Crown Prince Sells Medicine
Chapter 68

 I Next

Tonight, Raciel faced a chilling realization: either he or that bastard would meet a dire end. To end this night, such a confrontation had to happen. But Raciel couldn’t comprehend why he was the sole target. He couldn’t replace a plausible reason, and it left him puzzled and frustrated. At that moment, the Minotaur, Uruus, let out a powerful roar.

“Moooouuuu!”

Uruus’s scarred body trembled, and despite the excruciating pain in his chest, it only fueled his ferocious spirit further. One clear goal was etched in his mind – to annihilate the humans in this place. This was war.

“…… Huff! Huff!”

Amidst his reddening vision, Uruus considered the two universal ways to win a war. The first was to obliterate the enemy’s forces, and the second was to capture and kill the enemy leader. And now, that enemy leader stood right before him – Raciel.

“Mooou! Huff!”

Uruus was certain. Raciel, the repulsive-looking human, was the one. His instincts told him that all the humans were trying to protect this man. Uruus had observed their behavior clearly.

Raciel was the leader of the human group in this city. If Uruus captured and killed him, he could secure victory in this war.

“Huff!”

Uruus snorted and reached out with his gigantic arm, seizing the ship’s main mast, known for its toughness, and snapped it like a straw. The half-spread, massive sail now became a giant fan in Uruus’s two arms, and his bulging shoulder and bicep muscles resembled anacondas.

“Moohh!”

With a whoosh, Uruus swung the entire main mast. At that moment, Raciel instinctively shouted.

“Everyone, get down!”

Everyone came to their senses at his shout.

His warning snapped everyone to attention.

“…… Gasp!”

“Get down!”

Everyone rushed to throw themselves down onto the deck just as a typhoon passed over their heads.

Crack! Crunch-!

The second and third masts were obliterated by the force of the swung mast. The stern of the ship didn’t escape either, as it was crushed along with the structures above it, including the helm used for steering.

Crack-!

In a mere three seconds, Uruus’s swift action turned the ship’s deck into chaos.

“Cough! Cough! Ugh!”

Raciel coughed from within the dust and raised his head, but his vision remained blurred. The sail of the second mast covered the entire deck, including Raciel himself.

‘Insane.’

He hadn’t anticipated the Minotaur’s leap onto the ship.

‘What should I do?’

Raciel frantically searched for a way to survive, but no clear solution presented itself. Running away seemed like the best option, but there was no escape route.

‘The only chance would be swimming, but I can’t swim. If I try jumping into the sea, I’ll drown.’

He briefly considered asking Demian or others to swim and carry him, but the distance to the dock was too far – more than 100 meters. And if Uruus decided to swim after them, they would be caught swiftly.

What about the lifeboats?

Raciel peered out between the torn sails and saw two lifeboats crushed together across the wrecked deck.

There was no way to escape. The ship’s helm at the stern was broken, leaving the vessel drifting aimlessly. However, the direction it drifted in was away from the dock, further from the land. The realization of their dire situation weighed heavily on Raciel’s mind and body.

Ding dong!

[Your organs are unstable due to the sensed crisis.]

[Heart: Hey, can’t you think of a way to escape? What are you doing, brain?]

[Lungs: Oxygen supply to the brain…… Ah…… lung failure!]

[Large Intestine: Guys? I think the stomach isn’t feeling good?]

[Liver: Shush, my body is feeling even worse!]

[Stomach: Hehehe, the last supper chew.]

It seemed even his organs couldn’t replace a definite answer. There was no way to escape the Minotaur, and reconciliation seemed even less likely. The conclusion settled in his mind: he had to face the end here.

Then, someone reached out from the side, gently pressing on his shoulder.

“Shh. Keep your body low.”

“……!”

Startled, Raciel turned to look, replaceing Demian whispering with a calm expression.

“The sail falling over is actually good. Crawl over there. Stay close to the wreckage at the stern and don’t move. That way, you won’t be noticed.”

“You mean hide?”

“Yes. That’s probably the best option for now.”

“What about you?”

“I have a lot to receive from His Highness tonight.”

“……What?”

“It’s about hazard pay. I even injured my leg, so it’s an injury sustained in the process of performing my duties. It’s clearly an occupational injury, so I should be compensated adequately.”

“So, you’re saying I, your employer, need to survive for you to claim all that money?”

“That’s an accurate summary. Well then.”

“…What?”

Smack!

Demian’s hand pushed Raciel roughly.

“I’ll draw its attention, take advantage of that, and move. Quickly.”

“…”

Their eyes met for a moment. Demian’s words sounded like a joke, but his gaze was cold and solemn. He understood the situation better than anyone else, leaving Raciel with no room to argue. All he could do was nod in response.

‘Please. Don’t overdo it.’

Raciel hid beneath the sail that spread across the deck like a gigantic blanket. Demian suddenly ripped the sail and stood up, limping to the other side of the deck.

“Roar!”

Uruus’ gaze fixated on Demian. Seizing the opportunity, Raciel paddled hard in the direction Demian had indicated.

Sweat trickled down his forehead, and his breath grew ragged. Finally, he reached the wreckage of the mast and hid in a corner. Peering through a torn hole in the sail, he widened his eyes in surprise.

‘…Huh?’

