Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: Chapter 5. Tree and Iron
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The knight couldn't understand what Judah was saying.
"My opinion doesn't matter?"
The one who knew the information was refusing to speak, so what did it mean that his opinion wasn't important?
The moment the knight harbored that doubt, he felt a light appear before his eyes, one that seemed to draw him in. At the same time, his vision blurred, and his mind went blank. For a brief moment, he forgot both his fear and hatred of the bastard. The surroundings fell silent. It was so serene that he wondered if he had finally died too.
"Go ahead."
Then a voice reached him. If gods existed, it might sound like this—so soft and comforting. He didn't know who the owner of the voice was, but just hearing that single word made him feel like he could trust them.
"Go on. Tell me everything you know. When did the duke start the war? What's the scale of the mobilized forces? How many prongs are they dividing into to advance on the elves' forest? Everything you know."
He didn't question why they were curious about such things. They asked him to speak, so he should, right? The knight obediently answered the questions.
The duke had launched the war three days ago, mobilizing a total of 210,000 troops including adventurers and mercenaries, divided into eleven prongs for the advance. Two combat clans from the Langritsa Magic Tower under the Magic Kingdom of Calypso had officially joined... and so on. He revealed a tremendous amount.
"...Wow."
One of the elves watching from the side let out an exclamation. It was serious news, but they were impressed by Judah's ability itself. The knight had seemed like he wouldn't reveal any information, yet he'd spilled everything as if it were nothing. With no more questions, the knight fell silent for a moment before snapping back to reality, his eyes widening as he opened his mouth.
"......!"
Judah stretched out his left hand to clamp the knight's mouth shut just as he tried to speak, summoning Altemia and plunging it into his heart. Even with the armor on, the mana-infused Altemia slipped through smoothly and pierced the heart. After confirming the knight's brief struggle before going limp with a thud, Judah let out a sigh.
'The schedule's different, but the overall progress is roughly the same.'
That was a relief, at least. Judah looked at the elves standing there dazed and pulled Altemia free. Seeing the blade, which hadn't spilled a single drop of blood despite stabbing the heart, made the elves flinch. They seemed to have grown a bit closer, but the sight of him slaughtering someone moments ago filled them with fear. It was understandable, so he didn't feel slighted.
"Let's go. Unless the elves already know about this, they probably don't, so we should hurry and relay it."
"Ah, yes!"
After that, they moved almost at a run until they reached the forest. The elves, realizing the gravity of the situation, followed quickly without needing to be urged. The one who couldn't keep up was actually Arhil. For a priestess, her stamina and strength stats were high, but only compared to other priests—they weren't exceptional by any means.
"Haa! Haa!"
Seeing Arhil breathing heavily, Judah approached her and offered his back.
"Get on."
"Pardon?"
Arhil, exhaling white puffs of breath and widening her eyes, stared at Judah for a moment before hopping on without refusing. As he steadied her by supporting under her thighs, he felt a soft sensation against his back. Even through his coat, that incredible plushness made Judah's mind go blank for a second. And when her breath brushed his ear and neck, his body shivered for no reason.
"Uh, um—I'm not heavy, right?"
Seeing Judah not starting off, she innocently pressed her body closer and asked. The elves were catching their breath and looking back.
"Yeah, of course. You're not heavy at all."
"Really?"
Instead of answering, Judah nodded once. He'd tried to sound nonchalant, but his voice nearly trembled. Perhaps because of the blessings he'd received since Arhil became Asmodeus's apostle, lust had built up in his body.
'Good thoughts... good thoughts...!'
Hoo—Judah exhaled lightly and followed the elves again. Once they entered the forest, perhaps influenced by the World Tree, the elves moved even faster. Carrying Arhil on his back had been a wise choice.
But the forest was simply too vast.
In the end, even the elves leading the way grew exhausted and had to take a forced rest. They were reluctant to stop when every moment counted, but at Judah's persuasion, they sat down with uneasy expressions. In truth, with snow blanketing everything, there weren't even proper places to sit.
Judah brushed the snow off a rock, spread a cloth over it, and had the elves sit. During the break, he took out food and distributed it to the elves and Arhil—simple sandwiches and milk warmed with the elves' help. When he handed them out, they hesitated briefly before forcing it down.
