Lord of Rot

If it really came to a fight, even Leech couldn’t guarantee he’d be a match for Rocket.

In terms of raw strength and primal ferocity, magic beasts held a natural advantage over humans.

The beastman curled into a ball and shouted, ”Stop, stop! I surrender!”

”Rocket!” Leech ordered him to stop.

Rocket stopped.

”Two of you, go over there and shove a gun in his mouth,” Leech ordered swiftly. ”If he dares to move, blow his head off.”

The beastman heard Leech’s order. Before the soldiers even reached him, he obediently opened his mouth, waiting for them to shove the gun inside.

Terror gripped the heart of the handsome, scaly-eyed man as he fled.

’I can’t win. There’s just no way!’

’It’s not just that the men are skilled—there’s also that terrifying magic beast. It actually beat that stupid pig so badly he was crying and begging for mercy.’

’He despised that stupid pig—the brute never bathed, was a lecher, stank to high heaven, and had no brains. But there was no denying his strength. In terms of combat prowess, he was definitely one of the best.’

’Besides, that pig was stubborn as a mule. He’d never back down unless he was truly terrified.’

He glanced over his shoulder, checking to see if Leech was in pursuit.

’If Leech came after me on that Horse-headed Eagle, I’d have no chance of escape.’

’But doing so would trap Leech in an encirclement of monkey soldiers.’

The handsome man could only hope that Leech would be cautious—that he wouldn’t risk his life for a minor character like him.

’Thankfully, Baron Porcupine didn’t give chase.’

But then he picked up a peculiar-looking weapon. It looked a lot like the iron tubes the Porcupine Soldiers used, only its barrel was longer.

Baron Porcupine squinted one eye, aiming the iron tube right at him.

’He’s too far away. There’s no way he can hit me from there,’ the man thought, his heart pounding. He couldn’t be sure.

’Ever since this battle began, Baron Porcupine has pulled out one bizarre weapon after another, each with terrifying results. This time... this one might actually be able to hit me!’

He watched as Baron Porcupine quickly lowered the iron tube, and he let out a sigh of relief.

”Phew—!”

’Looks like I get to live another day.’

After rushing back to the rear of the formation, the man said to La Bill, ”Baron Porcupine is too powerful! We’re no match for him. The best thing to do now is...”

BANG!!

La Bill’s head suddenly exploded. His headless body swayed twice before collapsing to the ground.

...

From the distant Porcupine camp, Leech watched the handsome, scaly-eyed man flee but chose not to pursue him.

The monkey soldiers were dropping in droves, but there were still nearly a thousand of them left. Charging in would mean getting surrounded. Even Rocket would struggle to take flight while encircled by a thousand men. It was pure suicide.

Normally, the distance between them would have made pursuit impossible.

But then Leech remembered the custom firearm Betty had specifically sent him.

He raised the firearm, deciding to give it a try. If he hit his target, great. If not, he’d just consider it a test.

He had intended to take out the fleeing Transcendent with a single shot, but he was surprised to see that the monkey soldiers’ advance had left La Bill—who was usually protected at the rear—completely exposed.

That tiny, detestable head was looking right in his direction.

’I’d definitely regret it if I didn’t take a shot at him.’

He poured in a large amount of Magic Gunpowder.

He lit the charge.

BOOM!

The recoil sent a tremor through Leech’s right shoulder, and the massive report sounded like a clap of thunder.

The force knocked him back half a step.

In the distance, La Bill was cleanly shot through the head. His entire head vanished.

”Phew.” Leech handed the gun to a nearby soldier, who quickly began to reload it. He took the opportunity to raise a hand and rub his shoulder.

’Good thing I was the one who fired that shot. For an ordinary person, a single shot would have shattered their arm!’

For the second shot, he braced the stock against his left shoulder.

Then he took aim at the fleeing, handsome, scaly-eyed man. The man turned his head to look back at him, his face a mask of terror.

He fired!

BANG!

Another headless corpse collapsed to the ground!