The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 243 Folk?lorist? Mogers (13) - An Answer That Doesn't Lower One's Evaluation Raslro was radical, but he was not a fool. He clearly understood both that their ambush had been seen through and that about half of their allies had been defeated without even getting a proper chance to fight. But Raslro didn't care. Because even with just the four remaining including himself, dealing with Mogers and Morana would be an easy task. Average shoulder height of 130cm. Body length including the tail, 3M. Weight over 400kg. Even if there were a knight armed in full plate armor here, it would be meaningless before them. Just charging with all their might without any special technique would shake the insides, and if they bit properly, the metal armor itself would be crushed. There's no need to separately mention what would happen to the flesh inside. What about Mogers standing before them now? The leather clothing he wore was no different from a thin membrane in front of Raslro. In his right hand he held some stick-like thing wrapped in bandages, which looked more like a toy than a weapon to Raslro. -Grrrrrrrrrrrr!! Vocal cords transformed into those of a beast declared death. There was no need to bite legs and knock down like ordinary wolves do, or to leap and target vital points. Just by slightly raising his upper body and extending his snout, a human's entire head and neck would come within attack range. The snout filled with sharp teeth closed as if to tear apart Mogers' head and neck in one bite. Crunch. ……? The moment his teeth met, an inexplicable sense of futility overwhelmed Raslro. He couldn't taste the blood and flesh that should have filled his mouth. The flesh and blood that would satisfy his instincts as a beast wasn't there. Before Raslro's reason could understand what this meant, Raslro's instincts screamed. Crack! Terrible pain felt in his right front leg. Joint bones that had received some intense impact were crushed, and Raslro's head, unable to properly plant himself on the ground, crashed into the earth. After reflexively creating distance using his remaining three legs, what he saw was Mogers raising his upper body that had been half-leaning backward. 'What did he do? What happened to me?' He dodged the attack aimed at his neck while striking the front leg joint with a stick? 'That's impossible.' Even though he had thought of it himself, Raslro denied that possibility. Even if a human swung their fist with full force, a large animal wouldn't even feel the power of a flick. Even if that bandaged stick were a solid lump of iron, it wouldn't make much difference. Raslro's thick hide should have absorbed that much impact easily. But no matter how much he denied it, the wound carved into his right front leg wouldn't disappear. Even when he tried to plant his feet on the ground as if it were nothing, his right leg only trembled weakly and couldn't support Raslro's massive body. While struggling to maintain his body's balance that kept trying to tilt, Raslro roared at his companions. -Kaaah!! As if responding to the command, the remaining three wolves each rushed forward. Two wolves tried to bite Mogers' right arm and left thigh respectively, while the remaining one swung its front paws as if to strike Morana's entire upper body. Raslro sneered at the two people who pulled their bodies back as if trying to avoid the attack. Before their size and speed, escape would be impossible. At most they could retreat about one step. The wolves planted their front paws on the ground to charge. The next moment, they crashed directly into the ground that had sunken deeply. Horror. Confusion. Not understanding what happened, the wolves reflexively raised their heads, but that was the worst move. Like delivering a counter to their rising momentum, Mogers struck down on their foreheads with the blunt end of the stick in his hand, while Morana lashed their snouts with her polearms. Under the terrible impact of bones and teeth being crushed, the wolves could no longer even think of fighting and cowered. But even this could be considered merciful treatment in a way. If they had struck down with sharp, sturdy spears instead of blunt weapons, their heads might have been pierced completely. Raslro could not accept that fact. He was strong. He was a predator. Before him who had received the goddess's blessing, humans should be nothing more than prey. To receive pity from such an opponent - could he possibly accept such a thing? -Grrr! One wolf escaped from the trap and stood beside Raslro. Thanks to his companion taking Mogers' attack instead, he had managed to escape unharmed alone. Feeling his companion's presence beside him, Raslro's fighting spirit blazed even hotter. Raslro prepared to charge once more. At that moment, his gaze met Mogers'. - ──. Unconsciously, the beast panted. The human was looking down at him. There was no particular emotion in those eyes. Even facing a beast worthy of being called a monster, he held neither the excitement of battle nor fear of death. Naturally so, because the human didn't even recognize the beast as an enemy to begin with. The things the beast had taken pride in. Large size, swift movements, sharp teeth and powerful jaw strength. Such things were merely characteristics to be considered by the human. He would simply find appropriate countermeasures and deal with them rationally. The beast suddenly felt the illusion that his size had shrunk. The human grabbed his neck, now transformed into that of a small rabbit, and snapped it with a crack. He made cuts in the hind legs to skin the hide, split open the belly and removed the entrails. The human's gaze while performing this work remained indifferent. Because the human neither hated the rabbit nor wanted to torment it. He simply needed the