The "Witch Cult Hunting" on the way home went so well that it was disappointing
The initial target of the expedition team that set out again was, of course, the finger who already knew the lurking location.
The Finger stronghold discovered during the raid on Sloth was an open-air camp in the forest that the expedition team was monitoring. It looked like a frontline stronghold with a good view.
"Okay, it's me. Is everyone okay?"
All the witch cultists present focused their attention on Subaru, who appeared with ease.
The gaze contained not hostility, but a puzzling, one-sided sense of companionship.
"I'm sorry for lying to you... I'm sorry for lying to you. I don't feel sorry at all."
Subaru's speech confused them, and by the time they realized Subaru's hostility, it was already too late.
——Several silver lights flashed across the battlefield, and the witch cultists who were a little slow to react fell one after another.
"This is worse than imagined..." Yuexing shrugged.
"Hahahahaha! What the hell! Is this what the famous Witch Cult is like! Hey, little brother, maybe this will become a great achievement!"
Seeing the beheaded witch cultists showing almost no resistance, Ricardo was happily clicking his teeth with a machete on his back.
Originally, if they were attacked, they should immediately abandon their stronghold in the forest and escape.
The open terrain on all sides was perfect for fleeing. If they were allowed to meet up with other strongholds, the existence of Subaru's side would be leaked. However, the Witch Cult's wishful thinking completely failed.
It’s all because of the existence of Subaru as a bait.
"That's what I said, but I didn't expect the effect to be so significant."
Witnessing the overwhelming victory with his own eyes, Subaru himself became frightened.
A perfect victory without any casualties in the expedition team or allowing any enemy to escape.
"——Ah, it's true! It's not working here either! It's not working here either! What are you doing, these guys!"
Phyllis, who was responsible for capturing the witch cultists, let out a mournful roar.
At his feet, there were several men in black who had stopped moving.
"Did they commit suicide?"
Wilhelm walked past the angry Phyllis and peeled off the black turban of the man in black who fell to the ground.
Qikong bleeds to death, but there is no expression on his face
"The tongue is fine, and it doesn't look like suicide."
"Probably everyone has magic stones embedded in their bodies. Once activated, the poison will spread all over the body and cause death. Originally, the magic must be analyzed before death to detoxify. Different spells were set up for each one...
Why waste your energy doing this kind of thing!"
After investigating the abdomen of the witch cultist who turned into a corpse, Phyllis found the faded magic stone and muttered with regret.
"Not only that, there are probably mechanisms like this set up on the other fingers too...is it poison that even Phyllis can't stop?"
Yuexing came over, looked at the corpse on the ground and said
"It's unforgivable to act like this, to risk life, what do you think human life is...!"
Phyllis' voice trembled, and she wiped away the tears with the back of her hand excitedly.
As a healer, Phyllis understands the impermanence and miracles of life better than anyone else. On this battlefield, which is different from swords and magic, he realizes this on a battlefield that only belongs to him.
Yuexing peeled off the hoods of the dead witch cultists and confirmed the faces they had hidden when they were alive.
"Are they just ordinary people? I really didn't expect that they would be dedicated to engaging in witch cult activities."
"Why would these guys do such a thing? A witch or something, isn't she a mysterious existence that is hated by the whole world? Why are they so obsessed with her?"
Everyone around who overheard this conversation also looked embarrassed, but the voice of a young boy broke the silence.
"——Isn't it because you want to seek destruction?"
The person who said this was Tibby, who was holding a wand and gently adjusted her monocle.
"The negative reviews of the Witch Cult are well known, but even so, there is still an endless stream of people joining the cult... I think it's just because some people live too luxuriously."
"luxury?"
"I think people who are able to act in pursuit of self-destruction make such choices because they have time to think about such things. It's not like these people have never thought about anything."
Tibby didn't even raise her head until the end, and just fell silent.
"Despair everything and seek destruction..." Yuexing murmured
The desire to involve everything and make everything a mess, this kind of destructive thought, must have been experienced by all human beings who have been forced to a dead end.
"Do the Witch Cultists carry anything that looks like information?" Subaru asked.
"...Everyone was very careful not to bring anything except weapons. No one even brought the Gospels. It was as if they had already prepared to leave and never come back. What a joke."
Phyllis's tone was burning with rage and fighting spirit, and she seemed quite angry.
"——Then, it's almost time to deal with other strongholds," Yuexing said
…
"——Yuexing, the merchants have gathered outside," Subaru said.
The expedition team has annihilated the fourth finger stronghold.
After taking down the stronghold in the forest, they also destroyed two strongholds by the river and one in the swamp.
Several things related to the Witch Cult have been clarified. The stronghold called the Finger is always guarded by ten people, and the enemy without the Archbishop of Sin is more vulnerable than imagined.
