Chapter 70 – Opening the North (1)

“Its weaknesses are in its eyes and stomach!” Shakan shouted.

The behemoth’s thick skin was a near impossible challenge, so the answer Shakan found were the eyes and stomach.

“I see!”

Crockta raised his speed. Now he was almost at the behemoth. The behemoth didn’t move as it watched Crockta’s movements like it was expecting an attack. It happened the moment Crockta entered between the behemoth’s two big paws.

The behemoth stamped its feet, causing the earth beneath it to shake. The behemoth’s foot was about the size of a house, causing what seemed like an earthquake. Crockta desperately tried to avoid it while maintaining his balance. It was like a huge press machine constantly descending towards him.

“Good luck, Crockta,” Shakan muttered as he watched.

Someone had to draw the behemoth’s gaze, and Crockta was perfect for that role. The skin of the belly was pointed out as a weak point, but it was almost impossible to stab there directly. Now, the only thing that remained was their share.

“Tiyo, aim for the eyes.”

“I understand dot!”

“There is a forest where the regeneration of creatures is close to infinite. However, if you hit the eyes then you can temporarily stop it.”

In the past, Shakan had pierced the behemoth’s eyes, causing it to jump around in a huge rage. However, after a while, dark energy appeared and restored it, like the eye hadn’t been hurt in the first place.

He had been helpless in front of such an immortal monster. But this time would be different.

Tiyo’s ‘General’ emitted a bright color and attacked the behemoth’s eyes. It wasn’t lethal, but the artifact was effective in shaking the enemy and stopping its movements. The behemoth shook its head and General’s bullets started to veer from their target.

“Shit.”

“Calm down.”

“The muzzle is shaking dot…”

Tiyo lamented and started to kneel. Shakan was confused.

“Tiyo?”

Kneeling during battle. Kneeling was traditionally a sign of submission. However, Tiyo’s expression was still determined. It wasn’t the expression of a loser.

Then Shakan muttered as he saw Tiyo’s next move, “Indeed…”

This was a technique of the Quantes Gnomes Garrison. Tiyo was in a ‘down shooting’ position.

It had the highest precision that was incomparable to shooting while standing. It was a ruthless position that showed no signs of mercy, a form of marksmanship that intended to thoroughly crush the enemy.

“Aim cruelly and mercilessly.”

The earth and the body united to aim at the enemy. The specialty of a rifle that couldn’t be imitated by archery. Tiyo’s General fired.

“…Dammit!”

But his shooting was significantly off the mark. Tiyo hadn’t taken into account the behemoth’s great height. With his prone position, he couldn’t raise his aim high enough to hit the eyes. At best, he could only hit the body.

Tiyo rose to his feet again.

“Failure!”

“It was a good try though.”

As they were talking carefreely, Crockta shouted desperately from underneath the behemoth, “What are you doing behind meeeee!”

A giant paw passed right underneath Crockta’s nose. Tiyo recovered his spirit as he saw that Crockta was in danger.

“Sorry dot! I’m trying again dot!”

His short legs scrambled as he hurriedly moved to a big rock and placed the rifle onto it. It was a sitting posture firing technique. Since he could lean against obstacles, it achieved the same level of precision as kneeling down and he could aim at a higher angle.

He didn’t make any mistakes this time.

“This is the strength of the Quantes gnomes!”

The magic bullet from General precisely hit the behemoth’s eye. The behemoth twisted its head.

“Kuooooooooh!”

While the behemoth’s attention was caught by Tiyo’s shooting, Crockta took the risk and jumped between its legs. The skin of its belly was revealed before Crockta’s eyes.

“Bul’tarrrrrrr──────!”

Crockta jumped while shouting. It was thinner than ogre leather, but had a stronger defense. Steam rose as he used Leyteno’s Vigorous Greatsword Technique and stabbed firmly. ‘Ogre Slayer’ barely penetrated the behemoth’s skin. The flesh was torn by the blade.

“Kuoooooooooh!”

The behemoth shouted angrily. It was a low-frequency shout that caused the earth to ring. Crockta’s eardrums were rattled. Crockta’s body became stiff. He heard the behemoth’s big feet moving. A shadow fell above Crockta’s body. Crockta looked up blankly.

He couldn’t avoid it.

“Bul’tar.”

Crockta whispered and closed his eyes. The foot was just about to stomp on him. At that moment, a bolt flew from a distance and bounced off the behemoth.

Kwaang!

The behemoth’s body was pushed back by the explosive destructive power. It was a slim arrow, but it contained enough destructive power to push back the vast behemoth.

