Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: Strange Things
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Johnson only stopped his taunts after getting a lump on the back of his head.
No, it would be more accurate to say he could no longer run his mouth.
As expected, a good beating is the best medicine for those who won't listen...
Ah, is that something you say about crazy people?
Well, let's just say this bastard is crazy enough.
He's trash who was blinded by ambition and turned the knight order into a political playground.
"Alright, now carry him."
I glanced back at Kamil Felton and jerked my chin.
It was a signal for him to hurry up and carry Johnson.
The Island of the Dead was vast.
We'd have to move quickly if we wanted to even begin searching before sunset.
But Kamil walked right past the collapsed Johnson.
"Not taking him? If you leave him, he'll most likely be corrupted by demonic energy. Didn't you say you never move in groups of less than two?"
"Doesn't matter. I never liked him anyway."
"Wow... So you're a real cold-blooded one."
He was surprised when I knocked Johnson out, but now he's acting all detached.
What an unpredictable guy.
As I was about to turn away, I happened to meet Rhys Ganiol's gaze.
His eyes seemed to say that I was the more unpredictable one.
*'Can you read minds or something?'*
I shrugged and walked past Vice-Commander Rhys.
Then, a flustered voice erupted from behind me.
"Are you really not going to help him?"
"Nope. He's not from our family, so why bother? Let's go."
"Hah..."
Rhys Ganiol let out a hollow sigh and tried to lift Johnson's arm.
Johnson was a cunning sycophant, but he was still a knight.
There was no way a scrawny mage could lift a well-built man in full armor.
After struggling for a moment, Vice-Commander Rhys gave up and simply trotted after me.
***
In the end, the group couldn't leave Johnson behind.
Surprisingly, he regained consciousness quite quickly.
The shock must have been significant, as he couldn't quite control his body.
Still, he could walk, so Rhys Ganiol helped him along.
"Tch, and here I thought we were getting rid of him for good."
Watching them, Kamil muttered something chilling.
*'Looking at him now, he's the colder one. Ah, could Johnson be a political rival?'*
If that were the case, I would have left Johnson behind too.
I might have even finished him off.
If the opportunity arose, of course.
"By the way, do we even know where we're going?"
As we were pressing forward, I sensed something was off and looked back.
Kamil, with a clueless expression, did the same.
He directed his gaze to the two people trailing at the very back.
Rhys Ganiol responded with a look of disbelief.
"After leaving this man to me, that's what you have to say?"
"We never told you to bring him. Right?"
"Yeah."
As Kamil and I answered nonchalantly, the Vice-Commander's face turned red and then purple.
He looked as if all his effort up to this point had just crumbled to dust.
"Hmph!"
"Ugh!"
"If you're conscious, walk on your own."
In the end, Rhys Ganiol also threw Johnson aside.
Of course, he didn't actually slam him onto the ground.
He just pulled his arm away.
But without the support, Johnson staggered and collapsed to the ground.
It seemed the shock from the kick to the back of his head hadn't worn off yet.
"Ugh! You rotten bastards...!"
A voice laced with curses came from behind, but no one paid it any mind.
The man had to struggle to his feet and follow with a clumsy gait.
"See that?"
"What, the yellow line?"
"Yeah. We set it up. It means this area has been scouted."
"So, beyond that is completely unknown territory."
"According to your father, he cleared it out before we arrived. He said it used to be teeming with not only Colossi but all sorts of strange things."
"Strange things?"
"He said they were stronger than the Colossi. Their names were..."
"He probably didn't bother naming them."
"Correct. You know him well."
"That's just how he is."
Black Sand Claude wouldn't have cared about the characteristics of his attackers.
He would have just killed everything that came at him and moved on without a second thought.
As I recalled his cold eyes and expression, Kamil added his thoughts.
"But we can't assume there are no monsters here."
"Why?"
"We don't block every single Demonic Gate. With troop support delayed, we've missed a few recently."
"Ah, and you don't know where they went?"
"Exactly. Most probably crossed over to the Livius continent."
"But some might have remained here. Then..."
I almost blurted out a question to Kamil.
I almost asked if he knew the reason during the investigation of the Forest of the Dead's expansion.
*'Oops! That was a close call. I mistook this for Venderford.'*
It was because we'd started speaking informally and gotten comfortable so quickly.
When the conversation abruptly stopped, Kamil gave me a questioning look.
I mumbled something evasive and turned to face forward.
"So you're saying those strange creatures might still be around."
"The probability is high. The Colossi are so large and loud."
"We'll have to be careful."
Even if they were nothing to Black Sand Claude, we couldn't let our guard down.
He did say the mysterious beings were stronger than the Colossi.
There were only four of us, so it was best to avoid combat as much as possible.
*Crack!*
But a grating sound disturbed the silence.
Frowning, I turned my head and saw Rhys Ganiol frozen in place.
It looked like he'd stepped on a dry twig.
