Chapter 221

Things often don’t go the way you plan in life. This was clearly one of those moments. I’ve said it before, but bad things follow the good.

But how long did it take for one thing to follow the other?

Immediately? The next day? Week? Month? Year?

Perhaps at least one more good thing would happen first?

None of this was worth thinking about.

There simply was no time. But it was hard not to think about it…

After all, the mountaintop had cratered with just one blast.

“Ughh…”

“This is no time to be amazed!”

Daniela had now moved away from me and created a sort of ‘wind board’ under her feet. It was basically her version of Legs of the Forest Wolf. She had been working on it for a while, and this was its final form. This magic that she had developed allowed her to move freely in the air. She claimed it was because she saw me using my skill, but it was all her own ability that allowed it to happen. It was incredible.

But enough about that. We had been in the middle of launching an attack on the wind dragon, when it had blasted us with its wind breath. And so we had no choice but to make a run for it. That’s life!

And so the top layer of the mountain was gone. As was our tent. We were currently running for our lives. When I looked over my shoulder, I could see that the wind dragon had made a turn and was trying to follow us. We were its target for sure.

Daniela said she would fly with her own magic, but as things were dire, I grabbed her hand and pulled her closer before picking her up and increasing my speed. I didn’t know if Presence Block only worked on me or also included people in my vicinity, but I activated it just in case.

And with that, I shot down into the jungle in order to hide.

□ □ □ □

We were now in the jungle, which meant we shouldn’t be visible from above. However, that wouldn’t do us much good if the forest was carved away just like on the west side of the mountain. And so I continued to run without slowing down.

“Blast Wall!”

Daniela said with a raise of her hand. A light green barrier appeared in front of us.

“It will not protect against dragon breath, but it should be useful, as it destroys and protects at the same time.”

The barrier was made of countless wind blades. It shredded everything it touched and blew them away. It was defense wind magic that Daniela had devised. Very impressive…

Thanks to it, I could run without worrying about branches and vines slicing up my face. I still had to avoid trees, but it was very helpful.

“But we cannot keep running like this.”

“Hmm…what to do…”

I needed to turn things around. A way to go on the offensive all at once.

“GIII!!”

“Hmm?”

The barrier had crashed into something. When I turned my head, I saw a red ape flying through the air. It wasn’t blood. …Hm? A red ape?”

“A blood ape.”

“Right. They really are everywhere…”

Though it was the first time we were the ones to attack first. It was quite the shocker.

“Hmm…blood apes…hmm… Ah, maybe…”

I might have an idea.

“Wind dragon. Blood ape…and bandits. Daniela, I got an idea.”

“Tell me.”

And so I told Daniela of my strategy and waited for her judgment.

“…So, what do you think?”

“You do think of the nastiest things…”

“I thought it was a really great idea.”

“Well… I suppose you might say it is two birds with one stone.”

“No…you wouldn’t say that.”

But in any case, it seemed like a good way of launching an attack on the wind dragon. We both smiled.

□ □ □ □

All thoughts of the men who hadn’t returned were gone. We lost ourselves in drink. Drink was good. You could forget everything when you drank.

It was easy enough when we worked for Eve. You just listened to what she said and you were given money and a position. We were able to take the women of the villages she attacked. She brainwashed merchants and we got our hands on illegal drugs. Every day was a party.

Yes. It had been that way.

Until that day. The dark-haired man and the blonde woman. They destroyed it all.

“Mmm…gg…ahhhh…”

The wine was cheap, but it got the job done. My body felt the effects of intoxication, but I could still think clearly… It was as if something deep inside me was warning me to keep my wits about me. But I couldn’t say why. I had only ever taken orders. There was no way we could form our own band. We were just prolonging the inevitable now.

And for some reason, the others followed me.

“…”

I looked at their stupid faces. I could hardly believe that they had come here. All thirty of them. There were certainly enough of us to form a band of thieves.

Ah, if I had the will and was willing to wager my own life, perhaps I could do something to restart this life that’s stopped completely…

But what could I do?

“Boss. You’re drinking too much.”

“…Ah.”

“What should we do tomorrow? Should we attack some village?”

“Indeed… We might… There are enough of us…”

“We’ll surely succeed! We’re with you, boss!”

The idiots who were the first to follow me shouted. The others agreed as they raised their cups.

I had no idea why they did this. But it made me feel warm inside. And I was sure that it wasn’t because of the drink.

I had no choice then…

“Alright. We’ll attack the village on the other side of the mountain tomorrow!”

“Yes!”

“I can’t wait to kill again.”

“Keep the women alive!”

“We’ll eat their cattle!”

“Perhaps we should sleep now so we can get up early?”

It was decided. We would all live as bandits. They were all ruffians, but I thought I could trust them… Really, I had no choice.

I drained the rest of my cup and walked over to my tent.

That’s when I heard a voice that made me stop in my tracks.

“Hey, that…”

“Something is running towards us!”

What? The military?

No, he wasn’t looking at the base of the mountain. He was looking south, along the surface. There was a full moon out tonight, which offered plenty of light. But all I could see was dust clouds rising into the air.

“I-I don’t know…what is that!?”

“Ju-just take out your swords!”

“And bring the spears!”

Things became frantic in an instant. The others ran and grabbed their weapons. Our base was a temporary one, and there were no barricades. What was there, were a few boulders and rough tents.

“Get out of my way.”

“Boss!”

I picked up a telescope I had stolen when fleeing the city and looked into it. I was desperate to know what it was that was causing the dust clouds.

The thing beyond the lens was…

“Th-that…!”

I saw the man and woman who had wrecked our lives. And they were now rushing towards us with a hoard of monsters trailing them.

“What…how!?”

Our eyes seemed to meet. How good was his eyesight…! He was even waving at us. Was it mockery!?

“No. That doesn’t matter!”

I shook my head and dismissed such thoughts.

“We have to run! A hoard of monsters is heading towards us!!”

“Wh-what!”

“Damn it. We’ve already run so far…!”

“Boss! Can’t you kill them!?”

While they appeared to be on the verge of tears, most of them were still gripping their weapons tightly. I shook my head.

“Not with those numbers. Pack our things and…huh?”

I turned to give the order to the man who was standing next to me. I could hardly believe my eyes.

The dark-haired man flew in as if sliding on air. The next thing I knew, both of my comrade’s legs had been severed.

“Huh? Uh…my legs… AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

He noticed a second after the fact and crumbled to the ground in screams of agony. The others hardly understood what had happened as they stared at him in shock.

But I had seen it happen. That Adventurer who had destroyed the bandits’ hold on Nicora.

The wet sound of blood splattering on the ground caused us all to turn our heads. He was standing there. Looking at us.

“Sorry. But I’m gonna need you all to be bait.”

The Adventurer. Asagi Kamiyashiro. And with that, our deaths were announced.