Chapter 47: Subjugation Complete

"Eliza, fire now!"

"<Wind Blade!>"

Five wind blades flew past me toward the nearest Black Tigers. They cut their fur and inflicted shallow wounds when they hit the monsters; red blood dripped slightly from the wound, and a roar followed suit.

"Graaaa!!!"

The damage <Wind Blade> inflicted on them was minimal, but that was enough. At least Eliza managed to hit five of them. They immediately lunged toward Eliza, who had hurt them earlier.

"Hya! Arthur!" Eliza screamed and called my name, clearly terrified by them.

But when they passed me, my sword flashed.

"<Whirlwind>."

I activated one of my skills that affected an area, and silver flashes followed suits around me, cutting the five Black Tigers that targeted Eliza. Their bodies were cut like butter—red juices splattered everywhere, drenching the brown dirt and tree red.

"Woah!"

"So that's the Paladin!"

"His sword moves so fast it leaves a trail behind!"

"The Black Tigers were like a training dummy for him!"

Voices of amazement echoed behind me. I stood up in a straight manner, basking in the glory. Who didn't love to be praised? But I kept myself humble and not conceited.

Even if the sword I used was low-level, according to my standard, it was still better than most swords that could be found in this world.

There were 4 Black Tigers left. They took a step back as they let out a low growl. Their salivas dripped to the ground due to the overwhelming fear they felt. The monsters understood our difference in level, and they slowly retreated toward where the last Black Tiger was.

But I wouldn't allow them.

"Eliza, again!"

"<W-Wind Blade!>" She stuttered a little but was still able to send four small wind blades toward the remaining Black Tigers.

Was she shocked at the sight of blood? If that was so, then I would need to train her again in the future. It was bad to get scared from seeing blood.

The wind blades' speed was slower than before because Eliza hesitated a little, but they didn't notice them coming due to their wariness toward me.

As a result, the four wind blades hit the monsters, and they roared once more.

"Graaa!"

I tightened the grip around my [Excalipoor], ready to kill them once they rushed toward me. But unlike my prediction, they turned around and ran at full speed.

"What?! They are running?"

The knights let out confused voices while I only stood there, blinking my eyes.

"They ran?" I muttered, dissatisfied with their choice. They were... cowards. Never had I seen monsters in Horizon Online run away from a player before, no matter how strong their opponent was.

I thought I finally got a good opponent to exercise and regain my fighting sense. But they... how dare they run from me?!

"Duck," I ordered them with a low voice as my blade was slowly covered in a golden light.

Oh, I was done holding back. Those trash monsters that ran away when they were in danger couldn't be called opponents any longer.

Unlike humans, they couldn't revive. So I understood that they were afraid. But running away was a different story.

"Right now." I continued as I glanced back, seeing them a bit baffled.

Noticing a serious note in my voice, though, the knights immediately ducked, and Sophia pushed Eliza down.

"Please excuse me." The female knight said.

Good judgment. I would praise her later.

For now...

"<Sonic...>" I muttered in a low voice and swung my sword horizontally.

I moved it slowly, and the golden light stayed in place following my movement, looking like a bright crescent moon. And when I finished my slow swing, I finished my skill. "<...Sword>"

The golden light that stayed in place then burst forward at a light speed. It cut everything in its way and became bigger as it traveled. Trees got felled, falling one after another, kicking a cloud of dust into the air. Even wild animals weren't spared from the shooting light slash.

- Crash! Thud! Thud! Bam!

An intense shockwave followed suit. I protected the knights and Eliza behind me by taking the full brunt of the shockwave. My clothes and hair fluttered, but I didn't even flinch a little.

It might be too much now that I looked at the destruction it caused. But, the running Black Tigers earlier all were dead from my attack. It was also stopped once it traveled 300 meters, so the destruction wasn't bad; only the forest was cut in a perfect fan shape if one looked from above.

"W-What was that!" Eliza shouted from behind as she shouted loudly. She stood up and froze when she looked at the destruction in front of us. "A-And. How?! I Leveled up to 25 in a few minutes!"

"Really? That's great." I put my [Excalipoor] back in my inventory as I smiled at her. "It's faster than I expected. Killing an over-Leveled opponent is really the best way to level up."

"That's just... absurd." Her voice died down at the end of her sentence, realizing that she had just witnessed that absurd thing where I killed many monsters at once.

I didn't say anything more. The knights began to stand up too, and Sophia stood close to Eliza. I couldn't see their expressions, but from their behavior, I knew that they were shocked and amazed.

Naturally, I expected these reactions. But I ignored them and turned around. Somehow, for some reason, the red dot that stayed far away earlier had changed into yellow and wasn't gone yet.

'What is it? Is that the reason why the Black Tigers ran away earlier?'

When I used <Appraisal> on it, the result showed up as Black Tiger. How could it dodge my attack? I made sure that my attack cut the monsters right in the middle, meaning a meter above the ground.

"It's strange." I muttered.

"What's strange?" Eliza, who had gotten closer to me when I looked at my radar, called out. Sophia also approached us but stayed a distance away because she didn't want to intrude. "Did you find something else?"

"Yeah." I nodded without looking back.

I took out an ordinary iron sword from my inventory and strapped the sheath on my waist for my protection. Then I turned to Eliza and the knights.

"Wait here. I need to check something real quick."

As soon as I said that, I used <Flash> to approach the now yellow dot belonging to the last Black Tiger. If my guess was right, then this would be a little bonus.

Usually, monsters would always be marked with red dots with <Presence Detection>, but there was an exception. It was when that said monster gave up or when that monster could be tamed.

Whatever it was, they would become docile, and it was the perfect pet for players. My lips curled up in anticipation as I stopped in front of the yellow dot.

The corpses of the previous Black Tigers scattered around this area, cut in two, seemingly protecting something. The yellow dot came from under one of the corpses.

I walked toward it slowly and picked up the corpse.

"There you are. So you're the reason for their strange behavior?" I said as I looked at a small Black Tiger that whimpered while curling like a ball of fur.

Its fur was fully black, unlike the bigger ones that had a white dot.

"Don't worry, little guy." I crouched in front of the scared Black Tiger and extended my hands, picking it up gently. "I am not sorry for killing your siblings or parents. But I can assure you something. If you obey me, you won't regret it."

"Kyuu..." The little tiger whimpered to answer, giving himself up to me and closing its eyes.

This was perfect. If it was a monster like Black Tiger who was incredibly obedient like this little guy, it could serve as the perfect pet. Coincidentally, I had all the materials needed to raise a pet to become strong.

It didn't matter what kind of monsters they were. Whether they were birds, tigers, lions, or even a cat, as long as I raised them correctly, they could reach Level 100.

The only thing that made them different would be their skills. But this Black Tiger's skill would be perfect for a pet.

While I killed the adult ones easily, they actually could use <Wind Magic> and <Shadow Steps>. The first was self-explanatory, but the second was a skill to hide within the shadow. Meaning, this Black Tiger could become the best bodyguard for my girls in the future, protecting them from the shadow.

"Hmm, I will name you later. For now, let's return first." I held the little tiger in my name as I began to walk back. "This subjugation is more profitable than I initially thought."