Volume 2 Chapter 26 Assault Operation
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Kent’s Perspective
About 20 minutes had passed since Milly’s raid.
This was the longest it had taken so far.
Looking around, it seemed that the guards and Silver Wolves were starting to be pushed back by Gruza’s minions.
In a while, a separate unit that had finished processing the aftermath was scheduled to join, but that unit was probably still in chaos handling the apprehension of the perpetrators and procedures.
As the guards began to be pushed back, more men headed towards the carriage.
”Enemies are coming! Everyone, stay alert!”
Eventually, several men had approached to surround the carriage.
”Hey, don’t come any closer! The arrows are aimed at you!”
A murmur spread among the men who heard my words.
At that moment, Milly and the others burst out from the building.
It seemed they had succeeded in the rescue.
”Hey, the women are escaping! What are the ones inside doing? Don’t let them go, catch them!”
A large man urged the other men on.
The men began to swarm to catch the fleeing Milly and the others.
”Ines, Feria, Annabella, join me and catch up with Milly! Manon, Talia, Lina, handle anyone approaching the carriage.”
Everyone began moving according to my instructions.
I advanced forward to regroup with Milly and the others.
I struck the waist of one of the men trying to encircle us with the shaft of my spear.
”Arghhh! What the hell, you damn brat?!”
The man turned his sword toward me and began closing in.
”You’re in the way. Would you mind stepping aside?”
”Don’t mess with me! Just because you’re a brat doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you!”
The man swung the sword he was holding back over his shoulder and brought it down with all his might.
However, the tip of the sword lacked the power to even come close to Aurelia’s swordsmanship.
Bang!
As I deflected it with my large shield, the man lost his balance and leaned forward.
Seeing that his side was exposed, I swept the shaft of my spear towards it.
Thud!
With a dull thud, the man fell to the ground, clutching his side.
I kicked the sword he had dropped towards the area where the chaos was unfolding.
”Milly, how’s the situation?”
I asked Milly, who I had finally joined up with, about the situation.
”Kent! The assault team has no injuries. The 5 girls we rescued can all walk, so let’s group up and make a break for it!”
”Understood. Ines, Feria, Annabella, guard in front of them! Aurelia to the left! Beatrice to the right! I’ll have the rear with Milly!”
Responses came back from each member.
As fatigue set in and more members moved sluggishly, it truly seemed like continuing this prolonged battle could lead to a worse situation, so we were thorough in our decision to withdraw quickly.
”Now run towards the carriage! Run!”
Under my command, a group of 12 began to run towards the carriage as one.
”Don’t let them escape! Chase them! If they get away, it’s all over!”
A large man barked orders at his underlings, his voice booming like a roar.
”Stop! Stop right there!”
”Everyone, don’t look back! Keep your eyes forward!”
As Milly said this, she began chanting to cast magic while running.
”Gather, magic element (mana)! Become light and shine brilliantly──’Flash’!”
The darkness of the night was momentarily lit up as if it were midday.
Three men chasing us from behind cried out, clutching their eyes, writhing in pain.
”My eyes! I can’t see!”
Having shaken off our pursuers from behind, we began running towards the carriage.
”That was the last of my magic power. If I use any more, I’ll faint.”
”That was close. The carriage is just ahead, and once we reach it, we can handle everything.”
I ran, thanking Milly.
When the women reached the carriage, the men who feared Manon’s sniper and Lina’s magic kept their distance.
”Alright, ladies, get on quickly and calmly! The pursuit is up to the guard team and Silver Wolf, so leave it to them.”
Hearing my instructions, Lana and Talia helped the others board.
In the meantime, we guarded the area around the carriage to keep our eyes on the surroundings.
”Mr. Kent, all boarded.”
Hearing Lana’s report, I gave my orders.
”Aurelia, Milly to the coachman’s seat! Other members, hold on to the carriage! We’re retreating! Hurry! Hurry!”
Milly, seated at the coachman’s platform, began to move the carriage.
Each member grabbed the handles and roof of the carriage, ready to disengage.
”Milly! Good! Go! Go! Go!”
The carriage gradually picked up speed and started to run.
”If you don’t want to get run over, get out of the way! Stand there clueless, and you’ll be trampled!”
The place where allies and enemies were intertwined in the chaotic battle suddenly split into 2.
”Amazing! The crowd has parted!”
”If you don’t want to die, step aside!”
It seemed that there were no fools trying to approach the carriage, which had begun to sprint at a considerable speed, so we were able to retreat.
After that, we continued to run nonstop to the Blackdagger family, which served as the command center, but the members were reaching their limit.
* * *
”We finally made it-nya… I can’t fight anymore-nya…”
”Big sister, share some of your magic with me～ I feel like I’m about to collapse!”
”I’m sorry, but neither Talia nor I have any left…”
”This is the first time I’ve ever exhausted my physical strength and magic to this extent…”
”Ines, your underwear is showing. As a maid of the Blackdagger family, you must prepare yourself.”
”Ms. Annabella, I can’t stand anymore… my legs are shaking…”
”I’m fine with being seen in my panties, so I just want to take a short break!”
”That was quite a tough battle. I need to train more.”
