"Bang!"
The Wolfbane envoy, who had taken on the form of a wilderness monstrosity and was fighting for his life with brutal strength, was sent flying like a ball. He lost consciousness before he even hit the ground.
Kudel had clearly held back. He had only broken the man's hand and breastbone, making sure the blow didn't kill him outright.
On paper, Kudel was only an elite Silver-rank fighter. But in addition to being a Nightblade Swordsman in the vampire system, he also had the secondary class of "Grail Knight." That let him fight far beyond the level of an ordinary Silver-rank combatant. Otherwise, Salokdar wouldn't have scooped him up like a treasure and brought him back to Cadman City during the Fourth Black Calamity.
It was no exaggeration to say that Tribune Kudel was now the Blood Eagle Clan's second-strongest fighter after Triss. The young lady, who had completed the Silver Trial and awakened a unique power, ranked third. The modest Lord Murphy naturally came in fourth.
Of course, Murphy had a few "objections" to that ranking.
He knew he wasn't Kudel's match, but if he fought the young lady to the death, the winner was anyone's guess.
In any case, for a unique fighter like Kudel—whose actual combat ability was far beyond his official rank and whose battle experience was unparalleled—ordinary Black Iron-rank wolf-claw warriors were as good as dead if they so much as brushed against him.
These feeble kinsmen posed even less of a threat to the tribune than the bloody flail wielded by a gnoll chieftain.
Still, encountering Wolfbane Clan minions this far south in Transia was strange enough to make Kudel's expression turn serious beneath his visor.
He sheathed his greatsword and had to consider an important question: what exactly were these bastards planning