“This is a hunter’s arrow.”

Shakan readied a new arrow. Crockta started to move again. Crockta fought under the behemoth’s body while Shakan fired an arrow whenever it was needed.

He placed a powerful ‘will’ in the arrows. In the world of Elder Lord, the possibilities were endless. Just willpower!

It hit the enemy as physical force. Some called it praying while others called it aura. But for Shakan, it was just a fierce desire to pierce the enemy. Although Crota’s sword contained some will, he was just barely walking along the entrance of this field.

“Look, rookies! I am the last Shakan!”

He gave a rare scream. Crockta’s spirited struggle influenced Shakan as Shakan moved his body. Now it seemed like he could kill anything.

“The Shakan hunt everything! Now it is your turn!”

The behemoth’s gaze turned to Shakan like it understood. It ignored Crockta annoying it and started to move.

Kuuong!

Kuuong!

“Scatter, Tiyo!” Shakan shouted.

Shakan and Tiyo quickly retreated. But due to the difference in size, it was inevitable that the behemoth would arrive quickly. There was a huge shadow over their heads.

“Don’t ignore meeeeee──────!”

A roar containing willpower!

Crockta had followed the behemoth and jumped up while swinging Ogre Slayer. The greatsword was lodged in its buttocks and Crockta clung on tightly. The behemoth shook its lower body but it couldn’t get rid of Crockta.

“Don’t look at anyone other than me, monster!”

Crockta grinned. Then he used the greatsword to climb to the top of the behemoth. The behemoth twisted before losing its balance and falling down. Crockta removed Ogre Slayer from its ass. The behemoth was troubled by the pain.

“Now!”

Tiyo and Shakan launched their attacks. Tiyo’s magic bullets struck the behemoth’s body while Shakan fired arrows all over the place. The behemoth was in pain. Crockta headed towards its head. The angry behemoth opened its mouth.

Right now, the size difference wasn’t a huge advantage.

“Kuaaaaaaaah!

It was a horrible shriek! The shout was terrible enough to paralyze them.

Then the behemoth breathed in. The demonic energy of the surrounding area was sucked into the behemoth’s mouth. Crockta stabbed Ogre Slayer into the behemoth’s back, but the behemoth continued to breathe in.

A tremendous concentration of demonic power started to form in the behemoth’s mouth. Tiyo couldn’t stand it as he turned his head and covered his eyes. It wasn’t because the light was too dazzling for his eyes.

On the contrary, the darkness was too thick. It felt terrifying; it was like his soul was being sucked in.

Shakan’s opened his eyes wide and resisted it. He aimed his arrow at the darkness inside the mouth.

‘This is the behemoth’s imperial wrath.’

Shakan knew that attacking its eyes and belly wasn’t enough to kill it. He found out that the real weakness of the behemoth was the sensitive mouth, just like a dragon.

Just like a dragon could use breath, the behemoth was able to shoot out the deadly demonic magic. There was a short moment when the condensed energy would flash with a brilliant color. It was the authority of a breath attack.

He needed to penetrate through it. Shakan gritted his teeth. The energy was now aiming at Shakan. Tiyo was already running away. However, Shakan stood in his spot and confronted it.

“Shakan! Avoid it!”

Tiyo shouted. But the sound didn’t reach Shakan’s ears. Laughter emerged. A gust of wind swept through his hair. His body seemed to be pushed back. But he never moved his gaze from the center of the storm.

‘Father, we are Shakan.’

“Yes, we are Shakan.”

He didn’t have a name. Only Shakan. He was Skolla, Penando, Achilles, and in addition, his dead wife. The history of all the Shakan on the continent flashed through his head. The weight of the clan was on his shoulders. Therefore, he wasn’t a single hunter, but the Shakan Clan itself.

“We killed a dragon and started the Shakan lineage!” Shakan shouted like it was his last hurrah.

His voice didn’t reach far, as it was swept away by the storm. But he didn’t stop as he shouted again.

“I’m going to kill you! Behemoth!”

He pulled back the bowstring to its maximum extent. His will was nestled in the arrow. Both his endless hatred and resentment towards the behemoth were placed on it.

The dark breath of the behemoth converged towards him. It was the darkness that didn’t allow anything to shine while erasing the world.

Crockta on the behemoth’s back and the fleeing Tiyo wouldn’t be affected by the disaster. They could survive.

‘Penetrate the core of darkness.’

He had no other choice. A flash of light divided the darkness. As it penetrated the darkness, it gradually became a light that swept up the darkness. The beam of light moved through the darkness. It was a straight line without any errors.

