Chapter 100
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: The Clock Tower Siege
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* * *
Behind the collapsed statue of the girl in the square, Vanilla, holding a shotgun, finally confirmed that all her targets had gathered around the clock tower.
“Amy, the flag.”
At Vanilla’s command, Amy, who had been on edge, hastily waved the flag to give the signal.
From atop the clock tower and a nearby roof, Cherry and Harrison saw Amy’s signal and each waved their own flags in response, an okay sign.
Just then, far off on a hill, a large flag waved from the roof of the Happy House. It was the sign from Victor and Knox.
After confirming everyone’s signal, Vanilla and Amy began to advance slowly toward the clock tower.
* * *
Having received the signal from Vanilla and Amy, Victor placed a boulder onto the arm of the catapult.
These were new stones that Cherry and Ethan had recently acquired. There were only five, but Cherry had said it would be enough.
Victor and Knox’s role was to create a diversion.
The two of them combined their strength to pull back the catapult arm that Cherry had once pulled by herself. Then, they launched the stone toward the vicinity of the clock tower.
*Boom—!*
In the distance, they saw it strike the outer wall of a house next to the clock tower, a part of the building crumbling away.
*Hoo.*
A wisp of white smoke escaped Knox’s red lips. He had run low on lollipops and finally had to resort to a cigarette.
He took another deep drag before exhaling.
*Hoooo.*
With the cigarette held between his fingers, he shaded his eyes with his other hand and scanned the area ahead. A languid smile touched Knox’s lips.
“My, isn’t this thrilling? What were they thinking, giving us this job? What if we accidentally hit the clock tower?”
Hearing Knox mutter as he watched the scene, Victor grew tense. If things went wrong, it would truly be the end.
Noticing Victor’s tension, Knox smiled and patted his shoulder.
“Don’t worry too much. The ones over there are a Lancaster and a Sinclair, you know.”
“…Huh? What does that mean?”
“It means they’re the ultimate team-up. They’re the kind of people who’d survive even if the whole clock tower came down.”
Of course, if Ethan and Cherry had heard him, they would have thrown a fit and demanded to know if he was trying to get them killed, but Knox held a genuine faith in them.
“Anyway, shall we get the next stone ready, Chef?”
At Knox’s words, Victor moved briskly to place a new stone on the catapult arm.
* * *
Frank was in a state of utter confusion. A boulder had suddenly flown in from nowhere and smashed the outer wall of a mansion.
“Weren’t there no other people in this town?!”
Frank yelled at Jacob and Marc, his voice filled with rage.
They pressed themselves against the clock tower wall to avoid the rampaging monsters. It wasn’t just them; three soldiers were also isolated with them around the tower.
More and more monsters gathered. The number wasn’t comparable to the hordes in the capital or Kintne, but there were still quite a few. It was certainly not a number that a group of a mere ten people could fight through.
“How about we climb the clock tower?”
Frank nodded at Jacob’s suggestion.
“That would be better.”
“But what if those monster bastards knock the tower down?”
Marc countered from the side, making Frank hesitate for a moment. It was then.
*Bang! Thwack—*
A bullet flew from somewhere and struck Jacob’s forearm.
“Ugh.”
Jacob immediately dropped the rifle he was holding. The bullet had hit his right arm, the one holding the gun.
“Wha-what the. Where did that come from?!”
Marc immediately raised his rifle, but his right arm was also shot. The rifle fell from Marc’s grasp and was kicked far away by the monsters’ feet.
Frank shouted at the search party members.
“Damn it! You said you caught all the villagers! Didn’t you search properly?!”
“W-we did! I’m sure there was no one besides the slaves in the village chief’s house—!”
The search party member couldn’t finish his sentence. A bullet from an unknown location pierced through his hand. He, too, dropped his gun.
“Damn it! Everyone, protect your guns! There’s a sniper! They’re aiming for our weapons!”
But the problem was that the sniper hiding somewhere wasn’t their only enemy.
*Krawwwwwwk!*
“U-ugh!”
“Aaaaargh!”
One of the search party members and a soldier masquerading as a royal army private were dragged away by monsters. Frank swallowed dryly and ducked his body low.
“Urk. C-Captain, what do we do now?”
“What do you mean, what do we do! Start firing! We need to get rid of these monster bastards!”
As Frank screamed, the search party members finally snapped to their senses and began firing at the swarming monsters.
*Tat-tatang! Tat-tatang!*
However, boulders of unknown origin flew in, landing nearby with tremendous roars, while the deafening sound of a machine gun echoed continuously from the top of the clock tower.
