Volume 3 Chapter 127 Falling Out Among Friends
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Let’s organize the situation.
Serena and Lady Colinna are captured alive by Linca and the others.
Ninini and Rean’s status is unknown. Ninini is likely still alive unless she was killed in the temple hall. As for Rean, he was thrown off the temple roof onto the mountainside. His armor might have survived, but his body is probably badly injured or even crushed. Even if he somehow survived, he could have been attacked by Lower-rank Bloodsucking Kind drawn to his blood.
The fate of the two Wolfmen warriors and Sarah, who were with Barghest, is also unclear. However, Barghest, being the creator of biological weapons, may have been exiled to Azrael, so he’s likely safe. This matches what Yelmar’s client mentioned.
The enemies include Linca, Shura, and over 20 warrior monks.
Jibril might have hidden extra forces as backup.
Linca’s combat abilities need no explanation.
Kian can’t match her, and if she goes all out, she’d likely defeat him in seconds.
She’s the strongest enemy.
Only Sarah might stand a chance against her.
The general warrior monks, including Shura, have varying strengths.
Shura is likely very strong, far superior to Kian.
However, some monks are weaker, and Kian could defeat them using the Windsong Blade.
Their skills are similar to Nia and Val from the Nakash family, whom he fought before.
Their forces consist of only Kian himself and Sarah.
Their equipment includes full warrior monk gear, the Windsong Blade, a scimitar, and dark throwing weapons. We didn’t have time to gather explosives or poisons.
By the time they finish preparing, Linca and the others will likely have boarded a dragonfly-shaped vehicle and headed toward Dacia.
* * *
”According to the client, Linca might infiltrate the ‘Storm Herd’ encampment to recover research materials. However, the teleportation magic formation is destroyed, so she can’t teleport directly there from her current location.”
Sarah, now naked after removing her bloodstained gear, mutters to herself while pacing in front of the map drawn by the golem.
Behind her, Kian, soaking in the bath prepared by Sarah, speaks up.
”Unless it’s Linca, infiltrating the ‘Storm Herd’ encampment and recovering the materials would be impossible.”
”It’s not impossible. We’ve already rescued Mr. Rean, who’s heavier than the research materials before, and during that, we defeated the ‘High Warlord’ and many elites. Barghest’s commander isn’t present either. With proper preparation, a skilled veteran could outmaneuver the current ‘Storm Herd.’”
”Well, do you think someone like you or Natra could manage…?”
”Natra isn’t suited for stealth. If it were the dead Almeisa, her chances of success would be higher than mine. Maybe the first failure was when you killed her.”
”How many high-ranking warrior monks like you and Linca does Jibril have under his command?”
”How many… Lord Jibril can command all warrior monks of Azrael. He can even gather the best from each generation. With my father and Lord Nizaam gone, no one opposes him.”
”And what about the Vahid family? How many do they have?”
”Many. When they were children, there must have been many people surrounding Lord Jibril, right?”
”There were.”
”Most of them have become high-ranking or the highest-ranking warrior monks, guided by Lord Jibril.”
Sarah scoops water from the big tub and pours it over her head.
Her body looks nice, but it’s not the time to think about that.
She’s talking seriously, so he needs to pay attention.
”There’s no reason not to leave high-ranking warriors or operatives like Linca as backup. If Linca fails, it would be irreparable. By now, another unit, separate from Linca’s, is likely heading toward the ‘Storm Herd.’”
”As expected, this is tough, huh?”
”It is too tough.”
Sarah puts her hand on her hip as she walks over to Kian’s bath.
She’s not fully covered, and he notices a bit of natural hair down there.
Even though it catches his eye, Kian keeps a straight face, staying focused on the moment.
”I suggest retreat.”
”What about Serena?”
Kian also believes retreat is the only option, but Serena’s presence holds him back. She’s not a temporary partner like Ninini or Rean; she’s an important party member. He doesn’t want to abandon her easily.
”I believe Ms. Serena was prepared for situations like this when she joined the quest.”
”That’s your opinion, right? I chose her for this mission, explaining that exploration and negotiations with the Wolfmen would be the focus. But most of what we’ve done is rough work. From Serena’s perspective, the job she imagined is completely different, and she’s been forced into tasks that don’t suit her abilities, only to be discarded.”
”Are you going to help her because you feel sorry for her?”
”I’m not saying I’ll help her, but can’t we take measures to ensure her safety? Simply abandoning her would be too cruel.”
Kian’s words make Sarah shake her head immediately.
”She won’t be killed.”
”Even if she won’t be killed, what do you think will happen to her?”
When Kian asks, Sarah hesitates, her gaze wandering.
Admitting she’s pushing to abandon Serena would mean acknowledging her cruelty. But she speaks honestly.
”Being sold as a slave to a rich merchant would probably be the best future. After that, as a combat slave, she’d be forced to bear children until her body can’t anymore. The worst would be being killed on the spot to cut costs.”
”I guess there’s a possibility of being killed.”
”That’s right. I lied. But being killed would actually be better for Ms. Serena. The worst thing would be being taken to Lord Jibril’s harem and used for shady experiments. I’d rather die than face that.”
”His harem and shady experiments?”
”That’s just the rumor. Looking at Christophora and others, there’s that saying──’where there’s smoke, there’s fire.’”
”Wouldn’t it be nice if they could leave Serena and just take Barghest and the research materials? Maybe there could be a kind future where they don’t touch anything else.”
”Then, if it’s you, wWhat would you do?”
”I will use the airlift ability of the dragonfly-like vehicle.”
”The dragonfly is a massive insect monster, 10 to 20 meters long. It can fly at high altitudes and has many segments in its abdomen. Inside those segments, there’s a reasonably wide space to carry people and cargo. A 10-meter dragonfly can carry around 400 to 500 kilograms.”
”If there were enough dragonflies, I’d take Serena and collect ‘Silver Ice,’ ‘Nightshade,’ and everything else before leaving.”
”That would be the answer.”
”Right.”
Recently, Linca and the others captured Serena when she arrived in the village and took samples of her body hair and blood.
They didn’t move her to the hideout because Kian and the others had a suppression mission ahead. If Barghest hadn’t messed up, it’s unclear how long she would have stayed at the hideout. Maintaining her health at a minimum level was likely costly.
However, once it was time to return, there was no need to think about maintenance costs, only the profits from Serena.
”Hey, Kian.”
Sarah straddles the edge of the bath where Kian is soaking.
Sarah’s thighs have soft curves, and when she moves, they create a natural shadow where they press together.
Her legs look strong and healthy.
When she bends her knees, the shadows deepen, and if she were wearing a short skirt, there’d be a small gap, forming a triangle shape.
Just then, the triangle area on her lower belly, with a hint of dark hair, catches Kian’s attention. But he quickly looks away, trying to stay focused.
”I’m going to say something terrible now. ──I don’t care about anything else as long as you’re safe.”
”Hey.”
”I don’t care what happens to Mrs. Colinna or Mr. Rean. Glen Silverwooloo’s situation is completely self-inflicted. Let them self-destruct, I don’t care.”
”Eh, eh…”
”It’s unfortunate about Ms. Ninini and Ms. Serena, but they knew it was a dangerous mission when they joined. The responsibility is theirs. You, as the party leader, don’t have to take on their burden. Are you their guardian? No, right? In the extreme, they’re complete strangers.”
”This isn’t about responsibility. Companions help and support each other.”
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply