Chapter 21: Must I Spare the Enemy? (3)
A short while later, my companions who had passed through the gate began to arrive in the forest.
Their expressions were all as if they had just faced a terrible nightmare.
“Ugh, that’s a feeling I never want to experience again.”
“Where… is this?”
Looking around, there were only identical trees everywhere.
There was no information to get our bearings.
“This is unexpected, isn't it? I thought monsters would be crawling all over the place as soon as we came out.”
Everyone agreed with Bow’s words.
They had exited the gate on high alert, but there was no sign of any Hellmorphs.
‘What is this, there’s no way they aren’t here.’
Artier, on the other hand, was looking around for something.
“Collie, do you smell any kind of stench around here?”
“A stench, you say?”
At those words, Collie lifted his nose to the sky and took a deep breath.
“Gack! What is this smell!”
And immediately, he grimaced and coughed repeatedly.
“Do you know which direction it’s coming from?”
“Cough… It’s leading up the hill….”
At Collie’s words, Artier immediately began to head up through the forest.
Before long, he too could smell the horrible stench himself.
“Ugh.”
It smelled like food waste that had been left out for three years.
It was a terrible smell that made one gag and hold their nose without realizing it.
“Artier, what are you looking for?”
“Look at this.”
As Gerard approached, holding his nose, Artier pointed to a strange membrane covering the ground.
At a glance, it looked like a white carpet, but upon closer inspection, it looked like a fleshy substance covered in fine hair.
[Name: Hellflower Membrane]
An ecological formation material installed by the unknown invaders to change the planet’s environment. It seems to provide a beneficial effect to Hell Soldiers within a 15m radius.
(Intelligence 15 or higher required for additional information)
“It’s not a very good thing.”
“Do you know what this is?”
“I’ve seen it before.”
When Artier relayed what he had confirmed, everyone grimaced and stepped back from the membrane.
“Does this being here mean there are monsters nearby?”
“Doesn’t seem like a good sign, does it? Can’t we just run away?”
“That’s true, but we were lucky.”
Puk!
Artier stabbed the membrane with his sword.
The membrane convulsed as if it were alive, then fell still.
“This thing looks like a simple flesh-lump on the outside, but it has an organ that detects enemies. It means we’ve already been detected. But the fact that nothing has appeared means there are no monsters nearby.”
Moreover, the presence of something like this meant that the vicinity was Hellmorph territory.
Considering the path the Hellmorphs had taken, they could tell they were north of Dorman.
“Come to think of it, this area has been strangely sloped. It must be the mountain to the north.”
“If we just head south, we’ll end up behind those monsters, so I guess we’ll have to take a detour.”
It was when the party was trying to figure out a way back to Dorman.
Is anyone there! Please help!
A strange voice pierced the ears of the entire party.
“Are the communications restored?”
The moment Gerard raised his finger to reply, the stranger delivered shocking news in an urgent voice.
The front line has been breached! Monsters are entering the city! All mercenaries who hear this communication, please help quickly!
“What are you talking about! The front line has been breached!”
Gerard shouted hastily, but the communication was no longer heard.
After trying to communicate repeatedly, Gerard could only lower his hand in frustration.
“Damn it! Did the Magica Mercenary Corps finally do something?”
There were no more Intermediate Hellmorphs left in the enemy camp.
They should have been able to handle it with the existing forces, but if the situation was as they heard on the communication, someone must have been up to no good.
“Let’s go back as quickly as possible.”
“I’m not so sure, sir.”
Collie shook his head.
At that, Gerard’s expression hardened to a degree I had never seen before.
“What do you mean by that right now?”
“Think about it carefully, sir. The moment we go back, a battle will begin. Then the barbarian lady will insist on fighting again.”
“……”
Jeina had not given up on fighting.
It was just that there were no enemies in front of her, so there was no reason to step up.
She said she was fine, but to Artier and the rest of the party, it was nothing short of bravado.
“Are you saying you won’t go back because of me? Hah!”
“Can you promise? Can you declare that you’ll just stand by and watch if a fight breaks out there?”
“……”
“Besides, they said the front line has already been breached, so the chances of victory are very low.”
Dorman was a web of entangled buildings, like a spiderweb.
If the Hellmorphs had entered the city, there were too many places to hide. In all likelihood, a chaotic street battle was underway.
“Didn’t they say the castle fell in two days? The city will be faster.”
“Then what do you want? To just run away?”
Bow asked. At that, Collie nodded as if he had been waiting.
“For us to survive, that’s better. It’s not a city worth protecting while losing our comrades, is it?”
“That’s not wrong. No, that’s exactly right.”
“Bow!”
“We’re mercenaries, Gerard. Not knights, right?”
Bow made a money sign with his fingers and said.
“My creed is to work for what I’m paid, but sometimes there are requests you have to give up on, even if it means paying a penalty. I’m sure you know that too.”
“There are two contradictions in what you and Collie are saying.”
“Go on.”
“First, we don’t know the situation in the city properly.”
The mysterious man had just reported that the front line was breached via communication.
Moreover, the fact that he was requesting support meant they were not fleeing.
