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Chapter 25 : Resolve
🕑 Added 2022-04-20 13:06:08 +0000 UTCTL:SummerPeanut
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I and Clarice were watching the battle in the city from outside the window.
Our hands were connected the whole time.
From the moment Clarice took my hand and invited me into her room to when we were talking in bed, and even to now, we have always held hands.
Outside, the Knights had surrounded the labyrinth and were holding back the goblins.
The fourth wave also consisted of hobgoblins and goblin mages.
What was different from the third wave was the number.
It seemed that the goblins were still coming out of the labyrinth, and even more goblins were flooding in endlessly.
At this rate, the knights would not be able to hold them back. If the front line was breached, I think the city might be trampled down.
The inhabitants were ready to flee. They were not running away yet though.
Clarice's hand tightened as she watched the situation.
I tried not to get too actively involved in this battle, partly because it was an enemy country.
It’s to the point I thought that it’s fine for me to curb Lampard Family now in case they become a risk factor.
But it’s different for Clarice. It’s natural for her to want to help those she spent time with who were in a terrible situation.
“What do you want to do?”
I asked.
“Of course. I want to help. I want to help them without abandoning this city.”
“Then let's go help.”
“But Mars is from an enemy country, right? I am not clear what's going on right now but surely it's better for Mars's country that things stay their course?”
“Certainly, it might be better for my country if Grantham was to be trampled by magic beasts.
But Clarice is here after all. That time I couldn’t protect you properly but this time I will make sure to protect you to the end. I know I just said that on the spur of the moment but I'm not lying.”
These words brought tears to Clarice's eyes and she hugged me.
Now that I think of it, just what am I really saying here I wonder. It sounded like I’m taking advantage of the suspension bridge effect while saying my pick-up lines to a girl. I could feel my face getting more and more scarlet.
“Thank you.”
After Clarice said that, I broke the embrace and walked out of the room.
Gray and Erna were there.
I had somewhat expected they would but I guess they were really eavesdropping. I opened my mouth.
“It looks like the fourth wave has arrived. I'm going to go stop it.”
“Are you sure? It might become a serious problem later on, you know. That time, I don’t think we can take Mars’s side.”
“I’m prepared for that.”
So I ran out of the house with Baron Dames' sword in my right hand after saying my piece.
I then made my way through the residents to the Count of Beetle, who was commanding the front line of the Knights.
The people cheered as I passed by.
Some of them even call me ‘Sir Sword Saint’.
The count was frantically commanding the front line which was about to collapse at any moment.
Behind the Count is Baron Dames, who was preparing himself to escape on his own.
I’m sure if the fourth wave can be contained, he’ll join but if not, he’ll make sure that he can escape anytime.
The residents below that count were turning their expectant eyes to me.
“Count Beetle, may I join you in the fight?”
When I said that. Then Baron Dames interrupted.
“You bandit! I’ll deliver your judgment!”
He shouted and slashed at me.
He had bad timing that’s for sure.
I dodged Dames's attack and shot him in the jaw with the bottom of my palm, knocking him out.
The Count saw this and said.
“Who are you? Is that sword not Dames's? Either way, a child cannot be allowed to participate in the war. You will be dealt with later for disrespect to nobility, so stay where you are!”
At these words the inhabitants.
“Count, the child is the one I was telling you about.”
“Sir Sword Saint! Please slaughter those goblins!”
They said in response.
None of the residents were worried about Dames or took his side.
The Count had also received the report and he must hadn’t thought such a child would be the one…
“I see, you are the... can you do me this favor?”
He said in a bewildered but polite way.
“Yes, sir. I will surely defeat them.”
I answered and headed for the front lines where the battle lines were about to collapse at any moment.
The front had already reached its limits.
Even though Knight Commander Blair was wounded, he could not retreat.
Even if he retreated, there would only be the wounded and the inhabitants behind him.
The adventurers had just received medical treatment in the previous battle. There was no way they could participate in the battle.
They already knew that the only thing they could do was to act as a wall of flesh and buy time.
However, Blair desperately tried to inspire them.
“We are almost there. In a little while, the sword saint from earlier will come! Until then, endure!”
It felt quite vain if he says so himself.
According to the reports, a small child had defeated more than 300 goblins single-handedly but there was no way such a child could do such a thing.
And that was not even counting the fact that there were a group of hobgoblins and goblin mages in it.
It would have been impossible unless it’s a high-ranking Zarkham royal knight or minimally a B-level adventurer.
While he was thinking about this, one of his men on the left was hit by a goblin mage's stone bullet which rendered him incapable of combat.
The recovery medicine he had on hand was already used up.
If his subordinate does not retreat now, he would die in less than a minute.
But he could not let him retreat.
He felt this was that moment. That the whole city will be swallowed whole if the magic beasts were to break through this point.
The hobgoblin came laughing to put an end to his subordinate on the left. He was too occupied fighting the hobgoblin in front of him to do anything.
When he thought that he should at least watch his men’s last struggle.
The hobgoblin's head flew off right in front of his subordinate.
Unable to comprehend at all what happened, I froze for a duration shorter than a second.
And when he came back to consciousness, he saw that his subordinate's wounds, which should have been severe, were getting better.
It was not a full recovery but it was no longer a fatal wound.
To his further surprise, the hobgoblin's head in front of him had also been cut down.
I guess I've taken down every spot that looked dangerous.
After confirming the battle situation, I undid my Wind Cloak (Sylphid) and began to slaughter the goblins calmly.
This time, the goblins were so densely packed that it took only about three seconds to take down one of them.
The goblins' faces, which had been smiling cruelly earlier, twitched.
Even the least intelligent goblins must have realized that they had changed from predators to prey.
“Okay, this is the last one.”
With that, I took down the last one.
The headless goblins rolled around me.
I heard shouts of joy from the residents and even the words, ‘Long live the Sword Saint’.
The knights were also sitting down, relieved.
Count Beetle came up to me and said.
“Thank you. You did a good job. You saved Grantham. We will talk about Baron Dames later but I would like to talk about the reward and the afterward. Is that alright with you?”
“Yes, sir. I just have a question. Will there be a fifth wave?”
“I don't know about that. Labyrinth overflow is rare. If you conquer the labyrinth, it should definitely stop...but there are rumors that just diving into the labyrinth will also stop it. Either way, we can't let anyone dive under these circumstances. Even if we need to, we will need a D rank or higher adventurers and knights. If we were to attack the labyrinth, we would need a party of upper B rank... Well, since it’s not right to talk about it here, shall we head to the Adventurer’s Guild master room?”
“I will follow your arrangement. May I also ask you to return this sword to Baron Dames later? I had borrowed it without permission...”
With that, I handed the sword to Count Beetle and followed him to the Adventurer’s Guild.
Clarice came to me, looking happy.
“Thank you. Seems like Mars saved me again.”
“I'm determined to help Clarice this time after all.”
It seemed that Count Beetle heard this conversation and Clarice was also asked to go to the Adventurer’s Guild.
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