WeTried Translations

Translator: Dawn

Editor: Dawn

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Genius Knight of a Fallen Race

Chapter 26

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The Priest Relies, the Mage Questions, and the Knight Believes

A cockatrice. 

Back when Roden boasted about how incredible knights were, this was one of the monsters he used as an example. It is a giant lizard covered head to toe in skin like stone. Now that Shan had seen one in person, he realized the description fit perfectly. However, Roden failed to convey even a fraction of its overwhelming violence and oppressive presence. Standing atop a five-meter wall only made the already massive creature look more like a dragon. The cockatrice narrowed its eyes as if trying to identify what they were, then opened its bird-like beak wide and roared.

[□□□■■■□□—!]

A wave unique to large monsters surged outward, instantly suppressing the freedom of the body. Shan was about to shake off the paralysis through sheer force of spirit when he realized there was no need. Priest Vent had quickly granted a blessing that strengthened the mind and inspired courage. In exchange, Vent himself collapsed weakly, just like Roden and Jerpo beside him.

“Kh, ughhh!”

“My legs...!”

Even the horses staggered as their legs gave out. Seeing that, Shan stepped forward to draw the cockatrice’s attention before it could charge at the others. The monster looked down at him with slit, serpent-like eyes, then suddenly leaped. Fortunately, it seemed interested in Shan, the only one moving, instead of the others who were frozen.

“Ugh!”

Boom!

The ground crumpled beneath it, dirt exploding outward. Its stone-like skin wasn’t just for appearance, as it truly carried immense weight. The thing was absurdly heavier than its already immense size. What was even more terrifying was that despite such mass, it moved with the agility of an ordinary animal. Shan sidestepped the clawed forelimb swinging toward him and slashed across its side.

Screech!

The sound of metal grinding against stone rang out, sparks scattering as a long crimson line appeared across the rocky hide.

It’s hard!

He hadn’t gone all out, but he had poured enough force into the strike to cut steel, and yet it only lightly scratched the skin. However, Shan wasn’t the only one surprised. The cockatrice itself recoiled in terror the moment it realized its durable body had been wounded. Compared to its massive frame, it was barely an injury at all. Perhaps it had never been hurt before in its life. As Shan stared into the cockatrice’s eyes, filled with confusion and fear, Jerpo’s trembling voice came from behind him.

“For now, let’s retreat... We encountered it in far too vulnerable a state. We at least need time to prepare and form a plan.”

Following his suggestion, the Green Eyes slowly backed away from the great mansion. Fortunately, the cockatrice merely glared at them with its yellow eyes shining and did not pursue as they withdrew.

“Haa...”

Only after putting about five minutes of distance between themselves and the mansion did they all finally let out sighs of relief. Even then, they kept glancing back toward the mansion. Judging from its size, there was no way they wouldn’t notice it approaching, yet the pressure it gave off was enough to make them keep checking anyway.

“Damn it, why did a monster like that have to end up in the grandest mansion?”

While Roden lamented their terrible luck, Jerpo, who had been stroking his chin in thought, countered him.

“Perhaps it’s not just bad luck.”

“Then what is it?”

“This is a relatively recent theory, but there’s a claim that monsters are drawn to powerful magic tools or similar objects.”

Like the stories of dragons hoarding treasure, tales had always existed of guardians protecting great treasures. Naturally, if there were no such guardians, someone would have already taken the treasure. But recently, some mages argued that this wasn’t merely a narrative convenience. Their theory was that monsters used the residual mana naturally leaking from magic tools as a source of energy. 

Especially high-ranking monsters, whose immense bodies couldn’t sustain themselves through ordinary food alone, were thought to rely heavily on these mysterious energies. According to the theory, that was also why warriors armed with powerful magic artifacts so often encountered terrifying monsters and went on to become legends.

“Then... could it be?”

“There may be something in that mansion keeping the cockatrice there. No, the chances are high.”

The mansion in the center of the city was clearly the residence of the most powerful person in the area. Naturally, it was bound to be filled with precious items. The problem was that excavating the mansion without killing the cockatrice seemed impossible. Considering how it reacted immediately just because Shan and his party were talking loudly at the entrance, it would certainly notice them, no matter how quietly they tried to sneak in.

