Chapter 174 - Who Owns This Place (4)

The ground outside of the walls was covered with Jeppis. There were so many gathered together like heads of bean sprouts.

The ones who were by the gate charged forward once the gate opened.

I shouted toward the soldiers standing in formation with their shields up.

“Maintain your positions!”

But I did not do that myself. The soldiers had their roles while I had mine.

I moved away from the formation and charged into the cluster of Jeppis.

Papapat-

The Jeppis did not dare to approach me. I was dashing out significant amounts of damage because Drake’s TBSA and Combo were at Advanced levels 4 and 5 respectively.

Furthermore, with One with the Sword helping me have fluid movements, the Jeppi were falling like hay every time I moved.

People on the walls were shooting arrows down as well.

The others who were set up in the shape of an arch on the walls were not forgiving as they launched their arrows.

Goonto and the other Dwarves seemed to be getting riled up by my actions as well that they would move out of their spots every so often to swing their swords.

That made the formation break once in a while but it didn’t affect the overall formation too much. It was because the mercenaries that Humbley trained were supporting us in the rear. And the Dwarves were qualified to do that.

Thanks to that, the Jeppis who made it into the gate were all killed. We soon had a hill made of the Jeppi corpses.

That made the Jeppis wary of entering into the gate as well. They would slowly move back even if we opened the gate widely for them.

They just gathered to a different side and continued to attack the city walls.

That meant it was time for us to head out now.

“Now! Let’s go!”

I took the lead similar to how we had broken through the Jeppis to get inside. Goonto and Dark Elf Rohas were to my left and right while the Dwarves created a clamp-shaped formation behind us.

Harrison’s group and the mercenaries supported us as well.

The Jeppis started to charge toward us as soon as we made it out of the gate.

They still significantly outnumbered us. There seemed to be at least 3,000 of them. They all seemed to be high on morale a well.

Was it because there were so many of them that I didn’t have much room to move? Or was it because of their morale? I didn’t know why, but I felt slightly frustrated.

But I was not afraid. I had not properly shown my skills yet.

‘Should I give them a small taste of it now?’

I took a deep breath while looking at a spot that was filled with Jeppis. I then released the energy I gathered together.

[Dragon Fear!]

Rooooooooooooar-

It was not a loud roar that would burst their eardrums, instead, it was a strong fluctuation of mana that would dig deep into their hearts.

The Jeppis charging in the front immediately stumbled and plopped on the ground while the ones behind them curled up in fear.

The Jeppis’ high morale instantly fell to the ground.

‘That’s a bit better.’

I started to swing Goonto’s Twin Blades again.

Goonto and the Dwarves, Dark Elf Rohas, and Harrison’s group did not sit still either. They knew when to move in and when to step back based on our long duration of working together in the Western District.

Papapat!

They widened the clamp formation and spread out to kill the Jeppis. It was a one-sided massacre.

The clamp formation tightened once the Jeppis made it out of the effects of Dragon Fear.

However, the massacre resumed once the cooldown time ended and I used Dragon Fear once more.

The morale of the civilian volunteer soldiers in High Village went up because of our actions as well. They were shouting on top of the walls and sending down arrows and rocks.

The number of Jeppis decreased quickly. It went from 3,000 to 2,000, then to 1,000 until only a few remaining Jeppis lowered their tails and started to run away to Titan Valley to the East.

“Chase them!”

I didn’t give them the opening to run. I continued to swing Goonto’s Twin Blades in between the escaping Jeppis. The Jeppis could not run away from me because I had higher speed and stamina than they did.

It was the same for Rohas. He ran wild in between the Jeppis as if he had become my clone and showed them the scariness of a Dark Elf.

But the Jeppis could not stop running to try to fight against Rohas and I. It was because the Dwarves, Harrison’s group, and the mercenaries were right behind them. The only thing the Jeppis could do was run and run some more.

But that did not last very long.

We probably ran for about 30 minutes. People shouted from both sides of the gorge once the Jeppis entered a path within the gorge.

“Waaaaaaah-”

They were the civilian soldiers who I hid here on our way to High Village. There were only 100 of them, we should be able to see quite the positive result from this ambush.

They sent boulders rolling down and launched volleys of arrows. There was also a fallen tree that was blocking the path in the gorge.

They could make it over the tree if they struggled, but more soldiers were waiting for them there. I had stationed 50 of them on top of the gorge and the other 50 on the other side of the tree.

The few remaining Jeppis all perished. None of them managed to survive.

“We need to take back Titan Valley right now as well. Let’s go.”

The size of my army grew as time went on. The remaining mercenaries Humbley trained and the rest of High Village’s civilian soldiers met up with us as well as other civilian soldiers who were hiding along the way.

Thanks to that, the army was over 2,000 people by the time we arrived at Titan Valley.

There were less than 1,000 Jeppi soldiers remaining in Titan Valley.

They seemed to have noticed something was wrong as they were all gathered together. They probably thought that they could work together to take us down.

However, it ended up helping us.

The Jeppi were already low in morale because of the difference in our numbers. They didn’t even last 30 minutes when I used Dragon Fear and had the Dwarves attack in front.

“Hooray!”

The civilian soldiers raised their weapons into the air and started to cheer.

However, it was too early to pop the champagne. There were more Jeppis outside of Titan Valley.

I urged the cheering civilian soldiers once more.

“We need to take the final location to solidify our position.”

“That’s right. The Jeppi tribe won’t be able to even think about taking Titan Valley if we take back that last location.”

“Let’s go.”

There were close to 3,000 civilian soldiers now. We all ran toward the final location, the gateway into Titan Valley.

We met small groups of Jeppis along the way, but they posed no danger. We ran through the night to arrive at the gateway by noon the next day and successfully set up our wooden fences.

