Overgeared

Ttang... Ttang... Ttang… Amidst the smoky gray of dawn, a hammering sound rang out in the serene forest.

‘It isn’t a matter to worry about.’ Mercedes shook her head in an effort to shake off her thoughts as she watched Grid sweat at dawn.

Why did Grid have Lorex’s axe? Who dropped these sets of armor?

Yesterday, Mercedes witnessed Grid putting the red armor and the big axe into the furnace, and her imagination ran wild. The feelings in her heart became complicated. However, Mercedes knew that the doubts and anxiety stirring her mind were nothing. After all, the worst things she could imagine had all happened in the past.

Indeed, she wasn’t in a position to feel angry or betrayed even if Grid turned out to be the Undefeated King’s descendant, who had slaughtered the Red Knights during the war between the empire and Valhalla.

‘The empire is a potential enemy of the Overgeared Kingdom.’

After all, the empire had the greatest potential to threaten the survival of the Overgeared Kingdom. It was the same even now. Mercedes couldn’t blame Grid for his activities which caused enormous damage to the empire. From Grid’s perspective, they were natural actions. Even if he did deserve to be blamed for it, Mercedes was now Grid’s knight. She had to understand and embrace Grid’s past, rather than hold it against him.

There was only one regrettable thing.

‘If Lorex had known about the relationship between Grid and Piaro...’

Lorex might not have died. Maybe he would be serving Grid by Mercedes’ side right now. Of course, this theory was meaningless. There were no if’s in history.

‘...It isn’t a problem to raise a fuss about.’

Mercedes was trying to control her heart when her ears heard something. It was a strange sound that came from nearby.

‘What?’

Was it because she was too immersed in her thoughts? It was shameful that she had allowed something to approach in this empty area. The frustrated Mercedes jumped up while rotating at the same time, with her hand holding a sword naturally. Then her sword hit a solid barrier, and a sharp metallic sound entered Mercedes’ ears.

Sensing the turmoil, Piaro immediately rose from his seat and was startled as he witnessed the sight before him. A huge cave cricket the size of a house was attacking Mercedes.

It belonged to an ancient species, creatures that had existed since the beginning. Having lost their homes as human societies developed and expanded, they had long since disappeared from the history of humanity. However, they were alive in the world tree’s forest.

“Urgh!” Mercedes was on the defensive.

The creature had a total of eight legs. Two of them were relatively short front legs, and there were four sharp side legs that were used as a shield and weapon. This gave the creature a combat style that was beyond human comprehension. The hunting instincts imprinted on the organism that had survived for tens of thousands of years were beyond measure.

In the end, Mercedes spread her silver wings and flew into the air in an attempt to free herself from the attacks of the cave cricket. However, the cave cricket’s long and resilient antennae detected Mercedes’ movements in real time. The cave cricket raised its legs and hit Mercedes, causing her to cough up blood as she was blown away.

“Ku....ock!”

How could a noble knight possibly be hit by an insect?

thoughts. After all, the giant cave cricket was a monster that couldn’t be defined as

and its strength was higher than that of the bear-wolves in the daytime. Furthermore, its irregular attacks were hard to figure out. Therefore, the difficulty of this confrontation felt like

to sink. It was a phenomenon caused by the giant cave cricket bending its hind legs. As this continued on, the ground caved in around the place where the cave cricket was bending down. However, at this point, the cave cricket had already jumped high

“Mercedes! Wake up!”

blankly at the cave cricket high in the sky when Piaro’s shouts

“Growth!”

a day grew rapidly. The branches which had been cut off were restored and covered with lush leaves. Thanks to the sudden growth of the huge trees, the cave cricket couldn’t land on the ground and struggled among the trees. The giant branches were cut off by the front and

her blank state and focused sword energy on her swords, covering them with a white light that shook off the darkness. Meanwhile, Piaro was using Pounding Mortar without hesitation. Simultaneously, a huge object fell

with her silver wings and stabbed the cave cricket’s bulging belly several times. It was a collaboration of two

However...

“Uh!”

“Ha!”

that it was only active at night. Nevertheless, the strength of

trees that had been cut down due to the struggle. That was the cave cricket’s trail, and now it was planning to feast on the small

thought of methods to deal with it. “Please restrain its actions fully. I have to clear

of the cave cricket. The ground shook

where Grid, the anvil, and the portable furnace were located shook like it was going to collapse. Nevertheless, Grid was solely focused on his work. From the moment of the cave

that he didn’t seem aware of the battle taking place. However, the amazing thing was that it wasn’t an exaggeration. Grid was in a world of his own, one which consisted of him,

‘I feel it.’

power was pulled out, causing the black mithril’s fighting

delicate as his concentration rose endlessly. The constant reoccurring effects of the Blacksmith’s Patience and Blacksmith’s Breath made Grid and the metal extremely robust.

‘Now!’

Grid saw the end.

completed the

very surprised. He says that his skill has once again been overtaken by a

other gods are laughing at the nervousness of the

with the blacksmith god has decreased

reaches -10, any items made

affinity with the

depending on the refraction of light, was completed. Its name

***

couldn’t afford to hold back her strength in front of an ancient predator that couldn’t be included in any category with a human’s

With the transcendent leap from those hind legs and the strength of a mountain, the fast and irregular attacks from the hard but flexible front legs, and the antennae and side legs that removed any blind spots… The cave cricket was like a

great. Mercedes’ body was wounded as she confronted the cave cricket with White Tiger’s Attitude. Meanwhile, Piaro was still farming. ‘Just a little

of time clearing the field and using Free Farming.

Mercedes’ eyes, two minutes seemed like an eternity. Her White Tiger’s Attitude collapsed when the cave cricket’s side legs, which had

Mercedes’ leather armor hadn’t been repaired. Therefore, it hadn’t been working properly from the very beginning. It

shook as the cave cricket’s four side legs and two front legs poured down toward her like rain. Cracks started to form on the silver wings wrapped

she couldn’t shake off the despair in