Chapter 71

Chapter 71. It Is a VIP Membership Card

Of course, Balun was not frightened the way he had been when he encountered the troll.

How could a troll and goblins even be compared? No matter how numerous the goblins appeared to be, goblins were still only goblins.

He was merely dumbfounded. It felt as though bad luck had clung to him for no reason.

‘I need to get away from these people as soon as possible.’

He was about to move with that thought in mind when Nathan stopped him.

“Um, Sir Balun. Where are you going?”

“I am going into the city.”

“Pardon? Y-you mean there? There are so many monsters.”

“Of course. I came all the way here, so am I supposed to not go in?”

“B-but how are you going to enter? It is far too dangerous…….”

“It is fine. They are only goblins, no matter how many there are.”

“That is not true. Goblins are extremely cunning. They handle tools well, they know how to use strategy, and……. With so many of them gathered there, it is definitely dangerous. If this turns out to be a Monster Wave, then the situation will become even worse…….”

No, so what did he want him to do?

Go back?

“Then it cannot be helped. We will have to part ways here.”

“Sir Balun! Please wait! Wait a moment!”

When Balun tried to pull on the reins, Nathan panicked and grabbed him.

“Please protect us.”

“You want me to protect you?”

“Yes, please. You only need to help us enter Mirehal. As long as you do that, I will compensate you handsomely.”

Balun’s eyes widened.

No, he was going to compensate him?

“How much?”

“10 gold! I will give you 10 gold!”

Balun was shocked inwardly. No, he was going to give that much?

“Really?”

“Yes! Of course!”

“Good! In that case, 10 gold per person. There are twenty-five of you, so you can give me 250 gold.”

“P-pardon?”

Nathan’s party froze in confusion.

“No, what do you mean by that? 10 gold per person?”

“Of course. It is the price of your lives. Surely you were not thinking of giving me only 10 gold?”

When Balun narrowed his eyes, Nathan quickly nodded.

“N-no, of course not. That is correct. I will pay you that much.”

Nathan was every inch a merchant; at least he was quick on the uptake.

However, it seemed not every merchant was quick-witted.

“Sir Nathan! What are you saying? If you spend that much money, the Association Chairman will certainly make a scene…… Mmph!”

“Ahaha. Sir Balun, it is nothing. Please pay no attention to what this fellow said. Hey, you crazy bastard. Shut your mouth, please. Read the situation!”

After scolding the subordinate who had butted in without any tact, Nathan let out a deep sigh.

Balun could somehow see the hardships he endured, but he paid them no mind.

No, this much was already a bargain. Honestly, was 10 gold per person not cheap for the price of their lives?

“By the way, who do you mean by the Association Chairman?”

“Ah, he is referring to the chairman of the Mirehal Merchant Guild Association. Our Sir Nathan is the chairman’s only son!”

Perhaps he wanted to brag, because one of the subordinates quickly cut in and puffed himself up with pride.

Nathan, seemingly embarrassed for no reason, was rebuking him and telling him to be quiet.

“Oh, is that so?”

Of course, to Balun, that was only good news.

‘No, he should have said that first.’

No wonder his subordinates served him so devotedly.

“Nathan. Do you know this? A connection begins as coincidence, then develops into inevitability.”

“Pardon? A c-connection?”

“Yes. Just like our situation. We met by coincidence, but after a life-or-death struggle, we are becoming bound by inevitability.”

“Wh-what does that mean?”

“It means we are friends. Haha.”

Balun dismounted, slung his left arm around Nathan’s shoulders, and thumped his own chest with his right hand.

“Do not worry. Balun will protect you. Balun will safely get you inside!”

“Pardon? Y-yes. I sincerely ask for your assistance.”

Balun mounted his horse again and headed toward the battlefield while thinking,

‘I should squeeze more compensation for saving his life out of him once we get inside. He is the son of such an illustrious bloodline, so he must have more money, right?’

For the record, he had not even collected the price for saving him from the troll yet.

***

The Free City of Mirehal, which had been peaceful as usual, was thrown into chaos by a sudden attack from a Goblin Group.

Of course, Mirehal had a fairly sizable standing force, so the situation was not severe enough to say that the city itself was in danger. Its walls were holding firm, and the goblins would not be able to climb over them.

The problem, however, was that Mirehal was not a complete walled city.

Because it was a commercial city, its scale had inevitably continued to expand, and houses and commercial districts had sprung up like weeds outside the outer walls as well.

