Chapter 116: Will I die?
The instructor of Hidden Leader died, but it doesn't mean the influx of monsters will end.
After the tree spirit fell, most of the monsters that continued to attack Creek Town under the command of Hidden Leader were enemies of humans and adventurers.
They don't just want to destroy and plunder, they also want revenge.
Therefore, even the black flaming sword that cuts through the rainy night and the tentacles shooting out from underground couldn't scare them.
Taking advantage of the cover of the rainy night, they recklessly crashed into Creek Town.
Despite the adventurers' resistance, the once-intact buildings were attacked and collapsed one by one.
Screams, cries, and boisterous laughter mixed together, turning this turbulent rainy night into a nightmare that many can never erase from their hearts.
"The guildmaster, are you okay?"
After saying goodbye to Vita, Loria quickly ran back to the guildmaster's side.
She felt relieved that although the guildmaster still couldn't stand up, he looked energetic and not like he was dying.
Great!
Loria was afraid that if she went back, the guildmaster would collapse.
Isn't this often how it's portrayed in TV shows?
Someone would say they're fine, asking everyone not to worry and urging others to get on with important tasks, but as soon as others left, they would just drop dead.
"The monster wave is not over yet, don't let your guard down!"
The guildmaster's brows furrowed, even at this moment, he didn't forget to remind Loria of the qualities an excellent knight should possess.
"The guildmaster, let me take you home first."
Loria walked up and picked up the guildmaster in her arms.
The guildmaster's body was damp, not sure if it was rain or sweat.
But she didn't mind. As a Shame-Powered Female Warrior, she was used to feeling wet and sticky all over. In fact, she kind of liked it.
It felt... quite comfortable.
But now was not the time to think about these things.
The guildmaster gave her a stern look and started lecturing her again.
"I'm fine. To become an excellent knight, you can't just focus on the people around you. Go help others repel the invading monsters."
"..."
Who wants to be an excellent knight anyway?
Aren't you too tired before becoming excellent? How can you handle it when you become excellent?
It's better to become an excellent geisha.
Loria simply carried the guildmaster on her back, just like she did with Miss Plump Sheep last time, using a thick detachable tail to tie it up.
Speaking of Miss Plump Sheep, Loria, who had taken two steps forward, suddenly turned back.
"Are you okay?"
She lifted the huge stone and let the trembling Miss Plump Sheep, who was hiding inside, come out.
Miss Plump Sheep's big hat had long been blown away, and her thin magical suit had become tattered.
She felt weak, and after being drenched by the rain, all she could do was to sneeze in response to Loria.
"I'm going to die, I'm going to die."
Loria nodded silently, feeling exhausted but noticing that Miss Plump Sheep seemed fine.
"Stay by my side!"
She took out a big sword and, before setting off, rubbed her sore stomach with her hand.
The pain was not bothersome at all, she had endured even greater pain when fighting with Vita.
As Loria joined the battle, the previously slowing momentum of the monsters completely stopped.
However, the situation was far from good.
When Loria found Felix, he was using his own body to protect a few ordinary people, covered in wounds from the fierce monsters.
If she hadn't arrived in time, would Felix and his family have all died at the hands of the monsters?
"Quickly go tend to your wounds, leave this to me."
Felix shook his head vigorously, and splashes of water flew everywhere from his blue ponytail.
"I can't rest yet. There are still many innocent people trapped under the rubble, and I must find them as soon as possible."
"But you..."
"It's okay, I'm an adventurer after all. I can endure this pain."
A smile appeared on Felix's face.
However, the smile quickly disappeared because it touched the wound on the corner of his mouth, making it look a bit funny.
Loria was startled for a moment.
Suddenly, she realized that if her strength was similar to Felix's now, she probably would have run away many days ago. It would be impossible for her to risk her life saving people in this place infested with monsters.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh?"
Felix, who was about to leave, stood still when he turned around.
Loria said, "I suspected you were involved with the secret mastermind behind the monster attack."
Just apologize, it's not difficult to say sorry.
She was stubborn, but not about this.
Felix awkwardly scratched his head.
He was about to speak when Loria interrupted, "Let's talk about it later, I need to help the others first."
"Okay!"
Felix immediately nodded.
