"Hey, kid, you sure sleep soundly!"
Before Roland was even fully awake, a deep reprimand sounded in his ear.
He looked up in a daze and saw Peyton dragging his blood-soaked body toward him.
Under the bright moonlight, Peyton was covered in blood, with dark red beads of it clotted on his beard.
He casually wiped his face, but it only smeared the bloodstains, making him look even more ferocious.
"Stop spacing out! Pick up your weapon!"
Roland quickly got up, took the pack Peyton tossed him, and drew the Iron Sword, gripping it tightly.
"Uncle Peyton, what happened?"
"What else could it be..."
Peyton spat. He swung the Iron Sword in his hand, carving a jarring, bloody gash in the ground.
"Those Demons from Chenxi Territory are attacking. The damned bastards..."
The words had barely left his mouth when a sharp CRACK sounded from outside the fence.
Three hunched figures vaulted over the fence, their yellow, slitted pupils glowing eerily in the dark.
They were about half a man's height, their bodies covered in coarse brown fur, and from the neck up, they had ferocious dog heads.
"Kobolds!"
Staring at the dog-faced Demons before him, Roland's heart began to pound.
Although he had heard countless rumors about these Demons since his transmigration, this was the first time he'd encountered them in person.
"Kid, you take the one on the right! I'll handle the two on the left!"
Before the words were even out of his mouth, Peyton shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Seeing this, Roland took a deep breath, fixed his gaze on the Kobold before him, and slowly shuffled his feet to maintain a safe distance.
He angled the tip of his sword slightly upward, taking the standard opening stance for Lion Swordsmanship.
The Kobold hunched its back, its rough claws gripping a rusty Hand Axe. It tilted its head, watching the human's strange movements.
Then, it suddenly roared and lunged, its Hand Axe whistling as it chopped down.
Seeing this, Roland deftly sidestepped and parried.
The moment the Iron Sword and the axe blade clashed, a shock ran up his arm, and he nearly lost his grip on the hilt.
'Such incredible brute force!'
Roland, shocked, immediately took a half-step back to create some distance.
But the Kobold pressed its advantage, chopping three more times in quick succession.
Roland fought as he retreated. On the third parry, he intentionally lessened his force, using the rebound to leap nimbly backward.
'This thing...'
Roland's eyes flashed as he noticed the Kobold had to reset its breathing after every swing and was even clumsier when it turned.
'Plenty of Power, but not enough Agility...'
Having identified the Kobold's weakness, Roland immediately changed his strategy.
The next time the axe blade came at him, he didn't meet it head-on. Instead, he ducked under the swing and flicked his sword upward, leaving a bloody gash across the Kobold's ribs.
Roaring in pain, the Kobold's attacks grew fiercer, but also more chaotic.
Roland, on the other hand, moved like a matador weaving around a bull. The lethal art of Lion Swordsmanship was on full display; there were no flashy moves, just a single-minded focus on striking at vital points with every slash.
When the Kobold missed again with another full-powered chop, he seized the opening and lunged forward, his blade striking like a viper into its throat.
As warm blood splattered across his face, a line of golden text appeared before his eyes.
[You have gained comprehension through combat. Lion Swordsmanship has received three experience points.]
'Is this... the effect of the Extra Benefit: [Theory and Practice]?'
The thought vanished as quickly as it came. Roland hurriedly looked to the side.
Peyton was steadily losing ground under the combined assault of two Kobolds, his situation perilous.
Seeing this, Roland took a deep breath and strode forward.
One of the Kobolds sensed the movement and had just turned when Roland's diagonal slash struck its shoulder.
The Kobold let out a piercing howl. Its companion immediately abandoned Peyton, swinging a Nail Head Hammer as it charged at Roland.
Using the experience he had just gained, Roland nimbly sidestepped the heavy hammer, his sword slicing precisely across the Kobold's knee.
As the Kobold staggered to its knees, he followed up with a reverse slash, the sharp blade slicing open its throat.
The previously injured Kobold tried a sneak attack, but Peyton, having caught his breath, ran it through from behind, piercing its heart.
"A fine counterattack!"
Though Peyton cheered aloud, he couldn't hide the shock in his eyes.
