The Adventurer's Mission Log

Chapter 32 Whispers

No one objected, even though there was no human being present.

Although Gottlieb was reluctant to cooperate with the elves, a group of unicorns charged at his right flank, and he didn't want the elves to get ahead, so he cursed and began a competitive slaughter.

Just then, another group of unicorns appeared from the left front and engaged the elf in battle.

This made things easier for Tenor, who bypassed the elves and used his power to break through the passage from the middle, acting as the spearhead.

Mud and gravel splattered beneath the horned beast's hooves, but Gotley didn't even turn back to check the elves' location; he didn't need to.

The dwarf could tell from the corner of his eye what the pointy-eared elf was doing; every swing of her sword left a magical trail, as if she were embroidering on the battlefield.

His stomach clenched with nausea, but he loathed another thought even more—he couldn't let a pointy-eared creature kill more enemies than he could.

"Five! I've already cut down five! And you over there, Long Ears? Are you still chanting some kind of spell to name your arrow shafts?!"

The demon swordsman's blade sliced ​​open the throat of a unicorn, scalding black blood splattering onto his bracers.

He did not immediately respond to the dwarf's provocation, but instead, in the brief moment of turning around, observed the battlefield and discovered that the lizardmen were like a mudslide, slow, heavy, and unstoppable, with the corpses of the beastmen piling up in their path, requiring absolutely no help.

He memorized these observations; his mentor would want to know about them later, as lizardmen were rare subjects of observation.

Then, in the instant he turned around, he swung his left hand and used a precise air blade to cut the horned beast that was trying to sneak up on the dwarf's side in half.

As he finished the incantation, he turned around, his sword deflecting the spear shaft of another horned beast, and with a backhand thrust, plunged the sword into its chest.

"I killed twelve, twelve before you even started counting."

My counting has stopped now because I'm keeping an eye on the ones you missed.

Tenor heard the elves' mixed sarcasm, reminders, and strange, almost caring reproaches reaching the dwarves.

Anticipating the inevitable outbreak of new arguments, he felt utterly exhausted... He had never led such a difficult team.

He silently hacked away at the enemies in front of him, calculating the time it would take to mutate, and was the first to rush into the edge of the village.

Gotley's battle axe was cleaving into the collarbone of a unicorn when he heard the elf's words, and the axe blade paused for a moment, stuck in the bone.

The dwarf twisted the axe with force, pulled it out, and glanced first at the half-eaten animal twitching on the ground with his one eye.

Then he looked at the elf, but the pointy-eared liar wasn't even looking at him; he had already turned back to continue fighting.

It was as if those words weren't worth waiting for a response, which made Gottlieb even more annoyed.

"Keep your magic away from my enemies! And stop glancing my way! I can handle my own enemies!"

Hearing the friendly chatter between the elves and dwarves, if Tenor were still in human form, his veins would have bulged.

But now he even has difficulty making expressions, and can only say in a bizarre, cold-blooded tone:

"For the sake of whatever god you are, can't you just shut up for once?"

"You're right, Thoros." The Demon Swordsman let out a very soft sigh during a break in the battle.

"Shut up?!" The dwarf cleaved the skull of the horned beast in front of him with an axe, blood and brains splattering all over his beard. He roared back at Tenor. "Did you see that, Southlander?"

That pointy-eared opportunist just thought he had saved me!

I, Gottlieb Bardinson, son of Bardin, was saved by a sissy elf?

If word of this gets back to Karak Hippogryph, my name will become a laughingstock! So don't tell me to shut up!

Tenor had no intention of speaking anymore; he just hoped the two of them could catch up and not turn against each other, and that Tenor would just help him fight.

He charged toward the Neptune Temple along the path he had previously cleared, the dwarf close behind, and the elf deliberately lagged behind. Once the dwarf was far ahead, the elf raised his magic sword and plunged it into the ground, shouting in Elvish:

"The wind is coming from all directions!"

As the muffled incantation subsided, a howling wind converged from all directions, carrying stones, sand, and dust, knocking down the beastmen along the way.

The swordsman raised his hand and pointed to the enemy in the south. Four hurricanes that had just blown in swept away one after another, scattering the various Beastman battle groups. The Beastman's formation was thrown into chaos in an instant. Only then did he draw his sword and follow the Lizardmen.