“Even so, isn’t that thing too much? Even lords need several forces working together to kill one,” Vent frowned as he voiced his opinion.

Though trolls and cockatrices were both classified as large monsters, the difference between them was like heaven and earth. Trolls were usually hunted by small groups led by one or two key fighters, like the hunting party Shan once joined. Cockatrices, on the other hand, required massive extermination forces—hundreds of warriors and more than ten knights. 

Excluding the absolute highest-tier monsters that appeared only once every few decades or centuries and could threaten entire kingdoms, cockatrices ranked among the strongest monsters people could normally encounter. Simply participating in the hunt of one was enough to boast about among knights, and claiming its head would become a tale passed down for generations.

“But giving up is too wasteful.”

“Exactly. We went through all that trouble to get here.”

“Hmm...”

Vent could only groan in response to Jerpo and Shan’s words. Considering all the tools and supplies they had consumed getting here, it truly felt like a waste to turn back after only exploring the outskirts. Even if they could still recover their expenses, there was no guarantee they would ever enter this city safely again.

“For now, we should hear Shan’s opinion. You fought it directly, so you should have some sense of it. Can you do it?”

Under the mixture of expectation and concern directed at him, Shan fell into thought. If he fought the cockatrice here and lost, it wouldn’t only be his death. The moment the Green Eyes lost their core strength, the odds of the others returning safely to Sedil would nearly vanish. Looking down at the sword that had scratched the cockatrice’s side, he let out a low groan. The blade was in terrible condition, chipped all along the edge like a saw. Even the protection by the force of Spirit couldn’t save it. If he had swung normally, it probably would have been as pointless as trying to cut a boulder with a sword.

To kill that thing, he would have to pour nearly all his strength into a strike aimed directly at the heart or brain. Logically speaking, retreating was the right choice. If he got older and stronger, and returned later with better weapons, it would be far safer—even if the weapon wasn’t as good as the count’s magic sword.

But... It’s going to take way too long...

There were countless explorers who spent their entire lives exploring without obtaining even a single decent magic artifact. Just discovering an uncharted city like this was already incredible luck. Who knew how many years it would take for fortune like that to strike several more times? 

More than anything, if he kept retreating every time he encountered an obstacle, he would never achieve what he wanted. The dream of becoming a knight as an Alto was already considered impossible by many. Extraordinary results demanded extraordinary methods.

“Let’s make a plan.”

At Shan’s words, everyone nodded with heavy expressions. Once he made a decision, that settled it. Even Vent, who had objected earlier, said nothing further. When it came to combat, Shan’s authority outweighed the other three combined.

***

Before starting the operation, the Green Eyes decided to search the surrounding area first. Their goal was to loot several large buildings near the cockatrice’s mansion and hopefully find useful magic artifacts. Of course, since the monster could attack at any moment, all four explored the buildings together. After some time of rummaging through dusty shelves and cabinets, Shan suddenly heard Roden’s excited shout while coughing from the dust.

“Oh, found one! Over here!”

As everyone gathered, Roden held up a gold-plated goblet. As expected of a magical item, it gleamed brilliantly by itself despite the ruined state of the house.

“Doesn’t look very useful in a fight.”

“You never know. It could produce poison when liquids are poured into it... Let’s investigate first.”

While Jerpo examined the goblet’s function, the others resumed searching. The discovered effect turned out somewhat disappointing.

“Temperature control?”

“Yes. It maintains the temperature of whatever liquid is inside, whether hot or cold. Judging by the materials used to preserve such a trivial object for this long, the owner must have been quite wealthy. Or perhaps they personally valued it.”

Regardless of Jerpo’s explanation, it wasn’t something they could use against the cockatrice right away. Still, since functioning Alto relics would fetch enormous prices in Sedil, they immediately stored it. After pulling out a paper fragment so old it crumbled apart beneath a bed, Shan dusted off his hands and asked Jerpo,

“But why are there barely any books?”

“Perhaps paper simply wasn’t a good material for enchanting. Or maybe the Altos had superior methods of storing information. That’s why intact books from the Alto era are worth incomparably more than ordinary relics.”

“That much?”

“Magic books would obviously be worth an enormous price, but imagine finding something as simple as a map of the old Alto Empire. To explorers, that would be a treasure beyond compare.”