This boy, barely sixteen, had not only mastered Lion Swordsmanship in a short period and applied it in actual combat, but he was also remarkably calm and composed when facing a vicious Demon.
'Compared to him, it's like I've wasted the last few decades of my life.'
Gazing at Roland's straight-backed figure, Peyton gave a wry, silent laugh before offering some advice.
"Still, you could have attacked its armpit just now. That would have briefly disabled it."
Hearing this, Roland replayed the fight in his mind and nodded slightly.
'After my Awakening, my Skills, Traits, and other benefits can help me grasp the basics of a technique quickly, but they can't give me actual combat experience.'
'So even though I fully understand the essence of Lion Swordsmanship, my moves in a real fight still lack fluidity and adaptability.'
Roland delivered another sword strike to each of the three Kobolds to make sure they were dead before slowly walking over.
In the moonlight, he finally noticed a wound on Peyton's left arm, so deep that bone was visible. Blood had already soaked half his sleeve.
"You're injured?"
"One of these bastards scratched me earlier. It's nothing."
Peyton spat, but before he could say more, several dog-like howls echoed in the distance.
Hearing the cries, Peyton's expression changed drastically. He pulled Roland into the house.
Gary had already packed his bags and was standing guard behind the door, gripping a Hunting Bow. When he saw the two enter, he immediately bolted the door and said with a panicked expression,
"The eastern granary is on fire! There are at least twenty Kobolds looting the marketplace."
"Far more than that."
Peyton tore off a strip of cloth and hastily bandaged his wound.
"These bastards are clearly organized. There must be a big one directing them from behind."
Roland peeked through a crack in the shutters, and his stomach clenched.
The entire village was engulfed in flames. A dozen separate fires stained the night sky blood-red.
In the streets, Kobolds broke down doors in groups of three and five. An old man who had fallen behind was tackled by three of the Demons, his screams quickly replaced by the sickening sound of chewing.
Farther away, several able-bodied villagers were desperately fighting back with pitchforks, but a weapon-wielding Kobold charged into their midst, swinging a Rusted Iron Sword. With a few dull thuds, the resisters collapsed one by one into pools of blood.
"Dammit!"
Seeing the scene outside, Gary cursed, violently lifted a bed board, and dragged an old wooden chest out from a hidden compartment beneath it.
He deftly pried the lock open, took out two gleaming Hunting Knives, and tucked them into his belt.
"The back door is safe for now. What's our next move?"
"To the village entrance! We'll escape toward the manor!"
Before Peyton could even speak, Roland tore his gaze from the window and answered.
"There are definitely Regular Soldiers stationed at the manor. With its high walls, there's no way the Kobolds can break through!"
Having trained at the manor, Roland knew its layout like the back of his hand.
It was less of a manor and more of a small fortress.
High stone walls, staggered arrow towers, and solid fortifications all made it easy to defend and difficult to assault.
For the Kobolds, with their crude weapons and disorganized attacks, to break through a line of defense held by well-trained Regular Soldiers was nothing but a pipe dream.
"We'll do as the kid says!"
Peyton said, breathing heavily, and nodded at Gary.
Having reached an agreement, the three of them slipped quietly out of the house.
Seeing the Kobold corpses in front of the house, Roland understood how Peyton had gotten the wound on his arm.
Amidst the billowing smoke, the three of them used it for cover, moving quickly while hugging the base of the walls.
Whenever they encountered Kobolds, Roland and Peyton worked together with an unspoken understanding, cutting them down.
In the crucible of continuous combat, the special effect of [Theory and Practice] gradually revealed itself.
Roland's Lion Swordsmanship shed its initial awkwardness. His moves flowed together more smoothly, and every strike became more precise and deadly.
After rounding two corners, Roland suddenly grabbed the other two, pulling them to a stop.
Seven or eight bodies—a mix of villagers and Kobolds—lay strewn across the crossroads ahead.
Not far away, several Regular Soldiers clad in Chain Armor were charging with blades in hand at an unusually large Kobold.
Under the bright moonlight, Roland clearly saw what made this Kobold different.
Its entire body was covered in blood-red Scales, each one glinting with an eerie, cold light under the moon.