Chapter 57 : Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Stratagem and Strategy (1)

‘Why?’

Until the very moment I drew my sword to defend myself, the question wouldn't leave my mind.

Everyone dies. They will die too.

So what on earth could be the reason for them to do this?

Scraape!

The smoothly turning sword deflected the scythe and rake.

The path of the sword, moving as if in a dance, was thrust through a narrow opening.

“Ugh!”

Three men were immediately knocked over by the rebound force, but they did not back down.

“I warned you!”

Dodging an incoming club, I rushed straight at them.

Clang!

Although I couldn't use Perfect Counter, I had been able to deflect all of the Hell Assassin's attacks even without it.

Amidst the numerous attacks, my eyes found a path, and my moving hand held no hesitation.

Crack!

“Kaaak!”

Finally, there was an injury.

As I struck the arm of an attacker with the hilt of my sword, the arm bent grotesquely, and a gruesome sound erupted.

It was the result of deliberately using the strength of a level 15 against a level 3.

“Mark!”

“Don't back down! Buy time for the village chief to activate the bomb!”

But the flames of their fighting spirit only burned brighter in their eyes.

I fell into even greater confusion as I saw not only the remaining people but also Mark, with his shattered arm, stumbling forward.

‘Just why?’

It seemed that for them, this was something they absolutely had to do.

Even if it meant burning their own lives away.

Then I remembered.

The village chief's voice, as he spoke reproachfully to Kai.

‘Family is involved.’

If so, I could understand their desperation.

If there is something you want to protect even by giving your life, you can't give up even if it means incinerating your own body, can you?

For a fleeting moment, I was at a crossroads. Their desperation and the screams of innocent people, which of the two should I choose?

‘This is a familiar situation.’

I had already experienced a similar situation before.

In a situation where I had to choose between people in crisis and my companions, what did I choose?

Crack!

“Aack!”

The answer is to not give up on either.

“I told you it's not going to happen!”

The scattered blades were all deflected. After sending all the attackers flying, I took out a dagger with my left hand.

Clang!

It was the Target Tracker torn from the Waning Moon Cloak.

The moment I held it, the tide of the battle, which had been pushed back, changed abruptly.

“Ugh?”

The farm tool that collided with the dagger was sent flying, but the Target Tracker that it had clashed with continued towards the neck without any change in its trajectory.

By the time a bewildered cry was uttered, the hilt of the dagger was already embedding itself near the neck.

‘Fighting with both hands full is quite manageable, isn't it?’

I was surprised by how much more comfortable the battle had become than I had expected.

Although my proficiency with dual swords was not high, the rarity of the rare-grade weapon was easing that penalty.

“N-no! Block him!”

The gang desperately tried to block me, but it was no longer a fight.

The number of injured who could not participate in the battle increased in an instant, and before long, the last person had fallen.

“Are you going to continue?”

I lightly rotated my wrist and then approached the village chief, who was still sweating profusely.

“Damn it!”

The man called the village chief tried to create and fire a Mana Bullet even in that situation.

‘Double Casting?’

I made a surprised expression but immediately swung my sword.

Swish!

“Keuk!”

The grimoire was split in half, and the magic that was on the verge of completion was canceled.

“Let's stop now.”

“You might as well kill me.”

“If you fail the quest and die, will your families be okay?”

“Ugh!”

As if struck to the core, the village chief staggered for a moment.

A moment later, he shouted in a voice filled with emotion.

“Then what do you expect me to do! If we can't complete this quest, all the villagers are destined to become slaves anyway!”

“Slaves?”

Seeing my bewildered expression, the village chief, as if he had given up on everything, began to confess their circumstances.

“We're from a mountain village belonging to Kelta Castle.”

The mountain village, located in the north, was the first to confirm the Hellmorph invasion.

They hastily reported the fact to Kelta Castle, but the only order that came back was to evacuate as quickly as possible. There was no mention of sending soldiers or providing relief supplies.

“The harvest season is just around the corner. If we abandon the village and leave, all our villagers will have no choice but to starve to death.”

Still, the village chief had continued to send requests for aid.

However, the lord of Kelta Castle, Taskerben, ignored those requests until the end.

‘It's not that I don't understand…….’

Feeling sorry, I let out a sigh without realizing it. This was a misunderstanding created by a gap in information.

Hellmorphs were not ordinary monsters. Taskerben, the lord of the castle, knew that he couldn't guarantee he could fend them off even if he holed up in the castle and defended with all his might.

But the village chief, who didn't know this fact, had simply thought of it as a usual monster raid.

“And so, everything burned. Everything we had.”

The villagers, whose fields were on the verge of harvest, had lost all hope.

They belatedly settled in an empty mountain range to the south, but they had nowhere to sleep and were on the verge of having to spread blankets on the bare ground.

To make matters worse, because they had not attempted to evacuate in time, Taskerben had reportedly refused to provide proper food aid.

“That's when Boker came.”

Boker had mocked them, who had nothing left but despair.

Saying it was a miserable end fitting for those who did not listen to the lord's words.

At that, the villagers, who had lost their reason to anger, almost beat Boker to death.

For those who had nothing to lose, punishment was of no concern.

“So Boker, saying he was rather pleased, proposed a job to us. Saying he needed people who were just that desperate.”

They too were puzzled as to why Boker wanted to blow up these buildings.

But they had no room to judge whether it was right or wrong.

Because they had many families to feed right away.

“We've already eaten almost all of the food we received as an advance payment. Do you understand now? If we fail this quest, it's the end for us.”

At Boker's desperate expression, I was at a loss for words for a moment.

Taskerben, who had prepared the optimal defense based on the known information.

The village chief, who had run around himself to save the village.

No one was at fault. They had simply done their best in the given situation.

‘To think the entire village would become slaves.’

In this world, becoming a slave meant becoming less valuable than livestock.

How many people would choose to keep their conscience at the cost of their family being unable to live like human beings?

‘But I can't just let this be.’

If the castle collapsed, thousands of people would die.

Was that all? If things went wrong, my companions or even I myself could die.

I couldn't just let a bombing happen because of a sad story.

Pat!

Just then, I noticed a faint light leaking from behind the village chief's back.

“I'm sorry.”

The village chief squeezed his eyes shut.

Only then did I see it: clutched in the chief's hand, hidden behind his back, was a small grimoire piece.

“Stop!”

I hastily reached out, but it was already too late.

***

Kwaaaang!

From various parts of the supposedly quiet castle, tremendous explosions were heard.

The sound was so loud that it reached everyone on top of the castle walls.

“What is that sound?!”

Gerard, who was in the middle of casting a spell, canceled the magic that was on the verge of completion and looked behind him.

Red smoke was billowing up from all over the castle.

“What have the Hellmorphs done?”

Gerard, who knew nothing, at first thought it was the work of the enemies.

But right after that, Collie, who was next to him, stiffened like a wooden block.

“Collie?”

“N-no. This is…… ah……”

Collie made a few incomprehensible hand gestures and then suddenly staggered and fell backward.

Thump!

“Collie!”

Gerard hastily caught Collie in his arms.

The small boy, even after collapsing, was convulsing as if he had received a great shock.

“What on earth is going on?”

“Gerard, the connection with Artier was just cut off.”

Tersion was running towards him with a hand to her ear.

“I can't get through at all. Same for you, right?”

“……”

Gerard also confirmed that his communication with Artier had been cut off after the explosion just now.

“Did something happen to Artier?”

“Yes. This is probably the effect of that on Collie.”

Tersion had already suspected the situation between the two to some extent.

That was why she didn't seem particularly surprised to see the collapsed Collie.

“Let's go to where the explosion happened.”

“Which way are you suggesting? The area is too wide.”

Besides, they were in the middle of a siege.

And unlike Artier, who was waiting for deployment, they were in the middle of blocking the Hellmorphs approaching the castle.

If they left their position without permission, they could be penalized.

“I don't give a damn, do I? Not me.”

“What? No, I'm not just talking about that part……”

“That too.”

Saying so, Bow leaped down from the castle wall before anyone could say anything else.

I'll go find a trail first, so once I find it, hurry over.

Leaving behind only such a half-hearted communication.

“Haa, so the cleanup is my job……”

Gerard sighed and stood up.

A soldier who seemed to be a commander was running towards him.

“You! What are you doing not casting magic right now!”

“……There's been an injury.”

Gerard said, showing Collie in his arms.

He could see the commander's expression harden instantly upon confirming the unconscious Collie.

“What? But there are no visible wounds?”

“It's a mental-type magic. Right after he was hit, he showed symptoms of spouting nonsense and convulsing.”

“Such a thing…… Send him to the infirmary immediately. And return quickly!”

“Understood.”

Nodding, Gerard started running with Collie in his arms.

“Well, it's not an awkward situation.”

He hadn't exactly lied.

Other than a mage's mental-type magic, there would hardly be anything that could make a Spirit Creature faint.

Thump, thump.

His footsteps had already left the infirmary and were heading elsewhere.

“A way to make four allies leave the front lines for a while without being noticed……”

It was not an easy task.

If things went wrong, they might have to return the advance payment they received and pay a penalty fee.

It was a situation he wanted to avoid at all costs as a mercenary.

“It won't be difficult.”

But a moment later, Gerard said with a smirk.

[Gerard uses a skill.]

Tactical Command (Lv.2): Finds the most rational strategy and, upon executing the operation, raises the morale and command execution ability of allies.

Flash!

Above his head, a resplendent golden crown was flaunting its presence.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.