Ossan Saikyō Chapter 8 Part 12
For now, we followed the same road we had taken when descending from the mountain pass into the village.
At this point, Freynil's undead-detection ability was our greatest asset.
“Hmm... Yeah, there’s definitely an unpleasant smell. That's unmistakably the smell of zombies.”
As Rani frowned, Freynil came to a stop and began scanning the area.
“...I sense something over there.”
She pointed toward the depths of the grove to the right of the road.
When I extended【Presence Detection】in that direction, I could indeed feel something there.
“Alright, let's go investigate. I'll take point, Rani covers the rear. Freynil, keep directing us toward whatever you're sensing.”
“Yes, Soushi-sama.”
“Got it!”
“Let us proceed carefully.”
Raising my shield, I stepped into the grove.
The forest floor was mostly free of undergrowth, making it easy to move through.
Following Freynil's directions, we headed deeper into the woods while marking tree trunks along the way.
“The smell's getting stronger. Soushi, watch your footing.”
Rani's warning probably meant zombies could emerge from beneath the ground.
I could do without that kind of surprise attraction.
As we continued forward, several presences suddenly appeared within my detection range.
Looking ahead, the ground swelled upward, and seven or eight zombified beasts resembling wild boars burst out of the earth.
(E/N: Apologies for the interruption but, I was recently watching a reel in Insta and found: 土 kanji which denotes soil/ground is also used in the elements present in nature, like Fire element, Earth element, etc. So the earth mentioned in the above paragraph means the ground not the planet, which is what commenters under the reel were arguing about. The more you know, ig!)
“Rani, handle anything I miss.”
I stepped forward and waited for the charging zombie boars.
Of course, I had no intention of turning them into explosions at close range.
The moment they entered range, I unleashed【Shockwave】, blasting all of them away.
Zombies were already vulnerable to impacts, being creatures of flesh and bones.
They shattered into pieces and vanished in a single blow.
Unfortunately, the stench spread all at once.
“Fray, use «Absolution».”
“Yes.”
Leaving rotting flesh behind would only invite foul odors and disease.
The instant Freynil cast «Absolution», the smell vanished completely.
It should have served as disinfection as well.
Rani's grimace disappeared immediately.
“Fray's «Absolution» really is a lifesaver. You got a good skill there, Soushi. The two of you could become zombie extermination specialists.”
“I'd rather avoid that career path.”
While exchanging remarks, we reformed our formation and pressed deeper into the forest.
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After that, we continued advancing while destroying undead that emerged from the depths of the woods.
About thirty minutes later, Freynil suddenly warned us.
“I sense a powerful presence. I believe it's a strong undead.”
“Understood. Fray, prepare『Halo』with【Crucible】. Sphenia, what magic works best against undead?”
“Ordinarily, fire magic. But using it in a forest would be dangerous. The next best option would be earth magic.”
“The stone projectile type, huh? Prepare that. Use it after Fray's『Halo』.”
“Understood. I'll switch back to my bow afterward.”
I pushed【Presence Detection】to its limit as we advanced slowly.
There definitely was something massive ahead.
It wasn't like the Lich or the Headless Soldiers.
This was something with sheer physical mass.
As we cautiously moved forward, the creature finally came into view.
It was a reptilian monster over twenty meters long, resembling a crocodile.
Its hide, however, wasn't crocodile skin.
Instead, it looked as though patches of skin from numerous different creatures had been crudely stitched together.
A giant monster that radiated the atmosphere of an artificial lifeform created through forbidden arts.
“Could that be a Flesh Golem...?”
Sphenia murmured.
"Flesh" referred to corpses.
A Flesh Golem was essentially an artificial humanoid assembled from dead bodies.
Apparently, this was simply the crocodilian version.
“What should we do? I don't think this is a monster meant for a D-rank party.”
Sphenia's warning was reasonable, but I shook my head.
The golem looked ready to start moving at any moment.
Even if we returned to the village, the strongest adventurers available would only be D-rank.
As strange as it sounded, if Sphenia's assessment was accurate, then we were the strongest fighting force in the area.
Besides that...
My instincts, or rather the influence of【Bad Luck】, gave me a strange certainty.
This wasn't an opponent we couldn't defeat.
“No. Let's take it down here. If that thing climbs over the village walls, it'll be a disaster. And I think we can handle it.”
“I feel the same way. We've got Fray's『Halo』, after all.”
“What is this『Halo』?”
Sphenia asked after hearing Rani's comment.
“It weakens monsters. It worked on B-rank monsters before, so I think it'll be enough.”
“A spell like that...? Very well. In any case, there isn't a stronger party in the village than us. We have no choice but to fight.”
Once we'd reached an agreement, we moved in closer again.
Ideally, we would have launched a surprise attack...
But it seemed the golem had noticed us first.
Its hollow, emotionless eyes turned toward us as it opened its gigantic jaws.
GOFUuuuuh!
A deep growl echoed from its throat.
“It's coming. Fray, do it. After『Halo』, use【Dual Cast】«Sacred Ray» whenever you find an opening.”
“Understood. Casting『Halo』.”
Light briefly enveloped the golem.
GUUuuh...!
A groan of pain escaped it.
The spell was clearly working.
“Sphenia, your magic.”
“Yes. «Stone Lance».”
Raising her short staff, Sphenia summoned roughly ten stone spears, each nearly a meter long.
They shot forward and slammed into the golem.
Every single spear embedded itself in its flank.
The golem's movements faltered.
The attack had dealt significant damage.
“Rani, let's go.”
“Okay!”
The two of us charged side by side.
The golem began turning toward us.
“I'm first!”
Using【Dash】, Rani slipped around to its side and swung her longsword at one of its thick forelegs.
She couldn't sever it in one strike, but she cut deeply enough that black fluid burst from the wound.
By the time I reached it, the golem had already turned its enormous mouth toward me.
Fixing its gaze on me, it lunged with rows of fangs bared.
I deflected the bite with my shield and slammed my mace into the side of its head.
Empowered by my entire collection of muscle-brained skills, the strike exploded nearly a third of its skull in a single blow.
“I'll have the rear leg!”
Rani shouted.
The golem's massive body suddenly tilted.
She had severed one of its hind legs.
Arrows struck the creature's torso one after another.
Then two beams of light pierced straight through it.
GRAAAAAAAH!
The heavily damaged golem roared and thrashed wildly.
I delivered a second blow directly to its head.
A full-powered strike from overhead.
Most of the golem's head exploded apart.
Its gigantic body convulsed once before falling completely still.
“We did it! We brought down a big one!”
“As expected of you, Soushi-sama.”
“A splendid finishing blow, indeed.”
The three girls gathered around me.
I simply replied:
“It was the result of all our efforts.”
And that was the truth.
While looking back at the toppled golem, Sphenia furrowed her beautiful brows.
“Still, I've never heard of a golem this large appearing anywhere nearby. As you speculated, Soushi-san, I feel there may be something behind all this.”
“Yeah. Let's recover the magic stone and return to the village. We should have the guild inspect the corpse.”
“Ugh, we're going to dismantle that thing? Can't we just shove it into the Item Box?”
As Rani made an unreasonable suggestion, a tremendous impact echoed through the distance.
BOOOOM!
The sound had clearly come from the direction of the village.
Everyone turned toward it.
Freynil looked at me and spoke.
“I sense two large presences. I believe they're the same kind of creature as this golem.”
That might have been the greatest emergency since I'd become an adventurer.
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E/N:
I believe even a dragon, maybe lesser or intermediate, would cower away from Ossan's mace strikes, like, it's absurd! 😂 Now, let's face whatever trouble is in the village!
Stay tuned!
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