I Became a Wendigo in a Fantasy World

36 – Episode 36

The relationship between Lectar and Oneton did not seem amicable, even on the surface, but Wendygo was not complacent.

The difference in temperament and their respective combat skills was a separate matter. Perhaps, knowing each other’s weaknesses, they might demonstrate excellent teamwork.

Wendygo filled his sword with mystery so that he could swing it at any moment. The idea was to be able to cut down anyone who charged first.

However, no matter how long he waited, neither of them made a move.

“If you made a proposal, show some action first!”

“You fool. Is your head just for decoration? I can attack from a distance, so shouldn’t you attract attention with your body!”

“……”

Wendygo was astonished by their absurd argument about becoming a meat shield for each other.

Even in such a situation, they were reluctant to incur any losses. Could this be fate?

Wendygo stared dumbfounded at their ridiculous bickering, then snapped out of it.

“It wasn’t nonsense that a tactic to attract attention with absurdities would emerge in a crisis.”

It was shocking to witness them eroding trust while facing the enemy.

They hesitated about who to strike first!

Fortunately, Wendygo’s dilemma didn’t last long. Something unexpected happened on the battlefield.

Oneton and Lectar, who were eyeing each other, were surprised as a chill descended, and mist began to surround them from all directions.

“What’s happening?”

“…Seems like we fell for the little guy’s petty scheme. We weren’t alone from the beginning.”

Whether they had the right to call it a petty scheme aside, spirits were spirits, after all.

Oneton sensed the approaching presence beyond the mist and licked his lips.

Given his history of solitary battles, Wendigo was expected to face this fight alone once again, but he surprisingly took the bait.

Lektar, realizing he fell into the trap again, shouted towards the sky. In hindsight, it was inevitable.

No matter how mischievous these spirits were, they wouldn’t spare their subordinates if they were spirits.

Lektar bravely fought against the warriors. The elites following him managed to maintain composure, but most of the warriors couldn’t.

They had never seen such a sight, swept by mist until now!

While Lektar struggled, Wendigo contentedly surveyed the mist. Indeed, as Skadi said, the mist allowed no gaps and spread widely.

At this rate, the mist would engulf the warriors in an instant.

Moreover, the warriors, following Wendigo’s orders, lurked in the mist. Devoted, they trembled with eagerness to quickly offer glory to Wendigo.

Sure enough.

“Arrows! Arrows are coming!”

“Damn it, shields up! If not, hide behind the corpses at least… Urgh!”

As arrows flew in the mist, the warriors hastily hid. Being attacked by an unseen enemy was a terrifying ordeal unless one was exceptionally brave.

Lektar deflected arrows with his sword and roared.

“Damn it… it’s not easy to retreat like this.”

Retreating amidst the hail of arrows was no different from begging for death. Moreover, Wendigo didn’t seem inclined to allow it.

Fortunately, the silver lining was that the skills of the forest people were not exceptional, and the arrowheads were subpar. Most arrows couldn’t pierce the armor and bounced off.

If the Empire’s widespread use of crossbows was present, the warriors would have turned into beehives, dying in vain.

After deflecting another arrow, Lektar glanced at Oneton. The sight of him not being hit by a single arrow was quite vexing.

“O’neton. I will lead the warriors into the attack. With your skills, you can exploit the spirits’ weaknesses.”

“…Of course.”

As O’neton responded from beyond the mist, Lectar sighed inwardly and raised his sword.

The sword blazed fiercely, capturing the attention of the warriors.

“Warriors, I know your fear. I won’t deny the fear of the mist or the forest’s spirits.”

“Then are we retreating like this?”

One of the warriors gathered around Lectar asked, and the warriors’ eyes sparked. Even the bravest warriors understood that fighting in such dire conditions was suicidal.

Suppressing curses about their pitiful sight, Lectar continued, swallowing his anger.

“Regrettably, no. I, too, wish to retreat immediately, but we’ve already ventured into the mist, and above all, the spirits won’t let us go. There’s only one way for us to survive.”