hide and meat, so he processed it according to the established method. Such eyes were gazing at the beast, at Raslro. Raslro unconsciously stepped backward. -Whine... The predator's spirit that had vowed to stain the castle town with blood was no longer there. Unlike his previous majestic roars, making sounds like a defeated dog whimpering, Raslro turned around and fled from Mogers. The surviving companion wolf followed in confusion, but Raslro seemed to have no presence of mind to care for him, limping on his right front leg as he ran and ran. "Uh, hmm?" Perhaps he truly hadn't expected this, as Mogers, who had been preparing to counter Raslro's attack, showed a rare expression of bewilderment. "He showed such a hot-blooded appearance that I thought he'd charge to the very end... He's more rational and wise than I thought. Certainly, if he does that, it would be hard to catch up." There was no sarcasm or mockery in his admiring expression that he had been outplayed. He seemed to genuinely evaluate Raslro's tactical judgment highly. Morana added. "...It just looked like he got scared of you and ran away, Professor." "Scared? What reason would there be for that? The trap and ambush just worked well, but honestly, I didn't display any tremendous power or anything." Well. Shouldn't they hear Raslro's side of things too? Morana thought so, but she didn't have a chance to voice that thought. Because those who belatedly noticed the commotion that had occurred gathered around them one after another. "You guys!! What in the world is this─" Letting Vanya's bewildered question go in one ear and out the other, Morana glanced at the stick Mogers held in his hand. From that thing wrapped and hidden in bandages came the scent of wood and metal. *** "...I've locked up all the ones who participated in the attack in the stone chamber. Even those whose faces and teeth were smashed shouldn't have any threat to their lives." Vanya's face as she explained the situation was extremely complicated. It seemed shocking both that those she had considered companions had ignored her instructions and tried to kill Mogers and Morana, and that as a result they had been miserably defeated without achieving anything. Vanya also knew that Morana's abilities were excellent. Vanya had also wandered around the Bone Fragment Plain as a hunter, but the very fact that someone could hunt wild animals alone at a remote outpost where proper support couldn't even be expected and achieve complete self-sufficiency without any problems was proof of strength. But she hadn't thought they would be strong enough to defeat Raslro's group, who had received the goddess's blessing, in a frontal confrontation. And hadn't Mogers said he was a folklorist(?). "Though he has a large build, if they could be crushed by someone who isn't even combat personnel, then regardless of soldiers, against knights..." "Hmm. Though I haven't directly seen the abilities of those called knights, it wouldn't be good to be careless." Morana, who was listening to the conversation from the side, remained as expressionless as always, but inwardly couldn't help but tilt her head in puzzlement. Vanya, who hadn't directly seen the battle, seemed to be misunderstanding something, because classifying Mogers as non-combat personnel felt terribly wrong. Toward the dejected Vanya, Mogers spoke. "By the way, what about the whereabouts of the two who escaped?" "Unfortunately, we lost them. We are monitoring all the passages leading here, but honestly I can't guarantee we can catch them." "I see." According to Vanya, it was Raslro who had originally found and introduced this hideout, so it wouldn't be strange if there were side paths or secret passages that only he knew about. Morana asked. "What will you do now, Vanya?" Vanya chewed her lips anxiously, then soon let out a deep sigh. "Honestly, armed struggle is difficult now. The most hardline Raslro has gone missing, and seeing several blessed ones rush at just you two only to lose, everyone's anxious about whether we could possibly fight the castle town with force like this." "Does that mean we can take it that you're considering following the Professor's proposal?" "...It's not definite. But we'll at least watch how the situation develops. You were the one who said we could obtain land first and then examine it before deciding, weren't you?" "Of course. Even when buying a single house, you need to carefully examine the property directly, so how could you easily decide on a group migration of hundreds of people?" Mogers asserted without hesitation, but that heartiness seemed to rather give Vanya an uneasy feeling. "But even if we really do migrate, what do you actually gain from it? To be honest, you're an outsider who doesn't care whether this matter succeeds or fails." Vanya's eyes glanced toward Morana. "Did you perhaps get involved with her?" "That's a dangerous thing to say. I'm not enough of a scoundrel to target a child young enough to be my daughter." At Mogers' answer, Morana and Vanya's eyes met and a conversation passed through glances alone. And Morana opened her mouth. "Professor, certainly as Vanya says, goodwill with no compensation can rather cause anxiety in the recipient. Is there nothing you desire? Whatever you might say, Professor, your evaluation won't fall, so please speak without worry." "Hmm, then shall I mention just one thing?" "Yes." Vanya, who was facing her directly, could notice that Morana's consistently expressionless eyes came slightly alive. Mogers spoke. "I'd like to see the goddess's altar where you said you receive 'blessings.' As a folklorist, it's truly an interesting subject of observation. Would that be alright?" After a brief silence. "...Don't you think you were a bit too hasty when you said his reputation wouldn't fall?" "Please keep your mouth shut, Vanya."