Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Investing Through the Status Window.

Episode 147: Back To The East (4).

The clue was the disappearance of the shepherd father and son.

First, the son who had briefly gone out at night disappeared, and the father who reported it to the public safety squad also vanished without a trace a few days later. The public safety squad, unable to find any evidence, eventually closed the case as a mysterious disappearance, but when considering the new possibility of heresy, it was clearly unsettling.

The decisive factor was the nearby site of a major battle.

Allen speculated that the shepherd’s son accidentally witnessed suspicious activities of the heretics at night, and they killed the son to silence him, then later killed the father as well. Of course, this was merely a hypothesis, necessitating direct verification procedures.

Thus, the Allen-Mercenary Group and the Holy Knights Order, conscious of being seen, disguised themselves as woodcutters or herbalists and headed to the place where they had burned and buried the bodies after the battle. Naturally, since heretics wouldn’t act in broad daylight, there wasn’t a shadow of a person in that ominous place.

The Blind Saintess and the Scent Maiden had an innate talent for sensing suspicious auras, so the two used their specialties to thoroughly examine the surroundings.

One with sight, the other with smell.

“Something happened here. It seems to be the heretics.”

And both women confirmed that there had indeed been heretical activities at this site.

Once the hypothesis was confirmed, Allen and Quintus planned to ambush the area today to capture the heretics.

The problem was that the surrounding area was a field densely covered with grass, with no suitable cover to hide.

“The forest is too far. We’ll definitely be spotted while approaching.”

After briefly pondering Vice Group Leader Quintus’s words, Allen came up with a plan to dig into the ground and hide there.

“We can hide underground. Anyway, it will be hard to distinguish anything at night. We’ll hide there and, at the signal, simultaneously emerge and ambush them.”

The middle-aged knight also found this reasonable and decided to follow the strategy.

Thus, the group quickly procured shovels and began to dig in earnest. Of course, digging a hole large enough for a person to fit into required considerable labor.

Nevertheless, most of the group were seasoned in physical labor, quickly getting accustomed to digging. As soon as they finished digging the holes according to their numbers, dusk began to settle. Each chose their own pit and stood before it.

“Once you go in, you mustn’t come out until you receive the signal. Even if you need to relieve yourself, do it inside.”

“Yes, Group Leader.”

The group then slipped into their pits, covering themselves with lids tangled with grassroots. They were perfectly concealed. As long as they didn’t make loud noises, they shouldn’t be discovered.

While nibbling on jerky to satiate their hunger inside the pits, the sun quietly slipped behind the ridgeline. Soon, soft silver moonlight began to spread over the silent field devoid of people. If not for the burned bodies buried there, it would have been a truly beautiful nightscape.

Allen persistently surveyed the surroundings, fighting off fatigue and drowsiness. Although he couldn’t guarantee they would appear today, they wouldn’t have the luxury of time either, as they needed to avoid people’s eyes. Especially since they had already been discovered once. So, they would want to finish their business as soon as possible.

The energy was still vividly lingering. That meant their schemes had been ongoing until recently.

…If that’s true, they will definitely come today too…!

…And then, another not-so-short period passed. It must have been well past midnight.

Just as Allen’s eyes began to blur with exhaustion, someone called out to him.

“Group Leader, look over there…!”

It was the newbie, Kori with [Excessive Zeal], who spotted and reported the suspicious group. Even in the dead of night, seeing a dozen or so people moving together would seem strange to anyone.

They appeared. It’s the heretics…!

As soon as Allen saw them, he opened the status window to confirm it was them. Naturally, they headed to the place where the burnt corpses were buried and gathered closely. Then, mysterious dark magic began.

The members looked to the Group Leader, wondering what to do. However, he firmly shook his head, indicating that it wasn’t time yet.

The reason he brought the Allen-Mercenary Group all the way to the distant East wasn’t simply to deal with the heretics. It was because he needed those evil orbs they were creating.

In [Guild Master], when you catch a demon worshipper, they randomly drop an item called an Evil Orb, but of course, you couldn’t expect such a convenient system in reality. He could only wait until they made them all. But he couldn’t let the members learn dark magic that was bound to lead to corruption.

