Volume 3 Chapter 3 Decisive Battle!
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
After emerging from the dense forest, we found ourselves in a grassy plain, and by the time we managed to join up with the advanced party’s carriage, led by Lana and Akebus, the sun had already set.
It seems that the Black Dogs have given up on pursuing us, and the scout team including Manon and Beatrice have also disappeared from sight.
”Looks like we’re safe, Akebus.”
”My lord, thank you for your excellent rear guard action. We’re about 30 percent of the way to Abyss Vena, so the Black Dogs shouldn’t get any closer.”
”Don’t let your guard down. But for now, let’s take a short break. The horses seem to be at their limit.”
The hunting carriage’s horses, as well as the Villager’s draft horses, were sweating profusely and breathing heavily after running non-stop until now.
Thinking that if we continued like this, they would collapse on the way, I really wanted to rush to Abyss Vena, but we decided to take a break.
We stopped the carriage by the side of the town road and decided to let the Villagers take a break as well.
Somehow, having made it this far without any casualties, I felt relieved.
At the same time, while I had claimed to take Akebus and the others as my servants on a whim, I was curious about why they had been exiled as criminals.
Akebus is a competent man who, as the leader of his family, united the Villagers and created that village from nothing, so I couldn’t believe that such a person could be a criminal sentenced to exile──a punishment worse than death.
Milly seems to know the situation, so I’ll call her and ask her.
”Kent, I think we can manage. All that’s left now is for my uncle to lift the banishment.”
”Milly, I said I’d hire Akebus and the others on impulse, but why did Akebus’s family get exiled? Did they do something amazing?”
Milly looked at me with a surprised look on her face.
”Kent. Didn’t you know about Akebus and the others and make them your subordinates? I thought for sure you had heard about them from someone… otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to make that decision”
”No, that was just the spur of the moment, or whatever you want to call it. But I’m serious about taking Akebus under my wing.”
Milly had a look of realization on her face.
”I see, Kent was a ‘Lost One,’ huh? I had forgotten. So, you don’t know about the events from ten years ago. Akebus and his people served the previous Margrave dwarf as archers. Technically, the Margrave isn’t hereditary, so he has no relation to my uncle. When that Margrave got caught up in a family feud, the arrow that killed the Margrave’s eldest son was a special one that only Akebus’s family would use. Because of that, they were accused of assassination, and the entire family was exiled.”
According to Milly’s explanation, I learned that Akebus was exiled as an assassin for killing his superior’s son.
”He doesn’t seem like that kind of person to me…?”
”Kent’s judgment is correct. Akebus and his family are a proud group that only uses bows to fight monsters. There would be no reason for such a family to get involved in assassination. They weren’t in financial trouble, either. Besides, on the day of the assassination, they were holding a banquet for the marriage of the Village Head Akebus’s daughter, and I heard that my uncle, who was still a soldier at the time, was drinking with them during the crime.”
”Then why did they remain silent and accept their punishment? Doesn’t that seem strange?”
As Milly and I were talking, Akebus himself interrupted us.
”My lord… about that matter… we were just too much of warriors. That incident was a conspiracy planned by the Margrave’s second son to kill the first son and eliminate me, who had the Margrave’s trust. At first, the dwarf Margrave listened to me and believed me, but when the daughter of the man who served as the second son’s bodyguard began to whisper in the bedroom that we were the culprits, the situation changed drastically, and before we knew it, the entire family was facing exile.”
Akebus’s side of the story is that, during a private moment, his rival’s daughter whispered baseless slander into their superior’s ear, causing the superior to get angry and exiled Akebus and others.
Even if he wanted to argue, their superior had become a puppet of the woman and wouldn’t listen.
As a result, it seems they were framed as the assassins responsible for the death of the legitimate heir and were exiled from Abyss Vena.
”Well, since all the people involved at that time have been purged by the current His Majesty the Demon Lord and are no longer around, the only one who can prove what I’m saying is Lord Arbalest.”
”My uncle sent special envoy after special envoy to the Village Head Akebus after he was appointed Margrave, but the head stubbornly refused the amnesty and clung to that village.”
I see… If that’s the case, maybe I did something wrong… But if they’d stayed in the village, everyone would have died.
When I looked conflicted, Akebus cheerfully started talking to me.
”It might seem strange to Lady Miriallia that I, who was so stubbornly attached to the village, ended up leaving it. There was the issue with Reinhardt, but more than that, what made me decide was when the lord said he wanted 3 unmarried daughters from my family to serve him. Since our family has a rule that daughters can only take husbands from our own family, hearing that the lord wanted 3 daughters around him and would treat them as concubines made me think, ‘He wants to bind us by blood and will listen to us properly.’ So, I agreed to serve under the lord.”
I didn’t know the rules of Akebus’s family, and I only made the request thinking that if I had a daughter serving him, Arbalest would relent.
I didn’t intend it that way, but if Akebus is satisfied with that, then that’s fine by me.
In fact, after arriving safely in Abyss Vena, I had to take care of their daily lives and find a place to live, so I had a lot of things to do, but since I found out that Akebus and the others were not violent criminals, I decided to do my best for them.
”Akebus. If you work under me, you’ll be worked hard, but I count on you.”
I was asking Akebus for a handshake.
”My Lord… the pleasure is mine. I dedicate my bow and arrows to you.”
