Ch.160Chapter 160

# Our combat strength.

The Knight Commander, Vice Commander, about 10 branch unit members, and me.

The opposing side had gathered about the same number of people.

I told Bell not to fight.

We needed to capture them alive to find out who the mastermind was, and one attack from Bell would make them disappear without a trace.

I asked her to only move to save us when we were in danger.

Poing! Poing!

The collision of weapons that should have made heavy, resonating sounds due to Oko’s remnants now produced ridiculous noises like those from toy balls.

Nevertheless, their expressions and the situation made it clear just how urgent everything was.

“Haaah!”

Charging recklessly while planting a massive death flag, Muyeon tried her usual strategy of collapsing the enemy lines with her axe.

It would have worked against ordinary bandits.

But these weren’t ordinary bandits.

Thud!

With the sound of something hitting the ground, Muyeon’s axe struck the floor, but the bandits had already dodged in their own ways and were regrouping to rush at her.

Muyeon is quite powerful.

But carelessness always creates the worst situations, even for the most skilled fighters.

“Ah, huh?”

Muyeon just stood there dumbfounded, making confused sounds.

She hadn’t expected this to happen, so her brain couldn’t make an immediate judgment.

Swoosh, bang.

The sound of something being sliced was followed by a heavy thud.

The bandit who accomplished this wore a vicious smile, as if he’d achieved something remarkable.

Dopamine must be flooding his system at the thought of taking down a pretentious knight.

But soon the bandit realized what was happening before his eyes, his expression hardened, and he looked up with gritted teeth.

“Damn you, Raedan Tanthyn!!!”

The bandit called out my name, expressing his anger with all his might.

Hah, what a fool.

Did he think I’d let such an obvious tactic succeed?

As I shot upward with my arm around her armpit, Muyeon, seemingly coming back to her senses, made a confused sound.

“Ah, aah. Huh?!”

“Ms. Muyeon, get a grip. You were saying things that people about to die would say, which almost caused a disaster.”

“Ah, ah, yes…”

I was trying to lighten the mood, but Muyeon’s spirits seemed to sink, perhaps thinking I was scolding her.

Hmm.

Emotional fluctuations during battle are the biggest cause of morale decline.

With that in mind, I patted her head as soon as we landed.

She was a bit tall, so it didn’t quite create the image I had in mind, but I could still see her expression change as she looked up at my hand.

“Ms. Muyeon, you’re strong enough when you’re calm and take your time, so there’s no need to get too excited. Even if you don’t show off here, I’ll still accept your proposal.”

“…Yes.”

It seems what I said earlier was the reason for her reckless behavior.

After responding weakly, she soon recovered, hardened her expression, and jumped back into the battlefield. This time, I felt she would fight properly without issues.

Well.

Now that I’ve saved the one marked for death, I should start providing support.

As I thought this, I felt someone gently embracing me from behind, though I hadn’t played any flute.

“…Fiore?”

The peculiarly soft and tender feeling—only Fiore among the divine race had such skin texture.

Was she watching the situation and came out right away?

“…That dragon bastard, if he doesn’t lead the charge, he’ll just bulldoze through recklessly.”

“That’s exactly what he’d do.”

Fiore chuckled at my words.

Whether she was actually planning to do that, I could hear Zumiya cursing at Fiore in my mind, clearly furious.

I could also hear Apta and Faura trying hard to calm him down.

…Ugh, thinking about the peace after the upcoming snow mountain expedition, I had the terrible thought that perhaps maintaining this moment might be better.

Oh, gods.

“…Anyway, I’ll gratefully borrow your power again today.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Saying that, Fiore willingly infused some of her power into me.

As I quietly felt that energy and sensed my surroundings, I gradually became aware of the vitality around me.

There must be numerous corpses trapped under the snow here too.

Thinking about it now, I somewhat understand why Fiore, whose concept aligns with plants, handles corpses.

After all, those crushed, decaying bodies become excellent nutrients for plants.

It seems to correspond to the poetic yet philosophical concept that fading life creates new life.

Let’s try something stylish.

Having identified all the positions where vitality could be felt, I smiled awkwardly and snapped my fingers.

Simultaneously, elongated plants shot up from beneath the snow.

“What, what is this?!”

The Huntsman’s follower looked around in surprise.

The Huntsman had said that the stronger the divine being, the stronger the stench they emit.

Since Fiore is also a high-ranking divine being, that person must be experiencing an unbearable stench.

As if confirming my thoughts, the Huntsman’s follower covered his nose with his hand.

And that momentary action became the bandit’s downfall.

“Hey, you! Quickly give us orders…!”

