Ch.228Reinforcements

Around the time a small disturbance was spreading among the residents of Wellord Mine due to a breakdown in the water facilities, the worst-case scenario that Will’s group had feared was unfolding at a location about 15km southwest of Leatherwork.

“Ah… the wagons… the wagons carrying supplies!”

“Is there anyone who can use healing magic!? Help us over here!”

Adventurers who had departed from the 6th and 7th Western Cities to rescue Wellord Mine had gathered at the midpoint, Leatherwork, completed their reorganization, and were moving toward Wellord Mine under the command of an employee from the Adventurers’ Guild.

In just one short day, as many as 40 adventurers had responded to the emergency quest, and they had also received support from merchants and transporters in each city in the form of four large cargo wagons.

Though their numbers were insignificant compared to the hundreds of Lesser Demons that had emerged from the dungeon overflow, these were all veteran adventurers who possessed firearms and had extensive experience fighting monsters.

If they advanced in a systematic formation and used the advantages of their guns to gain the upper hand from a distance, they had the skills to adequately deal with a horde of Lesser Demons.

The reason these adventurers suddenly found themselves facing annihilation was because they failed to identify the true nature of two adventurers who were being chased by a group of Lesser Demons.

‘KWAAANG!!’

Their true identities were former adventurers who had been caught in the dungeon overflow first and transformed into monsters, and one of them had a bag full of dynamite.

The emergency quest participants, failing to recognize this fact, didn’t hesitate to escort the two fleeing individuals to the rear where the cargo wagons were located, and the consequence was the worst possible outcome—dynamite exploding in the middle of the wagons.

“Monsters! These bastards weren’t adventurers but monsters!”

“Maintain formation! If we scatter, we all die! Gunners focus on the flies, and mages concentrate on treating the wounded!”

The fugitives who had carried out the suicide bombing on the wagons were shot down by the adventurers who belatedly discovered their true identities, but taking them down couldn’t undo the catastrophe that had already occurred.

Out of approximately 40 people, 5 had died, more than 10 were seriously injured, and all four cargo wagons carrying relief supplies were completely destroyed.

‘At this point, we have no choice but to abandon the relief mission to Wellord Mine and retreat to Leatherwork while saving as many people as possible.’

The veteran Adventurers’ Guild employee in charge of the relief team came to this conclusion as he surveyed the scene that had instantly turned into a battlefield.

Although not all supplies had been rendered unusable by the dynamite explosion, how could they continue the relief operation when more than a third of their total force had been killed or wounded?

It was truly a cold but rational judgment… but unfortunately, the battle situation would not so easily permit the adventurers’ retreat.

‘Kee-kee!’

“Aaaaargh!”

‘Bang! Bang! Bang!’

“Stop shooting, you idiot! Are you trying to kill someone?!”

Normally in group combat against monsters, gunmen utilize their firing range to reduce enemy numbers from a distance, while mages deal with enemies that break through the line of fire, large monsters with high durability, or swarms of small fry that push forward with sheer numbers.

But in this battle, the sudden explosion caused the gunmen to miss their chance to gain the upper hand, and the mages were deployed to treat the wounded, leaving them unable to stop the approaching Lesser Demons.

When adventurers and monsters became entangled in chaotic close combat, gunmen could no longer pull their triggers due to the risk of friendly fire.

‘This is bad. At this rate, we’ll be wiped out…’

Though the attack power of a Lesser Demon is negligible, when their numbers exceed hundreds, they become an unstoppable force.

Some experienced adventurers were grabbing Lesser Demons with their bare hands, accepting minor injuries, and then shooting them at zero distance, but with such methods, they would suffer serious injuries before taking down even ten monsters.

With around 40 adventurers facing imminent annihilation in this desperate crisis, what turned the hopeless situation around was a group of beasts that came charging in like lightning.

‘Thwack!’

‘Kyaaaak!!’

With a dull sound, a Lesser Demon’s head split open and vanished into black smoke.

Before the Adventurers’ Guild employee who couldn’t grasp what was happening, a huge silver-gray silhouette leaped in.

The gunman who was having his limbs bitten by three Lesser Demons, the mage who was about to have his magic wand snatched away by Lesser Demons, and the female adventurer who was writhing in pain after losing one eye to a Lesser Demon’s claw attack—

All witnessed silver-gray beasts suddenly rushing in and butchering the Lesser Demons with swords and axes.

“Hey, pioneers! Are you alright?!”

