Chapter 157

Blade, the leader of the Red Wolf bandit gang.

He’s an untamable creature.

He’s like a wolf cub, always ready to bite his master.

I know him very well, having been betrayed by him several times.

That’s why he has to die.

The problem is how.

It would be most satisfying to take care of him myself.

But I know from experience that it’s not the best way, even if it’s satisfying.

The best way is to make other people feel like they’ve been given a glass of refreshing soda.

That’s how you move people’s hearts.

Who?

The victims who were directly abused and exploited by Blade.

The residents of the 11th floor.

“Ugh…”

Blade, regaining consciousness from my kick, let out a long, mournful groan.

Then he rolled his eyes, quickly assessing the situation.

He was a man with a strong sense of pride, but he was also a man who could bend for survival.

The problem was that he would bite his master as soon as he got the chance.

“…I’ve lost. I’ve lost completely.”

Blade admitted defeat, then looked around cautiously.

“But?”

“What are you going to do with me?”

“I don’t know.”

“If you spare me, I’ll definitely be helpful.”

“Helpful?”

I deliberately threw out a word, as if I was dangling a carrot.

Blade’s face lit up, as if he thought it was a lifeline.

On the other hand, the faces of the 11th floor residents hardened.

“That’s right. It’s not something to brag about, but I’m strong. As you saw earlier, I can use sword energy. So, I’ll definitely be helpful in this deathly space.”

“Hmm.”

“And I have information. I’ll tell you everything I know. I’m the leader, so I have a lot of information that only I know.”

Blade was trying to use both his strength and his information.

They were conditions that anyone would be tempted by.

If they knew what this place was like.

But…

We, and my current companions, don’t need any of that.

“Well, I’ll say I heard you.”

“Oh, then…”

“But I’m not the one who decides your fate.”

“Then the knight? Can I speak directly to your knights…?”

“No.”

Blam!

I kicked Blade hard again.

“Ugh!”

Blade, bound, rolled on the dirt floor.

The place was…

The very place where the residents of the 11th floor were gathered.

“I’ll leave his fate to you. Do whatever you want, kill him or let him live.”

I said to them in a firm voice.

The residents of the 11th floor were shocked.

They must have been worried that he would be spared, so they never expected him to leave his fate to them.

“Re-Really, you’re leaving him to us?”

One resident asked, looking doubtful.

“Of course. It’s already decided, so don’t doubt it, do whatever you want.”

“Are-Are you serious?”

“I’m serious.”

I confirmed it twice, without hesitation, and then they finally seemed to believe me.

“Wait! How can you leave my fate to these insignificant people?!”

Blade cried out in shock.

He was the one who dug his own grave, but he was calling the people who held his life and death in their hands “insignificant people.”

It meant that he had a deep-seated contempt for them.

He didn’t even treat them as equals, unless they were part of his bandit gang.

Click!

I heard someone clench their teeth.

They didn’t even talk.

They just exchanged glances.

That was enough.

As if they had made a promise, they started picking up stones from the ground.

Large stones, big enough to kill.

Blade, finally realizing that the situation was turning serious, cried out urgently.

“Wait, wait, wait! Stop those guys! Th-This isn’t right! I can be helpful! I can…”

Thwack!

Blade’s cry was cut short.

He had been hit in the head with a flying stone.

Blood flowed freely from his cracked head.

“Ugh! S-Spare…”

Blade desperately begged for his life.

But that was just the beginning.

Thwack! Blam! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

“Kyaaack! St-Stop! St-Stop…Aaaaaaaagh!”

Stones flew like a hailstorm.

Blade, unable to move, could only take the blows.

And finally…

Thump!

He collapsed pathetically, completely drained, like a dried squid.

He was dead.

A miserable end, befitting the ruthless leader of a bandit gang.

* * *

“Thank you sincerely to everyone here. If you hadn’t come, we would have been used as tools until we were useless, and then we would have died miserably.”

A middle-aged man with a withered appearance stepped forward and expressed his gratitude politely.

Then…

“Thank you so much!”

“You’re heroes!”

“You’re our liberators!”

Everyone showered them with words of gratitude, their faces filled with joy and emotion.

My gaze was fixed on a thin, medium-height woman with a puppy-dog face.

She was Ran.

The youngest disciple of Craive, the renowned craftsman.

‘As expected…look at her biceps.’

She was skinny because she hadn’t eaten properly, but her biceps were strong and solid, compressed muscles honed by real combat, you could tell at a glance.

She was a craftsman for a reason.

‘She seems to be feeling better.’

She didn’t express her gratitude out loud, but her face looked very relieved.

She seemed to feel good about helping to finish off Blade, who had a deep-seated grudge against them.

It was a good choice to leave him to them.

‘Then let’s get some points while we’re here.’

I opened my mouth.

“Don’t thank us. We just did what we had to do.”

“No, we should thank you, and thank you again.”

“But we have something important to do.”

“Something important?”

“That bandit guy said that there are monsters and undead everywhere here.”

“Yes…That’s definitely true.”

