Chapter 130 – Encounters
The engagement is over.
“Whoa…”
I sighed as I looked down at Drake’s huge body, which was sprawled on the floor with his neck and body separated. The corpse of the monster lying dead nearby was not the only one.
From those common throughout the Empire, such as ogres and lycanthropes, to fairly rare ones such as griffons and drakes.
Wouldn’t it be that all of them show up and show their faces as if they were happy to see a festival open?
Unfortunately, all of them are now pieces of meat. If he can grill assorted monsters, he will be able to have a very enjoyable party.
Well, the original body of the monster is not only unsuitable for food, but it’s probably impossible, since it’s been heavily contaminated by demons.
I took a casual glance around and gave orders to my men.
“End of battle. Regroup and heal wounds.”
“Yes!”
It was obviously odd. I don’t know where all these monsters came from.
Compared to the great mountain range that separates the land of the northern immigrants from the territory of the empire, the Argon Mountains are just a mountain behind the neighborhood.
Could it be that they were scraped together somewhere else?
As the whereabouts of this mission, which is becoming more and more complicated, he begins to seriously think about whether he should just retreat, stick to his current position, and quietly wait for reinforcements.
The engagement that had just occurred was a clear pre-emptive strike, so it was only a response. There was no reason to take the risk and go on a complete subjugation.
While I was in deep trouble, Agnes approached me and reported the situation.
“Thank you for your work, Captain. There were many injuries, but no fatalities.”
“Yes, Agnes. Thanks to you, the disaster could have been prevented. The output and application power of images is developing day by day.”
“That’s too much praise. Compared to the leader, we’re still a long way off.”
Looking at her face just in time, the worry deepens even more.
If it wasn’t for Agnes’ momentary wit, his men might have died in droves.
Using a corpse as a bomb? Doesn’t it remind you of the forbidden secret arts used by black magicians?
Moreover, the dead did not explode in sequence, but all at once as if they had been waiting. And even at the moment when the most allies are most likely to be exposed to the most lethal explosion.
What it meant was simple.
That the enemy was watching us, then manipulated the corpse and detonated it remotely.
If so, there is a high possibility that the Argon Territory, which seemed to have fallen into their hands a long time ago, has already turned into a dungeon.
The more you progress on this mission, the more reasons to give up than the reasons to continue. Is it really okay like this?
It was a little difficult for me to openly show her melancholy in front of her Agnes, who had made a big contribution to her, so I tried to smile and congratulate her.
“I have no skills other than breaking and destroying. You can protect others, so in a sense you are a much better knight than me.”
But, for some reason, Agnes’s reaction is a little strange.
Haha… The captain’s sincere praise… I feel good…!”
“…”
The way she blushed and twisted her body. I turned my head at the sight of him spewing out unnecessarily strange moans.
Could it be that the desire that was not properly resolved and remained ambiguous had some adverse effect? No matter how excited you are with compliments.
Even Agnes, whom she thought was the most normal of lovers, is getting weird.
Besides, what is the man’s sad instinct to feel lust for his lover who is ashamed even in this urgent situation? I quickly recited the knight’s oath in my heart and gathered my heart.
After discovering the unexpected pervert surname in such a precious lover and her subordinate.
“You’ve worked hard, Sir Wolfgang…”
The one who immediately spoke to me was Ophelia, her dull blonde hair fluttering weakly.
The appearance of dark red bloodstains protruding from the pure white priestly clothes made her think about her hardships.
I gave a warm encouragement while facing the girl who was making a sad expression in the middle of the bloody accident.
“No. Rather, the saintess suffered more. Thanks to her efforts, there were no victims this time.”
In this engagement, she also had a lot of hardships of her own.
Thanks to the knights who fought bravely without sacrificing their bodies with the thought that all they had to do was die, the number of injured was overflowing, and it was entirely up to the priests to heal them.