Tenor entered the temple and rushed toward the room behind the statue.

The magic circle emitted a bloody light. The demon swordsman looked grim, warily watching his left and right. As soon as the butcher rushed in, he began randomly smashing the magic runes.

Tenor was doing the same thing, but a mysterious voice, somewhere between male and female, appeared in his ear.

"What is this? A Thoros!" the voice sang, rising and falling. "Let me see, dwarves, elves, are they your companions? Or fools who have followed you?"

What mission are you carrying out? Are you the Demon Toad... or the will of an ancient sage?

Tenor became alert, but realized that it seemed only he could hear the sound.

As the magic circle was destroyed, the sound became increasingly indistinct, and it was obvious who was behind it all.

He had no intention of talking to the devil; who knew if he would fall victim to his evil scheme?

"Aren't you curious about the unusual activity of the unicorns?" an evil voice whispered in Tenor's ear. "Yes... curiosity... you have a virtue that your kind do not possess."

No, that's a weakness.

Tenor understood that the demon was trying to invade his mind, and he had no desire to know what would happen if he were invaded by a powerful demon.

Fortunately, the demon failed to complete the ritual and descend, so the power transmitted to the mortal world was limited, at least not enough to forcibly control him like the emissaries of the Emerald Order.

He awakened his primal will, resisted the voice, and continued to destroy the magic circle.

When Thoreau's primal will overwhelmed his human side, the demon suddenly lost interest, but still managed to utter a final, faint whisper.

"...The human legions suffered a defeat, and the followers of the Blood God Khorne gathered in the shadows of the forest, slaughtering, devouring, and consuming everything of the defeated. And this was only the beginning..."

That's absurd! If a legion had been defeated by the Beastmen outside the city, how could the city be so quiet? There would definitely be widespread panic!

Tenor dismissed the demon's ramblings, but the signs left him no choice but to be cautious—if the Legion's deterrent power was still intact, how could the Beastmen dare to openly gather on such a large scale?

The south is the trade route to Ortizia. There are occasional attacks by bandits along this route, but they are all small, sporadic groups. How could it be like today, with hundreds of beastmen dying at the hands of Tenor and his party alone?

Judging from the scale of their breakout, the number of Beastmen must have been in the thousands, and that certainly wasn't all; the Beastmen wouldn't mobilize such a large force for just two or three targets...

Tenor recalled the discussion at breakfast that morning, and a bad feeling welled up inside him—if the Beastmen had somehow discovered him, and if these Beastmen were fanatical in their belief in the evil god, it was not impossible that they would mobilize a large force for the sake of "the enemy of the gods."

Could it be... that they really came for him?

No, that bull-headed giant was clearly going after Anthony at first!

Now is not the time to worry. Time is running out. He must break out as soon as possible, find a safe place to rest, and ideally return to Laghettia to explain the situation in the southern forest to the governor.

At the very least, the tavern's protectors, the Black Rose Knights, must be informed.

The thousands of beastmen are not just Tenor's problem; if the beastmen attack the city, everyone will be affected!

He completely destroyed the magic circle and immediately led the two out. Looking around, they saw that the beastmen had cut off the road to Ragadia, and the fishing village was surrounded on three sides.

"Cross the river!" he commanded decisively, and fortunately, the elves and dwarves listened to him.

Before the beastmen could invade the village, the three of them quickly headed towards the Golden River.

The River Golden is a major river in the western part of the Empire. It flows from the North Sea to the eastern border of the Orodlin Highlands, then bends southwest, passing through Ragetia and turning towards the Silhani Bay. The river is generally about a kilometer wide, and the current is turbulent. Without long bridges or boats, it is very difficult for terrestrial creatures to swim to the other side.

Thoreau was clearly amphibious; he could swim across—but the Beastman couldn't.

As they were about to enter the water, the dwarf hesitated, while the elf jumped right in. His armor seemed weightless as he floated steadily on the surface, appearing quite adept at swimming.

When Tenor saw that the beastmen had entered the village, he grabbed the dwarf, pulled him ashore, and swam with him to the other side.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the dwarves sank as soon as they touched water, and realized that Gotley couldn't swim.