“We’ll handle the demons! Anyone still alive, pull yourselves together and fall back!”

“Y-you are!”

Only upon hearing the familiar human language did the Adventurers’ Guild employee recognize the appearance of those who had saved him.

Silver-gray werewolves wearing human clothes and walking on two legs.

The Silver Wolves of Wolfenbrid—from across Moon Lake—had come running to save the adventurers.

“Huup!”

‘Slash!’

“Uryaaah!”

‘Crack!’

Thirty Silver Wolf warriors covered the fallen adventurers one-on-one while mercilessly tearing apart and cutting down the Lesser Demons engaged in the chaotic battle.

The freed gunmen regained their composure and began demonstrating their honed shooting skills against the flying Lesser Demons, and as the mages’ healing magic took effect, the number of gunmen returning to the front line gradually increased.

Eventually, when the mages who had finished emergency treatment of the wounded joined the offensive, the tide of battle quickly turned in favor of the pioneer-Silver Wolf alliance, and finally, after losing more than three-quarters of their forces, the Lesser Demons scattered and retreated in all directions.

“Waaaaaah!!”

A tremendous cheer echoed across the field where hundreds of magic stones lay scattered.

It was the cheer of pioneers rejoicing at having survived a brush with death, and of Silver Wolves celebrating that their late departure had not been too late.

“Tch. They were nothing special despite their numbers. If they couldn’t fly, we could have killed them all by ourselves.”

“Thank you so much. If you hadn’t come, we would have been completely wiped out.”

“If you feel that way, then next time please inform our village when a major incident… a dungeon overflow occurs. If we hadn’t happened to see the newspaper, we would have missed it entirely.”

A young Silver Wolf who had visited Moon Lake to purchase daily necessities learned about the dungeon overflow through a newspaper sold on the street.

And that newspaper article mentioned that a human adventurer who had splendidly passed the Emperor’s Trial was heading to the monster-infested foothills to save people caught in the dungeon overflow.

Although he didn’t have the build of a wolf, anyone who passed the Emperor’s Trial was a brother to the Silver Wolves, regardless of race.

Upon learning that this person had to protect and feed about 100 civilians from hordes of monsters, the young wolves hurriedly organized a warrior team and decided to follow the pioneers heading to the site.

“There’s no sign of other monsters approaching. Can we continue on from here?”

“I’d like to, but we have wounded… and above all, all four cargo wagons are destroyed, so we’ll have to return to Leatherwork first and somehow procure new wagons.”

“Hmm… that’s troublesome.”

The young Silver Wolf scratched his head as he examined the shattered wagons and supplies scattered in all directions.

According to what he had read in the newspaper, William J. Kim’s party had purchased food in Leatherwork and departed for Wellord Mine about a week ago.

To make matters worse, most of the buildings in Wellord Mine had collapsed due to monster attacks.

No matter how carefully they rationed, they couldn’t feed 100 people for a week with just one passenger wagon’s worth of food, so by now, the mine residents and Will’s companions must be suffering from extreme hunger and dying.

“We have no choice. We’ll carry the immediately needed food ourselves, so please select the items that are still in good condition.”

“H-hey! What are you deciding on your own?”

“Escorting relief supplies is our job!”

As the Silver Wolf and the Adventurers’ Guild employee tried to sort things out, voices of discontent erupted among the surrounding adventurers.

“Those who died can’t be helped, but the remaining members can still fight. If the Silver Wolves are going to carry the supplies, we’ll go with them.”

“Our party will join too. The more people, the better, right?”

“Let’s just send the severely injured back to Leatherwork to handle the aftermath.”

The Silver Wolf youths were secretly impressed by the adventurers’ display of determination, but in truth, their burning enthusiasm wasn’t solely due to professional pride or a sense of responsibility.

The purpose of the emergency quest they were currently undertaking was to escort relief supplies to Wellord Mine.

They were worried that if they handed this over to the Silver Wolves and retreated, it might be considered abandoning the quest, and they might not receive their reward money or recognition for their efforts.

Of course, the Adventurers’ Guild employee was well aware of these adventurers’ nature and had already anticipated their true intentions, but…

“Very well. Since everyone seems to be of the same opinion, let’s quickly take care of the deceased, clean up the area, gather as much intact cargo as possible, and move out.”

“Oh! That’s more like it!”

He chose to resolve the situation smoothly by not pointing out that aspect and instead preserving the adventurers’ pride.