Lectar’s sword pointed beyond the mist. The warriors instinctively grasped Lectar’s thoughts.

If they could defeat the Wendigo, the mist would dissipate, and with the disappearance of the spirits, their momentum would diminish, that much was certain.

It was certain, yet… the problem lay in their lack of faith.

Considering Lectar’s behavior until now, the warriors had followed him to a reasonable extent.

When the warriors looked at Lectar with distrustful eyes, he felt an impulse to brandish his sword right then and there.

However, he couldn’t do that. They needed to stay so they could confront that spirit.

O’neton, observing this scene, approached Lectar.

“Pathetic fool. Can’t even control your subordinates?”

“If you hadn’t acted recklessly, the support would’ve gathered around me long ago! It’s all because of you…?!”

Ignoring Lectar’s words, O’neton stirred the mystique clinging to the warriors. They clutched their heads, writhing in agony.

Seeing the warriors gradually turning into beasts, Lectar couldn’t contain his anger and swung his sword at O’neton. But the sword merely cut through the air, failing to touch even a single strand of O’neton’s fur.

“Oneton!”

“Yeah, you should have persuaded him properly from the beginning. Just shut up and approach him using those guys. Then a way will open up.”

Oneton’s dark eyes flashed, and Lectar closed his mouth. It was an overwhelming atmosphere different from usual.

Lectar led the warriors, swallowing his shame. Although reason seemed dead, the strength was more than enough.

“Charge!”

As Lectar’s command rang out, the beastmen roared and rushed forward. Wendigo watched the scene, raising her sword.

Quite a number, but with a little effort, they could be dealt with in one go…

“Wendigo-nim! We’ll handle it here!”

“Is it Scadi? Perfect timing… huh?”

In Wendigo’s turned eyes were Scadi and… deer skulls. Not just one, but over ten skulls.

The identity of the deer skull was warriors wearing bone helmets. Their attire was far from ordinary warriors, as the helmets were engraved with Scadi’s magical symbols, and none of them wore armor.

Cloaked in the skins of beasts like wolves and bears, their appearance was truly barbaric.

“… Isn’t it too bare to call them warriors on the battlefield?”

“hahahaha! Don’t worry. Their leather is tough enough to block blades, and their strength is as powerful as beasts.”

At Scadi’s gesture, the warriors shouted and raised their spears.

“Spear formation!”

Simultaneously with one warrior’s spear, the spears pierced through the mist, intercepting the charging enemy. It wasn’t as overwhelming as Wendigo’s strength, but the spears pierced the enemy in an instant.

Fascinated by the spectacle, Wendigo observed the overturned helmets of the warriors.

Unlike the rough shamanic magic of the spirits, the intricate magic engraved on the helmets was providing the warriors with mysterious power.

‘Indeed… So that’s what Skadi was talking about.’

It was quite a surprising object. How on earth was such a thing made?

“Impressive. If it’s not too difficult to make, I’d like to distribute it to the warriors.”

“Uh… that, that might be challenging.”

“Is it? Because it’s hard to find the materials?”

As Wendygo stared intently, Skadi spoke, twiddling her fingers and discussing the materials.

“I… used a bit of Gikas’s entrails.”

“……”

It was valuable, more than expected, but realizing the danger, Wendygo stared blankly at Skadi.

It wasn’t as potent as Gikas’s heart, but the entrails didn’t have such favorable properties.

However, Skadi had her own justification. It had undergone numerous tests, proving its stability.

A helmet imbued with Wendygo’s energy for the warriors.

This helmet was nothing short of proof of Skadi’s exceptional magical skills.

… If Skadi’s skill had been slightly lower, it could have become a cursed item, turning warriors into lunatics with the negative aura of Gikas.

As Skadi looked up, fiddling with her fingers, Wendygo glanced at the warriors.

“Kill them! They are blasphemers who have defied the Elemental Lord!”

“The Lord’s protection is with us. Only those with faith deserve his blessing, so fear not death!”

