On the other hand, Buster, the black armed Kobold, and Lancer, the Kobold of the Holy Spear, were searching for 2 missing males which were reported by their packmates while the people from Viel village visited the Kobold settlement… 

They were currently laying low and hiding among the bushes in a particularly sparsely wooded area in the northern part of Easteria.

On the open area nearby, there was a large, monkey-type monster called a Forest Ape, which can reach a height of 2 meters, who was fighting against a large scorpion-type monster called the Giga Scorpius that was around 1.2 meters tall and is over 3 meters long if you include its tail.

Regardless of whoever wins, Buster cannot allow dangerous monsters within the hunting grounds especially since he was entrusted with looking after the pack while his silver-furred friend was away.

Judging from the corpses of his packmates which he was forced to mourn over after a fruitless search, it was probably the giant scorpion monster who devoured the two Kobolds.

(I won’t be satisfied until I kill that thing with my own hands…)

Buster was especially angry as one of the males who were killed was supposed to be a father in spring.

Meanwhile, Lancer, who was lying next to Buster, gently calmed him down with her white-furred palm as he bared his canine teeth, tightly gripped the hilt of his Greatsword, and let the power flow through his limbs.

As a precaution, she also sent a hand sign towards her black-armed friend to keep him grounded.

Let’s kill it once it becomes weak, okay?

I know that, but…

As Buster glared at the two monsters, he admonished himself for unintentionally letting out a low growl, while the huge ape who was quite far away once again jumped towards its enemy with a shout.

“GAAAAAH!”

“Gih, gigih!?”

The giant scorpion reacted instantly and raised its left pincer to catch the fast, heavy blow, but the iron ore that the ape held in its right hand which served as a weapon crushed the scorpion’s hard exoskeleton.

Furthermore, the huge ape nimbly avoided the scorpion’s right pincer which it desperately thrust out in pain, and slammed its thick left arm over the scorpion’s head which was already positioned close to the ground.

“Gih, i… h, iiiii!!”

The giant scorpion momentarily stops moving, but… its tail swings slightly and stabs its target with its stinger with lightning speed!

“Ugii!?”

Just as the large monkey jumped back and escaped the danger by a hair’s breadth, the poisonous stinger ripped through the air and pierced its fur-covered thigh.

“Guh, gaaaaah!”

Though the ape tried to counteract the sharp pain with sheer willpower, the giant scorpion that had been hot on its heels turned around and swung its right pincer on the monkey’s flank with all its might.

“Gigigiiiiiiii!!”

“Ugiiiiiiih”

As it quickly pushed against the scorpion’s pincer with its foot and jumped back using the momentum, its whole body was seized by the paralytic poison, and the huge ape dropped to the ground on one knee.

“U, gaa… u…h”

“Gichi, gichichih!!”

Although it continued to struggle to stand up while clutching onto the iron ore, the veins of the unfortunate prey gave out as the giant scorpion gleefully pierced its heart with the tip of its tail. 

At that moment, the source power contained within the scorpion’s soul went over its threshold due to the life force that flowed into its body, and the appearance of the monster known as a Giga Scorpius changed.

After the change, its body became larger and the luster in its hard exoskeleton increased…

Name: Alma Scorpius

Race: Giant Scorpion

Class: Enhanced Armor Scorpion (Threat Level C+)

Skill: Exoskeletal Defense, Paralyzing Needle Sting, Rotating Blow, Elementary Magic (Earth)

Title: Giant Ape Killer

Weapon: Tail Stinger (Main), Pincers (Auxiliary)

Armament: Hardened Exoskeleton

However, this was not reason enough to scare off the huge, black-armed Kobold. Buster, who was brimming with fighting spirit as the opportunity to avenge his fallen brethren had presented itself to him, rushed from the side with his Greatsword on his shoulder!

“Gauruaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!” (Dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!)

“Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiih!?”

The giant scorpion, who was caught off guard after winning its struggle for survival earlier, hurriedly pulled its stinger which was still lodged in the huge ape’s chest, and turned around to raise its left claw which was injured earlier to stop the blow, but it could not stop the attack which was powered by inertia.

“Guuruaaaah!!” (Slash!!)

“Gi…h, giiiiih”

The Greatsword, which glowed with fighting spirit for a moment, violently clashed with the hardened exoskeleton and caused the scorpion’s injured left pincer to crack wide open.

However, despite the deepening damage of its injury while defending against the attack, the giant scorpion kept its position low with the support of its numerous legs and waved its tail to strike at the surprise attacker with its poison stinger.

“Gauauuuh!” (That’s not gonna work on me!)

Buster used physical force to turn around after his blade bounced off when it clashed with the hard pincer, and with one muscular arm, swung his Greatsword upward to hit the scorpion’s tail just as it fired off a paralyzing needle which ended up flying in a different direction.

At that moment, the Holy Spear Kobold, who had been lying low in a blindspot while waiting for an opportunity to attack, activated her leg enhancement skill to sprint forward and thrust her slashing spear on the giant scorpion’s defenseless side!

“Guoh!?” (It’s hard!?)

“Gi… h… GIGIIIIH!!”

The full force of the attack shatters the hard exoskeleton, but since the force was reduced upon impact, the damage was not fatal. Nevertheless, the damage was done, and the giant scorpion who was boiling with rage swung its tail and struck Lancer on the side.

“Kyauuh! Kyuu, wafaa!?” (Kyauuh! Hot, it hurts!?)

Lancer immediately leaped backward to avoid a direct hit and gained terrible abrasion wounds on the arm and her beautiful white fur was soaked with blood in the process, but… The giant scorpion was greatly distracted due to the sudden attack.

Seizing the opportunity, Buster, who once again gained the upper hand in the fight stepped in and dropped low before putting his weight on one foot and using it to launch himself towards the enemy to attack!

This translation is brought to you by Nocturne Translations.