The outskirts that were not protected by the walls could not be free from external attacks. Just like now.

If there was one person whose head was aching the most because of this, it was undoubtedly Jax, the Captain of the Guard of Mirehal.

Watching the goblins wander through every corner of the alleys on Mirehal’s outskirts while holding worn-out clubs, rusty scimitars, and the like, Jax shook his head.

“They really are sly bastards. How can monsters act like that?”

Generally, goblins tended to be looked down upon as weak monsters, but that only applied to small groups of goblins encountered in the mountains or on roads. A large-scale goblin horde gathered like this was a different matter.

Once the goblins’ unique cunning temperament and habits were displayed on a large scale, they became unbearably troublesome.

The current situation was exactly like that. Were they not spreading themselves throughout the alleys and hiding? As though they were planning ambushes.

Thanks to that, the archers’ attacks had been rendered ineffective, and they had to repeat the troublesome task of searching the alleys directly, finding the goblins, and killing them.

How tedious was that? It dragged out the battle, made everything more difficult, and was exhausting.

Above all, it was more dangerous.

Goblins actually did use ambush tactics. Their hearing was sharp, so they would hide in the corners of alleys, then stab a blade straight into an enemy’s belly the moment the enemy approached.

“Everyone, be careful! The goblins’ blades are coated with paralytic poison! If you get hit, you could be done for!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Aaagh!”

The scream rang out almost the instant he finished giving the warning. It came from the corner of an alley. Jax quickly ran over and saw that one soldier had been struck by a goblin’s blade and had collapsed.

Jax’s face twisted at once.

“No, that stupid bastard. I just said it……!”

He quickly ran over, killed the goblin, and rescued his subordinate. Then he immediately checked the soldier’s wound, only to find that it had turned bluish. It meant he had been poisoned.

“Those damned green monster bastards.”

Jax gnashed his teeth. This was why Jax hated goblins. They had such frail bodies, yet they were this sly.

“Are you all right, Hans?”

“Yes, I am fine, ngh.”

“Do not move. It will hurt more if you move. Not that you will be able to move properly anyway.”

“Captain, am I going to die?”

“Die, my ass. You will not die. It is just going to hurt like hell. Goblin paralytic poison is not strong enough to kill.”

“Is that so? That is a relief. I thought I was dead.”

“You should still pray to the gods. Ask them to make it hurt less.”

“Ugh. It seems the gods are giving me a trial because I have not paid offerings all this time.”

“Stay still. I will bring an antidote soon. The Apothecaries’ Guild should have an antidote for goblin paralytic poison…… Mm.”

Jax’s face hardened. A large number of goblins had suddenly appeared.

There were at least twenty of them that had entered the alley, but there were only two people here: the injured guard Hans and Jax.

“Kek.”

The goblins approached while flicking their tongues.

A few even licked their blades as if mocking them.

“I am fucked.”

“Captain. Surely you can kill twenty goblins, right?”

“Of course I can! Who do you take me for?”

“Right? I almost thought you were frightened by mere goblins.”

“Says the bastard who just got stabbed by a goblin……. Keep your eyes wide open and watch! This will be over in an instant.”

After boasting loudly, Jax thrust his sword forward and stepped out. He was bluffing because his subordinate was watching, but honestly, he was scared.

Of course he was. No matter how lowly they were, there were still twenty goblins. It meant he had to fight one against twenty, so how could he not be scared?

‘Damn it. I should have drunk less and exercised more.’

His bulging beer belly looked especially hateful today.

‘Ha, I do not know anymore. If this goes badly, I am dead anyway.’

Just as he squeezed his eyes shut and prepared to charge in, the ground suddenly shook.

THOOM!

“Whoa?”

Another tremor followed immediately afterward.

THOOM!

The goblins lost their balance and collapsed.

Fortunately, Jax did not fall.

“Wh-what is this? An earthquake?”

Well, thanks to that, it became much easier to catch the goblins.

After all, the encirclement had been broken by whatever this earthquake-like phenomenon was.

“Captain! Look over there.”

“What are you talking ab…… Mm?”

Jax froze on the spot. He had seen what Hans was pointing at.

There, on the broad main road ahead, an enormous Warrior holding an axe was charging like a madman and sweeping away every goblin in his path.

“Move, move! Balun’s cash cow—no, the VIP is arriving! Stealth Instructor, come out at once! I will gladly pay a huge tuition fee!”

The enormous Warrior kept charging while muttering incomprehensible words. Not a single goblin remained on the path he passed through.

