Isolation
The Gnoll Hero's soul. Watching the direction it fled, I'd thought we'd have plenty of time. It had been heading toward the region where the Black Gnolls lived, after all. The soul probably hadn't been discovered while searching for a host to create the next Gnoll Hero—there'd been no reason for it to loop back around. Which meant something else was at play. But we didn't have time to find out what.
"So? What happened?"
"H-hyung, I did what you told me. I went to check, but something was wrong. The—the people, the ones who'd been locked up, they were all dead. Torn to pieces..."
The gnolls had done it, he said.
"...The village did look strange even from the outside. Restless, I guess you'd call it..."
That was the testimony of Na Seoyun, who'd gone with him. Even so, I wanted to praise Ha Yoo-jin for infiltrating all the way into the village under those conditions.
"...It seems like they get a signal whenever something happens at the sanctuary. Or maybe they send out regular patrols."
There wouldn't be patrols. We'd confirmed that several times. The hypothesis that something was sending a signal was far more likely.
That wasn't what mattered. The point was that the Worshipping Golden Gnoll Tribe had already noticed the anomaly at the sanctuary and started going on alert. Once they'd caught on that something was wrong, searching the surrounding area was the obvious next step. The moment they started moving, we'd be isolated in Area 29.
...Damn it.
Things had gotten a little tangled.
I looked at my companions. Our combat power had definitely risen—that much was certain. But we hadn't even properly coordinated yet, let alone gotten a real feel for our own strength. Fighting in this state was out of the question. Even with sufficient training, six of us taking on tens of thousands of gnolls wouldn't be a particularly wise choice.
The best option was to run. I spoke with a grim expression.
"We get out. Fast. Before they start moving!"
The party scrambled to their feet. There wasn't much to pack. Everything just needed to go into inventory. Na-yeon quickly summoned Sylph and erased as many traces of our stay as she could.
"We escape as fast as possible. Almost no rest. If you get tired, lean on another teammate if you have to—just get us out of here."
The Worshipping Golden Gnoll Tribe wasn't just some ordinary gnoll tribe. They were the central tribe among the gold-furred gnolls, which meant they could exert considerable influence over the others. If they started moving in force, running wouldn't be easy.
Gnolls were quite fast, and their sense of smell was excellent. I'd prepared for the smell in advance, but once they started combing the entire area with those overwhelming numbers, getting spotted was only a matter of time. It wasn't as if the entire party had stealth skills like Ha Yoo-jin.
The others looked grim, but they seemed less tense than I'd expected. Of course they did. They'd be thinking we just needed to get out of here. But I knew better. Once word went out to the surrounding tribes, most of them would cooperate.
That's why I chose a different route—not this way, but the other. The border region with the Black Gnolls. The same area we'd used on the way in. That was the better option. The Worshipping Golden Gnoll Tribe wielded influence over Golden Gnolls, but their relationship with the Black Gnolls was actually hostile. All gnolls fought each other if their fur was a different color, after all. It wasn't even racism.
Anyway, I judged that going out that way would be safer in the end. I started leading the party. Once they confirmed the direction I was heading, they immediately understood my intent.
"...Shin-hoo."
"Yes."
"Why are we going this way? You said we don't have time..."
Joo Ha-yeon's question. I answered simply.
"I've got a bad feeling."
"...What?"
I repeated it. I had a bad feeling.
"I know that the closer you get to the village, the smaller the settlements get and the lower the quality of the gnolls."
We'd traveled together. Even without knowing about the first cycle, they knew that much. If the Worshipping Golden Gnoll Tribe hadn't noticed the anomaly at their sanctuary, I would have just slipped out the ordinary way. On the way in, we'd strained every nerve not to get spotted, but now we could handle being seen a little—all we needed to do was run.
"But that gnoll tribe is unusual. As you can see, they even have banners you rarely find anywhere else, and their scale is enormous. Think about it. The place we gained our power was the Sealed Gnoll Sanctuary. In other words, they're the settlement closest to the sanctuary."
I spoke calmly even as we moved quickly. Thanks to inheriting those stats, Joo Ha-yeon was keeping up better than I'd expected. Where she fell short, she seemed to be compensating with divine power, even if it wasn't efficient. Na-yeon and Ha Yoo-jin didn't look tired yet, but at this pace they'd wear out soon. With Na Seoyun and Nam Eun-ju here, though, I didn't think it'd be a major problem.
"Which means their influence is that much greater. I've never seen them interact between settlements, but gnolls form armies of a sort and live communally in their villages. There's every chance they communicate with other settlements."
As my explanation continued, Joo Ha-yeon seemed to catch on to what I was getting at.
"...I understand. I know what you mean. Even without the Gnoll Hero, if they share the same fur color... no, you're right. That's too plausible to dismiss as mere worry."
Joo Ha-yeon was nodding to herself. I didn't reply. She immediately dropped back and relayed what I'd said to the others. The party wore even more serious expressions as they somehow kept pace with me as I picked up speed.
Even running at the front, I couldn't shake the ominous feeling. We ran in silence for a long while. And ominous feelings always have a way of coming true.
Mine proved correct.
