Chapter 102
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Securing Brunel
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* * *
Exterminating the monsters was a necessary step to secure Brunel.
They varied in appearance and combat strength, but they all shared one common trait: unlike other beasts, they couldn't think.
They simply moved on instinct, searching for prey, unable to attack with any strategy.
So we could do this. It seemed there were about twenty monsters left, but five had already been dealt with by the soldiers and the Kintne bastards.
Of course, the two soldiers who survived that fight were eaten by other monsters, and the same went for the Kintne men. All but two of them were dead.
They were devoured before they could turn into monsters themselves, so thankfully, we didn't have to worry about their numbers increasing.
While I used my axe to send two monsters flying, another one attacking from the rear was taken care of by a sniper round and an arrowhead. It was Jose and Harrison.
The sound of rapid-fire shots from the clock tower ceased. I could see Ethan just starting to walk out of the ground-floor entrance.
With five more eliminated, there were ten monsters left. We could handle that many on our own. The snipers had played a huge part.
And the moment Ethan, who had joined late, drew a sword instead of his revolver, the cleanup sped up.
While Vanilla and Amy teamed up to take down one monster, I handled about two, and Jose and Harrison each subdued one.
Ethan dealt with three or four at once. He used his longsword to lop off their heads in a single stroke.
After about thirty minutes, the monster extermination was over.
* * *
It was over.
Jose, who had been steadying the stock of his Sharps rifle against his shoulder, looked up.
“Wow. I can't believe what I just saw.”
Witnessing the combat prowess of Cherry Sinclair and Ethan Duncan Lancaster with his own eyes, he couldn't hide his astonishment.
“How can anyone be that strong?”
Hearing Jose’s words, Harrison lowered his crossbow and remained silent.
In his line of sight, he could see Ethan and Cherry talking amidst the piles of corpses. It seemed they had formed a tight bond, one that left little room for anyone else to squeeze in.
He had always thought of her as a child under his care, but the Cherry he saw here in Brunel felt unusually unfamiliar.
“She said she got her monstrous strength from some medicine, right? I'm so curious what that medicine could be.”
Listening to Jose’s muttering, Harrison straightened up and stood.
Even to Harrison, Cherry's superhuman strength seemed even greater than the last time he'd seen it.
Perhaps what he knew of her power had only been a fraction of the whole. Either that, or her strength was gradually evolving.
Whatever the case, he just hoped there were no side effects for Cherry.
* * *
I shook my axe to flick off the messy green blood, then slid it into the holster on my back.
My combat skills were improving day by day. Because I already possessed inhuman strength, I adapted much faster than others. Not only was my raw power immense, but the rate at which my fighting ability improved was also remarkably fast.
“Star Candy, you're amazing.”
Amy came up to me, holding Vanilla’s hand, and gave me a thumbs-up. Then, she turned to Ethan, who was approaching us, and said coyly.
“And you were kinda cool too, old man.”
Ethan, like me, flicked his sword clean before sheathing it. He glanced at Amy with an indifferent expression, then let out a smirk.
Amy declared she'd let it slide just for today, even though his smiling face was annoyingly handsome.
“Your shooting was incredible, too. Earlier, those Kintne guys were calling Sir Ethan a crazy psycho cop.”
I overheard it while waiting behind the ground-floor door of the clock tower for the right moment to go out. At that, Amy burst into laughter.
Ethan, looking unbothered, crossed his arms and shrugged. Vanilla, seeming uninterested in our conversation, asked me,
“You said there were villagers in the chief's house, right?”
I nodded. Just then, Jose and Harrison came down from the roof and joined us.
“Good work, everyone.”
After I spoke, everyone patted each other on the back and checked to see if they were okay. I glanced around for a moment before speaking.
“Their eyesight is poor, right? So if we just block the village entrance, we should be able to prevent most intrusions, as long as there are no loud noises inside.”
“Right. And since this is just a small country village, there won't be as many monsters roaming around as in the capital.”
Vanilla added. Harrison then summarized the current situation.
“First, let's free the people trapped in the village chief's house and ask for their help. We'll need a lot of manpower to block the entrance to the village.”
We all immediately understood and nodded in agreement.
Amy clung to my arm.
“Star Candy, can I sleep with you tonight?”
Seeing Amy trying to charm me, her eyes sparkling like Puss in Boots, Ethan got grumpy.
“Why are you so clingy? Besides, Miss Cherry snores loudly, so it's better for her to sleep alone.”
“What are you talking about? You said I didn't snore.”
When I protested, Ethan feigned ignorance and shrugged. Amy, who was listening to our conversation, suddenly asked,
“You two have slept together?”
“Of cour—.”
“Of course not. Why would we, with so many rooms?”
I answered without a second's hesitation. Amy nodded, as if to say, *That makes sense*.
Ethan suddenly fell silent, propped his chin on his hand, and sank into thought with a very serious expression. *What's with him?*
Ironically, it was only upon seeing him like that that I truly registered the battle was over and we had taken Brunel.