Chapter 39
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: The Elves' Elder Council
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"Wha, when...!"
Johann swept his gaze over Marco, who was staring at him in panic, and his comrades convulsing on the ground.
"Wait a second! If your goal is to monopolize the elves, that's fine! We'll help you out. Honestly, handling that many elves on your own would be tough, right? Come on, let's go into business together! You take nine shares, we'll take one! With your skills, Sir Jonathan's no big deal, is he? If we team up, we could fill a lake with gold!"
Marco sweated bullets as he tried to persuade Johann.
But their faces twisted like they were chewing on shit.
It was because the throwing knife Johann pulled from his bosom looked all too familiar.
"You son of a...!"
Slash!
"Pollet!"
They didn't run.
Or more precisely, they couldn't.
How the hell were they supposed to dodge a weapon flying faster than sound... one that automatically tracked them like some cheat item?
To be exact, Johann was controlling it remotely with Lightning Mana, but the result made their assumption spot on.
In the end, all they could do was kneel in place and beg for their lives.
"Pl-please, we'll do anything you command! Just spare our lives!"
"Take everything we have! It's not much, but..."
Slash! Splatter!
"Fuck this! Just kill me!"
"H-help...!"
Stab! Spit!
Whether they knelt and begged, charged in madness without a care, or screamed and fled, the outcome was equal for all.
"Ahh..."
Marco trembled as he looked around at the corpses of his utterly slaughtered comrades.
That was when it happened.
Johann, who hadn't said a word, finally spoke to him.
"Tell me. Who's left on your side now?"
"Wh-what do you mean... Ah."
-The newbie's got some guts, huh? Better watch your front and back from now on. You won't have anyone here on your side.
Marco recalled it.
The threat Johann had made when he rejected his proposal...
'Ah, you fucking idiot! Why the hell did I mess with a monster like this...!'
But there was no turning back time. Desperate to survive and return from this place, Marco racked his brain.
"Ah... Y-you were worried about that? Of course it was a joke! I told you back then, you looked strong. I had no idea you'd be this ridiculously powerful, though. When someone like you turned down my offer, I got pissed and threw a little tantrum. Looks like it really hurt your feelings. My bad. I was out of my mind. I'm truly sorry."
Hearing that, Johann extended his hand toward him.
Marco lit up at the gesture that seemed like an offer to shake hands and approached him.
'This is my chance!'
Marco thought Johann had accepted his apology.
After all, wisely speaking, there was no way he could handle that many elves alone.
And partnering with Johann would mean sitting on a mountain of money in no time.
Already feeling like a rich man, Marco reached out and grabbed Johann's hand.
"Thanks! So, shall we head back and..."
Zzzzzzzzt!
"G-g-g-g-graaah...!"
But Johann apparently had no intention of accepting his apology, let alone shaking hands with him.
Pssshhh...
In the end, Marco, reduced to a pile of black ash, collapsed and breathed his last when Johann let go of his hand.
Johann clicked his tongue as he looked down at Marco's fallen corpse.
"What in the world..."
Edmuel, the new captain of the elf guard who arrived late, was struck with shock upon discovering the brutally slain bodies of the slave hunters along with his squad.
"Captain!"
Just then, an elf scout rushed up to Edmuel and saluted crisply.
It was the very scout who had summoned the guards with the leaf flute.
The scout gave Edmuel a detailed report of everything he had seen and experienced.
"Is that true? One human suddenly massacred all these slave hunters?"
"Yes! I saw it with my own eyes!"
His confused vice-captain approached and cautiously asked Edmuel.
"What do you think happened? Some infighting?"
"Who knows. I don't know the details myself. So, where did that human go?"
"He chased after the vanguard toward the village! He vanished from sight in an instant, so he probably caught up quick."
Elves had eyesight several times sharper than humans.
The elf scouts were an elite unit selected and trained from those with especially keen vision among their kin.
For even that scout to lose sight of him in a blink...
'What the hell is his goal? Don't tell me...'
"Let's hurry!"
"Yes!"
The guards began pursuing the path Johann had taken at full speed.
As time passed, Edmuel's mind grew increasingly anxious while chasing after Johann.
'A monster capable of massacring that many slave hunters single-handedly...!'
If the scout's description was accurate, the foe was no weaker than Jonathan at the very least.
But right now, Edmuel's greater worry wasn't fear of Johann—it was for the villagers being pursued by him.
"Pick up the pace!"
The guards poured even more strength into their legs at Edmuel's command.
After racing without rest, they finally witnessed an unbelievable sight.
"Damn, you guys sure took your time. Don't just stand there gawking—help out! Oh, wait, elves probably don't understand human speech."
Johann shouted at the arriving guards while gathering the dead slave hunters' bodies in one spot.
