## Chapter 611 – Scent of Spring

Anyway, the job was successfully completed.

My body and mind were exhausted, but I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Goddamn, I finally hit the jackpot. There’s nothing as profitable as a giant boss raid.

More than anything, this battle gave me a crucial and valuable experience.

The certainty that no matter how huge a monster is, I can smash it to pieces with my sword energy.

If something similar happens next time, I won’t be scared at all. The experiences of today make me stronger tomorrow.

I crossed the battlefield, chatting with the young lady.

I also picked up the shattered Revitalizing Sword and put it in its scabbard. I’m not too worried since that bastard can regenerate. It’ll be fixed soon.

“It’s truly devastating! Not only the drakes but also the adventurers and my soldiers have been utterly destroyed!! My condolences for this terrible sacrifice!!!!”

The young lady said, looking around the battlefield.

Needless to say, the plains were completely fucked up.

“I also offer my condolences! They were truly brave! So brave that they launched an attack as soon as the Deathworm poked its head out!! I was genuinely moved by their fighting spirit!”
“Ohohohohohohohot!!! They were utterly destroyed, though! Anyway, they were really wonderful soldiers! Their sacrifice was truly noble!!!!”

Wait, young lady?

You’re talking about your soldiers dying, but why are you laughing?

It seems like the young lady doesn’t really care about that. She feels sorry that the soldiers died, but she only has sentiments like their sacrifice was noble and wonderful.

“…”

I guess this is what nobility is all about.

It suddenly occurred to me that she would have reacted the same way if I had died. But she’s my comrade now, so it doesn’t matter. Isn’t she a patron who gives me a lot of money?

“I think these drakes probably made a large-scale migration to avoid the Deathworm!”
“Oh, really!!!”

Come to think of it, that could be the case.

There must have been a reason why these bastards moved. And the drakes went crazy when the Deathworm appeared. It must have been because they knew about the Deathworm’s existence.

“That’s an amazing guess!!! Now that I hear it, it seems right!!”

I tore at my hair and exclaimed in admiration.

“I’m even more convinced now that I’ve said it out loud!”

Well, whatever the reason for their appearance, who cares?

The drake horde has already been smashed and disintegrated. The threat is gone, as originally intended. The scattered corpses of the drakes will also be worth money in some way.

I just have to sit still and wait.

The young lady even wrote a blood oath, so there’s no chance of her cheating me out of the money.

“By the way, a Deathworm… I only knew that such a monster existed! Today is the first time I’ve ever seen or heard of one! I didn’t know it would be so huge! Wasn’t it amazing, Barbarian Warrior!!”
“It was a truly hateful and cursed monster, as big as it was!!!!”
“That’s right!!!! If we had known in advance, there would have been fewer casualties!!! It makes me so fucking angry that I feel like I’m going crazy! But seeing your performance has calmed my anger! It even makes my heart race!!”

The young lady shouted, jumping up and down with joy again.

That was definitely a badass strike, even in my opinion. I should have shown it to my wives. Ah, but if I had shown them, they probably would have scolded me for doing something so reckless.

I did it because I was sure I could.

That’s the kind of man I am.

But seeing such a huge monster exist, this world really is something else. There are probably even stronger and bigger monsters than that Deathworm in the world.

I heard there are even dragons?
I’m scared of those bastards all over again.

I heard that dragons fly around in the sky and breathe fire. They’re even proficient in magical abilities, and their bodies are so huge and tough that it’s incredibly difficult to kill them.

Humans can never coexist with such monsters.

ㅡAnyway, the uncharted territory.

A mysterious and deadly space bordering Krasheim. The drake horde came from there, so the Deathworm must have come from there as well. In other words, it’s a gold mine. What’s there?

As I was chatting with the young lady, I soon saw soldiers approaching from the other side.

ㅡYoung Lady!!!
ㅡYoung Lady…!
ㅡYoung Laaaaady!!!!

The soldiers shouted and ran over, and the young lady raised her hand to stop them all.

“Report the damage situation!!!!”
“Yes!”

