Ch.128Bold++

# 128. Bold Move++

“Chief! How could you trust those humans and reveal that information to them!”

“That’s rich coming from someone who got caught so easily.”

“…”

“I’m joking.”

“Chief!”

“Quiet. I’m thinking.”

Lahan, keeping his distance, observed his anxious subordinates and thought to himself.

‘Normally, it wouldn’t matter where strangers go. Just as we go where we want, others go where they want. Even if that place is where a demon has manifested.’

But the human adventurers before him were no longer strangers. More precisely, they had become entangled due to a member’s ridiculous mistake.

‘This is incredibly troublesome.’

The Nomadic Tribe was a refuge for persecuted wanderers, and he was their leader. The Tribe’s claws should always be directed at their enemies and those who persecute others. But Eril had bared his fangs at people who had nothing to do with them, and now they were in this situation.

Even if those adventurers were responsible for defeating the Albs, even if there were quite a few Alb members in the Nomadic Tribe… the Albs were persecutors of the Ayor, and those adventurers were merely mercenaries caught in a war between two races.

Though that human adventurer was rather persistent, Lahan couldn’t easily turn him away.

He couldn’t stand by and watch someone he now knew walk into certain death.

Some might say he wasn’t tough enough, not cold enough, that he didn’t live up to his appearance and was too soft.

But that was Lahan’s belief, and the Nomadic Tribe’s belief. It was because of this belief that they could stick together, travel around the world without being swept up by larger powers, and despite being pointed at as wanderers, they were never designated as public enemies or targets of exclusion.

If wanderers didn’t even have beliefs, then they would truly become beasts.

“I need to hear the squad leaders’ opinions. This isn’t something I can decide alone.”

“Will they listen to us? Given the bad first impression, they might think we’re going to backstab and attack them or just run away if we meet up with our squad leaders.”

“Well. He may be small in stature and seem physically weak, but he didn’t strike me as that kind of man.”

“Sigh.”

“Don’t sigh when you’re the one who got caught. Your squad will undergo special training when we get back.”

“Ch-Chief!”

Moving along an unplanned route, obtaining an unexpected item, meeting an unexpected person.

Is this also fate, or just a wanderer’s coincidence?

**

“Alright. Let’s do that. We’ll discuss it among ourselves in the meantime.”

“Then let’s meet back here in 30 minutes.”

“Agreed.”

After waiting for a while, Lahan approached and said he couldn’t decide alone and needed time to talk with his people. I realized my gambit was half successful and gladly agreed.

“What happened? What happened?!”

“Get ready to fight.”

“Everyone, calm down and listen to what the leader has to say.”

When I returned to my party members, they were all tense. After calmly explaining my conversation with Lahan, their tension transformed into surprise and bewilderment. They all wore expressions of disbelief.

“If that’s true, even with our remarkable growth in Benas, we can’t feel safe at all.”

“A demon… isn’t it too early for us?”

“That’s not the important thing. Well, it is important, but what’s more pressing right now is our mission here. If we can’t pass through here, there’s no point in worrying about Mazikant. In that sense, Sunghyun did well to persuade the Nomadic Tribe’s leader. It was the best move.”

With eight of us putting our heads together, 30 minutes passed in an instant. Various opinions were exchanged, but to summarize:

Let’s stick with the Nomadic Tribe and befriend them.

And let’s try to make contact with the fragment of Edenic.

Movement was visible from their side. I led all my party members forward. From their side, seven people came out to match our numbers.

“I didn’t expect all of you to come.”

“We’re about to have an important and constructive conversation, so it’s better if everyone hears it together. No need to repeat ourselves.”

“What if we refuse your request?”

“If you were going to refuse, why bother with formalities? You could have just sent one person to reject us. It’s not like we can force you to do anything.”

The diverse members of the Nomadic Tribe stared at me intently. They didn’t seem to like what I was saying. In response, my party members also raised their fighting spirit, unwilling to back down.

‘Should I intervene?’

It was chilling to the skin despite the absence of any physical threat. Yet it felt awkward for me to be the first to call for a stop.