How had they gotten ahead of us? I spotted a pack of gnolls that looked like a scouting party from another tribe. Their fur was gold, of course. We were still in Golden Gnoll territory. We'd need to run for two more days before we even reached the Black Gnoll border...
Fortunately I'd spotted them first, so I signaled the party to halt and pulled back.
"...It seems they were already on the move as of yesterday."
Nothing else explained it. Either our paths had crossed while we were returning from the sanctuary yesterday, or they'd figured it out right after we got back to base camp.
"...This is a problem."
It was more than a problem. No matter how much the party's level had risen, we couldn't take on every Golden Gnoll with just our group at this point. Even without a hero, even if they spent their time fighting among themselves, there had to be tens of thousands of gold-furred gnolls. How were we supposed to win?
If I'd monopolized the power, it might have been possible given enough time. But I hadn't. Saintess or not, whatever the process had been, my current combat strength wasn't remotely enough.
The scouting party in sight numbered around two hundred. Not a significant number. The problem was what came after killing them. Another patrol might come close during the fight, and even if they didn't, we'd get spotted eventually. Then we'd be the ones screwed.
I'd considered killing them and stuffing the corpses into inventory, but there was no room. The interior was packed with the various supplies I'd brought and endless stores of food. And the empty space created by eating had been filled with the Gnoll Hero's corpse... I couldn't abandon the food. We might have to survive on it if things went south, so I had to conserve every bit.
As I stood there thinking, the party's expressions grew worse. We couldn't just burn time standing here.
The gnoll scouting party was rapidly searching the area under the command of a centurion. Before long, the two hundred-man units that had been bunched together had scattered, each moving independently. We were far enough away that we'd likely avoid this particular search. But we couldn't keep this up forever.
I spoke to the party.
"The timing isn't good right now. So we wait it out. They're far enough that they'll probably miss us this time. But."
I spoke firmly.
"From the next one on, we attack. Before they scatter, we prioritize wiping them all out."
"That's..."
Joo Ha-yeon couldn't finish. She knew it too. This wasn't a particularly good method. Traces would definitely remain, and it could give them a reason to track us. But there was no other way. Hunker down every time we ran into a patrol? We'd encounter more and more of them, and that could end up worse than just punching through.
The party fell silent, and in the end they had no choice but to follow my word as the final decision-maker. It was the only option.
Should we have left last night...?
But it was right after the inheritance. Dragging exhausted people out to escape first would only mean they'd collapse midway. It had taken two weeks just to infiltrate this far. Going in a straight line would take less, but moving in a wrecked condition wasn't a good choice either.
While my thoughts wandered, the two scattered hundred-man units gradually regrouped and started moving in another direction. They hadn't found anything on this side.
Hah...
Someone let out a sigh.
"...We move."
I started leading the party forward again. But it wasn't long before we ran into another scouting party, and as I'd said beforehand, I chose to attack.
Fortunately, it was just one hundred-man unit. They seemed to have come from a smaller settlement. We could handle that much in an instant. They looked like they'd just stopped, about to scatter—they seemed to want to check this area more thoroughly. Apparently they had designated search zones. Their method was to move as a group, then search a set area extensively. The fact that they weren't searching at random made them even more troublesome.
I quickly gave orders to the Na sisters.
"Na-yeon, Seoyun. I need the strongest attacks you can manage."
"Okay."
"Yes."
Because I'd told them in advance, they started preparing their attacks without hesitation. We'd open with magic, then Nam Eun-ju and I would charge in to finish them. Nam Eun-ju was specialized in defense, but that was when compared to opponents of equal rank. With Na Seoyun staying in the rear and Ha Yoo-jin providing support, there was no need for her to play Keeper even in this situation. Her physical abilities had risen considerably too, so she'd be able to run roughshod over gnolls.
Soon the Na sisters' magic erupted toward the gnolls.
"Casa, Fire Ball!"
"...Fire Ball!"
What?
Two fireballs streaked toward the gnolls. The small fireball Casa had created, and a fireball twice that size, both trailing tails as they cut through the air. The gnolls spotted the magic, but it was already too late. Not that gnolls had any way of blocking magic to begin with.
And then—
KRAAAAAANG!
An explosion beyond anything I'd imagined. I was startled, but my body reacted first. We rapidly assaulted the gnolls' formation, but the hundred-man unit hit by the two fireballs was, for all practical purposes, already wiped out.
When Nam Eun-ju and I arrived on the scene, we found only a few gnolls moaning in agony. Not a single one was in any condition to run. All of them had been burned by the flames, their hides warped, not moving an inch. Only a handful still showed they were alive, letting out pained kiiing whimpers and twitching what little muscle they could still move.
That was the power of magic that had struck dead-on where they were still bunched together, not yet properly scattered.
This is...
Nam Eun-ju stood there looking stunned, apparently blown away by the destructive power as well. I started finishing off the gnolls that still had a spark of life, one by one. No reason to leave them alive. Most of them looked like they'd die soon enough if left alone, but you never knew. The explosion had been so much stronger than expected that a new scouting party might arrive before they died.
Seeing me, Nam Eun-ju snapped out of it and started dealing with some of the surviving gnolls herself. There weren't many, so it didn't take long.
After finishing off the remaining gnolls and heading back to the party, I thought: they'd gotten stronger, all right. That much was certain.