Chapter 14 – Chapter 3. Mint Champion.
The three days, the deadline, passed in an instant. Jihyeok packed his supplies and left the dorm early in the morning.
The dark blue dawn sky was slowly dawning. The streets that had not yet risen were quiet. Chimneys big and small were spewing white smoke.
It had drizzled all night, so the dirt floor was a bit damp. Fortunately, it wasn’t to the point of becoming muddy.
Jihyeok headed for his meeting place, the eastern gate. I saw a few people huddled there. They were fucking mercenary bastards with a lazy impression.
One orc and two humans. Including that, there were only four. For the remaining three days, it seemed that no one could be saved after all.
As he approached them, a man of some age looked at him with sharp eyes. The face value of these mercenaries looks five or six years older than their original age, but this guy looked taller because he had a hole in the middle of his head.
“Are you Kang Ji-hyeok?”
“… However?”
“Isaac, you have temporarily assumed the position of captain.”
Captain Isaac held out his hand. Jihyeok grabbed it and shook it lightly up and down.
The other members also briefly introduced themselves. The rugged, muscular Orc was Gulatan. And Daewon, the only woman, said she was Alyssa.
His chin was slightly angular in the color of pale copper, but his nose was rather sharp and pretty. There was a long slash on the cheek, so the overall impression was ferocious. He looked a bit bulky because of his muscular body, but he was shorter than Jihyeok.
“By the way, didn’t you just hire people because there weren’t enough people? … Damn, even a stick looks difficult to swing.”
The female mercenary, Alisa, looked Jihyeok up and down with her slightly disapproving eyes. It seemed to be a year with a lot of distrust in everything.
Of course, Jihyeok wasn’t going to stay silent after hearing such a thing. It’s been years since I’ve been rolling on the floor of this fucking mercenary.
“Well. It’s not something you hear from a bitch whimpering on a meat stick.”
“… What? Did you turn around, you bastard?”
Hehe-. The orc laughed wickedly. Alisa, who ate a good shot, glared at Jihyeok.
“You bastard… , Are you messing around and really falling behind?”
“It’s you, not me, who gets behind. Tell me anytime If you want, I’ll fuck you from the back.”
“Hey, stop it now. Guests are coming soon.”
The captain stopped them both. Jihyo laughed mischievously. Alyssa snorted her exhilaration and turned her head away.
There was nothing good about losing in this kind of baseline suppression because I was looked down on. Originally, this floor was a place where 90% of the floor was eaten with a snout. If the tongue was not sharp, it was easy to be criticized by the silver grade and the same grade.
The four waited for dawn. Before long, the sun slowly rose from the distant horizon. The bright light drove away the darkness in an instant and swallowed the world.
Surprisingly, Orc Nome, a believer in the sun god, got down on one knee and prayed to the god. An Orc mercenary who believes in a man-made god— After all, it was a world where there were all kinds of guys.
The prayer was over soon. And in the distance, I saw a group of wagons coming. The mercenaries instinctively sensed that it was the Hero group.
The carriage stopped at the eastern gate. Several people got off the wagon. Tribes were diverse. And as expected, among them, the one who stood out was the fairy warrior, Elim.
“Hero.”
Captain Isaac bowed his head respectfully. Elim looked at the mercenaries with an arrogant expression.
“Has everything arrived?”
“Yes. All four are here.”
“… It’s a little less. Is this the only number of people?”
“Anyway, since a contract is a contract, it seems that there weren’t many people willing to do it.”
“Is that money not enough?”
“Originally, those who are on the pension level become more cautious. If you’re in doubt, you won’t bite it easily.”
“… Okay? Okay. Everyone get on fast. Because I am busy on my way.”
“Yes. Come on, get in the carriage.”
Hero’s party got back into the wagon. The mercenaries also got on the wagon prepared behind them. It was a pretty high-end wagon. Alyssa bounced her butt a few times on the soft seat and was amazed.
“Fuck it is so good. All rich people seem to ride like this.”
This is-. The wagon rocked once and then set off.
Ji-hyeok, who hadn’t heard the details yet, asked if he was going to the Devil’s Land.
“Uh. He said he would go there. Since there are no missing persons in the city, I wonder if it is in the Devil’s Realm…”
“Magyeong? Why are those bastards going there?”
Hearing that sound, Alisa frowned and asked. Orc Gulatan answered instead.
“Someone must have taken them there. Could it be that they went directly?”
“No, fuck, why did you take me to the Devil’s Realm?”
“How do I know that? Since it’s not in the city, I’m looking for the Demonic Scenery as well.”
Ai, Sipal-. Alyssa got the feeling that things were getting complicated.
“I thought you were only going after the city.”
Jihyeok snorted.
“Then why would they use our expensive ones? There are cheaper ones out there.”
She heard it, but it made her look like an asshole if she stayed still, which made her nervous.
“Ah fuck it could be!”
Jihyeok didn’t reply and turned his head away. That fuck. Alyssa didn’t like him. Only her face was smooth, which was a reward for a pillar westerner. After all, if you’re a man, you have to have big muscles and a strong taste, right? … That doesn’t mean that an orc with only muscles is good.
“By the way, who did this?”
Although he already knew the culprit, Jihyeok stopped pretending and pretended not to know and asked.
The captain scratched his chin with his hand and lengthened his horse’s tail.
“Okay… To be honest, I’m curious as well. Well, there are a lot of rumors. Is it a demon, a demon cult, a witch… But nothing is certain, yet.”
“Doesn’t going to the Devil’s Realm mean that there are some rough guesses?”
“They expected it to be the work of an outsider.”
“If you are an outsider… ?”
“Yes, witch.”
Witch. Devil worshipers.
“There are many expectations that it is a sacrifice. Even if the number of missing persons is large, it is too large.”
Isaac rubbed his palms ferociously, like a money-loving peddler.
“If the witch is really right, now the problem becomes too much for the baron to handle alone.”
“That’s why I called a hero, is this it?”
“Yes. The warrior and the group are very skilled in that field. Only soldiers can’t catch it, that’s it. … Look. How foolish the baron was.”
Alisa, who had been grumbling just before, was completely absorbed in the captain’s talk. She asked the captain.
“So, are you saying that there are witches in the demonic realm we are going to now?”
“If you’re not in the city, you’ll be in the demon realm. … And that’s like a witch’s master bedroom.”
“Cypal… , Then isn’t this dangerous?”
“Well, did you think we could play house?”
The captain laughed haphazardly. Alisa exclaimed nervously.
“Dude, I knew it wasn’t like that. Dude, did you know it would be this dangerous? Fuck you.”
“Then you shouldn’t have asked.”
“Oh, fuck… Yes, money is an issue. Damn, money is an issue Ugh fuck, I have to go and search.”
The orc who had been listening quietly asked the captain.
“Then it seems that all the missing people are already dead, so is there any need to go to the Devil’s Realm? If you’ve guessed that it’s a witch, now you just have to be prepared.”
“The baron lost his son. I want you to find a body. … And if possible, wouldn’t it be better to go to the main base and pull out the roots so that you can sleep comfortably? Is not it?”
“That’s right.”
“What is the reason for paying a lot of money and calling a warrior? I’m determined to uproot it completely to prevent something like this from happening in the future.”
Even if he said that, it seemed to Ji-hyeok that he had lost a cow and repaired the barn. If he had worked hard from the start, the baron would never have lost his youngest son.
Anyway, the talk about the witch is over. The captain and Alyssa soon fell asleep.
Jihyeok stared blankly at the orc for a moment. Orcs are usually fierce and impatient, but this guy was a bit out of the ordinary. In the first place, the Ark was different from ordinary Orcs in that Orcs were believers in the sun god.
Orc Gulatan also stared at Jihyeok, then his eyes landed on the scabbard sheathed next to him.
“Do you use a sword?”
“Uh.”
“It’s rare to find someone who uses a sword.”
“It’s not difficult to write.”
“Aren’t humans more like that? It’s because they’re weak compared to other races.”
That was an undeniable fact.
“Instead of being nimble.”
“Even if you’re sharp, if you get hit by a knife, you’ll run after it. It will be easier to follow.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Chii-. Gulatan smiled.
“I hope so.”
Jihyeok closed his eyes without answering. He sighed, too.
After entering the demon realm, there won’t be an opportunity to sleep peacefully like this.
Soon the inside of the carriage was filled with only snoring.
· · ·
It took a full day to reach the Magic View. It was more gloomy than other forests, so it wouldn’t be strange if a monster popped out at any moment.
In particular, this place was almost untouched by humans, so it was more dangerous than other demonic places. It was unimaginable to see the life flowing in the air right away. Maybe that’s why the horses also started to riot.
“We walk from here.”
Hero’s party, mercenaries, and porters got off the wagon and prepared to move.
Hero’s party consisted of six in total. Three humans, one lizardman, one beastman, and one fairy. Suin was a werewolf.
All six porters were goblins. This race was known for doing a good job without complaining. In addition, it consumed less food, so it was not enough to be used as a porter.
That’s how the group of 16 people moved towards the Devil’s Nest.
Alyssa said as she rubbed her arms with her palms as the flesh was touching her skin.
“Fuck, that’s spooky.”
Jihyeok, who followed, said a word.
“Go to the Magic Palace once or twice?”
“Still, the place where you always have to be careful is the Devil’s Land, you bastard.”
“It sounds right for the first time in a while.”
The captain said, and the orc laughed.
In an instant, the trees that were standing close to each other came striding towards them. I didn’t notice it when I saw it from afar, but when I saw it up close, the tree was very tall. Jihyeok’s gaze went up the stem to the top. So, the head was tilted back.
They took a short break before entering the demon realm. At that time, someone from Hero’s party crossed over. She was a very kind woman with a kind smile.
“If you get hurt later, tell me.”
It looked like a healer. The captain laughed heartily. And as she left, she suddenly began to recite her own taste.
“I like small, delicate women.”
Alyssa didn’t miss the chance and hit it in.
“Because the dick is small?”
“Hey, am I big? Wanna see?”
“I have no interest in looking at the head of an old man’s cock.”
This time, Jihyeok and Orc split up. The captain is Arthur—- and waved his hand.
“Now we are leaving.”
The fairy warrior said so. The group got up and brushed his ass off.
“If you see anything suspicious, report it to me. Got it?”
“Yes, warrior.”
The group walked in two lines and slowly entered the Devil’s Landing.
Jihyeok’s partner was Alisa. She strapped her large ax to her back and clutched a small hatchet in her hand. Every time she passed a tree, she hammered her trunk with her axe.
“Fuck, I’ll kill them all if I get caught…” .”
Jihyeok looked around. The sun was covered by clouds, so there was a light fog in the forest. So the field of view was more limited.
They kept going inside, stepping on the soft moss floor. Life was getting stronger so minutely that it was hard to notice.
… Bitch, can I believe it?
Jihyeok thought so as he looked at the back of the head of the fairy warrior who was walking in front of her. Still, he’s a hero in his own right, but I can’t believe he’ll be treated rudely—-.
Of course, no matter what trouble happened, he was confident in running away on his own.
That was his speciality, returning 15 times.
