I Became a Hero With a Lot of Experience

41 – 041: The Road to the North (4)

“Help! (Experience Points Acquired: 13)”

Shouting loud enough to make the forest leave, a woman appeared, cutting through the bushes. Her entire body was covered in wounds.

Whether scratched by branches or something akin to claws, her clothing, or what remained of it, showed that her body was far from normal, even in the parts exposed.

There was no unscathed area among the visible parts, and her eyes were severely bloodshot, as if tears of blood could flow at any moment.

＜Experience Points Acquired: 13＞

Based on various circumstances and the experience points above her head, the woman was judged as a potential enemy.

Simultaneously with the judgment, the radiant lance unicorn, Gens Lance, pointed towards her as I aimed at her.

“I don’t know why there’s an advance force of the Demon Army near the royal road.”

Her fate was sealed the moment she met my eyes here, of all places.

Light gathered around Gens Lance.

Just as the unusual heat-filled light was about to transform into flames of destruction, perhaps feeling sympathy for a fellow virgin, the priest stepped forward.

Following her, Penny, who had just awakened from sleep, and the magician, looking puzzled, quietly stood behind.

“What do you intend to do to the injured?! (Experience Points Acquired: 4)”

“Injured? I only see enemies with my eyes.”

It’s common knowledge that a virgin appearing from the bushes at night is nothing other than a damsel seeking help.

During nighttime travels, only a pitiable maiden can emerge from the bushes and request assistance from a hero.

A non-virgin either becomes a bandit or meets the fate of becoming prey for wild animals before reaching this point.

So, what could the presence of an entity that shouldn’t be here possibly mean?

An undoubtedly cunning non-virgin, disguised as a maiden, was trying to trap us. I tried to shoot her again without paying much attention, but the empathy ability unique to virgins, perhaps, made her the only one who could feel it. Everyone stepped forward and blocked my way.

“There won’t be a problem if you shoot after hearing her story. What can you do in this situation, even if she is an enemy? (Experience Points Acquired: 4)”

“…I’ll wait for 30 seconds!!”

No matter what happened, I had no choice but to compromise with her resolute attitude that she wouldn’t back down.

To preserve the sanctity, I released the unicorn, but Lance remained vigilant, keeping her at bay.

Having obtained my permission, the galeas suddenly appeared in the forest and began interrogating the unwelcome guest.

Although described as an interrogation, the attitudes of the three towards the terrified virgin were surprisingly gentle.

Repeatedly trying to console her with words like, “Are you okay?” and using a tender tone as if soothing a child, Galeas spoke to her several times, but unfortunately, there was no significant progress.

“Please, spare me…!! (Experience Points: 13)”

She repeated the plea for mercy like a broken recorder, not saying anything else.

In the midst of the three, who had fallen for the clearly staged act and were showing sympathetic expressions, Penny spoke.

“For now, let’s inquire about what happened later, and for now, let’s calm down…. (Experience Points: 1)”

“No, there’s no next time!!”

It was when the girls, who had achieved no notable results, tried to postpone the execution-style punishment of their fellow tribe members.

The body of the woman, who had trembled like a bamboo tree just a moment ago, suddenly stopped, and the voice pleading for mercy ceased.

Not a single sound of breath could be heard.

In the midst of our collective confusion at the sudden change, the woman who had suddenly grabbed Penny’s head, taking advantage of the distraction, attacked her.

“aaah!! (Experience Points: 13)”

“What, what’s happening?! (Experience Points: 1)”

With a red glare that showed little sign of sanity, the woman rushed in, clearly beyond the bounds of normalcy.

“Damn!! She’s an enemy!!”

“Uh, uh?! (Experience Points: 4)”

“Penny?! (Experience Points: 17)”

“Uh, ugh! (Experience Points: 7)”

As the minds of Penny and the other three were unable to catch up with the situation change that only I had foreseen, I grabbed Lance and rushed forward.

But a problem arose.

Penny and the transformed woman were too close, making it impossible to separate the woman alone.

‘No, do I even need to separate her?’

If, by mistake, I killed the virgin along with Penny here, it would ultimately mean that two virgins would disappear from this world.

The virgin would remain the same, but if two non-virgins disappeared, wouldn’t I be arithmetically ahead?

“Perfect!!”

“Get, get lost!! (Experience Points: 1)”

As I, who had perfectly calculated the situation, advanced to pierce through the two by mistake, Penny, who demonstrated her strength in the crisis, kicked the woman away with her foot.

This is why mistakes cannot be made.