‘Open up the North!’

***

There was a blast.

The two forces hit each other and everything around them was swept away. Crockta fell off the behemoth’s back and rolled for a long time. He could barely raise his head after a while.

The behemoth flopped down.

Crockta relied on Ogre Slayer as he barely managed to raise his body. Black smoke was coming from the half of the behemoth’s head that remained. Shakan did it.

“Shakan!”

Crockta moved his body to search for them.

“Shakan! Tiyo!”

Tiyo avoided the breath but Shakan had faced it directly. Crockta jumped in the direction where Shakan had been.

“Shakan!”

The breath had destroyed everything. The land had a deep hole in the shape of a hemisphere. In the center of the hole was Shakan. Dust rose as Crockta hurried down the slope.

“Shakan!”

He almost fell but he managed to reach Shakan. Shakan wasn’t fine. There was a pool of blood around his body in the hole. Crockta held him. Shakan had a large hole in the middle of his body. Blood and guts flowed from it.

“Crockta…”

He was near death. However, his voice was the most cheerful Crockta had ever heard it. Shakan smiled faintly.

“Did I get it…?”

Crockta clenched his teeth and endured it. Then he nodded.

“You got it.”

“How is it? Is Shakan a rabbit now…?”

Crockta smiled and shook his head. Then he touched Shakan’s cheek. It was gradually cooling. “No, the Shakan hunter pedigree is evident. You have caught your target.”

“Kuhuhuhu…” Shakan coughed up blood while laughing. Crockta calmed him down.

“Say no more.”

“It’s okay. Now there is no…”

The moment that Shakan spoke. His eyes suddenly grew larger and they trembled Crockta realized that something was wrong. Crockta could see the scene in Shakan’s eyes.

“Grrrrrrr…”

In Shakan’s eyes, a huge creature was standing up again. It was the behemoth.

“Oh my god.”

He couldn’t recognize the shape because half the head was gone. It shouldn’t have been able to stand up after receiving that much damage. But what was the sight before him now? Crockta turned his head.

Darkness was swirling around the behemoth’s wounds. The darkness was repairing and replacing its wounds. It was missing half its head but a red light shone in the darkness.

At that moment, Crockta felt despair. They wouldn’t be able to win.

He realized it. It was the first time he felt such a complete feeling of helplessness since he began Elder Lord. It was impossible to kill the behemoth.

Crockta dropped his head.

“Shakan…”

Shakan was talking, “A Shakan never leaves his enemies alive…”

His body shook. He tried to raise his body from the ground. However, his intestines flowed from the hole in his belly.

“Shakan!”

“The bag, open it…” Shakan whispered.

Crockta shook his head and spoke, “It is okay now. You’ve done enough.”

Crockta tried to pacify him. But Shakan exploded angrily at Crockta. It was hard to believe the dying body could make such a sound.

“Shut up!”

“……!”

“I told you to open the bag! Crockta!”

Crockta looked into his eyes. Fire was burning in it. An indomitable will.

That was it.

In the end, Crockta was forced to agree. He removed the bag from Shakan’s bag and opened it. A rotting stench came from the bag.

“This…”

Inside the bag was a huge heart. The core of it was already rotting. It was the heart of the manticore that they killed. It was polluted with an awful smell. Crockta held it with trembling hands.

“Feed it to me.”

Shakan said with a sigh.

“……!”

“Put it in my mouth.”

Crockta saw the tenacity in his blazing eyes.

Then he realized.

Shakan had repaired his collapsing body by killing creatures and eating their hearts. This was why he didn’t look his age, the reason for his broken mind, and why he couldn’t distinguish between the past and present.

His body was already the same as all the monsters here, eroded by the demonic energy. However, his blood was still red.

Crockta was unable to resist Shakan’s burning gaze and raised the heart to his mouth.

Shakan chewed on it. He opened his jaw and bit it with force. He chewed on the muscles and absorbed its blood and magic power.

His eyes were still blazing.

“The founder of Shakan killed a dragon and ate it.”

The black energy started to repair his body. His eyes were now black. He got up. The broken body had been stuck together like glue. He vomited up a black liquid. It was the same as the creatures.

“I have to become a monster if I want to kill a monster.”

He swallowed the heart until the end. His neck moved as he swallowed. Shakan laughed. He laughed as the black energy spread. He grasped the bow on his back. His eyes burned red. Soon, the creature called Shakan raised his body.

The behemoth cried out loud as it noticed his presence. The two monsters stared at each other.