Chapter 238: Hostage Situation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 238: Hostage Situation
The Half-Giant stared blankly at the falling rain.
As she sat by the window, wiping away the moisture and watching the downpour, the words of the man named Encrid echoed in her mind.
“Tomorrow, too?”
Tomorrow, not today. The future, instead of the present.
Was it truly alright for someone like her to harbor such thoughts? Would it really be fine?
The questions swirled violently within her. As a cultist—a member of the Demon Realm Holy Land Cult—her duty was absolute.
"Hey."
She couldn't let herself be swayed by his words. Even if her heart didn't stir in the slightest, she had to force herself to play along.
The man known as Swallow Blade spoke, leaning casually against her doorframe.
"I never gave a damn about sparring from the very beginning. You didn't either, did you?"
Swallow Blade was quick-witted and possessed a sharp memory. He had met the Half-Giant before; he knew her true identity. That was exactly why he was making this proposal.
Cultists were not a group that worshipped martial prowess for its own sake. If she had come all this way, her purpose was clear.
"Let's kill him. We have to, don't we?"
They had to. The Half-Giant knew this well. Yet, her head wouldn't move easily, and the words refused to leave her throat. But because it was what must be done, she eventually nodded.
‘If you want to survive, endure; if you want to survive, kill.’
The teachings of the cult remained vivid in her mind. Until the moment of her death, she was solely a cultist—a warrior of the Demon Realm Holy Land Cult.
She acted exactly according to those tenets. She agreed to Swallow Blade’s plan.
"I have an idea."
Swallow Blade took a step closer. A foul, rotten stench wafted from his mouth. The words spilling from his lips smelled just as putrid.
That was how it all began.
*
Swallow Blade loitered around the castle gate until he spotted a soldier.
"Hey, friend!"
"Huh?"
The rain poured so heavily that the soldier's oiled cloak was rendered useless. The surroundings were pitch black. It was the kind of day where one's field of vision naturally narrowed to a sliver. Even with torches flickering under the shelter of the eaves, the darkness pressed in.
It was only natural that visibility was poor.
Bell stepped into the light to identify the man who had called out to him. The other man did the same.
It was a familiar face.
What was his name again? Come to think of it, Bell hadn't even asked for his name when he first entered the territory. One thing was certain: he was Encrid’s guest. A guest staying at the inn who wielded a sword and served as a sparring partner.
He was also someone Marcus had ordered the guards to keep a close eye on.
"What is it?" Bell asked.
Swallow Blade offered a smirk. Though the smile was somehow grating, Bell didn't comment on it.
"Do you have a moment?" the bastard with the filthy smile asked.
Bell was currently on patrol duty. There was no way he had time. He wondered what kind of nonsense the man was about to spout.
Just as he was about to reply—
Thud!
His head whipped around at the sudden sound. Behind him, a massive figure had appeared out of the gloom before he even realized it.
The Half-Giant female warrior.
She was another familiar face. Bell had watched Encrid’s sparring matches several times. The moment he recognized the cold, hardened face of the warrior, he opened his mouth to scream "Ambush!" or "Attack!"
But then, he felt the cold bite of a blade pressed against his throat.
It was a speed he couldn't possibly react to.
"Shh."
That was the end of Bell’s consciousness. Something struck the back of his head, and when he finally opened his eyes again, his hands and feet were tightly bound.
He was soaked from head to toe, and he wasn't alone.
"Our Lord in heaven..."
A prayer was being murmured right beside him. It was a middle-aged woman, whispering through a face slick with tears. She was a comrade’s mother, the one who sold seasoned jerky in town.
She wasn't the only one. There were several other familiar faces.
"Vanessa?"
"Damn it, you're finally awake?"
The boisterous innkeeper was there too. Her tone was as rough as ever, but her eyes were trembling. Anxiety was written clearly across her face.
Bell looked around once more. His vision was blurry, but he could still recognize the people. Dozens of residents, including himself, were tied up like cattle.
And then, a voice drifted in from a distance.
"If you resist, I will kill you one by one."