Honestly, a sound like that didn't matter.
It's not like we were moving with our presence completely concealed like assassins.
"Grrrrrr!"
The problem was the dark monster that had appeared behind the Vice-Commander.
"Damn it, already?"
I instinctively knew this was one of those strange creatures.
It looked absolutely monstrous.
Six bulging eyeballs, a body floating in mid-air with long tentacles dangling down.
A wide, gaping mouth where its stomach should be, lined with teeth as sharp as a saw's.
It seemed to attack by grabbing its prey with those long tentacles and shoving them into its maw.
*'Its appearance easily surpasses the Colossi.'*
I immediately rushed toward Rhys Ganiol, unleashing a series of sword strikes.
Dozens of tentacles had already shot out from all directions, threatening the group.
But to the Vice-Commander, it must have looked like I was charging in to tear him to pieces.
"Aaaah! What are you doing all of a sudden?"
"Agh! Stop making a fuss and stay still!"
I was exercising the utmost concentration.
I had to strike down the monster's tentacles while avoiding Rhys Ganiol's body.
*Swish! Swish! Thwack!*
"Huuuh!"
With a faint sound of displaced air, something invisible grazed past his skin.
The tentacles were all deflected as if they'd hit an invisible wall.
It wasn't magic, just an invisible aura blocking all the attacks.
This was the result of Dark Chain Kill, an advanced assassination art of the Rantzverger.
*Thud!*
Regardless of the process, I had managed to save the Vice-Commander from the eyeball monster's surprise attack.
"Gasp! Gasp! Th-that's..."
"It seems to be one of those creatures."
It was an appearance that even the impassive Black Sand Claude would describe as strange.
Its grotesque form wasn't the main concern.
For our underpowered group, the key was how strong it was.
I glanced over at Kamil.
He was the only reliable fighter in our party.
"What's the plan?"
Kamil Felton asked me in a natural tone.
It was as if he were saying, 'You're the leader of this group, why are you asking me?'
*'He's leaving the decision to me? Good.'*
I quickly scanned our surroundings.
I had already assessed the terrain, but I checked again just to be sure.
It wasn't a good situation for an immediate retreat.
The eyeball monster had ambushed us from behind.
Fleeing blindly through the forest would only increase the chances of running into other enemies.
Besides, that wasn't the only reason to deal with it here.
*'I need to find out what these things are ahead of time.'*
Encountering the eyeball monster right at the entrance was surprisingly not a bad thing.
It was a chance to quickly understand the enemies we'd be facing.
I gripped the Black Dragon Sword and took a step forward.
*Chk!*
At that, everyone's eyes turned to me.
"What are you hesitating for? If it's an enemy, we just crush it. Surround it."
The moment those words left my mouth, Kamil swiftly moved to the flank.
He had instinctively realized I would face the creature head-on.
But his movements were so natural.
*'This scene feels familiar, like I've seen it before.'*
Back when we had the assignment to defeat the Crown Arachne.
Going even further back, it was like when we hunted the third-tier druid during the Venderford mission.
Kamil's actions reminded me of those times.
It seemed that having frequently experienced similar situations, he had become quite familiar with the strategy.
*'A guy this sharp messed up the command so badly? No way.'*
From my perspective, it was highly likely that Azis had deliberately left his post.
His intentions could be varied.
Like gauging Kamil's leadership abilities.
Digging deeper, it could have even been a planned defeat.
Manipulating guys like Johnson would be child's play for Azis.
Perhaps it was an attempt to stomp on his bothersome third brother, who had been growing stronger lately?
It was another family's business, but Kamil was a crucial key to my grand plan.
If played right, I could easily fracture the Felton family.
*'Whatever the case, I need to focus on the battle at hand.'*
To talk about the future, I had to solve the problem right in front of me.
Parrying the constantly flying tentacles, I glanced back at Rhys Ganiol.
"I'll need a proper blast from you, just like yesterday."
"Don't worry. If I push myself a little, I can even manage two."
Having grown a bit more accustomed to the demonic energy, the Vice-Commander confidently lifted his chin.
Finally, I turned my gaze to Johnson, who was standing there blankly.
"Hey."
"What is it?"
"If you don't want to die, you should help."
"Of course, I intend to. But..."
As Johnson trailed off, looking around with anxious eyes, I couldn't help but frown.
It looked like he was trying to weasel his way out of it.
"But what?"
"Black Sand Claude referred to that tentacle monster as strange 'things.' Plural. In that case?"
*Rustle! Rustle!*
No sooner had Johnson finished speaking than the bushes rustled with an ominous sound.
In that very moment, I realized.
We were already surrounded.
*'Kamil?'*
I reflexively whipped my head around.
It was to check on Kamil, who had run off to strike the eyeball monster from behind.
Then, I caught sight of him hanging upside down in mid-air, waving.
"Yo, I'm already caught."
"Proud of you, you bastard."
It was a moment where a curse just naturally slipped out.