”Kent… please don’t push yourself too hard… but today, Kent looked really cool. I’ve fallen for you even more.”
After completing 5 consecutive assault operations and returning to the mansion, we returned to the reception room, exhausted, each of us taking a rest.
The 30 women we rescued were provided with a separate house, and they were being bathed and treated by a healer team dispatched from the clinic, along with female staff from the Hunter Guild.
Some of them had been in captivity for over a year, it seemed. While they hadn’t suffered severe physical weakness thanks to being fed, a few of the girls were clearly broken in spirit.
The door opened, and Arbalest stepped inside.
We quickly scrambled to get ready.
”Thank you for your hard work. You can stay as you are. The matter is finally settled. According to the report from the guard, we captured 88 of Gruza’s 100 and 3 subordinates, and the 15 that escaped have already been requested to be carded, so they will be caught soon. The total number of injuries is 35, with 23 lightly injured and 12 severely injured. The dead are 3 of Gruza’s subordinates.”
Arbalest was reading out the results of the operation.
”What about the boss, Gruza?”
”We were able to capture him with the cooperation of the Dorman family. It seems he was caught while he was with his mistress. He has already been handed over to us. As expected of the Dorman family’s guard.”
Sighing, I asked Arbalest about Gruza’s treatment.
”So, what do you intend to do about his punishment? The crime of abducting and imprisoning nearly 50 women, assaulting them, and ultimately selling them into slavery alone warrants the death penalty, but I would like to hear Sir Arbalest’s thoughts on the matter.”
”Punishment… death would be fine, but the main culprit, Gruza, will be cursed so he can’t remove the Gender Change Ring, turned into a woman, and will be handed over as a permanent slave to the goblin tribe of Ghost clan. Making him experience what he did himself would be the best atonement. Of course, I don’t want him to die easily, so I will also cast a curse to prevent him from committing suicide. Additionally, participants in the ‘Spear Room’ will be judged based on the severity of their crimes and sentenced to serve as combat slaves, participating in the kingdom’s monster hunts, and if they survive beyond their sentence, they will be released. However, I think they’ll be assigned to the most brutal front lines. They brought this upon themselves.”
The content of the punishment from Arbalest exceeded my expectations.
It seems that even for Arbalest, this incident is a major event that does not warrant any leniency.
In fact, if he goes easy on the punishment, he would be turning half of the town against him, so failure to impose a severe penalty could lead to dissatisfaction directed at Arbalest itself.
”What will be the punishment for Silver Wolf?”
”So, Silver Wolf… it’s an old Hunting Group, but the dismissal of the current Hunting Group leader, Matthew, is certain. Since he sent a Hunting Group member to catch the quarry, I’ll forgive the fine, but I’ll make him pay a lot for the compensation to the victim. Also, I’ll impose a Service quest to have him regularly clean up monsters. It’s the perfect punishment for a musclehead. Additionally, there will be a one-year ban on recruiting new members. Furthermore, Silver Wolf will be instructed to ban female Hunting Group members. If they don’t accept these conditions, I plan to contact the Hunter Guild and have them expelled for violating the unified regulations.”
That’s harsh… Silver Wolf might not be able to maintain its Hunting Group due to a large number of withdrawals.
Moreover, the current number of female hunters in Silver Wolf, including the victims, is nearly 80, and they will no longer be able to remain.
What will happen to their support?
”Sir Arbalest, when instructed to prohibit female membership, there are currently nearly 80 female hunters in Silver Wolf, including the victims; what will happen to their support?”
Hearing my question, Arbalest grinned.
In that moment, I felt a chill run down my back.
”Please pick them up at Kent’s place; after all, we do have a sign indicating that it’s for women only. It’s really a simple matter. There’s no need to make everyone a member of the ‘Crimson Bride’ Hunting Group. You can just create another Hunting Group and make it a subsidiary of ‘Crimson Bride’. If possible, it would help me if that Hunting Group specializes in training new female hunters.”
The cause of the chill was Arbalest’s unreasonable demands.
He wants me to establish a new Hunting Group and pick them up… What am I supposed to do with nearly 80 women…?
The ‘Crimson Bride’ provided everything from salary to food, shelter, and even equipment costs, but there’s no way I can offer such treatment to 80 people, and I found myself in a bind.
”Ah! Uncle, that’s great. I was just thinking about what to do because one of the victims this time was a girl who failed her interview with ‘Crimson Bride’ and ended up in trouble.”
Milly was concerned about the girl who failed our interview and was victimized, so she was very enthusiastic about Arbalest’s proposal.
”However, I intend for the new Hunting Group to focus on self-sufficiency and serve as a training ground for new female hunters. And, if they wish, they can take the promotion exam to ‘Crimson Bride’ as a benefit.”
Milly is moving forward with the acceptance, but it seems there are various problems piling up. What should we do?
However, if we leave it alone, it’s possible that someone like Gruza will appear again.
Should I accept this after all…?
”Understood. I will take it on. I will excuse myself for now as I need to start preparing the new Hunting Group immediately.”
”I see! That helps a lot!”
Arbalest was delighted.
However, I have an all-nighter ahead of me as I work towards the establishment of the new Hunting Group.
I was heading to my room with everyone.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply