Chapter 150 – Battle of Yeongji (8)
“…It’s a bigger disaster than I thought. Isn’t that right, boss?”
“I know. It looks like you fought pretty hard.”
Looking at the inside of the half-destroyed and scorched dungeon and the orc corpses covering the floor, Allen answered. Under his relaxed smile, Drake, an adventurer, stuck out his tongue.
‘How can you be at ease in this misery? He’s the captain after all.’
Drake’s eyes turned to the orc corpse. It’s strange that the skin is black, but even the size is much bigger than other orcs.
‘You two handled these things together? No… It was written that he handled it almost alone.’
Drake narrowed his eyes, then shook his head. The report must be wrong. Among the silver ranks, only Allen or Orca could face these orcs alone.
It might be possible if the environment is good for that archer or something.
However, it was absurd for a guy who had just reached the same level to do it.
‘Did Orca exaggerate to promote a talented newcomer?’
That is the most plausible explanation. Drake nodded his head to himself. Allen, on the other hand, looked at the scene with her eyes of interest.
The wounds on the orc corpse are mainly herpes at vital points. The cuts on his body were shallow, not deep. Judging from the similarities with the other corpses, the report that one person disposed of them all appears to be true.
The smile grew wider on Allen’s face.
He clapped his hands and called the attention of the adventurers.
“Okay, everyone, let’s calm down. Are we here to work? Demiris, what are we going to do in the dungeon?”
The female adventurer with sideways braided brown hair answered.
“Confirmation and investigation of the battle site with the orcs posted in the report, and exploration of the remaining dungeons. Now that the site has been confirmed, I think we can continue exploring the dungeon.”
“Thanks for the summary, Demiris.”
“It’s nothing.”
A slight blush bloomed on Demyris’ sullen face.
“Okay then, continue the exploration…”
Right.
The sound of snapping fingers echoed through the narrow dungeon. Except for Allen, the other adventurers fell to the ground.
Allen staggered slightly, feeling dizzy. She is dizzy and sick to her stomach. He brushed her hair to bring her to her senses. She straightened up and gazed in the direction she heard the snapping of her fingers.
“Oh… It seems it wasn’t just trash.”
An old man appeared in a dark space where the light of a torch did not reach. He was an old man with long white hair and a long beard, wearing a loose black robe.
Allen recognized at once that the old man was no ordinary man. It was harder for her to pretend not to know because of the strange mana flowing from the old man.
“…Who are you?”
Uncharacteristically for Allen, she asked with a nervous look on her face. She was that she never lost her smile in most things, but now she couldn’t help but do that. She focused all her attention on the old man.
Either way, the old man shifted his gaze away from Allen. His eyes turned to the orc corpses.
“I thought the chieftain was well-established, but… Tsk, I guess I’m old too.”
The old man’s cold gaze made even the air around him cool.
A cold sweat broke out on Allen’s forehead.
‘I have to hit first.’
That was the best Allen could do now. Allen moved his hand slowly so the old man didn’t notice. His fingertips touched the hilt of his sword.
“You’re acting like a guest.”
The old man snapped his fingers as if he knew everything.
Behind Allen’s back, the stone wall moved like a fluid, enveloping him. Even with the smooth movement, the intensity was as stone.
“What a shame!”
You can easily get out of it with only mana. However, the old man approached faster than Allen wrapped himself in mana. The old man’s palm gripped Allen’s face.
“Ve a dormir”
Unlike before, which was transmitted through the vibration of the air, this time, mana was directly injected. Allen’s eyes closed, and soon he fell asleep like other adventurers.
The old man snapped his fingers. The stone that wrapped around Allen returned to its original form.
Leaving behind the fallen Allen, the old man moved on. The place he headed was the deep part of the dungeon where he had to go down one more floor from the lower floor of the dungeon.
There were no treasures that adventurers so longed for in that vast and empty place. Instead, a large bed of stones and a huge wolf were sleeping on it.
The old man looked at the wolf and sighed deeply.
“Berten, wake up.”
He snapped his fingers The huge stone bed swayed and woke the wolf. Berten rubbed his eyes with his sleepy face.
“Why are you waking me up?”
“Wake up. It was discovered here too.”
“Already? A-san, I thought I was sleeping properly now.”
Berten licked his lips in regret. The old man looked at the wolf with pitiful eyes.
“You bastard, if you ever came to the human world, do something. The commander of the corps is sleeping…”
At the old man’s nagging, Berten opened his mouth and yawned.
“Are you listening to me?”
“It’s okay… It’s okay. Got it. It won’t be okay to wake up.”
Berten, overcome by the nagging, stood up. The standing wolf’s body was huge enough to swallow an old man in one bite.
Instead of shrinking, the old man clicked his tongue as if he was pitiful.
“Wolves aren’t big and lazy, but there’s no such thing as a very foolish bear. My sister is not like that, but is there a different family name?”
“…You seem to have been more gentle in the past, is it because you got along with humans? I just became a nagging old man in the neighborhood.”
“Who is the inspiration!”