“Goonto! Please protect this spot with your Dwarf brethren.”

Me Goonto looked at me with a confused expression.

“What about you? Were we not moving together?”

“There’s somewhere I need to urgently go. It is not somewhere you guys can go.”

“Where would that be?”

“First, I am going to Avanguarde.”

I looked at Kaicher instead of Goonto as I responded.

Kaicher’s eyes that were already sparkling lit up.

He shouldn’t blame me even if the Archbishop is already dead at this point. I had promised to go in four days but we were going in just two.

Then I felt some sharp gazes from a different direction.

They really are impatient.

Of course, I had not forgotten about them. I also want to quickly take care of that issue.

“Then, I am going to Peria Mountain.”

I looked at Harrison as I said that.

Harrison’s eyes lit up as well. He knew that it was finally time for him and his soldiers to become upgraded to Knights of the Sun.

“How long will it take for you to finish all that and come back?”

Goonto was the one grumbling this time. The more places I had to visit meant the longer Goonto had to be bored here.

But I shouldn’t need that much time. I already created a portal at Peria Mountain.

We just have to make sure there aren’t any unexpected situations in Avanguarde and that we don’t run into the Jeppis at the multiple Magician’s Towers we need to pass through to get the Peria Mountain.

“Four days if I’m fast, ten days if I’m slow. Let’s run wild and fight together after that.”

“Ahaha. That sounds good.”

“Then I leave it to you. And what is your name?”

“My name is Jackson.”

I’ve been paying attention to him for the last few hours. He is one of the mercenaries Humbley raised, but he was both strong and strategic.

“What did you do in the past?”

“I was a mercenary who wandered across the continent. I returned to Titan Valley around five years ago because I wanted to come home after wandering around for 30 years.”

That kind of experience was enough.

“I name you the temporary administrator for this gateway. Fortify the wooden fences more and protect this place with the civilian soldiers.”

“I understand.”

Jackson saluted me and received his orders.

I left Rohas and my other slaves at the gateway and returned to Titan Valley.

But something odd was going on at Titan Valley. There were guards in shining silver armor roaming through Titan Valley.

What were they doing here instead of running to the gateway to help prevent the Jeppis from coming in?

No, I was more curious about the identities of these guards. Where were they hiding until now?

“Who are you?”

“I am Tarok, the leader of the Titan Valley security force.”

‘Tarok?’

Now that I think about it, I remember his face and his name. He was Donstar’s right-hand man.

He was being decently respectful to me because of my position.

But that wasn’t my question.

“Leader of the security force? I haven’t named a leader of the security force yet.”

“The mayor position is vacant so the Deputy Mayor is acting as mayor right now.”

What is he talking about? He was basically saying that Donstar decided he was going to act as the mayor as soon as he got to Titan Valley and created this security force.

There’s no way I’ll let him do as he pleases.

“Acting mayor? Don’t you know that this area is under my control already? I will be the one to create a security force and to name a leader for it.”

“……Excuse me?”

Tarok had a blank expression on his face.

Whatever, it didn’t matter to me. He seems to be thinking that he is the leader but he’s just trash with a terrible personality.

I looked around at the young men who were wearing security force uniforms. I did need a security force and would need to name a leader.

I noticed a decently older guy. The insignia on his shoulder let me know he was the highest ranking person there.

“You, what is your name?”

“My name is Smith.”

“Smith. I will name you the temporary leader of the Titan Valley Security Force. Will you accept this role?”

Smith’s eyes opened wide.

It was not just Smith. The other security force members’ eyes opened wide in shock as well.

The person who was the most shocked was naturally Tarok. He tightened his grip around his scabbard and started to glare at me.

“What are you doing? Are you trying to commit treason?”

Treason? Oh, great choice of words.

“Smith. Answer me! Are you prepared to be loyal in your position as leader of the Security Force?”

“But……”

Smith had a complicated expression on his face.

It makes sense since Smith has not seen the decree from the king.

I showed the decree to Smith.

It indicated that I controlled any location we took back as we expanded the influence of High Village. That meant that I was in control of Titan Valley since I took it back and placed it under the influence of High Village.

Smith saluted me as soon as he confirmed the details of the decree.

“Thank you very much. I will dutifully carry out the responsibilities of the leader role.”

Next, I needed to form the security force for Smith to lead.

“I will allow the rest of you to be official members of the Titan Valley Security Force as well. Those who will accept the position stand next to Smith while the ones who will not will remain in their place.”

The young men did not need to think about it for a long time. They immediately moved next to Smith.

Tarok was now left alone as his pupils were moving trying to figure out what was going on. He then seemed to have realized the atmosphere as he moved toward the others.

This damn eel-like bastard.

“Not you.”

“……Excuse me?”

“I cannot let someone who was acting as an informant for someone committing treason to be on the Security Force.”

“Excuse me? T, treason?!”

Tarok’s eyes opened wide.

But it was true. Tarok might have only known that I was the temporary commander and had not read the details of the decree, but Donstar was different. He had thoroughly looked through the decree.

That meant that he knew that my position as the temporary commander gave me control of Titan Valley right now.

Yet he still placed himself in the position of acting mayor and selected a Security Force as well as a leader for it on his own.

Those were clear acts of treason.

“I should make you all pay for your sins for being informants for a traitor as well, but I will give you all a chance as we are in an emergency situation. Make some achievements to wash away your own sins.”

“Yes, sir! Please give us your order!”

“Good! Then I will give you your first order. Run over immediately and arrest that traitor, Donstar. Oh, lock this guy up too.”

“Excuse me? W, why me……?”

Translator: Miraclerifle

Proofreader: Borderline Masochist