It was unavoidable that the saintess, who was by far the most gifted among her priests and possessed the personality of never overlooking those who were hurt in front of her, suffered from her untimely heavy duty.
“Well, then, can you pat me on the back? Woo-wook…!”
“Oops. To the saintess, her corpses look a bit disgusting.”
I gently patted the back of the retching girl.
“Oh, no… What happened to me as a child was more terrible. Even more than that, because of the extremely repulsive smell… Doesn’t Sir Wolfgang smell?”
“I don’t know. I have a rather sensitive sense of smell, but I don’t smell anything other than the smell of blood.”
“Is this… Strange…?”
But what kind of awful smell is it? It is unknown.
“Brothers, hurry up and purify the demon. Let’s prevent the same unfortunate incident from happening.”
“I understand, Grand Inquisitor.”
On the other hand, the cleanup after the battle was also the responsibility of the members of the Chunshinkyo side.
It is to use divine power to neutralize the demonic energy remaining in the corpses of monsters.
It was unavoidable to prevent the corpses from exploding and launching a second attack as before.
I suggested looking at the busy priests with pity.
“…Is there anything we can do to help?”
“Thank you, but let me just rest for a while. If you can’t handle the holy power, it’s useless.”
No matter how protected they were in a relatively safe location, they must have taken a break as they participated in the battle.
While I was thinking that.
“Light, purify!”
—Paaah… !
Ophelia, who suddenly stepped out, chanted a prayer while touching the ground, and the overflowing divine power was scattered widely and thinly around the ground.
Then, the demonic energy that had been hovering over the corpses of the monsters began to subside.
If I was able to do this long ago, why the hell did I stay still?
She wondered if everyone had the same thoughts as me, but subtle gazes mixed with her surprise and half of her nervousness gathered at her.
“Ah, okay! It didn’t work out because I was a little nervous earlier. Now I can do it! I’m sorry, the original purification prayer is a bit tricky. Ehehe…”
The girl just smiled and awkwardly crossed her name with a natural face.
Yes. She was oblivious to the overwhelming majesty she displayed in crisis situations and on the battlefield, but Ophelia was a low-class priest who had just graduated from a convent not long ago.
The use of divine power was inevitably immature.
Although she was naturally treated as a worthy power, she was originally a target to be protected. When she realizes that fact, her expression hardens as she recalls the family again.
That all of this might be a trap dug to target the girl.
As soon as I reached that point, the conclusions of the worries that had been hurting my head a while ago gradually converged in one direction.
Let’s retreat Retreat, and wait patiently for reinforcements.
No matter how you think about it, that side is right.
Nearby is the headquarters of the Knights of Ropes, which can serve as a stronghold, and reinforcements arrive in a few days.
Then it’s time to push back step by step.
It’s unfortunate that the schedule is delayed, but don’t they say that most of the villagers have evacuated to other villages?
At least, the main concern is the supply problem. This is also something that can be solved somehow. Just save a little until reinforcements arrive.
When I choose to retreat, the only loss I have to bear is a little hurt to my pride.
On the other hand, it is impossible to measure the threat to be taken when it is decided to continue the subjugation by moving troops toward the Argon territory.
As a commander, it is clear which side to choose.
“Everyone, pay attention!”
“Yes, Captain!”
I focused the group’s attention on me and then cleared my voice.
It was to give the order to retreat.
“All forces, as of current time…”
But, just then.
— ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ !
The sickening screams began to resound once again.
Besides, this time it was very close.
— Thump, thump!
The sound of footsteps shaking the ground. From the other side of the mountain peak, it was gradually approaching this side.
Damn, it’s all right now. It’s not even ironic.
“Captain?!”
—Kkuguguk… Quaang!
Immediately I gathered my legs together and jumped high into the air. It was to secure the view.
If you jumped from this place, near the Chilbbu Ridge, you could see what was happening beyond the summit.
“…Shit.”
Then the scene reflected in my vision was so grotesque and horrific that I should have wished it to be a nightmare.