Everyone was fighting.

Demian wielded his sword, Anise in her werewolf form bared her fangs and leaped, the royal guards moved with precision, and the special duty guards filled the gaps and shouted commands. Even Kozumi charged with its spines raised.

Everyone displayed fighting spirit and shouts. In front of them stood the Minotaur, a wall of despair. It warded off everyone’s attacks, laughing and brushing them aside.

“Roar! Roar!”

Bellowing like a wild bull, its massive head swung around with its bulky weight. At the end were a pair of magnificently curved horns.

Unstoppable.

The horns charged like a bulldozer, shattering five guards’ shields and smashing six special duty guards’ swords.

“….Kerk!”

With one powerful charge, the Minotaur incapacitated five guards and six special duty guards. Anise bravely leaped onto the Minotaur’s back and sank her fangs into its thick hide, but it didn’t cause a fatal wound. Undeterred, she attacked with her claws, leaving marks on the Minotaur’s back. However, the Minotaur swiftly retaliated by grabbing Anise’s tail and swinging her around like a fly swatter, causing her to crash onto the deck and faint.

Now convinced of its dominance, the Minotaur scanned the deck, seemingly searching for something or someone.

‘It’s looking for me.’

Raciel’s heart pounded as he realized the Minotaur’s intent. Just then, the Minotaur lifted one leg and stamped down on a spot covered by the sail, where something had been.

“….!”

His heart thumped loudly as the Minotaur ripped through the sail and found a flat, smashed box underneath.

“Mooooo!”

The Minotaur’s breath grew rougher, and it became clear that it intended to trample and check all the bulges under the sail to replace him and crush him to death.

Chills ran down Raciel’s spine as the Minotaur continued its destructive movements.

“Roar! Mooo! Moooo!”

Bang! Crash! Thud!

The Minotaur’s relentless trampling left a trail of destruction all over the deck, without any careful scrutiny. It didn’t care about the damage it caused to the ship; its only focus was to replace its target.

‘Damn it!’

Hiding in this limited space on the deck was futile. He knew he had to replace a better hiding spot to survive. The cabin at the front of the collapsed stern seemed like the best option. Desperately, he searched for a passage leading to the cabin, but it was difficult to spot amidst the chaos. Other sailors nearby were also struggling to replace a safe hiding place, their faces filled with fear.

The Minotaur’s relentless trampling drew closer and closer, leaving Raciel with little time to act.

“Moooo! Roar-!”

Crash! Bang!

“…!”

The situation was becoming dire, and even Demian’s efforts to stop the Minotaur with his sword were falling short due to his injured leg. The Minotaur only grew more enraged by the feeble attacks and continued its rampage.

‘Crazy! Crazy! Ahhh!’

Raciel’s mind raced, desperately trying to avoid being crushed by the raging Minotaur. He had come too far to meet such a gruesome end now, but the Minotaur showed no mercy in its wild onslaught.

“Roar!”

A fierce bellow reverberated just above him, jolting him into immediate action.

“…!”

Without a second thought, he rolled his body to the side, narrowly evading a colossal hoof that came crashing down on the spot where he had lain just moments ago.

“…Hold on!”

He couldn’t die here. Desperately, he rolled and crawled under the safety of the sail, but the relentless trampling seemed to pursue him relentlessly.

Crash! Bang! Thud-!

It was like a frantic cockroach trying to elude a human in a midnight kitchen. He kept rolling, crawling, and seeking refuge beneath the sail, all while maintaining his composure and rationality. He knew that fear and instinct would only lead to predictable movements, and he couldn’t afford to be predictable. He needed to stay sharp, analyze his opponent’s every move, and capitalize on any small opportunity.

‘Keep your eyes open, Han!’ he yelled at himself amidst the deafening cacophony of destruction and roars, determined not to lose consciousness.

With his senses on high alert, he observed the moonlight filtering through the thick sail and used it to predict the Minotaur’s next actions. Every subtle clue—the giant silhouette blocking the moonlight, the direction of its movement, the sound of its roars, and its labored breathing—was analyzed and considered.

To enhance his abilities, he tapped into the Asrahan precision diagnosis technique, causing the mana circle to spin at its maximum capacity. He sensed the mana in the surrounding air and even the volatile mana nearby, using it to detect and analyze the flow of energy. This extreme experience pushed him to the brink.

Ding-dong!

[You have encountered an unprecedented danger.]

[In this situation, you have poured all of your instinct to survive and your reason into sensing mana through your mana circle.]

[This extreme experience has dramatically enhanced the ‘Asrahan Precision Diagnosis’ you have been using.]

[The ability of the ‘Asrahan Precision Diagnosis’ you used is expanding.]

[Asrahan Precision Diagnosis evolves into an official option of your skill, <Palpation>.]

[Option function is added to the <Palpation> skill.]

[Skill-specific Option 1: Meridian Scanning – Within a range of 10 meters, you can scan and understand the movement of meridians flowing inside the target’s body in real time. (Limited to living creatures / Number of targets that can be locked on at once: 1)]

“…!”

Suddenly, a message popped up in front of him, and he began to perceive every single meridian, the flow of energy, and the predicted movements of the rampaging Minotaur beyond the sail.

It was as though he had activated a map hack.

(To be Continued)

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