I ran towards the woman who had transformed into a beast, clenching my teeth inside.

And I created a much larger hole in the ship than what was beneath it.

“Kki-ii-ii-ik!! (Experience acquisition: 13 people)”

“Confiscation of the baby room.”

The woman, pouring out a waterfall of blood from the ship, stumbled backward. Not long after, her tattered spine snapped, and she fell to the ground, but she still didn’t die.

A chilly silence spread at the surreal sight of her continuing to make beast-like sounds, crawling towards us on the ground.

But as soon as I regained my composure and crushed her head underfoot, her senseless march came to an end.

“What, what was that?! (Experience acquisition: 1 person)”

“Whatever it was, it’s obviously a zombie.”

“Huh? Zombie?! (Experience acquisition: 1 person)”

I don’t know if there’s a similar existence in this world, but at least the appearance I saw now was very similar to Earth’s zombies.

‘And not just any zombie…’

A more powerful existence than ordinary zombies, a virgin zombie.

Perhaps those bitten by these zombies couldn’t exclude the possibility of losing their virginity, their maidenhood disappearing.

If that happens, is it their fate?

Is eliminating virgins and turning everyone into non-virgins their plan in this world?

“We must kill them all quickly!”

“…I agree with the hero’s words. That’s a ghoul. Those bitten will turn into ghouls and attack others. But why is there a ghoul so close to the royal road… (Experience acquisition: 4 people)”

“Hey there… (Experience acquisition: 17 people)”

Surprisingly, Las had the answer to that question.

“I’ve heard it before… There’s a demon army officer in the Northern Frontline who creates ghouls… (Experience acquisition: 17 people)”

Even if only one ghoul escapes the frontline, with its power, it can create numerous compatriots.

Considering its abilities, even if there’s a tiny gap in the frontline, just one can multiply into dozens or hundreds.

“Well, wait a minute… Th-there’s one catch… (Experience acquisition: 7 people)”

“What is it?”

“Ah, the woman from earlier… She looked like she had recently become a ghoul. If so, aren’t there other ghouls nearby? (Experience acquisition: 7 people)”

As if in response to those words, the forest began to tremble.

I sighed at the numerous red glows visible in the distance.

On the opposite side of the forest, the tension in the red glow was ironically anticlimactic in the aftermath of the battle.

-Clap!

Accompanied by applause, the sacred power spread forward. As it touched the ghoul, it turned into ashes, transforming into nutrients for the forest.

Ghouls are classified as dangerous creatures due to their ability to increase their numbers by assimilating comrades. However, they are vulnerable to sacred power, and when struck by an attack infused with it, they turn into ashes.

Even a warrior acting as a representative of the gods could subdue ghouls with such playful attacks.

The priestess knew that the sacred power of a knight was special, but she couldn’t have anticipated this level, staring at the ashes with a puzzled expression.

“Is this the end?”

“Yes… I don’t sense any other ghouls. (Experience gained: 4 individuals)”

While there were plenty of priests in the royal capital, it wouldn’t be a significant issue if they flowed towards the royal capital. However, the small villages in between were a different story.

We couldn’t withstand the ghouls until the knights and priests arrived, so we found and defeated the hidden ghouls in the forest one by one.

As a result, morning arrived in the blink of an eye, and I welcomed the morning sun without having had a proper sleep.

I wanted to close my eyes for even a short while, but with ghouls appearing so close to the royal capital at this point, there was no time for slacking off.

“Ghouls are not opponents that a regular citizen would know how to deal with, but for a military force with countermeasures, they are not formidable. (Experience gained: 17 individuals)”

“The fact that they are here suggests that something unusual has happened on the front lines dealing with ghouls.”

“…Yes. The situation might be serious since communication hasn’t reached the royal capital yet. (Experience gained: 4 individuals)”

As if the premonition was accurate, as soon as we emerged from the forest, what we found heading towards the royal capital was a massive horde of ghouls, moving like refugees.

Even though they were ghouls, the sight of them gathering in one place and advancing towards the royal capital was unsettling for the Virgin Priests.

But for me, it was a stroke of luck.

Their numbers were large, but they were nothing more than easy prey to be felled with a single applause. If they were gathered, all I had to do was jump into the midst of them.

Seeing the figure of what seemed to be a commanding officer within the formation, I had only one task at hand.

“Well then, Baral, shall we?”

“Hiiing!!”

Lightly patting Baral’s neck, I dashed towards them without a hint of hesitation, ignoring the voices of concern from the indifferent and Virgin Priestesses behind me.