Chapter 4

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Editor: Saverath

Translator: Sylipha

Try not to judge the novel too early, read a bit further before giving a review or ratings.. There is no fixed schedule for the novel right now…

Headless Dullahan 1-4: Wyvern Repelled

“Groaaaaaaa!”

At my back, the wyvern raises its voice and roars.

With its current speed, the wyvern keeps coming closer. If it keeps going like this, I might be swallowed whole.

It won’t suddenly breathe fire, right? While frightened of that possibility, I, who ride upon Murasaki-En’s back, continue through the forest.

In any case, so I won’t disturb its center of gravity, I need to relax my stiff body and let Murasaki-En run freely.

I can feel the shock from running transmitted to me, which almost makes me lose my balance, but I still manage not to somehow.

Still, I shouldn’t be too strained.

I heard it once on TV or something, if a person is too strained when riding a horse, it could hinder the horse"s movement. That’s why I have to sit as naturally as possible to maintain balance.

Murasaki-En is a clever horse who understands what I say, so it should be fine to leave everything else to it.

We’re inside a forest, so the road is naturally not completely flat.

Creeping over the trees and bushes, stepping over mud, long vegetation, and slopes, Murasaki-En keep running while scattering dirt around.

“…… Nevertheless, that thing is persistent.”

Due to its size, that wyvern is unable to straight-up a.s.sault us because of the trees in its way.

“Graaaaaaaaaa!”

The wyvern bends its snake-like body and folds its wing to avoid the trees, coming after me with frightening speed. It’s so nasty to come right when we’re approaching a slope.

The monsters in this world are pretty clever. No, do I just happen to meet such creatures by chance?

Even so, our Murasaki-En is different from ordinary horses.

It’s a monster. No matter if we’re approaching a slope or whatever, it keeps running with all its power and does whatever it can to separate itself from the wyvern.

On top of that, it’s also an undead. Murasaki-En can keep running all the time without getting tired. If you bring it to the endurance contest, the wyvern will absolutely lose.

“Fufufufufu, you can’t touch us unless you breathe out.”

“Hihin!”

Agreeing with my murmur, Murasaki-En gives a short neigh.

The atmosphere around us is as if we"re looking down on the wyvern.

When I glance back to check, the wyvern, who"s flying at a low alt.i.tude while avoiding the trees, opens its mouth widely.

And then the back of its throat begins glowing red. It’s preparing to release its flaming breath.

“Wait, what!? Is it really going to spit out the breath!?”

I tap Murasaki-En’s back to urge it to hurry on.

“Huhin!?”

Murasaki-En gives a neigh as if saying “Seriously!?”

Hundreds, thousands of degrees flame spreads out from behind us.

The flame envelopes the trees and stray monsters along the way in the blink of an eye.

I’m an undead, so I should be weak to fire, right!? c.r.a.p!

At the moment I think that, a high-temperature blast strokes my back.

“Hot!…?”

I raise my hands reflexively when I feel the heat on my back.

Noticing my red cloak is burning, I hit the cloak to put out the fire.

While I’m at it, I also check my back, but it doesn’t seem like it’s melted.

My armor stays the same without getting deformed. The red cloak burnt a bit black, but ……

The breath from before was hot, but not something that I can’t bear. Still, it was hot enough that I will reflexively pull my hand. I’m not a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t, so I don’t want to get hit by it if I can avoid it.

Among the undead, my defense is particularly high, probably thanks to the armor I equip.

“Hihi! Hihhiinnnnnn!”

While thinking, I can hear impatient cries coming from Murasaki-En.

“What happened!?”

When I ask, Murasaki-En unnaturally lifts its back legs.

Looking back, I see Murasaki-En’s red tail is on fire.

I shift my sitting position back a bit while taking care not to get shaken off, and then hit the fire on Murasaki-En’s tail to extinguish it.

“Disappear!”

“Hihin!”

Once it notices the fire"s extinguished, Murasaki-En gives a short neigh as if saying thank you.

Anyway, that f.u.c.king wyvern.

It had never shown any sign of using flame breath until now, so I thought it was just a degraded species of dragon that can’t breathe fire.

This guy is a smart one; it hides its trump card and tries to not use it at all.

But, unfortunately, you fell for our provocation and ended up using your trump card.

It’s a degraded species of dragon after all. Hahahaha.

“Aaaaaaa! Wait a minute, that’s hot!”

d.a.m.n it, I got hit by another breath. You sure are a cheeky wyvern.

But a wyvern is still a living thing. It won’t be able to breathe infinitely.

As far as I can see, that should consume a lot of energy. It’s not undead, so it’s decided.

I don’t know how many breaths it can breathe, but if it shoots me when we’re on the slope, we might get into an accident.

I think we"ll win in the end if it’s an endurance contest, but this also comes with risks.

I hope there"s a technique that enables me to attack from far away. As a Dullahan, there is only Koshta Bower now. There is no such technique.

I also try to observe the surroundings to see if I can use anything, but the scenery flows with tremendous momentum as we’re going at full speed.

It’s difficult to find something, and even if I find it, the wyvern is approaching from behind, so I can’t stop.

As I try to find a good way to do this, I can hear Murasaki-En’s neigh.

“Hibin!”

This is its voice when it tries to warn me about something.

When I return my line of sight to the front, I can see a thick branch protruding sideways.

If we proceed as is, it will hit me cleanly and I"ll fall from the horse.

I decide to lower my body … but stop midway.

“Huhin?”

“Just keep running, but slow down a bit.”

Murasaki-En gives a dubious neigh, but still follows the instruction and keep running while slowing down.

And then, against the thick branch that comes near my belly, I raise my hand high –

“Sei!”

– and chop it with my hand.

The same power that breaks a large stone in two is applied to the horizontal branch, and it snaps with a dry sound.

I catch it immediately.

It’s a nice, sharp, thick branch.

“Groaaaaaaa!”

At my back, the wyvern is approaching at tremendous speed.

Because we slowed down, it probably thought we’re exhausted or weakened.

It forges straight ahead without being bothered by the obstacles that hit its wings and body.

It’s as if it"s saying it will bring us down here. Its physical strength is probably also at the limit.

“Keep the speed as it is!”

I instruct Murasaki-En, who is trying to speed up, to maintain the current pace.

The distance between us and the wyvern we had in the beginning is slowly shrinking.

If that wyvern breathes out its flame from this distance, we will be swallowed whole by the fire.

However, considering the wyvern’s fatigued state, it’s unlikely.

Perhaps it may still be able to breathe out its fire, but the range will be short.

It’s not a problem because closing the distance is my aim in the first place.

“Groaaaaa!”

The wyvern, who twists its body and flaps its wings, opens its mouth wide.

Atrocious fangs that look like they"d be able to crush anything give an ominous shine.

I feel uncomfortable seeing the wyvern’s raw mouth.

For a reptile, your face is ugly, and you got yellow-eyed pupils like those of a bird of prey.

I observe the inside of its mouth without being impatient, but it never shines red.

Apparently, it seems to have decided to kill us with its teeth.

I hold the thick branch like a javelin and throw it into the approaching wyvern’s mouth.

The spear of a tree launched by the power of a Dullahan pierces the throat of the wyvern at breakneck speed.

“Gagyaaaaaaaaa?”

The wyvern raises a heartbreaking cry. It crashes down to the side of the road, breaking the branch on the ground as it’s dying.

“Alright! Now, Murasaki-En! Full speed ahead!”

“Hihyyiiinnn!”

Murasaki-En and I speed up and run through the forest.

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