Gōrō Hide And The Prince

“That’s absurd. For a Gōrō to appear in a place like this…”

Rikyou’s face had gone stiff. I found it strange why he was making that face. Certainly, it might have been unexpected for a Gōrō to appear here, but I had thought that if he was an inner disciple, he should be able to defeat at least a Gōrō.

“Yingjie-shixiong, have you ever defeated a Gōrō?”

“No, I’ve never fought a Gōrō.”

Prince Lianghong, who had been listening to that exchange, turned his gaze toward me.

“That wolf seems different from the wolves we’ve seen so far. Is it strong?”

“That is a yōma called a Gōrō, and the stiff fur covering its body is so tough that it can repel a sword.”

Since the other person was a prince, perhaps I should have been speaking more politely? But I was a Taoist practitioner. I was someone beyond the reach of a king’s authority.

“S-Such a yōma… can a Taoist practitioner defeat it?”

“Of course.”

I said that, but Zengu probably still could not. He had only just mastered the Immortal Foundation Qi Combat Arts and begun studying the Meika Spear Art, Gyorei Cave’s martial art.

“We’ll protect His Highness Prince Lianghong while retreating.”

Rikyou gave that order. Hm? Was he not going to defeat the Gōrō?

“Are we not going to defeat the Gōrō?”

When I asked, Rikyou frowned.

“I didn’t bring my treasured sword.”

So that was it. Rikyou’s real fighting style was to battle using both his treasured sword and the Jūsō Sword. Since we had only been planning to go to the outer edge today, he had probably left that treasured sword behind. Most likely, he had been wary that if the prince saw the treasured sword, he might say he wanted it.

“Your Highness, please fall back. We will protect you.”

General Shigou drew his sword and stepped forward. The four guards followed, but at the sight of the Gōrō, which was about two sizes larger than a Horn Wolf, they were shrinking back. If this turned into a fight as it was, there would probably be injured men—or no, dead men.

“I’ll finish it.”

Saying that, I returned my mountain knife to its sheath and drew the White Wolf Warhammer. Yingjie looked over at me with a worried face.

“Hey, are you sure about this?”

“I’ve defeated a Gōrō before.”

Hearing that, Rikyou looked at me with a baffled expression. Just as he was about to say something, the Gōrō attacked General Shigou. General Shigou dodged the Gōrō’s biting attack and slammed his sword into the Gōrō. Naturally, the sword was repelled, and General Shigou lost his balance.

The Gōrō attacked him again at once. I reflexively sprang forward and poured qi into the White Wolf Warhammer. The Gōrō’s claws raked across General Shigou’s chest, carving deep claw marks into his leather armor.

“Hah!”

With a sharp shout, I struck the White Wolf Warhammer into the Gōrō’s back. The effect of the Qi Claw Strike activated, and blood and flesh burst out from the Gōrō’s back as if it had exploded. Then the Gōrō was knocked away and rolled across the ground.

Rikyou was astonished, and Prince Lianghong’s eyes had gone wide as well.

“Kou, that was amazing.”

Only Yingjie seemed to be pleased. But it was still too early to be pleased, because the Gōrō was not dead yet.

The Gōrō staggered back to its feet. Using leg strength enhanced with qi, I leaped beside the Gōrō and smashed the White Wolf Warhammer down onto its head. That blow crushed its skull and became the finishing strike.

“General, are you injured?”

When I walked over beside General Shigou and asked, he shook his head to indicate that he was not hurt.

Rikyou turned a sharp gaze on me.

“Kou, what is that warhammer?”

“This is the White Wolf Warhammer, made using a White Wolf’s claws.”

“White Wolf… Ah, so it was you who defeated the White Wolf?”

“That’s right.”

“I can’t believe it. You defeated that White Wolf…”

It seemed Rikyou had known that some outer disciple had defeated the White Wolf, but he had apparently thought it was an older outer disciple who had done it.

“Let me see that warhammer.”

When I held out the White Wolf Warhammer, Rikyou took it and examined it closely. Then he poured qi into the warhammer. At once, there was a small popping sound, and something radiated from the tip of the warhammer.

“It’s unquestionably a White Wolf Warhammer.”

Various weapons were stored in Gyorei Cave’s armory. Among them was a White Wolf Warhammer, and Rikyou said he had seen one before.

Prince Lianghong was intently looking at the Gōrō’s corpse.

“Is something the matter?”

General Shigou asked.

“I was wondering whether this yōma’s pelt could be made into a souvenir for my younger brother.”

General Shigou nodded and turned his gaze toward me.

“Kou, would you be willing to sell us the pelt?”

I had already defeated many Gōrō. One more would not matter.

“That’s fine.”

I skinned the Gōrō and handed the hide to General Shigou. In return, he gave me five gold coins as payment.

“Kou, you really are amazing.”

Prince Lianghong kept praising me, and Rikyou was growing more and more displeased. After that, we returned to Gyorei Cave, where it seemed a welcoming banquet was held for the prince.

We were not even permitted to take part and were told to return to the Wallside Hall. On the way back, Zengu spoke to me.

“Kou, you’re amazing. You’ve already mastered the Demonic Horn Warhammer Art.”

“I’ve only just become able to use the basic techniques. Once you master the Meika Spear Art, you might be able to defeat a Gōrō too.”

Zengu was a fairly simple man, so he made a happy face. If you praised him, he looked happy, and if he failed, he became depressed, so he was easy to understand.

“I want that to happen, but for that I’d like a good spear. If possible, I’d want something like your White Wolf Warhammer.”

Yingjie, who had been listening to that exchange, cut in.

“A spear made using parts from a yōma, huh? A Sword-Leg Spider might be a good choice.”

Apparently, a Sword-Leg Spider was a yōma said to be just as formidable as the Thunder Bear, which was used as the task for the inner disciple examination.

The front two legs of that Sword-Leg Spider were shaped like swords, and those sword-legs were said to possess special power. Yingjie was suggesting that those sword-legs might work as spear blades.

However, I still did not think I could defeat one. My qi level was not high enough. To bring down such a formidable yōma, I would need a technique from the Demonic Horn Warhammer Art that was called advanced. Among the techniques used with the White Wolf Warhammer, the one called advanced was a technique known as “Penetrating Strike.”

To master that technique, my qi level needed to reach the Eighth Tier. First, I should make Qi Prosperity Pills and raise my qi level.