Chapter 348 – 348. Struggle and Life (2)

– One –

Zuzuzuk, fluff.
Zuzuzuk, fluff.

A soldier crawls desperately.

Only his left arm seems to be able to move, and it drags him through the bushes.

His whole body was half melted.

Shruck, shruck.
Slither.

A snake crawls out from between his armor.

The snake’s mouth was glistening with blood, as if it had been swallowing blood after driving fangs into his body.

“Keuhuh…”

Purrrr.

He trembles

As if he didn’t even have the strength to crawl any more, he fell face down and breathed heavily.

There was a man watching it from afar.

Did you find him even in the blurred vision,

“Sa, save, keoheouk…”

The soldier stretches out his hand towards him and pleads.

However, the man did not approach the soldier.

“He’s the last one.”

Muttering only those words,

Seruk.
Jerk, jerk, jerk.

Turn your body mercilessly.

– 2 –

Jerk, jerk, jerk, jerk.
Sabak, Sabak, Sabak, Sabak.

“Hey. How are you?”

A man walks through the bushes with a sly face.

The faces of the people who were on high alert were happy.

“Mister, are you here now?”

A young boy whose lines have just begun to grow thicker approaches him.

Swoop, Swoop.

The man stretches out his hand and strokes the boy’s hair.

The boy has his eyes closed.

Unlike peers who have entered puberty, boys do not show rebellion against such actions by men.

They seemed to be building a very close relationship with each other.

“Yeah. Did anything special happen?”

“Yes. Mister, do you think things went well? Your body looks much better than when you left. Your voice has improved.”

Glancing up and down the man, the boy asks a question.

The fact that the man had recovered his body, the boy seemed genuinely happy.

“Do you hear that I was uncomfortable even seeing your face before?”

“Ehehe…”

“Silence contains positivity, right?”

Hehe. You’re not a very handsome man.”

“Damn it.”

Damn

The man lightly feeds honey chestnuts on the boy’s forehead.

The boy holds his head, but doesn’t erase the smile from his face.

“You must be hungry because you have traveled far, so go and have a meal.”

“What about you?”

“I ate it long ago.”

Corr.

A roaring sound came from the boy’s stomach.

The boy’s face slowly turns red.

“It’s because I’m hungry when I return after eating, and I’m hungry again.”

“Eeing, tsuzuk.”

Swoop.
Tup.

The man grabs the boy’s hand.

“Let’s go, you bastard. Eat something next to me while I eat.”

“Eh? I have to guard that entrance.”

“If you skipped meals like that when you were young, you’ll become a hunchback like me when you get older, you bastard.”

“Nonsense. You said you were born with a hunchback.”

Man, Slammer ignores the boy’s words.

“You guys go with me. I checked on the way, and there was nothing dangerous. You can rest in peace today.”

“Yes, Mr. Slammer.”

“I was waiting for that.”

Other young people are happy.

Seeing that, the boy let out a silent sigh.

“What will happen if you set up a rule to your heart’s content… The biggest adult doesn’t even think about following it…”

“If you build a village later, you’ll eat it to your heart’s content, and now let’s go and fill our stomachs, you bastard.”

“Chit.”

– 3 –

“Has everyone gathered?”

“Yes, Slammer.”

Slammer sits on a rock and looks around.

Seventeen.

Without a single person missing, everyone gathered in the clearing.

“Yes. Some people may be wondering why I came back alone, contrary to my original plan.”

Nod, nod

A few people nod.

They didn’t ask such a question because they trusted Slammer completely, but it seemed that they were curious about it in their hearts.

“Things went a little wrong.”

“How do you mean it went wrong?”

When the boy asks, Slammer is silent for a moment.

How to explain the situation, and how to deal with it after that, seemed quite helpless.

“Hmm…”

After being silent for a while, Slammer makes a decision.

“While I was returning from the successful conclusion of negotiations, the Imperial Army discovered some of the rebel spies. As they began to suspect the relationship between the rebels and us, the atmosphere became quite hostile. It would be dangerous to do so, so I shunned them moderately and returned alone.”

