Chapter 19 - The Counterattack(1)
I waited with my arms crossed until Maletta came back after laying Erin down inside the village.
Fortunately, the men seemed to have some sense, as they didn't charge at me, shouting, ‘You're alone now, so we'll kill you’.
That silence lasted only for a moment before Maletta quickly returned.
“Maletta, can you fight more?”
“Yeah, a pursuit, right? I'm in perfect condition!”
Strictly speaking, both Maletta and I had just woken up, so we were quite tired.
Moreover, we didn't know how long the upcoming chase would take.
So, I asked Maletta first before we began the pursuit, and fortunately, she didn't show any signs of fatigue.
Maletta bent both her arms as if to show off her muscles, as if to boast that she was in perfect condition.
If she had said it was impossible, I would have gone alone, but I was glad that wasn't the case.
I smiled once at Maletta, then looked at the blankly standing bandits and opened my mouth.
“You guys follow too.”
“What?! You said you'd let us live!”
“Why the fuss? Just guide us.”
The men reacted almost as if they were jumping at my words, expressing their refusal.
It would be nice if they fought alongside us, but that wasn't what I was expecting, so I just shrugged my shoulders.
“Even so, i-it's obvious we'll die if we go.”
“Even if you're just guiding us?”
“We'll be killed as soon as we get near.
We'll obviously have to go inside the building, and if that happens….”
The men continued to show reluctance even at just guiding us.
Of course, it wasn't that I didn't understand.
No one would build a base that was easy to attack by setting it up in the middle of an open field.
It meant their worries were justified.
“The leader… I don't know what he was thinking, but he came with his clothes off. If he wears his gear….”
“We just won, didn't we? Is he going to get dramatically stronger?”
“At least twice as strong. If he had his gear, we wouldn't have betrayed him either.”
Besides, putting that aside.
More than anything, the men were worried about their leader even though we had won.
I thought his muscular, brawny body was his own kind of equipment, but to think he would get even stronger than that.
If so, it would certainly be dangerous.
Of course, I could have mentioned that he had returned injured, but I didn't bother talking about his recovery.
Because there was no way a huge group like that wouldn't have a single potion.
“But on our side, we can't just logically leave you guys and start the pursuit.”
But even so, as I said, I couldn't just leave the men behind and go.
Isn't that right?
“If the problem is that you don't know where it is, we can tell you….”
“Putting aside how we can trust that.”
The men showed reluctance again at my unchanging will.
One of them took out a piece of paper from somewhere and showed it to us, but information without a guarantor couldn't be trusted at face value, and besides.
“How do we know what harm you'll do to the village when we're gone?”
“That's…!”
These guys were vile bandits.
They were bandits who came to get revenge on people they didn't even know, following their leader.
They were thugs who usually lived by preying on innocent villages.
Once Maletta and I left, the village would be completely defenseless.
You can't leave the fish store to the cat, can you?
“Strictly speaking, you were defeated by us.
Some of you even had your arms and legs cut off.”
“……”
“What guarantee is there that you won't take revenge as soon as we leave?”
Furthermore, as I mentioned, we couldn't just end it on a ‘we cooperated, so let's end it well’ note.
Calmly speaking, what we did was closer to ‘blackmail’ than a ‘deal’.
And as a means to achieve that blackmail, we used ‘violence’.
About 10 of these guys have their arms and legs half-severed.
There isn't a single one who wasn't injured.
Given that I presented the terms in such a situation, even if it ultimately benefited them, no one would be grateful for it.
I could tell from the way they couldn't refute my words and hesitated.
Seeing them all whistling innocently or hanging their heads.
I thought maybe I should just deal with them all here, even if my conscience pricked me a little.
Fortunately for them, one person stepped forward and looked me straight in the eye.
“Let's make a deal, like before.”
“A deal?”
“Let us go.”
The person who had stepped forward to negotiate with me before now stood in front again and spoke boldly.
What he requested was a deal.
It was also true that I was intrigued, wondering what kind of deal he would propose.
“In return, we promise not to touch the village either.”
Seeing him pinpoint the very thing I was worried about, I thought he wasn't a complete idiot who would make unreasonable demands in a situation like this.
“And if you break it?”
“We won't interfere no matter how you treat us. It has to be at least this much to be a deal.”
Looking at the deal itself, it was quite a good condition for me.
Because they had put their own lives on the line as collateral, so whether I killed them or let them live, there was no loss on my part.
But of course, trusting that at face value would be the act of a sucker.
As soon as they heard that, the group started whispering about something.
As if they had found a loophole in this deal.
As if they had figured out a way to use me.
Right. Talk all you want.
That will be what trips you up.
“Alright. But let's just pick out one person.
We still need to find the way.”
“…Right.
That can't be helped.”
A good deal came along, and since there was no more time to delay, I wrapped up the conversation and stated my business.
Even if the deal was made, we still needed a guide to show us the way.
“I will go.”
“Good.”
Fortunately, the man who had quickly come forward and requested the deal volunteered.
I didn't know if he was gutsy or had some other ulterior motive, but I was just glad that time wasn't being delayed.
Even if he had an ulterior motive, I liked the courage of stepping forward immediately, considering he was a bandit.
So I simply asked for his name.
“Name?”
“It's Namyr.”
“Your name is Myr?”
“No, it's not that I am Myr, Namyr itself is the name.”