Cried the old man. The dungeon was shaken by waves of strong magic.
Berten shook his head, blocking his ears as if he was being noisy.
“Anyway, a guy with nothing but bones has good energy.”
I got out of bed with a smirking laugh. At the same time, Berten’s body twisted and his bones and muscles were recombined. The huge wolf disappeared and a wild, long-haired beastman appeared.
“You do a better job than me. Why… Wasn’t there something you were doing? How is that going?”
The ploy to turn the horse around was too obvious. Still, the old man decided to let go.
“It’s imperfect, but it’s going well. In the case of the regenerative power of seeds, they have already surpassed trolls. Although there are still side effects.”
“Then why did you come here directly because of those regeneration seeds or something?”
The old man shook his head.
“There is that, but it’s a different thing. They say a saintess came to this area. Just in time, Kalita and Bahran must have caused a territory war, so I’m thinking of estimating the level of the current saintess.”
“Ah, saintess… That bitch is annoying.”
Berten trembled as she remembered her past. The miracle that the human saint caused 500 years ago is still embedded in his mind. It felt like dealing with an undead, not a human army, to see even dying humans come back to life.
“Okay, then work hard~.”
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I am still sleepy. His body has not yet adapted to the human world. I should get some more sleep.”
Berten waved his hand and walked away. The old man sighed, but that didn’t stop him. The reason why there are many restrictions in the human world is that the elderly are the same.
A curse left by a human wizard 500 years ago and now a fallen god.
The curse prevented the banished from staying in the human world. All sorts of restrictions weighed down on their shoulders.
Berten, who has a strong body, must have a strong sense of it.
“…That’s why we need to wake him up as soon as possible.”
To reclaim this fertile land again.
The old man was out of his mind.
* * *
A trumpet announcing a retreat rang out across the battlefield. The Clener camp quickly turned their backs on mercenaries and adventurers alike.
The mercenaries of the Marnix family did not pursue that defenseless back.
I couldn’t exactly follow.
Because the number of corpses lying on the floor was formidable even for them.
Thanks to this, the troops of Clener’s camp safely retreated.
The faces of the mercenaries and adventurers who returned to the base camp were full of relief. The relief of surviving.
However, when the inquiry was over and he entered the tent, even that quickly disappeared.
The faces of the powerless adventurers were infinitely dark. The rough battlefield gave them great wounds.
“Keuheop… Oops… Black…”
Eventually, in the gloomy atmosphere, someone burst into tears. It’s the adventurer named Charis who called my friend’s name when I checked earlier. I guess I couldn’t find it after all.
“Sister noisy…”
Marel, with her long scarlet hair tied back, muttered disapprovingly. Other adventurers also glared at Karis with sharp eyes. It seems that even that cry is very annoying to them, who have become sensitive to their nerves.
Hearing her sarcasm, Karis tried to stop her crying by covering her mouth. However, she was so saddened by her situation that she started crying again.
“Oh really, there you go. It’s noisy. Are you alone here?”
“Kuhhhhh…”
“Oh fuck really…”
An impatient Mar-El stood up and she strode towards Karis with her stride. She tapped Karis with her foot, making her nervous.
“Do it in moderation.”
“Keuheop… Whoops… Black..!”
“Shit, really!”
Marel shouted and moved his hand to Karis. I grabbed her wrist and held her up.
“Fuck! Who else this time…”
Turning her head nervously, she stiffened at the sight of her me.
“Stop it.”
“Yeah, but this person is too noisy. I’m not even alone…”
Marel spit out everything he had to say while avoiding my eyes.
I turned my head and glanced at Seris. Ceris nodded her head and she walked over to Karis.
“Let’s not do this here, let’s get out of here for a while.”
“Huh… Yes…”
Seris patted Karis on the shoulder and left the tent.
After confirming that they had left, I let go of Karis’ wrist. She looked at me as she touched the wrist that was holding her.
“…I didn’t mean to go this hard either. It’s just a bit noisy…”
“I know. I have no intention of saying anything, so go in and rest.”
At that, Mar-El glanced at me and went back to her seat. Suddenly, I felt eyes on me. All the surviving adventurers in the tent were looking at me.
I know why they look like that.
‘Fat disease… What if the person called the leader dies?’
Gillick, who was the leader, never returned to camp. I didn’t get to see him die, but he must have died since it would be impossible to desert on that wide plain.
It is in that context that those adventurers look at me.
Because I have no place to lean on anymore.
‘I don’t know how to lead people.’
I let out a sigh, but the tent suddenly opened. A knight in full plate armor came inside.
“Leading Group 1! Gillick!”
“…Gillick never returned.”
“Is it? So from now on you are the leader. Please follow me.”
The knight said that out of the blue, and he left the tent. I lost my words for a moment and stared blankly at the seat where the driver had left.
“Um… The driver is calling, wouldn’t it be better to go quickly?”
A married woman named Sigrid raised her hand and said in her whisper.
…Damn it.
“Kara, I’ll be back for a while, so keep an eye on Ariel.”
