Chapter 91 – 91 – Strategy Completed
“I said I would protect myself, but it’s not as easy to protect as I thought.”
Nidroga was found quickly thanks to the silver marten running ahead, and surprisingly, after fighting fiercely with the enemies, he arrived at the center of Magul first.
And, even more important than that, he was safe.
“Still, at this level, would you consider me to have made up for it?”
“···Go Nitro.”
Of course, he wasn’t all that soft and without any injuries. However, considering his record at the Dragon’s Nest, he made a good save just as Nidroga said.
Nidrogar, who had single-handedly defeated dozens of golems, grabbed the sleeve of the last remaining enemy and strangled him. And the last enemy…
Gunther Waldenhardt, who always seemed to have a cold sneer on his face, had a look of embarrassment on his face.
“The guy who knocked me out last time and even had me possessed by a succubus, I don’t know how, but this time I dealt with him as an equal.”
“You got the back mount right.”
Looking at Nidroga’s forearms, which were full of strength, Eshen chuckled.
“Is there any reward for teaching you how to use chalk?”
“Good thing I learned. If this guy lets go of my arm, I’ll break his neck right away.”
Nidroga smiled brightly. And he soon looked exhausted.
“But I’m having a hard time too. Would you mind helping me?”
Waldenhardt, who was unable to move, showed his teeth as he saw the party members slowly approaching.
Eshen and Lenny grinned. Aiming at the guy’s chin with his elbow and hammer respectively.
“I just can’t believe it.”
The altar that created demon energy was broken. The magic that made the already hot early summer air heavier is already fading away.
The demon cave that is the source of the demonic energy will soon turn into dust and scatter, and the monsters born with the demonic energy as nourishment will either starve to death or run away.
In addition, Gunter Waldenhardt, who was thought to be terrifying, was mumbling like an old man with his chin swollen.
“There was only one task I entrusted to Adamantone: to hold the porter he was using in place. How could he even do that…”
“Yes, I wasn’t even able to do that, so I became a rat.”
Isilun, who was carrying Gunther, who was tied up in a restraint, closed his eyes tightly, feeling sorry for the ending his younger brother had suffered. But he smiled as if he was thrilled and put his arm around my shoulder.
“Haven’t you ever thought that you should trust someone you can trust? If you let our porter mess you up, you’ll be screwed.”
“There’s one thing I can’t believe either. Didn’t you say you were a clairvoyant? How could you be stronger than a dragon when you’re a religious person with the gift of a stalker?”
Nidrogar, who was helping his sister while also receiving healing, grumbled as if his pride had been somewhat hurt. Gunter raised his head and solemnly declared.
“There is no beast stronger than faith, and there is no steel stronger than faith.”
“I asked for no reason. How about giving me one more hit?”
“Of course. I don’t have the energy to listen to any more nonsense today.”
Lenny turned around and threw a front kick into Gunther’s face with all his might.
Just as the vicar’s son attacked us without even thinking about what happened next, he didn’t care what happened after beating the vicar.
Gunter, who was hit not on the forehead or chin but between the eyes, fell backwards, squeezing out a bloody nose like seasoning from a dropped sandwich.
Isilun picked up her stunned bald head and held it up with a surprised expression, but then she smiled cheerfully and hung her gunther like a luggage bag.
“Were you very annoyed because of me earlier?”
“If it hadn’t been for your help in the fight, I would have fought you holding on to your hair. Still, you fought well.”
“Under!”
Leni and Isilun clashed their fists nicely.
“···Is this the end? Really?”
When I became anxious at the feeling that everything was over, Nenya, who was following me, tapped my back with her cane.
“Don’t worry. I’m watching your back.”
“It’s not because they have eight Tigris on their backs, it’s because I doubt that this is the end of these guys’ tricks.”
“Villena removed all the moving parts of the fallen golems, saying she wanted to know how she operates. The Tigris were already tied to her restraint spheres that Eshen had tested their performance on.”
As Eshen flinched, Isilun looked at him with a strange expression. Nenya, who didn’t even notice, kept reassuring me.
“We finally caught that crazy parish president. If that’s the case, wouldn’t you and we have done really well? Since we’re still in the devil’s cave, it’s good not to relax, but let’s not be too nervous.”
Nenya often becomes wary of me for creating a harem at the party, but when difficulties arise, she shows reassurance like an adult. My mind is naturally relieved and my will becomes stronger.
“···Yes. We all have energy left, so we can deal with anything else that pops up.”
“Do you know why I’m anxious? I’m anxious because I’m going to throw it at you. Shut up and untie this. Before I rip out all my eyeballs!”
When Garam Taiga, who was tied up in a restraint, growled, the male Tigris who seemed to be his subordinates gasped.
“Severe.”
“But it was a good fight. Don’t be angry.”
“We lost even though we had more people. Wouldn’t it be ugly if we even threatened them?”
The Tigris must have been trembling as they spoke one word at a time, so Nenya began hitting them harshly with her cane on their mouths.
The Tigris, tied awkwardly to Villena’s metal frame, were unable to escape and had no choice but to get hit. And thanks to that, they actually screamed louder.
While I was fiddling with my ear that seemed like it was about to fall off, Villena, who was being supported by Nidroga with her sister, muttered.
“Human rights violation box…”
“What is that?”
“There is…”
“Is this from the book Villena was reading?”
“···Stop talking…”
As her sister Monica asked, as if her mother was trying to understand everything, Villena became thoughtful and closed her mouth.
We felt uncomfortable for some reason and decided not to ask. I feel like there are more things I don’t want to know.
