Chapter 76

Amidst the tide of blood, the soldiers, intoxicated by the carnage, surged forward like carnivorous fish. The soldiers who had been observing from a distance gathered their numbers and charged at Worm. Worm thrust his halberd to meet them, ready to counter their assault. The soldier directly in front showed a stance of attack, but his posture was somehow lacking, a transparent feint.

"Here I come!!"

Worm rapidly shifted his stance, leaping towards the soldier who was trying to circle around to the left. The distance closed in an instant, and the mace spear was swung down reflexively, aiming for Worm's head.

The blunt weapon whistled through the air, grazing Worm's temple but failing to penetrate the flesh or metal, striking only the air. The Meizanau soldier, now exposed, covered his upper body with a round shield. Though it appeared to be a solid defensive move, to someone with a certain level of skill, it was a flawed stance, creating a blind spot.

Worm, taking advantage of the blind spot, thrust his halberd between the soldier's legs and pulled it back with all his might. The hook on the side blade tore through the soldier's clothing and the tendons behind his knee.

"Ugh, gaaaahh!!"

The soldier, screaming and drooling, collapsed to the ground. His comrades, trying to cover for his mistake, advanced from the front and the right side.

Worm adjusted his stance to match the distance of the soldier charging from the front and thrust his halberd. The spear tips crossed, but Worm deflected them with the branch blade, and the spear passed over his head. In return, the tip of Worm's halberd gouged the enemy soldier's neck.

A gaping hole opened in the soldier's throat, and blood spurted out instantly. As the soldier, in his agony, clutched at his throat, Worm turned his attention to the threat approaching from the right. The remaining soldier's battle axe was coming down in a sharp vertical arc.

Though it had the power to pierce through armor and helmets, the wide swing was easy to predict and would not hit unless it caught someone off guard.

Worm, stepping back with one foot, assumed a half-profile stance, his eyes fixed on the axe. Twisting his upper body and folding it, he narrowly avoided the blade, which grazed his cheek and passed through.

"Wha, what!?"

The soldier, who had shown anger, now showed fear as he tried to regain his composure. It was already too late. The spear tip entered from the side and reached the heart. The spear tip, having ravaged the arteries, instantly took the soldier's life.

Despite the loss of his tendons, the soldier tried to charge with one leg, but Worm smashed his head with the branch blade of the halberd. Wiping off the blood, Worm caught the scream of Karim, who was supposed to be retreating with his friend.

"What, who is that!?"

Worm's eyes, reacting to the scream, caught sight of an unbelievable sight.

"Hey, where are you going!? Little bunnies, come play with meeee!"

A mercenary was chasing a fleeing boy, moving with a lightness that belied his massive frame, and with a strength that far exceeded his size. He was literally crushing the Dalmarkus soldiers who tried to resist, and his entire body was drenched in blood.

"Ah, don't come, don't come!!"

"Ugh, a, such a cute cry, it's tempting, huuuuhh."

What was most disturbing was the obvious bulge in the mercenary's lower abdomen, swollen to an extent that seemed out of place on a battlefield. He was the worst kind of person. Even if he were reborn, Worm doubted he would ever be friends with him.

"Pervert, where the hell are you from?"

Worm, accelerated by a wind magic spell, struck from behind with a powerful blow. Though the mercenary was a ridiculous and lewd opponent, his threat level was incomparable to the surrounding soldiers.

The halberd should have cleaved through the mercenary's skull. However, the massive man bent his neck backward at the last moment, and, pivoting on his leading foot, he rotated on the spot and deflected the halberd with his two-handed sword.

"Who, who the hell are you!?"

The mercenary not only had a blessed physique but also the control to use it and a sword technique that was not easily swayed. Ah, truly remarkable. The heavens were fair. Even in the brief time Worm had engaged with him, it was clear that the man's mind was not as sharp as his body, yet he possessed what everyone desired.

"Muscle-bound pervert, go shake your hips on the ground."

"Shut up, don't get in my way!!"

The collision of powerful blows emitted a blinding light. It was not a brute force sword technique but a sword path backed by extraordinary strength, a troublesome opponent who could counter even the smallest tricks.

"Looks like a brainless brute, but he's good with small tricks."