Ignoring the fanatic worship, objectively speaking, the object Skadi created was quite decent. Thanks to the helmet, the warriors had the upper hand against the beastly humanoids.

‘Still, I’ll have to cleanse my soul when I go back.’

However, secretly creating something dangerous was undoubtedly a problem. A mistake could lead to unimaginable consequences.

“Nicely crafted, but speak and create next time. And… warriors, withdraw from that guy. I’ll deal with him.”

Wendigo pointed, undoubtedly indicating Lectar. Lectar emerged among the beastmen and swung his flaming sword down towards Wendigo.

Such an attack wouldn’t find its mark on Wendigo. Wendigo simply raised the sword to block the attack.

Despite the overwhelming difference in strength, Lectar didn’t stop. Perhaps aware that stopping meant death, he continued to swing his sword, aiming for Wendigo’s openings.

Wendigo casually blocked the attacks and raised his arm. In that moment, Lectar screamed as if giving a signal.

“Oneaton!!!”

Whether it was a signal or not, a bird swooped down from the sky, targeting Wendigo’s arm.

With a bone-crunching sound, the bird transformed, revealing its true identity as Oneaton. Oneaton covered Wendigo’s arm and sank its teeth in.

Seeing this, Lectar saw an opportunity. If he could behead Wendigo while he was distracted by Oneaton!

“A decoy. Did you really think this would throw me off?”

“… What?”

Lectar felt his heart drop at Wendigo’s question. He had forgotten the fact that he needed to attack, completely captivated by Oneaton.

It was strange. Why attack with weakened fangs instead of magic? Especially when there were means to attack from a distance?

“Don’t talk nonsense… I said don’t talk nonsense!”

“Fair enough.”

As Lectar screamed as if the sky was falling, Wendigo grabbed Oneaton’s decoy and slammed it to the ground.

The decoy separated upon impact, revealing its true form with the slightest hint of mystique, showing it was a minimally crafted duplicate.

A lifeless bird lay exposed on the ground.

“Oneatoon!!!”

“That’s what happens when you choose your contracted partner wisely.”

It may be unfair to be in a position of being deceived, but what can one do? I will only take what I can and accept my own fault for trying to betray others.

Rector vomited blood and swung his sword. His life became the fuel, and the sword rose with the force to burn the world.

Wendigo also swung his sword in response.

When the two swords collided, the pure coldness contained in the ice sword engulfed the flames. The mystery contained in Rector’s sword shattered into pieces…

“I… I am of the Blue Mane Tribe… I must return to the plains…”

“You foolish fool. Did you think that someone who has lived their whole life as a swindler would be so easily deceived?”

The ice sword split Rector in half. With a regretful testament, Rector’s ambition crumbled.

It was a pitiful death for someone who had burned with ambition to return to the plains and become a king.

Wendigo glanced at Rector for a moment, then turned his head to confirm Oneton’s presence. He thought that Oneton must have escaped quite far, having sent a clone to buy time…

‘Why isn’t he moving and just standing still?’

Contrary to his expectations, the man was still stuck nearby. Upon closer observation, Wendigo sensed the presence of a human around Oneton.

For some reason, it was a perfect situation to track him.

Wendigo chased after Oneton at full speed.

“The forest spirit has appeared! To prove our innocence, we must stop that wolf!”

“You damn spirit bastard! Since you drove us to death, you should die too!”

“You rotten scum with decayed brains! Do you think you can escape his wrath by acting like this?”

“?”

There, warriors from the Blue Mane Tribe were risking their lives to stop Oneton.

It was clear that the venom had properly taken effect, as they did not retreat even when their arms were torn off by Oneton’s claws.

Wendigo watched the battle with a gloomy gaze. Although the betrayal of the warriors was entrusted to him, it was still a crucial matter…

“How many sins must one commit to be so relentless?” Wendygo, who always got along peacefully with others, couldn’t understand what was happening. With eyes filled with contempt, Wendygo created an ice spear and hurled it towards Oneton.