Chapter 64

Chapter 64. Dunmore (6)

Balun blinked. His vision was red. It was as if he were looking at the world through red lenses.

It was because of the blood. The blood the bandits had sprayed had not merely splattered on him; it had covered his face so thoroughly that it was obstructing his vision.

Balun roughly wiped away the blood clinging thickly to his face, then took a deep breath.

How much time had passed? It felt as though quite a lot had gone by.

He looked up at the sky. Seeing only darkness, it seemed not much time had actually passed.

The fact that it felt like a great deal of time had passed despite so little time having gone by probably meant that this hellish situation had felt that long.

‘How many did I kill?’

He did not know. He could not even tell that much.

Balun had thought of only one thing. Defeat them one by one. Even if it was slow, handle them carefully, one at a time, and do it properly.

It was frustrating, but that was the correct answer. That was the only way to deal with elite archers.

Honestly, he could not clearly remember how he had dealt with them either. But he seemed to have done rather well. Otherwise, he would not have been able to afford this much composure now.

“Nngh.”

As Balun endured the throbbing pain and stood up, the blood-soaked bandit corpse that had been serving as his cushion slid down.

He saw the corpse’s intestines spill grotesquely from a wound in its abdomen. As he stared blankly at it, a useless thought crossed his mind.

‘Ah, I want to eat gopchang. Vegetable gopchang with soju.’

Balun soon shook his head vigorously to clear away the thought, then pulled out the two arrows lodged in his side. A bizarre sound, the sort that only a mad dog would make, escaped his mouth on its own.

“Nnghghk.”

His face twisted naturally.

Without a single lie, it hurt so much that he truly wanted to cry.

In fact, a few tears did come out.

‘Damn ranged bastards.’

Balun gritted his teeth. He had struggled so desperately to avoid being hit by the archers’ attacks, yet he had been struck by eight arrows. How could he not be angry?

If they had merely been ordinary archers, he would have been less angry. The problem was that these special forces bastards disguised as bandits were good with swords too.

Ordinary archers could always be suppressed once he got close, but these special forces members could even fight in close quarters, so even Balun of all people had no choice but to struggle.

Of course, Balun was the victor in every sword fight, but simply accumulating five or six exchanges per person consumed an enormous amount of time.

Balun found that time wasteful.

If he had killed them all with one-hit kills, he could have sent far more enemies to their graves. Including those who had fled.

‘I need to practice my axe swings more.’

Making that resolution for the future, Balun leaned his back against a tree and awakened his senses. Balun’s body, having reached his Awakened State, had all its senses amplified. Even by simply remaining still, information about his surroundings came in.

The sound of the wind, the sound of grass rustling in that wind, the cries of insects, the faint scent of earth, and the smell of blood covering over that scent…….

‘There is no one nearby.’

He could not sense a single human presence. And it was not only their presence. Even with his five senses amplified to this degree, he could not find any trace he could presume to be human.

Rough breathing, the sound of taut bowstrings, rustling and clattering sounds, the friction of leather armor rubbing against fabric, the sound of footsteps when someone moved, the sound of someone climbing a tree.

He could neither hear nor see any of it. That meant there was definitely no one there.

He had killed them all.

Now that there were no enemies left, he should have been able to feel relieved, but Balun could not let down his guard. He knew that the enemies he had dealt with were not all of them.

‘Now the withdrawal team remains……. What should I do with them? Should I chase them or not?’

Balun agonized over it.

Honestly, he did not have to chase them. He had already won, so why bother going after those who had lost their will to fight and fled?

He had achieved his objective as well. He had killed the captain and Vice-Captain, and he had killed more than half the bandits, so Count Rotenfeld would naturally count the request as a success.

But would that be the end of it?

‘What if those bastards try to take revenge on me?’

That was why Balun could not make a rash decision.

What if those men held a grudge?

Of course, it would be laughable if mere bandits harbored revenge, but the problem was that they were not ordinary bandits. They were special forces members from a neighboring country disguised as bandits.

That meant there was someone backing them, and if those bandit special forces bastards informed their backer of his existence, things would certainly become quite troublesome for Balun.

If he was uneasy, it was right to kill them all, but doing that would be too exhausting…….

‘Let us chase them. How can I leave trouble behind for later? It is better to be tired for a little while.’

In the end, he decided to chase them.

