Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 45 Unexpected Event (Successfully Signed a Contract, Let's Celebrate!)
Without giving everyone time to adjust, the assembled jackals, led by their captain, launched an immediate charge.

Gnolls are generally taller than humans, and the sight of them charging in formation, nearly two meters tall, can send chills down the spines of many adventurers who have never seen anything like it.

Fortunately, Zhang Yuan was still able to maintain his rational thinking. While gripping his longsword and preparing to engage the enemy, his mind raced:

"The enemy has far too many of us. There are only four of us. We'll be worn down and killed if we don't get reinforcements. We're afraid we'll all perish here."

"But where are the reinforcements coming from? Wait, aren't the reinforcements on the other side?"

Suddenly remembering something, someone raised their cloak with surprise and hope.

I, the gnoll captain, will lead the charge!

The leader of this gnoll squad was named Ingoth, who came from a remote gnoll fortress and somehow ended up in this place.

Relying on his strong physique, Ingot successfully took over the leadership of all the gnolls in the area after defeating the previous leader. Of course, he also took over the previous leader's more than thirty beautiful female gnolls.

In the afternoon, Ingoth was still wondering why the gnolls who went out hunting had not returned. Fortunately, he had a keen sense of smell, and his henchmen followed the scent and blood to find their companion's body.

He wasn't heartbroken about losing a few men, but this kind of thing happening so soon after he became the leader was a challenge to his authority, wasn't it? Especially after hearing the news of the death of a gnoll, one of his beloved little she-wolves cried her heart out.

When questioned, the little she-wolf claimed he was her adopted brother. Fine, even if it's for revenge for her harem, the murderer cannot be let go.

Following the scent, they finally cornered the murderer in the woods.

"Die!" Ingoth strode forward, brandishing his halberd.

Suddenly, the hateful human in front of him transformed into an incomparably beautiful female gnoll. Ingot swore that even in the gnoll stronghold where gnolls gathered, even if he had to pick one gnoll after another among the most beautiful matriarchs, he would not find a female wolf as stunning as the one before him.

"This is mine!" Ingoth's eyes turned red as he looked at the other charging gnolls, feeling that these damned creatures were trying to steal his destined other half. "Waaaah, you all die!"

Just as the gnolls charged forward, Zhang Yuan remembered his cloak and used three charm spells to subdue the gnoll leader at the forefront and the two soldiers behind him.

The three jackals who had already led their men up immediately turned back, swung their weapons at their companions with such ferocity that it was as if the other party had stolen their wives.

The jackals, caught off guard by their own comrades' betrayal, were thrown into chaos. Especially when the enemy was their own leader, they could only retreat helplessly as the three traitors fought their way back.

The number of enemies attacking from the other direction was smaller, and the remaining three were able to hold off the onslaught. The tall jackals had little to do with the two short and sturdy dwarf shield-axemen. Those with long weapons could slash from above, but those with short axes suffered greatly, forced to crouch down and fight like they were playing whack-a-mole. It was unknown whether they would lose some of their abilities after this battle.

What's worse is that the opponent is short but strong. His slashes were easily blocked by the opponent's shield, but the opponent's lower body strikes were powerful and heavy, and every move was aimed at the lower body. It was really disgusting. After fighting for a while, one of his companions had to have his limb amputated, and another was in an even worse situation, losing his life.

Pick the softest persimmon to squeeze. Zhang Yuan directly had Xiao Xiao use her throwing skill to grab a jackal and throw it into the enemy ranks.

As a dancing companion descended from the sky, the remaining six gnolls were knocked to the ground by the shockwave. The three, who had already coordinated their attacks, rushed forward, but Zhang Yuan was not to be outdone. With just two sword strikes, two gnolls who were still trying to get up were laid down forever.

Before they could even deal with these defenseless enemies, the gnolls on the other side finally made the ruthless decision to kill their own comrades. Killing three of their charmed companions cost them two lives in the process, and the remaining seven gnolls charged forward in a rage.

"Münster, go deal with the remaining two gnolls. Kegan, Bard, you and Little hold them off. I'll prepare the spell."

The big guy grabbed a two-handed sword and went after the two gnolls who had just gotten up. Kagan, muttering to himself, raised his shield and stood in front of the unscrupulous mage.

However, the enraged gnolls were not so easy to deal with. Blocked by the dwarf and Little, they split into two and circled around from the side, heading straight for Zhang Yuan.

Helpless to stop casting spells, Zhang Yuan had no choice but to draw his sword and charge at one of the werewolves. Rather than be attacked from both sides, he decided to cut off one of its fingers.

Despite his height advantage, the gnoll used his signature vertical slash. Having anticipated this move, the gnoll dodged it with a lazy roll and attacked the opponent's left side. In the ensuing chaos, the gnoll swept his halberd horizontally.

The opponent's long weapon had a very large attack range, but it also had the weakness of being inflexible. Zhang Yuan, who was holding the long sword with both hands and barely parrying the attack, simply rolled forward and took the opportunity to get close to the opponent's feet. Before he could get up, he thrust his sword at the jackal's calf.

The jackal, whose left leg had been stabbed, stumbled and almost fell to the ground. He used his halberd to steady himself. Just as Zhang Yuan was about to expand his advantage, another jackal arrived, followed by the whistling sound of a greatsword cutting through the air.

In haste, Zhang Yuan swung his longsword to meet the attack. The price for deflecting the attack was that his sword was knocked away. The jackal behind him, despite his injured leg, was unwilling to let go of this opportunity for revenge. After gritting his teeth and regaining his footing, he launched a vicious thrust at his enemy.

However, the gnoll was not an unfeeling golem. The pain still affected his offensive, and the slight distortion in his movements caused the halberd, which was originally aimed at his back, to thrust towards his waist.

Zhang Yuan turned around in an attempt to dodge the enemy's sneak attack, but the distance was too close, and the hasty evasive maneuver was far from effective.

Even with the mage's armor protecting him, the halberd's axe blade still managed to tear a bloody gash in Zhang Yuan's waist. With a roar of pain, the man simply jumped into the gnoll's arms and punched it in the nose.

The nose is probably the weak point of every canine, and the gnoll is no exception. When a gnoll is hit in the nose, blood and tears flow together, and its face, which resembles a husky, looks like it has been smeared with soy sauce.

The shorter the weapon, the more dangerous it became. The jackal, who had penetrated straight into the center of the palace, was helpless against his opponent despite having a long halberd in his hand. He simply threw the halberd to the ground and grabbed the murderer's neck tightly with both hands, wanting nothing more than to crush him to death.

If it were an ordinary person, being choked by such a two-meter-tall monster would only mean waiting to die without any other thought. However, Zhang Yuan's superior physique gave him room to fight back.

Zhang Yuan, who was being choked, held his breath, shrank his neck, tensed all the muscles in his neck, and desperately pinched the other person's nostrils with one hand while reaching for his waist with the other.

Hanging at his waist was a dog-leg knife that had been specially sharpened and honed, which had accompanied him to this other world.

He unleashed his remaining strength with a backhand motion, like a swordsman drawing his blade, twisting his waist, drawing his sword, swinging his arm, and slitting the throat in one fluid motion.

Even if a kukri made with modern metalworking techniques is inferior to a magical weapon, it is still more than a gnoll's body can withstand, let alone its vulnerable throat.

With its throat ripped open and its neck seemingly broken in half, the gnoll suddenly lost all its strength. Its dim eyes and red, fountain-like neck announced the complete departure of its life force, leaving only its stiff hands that refused to abandon the enemy before it.

(End of this chapter)