Chapter 205

Episode 205 In the end (7)

“I trust Archmage and recommended him, but I’m not sure if he’ll be really good.”

The lord of the castle stood at the window with the great sage visiting again. Beyond the window, the coast towards which the scouting party is headed can be vaguely seen in the darkness of night.

“If you have ever experienced Mermen, you would know... their claws are very sharp. “Even if you measure the distance just a little bit wrong, you can cut off a horse’s ankle or cut off a person’s leg.”

In fact, what I was aiming for was for the hero to come forward and give it to me. I wonder if it’s okay to use a warrior for something like this, but it’s not heavier than the lives of my soldiers.

Seongju thought of the lives of two soldiers who lost their lives or legs during reconnaissance, and of two elite soldiers who lost their castles while suffering from a lack of manpower.

After all, if you can protect precious soldiers, you can hire as many warriors as you want. Although I couldn’t ask for it outright because I was worried about the temple.

“I know the lord of the castle is worried, but I don’t think you will be disappointed in hiring a demon knight. “I am not just saying this because he is with us on our journey.”

“Is that so?”

“When it comes to things like this, you’re better than a warrior.”

However, it is good if the Great Sage guarantees it to that extent.

Seongju decided to relax a little.

“Well, the price range is higher than that of other adventurers. “I didn’t know that neither I nor the guild would be the first to ask that price.”

“Nowadays, they say they accept small tasks to match our schedule, but in reality, they are people who don’t often accept relatively peaceful requests like this.”

“It’s a peaceful thing....”

“It’s limited when compared to demon hunting. Compared to normal work, work here is not peaceful.

“Well, that’s true too.”

It was too late to regret it anyway. There is no power in the world that can bring back those who have already been sent all at once.

“Have the devil worshipers said anything yet?

“Unfortunately, no. “They also went on a rampage about whether they felt there was a traitor... but they weren’t exactly aware of it.”

Even our allies are suspicious of the speedy investigation. What about the devil worshipers who were punished?

They were already shouting that this made no sense and that it was definitely a traitor’s act. In fact, there is no person or organization that suspects that he is a traitor, so it is still just a conspiracy theory.

“We are grateful to those who led this sweep and are cross-checking the progress, but...”

I feel sorry for the soldiers who have worked hard since dawn, but there is nothing I can do.

He was informed of the sweep operation the night before the operation. Before that... in other words, it was necessary to clarify what happened until the operation plan was uploaded.

While caring about the soldiers, we cannot miss the potential danger of being a devil worshiper’s stooge – even if a person betrays his side, if he does not know his true intentions, he is an enemy.

“Nothing special so far.”

Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no discrepancy between what the centurion said when he submitted the operation plan and what was discovered through reinvestigation.

I received an anonymous letter accusing me of being a devil worshiper. The source and authenticity of the information were questionable, but after seeing that several people previously suspected of being devil followers were involved, I ordered an investigation just in case. It soon became clear that the contents of the letter were correct. So I am submitting the operation plan now.

It does not appear that corruption or corruption was involved in all of the steps listed.

“Ah, even if Tuseo comes in, are you moving without reporting to the castle lord?”

“How many complaints come in a year, and will you receive a report on all of them? “Usually it is handled by the centurion and only comes up to me when the results of the investigation are clear.”

Since this is also a devil worshiper case, he is the one who received the final report. If it had been an ordinary criminal, he would not have received it.

“Anyway... Immediately after receiving the operation plan and summary report, I became suspicious and monitored all the people involved until the operation was carried out, but no one contacted me secretly.”

This is true even though it is not an overt surveillance, but rather a specialized person has been assigned to monitor it.

It’s too early to be certain, but it didn’t seem like there was a snag attached to the guard itself.

“We are also investigating the person who sent the letter... but seeing as they used a few messengers to pass it around and deliver it, it doesn’t look like anything will come out of that.”

“I see....”

He was a very detailed informer (presumed to be a follower of the devil) that was pitiful.

“Let’s move on to another story. It’s not a problem with an easy answer... Thanks to their infighting, they’ve cleared up a lot of the hidden diseases. Even if we catch them like this, I don’t think there will be a whole bunch left.”

“If the Lord of the castle thinks so.”

However, because of what he said out loud, Seongju did not consider this a bad thing.

It was never a letdown. I just trust him and the guards that his ancestors have raised.

The belief is that they couldn’t have let devil worshipers into the city easily, that they couldn’t have missed many people during the search process, and that even if there were people who managed to avoid it all, the number wouldn’t have been large – and that they would have been swept away in large numbers by this letter.

“How are the Mermen these days?”

“Not good. “The number of Mermen discovered by the scouts has increased, but the sea is actually calm.”

So the Seongju began a second conversation with the Great Sage on a different topic.

In fact, it was a more important agenda than the first one.

“According to records coming down from the city, something huge like this always comes... but I don’t know what it will be like this time.”

“Hmm. “If it’s something huge...”

“A huge tsunami... a storm... a dragon, etc.”

“dragon...?”

“It’s a long time ago, so no one knows the truth. “Maybe I mistaken it for a waterspout.”

It wasn’t long before it was revealed that waterspout was a type of storm. This is because it is a theory that was established only after recreating a storm using magic.