It was an utterly unrealistic sight.

Watching the man vanish toward the city gate in an instant with a whole group trailing behind him, Jax muttered with a bewildered expression.

“Did I see things? Hans, I was not mistaken, was I?”

“I saw exactly the same thing.”

“What was that?”

“I have no idea…….”

“Well, damn.”

How should he put it? It felt as though he had seen a dream.

An impossible dream.

***

Balun pierced through the green road made of goblins and arrived at the city gate in an instant.

Of course, many goblins still remained everywhere, but what did that matter? Balun had no obligation to deal with them too.

There were plenty of soldiers, so they could handle it themselves. He had to escort a VIP.

Well, if they paid him, he would be willing to help.

“You truly are amazing, Sir Balun. This is the first time I have ever seen anyone as strong as you.”

Nathan’s party kept bursting into admiration. Even though they did business in a prosperous city and had met countless Knights and Mages, Balun was still astonishing to them.

How could a person fight like that?

What left the deepest impression on them was the technique that let him stomp his foot and cause an earthquake.

What in the world was that? It did not seem to be magic, nor did it seem to be the Aura of Knights…….

“What are you talking about? There are many strong people in the world. There are Knights, and there are Mages. There are a lot of them, anyway.”

“No. That is not what I mean. Sir Balun, you have a different feeling from them.”

“What kind of feeling is that?”

“How should I put it? Mm, they feel like their swords and magic are strong, but Sir Balun feels like the human himself is strong. A monster. The word monster suits you perfectly. Ah, I did not mean that as an insult!”

When they arrived in front of the city gate, what was this? The gate was closed.

“Are they not going to open this gate?”

“Ah, yes. Considering the situation, it cannot be helped.”

“I see. Step back.”

Balun looked up. He took a deep breath and shouted.

“Hey! Open the gate!”

“Urgh!”

Nathan’s party was startled. What kind of human voice could be that loud? Their ears had nearly gone deaf.

BANG, BANG!

“Open the gate!”

BANG, BANG, BANG!

“If you do not open it, I will break the gate! Is it all right if I break it?”

After he did that several times, a voice came from the top of the wall.

“Who are you?”

“Open the gate! I am going inside!”

“No! We have been ordered to seal the city gate!”

Balun’s expression turned sullen. No, why were they refusing again? He wanted to go inside.

Nathan also proved his identity, but it was useless.

“Sir Balun. It seems this will not work. Given the situation…….”

“Is it not enough to let only us in? They can keep the goblins out.”

“I think so as well, but they seem to be wary of something. Otherwise, there is no reason they would refuse to let us in.”

“Even though you are the Association Chairman’s son?”

“That is true, but it is not an official title. I am only a merchant, after all.”

“Is that so?”

Balun nodded. Indeed, that was true. After all, even the son of a small-to-mid-sized company owner was not a civil servant.

“Can I really break the city gate?”

“That? It will not work. It should be under enhancement magic.”

“How strong is a city gate under enhancement magic?”

“It is far sturdier than wood. It should be about as strong as iron plates.”

“Ah, if that is all, I can do it. I can break it.”

Nathan’s expression turned strange. What was this supposed to mean now? Was he saying he could break iron?

He knew Balun was strong, but this seemed like far too much of an exaggeration.

“I probably should not break it. If I do, they will throw me out of the city.”

“Th-that is true.”

“Or what about breaking the wall?”

“Pardon?”

“That would not be allowed either, would it?”

“Of course not. But is that even possible in the first place? A person is not an Ogre…….”

Without answering, Balun took a necklace out of his Subspace Pouch.

It was the Token of Rotenfeld he had received from Heinrich.

“What is that?”

“This is a VIP membership card.”

“Pardon?”

“It means it is something good.”

Balun held up the necklace and shouted triumphantly.

“You insolent fool! Do you know who I am?”

The gazes from atop the wall gathered on him.

“Look at this! I have this!”

Then Balun raised the necklace high.

A brief silence fell, and after about three minutes passed, the city gate opened.

A man in ornate clothing could be seen running over with soldiers trailing behind him.

“Oh, dear! I am terribly sorry! I did not know you had come from Rotenfeld and committed such discourtesy! I am truly sorry!”

The man soon bowed and scraped before him.

‘Wow. This actually works?’

“What are you all doing? Escort him at once!”

“Yes, sir!”

As Balun advanced along the path that opened like parting waves, his mouth stretched from ear to ear.

‘Holy shit. This really is damn good.’