‘So why did they have to run away? Why? If they had not run away from the beginning, I would not have had to worry about this.’

Balun grumbled. This was why ranged bastards were no good. Cowardly bastards. They could not even fight fairly and squarely.

‘There were more of you, too. Honestly, you had a chance. I was only one person.’

Overcome by a sense of injustice, Balun kicked a rock. A rock as large as a person’s torso shattered into pieces and scattered in every direction like an exploding Claymore mine. Even though he had displayed monstrous strength, he did not even notice it. He simply felt wronged.

‘Ah, I do not care. I will catch them. If these bastards get caught, they are dead.’

Balun’s eyes shone like fire. His stubbornness was blazing.

‘I will catch every last one of them. Then I will demand an incentive from the Count. Honestly, if the Count has a conscience, he will pay me more. If not, Count or not, I will fight him for real.’

Balun stood up.

After roughly brushing the dirt and blood off his body, he began to move.

Even after killing so many enemies, Balun’s strength was still overflowing vigorously. However, because he was dominated by stubbornness, he did not realize it.

***

When Balun entered the valley after three days of observation, Belia was filled with anticipation.

What sort of performance would the hero of the Expedition Team, who had slaughtered Black Moon’s Assassin and saved the Expedition Team, show?

Could he truly subjugate the bandits, just as he had boasted?

If she dared to predict it, she expected Balun to carry out a stealthy assassination operation.

No matter how confident he was in his own skill, how could he deal with all those bandits alone? They were not ordinary bandits either.

She had vaguely guessed what the bandits’ true identity was.

The bandits were probably rangers from the Shadow Claw Unit, one of the famous units of the Kingdom of Valtrien.

They were elite rangers that the Kingdom of Valtrien prided itself on, notorious in the world by the infamous name “Nightmare of the Greenwoods.”

Because she knew very well just how strong they were, Belia expected that Balun would first assassinate the boss, then gradually assassinate the leadership and render the organization powerless.

“No.”

Her prediction was completely wrong.

“Is that really right?”

Good heavens.

She had never imagined it.

Never had she imagined that he would use a bizarre technique that shook the ground in the middle of enemy territory and wake up every single bandit.

“Is he truly insane?”

She was so dumbfounded that she unknowingly muttered aloud. Her composure was shaken so badly that the flow of mana maintaining her Stealth broke, revealing her figure for an instant.

“After going through all the trouble of killing every sentry, he draws attention there like that?”

She did not know how hard she had struggled to hold back the urge to rush in immediately and slap him across the face while asking if he was out of his mind.

Looking at it now, it was truly fortunate that she had held back.

Because the martial prowess Balun displayed was truly beyond imagination.

His clean skill in cutting down the captain in a single strike, his judgment in finding and subduing the mage before using him as a hostage, and his intelligence in hiding himself inside the mountain, where there were many places of cover, so that he would not become a target for the archers.

Even his ability to neutralize, one by one, the encirclement that had spread wide and dense like a net.

With overwhelming strength and spirit, Balun had branded defeat into those skilled, undefeated elite rangers.

If they truly were elite rangers from the Shadow Claw Unit, then she had witnessed with her own eyes the first moment the fame of the “Nightmare of the Greenwoods” was broken.

‘I do not know what scheme they had, but the Kingdom of Valtrien will be gnashing its teeth quite a bit. They must have gone through a great deal of trouble to raise those elites.’

Around the time Balun had slaughtered roughly thirty men, Belia stopped spying and returned to Dunmore.

It was because, as the Branch Chief, she could not leave the branch empty for too long, but it was also because she judged that there was no longer any meaning in watching.

She had considered helping him at least a little if Balun happened to fall into danger, but there seemed to be no need for that at all.

Worrying about that mad beast, who howled and ran wild as if arrows and sword grazes did nothing to him, might have been the more useless act.

Of course, there were still many enemies left, but was there any need to watch? The result was obvious.

‘He will not be able to chase the withdrawal team that ran away anyway. He will leisurely deal with the remaining ones and come back. I wonder what kind of waves will occur once he returns.’

With a heart half full of curiosity and half full of expectation, Belia returned to Dunmore.

After filling her hungry stomach with a simple meal, she went to sleep in order to recover from her ruined condition after taking only short outdoor naps for three straight days.

She slept all day.