Therefore, some intellectuals still believe that the waterspout is a place where a dragon passed by... but at least the lord of Bemurchen has confirmed this theory.

“There are two or three records of dragon sightings, but one piece of evidence is that there was no damage at all. “It is unlikely to be a dragon.”

In that context, he dismissed the possibility of a dragon appearing.

Now that even the sea dragon in the western part of the Rock is dead, there is only one dragon left in the world—as far as humans can tell. And that dragon did not come down from the barbarian lands of the north.

It couldn’t have been that dragon.

“But just in case, it’s better to leave the possibility open.”

“Of course. We have been continuously researching weapons specifically for giant monsters, just in case. Due to technical issues, there is only one thing that can be considered like this so far...”

“I’m glad there is at least one— hmm?”

“...?”

But the Archmage who had been listening to him suddenly stood up. Her gaze is slightly averted from him and she is looking behind me.

“No matter what...”

Naturally, the castle lord turned his head to follow the Archmage.

At that, I quickly opened my mouth. The senses that had been heightened to see if there were any remaining Mermen nearby were now ringing alarm bells.

“Dozens of Mermen are coming this way.”

More Mermen were coming as if they were the vanguard.

“Leader! The Mermen are coming!”

“what?!”

I thought about staying and fighting alone, but somehow I didn’t feel like it, so I decided to go out together.

Thinking about it now, it didn’t seem like a bad decision.

Looking at the number of approaching soldiers, I don’t know, but I think the soldiers will have to escape to the city, and then they will definitely retreat, taking Frederick with them.

Of course I will have to walk back.

I kind of hated that. This is true even if I prepared two days’ worth of food just in case when I found out that it was a request to go outside.

The studs are a specification.

“How many?”

“At least thirty.”

I haven’t checked it with the naked eye, but it’s probably not wrong. I grabbed the long sword instead of the two-hender, feeling it getting closer by the minute.

It was a bonus to be wary of the Merman arriving first, so I held my sword while blocking the Merman’s direction.

“We approached within 40m.”

“...Prepare for retreat! Throw away useless baggage! Everyone get on your horse!”

The captain looked like he wanted to say something to me, but he didn’t try to figure out what he was saying. It was the judgment of someone who thought about what would happen with wasted time if this were true.

“Say it every time you get closer by 10 meters!”

Instead, the captain also stood next to me. I wonder if they are trying to give soldiers like me a chance to escape.

“30m.”

I saw soldiers running to their horses with only their weapons, leaving behind drinking water and food blankets.

“I haven’t eaten yet.”

The words some of the soldiers were shouting felt a bit sad.

In fact, if I were to tell you to organize it all by yourself, I would be able to do it all before I even got to this part, so I don’t have to rush. I felt sorry for no reason.

“20m.”

However, it is difficult to explain it in detail and it is difficult to ignore the discomfort.

I followed the captain’s orders and watched closely. It occurred to me that even though it is not a creature that lives on the ground, its feet are quite fast.

“Captain, adventurer!”

The unit commander brings the horse right to the back so that we can ride right away.

“Everyone is on board!”

“Okay let’s go!”

And when the distance narrowed to about 10 meters, everyone completed the ride. “Get on first.” A jet-black magical power formed on my sword.

Suddenly!

If you don’t intend to fight, there is less need to save magic power. I took my time and cut down dozens of meters in front in one go.

“...It would have been spectacular to see it during the day.”

Probably so. The scene where a creature’s body becomes flesh may not be good, but the sight of the grass being cut down would be amazing.

Purr.

As long as he killed the Merman who had approached him with all his might, he had time to escape.

I climbed on top of Frederick, who was not nervous or excited. Only then did the captain, who was on his horse, move.

“Let’s head towards the city first! And an adventurer! Are there any more enemies coming?”

“Remains.”

“How many?”

Well... it’s not close enough that counting is possible. I roughly know that it exists, but I don’t know the exact number.

“...Are you confident you can handle everything?”

“Don’t ask the obvious.”

Oh... it’s a good thing I didn’t use up all my magic power. Well, it’s closer to not having to do that much.

Anyway, the captain swallowed his saliva at my answer and then shouted.

“Commander! “Lead the soldiers and return to the city!”

“yes?!”

“Everyone, return to the city with the unit commander! “The adventurer and I will gather more information!”

“but!”

“Adventurer, slow down!”

“...damn!!”

As the commander and I departed late, we were still positioned at the rear, so it was not difficult to break away.

Her horse and I slowly slowed down. Frederick scratched the ground with his front paws along with Tourezil.

“After eliminating all approaching Mermen, scout the coast. “Is there any difference of opinion?”

“does not exist.”

Would it be better to get down and deal with him? There’s a time coming, so should I just ride on horseback, swing my sword, and deal with it before it even approaches?

After thinking about it for a while, I decided to choose the latter. If I don’t think it’s going to work, I’ll just get off and fight.

“...let’s go.”

I followed the captain.

However, luckily, most of the Mermen were killed by the previous blow, and the remnants were able to be killed on horseback.

“Now if we just check the coast...?”

The problem was what I saw when I approached the coast after killing them all.

“...Go back immediately!”

Most defense battles are volume battles, but isn’t it a bit too much to have so many waves that the waves are all covered up?