NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26
I avoided the guys coming after me and headed towards Sowol’s room.
It looked like there had already been an attack there as several warriors were fighting with guys dressed in black.
“Sowol?!”
“The lady is in her room!”
Is that so? Thank goodness. To repay the answer, I sliced off the head of one of the black-clad attackers and kicked in Sowol’s door.
Bang!
“Sowol! Are you okay?!”
“Y-yes.”
Two black-clad guys lay defeated in Sowol’s room. It seemed she took them out with the wooden sword in her hand. All those lessons I gave her are paying off.
“If you’re okay, we’re going to the sect leader’s room.”
“Yes!!”
I kicked up a real sword lying on the floor and handed it to Sowol. Since she’s only used a wooden sword until now, this real sword might feel strange, but this is the real deal now. Equipment matters, after all.
“Can I hold a real sword now?”
“Of course.”
With her current skills, Sowol is much stronger than most of the warriors from the Eastern Trading Company. So, there’s no reason for her not to use a real sword.
She shook the sword around a bit and, once she seemed to adapt, followed me out of the room.
There were way more black-clad attackers now than when we first entered.
Seeing the warriors being pushed back, I stood Sowol forward.
“Moonlight Slash!”
“Hah!!”
A crescent-shaped sword energy shot out, cutting through the advancing black-clad attackers. As the black-clad guys caught in Sowol and my sword energies began to transform back into mere attackers, the morale of the warriors surged.
“With the Master and the lady together!!”
“Keep pushing!!”
“Slice down all the bastards daring to invade the Eastern Trading Company!!”
This is what sword energy is good for.
It really boosts morale.
I kept sending out Moonlight Slash while telling Sowol to calm down, then I changed direction.
“Who do you think it is?”
“Not sure.”
Whenever there’s money involved, there are bound to be enemies, right? But if I had to guess…
“I think it might be the Asura sect.”
“The Asura sect?”
Yeah. The final boss in the Religious War Event.
They’re heretics related to the true ending too.
As I headed towards the room of Lady Sojung, I informed Sowol of what Serin had told me.
Listening calmly, Sowol closed her mouth for a moment before growling, “…I can’t forgive them.”
Right. Just don’t forgive them. I have no plans to forgive them either.
When we arrived near Lady Sojung’s room, I could see the warriors and paladins fighting hard inside. But they seemed to be on the verge of being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
And then it happened.
“Ah!!”
Struggling, Laila lost her sword.
With a look of despair on her face, before she could pick it back up, a black-clad guy swung his sword at her.
“Spider Web.”
“…Master!!”
The magical thread I sent out stopped the guy’s movement.
Laila’s face lit up with a bright smile, but I wished she’d pick up her sword quickly.
“Hup!!”
While Laila got her sword, Sowol dashed in and took off the head of the guy caught in the Spider Web.
Now that’s refreshing.
Seeing her handle the real sword so well on her first try just shows how talented she is.
“Thank you! Miss!”
“Forget it. What about Father?”
“He’s inside!”
Sowol immediately opened the door.
Inside, I spotted Lady Sojung sitting with two paladins. Despite being attacked, Lady Sojung looked completely at ease.
“You have arrived, Master.”
“Are you okay?”
“Haha. I’m fine. With the Master and such excellent warriors here, what is there to fear?”
Her confidence is nice.
I smiled at her and then positioned Sowol beside me.
With the paladins and Sowol here, we should be fine.
“By the way… who do you think it is?”
“I think it’s the Asura sect.”
“I see…”
Well, it doesn’t matter who they are right now. What’s important is the present.
I’m curious why the Asura sect is targeting the Eastern Trading Company, but I can figure that out after the attack is over.
“There are a lot of enemies. Please stay here.”
“Understood.”
He accepted my suggestion to stay put instead of wandering around aimlessly and getting attacked.
This is an improvement.
In games, the targets you’re supposed to protect often move around making things annoying.
“Sowol, you know what you have to do, right?”