Almost thirty hours, perhaps?

It seemed the forced march over the three days had exhausted her.

That was only natural. She had taken brief naps in those mountains just like Balun, after all.

“This is insane. I cannot believe I slept this much.”

“What are you talking about? Branch Chief, you always sleep a lot.”

“Even so, thirty hours is a bit much.”

“You are always saying that beauties need their sleep and whatnot, yet now you are making a fuss for no rea…… Ow! Why did you hit me?”

“That is punishment for daring to talk back so insolently.”

Belia punched the teasing subordinate Rogue in the face, then urgently asked,

“What happened to Balun? He must have returned while I was sleeping.”

“Balun? Who is tha…… Ah, do you mean that Barbarian?”

“Yes! I asked what happened to him.”

“If it is that man, he has not returned yet.”

“What? He has not returned?”

“No.”

At the subordinate Rogue’s words, Belia blinked.

What in the world had happened? He still had not returned?

Including the time it took to come back, roughly a day and a half had passed.

And he had not returned?

‘Could he have died?’

It was unbelievable, but the possibility was certainly there.

Otherwise, there was no reason he would not have returned.

“That makes no sense. He was not the kind of man who would die like that.”

“Is there some problem?”

“Of course there is, you bastard. He is an honored guest of the Guild!”

“Of course he is an honored guest, but is he someone we need to care that much about? He is only a guest anyway. Whether he dies or not does not matter th…….”

SLAP!

“Ow!”

“How can someone who saved my disciple be an ordinary guest?”

“Ahh, that hurts.”

“That is why humans are called despicable. That is why other races look down on you humans so much. Even after I told you that, did you still not understand?”

“What?”

“Engrave this into your heart. If you receive a favor, it is only natural to repay it. No matter how much we are people who live off the darkness, we have to uphold the basics. Only then will we avoid a miserable end. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Answer loudly.”

“Yes!”

The subordinate Rogue tilted his head while still rubbing his aching back. As far as he could tell, Belia was good in every way, but there were times when he could not understand her.

This was exactly one of those times.

She was a human herself, so why did she speak as if she were not human? He simply could not understand.

Well, even if he did not understand, it did not particularly matter. Were there even any ordinary people in this line of work?

“Anyway, that means he still has not entered Dunmore, correct?”

“Yes.”

“I have to go.”

Belia prepared to go out.

“No, where are you going again?”

“To the Bled Mountain Range.”

“We have a guest coming later.”

“You receive them. Or have the ones below do it.”

“What? You want us to receive a noble? No, Branch Chief. Branch Chief!”

Leaving her subordinates’ attempts to stop her behind, Belia left the branch.

Belia moved while pulling a black hood low over her head and even wearing a mask.

As she headed toward the east gate to leave, she soon tilted her head.

It was because quite a number of people had gathered there.

‘What is this? What happened for so many people to…….’

“Gasp.”

She soon opened her mouth wide.

No, good heavens.

A huge, muscular giant was limping through the city gate, covered in blood from head to toe.

He was holding a rope that bound men who appeared to be prisoners in his left hand, dragging them along as he slowly moved forward. Along the path he had walked, the blood he had shed formed a long, straight line.

The giant limped forward through the crowd that had split like waves, dripping blood all the while.

No one knew the giant’s identity, but she alone knew who he was.

‘Balun?’

Her eyes blinked on their own.

What in the world had happened?

Had he truly fought for two whole days after that?

And what was with that state of his?

‘Is that even possible? No matter how long he fought, it looked like it would be over by morning.’

There was no way he had chased after the fleeing withdrawal team, was there?

“Oh!”

As Belia’s mind filled with questions, Balun suddenly let out an exclamation of admiration.

Then he pointed directly at her and said, “It is Belia! Did you perhaps come to greet Balun?”

“Uh……?”

“Thank you! You did not have to care this much! Incredible service! Customer satisfaction service!”

“N-No. I…….”

“Do not worry! I caught all the bandits! Haha!”

Balun laughed heartily while covered in blood.

As people’s gazes instantly fixed on her, Belia’s expression inside her hood soured.

‘This insane bastard. Why is he calling me here?’

The fact that he had recognized her in the first place was astonishing.

She was wearing all black, with a hood and even a mask covering her face, so how had he recognized her? It was so absurd that she could not even get angry.