Hearing the voice, Bell finally realized he was in some kind of building. A few familiar details caught his eye: a worn-out leather sunshade, rotting hides emitting a musty stench, and a fireplace that had been cold for years.
They weren't inside the territory. They were in a secluded hunter's cabin outside the castle gates. An abandoned shack, to be precise.
What on earth was happening?
Every single person here was a familiar face, trapped and bound.
Sunlight began to stream through the window. Bell, who had been lying on his side, tensed his abdominal muscles.
"Hup!"
After pulling himself upright, he peered out the window. There, he saw the back of the bastard he had seen right before losing consciousness.
That son of a bitch...
Bell's head was still throbbing. Feeling something sticky on the side of his face, he realized he had bled quite a bit. He wasn't dead, but his scalp had been split open.
Beyond the bastard’s back, he could see the blurry figure of another person. He couldn't see them clearly, but he recognized the voice instantly.
"Then, I think you'll die too."
It was Encrid’s voice.
Bell quickly grasped the situation. It was a hostage situation.
At the same time, Bell wondered if this would even work. This was a world of kill or be killed. In such a world, would Encrid really die for dozens of commoners? It seemed completely out of the question.
Then why were things playing out like this?
Questions piled up in Bell’s mind. He would have to watch how things unfolded to find out.
*
Swallow Blade’s scheme was neither extraordinary nor brilliant. It was simply crude and wretched.
"I told you, I'll kill them all!"
He had been observing his surroundings ever since his first day at the Border Guard. He watched and analyzed, and in doing so, he had learned a few things.
First.
Fuck, they put a tail on me right off the bat?
There were eyes watching him. Krais had reported to the higher-ups on the very first day, and Marcus had assigned watchers accordingly. Swallow Blade found it utterly insulting.
But beyond the surveillance, he had discovered something else. In Swallow Blade’s eyes, the man named Encrid was subtly close to the people around him.
Even so, if he took them hostage and suddenly demanded Encrid’s life, Encrid would surely snort in derision. Hostages only had meaning if they held sufficient value to the opponent.
They aren't family, nor are they lovers.
And it wasn't as if they were his hidden children, either. They were just acquaintances. That was all.
"I'm not asking for anything grand. Just this: send your people away and stay here alone."
That was why Swallow Blade proposed a condition the opponent might actually accept.
To be honest, he believed that if he and that crazy Half-Giant bitch fought together, they could kill Encrid. The problem was the others.
Those bastards are the real trouble.
From the man smirking in the back while stroking his axe, to the bear-like giant who stood two heads taller than himself, to the one who pretended to be calm but looked ready to draw at any moment.
"Especially you—don't disappear. If I lose sight of you, I'll kill this woman first."
These words were directed at Sachsen.
Swallow Blade already held one of the residents in his grasp. It was the woman who made marmalade. A sharp knife was pressed tightly against her neck. A single drop of blood trickled down.
Encrid couldn't remember her name. But Krais did.
"If you touch even a fingertip of Juri’s, you won't die a peaceful death."
Krais was uncharacteristically serious. Since she made excellent marmalade with those hands, her fingertips must be especially important to him.
Juri’s face was pale; she couldn't utter a single word. Stiff as if hot wax had been poured over her, she was merely dragged around by Swallow Blade’s rough grip.
Even watching this, Encrid showed no signs of impatience. This only carved a deeper smirk onto Swallow Blade’s face.
That bastard’s eyes are always so damn irritating.
Once things went his way, he would gouge those eyes out first.
"Is what I'm asking so hard? It's not, is it? Unless you're just lacking confidence... then that's a different story."
It was a crude provocation. Swallow Blade’s condition was simple: Send the allies away. Leave only Encrid. And after that?
"If you defeat the two of us one by one, that's the end of it!"
He claimed he would release the hostages if Encrid did just that. It was obviously a lie, but he wasn't asking Encrid to die or cut off an arm yet. However, if Encrid didn't comply, the bastard would kill someone without hesitation. It was a classic trap.
Can't you even meet a simple condition like this?
That must be what he's aiming for.