Contrary to my concerns, the expedition ended safely. The moment the light from outside fell on our heads, Villena jumped at me like a cicada, hugged me, and started crying.
Even when she returned to the army camp, Villena had no idea she was coming down. After her sister cleared her throat with her red face, Villena stumbled down and covered her face, her eyes covered with snot, with her bangs.
I took the obsidian piece from her arms and handed it to Nenya. Nenya did not accept and only shrugged her shoulders.
“It’s okay if you do.”
“I developed crowd phobia because I took my pants off.”
“Really?”
“Is that possible? I’m just passing it on because I feel like I need to take care of myself so that I don’t attract attention anytime soon. It’s annoying for me as a baby, so please have an older adult do it for me.”
“Damn.”
Nenya chuckled and accepted the obsidian piece. And she lifted it high and shouted.
“Everyone, we have succeeded in conquering the Demon Cave!”
One response was amazing. The young men, who were preparing to be torn apart by a group of monsters, shouted furiously as if they were trying to burn off all the energy they had saved for fighting by cheering.
The scene of the campsite, which seemed close to an inter-village unity meeting, quickly turned into a real unity meeting. The sounds of laughter and shuffling cards intersected, and foam from several cans of beer rose into the sky. I don’t know where the ingredients came from or where the pot came from, but there was also a guy who started making decent dishes with potatoes and chicken.
Lorenzo Salamanca, the person in command, and the non-commissioned officers who were actually in command, seemed to have given up control early on. In fact, they must have been quite relieved.
“···Is it true that the beer barrel they are rolling over there has Lorenzo written on it?”
“I think they took it from the storage room at my house, which is about 5 minutes away. Those disgusting bastards. They were talking about me as an old man.”
Despite his words, Lorenzo smiled happily and turned to us.
“I have received a favor that I can never repay. All of the six nearby villages that survived thanks to you will live with the story of your adventures in their hearts like a legend.”
“Okay.”
“···Of course, we know that your services are not free. I will use my name to persuade people and raise money for your efforts within a month.”
“Is that so? But I was already supposed to receive the payment from His Excellency the Archduke. We wrote a bill together.”
“To be honest, I don’t know if you will understand that bill. His Excellency, Archduke Lindborg, is such a thorough person.”
“But don’t worry too much about collecting money. Rather, I would like you to smile a little.”
Colonel Lorenzo Salamanca, who would soon be forced to give up his position and return to his position as village chief, smiled forlornly as I pretended to raise a finger at the corner of his mouth.
“I couldn’t bear to tell you, but as soon as Magul appeared, there were several people who disappeared without even being able to prepare for it.”
“We also heard about it. It was said that centipedes the size of wild dogs were crawling into the village and biting people. Your daughter too…”
Lorenzo closed his eyes tightly with a miserable expression.
“The village people have been spreading nonsense about precious people. Yes, my daughter is one of those who disappeared. Some people came back dead, while others were found by a hastily assembled militia and barely returned alive. But my daughter. “
“She miraculously came back alive.”
As the colonel blinked with a blank expression, Isilun and Nidrogar moved aside, laughing heartily. The girl standing behind them had tears in her eyes.
I shrugged.
“Is your daughter’s name Enrica Salamanca?”
“This is ridiculous.”
“Of course that makes sense. Why would those young men over there feel so free to steal beer from the Colonel’s house?”
Is it thanks to overcoming the crisis? Our expedition continued to be heartwarming until the very end. On the way back across the forest, I found ‘Enrica Salamanca’ in the den of centipedes that had died due to the weakened magical energy.
It was thanks to the Tigris’ unexpectedly great feat at the last minute. They quickly recognized the smell of sadness and fear emanating from the kidnapped child.
“If your marten hadn’t crawled into its cage and fallen asleep because it was so tired, I would have found it a lot quicker than those idiots lying over there.”
“You have to let Marten smell that kid’s belongings before she can start tracking him. Even though she hates those thoughtless bastards, she has to admit that they did something.”
Eshen shook his head as if he couldn’t admit it. It seems that his pride was hurt because he himself could not detect the scent of the missing person that not only Garam but also his subordinates smelled.
Thanks to her sister’s skill, her detoxification was completed cleanly, so all Enrica needed right now was proper rest and the embrace of her family.
Lorenzo trudged forward, got down on his knees and hugged her daughter before we could even smile and comfort her.
And then she threw away all her dignity and started crying.
…I wasn’t thinking of a picture like this.
“The guy with the bushy beard is crying like a hippopotamus.”
“If you close your mouth, I will pull your teeth out.”
Garam remained silent at Leni’s soft warning. Nidrogar muttered, looking quite pricked by her conscience.
“Now that I think about it, I guess I shouldn’t have talked about something like this as a surprise gift.”
“···That’s right. I should have just told you earlier. I think you were so excited that we came back safely.”
“I’m sorry, old man. We were immature.”
“No, no! Absolutely not! What can you all be sorry for? W-It’s not like this here, we should treat you politely at my house-“
“Colonel, please stand up first. I think you can think about the treat or reward later.”
As the sound of a horn rang out from somewhere, the thoughtful sergeants quickly raised Lorenzo Salamanca.
Lorenzo stood up with a bewildered expression. Of course, his arms were still wrapped around his daughter.
I, who was soaked in warm feelings, felt that my appreciation was being interrupted and looked back toward the campsite.
A flag with a warrior’s sword engraved on it was fluttering in the distance. Isil Rune tilted her head.
“Nobles from warrior families usually use the warrior sword as their family emblem. Of course, I’m not sure, but I think…”
“Is it Archduke Lindborg?”
“I guess so.”