“I guess...”

With something like that, they could probably locate the legendary city of Asilube, the capital of the Alto Empire. Unless it lay thousands of kilometers farther east.

“That’s also why so little is known about Alto history. Strangely enough, even the surviving Altos preserved almost no historical records. The most widespread account is still the one taught by the Church of the Goddess—”

“That the ancient Altos betrayed humanity and the goddess, then used magic to open a gate connecting to the world of demons?”

“The followers of the old faith still believe that. Personally, I don’t agree. No matter how I look at it, the theory relies on documents that are far too fragmentary.”

And so, the goddess cursed the Altos, twisting their appearance and devastating the land so people could no longer live there. To wander forever in ugly forms, without a homeland—that was the punishment inflicted upon them. Priest Ador had drilled that story into Shan’s ears endlessly during sermons. 

Even while talking excitedly, Shan’s eyes and hands never stopped moving. After looting five more houses, the Green Eyes managed to obtain quite a number of Alto relics. They found a large cabinet that preserved the freshness of whatever was stored inside, semi-permanent cosmetics, a handkerchief that automatically cleaned whatever it wiped...

Since they were raiding ordinary homes rather than armories or barracks, most of the items naturally ended up being household goods. The only thing remotely useful in battle was a sphere that absorbed sunlight and glowed at night, though it had gone unused too long to function immediately.

By the time they finished searching, night had fallen, and darkness spread across the city. In the Demon Realm, the nights were brutally dark since clouds always covered the sky, and neither sun nor moonlight reached the ground. There was a reason they had avoided fighting until now. Shan’s night vision gave them a far greater advantage in darkness.

“Garnarobastang... Arbonasfrum...”

An eerie chant spread through the building in the dead of night. After enchanting their weapons for the third time, Jerpo collapsed in complete exhaustion. Magic played a smaller role compared to Spirit, but overuse still drained stamina.

“Hah... I-I can’t... anymore. Seriously.”

As befitted an explorer, he knew various kinds of magic. However, enchantment was neither his specialty nor something he studied deeply. His true expertise was closer to archaeology—appraising tools and analyzing traces of ancient relics. Compared to proper enchanters, his mana was weaker and only lasted a few dozen minutes.  Still, everyone agreed this was better than going out and trying useless tricks that probably wouldn’t work anyway. Leaving the exhausted Jerpo behind with the horses, Shan, Roden, and Vent headed toward the cockatrice’s mansion.

“Phew...”

In the torchlight, Shan could see cold sweat running down Roden’s face. Vent looked slightly better, but his tension was equally obvious. And honestly, being nervous while walking into the lair of a powerful monster in the dead of night was perfectly normal. Yet strangely enough, Shan himself felt no tension at all. If anything, something hot seemed to spread slowly from deep within his chest.

Ah.

He suddenly remembered when he had felt this before. It was when he first fought the Steel Lion Legion, who attacked the village, when he fought Black Spear Fional, and when he fought the troll. He only felt this way before battles where death was a real possibility.

Against ordinary monsters or enemies that posed no true threat, he never felt it. It was as though the exhilaration of impending battle and the fear of death mixed together and stabbed at his brain. After letting out a small breath to calm himself, Shan finally stopped the other two once they reached a point roughly thirty meters from the mansion.

“This is far enough.”

“You sure we shouldn’t go closer?”

“It’s fine. If I can assassinate it, that’s the best outcome.”

During their first encounter, they had barged in loudly and been discovered immediately. But perhaps if he entered alone and quietly, he could sever the sleeping creature’s neck in a single strike. If that happened, it would truly be the ideal scenario.

***

After receiving one final blessing of vitality from Vent, Shan left the other two at the mansion entrance and slipped inside with steps as silent as a cat. Unlike earlier, when he used a one-handed sword, this time he held the longsword he had once bought at great expense from a forge in the capital. Half the money he earned from slaying the troll had gone into it. It was a masterpiece among ordinary steel swords. He passed through the entrance without a sound and stepped into the garden, only to hear heavy thudding almost immediately.

It noticed me.

He had made barely more noise than rustling leaves, so it couldn’t have heard his footsteps. Was it his scent? Though Shan had learned the habits of many monsters from Sir Darkal, he knew little about cockatrices. They were rarely hunted, and when they were, it was usually through massive extermination forces, leaving little detailed analysis behind.

