Chapter 203

Chapter 203

Among the heroes at the front lines taking hits from the Slime Emperor, there were those who had newly joined the fray.

"Uh? Uhm?! Cough! Eeek!"

Elize gripped the tonfas she had drawn from her Sword Coffin in both hands, making strange noises that she would normally never utter as she barely managed to repel the tentacles.

Although she had frequently dealt with humans to the point of growing weary of them, she had never had the chance to face off against such alien monstrosities.

Especially not ones as massive as this.

This is much harder than I thought...?

The monsters attacks were completely different from those of humans.

Humans had limitations in height, range of joint movement, and the length of their arms and weapons.

Monsters had none of that.

Their tentacles seemed to stretch out endlessly, and their attacks followed bizarre trajectories. On top of that, their force was,

Wham!

Comparable to being hit by a trebuchet.

Grimacing, Elize was pushed back. Her arms were starting to go numb from repeatedly blocking the attacks.

Is this what its like? These kinds of monsters keep coming, and we have to keep holding them off...?

Elize had taken her position atop the fortress walls to gain a more accurate understanding of the situation on the front lines.

And her conclusion was as follows:

What kind of insane situation is this?!

Bam!

A flying tentacle destroyed one of Elizes tonfas. Tentacles continuously rained down in front of a flustered Elize.

Im done for?!

Just then, Kuilan rushed in front of Elize.

Pop! Pop! Boom!

Kuilan swung fists and kicked, sending the tentacles flying. They were repelled with sounds like air bursting.

"Rough day, huh, Miss Swordsman? You seem like a newbie when it comes to big monster fights!"

With a swift flick of his red dreadlocks, Kuilan grinned at Elize.

"Do you really have to fight so hard? Why not take it easy~"

"..."

Elizes deep blue eyes narrowed.

In this battlefield where everyone was fighting for their lives, Kuilan and his party stood out for their lackadaisical approach.

From a distance, it might appear as if they were fighting monsters just as intensely as everyone else, but up close, it was clear.

Kuilans party feigned defense by holding up their shields against the tentacles. They rolled around dramatically on the ground, but there was no substance to their actions. They were merely pretending to fight.

"Thanks for saving me, but why are you guys fighting so half-heartedly?"

"Haha! What changes if you fight hard? Are they going to give you a medal for patriotically defending the empire?"

Kuilan casually kicked the tentacles while speaking.

"Were part of the Penal Squad, serving our sentences in lieu of imprisonment. Were not even proper citizensjust a group of criminals."

"..."

"Whether we work a little or a lot, we get the same pay. Why risk our lives to defend someone elses territory? Just going along is good enough."

Although it was irritating, Elize thought it was a response she should have expected.

To begin with, they werent regular troops, not even mercenaries fighting for money.

They were bandits who had once survived by robbing others.

Prince Ash had clearly recruited them based on their combat abilities alone, a judgment that turned out to be rather hasty.

Though he might not have expected loyalty or pride from them in the first place, what they fundamentally lacked was a reason.

A reason to fully commit to the battle at this monstrous front line.

"Why are you fighting so hard? You dont seem to belong here either. Why not just take it easy like the rest of us?"

Kuilan chuckled and lazily swung his leg.

After all, the two knights at the forefront were blocking the strongest attacks. Kuilan and his party members planned to just half-heartedly go through the motions.

Time slipped away ineffectually, and the attacks aimed at Kuilan and his party members gradually diminished.

The partys energy began to wane.

And then,

Huh?

In the great battle against monsters, complacency could lead straight to

Death.

Whoosh!

Caught off guard, one tentacle wrapped around Kuilans left ankle as he stood on his right foot, preparing a kick.

"What? Wh-what?"

"Waaah...!"

"Save us...!"

Gulp!

All five were swallowed...

"...This is driving me insane," I muttered, putting my hand to my forehead. What am I supposed to do with them?

The Slime Emperor, having swallowed Kuilans party, retracted all its tentacles.

Simultaneously, its gelatinous, water droplet-like form began to harden.

It was preparing to switch to Digestion Mode.

Digestion would also take 3 turns.

In 10 minutes, Kuilan and his party would be completely dissolved, becoming nutrients for the Slime Emperor.

"Junior! How much longer until [Elemental Disassembly] is ready?"

I shouted, and Junior, who was surrounded by mages preparing her ultimate skill, responded.

"Ten more minutes, Your Highness!"

...Coincidentally, Juniors ultimate skill would also be available in 10 minutes.

"My Lord."

Lucas ran up to me and said bluntly,

"Leave them."

"What?"

"Let those bandit bastards be digested by the slime."

Lucas glanced at the hardening Slime Emperor.

"Ive heard slimes dont attack while digesting their prey. It seems to be the case now."

"..."

"We have at least 10 minutes for digestion. We can use Junior and Reinas magic to cleanly wipe out the boss monster at that time."

"There are people trapped inside it, Lucas."

"People without the will to fight properly, a bunch of bandits."

Lucas showed me the injuries all over his body. There wasnt a spot untouched by acid.

"While everyone else was vomiting blood in combat, those jokers were just going through the motions. Even if we save them now, do you think theyll change? Theyll continue to be a burden if we keep them on the front lines."

"..."

"My Lord said we should give them one last chance, right? In my view, theyve already wasted that chance themselves."

There was no counter-argument to be made.

Had they even just put up a decent defense, that grab pattern wouldnt have happened.

The ones who drove themselves to death were Kuilans party.

"If we let those five die, we can smoothly finish this defense battle without incurring additional casualties."

"..."

"My Lord."

I looked at the soldiers standing on the defensive line.

Not a single one of them was uninjured after blocking the gigantic slimes with their bodies.

Even Evangeline, who had the best defense among us, was panting, hunched over from exhaustion.

If we left Kuilans party to die as they were, the other soldiers could finish without dying or getting injured.

Five bandits who failed to fight properly despite the chance, who harbored resentment towards this frontline, and dug their own graves.

"..."

I turned my head to look at the regular bandits of the Penal Squad.

Their faces were as pale as death, frozen as they stared at me.

The dregs who ran away first, while all the other soldiers bravely took the front lines.

If anyone deserved to be abandoned, it was them.

The weight of life on the front lines is not equal. As the frontline commander, I had to meticulously weigh and judge that balance.

I knew this from past gaming experience.

"...Fine."

I didnt hesitate for long. I opened my mouth.

"Were saving them."

A bright sigh of relief crossed the bandits faces. Lucass face twisted in dismay.

"Why, my Lord? Thats an irrational decision."

After sighing deeply,

I reluctantly answered.

"That bastard Kuilan swallowed two premium items..."