They were just staring at him in stunned silence.
But as if snapping to at his yell, they swiftly surrounded him and nocked arrows to their bowstrings.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?"
Edmuel demanded, his face brimming with hostility toward Johann's actions.
Johann twitched the corner of his eye in disbelief.
"Huh? This bastard..."
Right then!
Bzzt-crack!
As Johann vanished in a burst of sparks, the encircling elves' eyes widened in alarm.
They couldn't spot him anywhere.
In that meantime, the vanished Johann had appeared right in front of Edmuel, smashing his fist into the captain's head.
Crack!
"Agh!"
"You understand our language, right? And you just stood there after hearing me? Wanna die? I'm busting my ass here because of you guys. Hey, Pax, get over here and clean this shit up already?"
Edmuel clutched his head, tears welling up in his eyes.
Johann dusted off his hand and resumed work, while Edmuel and the other elves stared at him in a daze.
'Wh-what the hell is this lunatic?'
And he wasn't your average lunatic.
Especially that last move—they hadn't reacted at all until Johann was right in their faces.
If he'd had killing intent, every elf here would already be dead, just like the slave hunter corpses he was clearing.
"Hands still idle, huh? Want another punch before you start?"
"L-leave perimeter guards and have the rest start cleaning!"
"Yes!"
Edmuel hurriedly ordered his men as Johann raised his fist again.
Leaving the brutally killed slave hunters' bodies out in the open wasn't a good idea, just as he said.
As they cleaned the corpses, Edmuel asked Johann what had been bothering him.
"Did you take down all these slave hunters yourself?"
"Got a problem with that? Want me to make an example of you too?"
"No, I'm just curious why. If your goal was to kidnap and sell our kin like they were doing, there's no reason you'd be here doing this."
"Gotta show some sincerity for the conversation to go anywhere."
"What do you...?"
Johann tossed the last body into a pit and set it ablaze.
"I came to trade with you elves."
"Is this really the right call, Captain?"
"It's not our decision. The elders make it."
Edmuel returned to the elves' village, Elraim, clutching the letter Johann had given him.
The first place he headed upon arrival was the residence of Lubrid, the High Elf Grand Elder who governed Elraim.
But Lubrid herself was absent from her home.
Edmuel learned from the guard stationed there where she was and went to find her.
"Uwaaagh! My arm... my arm...!"
"Ughhh!"
"Just hold on a bit. It'll get better soon. Bring more herbs and bandages! Hurry!"
Amid the many injured from the slave hunter attack, Grand Elder Lubrid was bustling about, tending to the patients with utmost care.
"Grand Elder!"
"Edmuel?"
Lubrid turned at the voice calling her, spotted Edmuel staring her way, and hurried over.
"What is it, Guard Captain Edmuel?"
"I'm sorry, but there's something urgent you need to see..."
Edmuel pulled the letter from his bosom and handed it to her.
Lubrid reached for it but glanced at her pus-covered hands and casually wiped them on her clothes.
Her outfit was already soaked in patients' pus anyway, so it hardly mattered.
Edmuel felt genuine respect for such a Grand Elder.
"This is..."
Lubrid's expression changed dramatically upon reading the letter.
She had studied human language and script, so reading it was no issue.
The problem was the content.
"Guard Captain, where did you get this letter, and from whom?"
"When we arrived at Odel Village after the attack signal, I received it from the human who single-handedly slaughtered the slave hunters."
"A human who slaughtered the slave hunters?"
"Yes. Scout Nelsa witnessed the scene firsthand and testified."
"Something wrong, Grand Elder?"
At that moment, an elderly elf with white hair approached while helping tend patients, prompting Lubrid to issue orders to both.
"Elder Dunas, prepare an emergency elder council immediately. Guard Captain Edmuel, you are to attend as well."
Thus, the elders were urgently summoned, and once all the flustered elders had gathered in the council hall, Elder Dunas couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"What on earth called for such a hasty elder council? Grand Elder, is there a problem with the letter from Guard Captain Edmuel?"
Lubrid nodded gravely.
"Exactly. This letter is from a human who single-handedly annihilated the six hundred slave hunters about to raid Odel Village. He sent it to me."
"A human who wiped out six hundred slave hunters alone? Why in the world... Was there infighting?"
"Can't you tell? He got greedy to sell our kin into slavery all by himself. Humans are predictable like that."
"Why would someone like that send a letter to you, Grand Elder?"
"This is bad. If that's true, he's a monster on par with that devil Jonathan. Another one at a time like this..."
"Everyone, calm down and hear what the Grand Elder has to say."
With all eyes on her, Lubrid pointed to the letter and spoke.
"He wants to trade with us."
"...!"
The elders' faces filled with shock at Lubrid's utterly unexpected words.