Chapter 219

Chapter 219

Crossroad was peaceful.

Ash, the Lord and Commander, had ordered an evacuation, and a refuge had been prepared in the northeast of the city.

Citizens had begun to pack their belongings, making their way to the refuge where clean water, food, and various facilities were provided.

Contrary to the current situation labeled as "evacuation," the faces of the citizens showed no signs of worry or fear.

And why should they? In the half-year since Ash had taken command, Crossroad had not allowed any invasions.

Including the eight defensive battles that took place in Crossroad and the fight against the Black Spider Legion at the forward base, there had been nine battles in total. Under Ashs command, monsters had been thoroughly repelled, and although soldiers were injured or died, the city itself suffered no damage.

As a result, the citizens hadnt felt the growing threat of the monsters.

They perceived this evacuation order as an extension of the safety-first policy that had been in place so far.

The summer sunlight was warm, and a relaxed atmosphere floated through the city.

The atmosphere in the local temple was no different.

Bandages, holy water, and potions were being transported to the makeshift medical facility set up in the refuge. The priests looked at ease.

Only Saintess Margarita wore a somber expression.

"Damien..."

In front of Margarita sat Damien, his face impassive.

On the day Ash and his entourage set out, Damien had been unshackled per the orders, but he had continued living as if still bound, confined to his room without moving an inch.

"Damien, were moving all the patients here to the refuge. You need to go too."

"..."

For the first time that day, the usually silent Damien spoke.

"The front lines?"

"Excuse me?"

"Arent they forming the last line of defense on the city walls? Can I go there?"

"His Highness told me to check on your condition and then make a decision."

Damien had twice aimed his gun at allies.

Ash had judged that the risk of Damien shooting at their own forces outweighed the advantages of having him as a sniper.

So, he was completely excluded from this defensive battle.

Margarita glanced at Damiens face.

"And from what I can see, youre still not in good condition."

"..."

"Lets go to the refuge together, Damien."

Damien remained silent. Margarita sighed softly.

"If you continue like this, well have no choice but to drag you to the refuge. Shall we do that?"

"...Ill go. To the refuge."

A fleeting sense of relief passed over Margaritas face.

However, the next thing Damien said made her furrow her brows.

"Then, please return my magic gun... Black Queen."

Despite the troubles caused by that Black Queen, Damien still wanted to hold that magic gun.

Because then, he could see the face of Ban, the precious person he had lost, in his dreams again.

But Margarita shook her head coldly.

"His Highness has ordered that under no circumstances should that gun be returned to you."

"..."

"Damien, this is a decision His Highness has made considering your well-being. You understand, right?"

Damien curled up on the bed.

"...Ill just stay here then."

"Pardon?"

"The monsters will be repelled by His Highness... and the others anyway. Is there really a need to evacuate?"

In reality, most of the citizens of the city felt that way. So did Saintess Margarita, deep down.

Ash will pull it off again, just like he always has.

But preparing for the worst is a leaders duty.

As High Priestess, Margarita planned to follow Ashs orders to the letter.

While everyone else was evacuating, only Damien obstinately refused to listen.

How can I convince him...

If he keeps resisting, I may have no choice but to forcefully move him, thought Margarita.

"Is something the matter, Your Holiness?"

Someone poked their head into Damiens room.

It was Kureha, the older brother of Kuilan, who was sharing the room next door. He was hobbling about, propped up on a crutch, carrying luggage.

Due to his voluntary service in the temple, Kureha was treated as clerical support staff. Margarita managed a forced smile.

"Kureha, well..."

"...Ah."

Glimpsing the immobile Damien and Margarita seated in front of him, Kureha limped into the room, quickly deducing the situation.

"Its the evacuation, isnt it? Let me try to persuade Damien. You can go attend to other matters, Your Holiness."

Evangeline handed out new drills to the Penal Squad and explained how to operate them.

The Penal Squad members listened intently, standing at attention.

"We dont have much time left. Stay focused, and if those two start causing trouble again, you stop them. Understood?"

"Yes!"

"Great! Lets get back to work!"

The Penal Squad members clumsily gripped their new drills and resumed the destruction work, while Evangeline corrected their technique one by one.

***

The second day passed even more quickly, and before I knew it, evening had come.

I lifted my head to look around.

After crossing the river, Jormungandr had entered the forest area.

Tall trees were tumbling one after another, following the snakes path.

Although it was a headache dealing with the falling tree trunks from above, it was far better than the rock bombardment from the first day.

I wielded my magic blade to roughly fend off the large falling branches while I glanced at the system window.

[Jormungandr - Progress of Area Destruction]

- First Vertebra: 86%

- Second Vertebra: 42%

- Third Vertebra: 67%

The two mages near the head seem to be doing well...

Far in the distance, near the head of Jormungand, a burst of magical light flashed. The rate of progress was fastest there; it seemed like there was nothing to worry about on that end.

If the tail here is relatively easy and we speed up the destruction of the central part, it looks like we can finish this within the time limit, right?

Though the gimmicks were unique, it seemed like this defense battle would end without any major issues.

As I was deep in thought,

"Hey! Ash!"

Kellibeys voice echoed. I turned around to see where it came from.

Swish- Click!

Kellibey, who had hooked a grappling hook on the tip of the tail and climbed up, squawked in high excitement.

"Listen, listen! I thought Id exhausted all the places to dig, so I was wandering around, you know?!"

Youve been doing that since yesterday.

"Find anything new?"

"I sure did! If you go do~wn there, Jormungand has this ti~ny butthole!"

"A butth... what now?"

I thought Id misheard him for a moment, but Kellibey elaborated.

"It had an asshole, okay? An asshole! You deaf?"

"... Ah, no. I hear you loud and clear."

"Dont make that disgusted face! Jormungand is fundamentally a magical creature! How do you think this massive being sustains its body? It doesnt ingest food for nutrients! Its not the digestive system youre thinking of!"

Then why call it an asshole?

"It absorbs mana from the atmosphere through its mouth and gathers the non-mana elements to expel from the rear!"

"Fine, got it. So whats your point? What did you find?"

"Anyway, its in a dwarfs nature to enter any cave they see, right? So, I went in!"

"Why the fuck would you go in there?!"

I let out an expletive without thinking. Kellibey didnt seem to mind and continued grinning.

"And look what I found!"

Kellibey put down something hed been carrying on his back. I stepped back in shock.

"Dont come any closer! It might stink!"

"It doesnt stink! Look at this!"

What Kellibey had brought from Jormungands, uh, rear end and placed in front of me was...

"Our buddy, Nameless!"

With long white hair and wearing tattered robes, it was the familiar dungeon merchant NPC.

"...?"

Nameless, who had seemed entirely deflated and strengthless, lifted his shaking face to look at me and weakly waved his hand.

"Long time no see, Ash."

"Wha...?"

For a moment, I didnt understand what was happening.

Then I let out a loud squawk.

"Why the hell are you coming out from there?!"

I mean... that... you know...

...

Why from there?!