The two of them parted ways, with Loria, the guildmaster, and Miss Plump Sheep running towards the gathering place of monsters.
The guildmaster couldn't move his legs, but his hands could still move freely.
So, Loria charged forward with a large sword in hand, while the guildmaster swung a knight's sword on his back, like a pair of deadly wings, killing all the remaining monsters that Loria couldn't fully clear out while moving forward.
As for Miss Plump Sheep, she also played a very important role.
Without her, Loria and the guildmaster wouldn't have been able to hear praises wherever they went.
"Amazing!"
"Truly worthy of Knight Loria!"
"Certainly worthy of the woman standing on Knight Loria's shoulders!"
Loria went all the way from the east side of Creek Town to the west side, and wherever she went, fierce monsters scattered.
When the time reached four o'clock in the morning, after stabbing a member of the Hidden Leader with her sword, Miss Knight breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's over!"
She looked around and couldn't see groups of monsters anymore in the town, but for now, only the battle was over. The scars left by the wave of monsters would take a while to heal, and may never heal completely.
Under the curtain of rain.
A mother held her deceased daughter and cried loudly.
A father and son who were separated in the chaos reunited and cried tears of joy.
A person whose leg was bitten by a monster shouted in pain.
All of this was real and cruel.
In the previous simulation, Loria only saw some cold, emotionless words.
For example, "Creek Town was mostly destroyed," or "Creek Town was completely consumed by a big fire"...
She thought she could face the aftermath of the war in Creek Town calmly, and even the actual situation in Creek Town now was much worse than she had imagined in her simulations. But after seeing the real scene with her own eyes, anger uncontrollably surged in her heart.
"It won't be long before Hidden Leader starts another war, and the places affected by the war will definitely be even worse than here."
Loria gritted her teeth.
This war wasn't started to overthrow the cruel rule, but for reasons that ordinary people can hardly understand.
Unfortunately, she was powerless.
With her abilities, she could only slightly lessen the disasters that Creek Town should face.
Thinking about this, Loria became angry again.
If it weren't for Claren City being infiltrated by Hidden Leader like a sieve, she could have sought outside help.
"Go back."
After staring at the distant night view for a while, Loria carried the guildmaster and went home.
"Um..."
Miss Plump Sheep was at a loss.
"Yukihime, come with us."
"Yay!"
Miss Plump Sheep immediately followed.
After the wave of monsters started, she rushed from her residence to the Adventurers Management Guild to help. In the process, her residence was completely destroyed by the monsters, and she temporarily had nowhere to go.
The guildmaster's home is in a remote area, where the monsters haven't reached yet, so everything is intact.
Loria first took the guildmaster to the bathroom, and after asking Miss Plump Sheep to take care of the guildmaster, she ran into the rain and carried Doris back.
At a crucial moment, we still need a "doctor," even if this doctor is not very reliable, it's still better than having none.
But what made Loria anxious was that even though Doris's healing magic had been successful, there was still no sign of improvement in the guildmaster's leg.
"This isn't an injury," the guildmaster explained. "It's the price of using that power."
Loria immediately thought of the black flame greatsword.
Her face looked a bit unpleasant.
The sickly wheelchair big sister really bothered her leaning, this way she could "bully" the guildmaster every day.
But who wants to see a normal the guildmaster suddenly become abnormal?
The guildmaster noticed the concern on her face and comforted her, saying, "It will get better, it'll be back to normal within ten days at most."
Loria didn't believe such nonsense.
It's not that she didn't believe the guildmaster's leg could recover, she just didn't believe it would fully recover.
That black flame was obviously not a normal power, how could the cost of using that power be just not being able to use her legs for about ten days? The sacrifice and the reward were completely disproportionate.
But when Loria asked about it, the guildmaster dodged the topic and started talking about the origin of the black flame.
This is really a continuation of the previous story.
"Do you remember the junior sister I told you about last time?"
Loria nodded.
According to the guildmaster, that junior sister got caught in the "theology" quagmire while searching for miracles. After the disaster struck, it not only affected the junior sister, but also her, because she went to save the junior sister at that time.
"Is it another power of God? Which god is it this time?"
The guildmaster shook her head.
This time she was really confused and didn't want to get tangled up in this question.