Worm cursed his own mistake. This was an opponent who should have been dispatched with the first strike. He probed with several thrusts, but the man did not repeat the same parry.

"Ugh, you, you're annoying, a, a pain in the ass, someone like you, haa, is no fun."

The spear tip was deflected by the flat of the sword, and the hook on the branch blade, aimed at the wrist during the retraction, was also deflected by the base of the blade. Worm slid his hand along the shaft, changing his grip. As if to reject the man's attempt to close the distance, he unleashed a diagonal slash.

The man, who favored brute force, instead of continuing his charge, circled around to the left to avoid the downward strike of the halberd.

"You use tricks despite your appearance."

Worm mixed in a feint to the head and tried to cut the legs, but all his attacks were deflected by the mercenary's quick steps and sword skills. The two-handed sword, a heavy weapon, was handled like a twig, and a powerful strike would follow any opening.

"Aaah, die, die quickly."

The mercenary's steps, which seemed careless, brought him forward. Reluctantly, Worm responded. He could not afford to waste time. This was just a one-on-one battle between two soldiers. If surrounded, other soldiers would stab Worm's insides.

With all his might, Worm thrust the halberd straight at the throat. The man tried to alter the trajectory with the tsuba (guard). The brief clash of tsubas favored Worm.

The halberd, pushed aside, was drawn into the man's throat. The side blade cut through the skin, causing blood to flow. Worm let out a small curse.

"Damn."

The man, by tilting his upper body and bending his neck, had avoided damage to his carotid artery and spine. The two-handed sword, raised slightly, was swung down.

"Aha!! Aaah, die, die!!"

Avoidance was impossible. Worm chose to advance. He blocked the root of the blade with his gauntlet. The surface was scraped off, and the magic barrier peeled away violently. The ulna creaked in protest but did not break.

Gritting his teeth, Worm, his cheeks flushed with excitement, lunged at the man's chest. The man, as if welcoming his beloved lover, responded in kind.

"You bastard, I'll crush you, aaaaahh!!"

"Ah!? Try it with your pathetic thing!!"

Worm and the man, having discarded their weapons, wrapped their arms and hands around each other's shoulders and waists. In terms of raw strength, Worm was at a disadvantage. Matching the man's forward momentum, Worm took a step back and entangled his legs. Their postures collapsed, and they rolled together on the ground.

The close contact allowed Worm to feel the man's hot breath. A chill ran down his spine. The man's open jaw tried to tear into Worm's throat. Worm pulled back his head and used the momentum to strike. The headbutt, enhanced by the armor, left a painful mark on the man's face. His nose was crushed, blood dripped, and his front teeth were chipped.

"Ha, your ugly face looks better now!!"

"Huuu, I'll turn you into mush."

The entangled bodies could not be easily separated. The man's arms, wrapped around Worm, were reaching their limit. Worm, with a dark smile, taunted him.

"Do you dislike heat?"

Worm focused his magic, and the man sensed the change, but it was too late.

"Shut up, a, aah!? Aaaah, gah, aaaaaahh!!"

Worm placed his hand under the man's armpit, around the shoulder blade, and channeled fire magic from the hand that was touching the man's throat. Fire enveloped both of their bodies. Unlike Worm, who had fire resistance, the man's sebum burst, his blood boiled, and his flesh burned and charred.

Trying to escape the fire, the man's entangled limbs could not be easily disentangled. A normal person would have died immediately from a burned throat, but the man, protected by a magic barrier, did not die right away.

"Aaah, g, gaaaah, a—"

His vocal cords burned, and eventually, blue flames burst from his mouth. Worm, having burned through the man's neck, quietly stood up.

He had stood out too much. Most of the surrounding area was now filled with enemy soldiers. Worm threw the man's head at the approaching mercenaries, who stopped in their tracks.

"Hey, hey, Degoal is down."

"Ugh, he's well done."

"That guy had a thing for boys. I always thought he'd end up like this."

"More importantly, what do we do about 'that'? Fighting each other isn't worth it."

The mercenaries spoke as if it were someone else's problem. Both the mercenaries and the regular soldiers, now focused on the chaos caused by the viscount's irregulars, turned their attention to Worm. Worm, drawn into the theater of the battlefield, was about to dance wildly at its center. This meant the stage would not end until one of them danced to death.