Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

solo leveling: ragnarok Chapter 17

[‘Wolf Slayer’has been activated.]

Thud!

The Protector’s foot slams into the ground.

Splat!

The Protector’s new form extends in a straight line.

Brocky’s surprised expression appears in front of him.

[What the…!]

Unbelievable things are taking place.

The Protector’s strength and speed.

His entire body was bursting with energy.

Everything changed in an instant.

All stats gain +1 as you level up.

Additional stats +5 obtained as quest rewards.

Furthermore, the title increases all stats against beast-type monsters by a whopping +40%.

All of this synergy is centered on the Protector’s sword.

Dual swords. Storm Slash.

[Storm Slash is used.]

Kwaaaang!

The Protector transforms into a storm.

The two swords collide, and a fierce gale sweeps over everything.

[Acquired skill: Dual Swordsmanship Lv.1]

It was truly heinous violence.

A cruel butcher’s one-sided slaughter.

Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, hack!

[Aaaargh! This isn’t fair-!]

Brocky attempted a counterattack, but it was nothing more than a desperate struggle.

Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwak!

The watchtowers built by the hyena guild to restrain Brocky collapsed and were shattered by his struggles.

[How dare you…!]

And this happened before Brocky could finish his sentence.

A bright red light shot up from his fiercely open mouth.

The Protector’s hand caught Rakkan’s fangs, which had been drawn by the power of domination.

And exactly like that.

Flash!

They were defeated.

[You have defeated Brocky, the ruthless commander.]

Kugugung!

Finally, the massive monster gave way.

[Your level up!]

[Your level up!]

“Hoo.”

The Protector landed on the ground.

[Kkieeek! I did it! I killed him! Our Lord will be-! ]

Beru then flew in, as if anticipating this moment.

-…Oh, my goodness. How is this possible? Was Brocky defeated by a human?

In response to Rakkan’s fangs, Beru laughed.

[Did you not know? The ultimate rule of the world is survival of the fittest. The strong prey on the stronger. And our lord will grow even more powerful in the future. Oh, and Lord? Can I eat this?]

Beru licked his lips and pointed to Brocky’s corpse.

At his words, Suho looked at Brocky’s body.

[This is an object that can be extracted as a shadow.]

Black smoke was swirling over it.

Suho thought of something.

‘Can this guy be extracted too?’

But it would be a waste to give it to Berga now.

“Just one bite; the rest will be consumed after we extract the shadow.”

[Yes, sir!]

Chomp!

Berga flew away happily after receiving permission.

Dead Brocky provided an excellent source of magical power.

[Hehe. Just one bite.]

Berga’s mouth widened wickedly.

Which part would be the best to eat and spread rumors about if he only took one bite?

The brain was the answer, as always.

“Carnivorous instinct is a phrase I like as well.”

Berga dug into Brocky’s head while muttering.

***

Suho freed everyone who had been imprisoned.

“I reported it to the Hunter Association, so the rescue team will be here soon; however, because there are still monsters roaming around the mountain, don’t go anywhere else and stay here for a while.”

“Thank you so much!”

Those who had been imprisoned for a long time were now covered in snot and tears as they wept in gratitude.

[My lord, they are all Hyena Guild debtors who were imprisoned after failing to repay their debts and signing debt repayment contracts with their bodies.]

“How do you know that, Ver?”

“Predation is my skill; I ate Brocky’s brain and stole some of his memories.”

“You’re capable of doing anything.”

“Heh. I’m a useful creature in many ways.”

Ver swaggered with his hands on his hips and raised his hands.

“By the way, based on my research, Brocky did not have the ability to turn people into werewolves by feeding them blood.”

“What? Then how did these guys become…”

Suho’s gaze was drawn to the dead werewolves on the ground.

“I, too, thought it was strange at first.”

As he spoke, Rakkan’s fangs widened.

“The hyena tribe is just one of many tribes that followed the Fang tribe, and only the Fang tribe is capable of creating minions by feeding them blood.”

“If that’s the case…”

“I believe there’s another Fang tribe member inside besides Brocky.”

Suho and Beru’s gazes were drawn to the gate through which Brocky had emerged.

“So there’s a different boss mob.”

Suho fixed his gaze on his sword with determination.

Then Beru shook his head and said.

“It’s not a boss mob.”

“What do you mean?”

Suho looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“If Brocky’s memory is correct, there will most likely be no more combat situations.”

Beru’s expression was a little sour.

“You’ll find out if you go in.”

Suho passed through the gate.

He discovered a small and delicate life form inside.

“This is…”

Suho’s face hardened.

There was a bloodied young wolf lying weakly there.

It had pitiful ash-colored fur.

Bandages were wrapped around it haphazardly.

It was a tiny wolf, about the size of a hand.

And right in front of it,

The syringes used to draw blood were strewn about erratically.

“Brocky, this crazy bastard!”

Rakan’s fangs trembled with intense anger at the sight.

“Did he dare to bind our clan’s offspring and forcefully draw their blood?”

The bound wolf pup looked up weakly at the sound of his rage.

Its unfocused pupils stared blankly at the empty space where Suho stood.

It then sniffed its nose and smelled something.

A strange human.

The stench of blood on his clothes.

“Awoong….”

A frail whimper.

With that, the young wolf lowered its head once more.

There was no will to live or hope left in its tiny, frail body.

“Brocky, that crazy crossbred-!”

Rakan’s fangs were filled with rage as he cursed Brocky, who was already dead and gone.

Beru murmured calmly while reading Brocky’s memories.

“After losing the war against the Shadow Army, Brocky was the first to flee the battlefield, more like a deserter than a defeated soldier, and he then committed despicable acts.”

“He took refuge in the Fang Clan’s stronghold, which was regarded as the safest location, and discovered a young wolf pup of the clan there.”

“All the adults had gone to war, leaving the pup alone there.”

In his memories, the creature happily wagged its tail as Brocky approached the fortress.

But.

[When he saw the sight, Brocky had only one thought.]

‘This is it, this is it!’ I can create as many Guardians as I want with the blood of the Fang tribe! ‘

‘Let those Guardians protect me!’ ‘

‘My army! Here, I’ll form a tribe that only serves me! ‘

‘Don’t you like it as well? Kekeke.’

Brocky smiled wickedly as he looked at the young wolf wagging its tail at him.

[… Following that, the fortress was ripped apart, and the inhabitants began to wander through dimensional rifts. One day, a hole connecting to Earth appeared in front of Brocky.]

And he came across a group of humans.

[Without hesitation, Brocky extracted this young wolf’s blood and fed it to them.]

Then came the part that the Guardian was also familiar with.

Brocky’s army, known as the Hyena Guild, was thus formed, and the same humans were brought to Brocky as prey.

For an entire year.

However, there was one issue.

It was precisely because of this that the Fang’s Fang became enraged.

-The Guardians’ power is not infinite. It lasts no more than ten days. When that time period ends, the power of the blood engraved in the Guardians’ bodies fades, and they revert to their original form. That means…

“That means you had to draw blood from this creature every ten days for a year and feed it to your guild members.”

-Kraaaak! Brocky! Brocky!

Suhoo cradled the whimpering young wolf.

Anxious.

He was taken aback because it was lighter than he had expected.

[What? Are you going to take him away?  ]

Beru’s eyes widened.

Although he was not a direct descendant of the Fang tribe’s lord, this young wolf was still a member of the tribe that had inherited his blood.

[If you keep him alive, he may grow up to be the second Fang tribe lord, posing a new threat to Earth.]

“Well, we’ve already won.”

[Is that so? Hmm.]

Beru took a close look at Suhoo’s young wolf, who was barely breathing after losing so much blood.

He nodded as he noticed how much blood had been extracted and how dazed the young wolf was.

[Right. We don’t need to fight amongst ourselves when we have external enemies to contend with.]

Even if the war had been lost, the children who survived would not have been held accountable.

Instead, with this lightweight and compact frame…

Suho, on the other hand, wasn’t just bringing this wolf along for the sake of romance.

“Because it appears to be useful later on, plus…”

“If you die here now, your last memory will be too tragic: you were kidnapped by that man you trusted, and your blood was sucked for a year.”

Suho said as he hugged the youngster.

“So, at the very least, let’s feed him and think about it.”

***

Suho immediately returned home with the wolf cub.

Because he had reported the Hyena Guild and Gwanak Mountain Field to the Association, he decided to disregard them.

Furthermore, civilian survivors would be able to provide far more detailed testimony than Suho.

Recovering this guy seemed more pressing because he appeared to be dying at any moment.

“Beru, as a healer, can’t you do something about this?”

[The healers’ healing magic can only treat wounds. I have no control over blood loss or hunger.]

“So even recovery abilities aren’t all-powerful; for the time being…”

Suho turned on the electric heater and placed it directly in front of the wolf cub.

“Kiki.”

“Why is it good? Is it good because it’s warm?”

The wolf cub appeared taken aback.

It shook all over, including its tail, and stared, entranced, at the red light of the electric heater.

“Well, you might be seeing fire for the first time in your life.”

Suho left him there and immediately made seaweed soup.

He served it in a small dish after it had been cooled so that it wasn’t too hot.

“You’re in for a treat today because this is the recipe my mother used to make for me on my birthday.”

Suho pouted as he placed the seaweed soup in front of the wolf cub’s short snout.

“Try it; they say seaweed soup is good when you’re low on blood.”

…Sniff sniff.

The wolf cub’s tail trembled as soon as it smelled the seaweed soup.

“It’s okay. I said eat it.”

Suho forced the seaweed soup into the wolf cub’s snout, and the wolf cub instinctively licked the underside of its tongue.

Snack?

…!

“I had no idea wolves, like humans, had surprised expressions.”

Chop chop chop.

The wolf cub began to eat the seaweed soup with its nose in the dish.

It swayed weakly, as did its ragged, furless tail.

Rakkan, who was standing there silently holding Beru, felt a twinge of sadness as he took in the scene.

-…..Thank you. In many ways.

In many ways, he was feeling complicated.

They were like this from the beginning because they lost the war against them.

Despite the fact that they lost the war, the surviving children were not guilty.

They had to walk away from the present, which they had escaped, and live for the future.

And perhaps… This young wolf may not have realized he was the sole survivor of the Fang Clan, and that he would eventually become a lord and carry on the Fang Lord’s lineage, as Ber had warned.

What irony it was for the Shadow Lord’s heir to lend a helping hand to such a child.

“Are you hungry?”

Suho, was whimpering and licking the warm broth in front of the small wolf.

Fang Lord Rakan couldn’t help but accept the end of the war as he watched his figure.

“… Yes, you won, and you will be in charge of all of our new recruits.”

He sighed deeply at the time.

Rakan’s will, the Lord of Fangs, and the King of Great Beasts settled in Suho.

Ding.

[You have obtained ‘Pet: Fang Wolf Lv.1.’]