Loria, unable to get an answer, had to take the guildmaster out of the bathtub, put clothes on her, and then carry her to bed.
Then, nothing exciting happened.
Loria had already calmed down and now was not the time to do anything bad.
"I'll go get you guys some food."
Loria kindly cooked chicken soup and gave the guildmaster and Miss Plump Sheep each a bowl.
Eat more, eating more will make your body stronger so that you don't easily die.
After calming down, Loria was ready to start a new simulation.
But before she could sit down, she heard a call from outside. She quickly opened the door and found a group of adventurers looking for the leader.
The mayor and the sheriff of Creek Town are both dead, and now the highest position is held by Adeline, who is in charge of the guildmaster division of the association.
Just after the monster tide ended, there were a lot of things to deal with, and the adventurers wanted the guildmaster to go out and take charge.
"The guildmaster is injured."
Loria looked worried, and at this time, she couldn't let the guildmaster, who had trouble walking, go out to work, right?
"Huh?"
The adventurers showed their anxious expressions, and in the end, Loria had no choice but to step forward and take over the responsibility from the guildmaster.
She didn't have to make many decisions. Just by standing there, she could become a pillar for many restless adventurers to rely on.
After all, Loria was young, and petite, but when the midnight hour came, the sight of her wielding a big sword and rushing around was imprinted in the eyes of every Creek Town resident.
"So troublesome."
Loria couldn't help but complain.
When it turned out that being a knight or anything like that was indeed not promising, she had to find a way to live an easy life without working hard.
The whole morning, Creek Town passed by while cleaning up the remnants.
After finally having a little free time in the afternoon, Loria walked and walked and ended up near the house that Vita had previously rented.
Looking at the empty ruins, she remained silent for a long time.
People were gone, and the building was gone too, leaving no trace behind.
That's not right either.
Loria suddenly bent down to pick up a cup with a missing handle, and this cup seemed to be the same as the one she had used before.
"Is this the last bit of fate?"
Loria put away the cup.
They had agreed to wait until reaching level A to find Vita, but who knows how the situation will change by then?
The most important thing is, will Vita still be alive by then?
Loria crouched down.
Vita's actions were a betrayal to the Hidden Leader. She killed that instructor, which means that news of her betrayal cannot remain hidden forever.
If it is revealed, it would be very brutal, wouldn't it?
Loria didn't dare to dwell on it.
With a heavy heart, she walked back home.
The guildmaster's face looked much better than in the morning. As soon as she saw her, the guildmaster warned, "This is not over yet. We must find a way to spread the Hidden Leader's true intentions, so they won't have time to think about Creek Town. We also need to force them to disrupt their plans and start the war earlier."
Loria nodded and said, "After we finish with the busy tasks in the next couple of days, let's go to Claren City."
She also had some debts to settle with the group of troublemakers over there.
...
Vita had already prepared herself mentally.
Therefore, when she saw the enforcement officer from the Hidden Leader approaching her, she didn't argue or resist.
That doesn't make sense.
In her current condition, struggling would only make her die faster.
Actually, even if she wasn't injured, she wasn't planning on running.
After the weaver's mark was left on her body, the only hope for her to be free was to wait for the gift from the Hidden Leader.
"Let's go."
Before her, there was a carriage that led to a distant place.
When Vita stepped onto the carriage's footboard, she suddenly stopped. Instead of lifting the carriage curtain, she turned around and looked at Creek Town, which was still covered by fine rain under the grey sky.
No matter how she looked, she couldn't see Adeline's house or Loria, even though they were far away.
Just the thought of the carriage wheels rolling made Vita feel like she was stepping into an endless abyss, and her usually calm nose started to feel sour uncontrollably.
She didn't say goodbye.
Because she didn't know how to say goodbye to the people she couldn't bear to lose in her life, she left without saying goodbye.
But now she regretted it.
At least say goodbye when leaving, so it feels like a proper farewell and shows that she cares for Loria, right?
"I'm leaving."
A cold voice cut everything off.
Vita mechanically turned her body back, pulled open the curtain, and finally sat down in the darkness.
"Will I die?"
"No."
"Is this meant to comfort me?"
"It's scarier than death."
There was no sound inside the carriage, only the echoing sound of the wheels rolling.