It was a joke I made to tell him not to be too nervous, that we weren't enemies, and he caught on right away and replied.
As expected of a Korean game.
Now that we had introduced ourselves and shared a simple joke, it was really time to depart.
The later it got, the more thorough their preparations would be.
“Alright, Namyr.
You remember the way for sure, right? Lead the way.”
“Of course.”
“You guys head back too if you're not going to guide us.
Quickly.”
After saying that, I had Namyr lead the way.
Then I gestured with my head to the rest of the group, who now seemed to have straightened their backs and shoulders as if to say they would live.
The men who heard my words either nodded their heads vigorously or bowed their waists.
They retreated at a quick pace in the exact opposite direction of the village.
If they have any sense, they won't come back.
If they do come back, that's just their fate.
“Okay, is it settled now? Let's go! Captain!”
Maletta, too, seeing them move away, beckoned me to go.
But before we departed, I placed a hand on Maletta's shoulder and.
“Maletta, your ear for a moment.”
“Hm?”
I whispered something to her.
After hearing all my words, she grinned once and flew up into the air.
After watching her fly up, I followed right behind Namyr.
“Is that person not coming with us?”
“I had something for her to do.”
Namyr asked, curious that Maletta wasn't following.
Since I had no reason to hide it, I told him the truth.
Namyr didn't bother asking any further and started walking ahead.
Right.
This will serve as insurance.
Now then, the real hunt begins.
***
“Damn it, I, keoheok….”
Arges, as soon as he urgently entered the headquarters, poured a red potion into his mouth.
Soon, the blood that had been flowing from his head stopped, and his staggering walk returned to that of a normal person.
But Arges' fierce expression was subtly different from that of someone who had escaped a serious injury.
It was because he regretted going out without his gear to show off.
It was because he thought he wouldn't have been defeated so badly if he had at least worn his outer clothes.
He roughly threw his Morningstar onto the weapon rack and put on his outer clothes.
Arges, who entered the leader's office with heavy, thudding steps.
“You have returned….”
His aide, who was waiting for him, greeted him sharply with a gentle smile, but he stopped his greeting midway upon noticing the seriousness of the situation.
Because Arges' expression was hard to see as that of a victorious person.
The aide's prediction was ominously correct.
Because Arges brought up something he would normally never even mention.
“Contact Rekenhate.”
“Rekenhate, you say!?”
Rekenhate.
The strongest and ruling ‘guild’ in the south, which only the strongest in the southern region could enter.
A group that could only be joined after being recognized for one's military power, intelligence, and leadership.
This group, relying solely on Arges, couldn't become a full member.
But they had received recognition, so Arges' group was able to be affiliated with the guild in the form of a ‘subsidiary’.
The barcode stamped on Arges' collarbone was the mark of Rekenhate.
He had gone out without his shirt on to show off that mark.
Although Arges was proud of being part of that group, ironically, he had never asked for help.
And others did not find that strange either.
Because, befitting the strongest guild, they demanded too much in return for help.
A large sum of money, of course, potions, stimulants, and other rare resources that could be obtained through mining or agriculture.
Most mercenaries, whose main focus was combat, couldn't submit all of that.
But now, for the first time, Arges was requesting help from that very ‘Rekenhate’.
Even knowing that an unreasonable demand would come back.
“Leader, are you really doing this? Are they that strong!?”
“Yes.”
Arges was a Grade 5.
A grade that could not be reached without talent, no matter how much effort one put in.
The aide raised his voice because he knew that.
But Arges, his face flushed with excitement, calmly nodded his head.
Meaning that while his heart was hot, his head was cold, a perfectly rational judgment.
The aide couldn't believe the situation.
Because he could never have predicted that someone who could defeat Arges would appear in Area 84, which could be called a ‘backwater village’ compared to other areas.
“The compensation….”
“Don't think about the aftermath. This is a crisis of survival.”
So the aide gave up on asking further and rushed to the telephone.
Arges, watching his retreating back, let out a very deep sigh and sat down in his chair as if collapsing.
Not only was that the only move he could make right now for ‘victory’.
The aftermath of calling Rekenhate would have to be handled entirely by Arges himself.
Losing was obviously a problem.
But even if he won, he couldn't be at ease.
Since establishing himself as the real power in Area 84, Arges had never been in such an urgent crisis.
And from beginning to end, Arges had never thought he would fall into such a crisis, so the shock was even greater.
The opponents were two women and one man.
One woman was a little kid, and the man had rough and dull movements with no connection to combat.
He had been completely defeated by such a rabble and had fled.
What was more serious was that he couldn't feel at ease even after calling Rekenhate.
Arges thought that by some chance, even Rekenhate could be defeated.
If that happened, they would break down the gates of this base and enter.
If that happened.
“Damn it, what should I do….”
Arges clutched his head.
He couldn't lose everything he had built up until now.
So, since it had come to this, he even thought about running away right now.
He would be tracked down soon, but he thought he could somehow survive with his skills.
At the end of that thought, around the time Arges awkwardly rose from his seat.
Suddenly, in front of him.
A translucent window appeared.
[ Reversal ]
Arges Valtan, you are in danger of dying.
I will give you a chance to overcome this situation.
Will you accept the offer?
As soon as Arges confirmed the contents.
He dazedly raised his hand and touched the translucent window.
That was a story from shortly before Kang Woon and Maletta stormed the base.