All he knew was that, unlike their relative, the basilisk, they possessed no special powers—only overwhelming strength, speed, and toughness. Not long after, the cockatrice emerged from the darkness within the mansion. Unlike before, entering the mansion itself seemed to have angered it. The cockatrice’s eyes burned with fury rather than curiosity.

[□□■□—!]

The creature released the same thunderous roar as last time, but Shan didn’t flinch at all. He hadn’t received a blessing against mental attacks, but his body had adapted somewhat after hearing its roar several times already. Besides, even without that, he could have resisted through sheer force of Spirit. Dodging the beast as it lunged, the first thing Shan checked was the wound on its side.

Good. It barely healed. So it definitely doesn’t have the ability to regenerate rapidly...

After evading several attacks, Shan thrust the longsword directly into the same wounded spot. This time, he poured in far more force, targeting the section where the rocky skin had already cracked. The sword buried itself to the hilt instantly.

[■■■■■■□□□—!!]

This time, the cry wasn’t one of rage or intimidation, but pure agony. Even for a giant lizard nearly ten meters long from head to tail, a longsword over a meter long piercing deep into its body was a serious wound. With no time to pull the blade free, Shan immediately released the hilt and ducked. The creature’s bizarrely thin tail whipped past the back of his head.

That one’s dangerous...!

If he had lowered his head even slightly less, his skull would have exploded instantly. Had he been standing upright, his head would have flown off entirely. Seeing that, he realized it was fortunate he hadn’t tried to coordinate a direct assault with Roden. The cockatrice’s strength and agility were on an entirely different level from the troll’s. With Roden’s reflexes, he likely would have died or been crippled after enduring just one or two attacks.

As Shan dodged another series of strikes, he noticed the creature saw remarkably well in the dark and tracked him with precision. Perhaps it was following the glowing green eyes. On a hunch, he briefly closed his eyes and moved by instinct alone. Immediately, he heard claws slicing through the air toward him. He twisted away and reopened his eyes, realizing he had barely avoided the attack. Apparently, that wasn’t the answer.

That was close!

Though Shan was far more agile, the difference in raw size was overwhelming. Then again, that was the essence of a knight’s battles. It was about overcoming monsters whose physical abilities far surpassed humans through excellent equipment, refined skill, and a perfectly honed force of spirit.

Fortunately, the pain from the sword lodged in its side seemed to bother the cockatrice greatly. Once Shan widened the distance, it merely whined rather than charging aggressively. Compared to the troll he fought before, this creature had a far lower tolerance for pain.

“Spear!” Shan shouted loudly for Roden after springing backward several steps and reaching the mansion entrance again. 

Roden had only heard thunderous crashes and splintering noises in the darkness with the torch extinguished. Though he had no idea of the current situation of the battle, he hurled his weapon toward the sound. If it had been daylight, he probably would have trembled too much at the mere sight of the spear to throw it properly. Ironically, the darkness helped.

“Watch out!”

Even without Roden’s warning, Shan saw the long spear hurtling toward him like a thrown javelin. It was impressive that Roden had thrown it across dozens of meters with enough force to impale someone clean through, despite seeing nothing in the dark.

Shan lightly twisted his body, caught the spear, and stabbed toward the approaching cockatrice’s face. He aimed for the eye while avoiding the hard beak, but the creature tilted its head slightly. However, it seemed more like a lucky move than an intentional dodge.

Too bad.

He had poured a considerable amount of Spirit into the strike, but the spear was too cheap. Even enchanted, it lacked the power to inflict a fatal wound. After repeatedly stabbing at its forelimbs to keep it back, Shan seized the moment and thrust at the cockatrice’s throat with several times more Spirit than before. The spearhead pierced the rocky hide, sinking roughly one-third of the shaft into the creature.

“Ugh!”

A wave of dizziness surged over him from the massive stamina drain, and Shan groaned while rolling aside. The cockatrice thrashed in pain, and one claw grazed near his abdomen. His chainmail shattered, iron fragments flying everywhere.

Good thing I wore armor...

He had considered removing it because of the weight and noise, but otherwise his intestines would have spilled onto the ground. The terror of death brushing past him caused his brain to flood itself with euphoric chemicals. 

It felt similar to the moment he once survived Black Spear Fional’s strike. But unlike that time, this enemy showed no intention of stopping the fight. Fortunately, after desperately moving his exhausted body and avoiding several more attacks, Shan felt strength return through the blessing of vitality.

“Sword!”

He called for another weapon, and this time, a familiar one-handed sword flew toward him. It was the sword he first acquired as spoils—the weapon of a Steel Lion. Shan wanted a two-handed longsword, so he was briefly startled. But he immediately leaped over the charging cockatrice and drove the blade into its back. At that exact moment, the violent recoil from the monster’s movement caused the sword to snap with a sharp crack.

Having poured tremendous Spirit into the strike, Shan staggered from the sudden exhaustion. When the cockatrice twisted around to bite him off its back, he hurriedly leaped away and climbed the uneven surface of a nearby building. He couldn’t relax, considering the beast had climbed a five-meter wall earlier, but at least this bought him a little time.

“Huff... Huff...”

After using near-full power of Spirit twice in a row, nausea welled up so strongly he felt he might vomit at any moment. Without the blessing of vitality, he probably would have collapsed unconscious already. As he regulated his breathing with the technique Darkal taught him, Shan realized something strange. The cockatrice wasn’t attacking.

...What?

The sword lodged in its side, the spear in its neck, and the blade stuck in its back clearly caused it pain and discomfort, but none were immediately fatal. Yet instead of attacking Shan, it only looked around restlessly. It was as though it couldn’t locate him.

Wait...

After a brief thought, Shan called Roden again. The final spare longsword thrown over the wall flew dozens of meters before clattering to the ground, and instantly the cockatrice lunged at the empty air, slashing wildly with claws and tail.

Aha...

Shan didn’t understand complex concepts like vibration, but he now had a rough grasp of how the creature perceived the world. No wonder it tracked him so perfectly in pitch darkness—it listened for footsteps against the ground. And since it knew an intruder was inside the mansion, it ignored Roden and Vent outside. Shan clung to the building for about a minute until his stamina fully returned. Then, he quietly dropped back to the ground. As expected, the cockatrice detected him and charged the instant he landed.

“Hup.”

Shan narrowly avoided the attack and retrieved the longsword Roden had thrown earlier. Then, still holding it, he swiftly climbed the outer wall of the nearby building.

Good. Now I just need to lure it directly beneath me...

The cockatrice approached the building with a suspicious expression. Twice now, Shan had suddenly vanished near buildings. It clearly sensed trickery. If it had possessed the intelligence of the troll he fought before, it would have immediately reasoned that Shan climbed upward. Truly intelligent monsters were troublesome far beyond the abilities they possessed.

Come here. Just a little closer.

With that thought, Shan extended the longsword and aimed precisely at the cockatrice’s neck. He considered targeting the skull, but skulls were generally the hardest part of a body, and legends said severing the neck would certainly kill it. One step. Then another. The moment he judged the distance sufficient, Shan released his grip from the wall and dropped. At that instant, doubt flashed through his mind.

Can I really cut it in one strike?

The longsword he held was merely a spare, far inferior to the one he usually used. Though Jerpo had enchanted it, the magic itself wasn’t extraordinary. If he failed to sever that thick neck in a single blow and collapsed exhausted right in front of it, he would be crushed to death instantly. Shan clenched his teeth hard and cast the doubt from his mind. 

“Rely upon the goddess while questioning all things in the world. But always believe that you yourself could achieve the impossible.”

The moment he recalled Darkal’s teachings, his chaotic thoughts settled.

I’ll cut it!

At that thought, sharply refined Spirit flowed into the edge of the longsword and cleaved through the cockatrice’s neck, thick as a tree trunk. The first half split instantly. The remaining half was torn apart almost by brute force. With its role complete, the longsword bent entirely out of shape, ruined beyond repair.

“Ahaha...”

Laughing as the severed head dropped limply to the ground, Shan realized his own body had betrayed him as well and collapsed onto the earth. The contrast between his mind, burning with the exhilaration of victory, and his utterly drained body, incapable of movement, was so absurd it made laughter spill out on its own.