He decided to hide the truth from them and tell a suitable lie.

“That, like that…”

“Ah…”

Everyone can’t hide their disappointment.

They were the ones who barely survived the massacre of the rebels.

Not only could they survive the winter in unexplored lands with just this amount of numbers, but the biggest problem was getting food right away.

So, they all decided to entrust to the Imperial Army and sent Slammer as a representative, but the result was a failure.

“Then… Then what should we do?

“Can’t we explain it to the Imperial Army again? We have nothing to do with the rebels.”

“It would be nice if I went to a place like that and didn’t get tortured, I’m sick…”

People only muttered in anxiety, but they did not question Slammer’s judgment.

Judging from that, it was clear that he had complete trust in him.

“It must be dangerous to entrust oneself to the Imperial Army.”

Even if it is indirect, Slammer hides the fact that he made all the imperial troops who came along with him die.

He hides the fact that if, in the future, the Imperial Army pursues his activities and discovers the bodies of his soldiers and sergeants, they too may be subject to suspicion.

The sergeants and soldiers are all dead, but they also hide the fact that the fact that they survived will also be one of the factors fueling the suspicion of the Imperial Army.

“Then what should I do, Mr. Slammer?”

“There are two ways. Everyone splits up and heads south, and all of them run as far north as possible to avoid the war.”

“…”

Silence prevails.

Neither was an easy choice for them.

“I’ll give you a day’s time. Let’s think about it and talk again tomorrow at this time.”

“Yes, Slammer.”

“Yes, mister.”

They scatter

Some get together in groups of two or three to share their opinions.

Jerk, jerk, jerk.

Slammer heads for his residence.

It is said to be a shelter, but at least it was just a hut made of the most intact fabric in the village.

Squeak.
Dump.

Lie down on an old mat.

He gazes into the void and sings quietly.

“Can I say this, Margarita?”

– Yes. You suffered. Now that you’ve done all you can do, honey is telling you to stop and return.

“…”

Slammer did not respond quickly.

Margarita read the stain on his silence.

She speaks to Slammer cautiously.

– Do you have any other ideas?

“Ummm… No, it’s not. I just couldn’t finish the things I planned properly, but going back like this feels like something is lacking.”

– Hmm… Wait a minute…

Margarita is silent.

She was probably talking to Jose.

– Oh, can you hear me, Slammer?

Slammer widens his eyes.

“Hmm…? Ho, Jose…?”

– That’s right.

“Huh…”

Perhaps Margarita carried his voice right away.

Slammer couldn’t figure out how that was possible, but she was glad to be able to talk to him directly.

– I can’t hear Slammer’s story right away, so it will take some time for an answer. But rather than having a conversation through Margarita, this will allow you to communicate much faster.

“I see. By the way, Jose. Do you have something to say to me?”

– That’s right.

Jose gave Slammer the details of the current situation in such a way that it felt somewhat lengthy.

He even told us about the mental problems he and his colleagues were experiencing.

Slammer could only listen to Jose with his eyes wide open.

It was because the situation was more serious than he thought.

– … Yes. So the slammer’s move became much more dangerous. Slammer is our friend, and we can’t leave him alone in danger any longer.

“I guess it was something like that…”

– Besides, we’re even mentally precarious right now. Now, everyone is pretending to be cool, but it is implicitly revealed that everyone is anxious because they are mentally precarious. It is true that the field of view is narrowed as much as that, and that they are in a hurry. So you need someone who isn’t affected by it, namely the slammer.

Slammer nods his head with a stiff face.

“Okay. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

– Yes. If, by any chance, the Imperials or rebels approach the Slammer area, we will notify you immediately through Margarita.

“Thank you.”

– Then…

The wind whirling around my ears disappears.

Still, Slammer did not feel empty in a corner of his heart.

There was also no sadness.

– 4 –

“Our soldiers who went to pick up the refugees are completely missing.”

“Damn it… Have you checked the whereabouts of the soldiers?”

“We confirmed that the trail led to a bush three days away from the military camp, but we couldn’t find it after that.”