“Yes!”
“Good.”
I patted Sowol on the head.
She’s a good listener, no matter what.
“Master, are you okay too?”
“Who do you think I am?”
I pinched her chubby cheek once before heading outside.
The onslaught of black-clad attackers seemed to be tapering off.
“Master!”
When I stepped outside, the warriors flocked around me. They all looked exhausted.
I lined up the injured ones and used healing magic on them, preparing for the next attack.
“They’re coming. Everyone be ready.”
“Y-what does that mean…”
Thud!
I didn’t believe for a second that the black-clad attackers stopping was the end.
And to prove my point, a loud sound began to echo from the darkness.
A moment later, as the clouds parted to reveal the moon, we finally saw who the source of that massive noise was.
A giant figure with thick arms and teeth like saw blades. A hideous face carved with ‘violence’.
Wow. They really sent an ogre.
The Asura sect is swinging for the fences.
“Th-that’s an ogre…”
Among monsters, ogres are considered top-tier.
Everyone knows about those man-eating fiends that tear people apart with their bare hands, then eat them.
Ogres are that wicked and dangerous.
In fact, in the game, ogres were quite dangerous too, so the reactions of these guys were not unfounded.
“Lord of Fire.”
Of course, it’s not a threat to me.
The flames imbued in my sword howled as they touched the ogre’s body, unleashing a horrific scream.
Everyone turned pale at the monstrous sound, but I didn’t care.
I was only focused on the guy behind the ogre.
Gwaaarrr!!!
The ogre, engulfed in flames and in pain, charged at me, and I sent forth another Moonlight Slash.
As the ogre fell back, moaning in agony, a man walked out of the darkness wearing a creepy smile.
“Well, well. I had hoped for a better effort… but I guess an ogre just won’t cut it?”
“Who the hell are you?”
“Let me introduce myself. I am the Asura sect’s priest of Sloth, Louisville.”
Louisville?
Isn’t he the guy that shows up in the Religious War Event?
The monster tamer who can control tons of monsters.
What’s he doing here?
“Why are you here bothering people?”
“Hahaha. Our funding hasn’t been very good lately… so I came to request donations from a renowned target like the Eastern Trading Company. Er, I mean, an established sect.”
“In other words, you’re a broke loser.”
As soon as I hit him with the truth bomb, Louisville’s expression contorted.
But what are you going to do about it if I do?
“How dare you persecute those who come to request donations! I cannot forgive this!”
“Oh no, I’m afraid! Sowol! Come out!”
“Y-yes?!”
Sowol stepped forward, looking bewildered.
I positioned her in front of me and lightly gripped my sword.
“You’re taking that guy down.”
“Eh? But…”
“Look, he’s coming.”
Louisville’s specialty is controlling monsters.
I sneaked a glance at the sky.
With the flapping sounds, something was approaching our way.
“Th-that’s!”
“A wyvern!!?”
A wyvern. Like the ogre, it’s another powerful monster.
None of us here could take on a wyvern heads-up.
To take down a wyvern, you would need a high-level weapon.
Sure, there are those with bows, but a wyvern’s scales are hard, making it resistant to ordinary arrows.
In other words, you’ll need a powerful magic dealer capable of inflicting damage from a distance.
But in the Eastern Trading Company, the only one capable of any kind of magic is me, so I’d have to face off against that monster alone.
Dealing with Louisville while trying to handle the wyvern from the sky is going to be a stretch.
I decided to hand off that empty task to Sowol.
I believe she can handle this well enough.
“Can you do it?”
“…Yes.”
“Hahahaha!! You underestimate me! How could I possibly lose to a mere little girl like that?!”
“Yep. I think you will.”
I’ve put my heart and soul into teaching her.
After patting Sowol on the head, I used magic to lift myself off the ground.
“Everyone!! Move!!”
With Louisville’s shout, monsters started popping out of the darkness.
When the warriors of the Eastern Trading Company readied their weapons, the wyvern swooped down from the sky.