“Huh. Okay.”
“Treat me like a child…”
Ignoring Ariel’s angry words, I came out of the tent.
“Come. Egg plant.”
The knight who was waiting outside the tent turned his back. Behind him, those who seemed to be the leaders of the other groups followed. I moved along, but a human with poorer armor than the other captains approached me.
“I originally knew the leader of Team 1 as Mr. Gillick, but…”
“He passed away.”
“That…”
He put his hands together and prayed with a sad expression.
“You seem to believe in God.”
“Yes. I didn’t believe it when I was younger, but as an adult and living a tough life, I found it.”
A deep smile spread across his face.
“Excuse me, but can I ask how the atmosphere in Group 1 is?”
“You mean our group? What… It’s depressing. I am also sensitive.”
“You are better than us. I’m just here after stopping the sword fight. If the driver came just in time and it hadn’t been a mess, it would have been a really big deal.”
The second group leader said as if he was tired. I comforted him with a pat on the back, but that was a mistake. After that, the complaint of the leader of Team 2 continued.
When I arrived at the central camp, the driver silenced me.
“Karen, this is Philip.”
“Come in.”
When we were given permission to enter, we went inside the tent.
The inside of the tent was wider than the tent we stayed in, even though it was a place for one person to stay. The decorations placed here and there reminded us that this is a place where nobles stay. However, there was something else that made the atmosphere of this place nobler than the decorations.
“Come. Let me sit down.”
A woman with long blonde hair sat at the head of a long square table.
I knew her face, but even if she didn’t, I would have noticed.
That she is the owner of those knights.
The aura that comes from the tone and action made it possible. In addition, he had an outstanding appearance, so there was a reason the other leaders were hardened.
“Don’t let me sit down. Because we have to talk about tomorrow.”
As she advised, we sat down on the chairs in front of the table. The two knights stood behind the young lady and watched us without sitting down.
“First of all, everyone worked hard today. It was harder than I thought, but you all overcame it well.”
The young lady congratulated me with a smile. An elegant yet innocent smile was enough to stimulate men’s hearts.
“Oh no! I just did what I had to do!”
The leader of the 2nd Scout Troops shouted as he straightened his back stiffly. I was dumbfounded, but the other mercenaries felt sorry for missing the player.
Come to think of it, it was popular at that Yangban festival too.
After all, whatever is good-looking or pretty is something to see.
“Thank you for saying that. Then we’ll talk about what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
In her warm atmosphere, she got to the point.
It was nothing great.
It was a story that today’s damage was greater than expected, and that the Battle of Yeongji, which was expected to last a little longer, could end in one day tomorrow.
With the young lady’s words to take care of me tomorrow, the seat was closed.
The captains got up from their seats and headed outside. The young lady caught me as I tried to follow them.
“You will stay for a while.”
Because of this, I had to remain in the tent while receiving the curious glances of other adventurers.
What happened left me alone?
I started to get nervous in a different way from the captains earlier.
The young lady opened her soft-looking lips.
“First of all, I want to say this. Today’s work was a lot of work. Skirmisher 1 did a really good job. Thanks to that, we were able to reduce the damage.”
“I just did what I had to do.”
I answered without showing my nervousness as much as possible.
Young lady stood up with a warm smile and came to me.
“Among them, your performance stood out in particular. It was very impressive. So I found out about you. They say it’s the same grade. However, the skills I saw of you are not enough for the same level. What’s the story?”
“There is no such thing as a story. I am still working hard for promotion. Staying at the same level is probably due to lack of performance.”
“Is it? Hmm…”
Young lady tapped her chin with her index finger and fell into trouble. It wasn’t long. Finishing her thoughts, she put her hand on my shoulder.
“Good. For your performance, I will reward you by sending a letter of recommendation for promotion to the Adventurer’s Guild myself. Congratulations on reaching the silver rank.”
“…Yes?”
“And I should reward not only you, but also your teammates. Let’s exclude the first group of skirmishers from tomorrow’s Battle of the Territory.”
“Yes?”
I stupidly asked back because I couldn’t keep up with the conversation.
It feels like something is happening all of a sudden.
“People like you are always welcome. I look forward to continuing to devote myself to Kalita.”
Before I could understand the conversation, the young lady patted me on the shoulder and issued a congratulatory order.
I returned to the tent with a blank face. All the adventurers with melancholy faces asked what was going on.
There, I recited the story of the young lady.
Then the first group adventurers made stupid faces like me…
“Really..?”
“Is it true, Captain?!”
He opened his drooping face. I calmed them down before they started screaming. It was a difficult story for other mercenaries to hear.
The adventurers also agreed and shut their mouths, but they couldn’t bear to hide the twitching of the corners of their mouths. It seems to be quite happy.
Some even hugged me and said thank you.
Only then did I realize the reward I received. Did they say happiness comes at the end of hardship? I almost died in the dungeon, and when I endured the house being burned down, luck came to me like this.
‘I’m lucky.’
I laughed out loud with them.
And the next day, a group of undead popped up from the ground.