Looking at it coldly, it was an absurd demand. It meant sending away his backup and facing two enemies alone. What if they attacked to kill simultaneously?
But then, can they handle the aftermath?
What if he got seriously injured? Even if they backed off, Rem and the others weren't the type to just stay away. They would pursue immediately. Did Swallow Blade have some other trick up his sleeve?
How many years had Encrid spent using his wits because his skills were lacking? When it came to reading a situation, Encrid was second to none.
He read Swallow Blade’s intentions. He didn't just read them; he saw beyond them. Beyond his five senses, his sixth sense was speaking to him.
Aside from a plan to escape, he must have something else hidden.
Beside the man stood the Half-Giant, her helmet pressed down, holding a sword and shield like a statue.
Originally, handling just that one warrior would have been impossible. No—it had been impossible. Before he had associated with Pel the Shepherd, it would have been out of the question.
But now, it seems doable.
He was calm and composed. His gaze reflected his inner state. Seeing Encrid’s eyes, Swallow Blade’s smirk widened. It had been an irritating smile from the very first time they met.
But Encrid had let him be because he wanted to catch a glimpse of the man's hidden skills. Encrid felt this situation was his own responsibility.
Just as he was about to agree—
"Bull—shit!"
A booming voice erupted.
"Huh? Did someone eavesdrop on my inner thoughts?" Rem muttered nonsense from behind.
The shout had come from inside the abandoned cabin. It was Bell.
If he keeps that up, he'll be the first to die, Encrid worried.
Everything had happened because of him, and these were all familiar faces. These were people whose deaths would weigh on him if they were murdered here instead of on a battlefield. He wished they would just stay quiet.
Swallow Blade’s face was no longer smiling; it looked like a distorted mask.
Doesn't that bastard's face hurt from smiling like that?
"Haha, my irritatingly smiling brother, let's not do this. Let's have a chat instead," Rem called out. "The scriptures say that those who seek to stray onto the wrong path should look back. Now, look behind you."
Along with the incomprehensible words, Rem extended his hand, trying to divert Swallow Blade’s gaze. In sync, Sachsen subtly shifted his weight onto his left foot. Rem let his left hand hang loose, while only Ragna watched, yawning.
"Cut the bullshit."
Swallow Blade didn't fall for it.
Encrid made his decision. What else could he do? He didn't think he was risking his life anyway.
"Everyone, go back. Wash your feet and rest."
"Tsk, you're doing this alone?"
"I think I can handle it."
It was something he had said often in the past. If he had said this before, Rem would have mocked him, asking if he was going off to die alone.
But now? After sparring with him right before coming here...
"Tsk."
Rem swallowed his words. Encrid had indeed improved. He was no longer at a level that could be looked down upon. On top of that, he was a man who had awakened 'Will'—even if it was only a fragment of it.
He now possessed the qualifications to join the Red Cloak Knights, the kingdom’s sole order of knights.
"Well, what's it going to be?"
Encrid nodded toward Swallow Blade, whose eyes were narrowed into slits.
With that, he had everyone back off. He sent them far away, to a place where they couldn't even see the cabin. Swallow Blade never let go of the hostage. If it weren't for Juri held in his grasp, Encrid would have made a move long ago.
He had been holding a knife, concealed by the back of his hand, for a while now. He was ready to unleash the Flicking Sword Style. But if he threw it now, Swallow Blade would use the hostage as a shield.
Should I just kill her myself, then rush in and slash him?
The hostage would die, but it was a way to subdue the opponent. A way to end the situation by sacrificing one. It was a valid method.
But then a person would die. A resident of the territory he was supposed to protect would die because of a situation he had caused.
He wouldn't feel a massive pang of guilt over it; he had no hobby of self-flagellation over the inevitable. But standing by and watching something he could prevent didn't suit his nature.
Shring.
"I never swore to protect the people of the Border Guard, but since they are people of my territory..."
Encrid said, drawing his sword.
"...I can't just stand by and watch."
The rain had stopped. Under the clear, bright sky—under the brilliantly blue heavens—Encrid stood his ground, sword in hand.