From what I could see, all the survivors seemed to be gathered.

The soldiers belonging to the infantry phalanx seemed to have suffered little damage. In fact, only the strike team members who went into the deepest part of the drake horde had died.

It was only natural since the Deathworm appeared there.

At this point, I had nothing to do, so I just stood there.

After listening to the report for a while, the young lady said to me.

“I’m going to be very busy from now on!!! So, I’ll postpone the formal commendation until after we’ve sold all the Deathworm’s corpses and the money comes in!!!”
“Understood!!!”
“Then I’ll see you at the Lord’s Castle!!! I’ll notify the Adventurer’s Guild when the time comes, so please wait!”
“Yes!!!!!!”

I guess I just have to go to the Lord’s Castle and show the document to the gate guard when I hear from the young lady next time.

I don’t think she’ll cheat me out of the money.

We’re comrades, after all.

“Soldiers! This Barbarian Warrior is the Deathworm Slayer who killed the Deathworm with a single blow!!!! Treat him well so he can rest comfortably!!!”

When the young lady shouted that, the eyes of all the soldiers on the scene were focused on me. I silently grinned and raised my arm.

ㅡSilence.

But no one’s reacting, damn it.
Just as I was about to shout out a cheer out of embarrassment, the young lady shouted fiercely.

“What are you doing, not cheering!!!!!!!”

ㅡM, hurray!!!!!!
ㅡHurray!!!!!
ㅡHuraaaaaaay!!!

Cheers immediately erupted.

“I am Kim Kat, the quasi-priest of the Bronze Sky Angel Society!!!”

I smiled and waved to each of the soldiers.

ㅡHurray!!
ㅡHurray!!!
ㅡHuraaaaaaaaaay!!!!

That’s a pretty good compliment to hear.
I enjoyed the feeling and then lowered my hand.

“Young Lady, it was truly an honor to be able to share this great achievement with you.”
“The honor is all mine! Then please go and rest!”

I knelt on one knee and bowed to the young lady, showing her the utmost respect, gratitude, and courtesy, before leaving the scene.

The praise coming from behind was sweet.

“Deathworm Slayer-nim! Is there anything you need!”

As I was about to leave, a soldier followed me and said that. He had followed me because the young lady had ordered him to let me rest comfortably.

“Hehehe, I want to go back to the village for now.”
“To the village, you say?”
“I think that would be better than resting in the barracks.”
“Ah… I see.”

The soldier nodded when I mentioned the barracks.
Originally, soldiers all hate the barracks.

“Then how can I help you!”
“Nothing really. I’m just going back to rest now.”

When I said that, the soldier hesitated.

Well, the young lady told him to treat me well, so he’d be in trouble if I tried to go back.

“The situation isn’t good right now. I’d rather just go back than be treated. Tell her that.”
“Ah, I understand! Please have a safe trip!”

I left the barracks like that.

* * *

I worked my ass off, but I didn’t get anything right away. Actually, I don’t really need anything. I’ve already got enough cash. If you think about it, I also gained honor and experience.

Now, I just have to go back and rest and then get my reward.

I really have no idea how much it’ll be.

Not only his carapace but also his teeth and claws. And other miscellaneous pieces of internal organs. Ah, but come to think of it, I smashed all his teeth.

That seems to be the most important thing.

But since it has a basic size, it’ll be sold in many ways. The mages of the magic tower are the kind of people who can’t just let something like that go. Even if I split it with the young lady, it’ll definitely be more than 10 gold. It might even be dozens of gold.

And the corpses of the drakes scattered on the battlefield will also return to the young lady’s possession, and I’ll get money for that as well.

I’m going to be rich in an instant.

If I get that much money, it won’t be difficult to establish a base in the capital. I have to buy everything my women ask for.

“Ugh…”

Anyway, I roughly grabbed a room and went in to rest. First, I bought a lot of food, took a clean shower, and then gorged myself to replenish my body’s energy. That was essential.

I have to recover my strength to go home. I should rest for at least 24 hours without doing anything. It’s not too late to go back tomorrow.