Saying that, he shook my hand back.
”Originally, we have special pardons, so now we just need everyone to arrive safely at Abyss Vena.”
Whooshh!
A signal arrow sound was sent from Manon, who had been on scout duty.
It seems that the Black Dogs aren’t planning to give up.
”Akebus! We’ll meet them head-on! I’m borrowing Godard’s men. Also, let’s send the carriage ahead.”
”Haha! Understood!”
Akebus swiftly started giving instructions to the villagers.
I called out to Lana.
”Lana! Send the carriage ahead. I’m assigning Ines and Feria, so no matter what happens on the way, don’t stop the carriage until we reach the estate at Abyss Vena! If the guards try to block our entry, show them this dagger and force your way through! I’ll take full responsibility!”
I entrusted the Dream Demon’s Black Dagger, which I received from Milly, to Lana.
”Mr. Kent… understood. I swear by the name of the Dorman family’s eldest daughter, I will protect the villagers’ lives to meet your expectations. Ms. Feria, Ines, let’s go! Villagers, please board the carriage quickly!”
”I’m counting on you, Lana! I’m counting on you, Ines and Feria too!”
And with that, the carriage, which had been prepared, set off, and the two men who had been out scouting returned.
”Sir Kent, the Black Dogs seem to be the main force led by the master monster, the Shade Dog. In addition to the 100 we disabled earlier, it has about 100 more Black Dogs with its-nya”
After hearing Manon’s report, Milly clicked her tongue.
”Shade Dog! A troublesome monster. It uses dark attacks to blind you and make the Black Dogs attack you.”
”If the Shade Dog is leading that many Black Dogs, I think it’s pretty strong.”
Beatrice adds some explanation to Milly’s description of the Shade Dogs.
”Strong, huh…”
But if we can take down the Shade Dog, the remaining Black Dogs will likely flee.
The best chance to avoid casualties is to have Akebus and the others hold back the Black Dogs while we take down the Shade Dog.
”Milly… do you think we can hunt the Shade Dog with our current strength?”
”Huh? Yes. As long as we don’t engage the Black Dogs and focus on the Shade Dog alone. I think we can manage to hunt it down if my assassination skill succeeds.”
”Got it.”
Even S-Class Hunter Milly seems to be in a tough spot, surrounded by relatively strong Black Dogs, making it a rather close battle against the main monster.
However, there’s no time to hesitate; if we don’t counter here, we’ll catch up to the carriage we let escape and fall into the worst situation.
I called Akebus, who was preparing for battle.
”Akebus, I received a report from Manon that among the pursuing Black Dogs, there seems to be a Shade Dog that looks like the leader of the pack. So, while we hunt the leader Shade Dog, I want you to keep the Black Dogs occupied.”
”Haha! But… there’s a risk of misfiring in this darkness.”
Akebus looked troubled.
Then Milly gave me some advice.
”Kent, village head Akebus. I’ll use magic to launch a light. If I launch it, it will be bright enough to see people moving, so the chances of shooting by mistake will be reduced.”
”Yeah, and, since we’re responsible for the center, Akebus just needs to keep the Black Dogs that’s spreading out to the sides in check. That way, there won’t be any friendly fire.”
”Haha! Leave the dogs to me. I won’t let them get close to you, my lord, in the name of archer Godard!”
After hearing the instructions, Akebus relayed the plan to Godard’s men, while I communicated the plan to the remaining members.
”Everyone, we’re hunting with a focus on the Shade Dogs; the Black Dogs to our left and right will be dealt with by Akebus, so let’s take down the leader, the Shade Dog!”
””””Yes!”””
Once preparations were completed, I signaled to Milly.
Then, as night fell, a light sphere shot up, shining like the midday sun over the dark grasslands, illuminating the dogs lurking in the shadows.
The Black Dogs, lit up by the light, howled in unison and began to rush left and right to surround us.
Howoooo… awoooon.
”Akebus! Crush the dogs!”
As I gave the command, the bowstrings were drawn back and released.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The sound of multiple arrows echoed, piercing the bodies of 2 or 3 dogs that had been leading the charge on either side.
The Black Dogs, shot and stopped in their tracks, were soon followed by arrows penetrating their bodies one after another.
”My lord! Each person is equipped with only 30 arrows, so please take care of it as quickly as possible!”
Akebus had imposed a time limit.
However, the members were already tired from the continuous battles, and I thought we would lose if the battle continued for a long time, so I charged at the Shade Dog to put an end to it.
Thanks to the efforts of Akebus and his friends, the approach to the Shade Dog was successful as planned.
And then, we stood before the Shade Dog.
A monster, slightly larger than a Black Dog, wrapped in matte black fur, more like a large carnivore than a dog, gazed upon us with its dark, sunken eyes.
Grrrrrr!!
Then it suddenly started to inhale.
”Oh no! The blinders are coming! Everyone, scatter!”
I couldn’t react to Milly’s sudden command.
Then, the Shade Dog exhaled a breath it had inhaled, releasing it into the area along with a pitch-black mist.
My surroundings became darker than the night, shrouded in darkness to the point where I couldn’t even distinguish what was around me.
”Kent! Are you okay?”
”Yeah, I’m okay. I can hear Milly’s voice, but I can’t even see my own hands. Where did the Shade Dog go?”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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