At that moment, Lahan slightly, very slightly, tapped his foot. His subordinates immediately drew in sharp breaths and lowered their eyes. It was an impressive display of control. Naturally, my party members also dampened their spirit.

Lahan spoke as if nothing had happened.

“Adventurer Sunghyun, we will transport the fragment of Edenic to Mazikant.”

“Yes.”

“We never intended for all our members to enter Mazikant. We planned to enter with only our elite, because it’s dangerous.”

“And?”

“The fragment of Edenic will be transported to the church in the center of the city. Whether it’s the side that summoned the demon or not, we can’t hand over the fragment. But it’s not something that mere wanderers like us can continue to handle. So we must succeed in transporting it, so it can be used to defeat the demon.”

“I understand you want to go to the church. But is there any guarantee they can properly use a suddenly appearing Edenic fragment to defeat a demon? I don’t think it’s a simple matter of having a few clergy members.”

“That’s as far as I can go, so I’m not considering what happens after. I think that we, mere wanderers, will have done enough by not handing the fragment to extremely secular or evil people, and by risking our lives to deliver the fragment of Edenic to the church. However.”

Lahan unfolded his arms and pointed at me.

“If your skills are sufficient, there’s room for you to not only travel with us to Mazikant but also assist in the transportation.”

“Ah? If we’re all talk, you’ll only accompany us to the city gates?”

“That’s right. The road to Mazikant isn’t easy either. Escorting you that far will be enough compensation.”

“I understand what you’re saying. So how will you judge our skills?”

“It’s simple. We compare our abilities.”

No sooner had Lahan finished speaking than the atmosphere became fierce again. The difference this time was that the intensity was directed at my party members rather than at me.

We were suddenly facing a death match.

“You can refuse my proposal. But I can’t yield any further. That’s how important the item we’re transporting is.”

“Hmm…”

“Let’s do it.”

“Subin?”

“We need to get used to our growth, and everyone’s been itching for action. This is perfect. They won’t kill us, so let’s think of it as practical training and a chance to build rapport.”

Just as I was about to consider carefully, Subin cut in. Her eyes seemed to be blazing with excitement.

“If we lack information, the only way is to engage directly. Right? Besides.”

“Besides?”

“We’re going to win, so why worry?”

Savage, Eun Subin.

I suppressed my laughter and accepted Lahan’s proposal.

**

1:1 Survival Death (non-lethal) Match.

Simple rules: winners can continue fighting, and the side that gets 5 wins first or achieves 3 consecutive wins is the ultimate victor.

Given that Sister Soyu is a non-combat class and I’m weak in 1:1 combat, we concluded that if we can’t achieve 3 consecutive wins, we’d need to win all the remaining matches. Despite this, my party members were already brimming with confidence.

Compared to a demon, how difficult could the Nomadic Tribe be? That seemed to be their mindset. Though the Nomadic Tribe’s leader standing like a mountain was certainly a variable.

“Why not just end it with a 3-0? I’ll go first and sweep them all.”

“Yuri, I don’t doubt your skills, but if they’re pushed into a corner, their leader might step in…”

“Or we could wear them down early and aim for 3 consecutive wins later.”

The order was extremely important. Even more crucial than selecting kickers in a soccer penalty shootout.

So we were fiercely debating between an all-in on the vanguard, a balanced approach, or an all-in on their leader, and were about to go with Yuri’s suggestion to put her at the front when—

“Meow.”

[Sunghyun.]

“Danya?”

“Meow, meooow.”

[Can I, can I go too?]

Danya, who had been observing with a dignified posture and gaze, gracefully walked up to me.

“Meow. Meooow.”

[I’m also your cat… no, we’re bound by fate. And their leader is an Ayor too. So. Yes.]

“I appreciate your spirit and it’s admirable but… are you confident?”

“Meow.”

[Ha.]

Danya pressed her front paws firmly on my knee as I crouched down to meet her gaze.

“Meow. Meooow.”

[You’ll see me in a new light.]

In response to her confident words, almost the first I’d heard since our contract…

“Our first fighter is Danya.”

I decided to respect the pride of this ‘legendary Ayor,’ fallen though she may be.

“Danya will shut them out 3-0.”