“Hyaah!”

The Knight Commander struck the momentarily hesitating bandit’s neck forcefully with the back of his sword.

Though it was clearly the back of the blade, it seemed to cave in slightly, making me worry that the bandit might have died from nerve compression.

The bandit collapsed.

The moment the Knight Commander accomplished this feat, the knights’ morale skyrocketed.

“Hey! If the Commander is doing that, how can we just stand by! Capture at least one of them!”

“Let’s gooooo!”

The bandits were flustered by the knights’ sudden passionate surge but tried their best to respond.

However, it was futile.

Using Fiore’s ability, I easily disarmed them, and the bandits who relied solely on weapons were immediately subdued and pinned to the ground by the knights.

Some tried to fight with martial arts, but I suspended them in mid-air using Fiore’s power, leaving them pale-faced and struggling helplessly.

“No, nooo! What is this, what is this?!!!”

…Perhaps they saw corpses moving in unison, grabbing them in grotesque forms.

The bandit made an expression of absolute terror, as if about to develop trauma, before finally fainting.

Hmm.

Was that too much?

No.

Our situation wasn’t comfortable enough to be understanding toward rogues who invaded Rondan illegally for their own selfish gain.

Finally, the knights surrounded just one Huntsman follower.

“Ugh, urgh! Damn it! Why! Why did this happen?!”

As he tried to sneak away, the Knight Commander grabbed him by the collar.

With a slightly chilling expression.

“Haha, you can’t just leave.”

“Hii, hiik.”

“Won’t you share some valuable information with us?”

The Huntsman’s follower screamed.

#

The Huntsman’s follower, tied with rope, glared silently at the knights.

He wouldn’t answer any questions they asked.

The Knight Commander sighed, having expected him to reveal at least something after being cornered like this, but was surprised by the unexpected loyalty from someone he thought was purely selfish.

“Won’t you speak up already!”

Even when the Vice Commander placed his large sword against the follower’s neck, he remained defiant, as if daring them to do it.

The Knight Commander felt frustrated.

Does this mean he doesn’t fear death?

Perhaps he simply has no attachment to this operation.

“Not going well?”

Tanthyn approached the Knight Commander.

Though he claimed his memories had returned, the Knight Commander wondered if the madness in those clear eyes would ever truly disappear.

The Knight Commander sighed with such idle thoughts.

“As you can see. I thought they were just desperate to get at each other’s throats, but who knew they’d be this tight-knit.”

“Hmm.”

After listening to the Knight Commander’s complaint, Tanthyn twisted his lips thoughtfully, then smiled brightly as if something had occurred to him.

“May I try?”

“How?”

“I know how to handle Outer Gods, don’t I?”

The moment those words came out, the Knight Commander felt an involuntary sense of dread.

Surely not.

Even without Tanthyn saying more, the Knight Commander knew exactly what this bright-eyed madman intended to do to the follower.

He found it fascinating how Tanthyn could sometimes show such compassionate aspects, while other times displaying cruelty worse than the most heinous criminals.

But he couldn’t stop him.

In the current situation, there was simply no other way to open that firmly closed mouth except for Tanthyn’s proposed method.

The Knight Commander closed his eyes, silently praying for the follower’s soul.

“…Do as you wish.”

“Yes! I’ll borrow him for a moment!”

Saying that, Tanthyn grabbed the follower by the nape and began dragging him somewhere.

“Finally going to kill me, huh? Right, you should have given up earlier. If you thought I’d carelessly open my mouth, you were greatly mistaken.”

The follower flashed a vile smile at the Knight Commander as he was being dragged away, but he became slightly confused when he noticed the Knight Commander’s expression.

Why was he looking at him with such pity and sympathy?

With such thoughts, the follower finally disappeared from the knights’ sight.

“Commander?”

“…Wait. He’ll handle everything.”

The knights questioned why Tanthyn was taking the follower away, but the Knight Commander only said that much.

The knights, not understanding why he spoke with such a powerless voice, would soon comprehend the Knight Commander’s feelings.

“No, nooooo! Aaaaargh! No! Just kill me! Just kill me instead! Hyaaaak! Huh, urk, huh, urk, kuaaaak!”

At the follower’s throat-tearing screams, the knights momentarily fell into a daze.

They were shocked by the cruel sounds that would likely remain intensely imprinted in their minds.

“He’ll handle… everything.”

As the Knight Commander repeated with resignation.

The knights all lowered their heads with solemn expressions, trying to ignore those sounds.

“Heurk, huk, urgh…”

Even those gradually fading sounds were enough to stimulate the knights’ fear, the Knight Commander thought.