Fortunately, Allen could roughly grasp the current situation from afar by looking at their status windows. Then, just before they would finish their work, he could send the attack signal.

As a long time passed again, Allen confirmed that the time was approaching, called Vice Group Leader Quintus quietly, and slowly nodded his head.

And with a loud shout of the last three, he burst out from the ground.

“Chaaaaaarrrgggeee!!!!!!”

The Allen-Mercenary Group and the Holy Knights Order charged swiftly at the enemies. The suddenness of the situation caught the opponents off guard for a moment, but they quickly prepared to respond. At least they weren’t just some random riffraff.

Soon, the two groups collided. Simultaneously, some of the enemies began to flee somewhere. Those were the ones using dark magic earlier at the center of the group.

Regardless of the others, those ones must not be allowed to escape. They were the ones likely carrying the evil orbs.

“Natasha, catch them!”

At Allen’s command, the Itty Titty Swordsman pierced through the defensive line in an instant and closely pursued the fleeing group. Of course, the enemies weren’t fools; they had a trump card prepared for such an emergency.

The dark mage, realizing that he couldn’t shake off the pursuit, stretched his arms toward the sky and then clapped his hands together. Pitch-black dark mana slowly rose. Soon, enormous arms burst from his body, tearing it apart. Naturally, the dark mage perished on the spot.

The beast, summoned using the dark mage as a sacrifice, had the body of a gorilla, the tail of a lion, and the head of a crocodile. It paid no heed to the demon worshiper and immediately snatched up another dark mage standing nearby, stuffing him into its mouth and chewing him up.

Grrrrraaaaaaaaaaa!!!

The creature, splattering blood and letting out a terrifying roar, charged swiftly towards Natasha. Despite the significant difference in size and height, Itty Titty Natasha fearlessly stared it down, assuming a battle stance.

Allen, having confirmed the appearance of the demonic beast, shouted for the Blind Saintess to join forces with Natasha, who was fiercely fighting. Although he trusted Natasha’s prowess, he couldn’t help but consider contingencies…

Of course, the battle between the demonic beast and Natasha began even before Ordnung could join.

If she hadn’t met the Sword Emperor, it would have been quite a tough fight for her. However, she had met a master of the sword and experienced his blade.

…I can do it…!

The demonic beast’s attack was strong and fast, but Natasha moved a half-beat quicker.

Her steps were swift, yet her sword was heavy. The much larger arm of the demonic beast was cut through like a lie by the sword that seemed as thin as a toothpick. It was the result of a perfect fusion of strength, speed, and skill.

!!!

The beast with the severed arm spun swiftly, wielding its steel-like tail like a whip. However, Natasha leaped into the air, dodging it as it sliced through the ground.

In that very moment, the creature aimed its long snout to strike. Just then, Milk-Jug Mage, who had been waiting for the right moment, completed her chant and released her prepared magic.

The elemental magic shot forth like a beam of light, striking the beast’s torso at the same time Natasha slashed down with her sword to intercept the snout heading for her chest.

!!!!!

The magic, infused with [Enlightenment], was more powerful than before. It demonstrated enough force to blow away half of the beast’s torso in an instant. It screamed in agony and rage.

At that moment, the Blind Saintess, who was rushing in, landed a punch into the creature’s torso.

!!!

With a single powerful punch, the massive body of the beast was momentarily lifted into the air before crashing to the ground. The Blind Saintess’s blow shattered even the parts that were relatively intact.

Despite this, the beast still clung to life. True to its hellish origins, its tenacity was disgustingly persistent… That’s why heretics prattle on about eternal life and such.

The beast roared in great fury. Humiliated by such insignificant creatures.

However, the situation was already hopeless. The beast couldn’t even properly counterattack against the overwhelming assault of the three.

In the end, Natasha’s sword sliced through the beast’s neck. The severed head and body slowly dissolved into smoke and dispersed.

And with the beast’s death, the battle soon came to an end.