I sat there until I was full, then lay down and fell asleep. When I woke up, I could feel mana circulating in my body. It’s recovering a bit slowly because I’ve been working so hard.

But right now, when my mana has recovered.

ㅡThere’s something I want to experiment with.

“Inner Weight Art.”

No, should I call it Inner Weight Foot Art?

At the end, when I finished off the Deathworm, I combined the Heavenly Demon Advent Step with sword energy and the Inner Weight Art to unleash tremendous destructive power.

It was easier than doing it with my hands.

The Heavenly Demon Advent Step was something I did like eating a meal.
I succeeded when I fought Hilde last time as well.

I was able to naturally perform the murderous mysteries that Liztina taught me with my feet. That feeling… is definitely still in my feet.

ㅡCreak.

I immediately pulled the dresser in the room in front of me.

“…”

I put my foot on it.

My mana isn’t fully recovered, but it’s enough to use it at a weakened level.

ㅡGooo.

I recall the moment when I smashed the Deathworm’s head and focus on that feeling. The mana gathering in my legs, the surging mana. As Liztina taught me, I feel like I’m sprouting countless mana thorns from the soles of my feet.

ㅡRight now.

“Heavenly Demon Advent Step.”

ㅡCrack!

My bare foot easily broke through the wooden dresser. No, this isn’t it. This is just the Heavenly Demon Advent Step so far.

A little more, a little more of that feeling…!

“Inner Weight Arrrrrrrrrrt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

As I unleashed my mana with a shout,

ㅡPuaaaaaaaaaaang!!!!!!!!!!

A moment later, an explosion rang out and fragments flew in all directions.

“Oh, shit!!!!”

The dresser exploded and was crushed.

I had properly mastered the secret technique that Liztina taught me…!

I’ll have to test the power in more detail when my mana is fully restored, but I could definitely feel it now. The feeling of using the penetrated mana to turn the inside into a mud pit.

“Goddamn son of a bitch!!!!!!!!!!”

I even applied this to the sword energy of the Revitalizing Sword that I had plunged into the Deathworm’s head. That meant I could now use it even with the sword stabbed in.

“Hehehe!”

Cloudy and Karin will like it the most.
Liztina will probably be very surprised.

In the first place, I had succeeded in True: Heavenly Demon Advent Step before. For me, something like this is very simple. I can do it because it’s me, and that’s why I’m Heavenly Demon Kim Kat.

“It’s a truly natural result.”

Well, I can just pay for the dresser. How much could it cost? I can use that amount as my toast.

ㅡSwish.

I immediately drew the Revitalizing Sword that I had leaned against the wall.

The Revitalizing Sword, which had been half-destroyed, was repairing itself and was about 70% intact. It’s a really good magic sword that it can return to its original state even after being used so roughly.

“Thank you, Vugal.”

ㅡI conveyed my gratitude quietly.
Because I couldn’t hold back my heated heart.

“Because you helped me, because you were with me at the most crucial moment. And because you didn’t leave my hand. Because you believed in me.”

Vugal was with me from beginning to end. He wasn’t intimidated even in the face of the giant enemy called Deathworm.

“I was able to win.”

And so I won.

“Thank you, Vugal. You’re already a great Revitalizing Sword…”

The Vugal bastard, who used to seduce innocent people and sacrifice them, was no longer here. He had already died and been chopped into pieces, and even his soul had been extracted. All that’s here is just my comrade. Just the Revitalizing Sword, a sword that saves people.

“Vugal…!”

Why, on the blade that was repairing itself, the image of the sword demon Vugal wiping his mustache and smiling shyly overlapped.

“You bastard…!”

The overlapping image soon disappeared as if it were just an illusion.

ㅡA heartwarming feeling.

“Ah…!”

The reflected image is by no means an illusion.

Vugal will be with me forever.

Like this, I have comrades who are with me. They lend me their strength and encourage me to move forward when things are most difficult. In order not to be ashamed of them, I, Heavenly Demon Kim Kat, continue to move forward today.

Isn’t spring just such a season?