“Dorman’s teleport gate is in the center of the city. If he thought the situation was at its worst right after the front line was breached, the correct communication would have been to order a retreat to the teleport gate, not to request support.”
“Right… And the second?”
“The second is that Jeina will not be going into battle.”
Gerard strode over to Jeina.
Then, he suddenly reached out his right arm and snatched Jeina’s axe.
Jeina stared in disbelief, then shouted.
“What do you think you’re doing!”
“The Jeina I know doesn’t get her weapon taken away this easily.”
It was an injury that would make it hard for a normal person to even stand up.
Jeina, with her sturdy body, was enduring it well, but that didn’t mean she was at a level where she could fight.
“You can’t even look after your weapon properly, so getting in front would just be a hindrance. Is this kind of meaningless stubbornness what you call a warrior?”
“……”
Jeina glared with eyes full of betrayal, but Gerard didn’t flinch.
He leaned on the axe handle and looked at Artier.
“I have stated my opinion. But the decision is yours, as the party leader.”
“If I say we should run, will you follow?”
“Yes. Because those are the rules.”
“……”
Artier looked around at his companions.
Collie tried hard to maintain a calm expression but was visibly fidgeting, while Bow stood with his arms crossed, quietly waiting for Artier’s answer.
‘I can’t lose Jeina.’
But they couldn’t fail this defensive battle either.
If this defense failed too, humanity would be terrified and give up on resisting the Hellmorphs for a while.
It would take a very long dark age to reignite the embers of resistance in their despair-filled hearts.
‘What should I do?’
A comrade’s life and the future were on the scales.
And as always, the scales began to calculate which was heavier.
Mechanically, as it always had.
‘Wouldn’t it be more helpful for solving future problems to abandon the city, keep Jeina alive, and raise her?’
Subconsciously thinking that, Artier was startled and froze on the spot.
‘What am I thinking right now?’
The people in front of me were no longer NPCs made of 0s and 1s. And it was the same for the people in the city.
They too were living beings, entities who wanted to escape from death.
Did I have the confidence to simply choose based on efficiency and not regret it?
‘Can I really feel not a single shred of guilt? Even though this isn’t a game?’
Click.
While I was deliberating, the scales began to tip somewhere.
When the scales finally stopped completely, Artier let out a hollow smile.
‘Right, in the end, this is also a choice.’
Until now, Artier had not followed the given choices.
And this time would be the same.
‘Tactical Command.’
[Calculating the win rate of the corresponding tactic.]
[Win Rate: 1.5%]
[Cannot activate Tactical Command skill.]
Numerous information windows floated up around Artier and then began to disappear again.
He began to sort through the emerging strategies using the power of the system.
[Calculating the win rate of the corresponding tactic.]
[Win Rate: 2.7%]
[Cannot activate Tactical Command skill.]
[Calculating the win rate of the corresponding tactic.]
[Win Rate: 5.5%]
[Cannot activate Tactical Command skill.]
The win rate slowly began to rise.
The number was initially negligible, but at some point, it soared explosively, and finally, a single information window appeared before Artier’s eyes.
[Calculating the win rate of the corresponding tactic.]
[Win Rate: 87.9%]
[Tactical Command skill can be activated.]
‘This is it.’
The last plan remaining after discarding hundreds.
The only information window that exceeded an 85% probability was shining in a golden light, showing off its presence to Artier.
“This is neither one nor the other.”
“What?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m saying that comparing the life of one comrade to the lives of thousands of strangers is wrong in itself.”
This was like the trolley dilemma.
It was a situation that felt as if one had the right to choose, but neither option could be the ‘right’ choice.
“Gerard, can you promise? That you won’t be shocked if Jeina dies?”
“……”
“Bow and Collie, are you sure you’ll be fine after receiving the resentment of so many people?”
“That’s…”
“We can’t help it. We’re not gods. How can we care about both sides?”
“We can.”
Artier said with a confident expression.
“We can keep Jeina safe and save the people too.”
“What?”
“How?”
“Listen to me.”
Soon, Artier explained the tactic he had come up with to the party.
Gerard, who heard the explanation, was frozen, and Bow was lost in silence.
“To think there was such a method……. It’s a ridiculous story, but it’s not completely outrageous either.”
“Artier, were you a general in a past life or something? How can you think of something like that?”
Collie stared at him blankly, then approached and grabbed his hand.
“Will you be okay?”
“With what?”
“That plan, if it goes wrong, Artier, you’ll be seriously injured. You could even die.”
“It’s okay, Collie. I won’t die.”
Artier reached out and lightly tapped his flat cap.
“I can’t die here.”
“People who say that are usually the first to go.”
“I’ve always liked breaking jinxes.”
“……You’re a foolish master.”
Collie smiled faintly while rubbing his eyes.
“You’re doing the same thing as my previous master.”
“Does everyone agree?”
“I’m fine with it.”
“Well… I guess there’s no choice.”
“I like it!”
Once the preparations were done, Artier pointed beyond the horizon and said.
“Then let’s go back. To the endangered city of Dorman!”