Chapter 14

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Something collided with Meng Yang. He stumbled, tripping, and on the spot he once stood on was Gustav. The man had knocked him away. He abruptly pierced the jackal’s abdomen with his broken spear. Blood gushed out in streams.

At the same time, Gustav’s right leg was bitten by another jackal that had pounced on him from the other side. A huge chunk of flesh was torn off by its fangs.

The strong smell of blood prompted a series of howls by the other jackals. They scratched their claws on the ground and leaped up, pouncing toward the source.

“Go!”

Gustav took the other end of the broken spear he had used to kill the jackal and whacked the jackal biting him with it. He turned abruptly to face Meng Yang and shouted, “You can’t die here! The jackals and jackal-headed men will not pursue other prey when they have locked their eyes on one.”

“What do you mean? What do you mean when you say that I can’t die here?”

Meng Yang gritted his teeth so hard that blood threatened to seep out from the corners of his mouth. He had only known this old man for a short time. Although they had exchanged some words in the pig-headed monster’s cage, it was all he had.

He could not just watch as some old man died in front of him.

“The worst I can do is die! Maybe I’ll transmigrate back to the real world after I die!”

Meng Yang swung his sword around, hitting the jackal that had bit Gustav. He fought like his life was on the line.

He had been feeling unsafe even since coming to this Other World with its monsters and spooky locations. Might as well fight with all his might!

Meng Yang felled a jackal with his sword. The two other jackals surrounding Gustav suddenly retreated. Their fangs gleaming from their maws as they growled at Meng Yang.

“Howl!”

Meng Yang heard a growl different from the jackals’. The gnoll watching from the sidelines finally could not stand by after its two jackals got hurt. It snatched up a thick wooden pole and started approaching Meng Yang and Gustav slowly.

The gnoll was more alert and careful compared to the pig-headed monster, which fought more straightforwardly. It was stronger than the average human, but Meng Yang was of similar stature with it and had a weapon, so the gnoll might get injured if it was not careful.

The gnoll growled twice. The two jackals, previously intimidated into retreating by Meng Yang brandishing an iron sword, started circling Meng Yang again, looking for a chance to attack him.

Gustav was already all bloody. A man at old age, he was panting heavily as he grew more and more exhausted.

Meng Yang held his sword in front of Gustav, who became more despondent at the sight. “Escape from this place. If they have me, they won’t chase after you.”

“What’s the point of telling me this? If the whole City of Despair is like this, where can I escape to?”

Meng Yang spat. He put his guard up against the jackals circling him looking for openings.

At this moment, a jackal seemed to have discovered one. It dashed toward him from the periphery and bit his thigh.

Meng Yang turned back quickly. He slashed his sword at the jackal, but it was only feinting. It retreated, and the other jackal took this opportunity. It opened its maw and bit Meng Yang’s wrist—the two jackals had already figured out that the sword Meng Yang was holding was dangerous.

Meng Yang moved quickly. He hacked with a backhand, and the jackal retreated in time. The other jackal pounced on him from the other side, though, so Meng Yang could only flail his sword around in a frenzy.

As the two jackals attacked Meng Yang, the gnoll, who was observing at the sidelines, joined the fray, wooden pole in hand.

Gnolls feared the strong and bullied the weak. They only set their sights on aged prey; they definitely would not pursue strong or burly prey. Gustav had already been injured after his skirmish with the two jackals, so it was obvious that he was the better choice.

Gustav could barely hold up his broken spear. He had sadness in his eyes, but he did not retreat. He seemed to have this resolve to injure the gnoll even if it was at the expense of his life.

Gustav was no match for the strong gnoll, though. When he raised his hand, the gnoll dodged to the side quickly and hit Gustav’s back solidly with his wooden pole.

After it succeeded in getting a hit in, it did not continue to attack but retreated a step back agilely so as to dodge Gustav’s retaliating swipe.

“Old man?”

Meng Yang could not help glancing toward the old man after the old man got struck. At this moment, the jackals capitalized on the opportunity and pounced on Meng Yang.

Whoosh!

Just as Meng Yang was almost at the mercy of the beasts, he heard a whooshing sound in the air.

The jackal attacking Meng Yang from the side suddenly let out a piteous howl. It fell as an arrow pierced through its neck and pinned it to the ground. The other jackal did not escape the same fate. Its chest was pierced through, and it shook on its feet, unsteadily.

“Growl!”

The gnoll howled loudly when faced with the suddenly worsening situation. Its cruel eyes seemed to redden, his gaze locking on a decrepit tower far away. 

Whoosh!

Another whooshing sound.

An arrow swooped downward toward the gnoll’s chest.

The gnoll already had its guard up after his two jackals were killed. It dodged sideways after he heard the thrumming of the bowstrings. Although it was fast, it did not evade the arrow completely—it pierced through its shoulder.

The gnoll howled loudly. It did not dare stay. It crouched down, and it bounded away quickly with all its four limbs.

“Whew…”

At the gnoll’s disappearing back, Meng Yang could not help but expel a sigh of relief.

He turned sideways, and it was only then when he noticed that Gustav, the man that guided him all the way here to this city, was barely managing to stand on his feet.

“Oi, old man, are you okay?”

Meng Yang was slightly panicked at the sight of the old man’s wounded state. After transmigrating to this world, besides from the few players he had summoned, the old man was the only person he knew. 

“I… I can still manage!” Gustav did not collapse—he was supporting himself with difficulty.

“That’s good!”

Meng Yang walked toward Gustav and supported him to a sitting position.

At this moment, there was the sound of footsteps, and a melodic voice sounded from behind the two men. 

“The gnoll will summon more companions and return. I suggest that we leave here immediately!”

Meng Yang turned his head backward hastily. A curvy silhouette emerged from the dark corners of an abandoned building. 

It was a tall woman, with straight, long legs and a curved figure in armor. She wielded a longbow and carried a quiver. The hood of her wide top covered her face.

Gustav sat up as he looked at the new arrival. Elation was all over his face.

The woman took off her hood, revealing her wine-red hair and her beautiful face. “Mentor, I’m here to escort you back!”