If Cornelia is killed, I’ll curse those two rotten nobles for her!」

The female ghost said, clenching her ghastly mouth tight.

Her ancestors had close relations with Cornelia’s ancestors, so the female ghost always was on Cornelia’s side.

She had thought of her almost as if she were her own daughter ever since she took up her bow again, which she had previously discarded.

「Heee, you change every second, woman.」

The fat ghost said to the female ghost, shaking his head.

「The heat of a live human is enough warmth to melt the heart of a frozen ghost, and because of our limited human lives, God grants us the ability to perform miracles sometimes. Come, little wolf, give us something to believe in, like the madam gives this female ghost something to believe in. That instant where a human pushes the portal open into an almost impossible miracle.」

The warrior’s ghost said as he suddenly shimmered pale. A whirlwind began to spin around him. His cloak swelled in the new wind.

「You were going to learn that “atoneless blood” sooner or later. Even I can give you a little power as a ghost. And as your senior, I will help you without your permission.」

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