When I Cleared the Death Game World, I Reincarnated as a Villainous Noble Even if They Talk About Doom Flags, I'm Actually Immortal. - Chapter 22

Thanks to Ren’s help, Lior was able to check the available requests without any trouble.

Among them, he chose the “Stone Wolf Subjugation” request.

The Stone Wolf was classified as a D-rank monster, and the request required retrieving its fangs and claws as proof of completion.

With his target set, Lior made his way to a nearby forest just outside the city.

“Where are you, Stone Wolf?”

Lior wandered through the forest, scanning his surroundings.

According to the request details, Stone Wolves were known to appear in this area, but so far, there was no sign of them.

Then again, considering they were wild creatures, it was only natural that finding them would take some effort.

(Maybe adventurers need skills for locating monsters too… Wait, what if I try searching for magical traces?)

Closing his eyes, Lior focused.

Since he still wasn’t adept at sensing magic properly, he needed to shut out distractions and concentrate.

After a few moments of stillness, he detected a faint magical residue on a nearby tree.

He moved toward it, following the trace.

“Is this… wolf fur?”

A tuft of fluffy gray fur was stuck to the bark.

Lior recalled hearing that wild animals sometimes rub against trees to mark their territory with their scent.

This fur could have been left behind during such an action.

“The residual magic feels like earth-attribute… Maybe this is from a Stone Wolf?”

As the name suggested, Stone Wolves were earth-attribute creatures.

Given that, there was a high probability that this fur belonged to one.

With that in mind, Lior focused on the magical imprint within the fur, searching for more traces.

“There’s a faint trail of footprints here… If I follow them, I might find one.”

Barely perceptible, but still present—there were magical footprints leading deeper into the forest.

Lior began following the trail.

After some time, a desperate scream echoed through the trees.

“Hyaaah!? S-Stop! Stay away from me!!”

It was a man’s voice.

The direction of the scream lined up perfectly with the Stone Wolf’s tracks.

Someone was under attack—!

Trusting his instincts, Lior broke into a sprint.

“Found it! …Wait, isn’t it kinda big?”

In front of him was a large, gray-furred wolf-like creature.

It matched the description in the request… but something was off.

It was noticeably bigger than what had been mentioned.

The request had stated that a Stone Wolf was about the size of a young boy, yet this one was closer to the size of a horse.

“H-Hey, help me!! That thing is a Land Wolf! It’s an advanced variant of the Stone Wolf!!”

Cowering in front of the creature was a young man, clearly older than Lior—probably around Ren’s age.

He wore leather armor and clutched a sword, indicating he was also an adventurer.

“Grrrrr…!!”

Hearing the man’s desperate plea, the Land Wolf turned its bloodshot eyes toward Lior.

The element of surprise was now lost.

Had the man kept quiet, Lior might have been able to launch a sneak attack.

Oh well.

Now, he had no choice but to face it head-on.

Drawing his black sword from its sheath, Lior took his stance.

“Gruuuuaaahh!!”

“Wild monsters really do have an entirely different level of intensity, huh?”

The moment Lior prepared his sword, the Land Wolf lunged at him.

Its sharp, obsidian-black claws slashed through the air.

CLANG!

However, its attack never landed.

Lior’s sword had blocked the strike.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The claws had merely been a feint.

The real attack came right after—the Land Wolf opened its massive jaws wide, aiming straight for him.

“Gyaaaah!?”

“…Noticed, huh?”

Just before its fangs could reach him, a spray of bl00d burst from the Land Wolf’s eyes.

A deep, clean slash had formed in a straight line across its face.

“Zangetsu Style: ‘Moon Concealment’.”

‘Moon Concealment’ was one of the techniques from the Seven-Flashing Zangetsu Style.

It was an invisible, ambush-style sword strike.

The trick behind it?

A cutting thread, controlled through magic, delivering a precise slash.

A master of the technique could easily see through the trick.

But for most warriors, it was an unseen, inescapable attack—one that took them down before they even realized what had happened.

…That being said, Lior’s Moon Concealment had absolutely nothing to do with any of that.

(I just said a cool-sounding move name on the spot, but… does this actually count as ‘Moon Concealment’?)

Lior’s Moon Concealment was a technique where he launched a magical slash from his blade without physically swinging it.

It was far weaker than a direct strike, but its effectiveness as a surprise attack was unmatched.

In fact, its versatility and ambush potential surpassed that of the original Moon Concealment, making it arguably superior.

However, the ability to send out magic slashes without moving the blade was an abnormal feat—borderline acrobatic trickery of a highly unconventional nature.

Even if someone were taught the method, almost no one would be able to replicate it.

The reason Lior had learned such an odd technique was entirely Snake Shrine’s fault.

(I’d really like to see the real Moon Concealment in action so I can compare it… but Snake Shrine refuses to show me…)

Snake Shrine was, technically speaking, Lior’s master.

As such, he was obligated to teach him the techniques of the Seven-Flashing Zangetsu Style.

However, sensing that teaching Lior these skills properly would only make him stronger, Snake Shrine deliberately withheld the actual methods and only provided vague descriptions of the techniques.

Of course, he also never mentioned that the Seven-Flashing Zangetsu Style relied on manipulating both swords and threads in combat.

As a result, Lior ended up developing a number of techniques that only looked like they belonged to the style but were, in reality, completely different.

Incidentally, when Snake Shrine saw Lior’s Moon Concealment, he deeply regretted his decision.

“Gruuuuaaahh!!”

“Oh?”

Furious from having its eye slashed, the Land Wolf lashed out, thrusting its claws toward Lior.

BOOM!!

Its massive strike never reached him, instead smashing into the ground with a heavy impact, sending a tremor through the earth.

“Impressive power… but it’s time to end this. Zangetsu Style—Shadow Stitch.”

“Garu!?”

The Land Wolf’s movements suddenly came to a halt.

This technique was originally meant to restrain opponents using threads, but in Lior’s case… (the rest is omitted).

“And now… Zangetsu Style—Storm Moon.”

Lior’s blade gleamed as he adjusted his stance.

Then, in a single fluid motion, he executed a downward slash from above, seamlessly transitioned into a sweeping strike, and finally used the momentum to spin around for a powerful horizontal slash.

The moment his sword came down, an explosion of slashes erupted.

It was as if the very air had birthed countless invisible blades.

The storm of cuts tore into the Land Wolf, forming a white, circular pattern—a crescent moon, radiant and beautiful.

“Grrr… ruuugh…”

The Land Wolf, its body ravaged by innumerable slashes, collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.