“So, we have to deal with them, don’t we?”

“Deal with them?”

“Exterminate them.”

“Ex-Exterminate them?”

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened in surprise.

The others looked surprised too.

They knew that we had just arrived here.

And it hadn’t even been 30 minutes since we dealt with Blade and his gang.

It would be a shocking, unbelievable move in their eyes, to take on such a big task in an unknown place and then go and exterminate another scary enemy.

“That’s right. Exterminate them.”

“Wait! We’ve seen how powerful you are, but…the enemies here are not to be underestimated. No, they’re terrifying.”

“They’re just monsters and undead, right?”

“It’s different, it’s definitely different. The monsters and undead here are in large groups. Like humans.”

The middle-aged man warned them, his face serious.

But…

My group, including me, looked calm.

We knew that from our experience on the 10th floor.

About the monsters and undead in groups.

“Ah, is that so? But it doesn’t matter. Instead…”

I tilted my head up and continued.

“There must be a map here.”

Actually, I know the terrain well, even without a map.

But you need at least some tools to convince people of your plan.

A map was that tool.

“Ma-Map? Yes, there definitely is one…”

“I need it now, so please bring it to me.”

“Yes, I’ll…”

“It’s here.”

A husky female voice rang out.

Everyone’s gaze turned towards her.

Ran walked towards us.

She took a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and held it out to me.

“You said you needed it.”

“Yes.”

I took the paper and unfolded it.

It was a meticulously drawn map.

You could tell who drew it just by looking at it.

Ran.

I smiled.

“Excellent work.”

“It’s just a little doodle. There are two holes, after all.”

“Two holes?”

“Places you can’t access.”

“I see. Then that means those are the places we need to go.”

Ran just stared at me, instead of answering.

I could interpret her gaze.

It was the gaze of someone who had met someone worth looking forward to, after a long time.

It was also the gaze that explained why she had voluntarily given me the map.

Then I have to live up to her expectations.

I turned around dramatically and said.

“One hour per place. We’ll be back in two hours.”

* * *

“Sh-Should I have stopped them?”

The middle-aged man was fidgeting.

He had been treated like a dog by Blade for years.

The old and sick, useless people had already been “discarded.”

That’s why the middle-aged man, who was only in his 40s, was the oldest.

He was sure that he would meet the same fate as the old people who had gone before him.

But…

The liberators had finally appeared, miraculously.

But they didn’t stop, they relentlessly advanced into dangerous territory.

If the liberators died in this situation, it would be the end of this place.

It was understandable why the middle-aged man was fidgeting.

“It’s okay. They wouldn’t have listened to you anyway.”

Ran said cynically.

“Wh-What do you mean by that?”

The middle-aged man protested.

“They’re on a different level. We can’t fight alongside them at our current level. Their equipment is miles ahead of ours.”

“…”

“Besides, there’s one minute left.”

Ran glanced at her watch and said.

“You, you still…?”

The middle-aged man looked at her incredulously, but Ran didn’t respond.

“40 seconds.”

The others had the same expression as the middle-aged man.

They were looking at a person who was seriously believing in something impossible, a person who was completely out of touch with reality.

“30 seconds.”

Time kept ticking.

“10 seconds.”

On and on.

“5 seconds.”

Ran had counted down to exactly 5 seconds.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap!

they heard someone approaching quickly.

Everyone’s surprised gaze instinctively turned towards the sound.

And…

“I don’t think I’m late.”

Max appeared, his whole body covered in strange-colored blood.

“Gasp…Y-You?!”

“Wh-What happened?”

“Th-The extermination?”

The residents asked urgently.

Max didn’t answer, he just turned his head back.

Behind him…

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Gwen’s group, their bodies also covered in strange blood, walked confidently towards us.

Their numbers…

Didn’t seem to have decreased at all.

“Is-Is that it?!”

“Re-Really, you exterminated them in a day?!”

“N-No, no, no, that’s just…”

The residents were shocked and confused.

Gwen’s group gave them the perfect answer.

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!

Something flew through the air.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Three enormous snake heads landed on the ground.

The heads of Hydra, the boss monster of the 11th floor.

“Gaaaah?!”

“Th-This is…H-H-Hydra?!”

The residents were horrified by the severed heads of the terrifying creature, which looked as if they were still alive.

Then they realized.

“Y-You really killed them?!”

“Y-You exterminated them so quickly?!”

“Th-That’s impossible…”

But that wasn’t the end.

Max threw something he was holding onto the ground.

“And this is the Lich King’s heart.”

A pulsating, dull gray heart.

“It’s useless now.”

Thump!

Crack!

Max stomped on the heart and shattered it.

At that moment…

-Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

A soul-shattering, chilling, ominous scream echoed, as if tearing through everyone’s eardrums.

“Hi-Hiiiiick?!”

“Gaaaah!”

“Uhhh!”

The residents all collapsed, screaming in terror.

Only one person…

Ran’s eyes were shining brightly.

Max looked directly into Ran’s eyes and declared.

“The extermination is over. A complete victory for us.”