“Is he also a rebel’s nemesis…”

Cringe

The warden goes to it.

Swoop.

At that moment, an officer quietly raises his hand.

Judging from the mage’s distinctive attire, he seemed to be one of the officers leading the troop of mages.

“General.”

“Speak.”

“According to the refugee’s testimony, observation using far-sighted magic confirmed that there is a group of rebels where he said.”

“Is it?”

“Yes. Judging from the fact that it was a sloppy fortress with only training facilities and collective housing facilities, it seemed unlikely that he lied or that it was a trap prepared by the rebels.”

The warden shakes his head.

Some discomfort seemed to remain, but it seemed that the mood was relieved.

“Then, the disappearance of our soldiers could be due to an unexpected accident.”

“Yes. I think there is a high possibility of that. It is judged that he was eaten by monsters or beasts, or he got into an accident while passing dangerous terrain.”

“Tsk. I don’t know if they only gave too few people…”

The warden frowned.

The discomfort had gone, and feeble remorse and remorse seemed to have taken its place.

“Anyway, they’re just a handful of refugees. I don’t think there’s any need to worry about them any more, unless our scouting party discovers them later, or if they entrust themselves to them while the main army advances.”

“That’s right. Since the identity of the rebels has been confirmed, we must make it our top priority to march there and subdue them in an instant!”

The warden nods his head.

When the generals turn a blind eye to his mistake and stand by him, the warden gives up his remorse.

“Okay. Let’s forget about them for now.”

The warden wipes away the guilt that has seeped through him.

“Let’s deploy a scouting party first in the direction where the rebels are believed to be located. Some of the main force will have to bypass the route and encircle the area to prevent them from escaping, so please also scout the surroundings.”

“I see, General.”

The officers in charge of the task respond in unison.

At that time,

Swoop.

“I have something to tell you.”

An officer dressed as a wizard asks to speak again.

Knowing that he was not a nonsense person, the warden readily nodded his head in approval of his remarks.

“One thing I learned while observing with far sight magic is that the bushes are overgrown near the road leading to the rebel fortress. . Plus, the bushes look all the more suspicious because of their generally consistent growth to waist height.”

“Hmm…?”

Squeak.

The warden straightens his posture and sits down.

“It looks like they intentionally raised the bushes in this area? Does it look like they set a trap or something?”

“I haven’t activated the clairvoyance magic, so I don’t know that much. But one thing is for sure, when plants grow that densely, they compete for limited nutrients, so they can’t grow that luxuriantly. .You couldn’t have that type of bush naturally occurring without a huge dump of fertilizer all last summer to keep the plants growing.”

“Right…”

The warden shakes his head with a satisfied expression.

This is because the officer in the wizard suit did not make unnecessary guesses based on uncertain facts.

“Is the place where the suspicious grass is located exactly between the allies’ military camp and the rebel’s stronghold?”

“That’s right. This is where the rebel base is located,”

Chin.

An officer in a wizard’s outfit points his hand at a point on the map.

It was northwest of the military camp.

“If we were to march the shortest distance to this place, we would have no choice but to pass through that thicket.”

“Can you show me on a map what the approximate range is?”

“It’s not accurate because I didn’t observe the bush with distance magic.”

Swoop.

The officer stretches out his hand for the map again.

Square, saaaaa.
Tok, tok.

Draw a fairly large oval with your finger.

Considering the scale of the map, the area inside the ellipse would be quite vast.

“It seemed to be distributed in about this range.”

“Hmm… It’s sure to take a lot of time to make a detour.”

“However, it is certain that it will take more time to march through the bushes. For safety and time savings, we suggest bypassing the bushes.”

The warden is silent for a moment, then nods his head.

“Like you said, let’s march around the bush. Everyone heard that, right?”

“Yes, General!”

“If the reconnaissance team departs first, I will communicate with the reconnaissance team and advance. We have to start marching tomorrow, so tell the soldiers to prepare for the march during roll call this evening.”

“Insect!”

The full-scale movement of the expeditionary force began in the northern unexplored lands.