Serpent-Blade Goat

Starting the day after I spoke with Elder Min, I began preparing to hunt a Serpent-Blade Goat. A Serpent-Blade Goat was not as strong as a Thunder Bear, but it was still a fairly powerful yōma, so it would be difficult to kill one with a black steel short sword. So I had a long shaft attached to the black steel short sword so it could be used as a broadsword. I asked a craftsman in town to do this work rather than Elder Min.

Since I attached a shaft about as long as my height, it became a broadsword about one hundred eighty centimeters long overall. However, since it was light for a broadsword, its power seemed inferior to the Demon Spider Greatsword. After having the black steel short sword altered into a black steel broadsword, I researched the Serpent-Blade Goat.

Now that I was an inner disciple, I could openly enter the library in the Main Hall and investigate. Once I entered the library, I wanted to read instructional manuals at random, but I held myself back. Right now was the time to refine the martial arts I had memorized to the level of mastery.

According to the yōma encyclopedia, the Serpent-Blade Goat made its home in the grassland beyond West Edge Lake, west of Mount Gyorei. West Edge Lake was the place where I had hunted Man-Piercing Birds, so I knew it well. If I went as far as beyond West Edge Lake, it would probably be a hunt from which I could barely return within a single day.

The next time I went to hunt Ore-Eating Worms, it looked like I would need to prepare for camping out. The last time I camped, it had not been comfortable because I had been underprepared. If it had rained, the situation would have been terrible.

At first light the next morning, I headed out to hunt a Serpent-Blade Goat. I descended Mount Gyorei, entered the demon realm, and proceeded west from there. On the way, I encountered three Gōrō. I set down my luggage and readied the black steel broadsword. Seeing that, the Gōrō attacked me. The first Gōrō rammed toward my chest, so I dodged sideways and brought the black steel broadsword down.

Flames burst from the black steel blade and lopped off the Gōrō’s head. It was Fox-Flame using Floating Yang Qi. I had been using this often lately. So I gave it the name “Yang Fox-Flame.”

The second one leaped in, aiming for my legs, so I jumped backward and thrust the butt end of the black steel broadsword into the Gōrō’s head. The Gōrō let out a cry and rolled across the ground. Then the third one attacked, so I split its head open with Yang Fox-Flame.

The Gōrō whose head I had struck with the butt end of the black steel broadsword got back up and began circling around me. I noticed it look away for just an instant, so I leaped in and slashed open its belly with Yang Fox-Flame.

“What a waste, but I’ll give up on the pelts.”

I left the Gōrō corpses behind and began moving on. Then I passed West Edge Lake and arrived at the grassland beyond it. Tall grass grew thick in the grassland, hiding yōma and wild animals from sight.

I used Lone Awakening Eye, my qi-sensing ability, to search for the presence of yōma. Since I had been using this Lone Awakening Eye frequently as well, its precision had improved, and I had become able to sense qi about thirty meters away.

Lone Awakening Eye told me that a yōma was lurking ahead. Judging by the feel of it, it was probably a Fang Rabbit. A yōma’s qi was called “demonic qi,” and it was a little different from human qi. That was why Lone Awakening Eye could distinguish yōma from humans.

After killing the Fang Rabbit in one blow and moving on, the vegetation changed and there was more short grass. Even so, it still came up to about my waist. There were also a few trees here and there, but the view had become far clearer, so I was able to spot a herd of Serpent-Blade Goats.

“That’s a few too many.”

A group of seven Serpent-Blade Goats were grazing on the grass. If I attacked this herd, they would probably counterattack all at once. Even prey that I could kill without trouble one at a time should probably be avoided when there were seven of them.

As I watched them while thinking about whether there was some method, one Serpent-Blade Goat lifted its head and turned its eyes toward me. No way… had it found me? I had been hiding in grass as tall as my waist, but the Serpent-Blade Goat spotted me and let out a warning cry. An ordinary goat would have run away, but the Serpent-Blade Goats all started running toward me at once.

I began running toward the nearest tree. The weeds got in the way and made it hard to run. I could tell from their presence that the Serpent-Blade Goats behind me were steadily drawing closer. The moment I felt one enter striking range, I turned and brought down the black steel broadsword. There was a whooshing sound as it sliced through the air, and the blade of the black steel broadsword bit into the Serpent-Blade Goat’s neck and cut through it.

But that did not mean I had killed it. The Serpent-Blade Goat’s tough fur got in the way, so I could not inflict a deep wound. Since it had been a slash delivered while turning back in the middle of a run, I could not use Yang Fox-Flame. In a state of such intense movement, it was difficult to circulate Floating Yang Qi inside my body.

At that moment, another Serpent-Blade Goat rammed at me with the Serpent-Blade Horn on its head thrust forward. I jumped sideways and rolled across the ground, then quickly got back to my feet and started running again.

The Serpent-Blade Goats kept chasing me relentlessly, so I had no time to stop and steady my breathing. Since breathing was important for refining qi, I could not use Fox-Flame while engaged in violent movement like this. This would probably be something I needed to work on in the future. Even so, if I did not survive here, then there would be no future problems to work on.

When I reached a tree, I stabbed the black steel broadsword into it about two meters up and climbed using both hands and both feet. It was said that masters of the type of physical art called “Lightness Skill” ran several times faster than ordinary people, ran along walls, and could even dash up tall trees using only their feet. I would make that one of my challenges as well.

After climbing onto a branch about three meters up, I steadied my breathing and then retrieved the black steel broadsword I had stabbed into the trunk. The Serpent-Blade Goats were below, bleating and threatening me.

One of the Serpent-Blade Goats rammed into the tree and shook it, trying to knock me out of it. However, the tree I had climbed was a sturdy one about thirty centimeters in diameter, so I managed not to be thrown down. After about five minutes, the ramming stopped.

Looking closely, I saw that one Serpent-Blade Goat was staggering while blood flowed from its neck. I had not been able to kill it, but it seemed the damage had been great. …This one was an idiot. Apparently the wound had opened up because, in its anger, it had rammed the trunk.

The bleeding Serpent-Blade Goat finally collapsed. Then its companions came over beside it and checked it by nudging it with their noses. Once the others confirmed that the Serpent-Blade Goat had died, they glared at me one last time and left.

“Whew, they finally gave up.”

After confirming that the Serpent-Blade Goats had gone far enough away, I climbed down to the ground. I quickly stripped off the two Serpent-Blade Horns and the pelt. The Serpent-Blade Horns were about forty centimeters long and had a luster like red metal. They were also heavier than iron.

When I checked the trunk of the tree the Serpent-Blade Goats had been ramming, I saw that countless deep gouges had been carved into it. They were scars made by the Serpent-Blade Horns.

“They cut deeper than I expected. If that ramming had kept up, the tree might have broken.”

I had gotten what I came for, so I should return to Gyorei Cave. Otherwise, it looked like the sun might set before I got back.