The monsters were relentlessly converging on the area.
‘Shit, this is driving me insane!’
This time, two soldiers were sniped and lost their firearms, and four search party members dropped their guns. The only ones still armed were Frank and Marc.
It was just as Frank was thinking that all hope was lost.
*Booom—!*
Suddenly, the first-floor door of the clock tower was blown away.
*Kweeeeeeek!*
Simultaneously, a massive monster that had been lurking in front of the door was sent flying along with it.
Even the rampaging monsters stopped what they were doing, looking bewildered, and turned their gazes toward the clock tower entrance.
Dust billowed from the entrance, making it difficult to see. A moment later, as the dust began to settle, a single figure standing there came into view.
A delicate, cute face, beautiful golden eyes that looked as if they were made from molten pure gold, and dark pink hair.
A woman who looked dazzling in every aspect stood there, holding an axe.
Frank rubbed his eyes for a moment. In the woman’s hand was a massive axe that didn’t suit her appearance at all.
As she slowly walked out from inside the clock tower, a nearby monster charged at her. But—
*Thwack!*
A bullet from an unknown location struck the monster squarely in the head. There was no telling where the shot had come from.
Frank knew the Kintne search party had a sniper too. What was that bastard doing? Was Charlie really dead? Frank bit his lip.
The woman who had emerged so leisurely turned to look at them and gave a faint smile.
“Hello, gentlemen.”
*Hello, gentlemen…?* Frank couldn’t believe what he’d heard and kept muttering her words.
“Don’t you know it’s basic manners to knock when you visit someone’s house?”
“…What?”
*What kind of bullshit is that?*
Frank asked back stupidly. Cherry continued.
“Do you have any idea how much effort I’ve put into this place, and now you want to stick your spoon in? Not a chance.”
“W-we only need to take Lord Ethan, my lady. Please hand him over.”
Just then, a soldier from the opposite side spoke to her.
‘Ethan? Lord Ethan? I’ve heard that name somewhere…’
He couldn’t remember where, but he was certain that this “Lord Ethan” was the crazy bastard on top of the clock tower firing a machine gun into the air.
*Thwack—!*
At that moment, another sniper shot hit Marc’s arm. Now, the only person with a gun was Frank. But the woman before him was unarmed.
The instant Frank quickly raised his gun,
*Bang!*
A bullet from an unknown location struck him squarely in the shoulder. Frank, too, finally dropped his gun. At the same time, the monsters began to charge.
Frank screamed and tried to run, but they were already backed up against the clock tower. In the end, he couldn’t escape, and a monster’s teeth tore into his leg.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
Having lost his leg so futilely, Frank lay on the ground and lifted his head. The dark pink hair of the woman flickered in his vision.
*Whump—!*
The woman was sending a monster flying with her heavy axe. …Wait, sent it flying?
Frank’s eyes widened as he stared at the woman. She spun the large axe in her hand, then swung it without hesitation at an approaching monster.
*Squelch!*
The torsos of the two monsters rushing her were sliced open in a long diagonal gash.
Then, as she brought the highly-raised axe back down, a monster’s head was smashed into the ground and shattered. The deep crater left in the ground was just a bonus.
Next, she slit the throat of the monster right beside her with the axe.
*Splaaat—!*
Thick green blood splattered. When she kicked the remaining torso, it flew far away and slammed into a building. From the impact, the creature’s dangling head fell to the ground and rolled away.
“Th-this is insane…! What is that monster…?!”
To Frank’s eyes, the woman before him also looked like a monster. For a person to possess such monstrous strength. How was that even possible!
‘I-I have to tell El about this…!’
He hadn’t even moved the slaves from Brunel that were to be presented to El yet…!
As Frank crawled on the ground with his mangled leg, the long barrel of a rifle slammed into the ground right in front of his nose, blocking his path.
A pair of sturdy military boots came into view. The small size indicated they weren’t for a man.
“Oh, my. Where do you think you’re going with a leg like that?”
The voice that followed was also a woman’s. He cautiously raised his head to see a cold-looking woman with blue hair tied up high, glaring down at him.
Then, a young girl leaped over the monsters’ shoulders, landing in front of them like a flying squirrel.
“I heard you were trying to enslave the townspeople? You’re a really bad person, you know?”
W-who in the world were these people? But Frank could do nothing more. The monster that had torn off his leg now completely devoured his torso.
“Aargh! Aaaaargh! H-help me! Help me!”
But his desperate pleas for rescue soon vanished into the monster’s maw.