"Are you here already? Although it may just be a wasted trip for those who gathered here, but the safe arrival over there means that the obstacles on the plain have been completely cleared."
"It seems like this. The enemy has not noticed that the fog has disappeared, so the streets that were supposed to be blocked must now be in a state of no alert, just as we expected," Julius said
"They have no reason to lie. Although the only evidence is the claim of laziness, which makes people angry, but then again, this is good news after all," Subaru said
In any case, Subaru wanted to meet the merchants who had gathered here in response to his call as soon as possible. The situation that involved them was too special, and it was necessary to explain it.
The phrase "purchasing goods at market prices" seems to be quite effective. Although the number of villagers in Alam Village has not been accurately counted, it is less than a hundred people. This number of dragon carts is enough for them to evacuate.
"But, I'm really trembling."
"There's nothing we can do to greet them with such an exaggerated atmosphere."
The group of people in the corner of the position shrank into a ball in front of the knights who were on high alert.
"Facing your companions like this, once you find out that the enemy has something to do with the Witch Cult, will you run away immediately?" Yuexing sighed.
"People have different levels of bravery, but I'm afraid your suspicion is correct."
Julius agreed with Yuexing’s suspicion, and the two looked at each other and shrugged.
Originally, I planned to confess the truth here and ask for their help.
However, judging from their current appearance, it seems that not many of them have the courage to hear about the Witch Cult without being frustrated.
"It would be a headache to let them escape. Rather than reducing the number of means of transportation, it is better not to let the remnants of the Witch Cult notice the situation here."
It sounds ruthless, but they have all been involved in an extraordinary situation. It is also good for both parties to ask them for help with the mentality that ignorance is bliss.
"Hey - thank you very much for coming all the way. For now, I am the one who issued the notice, and I will explain the situation."
Subaru walked towards the uneasy merchants and said:
"...Brother?" Seeing Subaru stepping forward as a representative, the merchants looked at each other.
Seeing this reaction, Yuexing remembered the performance of the expedition team and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Seeing this natural reaction, Subaru breathed a sigh of relief.
"Anyway, this is a very important conversation for you, right? You came here after reading the notice, which means you agree to the conditions for trading the goods at market price, right?"
"Ah, yes, that's right. It's your side. Isn't this condition a lie?"
"Of course not, but as a condition, I want to borrow your dragon carriage. This should have been written. I would like to ask you to help us bring out the nearby villagers during the hunting period."
"hunting?"
The merchants asked in unison, expressing doubts about this dangerous word.
"In this forest, there is a kind of monster called Urugarum who has settled down. As you can see, we have formed such a large expedition team, and I would like to ask you to help the villagers evacuate during our hunting.
"
"Ulugarum, it's the monster that made a big fuss in the forest a while ago," Yuexing said.
"What do you mean, there are indeed gregarious monsters in this forest?" Julius asked warily.
"It feels a bit wrong to describe living in groups, but it does exist. In this forest, a barrier is used to separate the living areas of humans and monsters. This side is undoubtedly the domain of humans."
"...Regarding the Warcraft, it would be better to say that Count Metzas, who built a mansion near the place where the Warcraft swarms, made the wrong mistake."
Phyllis stared in the direction of the mansion and said
"The so-called monsters, without exception, have the instinct to kill living things. They can neither be kept in captivity nor eaten. They are purely dangerous creatures. Even if there is a barrier, they generally would not think of building a home next to the habitat of monsters.
of"
"That's why Roswaal is so elusive." Yuexing shrugged.
"We've already asked the merchant team to lend us their power. Having said that, we can't let them go hunting with us, so we'll be waiting at the position first. We'll gather together if anything happens." Subaru walked over and said.
"However, it is too unsafe to just leave them here. The number of people who need to be protected has increased, so it is necessary to allocate some more people to stay in the position to protect them," Julius said
"Yes, I think half of the people should be left behind. Now, I feel that Fishhook's side has too much combat power. Assuming that the position is discovered by the enemy, I want to at least leave the possibility of fighting and escaping... like this" Subaru said softly
Julius closed his eyes and shook his head, thinking he was expressing his objection, but he said "Okay" and continued.
"I respect your opinion. It is appropriate to divide the combat power of the guards into half. The number of people in each team is ten, so as long as there are twice the combat power here, it will be enough."
"Your attitude is really hard to understand." Subaru breathed a sigh of relief.
"And this is where my charm lies - people often say that."
"Leave the hunting to Iron Fang, who is good at fighting in the forest, and leave the guard to the knights. Let's divide the team according to this idea."
After hearing Subaru's words, the expedition team members quickly changed their organization.
Twenty knights remained in the position as escorts for the fifteen dragon chariots, while the rest went to the forest
The expressions on the merchants' faces were full of uneasiness. In order not to frighten them, Subaru put on a cheerful expression and walked into the forest waving his hand.