Judah took a bite of his sandwich, chewed slowly, and spoke to the elf sitting right next to him.
"How much longer until we arrive?"
"We're almost there."
It was about the response he'd expected. The elf who spoke seemed to realize she'd been too curt, looked up at Judah, then bowed her head before lifting it again.
"Sorry, that came out too rude, didn't it?"
"...? No, it's fine."
The elf gave a wry smile. In situations like this, saying "it's fine" wasn't usually taken at face value. People often saw it as mere politeness. Feeling frustrated, the elf let out a long sigh and continued.
"But really, we're almost there. One... three hours...? Something like that, and we'll run into the scouting party soon."
No one would call that "almost." There was still a long way to go, he thought. After thanking her, Judah leaned against a tree trunk. White steam rose warmly from the wooden cup of milk. Taking a sip, a cozy warmth spread down his throat and through his body.
'Hmm.'
Judah narrowed his eyes and gazed quietly at the milk rippling like waves in the wooden cup. Ever since hearing the full information from the hypnotized knight, the elves' expressions hadn't brightened. Returning home was joyful, of course, but having to deliver news of invading humans must be agonizing.
And.
As sorry as he was to say it, this war originally ended in defeat for the elves. Much of the forest burned, and human castles rose like Legos beyond the Decharman Mountains. Countless elves were captured as slaves and sold at high prices across Continents 1 and 2. The only reasons Silran hadn't fully conquered the elves' forest were the World Tree, Sword Saint Via, and the Fragment.
"Judah?"
"Yes?"
"We think we've rested enough. Can we hurry and set off?"
"Ah, sure."
The wooden cup in his hand had cooled in that short time. He downed it in one go, stored the elves' gathered wooden cups in <Bag>, and hoisted Arhil onto his back again.
And finally, they encountered what appeared to be an armed elven scouting party deep in the forest. They were so strikingly beautiful and handsome that they stood out even from afar. But the moment their eyes met, their faces twisted with hostility, and they nocked arrows to their bowstrings and fired without hesitation.
As if to prove elves were expert archers, arrowheads flew toward the elves running ahead. Arhil on his back spotted them, clung tightly to Judah, and screamed. Unlike Arhil, Judah didn't panic at all; he lowered his stance to dodge the attack. Thunk! An arrow embedded itself in a tree trunk behind him.
Hearing the feathers quiver, Judah's eye twitched. That wasn't a warning shot—it was meant to kill.
"Wait! Stop! We can't kill him!"
The elves running ahead saw it and frantically waved their hands to intervene. With twenty elves blocking the path in front of Judah and Arhil, the armed elves watching them stiffened.
"Get out of the way! It's a human! How can you elves protect a human?!"
The one who had drawn his bowstring taut shouted. The hostility in his voice was immense. But those in front of Judah and Arhil didn't back down easily either. It wasn't just fear of Judah;
"That person saved us all from the humans! If not for him, we wouldn't have made it this far! He's human, yes, but he enabled us to return to this forest—to our homeland!"
The other elves chimed in agreement. Yet the elven scouting party's enmity remained. Judah's gaze shifted to . A red dot was approaching rapidly. Noticing the red dot coming from behind the elven scouting party, Judah's eyes turned upward to the trees.
Unlike the Decharman Mountains, the trees in the elves' forest were all massive ancient giants. Naturally, their branches were thicker than an average man's waist. And he spotted someone traversing those trees, nimble as a squirrel.
"Sorry."
"Huh?"
With no time to explain to Arhil, Judah dropped her from his back. Before she could fall flat on her butt with a scream, he spun around, caught her, and tossed her lightly to the side. Then he drew a dagger from his belt and hurled it.
Clang!
The hand is faster than the eye. No sooner had he drawn the dagger from his belt than it shot through the air like an arrow—only to be deflected with a metallic clang.
The enemy elf, now right above his head, had batted it away and was slashing downward with her sword. Seeing this, Judah kicked off the ground and leaped back. He avoided the blade by about a second. Thud—the one who landed was an elf with long platinum hair tied in a ponytail.
"......"
With eyes a deeper blue than Arhil's, she glared sharply at Judah, sheathed the sword she'd swung down, then immediately kicked off the ground and charged.